If you are in your early 30s, this is especially important info for you!
Here we are at menopause awareness month in October again – and I sat down to write a post for you. But I can’t better the one I did last year, I’m nothing if not honest!, so I’ve updated it a bit and reposted it again.
I see so much meno-guff around, which might help a bit, but the trick is to get right deep down into the biomechanics of the hormone shifts and prevent them from sending you hormone-doo-lally.
Some women sail through menopause with hardly any problems at all, wondering what the heck others are going on about. Others have a terrible time of it.
Menopause Symptoms
The vast majority of women who do get menopausal difficulties, get hot flushes and not much else. Others will lie there for hours trying to sleep when, previously, they could sleep on the proverbial washing line. Worry about the daftest things will come out of nowhere – driving anyone, social anxiety? Libido disappears and, even if you felt like it, your insides resemble a recently-sandpapered, cracked, misshapen old inner tube.
Joints ache, muscles spasm, blood sugar goes haywire, making you hungry ALL THE TIME just when you are trying your best to lose this Michelin spare tyre that someone strapped to you, literally overnight.
Oh. The gift that just keeps giving.
So: why do some women suffer and others not? Dr Google will tell you that it’s because some women in Asia eat plenty of soya, and there is some truth in that. Their intake of isoflavones means that they keep their oestrogen levels up more effectively so they don’t drop as far.
But, for the vast majority of women, it’s all about the adrenals.
Once our ovaries stop making our sex hormones (oestrogens, progesterone, testosterone), our adrenals start to take over. Only, they’re not as good at it. And, in many women, daily life and stress has knackered them. You’ve heard of adrenal fatigue, right? Cortisol has been high because of stress or illness or inflammation or allergy (take your pick), the adrenals become overworked and cortisol starts to drop. They’re tired, frankly.
So, what do you think happens when, all of a sudden, the adrenals are asked to take up the hormone slack? Because it really is all of a sudden: women’s hormones fall off a cliff whereas men’s float down gently, but often invisibly, which is a whole other post I should do.
They can’t.
They’re too knackered.
So, what happens then? Your blood sugar goes mad, you start worrying about everything and you gain a shedload of weight around your middle – meno belly. Why?
Because your adrenals also control your blood sugar balance and adrenaline release. If insulin isn’t controlled well, you start to gain fat. We call insulin the ‘fat hormone’ for a reason. If adrenaline is unbalanced, so are your moods. And, if your body is getting concerned about the low level of hormones, it has to do something else to get you to make some.
Menopause Belly!
The next best way is via body fat.
Yep. The biggest reason we gain meno-fat is to make the hormones our ovaries and adrenals can’t produce enough of. Fat is a hormone producer itself, not just a storage facility for our overnight munchies. People are often not aware of that.
Of course, I’ve not even mentioned all the symptoms associated with your particular hormone imbalances; it’ll vary depending what has dropped and how far. Low oestrogen, oestrogen dominance, low progesterone, low DHEA, low testosterone, low cortisol, probably low thyroid hormones. I won’t go into those now.
It’s too depressing.
So, my top tip for an easy menopause is (fanfare please….):
Around 35, check and improve your adrenal function so that they are good and ready for when you need them at cliff-fall time.
Are yours ready?
If you’re over that age and suffering, check and correct them now; it’s never too late to pick them up. But if we did it well before perimenopause, which starts anywhere from mid-30s onwards, we’d be more likely to prevent problems in the first place.
I thank you. Give me my Nobel prize for health now.
Adrenal and Hormone tests here. Adrenal treatment plan here.
A quick note on Andropause in men. We don’t hear enough about it and it is a real condition. Problem here is mostly the frog in a cooking pot thing: testosterone drops so insidiously that symptoms come on gradually. Think: grumpy, irritable, belly fat, no motivation, emotional, loss of muscle strength and stamina. It’s no picnic for men either!
PS. I know that it’s not that easy for some women. I have MCAS, PCOS and menopause on top now and I can’t take my own adrenal treatments as I react to them. There can be many reasons why menopause is tough. But, trust me, adrenals are always an issue with it so at least start there if you can.
PPS. For more on menopause generally, check the NHS page out and also see my menopause factsheet here. Also, the International Menopause Society, who set World Menopause Day, have done a special set of factsheets that you might find useful. This year’s theme is lifestyle medicine, so right up my street, of course! I can’t say I agree with everything said, but some good general advice there.
OK. Hope that helped a bit. Hormone Plan has morphed into something quite large so I’m just working out how to make it more manageable – separate sections or one of my biggies??