Anxiety, disruptive sleep, dizziness, heart palpitations, hot flashes, night sweats, and weight gain—if these symptoms sound like menopause, you would be correct. And you’d also be incorrect to think you would only experience these symptoms while in menopause. The truth is that these are some of the symptoms of perimenopause, and they signal the “menopause transition.”
The average length of perimenopause lasts from 4-10 years before menopause. During this time, a woman may experience one or all the approximate 20 symptoms of menopause due to the fluctuations in hormones. However, the first symptoms are typically mood swings and irregular periods. Later, as she progresses towards menopause, symptoms are like menopausal symptoms. Her ovaries become less responsive to luteinizing and follicular stimulating hormones, and she produces less estrogen.
If a woman suspects she’s in perimenopause, it’s crucial that she seeks professional medical examination. Thyroid disease can mimic perimenopause, and with only around 20 percent of medical doctors being menopause-trained, it’s essential to ensure you get the help you need to manage your symptoms effectively.
Often dismissed as something that was just in a woman’s head, perimenopause symptoms should not be casually dismissed. Without proper acknowledgment, a woman in transition may believe her health is declining, thus sending her into a tailspin. Stress, the “apex predator” of menopausal women, only increases, hence making symptoms worse and decreasing her effectiveness at work.
Menopause is a healthy and normal part of aging; however, the symptoms affect women in different ways – making them anxious, stressed, tired, and/or fatigued. Other symptoms include breast tenderness, headaches, backaches, impaired concentration, and focus. Most women figure they just must live with it.
The Institute for Integrative Nutrition offers 7 dietary recommendations and 5 lifestyle suggestions to empower women approaching menopause. These changes can significantly improve your quality of life during this transition.
The top 7 dietary recommendations for women approaching menopause:
1. Be cautious of gluten
2. Be mindful of phytoestrogens
3. Consume good mood food
4. Eat an abundance of calcium-rich foods
5. Limit caffeine
6. Load up on fruits and vegetables
7. Supercharge the diet
Let’s look at each of these recommendations in more detail.
Be cautious of gluten.
Celiac disease is linked to earlier onset menopause and can worsen menopausal symptoms.
Be mindful of phytoestrogens.
Phytoestrogens can mimic estrogen or have the opposite effect of estrogen. Avoid processed soy foods and ingredients like soybean oil, modified soy, and soy lecithin. However, keep in mind that soy foods might decrease menopause symptoms.
Consume good-mood food.
Menopause can alter mood; choosing Omega 3 foods such as salmon, sardines, tuna, walnuts, and flaxseeds can help. Vitamin B foods such as lean meats, eggs, yogurt, leafy greens, whole grains, and shellfish are great mood foods.
Eat an abundance of calcium-rich foods.
Osteoporosis risk increases during menopause. Protect yourself against this degenerative disease by eating almonds, broccoli, dairy, kelp, leafy greens, oranges, sardines, and sweet potatoes. Get your vitamin D for absorption.
Limit caffeine.
Sleep is highly affected during menopause. Consume no more than one morning cup so you do not disrupt sleep’s healing and regenerative properties.
Load up on fruits and vegetables.
Metabolism slows during menopause. Add bulk and plenty of fiber to help with fullness. Vitamins and minerals in fruits and vegetables help maintain hormone balance.
Supercharge the diet.
Superfoods such as flaxseeds, maca, and pomegranate can reduce hot flashes and help with vaginal dryness and discomfort. As with all supplements, speak with your doctor for contraindications.
Even as women deal with the symptoms of perimenopause, keep in mind that up to 80 percent of women of childbearing age also suffer from PMS. It usually strikes women in their mid-20s and tends to get worse as they get older until they finally stop menstruating altogether.
Premenstrual dysphoric disorder, also called premenstrual disorder, is a more severe form of PMS that affects 5 percent of women in their reproductive years. Women with PDD are so negatively impacted by mood changes such as anger and depression that they have difficulty functioning. This can be debilitating for professional perimenopausal women.
Let’s discuss PMS prevention and the top 5 lifestyle suggestions for perimenopause.
PMS prevention.
The good news is that 100% natural products help ease PMS symptoms. Look for remedies combining Western and Eastern approaches to treating the disorder. Specifically, the following ingredients:
Magnesium: It’s been documented that women with PMS are often deficient in this muscle-relaxing mineral, which could account for some of their symptoms. Magnesium is also a vital mineral for sleep.
Vitamin B6: A large body of clinical research shows that vitamin B6 helps relieve premenstrual symptoms. In fact, a review trial found that B6 is twice as likely as a placebo to provide PMS relief.
Vitamin C: Fragile blood vessels could be to blame if you experience heavy bleeding during your menstrual cycle. Vitamin C helps strengthen blood vessels, making them less likely to leak.
Choline & Taurine: Both nutrients play an essential role in the health of the nervous system, which can be negatively affected by PMS and perimenopause.
Rambling Powder: This traditional Chinese herbal formula, consisting of bupleurum root, peony root, dong quai root, and licorice root, has been used for nearly 1,000 years to ease premenstrual discomfort. Chinese herbalists believe it relieves “stagnant liver chi,” allowing life energy to flow and the spirit to ramble.
Dong quai also helps to balance hormones such as estrogen.
Together, these supplements can help women transition through menopause while still providing PMS cramp relief, supporting a positive mood, and easing muscle tension, irritability, bloating, and breast tenderness.
Top 5 lifestyle suggestions
1. Be mindful of weight. Remember, excess weight can lead to obesity and fatty tissue stored around organs, which may cause hormonal imbalances.
2. Eat a clean diet. Cleaning up the diet in perimenopause “crowds out” harmful foods such as sugar, gluten, and excess sodium, leading to heart disease.
3. Manage stress. Protect your nervous system and brain.
4. Limit exposure to toxic chemicals. Plastics and harmful chemicals with known endocrine disruptors can cause various health problems.
5. Prioritize high-quality sleep. If you have sleep disorders now, seek the help of a medical professional immediately.
Try some or all these lifestyle suggestions to help ease through perimenopause and support your hormonal changes. Remember, your medical professional may think you’re too young for menopause. This could be true—but it could also be true that you’re in the middle of perimenopause, and you need support for your symptoms. Communicate early and often until you get the relief you need.
Reference:
https://www.nickaish.com/post/natural-supplements-for-women-s-health-pms