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by Glen Depke, Traditional Naturopath

I have worked with thousands of women over the last 16 years overcome or even prevent symptoms of perimenopause and menopause. As they enter their mid forties, my female clients often share their fear of the upcoming perimenopause and menopause years. This make sense though, since both perimenopause and menopause raise the risk of many conditions noted here.

  • Cardiovascular disease
  • Stroke
  • Osteoporosis
  • Dementia
  • Alzheimer’s disease
  • Arthritic conditions
  • Autoimmune conditions

While the states mentioned above are elevated risk factors due to menopause, there are many other symptom challenges that women will potentially suffer with also due to the estrogen decline during this transition. This would include:

  • Hot flashes
  • Vaginal dryness
  • Changes in skin tone
  • Depression
  • Lack of concentration
  • Irregular periods during perimenopause
  • Hair loss and thinning
  • Insomnia
  • Pain
  • Inflammation
  • Weight gain
  • Dysglycemia
  • Poor memory
  • Poor cognitive function

The decrease in estrogen hormones during this time will lead to two challenges. One is the decrease in tissue proliferation which is the bodily tissues ability to grow or multiply by rapidly producing new tissue, parts and cells. The other response is an increased systemic inflammatory response. The challenge with conventional management of menopause through the use of hormone replacement therapy, is the fact that this only addresses the decrease in tissue proliferation, while completely ignoring the inflammatory response. Understanding that with the decline in estradiol levels in a perimenopausal woman, the inflammatory response will likely not change even if the estrogen levels are restored. This is the challenge with hormone replacement therapy, it ignores the inflammatory response. Interestingly enough, inflammation is a significant underlying factor with cardiovascular disease, stroke, dementia, Alzheimer’s disease and other risk factors that we mentioned earlier.

The other factor to consider is  is that this is not just about decreased ovary function. When we are talking about females, perimenopause and menopause we are discussing the trilogy of female sex hormones, thyroid hormones and adrenal hormones. Once again, this shows a deficiency in typical hormone replacement therapy because this lacks the needed focus on both thyroid and adrenal hormones also. Yet woman after woman are constantly led down the path of estradiol/progesterone replacement therapy, thus leaving states of inflammation, thyroid and adrenal hormone imbalance. In the end this leaves women open to suffering from a wide array of symptoms as discussed earlier in this article.

There is also a large body of evidence suggesting that the decline in ovary function with menopause is associated with an increase in inflammation. Taking this a step deeper, the inflammatory response during menopause will also be directly linked to the amount of inflammation a woman is living with as she enters perimenopause. So in essence, addressing any lingering inflammatory condition will have direct impact on your perimenopause and menopause response and symptoms. This is an ugly cycle that so many women find themselves trapped by, but thankfully this can be addressed by dealing with your underlying adrenal insufficiency and inflammatory conditions before you enter perimenopause or menopause. If you are already at this point, do not dispair, there is still hope for you!

We also want to look at the impact on immune system function based on decreased estrogen hormones. The shifts in estrogen hormones will also impact immunity by directly impacting the TH-1 and TH-2 responses. This is the T cell and B cell immune response, simply known as the red flag response and the search and destroy response. This response can leave a woman sitting in an autoimmune response and/or and inflammatory condition, both of which are significant health issues. Once again, this shows the holistic failure of simply addressing hormone replacement therapy.

I have presented talks in the past  titled “The Death of a Woman” which I understand is a bit over top, but it makes a point. While a woman is not dying by entering perimenopause and menopause, entering this transition of life with poor adrenal function and chronic inflammatory states, sets you up for a big fall. As mentioned early, this does not have to be. You can address these areas prior to entering perimenopause and menopause and skate through this transition with ease. I see women all the time that go through this with very little symptoms and often completely symptom free. If you are already post menopausal and living with symptoms, it is not too late.

Here are the areas to address for you: (it is also best to follow this systematically as presented)

  1. Improve your fundamentals of health
    • Deep breathing every hour
    • Proper hydration (one quart of water for every 50 pounds of body weight daily)
    • Eat according to your Nutritional ID
    • Assess Gluten Associated Cross Reactive Food Sensitive
    • Achieve proper sleep (approximately 8 hours waking near the time of sunrise)
    • Move your body focused on anaerobic activity
    • Seek chiropractic treatments from a quality DC
    • Achieve two or more healthy bowel movements daily
    • Focus on a healthy amount of sun exposure daily
    • Learn new tools to perceive and address your stress in a healthy manner
  2. Assess your Adrenal Function (take your complimentary adrenal stress profile here)
    • It is essential to test your adrenal function and follow a protocol to not only assist your body in balancing adrenal function but also in resetting the hypothalamus, pituitary, adrenal also known as the HPA axis.
  3. Assess thyroid function and address accordingly
    • This typically does not require taking thyroid hormones
  4. Address your gut, brain, immune function (often pathogen testing is needed)
  5. Create an anti-inflammatory state by focusing on an anti-inflammatory diet
  6. Assess your level of toxicity and address accordingly
  7. Enjoy a balanced symptom free life!

Notice the I never mentioned taking estrogen or progesterone hormones. In all my years of assisting women in balancing hormones and escaping the symptoms of perimenopause and menopause, I have never had to recommend estrogen hormones and have only recommended progesterone twice in 15 years. You can achieve hormone balance naturally by addressing the underlying causes and triggers and not only escape the symptoms you may be feeling but also ward off more significant health challenges.

In the end, you simply want your life back. These are typical dream results that most of my female clients have shared with me through the years and you’ll likely see your dream results here too.

  • Sleep solid through the night
  • Wake up in the morning feeling rested
  • Put an end to the dreaded hot flashes
  • Feel like a woman again
  • Feel sexy and confident
  • Enjoy intimacy again
  • Feel like you did before menopause
  • Feel young again
  • Have control over your moods
  • Curl up with a fluffy blanket to read a good book without the disruption of hot flashes
  • Find your mental clarity again
  • Enjoy feeling happy throughout your day
  • And the list goes on

Make perimenopause and menopause what it really should be, simply a transition in life! And most importantly, set yourself up to enjoy this transition!

If you have any comments or questions regarding this article please post this on our Facebook page or on our Twitter page for us to address personally.

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