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FEELING BETTER ABOUT MENOPAUSE
Old and New Approaches to
Every Woman’s Questions
What is menopause? Meno-: the female cycle; pause: to stop.
Yes, exactly: to stop the
cycle of ovulation and the action of menstruation. The average age is maybe somewhere around 50, give or take 5 or 10 years.
It can turn out shorter or longer. It's a process, a natural progression of growth in every woman's body.
Peri-menopause,
the time leading up to and into menopause, can start as early as forty or as late as sixty. There is no telling in advance
just when any woman’s menopause will be complete—a few short years, many long years, or somewhere in-between.
What
is this "change of life" as our society has (not so kindly) dubbed it?
It can actually be a fantastic change for the better,
as you plainly see on the faces of the many strong and energetic women around you who have come out the other side of their
journey through menopause feeling really good about themselves. Yes there are twists and turns along the way, and all those
tired jokes don't come from nowhere--you can be darned uncomfortable until you hit on the right combination. It's like anything
else worth doing, you should try to do it right.
So what can a woman do to ease her body through this period of growth?
20th-century
medicine came up with one possibility, a "magic bullet" pill to fix the problem--Hormone Replacement Therapy. We have recently
learned that HRT is not always the best thing.*
For the 21st century, what choices are there?
You have many choices
that might turn out much better, and they basically are:
whole foods
herbals
vitamins and minerals.
What
are the best choices? I've said it before and I'll say it again, everyone is different and one pill or product does not fit
everyone. Some things that may help are:
Herbals:
Red clover, Evening primrose oil, Soy
Vitamins and minerals:
Vitamin
C, Vitamin E, Selenium, Calcium
What to avoid?
This again is individual, but some of the most common items to try
to lower are: alcohol, caffeine, and simple carbohydrates.
This may be a good time to touch on the topic of OSTEOPOROSIS.
Osteoporosis
is the loss of both the bone mineral count and bone mineral density. Whether you take HRT’s or not, you should be aware of
the amount of calcium that you ingest every day because now you will need more. Good sources are:
dairy products,
and
soy products.
For good absorption of calcium there is a need for a balance of certain minerals. With good
planning these can be built into your daily meal plan.
What else to do? Exercise, take walks, maybe join a gym. In
time you will feel so much better that you will really enjoy and look forward to working your body.
Who to see?
No
one person has “the answer” to your health questions. It takes consultation and collaboration. Two or more heads are better
than one, and the most important head is your own because it’s your body. You are the only one who truly knows how you feel.
If
you are on HRT's be sure to see your health care provider before making any firm decisions. As you move forward, you will
experience a satisfying life-style change and a new appreciation for life.
Best of all, you will find yourself in
control of the NEXT, and BEST ! ! , part of your life.
YOU CAN DO IT, AND I CAN HELP
Call for an appointment:
718
213-0203
*The New York Times and others, including many health publications, have had a great time with the product
"Prempro", which is nothing more than a combination of Premarin and synthetic progestin. Premarin is named for PREgnant MARes’
urINe. This therapy was being monitored for years by the Women's Health Initiative. Recently they stopped the experimental
program involving 8,000 women, saying that the side effects were not worth the risk.
These side effects included:
100%
increase in blood clots
41% increase in strokes
29% increase in heart attacks
26% increase in breast
cancer
22% increase in heart disease
Aren’t there any good reasons to take prescription HRT’s?
To be fair,
the HRT’s in the study did have some positive effects:
37% reduction in colorectal cancer
33% reduction
of hip fractures; and
24% reduction of other fractures.
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