Backed by RAIN's health expert, Marie Guerlain
Menopause is a stage of life people who menstruate will eventually go through from their late 40s to mid 50s. For many, it can be a scary and confusing time, as they may not know what is happening to their bodies and the specific causes of their symptoms. This is why it’s so important to inform people, both young and older, about menopause, its symptoms, and how to manage them.
Menopause is the stage where hormone levels are lower than normal, which stops your periods. There is also an early stage of menopause called perimenopause, which is when there are symptoms of menopause whilst still having periods. Symptoms of menopause include changes to periods, mental health symptoms like mood swings, anxiety, memory problems, or brain fog, and physical symptoms like hot flushes, difficulty sleeping, headaches and migraines, muscle aches, weight gain, reduced sex drive, recurrent UTIs (urinary tract infections), and sensitive teeth or gums.
How to manage symptoms
Symptoms are inevitable, but there are ways to reduce their impact. Factors such as poor diet, lack of exercise, and exposure to environmental toxins can exacerbate menopause symptoms. To minimise these symptoms, it’s important to maintain a balanced diet rich in phytoestrogens (fruits, vegetables, and grains), engage in regular physical activity, manage stress through mindfulness practices, and avoid harmful chemicals in personal care products and household items.
Studies have shown that the most effective way to manage menopause symptoms is weight training, increasing protein consumption at each meal, reducing alcohol, and prioritising sleep. Increasing skeletal muscle in woman is vital with aging, since it helps maintain and build muscle which naturally declines with age and mitigates the risk of sarcopenia (age-related progressive loss of skeletal muscle mass and strength). It also increases bone density which reduces the risk of osteoporosis, a health condition that weakens bones, making them fragile and more likely to break. Furthermore, it helps balance blood sugars as glucose is shuttled into the muscle during resistance training, therefore reducing your risk of insulin resistance, which increases with age. This in turn can also reduce diseases such as Alzheimer’s.
We understand menopause can be an intimidating stage of life that might leave those experiencing it thinking ‘what is wrong?’. However, we hope the more it is talked about, the more we can overcome the stigma around it and people can get the support and information that might help them. We hope that incorporating the tips above to manage menopause symptoms can be a part of discovering the journey to optimal living.
Here’s some safe places you can go to for more advice on menopause:
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