Menopause

Mention the menopause to any man and you'll probably find a reaction like the one in this picture. This ancient and natural process shouldn't be the cause of so much discomfort, yet it is. Here we look into why it's such a formidable phase of women's and couples lives, what the dangers are of modern medicine's approach to 'treating' it, and how you can easily manage the process naturally from an osteopathic and naturopathic perspective.

Most Women in the World Have Symptomless Menopause.

I know this sounds rich coming from a man. What would I know about what it feels like to go through or have gone through menopause? But before I get strung out, torn strips off and left to dry, just bear with me for a moment. If you already know about menopause and just want to get to the 'how do I make things better' part, scroll down. But please let your men read the next few paragraphs.

For anyone that doesn't know (men), the menopause is commonly diagnosed when a woman goes 6-2 months without having a period and this typically occurs from that age 40-55 years of age. The build up to the menopause is referred to as the perimenopausal phase where women will notice irregular periods due to the inadequate production of the female sex hormone oestrogen or, possibly because of the resistance of the remaining follicles to ovulatory stimulus.

Once there are no more eggs left in the ovaries, this is when menopause is in full flight and it reflects the completely natural course of events that takes place in a woman's life. At birth, females are born with around a million eggs in their ovaries and this number drops to around 350,000 at puberty with only 400 or so actually maturing during reproductive years.

In menopause, the follicles (the houses that contain all the eggs) have all gone and this is a problem because they also produce a lot of female sex hormones called oestrogen and progesterone. These hormones are what make women, women. Without them they wouldn't be women. But this drop in oestrogen and progesterone triggers part of the brain called the Pituitary Gland (I'll be using big posh words like these from time to time to make me look cleverer than I am) and this amazing bit of the brain starts churning out another chemical called Follicle Stimulating Hormone (FSH) and Luteinising Hormone (LH) in some seriously large and continuous quantities. I might actually test you on these later so pay attention!

The increase in FSH and LH is designed to stimulate egg production in the follicles. Since the follicles aren't there any more these hormones trigger the ovaries and the adrenal glands to to secrete large amounts of another chemical called androgens (you have no idea how hard osteopathy was to study, trying to remember this stuff was tougher than I thought. It would have been much easier if the chemicals were called ordinary names like Bob and Dan.) The really great news is that androgens can be converted from oestrogen by the fat cells of the hips and thighs which is of little comfort when you're younger but boy does it help when you're older.

I'm sure most people will know the symptoms of menopause but I'll list them here for anyone that might like to peruse. Not all symptoms are felt by all women but in the western world it's very common for women to experience:

• Hot flushes, due to dilation (expansion) of the blood vessels in the skin. Commonly felt with redness on the neck and head with chills after a few minutes. But some women just stay hot for even longer. These are often also felt alongside: increased heart rate, dizziness, headaches, weight gain, fatigue and insomnia. 65 to 80 percent of menopausal women in the US experience hot flushes and is the typical first sign that menopause is on its way.

• Headaches, due to the crazy dilation (expansion) and constriction of blood vessels.

• Atrophic Vaginitis (I said I'd be using big words to make me look clever) which is where the lining of the vagina becomes thinner and drier. This often results n pain during intercourse, increased susceptibility to infection, itching an burning. Lovely. But don't settle for being down as this can easily be helped by the methods described at the end of this blog.

• Bladder Infections, due to the natural breakdown of immunity that protects against bacterial growth in the urinary tract.

• Cold Hands and Feet. Although common in women generally, it becomes more prevalent during menopause due to one of three main reasons: Hypothyroidism (check your thyroid level through your GP), low iron levels in your blood (again, check your blood levels through your GP) and poor circulation. All of these things can be addressed naturally and we'll be talking about them later on.

• Forgetfulness. This is usually mixed with inability to concentrate on anything for too long. Although this is common during menopause, no direct reason has been detected apart from the ageing process itself resulting in less oxygen getting to the brain.

'But you said most women don't have symptoms during menopause, so why are you listing all of them?'

That's an excellent question and thank you for asking. Before I go into the natural management of menopausal symptoms, I want to make something absolutely clear. The symptoms listed above are all indicators that a woman is experiencing menopause, but here is where it gets really interesting.

Whilst there is clearly a physiological component to menopause, it's much more than a biological process. Modern societal values have been skewed massively over a short period of recent times and we now find ourselves in a place where the function of a thing is outweighed by its appearance. We don't really care about how things work so long as they look nice and this applies to women in the western world too. Just think about the impact of cosmetics, fashion, celebrity status and cosmetic surgery have on the choices women face under the pressure of the modern world today. All this is designed to get women to use products in order to fulfil a false image that is created and perpetuated by an entertainment industry and celebrity sphere which itself is riddled with aestheticism and addiction that are clues to the hidden truth behind what we deem as 'successful.'

The whole show is a huge distraction from what is actually important in our lives which surely must be the application of the wisdom acquired with age. Women of almost all cultures of the world are revered and treated with respect as they approach and pass through the menopause. It is even seen as a divine blessing that brings that great wisdom because who knows more about anything than a woman who's seen it, done it and lived to tell the tale. But in our culture we place value on everlasting youth and spend billions on inventing ways of tricking people into thinking they can have it. Our society masks the truth and in the process we devalue older women to the extent of ignoring them completely.

Given the findings of these cross cultural studies and my understanding of symptoms being your friend and not your enemy, I would argue that in a western culture, the symptoms of menopause could well be the innate wisdom of nature screaming at us to tell us that something is wrong with our values. Consider the power of the cosmetic industry to provide us with the illusion of eternal youth combined with the growth of pharma who benefit from the sales of HRT in order to achieve unfathomable profits whilst our fashion and entertainment industry all thrust images of womanhood into our brains that ultimately program us to want things that aren't natural and aren't healthy. Remember that the fat cells of a woman's thighs and hips actually turn androgens into oestrogen to reduce the symptoms felt during menopause? I find that fascinating because most women I've met aren't happy with that part of their body, and will punish themselves through malnourishment and unhealthy exercise regimes in order to sculpt themselves into a more 'desirable' shape. Imagine if that process was responsible for the aggravation of their menopausal symptoms. Women would literally suffer for their vanity. We should be worshipping the hips and thigh instead of slating them.

This is the really interesting bit...

Cross cultural studies have shown that the view of menopause held within society is directly related to the symptoms women experience. If the cultural view of menopause is negative, symptoms are extremely common and severe. However, if the view is one of little negativity or even positivity then the symptoms are negligible and even not felt at all. A small study of Mayan Indian women revealed that although hormone levels , bone density levels and physical examinations all revealed they had gone through the menopause, there were no reports of hot flushes or any of the symptoms associated with it. It is possible that dietary factors were a consideration in the explanation of the findings but further investigation revealed that the happiness of these women in reaching a stage of increased respect as well as the relief from child bearing was responsible for the findings.

Martin, Block, Sanchez et al. 'Menopause without symptoms. The endocrinology of menopause among rural Mayan Indians. American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology 168 (1993) 1839 - 1845.

Does this mean that if we changed our societal values then we could all experience menopause in a different, more positive way? It appears so, although with all of our eyes glued to the virtual world via technology and a cosmetic industry that rivals pharma in regards to profitability it probably won't be happening any time soon.

Perhaps the symptoms of menopause could be a sign for us to wake up and ditch the botox, blusher and boob jobs and value women for what they truly are. Who looks after us here on planet earth? Mother nature. What do grown men cry out for when cut down on the battlefield? Their Mums. Women are the enablers of men to be their best versions of themselves.

So if we really want to manage the symptoms of menopause properly, we're going to have to really rethink how we do things in the west and start seeing menopause as a good thing, a positive thing that shows women the respect they deserve. And that's up to us men. Nobody else. Unless men are prepared to transcend their impulsive desires and sacrifice their short term gratifications of pleasure, our women will continue to exist in a culture where the menopause is seen as a negative experience and the means they will suffer the symptoms of menopause. And in turn, men suffer too.

HRT?

The conventional 'treatment' for the menopause is something called Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) which I find odd. Seeing as the menopause isn't a disease then it can't be cured yet we as humans have decided to medicalise the whole natural process and provided women with the option of taking hormones to replace the diminished oestrogen and progesterone. I can see why many women would want to use this option in order to help reduce the severity of their symptoms but the truth is that there is clear evidence linking HRT to increased rates of cancer. Like it or not, that's how it is.

Dr Robert Wilson (no relation to Wilson the volleyball in that Tom Hanks film) wrote a book in 1966 called 'Forever Feminine' As a gynaecologist he was considered an expert in the field and he was the first published medic to consider the menopause as a deficient status and that if women didn't replace the hormones then they would simply 'become sexless caricatures of their former selves' and thus HRT was born. And what an industry that has become.

However, if you don't have time to reconsider rearranging the western world's attitude towards this natural process and if you don't think HRT is a good idea, here are some proven tips that help manage the symptoms of menopause:

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The Bit You've Been Waiting For:

1. For the short term, switch to a plant based diet. I don't recommend it long term but whilst you want to reduce the severity of symptoms get off of meat.

2. In particular you want to get in lots of celery, fennel, apple, nuts, wholegrains, flaxseed and alfalfa. These contain high levels of phytoestrogens which attach to oestrogen receptors and keep your hormone levels higher than if you don't have these things in your system. Phytoestrogens regularly reduce hot flushes, improve the maturation rate of vaginal cells and reduce the risk of osteoporosis.

Switching to a plant based diet in the short term will also protect you from the damages of HRT.

3. Soy.

In short, this is the best thing I've ever had success with when treating patients for the symptoms of menopause. Soy contains isoflavones and phytosterols which are more big posh words to try and make me sound cleverer than I am. These chemicals also produce mild oestrogenic effects.

4. Remove Dairy Produce. In all forms. I've witnessed first hand the effect dairy produce has on some women with regard to polycystic ovarian syndrome and heavy, painful menstrual bleeding. If you have severe symptoms of menopause, cut out the dairy and switch to soy. Once your symptoms are under control you can reintroduce it if you want to.

5. Vitamin E. Good studies report that supplementing vitamin E at 800IU's per day until your symptoms reduce is effective. After that, 400 IU's per day is suffice but if you want my opinion, there is nothing man can do better than nature. Pumpkins, almonds, spinach, greens, soybeans and eggs will get you everything you need.

6. Vitamin C and Hesperidin.

Vitamin C is always on the list of things to take for improving your health. But in conjunction with hesperidin (a citrus flavinoid) taken at the right dosage clinically reduced hot flushes, night cramps and nosebleeds. However, this stuff will leave you a bit smelly from your body odour. The studies that showed the improvements used the combination of: 900mg of hesperidin, 300mg of hesperidin methyl chalcone and 1200mg of vit C, daily.

7. Gamma Oryzanol.

Also known as Ferulic acid, is a growth promoting substance found in rice bran oil grains, has no side effects, helps reduce blood cholesterol levels and has been reducing hot flushes since it was first tested in the 1960's. It's principal action is to get your pituitary gland in your brain to promote endorphin release by another bit of your brain, the hypothalamus.

Studies using 300mg daily for a month or more show at least a 50% reduction in menopausal symptoms.

Herbs

8. Dong Quai (angelica) has been used for centuries in Asia for the treatment of menstrual cycle symptoms for centuries. Tests in mice have shown that the administering of Dong Quai improved the uptake of blood glucose by the liver as well as reducing the uterine weight of the animals which in turn produced oestrogenic effects. Take as a powdered root or tea (1-2g daily) or as a fluid extract (1ml or 1/4 tsp daily)

9. Licorice.

For thousands of years, this beauty has been raising progesterone levels naturally and in small amount which is thought t be the reason many women benefit from using it during the menopause. Take it in the form of powdered root or tea (1-2g daily) or as a fluid extract (1tsp daily).

10. Chasteberry

This is native to the Mediterranean and has shown profound effects of n the function of the pituitary gland, altering the secretions of FSH and LH. Take it in the form of powdered berries or tea 1-2g daily, or as a fluid extract (1tsp daily)

11. Black Cohosh.

Widely used by American Indians this has been tested and upheld by several studies again and again to help manage the symptoms of menopause and menstrual pain. It needs to contain a big posh word: 27-deoxyacteine and you'll need to take it either in the form of a fluid extract (1tsp twice daily) or as a powdered rhizome (1-2g twice daily)

Gingko Biloba.

Really useful for helping with memory. So long as you remember to take 40mg per day.

So there you have it: Menopause from a man's perspective.

Did you find this blog helpful and interesting?

• Yes! Where can I find more people who think like this?
• No. You're alright thanks.

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