THRIVING THROUGH MENOPAUSE: 7 STEPS EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW
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Life as a woman can be simultaneously extraordinary and tumultuous thanks to a unique aspect of our physiology – our ever-changing hormones! Our hormones, particularly estrogen and progesterone, yield wonderful benefits, such as enabling us to carry a baby, keeping our minds sharp, and our bones and muscles strong. However, numerous women are plagued by hormone issues during their premenopausal years and during the turbulent times of perimenopause and menopause.
Even though menopause is an inevitable stage of life that all women face as they age, there are few solutions offered to ease the numerous symptoms and discomforts that go along with it.
Fortunately, there is a growing, genuine interest in helping women flourish hormonally through the menopause transition. Nutrition and lifestyle strategies can help women proactively support their hormones across their lifespan and maximize their health and vitality.
In this blog, we’ll discuss the hormonal changes women experience in perimenopause and menopause and offer seven proactive steps you can take to flourish throughout this inevitable life transition.
Navigating Hormonal Shifts in Perimenopause and Menopause
We often hear the terms “perimenopause” and “menopause” thrown around by the media and medical professionals, yet many of us lack a firm understanding of what these terms mean.
Perimenopause refers to an extended transitional state towards the end of a woman’s “reproductive life cycle” in which her ovaries gradually stop working. In very early perimenopause, a woman’s menstrual cycle may still be regular, but ovarian function is slowly declining. Over time, perimenopause is characterized by irregular menstrual cycles, such as having a cycle shorter than 28 days or longer than 35 days. During perimenopause, progesterone begins its steep decline and estrogen fluctuates dramatically.
Menopause is the life stage that begins one year after your last period; in other words, it starts when a woman between 45-55 years of age hasn’t had a period in 12 consecutive months. Note that women below the age of 40 can go without a period for 12 or more months for various reasons, but this is not considered menopause.
In menopause, estrogen stops fluctuating and takes a final downward turn. Progesterone levels continue to decline. In total, the entire menopause transition, encompassing perimenopause and menopause, can last 10 years or more. The menopause transition encompasses a significant portion of a woman’s life!
Why do estrogen and progesterone decline in perimenopause and menopause? Estrogen and progesterone decline during this life stage as ovarian follicles, the tiny sacs in the ovaries that have the potential to release an egg for fertilization, decrease in number. By the time menopause occurs, ovarian follicles are virtually absent. ( Source )
During a woman’s “reproductive years,” ovarian follicles form a structure called the corpus luteum after ovulation; the corpus luteum releases progesterone. Therefore, as the number of ovarian follicles declines and the corpus luteum is no longer produced during the menopause transition, progesterone levels decrease. In addition, estrogen release from the ovarian follicles also declines as follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) signaling from the brain to the ovaries wanes and ovarian follicle numbers dwindle.
As if the changes in estrogen and progesterone weren’t enough, testosterone levels also decline during the menopause transition. Altogether, these hormonal shifts can do a number on a woman’s quality of life, especially if she doesn’t take proactive steps to manage her health.