Treating your symptoms naturally

The confirmation that hormone replacement therapies increase a woman’s risk for certain cancers and cardiovascular disease has sent the menopause world into a tailspin. And, it is a GOOD thing! Before my menopausal patients put the stamp on their Dr. Zimmer hate mail, let me explain. We, as a society, have created a new disease called menopause. We have taken an event that naturally occurs in all women and labeled it as a condition necessitating treatment.

I cannot tell you how many times I have encountered patients being treated for menopause who never had any symptoms. They needed hormones, and the like, simply because they had reached that time in their lives. Not any more! The very real risk of developing cancer or increasing the chance of stroke has changed everything. It has forced both doctors and mature women to put some thought into what to do about the menopausal event. The days of the mindless prescribing and taking of a pill to solve all of your menopausal problems are gone. So, then, what do you do now?

Before I continue, I want to make it very clear that even though I do not see menopause as a disease, I certainly recognize that the symptoms associated with this time of change can be life altering. Thus, it is extremely important to address and treat the hellish hot flashes, the mood changes, the increased risk of osteoporosis (bone weakening), etc. The question has now moved to identifying how we can effectively treat these symptoms without hormones. (See my article on Natural Hormone Replacement: BEWARE to get a feel for my opinion of "Natural" hormone replacement therapy.)

The most important aspect of treating menopausal symptoms is the realization that YOU will have to make some changes in your life. The encouraging part of my message to you is that the changes you make, coupled with the use of certain supplements, can have a profoundly beneficial effect on your worst symptoms. I will give my recommendations for supplements to consider in the “What About Herbs and Vitamins” section of this article. The lifestyle changes that can have the greatest impact on decreasing symptoms deal with body, mind, and spirit. Too many times we concentrate on one, usually the body, and leave the others by the wayside. Your best chance for positive results will include all three.

The body changes encompass two main areas. The first deals with what you put down your throat. Now, I am a realist when it comes to changing your diet. I know that the majority of us, myself included, do not deal with drastic change very well. Because of this, I will not tell you that you have to become a vegetarian, give up coffee, pop, sugar, and all of the other things you enjoy. I will preach, however, that the more junk you take in, the more junk your body puts out!

So, with that said, you have to make an effort to decrease certain foods in your diet. The two most important foods to limit will be ones that are high in saturated fats and sugar. This includes red meats, fried foods, candy, chips, pop, potatoes, and breads. Remember, I said LIMIT, not NEVER! The less you eat the better. Anyone who has not lived in a closet for the last decade knows that sugars and fatty foods have been tagged as being “bad” for us. But why? The answer is that these foods fuel the chemical reactions in your body that increase inflammation and they can have a negative affect on hormonal balance. These are not good things during menopause. The best foods to eat are fresh fruits and vegetables accompanied by a modest intake of water each day. You should have a least two-three glasses of pure water a day. It really is very simple and not too cumbersome of a diet change.

The second area of body change is exercise. I am not necessarily talking about the sweat ‘til you drop type of exercise. Walking with meaning will do the trick. Not only will this benefit physical functions, but it will also help with the mind and spirit. What a great way to de-stress, collect your thoughts, set goals, or to just clear your mind. You can also get a little prayer time in to help lift your spirit and to keep you on track.

Another good idea is to consider getting a full body massage on a regular basis. You will be amazed at how taking even one hour a month to do nothing but relax will have a positive impact on how you feel. An added benefit is that massage invigorates your body. Muscle spasm will decrease and stress will be released. In our hectic world, we all need more “ME” time. This is especially true when your body is going through the changes associated with menopause. You need to free up some time to make an investment in your overall better health.

Addressing the needs of your body, mind, and spirit will make a great difference in how you feel.

What About Herbs and Vitamins?

There are many herbs and vitamins that can have a positive affect on menopausal symptoms. I want to give you the few most beneficial for the most common symptoms experienced during this change in life. Be patient! Do not expect a change overnight. It can take up to eight weeks for the benefits from these supplements to be realized. Most experience a benefit before that time, though.

Black Cohosh

Black cohosh has been shown to be effective at relieving those dreaded hot flashes and night sweats. It also seems to improve mood and increase energy. A good quality supplement will be standardized to at least 2.5% triterpene glycosides. Stay away from products without this standardized marker. There are few to no side effects associated with this herb.

Soy

Soy can have a beneficial effect on many symptoms including hot flashes, mood swings, bone loss (osteoporosis), and cholesterol, to name a few. One of the active constituents of soy are isoflavones. A good soy product will be standardized to both Genistin and Diazdin. A very good product will also include Glycitin. You should look for a product with 40-45 mg of Isoflavones content. Note that this is not the milligrams of Soy, it is specifically the isoflavones. My suggestion is not to take any more than 90 mg of isoflavones from soy a day. If you eat no soy, then two tablets of a supplement with 40-45 mg of isoflavones is appropriate. If you eat soy in your diet, take one tablet.

Chasteberry (Vitex angus)

This is an herb that can be very beneficial during menopause since it is thought to increase levels of progesterone. It can be very good at regulating your cycle during the time right before you stop menstruating. There are a number of other benefits with the increase of progesterone including better bone health. I would suggest using chasteberry before jumping into progesterone cream.

Vitamin B6

B6 is important for energy production, hormone regulation (especially estrogen), mood, and sleep. It plays a vital role in the production of serotonin (your mood neurotransmitter). I suggest taking 100-150 mg a day.

Other Suggestions

Other helpful supplements include fish oil, borage oil, primrose oil, flax oil, vitamin E, magnesium, valerian, motherwort, progesterone cream, Dong quai, or ginseng.

A Word About Soy

No bean is more misunderstood than the poor soy bean. It is reported to do great things like stop hot flashes, improve mood, increase bone density, inhibit cancer growth, and stop PMS. Contrary reports claim that so-called soy estrogens can cause young girls to come into early menses or make a man develop female characteristics. Soy has also been accused of increasing the risk for cancer and dementia.

Let me clear the confusion and cut through the hype. Soy is NOT an estrogen. If someone tells you otherwise, they are wrong. Since it can have a mild influence on estrogen receptors, it is known as a phytoestrogen (plant-estrogen). It has a unique characteristic, though. If you have too much estrogen in your system, soy will decrease the hormone’s affect. If you have too little estrogen, it will increase the hormone’s affect. In other words, it helps to modulate or normalize estrogen’s influence on your body which is a very good thing.

This quality of soy can have a beneficial influence on bone density, hot flashes, mood, and certain cancers. There is no good evidence that soy causes early menstrual cycles in women or, worse yet, (from the male perspective) female characteristics in males.

Now for my word of caution. My prior statements assume a normal to therapeutic intake of soy. The American motto of “if a little is good, a lot must be better” may be problematic with soy. One study suggests that a very high intake of soy may increase the risk for dementia. Other studies have raised questions about the ill affect of soy on cancer.

The solution is to not take high dosages of soy. A little soy has been shown to be very beneficial, a lot is very questionable. Soy dosage can be found in the “What About Herbs and Vitamins” section of this newsletter.