Navigating the 'Pause: Understanding the Impact that the Hormonal Shifts of Perimenopause and Menopause Have on Well-being

 
 

I love listening to podcasts. I listen when I walk the dog, fold laundry, and cook in the kitchen. When I heard this podcast with Dr. Mary Claire Haver, I stopped what I was doing to focus on every word. Here’s why:

I see female clients every day in their mid-30s and beyond who report:

  • Memory changes

  • Brain fog

  • Weight gain (despite eating and exercising the same)

  • Irritability

  • Anxiety

  • Headaches

  • Depression

  • Lack of motivation

  • Absent libido

  • Being dismissed by their provider

Dr. Haver stated that most, if not all, of those symptoms I hear about regularly could be tied to the hormonal shifts of perimenopause and menopause beginning as early as the mid-30s. Yes, you read that correctly…mid 30s! Wow. After that sunk in, I thought about all of the treatments and specialists my clients are given: anti-depressants, anti-anxiety meds, steroids, NSAIDs, cardiology/neurology/endocrinology/rheumatology/psychiatry referrals. And these interventions are not treating the true issue…the hormonal shifts and the ripple effect they have on life and health.

The main points from this podcast were:

  1. Eating less and working out more (especially cardio) is not the answer. Weight training, whole foods, and sufficient protein is the answer.

  2. Visceral fat (fat around the organs) increases. Combat visceral fat with real, fiber-filled food and weight training.

  3. Muscle is magic. We lose muscle every year starting in our 30s, and we have to work to rebuild and maintain that muscle by lifting weights (big, heavy weights…not just pink and purple 5-pounders) and eating adequate protein (she suggests 1.25 to 1.75 grams per kilogram of ideal body weight). Without doing the math, we should aim for about 100 grams of protein per day.

  4. Nutrient deficiencies are rampant. Supplement with food and or pills to get adequate levels of magnesium, fiber, Vitamin D, and Omega-3s.

  5. The Women’s Health Initiative findings were mostly wrong. Those findings warned of the dangers of hormone replacement therapy (HRT). The data from the study show that if started within 10 years of menopause, HRT actually reduces cardiovascular risk by 50% each year.

WOW. Take those points in because they are major and are likely things you haven’t heard in your conventional doctors’ offices, which means that those docs aren’t likely to be able to help you. Find a menopause-literate doctor at menopause.org. And please share this information with your friends. Menopause is WAY more than just hot flashes, and when we work with an informed, skilled provider, health and life can get even BETTER in mid-life!

Health, Self-CareKelly Forys Donahuemenopause, perimenopause, health, self-care