July 23, 2023

How to Reduce Menopause Symptoms

Dealing With the Menopause

Hello Everyone. Understanding physiologically what is going on can help you understand why you feel like you are during menopause.

You may be surprised that some symptoms may not be entirely menopause-related.

Menopause can make you feel like your mind and body have been hijacked but not necessarily.

If you, or anyone you know, is experiencing the menopause transition, this post will bring some good news! Spread the word!

Why Do You Feel So Unwell With the Menopause?

Is It Really the Menopause or Not?

Inflammatory Responses

Does Alcohol Affect Menopause?

Menopause and Sleep

How to Stop Menopausal Weight Gain

Best Exercises to Get Rid of Menopause Belly

Best Natural Remedy for Menopause

What Is the Good News About the Menopause?

Why Do You Feel So Unwell With the Menopause?

With any physiological events, there will be challenges (for some, more than others).

Not everyone feels unwell with menopause. It shouldn’t be seen as a fearful time in a woman’s life.

Some women sail through menopause with very few symptoms. And others can feel like they have been in a tumble drier all night and are walking around in someone else’s body.

Menopause can feel so chaotic and out of your control.

Weight gain! Hot flashes/flushes! Night sweats, vagina soreness, bloating, brain fog…!

Menopause can make women feel uncontrollably moody, agitated, frustrated, indecisive, forgetful, tearful, and more sensitive emotionally.

There could be an array of symptoms that go on. Symptoms of menopause include joint pain, weight gain, skin conditions, slow healing, and digestive changes. Anxiety can kick in, such as muscle pains, urinary incontinence, migraines, lethargy, and low libido.

The libido might be there, but you may not be able to experience the same pleasures because of discomfort and the lack of estrogen in your vaginal tissues.

Symptoms around menopause can be managed with an anti-inflammatory lifestyle since the decline in hormones and depletion of eggs produced in the ovaries are inflammatory events.

Premium Members, get straight to the Personalized Advice for Perimenopause & Menopause section for all the tools you need to get through this transition.

Top these off with what else is happening during menopause; how we live, eat, drink, move, stress factors, genetics, exposure to toxins, and even how we think (and what we think about).

You cannot control biological changes like hormone imbalances and depletion that cause many symptoms of menopause. Still, you can intervene and eliminate a lot of multifactorial effects.

Understanding how our bodies work helps us take more care of ourselves at all times.

Is It Really the Menopause or Not?

As I mentioned, there could be things that you are doing that are contributing to the effects of menopause.

Discuss your menopause with a health professional who deals with women’s health issues. Certainly, rule out conditions by having some health screening/blood tests.

It is good to question whether you are going through menopause, whether it is something else, or to take stock and make some lifestyle changes.

I suggest listing all of your symptoms and going through them and not dismissing any of them. What could be evident to you as a menopause symptom could be something else, and vice versa.

Many symptoms of menopause are linked to inflammation. Signs of chronic inflammation can be surprising.

They may present themselves at this time of your life since low estrogen levels cause more inflammatory responses.

Inflammatory Responses:

    • Brain Fog – recognized as a part of menopause, as lower serum hormone levels temporarily affect cognition and memory loss. Brain fog is also a sign of inflammation running in the body. Diabetes and high blood pressure can also affect brain health, for example. Depression is neuroinflammation.
    • Thyroid issues can lead to weight gain, brain fog, fatigue, and low moods, for instance.
    • Weight gain can result from low estrogen levels, but it could be the food you eat, lack of sleep, too much alcohol, digestive changes, and lack of exercise. Weight gain is linked to inflammatory events and, if it isn’t controlled, leads to the chronic inflammation condition of obesity.
    • Gut dysbiosis leads to a whole array of issues, including immune dysregulation and, of course, not producing ‘feel good’ neurotransmitters, chronic inflammation, and neuroinflammation.
    • You may feel like crying or have increased anxiety because your gut health is off because of your food, new intolerances, dysbiosis, insomnia, overloaded liver, fatigue, and the consequences of your lifestyle.
    • Menopause ‘Belly’ can be gut imbalances due to a change of diet, lack of sleep, insufficient movement, and even stress.
    • Decreased libido can directly result from lower levels of estrogen and testosterone. Still, it could be the side effects of medication and even psychological feelings surrounding menopause. 
    • Medication can cause gut dysbiosis, affect sex functions, and cause ‘menopausal symptoms.’
    • Sleep, although connected to the estrogen-hypothalamus link, could cause depression, rumination, weight gain, chronic inflammatory conditions, and life stressors. There is a bi-directional relationship between mood and sleep disturbances.

 

Hot flashes, night sweats, and sweating all have to do with how estrogen levels affect the hypothalamus, which regulates temperature control. You cannot change this, but you are in control of making some positive changes with a menopause-support diet and lifestyle.

If you are looking to lower your cholesterol, please check this article.

Does Alcohol Affect Menopause?

Alcohol can cause biological stress and can undoubtedly affect your gut homeostasis. This then affects your immunity and neurotransmitter production, which all affect menopause.

It depends on your tolerance, which can change during menopause, but estrogen levels rise when you drink alcohol.

Then, when they have dropped, this is when you can feel doom and gloom, anxiety, irritability, and have more hot flushes. It can also encourage mood swings.

Alcohol can cause weight gain, depression, mood swings, metabolic issues, and sleep disruptions – all of the symptoms that you may just be attributed to menopause!

Menopause and Sleep

Sleep is a significant part of optimum health, and menopause brings disruption due to temperature control being askew, which can significantly impact your quality of life.

It may not just be disrupted due to night sweats because many factors cause poor sleeping patterns. You could have many challenges and personal life stressors at this time.

Again, it could all be down to lifestyle and what you eat and drink, but sleep deprivation is linked to increasing the risk of chronic inflammation, weight gain, and joint pain.

It is such a vicious cycle because, of course, without regular, decent sleep, energy is depleted, depressive symptoms occur, and feelings of not being able to cope!

Check out the article: Weight Loss and The Link To Sleep.

How to Stop Menopausal Weight Gain

If you are gaining weight yet haven’t changed your healthy lifestyle and have been on the leaner side for most of your life, this will be disconcerting, I know.

So many women feel like they don’t recognize their bodies anymore, which can be upsetting.

It doesn’t mean that gaining weight during menopause will happen to everyone, but there is a reason for it.

It is all explained in the Personalized Advice Section for Perimenopause & Menopause for Premium Members. 

You may now have an intolerance for what was okay to eat before, which a menopause diet would alleviate.

You could be consuming emulsifiers and additives in foods you thought were healthy. I always advise looking at ingredients.

You would not believe how many ‘health foods’ in ‘health food stores’ are full of inflammatory additives. Plus, additives may have crept into foods that were originally made more wholesomely.

You may not have changed your routines, but with hormones fluctuating, those foods and drinks may be too much for your system to metabolize now that you are in this transitional time.

When faced with a challenge such as this weight gain that has suddenly appeared, try not to be so hard on yourself.

I always turn my thoughts into positive ones when faced with challenges, including physical challenges, because it helps – and works!

Turn your thoughts into positive ones, and know you can get back on track with this anti-inflammatory diet and lifestyle to treat menopause weight gain and all the other symptoms. 

The great news is that menopause weight is reversible with Eat Burn Sleep.

Best Exercises to Get Rid of Menopause Belly

Stay fit and stay active to eliminate ‘menopause belly’ and menopause.

It may seem like a slog when your weight used to be easy to maintain, but changing your exercise and movement routine may be the answer.

For instance, even though you are active, you may need regular movements to reduce inflammation since estrogen decline is linked to chronic inflammation conditions.

The right menopause exercise will help your bone health and protect against osteoporosis, a significant concern in these years.

It will also strengthen parts of your body that will aid in reducing symptoms.

Like strengthening the core to aid gut health and reduce menopause bloating, for instance.

You could be doing less dashing around than you used to or be full of lethargy during menopause and not prioritizing yourself and exercise (or food, stress reduction, sleep!).

It can be an overwhelming time, menopause.

Best Natural Remedy for Menopause

Eat Burn Sleep addresses all the needs of peri-menopause,  menopause, and post-menopause and can complement allopathic treatment.

Also, it may better prepare you for an easier time with the whole menopause transition if you are too young to even think about this stage in your life. 

As well as being a Bupa Global-approved lifestyle, doctors prescribe and use it worldwide. This combination can completely transform your experience of menopause.

Embark on a Happy, Healthy Lifestyle!

It will reduce inflammation, weight, mood swings, depression, brain fog, cortisol and stress, cholesterol, blood pressure, and water retention and protect against all of the consequences of menopause.

Also, being part of our fantastic health community here at Eat Burn Sleep is inspirational and motivational.

Exchanging coping strategies, sympathy, and empathy with people going through similar situations and connecting with all of us gives extra support. It’s a beautiful thing!

Members: access the Personalized Advice Menopause section for advice on how to take care of yourself during perimenopause and menopause.

Access the Masterclass Live on How to Stay Fit over 35 for more menopause support, as well as the personalized advice section for Hormonal Balance and Menopause, Hair Loss Treatments, Depression and anxiety, Migraines, Insomnia, Bloating issues, and any other menopause symptoms that you may have.

Treating the body at systemic levels will increase the positive impact of nutrient-rich compounds from omega-3s, phytoestrogens, antioxidants, and so on.

And it all works synergistically together, promoting well-being, energy, and happiness! Oh, and the Eat Burn Sleep ‘Glow’.

What Is the Good News About the Menopause?

Menopause can be all-encompassing, but rest assured, the symptoms you are experiencing can be reduced, and most definitely are not forever.

Once you get the proper support with transitioning to the other side, you will feel more energized and happier, with more clarity, and just pretty fantastic!

Imaging studies at Weill Cornell Medicine show that the brain’s recovery after menopause was associated with increased memory and cognitive performance!

Many women can feel beautiful and free at this time—no more PMS and periods. No more anticipating when to have holidays or when to have sex!

Relieving yourself from the symptoms of menopause through Eat Burn Sleep could have you embracing this transition into one that might be one of the most liberating, empowering times in a woman’s life!

Lifestyle factors can have a significant effect on how long menopause lasts. By understanding your body, you will be in a better place to take care of it. As you transition through life, looking after yourself will always be a good decision. Treat yourself with kindness.

I hope that you have a great day!

 

Author

Eat. Burn. Subscribe.

Join the Eat Burn Sleep email newsletter and be the first to hear about new tips, and recipes!

Continue Reading

10 Ways to Boost Your Immunity Quickly

Vegetarian to Meat Eater

What Is Gut Health?