Menopause

Where does the word ‘menopause’ come from? It comes from the Greek words ‘menos’, meaning month, and ‘pause’, meaning to cease. Menopause is the final menstrual period.

Who created the term menopause?

In the 1820s, the French Dr – Charles-Pierre-Louis de Gardanne coined the term menopause.

So – What is the real meaning of Menopause?

This is the time of life when a woman’s ovaries stop producing hormones and menstrual periods stop. Menopause naturally occurs around age 50 but can start between 45 to 55. A woman is said to be in menopause when she hasn’t had a period for 12 months in a row. As we move through our 40s, the eggs we were born with become exhausted and we no longer produce them. Our ovaries then stop releasing an egg each month. This means we no longer produce so much progesterone and oestrogen. Because oestrogen is required for many bodily functions besides reproduction – such as maintaining strong bones, a sharp mind, and a healthy heart – we inevitably feel these menopause effects as our naturally occurring oestrogen levels drop. Leading up to the menopause is peri menopause (peri meaning around) which is when our body goes through a series of changes in the eight years or so before the menopause.

One of the signs that things are about to change is usually a change in the pattern of our periods. They become irregular, longer, shorter, heavier, or lighter. Other signs include the well-known ones such as hot flushes, mood swings, loss of libido, loss of energy, sleepless nights, and brain fog. 

Hormone replacement therapy (HRT) can be obtained on prescription, it has become a ‘popular’ treatment or a way that most women go because they think it is their only option. Not everyone wants to take HRT, and not all women can go on it; for example, if you have had cancer in the past, then it is not recommended. But you can overcome menopausal symptoms and protect yourself from heart disease and osteoporosis without taking hormonal replacements.

There is much published research showing a natural approach which includes eating phytoestrogens, using isoflavones (Mother Nature’s natural oestrogen). Taking herbs like maca, exercise and relaxation are all effective ways of controlling menopause symptoms too. You can replenish oestrogen levels by following a diet rich in naturally occurring plant phytoestrogen, boosting nutrient levels to help your brain chemistry and endocrine system function normally. Learning to relax can dramatically reduce hot flushes and much more.

• So, I will end on this little-known fact – in women, ovulation ends, and hormone production plummets during a relatively short period. This is what we know as menopause. And my little-known fact is that men have a similar decline in hormones. In men, the production of testosterone and other hormones declines over many years, It is called andropause. So, us women have menopause, and men have andropause, and this causes them similar symptoms as we have – mood swings, depression, irritability, insomnia, memory loss, muscle loss, & weight gain.