What is Menopause?
Menopause, or the permanent end of menstruation and fertility, is a natural biological process, not a medical illness. Even so, the physical and emotional symptoms of menopause can disrupt your sleep, sap your energy and — at least indirectly — trigger feelings of sadness and loss.
Hormonal changes cause the physical symptoms of menopause, but mistaken beliefs about the menopausal transition are partly to blame for the emotional ones. First, menopause doesn’t mean the end is near — you may still have as much as half your life to go. Second, menopause does not snuff out your femininity and sexuality. In fact, many women find it liberating to stop worrying about pregnancy and dealing with periods.
Technically, a woman doesn’t actually “hit” menopause until it’s been one year since her final menstrual period. In the United States, that happens about age 51, on average.
What is Perimenopause?
Perimenopause marks the interval in which a woman begins to transition into menopause. Perimenopause encompasses the years leading up to menopause — anywhere from two to eight years — plus the first year after her final period.
Estrogen levels rise and fall unevenly during Perimenopause. A woman’s menstrual cycles may lengthen or shorten, and she will begin having menstrual cycles in which she doesn’t ovulate.
When Perimenopause starts and how long it lasts varies. Women usually notice signs of the onset of menopause, such as menstrual irregularity, sometime in their 40s. But some women notice changes as early as their mid-30s.
What are typical symptoms of Menopause?
The signs and symptoms of menopause, however, often appear long before the one-year anniversary of your final period. They include:
- Hot flashes
- Night sweats
- Irregular periods
- Loss of libido
- Vaginal dryness
- Mood swings
- Increased abdominal fat
- Thinning hair
- Loss of breast fullness
- Decreased fertility
There is a lot you can do to minimize these effects.
What Causes Menopause?
Hormonal changes cause the physical symptoms of menopause. Menopause begins naturally when the ovaries start making less estrogen and progesterone, the hormones that regulate menstruation. The process gets under way in the late 30s.
By that time, fewer potential eggs are ripening in the ovaries each month and ovulation is less predictable. Also, the post-ovulation surge in progesterone — the hormone that prepares a woman’s body for pregnancy — becomes less dramatic. Fertility declines, perhaps partially due to these hormonal effects. These changes are more pronounced in a woman’s 40s, as are changes in her menstrual pattern.
Periods may become longer or shorter, heavier or lighter, and more or less frequent. Eventually, the ovaries shut down and the woman has no more periods. It’s possible, but very unusual, for a woman to menstruate every month right up to her last period. It is much more likely to have a gradual tapering off.
How Many U.S. Women are Currently Going Through Menopause?
An estimated 6,000 American women reach menopause every day (over 2 million a year).
What Causes Early Menopause?
Menopause is usually a natural process. But certain surgical or medical treatments or medical conditions can bring on menopause earlier than expected. These include:
- Hysterectomy. A hysterectomy that removes the uterus, but not the ovaries, usually doesn’t cause menopause. Although the woman no longer has periods, her ovaries still release eggs and produce estrogen and progesterone. But an operation that removes both the uterus and ovaries (total hysterectomy and bilateral oophorectomy) does cause menopause, without any perimenopausal phase. Instead, your periods stop immediately, and you’re likely to have hot flashes and other menopausal signs and symptoms.
- Chemotherapy and radiation therapy. These cancer therapies can induce menopause, causing symptoms such as hot flashes during the course of treatment or within three to six months.
- Premature ovarian failure. Approximately 1 percent of women experience menopause before age 40. Menopause may result from premature ovarian failure —when the ovaries stop working before age 40 — stemming from genetic factors or autoimmune disease, but often no cause can be found.
What Tests are Available to Diagnose Menopause?
The signs and symptoms of menopause are enough to tell most women they have begun going through the transition.
A doctor may check a woman’s level of follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) and estrogen (estradiol) with a blood test. As menopause occurs, FSH levels increase and estradiol levels decrease.
What are the Complications of Menopause?
Several chronic medical conditions tend to appear after menopause. These include:
- Cardiovascular disease. When estrogen levels decline, the risk of cardiovascular disease increases. Heart disease is the leading cause of death in women as
well as in men.
- Osteoporosis. During the first few years after menopause, a woman may lose bone density at a rapid rate, increasing the risk of osteoporosis. Osteoporosis causes bones
to become brittle and weak, leading to an increased risk of fractures. Postmenopausal women are especially susceptible to fractures of the hip, wrist and spine.
- Urinary incontinence. As the tissues of the vagina and urethra lose their elasticity, a woman may experience a frequent, sudden, strong urge to urinate, followed by an
involuntary loss of urine (urge incontinence), or the loss of urine with coughing, laughing or lifting (stress incontinence).
- Weight gain. Many women gain weight during the menopausal transition.
How has Menopause been treated?
For decades, doctors routinely eased the symptoms of menopause with hormone replacement therapy — medications containing female hormones to replace the ones the body is no longer making. It was widely believed that boosting estrogen levels after menopause could also ward off heart disease and osteoporosis, while improving quality of life and keeping women young.
Then, in 2002, a large clinical trial called the Women’s Health Initiative (WHI) reported that hormone therapy actually posed more health risks than benefits for women in the clinical trial. As the number of health hazards attributed to hormone therapy grew, doctors became less likely to prescribe it. And up to two-thirds of women on the therapy discontinued its use, often without talking to their doctors.
Today, there is a great deal of confusion about hormone replacement therapy, which is now commonly called hormone therapy. Common belief today is that hormone therapy is not the magical cure for aging that was once believed.
For women who undergo menopause naturally, a doctor will typically prescribe estrogen as part of a combination therapy of estrogen and progestin. This is because estrogen without progestin can increase the risk of uterine cancer. Women who undergo menopause as the result of a hysterectomy can take estrogen alone.
Source: Mayo Clinic and the North American Menopause Society
How Can I Treat Menopause?
You can do a great deal to take care of the many symptoms of menopause. A simple natural self help approach is always the best way to take care of yourself.
- Diet – Eating a proper well rounded diet comprised of the proper proteins, carbohydrates, and fiber will help you reach or maintain your natural weight and help alleviate some of the symptoms of menopause.
- Anxiety – Get rid of some of your everyday tension. Don’t do more than what your body and mind can handle.
- Exercise – Something as simple as staying active during the day. Walking for an hour at least three times a week will help shave excess body fat and relieve some instances of depression.
- Supplements – As healthy alternative, GEM™ Keep it cool™ helps you relieve and take care of the symptoms associated with menopause, that restrict you from being yourself.
geniVida®
geniVida® is a non-soy isoflavone (98% pure genistein) that reduces the number and duration of hot flashes in peri- and postmenopausal women, according to a new study first presented at the Experimental Biology 2009 meeting in New Orleans by Dr. James Elliott. The study was conducted by KGK Synergize, Inc., London, Ontario and sponsored by DSM Nutritional Products, Inc.
According to the clinical study, women receiving 30 mg per day of geniVida™ experienced 40% fewer hot flashes after eight weeks and 44% fewer hot flashes after 12 weeks vs. baseline, which became statistically significant vs. placebo at 12 weeks. Furthermore, 88.5% of women in the geniVida™ group had a 25% or greater reduction in the duration of daily hot flashes vs. baseline at 12 weeks, also statistically significant vs. placebo. There were no differences between the groups for any of the safety factors or adverse events.
GeniVida™ (98% pure genistein) provides many health benefits for consumers and has been clinically shown to reduce the frequency of hot flashes and night sweats. Genistein has been linked to the reduction of memory loss, lack of concentration and mood swings as well as helping to maintain bone and cardiovascular health; two major long-term concerns for women at this stage.
DSM Nutritional Products is the world’s premier ingredient supplier to producers of functional foods, beverages, and dietary supplements. The organization provides a solid platform for technological innovation and new product development. Utilizing its extensive resources, DSM Nutritional Products keeps its customers ahead of the ever-changing marketplace, anticipating customer needs as nutritional trends develop and consumer demands evolve.
Source: DSM Nutritional Products
BLACK COHOSH
Black cohosh (also known as cimicifuga racemosa) is a plant from the buttercup family. It is native to the Eastern United States. For centuries, the Native Americans used it for multiple treatments including: female symptoms, depression, snake bites and kidney problems. Popularity has recently risen again, especially in Europe.
The most widely known use of black cohosh is to reduce the symptoms associated with menopause: hot flashes, night sweats, and depression. It is also used for PMS discomfort and dysmenorrheal.
1 Black Cohosh is a phytoestrogen which seem to suppress leutinizing hormones.
2 A recent study conducted by University of Pennsylvania researchers has found that Black Cohosh may also significantly reduce breast cancer risk. The researchers suggested that the benefit may come from black cohosh’s proported “antiestrogenic, antiproliferative and antioxidant properties.”.3
The black cohosh used in our GEM™ Keep it cool formula is water soluble giving it greater availability to the body.
Please speak with your doctor is you are taking any medication prior to trying GEM Keep it cool.
References:
1. Black Cohosh Extract Website, www.blackcohoshextract.com (2009)
2. Whole Health Website, www.wholehealth.com “black cohosh” (2009)
3. Rebbeck, T. R., A. B. Troxel, et al. (2007). “A retrospective case-control study of the use of hormone-related supplements and association with breast cancer.” Int J Cancer 120(7): 1523-8
- This supplement should not be taken in conjunction with certain drugs because of its different effects. It should not be taken with aspirins or other blood-thinning drugs because of its theorized effect of increasing bleeding. It also should not be taken with other hormone drugs (i.e. birth control) as it potentially contains estrogen-like substances. Finally, because black cohosh may lower blood pressure it should not be taken with drugs that alter blood pressure. The studies for black cohosh and all of these prescription drugs have also not been conclusively proven. These warnings should be taken into consideration when deciding whether to take this herbal supplement. *
