Holistic healing

Natural ways to survive the menopause

Manage the dreaded menopausal hot flushes and night sweats with this advice from leading women’s health expert Dr Marilyn Glenville

Manage the dreaded menopausal hot flushes and night sweats with this advice from leading women’s health expert Dr Marilyn Glenville
From around the age of 40 your body will start preparing for the menopause, or the cessation of periods. You will start to experience hormone changes that can give rise to a myriad of symptoms. It is important to know that these effects are common and that you can do something about them. The physical symptoms you may start to experience include hot flushes, night sweats, lack of sex drive, tiredness, weight gain, vaginal dryness, drier skin and hair, joint pains, hair loss and headaches. You may also experience psychological symptoms such as depression, mood swings, forgetfulness, lack of concentration, loss of confidence and self-esteem, anxiety and tearfulness.

You will experience hormone changes

What to eat and what to avoid

Making sure that you are eating well during the perimenopause (the period of going through the menopause) is not only going to help you with this transition but it will also give you a really good foundation for your long-term health. Follow the 12-step hormone-balancing diet listed below:

Include hormone-balancing phytoestrogens in your diet
Eat more omega 3 fatty acids
Increase your intake of fruit and vegetables
Change from refined carbohydrates to unrefined
Buy organic foods where possible
Reduce your intake of saturated fat
Make sure you drink enough fluids
Increase your intake of fibre
Eliminate foods containing chemicals from your diet
Avoid or reduce your intake of caffeine
Reduce or eliminate alcohol
Avoid refined sugar

Pay particular attention to step 1, adding phytoestrogens to your diet (for example, pulses such as lentils, chickpeas, flaxseeds, kidney beans and soya products) as these foods will help cushion the effects of the hormone rollercoaster as you go through the perimenopause.
If you are suffering from increased mood swings, irritability and depression then taking measures to balance your blood sugar is absolutely crucial. This means not only thinking about the quality of the food that you eat but also the timing. You need to completely eliminate added sugar and refined carbohydrates in order to see a marked improvement in your moods.
The other important consideration is to eat little and often. This means not going more than three hours without eating. If you wait longer than this, your blood sugar will drop and the stress hormones adrenaline and cortisol will be released. It is the release of these hormones that gives rise to many of the symptoms relating to anxiety, tension, crying spells, depression and irritability.
Aim to have breakfast, lunch and dinner and then a small snack in the middle of the morning and one in the middle of the afternoon. By having good quality food, little and often during the day, you can keep your blood sugar levels stable.

Supplements and herbs

Black cohosh helps to beat hot flushes

It is very important to get your supplements and herbs right when going through the menopause because they can make such a difference to how you feel physically and emotionally. You may have to take a few more supplements each day than you did before the menopause but bear in mind that this will only be for a short period of time until you are free of symptoms. After that you should aim to take a maintenance programme of supplements to keep you well as you go through the menopause.

If you are suffering from hot flushes, night sweats and other perimenopausal symptoms, follow the Perimenopausal Supplement programme below and add the combination of herbs in the quantities given.

Perimenopausal supplement programme

A good, high-quality multi-vitamin and mineral designed for the menopause
500mg vitamin C twice a day (as ascorbate, not ascorbic acid)
Omega 3 fatty acids (containing 770mg EPA and 510mg DHA per day)

Black cohosh (cimicifuga racemosa)

This is the herb of choice for the menopausal symptoms of hot flushes and night sweats and there have been a number of good clinical trials that show its effectiveness. If you are getting mood swings and anxiety, black cohosh can also be helpful for these symptoms of the perimenopause.

Dose: 150-270mg per day

Agnus castus (vitex agnus castus)

This herb works on the pituitary gland, which is the gland that sends the message down to the ovaries to release hormones. It can help increase levels of certain hormones if they are too low and decrease them if too high. It is also the best herb to take if you are getting mood swings, anxiety and tension.

Dose: Up to 300-550mg per day

Dong quai (angelica sinensis)

Dong quai is a herb from traditional Chinese medicine and is helpful for both hot flushes and night sweats. Research has shown that it not only starts to help reduce the hot flushes and night sweats in one month but is also helpful for fatigue and disturbed sleep.

Dose: 150-250mg per day

Sage (salvia officinalis)

This herb, which is also easily used as a tea, is helpful in controlling both hot flushes and night sweats.

Dose: 150-250mg per day

Milk thistle (silymarin marianum)

In any situation where you are aiming to balance the female hormones it is very important to add in herbs like milk thistle, which can improve liver function. It is your liver that is doing the hard work of detoxifying your hormones so you want to make the job as easy as possible.

Dose: Up to 130mg per day

St John’s wort (hypericum perforatum)

This herb is best known for its help with mild to moderate depression and although it has not been shown to help with perimenopausal hot flushes and night sweats it can improve quality of life and reduce sleep problems.

Dose: 300mg twice a day

Herbs and HRT

If you decide to take HRT then you should not take herbs at the same time unless you are under the supervision of a qualified practitioner. The aim of the herbs is to control the menopausal symptoms, the same as HRT. If you are on HRT and still getting hot flushes and/or night sweats then you should go back and talk to your doctor to ask for a higher dose or different brand, or make the decision to come off it completely. It is not advisable toadd in herbs on top of the HRT to try and address the symptoms.

Try this

Vitabiotics Menopace Red Clover is the newest addition to the Vitabiotics menopause range of vitamin supplements. This one-a-day capsule provides red clover extract together with green tea extract for even greater support during and after the menopause. Priced at £19.95 for 30 capsules, it’s available from Boots and online at menopace.com

Adapted from Natural Solutions to Menopause by Marilyn Glenville PhD (£12.99, Rodale).

Article by

Dr Marilyn Glenville

Nutritionist

is a nutritionist specialising in women’s health. Visit marilynglenville.com

Discover more

Article by

Dr Marilyn Glenville

Nutritionist

is a nutritionist specialising in women’s health. Visit marilynglenville.com

Discover more