I’ve just listened to a very interesting chat Peter Deadman and his view on the menopause in terms of Chinese medicine and he’s inspired me to look into the menopause in much more detail since it’s at the forefront of my mind with both the clinic, I’m seeing a lot of ladies recently struggling, and friends going through it.
The menopause is now being discussed openingly by women going through it, women in their 40s about to go through it and doctors who are recognising the symptoms. This is happening all over the world.
It seems that cultures who appreciate the old experience less intense symptoms all over the world signs of ageing vary massively. In Japan it is reported that there are very little symptoms, one third have reported no symptoms are all. In China symptoms reported are sore shoulders and insomnia. In the States, similar to here, symptoms vary from person to person but can include any of the following.
- Irregular menstrual cycles
- Heavy bleeding might occur for a day or two
- Excessive sweating during night
- Hot flashes
- Vaginal dryness, itching and pain during sexual intercourse
- Frequent urinary tract infections
- Mood swings
- Fatigue
- Weight gain due to uneven fat distribution
The cornerstone of the Western culture is youth and the eternal search for looking younger and younger. Followed by reproduction and fertility and the attitude is wrong, its a feeling of ‘move aside you’re time is done, let the younger ones have their day’. As we get older our wisdom, knowledge and insight blossoms and many cultures recognise it and welcomes this stage of life.
In Shamanic cultures they see menstruation as loosing wisdom and therefore keeping blood is perceived as keeping hold of wisdom. In Maori cultures post menopausal women have a higher status in their society. Eastern cultures where women are protected and sheltered right up until the menopause. Afterwards they find themselves with more freedom.
Women have often said they find themselves feeling more confident after the menopause and this shows with a lot of powerful women over 50s in powerful jobs.
What can help with treating the menopause.
There is a lack of research in this area. Also people are very subjective to their symptoms, some people might not recognise the symptoms to associate it will the menopause and pain levels vary from person to person. However nobody really knows why there is such a fluctuation. One theory is diet.
In Asia the diet is high in soy. Soy is high in phytoestrogens which can be used as a food substitute for oestrogen. As the body gets older oestrogen production decreases and the lack of oestrogen gives us the symptoms listed above. By introducing a high phytoestrogens diet it might help with symptoms.
Foods found high phytoestrogens are listed below, however there is an extended list on the internet :-
- Soy products including soya milk, soya yogurt, tofu and edamame beans.
- Sprouted beans, including mung beans and alfalfa beans and of course sprouted soy beans.
- Walnut and pistachios and sesame seeds are also high in phytoestrogens. Sesame being the highest.
- Dried apricots, prunes and dates are higher in phytoestrogens than the fresh version.
- Flaxseed/linseed – milled please or as /flaxseed linseed oil. As linseed cannot be digested however the milled type can be. Also sesame oil.
- Any oils bought must be cold pressed as the heat of extraction destroys the chemical components. This applies to regular cooking oil – olive oil, rapeseed oil etc etc and also oils high in phytoestrogens.
Food should be eaten as we used to do. The proverb “Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince, and dinner like a pauper” evidently has another variant: “Eat breakfast yourself, share lunch with a friend, and give dinner away to your enemy.” This is true to help support the stomach and spleen. It takes a lot of Yang energy to digest food. According to Chinese tradition Yang is most active at midday, Yin is most active at midnight. By eating a large meal just before bedtime means that the food doesn’t get digested as effectively as it should and puts stress on the stomach leading to stomach problems, including acid reflux, bloating and weight gain. By changing your eating routines it could save stress on the body.
A diet supplement tablet which includes black cohosh will help a great deal with mood swings, night sweats and insomnia. It can be bought from any large chemist including Holland and Barrett, boots or chemist direct online.
Acupuncture is also a fantastic alternative and can be help balance the symptoms. A practitioner will ask for the symptoms that are currently being felt and use the needles to gently plug into the meridians that will help balance the body.
In conjunction with proper exercise, sleep and controlling of the emotions the menopause should not be feared. Here in the UK unfortunately we see this stage in our lives as getting old. Losing our ability to reproduce makes us feel like life is downhill from now onwards. However it doesn’t have to be like that. Finding powerful women who have moved into this stage of their life fills us with inspiration as the competition to get there is extremely ferocious. That should be something celebrated.
For further information or just another interesting read please click on this link from Women’s health