All women go through menopause eventually—no one escapes it. Yet many women don’t know the basics about this transitional time. At Renew Youth, we have experts in healthy aging available to answer your questions. We also invite you to learn five basic facts all women should know about menopause.
- Menopause Is Officially Defined as Going for 12 Months without a Period
- The Symptoms of Menopause Can Be Varied
- Menopause Correlates with Bone Loss
- A Woman’s Risk for Developing Heart Disease Increases After Menopause
- Exercising Has Many Important Benefits
However, this definition is misleading, and somewhat arbitrary. The reality is that menopause isn’t experienced as one specific point in time (as the definition would have us believe)—it’s more of an evolution. In fact, most women will experience several years of fluctuating and declining hormones and irregular cycles before their periods stop completely. This transitional time is known as perimenopause. In the absence of treatment, most women will experience a combination of unpleasant symptoms during perimenopause, menopause, and post-menopause.
Many women associate menopause with hot flashes, mood swings, and weight gain. While these are a few of the symptoms most commonly associated with menopause, they are far from being the only ones. Other common symptoms include low sex drive, vaginal atrophy and dryness, brain fog, memory loss, insomnia, headaches, anxiety, depression, irritability, muscle loss, skin changes, and thinning hair. Not everyone will experience all of these symptoms, but most women will experience a cluster of them.
When women lose estrogen, they may see as much as a 20% loss in bone density within five to seven years of their periods stopping. The good news is that this is largely preventable with estrogen replacement therapy, regular weight-bearing exercise, and proper supplementation with Vitamin D, calcium, and magnesium.
Estrogen actually protects women from strokes and heart attack. When a woman’s estrogen levels drop significantly, cardiovascular health suffers. Exercising, a healthy diet, and estrogen replacement therapy are important safeguards in this regard. However, it’s imperative that only bioidentical estrogen be used in estrogen replacement therapy.
You would be hard-pressed to find a woman in America who doesn’t know that exercise is good for her health. However, after a woman reaches menopause, exercise is more important than ever. As mentioned above, exercise helps to prevent bone loss, is good for your cardiovascular system, and makes it easier to maintain a healthy weight. But regular exercise is also an excellent mood stabilizer.
Renew Youth Provides Relief for the Symptoms of Menopause
Many women embrace certain aspects of menopause, such as no longer having periods and no longer having to worry about pregnancy. However, these benefits can be difficult to enjoy when they are accompanied by unpleasant symptoms and health issues.
If you’re suffering from symptoms of perimenopause or menopause, contact Renew Youth at 800-859-7511 to find out how custom-tailored hormone replacement therapy can make the difference.