The symptoms of menopause can be overwhelming and cause a great deal of stress. They have the potential to make the years leading up to menopause be full of angst. Menopause is a very difficult stage of life to come to terms with in the first place, let alone having to deal with all the embarrassing, uncomfortable and sometimes painful symptoms of menopause. Thankfully though, menopause remedies have always been at hand to help women through the toughest bits of the big change.
The best thing about menopause remedies is that there are so many of them. So if one does not appeal to you, there are several other menopause remedies for you to choose from. This is a boon for women who cannot opt for conventional menopause remedies.
Menopause Remedies With Lifestyle Changes
Lifestyle changes are one of the most important and effective menopause remedies. Medication will only help you to an extent. It is how you live your life, the food you eat, and the exercise you get that will play the major role in warding off those menopause symptoms. In fact, there are a considerable number of women who manage their menopause symptoms with lifestyle changes alone.
Food:
Nutrition is important throughout a woman’s life. But the effects of good nutrition are most noticeable during menopause. Simply changing your diet can bring you considerable relief from a few menopause symptoms. Plus, it can help you maintain a healthy weight, something you will struggle with as you go through menopause.
Include whole grains, nuts and seeds, plenty of vegetables and fruits in your diet. Some women find that switching to a vegetarian or vegan diet or at the very least cutting down on meat seems to placate the worst of their menopause symptoms. If you must eat meat, choose leaner versions that have been stripped of fat.
Research suggests that soy can help with some menopause symptoms as it contains a natural, plant-based hormone that is very similar to estrogen. Yams too have plant estrogens that may help ease your menopause symptoms. The other changes you can make is to avoid spicy foods, alcohol, carbonated drinks and caffeine. This includes tea, coffee, and fizzy drinks. Avoid processed food as they have zero nutritional value and the chemical content in them can play havoc with the chemical balance of your body. A good rule of thumb when buying processed foods is to look at the ingredient list. If there is an ingredient on there that you have never heard of or if it sounds like it belongs in a lab, or if it is vague, put the package back on the shelf.
As a menopausal woman, your risk of developing osteoporosis and heart disease goes up as your menopause progresses. Doctors recommend taking calcium and vitamin D supplements as they are known to lower the risk of both health conditions.
Exercise:
Just like nutrition, your level of activity will also play a vital role in battling menopause symptoms. Exercise will help you sleep better, reduce hot flashes, improve your mood, and strengthen your heart, bones and muscles thus lowering your risk for osteoporosis and cardiovascular disease, which you are at higher risk for because of menopause. Exercise also generally betters your health by strengthening your immune system. Women who exercise at least three times a week before menopause and continue to do so during are less susceptible to the most severe symptoms. But it is never too late to start. The benefits of exercise are innumerable, which is what makes it one of the best menopause remedies.
Kick Bad Habits:
Quit smoking and doing illicit drugs. Also be prudent with medical drugs. Your body is going through enough changes during menopause without you throwing in a mixture of drugs into it.
Have More Sex:
There is strong research to support that sex actually helps with maintaining the lining of vagina during and after menopause. Vaginal dryness due to thinning out of the vaginal wall is a common problem with menopausal women. But you can help preserve this lining if you have more sex. Also, orgasm releases endorphins which can lift your mood. Use water-based lubricants to prevent discomfort or pain during sex, which is normal due to vaginal dryness.
Reduce Stress:
Stress greatly contributes to making bad menopause symptoms worse. You must have noticed for yourself how stress has been responsible for changing your period patterns in the past. And if you have had children, then you know how bad stress was for you during pregnancy. Similarly, stress during menopause will only aggravate your symptoms. If you do not know how to manage stress, speak to your doctor & see a counselor if you have to.
Sleep Well:
You need to get enough sleep if you are serious about managing your menopause symptoms. Sleep is crucial to physical and mental well-being at all times of your life. Sleeping enough can help you reduce weight and keep it off, it can lower your stress levels or make you better equipped to handle stress, and it can greatly impact your moods and memory as well. You may have trouble sleeping because of night sweats and because insomnia is one of the other symptoms of menopause. Don’t exercise or watch TV too close to bed time, eat your meal a few hours before sleep, and try a cup of herbal tea with relaxing properties like chamomile or jasmine. Also, do not drink caffeinated beverages after 4 pm. If none of these remedies work to help you sleep, speak to your doctor about a sedative or sleeping aid,
Take Care:
Your health during menopause is one of the factors that will determine how intense your symptoms are. As a general rule, healthy women will have a comparatively easier time with menopause symptoms than their unhealthy counterparts. So if you are suffering from a disease or an illness, manage it to the best of your ability. For example, diabetic women should control their blood sugar. And women high blood pressure should take serious steps to lower it.
Conventional Menopause Remedies
Menopause remedies that advocate pharmaceutical use are generally categorized as conventional menopause remedies. Medication may not be an option for you if you are suffering from certain health problems. You should speak to your doctor, who knows your medical history, about the pros and cons of all conventional menopause remedies.
Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT):
HRT is one the main menopause remedies offered by modern medicine. The dropping levels of estrogen and progesterone is the main reason for menopause symptoms. So by replacing them, the levels are balanced again and the symptoms of menopause practically disappear. The drawback of HRT is that it can only be taken for short periods of time since it has some pretty nasty effects with long-term use. Doctors suggest taking HRT for a few months while at the same time implementing lifestyle changes that will be more effective in easing menopause symptoms in the long run. HRT should only be an option if your symptoms are truly severe and you cannot function from day to day because of them.
Non-Hormone Medical Remedies:
It has been discovered that medications made to treat other health problems such as high blood pressure, depression, and seizures are all quite effective as menopause remedies too. However, they will only tackle individual or a few menopause symptoms. And there are many risks to taking medication that is not specifically designed for the purpose. Your doctor is the best person to advise you whether this menopause remedy is right for you.
Alternative Menopause Remedies
As many women have already discovered, medicine does not always help to combat some menopause symptoms. And in seeking relief from the trial of menopause elsewhere, these very same women have come across some time-honored alternative menopause remedies that succeeded beyond imagination where medicine miserably failed. The only problem with alternative menopause remedies is that most people are afraid to try them because of the stigma attached. Even doctors will shy away from recommending alternative menopause remedies, preferring always to sick to the comfort of their pens and prescription pads. You do not have to choose alternative menopause remedies if you are that uncomfortable with the very idea of it. However, if you are really suffering from severe menopause symptoms you really have to ask yourself what’s more important – relief or belief. Most women who today, advocate alternative menopause remedies did not really believe in them to begin with. The severity of the symptoms made them put their beliefs on hold and take a chance, leading them to discover a healthier, more effective way to calm or eradicate the symptoms of menopause.
Herbs:
Natural herbs have long been used as menopause remedies by women around the world for centuries. You can visit your local health food store and ask them to recommend herbs that act as menopause remedies. Better still, find a herbalist. The herbs that are particularly helpful in easing menopause symptoms are black cohosh (black snakeroot or squawroot), sage, kava, valerian root, agnus castu (chaste berry) gingko biloba, milk thistle, clover, dong quai, and ginseng. Usually, the herbs are dried and soaked in hot water, and you can drink the resulting concoction like a herbal tea. However, you may also find powdered herbs. Do not blindly take herbs without consulting a specialist or at least doing your own research. Herbs too can have side-effects and you do not want to endanger your health by taking too much or taking the wrong ones. Remember that herbs are no different than other menopause remedies – what works for someone else may do nothing for you.
Yoga:
An age-old method of unifying the body and mind, yoga is one of the rare alternative menopause remedies that is accepted even by allopathic doctors to have a positive and lasting impact on health. The breathing techniques in particular are great to help calm you down in stressful times. Many women report that they can simply use the breathing techniques to get through their hot flashes. A regular yoga practice also stimulates the organs and sends blood into them for healing. Yoga stretches can help with hot flashes. And yoga in general can be a great stress management tool.
Natural Dietary Supplements:
If you are suffering from severe hot flashes and brain fog, you might find much-needed relief if you take vitamin E supplements. Flaxseed oil is also known to be an effective menopause remedy.
Other Alternative Menopause Remedies
- Acupuncture is starting to gain acceptance as one of the menopause remedies that helps with stress and pain.
- See an Ayurvedic doctor to help treat your menopause symptoms. This ancient system of medicine offers effective menopause remedies without any drawbacks.
- Homeopathy also offers some effective menopause remedies. And since there are no side-effects to homeopathic medicine, you have nothing to lose by trying them.
- Many women swear by apple cider vinegar as an effective menopause remedy for all many menopause symptoms.
The menopause remedies listed above are just the most widely used ones. There are dozens of other menopause remedies that your doctor can tell you about or which you will hear about from friends, family or research. A great resource for menopause remedies are other menopausal women or women who are post-menopausal; the latter especially have been where you are now and can provide great insight into menopause remedies that work and perhaps even some side-effects that you may not hear of elsewhere.
You will soon learn through trial and error which menopause remedies are right for you. You will learn to manage your menopause symptoms in the best way that you can and your life will go on as before if you just take the trouble to initially experiment with the various menopause remedies and do your homework before trying each one.
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