Menopausal Weight Gain - Reclaim Control of Your Waistline

As women age, most will find that it becomes more and more difficult to maintain their current weight. This is especially true between the ages of 35 and 60. Women may also discover that the weight gain happens not in the more traditional areas where women tend to gain weight: the thighs, hips, and buttocks; the weight gain occurs at the waist line, which is usually associated with male pattern weight gain. There are several steps that women can take to prevent this weight gain from occuring before it starts. And if you've already started to gain weight around your waistline, there's no need to resort to risky diet pills and dangerous weight loss gimmicks. It's never too late to make some simple lifestyle changes to safely and effectively lose weight.

Causes of Menopausal Weight Gain

For most women, weight gain occurs during perimenopause. Lower estrogen levels and a slowing metabolism make gaining weight easier and this often occurs around the stomach area. Another contributing factor could be due to lack of exercise. Women who are in the perimenopausal and menopausal age group are often busy with full time careers and taking care of their families and loved ones which leaves little time for exercise. On average, women who are peri-menopausal or menopausal tend to gain a pound a year.

Why You Should Be Worried About Menopausal Weight Gain

It's great if you're comfortable with your body image and don't want to diet to strive for the impossible figures advertised by Hollywood. However, excessive weight gain can be unhealthy, and if it impairs your mobility or quality of life, you may want to make small changes to eat more fresh healthy foods and exercise at least 3 times a week. Weight gain, especially middle age weight gain can lead to increased risks of high cholesterol, high blood pressure, and insulin resistance which can lead to type 2 diabetes.

Tips To Prevent Menopausal Weight Increases

Schedule at least 3 quality exercise sessions of at least 30 minutes each week. The exercise doesn't have to be strenuous and it doesn't require expensive equipment or gym memberships. Something simple like a walk after dinner, a leisurely bike ride, or walks during lunch breaks are more than adequate to prevent excessive weight gain. Aerobic exercise will boost your metabolism and help you burn fat. You could also multi task and work in some weight training. Weight training will increase your muscle mass which will help you burn fat and increase your metabolism. Weight training is also important for women who are perimenopausal or menopausal because it will increase bone density which reduces the risks of osteoporosis.

Eat a healthy diet of varied fruits and vegetables. You don't want to deprive yourself of too many calories and nutrients nor do you want to deprive yourself of your favorite foods. The key is to enjoy everything in moderation. Your slowing metabolism will also mean that you will need 200 to 400 fewer calories per day. Thus the majority of your meals should be made up of lower calorie foods like fruits and vegetables.

tags: menopause, weight gain, women's health, estrogen, perimenopause, diet

Post Menopausal Symptom - Atrophic Vaginitis

What is Atrophic Vaginitis

Symptoms of atrophic vaginitis include redness, itching, and dryness of the vagina and vulva. This problem occurs in up to 75% of all postmenopausal women, but it can also happen to women at any age. Atrophic vaginitis is also commonly seen in women who breast feed, use Depo-Provera, or had their ovaries removed.

What Causes Atrophic Vaginitis

Before menopause, estrogen in a woman’s body helps keep the skin of the vagina healthy and stimulates vaginal secretions. After menopause, the ovaries stop producing estrogen so the walls of the vagina become thin and vaginal secretions decrease. Similar changes can happen to some women after childbirth. However, in this case, the changes are temporary and not as severe.

What are the Risk Factors of Atrophic Vaginitis

• Cigarette smoking
  


• Never having been pregnant
  


• Childbirth by cesarean section
  

What are the Symptoms of Atrophic Vaginitis

• Vaginal dryness
  


• Vaginal itching or burning
  


• Vaginal pain
  


• Painful intercourse
  


• Slight vaginal discharge
  


• Burning during urination
  


• Bleeding after intercourse


• Tears and cracks from atrophic vaginitis may predispose a woman to yeast infections. Here are some natural treatment options for yeast infections.
  

What Treatment Options are Available for Atrophic Vaginitis

• Oral estrogen therapy
  


• Estrogen-containing vaginal creams or vaginal suppositories
  


• Soy isoflavones
  


• Use a vaginal lubricant to prevent painful intercourse
  


• Drink lots of fluids every day

tags: menopause, symptoms, women's health, estrogen, vaginal dryness, atrophic vaginitis

Menopausal, perimenopausal women can find relief from hot flashes

When estrogen and progesterone levels drop during menopause, the hypothalamus (our body's thermostat) gets mixed signals. It cannot decide between hot or cold and this indicision causes the blood vessels to dilate and contract at unpredictable times. When blood vessels are dilated, the increase in blood flow causes a feeling of being hit with a wave of heat and the skin becomes flushed. You may start to blush from face to neck and maybe even to your chest. Some women sweat until they become soaking wet. If the attack is intense enough, some women even get headaches, feel weak, dizzy, or lose sleep. Some even have such intense symptoms that they report having hot flashes and panic attacks. They experience heart palpitations, dizziness, become weak in the knees, feel a tingling in their head, and become nauseous.

While your skin may start to heat up and flush, what's really going on internally is that your internal body temperature may drop as much as three or four degrees. This is due to your body trying to correct the temperature imbalance. The result is that some menopausal, perimenopausal women experience a chill or sensation of being cold following a hot flash. All of these symptoms last about three to six minutes each time, however it is possible to have symptoms for an hour. Hot flashes are more common during the evening hours and in hot weather. Most women, about 75 to 80 percent of menopausal or perimenopausal women experience hot flashes, though the severity and duration of the attacks varies greatly.

Menopausal and Perimenopausal women have tried it all - medications, hormone replacement treatment, and dietary changes. However, there are still many small lifestyle changes tthat women can make to find relief from profuse sweating accompanied by hot flashes.

• Try to wear clothes that are loose fitting and made of breatheable fabric such as cotton. In the winter, wear several layers of thinner clothes instead of one thick layer. This way if you feel a hot flash coming on, you can peel off the layers one by one.
• Exercise has been shown to help lessen the effects of all menopause symptoms.Exercise can also increase endorphin levels, which helps combat stress.
• Stay away from hot environments. Avoid saunas, hot tubs, and hot sunny and humid weather. Keep the heat as low as you can stand it during the winter. Turn on your air conditioner during the summer, especially at night.
• Take cool or warm showers. Avoid using hot water which makes your body sweat and your skin flush. Cooling down after a hot shower usually takes a while.
• Avoid spicy foods. Drink cool or room temperature drinks and avoid sources of caffeine such as coffee.
  

Technorati Tags: menopausal, peri menopause, hot flash, night sweat, symptom, relief, natural remedy

Imitrex and post menopausal migraines?

Migraines are a very common problem for women who are peri menopausal, menopausal, or post menopausal. A history of migraines before peri menopause began may even be an indicator of frequent migraines during menopause. These migraines are triggered by changes in the level of estrogen and for women who are undergoing hormone replacement therapy, the cure may be worse than the symptoms it's trying to cure.

Common triggers for headaches should be avoided if possible. These could be light, smells, hunger, loud noises, motion, travel, perfume or strong scents, second hand smoke or smoking, stress, caffeine, medications, sleep disturbances, and hormone changes. Tricyclic antidepressants including imipramine (Elavil) and norpramine can be helpful. Other antidepressants including Prozac and Zoloft may also be helpful in preventing migraines. Triptans such as sumatriptan or Imitrex increase the serotonin levels in the brain and are a mainstay acute attack treatment for those with disabling attacks.

Technorati Tags: menopausal, perimenopause, migraine, headache, treatment, cures, remedies, prozac, zoloft, imitrex, elavil

Menopause Symptoms linked to race, weight, and smoking

A new study which followed 3,200 American women for seven years finds that African American women had the highest rates of 'vasomotor symptoms' which include hot flashes, night sweats, and cold sweats.  The study also found that Asian American women had the lowest rates.  The pattern persisted through perimenopause. 

However, hot flashes were found to be common in late perimenopause for women of all races, according to Dr. Ellen B. Gold of the University of California, Davis.  The percentage of women who reported frequent (defined as six or more days within two weeks) vasomotor symptoms spiked during the transition from early to late perimenopause.  Black women were 63 percent more likely to have frequent symptoms compared to white women.  Women of Asian or Hispanic descent had much lower risks.

However, your risk for frequent symptoms is not set in stone, there are other factors that can be changed and altered to lessen the effects of menopause and perimenopause.  Smoking and maintaining a healthy weight are two excellent methods of reducing the severity menopausal symptoms.


Technorati Tags: perimenopause, menopause, symptoms, natural cures, treatments, remedies, weight, smoking, womens health, race

Soy isoflavones increase bone health

A new study from China reports that daily doses of soy isoflavones (126 mg/day) improved bone density with no adverse side effects. Treating bone loss could mean preventing osteoporosis, a disease that affects half of all women over the age of 50. In other words, post menopausal women. In addition, studies from the Archives of Internal Medicine (2005, Vol. 165, pp. 1890-1895) indicate that high amounts of soy consumption may decrease bone fractures in women who were menopausal for less than 10 years by as much as 48 percent.

Results showed that women taking the high doses of soy showed an increase of 1.57 percent in their bone mineral density at the top of the hip bone (femoral neck) compared to a decrease of 0.59 percent in the placebo group. In the placebo group, increased urinary levels of Dpd showed that bone thinning was occurring while in the group taking the high doeses of soy, there was a decrease in Dpd levels. No adverse side effects were reported by the test subjects except for a temporary state of thirst at the beginning of the experiment.


Technorati Tags: menopause, natural treatment, remedy, cure, soy, isoflavones, osteoporosis, bone loss, fractures

Memory loss linked to lower estrogen levels

A recent Montreal study suggests that lower levels of estrogen can lead to memory loss and mood swings.  Barbara Sherwin, a psychologist at McGill University conducted a study which investigated the link between estrogen and memory.  "We wanted to see whether estrogen could protect against the decline in working memory" she says.  The study measured cognitive behavior before and after artificially induced menopause in healthy young women.

Results of the study showed that estrogen is crucial in maintaining certain types of memory in women.  "We found asignificant decrease on their scores that we were able to attribute to estrogen levels."  The researchers ran several tests, before menopause was induced and weeks afterwards when hormone levels had reached post-menopausal levels.  The results showed that performance scores of the newly menopausal women had declined.  "That tells us working memory is a function that decreases with normal aging, and women who take estrogen around the time of menopause will be somewhat protected."

Women also said that they felt moody and sad.  However, some researchers aren't convinced that this is all due to estrogen.  Sudden onset of menopause could cause stress, lack of sleep, hot flashes, and mood swings.  All these symptoms could cause a deficit in working memory.


Technorati Tags: memory loss, mood swings, menopause, symptoms, estrogen, perimenopause, womens health

Natural Treatment - CoQ10 (Coenzyme Q10)

Coenzyme Q10 is naturally made in our livers. It is also found in meats (including fish), nuts, green vegetables, and whole grains. It is a powerful antioxidant and it also assists in our bodie's cellular processes. CoQ10 is highly concentrated in tissues and organs, especially organs that require a lot of energy, such as our hearts. That's because CoQ10 is necessary in the production of energy in our cells.

However, production of CoQ10 begins to decline in our twenties. This leads to fatigue, weakend immune systems, and aging. Taking supplements of Coenzyme Q10 can reduce risk of cardiovascular disease, improve immunity, improve blood pressure, and maybe even reduce the risk of cancer.

Well that's great and all, but what does this have to do with menopause? Well, Coenzyme Q10 works by helping cells convert oxygen into energy. And one major cause of migraines may be caused by our cell's inability to generate energy. Studies have shown that taking CoQ10 supplements over a period of three months have been effective in cutting the occurrence of migraines by 55 percent.

So how much CoQ10 is necessary to be effective? In two lab studies, patients who saw improvements were given 150 mg once a day/100 mg of water-soluble CoQ10 three times a day. Many menopausal and perimenopausal women suffer from chronic migraines and CoQ10 may be a natural alternative to taking large amounts of painkillers or aspriins. While there are no side effects, you should speak with your physician before taking Coenzyme Q10 supplements as they may reduce the effectiveness of some anticoagulant medications.


Technorati Tags: coq10, coenzyme q10, menopause, migraines, natural, cure, treatment, remedy, supplements, perimenopause

Am I perimenopausal? What are the early signals of menopause?

Most women experience perimenopausal symptoms in their 30s and 40s.  The most common symptoms such as fluctuating menstrual cycles can mean that your reproductive system is slowing down.  Other symptoms include changes in the amount of menstrual flow, longer or shorter times in between periods, and irregular flow. 

Physical symptoms in other parts of your body may include lumpy or tender breasts, water retention and bloating, sleep difficulties, concentration problems, fuzzy or unclear thinking, anxiety, depression, mood swings, hot flashes, night sweats, vaginal dryness, or unexplained weight gain.  Menopause and perimenopause are different for all women.  Some women may have several of the above symptoms while others may have none (besides not having their period).  In addition, symptoms may last for weeks, months, or years.  Since symptoms may appear in a woman as early as her 30s and the average age of menopause is 51, symptoms of perimenopause can last a long time.


Technorati Tags: menopause, perimenopause, women's health, hormones, symptoms

Natural menopause treatment - soy estrogens

Soy contains plant estrogens known as phytoestrogens. These estrogens mimic estrogen made by our own bodies and they are weaker than human estrogen. The way phytoestrogens work in our bodies is by landing on our cells in the same places as estrogen. Thus when our bodies don't have enough estrogen, phytoestrogens fill the gap and make up for the lack. However, when our bodies are producing enough or too much estrogen, phytoestrogens compete with our own estrogen for these landing sites on our cells. Because phytoestrogens are weaker, this may explain how soy phytoestrogens reduce the risks of estrogen induced cancers like breast cancer. At the same time, because phytoestrogens mimic our own natural estrogen, they also provide the same benefits such as protecting you against osteoporosis and providing relief from menopausal symptoms.

There are several ways of ingesting soy isoflavones. There are pill supplements, soy protein powders, and more natural forms of soy such as soymilk (which is also known as soya milk), tofu, tempeh, and soy dairy products. The recommended daily amount of soy isoflavones of 35 to 120 mg may reduce the frequency and severity of menopausal symptoms. This equates to about 20 to 60 grams of soy protein each day.


Technorati Tags: menopause, soy, estrogen, isoflavones, natural, cure, treatment, remedy, symptom

Symptom of Menopause - Loss of Bladder Control

Here's one symptom of menopause that many people don't think of.  We usually associate loss of bladder control with aging, however it is also common (and temporary) during the beginning of menopause.  What happens is that like all other menopause symptoms, loss of bladder control is associated with a drop in estrogen.  Estrogen is a key part of keeping pelvic muscles healthy and strong.  When estrogen levels drop, the pelvic muscles may loose tone and strength, leading to leakage.

Avoid leakage by strengthening your pelvic floor muscles with kegel exercises.  Try to avoid eating or drinking before bedtime to eliminate the strain on weakened muscles.  Do not hold in your urine, use the bathroom at regular intervals.  Also you'll want to combat this at the hormone level too, treatments such as HRT and diets high in soy may  help eliminate the loss of bladder control.


Technorati Tags: menopause, bladder control, women's health, estrogen

Male Menopause?

Women aren't the only ones going through this change in life.  Hot falshes, mood swings, hairloss, and migraines are not just symptoms that affect women.  Currenty, twenty-six million men in the U.S. between the ages of 40 to 55 are going through male menopause.

But what is male menopause?  Like female menopause, which is caused by a lowering of the female hormone estrogen, male menopause is caused by a lowering of the male hormone testosterone.  Both of these are caused by aging.

Symptoms of menopause for men are a bit different though.  Men may experience muscle loss, nervousness, fatigue, weight gain, loss of sex drive, and osteoporosis.  Testosterone replacement treatment is available, however it may increase the risk of prostate cancer, just as HRT may increase the risk of breast cancer in women.


Technorati Tags: male menopause, testosterone, hormone replacement therapy, symptoms

Menopause treatment - hormone replacement therapy, a double edged sword?

"CLEVELAND -- Hormone replacement therapy was once hailed as the end to the misery of menopause, but in recent years, many doctors have been turning away from the treatment as more and more reports of the negative side effects surface. Is HRT really as bad as some say it is... or is it even worse?

Hot flashes. Suffering sex lives. Menopause can be miserable! Hormone replacement therapy can help, but conflicting headlines have left some confused. HRT has been linked to a 110 percent increase in breast cancer risk for smokers, overall a 41 percent increase in stroke risk, and a 22 percent increase in cardiovascular disease."

Read more...

Technorati Tags: menopause, hormone replacement therapy, cures, treatments

Symptom of Menopause - Migraine Headaches

Hormonal changes and stress could trigger migraine headaches. Several treatment options are available to tackle this problem from both fronts.

Treatments: Try to cut down on or relieve stress by writing in a journal about the events that trigger your headaches. Transform stress and anger through meditation or yoga on a regular basis. Try to pinpoint any potential trigger foods such as nuts, artificial sweeteners, caffeine, alcohol, refined sugars, and dairy.

Balance your hormone levels with progesterone creams and diets high in soy. You may also want to consider hormone replacement therapy. You may also want to avoid other environmental factors such as bright lights, loud noises, lack of sleep, and strenuous activity which tend to trigger migraines.

Technorati Tags: migraine, headaches, menopause, stress, symptoms, treatments, cures

Symptom of Menopause - Thinning hair on head, increase in facial hair

One of the most common symptoms in menopausal ane even some perimenopausal women is an increase in facial hair growth and later on, thinning of the hair on their scalp. Both of these are caused by the decrease in estrogen levels that occur and are only cosmetic inconveniences.


Treatments: There are currently no treatments, however, preventative medications like Women's Rogaine can be used to keep the hair that you do have. There are also many methods of removing unwanted facial hair, ranging from at home solutions like shaving, tweezing, waxing, depilatory creams, sugaring, threading, and epilation. Those who are seeking a more permanent solution may want to look into electrolysis or laser hair removal. Vaniqa is a cream approved by the FDA in the last year which slows down the growth of facial hair.

Technorati Tags: facial hair, hairloss, hirsutism

Black cohosh safety warning

In the United Kingdom, recent studies have revealed that blach cohosh, a popular herbal remedy for menopause symptoms, may cause liver damage.  Black cohosh is also known as Cimicfuga racemosa, black snake root, rattle snack root, and squaw root.  While the possibility of adverse reactions to black cohosh is rare, warnings will soon appear on all products containing blach cohosh.

Read more about this at Injury Watch


Technorati Tags: black cohosh, menopause, herbal, safety, cures, treatment, remedy

Symptom of Menopause - Osteoporosis

Osteoporosis is the fracturing of bones with a decrease in bone density. Estrogen is vital in protecting women's bones. When menopause occurs, estrogen levels drop and the long term result is decrease in bone density.

Treatments: There are currently no treatments for osteoporosis, however preventative measures can be taken even before menopause or perimenopause begins. Take care to get plenty of necessary nutrients such as calcium, vitamin D, and sillica. Exercise regularly, paying special attention to strength training exercises, and quit harmful lifestyle habits such as smoking and excessive consumption of alcohol. If you are already menopausal, it's still not too late. There are medications are available to slow down bone loss and increase strength. Also, women who are on replacement hormone therapy will derive protection from the estrogen they're receiving.

Technorati Tags: menopausal symptoms, osteoporosis, bone density

Symptom of Menopause - Mood Changes

Mood Changes

There really isn't any conclusive evidnce that menopause causes mood swings in women. However, there has been a link between recurrence of depression during menopause in women who have previously had depression. Also, mood changes could actually be the result of one of the many other symptoms of menopause. For example, lack of sleep caused by night sweats.

Treatment: While hormone treatment does improve symptoms of irritability in many women, it alone is not effective in treating someone who may be suffering from depression. As such, women who are affected by mood changes and are menopausal should see their doctors to rule out depression and other possible illnesses.

tags: menopause, symptoms, women's health, moodswings , depression, hormones

Symptom of Menopause - Hot Flashes and Night Sweats

Hot flashes and night sweats are the most common and earliest occurring symptoms of perimenopause, occuring in about 40% of perimenopausal women in their forties. Symptoms of a hot flash include flushing, perspiration, and a feeling of warmth all over the body. Another symptom of menopause that may occur with hot flashes is night sweats. Researchers speculate that hot flashes occur in women who start sweating at a lower ambient temperature. Most women experience hot flashes for 5 years or less. Unfortunately, for a certain percentage of women, their hot flashes last for as long as 10 years.

Prescription Treatments: For women who are still mensturating, oral contraceptives are commonly prescribed because contraceptives are also effetive at treating other menopausal symptoms. Women who are not menstruating should ask their doctors about either oral or transdermal forms of estrogen therapies. Both forms of therapies may contain just estrogen or a combination of estrogen and progesterone. General treatments are effective in reducing 80% to 90% of hot flashes and night sweats.

Alternative Treatments: Soy is rich in phytoestrogens (plant based mimics of estrogen) and wild yam creams also contain progesterone. Many have found that a combination of a diet high in soy and the use of wild yam cream are effective in reducing hot flashes and other symptoms of menopause. Dong quai, black cohosh, and vitamin E have been cited by some to be effective in reducing hot flashes. Please consult with your doctor before trying any alternative treatments.

tags: menopause, symptoms, women's health, estrogen, alternative medicine, hot flashes, night sweats

Symptom of Menopause - Irregular Periods

Irregular periods and abnormal bleeding.

A very common symptom of menopause is irregular vaginal bleeding. This may manifest as frequent or skipped periods or an increase or decrease in the amount of bleeding. There is no pattern to the changes that occur, but women may want to look at what changes occurred when their mother went through perimenopause. It is also common to get a period after months of skipped periods. It is important that during this time women consult their doctors to confirm that these changes are indeed due to menopause and not anything more serious.

Treatment: Please consult your doctor to rule out any other potential causes of abnormal bleeding. Often estrogen treatment or oral contraceptives are given to women to regulate menstrual periods.

tags: menopause, symptoms, women's health, estrogen, contraceptive

Signs and Symptoms of Menopause

Doctors generally aggree that a woman has reached menopause when ther is no underlying medical condition that would cause her to cease menstruation and she has not had a period for more than 12 consecutive months. Most women reach menopause at age 50, however many women cease menstruating in their 30s or 60s.

Menopause occurs when the ovaries cease to function. The ovaries are a pair of glands in women which release eggs and produce hormones. The ovaries produce hormones which control the development of the female body and regulate the menstrual cycle. Estrogen also has a role in regulating pregnancy and protecting bone health.

The gradual transition into menopause is known as perimenopause. This period is defined by a decline in the amount of estrogen produced by the ovaries. Perimenopause may occur in some women as early as their 30s. Signs of perimenopause manifest themselves as a decline in fertility and irregular periods. The duration of perimenopause vary from woman to woman, but the most common symptoms are hot flashes, declined fertility, irregular periods, insomnia, abdominal weight gain, vaginal dryness, and facial hair growth.

Perimenopausal Symptoms

• Hot flashes


• Declining fertility


• Memory and concentration problems


• Decreased sexual response


• Heart palpitations


• Insomnia


• Abdominal weight gain


• Irregular periods


• Vaginal dryness


• Irritability


• Hairloss


• Dry skin

Hormone levels fluctuate greatly from day to day in an individual woman, so hormone tests are not reliable for identifying menopause. There is also no blood test which can diagnose menopause. Because there is no sure fire way to determine whether a woman has entered perimenopause or menopause, a good rule of thumb for women is that menopause occurs at roughly the same age as it did for their mothers.

After menstruation has stopped, this period in a woman's life is called postmenopause. Postmenopause lasts for the rest of a woman's life and is a crucial time period in which women must take care of themselves to prevent diseases caused by decreased estrogen levels. Some of these diseases include osteoperosis, cancer, and heart disease.

tags: menopause, symptoms, women's health, estrogen