Creating health during menopause is a goal for every woman. We are led to believe estrogen—or lack of it—is the cause of menopause symptoms. In this article, I want to clarify that the ovaries produce more than estrogen. Ovaries also produce androgens, such as DHEA and testosterone, as well as progesterone. Total well-being depends on adequate levels of these hormones.
Organs and body sites beyond the ovaries also produce androgenic hormones. These include adrenal glands, the skin, muscles, brain, pineal gland, hair follicles, and body fat. As ovarian hormone production decreases, androgen production increases from these other sources. It’s clear that healthy women are well equipped to handle hormone changes, not requiring hormone replacement. Approximately 15% of women are symptom-free.
If you approach menopause in a state of emotional and nutritional depletion that has affected optimal adrenal function, you will need hormonal, nutritional, emotional, and other support during the menopause transition until your endocrine balance is restored and supported.
Symptoms of Adrenal Stress
Are you experiencing menopause symptoms? If so, your underlying problem may be adrenal stress. The most common symptoms of adrenal stress are:
- Alcohol intolerance
- Alternating diarrhea and constipation
- Apprehension
- Auto-immune diseases
- Auto-immune hepatitis
- Craving for sweets
- Difficulty building muscle
- Difficulty gaining weight
- Dizziness that occurs upon standing
- Dry and thin skin
- Excessive hunger
- Feelings of frustration
- Food and/or inhalant allergies
- Headaches
- Hypoglycemia
- Inability to concentrate
- Indigestion
- Insomnia
- Irritability
- Lightheadedness
- Low blood pressure
- Low body temperature
- Mental depression
- Moments of confusion
- Nervousness
- Osteoporosis
- Palpitations [heart fluttering]
- PMS
- Poor memory
- Poor resistance to infections
- Scanty perspiration
- Tendency towards inflammation
- Unexplained hair loss
- Weakness
Factors in Creating Adrenal Stress
When your body is stressed at sustained high levels, the adrenals overproduce cortisol, which gradually tears your body down. It destroys healthy muscle and bone; slows down healing and normal cell replacement; co-opts biochemicals needed to make other vital hormones; impairs digestion, metabolism, and mental function; interferes with healthy endocrine function; and weakens your immune system.
Common causes of adrenal stress include:
- Anger
- Chronic illness
- Chronic infection
- Chronic inflammation
- Chronic pain
- Chronic severe allergies
- Depression
- Excessive exercise
- Fear
- Going to sleep late
- Guilt
- Hypoglycemia
- Light-cycle disruption
- Malabsorption
- Maldigestion
- Nutritional deficiencies
- Overwork/ physical or mental strain
- Sleep deprivation
- Surgery
- Temperature extremes
- Toxic exposure
- Trauma/injury
- Worry/anxiety
Restoring Adrenal Health
It’s important to emphasize the role of emotional factors. Guilt, pain from past hurts, self-destructive habits, unresolved relationship issues—your past and present emotional experience may serve as an ever-present stressor. Dealing with these issues directly is much more beneficial than trying to compensate for the stress they create.
Conventional medicine’s focus on drugs tends to suppress early-stage symptoms rather than treat their underlying causes. This can delay treatment until a disease state has developed.
You can restore your adrenal health by taking the following actions:
- Think positive thoughts. If a concern starts to tug at your thoughts or emotions, look on the bright side. See everything as a learning experience, not a message that you have messed up or are defective in any way. Learn to not take on other people’s issues. Find a favorite affirmation book or calendar to remind you each day of something positive.
- Making dietary changes to enrich your nutrition and reduce carbohydrates and stimulants. I recommend adding high-quality nutritional supplements, including essential fatty acids and organic, unrefined coconut oil or organic, unrefined hemp oil.
- Reduce stress with meditation, moderate exercise, and more time for yourself. It helps to list your stressors, especially the constant ones. If needed, make lifestyle and/or friendship changes to get out of the stress track.
- Getting more rest. Your body needs time to heal. Your body does most of its healing between 10:00 p.m. and 2:00 a.m. If you are up during these times, you are robbing your body of the natural healing process.
- Accepting nurturing and positive feedback from those around you. Getting a pet can do wonders in this area.
- Making a list of priorities and let the rest go. Don’t try to be Wonder Woman.
- Herbs, aromatherapy, acupuncture, and massage can help.
- Consider natural hormonal support.
Loretta Lanphier, NP, BCTN, NHC, CN, CH, is a Naturopathic Practitioner, Board Certified Traditional Naturopath, Holistic Health Practitioner, Natural Health Coach, and Clinical Herbalist in the Woodlands, TX area and CEO/President of Oasis Advanced Wellness. A teacher, educator, and author, she counsels Oasis Advanced Wellness clients on how to get and keep their bodies healthy. As a cancer survivor, she is able to relate extensively, both as a patient and a practitioner. She has been privileged to share her cancer survival story with hundreds of people during seminars and lectures. Her passionate, truthful, and straightforward style, delivered in an easy-to-understand format, is refreshing even to the most discerning audiences. Loretta is dedicated to helping people create lasting health changes and enhance well-being through whole-body nutritional balance, including physician strength supplementation. She also edits and contributes to the worldwide monthly newsletter Advanced Health & Wellness.
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