Winning the War With Menopause

A lot of women around the world are fighting a war for better medical treatment for women in menopause. But what actually happens to women who are living in an actual war zone during menopause.

In a nutshell, nothing good.

During a woman’s fertile years (not to be confused with the fertile crescent, where we are actually at war), the ovaries produce estrogen. The ovaries produce a lot of estrogen, a lot more estrogen than what is needed for a woman herself to remain healthy. Most of that estrogen was being used to get the eggs and the uterus ready for making a baby.

Our baby making days are over. Our periods get fewer and farther between and then done. And now our body only needs enough estrogen to keep us young and healthy.

And that is where the adrenals come into play.

Instead of our ovaries producing a lot of estrogen, our adrenals now produce a little bit of estrogen. And while the amount of estrogen our adrenals produce is much less than our ovaries produced, it should still be enough estrogen for all of our needs and functions.

Notice the key word should. It should happen but it doesn’t always happen. And that's when we start falling apart.

Strengthening our adrenals so that they can produce more estrogen is a key part in staying healthy as we age.

And here is where a war complicates things. Our adrenals are also responsible for producing cortisol. The adrenal glands release cortisol in response to stress, which directly negatively impacts estrogen levels.

Incoming!!!!!

This body organ is maxed out on making adrenaline to get you to safety!! Try again later for your estrogen hit.

If our bodies are busy making cortisol, then they aren’t making estrogen. And since estrogen plays a role in keeping us calm and happy, then our stress levels can go up and stay up unless we actively do something to bring it down.

But there is a light at the end of the tunnel. We are not victims of circumstance. True we are at war, but we are women and we have incredible powers to heal ourselves and others. Khomanei isn’t going to do us in!

Sirens sound scary. They are meant to sound scary to get you up and moving to a safe space. But once you have reached your safe space you now have a 10 minute break to bring back your zen.

And here’s the thing. It’s important to take the time to do a reset. Even if you don’t think you need to, your adrenaline did spike. Your cortisol levels went up. Your estrogen levels dropped. Do the reset. You will feel better.

Start with an herbal remedy.

Keep a stock of relaxing remedies in your safe room. Here are some examples:

Rescue Remedy
Calming essential oils such as, lavender, basil, patchouli, clary sage, lemon.

Box breathing:

Exhale to the count of 4
hold for the count of 4
inhale to the count of 4
hold to the count of 4.

Relaxing breathing:

Exhale to the count of 8
inhale to the count of 4
hold to the count of 4.

Release tension in your body

Grounding poses (for example, yoga tree pose)
Stretches and twists
Shake/dance it out

Get off of the news and do something fun or calming such as music or comedy. Fun and laughter is the best medicine of all.

And last but not least, during stressful times we tend to eat more sugar and drink more alcohol. This is a problem because both sugar and alcohol are two of the worst possible things for women in menopause. Keeping your cortisol levels low starts in the kitchen. Stay away from foods and drinks that will be your downfall and focus more on eating ground flax seed and tempeh which effectively boost your estrogen.

Stay safe, and stay healthy because Pesach is just around the corner and you need your strength.