My thoughts on menopause, synthetic hormones and why we are where we are today….
Menopause is meant to be a natural physiological biological transitional phase in a woman’s life, that is supposed to mark the end of childbearing years, (whether a woman has given birth or not). Why have we now become so far removed from nature? My thoughts are below. Of course, nature needs a hand sometimes, whether that be to support conception, birthing or beyond, and thank goodness for it ,IF it is genuinely medically needed. Yet we live in a world where it is almost implied that women’s bodies can’t work efficiently at going through menopause anymore and that so many more women are seeking and thinking that they need synthetic hormones, be it HRT, hormone creams, hormone patches, internal hormone creams etc. PREVENTION of horrendous and debilitating menopause symptoms needs much more attention in my opinion.
Go back decades and before, and of course women went through menopause (aka “the change”) yet the symptoms for most women were a few hot flushes, a bit of moodiness and it was often short lived, but nothing like today’s average woman experiencing menopause!
Nature’s intention: People often do not talk about the importance of the adrenal gland activity, (and this is especially important BEFORE menopause). The adrenal glands are meant to be the “back up” up system for our hormones to continue when menopause occurs. Progesterone and oestrogen naturally decline at menopause, as they should. However, progesterone drops more than oestrogen, making a lot of women “oestrogen dominant” and yet they are often offered extra synthetic oestrogen, as it is thought that they need it, because oestrogen does decline. If a woman’s adrenal activity is imbalanced before menopause which it so often is (and this is not necessarily seen on a blood test, but it is seen on a hair tissue mineral analysis) then you can bet you house on it that she will experience those horrendous menopause symptoms for a long period of time! Never underestimate the effects of mineral deficiencies, nutritional imbalances and the effects of toxic metals (which compete with our minerals) at a cellular level!
Another aspect is thyroid health, which impacts on many body systems, organs and glands, including….yes you guessed it…..your hormones. You need a full thyroid panel of bloods as well, not just TSH and T4. That said, it is thought that around 80% of the population have sluggish thyroid activity, which may not show on any blood tests. Ask me about more on this too.
I love that we have choices. I totally believe in people making FULLY INFORMED decisions, always, it’s what I have supported and promoted for over 4 decades. In order to make these decisions, we need the risks and benefits of all options on the table, not just the benefits of ONE option. Personally, I prefer not to take synthetic hormones like HRT into my body, that is my choice, you may disagree and you may make different choices. Many years ago, I learnt about the impact (especially when taken long term) of synthetic hormones and how we are now reaping what was sown many years ago by taking these.
The birth control pill for starters has been a means to an end and maybe a life saver for some, from unwanted pregnancies, however how many women made truly informed decisions when accepting this? Where women given enough information on the potential risks? I wonder. I say this because decades after the introduction of the birth control pill (which contains synthetic hormones) we now have an epidemic of oestrogen dominant conditions. How could we ever expect to take synthetic hormones and them not affect our bodies, especially when suppressing ovulation over a long period of time?
We have never seen as much oestrogen dominance, infertility and gynaecological conditions such as fibroids, polycystic ovaries, endometriosis, amenorrhea, irregular periods, hormone imbalances….the list is endless. What can oestrogen do? It can cause “growth” of tissues, hence the really common gynaecological conditions above that we see so much of these days. Of course, it is not my place to tell you which contraception to use, it is for you to research what you are happiest with and after having enough information on all options with risks and benefits, then decide.
Now, with my Holistic Therapist, Nutritional and Hair Tissue Mineral Balancing Practitioner hat on, I see and hear about lots women in an oestrogen dominant state. Where there is oestrogen, there is copper, which is usually not in the useable form (this can cause havoc with so many body systems, including thyroid, adrenal glands and especially our hormones!). This is not only due to the birth control pill, but the hormone IUD and especially the copper coil, which is a direct source of bio unavailable copper into the woman’s body. It can cause COPPER TOXICITY, which is a massive topic !! Feel free to ask me more about the epidemic of copper toxicity, if you like, I can provide lots of information on this or post more.
Anytime a woman takes ANY synthetic hormones into her body, (and there are so many out there), including HRT, she has the potential to become copper toxic. Therefore, she needs to be made aware of any possible side effects both short and long term. Then she can decide if she prefers to take it, or seek more natural alternatives. That is the way I see it anyway. It should be about education and making fully informed decisions.
There are lots of routes through peri-menopause and menopause but what I would like to see is a lot more time, energy and money invested into education and prevention of the horrendous symptoms that so many women seem to be suffering these days, which have been normalised. I would love to see more education way before a woman hits menopause, more education on diet, stating why so many restricted diets are probably a big factor too, so many women are missing out on fat soluble vitamins like A, D, E, and K.
I would also like to see more education on why we need cholesterol, with in depth explanations, (no cholesterol, no sex hormones). We are also reaping what was sown telling people that “low fat” diets were healthy (far from it) that eggs were bad (far from it) that red meat was bad (far from it, depends hugely in the quality and the source of course) that salt was bad (table salt IS bad, but quality salt with minerals can be highly beneficial) again, the list of poor health “advice” over the years has been shocking actually!
There are of course lots and lots of natural approaches to menopause, ask me more, but they include looking at you as a “whole person”, not just as a body part or a hormone situation!
So back to the point: Do your research on EVERYTHING, work with an appropriately qualified practitioner. Never discontinue prescribed medications without support from your prescribing practitioner. THIS IS NOT MEDICAL ADVICE, it includes my thoughts and is for information purposes only. www.janetnaylor.co.uk