It seems that everyone woman is afraid of getting old; from gaining weight, to losing libido, wrinkles, low energy, weak bones, grey hair and apparently losing our sex appeal there is no wonder we’re afraid. But putting aside what our social constructs tell us, we don’t have to be scared. 

Knowledge is power and when we understand what naturally happens to us women as we develop into the later stages of our lives, we can turn fear into empowerment.

The information below is relevant for women who are naturally going through menopause and also for women who suddenly go through menopause after a hysterectomy. So let’s start by understanding what is actually happening to our body… Underneath that weight gain, brain fog and that darn temperamental body temperature gauge.

What happens to our body? 

• Our brain knows that our egg count is starting to drop so our balance of progesterone and oestrogen drop. (These are the two main female hormones that give us our period and allow us to get pregnant).

• The drop of both oestrogen and progesterone leads to our symptoms.

• Oestrogen protects our immune system, our brain, bones and helps with the building blocks of our vaginal tissue...So when it’s low say hello to: increased infections and sickness, osteoporosis (weak bones), brain fog and increase risk of Alzheimer's (refer to Dr. Lisa Mosconi) and vaginal thinning.

• Progesterone, on the other hand, is needed to help balance out the effects of too much oestrogen (female cancers are more likely due to excess oestrogen), and have mood boosting and libido effects… Hot flashes? Read on below.

There is no concise reasoning behind why hot flushes happen, however according to Dr. Stacey Simms, it has something to do with our blood vessels and how our hormones are interacting with them. You will notice that hot flushes come on around times of stress, whether that be when you’re in a rush to get somewhere, you’re worried about a deadline, the temperature in the room or any other reason for your heart rate to elevate. Clinically and with close women in my life, I have seen them have positive results with lowering oestrogen and boosting their progesterone.

What does that mean? Well in short, if you feel tired, your metabolism slows down so you gain weight, your gut feels sluggish and you have hot flushes and can get hormonal migraines… it means you need to balance out your lowering hormones. That’s why, in my opinion, some women ‘age’ more gracefully than other women. Although their hormones are lowering, they are in ratio so the effects are still balancing out, and their symptoms are minimal as a result. 

Ok so now you know why you may be getting these symptoms. What can you do about it?

Top 3 things you can do: 

• Hot flushes? Lower your oestrogen by decreasing stress and losing weight. Seems like a no brainer but easier said than done right? For losing weight look into ‘800 fast’ as insulin resistance is most likely involved in the slow metabolism… And for decreasing the stress? Try the SD Protocol… and if you need help implementing it, check out the 6wkHR.

• Vaginal thinning? This is due to low levels of oestrogen. You’re probably in the basket of either being quite skinny and/or stressed currently or in the past. This means that you have burnt out all 3 areas of oestrogen production. (Fatty tissue, stress glands and reproductive organs)... Consuming phyto-oestrogens like soy products can help as well as decreasing your stress. Speak to your doctor in the meantime, as taking a oestrogen supplement may assist whilst you naturally get your own stores up.

As you have seen stress is a major underlying component of menopausal symptoms because it quite literally can be the underlying cause of your ratio imbalance in lowering hormones. When we talk about stress it’s not just emotional, it's physical and chemical too. As a chiropractor trained in the SD Protocol, there are specific adjustments and techniques we use to literally retrain your body to calm down the stress response. We target your brain, whilst also restoring normal movement and function to your body so that it can work at its best. Whether that’s allowing your hips to bear weight evenly, improving balance and minimising falls, helping with your range of movement and yes, helping your body age gracefully.

- Anthea Todd DC