It’s no wonder women turn to menopause self help.  The last gynecologist I visited threw his hands in the air and told me that bioidentical hormones are a “myth”.  All I did was ask if he prescribed them because I was at my wits end with what seemed to be a menopause problem.  My own Doctor told me she doesn’t prescribe bioidentical hormones but she would fill a prescription if I brought one from a Naturopath.   She said there is no long term research and therefore doesn’t recommend them but I got the feeling she really just wasn’t interested in learning about them.   After much frustration with the medical system and reading books and researching, I tried my own menopause self help.  Menopause self help is really just good common sense recommendations. 

The top 10 menopause self help tips:

1. Aim for raw foods for 50% of your diet and consume a protein supplement which will help stabilize your blood sugar.  Add blackstrap molasses to your diet together with soybean products, broccoli, salmon with bones, sardines (not my favorite!) and white fish.  Even dandelion greens and kelp if you are feeling brave.
2. Phytoestrogens also play a role in menopause self help.  Eat the following foods high in these: soybeans, flaxseeds, nuts, whole grains, apples, fennel, celery, parsley and alfalfa.  Relief from hot flashes may come from soy and soy isoflavones.  Women in Asian cultures rarely experience hot flashes and this may be due to a high intake of phytoestrogens.
3. Don’t consume animal products other than the fish as listed.  Avoid dairy products.  Limit yourself to small amounts of low-fat yogurt or buttermilk.  Dairy and meat products may promote hot flashes.
4. We love our wine and coffee but try to avoid alcohol, caffeine, sugar, spicy foods, hot soups and drinks as they may trigger hot flashes while aggravating urinary incontinence not to mention making mood swings worse.  These also make the blood more acidic which in turn prompts the bones to release calcium that will act as a buffering agent.  We want to avoid bone loss during the menopause years.
5. Menopause self help would not be complete without regular moderate exercise.
6. Easier said than done at times but avoid stress as much as you can.
7. Use Mrs. Dash or garlic or onion powder in place of salt when cooking.  An increase of urinary excretion of calcium results with salt consumption.
8. We want to keep our skin hydrated and prevent drying of mucous membranes so drink 2 quarts of good quality water every day.
9. For annoying, embarrassing itching in your vaginal area try vitamin E cream that has no added fragrance or you can open a vitamin E capsule and apply the oil.
10. Also use vitamin E oil or aloe vera gel to lubricate your vagina if sexual intercourse is painful.  The good news is frequent sexual intercourse can help relieve vaginal dryness.

Whether or not you are on hormone replacement therapy, you will feel better while following the above menopause self help guidelines.

Tags: Bioidentical Hormones, hot flashes, Menopause, Menopause Self Help