…Managing Menopause Naturally

I regularly see clients in the Hut how are finding the symptoms of menopause difficult to manage. They want to find ways that support the body naturally through this process, however, the symptoms make ‘normal’ life difficult.

In my blog ‘7 ways to support your body through menopause’ I talked about some simple steps you can take to naturally manage your symptoms.

In this blog, I want to focus more on 5 ways you can support yourself further in more detail.

1. Moving to a more alkaline diet

You may remember learning about acid and alkaline at school, what you may not know is that the body has an optimum pH level of around 7.2. Our current way of living doesn’t support this well and many of us will find that our body is operating at a pH below 7 bringing it into an acidic state.

When our body is an alkaline state our growth hormone is increased which in turn enhances libido and helps us shed excess fat easier – two things that we often have problems with during the menopause.

So how can you get more alkaline?

• Boost your fruit and veg intake – most are alkaline but avoid fruits such as pomegranate, raspberries and pineapple.
• Have healthy snacks – unsalted nuts and organic salads/vegetable sticks are a great alternative snack
• Juice – if you don’t have time to prepare more veg then juice it
• Reduce grains – as lovely as white bread, rice and pasta are they are very acidic so reduce these as much as possible and top up with vegetables instead
• Add natural flavour to meals – surprisingly ketchup, mayonnaise and almost all other condiments are acidic so cut these out and use natural herbs and spices to flavour your food.
• Purify your water – tap water can often contain additional compounds that disrupt your hormones. Using a purifier to ensure that your water is as alkaline as possible or add lemon to your water.

2. Support your nervous system

As our body enters menopause our levels of oestrogen and progesterone rapidly change. Both are important for our nervous system to function correctly and one of the most obvious symptoms of menopause relating to these is ‘brain fog’ which is related to the drop in oestrogen levels.

There are lots of alternative ways to rebalance your hormones and one of the easiest is to increase your oestrogen levels through diet – chickpeas, soy and linseed.

You can also use simple breathing techniques to switch off your stress responses and stimulate your parasympathetic nervous system and slow your heart rate. All you need is up to 6 slow, deep belly breaths; breathing in through the nose and out of the mouth. Daily meditation can also help to calm and focus the mind.

3. Exercise and hot flushes

The last thing you may want to do if you are experiencing hot flushes is exercise, but there have been a number of studies that have pointed to the benefits of exercise on these. This is mainly connected to weight loss as a result of regular exercise, however, it may also be connected to the hormonal changes that can occur when we exercise.

High intensity exercise can make things worse though as it stimulates the adrenals, so opt for lower impact options such as:

• Swimming
• Walking
• Cycling
• Yoga

4. Talk about menopause

The female body and its cycles are rarely talked about – we are often led to feel shame about our periods and when menopause hits it is often joked about.

By having open conversations with others and empathising with how they feel we can make menopause into a time of growth and transition.

Although not a replacement for the other tips I have shared, there is a lot of benefits to getting together with other women, sharing your experiences and supporting each other. This will allow those feel good hormones to kick in and we all know that having an abundance of these can make us feel 100 times better!

5. The Balanced Health Hut

At the Hut, I offer support to women from pre to post menopause using a combination of kinesiology to balance the endocrine system and identify key supplements to support your personal menopause journey and reflexology to help balance hormones and keep you relaxed.

Please feel free to get in touch if you have any questions about the menopause and natural approaches to managing the symptoms.

This blog does not aim to give medical advice and if you are suffering from unexpected symptoms you should consult your GP.