Menopause Symptoms - What's the Hype About?
by Dr. Loretta Lanphier, ND, CN, HHP

Everywhere you turn these days—TV, magazines, newspapers, radio, junk mail, Internet—menopause and aging are turned into a disease to get rid of quickly! That is, if they are talked about at all. Advertising and media play a very powerful role in American life. So much so, most of us will not take the time to educate ourselves about particular issues, especially health issues. And why should we, when someone else will do it for us? We have been lulled to sleep by those who would say, “Don't worry we’ll take care of you.” It seems that you cannot deal with these natural processes—aging and menopause--without some form of drug or surgery being advertised as the newest solution. Until recently, menopause wasn’t even talked about openly in the media. It was something to dread and quietly mention to your personal physician.

When menopause symptoms hit, many women go into denial. Some think they have some sort of disease or emotional problems. Who wouldn’t with all of the negative messages and conflicting information? That’s what the pharmaceutical companies want. Everything they sell all give the same message; that your goal should be to slow down or stop the aging process. Notice how many makeover and cosmetic surgery ads/shows have sprung up? As the baby boomers age and approach menopause/andropause, everyone seems to want to cash in on the spending power this group has. It’s becoming as overwhelming as the diet industry—lots of products that don’t really work without side effects, but only a few lifestyle solutions. Nowadays, many doctors feel pressured to give hormone replacement therapy (HRT) to every woman, whether she needs it or not, like pressure to push Viagra for every man over age 50. After all, traditional medicine has a history of viewing the female organs as a problem. Or they are the cause of emotional problems, as in Freudian psychotherapy. Why is it that we insist on making these natural processes, aging, menopause and andropause, into a disease? I suggest that we look in the directions of greed and the monetary gains to be made.

Not all cultures think this way. Indigenous cultures, many outside of the United States, view women in menopause as entering their wisdom years. They are valued as important leaders of their family group and tribes. Many of them are the leaders and directors of the culture, passing down historical and valued knowledge to the younger members. Elders are not viewed as limited physically or mentally, but more wise because of their reflective experience.

In this article I cover the most common symptoms and some natural, even inexpensive, ways to ease these symptoms. Handling menopause gracefully is a lifestyle approach with a set of positive beliefs and a healthy mindset. Buying into the hype is only a way to harm yourself in the long run, and only delays the inevitable. The sooner you learn to accept your body and love yourself, the easier perimenopause and menopause will be.

Did you know that not all women get severe menopause symptoms? Studies show that a minority of women have symptoms that cannot be alleviated easily. Most of these women have stress related issues aggravating the symptoms. Did you know that there are three kinds of menopause? Most women experience natural menopause, the gradual cessation of monthly periods during ages 45 to 55. The other types involve a small percentage of women who experience menopause in their thirties or early forties, and artificial menopause, caused by surgery.

Symptoms are health problems that represent imbalances in the body that were already growing and unmasked by the shifting hormones. The most common symptoms and their natural treatment options are listed below:

Symptoms	Treatment
Allergies	Dietary changes, acupuncture
Breast swelling and tenderness	Eliminate caffeine, natural progesterone, fermented soy foods, supplements
Change in sexual desire	Natural progesterone, acupuncture, herbs
Fibroids	Natural progesterone, dietary changes, weight loss
Fuzzy thinking/forgetfulness	Herbs, natural progesterone
Hot flashes and night sweats	Vitamin E, fermented soy protein, black cohosh, wild yam, Chinese herbs, natural progesterone, meditation, aromatherapy, homeopathy, dietary changes, acupuncture
Insomnia	Reduce stress, Valarian, Melatonin
Migraine headaches	Eliminate caffeine, alcohol, chocolate, peanuts, aspartame in diet drinks, and other dietary changes, natural progesterone, herbs, supplements
Mood swings and depression	Resolve unfinished emotional business, improve diet, exercise, meditation, acupuncture, aromatherapy
Numbness in arms and hands	Acupuncture, exercise
Osteoporosis	Dietary adjustments, weight bearing exercise, natural progesterone; Vitamin D, C, magnesium, manganese, calcium, and boron supplementation; quit smoking, cut back on alcohol, limit caffeine and soda drinks, reduce phosphates
Palpitations	Deep breathing, dietary changes, supplements
Skin problems	Supplements, natural progesterone, dietary changes
Stiffness/joint pain	Dietary changes, acupuncture, natural progesterone
Thinning hair	Lose excess body fat, vitamin supplements, acupuncture, Chinese herbs
Urinary infection or incontinence	Kegel exercises; organic cranberry juice
Vaginal dryness, irritation, thinning	Black cohosh, lubricants, aromatherapy
Weight gain	Diet changes that increase natural foods, exercise; stress reduction

Many symptoms can also be alleviated with Ayurveda and Chinese medicine. I am not an advocate of estrogen supplementation, not even plant based. We get so much estrogen just from the environment that supplementing it can put a person on overload very quickly. There are just much better ways to alleviate the symptoms of menopause.

As you can see, you can take a proactive role in the elimination of the source of the symptoms. Just remember, symptoms are an indicator that something is out of balance. I am convinced that the most important factor in going through menopause with minimal symptoms is developing a healthy diet. The problem is, 95% of the population has no idea of what a healthy diet is. You can find out more about diet in my e-Book, Balancing Hormones Without Drugs…You Can Feel Good Again.

At Oasis Advanced Wellness hormonal levels can be tested with a simple and inexpensive saliva test performed in the privacy of your own home. With these results, I can determine your need for natural hormone replacement therapy (HRT). Natural progesterone is safe and non-toxic. It helps to balance the effects of estrogen, and has a calming effect on the nervous system. The use of natural progesterone in combination with lifestyle changes often improves menopause symptoms. I can evaluate your symptoms, take a look at your diet and exercise program, prescribe a treatment, and then monitor your progress.

Loretta Lanphier, ND, CN, HHP is a Doctor of Naturopath, Clinical Nutritionist and Holistic Health Practitioner in the Houston, TX area and CEO/President of Oasis Advanced Wellness. A teacher, educator and author, she counsels Oasis Advanced Wellness clients on the aspects of getting the body healthy and keeping the body healthy. As a cancer survivor, she is able to relate extensively, both as a patient and a practitioner, to clients suffering from disease. Dr. Lanphier has been privileged to share her cancer survival story with hundreds of people during seminars and lectures. Her passionate style of truth and straight-forwardnessin an easy-to-understand format is very refreshing to even the most discerning of audiences. Dr. Lanphier is the author of two books and many articles on health conditions written from a natural/alternative medicine viewpoint. Dr. Lanphier is dedicated to helping people create lasting changes in their health and enhancing well-being through whole body nutritional balancing including physician strength supplementation. Dr. Lanphier is Editor and contributor to the worldwide newsletter Alternative Health & Healing.