Menopause is Not Just a Female Problem

Menopause Not Just a Female Problem
Men are affected too!

What are the best options for relief from menopausal symptoms? Is the question I am so often asked. So today’s blog is all about herbs how they vary in comparison to bio identical hormones. Well, it is all about choosing what is going to benefit your body and how it functions not only today but long term. The final decision is always up to us both maybe found effective but which one you choose will be what will work best for you and your Optimal Health.

This may sound confusing but it is not, along with this and any other health-related decisions, it is vitally important to gather information from trusted sources so you can make a cognitive decision as to what will best suite you. Understanding that there are many choices, and often it will be what your gut or intuitive feelings will allow you to decide what will work best for you. So it is important to listen to your own intuition. Trust your body by the reactions it will give you when making these choices.

Quite often people can go through this phase of their life without experiencing any of the common problems of sleep disturbances, emotional changes such as mood shifts, hot flushes. For woman one day their period just stops and for men they just continue feeling quite good. Unfortunately this all too often is not a common occurrence with both men and woman experiencing very common symptoms of sleep problems, hot flashes, and mood shifts. But for those who do—the majority—relief is often found using traditional herbs which I make up into a liquid formula as I have found in my years of experience liquid is more effective than pills. In the women’s formula I include herbs such as, Shataviri, black cohosh and vitex. The male formula will include herbs such as Saw Palmetto, Fennel and Tribulus, for both men and women maca powder is a great nutrient that can be included daily either on your cereal or in a smoothie.
Traditional the herbs used in the female formula are known as phyto hormones. And they have what are known as adaptogenic, moisturizing, and tonifying effects. These effects are what results in relief of many menopausal symptoms. When an herb is adaptogenic (or an adaptogen) the effect it has differs, depending on your hormone levels.
Phytoestrogens act as natural SERMS (selective estrogen receptor modulators), helping the body adapt to its current hormone levels. For example, if your own estrogen levels are too high (estrogen dominance), a phytoestrogen will exert a kind of modulating effect to stabilize the cell and protect it from overstimulation. If your estrogen levels are too low, the same phytoestrogen will have a tonifying and moisturizing effect.
Male menopause is characterized by a change in hormonal levels, just as it is in women. Male menopause is a decrease in testosterone levels. Testosterone is a hormone responsible for maintaining muscle mass, sperm production and sex drive in men. Testosterone levels decline very gradually in men, usually starting around age 30. Low levels of testosterone lead to fatigue, decreased sexual desire and moodiness. Lifestyle changes such as a healthy diet, regular exercise, minimizing alcohol intake and decreasing animal protein whilst increasing vegetables, beans, nuts and seeds daily will help to minimize the symptoms of male menopause. The herbs used to support male menopause assist the body to adapt to these changes whilst helping to support healthy testorerone levels along with healthy digestion. Saw Palmetto assists with healthy metabolism of male hormones, also supporting healthy prostate, Fennel helps to assist digestion but also has benefits for male erectile function as does Tribulus and Maca.
These herbs and nutrients will help to support normal, balanced hormone functioning but it is also important to be aware that these need to be prescribed for you through a Professional ensuring that you are having the correct dosage and formula necessary for your body’s requirements.
Due to the ability of herbs to assist with the body adapting to the changes , traditional herbs and the nutrient supplements such as maca, Shataviri Chaste tree, and Black Cohosh—all phytoestrogens—are often a first choice for many women looking to boost estrogen levels naturally. Vitex is a good choice when trying to boost progesterone levels.
However herbs and nutrients on their own are not the total answer you need to implement a nutritional eating plan eliminating high sugar and salt intake, the majority of your diet needs to be fresh vegetables and fruit. Great plant nutrients and protein include beans, seeds, quinoa, rolled oats, nuts such as almonds, walnuts and Brazil nuts.
To give you some further understanding of the differences between herbs and bio identical hormones, here’s a mini-lesson in hormone receptors—the places on the cell membrane where substances can attach and produce an effect. There are two types of estrogen receptors: alpha and beta.
The alpha estrogen receptor is the one that gets the most attention because that is the one that mammalian estrogen binds to—resulting in typical estrogenic effects on breast and genital tissue.
Phytoestrogens, on the other hand, bind to the beta estrogen receptor. Their three-dimensional structure is a different shape, so they do not interact with estrogen receptors the same way as bio identical or synthetic hormones do—and therefore they don’t produce the same biologic effects. Bio identical hormones and synthetic hormones have a different three-dimensional structure. Bio identical hormones, although created outside your body, have the identical molecular structure as the receptors in your body. This literally makes them a good fit, whereas synthetic hormones do not have this.
As you can well see the female hormone structure is a lot more complicated than the male, this is because of the necessity for our bodies to cope with first becoming pregnant, then pregnancy, hormones play a vital role in the foetus growing into a healthy baby and then being able to give birth.
The positives about herbal formulas in comparison to bio identical hormones are that firstly that adapt to your body’s hormone function, your herbal formula can be altered or have herbs included supporting other areas of your body’s systems. To book an appointment phone: 8384 3722
Becoming and staying healthy doesn’t have to be complicated or expensive it can be as simple as paying very careful attention to what you put into your body or even on your body for that matter, also ensuring that you find health professionals to support you that you can build a relationship with and trust to guide you into Optimal Health for your Life.

Wishing you the best in ultimate health,
Julie Doherty N.D