Tuesday, February 9, 2010
Question: I wake up at night drenched in sweat for the past few months. I’m going into menopause and am having hot flashes during the day also. Is there any relief in sight?
Answer: You’ve heard it before . . . menopause is where our bodies cease having menstrual cycles. We stop releasing eggs from our ovaries; we stop getting signals from our brain to produce certain hormones, especially estrogen and progesterone.
I would first look at the health of your adrenal glands. Based on adrenal health, you will either navigate menopause smoothly or not. They produce small amounts of estrogen after menopause, if they are healthy. Stress, poor diet, lack of exercise is the biggest factors in adrenal health, and so a positive shift in behavior there might be needed.
We also need to support our adrenals nutritionally. Take or consume 2,000 to 3,000 mg omega 3 oils daily (wild salmon, omega 3 eggs), sufficient vitamin C (fruit), vitamin B6, B12 and folate. We need much more than the recommended daily allowance if we are stressed, because our body is using these vitamins rapidly under stress.
Other supplements to consider are Vitamin E (400IU daily), Dong Quai has been used in Asia for centuries, and similarly Native Americans have used Black Cohosh for hot flashes. Be patient, some of these remedies take four weeks to get the full benefit.
Sepia, cimicifuga or ignatia are good remedies to try for hot flashes. These can be obtained at health food stores.
Progesterone is sometimes recommended, but DO NOT use progesterone creams. The hormone can be readily transferred to others (your husband) and it has been found to be stored in fatty tissue creating overdosing. Progesterone drops are easier to control and get into your system more readily.
Interestingly, there are many cultures that do not experience any menopausal symptoms! This is likely diet related and perhaps societal. These groups eat primarily vegetables and whole grains. Caffeine, soda, fatty foods create hormonal patterns that aggravate menopausal symptoms. Clean up your diet and your symptoms may disappear.
Dr. Cheryl Shea, DC, of is the owner of Complete Wellness Center, in Kirkwood, a holistic clinic for all ages. The practice offers chiropractic, nutritional evaluations, and acupuncture. For questions, contact her at info@ wgwellness.com
Comments
climber (anonymous) says...
It is really nice to see a forum for this point of view. Most serious news outlets would dismiss this type of commentary simply because almost all of these claims are completely unsubstantiated and/or propagated entirely by vitamin and supplement manufacturers who are out to make millions by selling you vitamins and supplements you (at best) don’t need more of or (at worst) don’t need at all. I would also like to commend Dr. Shea for managing to complete a column without recommending acupuncture or chiropractic adjustments (which she conveniently provides). Apparently acupuncture and chiropractic work for weight loss, insomnia, TMJ, arthritis and ADHD, but for menopause you’ll just have take 15 times the recommended daily allowance of vitamin E (good luck with that). Well it’s good to see that holistic chiropractors draw the line somewhere.
February 9, 2010 at 1:05 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )