The liberation from monthly periods can be the best time in a woman’s life. The time is typically between the ages of 45 to 55 and more often a peri-menopause will begin several years before actual menopause. An imbalance can develop during this transition making the need for a hormone balancing diet very important. For some women menopause is abrupt with complete cessation of ovulation. It can be a painful time for women who cherish that ability to have children. The attitude toward this time of life is dependent on what matters to a woman. For many women it is a great relief from cramps, bloating, heavy periods and all the inconveniences that surround the hormonal cycle that orchestrates the reproductive ovulation sequence.
Some women suffer a great deal at the hands of the hormones that cause swelling of not only the uterus each month, but the entire body, from joints to muscles to the waistline, making it uncomfortable in the week leading up to the actual bleeding that is known as the period. Often as menopause approaches in the five years prior, the period becomes irregular and can come more often with the cascade of hormones that cause the cramps, bloating and discomfort, making life a living nightmare. This will seem unfair to some women as other women seem to feel no pain of any kind and never suffer cramps or even bloating from any of the typical Pre Menstrual Symptoms that plague those who do suffer.
Diet for Hormone Balancing
For those who are keen to the way their bodies are reacting to the types of foods that are consumed, women can understand that the diet is a great way to balance the hormones that serve to regulate the hormones that orchestrate the monthly ovulation cycle. For reduction of bloating, painful cramps and swelling, eating or abstaining from foods that cause inflammation is an excellent way to take the edge off of menopause. Often consuming more soy products and abstaining from cheeses, white flour, meat and alcoholic beverages. Knowing which foods cause the inflammation is a great tool to begin negating the discomfort caused by the presence of estrogen and progesterone in the bloodstream.Women who suffer from cramps, in particular, can usually benefit from a diet that reduces the effects of these hormones, along with exercise and living a healthy lifestyle. The reduction of intake of fatty foods such as cheese and white flour will cause a significant reduction of the hormones necessary to orchestrate women’s ovulation cycle. Abstaining from white flour and gluten in the diet can significantly reduce inflammation caused by the release of estrogen into the blood stream.
The hormones that cause the various symptoms are due to the ebb and flow of estrogen, progesterone and luteinizing hormone that cause an egg to rupture the ovary each month. The ovaries themselves emit those hormones in order for there to be a chance each month for an egg to become fertilized for pregnancy. The hormones themselves will offer many things to the body that disappear at menopause, leaving some women less healthy, with increased chance of heart disease and lower calcium, which can lead to osteoporosis. Many things happen to the body when the hormones of the reproductive cycle stop their flow.
Women can suffer from depression, mood swings, hot flashes and difficulty with maintaining a healthy weight. A body can hold on to fat or it can let go of fat at the loss of estrogen. It varies in women due to many factors related to body type, heredity, activity level and diet. Women that had trouble losing weight during child bearing years can have trouble keeping weight on after menopausea due to the lack of estrogen. The other extreme can develop as well and it the more common problem, where women complain of having difficulty keeping their weight down after the end of their reproductive years.
The balance of hormones after menopause can give a woman the desire to care for others after they are liberated from the shackles of the monthly period. Women can think more clearly and offer a more pleasant attitude to others when their period has stopped. The hot flashes, mood swings and weight gain in menopause can be controlled by the proper diet.
More help for menopause weight gain in the next article.
