Celebrating Women and Menopause

How will we celebrate International Women's Day? At Custom Wellness we support women through every stage of life! We meet you wherever you may be. And in lieu of this special day our particular focus is MENOPAUSE. This topic is imperative for discussion. Do you ever notice when people say 'menopause' (men and women alike) or talk about the subject it’s always discussed with a cringe or in some other negative fashion? That is called stigmatization friends! Any form of stigmatization oppresses an individual and prevents empowerment to allow them to take control of their situation rendering them powerless. Our role and goal is to empower you! So let me get off this high menopause horse or better yet, let's look at the facts.
 
Menopause is a beautiful thing. Yes, let me say this again, MENOPAUSE IS A BEAUTIFUL THING. And every woman will eventually go through this transition in their life, so why can't it be celebrated? Historically, and in other cultures, this transition in a woman's life was incredibly powerful. Think queens who ruled countries. They would become the active matriarch of power. Isn't that an incredibly honorable role? BUT, you're not thinking queen or power right? Are you thinking hot flashes, irritability, sweating and vaginal dryness to name a few? Ok let's have a chat about those.
 
Menopause is not a disease and it is not a medical diagnosis! It is a natural progression of life just as puberty is a natural transition into the next stage of womanhood. Female transitions do not go without hormonal changes. Most think of only two hormones during menopause; progesterone and estrogen. Many women I have worked with believe those are the only hormones responsible to help them to function and the decrease in them are to blame for making them feel dragged down and sometimes crazy. It is crucial to know that we need to support this transition by understanding the needs of our bodies as we are going through this and all the hormone producing glands need special attention, not just the sex glands!
 
To address or more favorably prevent symptoms we look to the adrenals, thyroid and our heroine, the liver! Support the adrenals, which has active duty in support of your stress response and also responsible for levels of the hormone cortisol (stubborn belly fat anyone?) and you support the thyroid (while balancing hormones) all by meeting your emotional, physical and nutritional needs. The more array of whole foods you can eat the happier your thyroid and adrenals will be. They are hungry for the right foods so that they may produce the proper amount of hormones to keep you balanced and ease into your transition. Basics! Foundations! Are you meeting your own needs?
 
And let's thank the LIVER for always flushing out our daily toxic load. Sometimes the liver gets exhausted and can't do the job properly because it becomes overloaded with environmental and digestive stress! Sometimes an overload of these toxins and stressors can create a rise in temperature and sweat (hello hot flashes! Or wait could that heat also be a result from my unhappy thyroid?). Balancing these and giving them proper tender-loving-care during this particular transition in life will help aid in sleep, prevent hot flashes and irritability and heck we can even throw in some suggestions for libido and vaginal dryness which can all be healed and prevented through the right nutrition and lifestyle. How can we offer support throughout this new chapter in your life? We're ready when you are.
 
Amy Prins
Certification in Natural Health/Alternative Medicine
Presently studying Traditional Naturopathy