Loving ourselves through perimenopause and beyond!

Written By Amber Barone

Well ladies, here I am closer to 50 than 40 and in this midlife stage I’m noticing a few changes but it’s surprisingly helping me see life and myself in a whole new and expansive way. It’s a transition for sure, but one we don’t need to fear, or white knuckle our way through, we just need to understand what’s happening and learn how best to support ourselves.

For many this can be a very challenging time as the body starts to shift out of child bearing years and into more of the golden years. Perhaps you’ve heard about some horrific mood swings, night sweats, vaginal dryness, low libido, sleep and memory issues… I mean there’s a lot of negative press out there!

First, I want to quell your fears a little by sharing what’s happening physiologically. As women head into middle age our ovaries have fewer and fewer eggs and therefore we produce less progesterone and in the beginning estrogen levels tend to fluctuate, then during the second phase we see low levels of progesterone, estrogen and testosterone. This leads to increased cortisol which is trying to make up for the perceived “vitality” loss.

Secondly, as our sex hormones become less available and cortisol levels rise, women start to metabolize glucose less effectively which can impair brain function and weight distribution you might notice brain fog and low energy, perhaps some belly fat accumulation. Seems rather harmless but left unchecked can lead to full on insulin resistance and the downward spiral of events that can take hold from there, including things like, Alzheimers, diabetes, heart disease, kidney disease… you get the idea. We can mitigate this with diet and lifestyle changes.

To support ourselves we need to eat, move, think and feel in ways that encourage healthy blood sugar, good gut bacterial balance, quality sleep, connection and low stress. Easy peasy!

Here are 3 practical tips to get started with:

1) Eat whole foods high in fiber, organic and grass fed to minimize endocrine (hormone) disruption from herbicides, pesticides, growth hormones- shoot for 5 colors per meal to increase micro-nutrient content

2) Exercise daily, mix routines up to include high and low intensity options walking, HIIT, yoga…

3) Improve sleep and avoid glucose spikes by finishing your last meal 3-4 hours before bed

Perimenopause on into menopause is a time for celebration!

Suddenly, the veil is lifted, we care a lot less what other people think and start to develop a new sense of our TRUE self and voice and what it means to live a life full of purpose. Values align with our mission, relationships become more satisfying, old traumas become healed. Hello beautiful!

I’m eager to show you how this transition could just be the best experience of your life. We’ll dive into physiology, lifestyle, diet, botanical support and testing options for hormonal harmony.

References:

Duarte AI, Santos MS, Oliveira CR, Moreira PI. Brain insulin signalling, glucose metabolism and females' reproductive aging: A dangerous triad in Alzheimer's disease. Neuropharmacology. 2018 Jul 1;136(Pt B):223-242. doi: 10.1016/j.neuropharm.2018.01.044. Epub 2018 Feb 20. PMID: 29471055.

Marlatt KL, Pitynski-Miller DR, Gavin KM, Moreau KL, Melanson EL, Santoro N, Kohrt WM. Body composition and cardiometabolic health across the menopause transition. Obesity (Silver Spring). 2022 Jan;30(1):14-27. doi: 10.1002/oby.23289. PMID: 34932890; PMCID: PMC8972960.

Hao S, Tan S, Li J, Li W, Li J, Liu Y, Hong Z. The effect of diet and exercise on climacteric symptomatology. Asia Pac J Clin Nutr. 2022;31(3):362-370. doi: 10.6133/apjcn.202209_31(3).0004. PMID: 36173208.

Amber Barone

Amber is a Holistic RN and Functional Medicine Practitioner who supports whole body integrative health and uses primarily diet changes, whole foods, herbs along with lifestyle tools and supplements to help clients restore balance and align with their highest sense of well being.

Amber started her nursing career in the clinic setting where she built a solid understanding of disease progression and contributing factors along with pathophysiology, biochemistry, psychological and trauma aspects. From there she became a travel nurse, working in various settings including cardiac rehab, med surg, psych, long term care, ICU’s and ER’s. These ever changing environments satisfied her ferocious appetite to learn and grow through challenging and inspiring case loads in diverse settings. It was through all of this that she realized her true passion and where she could serve at her highest capacity was working with patients on how to prevent and reverse chronic disease.

As a functional medicine, holistic RN Amber strives to bring in the best evidence based tools and resources from both conventional and alternative schools of thought. She is dedicated to continuing her learning to stay up to speed with the latest research and trends and has built her practice around educating and empowering patients to be proactive with their health.

Most patients come to Amber through a referral network of practitioners in various medical and alternative settings including MD’s, FNP’s, Acupuncturists, Dentists, Chiropractors, Massage Therapists and Yoga Teachers… who wish to support their patients in this way but don’t have the time, education or resources to do this effectively.

The functional medicine addition to client care seems to be the missing piece of a true wellness model. It becomes a collaborative movement too, working together to promote wellness in our respective communities. It expedites healing through deep understanding and promotes life long transformation. Win! Win!

Functional medicine is a deep dive into root cause correlations contributing to one’s current state, it views each patient as unique and in so doing, more fully supports patients on their road to wellness by nourishing unique pathways effecting body systems, organs and glands. Much like regenerative farming and soil health, our bodies are designed to be resilient they just need the right inputs and tools to mitigate cumulative stress, toxins and burdens of our time. Feeling empowered with your health starts here.

EDUCATION / TRAINING

BS Nursing Montana State University-Registered Nurse

BA Psychology and Sociology University of Montana

Equine Veterinarian Technician-Penn Foster

Clinicians Mastermind Circle a one-year Functional Medicine Intensive

Functional Nutrition Alliance 10-month Full Body Systems Immersion

Yoga Motion 240 hour RYS teacher training

http://www.bar1wellness.com
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