Aging women and the natural decline of sex hormones. What to expect and how to support our brains, vaginas and everything in between.

While certain aspects of women’s health are still some what faux pas to discuss openly, I aim to challenge that and invite a REAL conversation about what women can expect as they age with regard to hormone fluctuations and offer some key ways to support themselves holistically through this transition.

If we are lucky enough to age into peri/menopause and beyond it signals a new phase and much like puberty centers around hormones only in reverse, ovaries now start to shut down production of sex hormones egg supply dwindles and this can lead to a slew of negative side effects if not properly supported. We will explore the basics of how sex hormones shift during this natural progression and how to support mental and physical aspects through whole foods, herbs and supplements along with key lifestyle considerations for optimal vitality through menopause.

How to age gracefully with a healthy mind, heart and body as nature intended.

As women age there is a natural decline in sex hormone production (progesterone, estrogen and testosterone) but that’s not all, we now know that during this time women become less efficient at metabolizing glucose as well. This can be devastating for our waistlines and brains since glucose is the brain’s preferred food source. In fact this is what leads to “a low energy brain state” and so many of the brain related symptoms of peri/menopause including night sweats, emotional instability, brain fog, decreased libido, insomnia, decreased energy, depression and anxiety, moodiness.. Additional peri/meno symptoms can include, hair loss, weight gain, vaginal dryness, increased UTI’s, fibroids and joint pain to name a few..

Suddenly you find yourself between the age of 42-52 experiencing some of all of these symptoms thinking what the actual F is going on here!

You may feel like you’re loosing your hair, mind and body all at once and it’s easy to panic. It can hit like a ton of bricks with no real warning aside from your periods becoming closer together. What you need to hear is it’s completely normal to have a decline in sex hormones as we age, we don’t need to rush to hormone replacement as a solution to “fix” this very natural process of aging. There is nothing to fix, it’s completely natural and normal and there are ways we can nourish our bodies and minds to invite more grace and ease with this transitional phase to menopause. It’s not just about having hot flashes and dry vaginas, hormone changes can have noticeable impacts on our brain function, our metabolism, our mood and our general sense of wellbeing. Whether we want it or not aging gracefully means hormones will decline if we are blessed to live long enough BUT this doesn’t have to feel like a hostile takeover of our bodies and minds, we now have a leg up on ways to support ourselves by incorporating key nutrients and lifestyle modifications to ease some of the negative side effects and prevent long term disease developments such as diabetes, heart disease and Altzeimers.

Natural Decline of Sex Hormone Phases

1. Progesterone levels declines- this is a calming hormone (natures Xanax) so naturally people become more anxious when there is less of it circulating also periods get closer together as egg supply diminishes.

2. Estrogen levels fluctuates up and down at first and then straight down- hot flashes, vaginal dryness, brain fog, glucose spikes, increased belly fat are often reported during this phase.

3. Testosterone lowers- this is the vitality and confidence hormone lowering signals depression, anxiety and more of the phase 2 symptoms

Metabolism, Energy and Cognition

The three main drivers of energy and metabolism for women are:

1. Cortisol levels

2. Thyroid function

3. Estrogen levels

We see increased cortisol production leading to increased perceived stress states accompanied by increased inflammation, impaired sleep, reduced insulin sensitivity, increases blood glucose levels which often leads to central weight gain. This coupled with the fact that the brain can’t utilize glucose as efficiently as it once did leads to decrease cognitive function and many downstream effects including memory impairment, mood swings, insomnia, loss of libido, depression and anxiety.

Working with a coach can help guide your understanding of the key glands involved (hypothalamus, pituitary, thyroid, ovaries and adrenals) and how to support them and you more fully through this natural life stage.

Step 1: Diet

• Mitigate glucose spikes by eating high fiber, high protein whole foods that provide more satiety

• Eat a variety of whole foods shoot for 5 colors in every meal to increase micronutrients in each meal

• Get adequate fatty acids especially omega 3’s SMASH fish (salmon, Mackerel, Sardines, Herring) nuts, seeds, olive oil

  *Brain is made up of 70% fat plus each of our cells has a lipid bilayer of fat- WE NEED HEALTHY FATS!!

• Stay hydrated, shoot for 1/2 your body weight in oz of water per day

Step 2: Lifestyle

• Fast 3-4 hours before bed to help alleviate glucose spikes that might be interfering with sleep

• Moderate alcohol- it robs deep sleep and increases cortisol levels. encourages auto immune disease and leaky gut

• Exercise *listen to body- mix of weights, HIIT, low cardio, bike, walk, pelvic floor exercises

• Resolve old trauma(s)- Holotropic Breath work

• Invest in a Vfit-light therapy device to restore vaginal tissue integrity and maintain health of pelvic floor musculature

Step 3: Herbs

• Chaste Tree- increases progesterone serum levels

• Maca- increases estrogen and improves libido, helps with hot flashes, insomnia, BMI, osteoporosis, depression and anxiety

  *not all Maca is created equal be sure to talk with your health coach for a quality product

• Ginseng- improves perceived stress

• Ashwaganda- improves perceived stress and insomnia

• Black Cohosh- night sweats

Peri/menopause is a natural progression of life that women should be able to hold there head high during. Having more conversations about the natural progression of hormones, what to expect and how to support the changing needs of our bodies during this time is vital to healthy aging. For more tailored support on diet and supplements or to order your very own Vfit for vaginal health don’t hesitate to reach out to Amber for a free discovery call.