I think the above photo says it all.
One day you realize you aren’t getting periods any more but the celebrating is short lived as the menopausal symptoms begin.
BRENDA’S PERSONAL STORY
I suffered with horrific perimenopausal symptoms in my early 30’s, so much so, I begged for it to stop and for menopause to take over. But be careful what you wish for, as this was just as bad.
At the height of my symptoms, the hot flashes were coming every 20 minutes all day long. I wasn’t sleeping because the night sweats were too! And without sleep, I got VERY grumpy, moody and forgetful. Plus I had severe vaginal dryness. It honestly couldn’t get any worse!
My nutritional training had not prepared me for this. The doctors couldn’t help me and the remedies I did know for menopause that worked on my mature clients were not working on me.
I persevered. Until one day I couldn’t handle it anymore and went on HRT. It was like night and day. I was so relieved, but then I started gaining weight. A lot of weight, and my one leg started swelling for no apparent reason. I knew it was all related to the HRT and so I quit cold turkey (not recommended).
Back to the search for answers. It took time and it wasn’t easy, but I found them, and now I am sharing my hormonal secrets with you!
WHAT CAN YOU DO?
The Bad News: I have been successfully coaching women on overcoming hot flashes and night sweats for over 30 years, and I know that what every woman wants is a quick fix.
I am sorry to say that there is no “one remedy fits all” solution or one “pill” that will make your menopausal symptoms go away easily and quickly.
It is true, some women get lucky and they don’t seem to suffer at all or they tend to resolve their menopausal symptoms effortlessly.
I assure you that is not most women and I can assume you aren’t one of them or you wouldn’t be reading this article.
The Good News: Your efforts will be rewarded because when you commit to the right action plan for YOU, not only will you cool down, but you will also feel energized and vitalized.
The Great News: I have written a Menopause e-manual “Stop the Madness” which maps out what you need to know and what you need to do.
It can be purchased separately HERE or it comes as part of the Menopause Package that I have put together to get you started on your way to relief HERE.
THE ACTION PLAN
Although each woman is unique, the common denominators in most cases of menopausal symptoms are:
- Nutritional Deficiencies
- Adrenal Fatigue
- Magnesium deficiency
- Sub-clinical hypothyroidism
Here is the summary of how these factors influence your menopausal symptoms.
1. NUTRITIONAL DEFICIENCIES
You can’t make a single hormone if you are deficient in even one mineral or vitamin. Vitamins and minerals must work together to create successful results.
There is a long list that your body will require but I have drawn on my 30-plus years of experience to design, and manufacture these “Daily Essential Nutrients”. They are conveniently packaged as the Total Health Pack.
I consider them to be an essential part of your daily life if you wish to achieve and maintain hormone balance. Here are just a few of the highlights:
Vitamin A: helps protects the mucous membranes of your nose, sinuses, lungs, eyelids, mouth, throat, stomach, intestines, vagina and uterus. Without it, you are more susceptible to infection. This is a critical factor as less estrogen in menopause generally makes your vaginal tissues thinner, drier, less elastic and more fragile.
B Complex: all 11 B vitamins are significant for avoiding senility, depression, and memory loss while increasing focus and concentration. They help boost your energy and metabolism, calm your nerves and improve your sleep and complexion.
Vitamin C: You need vitamin C for everything from building bones to forming new cells to manufacturing hormones. Vitamin C produces collagen that holds your cells together and that keeps your skin smooth and free from wrinkling.
Vitamin E: helps menopausal symptoms such as breast tenderness, hot flashes, and night sweats and many more.
Omega-3: works to turn on the genes that burn body fat and turn off the genes that store it. Omega-3s support thyroid function, improve your moods, increase mental alertness, and reduce your cravings.
MSM (methylsulfonylmethane): Many menopausal women have estrogen deficiency symptoms but they are making enough estrogen, it is just not getting into their cells.
This is where MSM comes in. It will allow toxins out of your cells and nutrients and hormones in. It is of course excellent for many other functions in the body, including youthful skin, which is why it’s in the Total Health Pack.
The Menopause Package contains a Total Health Pack (60 daily packets). You can read the entire list of Essential Daily Nutrients HERE.
2. ADRENAL FATIGUE
You can see in this diagram that your adrenal glands (the ones that are always responding to stress for you), should take cholesterol (yes, you NEED cholesterol to make hormones!) and make pregnenolone, then DHEA and then testosterone and estrogen. They are also capable of producing progesterone and cortisol.
If your body was producing this cascade of hormones as depicted, the likelihood of you having hot flashes and/or night sweats and other menopausal symptoms would be minimal.
For you to eliminate your menopausal symptoms and experience vibrant health, you need to have optimal adrenal function.
The Menopausal Package contains the Total Health Pack and Wild Yam capsules which will begin the process of adrenal rejuvenation.
The Menopause e-manual found in the package HERE or as a separate download HERE will provide further suggestions for adrenal rejuvenation as will the Adrenal E-Manual “Recharge Your Batteries” found HERE.
3. MAGNESIUM DEFICIENCY
Magnesium counters depression, anxiety, sleep challenges, and night sweats. Prevents tension related issues such as jaw/teeth clenching/grinding, headaches, and leg or muscle cramps. It also supports adrenal function, energy production, proper stress response and recovery.
Obviously, you don’t want to be deficient in magnesium.
However, it is too easy to have an inadequate intake of magnesium. Unless you are eating a lot (and I do mean a LOT) of green leafy vegetables such as kale, collards, turnip greens, Swiss chard, spinach, mustard greens, and broccoli and drink naturally occurring mineral rich spring water daily, you are very likely going to be deficient in magnesium.
In fact, you are more likely to lose magnesium faster than you can acquire it from food. Stress causes you to dump magnesium. You also lose magnesium from eating sugar, drinking too much coffee, soda, or alcohol.
Large amounts of calcium in the diet will diminish magnesium absorption. Burns, surgery, excessive sweating, heavy menstrual periods, diuretics, and intensive exercise can also deplete your magnesium levels.
The Menopause Package contains a 180-capsule bottle of our preferred Magnesium Citrate with L-Taurine.
More details about magnesium can be found in the Menopause E-manual “Stop the Madness” HERE.
Or you can download your FREE copy of our “Magnesium Usage Guide” on our website www.HormoneRollerCoaster.com and look under the book tab for “free downloads”.
4. SUB-CLINICAL HYPOTHYROIDISM
WHAT IS SUB-CLINICAL HYPOTHYROIDISM?
Our definition for this term is as follows: when the body has symptoms of hypothyroidism but the blood tests do not confirm this condition.
It is common to start noticing sub-clinical hypothyroidism symptoms after a tonsillectomy (the tonsils are close to the thyroid).
Julia Ross, in her book The Mood Cure, notes that “the start of menstruation, menopause, or a pregnancy is perhaps the most common trigger in women, but the incidence of thyroid problems among women doubles after menopause and up to 30 percent of women with PMS have some kind of thyroid problem.”
Many of the symptoms thought to be caused by menopause are thyroid related including severe and/or frequent hot flashes and night sweats.
OVERCOMING SUB-CLINICAL HYPOTHYROIDISM
Adding Norwegian Kelp to your daily regime is safe if you are also supporting your adrenal glands and are getting your “Daily Essential Nutrients” (which are all contained in the Menopause Package).
If you have Hashimoto’s you should consult with a health care practitioner before starting on any iodine or kelp supplement.
Iodine stimulates thyroid gland function, assists in making thyroid hormones, which are necessary for maintaining normal metabolism in all cells of the body, converting food to energy, and maintaining body temperature.
Norwegian Kelp also contains trace minerals which are severely lacking in our food supply today.
The usual maximum recommendation is for 5 Norwegian Kelp capsules twice a day. The Norwegian Kelp that we carry in our online store contains 455 mcg of iodine per capsule.
However, it is best to start with 2-3 capsules daily and gradually increase the dosage. You can do this by adding one capsule per week.
YOUR STARTING PROGRAM WOULD LOOK LIKE THIS
After Breakfast or Lunch
- 1 Total Health Pack
- 1,000 mg of Synergistic B5 (pantothenic acid)
- 2 wild yam
- 3 Norwegian Kelp
Before Bed
- 3 (+/-) Magnesium Citrate with L-Taurine
Or
After Breakfast
- 2 Wild Yam
- 3 Norwegian Kelp
After Lunch
- 1 Total Health Pack
- 1,000 mg of Synergistic B5 (pantothenic acid)
Before Bed
- 3 (+/-) Magnesium Citrate with L-Taurine
Purchase your Menopause Package to get started on eliminating those hot flashes and night sweats, and recover your energy and vibrancy now, GO HERE.
AND REMEMBER THESE 5 CRITICAL LIFESTYLE STRATEGIES
(For More Details Go HERE)
- Drink ½ ounce of purified water per pound of body weight daily.
- Eat 2 cups of vegetables daily, not including lettuce, potato, peas, corn and mushrooms. You can eat them; they just don’t count.
- Reduce caffeine intake to no more than 16 ounces of organic coffee per day. Zero to 8 ounces is preferable.
- Have four to five sugar free days per week.
- Find exercise you enjoy, that energizes you and get movement at least 4 times per week.
Information made available through this website is provided for educational or reference purposes only. Nutritional Therapy and/or Coaching is not intended as a diagnosis, treatment, prescription, or cure for any disease, mental or physical, and is not intended as a substitute for regular medical care.
Copyright Brenda Eastwood, RNCP and Megan Boff, RNCP 2016 – Stop the Menopausal Madness
MaximumResults@shaw.ca www.BrendaEastwood.com www.TotalHealthPack.com
Would you like to use this article in your E-zine or website? You may, if you include this complete write-up with it: Brenda Eastwood is a holistic health expert who specializes in Women’s Health Issues. Her expertise stems from over 35 years’ experience as a Registered Nutritional Consulting Practitioner. This includes ongoing research, 17 years running a successful private practice, presenting hundreds of seminars and workshops, as well as coaching clients through her unique online Inner Circle program. Today she is reaching out to even more women through her regular article contributions to HANS (Health Action Magazine) and her book “Get off the PMS and Perimenopausal Roller Coaster, Learn 9 Natural Fast Track Solutions to Balanced Hormones”. For more information on Brenda Eastwood please visit www.BrendaEastwood.com or for information on her Total Health Packs visit www.TotalHealthPack.com
