Managing Menopause Naturally
Your period is irregular. You randomly experience waves of heat and break out in sweats. You’re having trouble sleeping through the night. You’re gaining weight.
Your breasts are changing—and not for the better. You might even experience drastic mood swings. Welcome to beginning stages menopause.
Menopause occurs when you have not had a menstrual cycle in 12 months and marks the end of fertility in women. The symptoms noted above appear as estrogen and progesterone, our reproductive hormones, decrease during a transitional period called perimenopause. Perimenopause can last anywhere from a few months to a few years.
It is important to know that menopause cannot be reversed and it is not an illness. There is no need to artificially replace hormones in your body through hormone replacement therapy to avoid this transition. Menopause is a normal biological process that every woman will go through. Thankfully with some lifestyle changes, natural supplementation, and essential oils you can help support your body during this transition and even decrease the severity of symptoms.
Lifestyle Changes for More Manageable Menopause
Menopause is all hormonal, so the main focus in approaching this time in your life is to help keep hormones in balance as estrogen and progesterone decrease in the body. Simple changes such as avoiding conventional meat, decreasing sugar and alcohol intake, while also increasing your water intake can make a big difference in how your body goes through this change.
Animals raised in factory farms are pumped full of hormones and antibiotics to help animals grow faster and stay healthy for the duration of their short lives. Unfortunately, if you consume this meat, those hormones and antibiotics enter your system as well. As your body works through its own hormonal changes, the introduction of other hormones will only exacerbate the situation.
Alcohol and sugar will also make things worse. Alcohol consumption can increase mood swings, the intensity of hot flashes, and affect sleep quality. Sugar consumption can cause deeper dips in mood, affect sleeping patterns, and expedite weight gain associated with menopause.
Increasing water intake will help manage bloating while also replacing any water lost during hot flashes. I love to add one to two drops of wild orange, lemon or grapefruit essential oil to each glass of water for a gentle detox. I also find I drink more water when it is flavored naturally. I should note that internal use of essential oils, consuming oils through capsules, water, or food, is specific to doTERRA essential oils. I trust their sourcing, production and testing and would never use another brand internally. You can learn more at sourcetoyou.com.
Natural Supplementation to Support Hormone Regulation
Natural supplementation of vitamins, trace minerals, omega-3 fatty acids and phytoestrogens will support your body through menopausal symptoms. A dietary supplement can offer vitamins and minerals that are essential for hormone regulation. It is important that the supplement you choose is all-natural and bioavailable, meaning all nutrients, vitamins, and minerals are recognized and can be utilized by the body. MicroPlex VMz offers all this and includes powdered cruciferous vegetables like kale, brussel sprouts, cabbage, and broccoli, which have the ability to naturally balance estrogen levels in the body.
You will want to find a source of healthy omega-3 fats. Incorporating xEO Mega into your daily routine will facilitate healthy hormone production and help support your body through extreme menopausal symptoms.
Taking the Women’s Phytoestrogen Complex one to two times per day will give your body what it needs to naturally increase estrogen in the body, which will help combat menopausal symptoms. Phytoestrogens, plant-based estrogen that cannot be made by the body, help make up for the decrease of estrogen during perimenopause. Research shows that increasing phytoestrogen intake can help reduce hot flashes and hormone swings.
Essential Oils to Manage Menopause Symptoms
In addition to using essential oils internally, you can also use oils topically by applying them to your skin. Topical use can target localized areas, such as your lower abdomen or the back of your neck, or create a full body experience when applied to the bottoms of our feet. I always use a carrier oil, such as fractionated coconut oil, when I use oils topically to decrease sensitivity and increase the efficacy.
My top essential oil recommendation for menopause is a blend called Clary Calm, which contains clary sage, lavender, bergamot, roman chamomile, ylang ylang, cedarwood, geranium, fennel seed, carrot seed, palmarosa, and vitex leaf/berry essential oils. Clary Sage is the number one oil for hormonal balance while geranium is a close second. Ylang ylang also helps with hormonal balance while inducing feelings of relaxation and combating low libido, another common symptom of menopause.
Vitex has been clinically proven to relieve hot flashes and has a lot of the same hormone-balancing properties as black cohosh, a medicinal root generally used to help with menopause symptoms. Vitex is also known to naturally increase progesterone production. I recommend applying this blend directly to your pulse points, back of your neck and bottoms of your feet one to three times per day throughout perimenopause. Thankfully, it comes in an easy to use rollerball.
Having a bottle of peppermint oil will be helpful when a hot flash appears. Keep a bottle in your purse and apply to your neck and down your spine as soon as you feel the heat rising. You can put a drop into the palm of your hand and then massage it into your shoulders and neck. Using this prediluted peppermint rollerball makes it easy to roll the peppermint up and down your spine for even more relief.
Menopausal symptoms can disrupt life but remember this transition is just that, a transition. A temporary time in your life. Be gentle with yourself, communicate clearly with loved ones and turn to nature to support you through this change.
This piece originally appeared on Blood + Milk
Grab my top essential oils for menopause along with your doTERRA wholesale membership here.
