Over the years I have counseled thousands of women who are experiencing the 'change of life' or menopause. It is important to remember that Menopause is after 1 year of no periods. At menopause the ovaries do not suddenly stop, they slow down hormone production and adrenals take over. After menopause the Adrenal's gradually become the major source of sex hormones in both men and women

Menopause is a time when the ovaries reduce the production of estrogen and progesterone.. The years prior to Menopause are called Peri-Menopause, most woman notice definite hormonal changes between 45 and 50 years. These changes may bring unwelcome side effects such as hot flashes, insomnia, depression, anxiety, fatigue, thinning hair, aching joints and muscles, vaginal dryness and others.

Nutritional therapy can make a huge difference to menopausal symptoms, as the ovaries slow down their production of hormones, your adrenals and thyroid take on a more important role.

You don’t have to suffer through your symptoms or gain weight during this phase of your life. In fact one of the best things you can do to feel better is to keep you body fat percentage below 27%. Unfortunately the average New Zealand women at 30 years of age is over 30% fat, that means she carries a third of her weight as fat or adipose tissue.

Fat cells produce more estrogen and upset your hormonal balance, you can easily get caught up in a cycle of insulin resistance, estrogen dominance, adrenal fatigue and weight gain. Most women are estrogen dominant right up to 75 years old. Even woman with no ovaries have fat cells and adrenal glands producing estrogen. The only symptoms of lack of estrogen are incontinence and vaginal dryness.

If you are still menstruating but have night sweats and insomnia, you will benefit from supporting your Adrenals, Thyroid and Liver. If your menopause symptoms are really bad you be probably be suffering from low thyroid function. It is interesting to note that since HRT has been prescribed less and less, the number of prescriptions for anti depressants has risen.
The Adrenals and the Thyroid are directly linked. In the medical field adrenal fatigue is not recognised. Doctors will recognise either a) your adrenals function or b) your adrenals don’t function. Health practitioners understand how adrenal fatigue can affect the entire hormonal triangle. High cortisol levels can stimulate aromatase production which means more estrogen from fat cells, this changes the way fat cells work as cortisol slams the door on the fat cell. Fat burning becomes impossible. High cortisol will take up progesterone’s receptor site; it will lower DHEA hormone and Thyroid hormone conversion.

The Role of the Liver, Thyroid and Adrenals