Women's Health Articles

On current life expectancy, the average woman will live more than 30 years in a post-menopausal state. The approach of the menopause and the inevitable changes it will bring are often faced with anxiety and apprehension.

I believe that the menopause and hence the perimenopause, is a normal, natural process of life. It is not meant to be a disease. It is a very challenging process because of the physical changes that occur in a woman's body and because it forces a woman to redefine her feminine identity. She is no longer tied to the biological process of reproduction and procreation, and has to redefine her role in society. Menopause can be more uncomfortable if we carry a lot of toxins in our bodies due to an unhealthy diet or lifestyle or have had to cope with a lot of stresses in life.

However, marketing menopause is becoming a big business, and almost all of the information is coming from pharmaceutical companies. It is imperative that we women educate ourselves about what our real choices are. There are many herbs used by nutritionists and many homeopathic remedies that are very helpful when you are going through this time of life. The most popular ones are:

Agnus Castus, which nourishes the pituitary gland, a control centre for balancing hormonal activity.

Black Cohosh, which is one of the most widely used and studied natural alternatives to HRT.

Progesterone bio-identical cream, which is the hormone in a natural form and has been said to increase bone density, and improve hot flashes. Find out about these and others and speak to a nutritionist or a homeopath.

This time of life also sometimes forces us to work on unresolved issues and problems that we have been shoving under the carpet for years and it can be helpful to seek professional help and support for this.

Remember, women today are Pioneers, who are working to change old negative belief patterns and replace them with positive and optimistic ones, for ourselves, our daughters and our daughters' daughters, so that they will never have to suffer during the menopause.