PT Health Life – Premenopause and menopause are normal physiological stages of women. When entering this stage, women will experience changes in menstruation, vasomotor disorders, genitourinary disorders, forgetfulness or other symptoms that affect life.
1. Common disorders when reaching premenopause and menopause
The average age of menopause for women is 45 to 55 years old, when women stop having periods for a year. Premenopausal symptoms can occur 7 – 10 years before and about 3 – 5 years after menopause. Entering this period, the activity of the Brain – Pituitary – Ovarian axis will decline, leading to disturbances in the three important hormones, Estrogen, Progesterone and Testosterone, and women will have to experience a series of instabilities. .
When a woman enters premenopause or menopause, the ovaries begin to reduce the function of secreting female sex hormones, at which time the body will suffer from hormone deficiency. Besides the above changes, there are also symptoms in the skin, hair, and nails:
- The skin at this time will no longer be as tight as when it was 18 or 20 years old. Skin has many wrinkles and is more vulnerable because of aging .
- Many women often suffer from hair loss , some are even afraid to comb their hair because too much hair falls out.
- Nails become soft and brittle. Before, each time cutting a nail was very difficult, but now just a slight touch causes the nail to break.
Above are the symptoms of premenopausal and menopausal disorders due to female reproductive endocrine deficiency . However, not everyone has signs of premenopausal or menopausal disorders.
Just like puberty, there are girls who go through it very gently and smoothly, but there are also girls who are rebellious. Similarly, there are people who go through premenopause and menopause very gently. But there are people who go through this stage and are extremely terrible.
The most important issue is that we must prepare mentally and psychologically to wait for a mandatory stage that everyone must go through. Because every woman must reach pre-menopause and menopause.
2. What to do when reaching perimenopause or menopause?
Depending on each case, doctors may prescribe treatment with medication or hormone supplementation therapy… but most women can overcome the problems of this stage with simple solutions.
2.1 Pay attention to nutrition
You should increase protein, omega-3 fatty acids, fiber and calcium in your daily menu.
Foods rich in omega-3 have the effect of improving mood, especially for menopausal women who are prone to mood changes, irritability, irritability, and unexplained anger. Furthermore, supplementing a lot of omega-3 will increase the mineral content in bones, making bones strong. Omega – 3 is not produced in the body but you can supplement it through diet , foods rich in omega – 3 such as tuna, salmon, mackerel, canola oil, walnuts, soybeans, etc. egg…
During perimenopause, muscle mass begins to decline. Therefore, it is necessary to increase the amount of protein in the diet, because protein helps maintain muscle mass. In addition, protein also helps regulate appetite, blood sugar levels, as well as balance hormone levels in your body.
Fiber found in vegetables, beans… will help you feel full longer. Thereby limiting cravings and maintaining weight. This is especially helpful for premenopausal women, who are susceptible to weight gain due to a slowing metabolic rate.
As your risk of osteoporosis increases, you need to increase your calcium intake even more. Because during menopause, estrogen production is reduced, leading to calcium deficiency and osteoporosis . Calcium supplementation is a way to prevent calcium depletion, maintain bone mass, and prevent osteoporosis. Calcium is well absorbed from food sources such as milk, cheese, salmon, soybeans, almonds…
Besides the foods you should eat, there are some foods that need to be limited or absolutely avoided when entering premenopause. These are foods containing highly refined carbohydrates such as white bread, noodles, cakes, candy, ice cream… Foods rich in saturated fat such as animal fats, dairy products, cheese… Drinks containing caffeine
A scientific lifestyle will help relieve premenopausal symptoms
2.2 Need to practice regularly
To repel premenopausal and menopausal symptoms, women should maintain a good lifestyle such as exercising 30 minutes a day, 5 days a week.
Because exercise not only helps improve health and prevent disease, but also helps improve mood, reduce the risk of depression , or mood swings during menopause.
You should choose exercises that are suitable for your health condition. You can choose strength exercises such as brisk walking, aerobic exercise, swimming; Endurance exercises such as lifting weights… Note that after each workout session, pay attention to stretching.
In addition, you need to sleep 7 – 8 hours a day, pay attention to giving yourself a good night’s sleep , sleep on time, sleep before 11 p.m., do not nap too much (maximum 30 minutes), do not use electronic devices before after two hours of sleep, maintain a stable weight with BMI within normal limits.