Last Saturday I joined with three other keen health professionals to deliver a menopause workshop in Alexandra, Central Otago.
We had so much to pack in and so little time! A big thankyou to all the participants who gave us their attention for the afternoon and joined in with lots of good interaction and questions.
There were quite a few questions that we had time to answer only briefly, so I thought I’d cover some of them in more depth over the next few weeks.
One great question was around the timing of menopause and whether this is hereditary.
Most women will have their final period (menopause) between 45 and 55 years old. Menopause that occurs between 40 and 45 is considered to be early menopause. If your period stops before the age of 40 this is called Primary Ovarian Insufficiency (POI) and this is different from menopause. There are additional health risks with POI which need careful management.
💡TIP: If you are under the age of 40 and your period is absent for more than three months, this is not normal and it is advisable to see a doctor to have this checked out.
The main influence on the timing of menopause is genetic. The age your mother went through menopause is one of the best predictors as to when you are likely to go through it also.
Several other lifestyle factors can affect the timing of menopause too:
Smoking is associated with a higher risk of early menopause
Dietary factors (especially a diet high in omega-3’s and antioxidants) has been associated with a later menopause.
Breastfeeding for at least 7-12 months has also been shown to decrease the risk of early menopause.
Why is early menopause important?
During menopause and afterwards, bodily changes such as decreasing bone density, increasing cholesterol levels, higher blood glucose and blood pressure are common.
The earlier a woman goes through menopause, the earlier these changes start to occur and this can cause more health problems downstream.
The menopause transition is a vital opportunity for preventative health checks for women.
This is why it is important to have a discussion with your doctor about the long term preventable health risks once you reach late perimenopause and menopause.
Baseline assessments of your bone density and cholesterol levels, for example, are important as they can start changing now - even if they’ve always been good before. You won’t know what you don’t check.
If you are in your 40’s or 50’s, have not yet had a baseline menopausal health assessment and want one done, contact me on [email protected]
For those who want more in in depth information about menopause I’ll be posting longer articles into my website blog over the next couple of months.
The first one is already up - to view, click on this link:
There’s also a free menopause symptom tracker now available on the website.
UPCOMING EVENT - I’m excited to be speaking alongside Nadia Lim at this High Tea Luncheon on Sunday 26th October 🙂 I’ll be talking about how we can keep ourselves healthy as women, and seeing as it’s also a fundraiser for the Breast Cancer Foundation, will chat about useful lifestyle approaches to reduce our risk of breast cancer too.
Stay happy and healthy!
Erika.
PS: “Menopause: Mother Nature’s way of saying, ‘You’re welcome, honey, for not having to deal with monthly mood swings and cramps anymore!’“ — Anonymous
