Symptoms

 Other Symptoms Include: 

• Hot flashes

• Changes in sleep patterns

• Vaginal dryness

• Urinary problems

• Weight gain

• Mild memory loss

• Mood swings 

•     Hot flashes - are one of the more common and earliest signs of menopause, sometimes   beginning several years before other signs.  They give a sudden feeling of warmth through the upper body. The process may last anywhere from a few  seconds to a half hour or more.  It can be several times a day or only once a week.

 Natural treatments for hot flashes: products such as vitamin E and vitamin B complex, as well as certain herbs, such as black cohosh. Foods made from soybeans-such as soy milk, roasted soy nuts and tofu.

• Vaginal dryness-with age the walls of the vagina become thinner, less elastic and drier. The vagina is then more vulnerable to infection. Also these changes sometimes result in uncomfortable or painful sexual intercourse, although continuing regular sexual activity will reduce the possibility of problems  developing.       

 Natural treatments for vaginal dryness - women with minor vaginal dryness can use special vaginal lubricants and moisturizers, such as Gyne-Moistrin, Replens and Astroglide.  For severe vaginal changes, a vaginal prescription estrogen product (such as a cream or ring) is the treatment of choice.  Exercise is good for your health , but it is good for your sex life too.  Exercise will help to you to look and feel better - and have better orgasms.  At midlife, you need different types of exercises, including stretching exercises for flexibility, aerobic exercises for endurance and weight-bearing exercises for strength.  Kegel exercises can help women to strengthen their pelvic floor muscles and, when practiced during intercourse, they can provide extra stimulation for the male.  Exercise will certainly make lovemaking more comfortable and creative!             

• Urinary problems - as body tissues change with age some women experience urinary stress incontinence, which is the loss of urine when exercising, coughing, laughing, or performing other movements that put pressure on the bladder. While incontinence can be embarrassing, it is common  and treatable, for example, certain exercises can strengthen the affected muscles or sometimes surgery is performed to cure it.   

   Helpful methods for prevention of urinary problems - some women are prone to urinary tract infections. These tend to recur  but are easily treated with antibiotics or other measures. Preventive techniques include urinating after intercourse, not keeping the bladder over-full for long periods, drinking adequate  amounts of fluids and keeping the genital area very clean.

• Weight gain - It is important to realize that everyone�s metabolism is different according to their gender, genetic make-up and age. In the process of menopause your metabolism slows down and your lean mass is decreasing and you start to build fat.  Because muscle cells burn more calories than fat, the less muscle you have, the fewer calories you burn.        

The key to raising your metabolism is dependent upon knowing what it is and how it  works.  Your metabolism is like an engine that transforms the food you eat into energy that runs your body. Your metabolic rate is the speed at which the food is transformed into energy.  Many of us look at food in the wrong way. Food that we put in our mouths becomes  both fuel and  "building blocks" for our bodies. It is what gives us energy and the elements  necessary to repair and rebuild ourselves.  What we eat determines whether we gain, maintain, or lose weight.   
                       
 Helpful methods of weight control:

1. Establish a healthy diet.

Eat a variety of foods in smaller portions. Because your metabolism slows as you age, you need about 200-400 fewer calories a day. Eat only when you are hungry and only enough to satisfy your hunger.

As you age, your body becomes less able to handle extra food and likely to store the excess as fat. So, eat small meals. Eat only when you are hungry. Consume most of your calories during the day when your metabolism is higher.

Losing weight and keeping it off is very difficult for most people. Besides making you feel old and unattractive, the extra-pounds around your middle are associated with lung and breathing problems, cardiovascular disease, arthritis, endocrine problems, gall bladder disease, diabetes, several cancers, gallstones, hypertension , osteoporosis and premature death.

    2.  The untold story of weight control:

   Why we do we want to eat?   Why are we starving no matter how much we eat?

Because your body needs elements in the form of vitamins and minerals to perform all of its metabolic functions.  Your body is looking for these "building blocks" in the food you give it, but the chances are great that your food doesn't contain the building blocks your body demands.  When your food contains too much fuel, but too few "building blocks" your body asks you to eat more and more.  This additional fuel is stored entirely as fat.  This causes obesity.

        It  is difficult to obtain the necessary vitamins and minerals from food because of mineral-deficient soils that are common throughout the world today. It only takes 10 years of intensive farming to exhaust the minerals in any tract of land. The depletion of necessary nutrients by cooking and processing living foods adds to the difficulty in obtaining vital minerals and vitamins from our food.   Severe mineral and vitamin deficiencies will result in serious illnesses.  Too much body fat is a symptom of malnutrition.  So, where can we get the minerals we need if they not available in our food supply? About the only method available is to initiate a program of nutritional supplementation.

Hormone Replacement Therapy