Can Supplements Ease Menopause Symptoms?
Best Menopause Supplements
Dealing with aging is difficult enough. First of all, you’re more prone to health problems hence it becomes especially crucial for you to visit the doctor regularly. Then, there’s the fact that you’re now going through hormonal changes.
When menopause strikes, it sometimes strikes hard. While some women undergo menopause with ease, others however, lose sleep over it. What do you do if you are part of the unlucky group of ladies who suffer from the extreme symptoms related to menopause? First of all, you shouldn’t have to deal with it on your own. The supplement industry has some amazing brands available for you. These medicines have been packed with nutrients and minerals that your body needs so that you can feel like your old, vibrant self once again.
Menopause Symptoms
If you’re above 40, then you might have to prepare yourself for menopause. It may or may not happen soon, but whatever the case may be, this will always be part of your future. You know that you’re going through menopause when you have to deal with some of the symptoms that go with it:
1. Hot Flashes/Flushes — Hot Flashes happens sporadically and unexpectedly. You’ll suddenly feel heat coursing through your body. The need to cool down becomes imperative, but as much as you fan yourself, you can’t stop sweating. This feeling lasts anywhere from a few minutes to an hour.
2. Night Sweats — This oftentimes happens in the middle of slumber, hence the term. You wake up in the middle of the night in cold sweats. Unlike hot flashes where you feel warm, you now feel cold. The discomfort can be so extreme that it takes time before you go back to sleep. As a result, you wake up in the morning feeling drained.
3. Mood Swings — You’ve already dealt with this with PMS, but the mood swings you’re now faced with are more extreme. You may be fine one minute but extremely irritable the next. Experts say that this is linked to the changes in your estrogen and hormone levels.
4. Weight Gain — When your body lacks estrogen, you’re more prone to weight gain. Your waist area is thicker and even if you reduce your food intake, the scales don’t seem to tip to your favor.
5. Irregular Monthly Cycles — You bleed every month, but lately, the waiting time gets longer and longer. You’re now irregular and your monthly cycles have actually weakened each time. You may have even assumed at one point that you’re pregnant but the test actually came out negative.
How to Take Supplements
Once you’ve noticed the abovementioned signs, then it’s time to head straight to the health expert and discuss which supplement works best for you. Brands such as Estroprin and Amberen have become quite popular. Hundreds of women swear by it because they were able to deal with menopause easily once they included these supplements in their daily diet. Just make sure to follow the directions written at the back of the label. Some of these supplements can be taken once daily while the others require you to take as many as four. It all really depends on the brand you get.
Amount of Ingredients in the Supplements
Here’s a list of some of the most popular ingredients found in the best menopause supplements:
1. Black Cohosh -It helps ease menopausal symptoms, particularly the hot flashes and night sweats.
2. Flaxseed — It helps reduce the occurrence of night sweats.
3. Calcium — Because you lose calcium when you go through menopause, this is imperative in every supplement. Recommended dosage is 1,500 mg each day.
4. Red Clover — This extract is known to contain natural estrogen.
5. Wild Yam — This has become a great alternative to the hormones you need. The compounds found in it are similar to estrogen and progesterone
6. Vitamin D — When combined with calcium, it helps prevent bone fractures. It also promotes healthy cellular activity, but its most important role is that it helps lower the risk of breast cancer for postmenopausal women. Recommended dosage is anywhere from 400 to 800 IU each day.
7. Vitamin E — Is as effective as estrogen and helps prevent vaginal dryness. Recommended dosage is 400 IUs daily but you can increase the amount to as much as 1200 IUs.
8. Ginseng — It helps improve mood.
9. St. John’s Wort — Prevents mood swings.
Since more clinical tests need to be done on some these supplements, the amount for each ingredient has yet to be implemented. More importantly, different brands contain different formulations and amounts.
Importance to Treat the Perimenopause
Perimenopause is simply the stage where menopause is just about to strike. It’s best that you prepare your body during this stage because it helps prevent alleviate some or all of the difficult symptoms attached to menopause.
Conclusion
Never assume that you need to face your battle with menopause all on your own. Different brands of menopause supplements are there to help you cope with the changes your body is going through. If you get help now and you do it quickly, you’ll see how much easier things can be for you.