Worried about Menopause?

As women, one must all eventually go through a process called, “menopause.” Usually, at around the age of 50, this sometimes unpleasant process begins. However, with the ever increasing hormones in foods (ie. Plastics, beef, milk, pesticides, herbicides), we are inundated with unnatural hormones. Girls are developing breast at a younger age and are undergoing their menses earlier than ever before. In some cases, boys are developing female breasts in some cases. At the other end of the spectrum, women are beginning to see symptoms of menopause as early in their mid 30’s to early 40’s. The hormonal system is one of the most delicate systems in our bodies and is affected by the many stresses we already have in our fast paced lifestyles and environmental stresses. Menopause is a normal process of aging and should be a joy to experience, however, with these added stresses and extra hormones, some synthetic, the symptoms are oftenexacerbated and prolonged. Some of the colorful array of symptoms are: fluctuating emotions, temperature changes (hot flashes), changes in hunger, thirst, sleep disturbances and bone loss to just name a few.

There are two major hormones associated directly with the female reproductive cycle and they are: Estrogen and Progesterone. These two hormones are drastically reduced during menopause. Estrogen and progesterone are stimulated by the anterior pituitary gland, which is controlled by the hypothalamus. Thehypothalamus is often referred as, “The master control of your body,” because it regulates and controls majority of the functions within the body. The hypothalamus receives its information from the internal organs and visual systems through the nervous system that is housed within your spine. The hypothalamus, in addition to regulating ultimately estrogen and progesterone, also receives information from other sections of your brain as well, such as your thalamus and limbic system.

All these systems control critical, delicate functions of your body such as emotions, sexual desire, thirst, hunger, body temperature and regulates your diurnal rhythm or sleep patterns. This master control is very important and is directly linked to your nervous system. Our hypothalamus receives its information regarding how much, how little and how often to regulate these hormones through the nervous system that is contained within your spinal column. Chiropractic specifically deals with your nervous system and spine . The spine, when under stress, irritates and decreases the function of the nerves that send the signals to control the levels of estrogen and progesterone. Simple stresses such as sitting for long periods of time, preservatives in our foods or a stressful day at work, can easily and often cause the spine to misalign. We are all under many stresses in our hectic lifestyles.The thought of going through menopause alone is a stress on a woman. The fact that the nervous system controls all the functions of your body, it is imperative that you get your spine checked by a Chiropractor.

At Dimensional Family Wellness, located one block west of Blueberry Hill Café and Starbucks in Downtown La Grange, I utilize a culmination of specific Chiropractic, neurological, kinesiological, quantum and nutritional testing to gather information to specifically analyze your spine and health conditions. Once analyzed, a specific course of treatment is given to remove the misalignments, gently and effectively, which removes the interference to your nervous system. By removing the interference, your hormonal system can being to function properly and regain balance.  Menopause is only one of the many health issues that Chiropractic helps stabilize.

In addition to Chiropractic, exercise is also very helpful in maintaining a balanced hormonal system.Women of any age should exercise for their overall health and well-being. At DFW, we call exercise, “Your Daily Vitamin M.” Walking, swimming and Yoga are my top recommended exercises to help regulate your nervous system. Especially practicing Yoga because it helps calm the mind, engages the nervous system, relaxes one’s muscles, puts more motion in your spine and joints plus encompasses the cerebral effects of breathing. Weight baring activities and resistant training done properly, will help fight the already inclination of bone loss associated with menopause.

Supplementation such as natural progesterone in the form of wild yam has been proven to be effective with higher levels of progesterone. Some allopathic remedies such as Black Kohosh have been recommended from many sources for it directly increases estrogen levels and may be a natural alternative to the traditional synthetic hormone replacement therapy. Increasing your natural sources of B Vitamins, Astaxanthin,detoxing/purifying the body has been known by many sources to add value for women and the menstrual cycle. I highly recommend detoxing one’s body first before trying anything else since it will help enhance the detoxifying mechanisms within the body to cleanse out toxins and other harmful chemicals. Toxins have been known to create a disturbance in our hormonal systems to put them in imbalance. Removing these first, help the body regulate and anything that is added afterwards, will be absorbed and utilized more effectively. Regardless of what approach you take, simply getting under Chiropractic care, exercising regularly, eating fruits and vegetables and less inflammatory foods, detoxing, proper rest and meditation will help regulate and balance your hormonal system and help manage and diminish the effects of menopause. The other benefit to doing all this, it will overall, help increase the vitality and wellness of your mind, body and soul. It is a win-win.

Until next time,

BE well...  LIVE well...  The CHOICE is yours...

Vic Manzo Jr. D.C.

"Chiropractor"

"Wellness Coach"

"National Speaker"

"Creator and Host of Wellness Smart Radio"

"Worldwide Leading Physician"