Women's Health- Naturopathic Health For Over 45's
Lot’s of changes happen in your body after the age of 40. As the years pass we see a transition through peri-menopause and then into menopause and with this the change in several hormones like estrogen and progesterone.
We know that the incidence of certain types of diseases start to rise in this stage of our life and there are steps you can take, prevention after all is better than cure. In this post I’m going to give you some key things to keep an eye out for both leading up to and post menopause.
Peri-menopause has recently been referred to in literature as a tipping point in a woman’s health and the choices you make as well as the care you have can influence your health outcomes in the next quarter of your life.
As a naturopath much of the work I do is in this age group. I see a lot of women who are still busy being mums, caring for their parents, and working/ running businesses. Instead of slowing down these women are furiously multitasking and busy caring for everyone else. It often happens that at a point you’ll start to feel that things just aren’t right and you’re not functioning like you use to.
It’s at this point that you might think am I going mad I know something isn’t right but all my blood results keep telling me I’m ‘normal.’
There is much more that goes into your health than hormones, but it must be said that hormones especially sex hormones play a vast role in your health that goes beyond reproduction. You metabolism, brain health, cardiovascular health are all impacted by hormones.
Working with a naturopath can help you identify whether your sex hormones are driving some of your health issues. Naturopathy is not a quick fix, ultimately we all want to feel our best and age well preventing illness longer term becomes vital in this quest, this is where having a naturopath on your side can make the world of difference. Too many women ignore the bodies signs and often find themselves at a real low point around menopause, it doesn’t have to be that way.
Here are some of the key pit falls you want to keep an eye out for…
Metabolic syndrome & Cardiovascular disease
For many women at this perimenopause/ menopause phase the abdominal weight slowly starts to creep on, we see a steady increase in the waist circumference, clothes get a little tighter and this usually happens without much change in the diet or exercise routines.
If you’re already struggling with obesity and type 2 diabetes it’s likely to see a worsening of the weight around the 45-55 age bracket. Getting on top of it sooner rather than later is key!
There is real concern as we make this transition, even small changes in weight, blood lipid (cholesterol) levels and low levels of inflammation can put you at a higher risk of Cardiovascular diseases (CVD) like stroke and heart attack.
So as you approach your 50’s there are some key things to have tested and addressed:
Weight gain around the middle- this is a high risk area even moderate weight gain around the tummy is likely to cause issues.
Physical activity- are you at a desk job, do you find it difficult to get up and move throughout the day? This requires some planning and support to ensure you’re minimising risks associated with being sedentary.
Lipid profile- What are your LDL and HDL ratios like?
Insulin sensitivity- You may have a ‘normal’ within range reading on your blood results however if fasting insulin and glucose has been tracking upwards then we want to address this, before there is a full expression of diabetes and you require pharmaceutical interventions.
Blood pressure- Check your blood pressure more than once as it does change, it is important to keep an eye on this as high blood pressure becomes more of an issue in this age bracket.
Sleep disorders- If either you or your partner has sleep apnea you are at a significantly higher risk of heart disease and stroke. You might be thinking there’s not much you can do about sleep disorders, as a naturopath I have successfully improved sleep for so many of my clients… there’s hope!
Homocysteine (marker of inflammation) B12 and folate deficiencies- If you are believed to be at risk it’s key to assess these three markers in your next blood test. Homocysteine when elevated is associated with an increased risk of CVD, it’s also associated with B12 and folate deficiency.
CRP- (C- Reactive protein)- A common marker for infection and inflammation, this test is non-specific, meaning it doesn’t tell us where the inflammation is coming from and indeed it could be somewhere other than the cardiovasular system, but elevated levels are associated with an increased incidence of CVD.
While this list may seem intimidating the majority can be looked into fairly easily in 1 to 2 visits with a naturopath. You should consider discussing these with your GP (general practitioner) and having them look into these for you.
Bone Health- Osteopenia & Osteoporosis
This is one condition that all women regardless of risk factors should adopt strategies to prevent- bone density loss.
We know that bone density loss is most marked in the 5 to 10 years post menopause, it then continues at approximately 1% each year. We know that certain strategies can help to negate or even reverse the loss in some cases.
Loss that happens directly after menopause can not be reversed without the use of drug therapy. It’s important to get to in early! I often request bone density screens for my female clients and identify early osteopenia before it becomes a more serious issue requiring pharmaceutical intervention. (and it’s not as simple as just taking some calcium)
Risk factors that put you at a higher incidence or risk of developing osteoporosis:
Caucasian or Asian background
Having a mother with osteoporosis
Lack of period or late onset of period
Low vitamin D levels (those reference ranges you see on blood results are looking for deficiency not optimum levels so please have a preventative medicine practitioner look at them for you)
Low body weight
Deficiencies in Boron, phosphorous and vitamin K2
Low lean muscle mass
Cigarette smoking
Anorexia or Bulimia
Low calcium intake in your diet
If you’re a female over the age of thirty and had a low trauma fracture recently, you should have a bone density scan (DEXA) done. I recently had a patient who broke a bone in her ankle stepping off the side walk. I insisted she be tested and the results came back indicating she’d had a significant level of osteopenia/osteoporosis.
Subclinical Hypothyroid
Subclinical hypothyroidism is a mild form of hypothyroidism, a condition where the thyroid gland doesn't produce enough thyroid hormones. In subclinical hypothyroidism, the thyroid hormone levels are slightly below the normal range, and you may be exhibiting slight early symptoms or clinical signs of the condition.
Helpful to note, suboptimal thyroid function can impact as many as 1 in 5 women, with iodine and tyrosine deficiencies being a significant factor for some. You need both iodine and tyrosine to make thyroid hormone, so if you’re lacking you may start to see the symptoms.
Other causes subclinical hypothyroidism- autoimmune thyroid disease (Hashimoto's thyroiditis), certain pharmaceutical medications, pathogenic infections, or previous thyroid surgery or radiation treatment. However, in many cases, women struggle with the symptoms without getting a proper diagnosis or identification of what’s driving their thyroid issues.
In many instances your thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) on your blood results can appear in range, however if you’re struggling with the following symptoms:
Fatigue,
Weight gain, despite eating and exercising the same.
Depression, or general low mood
Brain fog
Dry skin- hair- nails- hair loss
Sluggish bowel or constipation.
…It may be time to get some more in-depth testing. A which point we will be able to get a better ideal if your thyroid is indeed making you feel crappy.
Research shows iodine deficiency is as high as 50% in Australian women and so supporting your thyroid with the right nutrients is key as well as regular monitoring of thyroid function is typically advised. I refer many of my perimenopausal- menopausal women for full thyroid testing if the symptoms warrant it as TSH may stay normal while other markers are out! You can have comprehensive testing done for as little as $160.
Worth a mention one of the most common groups of the population to be put on SSRI’s and other psych meds is women who are of perimenopausal - menopausal age.
As a naturopath I can’t tell you how many women in this age group are deficient in one or multiple nutrients, are going through very high stress periods as carers and chronic multitaskers. As well as struggling with hormonal transitions that are impacting their brain health, sleep and resilience. The key is to get help as early as possible, through a naturopath or integrative health provider that will help you with the appropriate testing. While SSRI’s may be needed it’s worth ruling out some of the factors that impact mental health.
Functional testing can really be a life line in helping you understand some of the underlying drivers of your current health conditions, while it’s an investment the answers provided can help you avoid years of chronically feeling sick and tired.
If you have any questions or would like to discuss working together please book yourself in down below for a complementary 15 minute phone call.