Supplements for Menopause
What is Menopause?
Did you know that humans and orca whales are the only mammals on earth that go through menopause? And when I talk about menopause, I am not necessarily talking about symptoms of the perimenopausal phase (which occurs before menopause itself), such as hot flashes and vaginal dryness. Rather I am talking about what happens after that.
Strictly speaking, menopause is a naturally-occurring phase of a woman’s life when she has gone at least one year without a period, due to lack of ovulation because of a diminishing ovarian reserve. And when you consider it, as women, we are likely going to spend one-third to one-half of our lives in this post-menopausal state. So with that, I want to make sure I equip you with the tools and resources to help you make the most of this time.
Natural Treatments for Menopause
When I say natural “treatments” for menopause, let me be clear that I am not looking to help you NOT experience menopause. Menopause is a natural bodily occurence for women. But what I do want to help you treat are the symptoms and side effects of menopause.
Similar to my patients that are struggling with fertility, I recommend that women start all of these things before (sometimes decades before) menopause. Let’s look at some of the natural treatments you can do and steps you can take to minimize the tell-tale menopause symptoms.
Diet: There are countless dietary approaches out there, but the best I recommend for menopause is the Mediterranean diet. Why is that? Studies have shown women following a Mediterranean diet have fewer hot flashes and other menopausal symptoms. Additionally, what I like about this approach is how it encourages fresh produce—typically 4–6 servings daily, nuts and seeds (like flax, hemp, and chia, which are plentiful in phytoestrogen), and fish. It also allows for vegetarian proteins like soy. And while soy can be controversial for some, it is another source of phytoestrogens, so it can be quite helpful for those women who have no existing issues with it.
The Mediterranean diet also leaves out foods that are not good for menopause, such as refined carbohydrates and sugars, which are best avoided anyways and can contribute to heart disease and increased insulin levels. And increased insulin can lead to testosterone spikes and subsequent acne and facial hair in menopausal women.
Finally, the Mediterranean diet places limits on alcohol consumption. I personally recommend no more than three drinks per week, and no more than one per day for women going through menopause.
Stress Reduction: Studies have shown that women that are less stressed, anxious, and have better well being tend to have fewer menopausal symptoms due to a better outlook on life. Additionally, stress reduction is essential in reducing cortisol levels. When estrogen and progesterone are at healthy levels, it helps counter the negative side effects of cortisol, so we want to keep cortisol down.
Here are just a few suggestions of what you can do to reduce stress:
Breath work
Journaling
Talk therapy
Exercise: For women experiencing menopause, exercise and movement is essential as aging women are more at risk for cardiovascular disease, dementia, and osteoporosis ostopenia. In addition to that, exercise is obviously helpful for weight management, mood, and thyroid function.
So what kind of exercise do I recommend? I definitely encourage some kind of weight lifting or weight-bearing exercise for bone health and building up lean muscle mass. This is because the more muscle mass you have, the more your body will naturally promote weight maintenance and weight loss (if necessary). Additionally, balancing exercises like pilates and yoga, dance, and even core exercises can be highly beneficial. And you might be surprised to learn that I actually discourage any extra high impact exercise—at least not in excess—because we want to avoid spikes in cortisol levels.
Best Supplements for Menopause
All of my recommended supplements for menopause can be accessed through my online dispensary FullScript by clicking here.
As a foundation to a supplemental approach to menopause, I recommend a multivitamin containing the following:
Methylated B vitamins, specifically B12. (Vitamin B12 deficiencies have been shown to cause hot flashes, so please don’t skip this recommendation.)
Vitamin B6 to help with moods.
Vitamin D, specifically if you are deficient, because it's helpful for osteoporosis, mood, and even cancer prevention.
In addition to a quality multivitamin, other supplements may be beneficial. Consider the following:
Calcium, specifically if you have a family history of osteoporosis osteopenia.
Fish oils for mood as well as its anti-inflammatory properties. It is also helpful for hot flashes.
A women’s formulated probiotic with lactobacillus root or lactobacillus rhamnosus can be also really important in preventing urinary tract infections and bacterial vaginosis.
And herbs can also be beneficial for menopausal women. I typically like prescribing a variety of herbs, such as:
Maca (AKA Peruvian ginseng), which helps stimulate estrogen and can be a powerful tool against hot flashes. In my practice, I have seen that after only 2 weeks of use, my patients have had dramatic results such as fewer hot flashes, a reduction in vaginal dryness, fewer mood issues, and even an improvement in libido. It is important to note that I recommend the gelatinized form, as it’s the most powerful, and I prefer the Femmenessence brand.
Black cohosh, which is very effective in reducing hot flashes, and is made even more effective when combined with St. John’s wort, which can help increase serotonin. (If you are on a serotonin reuptake inhibitor SSRI, do NOT take St. John’s wort, as it’s contraindicated.)
Ashwagandha, which is great for the adrenal glands. When women go through menopause, estrogen, testosterone, and progesterone levels decrease dramatically due to the ovaries no longer producing them. Ashwagandha supports testosterone levels, which women do need, especially for things like vaginal lubrication and libido. So if you know that you deal with lower testosterone levels, ashwagandha may be very effective for you.
Natural Supplements vs. Pharmaceutical Medicines
When it comes to treating menopausal symptoms, there are two different routes: conventional and bioidentical. Hormone replacement therapy (HRT) would be considered a more conventional approach and is relatively widely known. The other approach is bioidentical, and this is when hormones are produced by taking either soy to make estrogen or yam to make progesterone. Scientists take the derived parts of either plant and turn them into hormones. And the result is that the body metabolizes these bioidentical hormones exactly like actual hormones.
I prefer bioidentical hormone therapy because the hormones degrade more naturally in the body, giving the body a wide variety of ways to use them. This means that we can choose the delivery method such as using a compounding pharmacy to create a topical cream, a suppository, or a sublingual—and these varying delivery methods can benefit patients in different ways. For example, a topical might be extra effective in treating something localized, as the cream can be applied directly to the specific area. Additionally, when compounding bioidentical treatments, patients can get a compounded prescription formulated specifically for them and their unique needs.
A word of caution: For women with either a family history or personal history of female reproductive cancers, these hormone therapies are unfortunately not options for them. If this were the case, an even more natural approach would be called for. This consists of lifestyle changes like diet as well as the aforementioned supportive herbs.
Additionally for the small subset of women who experience premature menopause (i.e. early-to-mid 30s), they would need to either choose to do the bioidentical or the conventional hormone therapy, but only for a limited period of time, for the sake of bone preservation.
Click here to access my complete menopause support protocol and save 10% on all these products through my Fullscript online dispensary.
To purchase physician-grade supplements, click here to create an account or login to access my online supplements shop and purchase them directly.
How a Naturopathic Doctor Can Help
There is a lot of false or misleading information out there, especially when it comes to treating menopause. But by working with a naturopath in your menopause journey, you can be sure that we will steer you in the right direction. A naturopath can lead you to the most effective herbs and supplements that you need and can also dispel myths and misinformation.
Many of my patients come to see me because they feel that their gynecologist is not really listening to their concerns and doesn’t fully understand what is actually going on. Having a naturopath that really understands means they can guide you through the process, which is definitely not a one-size-fits-all situation. Women, when it comes to menopause, are each going to have different ratios of estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone, and that can have many different effects on the body when menopause sets in. That’s why it is extra vital to work with someone who truly understands these differences and how to address them specific to you.
Book an Appointment
If you have questions about menopause or would like help choosing which supplements are best for you, we would love to help you. At Simplicity Health Associates in New York City, we help many patients understand the body’s changes that come with menopause and how natural alternatives can help.
Click here to book an appointment online or call (646) 470-8458. You can also email us here.
FAQs
What are the stages of menopause?
Menopause typically occurs in three stages. The time leading up to it (where many of the commonly-known symptoms occur) is called perimenopause, and it can last anywhere from months to years. During perimenopause, women may experience menstrual irregularity due to hormone levels fluctuating and ultimately declining. And the ovarian reserve may begin to diminish or go away entirely. Symptoms such as hot flashes, vaginal dryness, and changes in libido may also occur.
The second stage is just called menopause. And you will know this for sure has occurred after a year without menstruation. This means that the ovarian reserve is completely gone, causing ovulation to cease along with menstruation. And the symptoms from the perimenopausal stage can also occur here: hot flashes, vaginal dryness, ect. as well as possible sleep problems.
The final stage is called postmenopause and it generally starts after the year without menstruation. From that point, you can consider yourself postmenopausal from then on out.
What vitamins do many women lack due to menopause?
Vitamin deficiencies during menopause can occur due to the hormonal imbalances that accompany the perimenopausal and menopausal stages. The most common vitamin deficiency in women due to menopause is a vitamin B12 deficiency, and it can cause all kind of problems such as fatigue, anemia, depression, digestive issues, weakness, etc. Vitamin B12 is quite difficult to get through food (especially if you are vegan) and is often better in a high quality supplemental form.
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