Understanding Menopause
Menopause is an unavoidable phase of every woman’s life.
This is an important period as it marks the end of fertile years but the
transition is not as smooth for some as it may seem. There is a drastic change
in hormone levels and an imbalance of Leutenizing hormone, FSH and estrogen.
These imbalances then result in symptoms like hot flushes, night sweats,
insomnia, unstable mood, irritation, bone loss, joint health problems, pain,
and vaginal dryness and estrogen-related cancer.
Why does Menopause happen?
At birth, the ovaries have all the eggs that a woman will
ever have, and over the course of menstruating lives, the certain hormone
signals their release for reproduction. As we age, egg reserves decline, so in
response, ovaries slow down the production of hormones like estrogen and
progesterone. This decrease in sex hormones has far-reaching implications, from
energy metabolism, to mood and beyond.
How does Menopause happen?
Menopause happens in transition through different stages.
The stages of Menopause transition are:
1. Perimenopause – it is the phase in which the signs of
appearing menopause commences. It is a brief period of around a year with
early, reduced, irregular or absent menstural cycle.
2. Menopause – this majorly involves all the symptoms and
covers the transitional phase from perimenopause up until the final menstural
period.
3. Post-Menopause – this is the perios where no mensturation
has occurred in 12 months.
Hormonal Changes During Menopause: Fluctuating levels of
Estrogen: Dominance, Reduction & Drop.
There is a fluctuation in estrogen levels seen during the
Menopause transition. Initially there is a sudden estrogen dominance in the
perimenopausal stage and reduced estrogen during menopausal stage followed by a
sudden and drastic drop in estrogen post-menopausal stage. These fluctuations
result in bloating, breast tenderness, heavy bleeding (during dominance) and
hot flushes, night sweats, palpitations, headaches, insomnia, fatigue, bone
loss, and vaginal dryness (during reduction and drop).
Symptoms of menopause
The average onset of menopausal symptoms is around 45.5 to
47.5 years. Women may feel various symptoms and discomfort which may vary in
length and experience. Menopause leads to fluctuating levels of estrogen
through the stages of menopause until it drops towards the last stage and also
contributes to loss of bone mineral density.Menopausal women will develop a
series of physical and psychological disorders including:
- Hot flushes
- Sweating
- Insomnia
- Fatigue
- Cardiac discomfort
- Bladder problems
- Dryness in the vagina
- Pain in the joints, and rheumatoid complaints
- Impatience/Irritability/mental exhaustion.
Managing Menopausal Symptoms
Menopausal symptoms have a substantial effect on the
physical, and mental well-being and overall quality of life of women. Increased
awareness about menopause, its physiology and symptoms, and coping strategies
through nutritional interventions, exercise, and diet can drastically help
women going through a time of menopausal transition.
Our Formulation
Unived’s Menopause Management is formulated with
research based ingredients with no fillers or additives. Perfect blend of
necessary vitamins, minerals, phytonutrients which are validated to provide
relief from menopausal symptoms like hot flashes, and insomnia degrading bone,
joint & vaginal health by helping the body gradually adapt to low estrogen.
Mode of Action:
Optiflavone: A standardized Soy Isoflavone extract to 40%
offering both Daidzein and Genistein. Isoflavones alleviate the symptoms
associated with menopause and provide protection against osteoporosis and
cardiovascular diseases. A meta-analysis of 10 studies found that plant
isoflavones from soy reduced hot flashes, fatigue, and reduced irritability in
Menopausal subjects.
Zinc: It supports the stress response. Inadequate or excess
cortisol (the stress hormone) affects the production of estrogen and
progesterone in women. May help in maintaining the composition of the vaginal
extracellular matrix.
Vitamin D3: Prevents bone loss associated with menopause and
helps maintain bone mineral content and reduces the risks of osteoporosis and
fractures post-menopause.
Vitamin E: Acts as an antioxidant and is effectively seen to
reduce hot flushes.
References:
1. Burger, Henry G., et al. "Hormonal changes in the
menopause transition." Recent progress in hormone research 57 (2002):
257-276.
2. Burger, Henry G., et al. "A review of hormonal
changes during the menopausal transition: focus on findings from the Melbourne
Women's Midlife Health Project." Human reproduction update 13.6 (2007):
559-565.
3. WHOLE HEALTH: CHANGE THE CONVERSATION Estrogen Dominance
Clinical Tool, by Anne Kolan, MD, Clinical Assistant Professor and integrative
medicine familty physician in the Department of Family Medicine, University of
Wisconsin Madison School of Medicine and Public Health.
4. Desmawati, Desmawati, and Delmi Sulastri.
"Phytoestrogens and their health effect." Open access Macedonian
journal of medical sciences 7.3 (2019): 495.
5. Atteritano, M., et al. "Genistein effects on quality
of life and depression symptoms in osteopenic postmenopausal women: a 2-year
randomized, double-blind, controlled study." Osteoporosis international 25
(2014): 1123-1129.
6. Marini, Herbert, et al. "Effects of the
phytoestrogen genistein on bone metabolism in osteopenic postmenopausal women:
a randomized trial." Annals of internal medicine 146.12 (2007): 839-847.
7. Rajoria, Shilpi, et al. "3, 3′-Diindolylmethane
modulates estrogen metabolism in patients with thyroid proliferative disease: a
pilot study." Thyroid 21.3 (2011): 299-304.
8. Nielsen, Forrest H., et al. "Effect of dietary boron
on mineral, estrogen, and testosterone metabolism in postmenopausal women
1." The FASEB journal 1.5 (1987): 394-397.
9. Nielsen, Forrest H., Loanne M. Mullen, and Sandra K.
Gallagher. "Effect of boron depletion and repletion on blood indicators of
calcium status in humans fed a magnesium-low diet." (1990).
10. Nasiadek, Marzenna, et al. "The role of zinc in
selected female reproductive system disorders." Nutrients 12.8 (2020):
2464.
11. Di Daniele, Nicola, et al. "Effect of
supplementation of calcium and vitamin D on bone mineral density and bone
mineral content in peri-and post-menopause women: a double-blind, randomized,
controlled trial." Pharmacological Research 50.6 (2004): 637-641.
12. Johnson, Alisa, Lynae Roberts, and Gary Elkins.
"Complementary and alternative medicine for menopause." Journal of
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