The spring of life is a period full of significant events: growing up, first love, the birth of children… But unfortunately, nothing lasts forever under the moon — including spring. Sooner or later, autumn comes in a woman’s life and menopause comes. Recent studies show that it is still possible to delay its onset. This is influenced by several factors at once.
1. Weight and age
Many women strive for certain standards of beauty and strictly monitor their weight. But few people understand that the increase in body weight with age is quite a normal and natural process: after all, we all once weighed no more than 10 kg. Experiments with weight loss, exhausting diets are a dangerous adventure that can cause early menopause. It is no secret that girls suffering from anorexia often face amenorrhea — the absence of menstruation for 6 months or more. Without proper and timely treatment, fertility can be completely lost. But in the study that was mentioned earlier, we are not talking about anorexia, but about the dependence on the body mass index (BMI) of the early onset of menopause.
BMI is a value that allows you to assess the degree of correspondence between body weight and height. Thanks to it, it is possible to judge whether the ratio is normal (18.5-24.9), insufficient (less than 18.5), excessive (25-29,9). Studies have shown that women with a BMI below 18.5 have a 30% higher risk of early menopause compared to those whose BMI corresponds to the norm. There were also more unexpected data: women in the body are out of the risk zone, they radiate health and female sexuality and practically do not suffer from early menopause. From the above, we can conclude that one of the methods to delay the onset of menopause is to maintain a normal weight (well, or a little over the norm) and not resort to exhausting workouts and strict diets.
2. Sexual activity
All ages are submissive to love! As part of the study “Women’s Health in different countries”, a lot of work was done, and it was possible to find out whether the frequency of sexual activity affects the onset of menopause.
During premenopause, due to a decrease in hormone production, the secretory function of the mucous membranes is disrupted. Hot flashes, irritability and dryness of the mucous membranes do not add desire and do not contribute to obtaining satisfaction, but regular sexual life is a factor that can delay the onset of menopause and significantly improve mood. Speaking in terms of numbers, women with an active sexual life have a 28% lower probability of early menopause compared to those who led a chaste lifestyle.
But how can such a connection be explained? The researchers suggested that if a woman does not have an active sexual life, then the body decides to refuse to waste energy on ovulation, because what is the point? But such an explanation is only a hypothesis that has a rich history.
There is a very interesting theory: menopause originally developed in women to reduce the reproductive conflict of generations. In addition, during ovulation, the immune system functions less productively, therefore, the probability of diseases increases, and in the presence of acquired pathologies, complications. A woman’s body has more opportunities to distribute forces that can be spent on other processes and maintaining her own health.
3. Nutrition
The average age of menopause is 51 years. Studies show that the arrival of menopause depends on the characteristics of nutrition: foods with a high carbohydrate content can accelerate its onset. These include pasta, rice, etc. But the inclusion in the diet of a large amount of fish, legumes, as well as sources of zinc and vitamin B6 slows down the onset of menopause by more than 3 years.
No less interesting conclusions were made regarding meat. When conducting a study in a group of vegetarians and vegans, as well as those who followed a regular diet, the data showed that eating meat products contributed to delaying menopause by about a year.
The exact mechanisms of the influence of nutrition on the time of menopause are still unclear, but theories have been formed. One of them assigns a dominant role to free radicals, which contribute to oxidative processes in the body and damage to DNA. The antioxidants contained in the products can compensate for their negative effect.
Those who want to delay the onset of menopause, it is recommended to include as much as possible in the diet:
- seafood and fish rich in unsaturated fatty acids and vitamins;
- legumes;
- fresh vegetables and fruits, berries;
- vegetable oils;
- greens and leafy vegetables;
- spices.
When making a diet, it is necessary to remember about the compatibility of products. For example, phosphorus and vitamin D are needed for the absorption of calcium. Without these components, such products are practically useless. Since the absorption of useful vitamins and minerals slows down with age, it is advisable to include vitamin and mineral complexes in your diet to maintain energy and immunity.
How to preserve femininity and a blooming look
Good mood, activity and blooming appearance depend on the hormonal background. But with age, the production of female hormones decreases, which leads to menopause. It is impossible to completely stop this process (it is inevitable), but it is quite possible to contain it. Phytoestrogens, natural substances contained in plants and medicinal herbs, will help to achieve this goal. Phytoestrogens have unique properties and are similar to estrogens, so they are often called hormone substitutes.
Replenishing the hormone deficiency contributes to a significant improvement in well-being, mood and sleep, and increased efficiency. Many people note a significant improvement in appearance, there are forces for achievements and achieving goals. Phytoestrogens will help not only to postpone the onset of menopause, but also to cope with unpleasant symptoms if it has already occurred.
Unlike hormone replacement therapy, phytoestrogens have practically no side effects — and a much smaller number of contraindications.
It is worth remembering that phytoestrogens have a cumulative effect — that is, an improvement in the condition, mood and performance will occur only after a few weeks, or even months of taking drugs.
Menopause is the beginning, a new stage of life, full of new impressions. And which ones are up to each woman to decide. It is possible to cope with unpleasant symptoms and control them, and quite affordable means will help in this.
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