Menopause and Osteoporosis

Menopause and Osteoporosis

Women start to lose calcium from their bones from the age of about 35.
During the five years just after the menopause, women lose bone mass at the highest rate in their lives.
This can lead to osteoporosis, a serious condition that results in bones breaking very easily.

To prevent bone loss during the menopause:

• Don't smoke.
• Exercise regularly. Weight-bearing exercise is best, such as running, tennis, weight-training, or even a brisk walk.
• Get plenty of calcium.

The National Osteoporosis Society suggests women over 40 and nearing the menopause, should get 1500mg of calcium each day.

Vitamin D helps the body absorb calcium, and sunlight on the skin stimulates the body's own production of vitamin D. It is also in some sardines, oily fish, cereals, cheddar cheese and margarine.

Calcium in some popular food
half-pint semi-skimmed milk = 365mg
Cheddar cheese (5 slices) = 360mg
Cup of almonds = 300mg
Cup of low fat yogurt = 190mg
Prawns (100g boiled) = 150mg
Spinach (100g boiled) = 150mg

Phytoestrogens for Menopause

Phytoestogens are often used with success to help control the symptoms of menopause.
They are found in plants and activate estrogen receptors by mimicking estrogen weakly.

There are 3 types of natural estrogen found in plants, one of which is useful during the menopause:

• resorcyclic acid lactones found in rice, corn, barley and wheat which contain beta estradiol
• steroidal estrogen found in rice, date palms and licorice which are identical to the estrone and estradiol produced in the body
• phenolics which come in different classes and include isoflavones.

In menopause, isoflavones can buffer symptoms of estrogen loss.

The highest sources of isoflavones are found in red clover, flaxseed, and soybeans. Other sources include beans, lentils, black-eyed peas and phytoestrogen herbs.

Menopause is a time of Wisdom

Menopause is a woman's time of wisdom, power and knowledge.

Cultural background, diet, lifestyle, genetics and knowledge of the menopausal process play key roles in how a woman will experience menopause.
This year over 60 million women in the United States will reach menopause. The average age for a woman to cease having her menstrual cycle and stop reproduction is 51.3 years of age, however, peri-menopause can begin in the late thirties.
An individualized process, no woman experiences menopause in exactly the same way. Menopause symptoms can range from none to many and last for varying lengths of time up to a period of five-years.

Menopause Questions 4

I had a friend who had a nervous breakdown when she reached the menopause. Is this common?

No. The menopause can sometimes trigger off problems, such as depression, particularly if physical symptoms are making you tired and anxious, but serious mental illness is not a direct result of the menopause.

Menopause Questions 3

I have always suffered from bad premenstrual tension. Does this mean I'm in for a miserable time at the menopause?

Not necessarily.
Although premenstrual tension and menopause symptoms are both due to changes in hormone balance, the monthly cycles at the menopause involves smaller levels of hormones, and progesterone disappears completely.
So the hormone changes may affect you quite differently.

On the other hand, pre-menstrual tension and the menopause can both be influenced by stressful situations and by your own feelings.

Menopause Questions 2

Can I get pregnant while I am taking HRT?

This depends entirely on whether your natural menopause has already occured.

If you went through the menopause before you started HRT, you should continue to use contraceptives for as long as your doctor recommends.
HRT does not increase your chances of getting pregnant, and it does not act as a contraceptive.

If you started HRT before your periods stopped, it will be difficult to know when you have stopped ovulating, as you will probably continue to have monthly periods due to the treatment.
In this case it may be safest to carry on using contraceptives until you are fifty-five.
Your doctor will advise you on this.

Menopause Questions 1

I started my periods quite young - when I was only eleven.
Does this mean I will have an early menopause?

No, not necessarily.
The age at which you first started menstruating doesn't seem to have any particular effect on when the menopause happens.

Aromatherapy

There are many other natural method which can help you manage the symptoms of menopause in a better way.

Aromatherapy for one, which uses the technique of massage with essential oils, helps to relieve menopausal symptoms.
During the massage, the aromas are perceived by the nerve endings in the nose, and signals are passed to the limbic system in the brain.
An important part of the limbic system governs the pituitary gland, which controls hormone release throughout the body.
Additionally, the small molecules of essential oils are absorbed through the skin. They then dissolve in the natural body fats and fluids. This allows them to flow around the body, to relax or stimulate, detoxify and regenerate.

Reduce stress levels

Reduce stress levels:
Acupuncture, meditation, and relaxation techniques are all harmless ways to reduce the stress of menopause and some people report great benefit from these practices.

Yoga can be a powerful tool for helping you experience the passage into menopause as a positive event, both physically and spiritually.
Because it works by balancing the endocrine system, yoga reduces the effects of menopause's hormonal changes.

Follow a sequence of poses to stimulate the ovaries and the pituitary gland to produce more hormones. It will have a calming, soothing, quieting effect on the nervous system and, if practiced regularly, will help ease menopausal symptoms.

Studies have shown that an increasing number of women are using acupuncture for menopausal symptoms, which uses a method of treatment that is directed to the balance of yin and yang, the active principle in nature. It is said to relieve symptoms such as headaches, sleep disruption, loss of concentration, mood swings and quality of life.

Meditation is the self-directed practice of calming the mind and subduing external stimuli to produce a stress-free state of deep relaxation and inner harmony. Meditation techniques may focus on breathing, a mantra, an image or a peaceful experience and will help relieve many of the menopausal tensions"

Exercise

Exercise:
Weight-bearing exercise like walking or aerobics helps protect against osteoporosis, which is one of the things that happens after menopause. All exercise, when practised on a regular basis, reduces your risk for heart disease and can lead to better sleep.

Researchers have found that women between the ages of 45 and 55 will gain weight regardless of whether they go through menopause or not at that age. Gaining weight is more due to too little exercise and too many calories. Exercise helps to control excess weight gain.

Low impact exercise like walking is as effective as high impact exercise like running in strengthening bones. Resistance exercise or lifting weights also helps. Since exercise improves balance and coordination, it may prevent future falls. Exercise will also relieve your muscle and joint pains and help you combat insomnia.

Try to exercise 30 minutes per day. But check with your healthcare provider before starting any new exercise program.

Coping with the Menopause

The smartest approach to menopause is to try the least harsh, most natural treatments first: change your diet, increase supplements, reduce stress levels, avoid caffeine and stop smoking – use acupuncture, herbs, massage and meditation first.

Dietary changes:
When selecting foods for health, a rule of thumb is this: the closer to the natural state, the healthier.
Include in your diet, whole grains such as brown rice, whole-wheat pasta, legumes, oatmeal, corn and baked potatoes in plenty.
Avoid flavorings such as butter. Instead, eat plenty of fruits and vegetables, which are excellent fiber sources.
Cut back on the red meat and emphasize lean cuts as well as fish and chicken.

Studies have shown that some foods that contain phyto-estrogen help ease the symptoms of menopause caused by lack of estrogen. This remarkable substance actually acts like estrogen in the body by stimulating estrogen receptors on the cell walls in the skin, breast, uterus and vagina which is beneficial for menopausal women.
The estrogen-containing foods that have been found to raise blood levels of estrogen are: soy, tofu, linseed oil, black cohosh and red clover sprouts. Supplements containing this vital plant hormone may help you to restore the 'imbalances'.

Increase the intake of essential fatty acids (EFA). Balances of EFA will help direct your hormones, reduce vaginal dryness, and improve mental outlook. The balance includes Omega-3, Omega-6, and GLA.
Foods high in Omega-3 salmon, tuna, flax, and pumpkin seeds. Omega-6 is found in nuts, seeds, and soybeans.
GLA are found in evening primrose, black currant or borage oils. Wild yam extracts act as natural progesterone precursors and has been seen to be effective in relieving hot flashes, vaginal dryness, and insomnia.

Perimenopause

What is perimenopause?

Perimenopause is the time period from when a woman's menses first become irregular until one year after menopause.

This transition can take many years. During the perimenopause, many women experience some of the menopause symptoms.

Fear of menopause.

Menopause is a state which most of the middle age women start dreading.
At around 45-55, sometimes earlier, a woman's ovaries run out of eggs.
At the same time, the ovaries stop making the female hormones - oestrogen and progesterone - which greatly influence a woman's health and personality.

Withdrawal symptoms are experienced. The most obvious is that periods become irregular, and then stop.

For 80 per cent of women, their temperature control system goes on the brink, causing hot flushes and sweat.
Feelings of listlessness, tiredness and irritability become common.

Feeling the various signs of ageing, including aches and pains, sudden wrinkles, dry hair and so on, will also increase.

Post-menopausal women are at greater risk of bad health in old age.
Osteoporosis (brittle bones), heart attacks and strokes are all common problems.

Visit NaturalMenopause.net for herbs that can help you cope with the symptoms of menopause.

Menopause and sexuality

Menopause marks the turning point in a woman’s life and all over the world there is a common belief that it also marks the end of a woman’s sex life. This is a misconception, actually post menopause could in fact be the golden years of a woman’s sex life.
However, there can be a marked decline in her sexual activity. And the reason for this is but obvious, due to reduction in oestrogen and progesterone, the vagina walls become thinner and lose their elasticity.
As a consequence a woman feels discomfort during intercourse. There can be irritation and predisposition to infection too, that may cause aversion to sex.

Solutions to this problem include:
Lubrication: The single best way to make sex more comfortable after menopause is the use of personal lubricants during sex.
Replacing the body's natural lubrication can make sex as exciting and rewarding as it was before. Your sexual organs are still sexually sensitive and will remain so through out your life.

Positive Thinking: Thinking positively about menopause is also important since it is the most meaningful time in a woman’s life that has some significant benefits.
Pregnancy is no longer possible and many women feel that this decreases their level of anxiety during sex. They find themselves more relaxed, so they enjoy the experience more.
Abstaining from sex during menstruation are no longer issues in a woman's life. As a result many women find menopause to be quite a relief. The shrinkage in the size of the vagina may mean that more direct stimulation takes place.
Lastly, a smaller vagina means more friction and closer contact with the nerves that produce sexual pleasure. Ageing can create a new range of sensations as long as couples learn how to adapt.

Hormone Treatments: Hormone replacement therapy is a way some women deal with menopausal side effects. This may or may not be an option for you. Ask your physician for the facts on this treatment possibility.

Most of all remember that the menopause does not have to be the end of your sexual life but a new beginning!

Hormones or Herbs?

Hormone replacement therapy (HRT) has been a bone of contention with menopausal women all over the world for years, and can put women at risk of developing a number of life-threatening conditions.

Now the US National Cancer Institute (NCI) reports the results of a research study with conclusions that I hope will prompt every woman taking oestrogen to reassess her treatment.

HRT increases risk of ovarian and breast cancer


The NCI study researched existing data from the Breast Cancer Detection Demonstration Project, a screening programme that examined a total of 44,241 post-menopausal women in 29 clinical centres in the US, from 1979 through 1998. The NCI team designed its study to glean information that might associate HRT with ovarian cancer - an association that had previously been unclear.

With the research stacking up against HRT, hard decisions are in order for the millions of women who are experiencing the daunting difficulties of the menopause.

Some, will decide to take a chance with one of the hormone replacement therapies.
Others may be fortunate enough to be able to control their conditions with natural alternatives: using herbal remedies, for instance, such as dong quai, black cohosh, liquorice, red clover and chaste berry. Nutritional supplements of vitamins A, C and B complex, plus minerals like boron may also be effective. In addition, some women may find relief in yoga, acupuncture or special exercise regimens.

The important thing for women to know is that there are a number of ways they can cope with menopause naturally.
They don't work for all women, but these alternatives should be given a second look now that we know the choice of oestrogen may have even more dire consequences than we had previously suspected.

For more information on natural ways to manage menopause go to NaturalMenopause.net

Menopause thoughts..

Menopause is still considered to stop altogether a woman's chances of having a child, but with the introduction of Hormone Replacement Therapy it no longer necessarily means a sign of ageing.

This is great news for women of typical menopausal age who still feel as young as they did twenty years ago, and even better news for the very small group who reach a premature menopause in their twenties or thirties.

Whereas others are of the opinion that their menopause gives them a new sexual freedom. They are free from contraceptive worries, free from PMS and problem periods and they feel just great.

Now that hormone therapy is not a standard option because of the side effects associated with it, visit Natural Menopause to see what other options there are.

Relieve Menopause Symptoms by Eating well

Keeping to a healthy diet can do wonders for over all vitality and this in turn helps to give you greater resilience against any problems during the menopause.

Hot flushes may be reduced by taking vitamin E rich foods like wheat germ, nuts, eggs and olive oil.
Vitamin A, D, calcium, phosphorous and magnesium can help to prevent osteoporosis. Fish, drumstick leaves, ragi and dairy products are excellent source of calcium. Avoid eating raw bran, which inhibits calcium absorption and cut down on tea, coffee which promote the excretion of calcium.

Many women put on weight and increase the blood cholesterol level. To control body weight and blood cholesterol select low fat dairy foods and cut down on saturated fats like butter, cheese, and ghee.

Research has found that substances from plants called phytoestrogens might help to reduce the severity of hot flushes and other symptoms of the menopause.
Phytoestrogens, which mimic human oestrogen, are found mainly in soybeans and alfalfa sprouts.
Soya bean flour can be mixed with wheat flour for making bread or pancakes etc.
Other soya products are soymilk, tofu, and soy sauce.

Carrot and beet root juice is found very use full in menopausal disorders. Oats, corn, barley, brown rice, whole wheat are also excellent sources of phytoestrogens.
Regular exercise is also essential during this period.
Visit NaturalMenopause.net for information on herbs that help during the menopause.

Alternative to HRT?

Since the discovery two years ago of the risks involved with hormone replacement therapy, menopausal women have been looking for more alternatives to beat the symptoms of menopause.

Like many women, 53-year-old Donna Nowak was faced with decisions to deal with her menopausal symptoms.

'I have hot flashes, clamminess and night sweats. You wake up in the middle of the night and you're drenched,' Donna says.

She wasn't interested in taking any kind of prescription on an on going basis,
so she looked into alternative therapies like those offered at the Cleveland Clinic's integrated medicine office.

'I had one acupuncture session and from that point on I had no menopausal symptoms.'

While more study is needed, Donna's part of a growing number of women finding relief through acupuncture.

Dr. Tanya Edwards with the Cleveland Clinic says, 'we are finding that many patients have one or two treatments and their symptoms of irritability and hot flashes seem to go away.'

Donna went through nearly seven years of symptoms before finding relief. For those having trouble, holistic options may be worth a try.

'Any of the mind/body techniques such as imagery, self hypnosis, you name it can be very helpful for calming some of their frayed nerves that women get as their hormones in flux.'

Soy has also been found to be beneficial. Doctors say soy found in foods is better than supplements.
Make sure you're not allergic or sensitive to soy, in which case avoid.

Night Sweats

Night sweats contribute to poor quality sleep for millions of people.
Diabetes, thyroid disorders, pregnancy, menopause and cancer treatment often cause excessive sweating. Night sweats or hot flashes can be so severe that the individual may have to get up and change their sheets and clothing during the night.
Waking up soaking wet and freezing to death can be quite uncomfortable.

Night sweats are a type of hot flash mainly associated with women experiencing menopause, but they can occur for men and women afflicted with other disorders.
Some medications can also contribute to night sweats for certain individuals. While the exact cause is not known, some medical researchers believe that night sweats and hot flashes may be caused by changes in circulation.

If you have a physical condition or are under treatment that is causing your night sweats, there's not much you can do to prevent them. You can take steps to stay more cool and comfortable.


Look for cool fabrics that effectively absorb or even draw moisture away from the skin. Look for light, cool fabrics and even athletic wear. A new fabric made from polyester that acts like a wick to draw moisture away from the skin shows promise. The garments that I found in a search are very expensive, averaging around $70 for one pair of pajamas.

Even if you feel cold when you go to bed, don't bundle up if you're prone to night sweats or hot flashes. Use extra blankets that can be kicked off when you feel hot.

While it would seem that sleeping in the nude would keep one cooler, the reverse is usually true. Perspiration tends to pool around the body and you may wake up in a puddle, which can feel even worse than wet clothing. With nothing between your body and the sheets to absorb moisture, you may find yourself getting up at 3 a.m. to change the bedding.

Take inventory of your bedding. Flannel sheets may be cozy and comfortable, but their warmth can make night sweats wetter. Stretch fabrics can make hot flashes feel hotter. Smooth polyester and cotton blends may keep you cooler through the night.

Unless you have severe allergies, keep your bedroom cooler by opening the windows. Utilize an air conditioner or fan. Fans can serve double duty by cooling off the room and providing the "white noise" that can help some people fall asleep.

Certain herbs especially Agnus Castus
can be very helpful in alleviating night sweats and hot flushes associated with the menopause.

Detoxifying the Menopause Mystique.

Currently, over 40 million women, more than 1/3 of the women in the United States, are experiencing menopausal symptoms. Another 20 million women will reach the age of menopause over the next 10 years. Easing into menopause gracefully has become the number one goal for all.

In modern times, pollution, toxins in the environment, drugs, alcohol and food additives place a great strain on the liver and can overload its function of detoxifying the bloodstream and getting rid of 'bad estrogens' in the body.

This becomes especially important when menopausal symptoms start to kick in and the unpleasant symptoms of menopause cause havoc in a woman's everyday life like hot flashes, hostility, itchy skin, and forgetfulness.
The right probiotics, or 'friendly bacteria,' are essential in helping detoxify the liver of harmful estrogens, restoring the integrity of the intestinal tract, and maintaining the immune system.
Adding the correct friendly bacteria to a nutritional supplement program can, through a variety of different mechanisms, markedly improve health and reduce/ease menopausal symptoms.

This timely information is described in the recently released book by Dr. Khem Shahani, Cultivate Health from Within. 'It has been known for nearly a century that eating fermented foods containing 'friendly bacteria' has important nutritional and therapeutic benefits in proper friendly bacteria balance.
Proper balance of friendly bacteria is not an easy feat to accomplish.
Diets rich in sugar, cortisone and cortisone-like drugs, birth control pills, immuno-suppressive drugs and antibiotics have been major culprits in affecting a naturally healthy digestive system and overall body health.'

That's precisely the reason Dr. Shahani authored Cultivate Health From Within. He sensibly describes which probiotics are instrumental in achieving and maintaining body health.
Dr. Shahani"s® L. acidophilus DDS-1 and other probiotics greatly help the body in ridding itself of toxins and "bad estrogen" buildup in the liver, making the transition into menopause just a little easier.

Menopause Years Especially Tough for Execs?

I don't think so!
All women who are having a difficult menopause have a tough time, but the survey that led to this article was a survey of the National Association of Female Executives sponsored by the maker of a menopause drug.
The survey indicated that 95% of the 843 respondents had suffered from the physical symptoms of menopause.

Insomnia, night sweats and daytime hot flashes were reported as the most vexing problems, and 56 percent said they deal with symptoms daily. Nearly 8 out of 10 reported mental or emotional symptoms such as forgetfulness and irritability.

About half of the women reported lack of sexual desire and painful intercourse due to vaginal dryness. That could explain why emotional well-being and romantic relationships were ranked as the two areas most affected by menopause symptoms, ahead of professional life, said Dr. James Simon, a gynecologist and menopause specialist at George Washington University in Washington, D.C., who helped design the survey questionnaire

When menopausal hot flashes caused sweat to run down Donna Cook's face during business meetings, she joked to concerned colleagues, "I'm having my personal summer." But for executives like Cook, menopause symptoms such as profuse sweating, nasty mood swings and memory lapses aren't funny.

Cook, 54, felt self-conscious when she had to blot up sweat while giving presentations at System Planning Corp., an Arlington, Va., firm that does scientific research and government contract work. She said she would awake several times a night in drenching sweats after she stopped taking hormone replacement medication, which she had been on for about 10 years.

"I would oversleep in the morning. I'd miss the alarm. I'd be late for work. I constantly felt like I was playing catch-up," she said. Sometimes, she had trouble remembering how to do routine duties.

Two years later, her symptoms are less frequent and severe, but her problem points to the embarrassment and loss of confidence suffered by many women executives at midlife.

Plenty of earlier studies have examined how menopause affects women in general, said Simon, but "a generation ago, there weren't enough female executives to bother" doing a survey of that group.

He said menopause symptoms may be more prevalent because of the growing obesity problem. "Fatter women are more likely to have hot flashes than thinner women," he explained.

Simon said he was not compensated for the survey by Barr Laboratories of Woodcliff Lake, N.J. The company makes Cenesten, a synthetic, plant-derived prescription drug for menopause symptoms. The survey was conducted online by pollster Harris Interactive in February.

The results will be reported next week in San Diego at the annual meeting of the North American Menopause Society, a doctors' group. Simon is the group's immediate past president.

Amy Niles, president of the National Women's Health Resource Center in Red Bank, N.J., said past educational campaigns about menopause have not targeted women in the work force. They are more likely than their mothers to have to deal with menopause.

"I think we've made great improvements over the last few years in creating awareness that this is a significant issue" that women should discuss with their doctors, Niles said.

Dr. Lauren Streicher, a gynecologist at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago and author of "The Essential Guide to Hysterectomy," which addresses menopause, said her lower-income, less-educated patients are more likely to accept the strains of menopause as just another big bump in life. Her well-educated professional patients are more likely to seek help and often complain about lack of sleep, which leaves them less motivated and less focused at work.

"This has an incredible impact on their ability to function in the corporate world," she said.

Streicher said many women were confused and scared of hormone therapy after federal researchers reported in 2002 that estrogen-progestin pills sold as Prempro could increase risks for heart attacks, breast cancer and strokes. Many doctors still recommend short-term hormone treatment.

"In an executive position ... you have to look your best," and project a calm, focused and capable image, said Rosalie Roberts, a 61-year-old survey participant who owns an Omaha, Neb., public relations business. She had moderate symptoms until several years ago but occasionally would sweat enough during meetings that she would head to the restroom during breaks.

"In my business, that's very, very unfortunate," Roberts said.

Well, it's unfortunate and difficult for all women who go through the menopause!!

Tofu, for Strong Bones.

While we're on the subject of osteoporosis....

Eating soy may help prevent bone fractures in postmenopausal women.

A large study of more than 24,000 women suggests that soy protein is especially helpful to bone health in the first few years after a woman reaches menopause.

The subjects in the study, women 40 to 70, were participants in the Shanghai Women's Health Study who were followed for four and a half years. In this time, 1,770 fractures were reported.

They found that the more soy a woman ate, the less likely she was to break a bone.
Within 10 years of menopause, high soy consumption was associated with a 50 percent reduction in the risk for bone fracture.

Dr. Xiao-Ou Shu, a co-author of the paper and a professor in the department of medicine at Vanderbilt, pointed out that the American Heart Association and the Food and Drug Administration recently recommended the consumption of 25 grams of soy protein each day as a heart disease preventive.

That would be more than enough to assure protection against fractures as well. 'The consumption level of women who were in the top 20 percent in our study is equivalent to two cups of soy milk per day, or three-quarters of a piece of tofu,' she said.
Although the amount of soy protein can vary among different brands, one cup of soy milk contains about 6.6 grams of soy protein, and a piece of tofu contains about 16 grams. 'In my opinion,' Dr. Shu said, 'women should increase soy intake.'

Do make sure you aren't intolerant or sensitive to soy before you take soy for menopausal symptoms.

Once a Month Osteoporosis tablet

Once-a-month osteoporosis tablet helps Menopausal Women.

Osteoporosis can lead to fractures and is especially prevalent in post menopausal women.
People with the bone disease osteoporosis will now be able to take a monthly rather than daily or weekly tablet for their condition, which will help patient compliance.
The drug works in the same way as other available bisphosphonates - helping the body to rebuild bone loss.

Doctors hope "Bonviva" will mean more patients keep taking their long term medication.
Research suggests half of patients on weekly bisphosphonates stop taking the pills by the end of the first year.
Many do not continue with treatment because they do not have symptoms for a number of years and they may not feel the beneficial effect that the treatment is having on their bones.
Osteoporosis affects an estimated three million people and is responsible for 230,000 breaks per year in the UK.

Every three minutes someone has a fracture due to osteoporosis.
Women are particularly at risk because they have smaller more fragile bones to start off with.
This is complicated by the menopause during which the body stops producing oestrogen - a hormone essential for good bone health.
And because of the natural ageing process, the risk increases with age.

OSTEOPOROSIS-RELATED FRACTURES PER YEAR
70,000 hip fractures
50,000 wrist fractures
120,000 spinal fractures

Currently, there is no cure for osteoporosis, so the treatments available aim to preserve bone mass and prevent fractures.

Dr Richard Keen of the Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital in London said people on osteoporosis treatment ( and this goes for all women going throught the menopause too) should not overlook the importance of ensuring that they were also getting enough vitamin D and calcium, which is important for bone health.

Exercise relieves menopause symptoms

Bouche an executive assistant at Nickelodeon Animation, is a testament to the power of exercise over menopausal symptoms.

That link has been noted by fitness instructors and trainers who have seen the effect on the hot flashes, insomnia, joint aches and weight gain often accompanying this phase of a woman's life.
But it's only now starting to get a closer look from researchers and from many women looking for natural ways to ease the symptoms of menopause.

One analysis of 12 menopausal women in an eight-week strength training program found that 40% of the women felt less anxious and half had less aching, stiffness and irritability.
Yet the prevailing wisdom is that exercise can be of benefit to some women who experience menopausal symptoms - if not by actually reducing the frequency of hot flashes and other discomforts, then by generally improving their health.

'We know that exercise improves quality of life, and if you translate that into any population you see improvements,' says Alysia Mastrangelo, associate professor of physical therapy at the Richard Stockton College of New Jersey and lead author of the strength training and yoga studies.

One study, published last year in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, followed 353 women through a four-year diet and exercise program and found it was able to slow the progression of menopause-related atherosclerosis.

'The health benefits of exercise go far beyond management of menopause symptoms,' says Dr. Carol Mangione, UCLA professor of medicine and chair of the NIH panel.

It reported that viewing menopause as more of an ailment than a normal life stage can lead to overuse of treatment programs such as hormone replacement therapy.

It's not unusual to find women in various stages of menopause frequenting Pilates, yoga and aquatics classes.
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