High blood sugar worsens menopause symptoms
By naturopath Margaret Jasinska
Did you know that hot flushes, night sweats and other menopause symptoms can be much worse in people with high blood sugar? Diabetics typically experience worse menopause symptoms, and so can pre-diabetics and people who experience a glucose spike after meals. Keeping your blood sugar in the healthy range can make your menopause years much easier and more pleasant.
Menopause
Menopause is a life transition that many women fear and dread. You may know an older female who experienced debilitating symptoms and you’re worried about going through the same. A lot of women are not able to take hormone replacement therapy due to previous illness or family history, and many women simply feel uncomfortable about the thought of taking hormone replacement therapy. Fortunately there are natural solutions that can usually help to alleviate symptoms.
Menopause symptoms can range from mild and slightly annoying to overwhelming and debilitating. Hot flushes and night sweats are usually the worst symptoms because they can significantly disrupt sleep. Long term sleep deprivation inevitably leads to exhaustion, with a significant increase in the risk of depression or anxiety. Vaginal dryness is another common menopause symptom that greatly reduces quality of life for some women.
The healthier you are throughout your life, the less likely you are to have problems with menopause. Women who are a healthy weight, eat well and exercise regularly usually experience fewer symptoms of menopause. While women menstruate, most of their hormones are produced in their ovaries, adrenal glands and body fat. After menopause it is the adrenal glands and body fat that produce sex hormones, albeit in much smaller quantities.
The healthier your adrenal glands are throughout your life, the easier your menopause will likely be. That is why women who have experienced intensely stressful situations or women who lived with chronic stress experience much worse menopause symptoms. Stress depletes your adrenal glands and so do stimulants. Stimulants such as caffeine, nicotine and sugar over stimulate the adrenal glands and in time can lead to adrenal gland exhaustion. Therefore, women who consume a lot of stimulants over their lifetime usually run out of hormones sooner and have a difficult menopause.
Your blood sugar can affect menopause symptoms
Elevated blood sugar and insulin resistance can both intensify hot flushes and night sweats and make them more frequent. These symptoms cause disruptions in sleep, which further worsens insulin resistance, creating a negative cycle. People with elevated blood sugar typically have a fatty liver, which causes liver inflammation. An inflamed liver generates too much heat, leaving an individual intolerant of hot climates and prone to breaking into a sweat, particularly on the head.
High blood sugar worsens mood and cognitive abilities. It may contribute to irritability, anxiety, and a foggy brain, which are typically present at menopause. High blood sugar levels can make you feel more tired. Elevated blood sugar can damage nerves in the public region, causing vaginal dryness and reducing sensation. This can cause painful sexual intercourse.
Menopause speeds up the loss of collagen and elastin from your skin and connective tissue. This can make your skin look loss hydrated and plump, increase sagging and wrinkling. It also weakens the connective tissue of your urinary tract, increasing the risk of bladder infections and irritation. High blood sugar also causes loss of collagen and elastin because it promotes glycation. That means sugar sticks to protein, weakening its structure and integrity. The result is faster ageing.
Natural ways to reduce menopause symptoms
Phyto estrogens from herbs and foods can have gentle hormone balancing properties and relieve the most common menopause symptoms. Nuts, seeds, spices, legumes and vegetables are the best sources of phyto-estrogens. Contact us if you’d like advice about herbal remedies or bio-identical hormone creams.
Try to achieve a healthy weight and slim waist. Overweight women are more prone to hot flushes, especially if they carry their weight on their abdomen. Carrying weight there means you have too much visceral fat. This is a dangerous type of fat. If your blood sugar level is higher than ideal, the advice in the book Type 2 Diabetes: You Can Reverse It Naturally should help you.
Look after your liver. Women with a fatty liver are more prone to hot flushes. See the book Fatty Liver: You Can Reverse It. Alcohol, caffeine and spicy foods can all aggravate menopause symptoms.
Exercise can help prevent hot flushes. Aerobic exercise that makes you huff and puff and sweat is excellent for preventing hot flushes.
Your requirement for collagen rises after menopause and many women don’t meet their needs through their diet. Tough cuts of meat are high in collagen, thus slow cooked or pressure cooked meat dishes would fit the bill. Alternatively Ageless Beauty Collagen is an all natural caramel and maple syrup flavoured supplement that can be added to beverages or smoothies.
Try to reduce your stress levels. Stress, anxiety and tension can all promote hot flushes, night sweats, mood changes and insomnia. You can reduce stress by changing the way you perceive situations in your life, learning new coping skills, or making changes to your circumstances. Taking time out to look after yourself and doing things that make you happy is also important. In some women, prescription antidepressant medication can be very effective at treating hot flushes and insomnia. Magnesium supplements can help because magnesium has a relaxing effect on the body and can improve sleep quality.
Get your blood pressure checked regularly. High blood pressure can promote or worsen hot flushes. Weight loss, a low carbohydrate eating plan and stress reduction can help correct blood pressure.
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