Menopause, a curse or a welcome retrieve ?

Baby-boomers represent the majority of adults in today's society and especially women, who are getting close their fifties, experience this inescapable phase of glandular adjustment, which represents the end of menstruation and the beginning of another stage in life.

Menopause being the counterpoint to puberty, as far as glandular change is concerned and which many mothers suffer, while their adolescents are going through puberty, it illustrates very vividly the remarkable power of the hormonal system, first in the form of an explosion and later as a mutation, such as during male or female menopause.

For a healthy woman this period of adaptation to bodily change and a new glandular rhythm lasts for about five to eight years, with intensity and frequency hovering between 20% to 80% of symptoms. Hot flashes, insomnia, mood changes, problems of a sexual, bone and blood nature depend heavily on the state of your health, as well as your past and present life style in general.

Aside from inescapable factors such as inherited family genetics, what also determines your menopause is the state of your liver, which releases all the main hormones and also that of your thyroid and adrenals, which take over after the atrophy of the ovaries. In order to correct these more or less difficult problems, depending on their intensity and frequency, several natural means are at your disposal. To start with, one must go through a liver cleanse with the right herbs, such as boldo, milk thistle and sage. The adrenals can be set right with adaptogens such as angelica, loco-weed, ginseng and licorice. To return the temperature to normal use cooling plants like achillea, borage and sage and call on leading phytohormones such as wild yam, evening primrose, red clover or soy to come to the rescue. To relax the nerves use soothing basil, lemon balm, scullcap and vervaine and for calcium rich foods look to apricots, almonds, cabbage, cereals and sesame seeds. All these collaborating plants have proven themselves thousands of times the world over by easing the temporary discomforts of this inescapable part of life.

Sometimes such simple things as wearing clothing made from natural fibre, exercising outdoors, drinking lots of pure water, taking short showers or cold sitz baths can considerably reduce hot flashes.

It was not until after the complete cessation of menstruation that Native Americans would admit middle-aged women to the council of wise women, also called "The Grandmother Lodge", since it was assumed that before that time a woman had neither the experience nor the wisdom necessary to chart the tribe's destiny.

In the West, where menopause is regarded as a sickness and seen as the first step towards degeneration and old age, laboratories invest great sums of money in research and advertising for hormone replacment therapies, promising women eternal youth at best and guarantees against infarctions, osteoporosis and wrinkles at worst.

Recent clinical disclosures have proven the dangers of systematic hormone replacement therapy and the increase of hormone-dependent cancer as well as cardiovascular illnesses and, thereby, contradict the harmlessness of these treatments. More and more women return to the natural way, to live and age better. After all, many of our grandparents have lived to an old and serene age without the use of any chemicals.

Is it not better to accept who we are without further compromise, to express and share our individuality, to continue to evolve, to revitalize our sexuality, to change careers or place of residence? Occasionally, only the acceptance of menopause can move us toward finally living the healthy transformations, which we have desired for such a long time!

Anny Schneider
Herbalist and Naturopath