If you suffering from hot flashes and waves of heat in the face, neck, or chest then you are likely going through menopause.
Menopause is a stage in a woman’s life where she stops releasing eggs to make babies, and estrogen levels drop.
As this hormone starts to go down, you can start experiencing problems like hot flashes, vaginal dryness, dry skin, weight gain, insomnia, low libido, and brain fog.
So, in today’s article, we are going to explore the top vitamins and natural remedies to fix this hormonal imbalance.
These remedies will make it easier for you to go through this transition, whilst your body adapts to the changes that are taking place with your hormones.
You will also learn exactly why some women suffer from more hot flashes than others, and how you can overcome them.
What Causes Menopause Symptoms?
You may have noticed that some women suffer from extreme menopause symptoms like hot flashes, weight gain, and cellulite for example, Where’re others seem to have fewer problems and find the transition much easier.
This is due to the connection between your ovaries and your adrenal glands. Basically, after you go through menopause your ovaries start to shut down and can no longer make certain hormones.
(estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone)
So your adrenal glands have to take over in making these hormones, as a type of backup gland. If your adrenal glands are tired because you suffer from a lot of stress, are overweight, or follow a poor diet.
They struggle to become the backup of the ovaries. This means they can’t make enough hormones, which causes a hormonal imbalance, and triggers menopause symptoms.
Women who have healthy adrenal glands tend to have an easier transition through menopause and fewer symptoms.
Why Are My Adrenal Glands Weak?
The adrenal glands produce various hormones, however, the main one is called cortisol. Cortisol is the stress hormone that is triggered whenever you feel anxious, scared, or fearsome.
For example, if you are constantly worrying about bills, obligations, and commitments this can trigger a release of cortisol.
Also, if you have poor sleeping patterns, and consume lots of caffeine, soda, or coffee then these can all raise your cortisol.
Over time the gland becomes tired and burnt out because of the high levels of cortisol and stress in your life.
When it comes time for your adrenal glands to take over from your ovaries, they are already burnt out which is the main cause of menopause symptoms.
High cortisol levels and weakened adrenal glands can cause bone loss in women which is why you see higher rates of osteopenia and osteoporosis in older women.
It can also cause you to lose muscle around your buttocks and thighs, which appear like cellulite. But it’s actually atrophied muscle caused by the high cortisol levels.
Cortisol is turning some of your muscles into sugar, which can then make you gain weight around the stomach.
The high cortisol can also wake you up in the middle of the night, cause moodiness and anxiety, and a range of other problems.
These problems are magnified during and after menopause because the adrenal glands have to make more hormones.
The Best Vitamins For Menopause
Now that you understand what is happening inside your body, we will explore the best 10 vitamins and natural remedies to ease menopause symptoms.
1. Vitamin E
One of the best vitamins to support menopause is Vitamin E because it supports the pituitary gland in the brain, also known as the “master” gland.
The pituitary controls the function of your adrenal glands and the ovaries. Menopausal women often become deficient in this which may be triggering hot flashes and other symptoms.
Take a high-quality food blend Vitamin E capsule daily, which contains both tocopherols and tocotrienols on the label.
2. Lodine.
Hot flashes, in particular, are caused by too much or too little estrogen in the body. Iodine helps to balance out this ratio and bring your hormones back into balance.
The best natural source of Iodine would be a daily supplement of Sea Kelp, or you can get it from eating seaweed, sea kelp, and sea vegetables.
3. DIM.
DIM is a natural substance found in leafy green cruciferous vegetables. It is one of the best remedies for balancing hormones in both women and men.
You can get DIM from eating radishes, brussels sprouts, cabbage, broccoli, etc…
However, it’s recommended to take a concentrated supplement for women, especially if you have taken birth control for many years.
It helps detoxify bad estrogen and bring the good estrogen into balance.
4. Wild Yam Cream.
Another hormone that drops during and after menopause is progesterone. Many women apply wild yam cream to help reduce hot flashes, night sweats, and vaginal dryness because It helps raise progesterone.
5. Rhodiola.
Rhodiola is an ancient remedy used by the Vikings to help balance hormones, reduce stress, and strengthen the body.
You can take this in capsules. It is one of the best adaptogens to reduce stress in the body, and take the strain off your adrenal glands, so that they can do their job in taking over from the ovaries.
6. Probiotics.
You can also boost the number of friendly bacteria in your body by consuming probiotics. You can get these from live yogurt, cheese, sauerkraut, pickles, and other fermented foods, or you can take them as a supplement.
Probiotics have been shown to reduce stress and cortisol by improving blood sugar and brain chemistry.
You also want to cut out artificial sweeteners from your diet, because these kill your friendly bacteria.
7. Vitamin D.
When you expose your skin to the sunshine, your body produces Vitamin D. However it’s estimated that over 75% of the worldwide population is deficient in Vitamin D. I highly recommend taking this as a daily supplement at 10,000 IU.
Vitamin D acts like a hormone that lowers cortisol and supports your adrenal glands.
8. Vitamin C.
One of the main nutrients needed for the adrenal glands is Vitamin C. You can get this from eating leafy green vegetables, bell peppers,
citrus fruits, berries, and sauerkraut.
This helps to protect your adrenal glands from stress. It also helps these glands to make hormones which are very important during menopause.
9. Zinc.
Zinc is a trace mineral that performs thousands of functions in the body and is also involved with making certain hormones.
Eat foods rich in zinc such as shellfish, pumpkin seeds, Brazil nuts, and red meat to help keep the hormones in balance.
It also reduces stress and anxiety by triggering certain chemicals in your brain like GABA.
10. B-Vitamins.
Last but by no means least, B Vitamins are absolutely essential to keep your stress levels down during menopause. The best source of these is nutritional yeast, shellfish, seeds, and red meat.
This help to calm the nervous system down, to take the strain off your adrenal glands in order to turn off hot flashes and other menopause symptoms.
Additional Advice
It is important that you do not follow a low-fat diet during menopause. Fats are needed in your diet because they provide the raw materials to build hormones.
It is recommended to follow a low-carb diet instead. This involves cutting out refined foods like sugar, flour, starches, and refined grains.
Refined foods deplete your vitamins and minerals, causing further hormonal problems. So cutting these out and replacing them with whole foods like avocados, olive oil, coconut oil, grass-fed butter, wild-caught fish and leafy greens can really help to balance out your hormones.
Finally, I cannot emphasize enough how important it is to lower your stress levels before and during menopause.
Stress will make the symptoms 10x worse because it overburdens your adrenal glands. Taking long gentle walks in nature for 45 minutes a day can really make an impact on lowering cortisol and stress.
Allocating more time for sleep and relaxation will help to calm your adrenal glands down so that they can replace your lost hormones.
Summary
Menopause is a transition where your ovaries shut down and your adrenal glands take over in making certain hormones.
By following a healthy lifestyle, keeping your stress low, and getting the Vitamins we mentioned in this article, you will be able to have an easier transition through menopause.
These methods help to calm the glands, balance the hormones and keep your body functioning at 100%.
Do you have a hormonal imbalance?
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