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Eating for Your Hormones
A Natural Solution to Menopause Madness
By Kelly Burgess
Angie Mercurio, 50, from Parsippany, N.J., thought she was going to go insane. "I was having 10 hot flashes a night. A night," she says. "That doesn't even count the ones I had during the day. I also was having dizzy spells, my brain seemed like it had turned to mush and I was putting on weight – and with good reason – it seemed like I was always hungry."
Mercurio knew she was going through menopause, but couldn't envision living like that for the next however many years it might last. Her doctor recommended hormone replacement therapy, which she assured Mercurio was completely safe given her age and what the medical profession had learned about hormone replacement therapy since the abrupt end of the Women's Health Initiative. Still, Mercurio was nervous about taking hormones and decided to explore some other ideas.
Mercurio began reading "tons" of books and ended up changing her diet, taking some natural supplements and adding exercise and meditation to her life. After a few weeks, she began to see results. Her hot flashes decreased and she began sleeping better and feeling like she had more energy. Her dizzy spells disappeared completely and, although she still suffers some symptoms, their overall severity has been reduced enough that she no longer feels like she's losing her mind.
Dr. Susan Lark says that hormone imbalances are responsible for many of the menstrual-related symptoms some women experience throughout their life, such as PMS, heavy periods, cramps and a host of other symptoms. Subsequent hormonal imbalances later in life – during perimenopause, premenopause and menopause – then cause many of the unpleasant menopausal symptoms, such as hot flashes, night sweats, vaginal dryness, insomnia, anxiety, etc. Women who are in what Dr. Lark calls the mid-range generally do not suffer from these types of problems and not only have trouble-free periods, but sail through menopause with few unpleasant side effects.
