IN CONVERSATION WITH GUSTAV: Menopause Nutrition

Perimenopause, Menopause & Beyond

Finally, we are talking, listening and sharing personal experiences to help one another understand and navigate our way through, what for many, can be a complicated, toilsome stage of life. Through discussion highlighting a plethora of symptoms, women are recognising, relating, and reaching out for help. Talk around successful dietary changes, key supplementation, lifestyle intervention and the power of HRT, are encouraging women to explore what they need to get back into the driving seat of their wellbeing.

New flash…this transitional period doesn’t have to be ‘suffered’! With the right intervention and support, women can embrace this new phase of life.

Hormone Decline

Essentially, menopause is the permanent loss of ovarian oestrogen and progesterone, both hormones have profound effects throughout a women’s body. It may surprise you to know that there are receptors for these hormones in nearly every organ, with oestrogen responsible for endless tasks. It’s no wonder when these hormones decline, the impact, for many is profound, effecting multiple tissues, organs and biochemistry.

Much focus is placed on declining oestrogen and progesterone but the reality is testosterone frequently declines alongside them. Does this matter? Yes, absolutely. Testosterone is vital for bone health, mood, muscle mass, immune regulation, libido, memory and much more. For many women HRT involves replacing both oestrogen and progesterone with testosterone and its precursor DHEA overlooked. Both DHEA and testosterone can be supported using nutritional intervention once there is an understanding of hormone levels and metabolism (breakdown).

To be clear, signs and symptoms of perimenopause do overlap with menopause. The difference? Perimenopause involves menstrual changes in flow, regulation, and duration. Menopause is when a womans menstrual cycle has stopped consistently for 12 months.

Symptoms May Include...

- Hot flushes

- Reduced memory and/or brain fog

- Dysregulated mood

- Sleep disruption

- Increased anxiety

- Heart palpitations

- Increased histamine reactivity (the onset of menopause can set off histamine intolerance)

- Muscle and joint pain

- Loss of bone mass

- Dry skin and/or itchy skin

- Vaginal itchiness/dryness

- Reoccurring Urinary Tract Infections (UTIs)

- Stress Incontinence

Are any of these symptoms familiar?

The Good News... I can help you navigate your personal hormone transition using tailored dietary advice, therapeutic supplementation and lifestyle considerations facilitated not only by blood testing but the revolutionary Dried Urine Test for Comprehensive Hormones known as the DUTCH.

Introducing the Revolutionary DUTCH Test

Traditionally sex hormone levels during perimenopause/menopause are assessed via blood testing, incredibly important, but this only provides us with part of the hormone picture, circulating hormone levels. What we really want to understand is not just circulating hormones but what the body is doing with them. This is where the DUTCH (dried urine collection) comes in. The test provides invaluable detail regarding personal hormone pathways (not all are favourable!), we see whether oestrogen clearance and deactivation is optimal, if testosterone is low because there is increased conversion to oestrogen (aromatisation) or is testosterone more potent than ideal, is the breakdown of progesterone potentially influencing anxiety, the list goes on.

More amazing news…HRT can be monitored using the DUTCH. The test will tell us your unique physiological response to this method of intervention. Is it working for you in the best way possible?

Stressed? The DUTCH can provide key information not just about sex hormones but stress hormones and adrenal gland demand. My clinical experience has shown chronically stressed women are more likely to experience a particularly challenging perimenopause & menopause.

The DUTCH test allows for identification of nutritional and nutrient needs, not only deficiencies but herbs, nutrients which can favourably influence hormone levels and hormone pathways. I create tailored recommendations for each unique female I work with.

Work With Me

I’ve over 14 years’ extensive experience as a Registered Nutritional Therapist in private practice, student education and practitioner support. Through the wholistic lens of Functional Medicine I view the human body as a complex integrated system, acknowledging environment, diet, lifestyle, emotional wellbeing, genetics, and biochemical uniqueness all play a role in wellness and vitality.

The beauty of this approach means dietary modification, therapeutic supplementation and lifestyle changes can bring health results in isolation or alongside traditional medicine, including HRT.

Initial consultations are detailed and interactive, involving information gathering therefore targeted decision making. Through careful questioning I can narrow down best dietary intervention, supplement recommendations and which DUTCH panel or alternative test options are most appropriate. Test results guide the fine tuning of your action plan to reinstate wellness, vitality and your va va voom!

I offer 60-minute consultations. Complex cases may require an initial 90-minute consultation.

Please visit my website for further insight into my services www.paulajonesnutrition.com

Happy Health

Paula