Menopause: We Need to "Marry" All Facets of Wellness for a Healthy Transition

I was motivated to write this upon reading the hugely popular okmagazine.com NyTimes newsroom article "Women Have Been Mislead About Menopause". I am not a doctor and I'm writing this from the perspective of a holistic health practitioner, podcaster & aging better advocate who has been in the industry for 7 years now. I happen to also be a 53 year old women.

Not all women have been mislead, particularly women in the holistic/natural/biohacking/alternative health arena. All of what was written in this article, we've known for years in my industry. Just like the whole vitamin D discussion...we've known this for many years and medicine has only caught on in the last few. And yet it's still not regularly tested, despite the importance. A connection between low vitamin D symptoms and the importance of optimization is still not made in general physician's offices...

What I like about this NY Times article is that more will pay attention now. This popular article will bring to light how many women are underserved in the eyes of medicine during the menopausal years. It's a big deal. We are also under-represented in studies. GP's often do not know how to treat a menopausal woman. Women are not a one-size-fits-all as it relates to menopause. There are some with more intense symptoms, some with a medical history. Bottom line is that you can't just provide a prescription and call it a day. Sounds crass, but this is the truth.

Here is what was amiss for me. The article only skimmed the fact that obesity and metabolic health are two factors to intense hot flashes. They covered off the connection between heart disease and hot flashes, which is great. But the only major solutions mentioned were drugs/hormones to treat. No real mention of lifestyle interventions for those who do not want to take hormones or SSRIs. Also no real distinction between bioidentical hormones and synthetic hormones. Also no connection between inflammation and intensity/severity of hot flashes.

As a Certified Metabolic Balance Coach & a Registered Holistic Nutritionist, I can tell you that there are many lifestyle interventions that can be implemented that work for many - me included! This may or may not include bioidentical hormones. It's not about seeing your GP and having to be on the receiving end of comments like "you need to lose weight". There are many lifestyle interventions that can be implemented if a woman wants to go through menopause healthier. It is true as stated in the article that some women suffer for many years. Life's too short to have such a big chunk of our lives lived in misery.

I will personally outline what I do. This is not medical advice. I do not diagnose, cure or heal disease, but I do help women feel better through diet, lifestyle, therapeutic-grade supplements, and biohacking. If you want to work with me or know someone who wants to take a holistic approach to menopause or a hybrid approach, let me know. I'll outline a few studies, but keep in mind there aren't many and lots of limitations to these studies.

1. I went through my own program last November - Metabolic Balance. Hot flashes were getting quite intense last October 2022. I lost 3.7% of total body fat. I am still losing very slowly now to reach my secondary goal. Not about the weight per se - more about the body composition. The program teachings are mine for life and easy to implement forever. Program requires bloodwork. Independent study here: https://www.hindawi.com/journals/jnme/2010/197656/
2. I take higher doses of omega 3's and mix it up. This includes krill oil, sometimes higher DHA, sometimes algae form. Here's a study for you. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30056356/
3. I take organic sage. Study here - https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21630133/
4. I move my body every single day. Sometimes gentle walks in nature. Twice a week I'm lifting weights in the gym.
5. I use NuCalm or BrainTap everyday - my form of meditation.
6. I get acupuncture when I need to.
7. I'm sure I will start estrogen soon, but I have been on bioidentical progesterone for years now, rhythmically. It's helps tremendously with anxiousness, sleep and more. I see my naturopath doctor for this. Talk to a functional medicine doctor or naturopath doctor to understand the difference between bioidentical hormones and regular HRT. There is a huge difference between progestin and progesterone.
8. Take a Dutch Hormone Test. I've recorded with their medical director. Women need to know HOW they're metabolizing their estrogens! I cannot stress this enough! All this talk about how HRT causes estrogenic cancers...we can find out what's happening with these estrogens in our bodies AND there are many things we can do about it proactively. DIM (Diindolylmethane), sulforaphane, calcium d-glucarate and more. Some of these can be used to redirect estrogens down a healthier pathway, some for detoxification of estrogens. Here is my recording about this ever-important test: https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/sandy-k-nutrition-health-lifestyle-queen/id1496677282?i=1000588761696
9. Magnesium glycinate & microdose melatonin before bed.
10. Ashwagandha & rhodiola - adaptogenic herbs - great for stress resiliency.
11. In Canada we now have home blood spot tests to monitor if these health interventions are working with these all-important markers like cholesterol (more specifically what's happening with that LDL & triglycerides, glucose & more). See SiPhox Health & use my code SANDYK20.

There's more I do for my own best health. But the above are the most important as it relates to transitioning through menopause.

If you take anything from this article it's this - we must marry all facets of wellness in order to feel well, transition well, age well. Take what you resonate with; what makes your body happy. It's never one solution - there is no silver bullet to health. And it doesn't end. It takes patience to find out what works for your body. It takes monitoring and self-awareness. It takes a few practitioners in this wellness space. It can be done. It must be about HEALTHcare not sick care. Proactive is key.

I have no heavy periods. My last period was December and it was normal. In 2022, I had only 4 periods. I'm happy to simply watch my periods diminish with minimal symptoms. No anger issues. Zero brain fog. No bloodletting (sorry for those who are squeamish but this can happen). No periods coming every 2-3 weeks. No major or lasting sleep issues. No severe or frequent hot flashes. I addressed the weight gain and metabolic issues and continue to keep an eye on this. And btw, I'm going through it all without a thyroid gland.

I'm good with a longer, more gentle goodbye to this phase in my life. Ladies and gentleman-who-support-their-ladies/patients...it can be done with some effort and proactive care.

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