What is menopause, and what is it not? I hope younger women, who aren’t in menopause, will read this because I’m sure you know that how we eat and live our lives when we are younger affects a woman’s future health. It certainly affects our hormonal health. While, to some extent, genetics do indeed influence this, how we eat and manage stress in adolescence can improve our genetic health and dictate our hormonal health for the rest of our lives. I certainly didn’t pay much attention to this as a teenager.
Still, even though we say, “Had I known this back then,” I want to underline how important it is. I certainly would have eaten differently had I known then what I know now. Menopause is rightly associated with aging, But menopausal symptoms actually don’t have much to do with how much estrogen you produce. This is why women can have these symptoms way before menopause.
What is menopause, really? Is it this awful state of being with hot flashes or flushes, bitchy tirades, weight gain, sagging breasts, and painful sex? Well, bitchiness has turned into mood swings. This would be the acceptable medical description today. In the1950s and 60s, it was called overreacting.
