What is menopause?

Menopause is the time at "mid-life" when a woman has her last period. It happens when the ovaries stop releasing eggs - usually a gradual process. Sometimes it happens all at once.

Perimenopause is the period of gradual changes that lead into menopause. It affects a woman's hormones, body, and feelings. It can be a stop-start process that may take months or years.

"Climacteric" is another word for the time when a woman passes from the reproductive to the non-reproductive years of her life.

The ovaries' production of estrogen slows down during perimenopause. Hormone levels fluctuate, causing changes just as they did during adolescence.

The changes leading to menopause may seem much more intense than those during puberty. The intensity may be affected by a woman's feelings about aging, including her reactions to social judgments about aging.

Induced menopause occurs if the ovaries are removed or damaged as in hysterectomy or chemotherapy. In this case, menopause begins immediately, with no perimenopause. The time after menopause is called Postmenopause.

The average age for a woman's final period is 51, but it can occur as early as age 40 and as late as age 60. Each woman's experience with menopause is unique. Some women experience very few changes during this time, while others report noticeable symptoms.

The more you know about menopause, the better prepared you will be to manage any menopause-related problems that might come your way.

Indications of menopause

Treatment, diet and lifestyle

Dealing with menopause is best accomplished through a combination of diet, healthy lifestyle and alternative or natural treatments.

Many doctors are early in prescribing radical treatments such as Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) without fully educating their patients on the risks and side effects associated with the treatment.

Before embarking on a radical treatment plan, consider first the proven, 100% safe, effective, natural remedy - MellowPause.

What is MellowPause?

Estrogen dominance is also a factor in some of the more troublesome symptoms of menopause as well as Pre-Menstrual Syndrom (PMS) and complaints like Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS).

Estrogen dominance is thought to occur when there is a drop in progesterone production during menopause.

Black Cohosh is one of the more thoroughly researched herbs which contains phytoestrogens and is approved by the German 'Kommission E" - a body similar to the FDA.

Because Black Cohosh has mild estrogen-like effects it will bind to estrogen receptors, without raising estrogen levels in the body - thereby lowering the estrogenic activity of the body.

Phytoestrogens can compete with excess systemic estrogen and xeno-estrogens and therefore help to balance systemic estrogen production.

In addition, research suggests that Black Cohosh also suppresses Luteinizing Hormone (LH), high levels of which are responsible for hot flashes, among other things.

Black Cohosh is one of the principle ingredients in our MellowPause remedy, along with Pasque Flower which is a well known tonic for the female reproductive system.

In the case of severe menopausal symptoms, we recommend that MellowPause be taken together with Dong Quai, which has been used for many centuries in traditional Chinese medicine.

Dong Quai is also well researched and apart from its phyto-estrogenic properties, it has also been shown to be effective in the induction of progesterone receptor activity, thereby further balancing the estrogen/progesterone ratios.