Constadina Zarokostas-Vasiliades
First Published in April 2013 at: http://menopausemission.com/heart-health-during-and-after-menopause
You suffered for years with hot flashes, crazy constant weight gain and loss, unpredictable mood swings, and finally your menopause symptoms are beginning to stop. You spent years increasing your exercise regime and following a healthier lifestyle to decrease your menopause symptoms, and now you are at the home stretch, getting better sleep, not snapping at the tiniest irritations coming from your family, and feeling close to your normal self again. Ahhhh, time to celebrate with a piece of chocolate cake!
It’s easy to fall back into bad habits when we start to feel good and confident about where we are in life. It’s also common when women hit post-menopause to stop following the healthier lifestyle they adopted to decrease their menopause symptoms. This can become a problem because post-menopause is also the stage in life where women are more at risk for heart disease. According to the American Heart Association approximately 35,000 women under 50 have a heart attack each year. They are also seeing an overall increase in heart attacks in women ten years after menopause.
The American Heart Association states that a decrease in estrogen levels of post-menopausal women may be the cause of heart disease. It is estrogen that maintains the flexibility of the vessels within the heart’s artery walls. Although there are benefits of estrogen, the American Heart Association “recommends against using postmenopausal hormone therapy to reduce the risk of coronary heart disease or stroke because some studies have shown it appears to not reduce the risk.”
Don’t mistake synthetic and natural estrogens as being in the same category with phytoestrogens. Phytoestrogens are components of many medicinal herbs that have been used throughout history to treat conditions that modern medicine is currently treating with synthetic and “natural” estrogens. Many assume the term “natural estrogen” refers to estrogen coming from a plant, many times it is not. One common source of “natural estrogen” is pregnant mare’s urine. Some companies also combine phytoestrogens with synthetic estrogens and still use the term “all-natural product.” This makes label reading imperative when looking for help balancing estrogen levels before, during, and after menopause.
Plant extracts, which are found in phytoestrogens, have a tonic effect on the female glandular system and help improve blood flow to the female organs. While synthetic and natural estrogen have been found in some studies to increase the risk of cancer, gallbladder disease, and thromboembolic diseases such as strokes and heart attacks. Phytoestrogens have not been associated with these types of disease. These studies date back as far as 1986 by H. Adlercreutz, by RS Kaldas and CL Hughes in 1989, and DP Rose in 1992. Taking phytoestrogens such as licorice, red clover, and alfalfa before menopause is one way to help keep estrogen levels from changing dramatically.
There are more factors than just estrogen levels that lead to heart disease in women during post-menopause. Women should check and/or maintain their blood pressure, LDL cholesterol levels, a healthy lifestyle, and family history. It goes without saying that if you are a smoker, it is in your best interest to quit, especially if heart disease runs in your family. Smokers are also more at risk at getting menopause earlier in life than non-smokers.
To maintain good heart health, The American Heart Association suggests women should get involved with regular exercise at around 150 minutes per week, and practice good nutrition that includes at least 4.5 cups per day of fruits and vegetables, 6-8 servings per day of fiber-rich whole grains based on a 2000 calorie diet, and eat a variety of nutritious foods each week such as fatty fish, unsalted nuts and legumes.
Some people may think they can get a little slack with a healthy lifestyle after going through menopause, but a healthy change in “lifestyle” has the word “life” in it for a reason, you are supposed to maintain it for the rest of your life to stay healthy. All the sugar, caffeine, white flour (refined) products, processed, acidic and fatty food you cut from your diet during menopause to reduce hot flashes, depression, and help you with your sleep still need to be kept out of your diet to stay healthy. Your heart will love you for it, and you will love how your heart feels for years to come!
Image from: freedigitalphotos.net