7 Natural Menopause Treatments That Work

As women go through menopause, they often experience various physical and emotional changes due to the decline in hormones in their body, primarily oestrogen. Some common symptoms include hot flushes, night sweats, weight gain, mood swings, poor quality sleep and brain fog or loss of confidence. While HRT (hormonal replacement therapy) is a popular treatment for some women, many women would prefer to use natural approaches to mitigate these negative symptoms for a more gentle and holistic approach.

Here are 7 natural menopause treatments that have been shown to work for many women:

1. Phytoestrogens: These are plant-based compounds found in foods like soybeans, lentils, chickpeas, flaxseeds, and almonds. Eating these foods can help relieve menopause symptoms by mimicking the effects of estrogen in the body. A great way to do this is to add a tin/can of cooked beans or chickpeas to your dinner or to eat hummus, which is made of chickpeas. Beans are also high in fibre and low in calories so will aid in weight loss. 
2. Herbs: Certain herbs have been used for centuries to treat menopause symptoms. Black cohosh is well-known for relieving hot flushes, while red clover can help regulate mood swings. Other helpful herbs include dong quai, ginseng, and evening primrose oil. The above are rare medicinal herbs, however all herbs are high micro nutrients and contain compounds that will help regulate your bodies systems. Choose herbs such as coriander, mint, basil, parsley or whatever fresh herbs you like. All will have beneficial properties. 
3. Acupuncture: This is a traditional Chinese medicine practice that involves inserting fine needles into specific points on your body. Acupuncture has been found to be effective in reducing hot flushes and helping with de-stressing as well as helping to improve sleep quality for menopausal women.
4. Mind-body practices: Practices such as meditation, yoga, mindfulness and tai chi can help relieve stress and anxiety, which are common symptoms of menopause. They help reduce stress and bring you back to the present moment.
5. Eating anti-inflammatory foods. Some of the side effects of menopause are rooted in inflammation. Much of the modern western diet of animal based foods and processed foods cause an inflammatory response to our bodies. By eating more whole plant foods that are naturally anti-inflammatory, these foods will help to ease symptoms by reducing inflammation. 
6. Hormonal balancing whole plant foods: Whole plant foods support hormone production and help balance many systems in your body. Whole plant foods include fresh fruits, vegetables, beans & legumes, wholegrains and nuts and seeds.
7. Exercise: Regular exercise can reduce the severity of hot flushes, improve mood, reduce stress, boost energy levels and improve sleep quality.  Sometimes motivation for exercise can wain during menopause so it is a matter of picking something that you think you will enjoy and getting started. Ideally you have a friend join you or someone to help hold you accountable and to support you who is on the same journey. Scheduling it into you week is also really important to make sure that it happens.

Remember, every woman’s experience of menopause is unique. However there are over arching lifestyle changes that will give you a really solid foundation in terms of your health and the menopausal phase of your life. We created The Happy Menopause Course, it is fronted up by Senior Consultant Gynaecologist Dr. Nitu Bejekal and other medical professionals. It gets great results and debunks a lot of myths and false facts about menopause. 

By David and Stephen Flynn

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