Menopause creates unique health challenges for women. Just some of these challenges include: maintaining muscle mass, preventing osteoporosis, maintaining a consistent healthy weight, and dealing with brain fog.
It seems like when you mention menopause, you almost have to say it in a hushed tone. Like it is something to be ashamed of or should be hidden from the general public. Why is that?
Menopause history
In the 1600s (puritan times), most of the women being accused of witchcraft were around the age when peri-menopause started to take effect. It wasn’t until 1821 that the term menopause was even coined, and even then was not understood. The word was linked to insanity and hysterics. Finally, between 1918-1941, the study of hormones that cause menopause began to be explored. Not only do we avoid talking about menopause because we don’t understand it, but most professionals also avoid the topic altogether, deeming it “too complicated”. Mostly due to the fact that women’s hormones are ever-changing which makes studying and researching it very complicated.
Menopausal mystery
While all this is very disappointing, we have started to make strides in figuring out what exactly is going on and how to help women thrive through it. We live in the information age, where you are only a google search away from anything. It’s like drinking from a fire hose. However, because of how “complicated” hormones can be for older adult women, most of the information is based on a completely different demographic, with a substantially different hormonal profile. Now the seemingly good information may not (and often doesn’t) work simply because you are going through menopause.
So what can you do to protect yourself from following the wrong advice?
- Be wary of any headline you see out there that sounds sensational, too good to be true, or extreme. This is pretty much any headline these days. You’ll see headlines like, “New study says that fasting during your workout creates better results”. Any news article that gives you a blanket statement like that is most likely taken out of context AND more importantly, most likely not done on women. Many studies aren’t even done on humans! Look at all articles with a hyper-critical eye and don’t believe that everything you read!
- Make sure that whomever you work with or get advice from(be it a doctor, trainer, or nutritionist) has experience and knowledge about women in their advanced years. With hormones being unpredictable during peri-menopause and then flatlining after menopause, women need better, more specific care and information.
