Perimenopausal Symptoms? Your Ovaries Aren't The Problem
High fat is better than low fat. Your lifestyle matters. AND a weightlifting tip for endurance training.
Menopausal Research:
This study demonstrates that serum estradiol levels are reduced in normal to over-weight postmenopausal women given free access to a low-fat high-fiber diet. Most of these women were in negative caloric balance during the study, suggesting that short-term changes in caloric balance may affect estrogen synthesis in postmenopausal women prior to a large decrease in fat mass.
Perceived hunger is lower and weight loss is greater in overweight premenopausal women consuming a low-carbohydrate/high-protein vs high-carbohydrate/low-fat diet.
Over a mean of 8.1 years, a dietary intervention that reduced total fat intake and increased intakes of vegetables, fruits, and grains did not significantly reduce the risk of coronary heart disease (CHD), stroke, or cardiovascular disease (CVD) in postmenopausal women and achieved only modest effects on CVD risk factors, suggesting that more focused diet and lifestyle interventions may be needed to improve risk factors and reduce CVD risk.
Does A Natural Process Need To Be Medicated?
In my last Substack post I went over the history of how we got here. Pharmaceutical companies focused on the “deficiency” associated with menopause so they could replace what’s missing.
Did you know that the estrogen produced by the ovaries makes up for 5% of the total estrogen a woman’s body produces? Prior to menopause 75% of estrogens are made in other bodily tissues. After menopause 80% of estrogens are made by these same tissues.*
There are 3 different estrogen hormones: estrone, estradiol, and estriol. Estradiol is the only hormone that is reduced in menopause but it’s synthesized from estrone which becomes more prevalent after menopause.*
While estradiol production decreases in the ovaries, the adrenals, liver, muscles, breasts, and fat tissue play a role in estradiol hormone synthesis.
So, are your ovaries really the problem? Perhaps other organs that should pick up the slack are somehow hindered?
What does the body need to make hormones? Cholesterol. See this post’s research citing the benefits of cholesterol.
The majority of the cholesterol circulating in your body is made by your liver. In order for your body to make estrogens from cholesterol your body needs something called aromatase - it converts androgens into estrogens. Aromatase is found in fat tissue, blood, and bones.
However, high levels of insulin (a high carbohydrate diet) and high cortisol (high stress), high levels of estrogen and/or estrogen resistance caused by xenoestrogens (estrogen mimickers in our environment) can hinder this process.
Yes, women experience perimenopausal symptoms but there’s a better than good chance that it’s not because your ovaries are releasing less estrogen. It’s your diet, lifestyle, prior health habits, and even things like taking the pill could all contribute to your symptoms.*
Estrogen receptors exist throughout the body and each time a new one is discovered researchers raise an alarm. Their theory is that this area of a woman’s body will deteriorate if she isn’t supplemented with estrogen.
Focusing exclusively on estrogen and the ovaries researchers typically overlook the role the adrenals play in our hormonal cascade. In order to save us, the medical community has an arsenal of pharmaceuticals to “fix us”: hormone replacement, antidepressants, anti-seizure medications, and vaginal lubricants.
“If a woman’s symptoms are simply written off as caused by her reproductive organs and the reduced production of estrogen, her doctors will not look further to figure out what is causing her symptoms. Modern medicine treats symptoms with drugs and surgery and operates as an industry. It has put menopausal women in a box that they cannot get out of to find the real cause of why they feel bad.” - Dr. Elizabeth Bright
In the last 50 years women’s perimenopausal symptoms have gotten worse, but what else has happened in the last 50 years? Chronic disease rates, cancer, autoimmunity, mental health challenges, heart disease, and diabetes have also increased at an alarming rate.
How can we expect to feel well during menopause when our collective health is in a downward spiral? We’re living out of alignment with what our species needs: clean food, reduced stress, sunlight, community, a clean environment, and clean skincare and cleaning products.
Need More Help?
Simply Sapien 6 Month Undated Holistic Journal & Planner
Protein Queens: 14 Day program to help you incorporate more animal protein into your diet.
Simple: 12 Weeks of Holistic Coaching With Jen
*Book Recommendation:
Good Fat Is Good For Women Menopause by Dr. Elizabeth Bright
(see it on Amazon - affiliate).
The book is free if you have Kindle unlimited or Audible. (You don’t need a Kindle all you need is the app.)
Dr. Bright is the gal who said, “perimenopause isn’t real.” And then the entire panel of carnivore women said, “menopause happened and it was no big deal.”
My personal take. I have had perimenopausal symptoms in the past. Now that I primarily eat red meat, eggs, and butter I don’t have any. Things that give me hot flashes and night sweats - carbohydrates and alcohol.
Another random thing that has affected my sleep and given me hot flashes - dairy. BUT it wasn’t the dairy. It was likely whatever hormonal profile the cow had because I bought another brand of half and half and everything immediately went away…
MSP Lifting
Lifting for Maximum Sustained Power
What am I doing here? The goal of MSP lifting is to increase endurance. By maximizing the weight and reducing the amount of time between sets the muscle doesn’t get to fully recover. By doing this more muscle fibers are recruited with each consecutive set. It’s a way to get more out of your workout, working more muscle fibers, which in turn helps with endurance.
As you work more muscle fibers those muscles have a higher resistance to fatigue in whatever sport you participate in. For me, I’m getting ready for ski season.
I’ve been incorporating MSP lifting into my workout for years and I can say that it feels like I get a lot of bang for my buck - I get a lot of results with very little effort. #smarternotharder
How to do it:
Set the weight where your maximum amount of reps is about 5
Stop 1 rep short of what you feel could be your last rep
Wait 20 seconds
Do another set
Repeat this process until you get down to 2 reps for a set
I don’t usually do more than 2 or 3 sets.