How adaptogens can help with perimenopause and post menopause symptoms
If you're experiencing symptoms of perimenopause or post menopause, you may be have been hunting for a natural solution to help ease them. While there's no magic cure, incorporating adaptogens into your diet may help bring you relief from your symptoms.
What are adaptogens
Adaptogens are a class of herbs that help the body adapt to stress. They work by normalising hormone levels and reducing inflammation. This can help alleviate symptoms like hot flashes, fatigue, and mood swings.
There are many different adaptogens, but some of the most effective for perimenopuase and menopause relief are ashwagandha, schisandra berry and rhodiola rosea. Incorporating adaptogens into your diet is easy - they can be added to smoothies, soups, simply taken in capsule form or consumed daily as a tasty adaptogenic drink.
These herbs have been used for centuries in traditional medicine systems such as Ayurveda and Chinese Medicine to help manage menopause symptoms and also with stress-related conditions such as anxiety, fatigue, poor concentration, and insomnia.
What is perimenopause and menopause?
Perimenopause is the period of time before a women officially reaches menopuase. Women start perimenopause at different ages. You may notice signs of progression toward menopause, such as menstrual irregularity, sometime in your 40s. But some women notice changes as early as their mid-30s.
Your estrogen level changes during perimenopause, and you may experience different menstrual cycles depending on how your estrogen levels are changing. You may also experience menopausal-like symptoms, such as hot flashes, sleep problems and vaginal dryness.
Menopause is the complete stop of menstruation. A women is considered to be in menopause when she has not had a period for 12 consecutive months. At this point in life, you are no longer ovulating. The menopausal symptoms you've experienced in the past may become milder or go away completely. However, some people continue to experience menopausal symptoms for a number of years after they officially reached menopause.
If you're looking for natural ways to ease the symptoms of perimenopause or post menopause, adaptogens are definitely worth a try.
How can adaptogens help with menopause
There is a strong link between stress and perimenopause symptoms such as hot flashes, night sweats, mood swings, anxiety, and difficulty sleeping. This is because during perimenopause, levels of the hormone estrogen begin to fluctuate wildly before eventually decreasing significantly. These fluctuations can trigger a stress response in the body, which can then lead to some of the unpleasant symptoms you might be experiencing.
Adaptogens can help to ease these symptoms by normalising the body's response to stress. In doing so, they can help to reduce hot flashes, night sweats, mood swings, anxiety, and difficulty sleeping. Additionally, adaptogens can also help with other menopause-related issues such as brain fog.
The best adaptogens for menopause relief
Ashwagandha
Ashwagandha is an adaptogen that can help the body adapt to stress and promote balance. It has also been shown to help with anxiety, depression, and fatigue. Ashwagandha has been shown to be effective in reducing hot flashes and night sweats in menopausal women.
Schisandra berry
Schisandra chinensis or schisandra berry has been shown to be a safe and effective complementary medicine for menopausal symptoms, especially for hot flushes, sweating, and heart palpitations.
Schisandra berry can help with perimenopause and post menopause symptoms as it has been observed to make alterations in the basal levels of nitric oxide and cortisol in blood and saliva with subsequent effects on the blood cells, vessels and the central nervous system. This means that schisandra berry can help reduce the excessive cortisol release that we experience in times of stress and return us to homeostasis faster through the regulation of the key mediators of our stress response.
Research study - A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of Schisandra chinensis for menopausal symptoms
Rhodiola rosea
Rhodiola rosea is another adaptogen that can help the body adapt to stress and promote balance during perimenopause and post menopause. Rhodiola rosea exhibits neuroprotective, cardiovasculoprotective, antistress, and anticarcinogenic effects, which demonstrate significant value in counteracting menopausal symptoms
How to use adaptogens for perimenopause and post menopause symptom relief
As noted adaptogens can be taken in many forms. Below we have listed some common easy to consume ways to incorporate adaptogens into your daily routine.
- Ashwagandha - can be taken in capsule form or as a tea. Swap over your morning cup of black or green tea to a cup of ashwagandha tea! To make a tea, steep 1 teaspoon of ashwagandha powder in 225 mLs of boiling water for 10 minutes. To use ashwagandha for hot flashes, it is suggested to take 250-500 mg two times per day.
- Schisandra berry - can be taken in powder form or you can soak the berries over night and brew some tea from it. Or you can swap out your usual end of the day drink for an Adapt Drinks Relax which contains high quality schisandra berry extract.
- Rhodiola rosea - can also be taken in capsule form or as a tea. To make a tea, steep 1 teaspoon of rhodiola rosea powder in 225 mLs of boiling water for 10 minutes. To use rhodiola rosea for hot flashes, it is suggested to take 250-500 mg two times per day.
Conclusion
The above-listed adaptogens can help alleviate some of the symptoms associated with perimenopause and post menopause, such as hot flashes, night sweats, mood swings, and fatigue. While there is no one-size-fits-all solution for symptom relief, incorporating adaptogens into your diet and lifestyle may help you find some relief.
IMPORTANT INFORMATION: all content provided here is of a general nature only and is not a substitute for individualised professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment and reliance should not be placed on it. For personalised medical or nutrition advice, please make an appointment with your doctor, dietitian or qualified health care professional.
