LIVING YOUNG
Dr Krisda Sirampuj
Hot flashes, mood swings and palpitations are all common symptoms that usually experienced when your sex hormonal levels suddenly drop. This is also commonly known as menopause.
It seems quite trivial for those who have never experienced it. Yet, the fact is that it can be serious enough to hinder you from a happy and peaceful life.
Some might be curious that why it doesn't happen to men.
The reasons behind all these symptoms is the hormonal imbalance due to abrupt cessation of hormone production in woman, as compared to a gradual decrease of testosterone in men, which means that men can also suffer these hormone deprivation symptoms, but with less intensity.
Menopause in women doesn't only caused by ageing but it can come from the removal of both ovaries.
A few tips to live with it:
- Do not use hormone replacement if not needed, especially the synthetic ones because they can cause cancer, strokes or malignant hypertension.
- Try to prepare yourself for menopause.
- Try to keep your bones healthy by eating a calcium-rich diet such as shrimp paste, krill paste, black sesame, tofu, small edible bony fish, yoghurt, cheese and kale. And don't forget to take it with magnesium in a ratio of 2:1 (calcium: magnesium).
- To further fortify your bones, exercise regularly - at least three times a week.
- Replace your hormones naturally by consuming vegetables that are rich in phytoestrogen such as soya beans, soya milk, bean curd and chickpeas.
Phytoestrogen such as isoflavone have some weak estrogen-like effects, so there's some concern about cancer risk. If you've had breast cancer, talk to your doctor before supplementing your diet with isoflavone pills.
- Supplement yourself with vitamin E. This vitamin occasionally provides relief from mild hot flashes in some women. However, scientific studies haven't proved its benefit in relieving hot flashes, and taking more than 400 international units of vitamin E supplements on daily basis may not be safe.
- For herbal remedies use black cohosh, don quai or wild yam, which is popular among women in Europe and the US. While its safety record has been good, there are not many reasons to believe that it can relieve menopausal symptoms.
The important thing is strength of the mind and clear understanding of menopause can relieve much of the symptoms.
Dr Krisda Sirampuj is the director of the International Anti-Ageing Medicine Institute and a lecturer at Chulalongkorn University. He is also a columnist and a prolific author of 10 anti-ageing guide books.
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