Menopause

What is menopause?

The menopause is a natural process that marks the end of the childbearing years. This process begins with the menstrual cycle becoming irregular and is called menopause.

The activity of the ovaries (ovaries) decreases as the supply of eggs is reduced and the production of female sex hormones (estrogen and progesterone) decreases. This hormonal reversal occurs in most women around age 50.

Finally, ovulation (ovulation) and menstruation remain completely gone and the woman is no longer fertile. When a woman no longer menstruates it is referred to as menopause.

Supplements during menopause

Many women experience discomforts of menopause due to decreased or dropped estrogen and progesterone production. Typical symptoms are hot flashes, sleep problems, fluctuating moods and excessive sweating. As support, you can use one of our combined supplements.

Flushers

A hot flash is a sudden strong sensation of heat and similar to blushing. It is experienced most severely on the face, neck and chest. The skin may become red and may also be accompanied by sweating.

Although it is not exactly clear what causes hot flashes, it is likely due to lower estrogen levels. Body temperature is tracked by the hypothalamus located deep in the brain. The hypothalamus is very sensitive to hormone fluctuations but also to stress. These factors can both trigger a sharp rise in temperature.

The menopause can be divided into 3 phases:

Perimenopausal phase

In this phase, hormone levels change due to changing levels of hormones produced by the ovaries. The production of estrogen and progesterone decreases but this does not happen evenly and is accompanied by fluctuations. The supply of mature eggs in a woman's ovaries decreases and menstruation becomes irregular and may become more erratic.

Menopausal phase

Menopause literally means the cessation of menstruation. This is the phase when menstruation actually ends and is also the end of a woman's fertile period. This phase is also called climacterium.

Postmenopausal phase

Postmenopause is the time after menopause has set in. During this time, many of the annoying symptoms a woman may have experienced before menopause gradually decrease. Due in part to lower estrogen levels, it is important to have extra care for bone and heart health.

Important hormones

After menopause, testosterone levels become relatively higher compared to estrogen. Testosterone is the male hormone.

Oestrogen is the main female hormone and stimulates the development of female characteristics. As estrogen decreases during menopause, libido decreases and skin becomes less firm. Estrogen production negatively affects serotonin levels. This can make you feel down and irritable during menopause.

The hormone progesterone primarily plays an important role in maintaining pregnancy. Also, progesterone is a natural antidepressant. During the phases surrounding menopause, progesterone production also decreases.

Osteoporosis after menopause

There are conflicting reports about low estrogen levels being one of the major causes of postmenopausal osteoporosis. Remarkably, men have low estrogen levels throughout their lives and do not explicitly suffer from these symptoms. Also, in children, the greatest bone formation occurs during the period before puberty, when there are low estrogen levels. Another cause of osteoporosis during menopause is vitamin D and K deficiency.

Some history

Menopause is a distinct milestone in a woman's life. Today, it is a subject that can be talked about honestly. That's only relatively recently; studies of women's bodies were studiously avoided before the mid-19th century.

It is noteworthy that compared to the animal kingdom, women are one of the few species to experience menopause.

Written by: Liesbeth Thoen
Reviewed by: Marcella van der Wel

Updated on: May 1, 2023