Many women notice that they experience sugar cravings in the menopause years.  They ask many questions about why it happens, they wonder if it is menopause that causes it and they want to know how to stop sugar cravings.  Is this you? Read on to learn more.   Does menopause cause sugar cravings?   There are many complex changes happening in the body during the perimenopause years, which are mainly driven by a variety of hormones, but we must not forget the lifestyle element that contributes to our experience.  A complex interplay of different hormonal changes combined with symptoms, sleep deprivation and increased stress levels can lead to sugar…

Aside from hot flushes and night sweats, weight gain in menopause has got to be the number one stress women experience.  I’ve had many clients who have told me that what they are doing to try to move the weight is not working, and they are at a loss as to how to approach the menopausal years.   Most are not happy with their changing body, but continuing to do what you’ve always done, aka, dieting and hitting the gym to burn those calories is not the approach to take at midlife.  Most of us in the menopause years were teenagers in the eighties and  nineties – the height of…

You have probably spent most of your adult life setting a new year’s resolution every year, only to be bummed out before the end of February and then forget all about the intentions you set because it all feels too hard.  Does this sound familiar to you?   There is no doubt in my mind that right now, as we are heading into a new year, you are thinking about what needs to change in your life, that you need to do some things better to feel healthier, lose weight or get fitter.  For some reason, we always tend to set a new year’s resolution around our health.  I’m not…

Too often, I read and hear stories of women feeling that they haven’t been heard by their doctor when it comes to menopause management.  It’s really disappointing that sometimes women leave the doctor with a medication they are not happy with, no information or support to guide them and sometimes even nothing. The problem is that not all doctors have special interests in women’s health or menopause, and really, to solve the problem for ourselves the way forward is to become our own health advocates and gain the knowledge we need to manage menopause.   But how can we become our own health advocates and know how to navigate it?…

Collagen makes up thirty percent of the total protein in our body, and is the most abundant structural protein found in many tissues, including the tendons, ligaments, cartilage, blood vessels and skin.  In recent times, it has been popular to take collagen as a supplement, with many women praising the benefits of collagen in menopause, including improvements in skin, gut health, hair and nail growth and joint pain. This article looks at the evidence of the benefits of collagen in menopause, the role of collagen in the body and types of supplements available and whether there is a benefit in menopause. What is Collagen? Collagen is made up of three…

Did you know that only 7% of the Australian population eat the recommended five serves of vegetables every day?  Fruits and vegetables are our main source of dietary fibre which are important especially in menopause, when we can start to experience digestive changes such as bloating, constipation and flatulence.  Dietary fibre is important for optimal bowel health, but it also has many other positive benefits on health and wellbeing in menopause.   What is Fibre?   Dietary fibre is a complex carbohydrate found in plants that are not able to be digested by humans, as we lack the digestive enzymes.  There are different types of dietary fibre – soluble, insoluble…

For some women, menopause can bring tiredness, low energy, weight gain and with it comes low motivation to even begin thinking about understanding how to make changes to feel more energetic and alive. The very first step is seeing your health professional or GP to have an assessment to rule out other health issues related to your symptoms, and if all is okay, you can start to think about what you need to do to feel better.  Goal setting in menopause can be the basis to support your health and the foundation to achieving healthy habits that you can implement for the rest of your life and in the process,…

There is no better time to talk about drinking alcohol and the effects on health than in the menopause years.  Like some other areas of your life, you probably find that you can’t tolerate alcohol as well as you used to, or you may even feel unwell when drinking and have decided not to drink alcohol, or maybe you have noticed no difference at all.  As our body’s transition through the second puberty, alcohol not only affects us differently from when we were younger, but it is also associated with health risks that we should be aware of before we fill our glass one too many times. How alcohol affects…

Among the various symptoms experienced during the menopausal years, one of the most distressing is hair loss in perimenopause and post menopause.  Some women notice a gradual hair loss, particularly more hair falling out than usual, and others may notice thinning hair, particularly a widening part and a visible scalp.  Hair loss and thinning hair can cause significant emotional and psychological stress for women affecting their self esteem and confidence. The most common type of hair loss in menopause in Female Pattern Hair Loss (FPHL) or Androgenic Alopecia.  Around 20-60% of women will experience hair loss before the age of 60 years, with the main cause being the change in…

  Are you feeling confused, unable to think clearly or find the right words that describe your thoughts?  You are not on your own, menopause brain fog or cognitive dysfunction, isn’t a medical condition in itself, but can be a symptom of many other conditions. For women, it most often occurs during pregnancy and the peri menopause years, and is one of the most reported and distressing symptoms along with hot flushes, insomnia, mood swings and anxiousness.   It is thought that the fluctuations of oestrogen and progesterone during peri menopause contribute to brain fog, and often women become worried that they have the early symptoms of dementia. Brain fog…

  So, what is actually happening when we hit the perimenopausal years and beyond, with our body shape and weight gain?  It is well reported that women experience weight gain in menopause and that it can be quite distressing while dealing with the other symptoms of menopause at the same time. Although our weight is complex and influenced by many factors, weight gain during menopause is influenced by more than diet and physical activity levels.   Studies have shown that weight gain at midlife of approximately 0.5kg per year is due to age rather than the hormonal changes during menopause. However, animal and human studies have shown that the decreasing oestrogen…

I truly believe perimenopause started for me in my late thirties, mainly because I intermittently experienced hot flushes that I couldn’t control.   It was like being embarrassed, I could feel the heat rise from my chest to the top of my head. It only happened during the day every now and then, but not often enough to be concerned about it.   I had seen my GP and asked for a blood test to check my hormone levels on various occasions. She wouldn’t do it as our hormones fluctuate all the time and a blood test would only give a snapshot in time in hormone levels. Fair enough.  …

Menopause is a natural process that signifies the end of a woman’s reproductive years. In this introduction to menopause, the 3 stages of menopause are described, each are named perimenopause, menopause and post menopause.    Perimenopause    Perimenopause is the period that leads up to menopause. The average age for the onset of perimenopause in Australia is 46 years. It can last anywhere from 7-10 years.   It is a time when the hormones, oestrogen and progesterone begin to fluctuate at different rates, resulting in irregular periods that may be heavier or lighter, along with other symptoms that can affect a woman’s overall health and wellbeing, including: hot flushes (most…