How to reduce Inflammation during Menopause
Believe it or not, one of the main drivers responsible for our menopause symptoms is inflammation, including weight gain, hot flushes, night sweats, aching joints and brain fog. It is usually a type of inflammation that without the symptoms of menopause, you wouldn’t even know it’s happening.
This article is going to look at inflammation in more detail, its causes and consequences in menopause and health long term, and what you can do to manage both menopause symptoms and the inflammation contributing to them.
What is inflammation?
Inflammation is something that we have all experienced from time to time – whether it be an injury or illness, inflammation is a normal process that protects the body. It is the result of the immune system responding to a threat, by releasing antibodies, proteins and blood flow to the area affected. The typical signs of inflammation include redness, swelling, heat, pain and loss of function, and can be in response to physical injury, diseases caused by viruses and bacteria or infections. Inflammation is usually acute, meaning that it is relatively short lived, allowing for healing, repair and normal functioning.
Chronic inflammation on the other hand, can occur in response to the same circumstances, but the immune response can last longer than expected, sometimes months or even years. Chronic inflammation is a low level inflammation over a long period of time that is silent and very hard to detect unless you are experiencing some of the symptoms of inflammation. Chronic inflammation can also occur in the menopause transition, as the decline in oestrogen has an affect in inflammation and the immune response that can lead to symptoms and higher risk of diseases long term.
Inflammation in Menopause – Causes and Consequences
Oestrogen is anti-inflammatory and no longer abundant in peri- and postmenopause. The ovaries are no longer producing it, and this results in higher levels of follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) and leutinising hormones (LH) – the brain continually sends messages to the ovaries via FSH and LH to make more oestrogen. The result is FSH and LH continue to increase, as the ovaries are no longer making oestrogen. This results in a disturbance in the patterns of oestrogen circulation, which in turn activates the immune system, releasing inflammatory chemicals such as cytokines. When this continues over a long time, it becomes chronic, low grade inflammation, resulting in symptoms such as hot flushes, night sweats, aching joints, weight gain and brain fog.
Oxidative stress also occurs with the decline in oestrogen (oestrogen is also an antioxidant) which is associated with ageing and tissue damage. Inflammation together with oxidative stress, can lead to an imbalance between internal anti-oxidants/anti- inflammatory compounds and oxidant/proinflammatory compounds, with there being higher levels of the latter. This is known as “oxi-inflamm-ageing” and can lead to metabolic disorders such as weight gain, elevated cholesterol, triglycerides, blood glucose, which could lead to heart disease and type 2 diabetes. It is the combination of declined oestrogen, increased inflammation and oxidative stress that can also have a negative impact on the cardiovascular, bone and brain tissues.
So, now that we have a basic understanding of what is going on with inflammation and it’s effects in menopause, what can we do about it? How can we slow it down or eliminate it all together?
How can I reduce Inflammation?
We must remember that menopause is a natural and normal part of a woman’s life, and these processes are happening as a part of it, but other factors that also influence inflammation, oxidative stress and the consequences we experience. Lifestyle factors are imperative to dampen down inflammation and support our health as we age and live in a menopause state. Adequate nutrition, movement, stress reduction and sleep quality are the areas that we have control of to minimise symptoms, inflammation and oxidative stress.
To reduce chronic inflammation and oxidative stress in menopause:
- Eat more fresh, wholefoods and less convenience, highly processed foods, as they are high in added sugars, fats and salt and have been shown to contribute to inflammation. This includes alcohol consumption.
- The Mediterranean Diet is the most researched and found to be the most beneficial in supporting health and wellbeing in menopause and ageing – it is high in fruits, vegetables, healthy fats, legumes, wholegrains, fish, nuts and seeds. This provides an abundance of antioxidants and it is anti-inflammatory.
- Daily or consistent exercise can decrease inflammation as it increases muscle mass and therefore lowers fat mass, also aiding in weight loss, more efficient regulation of blood glucose and keeping cholesterol in check.
- A plant based way of eating also provides adequate dietary fibre, which also reduces inflammation, and is beneficial for our gut health by providing prebiotics and probiotics.
- Sleeping all night is imperative for our body to rest and repair. It also prevents weight gain, as we burn fat while we sleep, especially visceral fat – so further decreasing inflammation, symptoms and risk for metabolic disorders.
- Chronic stress results in us living in flight or fight for prolonged periods, which means there is a chronic release of the stress hormone cortisol – further adding to visceral weight gain and inflammation.
The decline in anti-inflammatory oestrogen is going to occur in menopause, as it is a natural process whether we like it or not. The above points to reduce inflammation though, are the areas that you do have control of to minimise inflammation and therefore your symptoms.
Book in for a Discovery Call if you are needing some guidance to address your lifestyle to manage your menopause symptoms.
References:
1 Institute for Quality and Efficiency in Health Care, What is Inflammation?, Cologne, Germany. 2006- Created November 23 2010, Updated February 22 2018. InformedHealth.org
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK279298/
2 McCarthy M & Raval AP, The perimenopause in a woman’s life: a systemic inflammatory phase that enables later neurodegenerative disease. Journal of Neuroinflammation, 17, Article number 317 (2020)
https://jneuroinflammation.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12974-020-01998-9
3 Stachowiak G et al, Metabolic disorder in menopause. Menopause Review March 2015;14(1) : 59-64
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4440199/
4 Taleb-Belkadi O et al, Lipid Profile, inflammation, and oxidative status in peri- and postmenopausal women. Gynaecol Endocrinol 2016; 32(12) : 982-985
