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Going through menopause can impact women in different ways, and coping with symptoms can be incredibly frustrating—even debilitating for some. And despite World Menopause Awareness Month kicking off this week, this stage of life can come as a surprise for many women.
I started noticing signs of perimenopause about six months ago, shortly after my 45th birthday. Though, it’s tricky to know exactly when it started because the symptoms are so far reaching and not always obvious. There are common indicators: hot flashes, night sweats, irregular periods, bloating, weight gain, and mood swings, but also lesser-known signs such as headaches, itchy skin, memory loss, muscle pain, joint stiffness, depression and reduced libido.
I was suffering from a mixture of both well-known signs; hot flashes, low mood, bloating, and weight gain, and other symptoms that I didn’t immediately recognize as connected to menopause, such as itchy scalp and skin, sensitive breasts, sore hips and knees, fatigue, blotchy skin, painful gums, and brain fog. It took a while to figure out that I was perimenopausal, and for a couple of months I just thought I’d have to live with the symptoms, which are largely caused by the fluctuations of the sex hormone, oestrogen, during perimenopause, and the huge drop in oestrogen after menopause.
But after a few weeks of feeling like a completely different person to my usually motivated, healthy and focused self, I decided to try and tackle some of my symptoms. I’m a personal trainer, and qualified nutrition coach, and I have a good understanding of how the female body functions, so I decided to do some research and speak to the experts. As a result, I made some simple lifestyle changes. Three months on, these tweaks have reduced, or in some cases completely alleviated, some of my symptoms. These changes have worked for me, but as women’s bodies are so unique, they may not help everyone. Here’s what I did…
Adding a probiotic and increasing my prebiotic foods
A growing amount of research links gut health to menopause symptoms, according to a recent study by science and nutrition company Zoe. After analyzing over 70,000 peri- and post-menopausal women, the study found that a healthy diet and good gut health is associated with a reduced likelihood of experiencing menopause symptoms.
This is largely due to changes that occur in the gut during menopause and its role in oestrogen regulation. “The gut microbiome, which is made up of trillions of microscopic organisms called microbes, including bacteria, viruses and fungi, plays a role in the metabolism and circulation levels of oestrogen,” explains Katie Ward, gut specialist and managing director at Microbz, whose soil-based Women probiotic is designed with hormonal changes in mind. “Reversely, the amount of oestrogen being produced by the ovaries can impact the make-up of the gut microbiome, and with the gut also being linked to the brain, a healthy microbiome could help reduce all sorts of menopause symptoms, from bloating, gas and constipation to fatigue, hot flushes, weight gain, lowered libido and mood swings.”
For me, the easiest and quickest way to support my gut microbiome has been to cut out as many ultra-processed foods as possible, and by introducing a daily women-specific probiotic, which has helped increase the amount, and variety, of my good microbes. To keep these microbes healthy you need prebiotic foods, so I have increased the amount of berries, bananas, apples, flaxseeds, oats, and nuts I’m eating – all of these foods also help boost oestrogen levels. These changes have almost alleviated my bloating and itchy skin and helped hugely with fatigue and brain fog.
Tweaking my sugar and alcohol intake
Refined sugar can cause mood swings, weight gain, bad skin, gum problems, brain fog, fatigue, hormonal imbalance, and also negatively affect the gut microbiome—all of which are linked to menopause symptoms. The Zoe study also found that pre-menopausal women tend to eat “more sugary foods, mostly in the form of sweets and desserts” which has definitely been the case for me. I had gone from rarely eating sugary foods to craving desserts after every meal.
Alcohol causes similar issues, particularly affecting brain function and oestrogen levels, and of course, many alcoholic drinks are high in sugar, so cutting down your intake of both can reduce the impact of menopause symptoms. It was difficult cutting out sugary foods, but it was made easier knowing why I was craving them. Desserts and alcohol are now weekend or fortnightly treats and consumed in moderation, or swapped with healthier treats such as fruits dipped in dark chocolate or peanut butter. I think this tweak has helped me lose some of the weight I’d put on, and also reduced brain fog and fatigue.
Adopting slower fitness
I enjoy training, and that includes a number of high-intensity cardio sessions a week. These can be more taxing on the body, leading to chronic stress, muscle fatigue and pressure on the joints, which are already affected by low oestrogen levels due to the part the hormone plays in supporting bone density.
“The benefits of switching to a slower form of exercise such as slow cardio, yoga, or Pilates during this sensitive time are tenfold,” explains MoreYoga instructor Scarlett Woodford. “When we undertake challenging cardio such as HIIT, our stress hormone, cortisol, can raise over time and put us at a higher constant stress level—even long after you’ve left the gym.”
With this in mind, I’ve swapped out all but one HIIT session a week for longer, slow runs, which are still great for promoting the release of “feel-good” hormones, as well as being good for burning fat, which has helped towards stabilising my perimenopause weight gain. I’ve also added yoga and Pilates alongside strength training to support flexibility, bone strength, and ward off osteoporosis.
“Then there’s the mindful aspect of yoga,” explains Woodford. “A common symptom of perimenopause is increased anxiety and brain fog, and many yoga styles have been proven to not only ease this symptom but actually alter the state of the nervous system as your body begins to call for a slower pace. During softer styles of yoga such as yin, restore and yoga nidra, practitioners guide you into a tranquil mental space that can lead to a calmer mood and improved sleep, concentration and overall emotional balance.”
As part of these workout tweaks, I’ve become more mindful when it comes to fitness nutrition. I would often skip breakfast before or after a workout to save time, but in an effort to combat fatigue and promote muscle recovery, I’m making sure to eat carbohydrates before training, even if it’s just a banana, and ensure I ingest protein post-workout. By altering my exercise regime, I’ve definitely noticed that my joints feel stronger, I’m less tired, and I’ve even seen an improvement in performance, which is a bonus.
Getting a better night’s sleep
Starting yoga and reducing my alcohol and sugar intake has definitely helped me get a better night’s sleep, and the probiotics have helped reduce the bloating which often comes at night. I’ve also increased the number of hours of sleep I get, from six or seven to eight or nine hours a night, to tackle the increased tiredness and fatigue—which have been the most difficult perimenopause symptoms to adjust to. I’ve invested in blackout curtains and Loop sleep earplugs to combat being a light sleeper. However, this tiredness is also impacted by night sweats, especially leading up to, and during, my period—something I had never suffered from before the perimenopause.
“Night sweats during perimenopause and menopause are primarily caused by a decrease in oestrogen levels, which affects the hypothalamus, the part of the brain that regulates body temperature,” explains Dr Karen Tang, an MD, gynecologist, and author. “This disruption can cause the body to mistakenly sense that it is overheating, triggering a sweat response to cool down. During perimenopause, while someone is still having periods, they may also notice worsened night sweats before their periods. This is because oestrogen levels drop during this phase of the cycle.” She goes on to add: “Stress, diet and lifestyle can also influence the severity and frequency of night sweats during this time. For example, alcohol, smoking and consuming foods high in fat, spice or sugar in the evening may increase hot flashes and sweating overnight.”
Again, reducing sugar and alcohol, and adding a sleep supplement, which helps to mimic some properties of oestrogen while also promoting sleep, has actually put a stop to the night sweats altogether, and also to occasional hot flashes during the day. Enjoying undisturbed sleep also promotes muscle and tissue growth and recovery, so has been helpful for reducing some of my skin issues and helping with post-workout recovery.
Recognizing the symptoms of perimenopause
While tweaking sleep, exercise and nutrition has hugely helped alleviate many of my symptoms, recognizing that I was perimenopausal in the first place was the key to helping myself. Perimenopause can start as early as your thirties, but medical information on what to look out for, and open discussion around the subject of menopause, is still fairly limited. Meanwhile, getting a perimenopause diagnosis is still tricky to determine and hormone tests are difficult to access through GPs, but there are a couple of ways to check in on your symptoms.
The easiest way is the MenoScale by Zoe, which is an online feature that asks a set of questions and then determines how severe your symptoms are on a scale of one to 100. You can then decide if you should make a trip to your GP and discuss options, which might include hormone replacement therapy.