Focus on Alternative and Complementary Therapies
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Focus Alternat Complement Ther©2005 Pharmaceutical Press
Focus Altern Complement Ther 1998; 3: 185
To discuss whether the menopause should be treated as an illness or a natural stage in a woman’s life. If taken as a natural event then exogenous hormones would not be necessary, but how does a woman cope with the short term effects of the menopause, eg hot flushes and prevent the long term health consequences such as osteoporosis and heart disease.
A review of the literature showing that nutrients in everyday foods and phytochemicals can make significant changes in short term menopausal symptoms as well as vaginal histology. Taking the concept that if optimum health is achieved by supplementation and changes in diet and lifestyle, the menopause can be seen as a transition. Examining the cultural differences in rates of breast cancer, osteoporosis and heart disease and discussing the preventative role of nutrients and lifestyle.
On a practical level there are women who cannot take HRT because of their medical history, there are those women who try it but give up because of side effects such as weight gain and breast tenderness and there are a group who decide not to take it. With these groups of women they need to know what choices are available to them, which have been well documented in the scientific and medical literature and how to put those findings into practical everyday use. The practical application of the natural approach to the menopause is put forward by a practitioner who works daily on a one to one basis in a clinic seeing the above groups of women.
