Menopause and weight gain: balancing your female hormones naturally

Unfortunately, gaining weight during this period of a woman's life is all too common, and for many, it can feel completely unavoidable. Alongside many other difficult effects and symptoms, menopause can bring a lot of issues that we'd rather do without. Fortunately, there are some things that we can do about this. Managing weight gain during menopause doesn't have to be a challenge - in fact, we can manage it with natural ingredients. Here are some natural ways to balance female hormones for menopausal weight gain.

Why Does Menopause Cause Weight Gain

Before addressing solutions, we have to talk about the problem. Why exactly does menopause cause you to gain weight? The answer is hormones. Specifically, this weight gain is caused by the decrease in estrogen and progesterone - along with a weaker metabolism caused by aging. This decrease in hormonal levels triggers rapid metabolic changes which decrease muscle mass and increase the accumulation of fat. While you can combat some of the weight gain through mindful eating, it's difficult to eliminate it altogether. The amount of fat gained during this period varies as well, depending heavily upon your lifestyle and genetics.

This process is usually the worst during the onset of menopause and is generally accompanied by mood swings and hot flashes. All of these changes are related to hormonal fluctuations, meaning balanced estrogen and progesterone actually may help with more than just weight gain - it might help with relieving mood swings and hot flashes as well.

Controlling Your Hormonal Level

So, the answer to this weight gain dilemma lies in the hormones. But what can we do about this? Many medications exist on the market today to combat these changes through hormone replacement. These medications seek to replace natural hormones with synthetic ones to mitigate the process of menopause and the symptoms that accompany it. But this means introducing synthetic hormones into your body, and for many people, this simply isn't an option - whether it's due to health conditions or preference. But what can you do instead?

Fortunately, there are many natural ways to monitor your hormone levels and keep things steady. A wide range of herbs and plants can affect your hormone levels, stimulating your body to create more or helping manage the hormones currently in your body. Let's take a look at a few of these herbs and how they can help.

Black Cohosh Root: This unique root comes from a plant sometimes called bugbane or rattleweed. This is a popular supplement made from the ground roots of black cohosh and can be added to tea or ingested as a capsule or extract. Black cohosh may act as a phytoestrogen - plant material that acts similarly to estrogen when ingested in large doses and can help slow down the effects of menopause.

Chasteberry: Chasteberry may potentially reduce menopausal symptoms by reducing the frequency of hot flashes, improving your mood and eliminating night sweats. This is caused by the presence of phytoestrogens in chasteberry and their indirect effects on your body. It is also thought that chasteberry may affect prolactin and progesterone levels, maintaining them and creating a milder menopause.

Soy: Soy products can potentially decrease FSH and LH in those who are premenopausal and increase estrogen levels in those who are menopausal. This, unlike black cohosh root and chasteberry, is due to the presence of soy isoflavones which are referred to as weak estrogens and can potentially act the same in the body. They may potentially reduce weight gain and decrease the frequency of hot flashes and night sweats.

Red Clover: Like soy, red clover contains isoflavones that can replicate estrogen in the body. Red clover has been useful for treating hot flashes, osteoporosis, cardiovascular issues and many other menopause-related symptoms. Red clover's isoflavones can potentially decrease the effects of weight gain during menopause.

Learning From Herbal Remedies

So what does all of this mean? Well, the one thing that each of these herbs and plants has in common is that they help to supply a form of estrogen or replicate estrogen - effectively countering the decrease in hormones in your body during menopause. These herbs offer natural ways to balance female hormones, which can counter not just weight gain but a lot of the effects of menopause, including night sweats, hot flashes and mood swings. So how do we take advantage of these unique herbs and their capabilities?

Herbal Supplements, Teas and Other Natural Solutions

Knowing what causes menopause symptoms and its effects makes it easy to counter them. And with plants like soy, red clover, chasteberry and black cohosh - to name a few - we can address these menopausal symptoms with ease. There are many natural supplements, teas and other menopausal solutions out there, so it truly depends on your preference for how you'd like to ease symptoms.

One example is the Menopause MultiGummies - multivitamin gummies from Miracle Hair that are specifically designed to provide nutrients that your body is in dire need of during menopause. These gummies can help reduce the frequency and intensity of hot flashes and combat menopausal weight gain - but they also contain vitamins like B12, C, D2 and more. Bone health is especially important during menopause, and these gummies can help eliminate any issue.

Another unique solution is Menopause Tea - a uniquely blended caffeine-free tea that's designed to support you through menopause, addressing and eliminating symptoms. This tea is designed to fight hot flashes, night sweats, mood swings, weight gain, stress and more - and it's as easy as brewing a cup each evening. This unique tea contains a combination of ingredients that fight hormone imbalances and help to naturally keep your female hormones from fluctuating. Give it a try today and see the difference for yourself.