Menopause

When the woman reached 40-50 years old, the production of estrogen decreases, it has more ovulation or menstruation. This stage of life is called menopause (from the Greek meno: months; pause, stop), for a "change of life". The body never stops entirely to manufacture estrogen, but its production decreases in concentrations sufficient to induce menstruation. However, even when there are no more rules, may occur irregularly ovulatory. Therefore, it is prudent to be aware that a design is still possible in the two years after the cessation of menstruation. Half of the women no longer have their rules in 48 years. At 52 years, 85% of women are menopausal. The smokers reach this date one to two years earlier. One in five women will not present any symptoms at the time of menopause. The only sign will be the judgement of the rules. In other cases, symptoms are varied: hot flashes, changes in mood or depression, dry skin, headaches, backaches and fatigue. Approximately 49% of these women will suffer from hot flashes and among these women, 15% will go see a doctor because these symptoms.

Another side effect of menopause is an increase in the risk of heart attack, due to estrogen deficiency. In addition, sex is sometimes painful for postmenopausal women, because of vaginal dryness. The use of gels or creams lubricating, or hormone prescribed by your doctor can help to overcome this disadvantage. The decrease in bone density at the time of menopause is a more important problem. The presence of estrogen is essential to the process of bone mineralization, as it contributes to the ability of the bones to absorb calcium from food-borne. As concentrations of estrogen decrease during menopause, bone loss increases, and sometimes leads to osteoporosis, especially among women poorly formed, including bone density is lower. There are preventive measures to combat osteoporosis, as calcium supplementation and hormone therapy. Your doctor can answer your questions about this and you demonstrate the beneficial effects of a balanced diet and practice a sport. A study at the University of Western New Mexico showed that postmenopausal women who participated in an intensive exercise program have increased dramatically their cardiovascular endurance. In women over the age of 40, exercise also increases bone density, at a time when they are most vulnerable to demineralization. Menopause is not necessarily synonymous with a medical condition that requires drug treatment to survive.