STORY AND PHOTO BY KAREN BOSSICK
Menopause Madness.
It’s more than hot flashes. It affects men. And there are things men and women can do ahead to alleviate the symptoms.
“The body is equipped with natural self-repair mechanisms but they only function when the stress response is turned off,” says Dr. Maria Maricich.
Maricich, a chiropractic and functional medicine doctor who tries to find the causes of dysfunction in the body and restore it, has recently turned her sights on menopause and peri-menopause.
It’s a subject far more complex than anyone would believe.
She will present a free presentation at 5:30 p.m. Thursday, May 10, at the Hailey Library. Though free, those who want to attend can get a workbook ahead of time by clicking on https://drmaria.lpages.co/menopause-madness-eye/
When estrogen levels drop, all hell breaks loose. But you can turn it around, Maricich says.
Even better if you catch it early.
“It’s a breeze when your adrenals are healthy, your blood sugar is balanced to feed the cells and brain and your gut is happy,” she adds.
The average age for menopause to occur is 51, but it can start as early as 30.
And stress can be a major player in how one will react.
If adrenals are overwhelmed, a person can entertain a wide variety of symptoms ranging from hot flashes to brain fog and a tired achy feeling caused by a weakened immune response. The immune system may even become hyper-vigilant, attacking things it now perceives as enemies, such as the corn that one may have loved eating all their life.
In addition to external stresses activated by job deadlines and cranky spouses, toxins from lawn and food pesticides can add up.
“The immune system can actually get PTSD,” says Maricich.
When the adrenals are out of balance, women can be more prone to things like osteoporosis. They can have trouble building muscle.
“Adrenals become more taxed because they have to produce sex hormones plus adrenal hormones,” Maricich says.
Before menopause, adrenals can be kept healthy and happy with a regulated diet. Once menopause sets in, it can be hard to stabilize blood sugar through diet, although it doesn’t hurt to eat fewer bad carbs, minimum sugar, alcohol and caffeine and other potentially inflammatory foods, Maricich says.
All disease begins in the gut. And when menopause hits, often parasites and bacteria that weren’t problems before can become problems she adds.
Cytokines can cause fat cells to produce more fat cells. And the limbic system gets ramped up becoming enraged more easily. And that’s just for starters.
Men also have a change of hormones related to the adrenals. And, as with women, it can start as early as 30.
“They lose motivation, gain weight, become moody and pessimistic,” says Maricich.
But, just as with women, men can do things to build protective estrogen, replacing cancer-causing estrogen.
“We just want to empower women—and men--to be the best they can in this phase of life,” says Maricich. “We want a culture of women and men who are happy, healthy and productive, who feel good about themselves.”