Natural treatment for menopause symptoms

Hot flashes and night sweats are two of the annoying symptoms many women suffer when going through menopause. But there’s a relatively simple way to reduce these problems.

Have the grand kids stay at your house.

Research at the Kinsey Institute in Indiana and the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle shows that having young children living in your house can ease night sweats and hot flashes. In the study, the scientists looked at how women who experienced rapid menopause, resulting from having their ovaries surgically removed, were beset by reduced night sweats and fewer hot flashes when young children dwelled with them.

“These are intriguing findings,” says researcher Tierney Lorenz. “For women who were menopausal when our study began, those with young children at home actually showed more symptoms of hot flashes. But the women who underwent rapid menopause because of the surgical removal of their ovaries showed a dramatic reduction of symptoms.”

Lorenz points out that even though there have been plenty of studies of menopause, they have not produced agreement on how to best cope with its symptoms. Among the suggestions have been a variety of herbs, dietary supplements, hormone treatments and yoga. Previously, very little if any, research has focused on the effects social interactions produce on menopausal discomforts.

In this study, hot flashes or night sweats were only reduced if the women had children less than 13 years old living with them. The researchers believe this occurred because very young children meed more mothering, a process that stimulates the release of particular hormones that may lessen menopause problems.

“The fact the effects observed were limited to only women with children younger than 13 years suggests that parity (having had children) was not sufficient to produce changes in flashes and points instead to the increased nurturance needs of young children,” the researchers conclude.

Carl Lowe

By Carl Lowe

has written about health, fitness and nutrition for a wide range of publications including Prevention Magazine, Self Magazine and Time-Life Books. The author of more than a dozen books, he has been gluten-free since 2007.

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