EARLY MENOPAUSE INCREASES THE RISK OF HEART DISEASE

      If you or someone you know has gone through early menopause which is defined as going through menopause starting at age 29 or younger, then be aware there is greater risk for heart disease. This is caused by the drop in heart-protecting estrogen after menopause. 

     Because I went through menopause after surgery at the age of 29, I am quite interested in new research just published in MENOPAUSE.  The researchers reported that in an eight-year study, women who enter menopause early are twice as likely to suffer from a stroke or heart disease.

    There are a number of things someone going through early menopause can do to lower their risk of cardio-vascular disease.  I always encourage my clients to take care of themselves.  This is particularly true for women who experienced early menopause.  A major goal should be to reduce stress.  It's time to nurture yourself by doing relaxing things, socializing with friends and enjoying creative activities and hobbies.  Establishing certain disciplines like deep breathing, meditation, tai chi or yoga can be valuable ways to deal with stress.  Working with a clinical hypnotherapist to deal with the stresses in your life can be very useful.

   Eating healthy foods including noninflammatory foods such as fresh vegetables and fruits and healthy protein such as fish, minimizing the intake of inflammatory simple sugars found in candy, pasta, white bread and pastries, and taking daily supplements including a multivitamin, CoQ10 (60 mg to 100 mg), magnesium (400 mg to 800 mg), fish oil at your doctor's recommendation and vitamin C (1000 mg) are great ways to lower the risk for heart disease. And exercise is particularly important to protect yourself.  Shoot for at least 200 minutes of exercise per week.  Exercise should be done regularly such as taking a half hour walk every day. 

     If you are a woman who experienced early menopause, it's time to take care of yourself by managing stress, eating well and using supplements and exercising regularly.  If you need help to get motivated to "take care of yourself", a clinical hypnotherapist can help you to do those things and lower your risk of heart disease.