Dr Marilyn Glenville has said she doesn't think all the negative sentiment surrounding the menopause helps the situation.
Throughout our lives, each and every individual will go through various natural stages that make up the fundamental life cycle of a human being. The menopause is one such stage which every woman will go through, when her menstrual cycle comes to an end and her ovaries cease to produce eggs.
Just the mention of the word menopause and many women may shudder, as thoughts of hot flushes, night sweats and mood swings fill their heads. However, one medical expert has shunned all of this negativity surrounding this important stage in a woman's life, saying that she believes it only makes attitudes worse.
In an interview with Natural Products, Dr Marilyn Glenville commented on the menopause: "[In the West] it’s often seen as a loss - loss of cycle, loss of fertility, the ‘empty nest syndrome’. There’s all that negativity and I think that makes it worse."
The expert goes on to comment on the concept of hormone replacement therapy (HRT) and how the idea that women should be filling their bodies with these replacement hormones, as if the body has made a mistake somewhere, is fundamentally wrong.
"The suggestion is sometimes that somehow nature has got it wrong and that hormones shouldn’t be declining but should be replaced," she said. "That’s where the risk from breast cancer comes from - the fact that we’re putting something back that shouldn’t be there."
Believing in the menopause as a natural part of a woman's life, Dr Glenville confirmed she believes HRT should only be used a last resort.
Before turning to this, women who are anxious about managing the symptoms of the menopause may be interested in taking health supplements which could help to alleviate these. The expert recommended "a multivitamin and mineral that's designed for the menopause, so it's got good levels of calcium, magnesium and boron, and vitamin D3, as well as antioxidants."
Vitamin D3 Serum from Premier Research Labs, available from The Really Healthy Company, could serve as the perfect source of this particular nutrient, which is vital for supporting all-round health - not only the immune system, but also strong and healthy bones, thyroid function, calcium absorption and cell division, amongst other functions.
She added that a vitamin C supplement might also be needed, as many multivitamins don't contain quite enough of this, while an omega-3 could also help.
