The average age for a woman to cease having her menstrual cycle is 51; however, perimenopause can begin in the late 30s.  Common symptoms include: insomnia, palpitations, hot flashes/night sweats, constipation, low libido, vaginal dryness, urinary infections/incontinence, irregular bleeding, hair loss, depression, anxiety, mood swings, forgetfulness and weight gain.

Natural healthcare tips:
•  Ensure your vegetables, salad foods, fruit and meats are as organic as possible.

•  Drink at least 2 litres of water a day.

•  Limit the intake of red meat, processed foods, salt and alcohol.

•  The Society of Homeopaths gives you access to qualified homeopaths who can alleviate symptoms.

•  Tea and coffee should be replaced by caffeine-free drinks.

•  Include soya based foods such as tofu, pulses, beansprouts, yams, most fruit and veg,  miso, tempeh, soya milk, celery, rhubarb, almonds and linseeds as these are sources of phytoestrogen (a natural oestrogen).

•  Keep up your calcium intake so that your bones remain strong as weakening is more likely because of reduced oestrogen levels.   Choose semi-skimmed or skimmed milk. Other good calcium sources: almonds, seeds (poppy, sesame), cheeses (parmesan,  gruyère and Edam), oily fish (tinned sardines, etc), tofu, seaweed, figs, yoghurt, Brazil nuts and leafy vegetables (kale, purple broccoli).

•  To keep your blood sugar levels balanced and avoid fatigue, have 5 small sittings of food a day. Breakfast, lunch and dinner plus a mid-morning and mid-afternoon snack.  Ensure you have protein and complex carbs with each sitting.

•  If necessary use a good multi-vitamin for women such as BioCare FemForte to act as a food supplement.

As well as looking after yourself physically, this is a fantastic time to make positive changes elsewhere in your life, as you are more open to fresh opportunities than at any other time.

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This is the first of 4 posts for women on hormonal health.

At ovulation an egg is released preparing to be fertilized and implanted. The creative/reproductive centre of your psyche becomes ready for this and there is a build up of physical, emotional and mental energy.

There are 5 types of PMS:

Type A: Weepiness, anxiety and irritability. Periods start suddenly and are heavy with clots.  Tip:  Vitamin E.

Type B: Irritability. Weight gain, swelling of hands and feet and breast tenderness.  Tip:  Reduce salt and drink loads of water. Include a natural diuretic such as celery in your diet.

Type C: Associated with fluctuations in blood sugar levels producing headaches, fatigue and irritability.  Tip:   Magnesium to assist insulin metabolism. Eat frequent small meals with complex carbohydrate foods like potatoes and proteins (lean meat, fish etc). Avoid sugar and refined foods.

Type D: Depression, forgetfulness, insomnia, and teariness.  Tip: Kelp and spirulina.

Type H: Water balance symptoms e.g. fluid retention, bloating, breast tenderness, swollen hands and feet related to high sodium and alcohol intake.

To help yourself, you could:

• avoid foods like coffee, tea, alcohol, sugar (apart from chocolate!!!!), artificial flavourings and colourings and convenience foods
• exercise to shift stagnating energy
• enjoy an orgasm (great way to release tension from the pelvic area)
• keep the bowels moving (constipation makes period pain worse)
• rest
• eat natural whole foods
• use this time to end what you no longer need and initiate new projects
• take a good multi vitamin with herbs (or specific natural menstrual remedies)
• drink lots of water

The next post in Hormonal Health is Preparing to Conceive.

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The long-term effects of suffering from stress are well documented. They include cardiac disease, peripheral vascular disease, stroke, diabetes, heart attack, immune mediated diseases and more. In order to be able to reduce stress it is important for individuals to recognize the symptoms of stress in their lives. Only by recognizing the symptoms of stress will people be able to identify causes because without a symptom you won’t look for a cause.

Researchers believe that 12 million people in Great Britain suffer from mental health problems which include anxiety and depression and those numbers are even greater in the United States. Many of these mental health problems are related to the long-term effects of experiencing stress in your life. Psychologists believe that it is important to recognize early symptoms of stress in order to decrease the likelihood that there will be physical or psychological damage.

Physical symptoms of stress will include headaches which are repetitive and nature and different from the variety which we all experience now and then. In other words, it is following to have the occasional headache but getting them most days is important to take note of.

Other physical symptoms of stress can include muscle and back problems as well as general aches and pains and even skin issues. Acne is often the result of a change in hormonal balance which will be affected by the amount of stress and individual suffers. Weight gain is another warning sign of stress because many people are "stress eaters". This means that is when under stress people turn to food in order to comfort themselves. Unfortunately, most of these foods include cakes, chocolate, sugar and high processed snacks. All of these things will pile on the pounds.

Other physical symptoms include grinding teeth, heartburn, irritable bowel syndrome, and nausea, increased pain, frequent illnesses and increased sweating. Stress will negatively impact an individuals immune system which will cause them to become ill more frequently. Individuals who are stressed may also breath more shallow which results in frequent yawning as they are starving their body of oxygen.

Stress will also become evident in the emotional irritability and heightened sensitivity. This means that a person may find themselves crying more easily and more often than usual or may suffer from a general lumpiness that is unusual for them. In other people stress may cause them to withdraw or make less of an effort to keep up with their friends. Stress can also cause an individual to take less effort with their personal appearance and feel less bothered by their home environment as well.

The final type of symptoms are behavioural and psychologists believe that these are more likely to be noticed because they are more obvious. Some of these behavioural symptoms include the inability to make decisions, even trivial every day tasks which would normally be executed without hesitation are suddenly mind-boggling. Stress will also decrease the persons natural confidence and may results in a person who wavers on unimportant and important choices.

Other behavioural symptoms include breathlessness, irritability, frequently bored, worrying, nightmares, apathy and sexual problems or loss of libido. Individuals who find themselves getting angry easily and experiencing mood swings or having more problems in their relationships should consider the likelihood that they are feeling the physical and emotional results of stress in their lives.

It is important for people to identify the symptoms of stress that they are experiencing in their lives in order to recognize the necessity of identifying a cause. By decreasing stress people can improve their productivity, their time management skills and decrease the risk of experiencing any long-term physical effects which may place their life in danger.

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