What is the biggest issue you struggle with every day? Is it fatigue and low energy? Research shows 2/3 of women heading into menopause have an energy crisis every day. Fatigue is the body’s way of saying you need to rest and restore and you need to do more of it at different stages throughout menopause as your hormones reset.
Here’s how to beat fatigue…
1. Drink more water….it’s brain juice.
Ever done a live blood cell analysis and seen your cells moving sluggishly under the microscope? Well that was me yesterday. Boost your water intake especially early in the day to 500ml – 1 litre of water, preferably warm on rising. Carry a dedicated bottle around with you and drink in small sips holding the water in your mouth and swallowing slowly. Build up to 2 litres+ per day. You can add cell salts, like Nat Mur or Ferr Phos/Mag Phos to water too so that you get a drip feed of minerals into your cells.
Naturally this means also cutting down alcohol, coffee, tea and cola’s that dehydrate you further.
2. Eat protein with regular meals and snacks to keep blood sugar stable.
High quality protein like eggs, nuts and seeds, tofu/tempheh and miso, fish, grass fed meat and free range chicken packs power into your meals and helps you to feel full and content with no sugar cravings in the afternoon. Choose a quality protein powder to add to your smoothies to support your blood sugar in the mornings, as a snack and after workouts.
3. Have your adrenal glands checked
If fatigue has been ongoing for many months and you are having difficulty getting out of bed, or having problems switching off at night then ask your natural health care practitioner to measure blood cortisol or order a salivary adrenal test to measure fluctuating cortisol levels over 12 hours. Once you know the peaks and troughs of your daily cortisol levels you can manage diet, lifestyle changes, and nutritional supplements to support your adrenals along with health enhancing thoughts and beliefs.
4. Check your iron levels
The other big cause of fatigue is iron deficiency anaemia. When your periods are heavy, irregular, or you experience menstrual flooding or your cycle shortens in perimenopause, it’s hard to catch your breath between bleeds.
Iron is fundamental to your health and is the most common mineral deficiency in women. If you are deficient in iron then you can feel easily puffed after a flight of stairs, have low immunity, feel moodier and depressed and have weak hair and nails.
Ask your doctor to request iron studies; blood tests that measure your serum ferritin or your stores of iron and other parameters. Boosting heme iron from red meat or vegetarian sources like spirulina and other greens is smart. Then select a supplement that is well absorbed and doesn’t cause constipation like ferrous bisglycinate. Folic acid, B6 and B12 are essential co factors for iron absorption and an additional B complex formula supports energy production and mood. Team this with cells salts Ferrum Phos and Calc Phos to help your body absorb iron at a cellular level. Your energy can soar to new heights in a few months.
4. Move your body
Shake up your cells, get blood, lymph and emotions moving through your body with a daily movement ritual – dance, yoga, walk on the beach barefoot to increase free electrons a radical way to boost your energy, or cycle….whatever you do, exercise frees up any “stuckness” and allows your energy levels to rise naturally. Breathing through your nose whilst you exercise increases your respiratory efficiency and boosts exchange of oxygen into red blood cells.
5. Get good sleep
Switch off your electronics at 8pm in time for bedtime around 10pm so it doesn’t interfere with melatonin your sleep hormone. Have some carb at night with your protein to boost serotonin.Give yourself a gentle oil massage – Ayurvedic abhyanga and have a bath with essential oils. Create a sanctuary in your bedroom that is dark, cool and luxurious and go there to rest, meditate or make love. Orgasm is a beautiful way to improve hormone balance with a burst of oxytocin whilst lowering cortisol and helps you to sleep soundly.
And if you get the opportunity, sleep in, rest and recover – it’s what your body needs!
Read more about stress and it’s impact on hormones around menopause.
photo credit: BrittneyBush via photopin cc