Menopause: A Natural Shift in Life or a Medical Condition? (Part II)
A dive into some natural resources for menopause support.
Happy Thursday, health heroes!
Earlier this week we dove into the pharmaceutical-first approach to the natural stage of life that is glorious menopause. Go catch up if you haven’t yet because today’s continuation dives into natural support for this season of life.
Today’s newsletter explores a few examples of alternative methods that can help women better understand themselves and their health. However, I strongly encourage you to build your own health philosophy — what resonates with me may not resonate with you! There’s nothing wrong with that, because health and healing are highly individual.
For example, I spent a portion of my childhood growing up in Japan — even though I’m from Wyoming, and have family ancestry in the highlands of South America! This multicultural approach to my life has left me open to incorporating other styles of health and healing that don’t align with the reaction-based health culture of the U.S.
I believe that because menopause is a normal, natural part of the female seasons of life, hormone therapy, and replacement hormones simply aren’t necessary. For centuries women have stepped into this phase of their life with dignity — not chasing an eternal youth.
Your health philosophy and approach to aging might look different than mine. I encourage you to take your own approach seriously and do what works best for you.
Natural Remedies: Harnessing Earth’s Resources for Menopause
While medical interventions and supplements are commonly promoted, many women are turning to the natural world for support through menopause. Resources from the earth, such as herbs, meditation, and mindfulness practices, offer gentle, holistic ways to nurture the body and mind during this transition. I love the idea of using natural sources to ease the transition into the new phase of life.
Certain herbs have been traditionally used to ease menopausal symptoms. Black cohosh is one of the most well-known, often used to reduce hot flashes and night sweats. Red clover contains natural phytoestrogens, which can help balance hormone levels and support bone health. Dong quai, an herb used in Chinese medicine, is believed to help balance female hormones, while chasteberry (vitex) may support the regulation of progesterone levels, easing mood swings and other symptoms.
Adaptogens, like ashwagandha and rhodiola, are another powerful resource, as they help the body adapt to stress and hormonal changes, promoting overall balance and well-being. These herbs work by supporting the adrenal glands and helping to maintain stable energy levels during hormonal shifts.
In addition to physical symptoms, menopause can bring emotional challenges, such as anxiety or irritability. Mindfulness and meditation practices can be profoundly helpful in managing stress and promoting emotional balance. A daily meditation practice—even just 10 minutes of mindful breathing—can reduce cortisol levels, improve sleep, and provide a sense of peace and grounding.
Aromatherapy can also support emotional well-being. Essential oils like lavender, clary sage, and peppermint have been shown to help with stress relief, mood stabilization, and even hot flashes.
Diffusing these oils, adding them to a bath, or using them in a massage can be a comforting part of your self-care routine.
These approaches may not significantly impact symptoms by themselves. But with a strategic plan in place (coming soon!), these natural approaches can be part of a nurturing strategy to support the body through this transition. And don’t forget to focus on the Core 4. There is many women can do, and I want to encourage women everywhere – you can have self-agency through the change – you are not a victim of it!
Eastern Wisdom: Chinese Medicine and Energy-Based Therapies for Menopause
As you can see, I believe in looking to other cultures to gain perspective, so here’s another approach. In Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), menopause is seen as a natural transition, marking a shift in a woman’s energy or ‘Qi’. Rather than viewing this time as a deficiency or loss, TCM regards menopause as an opportunity to rebalance the body’s energy systems. The symptoms of menopause, such as hot flashes, mood swings, and fatigue, are viewed as imbalances between the yin (cool, calming energy) and yang (hot, active energy) forces in the body. Here’s how TCM and other energy-based therapies support women through this transition:
🪡 Acupuncture
Acupuncture is a core treatment in TCM that helps restore the balance of Qi by stimulating specific points on the body with fine needles. Many women use acupuncture to alleviate menopausal symptoms like hot flashes, night sweats, and mood disturbances. Studies suggest that acupuncture can regulate the body’s temperature, balance hormone levels, and calm the nervous system, leading to improved overall well-being during menopause. The treatment is also known to reduce stress and anxiety, helping women feel more emotionally balanced through this transition.
😮💨 Qi Gong and Tai Chi
Energy-based movement therapies like Qi Gong and Tai Chi focus on cultivating, balancing, and circulating Qi through gentle, flowing movements, breath control, and meditation. These practices are widely used in Chinese culture to promote overall health and longevity. For menopausal women, Qi Gong and Tai Chi can help manage stress, reduce fatigue, and improve mental clarity, all while supporting cardiovascular and bone health. These practices also enhance balance and flexibility, which can be particularly important as women age.
🍵 Diet and Nutrition in TCM
In Chinese medicine, diet is crucial in balancing the body’s internal energy. Foods are classified as yin (cooling) or yang (warming), and menopausal women are often advised to adjust their diets based on their symptoms. For example, those experiencing heat-related symptoms like hot flashes or night sweats are encouraged to consume more yin-nourishing foods, such as tofu, mung beans, cucumbers, and pears, which help cool the body and replenish fluids. Similarly, warming foods like ginger, cinnamon, and lamb are recommended for women with cold symptoms, like fatigue or joint pain, to restore warmth and vitality.
☀️ Energy Therapies
Beyond movement and acupuncture, other energy-based practices, such as Reiki and chakra balancing, are becoming more popular in the West for their ability to help women navigate menopause. These therapies focus on clearing energy blockages, balancing the body’s natural energy fields, and providing emotional healing. Although these approaches don’t directly stem from Chinese medicine, they resonate with TCM’s focus on the importance of energy flow in overall health and well-being.
The Menopause Mindshift - I Dare You to Read This
As you know, I love exploring different ways to look at health outside of the Western mindset. I hope you read this and are willing to bend and twist your thinking outside of the normal when it comes to menopause because I want to give you an example of how thinking with an open mind, as I do with you here, can change your perspective about how to go through the menopause journey in a personalized, deeper way, and this can be applied to other health journeys as well. Let me use the lens of Ayurvedic medicine in tandem with scientific genetic tendencies (east meets west!) to look at menopause for a moment.
In Ayurvedic medicine, doshas are the three fundamental energies—Vata, Pitta, and Kapha—that govern our body and mind. In Ayurvedic medicine, each dosha has its own characteristics, and each of us has a predominant constitution that reflects a dosha. This, in turn, is thought to influence how we experience lots of things, but in this case, let’s look at how it could impact how we experience menopause:
Vata (Air and Ether): Light, dry, cold, and irregular. Vata-dominant women may experience anxiety, insomnia, joint pain, and dry skin during menopause.
Pitta (Fire and Water): Hot, sharp, and intense. Pitta-dominant women often deal with hot flashes, irritability, and inflammation as primary symptoms.
Kapha (Earth and Water): Heavy, slow, and steady. Kapha-dominant women may struggle with weight gain, lethargy, and water retention during this transition.
This explains why we can experience menopause differently even if we have similar genetics (think sisters, moms, and daughters). By understanding which dosha is predominant in us, we can approach menopause using our predominant dosha style with personalized strategies, such as choosing foods and self-care practices that balance our body’s energy. But we can also be aware of our genetic influences and preventively include practices that might counteract problematic or annoying genetic tendencies. This holistic perspective shifts the focus from “fixing” menopause to working with our body’s natural processes, nourishing ourselves throughout the transition.
This is a perfect "east meets west" blend. Western science gives us genetic awareness—helping us understand the biological processes and risks associated with menopause—while the Ayurvedic approach provides a holistic framework to balance our individual energies (doshas). This fusion of knowledge can help us not only predict but also personalize how we manage menopause, combining the strengths of both systems. Embracing this perspective allows women to tailor their self-care practices based on genetic insights and their unique dosha constitution, promoting overall balance and well-being during this natural transition.
Let’s play this out in a real-life scenario.
Jacque, a 50-year-old woman entering perimenopause, has started experiencing irregular periods, hot flashes, and anxiety. With her mother having gone through early menopause and developed osteoporosis, Sarah is concerned about her own risks. She decides to combine western science with an Ayurvedic approach to manage her transition.
First, Sarah consults her doctor for a bone density scan and hormone level testing to assess her risk for osteoporosis and evaluate her hormone levels. Her doctor suggests weight-bearing exercises and calcium supplements to support her bone health. While they discuss hormone replacement therapy (HRT), Sarah wants to explore natural options first.
Using the Ayurvedic framework, Sarah identifies her dominant dosha as Vata—associated with dryness, irregularity, and anxiety. To balance this, she focuses on warm, grounding foods like soups and healthy fats while avoiding cold, raw foods that aggravate Vata. She begins incorporating herbal remedies recommended by a registered herbalist, like Ashwagandha for anxiety and Shatavari to support hormonal balance. Daily gentle yoga and meditation help calm her mind and body while sticking to a consistent routine keeps her Vata energy in check.
This "east meets west" approach blends her genetic awareness with Ayurvedic practices. Sarah uses Western medicine for prevention and monitoring while naturally balancing her body’s energy. Over time, her anxiety eases, her hot flashes become manageable, and she feels more in control of her body’s changes.
Can you see how this approach might give women greater self-agency and control during a potentially upsetting health shift? This is just one example of a blended approach to use in a health journey. There are so many other health approaches to blend, from holistic to ultra-scientific - it’s up to you! I dare you to try to come up with your unique blend that you can use for any health issue you face!
Finding Support and Resources
The good news is that we don’t have to go through this phase of life alone – many of us pre-through-post-menopausal women! And there are plenty of books and podcasts about embracing menopause from various perspectives.
Books like The Wisdom of Menopause by Christiane Northrup, MD, offer a holistic approach to navigating this transition.
At the same time The Menopause Manifesto by Dr. Jen Gunter is a science-driven guide that empowers women to take control of their health during menopause. (She also has a remarkable Substack that I highly recommend.)
Find books that align with your health philosophy that address menopause.
Don’t Manage Menopause, Work With It!
Menopause is not a time to fight but a time to embrace. We can make more informed and empowering decisions when we stop viewing it as something to “fix” and start seeing it as a natural life change. By learning from other cultures, understanding our health philosophy, and listening to our bodies, we can confidently navigate menopause.
Whether you choose medical interventions, complementary interventions, lifestyle changes, or a blend, the key is aligning your approach with what feels right for you using your health philosophy. Menopause is another life season full of growth, learning, and transformation. I urge us all to consider embracing it rather than treating it.
That’s it for this week’s update — have a great fall weekend and holiday Monday. See you all next week!
In good health,
Dr. Alice
A little more about Dr. Alice Burron and The Health Navigator Group:
You can find more about The Health Navigator Group at our website: www.thehealthnavigator.org
On Instagram: @the.health.navigator
And learn more about Dr. Alice Burron at her website: draliceburron.com
Or via her personal Instagram: @dr_burron
You can even connect with her on LinkedIn, if you want to be professional about it. 👓
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