“If you’re like me and find yourself smack dab in the middle of menopause, without any real understanding of what is happening to the brain and body you once knew, The Menopause Brain by Lisa Mosconi will quickly become your new best friend,” Halle Berry—who is 57—wrote on Instagram on Wednesday, recommending her favourite book to her 8.6 million followers. “Dr Mosconi confirms that you’re not crazy and, most importantly, that you’re not alone!”
A chapter in a woman’s life that has become a hot topic in the last year or two, the Equality and Human Rights Commission recently announced that employers now have a responsibility in some countries like the United Kingdom to protect staff suffering with symptoms of menopause—and they can be both numerous and varied, from mood swings, anxiety and brain fog to hot flashes, depression, and irregular periods. It’s a step towards a more universal understanding of the ways in which menopause can be debilitating for women as their brains and bodies shift into the next phase of life.
Put simply, it pays to understand what happens during the menopause, which is why books like Dr Mosconi’s—published on March 21st—can be incredibly useful. Below, five key lessons to take away from it now.
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1. You aren’t crazy
The first chapter in the book provides excellent reassurance that, no, you’re not crazy—menopause brain is real. In fact, most symptoms are neurological. “Thanks to how genuinely uninformed we are about menopause, too many women are caught completely off guard, feeling betrayed by their body and their brain–not to mention their doctors, too,” Dr Mosconi writes. “While hot flashes are generally recognised as a ‘side effect’ of menopause, most doctors simply won’t make the connection between menopause and its other symptoms such as anxiety, insomnia, depression or brain fog.” It’s just one of many reasons why menopausal women are neglected by gynecologists, neurologists, and psychiatrists. What you need to know is that menopause changes your brain, it’s quite normal to feel crazy—oh, and it will all get better.
2. Symptoms can be both physical and neurological
While 10 to 15 percent of women report no changes at all during menopause (other than irregular periods), others can suffer from both somatic (body-related) and neurological (brain-related) symptoms.
Let’s start with the physical. Alongside symptoms like vaginal dryness, painful intercourse, stress incontinence, and/or an overactive bladder, there can be joint pain, stiffness, muscle tension and aches, and an increased risk of osteoporosis. “Breast-related changes can also occur, such as breast soreness, loss of breast fullness, and swelling,” Dr Mosconi notes. Other “less-discussed bodily symptoms” include “[an] irregular heartbeat and palpitations, which can be very scary, as well as changes in body composition, weight gain, and slower metabolism, along with digestive issues, bloating, acid reflux, and nausea.” That’s before mentioning body odour, thinning hair, and increased sensitivity to noise.
As for the neurological symptoms? “The hormonal chaos of midlife can set off changes… in mood, sleep patterns, stress levels, libido and cognitive performance,” she continues, as well as severe depression, intense anxiety, panic attacks and more. Many women start worrying that they’ve got illnesses like dementia, too. “Roughly 20 per cent of all women experience mood swings and depressive symptoms during perimenopause and in the years immediately after the final menstrual period.”
3. Still, there are upsides to the menopause
While most of what you hear and read about in the press is doom and gloom, there are plenty of positives to going through menopause—plus, many of the symptoms that menopausal women experience can also happen at other stages of life. “While the general mindset in the Western world is that menopause takes things away from us, the untold story is that it’s also busy endowing us with new gifts,” Dr Mosconi writes. “Consider, for example, something everyone wants but few master: happiness.”
Yep, according to Dr Mosconi, research suggests that some of the more notable upsides of menopause include better mental health and feeling more content with life. “The Jubilee Women Study found that 65 percent of British postmenopausal women were happier than they were before menopause, feeling more independent and enjoying better relationships with partners and friends,” she writes, while others felt happier and more satisfied with their life overall.
4. Exercise really helps
Studies have shown that women—especially those in their forties and beyond—are less likely to exercise consistently, if at all. However, this really isn’t the time to be inactive. “Physical activity can trigger positive hormonal changes that directly reduce the number and severity of hot flashes, improve mood and enhance sleep,” Dr Mosconi says. “It supports cognitive strength too, while boosting your stamina and enhancing your quality of life.”
It’s also worth noting that medical issues such as low metabolism or insulin resistance often make menopause worse, and the severity of these problems can be reduced—if not reversed—by exercising. Taking regular exercise also reduces the risk of all manner of physical and mental maladies, from strokes, type-2 diabetes and osteoporosis to colon and breast cancer, anxiety, depression and dementia. Sticking to a healthy weight can keep hot flashes at bay, too, while helping build confidence and reducing stress.
5. And so does diet
Look no further than the delicious Mediterranean diet to see you through menopause healthily and happily. While the diet has long been heralded for its health-boosting effects (it reduces the risk of all sorts of diseases), it’s particularly good for women’s health. “[It has] positive effects on blood pressure, cholesterol, and blood glucose levels,” writes Dr Mosconi. “As a result, women on a Mediterranean-style diet boast a 25 percent lower risk of heart attack and stroke than those following a Western-style diet high in processed foods, meat, sweets and sugary beverages.” It’s also great at fending off depression.
What constitutes a Mediterranean diet, then? One high in fresh vegetables and fruits, legumes, nuts, whole grains, as well as seafood, eggs and poultry, and unrefined extra virgin olive and flax oils. “Dairy and red meat are consumed sparingly and in moderation,” she explains. And you can still drink a glass of red wine, drink coffee and eat desserts here and there, just not all the time (always opt for good quality or homemade). It’s a way of eating that is packed full of antioxidants, polyphenols, fibre and unsaturated fats.
One of the easy things you can do day to day is increase your intake of plants, because they’re high in vitamins, minerals and phytonutrients that help fight disease, reduce inflammation and promote bodily resilience, as well as being full of fibre, which isn’t only great for gut health but also balances oestrogen levels. “As a result, eating enough fibre is a fantastic first-line defence against menopausal symptoms, like hot flashes, which tend to be fewer and milder in those with fibre-rich diets.”
This story was originally published on Vogue.
