Balancing Hormones Naturally: A Holistic approach to Women's Hormone-Related
Health Concerns
 Menopause...
the change. As John Lee, M.D., states in his book, What Your Doctor
May Not Tell You About Menopause: "Every adult woman in North
America and other industrialized countries knows what those words
refer to: the change of life that occurs with menopause. Those who
have entered into menopause know it by their own experience; others
know the experience of their mothers, an older sister, or a friend.
They have heard the stories of the hot flashes and night sweats,
the mood swings, the vaginal dryness, and the sagging breasts and
fatter hips. They vow (and pray) to somehow never let it happen
that way to them. They fear the loss of sexual enjoyment that menopause
may portend. They see older women shrunken and bent with osteoporosis,
and cannot visit an older friend in a nursing home without some
dread that this may be their destiny, too.
"They also know from other older women, who are vigorous and
full of life, that this deterioration is not universal with all
women. What, they wonder, makes the difference and what can be done
to remain vital and healthy?"
 With
thirty million menopausal women in North America and some twenty
million baby-boomer women on the brink of menopause, it is no small
wonder this is a major topic of discussion.
The medical approach to menopause involves an archaic conception
of female endocrinology as purely chemical. Today, many educated
women are searching for choices more compatible with their nature.
More than one million women are now turning fifty each year. They
include doctors, lawyers and corporate executives. Women now have
an opportunity to reevaluate this natural transition with new eyes
and more sophisticated testing. At the same time, the long-ignored
healing powers of the plant kingdom, such as herbs, grains, fruits
and vegetables, are rapidly coming back into popular use.
Competing with this natural approach, the drug companies involved
in marketing synthetic hormonal products are investing massive amounts
of money in trying to prove that their products are the only choice
a woman has, and in downplaying their products' dangers. They are
creating a standard of care among medical physicians and falsely
frightening women into complying: ERT (Estrogen Replacement Therapy)
or dry up and die prematurely.
Women make up more than half of all Chiropractic patients in the
United States. Of this group, many are patients who are in their
reproductive years (typically 13 to 45 years old, although this
range may vary). As a whole-body-care practitioner and Doctor of
Chiropractic, you are in an especially good position to help PMS
patients. As such, you should learn to recognize the myriad symptoms
associated with premenstrual syndrome and develop treatment plans
to help these patients.
 The
idea that menopause is a disease requiring medical attention is
gradually becoming history. The perspective that a woman's midlife
is a time of new energy and unrestricted possibilities is replacing
this outdated theory. You as a Chiropractor can dispel the many
myths about menopause and PMS.
As a Doctor of Chiropractic who advises in the use of natural methods
and remedies whenever they are appropriate as an option, you will
be heartily welcomed by women in your community. A revolution is
under way! Despite lucrative incentives that sustain the present
system, change will come because women demand it.
To Summarize:
PMS is a major production-related problem in the U.S. Many women
who suffer from PMS try to hide it, often feeling discriminated
against in a "male-dominated work society." This has been
promulgated by psychiatric associations attempting to classify PMS
as a mental disorder, as well as male employers viewing the condition
as psychological. This labeling causes embarrassment for many women,
who do not seek the help they need, resigning themselves to suffer
in silence. However, unless they seek effective treatment such as
Chiropractic, diet, etc., they have little hope of successful relief.
Chiropractic's respect for the healing wisdom of the body, removal
of spinal stress that interferes with the flow of natural body energies,
and promotion of spine, joint, muscle and nerve balance and stability
make it a health care of choice for premenopausal, menopausal and
post-menopausal women alike.
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