To determine if this hormone therapy is right for you, Pinkerton notes that the treatment is safe for women who start it at menopause, especially for women under 60 or who are within 10 years of menopause. Starting after age 60 or 70 is not recommended, as these women have a higher risk of heart disease , stroke, blood clots, and dementia. Certainly, any of these situations warrant a conversation with your doctor to assess the benefits and risks for you.
By subscribing you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
Health Topics. Health Tools.
Menopause weight gain: Stop the middle age spread - Mayo Clinic
But the good news? According to experts, it's not inevitable. But what causes menopausal weight gain and bloating, and what can you do about it? Does HRT help or hinder?
Weight Loss & Management for Women with BHRT
And will that pesky bloating ever go away? Find out how to beat the stats with our complete guide to menopause and weight gain. Getting older and becoming less active causes loss of muscle mass, which slows down the metabolism. According to experts, it's this, rather than the menopause itself, that bears the brunt of the responsibility for weight gain in middle age.
However, fluctuating hormone levels also play their part. New evidence suggests that plummeting oestrogen levels may encourage us to eat more and exercise less, lowers the metabolic rate and increases insulin resistance, making it more difficult for our bodies to deal with sugars and starches. Our hormones also influence fat distribution. Perimenopause weight gain is often associated with the laying down of fat around the abdomen and internal organs, as opposed to the hips and thighs. Feeling stressed?
Stress hormones like cortisol promote the growth of that pesky spare tyre. It's not simply a cosmetic issue, either - the more inches you add to your waistline, the higher your risk of heart disease, type 2 diabetes and even certain cancers. Fatima Cody Stanford, instructor in medicine at Harvard Medical School, explained, "'The change' actually does bring changes for many women, including weight gain that can resist even the most diligent efforts to reverse it.
Whether or not you gain weight, you're likely to feel bloated and uncomfortable during the menopause and perimenopause. Erratic hormone levels encourage water retention and intestinal gas, while reductions in bile which keeps the intestines lubricated can cause constipation, resulting in further bloating. Bloating can also be a side effect of HRT. Minimise bloating by swapping processed carbohydrates like white bread, pasta and rice for whole grains, drinking plenty of water and herbal teas peppermint, spearmint and fennel fight fluid retention and cutting back on salt, caffeine and alcohol.
- gym circuit training for weight loss!
- Is there evidence that estrogen therapy promotes weight maintenance via effects on leptin??
- olive burn fat!
Try switching 'gassy' foods like broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, sprouts, peas, beans, onions, potatoes, pears, soft cheese and oats for foods that reduce gas, such as grapes, bananas, watermelon, watercress, cucumber, peanut butter, eggs, yoghurt and hard cheese. Cooking with hot peppers and black pepper can also help.
Can Hormone Therapy for Menopause Prevent Weight Gain?
A gentle post-dinner walk or yoga session may help to move gas around the digestive system, relieving the symptoms of bloating. Because fiber helps us stay regular, and we process excess estrogen through our waste, eating less fiber drives up our estrogen. Meat also contains a type of fat with its own estrogen problem. Conventionally raised farm animals are overloaded with steroids, antibiotics, and toxins from their feed and the way they've been raised. When you eat them, those substances are released into your system. They can behave like estrogen in the body, adding to your overload.
You are confronted with an astounding number of toxins each day, including pesticides, herbicides, genetically modified foods, and about six different synthetic hormones in meat. Toxins are lurking in face creams, prescription drugs, processed foods, your lipstick, the linings of tuna fish cans, the fire-retardant materials in couches, and even the air you breathe. The list goes on.
Many types of these toxins, such as pesticides, plastics, and industrial chemicals, behave like estrogen when absorbed in the body.
LATEST FROM OUR BLOG
Experts believe that our increasing exposure to toxins helps explain why so many girls are entering puberty earlier and why many boys exhibit feminine characteristics such as developing breasts. Xeno-estrogens, as these particular toxins are called, have been associated with an elevated risk of estrogen-driven diseases like breast and ovarian cancers and endometriosis.
All this fake estrogen overwhelms your body's testosterone—which is vital for hormone balance—and contributes to estrogen overload.
Testosterone contributes to muscle growth, which in turn supports metabolism. And, as we already know, estrogen overload raises insulin insensitivity. And that's just one type of toxin. Your risk of weight gain and disease from exposure to toxins may be greater than you realize. A survey by the CDC demonstrated that 93 percent of the population has measurable levels of bisphenol A BPA , a chemical found in store receipts and canned foods that disrupts estrogen, thyroid, and androgen hormones.
Endocrine disruptors have been shown to interfere with the production, transportation, and metabolism of most hormones. Now you know the "whys" of your broken metabolism, these are reasons regular diets don't address the root cause of your weight gain. Hormones dictate what your body does with food.
Talk to a doctor about fixing your hormones, and your body will slim down without any extra effort from you. Weight Loss.