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Before we go into details about health issues of women after menopause, let's figure out what is menopause. Menopause takes place when a woman permanently stops ovulating and menstruating, and can no longer conceive a child. Normally, this occurs one year after the last menstrual period. Women, who belong to the age category of 45 to 55, go through this.

At the age of mid thirties to mid forties, a woman's production of mature ova begins to decline as the ovaries produce less of the female hormone estrogen. This period is known as 'perimenopause' or 'climacteric' or 'change of life'. Here, menstruation becomes irregular, with less flow than before and stays a longer time between menstrual periods, before it stops altogether.

During perimenopause and menopause, many women do not go through discomfort. The most common symptom among women during this time is 'hot flashes'. This is a sudden sensation of heat that flash through the body due to the hormone changes which affect the body temperature. There are other possible symptoms which women go through during this time. There are psychological problems which women go through during this time. This includes irritability, nervousness, anxiety, depression, memory loss, and insanity etc.

Though women face psychological problems like this, there is no research which proved, that this normal biological change will cause a mental disturbance to the women. There is a myth that women go through depression during this period due to the changes in roles, relationships, and responsibilities. These changes may be stressful, and the way each woman perceives them can affect their mental status. Many researchers suggest that so called "menopausal syndrome" may be related more to personal characteristics or past experiences rather than anything else. And also this can include culture, religion, political power etc.

Attitudes

Women, who belong to different cultures, castes, and religions, have different attitudes towards menopause. In some cultures, women, who no longer menstruated would stay in their beds, often for years, until they died. Anyone might feel that this custom is extremely unpleasant. But here, their attitude towards menopause is well-expressed that a woman is useless when her ability to reproduce ceases. In some cultures, menopause is a welcome invitation to be more independent, to have better personal growth and to have changes in their roles. Attitudes towards menopause in women depend on their roles, their own circumstances and values they place on being young and attractive. For example, a childless woman might see menopause as a barrier to become a mother. And for another woman who raised many children, might consider it is an opportunity for greater sexual freedom and enjoyment.

Health

While comparing to men's health, women's health is much better with lower death rates. At the same time women are in a high risk of having heart disease and osteoporosis. For every ten years after menopause, risk of having heart disease in women, will increase. This happens faster after a hysterectomy. Women who are above fifty have a less chance in surviving heart diseases. This situation can be controlled by regular exercise or walking, a diet high in fiber, especially from cereals.

In first five to ten years after menopause, bone loss in women rapidly accelerates. This is due to estrogen which plays an important role in helping the blood absorb calcium from food and helping the bones absorb calcium from blood. After the menopause, estrogen level falls down and this makes calcium absorption slows down.

Extreme bone loss may lead to osteoporosis. This is also known as 'porous bones'. This is a condition which the bones become thin and brittle due to the calcium depletion associated with loss of estrogen. If a woman shows signs of osteoporosis frequently, then, there is a high risk of having loss in height and a 'hunchbacked' posture that results from compression and collapse of weakened bones.

Osteoporosis is a major cause of broken bones in women after menopause and can greatly affect quality of life and even survival. Osteoporosis after menopause is high among white women those who have fair skin, small frame, low weight and a family history of the condition rather than black women. And also it's high among the women those who removed their ovaries before menopause. Genetic factors also play a role in osteoporosis. But good life style habits can make a significant difference, especially when women start early in life.

However when bone loss once starts can be slow down or reverse with proper nutrition, weight-bearing exercise, and avoidance of smoking. And also women can have high-intensity strength training and resistance training. Women have to get 1,000 to 1,500 milligrams of dietary calcium a day, along with recommended daily amounts of vitamin D, which helps the body absorb calcium after menopause.

Breast cancer is another health problem among women after the menopause. While comparing to other types of cancer, breast cancer is more common among women during that period. Women, who are overweight, who consume alcohol, who experienced early menarche and late menopause, who have a family history of breast cancers, who bore children late and had fewer children, have high risk of breast cancer. Women, who are physically active, eat low fat and high-fiber diets have less risk.

There are two identified genes called BRCA1 and BRCA2 which involve in breast cancers. Treatments for breast cancer have dramatically improved. Many patients can survive at least five years and some survive at least ten to fiteen years.

Hysterectomy is another health concern which a woman goes through after the menopause.

It is a surgical removal of the uterus. Women, who are below 50, have a high risk of having this surgery. Many women go through abdominal hysterectomies. Some goes through vaginal hysterectomies which give them a chance to stay less number of days in hospital, fewer complications, and better outcomes. The third type, laparoscopic hysterectomy is growing in popularity among women.

The most troublesome physical effects of menopause are the reduction of estrogen. Therefore, most of the women are prescribed to go for hormone replacement therapy (HRT) by the doctors. Here, artificial estrogens inject to the body to prevent or to relieve symptoms caused by decline in estrogen levels after menopause.

Highest number of postmenopausal women has used HRT, because estrogen taken alone increases the risk of uterine cancer, women whose uterus has not been surgically removed are usually given estrogen in combination with progestin, a form of female hormone progesterone. HRT helps reduce hot flashes, night sweats, and vaginal dryness. And also in present world, it uses to stop or prevent bone loss after menopause. HRT is most effective even in low doses, when started at menopause and continued for at least five years.

Most of the women go through stress during menopause. Even a positive stress can be extremely stressful and might harm the person.

The most common physical symptoms of stress can be headaches, stomachaches, muscle aches, muscle tensions, and fatigue. A woman might face psychological hazards like nervousness, anxiety, tenseness, anger, irritability and depression during this period. Stress which occurs in women during this period does not take place only because of menopause. It might happen because of the carrier, children leaving the home, death of family members etc.

Treatment

It is not quite possible to stop entirely the physical problems which women go through during menopause. But there are lots of chances that they can reduce having psychological problems during menopause. Psychological problems like depression, being moody can be cured by following a good lifestyle habits.

This can include getting enough sleep, going to bed early, keeping the room cool and dark, avoiding alcohol, caffeine and large meals etc.

It is also necessary to engage in physical activity for at least 30 minutes in a day. And also it is very important to follow relaxation techniques and spend some quality time with family and friends.

Don't put a lid on it

Anger is a natural emotion. But when anger is mismanaged or hidden, it can cause health problems. Dealing with anger starts with not letting small annoyances build up to a raging fury.

Most of us have been taught that anger is a bad thing, and that people who express anger are somehow out of control. Experts say, however, that anger is no different than loneliness, desire, fear, or any of the many emotions you experience on a daily basis.

Anger management is vital to your health because the chemicals released in your body during a temper tantrum are dangerous to your cardiac health..

Rage can also lead to shaken babies, battered mates, car accidents, and worse. While women tend to internalize their anger and become depressed, men are more likely to strike out and harm somebody.

Men and women who lash out in anger learned that response at home. They are also more likely to raise children who use violence when their anger goes unchecked.

Turn on the waterworks

"Cry," says Dr. Sinatra. "Men and women who cry develop less heart disease. Tears are the best remedy for detoxifying the body of hostility and excess anger." Deal with the little things Dr. Glazer often tells his anger management patients to keep notes on minor irritants and low-level annoyances that cause them to do a slow burn. "When you deal with little irritants as they occur, you create a little tap in your bucket that lets anger seep out, little by little," Dr. Glazer says.

The typical lists of exasperating things include snarled traffic, rude people, endless phone tag, brusque bosses, incompetent co-workers, and other seemingly trivial items.

Some people, however, have so much unresolved anger that they walk around with a virtually full bucket. So any small irritation causes them to blow their tops. Nonetheless, the great paradox in anger management is that many people think they should not express anger. We can express ourselves in ways that are not aggressive. We need to use assertive ways of expression, which basically implies we talk about our feelings and ask what we would like out of respect for the other person. Courtesy: AHealthyMe

Reasons why brown rice is healthier

It's clearly a case of brown being a superior choice. We're talking about rice, the staple grain that much of the world's population consumes.The more commonly consumed white rice is actually what remains of rice after it has been stripped of its outer layers that are laden with nutrition.

A whole grain of rice has multiple layers. The outermost layer, the hull, is the light brown layer that encases the rice grain, and is clearly visible after harvesting. This layer is inedible, and removing this does not cause much damage to the nutritional value of the rice that is then obtained, which is brown rice.

But this brown rice is further milled to remove the bran, which has commercial value, and is used in the production of cooking oil. The result is a whiter rice that is further 'polished' by removing the aleurone layer of the grain - a layer filled with health-supportive, essential fats. The final product is the familiar white 'polished' rice that is popularly consumed, is easier to cook and has a longer shelf life, thanks to the milling process.

More Nutrients in Brown Rice

Both brown and white rice have more or less the same amount of calories, carbohydrates, fats and proteins. But where brown rice scores substantially is, in its share of vitamins and dietary minerals.

Magnesium is helpful for reducing severity of asthma, lowering high blood pressure, reducing the frequency of migraine headaches, and reducing the risk of heart attack and stroke.

Manganese helps keep bones strong and healthy, and also helps synthesize cholesterol and fatty acids.

Selenium is important for protection of the body's cells from free-radical damage and thyroid function.

The relatively higher amounts of Vitamins B1, B2, B3, B6, and dietary fibre go to make brown rice a more wholesome food.

Cholesterol Lowering Ability

Rice bran oil contains gamma-oryzanol, a compound with the ability to lower cholesterol.

In a study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, volunteers with moderately elevated cholesterol levels were evaluated for the effects of defatted rice bran containing only fibre vs. rice bran oil.

While the defatted rice fibre did not lower cholesterol, rice bran oil lowered LDL cholesterol by 7%, with the HDL cholesterol remaining unchanged.

Another study showed that the use of rice bran oil significantly reduced plasma total cholesterol and triglyceride levels compared with sunflower oil.

Beneficial for Diabetes Type 2

Brown rice is more beneficial for diabetes type 2 and hyperglycemic individuals than milled rice.

The postprandial blood glucose response of both healthy and diabetes type 2 volunteers to brown rice vs. milled rice was compared. In healthy volunteers, the glycemic area and glycemic index were, respectively, 19.8% and 12.1% lowerin brown rice than milled rice, while in diabetes type 2 volunteers, the respective values were 35.2% and 35.6% lower.

Beneficial for Preventing Cancer

Inositol hexaphosphate, a naturally occurring molecule found in highfibre foods such as brown rice, is a compound that has demonstrable cancer prevention properties. This holds great promise in strategies for the prevention and treatment of cancer.

Weight Watcher's Delight

A common sense approach to obesity control is to eat foods that have low glycemic index (GI) like raw vegetables, fruits or whole grains.

A Harvard Medical School/Brigham and Women's Hospital study, which collected data on over 74,000 female nurses aged 38-63 years over a 12 year period, found that women who consumed more whole grains consistently weighed less than those who ate less of fibre-rich foods. Also, they were 49% less likely to gain weight compared to those eating foods made from refined grains.

Courtesy: Life

Trying out brown rice

The Bottomline for people of Asian origin who are predominantly rice eaters, this piece of news is most welcome, for we don't have to adapt to a whole new alien dietary practice in the pursuit of health. All we need to do is switch to brown rice.

In any case, for those contemplating switching to, or even trying out brown rice: Be prepared to pay a premium for brown rice. White rice is cheaper because the rice mill factories are optimized to mass produce it.

Switching equipment and processes costs money. Be prepared to scout for good health stores to buy your brown rice from. Brown rice has a shorter shelf life because the oil-rich bran tends to give it a rancid flavour if stored for long durations.

Supermarkets usually buy in bulk, and chances are you could end up with old stock with your purchase. It would be more advisable to buy from a health store where the stock would tend to be faster-moving.

Be prepared for comments like brown rice being "peasant's food" or even "animal feed", especially if you have older parents or grandparents at home. Even though for thousands of years everyone ate brown rice, ever since the complex processing equipment needed to make white rice was first invented, the fine texture of polished white rice came to be associated with the food of the upper crust of society.

Be prepared for the extra cooking time that brown rice takes, though you wouldn't notice it if you were pressure-cooking it.

Be prepared for the slightly 'nuttier' taste of brown rice. But this is more than compensated by the feeling of 'lightness' after the meal, especially in comparison to a meal of white rice.

Milling process and paddy rice

What is lost in the process of milling and polishing brown rice into white rice 80 % of the vitamin B1 (Thiamine) 67 % of the vitamin B3 (Niacin) 90 % of the vitamin B6 (Pyridoxine)50 % of the manganese 50 % of the phosphorus 60 % of the iron most of the dietary fibre and all of the essential fatty acids. In the end, after the milling process, only 55 % of the original paddy rice remains.

In some countries like in the US, fully milled and polished white rice must be 'enriched' or fortified with vitamins B1, B3, and iron, and this is enforceable by law. But this has its own drawbacks: Not all nutrients are replaced.

Adding back these nutrients is not the same as having them in the original unprocessed version.

Such a move, would have doubtful efficacy because many have a culture of washing rice thoroughly before cooking it, thus nullifying the benefits of 'fortifying' it with some of the nutrients.

Menopause and women's health