[정이안 원장의 건강상식] Menopausal health determines old age

[건설이코노미뉴스] Menopause refers to the period of transition from sexual maturity to old age. In the age of 100, menopause is a middle-aged puberty that occurs when a person is halfway through life. In particular, female menopause, which is even described as a war with hormones, is a storm of not only physical but also psychological changes due to the sudden cessation of menstruation. And during menopause, dozens of symptoms that you have never experienced before appear at once, which can be embarrassing, and these symptoms can make you less confident, irritated, and withdrawn. Symptoms that appear during menopause include facial flushing, sweating, joint pain, heart palpitations, There are various physical and mental symptoms such as insomnia, depression, irritability, anger, chronic fatigue, dizziness, dry skin, itchy skin, various inflammations all over the body, vaginal dryness, vulgaris, panic disorder, etc. Symptoms that were not present at all usually become similar during menopause. It gets quite serious.

Male hormones gradually decreasing vs. female hormones falling rapidly

The reason why menopausal symptoms differ greatly between men and women is because of whether the decline in hormones is gradual or sudden. For both men and women, sex hormones begin to decrease in their mid-30s. For men, the supply gradually decreases until menopause, while for women, the supply suddenly stops with menopause. Male hormones, which gradually decrease by 1% per year, do not cause a significant physical or mental burden, to the extent that many men do not feel any special symptoms. However, in the case of women whose hormone supply is suddenly cut off with menopause, not only are they physically exhausted due to the extremely diverse and severe symptoms that come to their bodies, but the mental burden is also great. If 1 in 10 men feel menopausal symptoms, 10 out of 10 women feel various symptoms.

In the age of 100, if you have to live another 50 years after menopause

Menopause refers to the absence of menstruation for more than a year, and menopause refers to a period of physical and emotional changes due to a decrease in female hormones before and after menopause. Symptoms can last for anywhere from 6 months to 10 years or more. In Donguibogam, there is a record that ‘when a woman turns 49, her menstruation stops and she cannot have children. According to statistics, the average age of menopause for Korean women is actually 49.7 years old. This means that the age of menopause during the Donguibogam era was not much different from today. However, in the past, life expectancy was short, so life after menopause was short, but now the average life expectancy in Korea is 85.1 years, so the only difference is that people have to live another 30 to 40 years after menopause. Ultimately, the health of menopause before and after menopause determines the health of old age after menopause, so overcoming menopause well is the secret to maintaining health in old age.

Is this a menopausal symptom? Is this a symptom of dysautonomia?

Many of the symptoms that appear during menopause are very similar to those of dysautonomia. So the most frequently asked question in clinical practice is, ‘Director, are my symptoms menopausal? ‘Is this a symptom of dysautonomia?’ To conclude, menopausal symptoms occur because a lack of sex hormones disrupts the balance of the autonomic nervous system, so the answer to the person who asked this question is ‘both apply.’ In other words, symptoms of severe dysautonomia that appear around the age of 50 are menopausal symptoms. It is correct to view it as dysautonomia that appears in a certain age group.

Is hormone supplementation the answer?

But are all the symptoms that appear during menopause caused by just one cause: hormone deficiency? To conclude, menopausal symptoms do not simply occur due to a loss of sex hormone secretion. When you turn 50, not only hormones but also all parts of the human body age, and you need to take a broader perspective, including checking the deterioration of each organ function and the status of autonomic nervous function. In other words, simply supplementing with hormones will inevitably result in a parasitic life maintained by hormones until the age of 80 or 90, and above all, the impact of excessive supply of female hormones on women’s health in old age must be taken into consideration. And above all, it is impossible to live until the age of 100 while supplementing with hormones. Rather, the correct answer is to be more interested in creating a body condition that can live without hormones after menopause while you are at least one year younger.

How to live without hormones

Regardless of whether you are a man or a woman, if you want to live well without hormones after menopause, it is true that you should start taking care of your health and exercise from the age of 35, when hormones begin to decrease. However, most people fail to prepare in advance and only when they turn 50 do they regret not taking proper care of their bodies. Women, in particular, are prone to depression because their mind and body undergo significant changes due to menopause. Menopause is literally living life again. It is a time of being born twice. When sex hormones are released well before menopause, you should prepare for after menopause. Even if you are not prepared, do not supplement with hormones, but learn how to live well without hormones in an effort to slow aging and balance the autonomic nervous system. You have to find it.

<갱년기 증상의 치료와 예방에 도움되는 건강 TIP>

first. You need to lose 10% of your body weight = After menopause, metabolic circulation speed and blood vessel elasticity decrease, which causes aging to progress quickly and the recovery from physical fatigue slows down, making it easier to get age spots. The reason why the weight gained during menopause is not easily lost is because the metabolic circulation speed is slow. Losing just 10% of body weight greatly reduces the burden on the joints and also helps improve cardiovascular circulation.
second. You should walk under the sun regularly = Exercise during menopause should be different from that in your 20s and 30s. You need exercise that is good for your mental health without putting too much strain on your joints and maintaining your muscles, and that is walking under the sun. Exposure to sunlight early in the morning produces the sleep hormone melatonin, which helps relieve menopausal insomnia and helps produce vitamin D to prevent osteoporosis.

■Director Jeong Ian: A doctor of Oriental medicine, he is the director of Jeong Ian Oriental Medical Clinic and an adjunct professor at the College of Oriental Medicine at Dongguk University. His books include ‘50 Colorful Foods That Are Good for You’, ‘Smile on My Body’, ‘Rescuing Salarymen’, and ‘Zero Stress Techniques’. www.jclinic.co.kr

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