Welcome to a new week!
A couple of years ago, I heard something that I had never heard before and it fired me up.
I was sitting in a science symposium in Washington D.C. listening to experts speak on the topic of endocrine-disrupting chemicals and their impact on health.
The experts spoke about ‘windows of susceptibility’ for women - specific times across our lifespan when we are more vulnerable to the impact of environmental toxicants.
Emerging evidence suggests women who are exposed to harmful environmental exposures, especially during certain critical periods across the lifespan, may increase their breast cancer risk.
This interaction makes the reduction of harmful environmental toxicants during those time periods a priority for community health promotion. PMCID: PMC8907316
So, what are these stages where we are more susceptible? in-utero, neonatal, pre-pubertal, pubertal, pregnancy, lactation and…menopause.
Menopause. Wait? What?
No one had ever told me this! How could I be in my early 50s on the cusp of menopause and have never learned about the importance of minimizing my exposure to certain environmental toxicants during this stage?
It got me thinking…Where would I have heard this had I not been sitting in this symposium? I felt like I needed to let women my age know about this vulnerability.
I came home and registered for a 5-month certification program where I dove into learning about the connection between environmental factors and menopause. I didn’t have to dig too deep to find studies on these connections.
At the same time, the whole journey opened me up to the discussion around menopause which at the time was just making its way into a more public forum.
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HIDING OUT
Menopause has been shrouded under a strange veil of secrecy for a long time. It’s weird if you ask me. But, I get it. I don’t want to talk about it either - especially these days.
Over the last three years, the topic of menopause has exploded. I used to have to dig around a bit to find articles, studies and stories. Today, my Google alert for menopause delivers over a dozen or so articles to me daily. I can’t keep up.
And, don’t even get me started on social media. Every time I go to my Instagram page, I am inundated with 'experts’ reminding me of the horrors of this stage and all of the things I need to do to ‘protect’ myself from falling apart.
It’s insane.
Of course, it’s also fantastic. At least we’re talking about it now. And, that talk is leading to action that I hope will ensure my daughters enter this stage of life prepared and informed in ways my generation just wasn’t.
Even today, most women I talk with think menopause is a time when your period stops and you might experience hot flashes, insomnia and irritability. That we are supposed to just see how it goes. Tough it out. It will pass. And, if it gets too bad, we should go ‘get our hormones checked’ to see if we need some kind of supplement or herbal remedy to ‘balance’ our hormones. We are also led to believe that if we just ‘take good care of ourselves’, we shouldn’t have symptoms. If we do have them, it’s because we’re doing ‘something wrong’.
It’s such an oversimplification and it frustrates me to no end.
I wish I could just spit out a simple list of bullet points to dispel the myths out there and help women know exactly how to navigate this stage in the best way possible. But, I can’t. No one can. And, if someone is telling you they can…well, those are the ones I would be most wary about.
What I CAN tell you is that the menopause transition (I’m including all of the years surrounding this time) is a time of susceptibility. It’s a time to make your health (physical, mental, emotional) a priority. And, it’s a time to learn to be your own advocate.
Menopause is not something to ignore. We don’t just let something go because we assume it’s menopause-related and it’s temporary. It may or may not be. Listen to your body and pay attention to your changing needs. Use this stage to level up your health and to address any areas that need attention.
STEPPING UP
As I mentioned, there are a lot of new resources out there. There’s also a lot of misinformation. And, now that the market recognizes this underserved segment that’s looking for solutions - there are all kinds of solutions being peddled out there by doctors, health coaches, naturopaths, celebrities…you name it. It can be overwhelming.
The theme of World Menopause Day this year is MHT - Menopause Hormone Therapy. (We used to call it HRT or hormone replacement therapy, but that has been changed to more accurately reflect what it is.)
It’s a great time to put this discussion on the table because it’s one of the topics that is so controversial and misconstrued out there. It’s important that women know what we DO and DON’T know right now about MHT.
I gathered up some of that info so you can raise your own awareness and also share the latest info with other women in your life.
I hope these help you feel grounded and confident in what we DO know, so you can navigate the areas that are less known.
INTERNATIONAL MENOPAUSE SOCIETY (IMS) | The organization behind World Menopause Day
This year’s theme for World Menopause Day is MHT (Menopause Hormone Therapy). IMS published a white paper Menopause and MHT in 2024: addressing the key controversies – an International Menopause Society White Paper
If you want the same information in a shorter, straightforward format, check out their World Menopause Day Practical Guide to MHT
The Menopause Society Statement on Misinformation Surrounding Hormone Therapy
WTF to think about hormone therapy - I loved this post from Ann Marie McQueen from hotflashinc. While you’re there, subscribe to her newsletter. It’s fantastic. She is a journalist who focuses exclusively on menopause and she is a wealth of information and experience. She listens to it all and does the research the rest of us don’t have time to do. She has both a newsletter and podcast. Check them out!
How to Balance Your Hormones: What Your Doctor Isn’t Telling You About Menopause - This was an episode of the Mel Robbins Podcast that was one of the most balanced and sound conversations I’ve heard on the topic of MHT to date. Give it a listen.
Five years of watching the conversation around menopause change - This was a great post about how the conversation around menopause has changed in recent years.
COMING THIS WEEK:
The M Factor - the first documentary on the health crisis for women going through menopause. It’s coming out on PBS this week - Oct. 17. You will want to see it because it’s also the first film to be accredited by the Federation of State Medical Boards (FSMB). Doctors who watch it can earn Continuing Medical Education (CME) credits. I figure if our doctors are likely to see it, we should probably see it ourselves.
They also have a Discussion Guide to accompany the film. Check it out before you watch the film and then be ready to gather some friends together to talk about it.
YOUR MISSION:
This week, I challenge you to honor World Menopause Day by watching the new documentary or reading through some of the resources I shared on the topic of MHT.
RESOURCES:
READ: Women’s Understanding of Windows of Susceptibility and the Role of the Environment in Breast Cancer Risk | PubMed
IN SUMMARY:
We are finally breaking through the topic of menopause. Now, it’s time to start sharing solutions and supporting more studies to ensure women are getting the information they need to make informed decisions for their health during this important life transition.
See you next week?
Meanwhile, reach out to me anytime!
Karen Friend Smith
Certified Health Coach & Environmental Health Specialist
Specializing in Perimenopause & Menopause
karen@itmaybemenopause.com
www.itMayBeMenopause.com
Instagram: @itmaybemenopause
Thank you, Karen, for doing all this hard work and providing all of these resources for us. I will make a note to watch the documentary on PBS! 📺