How many of these do you believe? 🔸️The menopause makes women over-emotional 🔸️Menopausal women can’t get pregnant 🔸️The menopause destroys a woman’s sex drive 🔸️Menopause is a women’s issue 🔸️The menopause makes you fat 🔸️The menopause is a sign of old age 🔸️You need to take hormones to control the symptoms of menopause Would it surprise you to know that every one of these is false? If you are surprised, don’t worry! You’re not alone. There are few (if any!) human conditions with as many myths and half-truths as the menopause. But we’re here to help In a new series of posts, we’ll be taking some of the most common myths about the menopause and prising the facts from the fake news. We’ll dive into the science behind the myths, as well as the attitudes that have helped a lot of fake menopause news survive to the present day. Stay tuned for the first in this series ....
MENOPAUSE MYTHBUSTING - ‘You stop producing hormones after menopause’ During menopause, your ovaries drastically reduce the amount of oestrogen they produce. But this doesn’t mean that you completely stop producing hormones. The human body is full of all kinds of hormones that fulfil all kinds of functions. For example… * Insulin helps regulate your blood sugar levels. * Melatonin controls your sleep/wake cycles. * Adrenaline boosts your metabolism when you’re startled, excited, or stressed. * Thyroid hormone regulates your metabolism and energy levels * Testosterone regulates your libido and muscle density The hormones most affected by menopause are oestrogen and progesterone - the female reproductive hormones. However, even oestrogen doesn’t disappear completely. The human body has two forms of oestogen: estradiol, which is produced in the ovaries, and estrone, which is converted from testosterone in body fat. So, while your estradiol levels drastically decrease, you will still keep making estrone after the menopause. All in all, while the menopause has a definite impact on your hormones, it doesn’t completely wipe out your endocrine system! That being said, fluctuations in hormone levels during menopause can cause symptoms like hot flushes, mood swings and so on.