Is Hormone Balance Important for Menopausal Women?

Updated: Jun 18, 2020

Is Hormone Balance Important for Menopausal Women

Hormone balance, especially for menopausal women, is an essential topic for their health and well-being. Even though menopause is an inevitable stage of life, its symptoms and inconveniences can be prevented. Because hormone balance plays a crucial role in the frequency and severity of menopause symptoms, learning how to maintain hormonal balance is a must.

What Do Hormones Do?

Body organs, systems and functions have one thing in common: hormones. Without them, there wouldn't be a way to transmit many of the millions of messages the body sends everyday. In a healthy person, hormones have a delicate balance that allows the body to function correctly. The most important female hormones are estrogen and progesterone.

Both of these hormones are responsible for most of the female features in a woman's body, forming their reproductive system and helping deal with its many functions. Apart from the reproductive system, they have other roles. Among many functions, estrogen plays a role in body temperature; while, progesterone also is in related to the production of testosterone in female bodies. Even though testosterone is known to be a “male” hormone, it is also present in females. Hormone balance among these is indispensable to keep the body working correctly.

However, during puberty and menopause, something happens to the otherwise normal levels of hormones. Hormones levels shift unpredictably, which affects women directly. When hormone balance has been varied due to natural changes in the body or to other external factors, some symptoms are: hot flashes, night sweats, headaches, mood swings.

Why Should Menopausal Women Pay Attention to Hormonal Balance?

Is Hormone Balance Important for Menopausal Women

Hormones perform a delicate dance throughout a woman's life, since their first period until they approach menopause. Some experts call this stage of life “puberty in reverse”, since all the reproductive system is shutting down in preparation for infertility. Hormone balance is disrupted now for sudden changes in estrogen and progesterone levels. Just like in puberty, when estrogen and progesterone cause different transformations in young girls' bodies, these shifting hormone levels will cause upsetting symptoms for many women.

Aside from the typical symptoms normally attributed to menopause, there are some signs that could indicate a disruption of hormonal balance. They could physical or mental manifestations of hormone imbalance, such as:

Physical Signs
Mental Signs
  • Dry skin
  • Water retention
  • Infertility
  • Joint pain
  • Gallbladder disease
  • Vaginal dryness
  • Weight gain
  • Arteriosclerosis
  • Stroke
  • Heart disease
  • Different types of cancer
  • Memory lapses
  • Concentration problems
  • Depression
  • Panic attacks
  • Low self-esteem
  • Decreased sex drive

As could be seen before, hormonal balance is essential to keep not only physical, but also mental health. Fortunately, there are different tests that are able to indentify the type of hormone imbalance and help women find adequate treatment.

Once again, it's important to remember that, when considering any treatment, all benefits and side effects should be considered. Click on the following link to continue learning about hormonal imbalance treatments.