What is Menopause?

The menopause is quite simply your body’s way of winding down your fertility.

When you were born your ovaries contained a stock pile of eggs. The arrival of puberty and menstruation marked the start of your fertile years when each month your ovaries select a number of eggs to undergo a maturation process and then the best (most matured and healthy) egg is released at ovulation. If no pregnancy occurs then a period begins and the cycle starts again.

Towards your mid to late 40s your pile of eggs starts to run low, your periods start to change, typically becoming less frequent, indicating your transition into the perimenopause. The perimenopause lasts as long as your egg stores last and eventually your ovaries completely shut down your cycle, your periods stop and you transition out of the peri-menopause into the menopause.

What is Perimenopause?

We are all born with a unique number of eggs providing us with our own unique number of fertile years and giving us our own unique time-scale for the peri-menopause. As a general guide most women start to experience changes from the age of 40 to 55 and on average perimenopause lasts from 5-10 years.

During perimenopause your body undergoes several hormonal changes which are responsible for the change in how you are feeling. Oestrogen levels start to fall as do progesterone levels and this can mean changes in your hair, skin, energy, sleep and hormones. This can continue for several months or years or vary from month to month; it can also be dependent on factors such as stress, sleep, exercise and your diet. But with the right diet and nutritional support you can help to manage the way you feel.