Did you know acupuncture may assist with the management of the symptoms associated with perimenopause? Here at Haynes Acupuncture Gold Coast we can address your symptoms to assist you to live a normal life.
During the years before menopause, production of estrogen and progesterone starts to decrease and menstrual periods and ovulation occur less often. The fluctuations between these hormones are thought to cause the menopausal symptoms experienced by many women.
The average length of perimenopause is 4 years, but for some women, this stage may last only a few months or continue for 10 years. Perimenopause ends when a woman has gone 12 months without having her period.
Can Acupuncture help with Perimenopausal?
In Chinese Medicine, it is believed that perimenopausal women suffer from increased heat in the body. This in turn causes the bodily fluids to dry and causes the following symptoms: dry skin, headaches, hot flashes, night sweats, palpitations or insomnia. Acupuncture works best combined with Chinese herbal medicine to treat heat signs and symptoms and increase body fluids to regulate body temperature. By regulating body fluids (blood), hormones are also balanced which can provide relief of breast tenderness, mood swings, anxiety and PMS.
How can dietary factors help?
In Chinese Medicine, the symptoms of menopause are related to a deficiency of yin fluids, especially those yin fluids that calm and relax the liver.
Therefore, a helpful dietary approach is to add foods that specifically “build yin”. Foods that build the yin include: Wheat germ and its oil, mung bean, mung bean sprouts, seaweed, spirulina, millet, black bean tofu, kidney bean, barley, black sesame seed. One should also avoid cigarettes, alcohol, coffee, excessive meat and foods rich is oxalic acid (spinach, rhubarb), which bind with calcium in the body.
Vitamin E, B-complex, C and A and the mineral calcium are essential for treating menopausal discomfort. Royal Jelly, the food of the queen bee, can greatly tonify the feminine hormonal system. It is classified by Chinese herbalism as a food that builds the yin and improves Qi energy.
At Haynes Acupuncture, our holistic therapists can provide you with more information about menopause and help you to achieve optimum health through the use of Acupuncture and Chinese herbs.
If you have any questions or would like to see how we can help you through this phase of your life, contact us on 07 5531 6461 or email us on info@haynesacupuncture.com.au
