Menopause Symptoms

by Vicky
(New Iberia)

A good night's sleep

I think drinking lemon water has helped me with hot flashes, night sweats, and menopause. I have tried everything under the sun with drugs and this has helped the most.

Nancy's Comments: I am so glad to hear that lemon water has helped with your menopause symptoms. Since menopause involves complex hormonal changes, many women find it difficult to find a solution to help restore balance and reduce the uncomfortable symptoms.

I believe one of the primary reasons that lemon water helps with menopause symptoms is because of its alkalizing effect on the body. A woman's body that is more acidic is more prone to challenges during menopause.

What causes over acidity in the body? Many things contribute to an acidic condition, but a few of the most common dietary and lifestyle factors include the daily intake of sugar (all forms of sugar), excessive intake of animal-based proteins (especially red meat and dairy), all packaged and processed foods, exposure to toxins and chemicals, as well as high levels of acute or chronic stress.

An acidic diet and lifestyle also makes the blood more acidic, which triggers the release of alkaline minerals (such as calcium and magnesium) from the bones and teeth in order to buffer the blood acids. This is the primary cause of osteoporosis after menopause!

Additional Recommendations for Menopause

In addition to drinking lemon water, I recommend the following to help alleviate the uncomfortable symptoms of menopause and to prevent osteoporosis.

Since every woman is different and the hormonal changes are complex, you might have to try more than one thing to find the best solutions for you:

• Eat a diet consisting of primarily plant-based protein (at least until your menopause symptoms are under control) and add a lot of fresh vegetables.
  


• Try eating 50% raw foods each day for a while in order to cleanse the body and purify the blood. This will help to restore acid-alkaline and hormonal balance in the body.
  


• Avoid all forms of sugar and processed foods that contain sugar. In other words, eat primarily whole, fresh foods.
  


• Eating foods high in phytoestrogens -- such as nuts, ground flaxseeds, whole grains, apples, celery, parsley, and alfalfa – also helps to reduce or alleviate hot flashes. Note: Soy products are also high in phytoestrogens, but I don’t recommend soy because it is so hard for many people to digest and much of the soy in the U.S. is genetically modified.
  


• Substances that can trigger hot flashes include: alcohol, caffeine, spicy foods, and hot foods and drinks. These foods also make the blood more acidic.
  


• Make sure you are drinking enough water so that you are not dehydrated. A dehydrated body is also acidic, making the blood sticky and slow moving. Drinking ionized alkaline water can significantly enhance the benefits of lemon water.
  


• Nothing replaces the benefits of regular moderate exercise, such as a 15-30 minute walk.
  


• A few herbs that I have found to be most effective for menopause symptoms are: gotu kola, dong quai, red clover and black cohosh. With herbs, the difference in effectiveness is always in the quality. Maca is also highly effective for menopause symptoms and will most likely have longer lasting effects because they help with hormone balancing. Any type of good quality maca supplement can help but the product that has been clinically proven to work (and that I use myself) is called Femmenessence MacaPause.

Lemon Water Helps with Hot Flashes

by N.B.
(U.S.)

I was looking up the benefits of lemon water because it seemed my hot flashes were not as severe after 3 days of drinking it and I found much more here. Great information, thank you Nancy.

I have been interested in michrohydrin for several years now of Patrick Flannagan what do you know that's legitamate about this Hunza water? Thank you for your time.

Nancy's Response:

Hydration and alkalinity definitely affect hormonal balance in the body, so I am not surprised you noticed benefits of lemon water in just 3 days.

Re michrohydrin: I have never tried the product so I cannot say too much about it.

However, the evidence is conclusive that glacial melt water is probably the healthiest water to drink. In fact, the research done on Hunza water is what led to the development of the ionized,alkaline water systems, which have been used in hospitals and Japans for the past 35 plus years with proven clinical benefits.

The higher quality water ionizer systems are able to produce water that has the properties of glacial melt water – restructured, micro-clustered, mineral-rich, alkaline pH, and, most important, the antioxidant potency of the hydroxyl ions in activated water.

Does michrohydrin do all this? I doubt it. From what I have read about his product, it is made primarily from silica, a mineral that is normally found in very trace amounts.

I understand that it makes water alkaline and he says it reduces the surface tension of water, which would make it more absorptive in the body. I don’t know if it does or does not.

However, I don’t believe it could possibly contain the most important property of Hunza water, which is what give the water its “life energy” – the antioxidant potency.

When glaciers melt, the water runs down the mountains through streams, this activates (ionizes) and restructures (micro-clusters) the water molecules. This is essentially what water ionizer systems do using the process of electrolysis (via the energy of electricity).

Of course, I would prefer to drink glacial melt water any day, but I believe filtered, ionized water is the next best thing for us city folks.

I am not interested in taking michrohydrin primarily because I drink alkaline, ionized water. In addition, as a nutritionist I know it is risky to take a supplement that contains a single element, such as silicon.

Nutrients found in nature, including all vitamins, minerals, and enzymes, are designed to work synergistically with each other within the body. Taken alone, they just don’t have the same benefits and it is easy for people to overdose on supplements that contain single trace elements.

I think it is unnatural and unadvisable to take single elements unless someone is under the care of a health practitioner who is monitoring nutrient levels in the body - in order to replenish nutrient deficiencies but avoid toxicity.

If you want to get the benefits of silicon, I would recommend adding Celtic sea salt to your food and/or water. It contains about 80 trace elements, including a healthy dose of silicon (1.2 mg per one-fourth tsp. of salt).

Using unrefined, natural sea salt, such as Celtic sea salt or Himalayan crystal salt, will also help to balance hormones. You might also want to look into the health benefits of alkaline, ionized water.

Hope this helps!