Your Body: Hormone vs Metabolic Health Changes

“It’s your hormones…” solved no problem ever…

While technically true, the above sentiment and statement can too often be used in a dismissive way. We know that our hormones change. But what about other parts of our body and how can we work with that transition rather than against it?

Understanding your body and having an awareness of its changes over time is important.  Some of these changes are what differentiate men from women anatomically, physiologically, and psychologically. The hormonal system takes women through the life altering stages of puberty, pregnancy, and menopause, all of which contribute to various changes in bodily functions.These changes reveal themselves both physically, such as body structure, neural control, and coordination, as well as mentally and emotionally. For example, in preparing the female body for the ultimate goal of childbearing, the onset of puberty brings about significant changes in bone structure, muscle, and supportive ligaments and tissue. This transformation often results in tissue laxity and joint instability which can decrease lower body coordination and increase upper body and hip flexibility. Some of those changes can be exacerbated during the menopausal transition.

The basic pillars of everyday life (nutrition, movement, and mindfulness) can play a vital role in adapting to this physiological change. However, it is also important to remember that no one size fits all, so personalizing your daily routine is essential. 

Let’s look at the differences in body change from a hormonal and metabolic health standpoint:

• Hormones:

  • Estrogen levels rise and fall unevenly resulting in a change in menstrual cycles during perimenopause.

  • Progesterone levels silently decline and become lower in the perimenopausal years before the last period.

  • Around the time that menopause begins, a woman may be more likely to have less testosterone because her ovaries are producing fewer hormones.

  • Metabolic Health:

    • Peri/menopause can trigger fluctuations in your blood sugar levels. They may change more than before, and go up and down.

    • The following vitamins and minerals can get depleted during peri/menopause and at the onset of menopause: vitamin D, the B vitamins, calcium, magnesium, zinc.

    • Menopause is associated with a progressive increase in total cholesterol, in particular, an increase in low-density lipoprotein (LDL) and a decrease in high-density lipoprotein (HDL).

The takeaway is that while metabolic health changes can be triggered by hormonal changes, they also come about simply because we age. The good news is that knowing the metabolic health changes allows us to intervene and prevent before we deal with bigger outcomes in the form of injuries, fatigue and physiological and mental health changes. We will dive deeper into each topic in the coming weeks and explain to you how to use our app to support your own metabolic health in the process.

Here are three ways to look at exercise, nutrition and mental / emotional health to start with.

• Regarding nutrition, don’t obsess about labeling food “good” or “bad” but rather practice moderation in your diet adhering to the 80/ 20 rule (have a look at our previous blog post).

• In terms of exercise, a consistent regimen that combines strength and cardio is recommended for aging women, especially resistance training. Options include: weighted vests for walks, which are great for increasing your strength and cardiovascular capacity; the farmer’s walk, which is a popular strength and conditioning exercise in which a very heavy weight is held in each hand while walking in a straight line for a specific distance. If you don’t have a weighted vest, try a backpack or ankle weights and if you don’t own heavy weights, try it next time you carry your groceries home.

• The next time you feel very anxious, try cooling down the vagus nerve, which is part of your parasympathetic nervous system. While those nerves control involuntary body functions, getting yourself out of fight or flight mode can be as simple as putting a cold compress on the back of the neck or chest for up to 15 minutes.