Lifestyle factors are the foundation.

Diet – a balanced diet with a variety of different coloured vegetables, fruit, healthy protein sources, omega 3 sources (e.g. fish, flax, hemp) and whole grains. Cutting out or reducing sugar, caffeine and alcohol are also important. Incorporating herbs into the diet is also good, as part of meals or herbal teas – e.g. turmeric, rosemary, dandelion, holy basil.  

Exercise – regular daily movement is as important as going to the gym or classes. Aim for 10000 steps. Try to incorporate cardio with resistance exercise as well, especially for bone health. Hence, a variety of movement types is better all round.

Sleep – aim for 7-8 hours of good sleep. If any issues, supplements may be helpful and may need to consider seeing a health practitioner.

Managing stress – do what works for you. This could include journaling, meditation, yoga, tai chi, exercise, walking in nature or just sitting by the beach. Ensure you do something for yourself daily. Even 5 minutes daily of meditation is a good start.

Supplements – various herbal formulations are useful in perimenopause and can help to alleviate symptoms like low energy, hot flushes and low libido. These typically contain specific herbs for hormone health as well as adrenal herbs; it’s important to bear in mind that the adrenal glands are essentially taking over the role of the ovaries- hence considering adrenal health with lifestyle factors discussed above (e.g. stress management, sleep) as well as adrenal herbs and nutrient are also important (e.g. magnesium b complex, vitamin C, ashwagandha).

Nutrients like calcium, vitamin D and magnesium are also important to maintain, especially for bone health.

Acupuncture – symptoms like hot flushes can be helped with treatment modalities like acupuncture.

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