How Can Menopause Be Delayed?

How Can Menopause Be Delayed? Menopause, the natural end of a woman’s reproductive years, can bring about a wave of emotions similar to the excitement of turning a new page, but it can also cause hot flushes, sleep problems and anxiety about the idea that our bodies are changing.

Content

1 Understanding Menopause
2 Why Delay Menopause?
3 Factors Affecting Menopause Timing
4 Understanding Menopause and Its Timing: Ages and Changes
5 How Does Menopause Affect Your Entire Body?
6 How to Delay Menopause? The Top Three Lifestyle Changes
7 How Can Menopause Be Delayed?

Understanding Menopause

The average age of menopause is around 51, but some women experience it earlier, which is referred to as early menopause (before 45) or perimenopause (before 40). There are ways to delay menopause and potentially create a smoother transition. While there is no magic solution, research suggests that certain lifestyle changes and practices may potentially delay the onset of menopause. So grab a cup of tea, settle in, and discover ways to naturally delay menopause and embrace a smooth transition.

How Can Menopause Be Delayed – How Can Menopause Be Delayed?

Why Delay Menopause?

How to Delay Menopause? Think of delaying menopause as giving yourself more time. More time to enjoy youthful energy, hormonal balance, and a stronger body. Here are some reasons you might consider delaying menopause:

Health Benefits:
Delaying menopause may reduce the risk of health issues associated with estrogen deficiency, such as osteoporosis and heart disease.
Symptom Management:
Hot flashes, night sweats, mood swings – not exactly a picnic! Delaying menopause may mean postponing these uncomfortable symptoms for a while longer.
Preserving Fertility:
If you are considering having children later in life, delaying menopause may increase your chances of conceiving.
Sense of Control:
This is about taking responsibility for your well-being. By working towards a natural delay, you are taking an active role in your health.

Factors Affecting Menopause Timing

While the average age ranges from 45 to 55, the exact timing can vary greatly. This variability is influenced by a complex interplay of factors, some predetermined by our genes and others shaped by our lifestyle choices. Let’s take a closer look at these key influences:

Genetic Blueprint:
Absolutely not! While some physical changes may occur, this does not mean the end of a satisfying sex life. Open communication with your partner and a willingness to explore new things can keep the flames burning brightly.
Menarche:
The age at which you experience your first period (menarche) may be a predictor of menopause. Women who begin menstruating earlier tend to experience menopause earlier as well. This suggests that there is a pre-programmed timeline for ovarian function.
Reproductive History:
A large study involving over 100,000 women offers encouraging news for breastfeeding mothers. The research suggests a connection between pregnancy and breastfeeding history and the timing of menopause. Each full-term pregnancy appears to provide a protective effect and reduce the risk of early menopause (before age 45). The benefit increases with the number of pregnancies; one pregnancy reduces the risk by 8%, two pregnancies by 16%, and three pregnancies by 22%. Breastfeeding duration adds another layer of effect. Women who breastfed for a total of 25 months saw a 27% reduction in risk compared to those who breastfed for less than one month.
Smoking:
Smoking is a well-known culprit for various health issues, and menopause is no exception. The chemicals in cigarettes can damage egg cells and accelerate ovarian decline, leading to earlier menopause.
When Your Body Turns Against Itself:
Autoimmune diseases like lupus can mistakenly target healthy tissues, including the ovaries. This damage can disrupt ovarian function and potentially trigger early menopause.
Race and Ethnicity:
Research suggests racial/ethnic diversity in the timing of menopause. On average, Caucasian women tend to experience menopause later than African American, Hispanic, and Asian women. The reasons behind this are still being studied.
Socioeconomic Factors:
Studies suggest a connection between education level, socioeconomic status, and the timing of menopause. Women with higher education and socioeconomic status may experience menopause later. This may be due to factors such as better access to healthcare, healthier lifestyles, or lower stress levels.
Body Weight and Hormonal Health:
Body weight can affect hormone production and metabolism. Women with a higher body mass index (obese) may enter menopause later than thinner women. However, the exact mechanisms behind this are still being researched.

This is a combination, not a stand-alone action. These factors usually work together. For example, a woman with a genetic predisposition to early menopause and who also smokes may experience it even earlier. Although you can’t control your genes, you can influence some other factors. In answer to the question of How to Delay Menopause, maintaining a healthy weight, exercising regularly, quitting smoking and managing stress can contribute to overall well-being and potentially affect the timing of menopause to some extent.

If you are concerned about the timing of menopause, consult a doctor. They can assess your risk factors, discuss your family history, and answer any questions you may have. Menopause is a natural part of life, and with knowledge and preparation, you can safely manage this transition. (How Can Menopause Be Delayed?)

How Can Menopause Be Delayed – How Can Menopause Be Delayed?

Understanding Menopause and Its Timing: Ages and Changes

Perimenopause is sometimes referred to as ‘reverse puberty,’ which refers to the hormonal fluctuations that colour moods, affect health, and signal the end of the reproductive period. Oestrogen and progesterone levels start low during puberty, then ride a rollercoaster of ups and downs before eventually settling into a state of relative hormonal stability. Many women also experience hot flushes and night sweats, sleep disturbances, vaginal dryness, and changes in libido during perimenopause.

Menstrual periods during perimenopause often fluctuate wildly and eventually stop. A woman is considered to have entered menopause when she has gone 12 months without a period. The final end of your menstrual periods means that your ovaries have largely stopped producing estrogen and progesterone.

How Does Menopause Affect Your Entire Body?

When the ovaries stop producing estrogen during menopause, the organs enter a kind of withdrawal process, which can lead to critical health issues throughout the body. These include (but are not limited to):

Brain:
Estrogen is neuroprotective, which helps explain why 40% to 65% of women report memory problems (brain fog, familiar words disappearing mid-sentence, slower processing speed) in middle age. Menopausal estrogen loss is a significant cause of Alzheimer’s disease in one in five women, which is twice the risk for men.
Heart:
Women in their 20s and 30s have a lower risk of heart disease than men, which is primarily attributed to estrogen’s beneficial effects on blood pressure, artery health, and cholesterol levels. After menopause, the risk of heart disease increases significantly, with increases in cholesterol, triglycerides, and heart attack risk.
Bones:
Oestrogen supports new bone development; declining levels accelerate bone density loss in middle age and leave women vulnerable to osteoporosis and fractures.
Mood:
Estrogen works with the nervous system to produce brain chemicals called neurotransmitters, which are necessary for emotional regulation and mood stabilisation. The production of serotonin, the ‘feel-good’ brain chemical, is partially dependent on estrogen, and when levels drop, this can lead to anxiety and depression. In fact, up to 70% of women going through menopause report experiencing mood changes.

How to Delay Menopause? The Top Three Lifestyle Changes

We can’t give a simple answer to the question ‘How Can Menopause Be Delayed?’ Just like you can’t choose your eye colour or shoe size, you can’t choose the age at which you enter menopause. Genetics play a significant role here, rest assured: the age at which your mother entered menopause is generally considered a good indicator of when you will enter it. However, the day you enter menopause—when you have not had a period for a full 12 months—is also influenced by lifestyle and environmental factors.

It’s hard to determine exactly how much of an impact the following lifestyle factors can have, but according to Garrison, there’s one thing we know for sure: “If it affects ageing in the rest of the body, it affects ovarian ageing.” Evidence suggests that these are potential menopause delayers:

Avoiding Cigarettes
Smokers are more likely to experience delayed menopause. Nicotine and other components in cigarette smoke cause toxic effects on the ovaries, including direct damage to the ovaries and interference with critical sex hormone conversion processes. Data from the Nurses’ Health Study II, one of the largest studies on risk factors for major chronic diseases in women, revealed that the risk of early menopause (menopause before the age of 45) is nearly twice as high among current smokers compared to those who have never smoked. Current smokers also face a higher risk of early menopause (menopause before the age of 40).
Smoking has such a significant impact that, according to a 2022 study in the UK, if your mother smoked while you were in the womb, you are more likely to experience early menopause.
Giving birth and breastfeeding
A study examining the pregnancy and breastfeeding history of over 100,000 premenopausal women aged 25 to 42 found that women who had one, two, or three full-term pregnancies had a lower risk of early menopause, compared to those who had never been pregnant or had been pregnant for less than six months. Those who were exclusively breastfed for seven to 12 months (i.e., those who consumed only breast milk and water and no other food or liquids) had the lowest likelihood of early menopause. What is the connection? According to global experts, all the eggs we can produce in our ovaries already exist, and this number is approximately one million. Once you start menstruating and ovulating, you can expect to release one egg per month until menopause.
The rest naturally disappear and are absorbed within the ovaries. If an egg is fertilised and pregnancy begins, the ovaries stop releasing more eggs until the baby is born. If a mother is only breastfeeding, the hormonal changes that come with it typically continue to prevent ovulation until ovulation stops. Because both pregnancy and breastfeeding ‘slow down the depletion of the ovarian follicle pool,’ more eggs remain in the ovaries for longer periods, which can delay menopause by a few years.
Prioritising a nutrient-dense diet
You are what you eat, and that includes your ovaries. A study highlighted this fact when researchers noted that women who regularly consumed certain nutrient-dense foods and vitamins entered menopause at a later age:
- Each daily portion of fatty fish consumed by women was found to delay the onset of menopause by 3.3 years.
- Each daily serving of beans or legumes was found to delay the onset of menopause by 0.9 years.
- Higher intake of vitamin B6 and zinc was found to be associated with a later age of natural menopause (approximately 0.6 years and 0.3 years, respectively).
- High consumption of refined pasta and rice was associated with entering menopause 1.5 years earlier.

How Can Menopause Be Delayed? The authors of the study in the ‘How Can Menopause Be Delayed?’ research proposed the hypothesis that omega-3 fatty acids in fish and antioxidants in beans may help protect a woman’s ovarian follicles. As for refined carbohydrates in pasta and rice, their effect on blood sugar levels and insulin resistance (which can interfere with certain hormonal processes) may be responsible for bringing on menopause earlier.

How Can Menopause Be Delayed – How Can Menopause Be Delayed?