Does Menopause Age You?

There is a quite a bit written about the process of menopause. The question at hand is if menopause actually accelerates the aging process and if so, in what ways does menopause age you? Menopause is a natural process that women go through as their bodies begin to age. Menopause is triggered when the ovaries begin to release eggs more and more infrequently. When a woman stops having her monthly period and her ovaries no longer release eggs, she is in menopause.

This process can take up to ten years before a woman is truly in menopause. On average, a woman enters true menopause in her early fifties when her period completely stops. Peri-menopausal symptoms such as insomnia, mood swings and vaginal dryness are caused by the decreasing levels of estrogen during the ten year time period prior to menopause. When we are answering the question of does menopause age you, clearly menopause itself actually does cause the aging process to accelerate.

A few complications caused by menopause:

• One way that menopause ages you is by making you more susceptible to diabetes. As a woman goes through the process of menopause her ovaries gradually stop producing the hormones estrogen and progesterone. Both estrogen and progesterone affect the release of the hormone insulin, which in turns affects a woman's ability to break down glucose, making her more likely to developing diabetes in her later years.


• Another area where the accelerating effect of menopause is experienced is in the skin and other soft tissues of the body. Many women experience a decreased skin elasticity and thinning of the skin overall. A woman's breasts may also become very tender due to the fluctuating levels of estrogen in her body. So, when we wonder does menopause age you, clearly it does negatively affect the skin and other soft tissues of the body.


• Vaginal atrophy is another area where women experience the many affects of menopause. The skin of the vagina begins to thin and can become quite itchy and dry. A woman can also experience a loss of interest in sex due to the pain caused from the increasing fragility of her vaginal skin. She may also experience an increase in susceptibility to urinary tract and vaginal yeast infections. So again, if we are answering the question of does menopause age you, yes it does.


• The skeletal system is also affected by menopause. A woman may experience more joint and muscle pain with a decrease in estrogen and progesterone. over time, her risk of developing osteoporosis or weak bones does develop. In order to keep her bones strong, it is important for a post-menopausal woman to have a diet rich in calcium and to do some weight-bearing exercises several times a week.

In answer to our query of does menopause cause aging, we must unfortunately answer with a resounding yes. A handful of complications of menopause were mentioned above. There are many more complications from the aging process due to menopause that are important to take into account. At this crucial time in a woman's life, it is important for a woman to see her gynecologist on a regular basis. It is also important for her to be proactive about here health by keeping a healthy diet, exercising regularly, taking health promoting supplements and considering hormone replacement therapy.