When Hormones Fade: The Link between Menopause, Vascular Disease, and Osteoporosis

Menopausal women experience various symptoms such as fever, flushing, sweating, sleep disorders, genital atrophy, urination disorders, and emotional changes along with changes in the menstrual cycle. In particular, the risk of vascular diseases such as stroke (cerebral infarction-cerebral hemorrhage) and heart disease (angina pectoris-myocardial infarction), which have a great impact on healthy life span (healthy longevity), increases. Osteopenia is also a dangerous disease, such as causing a risk of falls. Find out about the risk of disease in middle-aged women.

◆ Decreased secretion of estrogen… Your back gets thicker and your muscles shrink

When you enter menopause, your waist gets thicker, your muscles decrease, and your subcutaneous fat gradually increases. The skin and hair thin, and the breasts shrink and sag. Joints and muscles may become sore and painful. Menopause is a normal aging process that occurs when the secretion of the female hormone (estrogen) decreases. Since women spend more than 30 years, which is more than one-third of their entire lifespan, in menopausal conditions, menopausal health care is very important for healthy old age.

◆ Blood cholesterol naturally increases… Increased risk of vascular disease

When estrogen decreases, blood cholesterol increases. This increases the risk of vascular diseases such as heart disease and stroke. In the case of the United States, prevention of vascular disease is so important that more women die of heart disease than women who die of lung or breast cancer after menopause (Health Information from the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention). Osteoporosis is also easy to occur due to a decrease in female hormones. If you fall, your wrist bones, femurs, and spine are easily broken compared to when you were young, and it can take several months of hospitalization and more than a year of rehabilitation.

◆ What is the worst lifestyle?

1) During menopause, when blood cholesterol naturally increases, the risk greatly increases if you enjoy high-calorie and high-fat foods, as when you were young. In a situation where you are gaining weight under the influence of hormones, you can gain weight rapidly and your blood vessels can get worse.

2) Alcohol-tobacco is the biggest enemy of menopause. Smoking further increases the risk of stroke with serious aftereffects such as paralysis of the body, and alcohol with high calories and sugar causes weight gain. Drinking alcohol increases your risk of cancer, including breast cancer.

3) You should also change your eating habits that do not pay attention to calcium. The progress of bone loss should be delayed as much as possible. You should also pay attention to the intake of vitamin D, which helps with calcium food and absorption.

◆ What are your good eating habits?

1) You should eat low-fat foods such as fruits, vegetables, and whole grains that are high in antioxidants that reduce damage (oxidation) to the body. Smoking cessation is essential. Vegetables and fruits have a lot of dietary fiber that controls cholesterol and blood sugar, and whole grains such as barley have a lot of unsaturated fatty acids that are good for blood and blood vessels. Beans and tofu are rich in protein that is good for muscles and antioxidants that strengthen blood vessels.

2) Eating dairy products every day is helpful. If you don’t like milk, yogurt with a lot of calcium is good. You should often eat foods that contain calcium, such as bone-in fish, green leafy vegetables, and dried radish. Vitamin D should also be supplemented by exposing bare skin to sunlight for about 20 minutes a day.

3) If you eat, you need to move your body. You don’t have to do dangerous and complicated exercises. Diligent physical activity in your daily life can help. If you sit or lie down comfortably for a long time, menopause is, of course, the poison of old age.