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Menopause
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Menopause is defined as the time when menstruation has ceased. On average, it begins at 51 years of age. This means that if a woman lives into her 80s, she may spend a third of her life in menopause.
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Menopause is the time in a woman's life when she stops having menstrual periods. All women who live long enough should eventually experience menopause. The official start of menopause is declared when a woman has gone twelve consecutive months without a menstrual period. The average age for menopause is 51. But what exactly goes on in a women's body during menopause? It has a simple explanation.
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Menopause is caused by a gradual reduction in the amount of estrogen produced in the ovaries. Estrogen, a female hormone produced primarily by the ovaries, is essential for the reproductive process and influences menstrual cycles, pregnancy, some aspects of mood, and the aging process. In the years leading up to menopause, the ovaries become less functional and produce lower amounts of estrogen and progesterone (another female hormone). Studies indicate that women who smoke may reach menopause at a younger age than those who do not smoke. Some researchers speculate that the timing of menopause onset may be hereditary, but the evidence to support this claim is limited.
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Menopause treatment is controversial and there are no accepted guidelines. Most doctors feel comfortable prescribing low dose estrogen for brief periods. The controversy lies in how to treat menopause symptoms in the long run.
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Menopause in women cannot ... simply be defined as the permanent "stopping of the monthly periods", because in reality what is happening to the uterus is quite secondary to the process. For medical reasons, the uterus is sometimes surgically removed (hysterectomy) in a younger woman, and after this her periods will cease permanently and the woman will technically be infertile, but as long as her ovaries (or one ovary) are, or is, still functioning, the woman will not be in menopause. This is because even without the uterus, ovulation, and the release of the sequence of reproductive hormones that are an essential part of the reproductive cycles, will continue until the time of menopause is reached.
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Menopause natural remedies include appropriate diet and exercise and herbal remedies (available over the counter), which are usually derived from the Mexican wild yam. These may give a minimal increase in estrogen levels, which may help reduce menopausal symptoms.
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Menopause