When talking about female change, almost every woman affected can report the changes and also complaints of this phase of life. Perhaps you too are already before, during or after the menopause.
Typical symptoms such as hot flushes, nervousness and sleep disturbances could be a problem for you now.
If you do not want to spend your menopausal symptoms with hormone treatments rich in side effects, you are probably looking for alternative ways to cope with this special phase of life in the most natural way possible.
In this article we will show you how amino acids can play a positive role during the menopause.
What does menopause mean for women?
Female menopause involves three very different stages in which the female organism changes.
In some cases, the changes can occur as early as the late thirties. Most women start the change in the forties and finish the whole process of changes at the end of 50 or 60 years.
Central to the change is that the production of ovules in the female organism gradually ceases. Once menopause is reached, no more eggs are produced, the woman no longer experiences menstruation and the production of various female hormones has also ceased.
Pregnancy is no longer possible.
The whole process of change is therefore divided into
- a phase before menopause,
- a real change phase and
- the period after menopause.
All 3 phases are characterised by very different developments and can be experienced differently by women. Not all women associate the entire process of change with discomfort.
Menopause is not a disease, but a natural process of change in our body.
What is changing in our body?
It is mainly about hormonal changes. A woman’s fertile phase is characterised by an interplay of various female hormones, in which oestrogen plays a key role.
Hormones such as gestagens also control the woman’s monthly cycle.
Oestrogen is very important for the female organism because this hormone does not only regulate the female cycle. According to current scientific knowledge, it controls many small processes, for example in the skin, in the female circulatory system and in many other areas. Oestrogen also has a lot to do with the stability of the bones.
If the female organism gradually stops producing oestrogen with the change, many protective effects of this hormone are lost.
In this context the female organism becomes more susceptible to disorders and ageing processes. The loss of skin elasticity, wrinkling, a tendency to osteoporosis and changes in the circulatory system are also related to the loss of oestrogen.
The processes involved here drag on for years, so that the changes occur gradually and are not immediately recognised by women. However, there are typical symptoms that many women experience during the menopause.
Typical symptoms of the menopause
We associate with the years of change among other things
- hot flashes,
- nervousness,
- insomnia,
- pain of unclear origin,
- tiredness and exhaustion,
- listlessness
- and an often intensive change of mood.
Often the complaints are diffuse and are described and evaluated individually.
Some physicians even deny that menopausal symptoms exist. They believe that the expectations of the affected women play a key role in this.
Especially since some cultures – especially in the Asian region – do not know the classic menopausal symptoms known to us in this form. One reason for this could be the diet in these societies. However, many questions remain unanswered and there is no scientific confirmation of this theory.
It is a fact that many women in our country complain about physical and psychological impairments before, during and after the menopause.
Perhaps you too feel restricted in your everyday life and quality of life at the moment.
Gynaecologists have often recommended hormone preparations in the past. Hormone replacement therapy has long been widely used. This was true until synthetic hormones were associated with the occurrence of various hormone-related cancers, especially breast cancer.
Since then, hormone replacement therapy has been used only to a very limited extent and under strict medical supervision.
What are the consequences of these changes?
Menopausal symptoms can be stressful and can affect everyday life for years. Some women feel left alone by orthodox medicine and their doctors – they do not feel taken seriously with their symptoms.
This feeling leads to further stress, which is associated with the change.
However, when we talk about menopause and the changes associated with it, we are not just talking about classic menopausal symptoms.
The hormonal changes with the loss of oestrogen have a physiological effect in various areas of the female organism:
- The skin gradually loses elasticity and its ability to retain moisture.
- The conditions in the circulatory system change. Under certain circumstances, there is an increase in blood pressure.
- In this context, oestrogen is said to have a protective effect on the heart. If the hormone is no longer present, the risk of heart attacks or strokes can also increase due to the rise in blood pressure.
- The situation in the blood vessels can change and in some women the risk of vascular deposits increases.
- The stability of the bones may decrease, and a tendency to osteoporosis – a disease that leads to softening of the bones – is observed in many women after menopause.
- Some women experience hair loss and/or thinning of the hair.
- Most women struggle with a slowed metabolism and the associated increase in body weight.
Experts and doctors disagree on whether these changes are normal ageing processes or whether they are related to the specific conditions of the female organism as well as the changes in metabolism.
But it is a fact that we or our partners feel and go through these changes.
Change in men?
Even though we speak less about this topic and hardly ever hear about it, men also go through various hormonal changes to a certain extent in the course of their lives.
This usually does not completely stop the production of the male hormone testosterone, which is important for men. Nevertheless, hormone fluctuations can still occur. These in turn can affect various physical and psychological areas of the male organism.
Men experience various processes which are often generally associated with ageing, but which may also have something to do with male change.
They also complain about weight gain or lack of drive in the life phase between 40 and 60 years of age.
How can you support your menopause with amino acids?
Conventional medicine offers us hardly any alternatives for dealing with menopausal symptoms in a gentle and relatively natural way.
Hormone replacement therapy is associated with dangerous side effects. This is why most women suffer from hot flashes or sleep disorders without medical support.
Conventional medical drugs such as sleeping pills are only used symptomatically. However, they are not a permanent alternative and can make our condition even worse through side effects.
Naturopathy offers various approaches such as phytoestrogens (herbal estrogens) to help us get through the change better and more satisfied.
Often naturopathic remedies work very individually and take a long time to show an effect. Their long-term effects are also sometimes controversial.
Perhaps you have already tried one or the other option yourself and are not yet satisfied. Therefore you continue to look for simple alternatives that can offer your body maximum support during this time.
Scientists have discovered amino acids as a possible natural alternative to help you cope with changes in your metabolism.
Protein building blocks with many functions
Amino acids or aminos are small protein building blocks that can be converted into the body’s own proteins in the human organism. This is true for about 20 substances from this group of substances, which comprises more than 250 different ones.
20 so-called proteinogenic protein building blocks serve as building materials for the body’s own proteins. 8 of these must be supplied via the diet and are contained in our product amino4u.
They cannot be formed from other substances by the human organism. Hence, we call them essential.
Amino acids are not only building materials but can fulfil various other functions in our organism.
To consider amino4u in the context of menopause is a relatively recent development. Nevertheless, it can be worthwhile to take a closer look at one or the other amino acid.
Arginine, Lysine, Methionine and L-tryptophan for the changeover period
So far, there are 4 amino acids that have attracted the interest of doctors and scientists in the context of menopause.
- Arginine
Arginine is a semi-essential amino acid. This means that it is indispensable for the human organism in certain phases of life. In this case, this applies in particular to adolescence.
Patients suffering from high blood pressure and people with a tendency to high cholesterol levels may already have heard of Arginine.
This amino acid can dilate blood vessels. It is said to be able to lower high blood pressure and elevated cholesterol levels.
According to recent medical findings, hot flushes during menopause are probably also related to the regulation of vascular dilation. This is why some doctors no longer regard hot flushes during this time as relatively harmless symptoms of hormonal changes.
They associate them with the so-called “endothelial dysfunction“. This is a dysfunction of the cardiovascular system that is associated with a disturbed regulation of the vascular width. It is probably due to a lack of nitric oxide.
Arginine is converted into a messenger substance in the human organism, which in a further step stimulates nitrogen production. Studies have shown that Arginine can, therefore, relieve hot flushes, which are unpleasant for women.
- Lysine
The essential Lysine promotes the uptake of Arginine into the cells when both protein building blocks are taken up in a balanced ratio. Then both protein building blocks work well together.
Lysine is also said to strengthen the bone structure. It is said to promote the absorption of calcium in bones and teeth.
Since female bones are usually more unstable due to the lack of estrogen production during menopause, Lysine in combination with other substances could help prevent bone softening.
- Methionine
The equally essential amino acid Methionine forms together with Lysine the vitamin-like substance Carnitine. Carnitine is increasingly considered an important substance in weight reduction.
As it supports energy metabolism and promotes fat burning, it could possibly also have an effect on the weight gain common to many women during the menopause.
Evidence of such an effect can be found, for example, in a clinical study from 2013.
- Tryptophane
Some ladies complain about mood swings in the time around menopause. We attribute these to the hormonal changes associated with them. Some women can also develop forms of depression during this period.
The mood of a person is directly linked to various messenger substances in the brain. These include Serotonin in particular.
Serotonin is formed from the amino acid Tryptophane. Serotonin is one of the messenger substances that promote a balanced state of mind. However, it is not only about mood, but also about good sleep and avoiding nervousness.
An additional intake of Tryptophane could, therefore, help you with mood swings during your menopause.
For men: testosterone production by BCAA?
As a man, you can benefit from taking branched-chain amino acids, for example. It is said to support the production of the sex hormone testosterone. These acids – in the abbreviation BCAA for “Branched-Chain Amino Acids” – have a branched structure.
They are Leucine, Isoleucine and Valine.
BCAA are appreciated by athletes because they are supposed to contribute to the maintenance of the musculature, among other things, or to be able to promote muscle building.
It is also assumed that BCAA promote the formation of testosterone, but this assumption has not yet been scientifically proven.
The branched-chain amino acids are associated with the theory of the amino acid pattern MAP (“Master Aminoacid Pattern“). Some scientists are of the opinion that every living being is shaped by a certain “pattern of protein building blocks“. This MAP is a combination of different protein building blocks, which are converted particularly effectively into the body’s own proteins.
For the human organism, the essential protein building blocks should shape the amino acid pattern. They are converted almost 100 percent into the body’s own protein.
Regular ageing process or menopause?
How typical ageing processes in the female body and the changes during menopause are related is still being researched. Since the female organism is intensively influenced by Estrogen in its fertile phase, the lack of this hormone could trigger female ageing.
Associated with this are the typical changes in skin and hair, such as wrinkling, hair thinning and, in some women, hair loss.
Hair loss can also occur if the male hormone testosterone is more abundant in your female body than the hormone oestrogen.
The essential protein components are the building blocks of our body’s own proteins. A sufficient supply of these amino acids is therefore important to ensure that your body has a constant supply of enough protein for building and repair processes.
Some conversion and repair processes of the body seem to slow down with increasing age. The demand for building substance, for high-quality protein, increases at the same time because the degenerative processes increase.
Important for you: A good protein supply seems to become more important with increasing age and thus also for the time of the menopause. Research results indicate this.
Essential proteins are of particular importance. They must be available to the body regularly and consistently in specific proportions to each other and, above all, all at the same time.
Only then is it guaranteed that your body does not break down any of its own substances without replacement.
This breakdown is often proven in strict calorie-reduced diets. Here it can lead to muscle breakdown if we do not supply sufficient protein.
Proteins in the diet
Weight gain in connection with menopause can also be a burden. We notice a slowing down of the entire metabolic processes.
Some nutrition experts suspect that weight gain is related to a diet rich in “bad” carbohydrates, among other things.
Carbohydrates with intensive blood sugar release can lead to the conversion of sugar into fat. The fat is stored in the liver.
The organ changes and a non-alcoholic fatty liver may develop. It is still being researched to what extent proteins can help you protect your liver health.
The liver needs proteins and protein building blocks to carry out the various transformation processes in which many harmful metabolic products are rendered harmless. An overloaded liver also tires us out.
An adequate supply of protein building blocks can help you overall to maintain your performance during the menopause. However, especially the essential amino acids in a normal diet are not necessarily available in a form that your body can easily utilise.
Buying a high-quality dietary supplement containing the valuable essential amino acids can be an interesting addition to your diet – not only during the change.