02/10/2024
You know how much I love brains? If you have followed me for a while, you know that I have focused on prevention and reversal of Alzheimer's. 🙌
Yes, this is possible.
It has been documented and done.
Yes, it isn't well known. Even your doctor may not know about this. 🤔
So take a deep dive into Dr. Dale Bredeson's work. This is the work I trained in.
Do you know what I have discovered through working with people on their brains? Many people do not want to do the work that will change their brains. There are 46 known areas in your life to change, and that's the lot. It's a big job by yourself to do it, and it's a big job, too big for me to do it with you when you are at dementia. The research results had teams of people working on individuals because that is what's needed. 👩⚕️🧑⚕️👨⚕️🧑⚕️👩⚕️
I have pivoted in my brain focus.
Why? Why would I pivot? 🫣🤔
Well, two out of three people with Alzheimer's are women. This led me down a bit of a path. It was all of these brain changes, especially in the menopausal brain that led me to pivot.
Women's brains change when their hormones change.🧠🧠
Okay, stop.🤚🤚 I see I'm about to lose any male reader or any female reader under 45. Don't scroll. Read on!!!!!!.
Every woman will go through menopause, every single one. Your partner, your sister, your mum, your colleagues, your besties. Wouldn't it be better to have a heads up, bit of information, and not be scared of the M-word or actually find out what really goes on?
Hormonally, women's brains change. In the pre-menopausal phase, this includes puberty and pregnancy. Yes, mommy brain is a thing!. This is the stage of pre-menopause, anywhere from the first period to the last regular period. Typically, it is puberty to 35 to 45 years old.
Then comes the perimenopause stage or the menopause transition phase. Your period starts to get irregular, shows up early or late, it becomes more painful or less painful, heavier or lighter. Maybe hot flushes, maybe sleep is a distant memory. And this stage actually goes anywhere from 4-8 years, but it can go up to as long as 14years.
When do you know that you've got quit menopause? It is ONE year of no periods at all. One full year after no periods, you are considered to be postmenopausal.
By the way, if you have a surprise period, you're back to square one and back into perimenopause. You have to start all over again. Menopause typically is between 40 and 58. The average age for women is 51 to 52.
Menopause is typically thought of as a finishing of our ovarian function, which is part of it, but the major change is actually occurring in our brain.
Women's brains are not the same as blokes. Most of us know that. Our brains are hormonally, energetically, and chemically different. These factors don't mean that women are less intelligent or in that necessarily behaviorally different. YES-it was once thought that women were intellectually inferior as our brains were smaller- wait till I get going on the history of looking at women’s brain!
These factors are important to support our brain health, especially after menopause. Women are two times more likely than guys to be diagnosed with anxiety or depression, two times more likely to develop Alzheimer's, three times more likely to develop an autoimmune disorder, including ones that attack the brain, such as multiple sclerosis, four times more likely to suffer headaches and migraines, and more likely to develop a brain tumour like a meningioma. We are also more likely to be killed by a stroke. 😳
Before menopause, men and women have about an equal prevalence of brain conditions. And then postmenopausal, it becomes to a two to one ratio.👩👩🧑
So this means a woman in her 50s, if she's postmenopausal, is two times as likely to develop anxiety, depression, or dementia over her life as she is to develop breast cancer. Breast cancer is recognised as a woman's health issue, but none of these brain conditions are recognised as specific women's health conditions!. 👩🦳👱♀️
Menopause is not a disease, and it doesn't cause these illnesses. However, the hormonal changes that are occurring in the brain put a strain on many organs, including our brains, especially if you are ignoring symptoms and not doing anything about them.
Our brains are being renovated. The renovation starts before menopause. It is so important as a 35 to a 45-year-old woman to start being very aware that you need to take care of your brain! Unfortunately women at this age are too busy looking after everyone else......
Your brain is going to be renovated. 👩🔧🧑🔧
You are not going to lose your brain. 😵💫
You're just getting a new one. 🧠
This is why I have pivoted.
Want to know more about menopausal brain changes?
