Interview with Petra Neumayer: Menopause - “Now women can and should take care of themselves!”

"Nowadays, women are often affected by menopausal symptoms earlier and more severely than their mothers and grandmothers. The reason for this is the numerous environmental hormones that contaminate and irritate our natural hormone balance. In addition, in our modern society it is hardly possible for working women to treat themselves to sufficient rest breaks and to unwind - the result is a spiral of symptoms that leads many sufferers to physical and mental exhaustion. Fortunately, nature has a wealth of natural remedies available to us that help us to master the time of transition vitally and consciously." Petra Neumayer , author of the compact guide "First Aid for Hot Flashes & Co." , shares her wealth of experience with holistic remedies and methods as well as tried and tested and helpful tips for menopausal symptoms.

After numerous books on nutritional supplements, alternative medicine and naturopathy, your compact guide to menopausal symptoms is now being published. Is there a common thread?

Petra Neumayer: Yes, there is! I have been working as an author, medical journalist and editor in the field of naturopathy for over 25 years. I spent two years advising girls going through puberty. After that, in 2003, I published a contraception book for young girls and also spent a lot of time looking into green antibiotics for women's problems. The topic of hormones has been with me - like every woman - from puberty to the menopause...

Gynecologists in the USA and here in Germany report that nowadays menopause often begins much earlier and is sometimes accompanied by severe symptoms. What could be the reasons for this?

Petra Neumayer: The causes must certainly be sought in the environment. There are chemicals that have a hormone-like effect: fish in rivers become feminized, sea corals die immediately. In women, these environmental hormones (xenoestrogens, endocrine disruptors) dock onto the estrogen receptors, which are otherwise only bound to the body's own estrogen in order to trigger certain bodily functions. But these environmental hormones do not act like the body's own messenger substances, but rather irritate the hormonal balance and endanger health.

What should women pay particular attention to and value in this phase of life? Are there certain measures or options to support the transition to the “post-ovulation period” in a meaningful way?

Petra Neumayer: In any case, the course should be changed from caring for others to caring for yourself. Now we women can and may take more care of ourselves and perhaps even discover completely new sides and passions in ourselves. Pause, look back on the first half of life and take the good impulses, insights and talents from this time into the second half of life. Get help if you don't know what to do next. Naturopathy has all its wealth available to you. It is also sensible, of course, to pay attention to a healthy lifestyle and diet in order to avoid becoming even more contaminated with the sometimes unavoidable environmental toxins.

As a result of the hormonal changes during menopause, not only physical but also psychological problems can occur. What symptoms occur and how can they be treated holistically?

Petra Neumayer: Many women suffer from lack of sleep. Of course, anyone who suffers from constant hot flushes at night hardly sleeps. Anyone who has not been able to sleep for a few nights in a row feels like a zombie during the day. Then there is the social pressure from outside. How nice it would be if we women could just lie down and relax for a while - after decades of raising children and working! Just let our minds wander... But that's not possible, because most women have to work to secure their existence. This causes additional stress, and many women become extremely exhausted. Stress also has a negative effect on the body's own hormone production. Cognitive abilities decline, and mood also sinks to zero, even to the point of depression. It seems difficult to get out of this spiral of symptoms. The actual drop in hormone levels also plays a role. Progesterone is considered the feel-good hormone. It is present in excess during pregnancy, lulling the expectant mother into a protective shell and buffering stress. Now the body only produces very little progesterone, which can also affect the emotional world. But there are many means and methods from holistic medicine that can help now. Especially if you combine them with each other. Medicinal plants with a progesterone-like mechanism of action such as maca and yam root, medicinal teas, medicinal mushrooms, hormone yoga and much more provide valuable impulses for hormonal balance.

There are around 300 medicinal and food plants with ingredients that affect the hormonal system and can even stimulate hormone production. Can you give us an example?

Petra Neumayer: We don't even need to go to exotic areas to find out more, let's just talk about our local carrot. It is rich in beta-carotene and selenium and provides many different phytohormones such as diosgenin, beta-sitosterol, stigmasterol, campesterol, scopoletin, luteolin and lupeol and the precursor hormone tryptophan. Diosgenin is a group of substances that is also found in high concentrations in yams and from which the body's identical hormone progesterone is obtained. Carrots, along with asparagus, are the only local vegetables with a high diosgenin content. Menopausal symptoms are often caused by estrogen dominance. Foods with progesterone properties can create a small balance with the partner hormone. Tryptophan is responsible for the release of the sleep hormone melatonin and can therefore be helpful for sleep disorders. Tip: Eat carrot vegetables in the evening or drink freshly squeezed carrot juice. Always add a little oil for the fat-soluble vitamins.

Your book also includes a chapter on bioidentical hormones – how do they differ from conventional hormone replacement therapy (HRT), and when are they used?

Petra Neumayer: HRT uses chemically modified gestagens; bioidentical hormones, on the other hand, use natural hormones that correspond exactly to the body's own hormones in their molecular structure. Many gynecologists believe that the modified molecular structure of the gestagens in HRT is responsible for side effects and an increased risk of thrombosis, breast cancer, etc. There are women whose menopausal symptoms are so severe that only bioidentical hormones can relieve them. It is certainly sensible to use them for a while in such cases to compensate for a real hormone deficiency and thus find a way out of the spiral of symptoms and deep exhaustion.

You can sense the practical relevance of your book, especially because of the many helpful tips – how is that?

Petra Neumayer: Yes, that's right! I think my book is one of the few on this topic that is not written by a theorizing doctor. I myself suffered from severe hot flushes for years - 60 times a day and night - and tried almost all the usual remedies and methods on my own body. Of course, I tried to incorporate this practical experience into the book, as well as the many tips that helped me a lot during this phase of my life.

Book tip:
Petra Neumayer: First aid for hot flashes & co. Medicinal plants, superfoods and bioidentical hormones for menopausal symptoms, compact guide. Mankau Verlag, 1st edition Jan. 2018, paperback, 11.5 x 16.5 cm, full color, 127 pages, paperback, 8.99 euros (D) / 9.20 euros (A). ISBN 978-3-86374-435-9.

Link recommendations:
Information on the guide "First aid for hot flashes & Co"
To the reading sample in PDF format
Watch the short video with Petra Neumayer
To Petra Neumayer's Facebook page about the topic "menopause"
More about Petra Neumayer
To the Internet forum with Petra Neumayer