The first menstrual period, childbirth and the period before and after menopause are the three major periods when endocrine function is “set right”.
The health care should be made “smart”. Women’s health is about taking care of the normal functioning of the endocrine system. Experts point out that in a woman’s life, the endocrine function has three opportunities to “set things right”. If women who are not properly maintained and parents with daughters seize these three “remodeling periods” and start with nutrition, exercise, sleep and mindset, they can get twice the result with half the effort.
Women’s health problems are often related to endocrine dysfunction. “Nowadays, some advertisements for women’s health products often scare consumers, claiming that ‘the appearance of dark circles, freckles and wrinkles increase are all problems with the endocrine system’, which is somewhat exaggerated.” Chen Yanming pointed out that some patients with endocrine disorders do show the above symptoms, but they will not improve after taking health care products. The alarm of endocrine disorder is more mainly manifested as dysmenorrhea and menstrual disorder.
To improve endocrine function, we cannot ignore the three major “remodeling periods” of women’s endocrine function, which are the first menstruation, before and after childbirth, and before and after menopause. “During this period, women’s endocrine functions are reconstructed and redistributed.” Chen Yanming pointed out that in order to successfully pass these three important periods, four key words that haunt women throughout their lives should be written, namely “nutrition, exercise, sleep and mindset”.
The first menstruation: the first endocrine function construction
Especially nutrition and exercise, the former is easily over-emphasized, while the latter is easily ignored by women who love to be quiet. Chronic over-nutrition and lack of exercise can increase the risk of diseases such as hypertension, diabetes, gout, coronary heart disease, stroke, cholecystitis and tumors, such as colorectal cancer.
The age of menarche is usually between 10 and 12 years old, which is also the first and most important period for building endocrine function since a woman’s birth. “If a good foundation is not laid at this stage, it can set up a lifetime of health risks.” Chen Yanming said such examples are not uncommon.
A 10-year-old girl, Xiao Lan, suffered from hyperthyroidism at a young age. When analyzing the cause of the disease, doctors found that in addition to the influence of heredity, family tension is also an important cause. Xiaolan’s parents are divorced and have formed their own families, rarely visiting her. She lived alone with her grandmother and was depressed, plus she was hungry and full every day, often ate snacks and did not have enough nutrition. The combination of these adverse factors led to her endocrine disorder.
Chen Yanming pointed out that the prominent problem faced by women at this stage is growth and development. Parents need to pay attention to supplementing their daughters’ nutrition, especially increasing the intake of protein in an appropriate amount and ensuring outdoor exercise time. Inadequate nutrition and insufficient time to receive light will affect growth, while excessive nutritional intake can lead to adolescent obesity and even childhood diabetes. The psychological pressure brought by heavy studies should not be ignored either. Parents should pay attention to their daughters’ emotional changes and give them timely love, support and understanding to de-stress her mind.
Childbirth: a woman’s second birth
Childbirth is called a woman’s “second birth”. From pregnancy to childbirth, the hormone levels in a woman’s body change dramatically and her immune function is also adjusting. “During this process, women need to maintain adequate sleep and nutritional intake, and a happy mood.” Chen Yanming said the issues that are particularly prominent during this period are sleep, nutrition and psychology. If sleep and nutritional intake are insufficient, or if the mood is depressed due to lack of family care and support, endocrine disorders are likely to occur, and the occurrence of postpartum depression, postpartum thyroiditis and postpartum hyperthyroidism are all related to endocrine disorders during childbirth.
Excessive nutritional intake during pregnancy and childbirth can easily induce gestational diabetes and postpartum diabetes. “Nowadays, the incidence of gestational diabetes during pregnancy and childbirth has gone up, and some women mistakenly believe that diabetes only affects them, but they do not know that the condition can also endanger their babies.” Chen Yanming said that miscarriages, abnormal fetuses, huge babies and premature births are all related to high blood sugar levels.
Menopause: “Too much is too little” to make up for missed payments
Menopause is a special time when estrogen and progesterone are at war. Estrogen, which used to be the dominant hormone, falls from its peak level, while progesterone levels rise, and problems such as calcium loss and osteoporosis occur. In addition to facing the test of menopausal syndrome, after menopause, most working women enter retirement age, and the psychological pressure brought by the shift of life focus cannot be ignored.
Issues that are particularly prominent during this period are exercise and psychology. Exercise, in particular, is something women often fall into misconceptions about. “Retired women often feel the need to make up for the ‘debts’ they owed in the past due to their busy work schedules, and as a result, it is easy to overdo it.” Chen Yanming said, for example, go hiking early in the morning, then dance, grocery shopping at noon, take time to dance in the evening, wind and rain unchanged, more than three or four hours of exercise a day, resulting in lumbar muscle and Achilles tendon strain, and even fractures in serious cases. She reminded, to make up for the debt to prevent “too much too late”.
Psychologically, women have delicate minds and are more prone to “bull’s-eye” during periods of intense endocrine fluctuations. Menopausal women need the love and care of their families, and at the same time to self-explanation, when things may think about the good side of things, to avoid falling into negative emotions can not extricate themselves.
Exercise tips: squeeze the subway to buy groceries can also exercise
Parents of girls are advised to cultivate their daughters’ love of outdoor sports from a young age, and often encourage them to put down their books and computers and go out into nature to get in touch with the sun and the breeze and feel the beauty of nature, so as to avoid becoming a “geeky girl” from a young age.
Adult women who are busy with work and family can learn the “stitch-in-time” approach to exercise. For example, often due to work overdraft time off workplace women do not have time to do sports, may wish to go out every day with a pair of sneakers, after work off high heels, sneakers, squeeze the bus, subway, go to the market to buy food can also play the effect of exercise.
Reminder, women’s exercise time is best arranged five times a week, 30 minutes each time, the intensity of exercise varies according to age, for example, 40-year-old people exercise when the maximum heart rate can not exceed 130 times / min. From the point of view of exercise intensity, climbing, swimming, cycling, dancing, playing badminton, tai chi and other aerobic exercises are available.