Best Adrenal Support and Chinese Medicine for Menopause

For many women, navigating menopause can be challenging and poorly supported by the medical establishment. Marked by various physical and emotional changes, adrenal health is a crucial but often overlooked aspect of this transition.

Your adrenal glands, part of your stress response axis, help regulate both sex hormones and stress response. As women enter menopause, the adrenal glands step in to produce hormones like estrogen and testosterone. As a result, they become increasingly important for hormone balance and overall well-being.

By supporting your adrenals, many menopausal symptoms – fatigue, mood swings, decreased stress resilience– become more manageable. This can help smooth out the menopausal experience.

Effectively supporting adrenal health requires a personalized mind-body approach, such as Chinese medicine. In mainstream medicine, you could be suffering greatly but not diagnosed with any diseases that warrant treatment. Whereas, Chinese medicine focuses on re-balancing specific imbalances that involve the mind and body. In this article, Part 1, we dive into:

• The connection between the adrenal glands and menopause
• How Traditional Chinese Medicine views this phase of life
• Evidence-based strategies you can implement now to support your body during this time

In the next article, Part 2, we compare popular herbal adaptogens for menopause. 

What’s the Connection Between Adrenal Glands and Menopause?

The adrenal glands are two small glands atop each kidney. They produce hormones like cortisol and adrenaline, which help manage stress, inflammation, blood sugar, energy, and more.

Adrenal issues are actually dysfunctions of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis (HPA axis), a feedback loop between the brain and adrenal glands. Chronic stress throws off the axis, so it’s out of balance and gives rise to stress-related symptoms like fatigue, moodiness, brain fog, suboptimal digestion, low libido, and more.  

We have an entire article on HPA axis dysfunction, which you can read here.

The adrenal glands produce hormones that impact other places in the body, including sex hormones. They produce pregnenolone, which is essential for making DHEA, progesterone, and cortisol. DHEA then helps your body produce testosterone and estrogen. During stress, the body uses pregnenolone to produce more cortisol, a process called the pregnenolone steal . This can reduce levels of progesterone, DHEA, estrogen, and testosterone, which may affect fertility and hormone balance.

As women enter menopause, their ovaries produce less estrogen and progesterone. This leaves the adrenal glands responsible to take over most estrogen and progesterone production. If the adrenals are already taxed from stress, they can struggle to keep up. This can exacerbate many menopausal symptoms. 

Therefore, understanding and supporting the adrenal glands and stress response axis can thus be crucial for managing the physical and emotional challenges of menopause.

How Does Traditional Chinese Medicine View Menopause?

Traditional Chinese Medicine, or TCM, offers a unique perspective on menopause. TCM views menopause as the Second Spring in a woman’s life – a natural and inevitable phase rather than a medical condition to be treated. This phase symbolizes a renewal of energy and new opportunities, as the focus shifts from fertility and reproduction to nourishment and self-conservation. In TCM, aging is celebrated!

A TCM approach to menopause is primarily associated with a decline in Kidney energy (or Jing), which is considered the foundation of vitality, growth, and reproduction. TCM considers the adrenals part of the kidneys. As women age, Kidney Jing naturally decreases. This leads to alternations in the balance between Yin and Yang, two opposing energies in TCM. This imbalance is what we often associate with the “typical” menopausal symptoms, like hot flashes, night sweats, and emotional fluctuations.

How to Support the Adrenal Glands During Menopause

When thinking about adrenal support during menopause, many approaches often overlap with what we would do during other life stages. You can read all about the general approach to adrenal support here. However, there are some additional considerations to be aware of during menopause.  

Balance Blood Sugar With Diet, Exercise, and Supplements

Keeping blood sugar balanced is crucial in supporting adrenal health, especially during menopause due to hormonal changes. Also, studies show that poor blood sugar control contributes to worse menopausal symptoms and outcomes. 

Two adrenal hormones, adrenaline and cortisol, help to increase blood sugar. Stabilizing blood sugar can help prevent an overproduction of the stress hormone cortisol from the adrenal glands. Some of the best ways to support blood sugar balance involve diet, exercise, and even some targeted supplement support.

Diet

The foods we put into our body is one of the biggest factors when it comes to blood sugar. A diet high in refined sugars and processed foods often causes big spikes and crashes in blood sugar and puts stress on the adrenal glands. Conversely, foods high in protein and fiber have the opposite effect, keeping blood sugar levels stable. This article outlines a dietary framework that can help stabilize blood sugar. 

In menopause, studies find that women have higher levels of fasting blood sugar, HbA1C (a marker of long-term glycemic control), and inflammation compared to premenopausal women. In one study, researchers found that blood sugar and insulin levels rose more significantly, and blood sugar levels varied more throughout the day. Another found that big fluctuations in blood glucose is also linked to worse hot flashes.

Aim to include high-fiber foods, like vegetables and grains, and ensure you reach your protein goals to slow glucose absorption and promote stable blood sugar levels throughout the day.

Exercise

While symptoms may make hitting the gym daunting, regular physical activity is important for improving insulin sensitivity and combating menopause symptoms. Exercise allows your body to use glucose more effectively, which can help maintain stable blood sugar responses. It can also help reduce stress and support overall hormone balance. Some studies even find benefits for reducing the severity of vasomotor symptoms, like hot flashes.

Activities like walking, yoga, and strength training are particularly beneficial, as they help regulate blood sugar without causing undue stress on the body.

Supplements

Certain supplements can support blood sugar regulation and adrenal health. Magnesium, found in Magnesium Breakthrough, is an essential mineral that helps support proper glucose metabolism and insulin sensitivity.

We have an article on the benefits of magnesium during menopause, which you can read here.

Other natural compounds have also been found to help support the body’s tolerance to glucose, including cinnamon, berberine, bitter melon, and chromium. We have combined all of these, plus other compounds that support blood sugar, in our Berberine Breakthrough.

Remember to check with your doctor and pharmacist before adding new supplements or making major changes to your diet program. This is especially true if you’re taking medications, receiving any medical treatments, or have a medical condition. 

Optimize Sleep Quality

One of the most reported symptoms during menopause are sleep disturbances and night sweats. During this period, hormone fluctuations can disrupt sleep patterns, worsening hot flashes, and causing cognitive and energy issues during the day.

Poor sleep is also linked to mood changes, lower energy levels, and weight gain – all common symptoms that can arise during menopause. Sleep plays a critical role in hormone regulation too. It helps balance levels of cortisol, insulin, and other hormones that can impact menopause. By optimizing your sleep, you can set yourself up for the best chances of success!

A lot of women have found relief using a cooling mattress called a Chilipad. One study in women going through menopause found a significant reduction in hot flashes, better sleep, and less interference with daily activities. The study concluded that the cooling pad may be an effective non-drug option for managing menopausal symptoms.

Our Sleep Breakthrough contains glycine, which is known to help stimulate heat loss in the extremities. One study found that supplemental glycine was able to help reduce the intensity of night sweats in menopause, impacting symptoms.

Another common intervention to help improve sleep in menopause is progesterone. This medication, which a doctor can prescribe, showed significant improvements in menopause symptoms, including sleep quality.

Use Adaptogens

Adaptogens are a class of herbs that are known for their ability to support the body in adapting to stress and maintaining balance – making them particularly helpful for menopause. As we learned above, TCM associates menopausal symptoms with patterns of imbalance, including the decline of Kidney Jing and disruptions between Yin and Yang. Adaptogens can support these patterns in several ways and might be a good addition to your current protocol in supporting the menopausal transition.

Stress Guardian is a blend of various adaptogenic herbs that can be useful during menopause. Here is how:

Support for Kidney Jing:

Kidney Jing, or essence, is considered by TCM to be the foundation of vitality and reproductive health. As women age, Kidney Jing naturally declines and can lead to symptoms like fatigue, weakness, and low libido. Adaptogens like astragalus, have been long believed to nourish and replenish Kidney Jing, helping restore energy levels and vitality. An animal study on astragalus found benefits for menopause on immune function and balance, making it a useful adaptogen when it comes to adrenal support.

Balancing Yin and Yang:

Menopause often involves a disruption in the balance of Yin and Yang, with a particular tendency towards Yin deficiency and Yang excess. Yin deficiency can lead to symptoms such as hot flashes, night sweats, and dryness. Adaptogens like American ginseng and reishi mushroom have cooling properties that help nourish Yin and counteract these symptoms. Conversely, Yang tonics like eleuthero are thought to boost energy and warmth, addressing issues like cold extremities and low energy associated with Yang deficiency.

Harmonizing Qi:

One of the most important concepts in TCM is that of Qi – the body’s vital energy. Qi needs to flow smoothly for overall health and well-being. Menopause symptoms can arise when Qi becomes stagnant, or when its flow is obstructed. This stagnation can lead to mood swings, irritability, and even digestive issues. Adaptogens like rhodiola and schisandra, have a long history of use for improving the flow of Qi, helping support mood, reducing stress, and helping digestion.

A clinical trial evaluated the impact of Schisandra chinensis on menopausal symptoms. The study involved 36 women aged 40 to 70, who were treated either with schisandra or a placebo for 6 weeks and followed for 12 weeks. Results showed that the schisandra group experienced significantly greater reductions in menopausal symptoms, including hot flushes, sweating, and heart palpitations, compared to the placebo group.

Modifying Stress Response & Support the Adrenals:

Menopause is often accompanied by higher stress levels both due to life stage and health issues. These can exacerbate adrenal fatigue and cause HPA-axis disruptions. Adaptogens like licorice root can help modulate your body’s stress response, supporting adrenal function and reducing the overall burden on the endocrine system. This, in turn, can alleviate many stress-related symptoms of menopause.

One clinical trial looked at the effects of licorice root on hot flashes in menopausal women. Ninety women were randomly assigned to take either licorice extract or a placebo for 8 weeks, with a 4-week follow-up. The results showed that licorice significantly reduced both the frequency and severity of hot flashes compared to the placebo, with benefits lasting for 2 weeks after treatment ended.

Promoting Sleep & Relaxation:

Poor sleep is an extremely common issue during menopause. Adaptogens like schisandra, have calming properties that can help improve sleep quality, reduce stress, and promote relaxation, even when taken in the morning. This can help you get a more restful and restorative sleep.

Conclusion

When it comes to the menopausal transition, every woman is different! While it can be challenging to navigate this period of life, we at BIOptimizers are here to help!

Stress Guardian contains a powerful Traditional Chinese Medicine blend of 13 ingredients selected to support HPA axis function, helping your body better handle stress and become resilient. It is the best adrenal support for menopause. From improving sleep, staying balanced, and supporting your body’s stress response, we want to empower all menopausal women to thrive!