NAOMI'S JOURNAL: DISCOVERING THE HEALING POWER OF NATURE + SCIENCE

Many women fail to emotionally prepare for the years of peri-menopause. But get comfortable—we may be here a while.

Roughly 80% of American women begin to experience mild symptoms of peri-menopause starting in their mid-forties, and this period can last anywhere from four to ten years. (Yes, unfortunately you read that correctly…four to ten years!) As we've noted, the mark of completing menopause is having gone an entire year without a period. It's unfortunately not uncommon to go eight months with no menstrual cycle then boom. And yes, you then have to start the 12-month count all over again.

It's no secret that hot flashes are a hallmark of menopause, but what you may not be prepared for is that the hot flashes can come at any time of day, sometimes even waking you from a sound sleep. They can also be triggered by unexpected sources—favorite foods or familiar aromas can send you into an intensely sweaty spell, even if you've never had such a problem or trigger before.

A very fortunate 25% of women may never experience hot flashes. For the rest of us, it helps to avoid the triggers once defined, keep a mini fan and some cold water handy, and dress in layers so that you can take off clothes as needed.

Estrogen plays a role when it comes to ensuring the proper utilization of calcium. So with the rapid decrease in estrogen, women also begin to experience the onset of rapid bone loss, as well as increased risk for cardiovascular disease.

To combat these physiological changes, be sure to get plenty of exercise, with an emphasis on resistance exercises. Strength training using light or moderately heavy weights or your body weight such as when doing yoga, have been shown to help preserve bone and muscle mass.

Also focus on getting adequate vitamin D from safe sun exposure and consuming lots of calcium from dark leafy greens, such as kale, as well as from other sources like tofu or soy. For most women, the best way to make sure you are getting enough vitamin D is with a high-quality supplement like my Activated Vitamin D which includes a research-based dose of both Vitamin D and magnesium to ensure you are getting the full benefits this additional Vitamin D has to offer.

Estrogen is known as the beauty hormone for good reason: It helps skin plump and feel full, so with less estrogen, the signs of aging can catch up, and a woman will likely see changes in her skin—sometimes even dramatic changes.

Women may also notice thinning hair and nails that have grown more brittle. Sometimes these same concerns show up in peri-menopausal women especially those who are on the keto diet. If you are experiencing thinning hair, my Australian Keratin formula with biotin can really help.

According to researchers, women who reported fewer hot flashes and other discomforts had something in common: they ate a diet high in phytoestrogens and specifically isoflavones.

Researchers believe that phytoestrogens help mitigate the woes of menopause so effectively because of their "estrogenic activity"—meaning they can mimic the effects of the estrogen in your body as you adjust to the changing levels.

Foods rich in phytoestrogens are soy and foods made with soy, tofu, tempeh, beans and flaxseed. But one class of phytoestrogen has proven to be especially valuable when it comes to mitigating the miserable effects of menopause: isoflavones.

Isoflavones are a particularly powerful type of phytoestrogen, but the amount you can get through the foods you eat isn't enough to have a meaningful impact on the symptoms of menopause—especially not in the ways that this powerful plant-based compound is capable of.

Based on extensive scientific research, I developed NAOMI Harmony, a menopause symptom relief formula featuring specific isoflavones that have been clinically shown to significantly reduce hot flashes and night sweats, balance mood and promote more restful sleep.