INTRODUCTION: Menopause is the time in a woman's life when menstruation stops permanently, signifying the end of her ability to produce children and is diagnosed when a woman has gone without a period for 1 full year. It is considered premature if it happens before the age of forty, or artificial if radiation exposure, chemotherapeutic drugs, or surgery induces it. Menopause is something that happens to every women as they get older.

HOT FLASHES: Hot flashes are perhaps the most troublesome symptom associated with approaching menopause and are experienced by a majority of women during the transition period (no pun intended). An ancient Chinese therapy offers some menopausal women another option for their hot flashes.

Yet for others, the diminishing levels of estrogen associated with menopause may cause more distressing symptoms that include: Mood swings - Diminished sex drive - Hot flashes - Sweating - Racing heart (palpitations) - Headaches - Vaginal dryness and soreness - Problem sleeping and Bone thinning (osteoporosis). These symptoms can last from a few months to up to ten years.

HORMONES: Known as the "change of life", It is the last stage of a gradual biological process in which the ovaries reduce their production of female sex hormones--a process which begins about 3 to 5 years before the final menstrual period. When you are in your mid-30's, your ovaries begin to change how much estrogen and progesterone (two female hormones) they make.

During this time, called perimenopause, which can last anywhere from five to fifteen years, the brain continues to send out hormones trying to stimulate the development of ovarian follicles, and it is common for a woman's ovaries to respond erratically, so that her hormones fluctuate a great deal from month to month. It continues to produce hormones even after ovulation ends, producing some estrogen and also androgens (male hormones) including testosterone.

To best understand what occurs during menopause, it is helpful to know about the physiology of menstruation and the hormones that are involved in your monthly cycle. Changes in hormones are a major factor in that sense of physical, mental, and emotional imbalance that may characterize a woman's experience of menopause.

Many females find that the right combination of herbs, exercise, nutritional support, and natural hormones helps them to manage most of their symptoms. Eventually your ovaries cease producing estrogen and other hormones.

CANCER: Your chances for heart disease, cancer, and bone thinning (osteoporosis) rise after menopause. You should be checked regularly for colon, rectal and skin cancer. If you have a family history of breast cancer, check with your physician about your risk. If you have a uterus and decide to take estrogen, you need to also take progesterone to prevent endometrial cancer (cancer of the lining of the uterus).

"There's been much experimental evidence and patient experience showing estrogen given alone can lead to endometrial cancer," says FDA's Smith. Endometrial cancer is not the only risk from estrogen use. It is not known whether estrogen use increases the risk of breast cancer, or what effect adding progestin would have on this risk. In recent years, many studies on breast cancer and estrogen use have been conducted, with conflicting results, says Smith.

TREATMENT: Menopause has become increasingly medicalized, which means it is seen as something that requires intervention and treatment rather than as a natural life change that may benefit from support. You don't require treatment for it unless your symptoms bother you. Be sure to talk to your MD about your possible health risks prior to starting a treatment for menopausal symptoms.

There are also "natural" treatments for the symptoms that can be bought without a prescription. You can commence or end the treatment at any time.

CONCLUSION: Menopause is a natural process and not a disease. It is a normal part of life just like puberty. Part of the stigma is its association with aging, but we age no more rapidly in our 50s than in any other decade of life. In the United States, the average age is 51, with most women usually reaching natural menopause somewhere between 40 and 58 years of age. If you've never been an exerciser, it is a great excuse to make the change.