Menopause- New Research
I just listened to a fascinating podcast from Elise Loehnen on Pulling the Thread. She hosted an amazing neuroscientist and researcher, Dr. Lisa Mosconi. Dr. Mosconi has a WHOPPING 11 GRANTS from various organizations, including NIH to research and explore menopause, alzheimer's, and the female brain. She is one of the few people who is doing this research and elaborating on a process that over half the population will go through.
What she and her team has found is simply fascinating to me.
Dr. Mosconi's team has found (AND HERE IS THE COOLEST PART!) that during hormonal changes like puberty, pregnancy, and perimenopause, our brains are continually restructuring themselves!
Gray matter decreases, new connections are made and old ones are done away with. Our brain is the most costly organ of our bodies! It requires so much blood, oxygen, and glucose to keep our brains functioning optimally. So, it needs to be as efficient as possible.
Dr. Mosconi is postulating that it is the hormone changes that actually encourage these large shifts and restructuring of our brains. And with these changes, there can be some little glitches that happen. These "glitches" can be why we get symptoms like hot flashes, mood swings, decreased libido, brain fog, fatigue, and memory issues.
She mentions though, that these changes are not alien or foreign to us! We have experienced all of these things before and we can again and again. The continual restructuring of our brains really speaks to how dang adaptable we are as humans.
Menopause is a natural process and Dr. Mosconi's research is showing that. It does not need to be pathologized, commercialized, or sold to us in pretty pink boxes. We do not need to run out and buy tons of new supplements. We do not need to shame people going through perimenopause.
It is so clear to me that we just fundamentally need to understand these hormonal shifts and changes better. And, in the meantime, stop shaming people for it.
If you would like to learn more about Dr. Mosconi and her work, her research and book can be found here.
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Disclaimer: This article is not intended for the purpose of providing medical advice. All information, content and material is for informational purposes only and is not intended to serve as a substitute for consultation, diagnosis, and/or medical treatment.
