Pre-menopause starts very gradually in your early thirties; subtle hormonal shifts start to occur. This is the best time to make little changes so that you will not feel so much over the hill at 40 years of age and 50years will be a breeze!

Some Signs and Symptoms of Pre-Menopause.

• Gradual weight gain for no reason, all of a sudden a few pounds creep on.
• You muscles and joints are a little stiff especially in the morning upon rising.
• You may be developing migraine headaches and allergies seem worse.
• Your skin seems drier and the first wrinkles shows up.
• Some times your period is different – light or heavy. PMS is worse.
• Some times you notice you feel blue or mildly depressed for no real reason.
• Sometimes you notice that you cannot handle stress very well, not like you used to.
• You can experience phases of insomnia / sleep disturbances.
• Your sex drive start to diminish; some months are good and some months you could not care less.

If you start to make gradual dietary and lifestyle changes now it will really smooth out your passage through the menopausal years. Start early and you will age well. You can monitor the small hormone changes with saliva hormone testing and then tweak your program accordingly.

There is a higher incidence of uterine fibroids and fibrocystic disease of the breasts during this time period and it has to do with shifting hormones and imbalances.