Eliminating toxins
Few women realize that we have an extra route for eliminating toxins from the body: our monthly menstrual bleed. But what happens when we approach menopause and our periods start to tail off and then stop altogether? Unfortunately, losing even one exit route can put pressure on your other eliminatory organs—the bowel, your kidneys and bladder, your lungs and your skin.
If any of these organs are operating at anything less than capacity, you can end up with menopause-like symptoms. You might find yourself getting rashes or itchy skin. You may find your existing skin condition, be it eczema, psoriasis or dermatitis, getting worse.
You might get a bit wheezy or start feeling congested, or perhaps you've noticed constant mucus production at the back of the throat. You can end up with digestive problems, which is very common in menopause and include things like bloating, flatulence, slow digestion and constipation. And some women find that they tend to be more prone to bladder infections and kidney infections too.
The body is very clever, because if one route is under pressure, another route will very often be found to get rid of the toxins. One of the main routes is through the skin and our sweat. See where this is going?
While there are a few reasons why are our armpits are particularly smelly, the primary one is that the bacteria in our armpits feed on the toxins we eliminate there, allowing these microscopic bugs to multiply like, well, like bacteria! So what can we do about it?
The problem with antiperspirants
One of the main areas we sweat and detoxify from is under the arms, yet we smother our underarms in antiperspirants! Full of chemicals, they block the pores in the armpits—after all, that's what they're designed to do—and keep us from sweating and getting smelly. Sounds good, right?
Not really, because that interferes with our body's ability to regulate its temperature, which can contribute to hot flashes and prevent detoxification from taking place via that route. Plus, if you block the pores in your armpits, your body will often start to sweat elsewhere, leaving you no further ahead.
So what's the solution?
One thing you can do is try using a natural deodorant, like a crystal deodorant, which creates a film on the skin that doesn't block the pores. While you're body is allowed to sweat naturally, the film traps and smothers the bacteria, preventing odours from forming and helping you to stay smelling and feeling fresh. And because your body can sweat naturally, it's better able to regulate its temperature and carry out the detoxification process.
And whether or not they use antiperspirants, a lot of women going through menopause find that they get very sweaty either underneath the bust line or in between the breasts, and often experience rashes and irritation. If this happens to you, you can use your natural deodorant on this particular area just to keep everything nice and comfortable.
What else can you do?
One of the other things you need to do during menopause is to make sure to keep all your other eliminatory organs in tip-top shape. As usual, this means maintaining a good, varied diet with plenty of roughage to keep your bowels functioning smoothly.
Drink a lot of water to help keep your kidneys and bladder flushed, and make sure to have at least one good bowel movement a day, because constipation can trigger quite a few menopause symptoms.
Another natural solution, which many menopausal women have found very effective, is sage, which is used to lessen the intensity and frequency of hot flashes and reduce excessive perspiration.
And remember to get a daily dose of exercise out in the fresh air, just to clear your lungs.
