So what is the average age of perimenopause?
Most professionals would answer around 45. But in reality you can start experiencing symptoms in your late thirties. For some women, it can come much sooner and they notice hormone changes as early as their twenties.
The length of time can also vary. Some women are perimenopausal for a mere 4 months. Others for a whopping 10-15 years.
So if you are one of those women in their late 30’s or early 40’s and are plagued by severe premenopausal symptoms, rest assured you are not alone.
More and more women experience health issues due to hormonal imbalance. And at a younger age than ever before.
Why is that?
For a number of reasons, really. One cause is our environment. Us humans are now exposed to more toxins than ever before in history. These toxins have the ability to disrupt our entire endocrine system, the group of glands responsible for producing our hormones.
Xenohormone toxins mimic our own naturally produced estrogen in our body. The result is overly high levels in the body. And while elevated estrogen levels may not seem like such a bad thing as we near menopause, it actually can create havoc in your body.
Our hormones, and the glands that produce them, depend on each other to function well. If one increases, another becomes either elevated or depleted in response.
Estrogen is most closely linked to the hormones progesterone and cortisol. When estrogen goes up, progesterone declines. If cortisol becomes elevated, so does estrogen, pushing down progesterone levels even more.
This condition is called estrogen dominance and it can cause severe perimenopause symptoms like infertility, fatigue, brain fog, fibroids, cysts and weight gain to name a few. It can even lead to certain female cancers.
And it’s not just middle-aged women who suffer from estrogen dominance. Women as young as 25 or 30 are also affected. Even young girls show signs of this condition and are getting their periods as young as 9 or 10 years old as a result.
Estrogen dominance has become a global epidemic and it can literally rob you of your youth. Not only does it cause conditions like infertility in younger women, it also makes perimenopause a living hell for those entering middle age. For many, it causes them to experience symptoms well before the average age of perimenopause.
The biggest culprits are toxins and stress. Unfortunately, modern life has only become increasingly stressful. We also continue to be exposed to more and more toxins daily. As a result we can only expect estrogen dominance to be more prevalent in the years to come.
Never fear. The condition is reversible. With exercise, the right diet, vitamins and stress management, you can alleviate symptoms and enjoy vibrant health, into your menopause years and beyond.
