Menopause can be delayed
Reported May 19, 2008
WOMEN in India can delay the advent of menopause in their lives, provided they adopt a certain lifestyle and nutritious diet.
This was a joint finding by doctors, dieticians and gynaecologists, who spoke at length during an interactive lesson on Menopause and Stress, organised by the Centre for Adult, Continuing Education and Extension (CACE&E), University of Jammu, on May 18, 2008.
Dr Sudha Sharma, eminent gynaecologist and chairperson of Indian Menopausal Society, Jammu Chapter, said that as the life-expectancy has gone up to almost 71 years, one-third of the life of a woman is spent in menopause and thus it is very important to take care of ones health.
Discussing various sub-themes including menopause, relation between stress and menopause and how to cope up with it besides various changes in the lifestyle one adopts to overcome this stress, Sharma said that during the past few years, there has been an increased awareness among the women about menopause.
Quoting figures, Dr Roopali said that while the average age of menopause in rest of the India is 47.5 years, in Jammu and Kashmir it is 48 years. The doctors opined that with the changing lifestyles, there is an increasing demand and need to look young.
Roopali stressed the need to have nutritious diet and a variety of foods to get all the nutrients a woman needs. Calcium, she said, was very important for a woman. She also added that plant-based foods containing plant estrogens work in the body and may help relieve menopausal symptoms. Some may help lower the cholesterol levels and have been suggested to relieve hot flashes and night sweats. Isoflavones can be found in foods such as soy products like tofu and soy milk. She asserted that yoga is beneficial for menopausal women.
Prof Poonam Dhawan, director, CACE&E, said on the occasion that in the present times, there was a need to make women more aware about their health-related issues. Menopause, she said, was an important part of a womans life and she needs to be fully aware of it.
Prof Deepshikha Kotwal, Prof Posh Charak, Dr Renu Nanda, Dr Neeru Sharma, Dr Anupama Vohra, Dr Arti Bakshi, Dr Sapna Sangra, Dr Sarika Anand, Dr Vishwa Raksha, Dr Kavita Suri, Dr Nirojini Bhan, Dr Bharti Prabhakar, Hema Gandotra and Pallavi Sachdeva attended the interactive session aimed at educating women on the subject.