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could get thinner. You might havememory problems, and your jointsand muscles could feel stiff andachy. Are these a result of havingless estrogen or just related togrowing older? We don’t know.

What About My Heart and Bones?Two common health problems canstart to happen at menopause, andyou might not even notice.

Osteoporosis. Day in and day out

your body is busy breaking downold bone and replacing it with newhealthy bone. Estrogen helps control bone loss. So losing estrogenaround the time of menopausecauses women to begin to losemore bone than is replaced. Intime, bones can become weak andbreak easily. This condition is calledosteoporosis. Talk to your doctorto see if you should have a bonedensity test to find out if you are atrisk for this problem. Your doctorcan also suggest ways to prevent ortreat osteoporosis.

Heart disease. After menopause,

women are more likely to have heart

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blood pressure or weight gain, thatput you at greater risk for heartdisease. Be sure to have your bloodpressure and levels of triglycerides,fasting blood glucose, and LDL,HDL, and total cholesterol checkedregularly. Talk to your health careprovider to find out what youshould do to protect your heart.

How Can I Stay HealthyAfter Menopause?Staying healthy after menopausemay mean making some changesin the way you live.✦ Don’t smoke. If you do use

any type of tobacco, stop—it’s never too late to benefitfrom quitting smoking.

✦ Eat a healthy diet—one low

in fat, high in fiber, withplenty of fruits, vegetables,and whole-grain foods, as wellas all the important vitaminsand minerals.

✦ Make sure you get enough

calcium and vitamin D—in your diet or in vitamin/mineral supplements.

7
6

ause.

becom

ear

mber

 about

s (STDs),

rrhea.

 be

make

uses a

 sex.

ht

a good

’t fall

o early.

u up.

ng

ring

ht find

le, or

f meno

appens—

een

nd

e that

s grow

s,

be

.

could get thinner. You might havememory problems, and your jointsand muscles could feel stiff andachy. Are these a result of havingless estrogen or just related togrowing older? We don’t know.

What About My Heart and Bones?Two common health problems canstart to happen at menopause, andyou might not even notice.

Osteoporosis. Day in and day out

your body is busy breaking downold bone and replacing it with newhealthy bone. Estrogen helps control bone loss. So losing estrogenaround the time of menopausecauses women to begin to losemore bone than is replaced. Intime, bones can become weak andbreak easily. This condition is calledosteoporosis. Talk to your doctorto see if you should have a bonedensity test to find out if you are atrisk for this problem. Your doctorcan also suggest ways to prevent ortreat osteoporosis.

Heart disease. After menopause,

women are more likely to have heart

blood pressure or weight gain, thatput you at greater risk for heartdisease. Be sure to have your bloodpressure and levels of triglycerides,fasting blood glucose, and LDL,HDL, and total cholesterol checkedregularly. Talk to your health careprovider to find out what youshould do to protect your heart.

How Can I Stay HealthyAfter Menopause?Staying healthy after menopausemay mean making some changesin the way you live.✦ Don’t smoke. If you do use

any type of tobacco, stop—it’s never too late to benefitfrom quitting smoking.

✦ Eat a healthy diet—one low

in fat, high in fiber, withplenty of fruits, vegetables,and whole-grain foods, as wellas all the important vitaminsand minerals.

✦ Make sure you get enough

calcium and vitamin D—in your diet or in vitamin/mineral supplements.

7
6

uld feel

ause.

becom

ear

mber

 about

s (STDs),

rrhea.

 be

make

uses a

 sex.

ht

a good

’t fall

o early.

u up.

ng

ring

ht find

le, or

f meno

appens—

een

nd

e that

s grow

s,

be

.

lose muscle and gain fat. Your skincould get thinner. You might havememory problems, and your jointsand muscles could feel stiff andachy. Are these a result of havingless estrogen or just related togrowing older? We don’t know.

What About My Heart and Bones?Two common health problems canstart to happen at menopause, andyou might not even notice.

Osteoporosis. Day in and day out

your body is busy breaking downold bone and replacing it with newhealthy bone. Estrogen helps control bone loss. So losing estrogenaround the time of menopausecauses women to begin to losemore bone than is replaced. Intime, bones can become weak andbreak easily. This condition is calledosteoporosis. Talk to your doctorto see if you should have a bonedensity test to find out if you are atrisk for this problem. Your doctorcan also suggest ways to prevent ortreat osteoporosis.

Heart disease. After menopause,

women are more likely to have heart

develop other problems, like highblood pressure or weight gain, thatput you at greater risk for heartdisease. Be sure to have your bloodpressure and levels of triglycerides,fasting blood glucose, and LDL,HDL, and total cholesterol checkedregularly. Talk to your health careprovider to find out what youshould do to protect your heart.

How Can I Stay HealthyAfter Menopause?Staying healthy after menopausemay mean making some changesin the way you live.✦ Don’t smoke. If you do use

any type of tobacco, stop—it’s never too late to benefitfrom quitting smoking.

✦ Eat a healthy diet—one low

in fat, high in fiber, withplenty of fruits, vegetables,and whole-grain foods, as wellas all the important vitaminsand minerals.

✦ Make sure you get enough

calcium and vitamin D—in your diet or in vitamin/mineral supplements.

7
6

ng

ring

ht find

le, or

f meno

appens—

een

nd

e that

s grow

s,

be

.

trol bone loss. So losing estrogenaround the time of menopausecauses women to begin to losemore bone than is replaced. Intime, bones can become weak andbreak easily. This condition is calledosteoporosis. Talk to your doctorto see if you should have a bonedensity test to find out if you are atrisk for this problem. Your doctorcan also suggest ways to prevent ortreat osteoporosis.

Heart disease. After menopause,

women are more likely to have heart

y

any type of tobacco, stop—it’s never too late to benefitfrom quitting smoking.

✦ Eat a healthy diet—one low

in fat, high in fiber, withplenty of fruits, vegetables,and whole-grain foods, as wellas all the important vitaminsand minerals.

✦ Make sure you get enough

calcium and vitamin D—in your diet or in vitamin/mineral supplements.

7
13

eart

east

an—

our

ur

ight

ause.

life

ow.

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can

most

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ife

most

ation

www.medlineplus.govAmerican College of Obstetriciansand Gynecologists409 12th Street, SWP.O. Box 96920Washington, DC 200901-202-638-5577www.acog.orgNorth American Menopause SocietyP.O. Box 94527Cleveland, OH 441011-440-442-7550www.menopause.orgFor more information on healthand aging, including osteoporosisand the latest on menopausalhormone therapy, contact:National Institute on AgingInformation CenterP.O. Box 8057Gaithersburg, MD 20898-80571-800-222-2225 (toll-free)1-800-222-4225 (TTY/toll-free)E-mail: niaic@jbs1.com

14

U.S. Department of Health andHuman ServicesNational Institutes of HealthMay 2005

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website is www.nia.nih.gov.Visit NIHSeniorHealth.gov(www.nihseniorhealth.gov), a seniorfriendly website from the NationalInstitute on Aging and the NationalLibrary of Medicine. This simple-touse website features popular healthtopics for older adults. It has largetype and a ‘talking’ function thatreads text aloud.
13

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ight

ause.

life

ow.

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can

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ife

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www.medlineplus.govAmerican College of Obstetriciansand Gynecologists409 12th Street, SWP.O. Box 96920Washington, DC 200901-202-638-5577www.acog.orgNorth American Menopause SocietyP.O. Box 94527Cleveland, OH 441011-440-442-7550www.menopause.orgFor more information on healthand aging, including osteoporosisand the latest on menopausalhormone therapy, contact:National Institute on AgingInformation CenterP.O. Box 8057Gaithersburg, MD 20898-80571-800-222-2225 (toll-free)1-800-222-4225 (TTY/toll-free)E-mail: niaic@jbs1.com

14

U.S. Department of Health andHuman ServicesNational Institutes of HealthMay 2005The National Institute on Agingwebsite is www.nia.nih.gov.Visit NIHSeniorHealth.gov(www.nihseniorhealth.gov), a seniorfriendly website from the NationalInstitute on Aging and the NationalLibrary of Medicine. This simple-touse website features popular healthtopics for older adults. It has largetype and a ‘talking’ function thatreads text aloud.
13

mily

es

eart

east

an—

our

ur

ight

ause.

life

ow.

ger.

can

most

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active,

ife

most

ation

In Health Topics, go to:“Menopause”www.medlineplus.govAmerican College of Obstetriciansand Gynecologists409 12th Street, SWP.O. Box 96920Washington, DC 200901-202-638-5577www.acog.orgNorth American Menopause SocietyP.O. Box 94527Cleveland, OH 441011-440-442-7550www.menopause.orgFor more information on healthand aging, including osteoporosisand the latest on menopausalhormone therapy, contact:National Institute on AgingInformation CenterP.O. Box 8057Gaithersburg, MD 20898-80571-800-222-2225 (toll-free)1-800-222-4225 (TTY/toll-free)E-mail: niaic@jbs1.com

14

U.S. Department of Health andHuman ServicesNational Institutes of HealthMay 2005alerts, visit: www.niapublications.org.The National Institute on Agingwebsite is www.nia.nih.gov.Visit NIHSeniorHealth.gov(www.nihseniorhealth.gov), a seniorfriendly website from the NationalInstitute on Aging and the NationalLibrary of Medicine. This simple-touse website features popular healthtopics for older adults. It has largetype and a ‘talking’ function thatreads text aloud.
13

time

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ation

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and the latest on menopausalhormone therapy, contact:National Institute on AgingInformation CenterP.O. Box 8057Gaithersburg, MD 20898-80571-800-222-2225 (toll-free)1-800-222-4225 (TTY/toll-free)E-mail: niaic@jbs1.com

14

U.S. Department of Health andHuman ServicesNational Institutes of HealthMay 2005