Although some women sail through menopause - for others it is a tough time which causes significant physical health issues and significant mental distress.

For those of you with primarily female hormones (oestrogen and progesterone) - unless you have experienced early menopause, these hormones begin to decline in your 40s. How much they decline and how this impacts you can depend on a number of things. Testosterone also declines as we age, however, unlike oestrogen and progesterone, post-menopause testosterone levels actually increase - and can revert back to levels that we experienced in our earlier years.

Oestrogen and progesterone don’t only affect our periods and sexual health - these hormones also impact our immune function, inflammatory response, cardiovascular health and our brain function - the decrease of these hormones can have a significant impact on our overall health and well-being.

Before we continue - to help you understand a bit of terminology.