A third of your life will be spent in or around menopause. For Filipino women, that transition can begin as early as 42—usually without warning, and often without a name.
That’s the reality that Dr. Anafe Gloria, Gynecologist and Obstetrician with over 12 years of experience, put plainly at Rise, Reset, Renew, a Peri/Menopause Forum by The Beauty Edit and EO Philippines (Entrepreneurs’ Organization). She wasn’t there to frighten anyone. She was there to make sure no one left uninformed. Every day, she talks to women in their 30s, 40s, and 50s already living with symptoms they hadn’t yet connected to shifting hormones: the heat that rises without reason, the sleep that won’t come, the body that feels slightly, inexplicably different. Perimenopause had already started for some of them. They just didn’t know it yet.
That’s the gap this conversation was designed to close. Menopause has long carried a weight that discourages women from speaking about it openly—let alone seeking help early. But Dr. Gloria’s talk made one thing clear: The women who navigate this transition best are the ones who get informed before they’re in the thick of it. Here, the biggest takeaways from her talk—on symptoms, lifestyle, and the treatments worth knowing about.
Perimenopause can start in your 40s.
For Filipino Malay women, menopause naturally starts at 47 to 48 years old, earlier than Caucasian American women, whose average menopause age is 50 to 52 years old. Perimenopause, or the transitional phase before menopause when hormones begin to drop, can start two to eight years before menopause. “As we can see,” said Dr. Gloria, “for a third in a woman’s lifetime, we stand in the menopause. Our symptoms can start as early as 42, and that could last for almost eight years before you would actually have your menstruation really stop. Some of the symptoms would even persist after you have stopped menstruating.”
Your lifestyle will affect when you start menopause.
Like your period, your menopause and perimenopause experiences may look different from those of other women. How often you exercise, whether or not you smoke, the number of pregnancies you’ve had, and what you eat can affect how early your menopause comes and the symptoms that follow it.
If you’re malnourished, a vegetarian, or a smoker, menopause may come earlier. Meanwhile, if you’ve had multiple pregnancies, prior use of contraceptives, or are a moderate drinker, menopause may come later.
Hot flushes are one of the main symptoms of menopause.
Have you ever experienced a sudden and intense feeling of heat, even with the air conditioner running? You may have gotten a hot flush (or hot flash). Your face, neck, and chest can redden from feeling hot, and you could even experience heart palpitations. “Sometimes it could last for seconds, and sometimes it could last for more than that,” explained Dr. Gloria.
Of course, abnormal uterine bleeding is another one of the key symptoms of menopause. This could mean decreased menstrual bleeding and longer intervals between periods. “It becomes really quite problematic when the bleeding is persistent, lasts more than 10 days, or if you’re passing all blood clots. Definitely, you have to see an OB-GYN,” the doctor advised.
Your vagina changes during menopause.
With aging and menopause come physical changes to your vagina. These changes are called the Genitourinary Syndrome of Menopause (GSM). They include vaginal dryness, thinning of inner vaginal lips (labia menora), post-coital bleeding, itching, and loss of vaginal rugae (transverse ridges or folds of mucous membrane in the vagina that provide elasticity). “And maybe also you won’t feel the same excitement as you used to have,” Dr. Gloria mentioned. “And an orgasm seems too far away. It’s not the same anymore. And then after that, you would feel that irritation and itching of the vagina or the vulva.”
For immediate relief from vaginal dryness—one of the most common and least talked-about symptoms of GSM —a quality lubricant can make a meaningful difference in daily comfort and intimacy. One option worth trying is Jellytime, a local water-based lubricant formulated with plant-derived aloe for sensitive skin and hyaluronic acid to support your body’s natural moisture. It’s a practical, accessible option for women navigating this transition, while longer-term interventions like intravaginal estrogen therapy are explored with your gynecologist.
But the vagina isn’t the only part of your body that experiences physical changes. Your bones, joints, heart, and body mass index are all affected by menopause. “You could have increased central abdominal fat. Some women would develop hypertension and an increase in cholesterol. We experience body aches and pain in the joints. And also, we lose a bit of that muscle and possibly develop osteoporosis,” she explained further. Estrogen levels decline during menopause. This hormone is cardioprotective, helps suppress hunger, and supports bone density. That’s why when you go through perimenopause, you feel it throughout your entire body.
“We cannot overemphasize the importance of lifestyle modification. This includes physical activity, medical intervention, stress management, and smoking cessation.”
—Dr. Anafe Gloria, gynecologist and obstetrician
That said, Dr. Gloria emphasizes that you shouldn’t view menopause with doom and gloom. There are lifestyle changes, treatments, and medications that can help ease the transition and prevent menopause from taking over your life. “We cannot overemphasize the importance of lifestyle modification,” Dr. Gloria said. “[This includes] physical activity, medical intervention, stress management, and smoking cessation.”
Exercise and a balanced diet are a must.
The benefits of physical activity and a healthy diet are endless. “You need to strengthen your bones and your muscles. So these are the recommended activities for osteoporosis prevention: brisk walking, running, weight training, aerobics, stair climbing, swimming, or any sports for that matter,” said Dr. Gloria. She recommends following the WHO’s guidelines on physical activity, which include 150 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic exercise per week and muscle-strengthening activities two or more days per week.
For your diet, she gave a detailed and insightful guide that should be easy to follow. “With regards to the diet, this is what we really have to avoid: simple, fast-acting sugars and alcoholic beverages. The maximum salt intake that you can have is 0.5 grams per day. We have to limit saturated fats to 10% of our total food intake. For protein, you should have 0.8 to 0.2 grams per body weight kilogram per day. And your food intake should be high in calcium, vitamin D, and C. Your fat should be coming from omega-3 fatty acids. You should have at least 300 to 400 grams of vegetables per day. Avoid meat if possible. And if you’re eating meat, it would be best if it’s boiled or steamed. For deep-sea fish, you can have 100 to 200 grams, two servings per week. Unsalted nuts are also good sources of protein.”
Don’t be afraid to seek medical intervention.
“Menopausal hormone therapy (MHT) is the most effective treatment for vasomotor symptoms associated with menopause at any age,” said Dr. Gloria. But when and how you take MHT will depend on your assessment with your doctor. MHT can help with low-level estrogen production, preventing bone loss, vaginal atrophy symptoms, and recurrent UTI.
While taking MHT orally can help with vasomotor symptoms like hot flushes, genitourinary symptoms could still persist. That’s why it’s important to have a holistic outlook on hormone therapy and be open to topical interventions. “If you’re scared of taking systemic hormones, we can give intravaginal estrogen for vaginal atrophy symptoms, for recurrent urinary tract infection, and for overactive bladder.”
MHT isn’t without its risks, though. “We don’t just give it right and left,” said Dr. Gloria. “Aside from checking you and assessing your risk, we also have contraindications for MHT, like active cardiovascular disease. But if your hypertension is controlled, if your blood sugar is controlled, we can still give you, but let us first assess you. If you have acute liver disease, if you just had a recent stroke, if you have an active venous thromboembolic disease, and of course, if you’re pregnant, we won’t recommend it.”
When you look at the benefits that MHT has, though, it can be exciting and empowering to know that you can help yourself when going through menopause. “I would like to emphasize that MHT is not only beneficial for the vasomotor symptoms, but as I said, it has a very good effect on the heart, and it can reduce insulin resistance. It can also address abdominal fat that develops when you age. It has a beneficial impact on the risk of hypertension, diabetes, and dyslipidemia. What about the skin? Estrogen treatment would reduce collagen turnover and improve your collagen quality,” outlined Dr. Gloria.
Foster a relationship with your gynecologist.
Your doctor is there to help you, which is why it’s so important to consistently follow up with them, whether or not you choose to try MHT. “We need you to follow up because we can still titrate the dose of the medication,” said Dr. Gloria. “But sometimes, you know, there’s a ceiling of how much we can give you. You might have to add other medications to your hormonal replacement, and that’s why it’s important to follow up.”
An Overdue Conversation
Menopause doesn’t have to be an intimidating stage of life that you have to navigate yourself. There have been so many medical breakthroughs that can liberate you from the negative ways of thinking about menopause. The science has moved. What hasn’t kept pace is the conversation around it.
Menopause is still whispered about, still approached with dread, still something many women face alone and underprepared. Dr. Gloria’s message is that it doesn’t have to be that way. You are not at the mercy of this transition. You just need the right information, and someone in your corner who knows how to use it.
