Sincerely,Hello. Menopause is an interesting subject from an evolutionary perspective. Why do women go through menopause and men do not?
The answer lies in the fact that evolution works on the principle of the
survival of our offspring. Or more completely, the survival of our offspring's
offspring. i.e. the perpetuation of the species over many generations. So
we find that at a certain age it is better for our survival for the woman
to become infertile.
Some of the main reasons are (there is more to research);
* Elder women care for their children and grandchildren - thus they still have a survival function for their offspring even when infertile themselves.
* There is some risk of death with child birth, which then lessens chance of survival of existing children.Thus it is best to become infertile at some age (why 45 to 55?).
* Human babies are born helpless - so they are a significant burden on the resources of their mother for 5 to 10 years. Thus at some stage, it is better to invest in survival of children that already live, rather than risk having more infants.
* Elders pass on cultural knowledge which is important for survival of the tribe (clearly much more important in the past, before books and computers, etc.).
* Males do not go through menopause - Investment in pregnancy is much greater risk for females. Men have less risk, can continue to be fertile.
* We would also expect, given the ability of evolution to be so adaptable to environment, that humans in harsh environments would begin menstruation later and start menopause earlier (less fertile environment cause less fertile woman if you like). Conversely in plentiful environments menstruation would be earlier and menopause later.
This page is based upon exploring these ideas, as well as providing information on women's reproductive health, symptoms of menopause, Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT), female sexuality and libido, depression, diet, statistics.
The following internet search results suggests a low interest in menopause.
The top ten related searches are;
menopause
(2,960), menopause symptom (1,052), 34 menopause symptoms (300), know menopause
(238), menopause the musical (200), early menopause symptom (200), male
menopause (122), menopause weight gain (119), menopause and depression (118),
menopause treatment (117)
We hope you find the following menopause websites interesting and useful.
Karene
Jade Howie
The word Menopause is derived from the Greek language 'meno' (month) and 'pausis' (a pause, a cessation).
Menopause means an ending of menses, or the menstrual cycle. The average of menopausal women is around 50, when the ovaries stop producing estrogen and the female is no longer fertile. The change of hormones in women can cause undesirable effects, such as hot flashes, weight gain, depression and lose of libido.
From the website: 'Health consequences of moderate alcohol consumption for a woman may vary with the life stage. The effect of moderate alcohol consumption on the level of estrogens and progesterone in both pre and post menopausal women are reviewed in this study. It is concluded that several lines of evidence point to an alcohol induced rise in natural or synthetic estrogen levels in women. Moderate alcohol consumption has also been linked to decreased progesterone levels in pre menopausal women.'
Read More: The Effects of Moderate Alcohol Consumption on Female Hormone Levels and Reproductive Function
The AARP study conducted in 2004 surveyed a nationally representative group
of adults ages 45 and older to measure attitudes and other factors affecting
their sexuality and quality of life.
For more than half of the respondents, sexual activity is a critical part
of a good relationship and an important factor affecting their quality of
life. A vast majority of mid-life to older adults shows a positive attitude
toward sex. The proportion of men who've tried potency enhancing medicines,
hormones, or other treatments has doubled since 1999.
Read More: A Positive Study of Human Sexuality at Midlife: Viagra
This
Page Title: 'Women's Sexual Health: Menopause. Symptoms, Natural
Treatment, Depression, Hot Flashes, Weight, Diet, Libido, Hormones, Evolution'.
Want to be Involved? Join us in this research,
which provides an excellent opportunity to present to the world the latest
knowledge about the thing we all find most interesting - sex! The work will
not just benefit humanity, it will profoundly enhance your own sexuality
as you learn more about our complex and diverse sexual evolution.
We seek help in finding the latest scientific (evolutionary)
research on our biological and cultural sexual evolution and distributing
content (overviews / summaries) to relevant pages.
This site is well respected. We are listed as the
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Philosophy Website on the Internet with around 600,000 page views each
week. So your contributions will be seen and read, and will be providing
humanity with a great source of wisdom about a very important subject (that
currently suffers due to cultural / religious myths).
If you would like to be involved (or have comments about this website) please
write to us.
Many thanks! Karene
Analyse
any human emotion, no matter how far it may be removed from the sphere of
sex, and you are sure to discover somewhere the primal impulse, to which
life owes its perpetuation. ... The primitive stages can always be re-established;
the primitive mind is, in the fullest meaning of the word, imperishable.
... Mans most disagreeable habits and idiosyncrasies, his deceit, his cowardice,
his lack of reverence, are engendered by his incomplete adjustment to a
complicated civilisation. It is the result of the conflict between our instincts
and our culture. (Sigmund Freud)
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Hi Everyone,
We get a lot of people writing to us asking questions about sex. So we
have added an 'Ask a Question' feature to our sexuality pages - to help
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Thanks.
Karene (September, 2012)
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