I went into early menopause in my 30s. Doctors told me I just had to accept it but I discovered a $7 superfood that reversed all my symptoms… and welcomed a baby girl
For virtually all women, menopause is inevitable.
But Dr Anna Cabeca, a triple board-certified obstetrician-gynecologist (OB-GYN) in Texas, started seeing the signs in 2006 at just 39 years old when her menstrual cycle stopped and she was plagued with vaginal dryness.
Menopause affects two million Americans every year and signals the end of a woman’s reproductive years. It’s the marker of when once-monthly menstrual cycles cease because the ovaries naturally stop making female sex hormones including estrogen and progesterone.
Those hormonal shifts are accompanied by a laundry list of uncomfortable side effects often considered taboo, including hot flashes, weight gain, hair loss, trouble sleeping and dryness that makes sex painful.
On average, women in the US enter menopause around age 51. But perimenopause, or ‘menopause transition,’ starts roughly a decade sooner and can last for months or years before menopause takes hold.
Doctors told Cabeca she was in premature menopause – a loss of ovarian function before age 40 – and that she was infertile.
Cabeca, now 59, told the Daily Mail she suspected the sudden onset of menopause was caused by stress and trauma – her son had died in an accident earlier that year, and she later developed post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
She also claimed that when she asked for a solution, doctors told her she had no choice but to accept it. They offered antidepressants and sleeping pills for anticipated depression and insomnia.
For Dr Anna Cabeca (pictured), a triple board-certified OB-GYN in Texas, signs of early menopause began in 2006 at age 39. But she refused to simply accept it, as she was urged to do by doctors
‘It was devastating,’ Cabeca told the Daily Mail. ‘I felt dried up and just worn out and defeated by our medical system.’
A few weeks later, Cabeca took a year-long sabbatical and traveled with her daughters to 17 different countries including Indonesia, Brazil, Australia and New Zealand. The first stop was Peru, where locals introduced her to a root vegetable from the cruciferous category, which also includes broccoli and cauliflower.
Long used in traditional South American medicine, maca is touted for boosting fertility by acting as an adaptogen – a plant-based substance that helps the body recover from stress – to balance the endocrine system and regulate hormone levels.
Research is limited, but some animal studies show maca powders may improve erectile dysfunction in men and improve sexual function and libido in women with antidepressant-induced sexual dysfunction.
‘It’s the Peruvian Viagra,’ Cabeca said.
After learning about maca, she ‘started adding other superfoods [into her regimen] because modern medicine had failed me.’
As she traveled around the world, Cabeca was introduced to more ‘superfoods’ tied to female fertility and stalling menopause. The list included turmeric, acerola cherry, mangosteen and cat’s claw herbs.
Turmeric contains a compound called curcumin, which reduces inflammation and has been shown to alleviate the severity of hot flashes. Acerola cherry is thought to boost collagen production, improve skin elasticity, reduce fatigue and manage levels of stress hormone cortisol, which regulates sex hormones.
Cat’s claw herb and the tropical fruit mangosteen boast antioxidants that have been shown to reduce inflammation, mood swings and hot flashes.
Cabeca also spent a significant amount of time walking, taking public transportation instead of driving and soaking up nature, unlike her more sedentary lifestyle in the US.
After returning to the US, she developed a powder called Mighty Maca Plus, which featured maca along with 30 other ingredients she was introduced to during her trip.
Then, in 2008, at age 41, Cabeca began menstruating again and conceived a baby girl, despite being in premature menopause just two years earlier.
Maca root has long been used in traditional South American medicine for its fertility benefits. Cabeca told the Daily Mail the cheap superfood was part of her menopause reversal plan (stock image)
‘I had no concept that anything I was doing was going to improve my diagnosis or completely reverse my diagnosis,’ she told the Daily Mail. ‘It was just a matter of intrigue and, “What’s something else I can do that I haven’t thought of?” because I thought I tried everything.’
Cabeca staved off menopause until 2014, when she was 48 years old and was hit with ‘full-blown perimenopause.’ The inevitable had happened once again, accompanied by bleeding, mood swings, irritability, forgetfulness and vaginal dryness.
‘I was burned out,’ she said. ‘I closed my medical practice because the symptoms were that severe, and during that time, I gained 20lbs without doing anything different.’
Cabeca’s expertise as an OB-GYN made her suspect clues could be hidden in her urine, so she used at-home tests to measure its pH. The tests showed Cabeca’s urine was highly acidic, which inspired her to prioritize foods that have a basic pH level to balance her levels.
Increased vaginal pH has been tied to worse menopause symptoms due to fostering a prime environment for bacterial growth.
Alkaline foods include certain fruits such as avocado and bananas, non-starchy vegetables like broccoli and asparagus, unsweetened fruit juices, bone broth, nuts, seeds and fermented foods such as kimchi and kefir.
Experts believe omega-3s and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) reduce inflammation that comes with dips in estrogen levels, which lowers the frequency and intensity of hot flashes, night sweats and pain. So Cabeca also began incorporating salmon and olive oil, along with spinach and kale into her diet.
Cabeca used a ‘keto-green’ diet to help reverse her menopause, which emphasizes healthy fats such as salmon, herbs and greens (stock image)
By the time Cabeca (pictured) finally went through menopause at age 56, she had no symptoms other than her menstrual cycle stopping
Cabeca called this the ‘keto-green’ diet – a play on the low-carb ketogenic diet. The plan involves prioritizing healthy fats and alkaline foods while stripping out grains and dairy, both of which can fuel inflammation.
Go-to keto-green meals for Cabeca include smoked salmon with capers, olive oil, sprouts and arugula, as well as kofta with tomatoes, herbs and a side salad.
She also focused on reducing levels of the stress hormone cortisol and boosting the ‘love hormone’ oxytocin. Cortisol levels typically rise during menopause as estrogen falls, reducing the body’s ability to handle stress, which may exacerbate hot flashes, weight gain, insomnia and brain fog. Oxytocin, meanwhile, decreases as women transition into menopause.
For Cabeca, lowering cortisol and increasing oxytocin meant making time for ‘play.’
‘Love, affection, gratitude, giving of your time, doing things you love, laughter, playing with your pet, going out for a walk – all of those things increase oxytocin,’ she said.
For Cabeca, play looks like spending time with her family’s horses and getting outside for daily walks.
Cabeca claimed that after a few weeks, she managed to reverse her perimenopause. She was 56 by the time she finally went through menopause, and she credited her lifestyle interventions for helping to smooth the transition.
She told the Daily Mail that the only sign of menopause she saw was that it had been a year since her last menstrual cycle.
‘The symptoms were completely gone,’ she said.
Cabeca added that while menopause is natural and not permanently preventable, adopting dietary and lifestyle changes decades early could ‘set the foundation’ for healthy aging in women.
She said it is possible ‘for women to take the power back over their body and their choices. Notice and really understand that small shifts in lifestyle and food choices and timing makes a huge improvement in our hormones and our hormonal balance, how we feel and how we show up for ourselves and for others.
‘Menopause is natural and mandatory. Suffering is optional.’
