BarcelonaMarta Marcy is 39 years old, but her life took a turn when she was 26. She was working in film production and never thought she would end up working in the world of nutrition. Until she was diagnosed with cancer. “When you are very young and they tell you: ‘Look, you have very advanced ovarian cancer. You will have to undergo a very aggressive operation and you will suddenly go into menopause. You will have to undergo chemotherapy,’ you are shocked and you think: ‘What happened? ’” he recalls. She decided that she would take a year to recover from the operation, a year to rebuild her life and, above all, to understand what the early menopause that was now part of her was.
“When you think you might die, which you’ve never thought about in your life, you say, ‘If I have to die, I’m going to do what I really want to do, right?’” she says. The first thing she did was ask her doctors what she could do with all the changes that come with menopause. Since they felt it wasn’t advisable for her to continue hormone therapy, they told her there wasn’t much they could do other than treat her when she had osteoporosis or was depressed or had cardiovascular problems. “That’s when I started researching, making all sorts of changes, trying things on myself, feeling like there was a before and an after.” Then came the degree in human nutrition and dietetics.
Through Instagram, Marcy spreads the word about nutrition and menopause, trying to break down the stigmas surrounding this stage of a woman’s life, which she says is being talked about more and more. “13 years ago, this was a huge taboo, we didn’t know anything about it. We only talked about very negative things about aging and losing vitality. I didn’t know that losing my period meant reshaping my world on a physiological level,” she admits.
In her case, going through menopause at 26 left her feeling completely out of touch with people her age, and this was exacerbated by the fact that she made a radical change in her habits, which included giving up alcohol and sugar and starting to exercise. She says that other women who have gone through the same process add to the sadness of not being able to become mothers, a circumstance that in her case did not happen because it was not part of her plans.
As for why menopause seems so secret, Marcy is clear: there is a sexual component. “A woman disappears after a certain age,” she says. She recommends starting to prepare for this stage of life long before the first symptoms appear. “It’s very important for women to know that menopause doesn’t start at 50, that’s the peak. From 40 to 50, we go through a real second adolescence: hormones go up, down, and are very irregular.”
One of Marcy’s main recommendations is to exercise, especially strength training, to gain muscle and protect bones and metabolism. Also check your levels of vitamin D, which helps calcium be absorbed well and therefore plays an important role in osteoporosis, magnesium, and a diet adapted to menopause.
“Menopause should be a time of self-care. Many women discover themselves, and take up new hobbies. This is very important because one of the aspects that defines many of the symptoms of perimenopause or menopause is stress. If we don’t make it the number one priority in our lives, we are likely to experience more symptoms of all kinds,” says Marcy, concluding with a positive message. “I think menopause should be understood, and you should deal with it through your own habits, not try to reverse it. It is a phase that you have to go through, whether you like it or not. So let’s get through it as best we can. That’s my philosophy,” he says.
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