www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm 

www.webmd.com/health-ehome-9/pesticides-hormones-in-food

 But obviously both men and women begin to lose their level of hormones with age unless they intervene.

And why do they fight the body's natural wisdom and intervene? Because people are being convinced that these are diseases rather than the truth that they are merely transitions. As I said before the body is very intelligent. Why do we fall down when we pass out? Because passing out involves the blood flowing out of the brain. By falling down this helps to get blood back to the brain. If we did not fall down when we passed out we could stroke. Why do we bleed for a short period of time rather than instantly clotting when we cut ourselves? Because the bleeding helps to flush out bacteria from the wound before sealing the wound with a clot. Therefore trying to fight the body's infinite wisdom of slowing down hormone production by supplying more hormones makes as much sense as propping people up when they faint so they can't fall down or slapping on an occlusive bandage when you cut yourself to prevent bleeding. 

It's just that with women there is the end of bleeding, which is an obvious "sign" even though other symptoms remain!

I am just curious if anyone knows the trigger(s)? Something more specific than "old age"? I mean, some societies don't even have words for menopause, so it's not the same worldwide.

Menopause occurs worldwide. We don't see 100 year old women in other countries menstruating do we? The only difference is the symptomology, and this is easily explained. Women on a traditional Asian diet do not suffer from menopausal symptoms. If they go on the average American diet though then they end up with what we refer to as menopausal symptoms. So they still go through menopause and do not suffer with menopausal symptoms on the traditional diet despite not using any hormone replacement. So what is the difference in diets? Their diets are rich in phytoestrogens, which help to balance hormone levels. These extremely weak estrogenic compounds can latch on to estrogen receptors and exert an estrogenic effect that averages 200 to 400 times weaker than our own estrogens.  At the same time by occupying these receptors they prevent stronger estrogens from attaching to these receptors. If they cannot attach they cannot have any effect on the body. This is why phytoestrogens, including those from soy, help to protect us from cancer, and help prevent menopausal symptoms in women.

There are other contributing factors though that can wreak havoc on the hormonal system. These include the use of external hormones, such as DHEA, estrogen replacement therapy and progesterone creams.  These produce artificial highs in hormone levels at a time when the boy is lowering levels for safety reasons. They also atrophy the glands still producing hormones creating severe imbalances in hormone levels and more of a dependence on the external hormones.

The other big factor is exposure to xenoestrogens such as dioxins and DDT. Not only can these xenoestrogens be up to 100,000 times more powerful than human estrogens, they are also very stable in the environment. DDT for example takes about 100 years to break down in the soil. So even though it is not being sprayed in the US anymore this does not mean Americans are not still being exposed.

I just don't know if it's wise to try to replace our vanishing hormones or not. If it's 'natural' shouldn't we leave well enough alone? If it's triggered, perhaps we could UNtrigger it or make efforts to replace the lost hormones somehow.

No, it is NOT safe to replace hormones as I have pointed out. It is safe though to cleanse the liver to help with hormone regulation, to eat plenty of phytoestrogen sources and to maintain the intestinal flora to further break down hormone metabolites.

 "....there is a far greater psychological component to menopause than an actual physical one." I agree, thinking... Just as when females domicile together their rhythms align for reasons beyond conscious control, it seems probable that there are factors of which we're currently unaware that can have an effect on this subject. But you can almost guess them, like, lower overall stress might be expected to have a better outcome than where longer term stress is present, etc.

Yes, stress can play a role because of its negative effects on the adrenals, which are the primary source of hormones after menopause.

Stress also negatively affects the thyroid. And most of menopausal symptoms are already due to hypothyroidism from estrogen suppression.

 "If we should leave well enough alone, does that apply to all the hormone producing glands in our body or just some of them? Should we try to rev up the adrenals and not worry about the ovaries or rev up the thyroid but not worry about ... whatever.

Are some glands [and use the word loosely here for lack of a more specific one...whatever is producing hormones!] supposed to slow as we age and if so, why shouldn't we let 'nature' take it's course and not fiddle with it?"

Very sound and cogent point, Marci. I currently believe that ALL systems of the physical body can be held in optimum (or close to) functionality.

This "natural transitioning" is a faulty premise, imo.

The problem again is that we have done so much to disrupt our endocrine system. So we have to address these disruptions and try to restore balance. But this is not done with synthetic hormones, which will just create more imbalances and dangerous side effects. It is done with phytoestrogens and glandular support from diet and herbs. This will allow the body to generate the hormones it requires rather than overloading the hormonal system with dangerous DHEA, estrogen replacement or progesterone creams.