Are the ovaries beneficial or have any purpose after menopause?

They certainly do! And we urge women who have been told they need a hysterectomy to hang on to their ovaries regardless, unless life-threatening. Even though a hysterectomy will interfere with the blood supply therefore will eventually result in complete dysfunction of your ovaries, leaving them where they are will benefit your overall hormonal health providing they are healthy. You will derive some benefits although severely compromised due to blood supply interference. For this reason, there’s no time factor. It will vary for each women.

The ovaries continue to function well and truly beyond menopause. Ovaries that have not been damaged through surgical interference or through chemical damage, do produce small quantities of estrogen and significant amounts of testosterone for a period of at least a few years to twelve years or so. They certainly have their place in maintaining your overall wellbeing. Despite the fact you have entered menopause and your ovaries don’t produce ripened eggs every month, they do still continue to secrete hormones and perform other activities in the body.

It is probable that the ovaries, post menopausal, have a capacity to produce testosterone in greater quantities than the adrenal glands. Maybe this is why women constantly report increased libido and sexual enjoyment during their postmenopausal years. However, the downside to this masculine hormone is more hair on your face and less on your head, and perhaps unsightly pimples or acne. Shrinkage of the breasts has also been reported.

It is therefore understood that, after menopause, the ovaries have a great impact on our sex hormone testosterone more so than our stores of estrogen (but let’s not forget our food sources can supply a great deal of our estrogen, and the stored estrogen in our body fat).