Devonne from Pennsylvania asks, "[When] I was 19, I had a hysterectomy and now I'm 35 and recently I've been going through hot flashes, mood swings. Is this a sign of menopause?"

Dr. Northrup says it sounds like Devonne is in the beginning of perimenopause. "When you have a hysterectomy it changes the blood supply to the ovaries so your ovaries were obviously left in. But the blood supply was decreased a little bit," she says. "So what you can do to increase your estrogen and your testosterone and your progesterone—because the ovaries make all three of those things—you've got to make sure your stress hormone levels are low."

Following a low-glycemic diet, eating omega-3 fats and exercising can help tremendously, she says. "And it might not be such a bad thing what you're going through now, but I would do flaxseed, maybe some soy, that kind of thing and see what happens," Dr. Northrup says.

Dr. Northrup also says acupuncture can make a big difference. "Traditional Chinese medicine and acupuncture can work wonders because it works with the chi of your body—the energy flow—and we have good scientific evidence that shows that acupuncture meridians are absolutely real and there," she says.