You all know the drill: As women age, they produce less estrogen. And with resultant perimenopause and irregular periods comes the insomnia, hot flashes, mood swings, vaginal dryness and night sweats. If it's all too much, there is estrogen therapy, sure, but is there any kind of approach that doesn't require quite such an extreme and doctor-supervised approach?

How about vitamins? Either through supplementation or just eating a lot of the right foods, women can ameliorate many of the more tedious and extreme symptoms of perimenopause and menopause. Here's a quick guide.

When both men and women age, our bodies lose some of their capacity to absorb vitamin B12 and our risk of vitamin B12 deficiency increases. Many of the symptoms of B12 deficiency mirror that of estrogen loss – including fatigue, weakness and depression – so supplementing with B12 will ameliorate some of the more common signs of menopause. B12 also works towards keeping your memory sharp. Women going through menopause could consider stocking up on liver, mackerel, sardines, salmon, red meat, and milk – all foods that contain B12.

Women are at increased risk for depression during menopause. For this reason, it is important to maintain healthy levels of vitamin B6. The vitamin can also help with mood swings and alleviate some of the agitation and anger that accompanies menopause. As with B12, your normal levels of B6 drop with the onset of menopause. B6 also helps your body make antibodies, keep your nerves working properly, break down proteins, and keep blood sugar within normal ranges. Look to turkey breast, grass-fed beef, pistachios, tuna, pinto beans and chicken breast for your daily dose of B6.

Vitamin E is the go-to vitamin for menopausal women, the one to take if you can take only one. It is an antioxidant that relieves stress by reducing oxidative stress. Stress is a hallmark of menopause because of imbalanced hormone levels. Almonds, spinach, sweet potatoes, avocados, wheat germ and sunflower seeds are all high in vitamin E.

In most cases, the vitamins in pills are processed by your body just as efficiently, if not more so, than the vitamin forms found in foods. Note, however, that vitamin E is the big exception to that rule of thumb. The natural forms of the vitamin are absorbed and utilized twice as well as the synthetic forms.