Thrive Through Menopause With These 5 Diet Tips

Menopause is the natural stage in a woman’s life when ovulation and menstruation cease. Society is full of degrading concepts surrounding menopause. These misconceptions are centered around being old, not being beautiful and, the comedic parody of menopausal symptoms. I believe that menopause needs to be reclaimed and honoured as a powerful life transition. I also think that women do not need to suffer through this transition. As a group, women have accepted that menopausal symptoms are normal, but I am here to tell you that there is treatment. It is possible to manage menopausal symptoms and go through menopause in comfort. Maybe if we dealt with some of the pesky physical symptoms, we could free up some energy to explore the psychological domain of stepping into wisdom, giving back to the world and recognizing your beauty at any age.

I get excited talking about menopause because there are so many different options for treatment. I am a strong proponent of the fundamentals of health, so let start with food as medicine. Below are five healthy eating habits to adapt during menopause.

1. SOY

Soy is an example of a phytoestrogen, which means that it can mimic estrogen in the body by weakly binding to estrogen receptors. The research on soy can be hard to interpret as there are some conflicting studies. The most recent research is clear that soy is the number one food to eat to reduce hot flashes. An analysis of 36 studies found that eating 54mg of soy per day for 6 months, reduced hot flashes by 20.6% compared to placebo (1). What does 54mg of soy look like? 2 cups of soy milk, 1 cup of tofu/tempeh soybeans or soy meats. The more processed soy meats will have more protein but fewer soy Isoflavones which are the active ingredient affecting menopausal symptoms (2).

2. Food Triggers

The following foods stand out as hot flash instigators and should be avoided or limited.

• hot drinks/soups
• spicy food
• caffeine
• red meat
• sugary food
• alcohol

3. Meal spacing and protein intake

Several menopausal symptoms are related to spikes and falls in blood sugar. Mental fog, fatigue, mood changes, hot flashes and sleep disturbances are all exacerbated by sugar highs followed by lows. Eating at appropriate times and ensuring adequate protein intake are two ways of smoothing out the level of sugar in your body. Regular meals offer the body a constant flow of nutrients and energy to keep you going. Eat at least three meals a day. Avoid missing breakfast as this meal can jump-start your metabolism, giving you the energy needed for the day. Make sure that there is protein at every meal. Protein is metabolized in such a way that it raises blood sugar gradually over a more extended period. Protein is vital when regulating blood sugar levels.

4. Antioxidant-rich foods

Some of the newest research links menopausal symptoms to overall inflammation in the body. Antioxidants are substances that neutralize damaging free radicals which cause inflammation in the body.  Regarding which antioxidants to eat, I say, eat the rainbow. Each different colour will offer different nutrients and antioxidant potential. Some important antioxidant-rich foods include berries, pecans, kale, artichoke and kidney beans.

5. Healthy Fats

Fats are a vital source of energy for the body. Fats also contribute to vitamin absorption, cell signaling, nervous system functioning, hormone production and overall metabolism (3). In respect to menopause, healthy fats help curb weight gain and improve cognitive functioning. Fats also keeps you feeling full for longer, therefore, smoothing out sugar level similar to protein. The catch with fats is that you need to focus on healthy fats. Generally, fats from processed foods are bad while a mixture of fish, olive oil, nuts (almonds), seeds (pumpkin, flax) and avocados is best. I could say a lot more on the concept of healthy fats, but I am going to have to save that for another post.

In conclusion, these 5 healthy eating habits can go a long way in reducing menopausal symptoms. These habits also happen to be good for overall health and wellbeing, so you really can’t go wrong. Stay tuned for my Menopause Meal Plan.

Reference:

1. Menopause 2012; 19(7):776-790. – http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22433977
2. https://veganhealth.org/soy-part-2/
3. https://www.precisionnutrition.com/all-about-healthy-fats