Nutrition and Menopause: Eating Toward a Healthier Life

Current medical practice recommends many medical solutions, such as HRT, to fight the endless parade of menopause symptoms. Alongside these potions and pills, choosing the right foods for menopause can be a game-changer in keeping these pesky symptoms in control or even bidding them a final farewell.

The following is a breakdown of foods that should and should not be included in an optimal menopause-specific nutrition plan.

What to Eat During Menopause?

Nutrition greatly impacts all parts and processes of your body, particularly during the menopausal transition. How you choose to feed your body can help ease the associated symptoms by promoting healthy digestion, promoting hit health, and ensuring enough levels of nutrients, vitamins, minerals, electrolytes, and oxidants.

• Dairy: Hormonal changes are the hallmark of menopause, with expected dips in estrogen and progesterone. Because progesterone naturally carries sleep-inducing properties, it’s declining levels can make you struggle with falling and staying asleep post menopause. Dairy products can be a go-to solution to combat these sleep issues if you are not lactose intolerant. These products’ high amino acid content has been linked to improved sleeping habits. [2] On top of sleep regulation, dairy products also deliver copious amounts of vitamin D and K to improve bone density and reduce the risk of bone fractures.
• Fruit and Vegetable: Dozens of research trials support the use of nutrient-rich vegetables and fruit to ease menopause symptoms. Fiber-rich fruit and veggies, in particular, have been associated with reduced incidence of hot flashes, so stocking up in your pantry seems like a good idea.
• Healthy Fat: While fat is widely advertised as a notorious food component, it has many healthy variants that support women going through menopause. Fatty fish, flax seeds, ad chia seeds are some examples of these healthy variants naturally infused with omega-3 fatty acids that potentially alleviate night sweats. [3] Some anecdotal evidence proposes them as a natural remedy to reduce hot flashes, though more research is needed to prove it.
• Phytoestrogens: Naturally found in barley, berries, green and black tea, plums, and soybeans, phytoestrogens share a similar chemical structure to estrogen, the primary female sexual hormone. Because the majority of menopausal symptoms are related to falling estrogen levels, pumping up the body with a natural alternative, like phytoestrogens, is a sensible option. Hence, many experts routinely recommend phytoestrogen-rich foods for menopause control.

Foods to Avoid During Menopause

When it comes to choosing the best diet for perimenopause or post-menopause, what you cut out carries as much weight as what you add. The rule of thumb, before you decide what to ditch, is to pay attention to your body and single out any triggers that may be worsening the menopausal symptoms. Following are some general foods that experts recommend taking a break from to make menopause more manageable:

• Spicy Food: For women struggling with night sweats and hot flashes, cutting back on hot sauce and curries should be the way forward. Unsurprisingly, these spiced-up foods can boost the body temperature, triggering or worsening these symptoms. Avoid jalapenos, hot salsa, and cayenne pepper, or consider swapping them with other flavoring herbs, like basil or thyme, to enjoy your meals without the fear of drenching in sweat later on.
• Coffee and Alcohol: As much as we all love a morning cup of steaming hot coffee, caffeine is one of the major dietary elements triggering menopausal hot flashes and potentially making them worse. [4] The same holds true for alcohol, which is to be equally blamed for night sweats, hot flashes, and sleep-related issues. It even promotes weight gain, which brings in a myriad of complications related to menopause, such as diabetes and cardiovascular disease.
• Salty Food: Many believe salt is a harmless mineral that perks up daily meals. However, for menopausal women, having too much of it can considerably increase the risk of complications. For instance, it can elevate blood pressure and reduce bone density, making them vulnerable to heart disease and fractures, respectively. Hence, cutting back on salt and restricting its use is highly recommended.
• Starchy, High-Carb Food: Pasta is the go-to comfort food for many women, but remember that when your body goes through menopause, it starts processing carbohydrates differently. Essentially, menopause can slow down the metabolism, which makes the carbohydrate breakdown slower and weight gain faster. While there is no magic solution to keep weight gain in check, cutting off starchy carbohydrates like white pasta, white bread, biscuits, white rice, and potatoes is the way forward. The same holds true for processed food, which the body struggles to manage and eliminate, leading to weight gain and other complications.