Diet and Your Menopause
How can diet help with menopause symptoms?
Bodies change in perimenopause and menopause. What’s worked for us previously may no longer work. Now more than ever, diet and nutrition can provide healthy support through your menopause. Eating a balanced diet that includes all the food groups will give women the nutrients they need to help with weight gain in menopause, mitigate symptoms and load up on everything needed for good bone and heart health at the same time.
It’s unquestionable - diet and making lifestyle changes matter at the best of times but they can make a real difference to many symptoms - whether it’s to help with the discomfort of digestive issues and bloating; the embarrassment of flatulence or dealing with constipation in menopause caused by hormonal changes.
Diet in perimenopause and beyond menopause isn’t just about the food that you eat or don’t eat - it’s about being mindful of portion size (including those empty alcohol calories) as well as the time of day you eat (or drink) to balance the all important blood sugars that can cause havoc in menopause. These all work together to help to improve your menopause health and comfort.
What to include in your diet to improve menopause gut health
You may have heard about phytoestrogens as being beneficial for menopausal women, these are plant based nutrients that mimic the effects of oestrogen and are useful to add to your diet in your perimenopausal years when experiencing bloating. These plant based compounds can be found in various foods like milled linseeds or flaxseeds, fermented soy products (like miso), whole grains, beans and pulses such as lentils.
With the help of your friendly gut bacteria these phytonutrients are converted by your body into oestrogen like compounds that helps you to maintain a healthy gut microbiome in menopause. Soya is a great source of phytoestrogen, we’d recommend you focus on the fermented variations in food (not supplements) as the fermentation breaks down soy’s natural compounds, helping your body access the beneficial minerals.
Other fermented foods such as kefir, kombucha, kimchi and live yogurt are also beneficial as they are a great source of probiotics, good bacteria that naturally live in your body. Probiotics help fight off infection and inflammation, they are beneficial to maintaining a healthy gut microbiome. Think of your microbiome as a community of organisms that work together to keep your body tip top.
Watch our video with nutritionist Joy Skipper on the health benefits of fermented foods for menopause. You can also check out our recipe section to try making your own fermented gut health foods.
What are the good foods to eat during menopause?
Diet in menopause is a complex subject. Here’s a guide to just a handful of foods and nutrients that you should include in a healthy balanced diet.
Eating ‘across the rainbow’, including colourful fruit and vegetables, will help to ensure that your diet is including many of the essential vitamins, minerals, food groups and nutrients that we need.
Increase fibre uptake to help with those digestive issues; lower cholesterol and help with heart health.
Keep on top of calcium to keep bones healthy, preventing osteoporosis or osteopenia, includes leafy greens, some fish, nuts, and seeds.
Fats have a bad rep but we need healthy fats in menopause to help with heart health, balance chaotic hormones, help stabilise body weight, feed the brain and help with brain fog. Foods to include eggs, fatty fish, oils, nuts and seeds.
Protein is key in menopause helping build bone density and muscle mass. Some sources are: fish, lean meats, beans, nuts (nut butters), eggs, pulses
Carbs are back - complex carbs that is. A good source of fibre, they’re important for improving mental health, energy, and blue sugar balance, found in whole grains, peas, beans, and vegetables.
What are the foods to avoid in menopause?
Once you’ve identified your symptoms it’s worth considering what foods (and drinks) to avoid in menopause to lessen the impact of symptoms.
Processed foods are packed with additives, sugars, salt and fats - all products that can exacerbate symptoms. Avoid those low-fat products that are promoted for weight loss - healthy fats are stripped out and replaced with sugars.
Alcohol can increase hot flushes, anxiety, night sweats and insomnia as well as increase the girth of the menopausal belly. Tolerance to alcohol, caffeine and spices may drop - so these may be worth avoiding.
You’ll find lots more useful information to target your specific symptoms over menopause diet and recipe section, plus expert advice in our webinar with nutritional therapist, Jackie Lynch, author of The Happy Menopause.
