Putting on weight in small amounts is perfectly normal, but it’s still important to be mindful of what goes on your plate as any excess weight can make your other menopause symptoms worse; especially, hot flashes, night sweats, and your heart health. In fact cardiovascular disease is now the number one cause of death in post-menopausal women.
Because of this increased risk, scientists at Harvard Medical School advise women experiencing menopause keep an eye on their cholesterol levels, even if cholesterol has never been a problem for you before.
A positive change is to start swapping out high cholesterol foods, such as fried fatty foods, processed meats like bacon, and full-fat dairy.
Try to focus on eating more protein, fiber, and healthy fats to feel more satiated as well as protein for building and maintaining muscle.
Eat more foods such as:
turkey
chicken
fish
red kidney beans
peas
quinoa
almonds
walnuts
Brazilian nuts.
Alcohol is another one to keep your eye on. Excessive drinking can prevent your body from burning fat as it’s high in calories and may lead to more hunger while leaving you feeling less full.
Food for better moods
Fluctuating hormones, fatigue, and life stresses can all play a part in your mood regulation during menopause. No matter how good life is, if you haven’t slept well for the past few months, chances are you’re feeling pretty low.
Around 20% of women experience feelings of depression during menopause and many more experience anxiety.
Some fermented foods such as yogurt, kimchi, and kombucha can help create a healthy gut microbiome that promotes the creation of serotonin. Normal levels of serotonin can help regulate mood, increase feelings of happiness, and decrease feelings of anxiousness.
Other foods such as bananas, oats, berries, dark chocolate (in moderation), and oily fish, like salmon, can also bring happy feelings to the body.
And while caffeine has been shown to promote a mood boost, alcohol is a depressant and if you’re feeling low, it should be avoided.
Food for bone health
We’ve already discussed loss of muscle mass, but did you know, your bone mass can also reduce during this time? On average, women will lose around 10% of their bone mass.
This is largely thanks to lower estrogen levels which trigger the body to break down more bone than it creates. This is why osteoporosis is commonly linked with menopause as it’s a condition that causes your bones to reduce in density and fracture more easily.
Eating more foods with phytoestrogens, such as soy, plums, pears, apples, tofu, or lentils, has been shown to improve your bone health. But as we mentioned earlier, talk to your doctor first if you do decide to make any major changes to your diet and increase your soy intake in particular.
To further reduce your risk of osteoporosis, as well as minimizing other symptoms and potential complications of menopause, your doctor may suggest the addition of vitamin D and calcium supplements to your diet to keep your bone density from dropping.
Foods that are naturally rich in vitamin D include:
sardines
tuna
salmon
egg yolks
fortified cereals.
Similarly, eating more calcium-rich foods can improve your bone health, try including more sunflower seeds, almonds, kale, broccoli, arugula (rocket), and spinach in your diet.
Just keep in mind that consuming vitamin D and calcium as supplements is thought to be problematic for some. Ensure you talk to your doctor first about these options.
Menopause diet: what not to do
If you’ve Googled ‘menopause diet’ (and haven’t we all?!), what you find can be overwhelming. Don’t be lured into anything resembling a crash diet, as this will only mess with your metabolism. Instead, you want to play a long game, slow and steady will always be the best approach.
Fad diets such as juice diets or ‘skinny’ teas may end up doing you more harm than good. So set yourself up for success and follow some basic rules.
Consume more:
lean protein (white fish, lentils, chicken breast)
oily fish (salmon, mackerel, sardines)
a variety of fruits and vegetables (eat the rainbow)
herbs, they add so much flavor!
Consume less:
The Wrap Up
Creating the best menopause diet for you can help you feel sleep better and even reduce troublesome symptoms such as insomnia and hot flashes. Increasing oily fish, reducing alcohol, and eating a rainbow of fresh fruit and vegetables can all help. But keep in mind that everybody and every body is different. We recommend talking to your doctor or a nutritionist to get expert advice on what can promote the best outcomes for you during menopause.
References
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Reid IR, Bolland MJ. Calcium and/or Vitamin D Supplementation for the Prevention of Fragility Fractures: Who Needs It?. Nutrients. 2020;12(4):1011. Published 2020 Apr 7. doi:10.3390/nu12041011
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