Tips for good nutrition during menopause
Between the ages of 45 and 55 most women will experience the menopause, a phase that marks the end of menstruation, signalling that childbearing days are over. For some women the menopause passes relatively quietly without too much discomfort, but for others the menopause can mean several years of anxiety. Menopausal symptoms include hot flashes, night sweats, insomnia, mood swings and hair thinning.
Prescription drugs and treatments such as hormone replacement therapy (HRT) are frequently used to help women get through menopause with as little discomfort as possible. One area that is often ignored is nutrition, yet paying particular attention to the foods you eat, and don’t eat, can go along way to easing many of the symptoms of menopause. Here are some simple tips to improve your diet during menopause.
• Get the basics right. The menopause does require specific dietary advice, but it is most important to start by ensuring that you are consuming all the basic food groups along with vitamins and minerals in your diet. This means a diet including lots of fruit, vegetables, grains, low fat dairy products, nuts, seeds and oily fish. Try to reduce your intake of high sugar foods and saturated fat, whilst being careful about your consumption of salt.
• Add soy products. It is commonly recommended that menopausal women try to increase their intake of soy. The theory is that the plant estrogenic isoflavones found in soy help to relieve and reduce hot flashes. Dietary soy contains high quality protein and fatty acids, which studies have shown may help with hot flushes. While soy can be added to the diet through supplementation, it is best to try to add it in natural food sources such as soy drinks, soy nuts or tofu.
• Avoid food triggers. Certain foods act as triggers for some of the symptoms of menopause, especially hot flashes. For this reason it is best to avoid consuming high amounts of caffeine, spicy foods and alcohol.
• Consume calcium rich foods. During menopause it is important to look after your bones, therefore consuming adequate amounts of calcium is a major factor in this. Most people know that dairy foods such as milk and cheese are good sources of calcium, but not so many people realize that green leafy vegetables like cabbage and broccoli also provide high amounts of calcium, in addition to many other nutrients.
For more information on nutrition through the menopause visit the Nutrition Help website for individual advice.
