By Suzi Grant, nutritionist and author of Alternative Ageing
My favorite saying at the moment is: “it’s never too early or too late to start.” Anything! So, whether you’re 35 or 55 I want to share my experience of twenty years, practicing as a nutritionist, to help you eat your way through symptom-free menopause. Here are your top tips for a great menopause diet.
By incorporating just eight foods you may not have tried before, I hope to help you avoid the worst of the flushes/flashes and all that comes with The Change. So there’s not too much to change to have a good menopause diet.
The menopause happens when estrogen and/or progesterone and testosterone decline to a point where periods stop completely. It’s not a disease but a completely natural point of our lives!
The average age for menopause is 51 and for perimenopause, the symptoms can start in your late 30s but more usually in your 40s.
First, here are the symptoms to look out for when you are entering your perimenopausal stage. A fact I was reminded of by a saleswoman in a large pharmacy who shouted at the top of her voice that I was getting spots in my early 40s because it was the perimenopause. Nice!
Perimenopause
- Irregular periods
- Acne
- Weight gain
- Hot flushes
- Irritability
- Depression
- Forgetfulness
And for those of you in your 50s, here’s what else to look out for. Oh joy of joys!
Menopause and post-menopause
- Loss of skin elasticity
- Wrinkles around the mouth
- Palpitations
- Disturbed sleep
- Loss of libido
- vagin*l dryness
I managed to get through the menopause without HRT and only suffered from occasional hot flushes if I drank too much coffee.
I am not particularly pro HRT because of my naturopathic training and the fact that, apart from the health scares, when it is stopped, the menopausal symptoms usually come back more severe than before, and you can’t stay on it forever. I feel it’s like using a steam roller to crush a nut so, unless there’s no other way of dealing with your symptoms, try my suggestions first.
Top tips to avoid hot flashes and night sweats
Those nightmare sweats are often caused by fluctuating blood sugar levels as well as fluctuating hormones so avoid all foods on the high glycaemic index as much as possible, especially sugar in all forms such as sugary soft drinks and sugary foods, that also come in disguise as foods you might think of as innocuous like: white bread, potatoes and white rice! A full low-glycemic diet is in my Weekend Weight Loss book and a free excerpt is on the above link
- Drink 2 liters of water a day.
- Avoid smoking, drinking alcohol, and coffee as much as you can. They all exacerbate hot flushes.
- Avoid over spicy or processed foods.
- Make sure you’re going poo regularly! A blocked-up colon is going to make things worse as you need to get rid of any toxic build-up. Top tip below shows you how to get them moving naturally.
- This is the time to try a detox or a new healthy, eating plan, encompassing all the suggested foods in this blog, to eliminate any toxic build-up and help your body cope a bit better.
- Foods rich in phytoestrogens, and natural plant estrogens, help women maintain hormonal balance as their body’s levels begin to fluctuate. They are exactly what you need to feed your body at this time, whether peri or post-menopausal. The highest form of phytoestrogens and Omega 3 fatty acids, also essential for regulating hormones, is found in flaxseeds (and flaxseed oil), or linseeds, and – double whammy – they are one of the best ways to kick arse when it comes to constipation!
Brain food
Love my oily fish. Salmon is the highest of the oily fish for Omega 3 essential fatty acids – essential for the health of every cell in your body.
The human brain just hoovers up DHA – docasal hexanoic acid – the most effective of the Omega 3 fatty acids found in oily fish. The brain needs it in high levels to avoid low serotonin levels, which can cause depression, SAD, moods, and forgetfulness.
A high intake of fish oils has been linked to significant improvements in memory, moods, and mental problems as well as lowering the risk of developing ageing diseases such as Alzheimer’s.
So if you want to avoid irritability, depression, and forgetfulness, make sure to eat plenty of oily fish. The highest in Omega 3 are in this order:
- Salmon
- Mackerel
- Sardines
- Fresh Tuna
- Herring
- Anchovies
- Trout
You can also buy a clean, well-sourced fish oil supplement and make sure to take at least 2000 mg a day. Preferably a.m. and p.m. Or by-pass the fish capsules altogether and go straight to what they eat for Omega 3! Krill is growing in popularity and will do the job just as well as getting those precious fats straight to where they’re needed: to every cell in the body to support your hormones.
Soya – to eat or not eat, that is the question
The soya bean is made up of amino acids, minerals, and isoflavones, which also belong to the family of phytoestrogens. Isoflavones have been found to help prevent cancer, heart disease, and menopausal symptoms. (In fact, there isn’t a word for “hot flashes/flushes” in the Japanese language because they arealmost unknown thanks to their diet. )
However, it is also well documented, that large quantities of soya can increase the risk of breast cancer, because of the estrogenic action in the body isoflavones may have. Far from balancing hormone levels, the isoflavones and other toxic substances found in soya may actually disrupt the endocrine system leading to problems with infertility, thyroid disorders, early onset of puberty in children, and a depletion of vital nutrients such as zinc, iodine, and calcium.
Mike Fitzpatrick, a toxicologist, has made the comparison of drinking two glasses of soya milk a day to ingesting 2 birth control pills a day. Japanese researchers have known for the last fifty years that high consumption of soya can suppress thyroid function, a fact reiterated by every thyroid expert I have ever met. But a lot of these scary reports are down to the type of processed soya we consume in this country.
The reason Japanese women are famous for sailing through menopause is because of the type of soy-rich diet they consume. Here are some facts: they only eat 7-8 grams of soya a day. They consume more sea vegetables and so replace the iodine levels that are depleted by soya. (Add sea vegetables to your list!)
Their source of soya is less processed. And they don’t consume much tofu or soya milk. They mainly eat miso, tempeh or tamari, all of which are fermented, which, unlike other forms of soya, are unlikely to block the uptake of zinc, iodine and calcium. So try those three instead of soya or tofu for that extra boost of phytoestrogens.
Beans mean happy hormones!
Beans, peas, and lentils also contain compounds that can help your body produce natural progesterone. For happy hormones and high nutrition, they are a must for peri or post-menopause. Try to incorporate more of these into your eating plan:
- Aduki beans
- Chickpeas
- Pinto beans
- Flageolet beans
- Kidney beans
- Black beans
- Lentils
- Green peas
Listen to Suzi Grant on the Magnificent Midlife Podcast
Supplements in food form
Apart from your five, make that seven, portions of veg and fruit each day, there are other foods I want to recommend to you for your menopause diet. They are, strictly speaking, supplements but they’re natural foods and are not synthetic, so easier absorbed by your body. I have tried them all for various menopausal symptoms as have many of my clients in the past. With great success. These are my favorites, although there are many other suggestions out there for you to consider.
1. Bee Pollen
Bee pollen was great for me when I started suffering from an over-active bladder. The effects take a maximum of three months but within a couple of weeks my weak bladder was under control and I no longer suffered from stress incontinence! I have no idea why or how it works – but it does!
These little golden, colored granules are very easy to eat but can cause a heavy stomach, bloating, or diarrhea. So start with only a few granules and build up very slowly till you can have a teaspoon without any side effects. You can sprinkle it on yogurt, cereal, and bread or take it straight off the spoon.
2. Goji Berries
Goji berries, sometimes known as wolfberries, come from wild bushes that grow in China. Goji means wolf in Chinese. They are known as “happy” berries because it is said that a handful of these berries will keep you jolly for the rest of the day.
Not only that, but these little red, raisin-like fruits are associated with longevity and, unlike ginseng, large amounts can be eaten continuously throughout the day. They may help you with menopausal symptoms such as depression, poor sleep, and immunity.
3. Spirulina
Spirulina is the botanical name of blue-green algae, well known in the anti-aging world for promoting cellular regeneration
Many women have less trouble from menopausal symptoms if they take spirulina. You may feel calmer, certainly more energetic and in balance as well as having less bother from hot flushes. The reason is that spirulina contains large amounts of gamma-linolenic, another fatty acid that is converted into prostaglandins, the precursors to hormones.
It has successfully helped with PMS, painful breasts, and raging hormones. It is ridiculously high in protein and B12, which is essential for vegetarians and vegans, as well as containing masses of iron, beta carotene, calcium, magnesium and chlorophyll. All great for anyone at any age!
Because I am well past the menopause I have been forgetting to put it into my smoothie as well as the green powder I use. But I was given a pack of Focus Supplements and have to say my energy levels have soared since I started adding it to my green smoothie!
Finally, here’s another powder that is well researched and has helped many women, including me.
4. Herbs
Finally, a word about herbs. There are some amazingly helpful herbs out there, from black cohosh to sage, for alleviating the worst menopausal or perimenopausal symptoms by up to 50%. However, I wouldn’t recommend any here as I don’t know what medication you might be on and think it much safer to suggest you see a qualified herbalist, practitioner and/or your doctor before taking any potions. They’re powerful.
You should be totally safe with my suggestions but always check with a physician if you are suffering from any illness or disease, taking HRT or are on any other medication. Or just unsure.
Please comment below if you have new and exciting foods to share with us all! And, of course, you can read up on all age-related issues in Alternative Ageing. Remember, it’s never too early or late to start on your good menopause diet!
Look forward to hearing from you.
This article was first published on Alternative Ageing and Suzi has kindly allowed us to republish it here.
You may also like: How To Thrive Through Menopause and How To Have A Happy Menopause Without HRT
Suzi Grant was a chain-smoking, hard-drinking reporter/presenter on TV and Radio for most of herworking life. But when hermum died of a heart attack at the age of 63, shedecided to take stock of herhealth and trained as a nutritionist. Shethen wrote three books, includingAlternative Ageing, continues to broadcast as a health and fashion expert, and moved from London to Brighton, where she has enjoyed life to the max ever since! Shestarted her Alternative Ageing Blog in 2014 to share all the things sheloves and knows about:health and nutrition, style and travel.Top tips on looking good andfeelinggreat, whatever your age!
Last Updated on June 7, 2022 by Editorial Staff
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