Your nutrition in menopause

There’s been a lot of chatter about menopause on social media this week, following Monday night’s Panorama programme about the menopause industry.

Menopause usually affects women between the ages of 45 and 55, but for some women it can happen earlier. Some women will sail through menopause without too many symptoms, while for others the effects of hormonal changes can be debilitating. As well as changes to your period (heavier, more frequent, or less regular), other common symptoms include weight gain, low mood and anxiety/panic attacks, joint and muscle pain, changes to sleep patterns, vaginal dryness and low libido.

Perimenopause can start up to ten years before our periods stop. This is when women start to notice some symptoms that might include changes to their periods, feeling a bit more fatigued, muscle pain or achy joints for example. At this stage, women are having anovulatory cycles and as a result, progesterone levels start to fall. Progesterone has a calming effect on the body, so stress, feelings of overwhelm, increased PMS symptoms and anxiety can be common at this time.

HRT is an important consideration at perimenopause and menopause, but it is part of a bigger picture of self-care that needs to be considered to help women help themselves. Getting the right advice about HRT is essential and the first port of call should, of course, be your GP.

Our nutritional needs change as our hormones change, and modifications to diet and lifestyle can help support mental, emotional and physical health for women approaching, or at menopause.

Here are some ideas to get you thinking:

Prioritise protein.

Our risk for bone and muscle loss increases with fluctuations in hormones at menopause. Women can protect against this by increasing their intake of protein. It is estimated that from our 40s (peri-menopause) and beyond, women need around 1.5g protein per kg of body weight. This is almost double what we are advised to have in our younger years. The easy way to do this is just to think protein first when you are building a meal, rather than get caught up in weighing and measuring all your food. Focus on creating meals around the protein source of meat, fish, pulses, tofu, cheese or yoghurt, nuts and seeds and get a good variety of some animal and plenty of plant-based sources of protein into your diet. Most people notice an improvement in energy and fewer cravings when they get a little more protein onto their plate, so it can help with weight loss, appetite and body composition changes that often come with menopause too.

Fats are essential.

Getting enough oily fish, nuts, seeds, olive oil and other healthy fats are important, and studies suggest that increasing our omega 3 intake from oily fish could have beneficial effects on emotional and cognitive function during the menopause transition, not to mention the positive effects on cardiovascular function, which is an important consideration for women at menopause.

Eat more vegetables!

Women who have more vegetables in their diet have been shown to have lower intensity of symptoms including better mood, better sleep and fewer hot flushes at menopause.

Foods like flaxseeds, beans, lentils and soya should be on every woman’s shopping list at menopause.

These foods contain plant chemicals called phytoestrogens that have been found to have benefits including helping with the management of hot flushes and improving quality of life at menopause. Start getting into the habit of adding flaxseeds to your diet every day. Local brand, Linwoods have a product called Menoliga that has been produced to help support women at menopause. Add to breakfast, sprinkle into yoghurt or add to your usual smoothie recipe, but do it every day.

Eat real food!

A diet high in processed foods is associated with increased menopause symptoms including more intense flushes and sweats, sleep disturbances and poor memory and concentration.

Drop the caffeine.

Caffeine has been shown to increase symptoms of hot flushes at menopause and is likely to impact on mood and sleep too. Make the switch to decaffeinated drinks, or herbal teas instead.

I’ll be speaking about this at Menopause NI’s conference at the Clayton Hotel on 18 October.  You can find out more at menopauseni.com.