Managing menopause through your diet
The symptoms of menopause span everything from mood swings, depression, and fatigue, to sleep issues, brain fog, memory loss, and hot flushes (including night sweats).
While greater awareness of this key hormonal phase in a woman’s life is slowly growing, there is still a widespread lack of understanding of how to manage menopause symptoms. As well as HRT (Hormone Replacement Therapy), and regular exercise, one other area to consider is your diet.
Gut health is important and helps with myriad key systems within the body, including playing a crucial role in detoxifying and eliminating hormones. Oestrogen, as well as other hormones and toxins, are excreted through bile from the liver into our gut, where it is eventually eliminated from the body via our faeces.
If the gut microbiome is out of balance, it can result in hormones - notably oestrogen - being reabsorbed, which can heighten menopausal symptoms. The gut is also responsible for making and managing neurotransmitters, such as serotonin (responsible for happiness), dopamine, and melatonin, all of which have an influence on mood and sleep, so it’s important to keep the gut happy for a healthy body and mind.
Boost your polyphenols
Mixed herbs and spices added to scrambled eggs; frozen berries in overnight oats; a handful of mixed mushrooms added to a stir fry; nuts and seeds blended with fresh basil, rocket and extra virgin olive oil to make a quick pesto; or a spoonful of kefir added to a vegetable soup - the aim is to have 30 different plants per week, which provide different types of prebiotic fibre and polyphenols to ensure a healthy, diverse gut microbiome.
Eat phytoestrogens
Red wine, coffee, strawberries, nuts and seeds, oats, wheat, liquorice root tea, and olive oil all contain phytoestrogens, which have properties akin to those of oestrogen itself. To a limited extent, phytoestrogens could serve as a type of natural hormone replacement therapy because they mimic your body’s own oestrogen. There is also some limited evidence to suggest that phytoestrogens can help prevent osteoporosis and even reduce hot flushes.
Consume healthy fats with every meal
Crucial for hormone production, sources of healthy fats include oily fish, grass-fed meat, eggs, olive oil, nuts, seeds, avocado, organic butter, ghee or coconut oil.
Take a good women’s multivitamin
To maintain energy and mood, it’s important to take a good mix of vitamins, especially B6 and B12 and vitamin E, which are often combined with botanicals, such as Siberian ginseng and folic acid.
1 in 6 adults in the UK have low levels of vitamin D in their blood, especially during the winter months, and a drop in oestrogen and calcium levels during perimenopause can make that worse. Taking a daily vitamin D supplement (at least 600 IU) helps maintain recommended levels.
Prioritise protein
Eating enough protein is important, as it helps to stabilise blood sugar levels, makes us feel fuller, and play a critical role in production of neurotransmitters. 1g per 1kg of your weight as a good daily target, ideally from a wide variety of foods, including free-range poultry and oily fish, eggs, yogurt, and cheese. Plant-based sources include tofu or tempeh, as well as pulses and legumes. You could also try a protein power.
Boost your Omega-3
Providing anti-inflammatory and joint health support, a diet high in oily fish (including mackerel, salmon or sardines), seeds (flaxseed, chia seed, hemp seed), seaweed, edamame and walnuts can help maintain your omega-3 levels.
There are three main types of omega-3 fatty acids: DHA, EPA, and ALA. Fish and seafood sources of omega-3 tend to be higher in DHA and EPA, while plant sources are typically higher in ALA. Eating a variety of omega-3 foods is important for optimal health.
Increase your collagen
As perimenopause hits, your skin and hair can be impacted by a decrease in oestrogen, which causes collagen levels to drop. Eating a collagen-rich diet (with plenty of dairy, fish, meat, chicken, soy, tempeh, lentils) and using topical retinoids like retinol, which has been clinically proven to inhibit collagen’s breakdown and to stimulate its further production, can help.
You could also seek out a collagen supplement that cater to hair, skin, and nails, delivering collagen, biotin, and zinc. There have been lots of credible studies, and some results have been very encouraging, suggesting that oral collagen can reduce lines, slackening, discolouration, even cellulite, in some people. But the variables are endless and we don’t really know the optimal dose for intake, or even which type of collagen is most effective or for whom.
Drink more water
With menopause and age, body water content drops, in part due to lower oestrogen levels so your hydration level takes on extra importance because it can either alleviate or exacerbate certain menopause symptoms. It’s particularly helpful for those managing menopausal hot flushes and night sweats who experience perspiration, which can be excessive and cause dehydration to occur.
Drinking at least eight glasses (1.5 - 2 litres) of water every day is a good rule of them, but if you’re exercising regularly, you’ll need more.
Sleep
Ideally, you should try to go to bed and get up at the same time each day and aim for 7-9 hrs sleep each night. But if you’re struggling with shut-eye, magnesium is a great supplement to try since it helps relax muscles and promotes deeper and more restorative sleep, while also balancing blood sugar levels.
Some studies have also shown that foods high in the non-essential amino acid glycine, which is found in milk, cheese and yogurt, can also help menopausal women sleep more deeply. So perhaps try a glass of warm milk about half an hour before bed.