This is a blog post written for the particular interest of The Healthier Track, due to many requests from the community. As a brief recap, The Healthier Track – part of the 120,000 women strong Run Mummy Run collective – is a community for women interested in health and wellbeing, and I joined the team as their nutrition expert earlier this month.
I will be supplying regular content and advice to the group with “5 top tips” covering a range of health concerns and conditions, and I will interact with members on a regular basis. Any women who want to get involved in the community can request to join the closed Facebook group .
I am starting with a general overview of perimenopause and menopause, with further posts looking at the individual suggestions and additional elements in more detail. You can also find some useful info on my blog, like for example about essential fatty acids or protein .
Menopause – what is it?
Let’s start with some of the facts. Every woman goes through menopause in her life, and although it it less of a taboo subject now than it used to be it still doesn’t get talked about or acknowledged enough at home or at work. In the UK, the average age for a woman to reach menopause is 51, although women can experience menopause earlier.
There are some major changes going on in a woman’s body, and hormones have such a huge impact on so many things. A fall in oestrogen production during perimenopause means that periods become less regular, and gradually they stop completely.
With the fluctuation of the female hormones women experience many different symptoms, both physical and psychological. Symptoms can vary from woman to woman, with typical ones including:
- Hot flushes (over 75% of women are thought to experience these, ranging in severity and duration)
- Mood swings
- Brain Fog
- Aching joints
- Vaginal dryness
- Headaches
- Insomnia
Menopause comes from the Greek, with “menos” meaning month and “pausos” an ending, and the three stages of Menopause are as follows:
- Perimenopause : the stage leading up to menopause
- Menopause: the point when you have your last ever period
- Postmenopause: the rest of your life after menopause
Menopause is not a disease
Menopause is a natural stage in a woman’s life that should not be treated like a medical condition or a disease, and there are many natural solutions to feel and stay healthy.
From a number of lifestyle changes to being aware of hormone-disrupting chemicals in our environment and hormone-balancing foods – there is a long list of things that we can look at together, with the potential to make some huge changes to your wellbeing. As mentioned earlier, we will look at these in more detail over the coming weeks (this is part 1!) but let’s start with some general nutritional strategies that can support women as their hormones start to fluctuate. Your diet can have a big impact on how you feel during this transition.
Please remember that everybody is different and many people have additional health concerns on top, as well as different lifestyles, family histories, eating habits and varying levels of stress.
Below are 5 evidence-based Top Tips, which might not improve everyone’s symptoms but they help many women on their journeys through perimenopause and menopause.
5 nutritional strategies – “Top Tips”:
1. Incorporate / increase foods high in Isoflavones
Plant-based foods that contain isoflavones (a type of plant-based chemical part of the phytoestrogens group) can help reduce menopause symptoms as the isoflavones work in the body like a weak form of oestrogen, which has a hormone-balancing effect on the body.
Good dietary sources of isoflavones include lentils, chickpeas and soy products (avoid soy products made from highly processed soy protein isolates and always make sure the soy is made from whole soya beans and either fermented or organic, like tempeh, miso and tofu for example).
2. Incorporate / increase foods high in Lignans
Lignans (also part of the phytoestrogens group) are biotransformed in the digestive system with the help of good bacteria into compounds which have a balancing effect on oestrogen. The removal of excess oestrogen through the bowels due to the fibre content is another welcome consequence from the consumption of lignans.
Flaxseeds are the best source (crushed or milled) of lignans. Other oil seeds like sesame and sunflower also contain lignans, as do cereals (oats, rice, wheat) and some vegetables including carrots, broccoli and Brussel sprouts.
3. Consume sufficient Omega-3 fatty acids
Omega-3 fatty acids are vital for our wellbeing and for many functions in the body. They are also powerful anti-inflammatories and are an integral part of hormone regulation.
The standard recommendation is to consume three portions of oily fish (like for example sardines, mackerel, herring, wild salmon) a week. Alternative non-animal sources of Omega-3 include seeds (pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, flax seeds, chia seeds), flaxseed oil, olive oil, avocados and walnuts. These are healthy fats, don’t be scared of consuming these on a regular basis as they come with a lot of health benefits.
4. Consume sufficient Fibre
Incorporating enough adequate fibre in your diet is really important as fibre promotes bowel clearance of metabolites and supports healthy hormone metabolism. (Blog about fibre, what the recommended intake is and details about good dietary fibre sources coming soon!)
Vegetables are a great source of fibre, and in addition to the fibre they contain antioxidants, vitamins and minerals. Aim for 5 portions of colourful vegetables (plus 1-2 fruit) a day – “eat the rainbow” truly is one of the best pieces of nutritional advice ever! The more colours means the more health-supporting properties. Try and consume whole vegetables and fruits as they contain all the fibre (rather than juiced).
5. Avoid triggers
Foods to reduce or avoid include alcohol, caffeine and spicy foods. These are all known to be triggers for menopausal symptoms including hot flushes.
Stress management
In addition to nutrition I just want to briefly mention stress. Stress is another big factor to consider, and I know it’s easier said than done to “try and reduce your stress levels”, especially as many women go through perimenopause when they are at the height of their career, often with busy family lives and with lots of responsibilities. This is however also the time when self care is more important than ever before, and reclaiming some time to look after their own wellbeing is essential.
To add one interesting fact to why stress management is so important at this life stage – during menopause the adrenal glands (which also produce the stress hormones, cortisol and adrenaline) take over the production of oestrogen, meaning that high and chronic stress can interfere with the production of female hormones and this can make menopause harder.
The body is believed to start preparing for menopause from the age of 40 onwards, and I would highly recommend to not leave implementing some of these strategies until you start experiencing the first perimenopausal symptoms.
Many postmenopausal women also worry about an increased risk of osteoporosis and cardiovascular disease, due to the declining levels of oestrogen and the subsequent changes to bones and the cardiovascular system in the long term. A healthy, varied diet and a healthy lifestyle can not only help to reduce the severity of menopausal symptoms but also help protect against long-term health problems associated with loss of oestrogen. We will look at the roles of calcium and vitamin D in association with bone health in a future post.
More information and tips about how to get ready for the natural transition and that next, empowering chapter in your life next month!
In the meantime remember that a healthy, balanced diet is key (“eat the rainbow”!), and that nutrition and lifestyle can help you take (or keep!) control of your wellbeing, both mentally and physically.
Thank you for reading, enjoy the summer, and keep well x
