Menopause nutrition: The best diet to ease and prevent menopause symptoms

 

Menopause nutrition: The best diet to ease and prevent menopause symptoms

Menopause nutrition – probably not top on your list of things to figure out this week if you haven't yet reached that stage of life, but you may be surprised at how high-priority – even for the spring chickens among us – it actually is.

It’s easy to think of menopause – and even perimenopause – as distant, something to worry about down the line, but the sooner you make the dietary tweaks needed (which, by the way, are the opposite of deprivation) the better.

In fact, researchers from George Washington University have found that women who cut out all animal products and up their intake of legumes - including half a cup of cooked soybeans, daily - suffered 88% fewer hot flushes twelve weeks later.

The results, published in the journal Menopause, made headlines globally, when it came out last year, with some outlets suggesting a vegan diet could be a stand-in for hormone replacement therapy (or HRT) - which is, lest we forget, the most effective way to manage menopause symptoms and support women's health as we age.

Other studies, such as research by PREDICT and run by Zoe, the personalised nutrition company, found that menopausal women had worse blood sugar responses and greater levels of inflammation after eating, which was thought to be down to changes in the gut microbiome that occur as a result of menopause.

While we certainly wouldn't want to suggest that healthy eating is a *replacement* for medication, it's true that knowing what's up when it comes to menopause nutrition can help us feel and function better during a notoriously challenging life stage.

‘Ideally, I want women to make sure they’re well prepped in advance, rather than waiting until their symptoms are impacting their wellbeing,' says Emma Bardwell, registered nutritionist and co-author of The Perimenopause Solution: Take Control of Your Hormones Before They Take Control of You (Vermillion, £14.99). ‘Forewarned is definitely forearmed.’

The average age to reach menopause is 51, with perimenopause kicking in in your 40s. It lasts four to seven years, and can include various symptoms, from mood changes to sleep problems to joint pain – all of which can be eased by getting your food intake sorted. Question is: how do we navigate menopause nutrition in a mindful and healthy way, and what can we do now to prevent severe symptoms later on?

How can I nourish my body during menopause?

Half the battle is knowing where to direct your menopause nutrition efforts in a world where everyone seems to be an expert. For Bardwell, those areas are protein, blood sugars, fibre and calcium. ‘In a nutshell, all women over 40 really need to be thinking about eating for their heart, brain and bone health,’ she explains.

Nourish your heart

Get plenty of heart-loving non-saturated fat from foods like oily fish, olive oil, avocados, nuts and seeds. Focus on fibre too; according to the British Dietetic Association, UK adults are only managing to get 60% of the recommended 30g a day. Upping it helps you to manage your weight (which is important going through menopause) and builds diversity in your gut microbiome, as different bugs eat different things so the more variety you give them, the more species thrive. ‘Fibre is key for managing cholesterol so think about adding in vegetables, wholegrains, beans, lentils, chickpeas and fruit’, says Bardwell.

Strengthen your bones

Calcium is key for bone health, which gets more urgent as we age; ‘after 50, we lose 1% bone mass a year so we need to do all we can before then to lay down bone mass and increase bone strength,’ says Bardwell. That requires Vitamin D and calcium; 700mg of calcium a day before 50 and almost double, 1200mg, after, according to Bardwell. Get it from food sources like dairy, sardines, kale, broccoli, dried figs, calcium set tofu and fortified plant milks.

Fuel your brain

‘The brain requires energy from calories to function well, but also plenty of nutrients to fuel the production of ‘happy' signallers, such as dopamine and serotonin,’ says Bardwell. Omega 3, and specifically the compounds DHA and EPA found in it, is important too. Research has shown that omega-3 fatty acids reduce depressive symptoms for women transitioning into menopause, so aim for two servings of oily fish a week.

Don’t like fish? Supplements-wise, the best choice is one made with fish oil, but for veggies or vegans, an algae-based supplement. ‘Nuts and seeds contain Omega 3, but it’s the inactive form, ALA, which your body has to convert into DHA and EPA and this conversion is extremely inefficient,’ explains Bardwell.

Why is protein important in menopause?

A 2021 study found that compared to early perimenopausal women, late perimenopausal women had 9% lower muscle mass and postmenopausal women had 10% less. It’s thanks to a phenomenon called sarcopenia, and it’s why protein matters when we're talking menopause nutrition. ‘If your diet during menopause is protein-deficient, you will start quickly losing muscle mass, which means you will lose strength and will have a smaller capacity to store glucose, making it easier for your body to store carbs and sugar as fat,’ says Licensed Specialist Registered Dietitian Rachel Clarkson. ‘Strive for good quality protein at every meal.’ Research backs this up, finding that when older adults up their protein intake by 20%, they have a 32% lower risk of frailty - thanks to preserved muscles mass.

Bardwell agrees, and points to other symptoms protein can tame; ‘We need it for energy production, sleep and mood; it’s also great for curbing cravings, filling you up and keeping blood sugar levels steady. In a nutshell, protein ticks a lot of boxes when it comes to perimenopause symptoms.’ Bardwell suggests perimenopausal women should get 1g of protein per kilogram of body weight per day, or 1.2-2g if you’re very active; ‘so a 70kg woman needs around 70–100g of protein a day, ideally split across meals as your body can’t break down large amounts in one go.’ Think a palm-sized portion at each meal; a chicken breast, fillet of mackerel, half a cup of lentils, three eggs or half a block of tofu.