How can nutrition help with the menopause?

The menopause is something that happens to all women between the ages of 48 and 58 (roughly). The menstrual cycle stops and our reproductive years come to an end.

The menopause is a natural life process and part of a woman’s ageing process. Yes, it is part of our ageing process, but try not to get upset about this! There are some positives to going through the menopause too. These can include:

No more menstrual cycles and their side effects

Iron levels kept within a normal range

A fresher outlook on life

No risk of getting pregnant

No need to buy sanitary products

So, something to be positive about, ladies!

The menopause has 3 stages:

Peri–menopause: In this stage, menstrual cycles still occur. Noticeable changes include changes to eyesight, sleep changes, and some signs of depression and anxiety. Calcium rich foods are important at this stage, as loss of bone density can cause problems during all stages of the menopause.

Menopause: This involves 1 year with no menstruation and 5 subsequent years. Loss of bone density can increase to 3% during this stage.

Post-menopause: This stage happens after 5 years once changes have stabilised, typically at around 60 years of age.

So, what are the symptoms and changes of the menopause? Let’s get this part out of the way so we can then move on to the best part: how to control it and keep our bodies safe.

Signs and symptoms of the menopause:

The first well-known symptom that most women shout about is hot flashes! Other signs include:

Sleep problems

Anxiety, mood changes, and depression

Endocrine imbalances (adrenals and thyroid)

Changes

Osteoporosis

Heart and cardiovascular problems

Exogenous oestrogens can heighten hormonal cancers (e.g., breast, ovarian)

Skin, collagen

The good news is that menopause can be kept under control with small changes to our diet, lifestyle, and stress levels.

So, how can nutrition help manage menopause?

Oestrogen balance

Nutritionally dense vegetables and fruits can help, especially cruciferous vegetables, broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, brussels sprouts, radish, red clover, and kale.

A new type of cruciferous nutrient dense food is sprouting superfoods. These are becoming more and more popular. The powerhouse is all in the seed, which has everything it needs to grow into a fully grown broccoli or cabbage. Eating a handful of sprouts is like eating 7 to 8 cabbages. How cool is that!

The science behind these super foods and how they help the menopause

These super foods contain a compound called glycosylates, which helps to modulate oestrogen metabolism and activate the body’s detoxification and antioxidant system. Basically, it’s a natural way to remove free radicals from the body and replace it with all the good guys!

Cruciferous vegetables can also protect against cancer and cardiovascular disease.

Cruciferous vegetables can also be grown at home, and the children can get involved in this too! I will cover how to grow sprouted superfoods in another blog – it’s so easy to do.

Once grown, they can simply be added to sandwiches, salads, or even add a handful to a range of mixed seeds and sprinkle on top of a soup just before you eat it. A little goes a long way.

Another idea is to make your own ice lollies and add sprouting superfoods before you freeze them.

Do NOT cook cruciferous vegetables as you will destroy the enzymes. Keep and eat them raw!

Exogenous oestrogens are something to consider during stages of the menopause and beyond – especially if you have a history of any hormone cancers in the family.

So, how are exogenous oestrogens dangerous for menopausal women? When our oestrogen cell receptor sites are empty, the body assumes incoming artificial oestrogens are natural oestrogens and absorb them. This can cause certain cancers.

Unfortunately, manufacturers use hormone-like chemicals in plastics. The most common are plastic water bottles, plastic food containers and even cooking utensils. These carry risks, especially after being heated up in the dishwasher. If possible, change to a glass bottle. Making this change will protect the environment as well. It’s a winner all round!

Hot flashes

NB: I am not a qualified herbalist, so if you would like to take these orally, please seek professional advice.

Certain herbs like red clover and sage can help reduce hot flashing moments. Red clover can be made into a nice cooling drink during the summer months. Sage can be added to hot water or left to soak overnight in fresh lemon juice.

The recipes below show other ways we can integrate these herbs into our diet.

Osteoporosis

Increasing your intake of healthy fats (avocados, nuts, flaxseeds) and omega 3 fatty acids can increase bone mineral content. Omega 3 is an anti-inflammatory, which can help build new fresh bone (osteoblast), is pro-inflammatory (against any food that is white e.g., sugars, white bread, processed foods, sugary drinks) and break down bone mineral content (osteoclast).

Other calcium rich foods include:

Milk* which is the highest form of calcium (48% daily intake)

Figs

Yogurt

Cheese

Seeds and nuts

Vegetables (7% daily intake)

Flaxseeds

*Unfortunately, there is a lot of uncertainty regarding hormones added to cows’ milk, even organic.

Another interesting fact is that we need Vitamin D to absorb calcium at the same time. This is a whole blog on its own, which I will cover – I promise.

Skin and collagen levels

Upping your intake of antioxidants and vitamin C and E will help reduce oxidative stress in the body. When our bodies age, our antioxidant levels decrease. A decline in oestrogen and low antioxidant levels can unfortunately affect our skin and joints.

Vitamin C

As vitamin C is water soluble, our bodies struggle to store this vitamin – it tends to get flushed out when we drink water. Vitamin C stores need to be kept restored every day, ideally.

Immune-boosting vitamin C is found in both layers of the skin, the dermis and epidermis, and is responsible for collagen and elastin production.

Best foods for boosting vitamin C

Bell peppers (highest), kiwi, mango, berries (strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, cranberries, tomatoes (cook tomatoes to release lycopene essential phytochemical), green vegetables, cabbage, kale, broccoli, and sauerkraut.

Tip: Sprinkling cinnamon over fruit reduces the sugar load as it controls spikes to blood sugar levels.

Vitamin A

Known as the ‘anti-infective’ vitamin, vitamin A helps to prevent the spread of any infectious virus invading our happy, healthy cells. Vitamin A is also classed as a pro-vitamin, which

basically means the body can convert beta-carotene into vitamin A. Just like carrots, vitamin A is best known for its effects on our visual system, also known as our watery glands (eyes). This is due to its high retinol content, which protects the retina. Retinol is becoming a very popular ingredient in many anti-aging skincare products. We can keep our skin looking younger naturally. Don’t get me wrong, a skincare routine is very important to help us grow old gracefully, however I would recommend choosing a skincare brand that is as natural as possible and avoid nasty chemicals being absorbed into our bodies.

Vitamin A can speed up our skin’s cell renewal process, helping many skin conditions, such as menopause acne, psoriasis, skin dullness, and fine lines and wrinkles.

Foods containing vitamin A

The purest forms of vitamin A are found in liver and whole milk. The leading source of provitamin A is yellow and orange vegetables, such as carrots, sweet potatoes, yams, mango, and apricots.

Toxicity levels for vitamin A

Caution! 90% of vitamin A is stored in the liver for later use. As a rule of thumb, a balanced diet will not cause any problems, as the body can use every part of the food eaten. However, supplements can be concentrated and overuse can cause hypervitaminosis (vitamin poisoning). Also, double check with your health care professional if you think you are vitamin A deficient.

Vitamin E

Vitamin E’s claim to fame is that it’s an excellent antioxidant and fat-soluble vitamin that protects other vitamins from damage. It is a scavenger of free radicals (smoking, alcohol, a high-fat saturated diet) with the ability to damage cell membranes, including proteins, affecting our biggest organ, our skin.

Vitamin E is always at the front line, fighting for us. So, when there is a free radical dragging down other happy vitamins minding their own business, vitamin E will come to the rescue. It absorbs free radicals and convert them into free radicals themselves, then converts back to vitamin E with the presence of vitamin C and other important molecules. I personally think that’s amazing! Overall, it’s an excellent anti-inflammatory for our skin.

So, I hear you say, how will all of this keep me youthful in senior years?

Increasing vitamin E levels helps to protect our skin from damage, environmentally and emotionally (sun, pollution, stress) which in turn helps to reduce fine lines, wrinkles. and dark spots. As vitamin E is fat soluble and present in our skin sebum, this provides a natural barrier, helping to regulate moisture levels during the menopause.

Foods containing vitamin E

Apricots, nuts, seeds, mangos, spinach, avocado. and oils.

With some small changes to our diet and certain lifestyle choices, we can get the menopause under control, no problem.

Recipes:

Home remedy for hot flashes:

Chop 6 fresh sage leaves and soak overnight in fresh lime juice

In the morning, strain and drink the lemon juice diluted in water

The fresh limes in this drink should also aid digestion