Menopause nutrition

Menopause is a complex physiological and psychological period in a woman's life that requires attention and a special approach. It lasts for several years, normally from 45 to 50 years of age. Everything a woman does during this period is important, especially nutrition during menopause.

Proper nutrition during menopause

Proper nutrition during menopause means healthy nutrition. What is always harmful is doubly harmful during menopause.

Nutrition during menopause should be regular, food should be cooked in the oven, microwave or steamer from fresh products containing the nutrients, minerals and vitamins necessary for the female body.

At the same time, you should limit the consumption of certain foods - frankfurters, sausages, offal and smoked meats, butter, coffee, flour sweets. It is better to completely refuse spicy and salty dishes, fast food, too fatty and hot food, as well as carbonated drinks and alcohol.

What foods are useful during menopause? There are enough of them so that the diet does not seem bland and tasteless, but is complete and balanced. An approximate list of products to saturate the body with the necessary substances:

• low-fat dairy products: calcium;
• vegetable oils, nuts: polyunsaturated fatty acids;
• Sea fish: monounsaturated and omega-3 fatty acids;
• porridge, bran: fiber, B vitamins;
• bright vegetables and fruits: vitamins, microelements;
• asparagus, strawberry, peach, dried fruits: boron;
• Flaxseed oil and seeds: to relieve hot flashes;
• lettuce, seaweed, cashews: magnesium;
• brown rice, beans, avocado: reduce breast swelling;
• garlic, onion: stimulate immunity, reduce blood pressure and sugar levels.

You need to drink enough, but not too much. Clean water, homemade juices and compotes are the best option. Coffee and tea should be limited, as they adversely affect the absorption of calcium and magnesium.

There is a category of healthy products "for the mood". These are grapes, yeast bread from unrefined flour, unrefined rice, seaweed, wheat groats, dark chocolate. They regulate metabolism and improve mood.

It is unlikely that there is a woman who is ready to completely give up sweets, but everyone can choose less harmful treats. These are homemade pastries, marshmallows, marmalade, pastila, a little natural ice cream and chocolate.

Nutrition during menopause after 45 – 50 years

Menopause can be early, artificial, pathological. The normal transition from the reproductive period to menopause occurs between the ages of 45 and 50 and is associated with a natural decrease in the production of female hormones.

Nutrition during menopause after 45-50 years should be aimed at:

• reducing the risk of age-related diseases;
• weakening of hot flashes;
• prevention of excess weight.

Due to the slowdown in metabolism that occurs against the background of serious hormonal changes, it is advisable for a woman to change her lifestyle and, in particular, her eating habits during this period. Some tips on nutrition during menopause.

It is advisable to reduce the caloric content and the number of portions, and for overweight women – to lose a little weight (but without fanaticism, so as not to get the opposite effect). Overweight people have a harder time withstanding hot flashes and risk getting varicose veins, due to the additional load on the legs.

• Eat often, but little by little: in the morning - more filling, but replace dinner with a light snack. Introduce more fish into the menu - a source of protein and healthy fats. Eat only lean meat (chicken fillet). Other varieties and smoked meats - only on holidays.

Replace fried foods with boiled, stewed, baked, steamed, or slow-cooked foods. Salt food not in the pan, but on the plate, replace salt with seasonings and sauces. This will help avoid swelling and high blood pressure.

An important microelement during menopause is calcium. It is washed out of the body, causing bones to become weak and brittle, prone to fractures. To replenish the mineral, the menu should include cheeses and various dairy products, seafood, canned fish with bones.

It is useful to pay attention to soy: it contains a natural analogue of estrogen, which is severely lacking during menopause. Soy milk, meat, and tofu cheese can make up for this deficiency.

And finally, about alcohol. You should know that strong drinks are quite high in calories, they also stimulate excessive appetite and provoke hot flashes. An exception can be made for dry red wine, which is an excellent antioxidant.

Nutrition during menopause in women with hot flashes

Hot flashes are a very unpleasant symptom of menopause, causing women a lot of inconvenience. It is caused by a decrease in the amount of the main female hormone estrogen, which has no replacement in the body. Therefore, menopause is considered an exceptionally great stress for the body, as a result of which immunity decreases, various diseases develop, including nervous breakdowns and mental illness.

Nutrition during menopause in women with hot flashes should exclude foods that stimulate hot flashes and include special foods to facilitate the process.

• Phytoestrogens are similar in structure to female sex hormones. They act as weak estrogens: they weaken hot flashes and reduce vaginal dryness. Flax seeds contain the most of these components. According to some information, the amount of phytoestrogens in these seeds is tens and even hundreds of times greater than in other plants. Therefore, nutrition during menopause should take this product into account.

The daily dose of flax for maintaining the female body is 1-2 teaspoons. The grains can be ground and added to porridge, baked goods, yogurts. Flaxseed oil is used to season salads; it lowers cholesterol.

For problems associated with menopause and climacteric, the soy product sofu is effective. It alleviates disorders and reduces the risk of malignant breast tumors by three times. Sprouted grains, flour and soy milk have such properties.

Vitamin E, which has antioxidant properties, is also included in the list of components necessary for menopause. It alleviates hot flashes, reduces vaginal dryness and breast swelling. To enrich your diet with vitamin E, you should include legumes, potatoes, brown rice, yolks, vegetable oil, asparagus, and avocado.

Other plant foods are also rich in phytoestrogens: fruits, vegetables, and medicinal herbs – valerian root, mint, oregano, sage and others, known to folk and official medicine. Phytoestrogens are able to slightly “deceive” the body, making it imagine that there are more real estrogens than there actually are. Thanks to this, the feeling of discomfort is significantly reduced.

Diet for weight loss during menopause

Among the symptoms accompanying menopause, a tendency to gain weight stands out, which is manifested in most women. Along with the fading of reproductive functions, accumulations form in the waist, hips, and a double chin sags. Why does this happen?

Doctors give a clear physiological explanation for this phenomenon. It turns out that when the activity of the ovaries, which produce hormones, decreases, fatty tissue begins to partially perform this function (it produces the sex hormone estrone). Therefore, women should not get carried away with confectionery delicacies and other products that contribute to the accumulation of such reserves.

In order not to gain too much weight, you need to approach your diet wisely, remembering that both the need for calories and metabolic processes decrease with age. Thus, after 50, the daily dose is no more than 2100 calories. Each woman can choose the right diet for herself during menopause.

Diet for weight loss during menopause should include:

• vegetable oils (for the absorption of fat-soluble vitamins A, E);
• fiber (to stimulate the intestines);
• onions, garlic, vegetables (to maintain immunity);
• exotic fruits such as durian (contains estrogens);
• soy (contains phytoestrogen;
• seafood (for healthy fats and minerals).

An important place in the diet during menopause belongs to drinking. After forty years, you should drink more pure water than before. Water is involved in digestion, prevents constipation, normalizes the functioning of the circulatory and cardiovascular systems. With a lack of water, the blood thickens and there is a risk of thrombosis, which is fraught with strokes and heart attacks. Also, a lack of fluid provokes non-insulin-dependent diabetes. In order to prevent pathology, women are advised to periodically monitor their blood sugar levels.

The following drinking regime will help prevent these risks: drink a glass of water on an empty stomach, several glasses during the day, and the last portion an hour before bed. In total, about two liters.

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Nutrition during menopause to maintain youth

Why do many women quickly fade with menopause?

• Firstly, the amount of estrogen and progesterone in the blood decreases sharply.

This is a key factor in aging. At the same time, the amount of male hormone increases, stimulating the growth of facial hair, and sometimes the formation of rashes.

• Secondly, the production of hyaluronic acid and collagen decreases.

These components are responsible for the hydration, density and elasticity of the skin. Due to their deficiency, the skin becomes drier and thinner.

To increase the level of nutrients in the body, they should be introduced from the outside, including with food and drinks. That is why nutrition during menopause is very important for maintaining youth.

In addition to accelerated aging, climacteric changes entail neurovegetative disorders (hot flashes, increased sweating, pressure surges, dizziness, palpitations) and psychoemotional disorders (mood swings, tendency to depression, fatigue, insomnia). Early menopause has a particularly negative effect on health and appearance.

Nutrition during menopause involves giving up bad habits: smoking and alcohol. Nicotine has a negative effect on facial skin, provokes osteoporosis, cardiovascular and tumor pathologies. Alcohol is recommended in very moderate doses. Thus, according to the recommendations of American doctors, one serving of alcoholic beverage is allowed per day, namely: 50 ml of strong, 150 wine or 300 ml of beer.

Thanks to the right diet, the body is filled with missing nutrients and does not gain extra pounds. The recommendations of American scientists on nutrition during menopause come down to dividing all products into groups and eating a little bit of everything every day:

• 150 – 200 g of cereals (up to half – whole);
• 2 – 3 servings of vegetables, about two servings of fruit;
• low-fat dairy products (equivalent to 3 cups of milk);
• up to 180 g of lean meat, legumes and nuts.

After menopause, there is a special need for certain substances, for example, vitamins of group B, D, C, E, calcium, iron. They support immunity, act as antioxidants. If a woman does not receive enough of these substances or the body does not absorb everything, you can, on the advice of a doctor, take pharmacy drugs: mineral-vitamin complexes of various compositions.

Restrictions are imposed on animal fats, sweets, and salt. Women in menopause should not ignore physical exercise, rest, and adequate sleep, which contribute to good shape and well-being.

Psychologists advise not to consider menopause a joyless and depressing end to all the best that has already happened, but to accept this new stage of life as a given, to appreciate the benefits and enjoy them. An active lifestyle, properly organized nutrition during menopause will help to cope with the challenges: to prevent premature old age, to maintain health, figure and presence of mind.