By Sue Bedford (MSc Nut Th)
You are what you eat and when it comes to the menopause, planning ahead is key to minimising symptoms before they start!
Nutrition and lifestyle hacks to help you minimise peri menopause and menopause symptoms!
Exercise
Choose something you like and stick to it. Try to include a mixture of exercise into your weekly routine – some resistance weight training for example, with some mindful exercise such as fast walking or yoga.
Eat a good breakfast
One that combines some carbohydrate with protein and good fat. An excellent example here would be smashed avocado on a piece of seeded brown toast with an organic poached egg or a bowl of porridge with your favourite fruits, nuts and seeds sprinkled on top. This will help to stabilise blood sugar levels and therefore hormone levels and stop you reaching for those snacks mid morning!
Minimise sugar
This leads to inflammation in the body and can contribute to mood swings.
Cut down on alcohol
To around 3-4 units per week- this will help to reduce hot flushes.
Get plenty of sleep
Regulate your body clock to help keep your hormones stable – this means trying to go to sleep and wake up at the same time each day.
Include plenty of foods in your diet
Foods to help maintain bone strength such as good sources of calcium aside from dairy are green leafy vegetables, soya beans, tofu, nuts, sardines to name a few.
Boost your B vitamins
They play numerous roles in reducing menopausal symptoms –some good sources are avocados, eggs, green vegetables, fish, red meat, dairy, berries, pomegranates.
Limit Caffeine
Stay hydrated
Drink up to 2 litres a day to flush toxins away and to keep your skin looking lovely too!
Eat fresh food and prepare from scratch
Ditch the ready meals – this will help maximise nutrients from food.
Follow a plant-based diet
Where possible follow a plant based diet which includes lots of green leafy vegetables, reduce animal products to a minimal amount where possible to reduce inflammation and hot flushes.
If you smoke – stop!
Boost your vitamin D levels
To help reduce the risk of osteoporosis (more to come on this in a further article).
Increase foods containing vitamin E.
This important vitamin can help fight free radicals, lower negative emotions, help balance hormones, increase energy, and slow down weight gain. Vitamin E also helps to reduce hot flushes.
