Nutrition For A Happy Menopause
Menopause can be a reality check that your body is changing. This is a time to take care of yourself by making healthy lifestyle choices. Eating well, a positive mindset and being physically active can make this midlife transition much easier.
Perimenopause and menopause comes with a lot of ups and downs. As your estrogen levels fluctuate and start to decrease, things like your body temperature and weight may increase.
Your body endures many changes over the course of your life, but few compare to the menopausal transition. As you go through perimenopause and become menopausal, a number of things may occur, including:
Your estrogen and progesterone levels decline
Your testosterone declines
Your cyclical hormonal pattern gets disrupted
Your metabolism slows, and you may gain weight
Your body processes certain nutrients differently
You may have trouble sleeping
You may experience gut issues
You may experience mood swings and depression
You may have fluctuations in body temperature (hot flashes)
Your bone density may decrease
On average, menopause happens around 51. This means, you’ve stopped having periods for a full 12 months. But you may start to feel symptoms sooner than you expect. Perimenopause is the time period shortly before menopause that can affect women around the age of 45 years old, though it can begin as early as the mid-30s or as late as the mid-50s. During this time, you can start feeling symptoms of hot flashes, mood swings, fatigue, trouble sleeping and low energy, while the decrease of estrogen can begin to affect your bones, muscle mass, gut health and metabolism.
Luckily, the foods you eat may make a significant difference. What foods you eat or avoid may help alleviate symptoms and help you to have a happier menopause.
Having a well-balanced diet is crucial during any stage of life, but during menopause, your body needs some extra patience and care. From changes in metabolism to increased risk of osteoporosis shifting your diet can help with getting ahead of future symptoms.
It’s difficult to know where to start? The Mediterranean diet is recommended as a good all-in-one eating style that focuses on lean proteins, whole grains, healthy fats and plenty of plant-based foods like fruit and veggies. This is a time to look after your body and not push yourself to hard with any extreme diets. Instead, find something that fits your lifestyle and includes what you enjoy eating.
So, how do you stay balanced on the menopause rollercoaster? To find out more about what to eat and what to reduce or avoid during perimenopause and menopause have a listen to my webinar on Nutrition of a happy menopause with lots of very useful advice that you can start doing today. I hope you find it useful.
Watch the video below.
