What is Menopause?

Menopause means “pause” or permanent stop on menstruation. It is a natural biological stage in the life of a woman.

Onset of menopause brings changes in multiple hormones that help this process to take place. As a number of hormones are disturbed, it often causes multiple health issues for a woman.

Menopause is clinically declared when a female has not had menses for 12 consecutive months.

Menopause: A time of Transition

During Menopause a woman undergoes changes in the level of hormones, which affect her body and mind alike. This hormonal transition begins as early as the late 30s for some and later around the early 40s for most of the women.

Lifestyle choices, Dietary intake, and often hereditary factors complicate hormonal transition for women during perimenopause.

Perimenopause

The prefix ‘peri’ means around. It is the period close to menopause. This is a 4-11 year period that mostly takes place around 40 years of age.

Perimenopause is marked by fluctuating estrogen levels and declining levels of progesterone. Both of these hormones are involved in the regulation of the menstrual cycle.

This estrogen issue now encourages storage of fat around the abdomen. Also known as visceral fat, this belly fat is metabolically active. It leads to further hormone imbalances and weight gain.

That’s why, a woman often experiences the health symptoms of Estrogen dominance (high Estrogen levels compared to Progesterone). And one of these is belly fat or menopausal weight gain.

This type of fat is not good because it increases the risk of type-2 diabetes, heart diseases, and other overweight complications.

Post Menopause

After these 12 months are over, then the woman has really entered into post menopause. The term is used interchangeably with menopause however.

During post menopausal years, a woman naturally has lower metabolism as compared to what it was during her youth. That’s why, she naturally gains weight during post menopause.

However, some hormone imbalances such as insulin resistance and high Estrogen may predispose her to obesity and other weight related problems.

The Best Diet for Menopause

During menopause, the digestive fire and metabolism of a woman slows down. It leads to several digestive disorders and eventually nutritional deficiencies.

One should follow a balanced diet for Menopause that is rich in fresh, natural, and wholesome foods. This will ensure intake of adequate amount of dietary nutrients.

However, just eating healthy foods is not enough! You may still face nutritional deficiencies if your metabolism is poor or if you have underlying digestive system problems.

Hence, it is important to include foods that support digestion and metabolism. One should also follow healthy dietary habits and a lifestyle that supports your digestive fire and heals your digestive system.

This will ensure that you are able to absorb the nutrients from the foods that you are taking in.

The Best Foods for Menopause Diet

The best foods for menopausal weight loss includes elements from a selection of different food groups to cover your nutritional needs and boost your metabolism.

Lack of nutrition impacts the functioning of her body systems, leading to functional symptoms of fatigue, anxiety, poor bone health, weight gain, and poor heart health.

Here is a list of nutrients and foods that are essential for a healthy and balanced Menopause Diet:

1. Calcium Rich Foods

Joint pain and back pain along with high risk for fractures are some of the biggest health problems faced by women in perimenopause and post menopause. One should include calcium rich foods to support bone health and joint health during menopause.

• Milk, Yogurt, and Cheese
• Herbs such as Fenugreek, Fennel, and Celery Seeds
• Seeds such as Sesame Seeds, Chia Seeds, and Basil Seeds

2. Estrogen Rich Foods for Menopause

High intake of Estrogen rich foods or phytoestrogens can significantly improve your health at menopause. They provide plant based estrogen that can help to regulate your fluctuating hormones during perimenopause.

• Seeds such as flax seeds, pumpkin seeds, and sesame seeds
• Soy products such as tofu, soy beans, miso paste, and fermented soy products
• Nuts and dry fruits such as almonds, walnuts, figs, and apricots
• Vegetables and Legumes

3. Vitamin D

It is an essential nutrient that supports your immune system health, heart health, and bone health. Vitamin D generation from the sunlight reduces as we age.

That’s why elderly (60+ years) need to spend more time under the Sun to produce same amount of Vitamin D.

• Usually 10 -15 mins per day for 3 days a week is optimum to generate enough Vitamin D.
• Early morning (2 hours after the sunset) and late evening (2 hours before the sunset) timings are considered to be the ideal timings of sun exposure.

4. Omega 3 Rich Foods

Omega-3 rich foods promote health of the body and brain. Several studies indicate that Omega 3 foods can reduce psychological distress, anxiety, and mood swings.

Additionally, Omega 3 foods prevent inflammation in the body, hence supporting heart health and immunity. Omega 3 foods also support fat metabolism.

• Nuts and seeds such as flax seeds, walnuts, hemp seeds, almonds, and chia seeds.
• Fish and other sea food such as oysters and shrimps
• Beans and lentils such as soy beans, kidney beans, and black eyed beans
• Seaweed
• Mushrooms such as shiitake mushrooms, enoki, and shimeji mushrooms
• Sprouts

5. Antioxidants

Antioxidants are essential to support a healthy immune system, hence prevent recurring infections that are commonly observed during menopause.

Additionally, antioxidants reduce inflammation and support the healthy functioning of all the body systems including the heart, digestive system, blood, and plasma tissues.

• Berries such as grapes, goji berries, black berries, jamun, and blue berries
• Vegetables such as beetroot, spinach, potato, pumpkin, and gourds
• Fruits such as apples, mango, start fruit, and jack fruit
• Sprouted grains and vegetable sprouts

6. Iron Rich Foods

Iron rich foods are essential during perimenopause, when your periods are irregular. Many women face low Hemoglobin levels due to heavy bleeding or due to iron deficiency.

Iron rich foods also help to prevent Menopause symptoms related to Fatigue, restlessness, and lack of focus.

• Vegetables such as beetroot and leafy greens such as drumstick leaves, spinach, and amaranth leaves.
• Beans and lentils such as kidney beans, black eyed beans, horse gram, and black gram.
• Dried fruits such as dates, raisins, apricots, and figs
• Nuts and Seeds
• Herbs such as Amla, curry leaves, coriander, and basil

7. Potassium Rich Foods

Potassium is vital to keep your circulatory system and digestive system intact. One should avoid common salt in the diet and increase potassium-rich foods to prevent water retention, swelling, and edema. Potassium also prevents constipation by supporting the movement of the food through intestines.

• Green leafy vegetables such as spinach, drumstick leaves, curry leaves, amaranth leaves, and kailan
• Dried fruits such as prunes, raisins, apricots, figs, and dates
• Cucumber, Zucchini, ash gourd, and other squashes
• Mushrooms

8. Iodine foods

Iodine is essential for the functioning of the thyroid. A majority of the women suffer from poor thyroid function due to fluctuating hormones during perimenopause.

Inclusion of Iodine rich foods will prevent related symptoms of sluggishness, hair fall, and poor skin tone.

• Seaweed such as kelp for Iodine
• Baked potato and sweet potato with peel for Iodine
• Eggs and dairy for Iodine
• Iodized salt and pure sea salt

9. Fibre Rich Foods

Dietary fibre is vital to boost the functioning of a sluggish digestive system during perimenopause. Dietary fibre also acts as food for the gut bacteria, hence keeping your metabolism, immunity, and brain health in good shape. Include a variety of fibre rich foods and supplements to support your health in perimenopause.

• Green leafy vegetables, cruciferous vegetables such as cabbage, cauliflower, and broccoli, and Sprouts
• Whole Grains, Beans, and Lentils
• Psyllium husk
• Nuts and seeds such as flax seeds and chia seeds

10. Probiotics

Probiotics support the health of our gut microbiome. They form an essential part of Menopause Diet. Probiotics help to maintain required number of gut microbes as they are food sources that give healthy bacteria, fungi, and yeast to our body.

A healthy gut microbiome is key to our physical and mental health.

• Curd or Takra (Buttermilk)
• Kefir
• Pickles
• Miso Paste
• Tempeh
• Sour Dough
• Kanjika
• Kavass
• Idli
• Kimchi
• Kombucha
• Sauerkraut
• Cheese
• Natto

11. Prebiotics

Prebiotics act as food for our gut microbiome. They support both the quality and quantity of healthy microbes.

• Whole foods such as fruits, vegetables, whole grains, beans, and lentils
• Sprouted grains and beans
• Fungi and mushrooms

12. Proteins for Menopause Diet

Proteins are the building blocks of our physical body. Adequate amount of proteins is required in your meals to avoid muscle loss and fatigue.

In fact, insufficient amount of proteins in your diet often leads to sluggish thyroid, poor fat metabolism, and nutritional deficiencies.

• Beans, Lentils, and whole grains such as quinoa
• Dairy such as milk, curd, and cheese
• Lean meat products
• Green leafy vegetables and cruciferous vegetables
• Sprouted grains and vegetables

13. Selenium rich Foods

Selenium supports thyroid function and promotes immunity. Regular intake of Selenium rich foods will prevent Menopause symptoms related to poor thyroid function and also prevent inflammation.

• Brazil Nuts
• Seaweed
• Beans
• Lentils
• Sprouts
• Sunflower seeds
• Brazil Nuts
• Shellfish
• Beef
• Turkey
• Chicken
• Mustard Seeds
• Ground Ginger
• Oat bran
• Barley
• Pinto Beans
• Garlic

Foods to Avoid for Menopause Diet

• Remove sugar in the form of white sugar, artificial sugar and all sugary processed foods.
• Reduce and remove caffeine. It leads to quick spike in your activity level, but eventually causes energy crashes. This makes you eat more sugary foods.
• Remove alcohol and smoking altogether. Both of these have similar stimulating effect as caffeine on the body, a quick energy boost and then crash. Also, alcohol and smoking cause and make hormone imbalance worse.
• Avoid excess table salt. It causes water retention in the body and thus may contribute to increasing weight. 
• Remove fruit juices, sweetened beverages, carbonated beverages and flavored waters. All of these contain lots of sugar which cause weight gain.
• Avoid processed foods and quick meals. They push in empty calories and devoid you of essential nutrients from your meals.
• Vegetable oils that are highly refined and hydrogenated are number 1 source of inflammation in the body besides sugar. Avoid processed foods, fried foods, snacks and dietary consume of oils such as corn oil, safflower oil, canola oil, soybean oil and many other processed varieties.
• Reduce your intake of simple carbohydrates and fast foods.
• Avoid snacking in between meals.

7 Days Menopause Diet Plan

Having learned the best and worst foods for Menopause, you might wonder how to do it. How do you combine these food items? How do you ensure you’re getting enough nutrients without getting on the wrong tracks?

Here is a 7 days Menopause Diet plan for you:

Day 1

Breakfast: Beets Stir-fry + Home made bread or porridge
Lunch: 1 Bowl brown rice + Cow peas soup + Cucumber Salad
Dinner: Thai Green Curry + 1 Bowl brown rice

Day 2

Breakfast: Apple Cinnamon Oats Porridge
Lunch: 1 Bowl brown rice + sprouted Mung Dal + green salad  
Dinner: 1 Bowl millets + Mixed vegetables stir-fry

Day 3

Breakfast: Scrambled Eggs with Herb muffins
Lunch: Vegetable fried rice + Green Beans Veggie + ½ bowl curd
Dinner: Vegetable Khichadi or Porridge

Day 4

Breakfast: Vegetables stir-fry + 1 Bowl millets porridge
Lunch: Home made bread + Basil Tofu Scramble + green salad
Dinner: Chapati (Whole wheat flat bread) with fresh vegetables curry

Day 5

Breakfast: Apple Cinnamon Oats Porridge
Lunch: 1 Bowl rice + Sprouted Beans curry + cucumber salad
Dinner: 1 Bowl millets + Green beans stir-fry

Day 6

Breakfast: Chapati (Whole wheat flat bread) with carrots and green peas curry
Lunch: Home made bread + Spinach Daal + ½ bowl curd
Dinner: 1 Bowl whole wheat porridge with broccoli stir-fry

Day 7

Breakfast: Scrambled Eggs with Herb muffins
Lunch: Vegetable Quinoa + green salad (stir-fry)
Dinner: Chapati (Whole wheat flat bread) with fresh vegetables curry

Morning/Evening Snack Options

Add on these low calorie snacks in between your meals should you need to. It will help you to keep you your hunger levels in check while supporting weight loss:

• Roasted Black Gram
• Nuts and dried fruits (limited amount)
• Sprouts
• Berries
• Handful of sunflower seeds or pumpkin seeds
• Hummus and fresh vegetables as celery or carrots
• Cucumber slices
• Lemon water or coconut water
• Apple Beets and Celery Juice

Takeaway

These Menopause diet tips will help you to balance your hormones and prevent menopause symptoms spontaneously. And they will also make you healthier, stronger and more resistant to disease.

Moreover, there are no side effects and no extra cost is involved. These diet and nutrition guidelines can easily be followed at home and be adopted without any expensive supplements or hormone therapies.

Below you can download 7 Days Menopause Diet Plan pdf version for weight loss. If you need further support to follow the diet plan, lose weight or considering Ayurvedic treatment to manage or treat Menopause symptoms Naturally, do contact us here, we will help you out.