Food to help you transition into Menopause

Menopause is technically defined as the last natural menstrual period. It is the natural state a woman is in after the ovaries have stopped ovulating due to the reduction of eggs. The normal age of menopause is between 40 and 55 years, with an average in Western societies of 50–51 years.

Oestrogen levels drop when a women goes through menopause. When there is a gradual decline in oestrogen the body has time to adjust and generally symptoms a kept to a minimum. When there is a sudden drop or fluctuations in the hormone levels thats when symptoms such as hot flushes, anxiety, mood swings and insomnia may occur.

So what can be done to help this steady decline of oestrogen? Well there are a number of dietary inclusions and exclusions that women should start doing early on to help the process.

Including phyto-oestrogens into your diet.

Phyto-oestrogen foods include Soy (tofu, tempeh, soy milk, beans), linseed, alfalfa, red clover, millet, as well as nuts and seeds to a lesser extent.

Before you say ‘but isn't soy bad for you?’ let me explain how phyto-oestrogens work.

Phytoestrogens share the basic frame of other steroid hormones, although their potencies are estimated to be approximately 1000-fold weaker than that of your oestrogen. To date, more than 300 plants have been found that possess compounds with oestrogenic activity.

Soy isoflavones are the active component of soy. While they have structural similarities to oestrogen, isoflavones clearly differ from oestrogen.

Soy isoflavones are natural selective oestrogen receptor modulators (SERMs). SERMs can select which tissues they work on, meaning that they exert estrogenic effects in some tissues, anti-oestrogenic effects in others while they may not exert any effect at all in others. SERMs are designed to have some of the benefits of oestrogen without the side effects of this hormone. With this being said think of phyto-oestrogens as supporting the bodies oestrogen levels as a woman enters menopause. This will reduce the sudden decline in oestrogen levels and help the transition.

Photo credit: Webmd

The whole food that the phyto-oestrogen also have other important actions for the woman going through menopause. For example tofu is an excellent source of protein, and is often also a great source of calcium (read the label to see what it is set in). Linseeds are also a great source of fibre as well as being a great phyto-oestrogen.

Increasing more fibre into your diet…

A simple one but so so important when we are dealing with any type of hormone issues. Fibre helps to balance hormones believe it or not! How? Our hormones are metabolised by the liver, and after they have been broken down they turn into toxic metabolites. Fibre helps to bind these toxins and escort them out of the body through our bowels. Fibre also helps to balance hormone levels by increasing a compound in our body called sex hormone binding globulin (SHBG) and this helps to reduce the amount of ‘free hormones’ floating around our bodies.

Photo Credit: Bobs Red Mill

The Mind-Body connection

Now I cannot speak from personal experience, but in clinic I have seen that the more comfortable a woman is with menopause the easier her transition. When someone is resistant to this change it is often when they have a terrible time.

For this reason stress management techniques are also a really important part of menopause. Particularly when the woman is prone to anxiety and insomnia and those particular symptoms.

Meditation, mindfulness and relaxing forms of exercise such as yoga and tai chi are particularly useful as they help to reduce stress and balance the nervous system.

Learn to love your liver

As a Naturopath we believe that the liver is one of the most important aspects to consider when a woman is going through menopause.

Your liver is needed to metabolise and break down your hormones so reducing foods that put extra strain on your livers functioning is recommended.

Reducing coffee (and all caffeine), alcohol and refined sugars may help to lift the burden being placed on your liver from all of those pesky hormones.

‘What about HOT FLUSHES?’

Well..There are many different causes of hot flushes, and everyone will have a different driver. For some people its stress related, others it can be purely hormone based. If you are someone who suffers from hot flushes a lot then sipping on sage tea may be beneficial as it helps to reduce sweats.

*Tip: make up a big batch and keep cooled in the fridge, sip as needed.

Considering everything that has been mentioned in this article, it is important to remember that every ladies experience with menopause is unique and that what has worked for one person may not work for another. Taking the time t sit down with your Naturopath to work out what your drivers are is essential to get the best care for you.

Karah is available for consultations in Ocean Grove, Geelong and Melbourne. You can keep up to date on everything health by liking her facebook page https://www.facebook.com/karahmnaturopath , following her on instagram @belyhealth , or visiting her website www.karahmclarennaturopath.com

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