Madeeha Syed

Explore dietary considerations during menopause with Meri Sehat. Learn about foods, nutrients, and lifestyle choices to support a healthy menopausal transition.

The Menopause Diet

Overview

<a href="https://merisehat.pk/disease/menopause">Menopause</a> marks the end of a woman&rsquo;s reproductive lifecycle. Before it begins, you can get symptoms such as irregular periods, anxiety, hot flashes and mood swings. This is called perimenopause and can last for eight to 10 years. 
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A woman is considered menopausal when she hasn&rsquo;t had a period for 12 consecutive months. As old age creeps upon us, the levels of female reproductive hormones such as oestrogen and progesterone drop and this puts an end to the normal menstrual cycle. This, of course, comes with its own challenges as your body tries to acclimatise itself to lower levels of sex hormones. Symptoms such as hot or cold flashes, night sweats, difficulty sleeping, mood swings, irritability, mild depression, vaginal dryness, dry skin, dry eyes and dry mouth as well as an increase in urinary frequency, urgency and nocturia (waking up during the night) etc are classic signs of a woman reaching menopause.

So, how does one navigate this maze and continue to have a good, healthy and balanced life? As with everything, the answer to this is a plant-based diet. 
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In 2021, The Journal of North American Menopause Society published a randomised control trial which found that eating a low-fat, plant- and soy-based diet can help reduce hot flashes by 88 percent. But what&rsquo;s noteworthy here is that this works even better than hormone replacement therapy that has long been an antidote for symptoms of menopause. Collateral benefits such as weight reduction were also seen in these study participants. 
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Steps To Manage Menopause

Based on these findings, here are some steps you can take to manage symptoms of menopause: 
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<ul>
	<li>Avoid Meat Consumption And Choose A&nbsp;Plant-Based Diet: You don&rsquo;t have to stop consuming meat entirely but reducing your overall meat consumption and animal products such as eggs and dairy can help. Instead, opt for whole grains, vegetables, legumes, fruits, beans, flaxseed, lentils, chickpeas and leafy greens. Women living in those parts of the world where plant-based diets are the norm have also been found to experience milder symptoms of menopause. 
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	<li>Add Soy-Based Products In Your Diet: Ensure you&rsquo;re consuming a half cup of soybeans per day. Some other soy products you can incorporate in your diet are tofu, edamame, sesame seeds, soy milk, fenugreek, soy nuts, sprouts, carrots, apples, barley, oats, spinach, pomegranates and yams. Soy is rich in proteins and phytoestrogens (isoflavones) also called plant-based or dietary oestrogen. 
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Phytoestrogen has a structure very similar to the oestrogen women produce in their bodies and can mimic its effects as well. A deficiency of oestrogen is linked with vaginal dryness so consuming soy products can help with lubrication down there too. 
 
Menopause can also cause worsening cardiovascular health. Post-menopausal women are more at risk of heart disease as compared to premenopausal women. Isoflavones also help with keeping our blood vessels and heart healthy. According to some epidemiological studies it can also reduce risk of breast cancer. 
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Conclusion

Some other things you can do is reduce your fat intake. Other than avoiding trans and saturated fats, reduce your consumption of cooking oil, nuts, avocadoes, olives, coconuts, processed foods, sugars and caffeine. After all is said and done, the medical community always ends up at the conclusion that your diet does impact your overall health significantly. The mantra of &ldquo;plant based, low fat&rdquo; is also often repeated. Hormone Replacement Treatment (HRT) doesn&rsquo;t have to be the only solution for these symptoms and you don&rsquo;t need to quietly suffer through them. 
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