Best Diet For Menopause
Introduction
As we get older, the digestive tract becomes
less efficient and digestion takes longer.
Our body finds it more difficult to handle
foods that are high in calories but low in nutrition. However, we still
need the same amount of vitamins, minerals and phytochemicals - sometimes
more.
Diet Nutrition is Crucial
For optimum health and feelgood during
menopause, focus on good diet nutrition. A healthy nutritious diet not
only minimizes all the additional medical health risks of menopause and
general ageing, it also reduces both physical and mental symptoms of menopausal
life. Choose as many 'natural' foods as possible.
Healthy Menopause Diet - 15 Suggestions
- Boost your daily intake of fruits.
Choose melons, bananas and citrus fruits like oranges and lemons, which
are high in potassium. Potassium rich foods help balance sodium and
water retention. Also include some dried fruit like apricots and figs.
- Boost your daily intake of vegetables
(inc. salad) Choose in particular, yam, dark leafy vegetables like kale,
collard greens, spinach, pak choi, broccoli and cabbage, as well as
peppers, tomatoes and a variety of others.
- Introduce soy foods (eg. soybeans, calcium-fortified
soy milk, soy yogurt and tofu.) into your daily eating.
- Eat regular amounts of fiber,
especially soluble fiber.
- Junk the fried foods, instead broil
or bake.
- Junk the white bread/flour, eat wholegrain
bread, oats, rye, wheatgerm.
- Junk the white rice (except basmati),
switch to long grain brown rice.
- Eat fewer regular potatoes, eat more
sweet potatoes and pasta.
- Add regular helpings of beans and lentils
to your meals.
- Junk the processed cooking oils, switch
to unprocessed oils.
Choose extra virgin olive oil, canola, wheatgerm and flaxseed oil.
- Make oily
fish (salmon, mackerel) a regular feature of your diet
Oily fish is rich in omega-3
essential fatty acids which provides a huge range of health
benefits.
- Snack on nuts (Brazils, walnuts), seeds
(pumpkin, sunflower, linseeds), dried fruit (apricots, figs).
- Try adding seaweed to your diet; ask
at your local health food store. Choose Nori, Wakame, Kombu, Arame,
which contain natural hormones and plant chemicals which help during
menopause.
- Drink more mineral/bottled water, less
caffeine and modest amounts of alcohol.
- Enjoy high-calorie junk foods as an
occasional treat only
Healthy Eating Doesn't Mean Being Perfect
You don't have to follow all 15 of the
above dietary suggestions. As long as your menopause eating habits don't
stray too far from my guidelines, you'll do fine. That said, my eating
advice should help to alleviate the symptoms of menopause, including:
hot flashes, bloating, water retention, tiredness and depression. In addition,
if you combine the eating advice with regular exercise, you will reduce
weight and find it much easier to maintain a healthy weight as you get
older.
Read about the new GI
Diet Method.
Back to Top
Next: Foods
to Restrict During Menopause
Back to Diets for Special Conditions
Please Note: The above advice about
Menopause diet and eating habits is offered for general educational purposes
only. If you suffer from specific menopausal symptoms, please consult
your physician for personal dietary advice.
|