Over 1.3 million women become menopausal each year.
Most women undergo menopause in the early 50’s. Menopause is a natural transition and signals the end of a woman experiencing menstrual cycles. Once a woman finishes undergoing menopause, pregnancy is almost impossible.
A variety of uncomfortable symptoms accompany menopause. These symptoms can include:
- hot flashes
- night sweats
- pain during intercourse
- increased frequency of need to urinate
- anxiety
- irritability
Did you know that there are foods for menopause that will help ease these symptoms, though? Let’s take a closer look at several of these foods.
10 Great Foods for Menopause
Just as there are foods to eat that will help relieve symptoms caused by menopause, there are also foods to avoid during menopause. A study by the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health found that women who eat lots of pasta and rice undergo menopause at an early age.
Women who are experiencing menopause are often lacking many essential nutrients in their diet. Many women’s diets are low in iron and calcium. While you make your menopause diet plans, you should keep this in mind and add foods that are rich in iron and calcium.
Another thing to keep in mind is supplements to help with easing symptoms. There’s a great blog titled “Can Menopause Supplements Treat Menopause Symptoms Effectively?” that you should read if you’re interested in this route.
Here are the top ten foods proven to help with relieving the symptoms brought on by menopause:
- Salmon
This fish is packed with vitamin D and omega-3 fats. These two nutrients are essential to any diet, but more so for women undergoing menopause.
Among the foods that help with hot flashes, salmon are near the top. Omega-3 fatty acids help reduce the occurrence of hot flashes that cause night sweats.
- Eggs
Eggs are rich with vitamin D and iron. Eggs are also well known for reducing cholesterol levels, heart disease risk, and obesity. These are all risks that menopausal women cope with, which is why eggs should be incorporated into your diet.
- Whole Grains
Whole grains are full of nutrients like fiber and vitamin B. Having a healthy diet that includes whole grains can help reduce the risk for heart disease and various types of cancer.
One study found that menopausal women who ate three or more servings of whole-grain each day had a 20% lower risk of getting heart disease and diabetes.
- Broccoli
This vegetable has lots of calcium and fiber. Eating plenty of broccoli can help build stronger bones and prevent bloating and weight gain.
A study also found that broccoli can help decrease estrogen levels that are linked to breast cancer, while increasing a different type of estrogen that protects against breast cancer.
- Berries
There are studies that show eating berries can help lower blood pressure and reduce how many hot flashes a menopausal woman experiences. Other beneficial side effects include improved sleep, lowered levels of depression, reduced inflammation, and reduced risk of heart disease.
- Yogurt
Dairy products are rich in calcium, vitamin D, and protein. Yogurt has been shown to be able to help improve the sleep quality of menopausal women. Yogurt also has the added benefit of regulating gut health to improve digestion.
- Chicken
Who doesn’t like chicken? Chicken is a lean protein meat that isn’t high in saturated fats. Since menopause causes a loss of muscle mass and bone strength, eating meat like chicken can help fight back against that.
- Greens
Leafy greens are a great source of calcium, potassium, vitamin B, magnesium, and fiber. They are healthy and free of any fats that cause weight gain. Eating leafy greens can help keep your muscles and bones strong, prevent weight gain, and better regulate your moods and energy levels.
- Flax
This may not be a food item you’ve ever thought to eat. Flax is a small seed full of omega-3s, fiber, and vitamin B. As far as foods for hot flashes, you can add flax to the list.
Flax helps ease symptoms brought on by menopause, but it most helps with reducing hot flashes for menopausal women.
- Green Tea
Because sugar and hot flashes are linked, you want to cut soda and caffeinated beverages from your diet. Instead, substitute with green tea.
Green tea is excellent for helping with weight loss. Not only that, but green tea helps with improving heart health and reducing inflammation.
Foods to Avoid
Sugars and processed carbs can cause high blood pressure and metabolic syndrome. High blood pressure and metabolic syndrome are both linked to increased occurrences of hot flashes in menopausal women.
Caffeine and alcohol have also been shown to trigger more frequent hot flashes in menopausal women. One study found that while caffeine and alcohol didn’t increase how often women experienced hot flashes, it did increase the severity of it.
Spicy foods are something else that you’ll want to avoid if you’re experiencing menopause. While studies have conflicting findings, the prevailing belief is that spicy foods increase the frequency of hot flashes. Spicy food is also believed to have a triggering effect on anxiety for menopausal women.
Finally, avoid high-salt foods. A high salt intake can lead to lower bone density for menopausal women.
Once menopause ends, women experience a decline in estrogen levels. This lack of estrogen causes an increased risk of high blood pressure. By cutting sodium from your diet now, you might lower your risk of developing high blood pressure later.
Your Body Is Changing and That’s Okay
Menopause is nothing to be ashamed of. While it might be inconvenient and throw a whole slew of unwanted symptoms at you, there are steps you can take to give relief.
There are several foods for menopause that have been proven to reduce symptoms like hot flashes and weight gain. The primary factor you should take into consideration is that your body requires a healthy diet. You can no longer afford to binge junk food and sweets.
Follow these tips and eat the foods featured on our list, and you should start to see a reduction in some of your menopausal symptoms.
We hope you found this guide useful in giving you insight into different types of food to incorporate into your diet. If you liked what you read, please browse our site for other great articles.
