Perimenopause and nutrition

The dreaded “M” word before which comes before the phase of perimenopause scares all women a lot — irregular periods and hot flushes, mood swings and weight gain and from insomnia to reduced libido. It may leave you feeling as though you are on an emotional rollercoaster and have zero control of it but believe me, the good news is that you are not alone. For many years, menopause or the phase before that known as ‘peri-menopause” has been a taboo subject, often referred to in quiet whispers as “the change.” Though women do not talk publicly about it, it remains an unavoidable part of their life.

In this article you would know everything you need to know about perimenopause and more importantly, how to adopt proper dietary changes with a little bit of exercise. But before that let us first understand what perimenopause is.

Perimenopause if the period leading up to menopause in which a woman’s ovaries begin making less estrogen. It is also known as ‘menopause transition’ and usually starts when a woman is in her 40s and lasts about 4 years. Every woman has her unique experience as the number and severity of symptoms varies and can last from a few months to 10 years.

Symptoms

If you’re experiencing night sweats, headaches, vaginal dryness, difficulty sleeping and/or mood swings, irregular periods, heavier than normal periods, forgetfulness, fatigue, urine urgency and incontinence then do not worry. Though there is no guaranteed way to zap all these symptoms, you can ease some of them with proper nutrition.

Why nutrition matters during perimenopause

Ask yourself which nutritional or lifestyle areas do you find the most challenging to control? From a health perspective, women in their 40’s and 50’s should eat as healthy as they can — just like anybody else and just like they would have done in their twenties. General “healthy eating’ rules apply. There are however certain areas of nutrition and lifestyle which needs to be improved to save you from developing some nasty symptoms that come along with hormonal changes.

Perimenopause is an important time for women to get into a healthy routine. Eating well and staying active during perimenopause can help to reduce symptoms, strengthen your body and maintain your health.

Perimenopause and diet

It is important for women to manage these symptoms through lifestyle modifications. During the perimenopause phase that the body starts to change, including weight gain in women in their 40s.

There are ways to boost energy, have a stable blood glucose level, and maintain weight during perimenopause, including eating more fruits and vegetables, while adding good quality protein. Women should steer away from fast food and processed food.

The little tweaks that you can do with your diet to make this transition as smooth as possible are:

ü Take care of your bone health. Calcium rich foods such as yoghurt, milk and other dairy products, fortified nut milks, canned fish, greens, orange juice and fortified grains/cereals may help. Increase your Vitamin D intake through food and sunshine. You may want to consult your doctor for a calcium or Vitamin D supplement but try to have it naturally. Spinach, greens, almonds, eggs and mushrooms are rich sources of Vitamin D.

ü Adding whole grains to the diet, such as wholegrains and millets, brown rice, whole wheat bread, and oats can help prevent weight gain and have the energy to go through the day.

ü Eating foods rich in omega-3 and healthy fats is also crucial to promote health during the perimenopausal years. Happy brain chemistry relies on getting the proper amounts of omega-3 in the diet. It reduces mood swings and can reduce the risk of developing depression.

ü Add more good quality proteins in the diet through legumes, which are also high in fiber. Legumes can help maintain blood sugar levels. Legumes are low in calories which helps women maintain a healthy weight during their perimenopausal years. Distribute it throughout the day.

ü Focus on fibre: Vegetables, fruits, wholegrains, nuts and seeds which you need to pay special attention to during this phase.

ü Engaging in regular exercise and physical activity is vital for perimenopausal women. Moderate exercises should be good.

ü Do not diet — Do not deprive your body of the essential nutrient it needs during this phase. Infact, replenishing the lost food stores is a must. Instead of dieting adopt new eating and lifestyle habits which works for you and showing positive results. Eat a balanced diet and eat organic.

ü Control your blood sugar levels. High insulin and blood sugar levels contribute to weight gain. Eat less refined carbs (sugars, soft drinks, juices, pasta, bread, pastries, biscuits and anything with flour in them). No snacking between meals. Have low glycemic index foods. Examples are eggs, cheese, avocado, nuts, full-fat yogurt, raw vegetable sticks. Be careful with changing your routine and always ask your doctor. There is no such thing as healthy snacking but keep in mind that certain foods do raise your sugar levels.

ü Manage stress. Restricting calories or going on a diet will make you more irritable, increase your stress levels and is likely to deprive you of the essential nutrients your body needs.

ü Reduce alcohol and caffeine. Alcohol is a liver toxin which messes up with your sleep patterns and burdens the liver. It also gets stored as fat in the liver in the form of visceral fat and contributes to the waistline that many women suffer from in perimenopause. Caffeine, on the other hand, stays in the bloodstream for a long time and may interfere with your sleep. Drink your tea and coffee unsweetened!

ü Magnesium supplements may help. To avoid any overdose or counter-effect to medications do consult your doctor though they have a good influence on mood swings, cramps, heart palpitations, brain fog, irritability, insomnia, etc.

ü Find the right balance between plant and animal-based food sources. Shifting more towards plant- based foods may help because of the hormone content of meat and other animal-based foods. However, Oily (cold water) fish may be an important source of nutrients that a woman in perimenopause should eat on a regular basis due to the DHA (Omega 3) and vitamin D content. If this is not possible, please consider safe supplementing.

ü Move. Physical activity contributes to the overall wellness and health in perimenopause but do not over stress the body. Outdoor exercises may have help with regards to brain health and in preventing dementia too.