Menopause Diet Plan - Hormone Balancing Foods

Despite half the population being female, menopause has long not received the attention it deserves. In an effort to change this, I am starting a Menopause Diet Plan series right here on this blog and over my YouTube channel.

Why? Well, it's simple; as a dietitian, I have seen firsthand the huge role nutrition plays during this life stage. I've helped hundreds of women manage their symptoms, and I want to help you, too.

This post is about a menopause diet plan.

There isn’t an area of the body that isn’t impacted by hormonal changes during menopause. Hot flushes and weight gain typically come to mind, but there are many more. Thankfully, nutrition can help.

In this article, we are going to cover the following:

Hormonal changes and how they make your nutritional needs different now
What does a menopause-friendly diet look like?
Hormone balancing foods
Phytoestrogens
And foods that could potentially be making your menopause symptoms worse.

Please comment below if there is anything else you would like me to address in this series.

Hormonal Changes and Nutritional Needs

Understanding how hormones change during menopause is crucial for addressing our changing nutritional needs.

Oestrogen

Once menopause is complete, a woman will have lost up to 90% of her oestrogen. This decline impacts:

Heart Health: Oestrogen helps protect the heart, so it’s important to monitor cholesterol levels and blood pressure closely after menopause.
Bone Health: Reduced oestrogen leads to a higher risk of osteoporosis, necessitating a stronger focus on bone health.
Weight Distribution: After menopause, women are more prone to gaining weight around their tummies. Weight gain around the middle is much more dangerous than having extra weight on your hips or thighs because this extra fat surrounds your organs, like your pancreas and liver. When these organs are overcrowded, they can't do their jobs as efficiently.

Progesterone

Progesterone levels also drop to zero post-menopause, leading to increased water retention and bloating.

Testosterone

Although primarily a male hormone, women have testosterone too. It aids in bone maintenance and muscle strength. Post-menopause, decreased testosterone makes it harder to build and maintain muscle, affecting metabolism.

Cortisol

The stress hormone cortisol usually balances with oestrogen. As oestrogen declines, cortisol increases, which can increase appetite and contribute to weight gain.

Other Nutritional Considerations During Menopause

Immune System: Plummeting hormone levels can weaken our immune systems. Autoimmune diseases such as celiac disease, rheumatoid arthritis, and type 1 diabetes are more common in older women. So, if something feels off, it’s important to consider these possibilities and speak with your doctor.

Gut Health: Unfortunately, the gut microbiome also changes after menopause, becoming less diverse. A diverse gut microbiome is linked to better gut health. As our gut diversity decreases, we may experience more digestive issues like bloating, constipation, diarrhoea, or changes in bowel habits.

Eating Disorders: Additionally, newly diagnosed eating disorders are on the rise in women going through menopause. This can be a physically and mentally challenging time, so maintaining a healthy relationship with food is crucial.

Changing Nutrient Needs

So, our hormones have changed, and with that, our nutrient needs have changed also.

To briefly summarize.

We need to focus more on:

Protein and resistance training for our muscles
Vitamin D and calcium for our bones
and fibre for our heart health

We need less of, or less of a focus on;

Calories as our metabolism will slow slightly as we age, and we tend to run around less and be less active.
We no longer need as much iron as menstruation has ceased,
and we may need to be a little more mindful of saturated fat and sodium for cholesterol and blood pressure.

So, although we may need to eat slightly less overall, we still need a nutrient-rich diet.
IMPORTANT

What Does A Menopause-Friendly Diet Look Like?

Broadly speaking, there is evidence that a whole-food diet high in fruits and vegetables, whole grains, high-quality protein and dairy products can help with reducing menopause symptoms. These dietary principles summarise the Mediterranean Diet, which is a way of eating based on the traditional cuisines of Greece, Italy and other countries that border the Mediterranean Sea. So, if you want a quick answer as to what diet is best for menopause… the Mediterranean Diet is the one!

The easiest way to follow this is by using the plate model below.

In addition to this, there are more specific dietary recommendations I give to my clients:

I encourage all my clients to ensure they meet their protein requirements and get enough protein at breakfast, lunch, and dinner because it's harder to build and maintain muscle after menopause.
I also encourage them to include at least three servings of calcium foods daily to protect their bones. If you have been identified as someone with bone loss or osteoporosis, you may be advised to try to consume even more calcium. Osteoporosis is a horrible disease that is much more common in women, particularly after menopause.
The other prescriptive thing I recommend is oily fish, at least once a week because it's good for your heart health and fighting inflammation, which is important at this life stage.
Supplement-wise: You'll need no more folic acid. But you want to be thinking about Vitamin D. Again, it is so important for bones, but vitamin D has now been linked with many other aspects of health, too. Recommendations differ depending on different parts of the world, so speak to your doctor. In Ireland, taking 15ug of vitamin D during winter is usually recommended, but some people are at risk of deficiency all year round.

Groups that are at a higher risk of vitamin D deficiency include:

Those who are not often outdoors.
Those who usually wear clothes that cover up most of their skin when outdoors
Those who have black or brown skin
And once over the age of 65, it is recommended to take 15ug all year round

Controlling Our Blood Sugar

Another key consideration during menopause is controlling our blood sugar.

There is a lot of noise online these days about blood sugar. It can be quite scare mongering. So I want to clearly say it is totally normal for blood sugar levels to go up and down throughout the day. However, ideally we want it to happen in a steady fashion as much as possible and to avoid big spikes and crashes. This helps keep our hunger levels under control and prevents energy crashes.

During menopause, changes in the hormones oestrogen and progesterone affect how cells respond to insulin (the hormone that regulates blood glucose). And it can trigger more fluctuations in blood sugar levels.

Tips for maintaining blood sugar levels include eating regular balanced meals with gaps between them. It is also beneficial to increase protein and fibre intake. Foods with a low glycaemic index, such as wholegrain foods, non-starchy vegetables, beans, and pulses, are really good choices for balancing blood sugar.

What are phytoestrogens, and do they help with menopause?

Don’t be put off by the name! Phytoestrogens are just plant compounds with oestrogen-like properties.

There are two main types:

isoflavones which are found in soybeans,
and lignans which are found in flaxseeds, whole grains, fruits, vegetables and legumes.

Due to their chemical structure, when oestrogen levels are low (i.e. during menopause and post-menopause), these compounds can bind to oestrogen receptors and people may experience a mild oestrogenic effect such as less severe hot flushes.

Most of the research on these compounds for menopause focuses on isoflavones found in soya-based foods. Although the research is mixed, there do seem to be benefits to eating around 50 milligrams of isoflavones daily to reduce the frequency and severity of hot flushes. You’ll get this from just 2 servings of soya-based foods (like tofu, tempeh and soya milk).

Combining phytoestrogens with a diet rich in plant-based foods seems to provide the most benefit. In this study, 86g of cooked soybeans were consumed, and hot flushes decreased by 79%.

Important Considerations: The benefits of plant oestrogens can take 2-3 months to be seen, and the effects can vary between individuals. We don’t know why they seem to work better in some women compared to others, but it could be due to differences in gut bacteria. Instead of having one large amount at one meal, it appears to be more beneficial to spread servings out throughout the day.

What about breast cancer and phytoestrogens?

You may have heard of soya being linked to breast cancer risk. This is because some breast cancers are oestrogen-dependent. However, it has been concluded that isoflavones are chemically different to oestrogen and soya products are safe to eat as part of a healthy balanced diet without increased breast cancer risk.

Overall, there is no harm in including sources of phytoestrogens in your diet, particularly as these foods are also good sources of fibre, protein, vitamins, and minerals.

One thing to note is being careful of added salts, sugars, and fats in some soya-based foods (like some soya-based meat alternatives).

Caffeine and alcohol

Both caffeine and alcohol can make hot flushes worse so try to moderate intake of caffeine from drinks like coffee, tea and colas or choose decaffeinated drinks if you are sensitive to its stimulatory effects. Keep to sensible alcohol limits – no more than two to three units per day and avoid altogether if you feel it makes symptoms worse.

Exercise

Exercise has also been shown to help with hot flushes and will also be good for your heart and bone health.

Conclusion

Key takeaways for a menopause-friendly diet:

Follow the Mediterranean Diet
Ensure adequate calcium intake
Consider taking a Vitamin D supplement
Include protein at every meal
Consume two servings of soy daily
Moderate alcohol and caffeine intake
Exercise regularly

Stay tuned for more posts on bone health and weight management during menopause. If there are specific topics you’d like covered, please let me know!

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More about the author:

Hi there! My name is Maria, and I am a Registered Dietitian practising in Ireland and Bermuda. I have extensive experience in helping clients improve their health through the power of good nutrition. I hope you enjoyed this article. If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact me. Additionally, if there are nutrition topics or recipes you would like me to make in future posts, please let me know. I would be more than happy to help.

Stay happy and healthy 💚

Your Registered Dietitian

Maria xoxo

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