Menopause diet

When menopause sets in, a woman's well-being and appearance are highly dependent on nutrition. A diet during menopause helps not only to support metabolism and maintain a good figure, but also to improve health, prevent possible development of age-related diseases, and reduce the manifestation of menopausal symptoms.

Every woman has a period in her life when her reproductive function fades, the ovaries gradually "fall asleep", which is accompanied by certain changes inside the body. Unpleasant symptoms such as headaches, hot flashes, swelling of the extremities, instability of blood pressure, irritability, changes in body weight, problems with joints are the most common manifestations of menopause. The main goal of the diet is to alleviate the listed symptoms, to support the body in such a difficult period for it. Certain changes in nutrition will help to survive this time painlessly and unnoticed.

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The essence of the diet during menopause

When the first symptoms of menopause appear, there is no need to immediately run to the pharmacy - leave it for the last resort. Most signs can be eliminated by changing your diet.

The most common symptom – hot flashes – is significantly reduced if you exclude coffee, cocoa, chocolate, and fatty foods from your diet. You should also eat fewer sweets.

To stabilize blood pressure, it is recommended to exclude coffee and alcoholic drinks. It is better to switch to green tea and fresh fruit or vegetable juices.

To normalize the digestive system, doctors recommend reducing portions of food but increasing the frequency of meals. It is advisable to include a sufficient amount of plant foods, nuts, and seeds in the menu - this will ease the load on the gastrointestinal tract and make the intestines work more efficiently.

In addition to green tea, it is useful to drink herbal teas. Rose hips, sage, berry leaves, and valerian are especially useful during menopause. Such drinks relieve irritability, calm the nerves, and relieve sleep disorders.

To prevent osteoporosis (weakening of the skeletal system), it is recommended to include dairy products (especially cottage cheese and kefir) and oatmeal in your diet - these are the best sources of calcium and phosphorus.

Seafood, which contains a large amount of amino acids, can also reduce the manifestations of the climacteric period. The weekly diet must include fish, shrimp, and seaweed.

Diet for weight loss during menopause

The next problem that is relevant during menopause is the appearance of excess weight. What to do to avoid unwanted manifestations?

First of all, it is not recommended to "go on" too strict diets - fasting, monotonous diet, etc. The climacteric period is the time when the body, more than ever, needs useful substances and microelements. By limiting nutrition, we only worsen the situation and aggravate the uncomfortable state.

What to do? Indeed, some products will have to be excluded from the menu, or replaced with more dietary ones. However, the diet should still be varied and complete.

To stabilize hormonal levels and normalize weight, it is important to reduce the intake of animal fats, or limit them to a minimum. Preference should be given to vegetable oils, or to cook food in a steamer. This approach will not only help to avoid weight gain, but will also reduce the risk of developing vascular atherosclerosis and hypertension.

However, even if you exclude fatty foods from your diet, it is impossible to maintain a normal weight by eating sweets several times a day. Of course, carbohydrates are necessary for the body, and they cannot be completely excluded. But preference should be given to complex carbohydrates (for example, cereals), as well as fresh fruits and berries. In the first half of the day, honey is allowed in reasonable quantities. It is better to refuse sugar and white pastries. Carbonated sweet drinks, juices from packages, yogurts with sweeteners are prohibited.

If there is no pronounced swelling, drink more clean water - this will help maintain the necessary metabolism, and also quickly remove all kinds of accumulated toxic substances from the body.

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Diet for menopause in women with hot flashes

Hot flashes are one of the characteristic signs of the climacteric period, which is a sharp and short-lived feeling of heat, mainly in the face and upper body. Often, this condition is accompanied by reddening of the skin and a sudden attack of sweating. The hot flash lasts from half a minute to 2-3 minutes. Let's be honest, this symptom does not cause positive emotions in women, so many people think about how to relieve hot flashes, or better yet, get rid of them.

In order to reduce such manifestations, it is necessary to put the hormonal background in order. What is needed for this? First of all, it is necessary to saturate the body with all the necessary nutrients, eliminate the lack of vitamins, minerals - in a word, strengthen and stabilize metabolic processes. It is important that the level of metabolism does not leave a negative imprint on the content of hormones in the blood.

What substances should you pay attention to?

• Tocopherol (vit. E) is an antioxidant that helps improve heart function, reduce the number and intensity of hot flashes, prevent swelling of the mammary glands, and eliminate vaginal dryness. Tocopherol is found in asparagus, wild rice, egg yolks, legumes, potato peels, and vegetable oils.
• Omega-3 fatty acids – prevent fluctuations in blood pressure during hot flashes, prevent headaches and feelings of heat. The best sources of such acids are sea fish, flax (seeds and oil), nuts.
• Magnesium is a mineral with a calming effect. It helps to overcome bad mood, tearfulness, anxiety, irritability. Magnesium can be obtained by eating nuts, seaweed, lettuce leaves, bran.
• The polymer lignin is a substance that is found in almost all plants, so during menopause it is recommended to focus on plant foods. An abundance of vegetables, fruits, greens and berries in the diet will help to reduce the manifestation of hot flashes and stabilize the microflora in the vagina and intestines.

In addition to adding nutrients to your diet, to eliminate hot flashes, it is recommended to avoid foods that destabilize hormonal balance - coffee, chocolate, cocoa, alcoholic beverages, hot spices.

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Dukan diet for menopause

The main idea of the well-known Dukan diet is a predominantly protein diet with limited consumption of fats and carbohydrates. At the same time, a person does not starve at all, since there is no special restriction on the volume of food. The diet consists of several stages, two of which involve periods of intensive weight loss, and the subsequent ones are designed to consolidate and maintain weight within the norm.

The list of main products that are recommended for consumption during the diet is any meat, dairy products without fat, chicken eggs, and fish products.

It would seem that the diet is not bad - it is suggested to eat without restrictions, choosing products from the permitted list. However, is everything so good?

The fact is that an abundance of protein foods can be dangerous for women with kidney disease, digestive system. During this diet, lethargy, insomnia can increase, and the hormonal background also changes for the worse. The Dukan diet is not recognized as balanced, and the balance of nutrients is an important component of proper nutrition, including during menopause. As a result, the skin condition worsens, the immune system weakens, and the absorption of minerals decreases (calcium is especially important, which in women serves as a preventive measure against osteoporosis - a weakness of the skeletal system).

To survive the menopause normally, you don't need to look for any new and trendy diets. It is important to consider the body's needs at a specific time, in this case, during menopause - that is, to ensure sufficient metabolism, maintain a balance of proteins, fats and carbohydrates, which will not allow the hormonal background to deviate.

If you nevertheless decide to follow such a diet, then consult a doctor - after 40-50 years, almost every person already has some chronic diseases, and in this aspect, the main rule of any changes in diet is not to harm or aggravate health problems.

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Menopause Diet Menu

To make it easier to create a menu during menopause, we offer you an approximate version of a weekly diet, scheduled by days of the week - from Monday to Sunday.

1 day

• For breakfast, you can make muesli with yogurt.
• Second breakfast – a handful of nuts.
• We have vegetarian cabbage soup for lunch, complemented by a carrot and cabbage salad.
• Snack – banana.
• We have dinner with a piece of boiled fish with beetroot salad.

Day 2

• We have cottage cheese with prunes and sour cream for breakfast.
• For a second breakfast – berry smoothie.
• We're having chicken soup with meatballs for lunch.
• Snack – kefir with fruit.
• Dinner: potato casserole, tomato and cucumber salad.

Day 3

• Breakfast: oatmeal with raisins.
• Instead of a second breakfast - marshmallows, herbal tea.
• We have tomato soup and rice cutlets for lunch.
• Snack – a large pear or apple.
• Dinner: fish casserole with vegetable gravy.

Day 4

• For breakfast – steamed cheese pancakes with honey.
• Second breakfast – kiwi and orange salad with yogurt.
• We have okroshka and carrot cutlets for lunch.
• Snack – freshly squeezed juice.
• We're having dinner with steamed chicken cutlets with herbs.

Day 5

• For breakfast - pumpkin pancakes with honey.
• Instead of a second breakfast - a handful of dried fruits.
• We have fish soup and potato salad for lunch.
• We snack on berry jelly.
• For dinner - cabbage rolls with sour cream.

Day 6

• We have rice casserole with berries for breakfast.
• For second breakfast – whole grain bread with peanut butter.
• We have milk soup and potato cutlets for lunch.
• Instead of a snack – baked apple with cottage cheese.
• Dinner is vegetable stew.

Day 7

• For breakfast - omelette with vegetables.
• Instead of a second breakfast – a milk and fruit cocktail.
• We have onion soup and a portion of beans in tomato sauce for lunch.
• Snack – yogurt.
• We have dinner with a piece of boiled fillet with stewed zucchini.

The components of the dishes, as well as the dishes themselves, can be combined depending on your taste, as well as the products that are available (of course, if they are on the list of those permitted during menopause). And do not forget to drink enough liquid!

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Menopause Diet Recipes

• Simple onion soup. Ingredients: 0.5 l vegetable broth, 350 ml milk, salt to taste, 2 tbsp dark flour, 400 g minced chicken, 4 tbsp grated cheese, finely chopped garlic clove, 4 pieces of toasted bread, 2 large onions, sour cream, 2 yolks. Peel the vegetables, chop finely and fry in 1 tbsp vegetable oil for about 5-6 minutes. Add the mince and fry for another 10 minutes. Then add the flour, pour in the broth, wait until it boils. Add milk and a little sour cream to taste, seasonings. After 20 minutes, remove from heat. Meanwhile, beat the yolks with grated cheese, spread on bread and bake in the oven or microwave for 5-10 minutes. Ready to serve!
• Rice cutlets. Ingredients: 400 g chicken fillet, one and a half cups of round rice, egg, 50 g hard cheese, vegetable oil, seasonings. Cooking: boil the rice, mince the meat, add seasonings. Fry the mince, add grated cheese, rice, mix and cool. Roll the mixture into balls, dip in beaten egg and breading. Fry in vegetable oil or cook in a steamer. Serve with herbs or sour cream.
• Pumpkin pancakes. We will need: ½ kg of pumpkin, one egg, 3 tbsp. of flour, honey, vegetable oil, cinnamon, salt on the tip of a knife. Peel and grate the pumpkin. Add the egg, a spoonful of honey, salt, knead and leave for 15 minutes. Pour in the flour and cinnamon, stir. Spoon into a hot frying pan with vegetable oil and fry on both sides. Enjoy!

What can you eat during menopause?

• Products with calcium (low-fat dairy products, nuts, soy, seaweed, seeds and sunflower seeds).
• Products rich in healthy fatty acids (vegetable oils, nuts, fish).
• Cereals, dark flours, any porridge, bran.
• Mild seasonings.
• Any vegetables, berries, greens, fruits and juices from them.
• Dried fruits.
• Legumes (beans, peas, chickpeas, mung beans, lentils).
• All types of onions, garlic.
• Sweets allowed include bee products, natural marmalade, marshmallows, and jelly.
• Green tea, herbal teas (with valerian, mint, chamomile, rose hips, sage, fennel).

It is advisable to cook dishes in the oven, in a steamer, or boil them. Raw fruits and vegetables are welcome, as well as salads made from them.

What shouldn't you eat during menopause?

It is necessary to severely limit or eliminate the following foods and dishes from the diet:

• salt, sugar;
• semi-finished products, fast food;
• lard, fatty meat, lard, margarine, spread;
• alcoholic beverages;
• sausages, smoked meats, offal;
• coffee, chocolate, cocoa, sweets;
• hot spices;
• sweet soda, juices from packages.