Helping women to overcome nutritional challenges during menopause | Dietician Priyanka

Helping women to overcome nutritional challenges during menopause

While going through menopause, majority of women worry a lot about their health. This is primarily due to their increased weight. In addition, they suddenly discover that they are pre-diabetic and their blood pressure begins to rise. Body pain and joint pain is another issue…

Other menopausal complications include food cravings, bloating, hot flashes, night sweats, and sleep disturbances. Thus, from health and nutritional perspective, this transitional stage of a woman's life is very crucial.

Let’s understand the hormonal shifts that a woman's body goes through two to three years prior to menopause i.e. after 40.

1. A woman's ovaries start to shrink, which causes her estrogen hormone level to drop. The hormone estrogen controls the menstrual cycle in women.

2. To avoid a sudden drop in estrogen, our body begins to store fat, particularly around  abdomen. This is a natural process that occurs because fat cells also secrete some amount of estrogen.

3.However, it should be noted that women who spend majority of their time sitting down and do not exercise at all have been observed to gain more body fat.

4. Increased abdominal fat raises the risk of high blood pressure, diabetes, and cholesterol, particularly during menopause.

5. Loss of muscles and bones are also correlated with a decrease in estrogen level. This is one of the reason why women after 40 have weak bones and low metabolism. 

What to do?

Make healthy eating a priority. You can prevent major illnesses like diabetes, high blood pressure, and heart disease as well as slow down the aging process by maintaining a well balanced healthy diet. You need to pay attention to these six aspects of your diet and lifestyle.

1. Protein -  Every meal must include two sources of protein, such as besan chilla, sprouts, pulses or dal, paneer, high protein smoothies or curd, nuts and seeds. Protein aids in improving muscle mass and metabolism both..

2. Calcium - Consume food rich in calcium on a regular basis, such as beans, green leafy vegetables, paneer, curd, chia seeds, sesame seeds, and whole Bengal gram (kala channa). If necessary, you can also take calcium supplements separately. You can discuss this with your dietician or doctor.

3. Probiotics - Bloating is a common issue among women these days, which is comparable to what a woman goes through prior to her period. To lessen the symptoms of bloating avoid  milk and take curd instead. Have  light dinner &  drink more water. You can also drink fennel water or sounf water to reduce bloating.

4. Phytoestrogen - In addition, you can incorporate food that contains phytoestrogen such as flaxseeds (tisi ke beej), sesame seeds (til), or fenugreek seeds (methi dana) in your diet. These food items help to reduce menopausal symptoms such as hot flushes and anxiety.

5. Meal timings - Make sure to eat on time. Delaying meals while waiting for others is not a smart idea specially during menopause. Dinner should be eaten two hours before bed and breakfast within two hours of waking.

6. Sleep - Getting enough sleep is crucial if you want to be active during the day. You can take ashwagandha if you have trouble sleeping due to stress. If you suffer from restless legs syndrome, it may be because of a magnesium deficiency. Consuming cashews, makhanna, or a glass of milk before bed can be beneficial because they are high in magnesium. You can also discuss with your dietician for supplements that might support good night sleep.

Summary

The process of menopause is natural. Maintaining a healthy diet is crucial throughout menopause. If you are overweight try to reduce your weight before turning 40. Combining a nutritious diet which is rich in fiber, protein, calcium and antioxidants along with a healthy lifestyle that includes, 7 to 8 hours of sound sleep and 30 to 45 minutes of exercise daily may help to ease menopausal complications and preventing

• excess fat gain

• bone loss and muscles loss

• lifestyle diseases like diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol and heart disease.

Therefore, if you are over 40, avoid going on a crash diet or fad diet to lose weight. Here is a sample diet plan that may help to fulfil your nutrition requirement during menopause. In order to lose weight and prevent other menopausal complications always follow a customized plan with the help of a dietician.

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Sample diet plan

Early morning smoothie	Papaya, spinach, soaked almonds, turmeric, chia seeds, dates
Breakfast	Roti, Veg gravy, Dahi with 2tsp of flaxseeds powder
Mid- morning	1 orange
Lunch	Salad, Moong dal, Roti
Evening	1 cup tea, Roasted makhanna
Dinner	Tomato dhania chutney, Roti, sabzi
Bed time	1 cup soya milk