Download Menopause

Menopause
http://www.nutrition.org.uk/healthyliving/lifestages/menopause.html
For most women the menopause (sometimes called 'the change') starts when they are
in their late 40s or early 50s and usually lasts for several years. Hormonal changes,
particularly a fall in oestrogen production, mean that the regularity of periods
becomes more erratic and eventually they stop altogether. If you are suffering from unpleasant menopausal
symptoms you are not alone - three-quarters of women in the UK suffer one or more symptoms during this
time which commonly include hot flushes, night sweats, mood swings, irritability and tiredness. For a third
these symptoms are severe and interfere with everyday life. Many of them are caused by the altered
hormone levels, in particular the loss of oestrogen, and can be treated with medication so speak with your
GP for individual advice if your symptoms persist.
The good news is that a healthy diet and lifestyle can help to reduce the severity of many of these symptoms
and protect against other problems associated with loss of oestrogen such as heart disease and calcium loss
from bones.
Around this time, as a direct result of the fall in oestrogen production, your bone density decreases (by as
much as 2-3% during the 5 to 10 years immediately after the menopause). If your bone density was low to
start with, this additional reduction will make you more likely to develop osteoporosis, which increases your
risk of suffering a bone fracture. A healthy diet, not smoking and regular weight bearing exercise all help
keep bones healthy.
It is also the female hormones, such as oestrogen, that provide relative protection, compared to men, against
heart disease and storage of fat around the waist. So, as you approach the menopause it is a good time to
take stock of your diet to make sure it is heart-healthy and watch your weight. If you carry too much fat
around your waist you have a higher chance of developing type 2 diabetes or heart disease.
Read on to find some useful tips on eating a healthy diet during and after the menopause; these will help you
decrease your risk of certain diseases.
Protecting your health after the menopause
To decrease your risk of developing diseases such as heart disease, diabetes, osteoporosis or cancer, you
should eat a healthy and varied diet, which is based on starchy foods and includes lots of fruit and
vegetables. You can find more information on eating healthily here.
Take care of your bones!
Because of the hormonal changes during your menopause you will experience increased bone loss. To
decrease this bone loss, you should particularly look out for two nutrients that are associated with your
bone health and get sufficient amounts of them: calcium and vitamin D.
Important sources of calcium are:
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Dairy products, such as milk, yogurt or cheese (go for the fat-reduced options)
Bread (most bread flour is fortified with calcium)
Some green leafy vegetables such as cabbage, broccoli and kale
Pulses
Nuts
Dried fruit
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Fish that is eaten with bones (such as whitebait or canned sardines).
Spinach has a high calcium content but it contains substances called oxalates which bind the calcium and
prevent it being absorbed. Some mineral waters and foods with added calcium can also provide you with
considerable amounts of calcium. Soya milk does not contain much calcium, so if you replace milk with
soya milk, look out for products that are enriched with calcium. Many products sold in supermarkets, such
as juices or breakfast cereals, contain added calcium.
Vitamin D is also important for your bones. This vitamin is produced in our skin when we are exposed to
sunlight. In summer, around 15 minutes of direct sunlight on our hands and face is usually enough to get the
amount of vitamin D we need. In winter, the sunlight is not strong enough to produce vitamin D in our skin
and we have to rely on food sources. But also, as we get older the vitamin D production in our skin slows
down. So try to get some vitamin D from your food.
Important vitamin D sources are:
Oily fish
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Eggs
Foods with added vitamin D, such as margarine (which is fortified by law) and some low fat spreads
and breakfast cereals (where it can be added voluntarily).
When you reach the menopause, you might consider taking vitamin D supplements, particularly if you cover
up your skin for cultural or religious reasons, are of dark skin colour, or don’t eat oily fish. It is
recommended that people aged 65 and over should have at least 10 μg of vitamin D per day from their diet.
Very high intakes of vitamin A may have a negative effect on your bones and make them more likely to
fracture when you are older. If you regularly eat liver and liver products you should avoid taking
supplements containing more than 1.5 mg of vitamin A per day. Watch out for fish liver oil supplements as
they are also often high in vitamin A.
activity
Physical activity is also very important for your bones, particularly when you do weight bearing exercise
such as brisk walking, running, dancing or climbing stairs. Although swimming is great for your heart,
unfortunately it does not have an impact on your bones. But most types of physical activity or exercise are
great to build up or maintain your muscles – this reduces the risk of falls and consequently the risk of
fractures as you get older. For more on physical activity, click here.
Watch your waist
As you get older, your energy requirements usually decrease. This means that you need to eat less food to
maintain your body weight. Your scales (or the fit of your clothes) will tell you if you eat too much –
regularly check your body weight!
Because of the hormonal changes during the menopause, you are more likely to put on weight around the
waist at this stage of life. Body fat around the waist, rather than the fat on your hips, increases your risk of
developing certain diseases, such as heart disease or diabetes. This means that if you put on weight during
and after your menopause, this is even more harmful because it is going to your waist area rather than your
hips.
You should, particularly at this stage of life, try to avoid gaining weight by eating a healthy and varied diet
and being physically active.
Top tip!
Take a measuring tape and measure your waist circumference. It shouldn’t be more than 31.5 inches (80cm).
If it is more than this, you may be at higher risk of developing diabetes.
Diet, supplements and menopausal symptoms
A number of dietary factors, supplements and herbal remedies have been suggested to be of benefit in
relieving symptoms of the menopause. In particular there has been a lot of interest in the role of
phytoestrogens (such as isoflavones and lignans) in preventing hot flushes. These are substances found in
plants, the richest sources being soya and linseed (flax) and foods made from these such as texturised
vegetable protein, tofu and soya milk. They have a similar structure to oestrogen. Western women typically
eat diets low in phytoestrogens (<3g/day) and more than 80% experience hot flushes. Chinese and Japanese
women typically eat diets containing 30-100mg of these substances a day and less than 20% experience hot
flushes during the menopause. But lifelong intake may be important and other factors may also be involved.
There is currently limited evidence from scientific studies that increasing your intake of phytoestrogens from
foods or supplements will prevent hot flushes or any other menopausal symptoms. Unless you are eating a
lot of soya containing foods, it is difficult to increase your phytoestrogen intake substantially (you would
need to include at least 2-3 servings/day).
There are a range of herbal remedies on the market claiming to combat menopausal symptoms but speak
with your GP before taking any of these as they may have side effects or interact with other therapies (you
can get some more information about herbal preparations on the website of the British Menopause Society