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Our nutrition has a profound effect on menopause. While many of us understand that nutrition is a game-changer for our overall health, few understand just how powerful it can be for addressing symptoms of menopause.
Hormonal fluctuations can manifest in changes in appetite, weight gain, hot flashes, and night sweats. All of which can be addressed by consuming a nutrient-dense diet.
That is why we have created a 7-day diet plan for menopause. We cover the benefits, key nutrients, and how to overcome dietary challenges.
Understanding Menopause and Dietary Needs
First, we must understand the impact fluctuating menopause can have on our bodies. Below, we discuss the common menopause symptoms, how menopause affects nutritional requirements, and key nutrients for managing symptoms.
Menopause Symptoms
Changes to hormone levels can lead to major shifts in our physiology, signaling the end of our reproductive years. As estrogen and progesterone levels decline, we can begin to experience a range of symptoms that for many can feel like a complete loss of control.
Below is a range of common menopause symptoms associated with menopause:
- Increase appetite
- Decrease metabolism
- Night sweats
- Hot flashes
- Vaginal dryness
- Mood changes
- Anxiety and depression
- Decrease bone health
- Joint aches
- Difficulty sleeping/insomnia
- Skin wrinkling/aging
- Cognitive challenges (mental processing)
- Increased risk of chronic disease
How Menopause Affects Nutritional Requirements
When our hormone levels fluctuate and symptoms begin to arise, our dietary and nutritional requirements change. While our ability to stop hormonal decline is limited, we can use nutrition to address symptoms.
For example, when we enter menopause inflammation in the body rises, leading to symptoms such as joint aches, night sweats, and hot flashes. To address this, we can consume foods with anti-inflammatory properties such as omega-3 fatty acids to alleviate these symptoms.
Increased appetite and weight gain can be addressed with increased protein and fiber intake. A decrease in bone health can be addressed through eating calcium-rich food and getting out in the sun for some much-needed vitamin D.
Key Nutrients for Managing Menopause Symptoms
Hydration and Its Role in Menopause
Hydration and water intake are some of the most effective ways to regulate many of our bodily systems during menopause.
Water regulates body temperature, transports nutrients, and supports, organ, cardiovascular, and joint health.
Staying hydrated can curb hunger and cravings, which is invaluable as our appetite rises.
Below is a list of benefits of maintaining hydration during menopause:
- Manage hunger and cravings
- Skin health
- Maintain cognitive function
- Supports cardiovascular function
- Supports joint health
Adapting Your Diet to Menopause Symptoms
Adapting your diet is one of the best ways to address menopause symptoms. Below we present a handful of common menopause symptoms and address them by changing your diet.
Managing Hot Flashes Through Diet
As our estrogen levels decline inflammation in the body can rise, and our ability to regulate our body’s temperature becomes more sensitive. When this happens, our body can misread temperature, triggering hot flashes to cool us down.
This is characterized by warmth through the chest, neck, and face, with a flush of sweat, and hot flashes.
As hot flashes are inflammation and hormone-related, we can address them with foods that contain anti-inflammatory and hormone-boosting properties.
Omega-3 has powerful anti-inflammatory properties. Creating a diet containing foods such as fatty fish, leafy greens, nuts, and seeds is a great way to reduce inflammation and hot flashes.
This can be boosted by eating foods rich in phytoestrogen, an estrogen-like compound found in nuts, seeds, fruits, and vegetables. This can help us boost and stabilize estrogen levels, which can alleviate menopause symptoms.
Supporting Bone Health
The decline in estrogen and progesterone can lead to poor bone health. During this time, bone resorption also decreases. This leads to decreased bone mineral density, weakness, loss of function, frailty, and an increased risk of fractures.
A diet containing calcium and vitamin D can help you maintain a healthy bone mass.
Foods such as dairy, sardines, soy, tofu, and spinach are all excellent sources of calcium. The best source of vitamin D is from the sun. Aim for 8-10 minutes of midday sun during the spring or summer.
Boosting Energy Levels
Entering menopause can take a serious toll on our energy levels. Between the sudden increase in appetite, loss of sleep, feelings of anxiety, and stress, it is only natural we start to feel fatigued.
To address this we can eat foods that provide us with a sustained energy release. Foods containing complex carbohydrates, protein, and fiber are all great ways to maintain energy levels.
Foods containing complex carbohydrates such as whole grain food options, brown rice, quinoa, fruits, and vegetables are low glycemic index foods. This means they offer a slow, sustained energy release throughout the day.
Avoid refined carbohydrates such as white bread, pasta, and sugary snacks. These will only give you a spike in energy, before crashing your energy levels, adding to your fatigue.
Promoting Sleep Quality
Altering your diet and nutrition can also positively impact your sleep. Symptoms such as hot flashes and night sweats can impact sleeping, which sadly can wake us up. As mentioned, this can be addressed by eating omega-3 and phytoestrogen-rich foods. Also, consider eliminating afternoon caffeine and alcohol intake as it can impair sleep quality.
For many women, increased appetite can lead to hunger in the middle of the night. Adjust your even meals such as dinner and dessert to contain protein and fiber. This will keep you full throughout the night, and improve your chances of staying asleep.
7-Day Diet Plan for Menopause
Now that we have covered menopause and the impact nutrition can have on symptoms, it's time for our 7-day diet plan for menopause.
Each meal for the day will contain a lean source of protein and fiber. This will help you maintain lean muscle mass while improving satiety.
If you are dairy-free, consider removing dairy, and adding your preferred replacements to match your dietary requirements.
Day 1: Meal Plan
Breakfast:
- Veggie Omelet with spinach, bell peppers, low-fat cheese, avocado
- 1 slice of wholegrain toast
Lunch:
- Grilled chicken and quinoa salad with cherry tomato, avocado, red onion, corn, garlic, lime juice, olive oil
Snack:
- Greek yogurt with mixed berries, flax seeds, and chia seeds
Dinner:
- Baked Salmon with asparagus, lemon, garlic, rosemary, chopped parsley, and olive oil.
Day 2: Meal Plan
Breakfast:
- Quinoa and veggie scramble with spinach, mushrooms, bell peppers, olive oil
- 1 slice of wholegrain toast
Lunch:
- Chickpeas and avocado salad with tomatos, cucumber, red onion, lemon, parsley, basil, and lemon.
Snack:
- Zucchini pesto noodles with cherry tomatoes.
Dinner:
- Chicken and sweet potato stew with black beans, onion, spinach, parsley, paprika
Day 3: Meal Plan
Breakfast:
- Overnight oats with Greek yogurt, berries chia seeds, and flax seeds.
Lunch:
- Lentil and vegetable soup with celery leek, garlic, coriander, thyme
- 1 wholegrain roll
Snack:
- Almond and seed energy balls
Dinner:
- Stuffed bell peppers with quinoa and black beans
Day 4: Meal Plan
Breakfast:
- Protein smoothie with banana, honey, mixed berries, flaxseed, chia seeds, low-fat milk, and protein powder.
Lunch:
- Quinoa and kale salad with chickpeas, bell peppers, broccoli, feta, lemon juice, olive oil, garlic
Snack:
- Dark chocolate and nut clusters
Dinner:
- Cauliflower crust pizza with chicken, onion, goat's cheese, spinach.
Day 5: Meal Plan
Breakfast:
- Chicken and veggie omelet with spinach, red peppers
Lunch:
- Whole grain chicken wrap with baby spinach, tomato, red onion, avocado, light mayo
Snack:
- Protein yogurt
- Fruit salad
Dinner:
- Air-fried lemon and herb salmon with mixed vegetables
Day 6: Meal Plan
Breakfast:
- Poached egg with avocado toast
Lunch:
- Mackeral salad with avocado, cherry tomatoes, kale, spinach, lettuce, olive oil, lemon juice, lentils
Snack:
- Hummus with veggies stick
- Protein yogurt with berries and chia seeds
Dinner:
- Oven baked Portuguese chicken
- Kale and spinach salad with tomato, corn, red onion, avocado, lemon, olive oil
Day 7: Meal Plan
Breakfast:
- Oat with berries, banana, chia seeds, and flaxseeds
Lunch:
- Tuna and quinoa salad with spinach, corn, chickpeas, olive oil
Snack:
- Protein smoothie with mixed berries, banana, greek yogurt, chia seeds, low-fat milk, and protein powder
Dinner:
- Lemon and rosemary grilled chicken breast with brown rice, sweet potato, kale and corn
5 Tips for Maintaining a Healthy Diet During Menopause
Adjusting your nutrition during menopause is far from easy, but we assure you it is doable and worth it. Below are our top tips for maintaining a healthy diet during menopause.
Plan and Prep Your Meals
As the saying goes — proper planning prevents poor performance. While this doesn’t mean planning and prep make your healthy diet unbreakable, it goes a long way to sustaining it.
Meal planning and preparation can help you adhere to your healthy eating, which can be difficult when we are tired and just to comfort eat.
To make this easier, consider planning your meals. This way you can head out for a weekly shop, and buy all the ingredients needed for the week.
One of the best things about eating to alleviate menopause symptoms is that many ingredients cover a range of bases. For example, fatty fish is a great source of protein and omega-3. Fruits, vegetables, and leafy greens are great for phytoestrogen and fiber.
Plan meals with similar ingredients to make prepping easier. This means less guesswork at mealtime, leading to greater adherence.
Track Your Progress
Tracking your progress is an important component of your menopause diet journey. This can be done by tracking your weight, using a scale or photos, and viewing your calorie intake and weight loss progress using our app.
Making positive shifts to our lifestyle can feel like a long journey. While there will be success, it won’t come without its challenges as you may feel your weight loss slow.
Having data in the form of weight, photos, and nutrition data will give you solid proof of what you achieved so far. This can help spur you on during those times of struggle.
Read and Understand Food Labels
Understanding how nutrition impacts your body can help you cement a long-term healthy lifestyle change.
Reading nutrition labels, and using nutrition tracking is a great way to understand the nutritional content of your food.
In the beginning, you may need to refer to blogs, notes, and apps for nutritional guidance. However, with a little time and practice, you will be able to identify foods for their nutrition content with nothing more than a glance.
A basic understanding of nutritional value can make shopping and preparing meals much easier. This will help you sustain a long-term nutrition change which is vital during menopause.
Incorporate Physical Activity
Physical activity is one of the best things we can do for our health, and that goes double during menopause.
As our hormone levels decrease, bone mass, muscle mass, sleep quality, cognitive function, and mental health can decline.
Exercise and physical activity is the great equalizer. It helps us maintain muscle, and bone mass, improves sleep, and cognitive function, while reducing stress and improving mood. It is also a powerful prevention of chronic disease.
Adding physical activity to your routine in the form of walking, resistance training, or recreational activity can help you manage your menopause symptoms.
Eat Healthy On The Go
Eating healthy on the go can help turn those negative cravings into healthy eating positives. When we make healthy changes to our nutrition, there will be times when we can feel hungry. This can lead to us dreaming of fat, sugary, processed food options.
This is why we must have healthy snacks ready to nip those cravings in the bud. Having low-effort, unprocessed, nutrient-dense food options will not only kill those cravings, they will provide us with vital nutrients to address menopause symptoms and give us long-lasting energy to carry us throughout the day.
When choosing your snacks, select foods that take require little to no effort to prepare, and contain protein and fiber. Foods such as tuna, protein shakes, protein bars, apples, veggie sticks, nuts, and seeds require little preparation but can keep you full for hours.
Conclusion
Adapting your nutrition is the simplest and most effective way to address the symptoms of menopause. In the beginning, it can be confusing, the more you practice, the easier it will get.
By adding lean protein and fiber to each meal you will begin to notice the difference in your energy levels.
If you are just starting, consider seeking guidance from a nutritionist or dietitian. They will provide valuable information and resources to help you make this a long-lasting lifestyle change.
Alternative Diet plans For Menopause
If you're considering different dietary approaches for menopause, our 14-Day Plan for Menopause, 10-Day Plan for Menopause, and 5-Day Plan for Menopause offer distinct options to suit your needs. The 14-day plan provides a balanced and structured approach for managing symptoms over two weeks, the 10-day plan offers an in-depth and extended strategy, while the 5-day plan provides a more concise approach for quicker results. Click here to explore all three plans and find the one that best supports your journey to a balanced menopause experience.
FAQs
What is the purpose of the 7-Day Menopause Diet Plan?
The 7-Day Menopause Diet Plan is designed to help women manage menopause symptoms through nutrition. The plan includes nutrient-rich foods that can help alleviate common issues like hot flashes, night sweats, weight gain, and mood swings by supporting hormone balance, bone health, and overall well-being.
What types of foods are included in the 7-Day Menopause Diet Plan?
The plan includes a variety of whole foods such as lean proteins, whole grains, fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, and sources of healthy fats like omega-3s. It focuses on foods rich in calcium, vitamin D, phytoestrogens, and other nutrients that support hormone regulation and bone health.
Can I customize the 7-Day Menopause Diet Plan to fit my dietary preferences or restrictions?
Yes, the 7-Day Menopause Diet Plan can be customized to fit your dietary preferences or restrictions. Whether you're vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, or have other dietary needs, you can swap out foods within the plan for alternatives that meet your requirements while still providing the necessary nutrients.
How does the 7-Day Menopause Diet Plan help with weight management during menopause?
The plan emphasizes nutrient-dense foods that help maintain satiety, stabilize blood sugar levels, and boost metabolism. By incorporating high-protein foods, whole grains, and fiber-rich vegetables, the diet can help manage weight gain often associated with menopause.
Can I continue the diet beyond the 7 days?
Absolutely! While the plan is structured for 7 days, it’s intended to introduce you to a balanced way of eating that can be sustained long-term. Many of the principles and meals can be repeated or adjusted to form a healthy dietary routine beyond the initial week.
