Best Diet for Perimenopause and Menopause
Your diet always impacts your health - some food choices can almost define it. During perimenopause and menopause, this becomes even more important as certain foods can support you and even ease your symptoms while others can make them far worse.
But knowing what can help your health - and what can hinder it - can be difficult. Here’s our guide to help you make sure you’re making the right dietary decisions to support your body.
What is the best diet for a menopausal woman to lose weight?
When you want to lose weight, the way to do it is through a calorie deficit. A healthy deficit to aim for is 500 calories a day. This is enough to let you manage your weight without causing any potential problems - however it still isn’t easy.
Restrictive diets can require a complete change to the way you eat. Even to your whole relationship with food. When you're already struggling with the mood swings caused by fluctuating hormone levels during menopause, these drastic mindset changes can feel difficult. Even impossible.
A more achievable goal is to focus on healthy eating instead. The best diet for a menopausal woman is high on fruit, vegetables, high-quality protein and whole grains. And low on problem foods (ones that are ultra processed, high in saturated fats or high in sugar).
Portion control will also play some part, but you need to focus on what you eat, not how much. Simple dietary changes can help ease your menopausal symptoms too.
Look at your whole lifestyle. Make sure to get enough sleep and enough physical activity every day - this can help with menopausal weight gain almost as much as diet will. Managing these will also have broader long-term health benefits like lowering your risk of heart disease, keeping your bones healthy and helping to protect against cognitive decline.
What is the best food to eat for menopause?
Rather than eating to stop weight gain, aim for a balanced diet with plenty of variety. Build your meals around these pillars for a good menopause diet:
Oily fish
Oily fish like salmon, sardines and mackerel are full of healthy unsaturated fats like Omega 3 that have a wide range of benefits during menopause. They can also help lower your risk of stroke or heart disease, as well as protect your brain health - risks that can all increase during menopause.
There is even evidence to suggest they can help lessen vasomotor symptoms (night sweats and hot flushes).
Whole Grains
Whole grains have been shown to decrease your risk of heart disease, making them another preventative necessity. They're also high in a range of nutrients including B vitamins that help with energy and fibre to aid digestion.
Finally whole grains are low GI which means they won't make your blood sugar spike. This can help you feel fuller longer and crave sugary foods less.
Brown rice, quinoa, oats and wholewheat bread are all whole grains.
Calcium-Rich Foods
Postmenopausal women are at high risk of losing bone mineral density. Getting plenty of calcium and vitamin D can offer some protection.
Dairy foods like cheese and milk are high in both calcium and vitamin D but are also high in fats. While including dairy in your diet can help, don’t rely on it alone. Include green leafy vegetables (like kale), almonds and foods made with fortified flour (like bread) to increase your calcium intake without increasing your fat intake too.
Protein
As you get older, it becomes even more important to get enough protein - it's needed to support cell repair and may even help with maintaining a healthy weight.
Don't limit yourself to animal protein though. Too much red meat will actually leave you at risk of cardiovascular disease and some types of cancer. Legumes, beans and fish are also great sources of protein - as with fruit and vegetables, eat a wide range of protein sources to enjoy the widest health benefits.
A 'Rainbow' of Fruit and Vegetables
During menopause, sticking to the same fruits and vegetables every day will limit the benefits you see from these healthy options. Eating a variety of different coloured fruit (from leafy greens to red berries) will make sure you get various vitamins and minerals to support your health.
What is the best breakfast to have during menopause?
Research suggests that regularly eating a healthy breakfast can help control blood sugar levels and your appetite at every stage of your life. This includes during menopause.
High-protein foods such as eggs or fish are also high in vitamin D which can support bone density - another concern during menopause. Greek yoghurt with berries also has plenty of protein and calcium.
Porridge or granola also has a lot of benefits due to their anti-inflammatory oats - they can also be further boosted with mineral-rich seeds. However, these are both foods that can be full of hidden sugar - especially when ready-made - so take care not to eat too much of either.
What should I eat before bed during menopause?
If you can, avoid eating close to bedtime as this can cause weight gain. However, if you are in need of a late evening snack, something high in melatonin and low in sugar (like pistachio nuts or grains like wheat barley and oats) can at least help improve your sleep quality.
Are eggs good for menopause?
Eggs are a fantastic food to eat during menopause - in fact they're probably one of the best. They're high in protein, healthy fats plus vitamins and minerals. In particular, they're high in vitamin D, which will help support your bone health.
Is cheese good for menopause?
As mentioned above, calcium is a vital way to support bone health, which becomes more important as your oestrogen levels lower during menopause. For cheese loves, this might seem like an invitation to eat all the cheese you want under the guise of ‘supporting your health’.
But while cheese is a source of both calcium and vitamin D and there are definitely benefits to including it in your menopause diet, you need to eat it in moderation.
As well as calcium it is also high in fat and salt. This means too much cheese could lead to higher blood pressure and increase your cardiovascular risk - pretty much negating any benefits.
Greek yoghurt and low-fat milks are better dairy options for menopausal women but a moderate amount of cheese will also have benefits.
What drink is good for menopause?
Staying hydrated is always a vital part of a healthy diet and that's no different during the menopausal transition. This makes water the best drink choice during perimenopause and menopause - it will help you stay hydrated, without the high sugar levels you'd find in juice or the caffeine in hot or fizzy drinks.
Milk is another great choice for a drink during menopause as it is rich in calcium, as long as you don't drink too much whole milk otherwise the high fat levels will just feed menopausal weight gain.
One drink you should avoid in excess during menopause is alcohol. As well as usual health issues alcohol can cause, during menopause it can also exacerbate symptoms like night sweats and hot flushes. It can also disrupt sleep and drag down your mental health making it a pretty bad idea all round when you’re already facing menopause problems.
What foods aggravate menopause?
Alcohol is not the only thing you should avoid during menopause. Other foods can also make your symptoms worse, while you’re already increased risk of heart disease and elevated cholesterol levels increases the risk factor of others.
Below are some foods you should stay away from during menopause.
Ultra-Processed Foods
You've probably heard about the dangers of ultra-processed foods (UPFs) but some research has shown they could actually increase the severity of menopausal symptoms too. While this may be linked to the fact that eating fewer UPFs often means eating more fruit and vegetables, this research did suggest that mental symptoms like brain fog as well as vasomotor symptoms like night sweats and hot flushes could also increase as a result of too many UPFs.
Eating a lot of UPFs can also lead to weight gain so they are best avoided wherever possible.
Sugary Foods
While the specific effects of sugar on menopause symptoms haven't been reliably researched, there has been suggestions blood sugar spikes and drops could cause hot flushes.
And again, beyond this, sugary foods carry the same risks as UPFs. Eating a lot of sugar will leave you at risk of chronic health conditions and increase the risks you may already see due to changing hormones.
Spicy Foods
As with sugar, research has indicated that spicy foods can make hot flushes happen more often or make them worse when they do happen.
There's no need to cut all spices and chilli out of your diet, but if you notice vasomotor symptoms being worse after spicy meals then these could be the culprit.
Fatty Foods
Managing your fat intake is always needed to maintain a healthy weight. But during menopause it's even more important to cut down on trans and saturated fats. These types of fats can increase your bad cholesterol levels which are already likely to increase during menopause.
While some fatty foods (like milk and cheese) are fine in moderation and even have their own benefits, make sure to balance them out with low fat alternatives. And stay away from transfats and saturated fats if you can.
Support Your Health With a Menopause Supplement
Maintaining a healthy diet is a vital part of managing menopausal symptoms and feeling like yourself during perimenopause and menopause - but it isn't the only available option.
If you're looking to handle your menopause naturally, then taking a dedicated supplement can help you make sure you get more of the vitamins and minerals you need - alongside other ingredients that can help soothe your symptoms.
Our Multi Meno supplement contains vitamins D, E and B12, as well as Red Clover (a natural source of isoflavones) and much more. It can help you manage your symptoms without HRT and help you find yourself again.