Diet Foods for Menopause Symptoms

Posted in Health on 08/31/2011 07:04 am by admin

Menopause takes place naturally when woman’s ovaries fail to release eggs every month. Actually, menopause starts at the age of forty-five to fifty-one but in some women, it happens as early as thirty-five years. When a woman has no menstrual cycle for at least 1 year, she is to have entered menopause. Every woman experiences different symptoms during menopause including hot flashes, mood swings, irritability, headaches, nausea, night sweats and weight gain. To relieve these symptoms, you can do several things and one of these things is to get good nutrition. By eating some specific foods, you can prevent or reduce certain symptoms of menopause. Here we have provided some diet foods for menopause symptoms.

Image Source: menopausebase.com

Soy Products

Soy products are rich source of phytoestrogens which helps to get relief from hot flashes. Besides this, the isoflavones present in soy also activate the production of equol, an estrogen that manufactured in the intestine and helps to treat hot flashes and other similar symptoms naturally. As well, soy is a great source of fiber that helps to lower the bad cholesterol levels in body, particularly when you use it as an alternative to animal products such as meat.

Tofu

Tofu is also considered to reduce the symptom of hot flashes. Even though the connection between the tofu and menopausal symptoms are yet to be proven scientifically, a great number of women have already got the benefits of it to ease hot flashes. Tofu is a good source of calcium. While dining out, choose only that restaurants where you have an option of substituting tofu in meat dishes. Purchase baked tofu from the supermarket; try to include pieces of it in many dishes such as crackers, salads and stir-fried dishes.

Fruits and Vegetables

Fruits and vegetables are rich source of nutrients such as vitamins, minerals, fiber and antioxidants. As well, they are low in calories. Some fruits and vegetables are proven to relieve menopausal symptoms in women. Weight gain, one of the menopause symptoms is caused due to the depletion of the estrogen level in the body. Some fruits and vegetables contain phytoestrogen in good amount which mimics the presence of estrogen in your body. Boron, a chemical found in some fruits and vegetables helps to prevent estrogen loss. Foods rich in both phytoestrogen and boron include apples, tomatoes, oranges, grapefruits, strawberries, bell peppers, carrots, beets, turnips, cabbage, cauliflower, onions and soybeans.

Good Fats

It is important to include good and healthy fats in diet and to avoid eating high fat diet, especially saturated fat. Today’s modern diet is high in calories, low in nutrients, and deficient in good fats. A good fat that you should incorporate in your diet is Omega-3 fatty acids which can be found in certain types of fish such as mackerel, tuna, herring and trout. Instead of using vegetable oil as cooking oil, you can try canola or olive oil. Omega-3 fatty acids not only help to relieve symptoms of menopause, but they can also protect us from certain diseases such as heart disease and cancer.

Beans

In one little package, beans offer so many health benefits. They are loaded with fiber and contain phytoestrogens, vitamins, and minerals in good amount. In the bloodstream, they slow down the absorption of glucose and thus help to curb your appetite longer. They are a low-fat source of protein. Include beans in your diet by sprinkling them on your pasta salads and green salads. You can also add beans to stews, soups or chili that you formulate.

Calcium-Rich Foods

Calcium is an essential mineral for women’s health as she ages. Bone health comes into focus when women reach at the menopause stage. Calcium is found in dairy products like milk, yogurt, cheese, etc, broccoli, legumes and fish with bones such as canned salmon and sardines. For women having age 51 and older, an adequate intake of calcium is 1,200 milligrams per day. Eating 2 to 4 servings of dairy products and calcium-rich foods in a day will help to make sure that you are receiving adequate calcium in your daily diet.

Flaxseed

Flaxseed is mostly well-known for its tumor-reducing properties with some types of cancers and cholesterol-lowering benefits. Flaxseed is an amazing source of the phytoestrogen lignans; it contains 75 to 800 times phytoestrogen as much as other plant sources. It is also loaded with the plant form of omega-3 fatty acids, named alpha-linolenic acid. The omega-3s found in flaxseed may help to prevent blood clots that might cause heart attacks. They are believed to reduce the cancer risk by blocking some estrogen effects in the body.