Good nutrition is needed to sustain a healthy body throughout your life and it is particularly vital during the menopause because it helps to keep your hormone levels balanced and reduces the severity / chances of symptoms.

If your blood sugar levels are balanced, you are putting less stress on your body, which is a better condition for your body to be in; therefore it can circulate the hormones it does have, efficiently.

Don’t be a slave to clever marketing; remember: alcohol, sweets and processed foods can play havoc with your menopause symptoms. Here’s a reminder……

Foods that are good to go

  • Eat plant based foods, they are natural – vegetables and fruit.
  • Eat starchy carbohydrates such as: pulses, vegetables, beans and wholegrain as they release sugars slowly into the blood.
  • Eat little and often to ensure blood sugar levels are kept constant and do not drop.
  • Get fibre in your food; it helps in controlling blood sugar levels – so more fruit, veg, whole grains, nuts and seeds.

Think about these foods

  • Refined foods such as: sweets, chocolate and biscuits, release sugar quickly into the blood.
  • Coffee and tea are diuretics and flush nutrients out of the body.
  • There is a protein called ‘casein’ which is found in dairy products. It isn’t easily absorbed into the body and can remain in the stomach for a while, rotting and producing toxins and mucus; these are not good conditions for absorbing nutrients.
  • Too much salt raises your blood pressure.
  • Alcohol increases the amount of blood flow within the brain’s central thermostat (the hypothalamus). When the brain detects this increase in temperature a signal is sent to release chemicals that cause the skin’s blood vessels to dilate and disperses excess heat (your hot flush!)