Menopause Diet Plan
A rich green salad with almonds, edemame, asparagus tips, and bell peppers, with a drizzle of honey mustard dressing; a warm, baked slice of salmon mixed with tofu, chilled beets in a dash of white wine, cranberry, raspberry relish and a fresh piece of sweet potato pie make a wonderful meal that is a menopause tribute masterpiece.
Mixing the sweet potatoes with soymilk and applesauce reduces the sugar content and adds to the 4 servings of soy foods for menopause symptom management. With a few easy recipes, these ordinary foods reduce painful periods diminish hot flashes and night sweats, regulate moods, and put women “in the mood” for intimacy.
Menopausal Diet
Eating healthy is simple, choosing the best foods can be difficult. Many women have become accustomed to eating foods that please the family or the taste buds but lack fiber, vitamins, minerals or valuable proteins. The key to healthy eating is a balance of protein, complex carbohydrates, fiber, and water. These elements guarantee omega 3 fatty acids that help process glucose, the body’s fuel. Complex carbohydrates provide high minerals and vitamins while keeping calories low. Fiber fills the body, cleans the intestines, and helps to fight disease. Water keeps the body hydrated, flushes fat cells, removes waste, and helps speed up nervous and cardiovascular connections in the body.
Women entering menopause can reduce symptoms of hot flashes, mood disorders, night sweats, irregular periods, sexual dysfunction, concentration and memory problems by eating a diet rich in minerals, vitamins, protein and complex carbohydrates. In fact, just 2 to 4 servings each day of soy products such as tofu, apples, soymilk, or edemame helps the body produce stores of estrogen naturally. As menopause strikes, the body produces up to 85% less estrogen for body function monitoring. This waning deficiency puts women at risk for compromised immune system, slow metabolism, difficulty with concentration and memory, and a myriad of other uncomfortable and even debilitating symptoms.
Make Light Work of Menopause
Some foods that should be part of your menopause diet include: leafy greens, asparagus, beets, broccoli, and cauliflower. Cucumbers reduce inflammation. Fish such as salmon, tilapia, and halibut increase those all-important good fats. Low fat milk, cottage cheese, and frozen yogurt hit the spot on a warm day and taste great. Soybeans, lentils, chickpeas sweet potatoes, and turnips are wonderful in soups, stews, hummus or pie and menopause-wise.
Wheat pastas, grains, quinoa, and wild rice keep you feeling full. As an excellent addition to stir fry or soybean-based alfredo sauce, wheat and grains add the full to fiber. Although fruits can be high in sugar, cranberries, blueberries, blackberries and raspberries in moderation offer powerful sources of antioxidants and vitamins and are low in calories.
Calcium In Your Diet
A decaf latte offers a serving of low fat milk to a favorite mid-day beverage. Caffeine is not the best choice for dealing with stress hormones during menopause. A cup of warm chai also offers calcium, tannins, and a dash of honey for a vitamin and mineral rich drink. Vitamin D is as important as calcium. So for a day rich in vitamin D sit in the sun for ten minutes, eat some broccoli and have a glass of cold chocolate low-fat milk. Low fat cottage cheese or a cup of yogurt provides you with 345 mg of calcium, a quarter of the 1,000 mg daily calcium requirement. Calcium helps bones to produce building material, eases menopause symptoms, and helps the brain, heart and other organs produce essential electrical and chemical impulses.
