Top Superfoods for Menopausal Women

Maximize your health with these nourishing superfoods for menopause!

Perimenopause and menopause certainly brings out many changes for women both in the short term as well as the long term. The good news is that nutrition can play an important role in helping to improve some of the longer health issues that tend to pop up for women in their 40’s and 50’s.  Nutrition also can play an important role in helping managing some of the uncomfortable symptoms such as hot flashes, fatigue and mood changes.

What medical conditions rise for women at menopause?

As hormones change for women in their 40’s and 50’s so does the risk of certain medical conditions and challenges including these 4 common ones:

Cardiovascular disease & diabetes

As your estrogen levels decline, the risk of cardiovascular disease rises. Given heart disease is the leading cause of death in women, nutrition plays a critical role in helping both prevent and manage heart disease, stroke, blood cholesterol levels and your blood pressure. Researchers are looking into the protective effects of estrogen against developing diabetes and there is evidence suggesting decreased estrogen levels during menopause can increase the risk of developing diabetes.

Lowered bone density

Falling hormone levels also leads to bone density loss. The risk of osteoporosis and fractures of the spine, hips and wrists become a much more significant issue at menopause.   Keeping active with weight bearing activity and choosing foods good for your bones is critical before, during and after menopause.

Weight gain

As you age your muscle mass naturally declines, which lowers your metabolism and makes it often more challenging to maintain your weight. Hormone changes during menopause also increase the rate at which you store visceral fat surrounding the vital organs deep within the abdomen area. Changing hormones at menopause can also lead to sleep disturbances and mood changes which can also indirectly influence eating and exercise habits in a negative way.

Digestion changes

Fluctuating hormones at menopause may contribute to gas, bloating and sluggish intestines which can lead to more difficulty with regular bowel routines and constipation.  It is very important to eat regular meals, consume adequate fluids and eat enough fibre to help support good digestive health to help manage these symptoms.  Read more about menopause and digestive health here: Does Menopause Affect Digestion? 4 Ways to Manage Discomfort

Read more about the changes that occur in your health in our previous blog article here: Managing Menopause: Estrogen & Your Health

What foods should menopausal women eat more of?

The latest research shows that the most important way to sustain long-term health is to think about your overall diet and an emphasis on whole foods rather than simply just focusing on eating less of a single nutrient (such as fat or sugar).  You might also want to check out this previous popular article What is the best diet to follow? on our blog

The best protection against heart disease, cancer and osteoporosis is to emphasize whole foods (the stuff the grows in the ground, on trees and generally would be recognized by your grandparents as “real” food)

• While debates exist about which is the so-called “best diet” for health and achieving your personal best weight, eating more plant-based foods (vegetables and fruits) is always recommended.
• Research on women’s health also suggests whole grains, legumes, nuts, fish, ground flax, olive oil, soy, dairy and prunes also have health promoting effects for women in menopause.
• Reduce caffeine, alcohol and potentially spicy foods as discussed here in one of our previous articles on nutrition in menopause: Foods for Menopause.

Superfoods for Menopause

While there are many foods that menopausal women should eat more of to maximize their health, here are some key foods you may not be thinking about and why they are especially good for this phase of life:

Ways to enjoy dairy, soy and prunes:

• Enjoy a handful of prunes and glass of milk or soy milk or wedge of cheese or Greek yogurt as a great partnered healthy snack attack
• Slice and prunes and edamame beans to green salads, quinoa salad or stewed into chicken dishes
• Cook your morning oatmeal in milk or soy milk for an extra boost of protein and calcium and toss in some sliced prunes for natural sweetness
• Add milk or soy milk or soft tofu to your morning smoothie alongside your favorite berries and a frozen banana.  Prunes can be added to smoothie as a natural whole food sweetener.

Ways to enjoy fish, flax and nuts:

• If you enjoy fish, eat fatty fish twice per week  – any way you like (grilled, poached, as a sandwich, on top of a salad or in sushi)
• Choose a fish meal when eating out or go for sushi
• Sprinkle ground flax, chia, hemp hearts or nuts onto your cereal, oatmeal, breakfast parfaits and more
• Add ground flax, chia, hemp hearts or nuts into your baked goods, energy balls, muffins, waffles, breads and desserts
• Ground flaxseeds can replace oil in a baking recipe in a 3 to 1 ratio because of its high oil content (for example if a recipe calls for 1/3 cup oil, use 1 cup of ground flax to replace the oil and note that your baked good may brown quicker)
• Use ground flax as a binder in ground meats and poultry for burgers, meatballs and meatloaf

Ways to enjoy bran, oats & whole grains:

• Eat hot cereal such as oatmeal or oat bran for breakfast or try overnight oats
• Make healthier desserts such as oatmeal cookies and fruit crisps more often
• Mix in a bran or psyllium based cereals to your other breakfast cereals or granola
• Make a batch of bran or oat bran muffins and toss them into the freezer for speedy breakfast and snack grabs.
• Try muffin tin baked oatmeal cups such as this recipe on our blog for Blueberry Pecan Baked Oatmeal
• Blend bran and oat bran into smoothies

Why stop there? There’s plenty more to learn about nutrition for menopause: