Menopause Diet
Tuesday, March 9th, 2010Menopause Diet Tips
A healthy menopause diet is simply a diet rich in foods containing phytoestrogens, which are largely derived from various plants and herbs. There isn’t really a specific diet for menopause per se, but if you follow healthy eating habits, and incorporate some of the foods below you should notice some noticeable improvements.
Superfoods are natural plant foods that have a higher than average nutritional profile. They should be part of any healthy menopause diet and will bring far more health benefits than just helping to alleviate troublesome symptoms of menopause.
They can be used to supply specific individual nutrients (such as iodine from kelp or dulse seaweed) or blended to deliver a full complement of essential nutrients, including minerals, vitamins, trace elements and micronutrients such as superoxide dismutase (SOD), Coenzyme Q10 and various antioxidizing agents.
Following is a list of commonly available superfoods which can easily be incorporated into a healthy menopause diet, and their nutritional benefits. All these superfoods are said to have revitalizing, rejuvenating and cleansing effects on the entire system, and are invaluable in helping us maintain our energy levels and vital physiological functions well into old age.
Spirulina
Perhaps the best known of the fresh water algae varieties (which also includes chlorella and blue-green algae), spirulina is an extremely rich source of many essential nutrients, including beta-carotene (vitamin A precursor), selenium (thought to be vital in the protection against arthritis), vitamin B12 and the highest natural source of complete protein known (75 percent).
It is usually grown in high altitude lakes and is one of the purest foods available - certainly worthy of it’s place in a diet for menopause symptoms.
Wheat Grass
A good example of how sprouting a seed or grain can increase its nutritional value, wheat grass is a potent source of vitamins, minerals and chlorophyll, and it is also mildly cleansing and detoxifying.
Usually grown from the spelt wheat variety, which incurs far fewer allergic reactions, wheat grass is often quite safe even for people with known wheat intolerance.
Sea Vegetables
The sea itself is a rich source of minerals, which is one reason why sea salt has health-enhancing properties and shouldn’t be excluded from your menopause diet. It is not merely sodium chloride, but should in its original form also contain most, if not all, of the minerals and trace elements necessary for life.
Unfortunately, our oceans are becoming an ever more polluted environment, and what was once a vital source of nutritional products now carries unacceptable risks. However, it is still possible to find relatively unpolluted sources of sea vegetables. One of the best is Scandinavian purple dulse. The iodine and other minerals in sea vegetables can support the thyroid and boost a flagging metabolism.
Bilberry And Other Berries
Berries are extremely important foods. There was a time when these fruits would have been staple foods and would have been foraged wild in the woods. They are chiefly known for having strong immune-enhancing properties due to high levels of bioflavonoids, plant chemicals that have a variety of actions including acting as antioxidants, and helping the body to eliminate free radicals and repair cell damage.
Some, such as bilberry, have other important properties. Bilberry tones and supports the pancreas and adrenals, and therefore assists in the regulation of blood sugar and the maintenance of energy levels. It is also said to be powerfully restorative to failing eyesight.
Maca
This superfood from Peru is actually a tuber, similar to the potato. It has a sweet taste and is perfect for those who have problems maintaining stable blood sugar levels, including diabetics, as it satisfies the craving for sweet things as well as actually helping to regulate blood sugar. In fact it is beneficial to the entire endocrine, or hormonal, system.
Like the herb ginseng, it is adaptogenic and helps to impart stamina and resistance, and like ginseng it also has a reputation as a sexual tonic, used to increase fertility, but also in later life to restore a flagging libido, for both men and women.
How And When To Take Superfoods As Part Of Your Menopause Diet
Superfoods are often available in powdered form, and can be mixed into drinks, such as fruit smoothies, where the taste of the fruits can help to disguise the occasionally unfamiliar taste. To make a ’superfood fruit smoothie’, take some soft fruits - half a banana, some fresh berries, a slice or two of pineapple, or some papaya or mango - and one cup of fresh-pressed apple juice, and place in a blender. Add your favourite superfood or superfood blend, following the package instructions for the dosage, blend and drink.
The best time to consume this drink is in the morning, before breakfast or even occasionally instead of breakfast if you are on a cleansing or strict menopause diet. Apart from being nourishing in their own right, some fruits (like pineapple, mango and papaya) help in the assimilation of nutrients by supplying extra enzymes that strengthen digestion.
