Growing up has its perks: more experience, more wisdom, deeper relationships. Hopefully a better ability to take things in stride, laugh at your mistakes and not sweat the small stuff. Aging fosters foresight and gratitude for whatever comes your way.
However, there are parts of life you can’t entirely plan for. You might know they’re coming, but the timing and features are mysterious until you meet them. Menopause might be a foreshadowed chapter for every woman, but its words are different in every life’s novel. And like all transitions in life, menopause is an opportunity for learning.
Transition training ground
With all the talk of how to tame menopause symptoms, it’s easy to fear this natural phase of life. Search hits for “menopause” trend on the intimidating side, suggesting menopause as an abstract diagnosis rather than an innate biological function. Learning about what menopause is, and what menopause means for your body, is the first step to embracing the transition with patience and poise.
Aptly named, menopause is the phase leading to a permanent pause in menstruation. Officially beginning once a woman’s monthly cycle dwindles and skips a month or two, and ending once Aunt Flo is absent for a full year, the path to the pause typically begins between the ages of 45 and 55. This gradual goodbye can last anywhere from 4 to 8 years, yet the arrival, duration and symptoms of menopause can be just as unique as you.
By far, the greatest factor in the menopausal shift is estrogen. The most prominent female hormone, estrogen is actually a family of hormones that’s responsible for women’s sexual and reproductive characteristics. Yet this multitalented molecule serves critical roles in maintaining health throughout the body.
The role of estrogen in menopause
The most active estrogen, estradiol, is primarily produced by the ovaries throughout a woman’s life. But this steroid hormone is made to travel. By definition, hormones are signaling molecules, and estradiol is a hard-working herald that carries messages near and far. Estrogen memos reach the brain, the bones, blood vessels and more, ensuring that these tissues stay on task.
Notably, estradiol is critical to lipid metabolism in the liver, and is central to adrenal function, where it influences not only fluid balance, but the circadian production of cortisol – that fight-or-flight hormone that’s most associated with stress. And just as importantly, estradiol’s function as a bone cell coach ensures the right balance of bone-building and remodeling occurs during growth and development. These intrinsic roles of estrogens (including estrogen and progesterone) in your body’s biological rhythms hint to the cause of menopause symptoms when their influence gets demoted.
It’s the tapering off of estradiol production that signals the pre-menopausal period. And given its extensively active and passive effects, it’s no wonder that the menopausal transition is a bit of a game-changer. As estrogens take the exit ramp, normal metabolic processes are forced to adapt. And while your body has built-in mechanisms that rise to the occasion (like making more estrogen receptors), she also asks a bit more from the diet for back-up support.
Meal-planning for menopause
How estradiol exerts its effects on nutrient metabolism gives this hormone surprising control over women’s wellness. When estrogens step down their leadership, a meaningful transformation occurs in how the body regulates appetite and breaks down and uses food. And since the nutrients that we consume every day are integral to maintaining metabolic balance during and after menopause, there’s never a better time to dial in on your diet.
Whether or not you experience significant menopause symptoms, your body is changing; so do your dietary needs. Healthy eating mantras – “Eat food. Mostly Plants. Not too much.” – have never been more wise. A balanced, colorful plate with proper portion sizes is just right for the menopause menu. But moderation isn’t the sole goal. The array of nutrients in healthful foods are key for managing menopause symptoms.
Menopause is not the time to clear your plate and crash your diet. You can still enjoy your carbohydrates, balanced with healthy fats and protein to help cap the cravings. Plus, when they come from the best sources – whole foods – this trio of macronutrients is accompanied by a team of supportive vitamins, minerals, amino acids and bioactive compounds that are in tune with menopause’s new metabolic demands.
The best vitamins for menopause symptoms
An estimated 80% of women experience noticeable menopause symptoms – mainly hot flashes, night sweats, brain fog and mood fluctuations. The spectrum of symptoms is complex, even confusing health experts. Yet the direct and indirect effects of declining estrogen on various tissues provide clear connections to how nutrients in food make a profound contribution to the experience of menopause.
While supplements have their place for filling in the gaps*, foods are still the first-line source of the best vitamins (and more) for menopause:
1. Invest in your bone health with vitamin D, calcium and Vitamin K†
When estrogen dips, cortisol rises. And along with keeping cortisol in check, estrogen helps direct the dance of the bone-building trio: vitamin D, calcium, and vitamin K. It’s no secret that bone health is a top priority for peri- and post-menopausal women, but storing up bone nutrients is just a dinner plate away.
Round out your calcium-rich dairy with canned sardines for an extra dash of vitamin D, then heap on a pile of kale or broccoli for plenty of vitamin K1. Egg yolks and fermented cheeses can give you vitamin K2. An underrated contributor to your total vitamin K needs, K2 has recently been shown to support vascular health during menopause.†
2. Energize your body & mind with B-vitamins†
B vitamins are often lumped together based on their complementary roles, but each of the B’s has a distinct function in energy metabolism, cognition, sleep and more. If you’re going through menopause, that list probably checks a few boxes on your symptom scorecard, and you can find help right at the end of your fork.
The good news is that prioritizing top B vitamins like thiamine (B1), riboflavin (B2), and niacin (B3) is as easy as grabbing whole vs. refined grains for breakfast (oats never go out of style) and including lean beef and chicken a few times a week. Add some B-eautiful beans and greens for folate and pyridoxine (B6), and your whole body will say thank you.
3. Stay balanced with metabolic minerals†
By now, you’ve learned that living well is all about balance. Reaching midlife has taught you the risk of extremes, a lesson that comes with being more in tune with your body’s moderation motto. It’s time to make friends with minerals! As major drivers of balance, minerals like magnesium, sodium, potassium and zinc help keep fluid and hormone homeostasis, sleep-wake cycles and cellular repair in sync and on schedule.
It’s a good thing your favorite foods are full of minerals. Keep munching on nuts, seeds and lentils for magnesium and zinc. Add a bunch of bananas and a bag of potatoes to your weekly grocery list for potassium gold. And the best news of all, dark chocolate doesn’t just boost your mood, it’s a mine of treasured minerals.
4. Glow and go with vitamin C
You hear a lot about consuming plenty of vitamin C to keep your immune system healthy. But C deserves way more credit. Not only is vitamin C’s antioxidant activity a metabolic must to dodge disruptive free radicals, vitamin C helps to preserve healthy skin and active bones and joints by facilitating collagen formation.
Fortunately, the comprehensive support required from vitamin C during menopause corresponds well to its abundance in foods. Just head to the produce section of your grocery store for nature’s fullest and freshest supply. Along with citrus fruits, kiwis and bell peppers are convenient grabs to boost your go and enhance your glow.
5. Reward your heart with omega-3s and isoflavones†
When you’re looking for menopause support, it’s easy to be distracted by the symptoms only. But declining estrogen has unseen repercussions on the cardiovascular system – your heart and blood vessels. Shifts in fat and glucose metabolism during menopause direct the spotlight towards a heart-healthy menu.
Many experts attribute the severity of menopause symptoms to disrupted communications between body cells, nerve cells and their hormone dispatchers. Thankfully, omega-3 polyunsaturated fats – mostly found in fish, walnuts and chia seeds – act as critical mediators whose goal is peace and equilibrium during the highs and lows of menopause.
Similar in structure to human estrogens, plant isoflavones are backed by good evidence for helping with menopause symptoms. By promoting optimal estrogen activity, phytoestrogens also may promote healthy bone density during menopause. Blend your breakfast smoothie with organic soy milk (although sometimes controversial, soy isoflavones shouldn’t be feared) and flax meal to help bring on balance.
6. Flourish with fiber and probiotics†
Your wayfaring hormones (including estrogen) that deliver metabolic messages both talk and listen. In the midst of an hour-by-hour, day-to-day conversation with cells, nerves, and other biochemicals, your native microbiome also makes its voice heard. And it’s clear that your bacterial buddies have a big say on how you experience menopause, mentally and physically.
Consuming plenty of gut-friendly fiber (top picks are beans, barley, and Brussels sprouts) helps ensure that your microbial microphone is sending positive messages that support hormone and mood balance. Giving your happy microbiome some probiotic-rich yogurt or sauerkraut may also nourish bones, too.
Navigating menopause naturally
You may have noticed that finding the best vitamins (and more) for menopause doesn’t look a whole lot different than eating a well-rounded healthy diet. It might ask for a bit more attentiveness, but hopefully you’ve found plenty of nutrient-rich allies here that are already stocked in your fridge and pantry. And psst! Even if your estrogen exodus is years away, the fact that foods match-made for menopause include plenty of familiars means you’ve got a head start on writing your own symptom synopsis.
Menopause doesn’t mean you’re past your prime. It arrives at a time when you’ve collected the knowledge, maturity, and tenacity to approach the transition with self-care and confidence. Let nature nurture your body and guide you through menopause with nutrient-packed foods that know just what you need to stay grounded.
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