The foods you eat might help to push back ‘the change’ by at least a few years… our nutritionist tells how to menopause-proof your diet

ARE those hot flushes causing you problems?

The mood swings getting you down – or have you noticed a drop in your libido?

However the menopause affects you, your diet can help reduce or prevent your symptoms.

In fact, the foods you eat might even help to push back “the change” by a few years.

Here, Sun nutritionist AMANDA URSELL tells how to menopause-proof your diet.

Dose up on vitamin D

POPPING a vitamin D supplement during the winter months can keep long “low” periods at bay.

Adults should take a ten-microgram daily vitamin D supplement between October and April – or all year round if you don’t get much sun exposure in the summer.

It will also boost bone health, which can weaken due to the menopause.

Drink more water

FEELING inexplicably stressed or nervy and finding it hard to concentrate can occur at any time in life – but all three are classic menopausal symptoms.

Even small levels of dehydration can make it worse.

You are well hydrated if your urine is a pale yellow colour.

Drink water throughout the day, along with camomile tea, which medical herbalists claim has the added plus of easing anxiety.

Limit caffeine

JUST before the onset of the menopause, known as the perimenopause, and during the menopause itself, hormonal and biological changes can disrupt sleep patterns.

This can have a negative effect on how you feel, with symptoms such as low moods, tiredness and anxiety.

Keeping your daily intake down to just two caffeine-containing drinks such as tea or coffee – and avoiding them after 3pm – may help you to deal with this life-disrupting symptom.

Eat oranges & broccoli

DEPRESSION and low moods are not necessarily a symptom of the lead-up to menopause but women can experience both at this time.

Poor sleep patterns, stress, insufficient iron and a poor intake of B vitamins such as folic acid collide when going through the change.

Most of us consume enough folic acid in our diets but levels can dip if you have been yoyo-dieting or on a restrictive slimming plan.

To keep moods happy and healthy, up your intake of folic acid with oranges, pulses, dark-green vegetables such as broccoli and spinach, as well as peas, chickpeas and breakfast cereals with added vitamins and minerals.

Fill up on iron

MOST teenage girls and adult women in the UK fail to hit their daily needs for the mineral iron, which can contribute to feelings of tiredness and irritability in day-to-day life.

But it is never too early to put right a poor iron intake.

Try a handful of cashew nuts, dried apricots, peanuts or peanut butter, breakfast cereals fortified with added vitamins and minerals, peas, dark-green vegetables and wholemeal bread.

Avoid tea and coffee within an hour of eating these foods and have vitamin C-rich foods such as oranges, peppers and berries at the same meal to enhance absorption of iron.

Lean red meat is also an excellent source of easily absorbed iron.

Up vegetable portions

EARLY menopause can occur before the age of 45.

If so, associated “perimenopausal” symptoms can begin in your late-thirties.

Recent Harvard research found eating three to four servings a day of vegetable protein foods such as tofu, nuts and wholegrain breakfast cereals can keep these symptoms at bay.

Other good foods include pulses such as baked beans and chickpeas.

Ensuring your diet is balanced and filled with a wide range of vegetables could also help reduce menopausal symptoms.

Drink milk

THE decline in oestrogen levels in the body during the menopause can cause bone health to suffer.

Eat calcium-rich foods such as almond milk or skimmed dairy milk every day, along with natural yoghurt, almonds, broccoli, cabbage, tofu, soya beans, fish canned with bones – such as sardines – and bread.

Taking vitamin D will also aid calcium absorption and improve bone health.

Reduce calories

YOUR metabolism slows down after the age of 30 and continues to do so throughout the menopause and beyond, which can often cause weight gain.

Making sure you are a healthy weight will help maintain your energy levels and is even proven to boost your flagging libido.

Slimming down to a healthy weight may increase your body confidence too, putting you more in the mood for some sex.

The average woman should look to keep to 2,000 calories a day to maintain a healthy weight.