Can we trick the menopause with special nutrition? Not quite. But we can keep possible complaints to a minimum.
Hot flushes, sleeping disorders, depressive moods - for many women, these are clear signs that their body is producing fewer hormones. But this does not always mean that medication is necessary. "Minor complaints during the menopause can be remedied by changing your lifestyle. This includes plenty of exercises, as well as a healthy diet," says Professor Ingrid Gerhard from Heidelberg.
This would have also helped her personally. The specialist in gynecology, naturopathy, and environmental medicine recommends: "Lots of fruit, vegetables and whole-grain cereals, little meat and animal products, a vegetarian diet is better than a mixed diet. Vegetarians rarely have menopausal symptoms".
Caution with raw food
Raw vegetables could become problematic. If the estrogen level drops, the intestines become more sensitive, and many women can no longer tolerate muesli and uncooked foods as well. The alternative is cereal rice and gently steamed or a few minutes blanched fruit and vegetables. Often only some types like cabbage cause problems, while "mild" types like carrots and fennel can be eaten raw.
Important in any case, says Ingrid Gerhard: "The diet should be enriched with plant hormones. The best known of these "phytohormones" are the isoflavones found in soybeans and soy products such as tofu, and the lignans, which are mainly found in linseed, but also in pulses, cereals, vegetables (e.g. broccoli, cauliflower, onions, carrots) and fruit (e.g. apples, berries, pears, pomegranates). Whether complaints can always be alleviated by the consumption of phytohormones is not scientifically proven. It is true that Asian women who eat a lot of soya throughout their lives hardly suffer from menopause.
Is soy really sensible?
However, critics doubt that Western European women who change their diet only in later years will benefit from it as well. But soy isoflavones cannot do any harm if they are taken in natural form with the food, as the Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR) has found out. Women who are allergic to soy, however, should better resort to native plant hormone sources: Lentils, beans, peas, and linseed, which also provide healthy fiber.
"An attempt is always worthwhile itself, says Irmela Erckenbrecht, Ernährungsexpertin, and authoress of the menopause cookbook ( the menopause cookbook of Irmela Erckenbrecht, Pala publishing house, 14 euro). "Phytohormones can absorb the typical hormone fluctuations during menopause. If they are eaten regularly as part of a balanced diet, they can have a positive influence on the hormonal situation in the organism". Irmela Erckenbrecht's personal tip: remove the seeds from five to seven pomegranates, chop them up and let them steep in 60 percent alcohol for four weeks, strain off the stock and take 20 drops once or twice a day.
Low energy density prevents overweight.
During menopause, however, not only hormone production changes, but also the distribution of fat in the body. Fat is now mainly stored in the abdomen. Also, the energy requirement starts to decrease continuously from the mid-20s onwards and the muscle mass decreases due to lack of exercise. A 50-year-old woman already needs 400 calories less than a 25-year-old woman. Those who do not adapt their diet to the lower basal metabolic rate inevitably gain weight and overweight is a threat. All those who want to maintain their weight should therefore change their diet accordingly at the beginning of menopause at the latest.
"Fewer calories must not, however, lead to women taking in fewer nutrients," says Dr. Andrea Flemmer, nutrition expert and biologist from Munich. "It is therefore important to choose foods that have a low energy density, i.e. fewer calories per gram, and fill the stomach. As a rule of thumb, the more water and less fat a food contains, the lower its energy density. Vegetables, salad, and fruit are ideal, preferably from organic cultivation, then the peels can be eaten without any problems.
Lean meat and thin crispbread with lots of lean ham as a topping are also good. Hard cheese like Gouda, on the other hand, has a high energy density but contains a lot of calcium, which is important for bone health. Low-fat alternatives, including milk and other dairy products, are recommended. Andrea Flemmer advises those who initially find the changeover difficult: "Eat as slowly as possible and chew a lot. Do not puree soups, but leave them in pieces. That makes it more filling.
Healthy fats prevent diseases.
To eat more vegetable, ballast-material-rich food, that is also the most important recommendation, to prevent diseases, which can occur with increasing age. "High blood pressure, cardiovascular diseases and diabetes can be prevented, as science now knows, by a healthy diet and regular exercise; even the risk of cancer can be reduced," says Dr. Birgit-Christiane Zyriax, a nutritional scientist at the University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf. "Weight also plays a major role after menopause, for example in the development of breast, colon, kidney, pancreas and uterus cancer". Above all, she recommends reducing the overall fat consumption and eating as few animals saturated fats as possible (e.g. in meat, sausage, butter).