They say, what you eat is what you become. However, when it comes to menopause, what you avoid eating is what you stay away from becoming. You can either eat carelessly and turn up the heat levels by several notches. Or avoid some common foods, maybe limit them, and soothe the flames down a bit.
Let me start with a disclaimer: I am not saying that if you avoid certain foods during menopause, symptoms like heat flashes, night sweats, mood swings, etc., won’t come knocking. However, certain foods could aggravate these symptoms, so it’s better to keep them at arm’s distance during the menopausal period.
1. Ultra-Processed Foods – Want Vs. Need
Food like packaged snacks, ready meals, commercial pastries, and sugary drinks are rich in everything you should avoid, i.e., sugar, refined carbohydrates, unhealthy fats, and additives. However, your body needs fiber, vitamins, and minerals more than ever now.
What it does
- These packaged foods fill your body with unhealthy refined ingredients, promoting chronic, low-grade inflammation.
How it affects you
- These conspire with the already low estrogen levels, leading to a higher risk of bloating, blood pressure spikes, and water retention.
- It can further exacerbate mood swings, fatigue, and weight gain, especially around the abdomen.
What should you do
- Opt for whole or minimally processed meals.
- Choose healthier munching alternatives like air-popped popcorn or roasted chickpeas.
2. Refined Carbs: Not Craving, It’s Hormonal
Refined carbs (think white bread, pastries, biscuits) can start a vicious cycle of cravings. The sugar rush >> feeling low >> craving some carbs. We’re fighting a natural metabolic slowdown, and constantly spiking your blood sugar just adds fuel to that fire.
What it does
- Causes rapid spikes in blood sugar.
How it affects you
- The low estrogen and progesterone already affect the body’s insulin regulation. Refined carbs make you more sensitive to blood sugar highs and crashes.
- These crashes can further cause irritability and sometimes, more cravings.
What should you do
- Opt for wholegrains like oats, quinoa, brown rice, etc.
- Add protein or healthy fats (like nut butter or yogurt) to balance out carbs.
- Keep dark chocolate on hand — it satisfies cravings and adds magnesium.
- Look for “No Added Sugar” or ensure that “sugar” isn’t one of the first three ingredients on the packet.
3. Saturated and Trans Fats: Keep Your Fats Healthy
Some fats are friends; some are frenemies. Fats from processed meats, fried foods, and baked goods are from the frenemies club. Unfortunately, there’s no frenemies-to-lovers ending here, as even after the menopausal period, it’s advisable to manage the fats wisely.
What it does
- They can increase inflammation and raise cholesterol, which becomes more of a concern post-menopause.
How it affects you
- Estrogen is used to help protect your heart, as it drops the risk of heart disease naturally rises.
- An increase in cholesterol level can weaken your heart further.
What should you do
- Switch to healthier oils, like olive oil (especially extra virgin), flaxseed oil (high in phytoestrogens), and avocado oil, etc.
- Sprinkle nuts and seeds over meals for extra omega-3s.
- Opt for lean cuts of meat, skinless poultry, fish (especially oily fish), beans, lentils, or tofu.
4. Caffeine: The Double-Edged Sword
While that hot cuppa awakens your brain and other senses every morning, it is a notorious culprit for vasomotor symptoms (hot flashes and night sweats).
- As a stimulant, caffeine increases your heart rate and dilates your blood vessels.
- Your body will attempt to cool down to compensate for the revved-up levels, ramping the already heightened sweat production.
What should you do:
- Don’t panic! You don’t have to quit entirely. Try moving your main coffee consumption to the morning.
- Find alternatives like decaf or herbal teas to soothe your cravings and sweat levels.
5. Alcohol: The Late-Night Wine Is Not That Fine
You may argue that just one glass of wine helps you relax, de-stress, and sleep better. But your body is not on the same page; in fact, alcohol may cause the symptoms to worsen.
What it does
- While it may help you sleep at first, the second half of sleep will be severely fragmented
- Alcohol causes blood vessel dilation.
- Regular usage messes with liver metabolism and hormones.
How it affects you
- Alcohol can worsen hot flashes and disturb sleep.
- Regular intake can spike your cortisol (stress hormone), sneakily leading to weight gain and night sweats.
- Furthermore, excessive alcohol intake is linked to increased risk of osteoporosis and breast cancer.
What should you do
- Try mocktails with sparkling water, lime, and herbs like mint or rosemary.
- Opt for a magnesium powder drink or a calming tea instead of an alcoholic nightcap.
- If you must drink, have at least 3 hours difference between your last drink and bedtime.
- Additionally, hydration can help to mitigate the impact of alcohol. So, whenever you drink alcohol, drink lots of water.
- Experiment with alcohol-free wines — the market in Australia has grown impressively in the past few years.
6. Spicy Foods: Spice Up Your Life, Not Your Stomach
Surprisingly, spicy food isn’t bad per se, but it can trigger or worsen hot flashes in some women.
What it does
- Capsaicin (that’s the spicy compound) signals to your nervous system that your body is overheating.
How it affects you
- If your body is affected by spices during menopause, it will give the same circulatory response as a hot flash: vasodilation and sweating.
What should you do
- Avoid extra spicy or even mildly spicy food if it’s triggering a hot flash episode.
- Try cooling herbs like mint, basil, or dill.
- Substitute fiery spices with non-spicy spices like turmeric, ginger, cinnamon, cumin, and black pepper.
Menopause isn’t about restriction, it’s about adjustment
As your body’s nutritional needs are shifting, food choices shall be tweaked as well. Avoiding or limiting these foods isn’t about perfection. It’s about supporting your body through a phase it’s already working hard to navigate.
My advice as a nutritionist is simple: Start small. Pick one area from this list that is most disruptive to you. Tweak that one thing, and you may observe a calmer, cooler, and collected woman at the other end.
You deserve to feel great in this new chapter. Let’s make food your ally, not another stressor!