Food can be a medicine for your hormones. Specific foods can affect chemical processes within the body. They can reduce excessive production of oestrogens, stimulating hormone detoxification and clearance and/or competitively and beneficially binding to oestrogen receptors. The foods listed below are believed to be beneficial to women through their menopausal journey.
We recommend you enjoy at least 1 from each group daily:
Herbs and Spices:
Ginger, rosemary, turmeric, coriander, dill, fennel, parsley
Nuts and Seeds:
Pumpkin seeds, sesame seeds, sunflower seeds, almonds, cashews, Brazil nuts
Grains and Legumes:
Soy, chickpeas, quinoa, millet, bulgur, buckwheat, brown rice
Fruits:
Blueberries, strawberries, oranges, grapes, avocado, banana, figs, blackberries
Meat, poultry, fish and dairy:
Milk, cheese and yoghurt, deep-sea fish
Vegetables:
Broccoli, cauliflower, brussel sprouts, kale, spinach, cabbage, mushrooms, celery, onion, alfalfa sprouts
Beverages:
Water, green tea, dandelion tea, chamomile tea, spearmint tea
Eat right for your life stage:
- Avoid refined sugars – treat ‘treats’ as a treat, and not a regular thing
- Avoid refined carbohydrates and many packaged items.
- Eat protein (meat, tofu, eggs etc.) with each meal. A portion would be considered 100g of meat or 200g of tofu.
- Be conscious of your daily calcium intake; food or supplement.
- Eat good fats regularly. Cook with olive oil or coconut oil.
- Eat a rainbow of vegetables, and lots of them.
- Eat a maximum of 2 pieces of fruit daily.
- Be wary of your carbohydrate intake; this commonly encourages weight gain during menopause.
About The Author - AMC Team
Our review committee — comprising Simran Chadha, Sheetal Raj, Marina Golubovic, Hayley Derwent and Samantha Mainland — bring together their wealth of knowledge to offer our patients and website visitors interesting and insightful articles to help you understand the symptoms you are experiencing and how to relieve them.