Nutrition in Menopause

We all have issues when it comes to knowing what to eat or not as the case may be during menopause.  There is so much conflicting information out there to confuse our already befuddled brains!

I’m therefore going to make this SIMPLE to understand to give you a better idea of what’s good, what’s bad.

Today, we’ll focus on WHAT TO AVOID IN SIMPLE TERMS:

Refined Carbohydrates

Basically, these are processed foods where any goodness they may have originally contained has been removed:

• White flour/bread/rice/pasta, crackers, biscuits, desserts
• Pastries and bagels
• Tortillas
• Artificial sweeteners
• Pizza dough
• Many breakfast cereals

Hidden Sugars

These are in items you probably haven’t even thought of:

• Yoghurts (never mind fat free, its sugar that you need to be watching out for!)
• Juices: orange juice, pineapple juice, apple juice
• Dried fruits – I’m not saying these aren’t better for you than chocolate, but just be aware of the sugar content and eat them in moderation.
• Soup: read the labels on tinned soup and you’ll be surprised at how much sugar they have in them.
• Cereal bars: I don’t care how healthy they say they are – the majority of them are packed with sugar.  Be cautious when substituting breakfast or snacks for them.  They aren’t as healthy as you may think!
• The obvious: cakes/biscuits

Stimulants

• Caffeine: fizzy drinks, tea, coffee, power drinks (Red Bull)
• Alcohol
• Nicotine 

Why?

Your ultimate aim is to balance your blood sugar levels so that you don’t have the highs and lows that tend to make menopausal symptoms worse.

When blood sugars are spiking and crashing, we tend to crave more fatty, carb and sugary foods. Guess what…….this just leads to more spiking and crashing!  In turn this affects our energy levels, mood and more importantly, our waist line.

Unfortunately, most of the things we ultimately enjoy are no longer good for us 🙁  

I often wonder if we had been taught as children that veggies were bad for us whether we would have eaten more! Haha

I hope that this little blog has made things a little simpler for you. 

If you would like more help on a 1:1 basis, please feel free to book a session.

Have a lovely day and hugs & kisses.

Tish xx