Make Dietary Recommendations for Menopause_Final

>> Hello again. Now that we've discussed the most important things, you need to know about the inner workings of menopause and perimenopause, the hormonal changes involved, and the symptoms that occur as a result. You should now have a good idea of what a menopausal client looks like. But an important question remains, "How can you help her?" In this lecture, we'll uncover the information that your female clients who are approaching or experiencing menopause are hungry for, like which foods they should eat or avoid to help manage symptoms and promote health during this phase of life. While it may not be a surprise to you as Integrative Nutrition Health Coaches, diet plays a big role in women's health and wellbeing during perimenopause and menopause. There are a number of foods that can be added in and crowded out to help alleviate the unpleasant symptoms of menopause like hot flashes, irritability, and vaginal dryness. At every phase of life, diet is so important. With that said, here are our top seven dietary shifts for clients who are approaching or experiencing menopause. One, eat an abundance of calcium-rich foods. These include broccoli, almonds, sweet potatoes, oranges, leafy green veggies, kelp, sardines, and, of course, dairy. Once women hit menopause, the risk for osteoporosis increases significantly due to the decline in estrogen. To help prevent brittle and broken bones, it's important to consume an abundance of calcium. Women in menopause may also want to consider taking a calcium supplement. But it's never a bad idea to factor in these calcium-rich foods into the diet in addition to any calcium supplements. The real deal just can't be B. Remember, vitamin D is needed for calcium absorption, so make sure your clients are getting enough vitamin D so that their efforts aren't made in vain. Two, limit caffeine. Let's face it, by the time a woman reaches menopause, her coffee habit may be well-established and hard to break. But for some women, caffeine has been shown to lower levels of estradiol, this is likely adding insult to injury. If a client doesn't want to go cold turkey, encourage her to at least consume no more than one cup a day in the morning. Remember that a symptom of menopause is disrupted sleep, so an afternoon or evening coffee that used to have no effect on a woman in her younger years can add to sleep troubles as she ages. Three, consume good mood food. Menopause can cause alterations in mood. Common symptoms include irritability, depression, anxiety, and mood swings. Luckily, there are certain foods that are natural mood boosters. Specifically, we're talking about foods rich in omega-3s and B vitamins. We have discussed food sources on both of these earlier on in the course, but to help trigger your memory, some of the best sources of omega-3s include wild-caught salmons, sardines, tuna, walnuts, and flaxseeds. Great sources of dietary B vitamins include lean meats, eggs, yogurt, dark leafy greens, whole grains, and shellfish. Four, load up on fruits and veggies. When transitioning through menopause, there's no such thing as too many fruits and vegetables. And there are two important reasons why. First, as we talked about elsewhere in the course, obtaining the proper amount of vitamins and minerals is important for maintaining hormone balance and keeping bodily functions working smoothly. The best sources of micronutrients are those you get through food. Particularly important during this time in life are consuming plants containing phytonutrients. These can be found in the cruciferous family, broccoli, cabbage, kelp, Brussels sprouts, and cauliflower. These veggies include the phytonutrient DIM which helps with proper estrogen metabolism and balance. Here's another reason to give plants a priority on your plate during menopause. As a woman ages, her metabolism starts to slow down. At the same time, some of the effects of menopause can promote waking, the combination of a woman's caloric needs decreasing coupled with the stress and hormonal imbalance of menopause can bring on unwanted pounds for many women. Eating a diet rich in fruits and vegetables adds bulk and fiber to the diet which will help women to feel satiated while consuming less caloric density. Life over 50 shouldn't have to be life on a diet, rather it's a time to focus on eating lighter foods packed full of nutrients. Five, be cautious of gluten. Did you know that celiac disease is linked to earlier onset menopause? It's been established that women who have celiac disease but ignore the condition are more likely to experience hormonal imbalances in early menopause. And under these conditions, menopause symptoms can be worse. A major study from 2011 found that women in menopause with celiac disease who continued to eat gluten experienced more intense hot flashes, joint and muscle pain, and irritability. A control group of women with celiac disease who ate a gluten-free diet didn't experience these intensified symptoms. So the good news here is that this can be avoided with proper diet. Remember, it's possible that a woman may have gone her whole life without realizing she has a gluten sensitivity. So helping her to connect the dots can make a big difference for how she experiences menopause symptoms. If you have clients who are approaching or experiencing menopause, ask them if they eat gluten. If they do, you'll want to encourage them to tune in and pay attention to how they feel after eating gluten containing foods. If they find that they're experiencing discomfort or digestive distress after eating gluten, an elimination diet may be a good next step to see how they feel going a few weeks without gluten in their diet. Six, supercharge your diet. There are some nutritional powerhouses that can be consumed to help deal with menopausal symptoms. The first is flaxseeds. Eating two tablespoons of flaxseeds daily has been shown to reduce the intensity and frequency of hot flashes. Cool, huh? Ground flax can be sprinkled into smoothies, and oatmeal, added on to baked goods or sprinkled on top of a salad. Another great nutritional supplement for menopause is maca which has been shown to help reduce hot flashes. It's also known for boosting sex drive. Double win. Maca helps to naturally balance hormones with out introducing artificial hormones into the body, so it's a great supplement to explore. Maca contains glucosinolates which are nutrients that stimulate the balanced production of hormones. Maca is available in a variety of forms. We recommend red powdered maca for menopause. This can be purchased in many health food stores or through major online retailers such as Amazon. Maca can be added to smoothies without altering the flavor profile as well. Keep in mind though that in order for maca to be effective, it must be consumed daily. It takes an average of about two to three weeks for a difference to be felt. So encourage your clients to be patient and give it some time to see if it helps. If they're expecting to wake up the next day feeling different, they'll be disappointed. A third dietary boost to explore is pomegranate. Pomegranate seeds as well as their juice and oil have also been shown to help women with hot flashes, pomegranates are full of vitamins and they also contain antioxidants including polyphenols, tannins, and anthocyanins, which are just types of phytonutrients. Pomegranates may also help women in menopause with vaginal dryness and discomfort. During menopause vaginal skin can thin out and atrophy. Pomegranate may help retain vitality in vaginal tissue which can reduce discomfort and promote natural lubrication. Advise your clients to consult with their doctor before adding pomegranate to their daily diet as it can interfere with some prescription medications. Also, we recommend pomegranate seeds or oil over the juice form as the juice tends to be very high in sugar. A final word of caution for some people, pomegranate can trigger allergies or digestive discomfort. Clients should not consume pomegranate if they've had bad experiences in the past or if it produces any negative side effects. Encourage them to try a little bit at first and see how their body responds to it. Lastly, discussion about what to eat for menopause wouldn't be complete without mentioning phytoestrogens. This is a hotly debated topic in the medical and wellness communities. Phytoestrogens are chemical compounds found in plants that have estrogenic properties. Isoflavones are the phytoestrogen compounds found in soy. They're similar in structure to estradiol and exert a similar effect on the body. Isoflavones are what makes soy so controversial. Phytoestrogens can be confusing because they can mimic the effects of estrogen in the body, but they can also have the opposite effects of estrogen as well. There are studies which show that phytoestrogens have negative effects on the body, and there are studies that show numerous benefits. So how does one make sense of all of this information? As we've previously discussed, processed soy foods are dangerous and should be avoided. The studies that do show benefits of soy consumption are linked only to moderate amounts of whole soy and fermented soy such as edamame, miso, natto, tofu, and tempeh. In the Western diet, soy lurks in large quantities in processed forms and in processed foods. All of this consumption of soybean oil, modified soy, and soy lecithin is unhealthy. And for a person who eats a diet heavy in processed foods, the quantity of soy they consume can add up quickly. On the other hand, it has long been observed that women from Japan who eat traditional Japanese diets including whole and fermented soy experience minimal hot flashes. They seem to, on average, have a much easier transition through menopause. This has been tied to the fact that Japanese women eat a diet rich in whole soy foods but not in processed foods made with modified soy. While the medical community has gone back and forth on this topic, recent major studies have included that eating whole soy foods during perimenopause and menopause can help many women experience a decrease in hot flashes and other uncomfortable side effects. In this stage of life phytoestrogens may actually help provide hormonal balance. Phytoestrogens may also help decrease risk of breast cancer and retain bone health. Again, the traditional Japanese diet has pointed towards this over decades of observation. But when it comes down to it, like anything else, it's up to your clients to decide what is and isn't right for them. You can provide answers to their questions and educate them on options, but ultimately, it's up to them to decide what feels right in their diet. If a client feels uncomfortable adding soy or any other nutrient or supplement to their diet, it's never appropriate to pressure them into doing so. We'd also like to note that a few additional foods should be avoided or limited during perimenopause and menopause. These are refined sugars, and carbohydrates, processed foods, and alcohol. These should be eliminated for the same reasons we describe elsewhere throughout the course. If they're harmful to hormone balance in general, they're not going to be doing the body any favors during menopause either. To recap, the top seven dietary shifts for women approaching or experiencing menopause are to eat an abundance of calcium-rich foods, limit caffeine, eat mood boosting healthy fats, load up on fruits and vegetables, be cautious of gluten, supercharge your diet with flax, maca, and pomegranate, and consider eating fermented whole soy foods. Do you feel confident suggesting these dietary shifts to clients experiencing menopause and perimenopause? Where do you stand on the great soy debate? Head on over to the Facebook group page and join the discussion. Thanks for joining me. Bye for now.