The food women should eat more during the perimenopause

When it comes to perimenopause, many women wonder what they can do to strengthen their health while struggling with the symptoms. Although some may notice hot flashes, nocturnal sweating and brain fog, they can also learn that their cholesterol is now high and that their bone density is now low.

Eating a diet rich in vegetables, fruit, full grains, dairy products and lean proteins can help combat some of the changes that are accompanied by perimenopause.

“The body is starting to go through changes and people want to try … Many of these diets that are not very healthy or sustainable,” says Liz Weinandy, a registered dietician nutritionist and instructor of the practice in dietetics and nutrition at Ohio State University Medalal Center, says Today.com says. Instead, people should consider “each of these healthier eating patterns that we know, such as Mediterranean, Dash or the USDA diet,” she adds.

During perimenopause and aging, women can experience a loss of bone density, a reduction in low -fat muscle mass, an increase in cholesterol and a greater risk of heart conditions. Adding certain foods to someone’s diet can help prevent some of these changes. But they must be the right one.

Lean protein, calcium -rich food and fruit with lots of fiber and vegetables “are important for a generally healthy diet,” says Weinandy. “They become a lot more important as we get older and go through some of these life transitions.”

She shares food with fiber, calcium and proteins that can help women manage perimenopausal changes.

Fiber

During the perimenopause, women experience a peak in their cholesterol levels, according to the American Heart Association. This contributes to an increase in their risk of heart disease.

“Cholesterol generally goes up after menopause because of the decrease in estrogen,” says Weinandy. “Soluble fibers are especially good for certain things – especially lowering cholesterol.”

People should eat between 25 and 35 grams of fiber per day, which “can take some work to achieve that totally,” she says.

“If you look at fruit, vegetables, full grains … Most have a moderate amount of fiber,” says Weinandy. “Maybe you come to a few grams, such as two or three grams per portion.”

But pulses, which are lentils and peas, have more.

“Beans and legumes, they will be absolutely closer to 10 grams per portion,” she says. “If you eat enough of these foods with a lot of fiber and you eat a variety of it, you will probably bring you (the goal).”

There are two types of fibers, soluble, which dissolves in water and unplodible, which is extensive and does not dissolve in water. Eating a diet with both types of fiber can help people reach their daily fiber goals and help them manage their cholesterol levels.

Foods with many fiber are:

• Apples
• Pear
• Barley
• Lentil
• Carrot
• Peas
• Black beans
• Chickpeas
• Lentil
• Quinoa
• Broccoli
• Leafy

Although a fiber -rich diet reduces constipation and can help with cholesterol management, it can also relieve part of the moodiness that people experience during the perimenopause.

“Fiber really feeds our microbiome and our intestine,” says Weinandy. “Having a wide range of different types of fibers of different types of plants is really beneficial and can help with our mood.”

Calcium -rich food

As women get older, their bone mass decreases.

“Women will build peak bone mass for up to 30 years,” says Weinandy. “Then it starts to go very, very gradually downhill. If we touch the menopause, it is like a roller coaster we don’t want to be on and it starts to accelerate.”

Eating a diet that is rich in calcium can support the health of the bone and Weinandy says that experts recommend eating women over 50 1,200 milligrams per day.

“We estimate that every dairy control has around 300 milligrams, usually like 200 to 300 milligrams,” she says. “I would try to strive for three, maybe four portions (from dairy products) a day.”

Foods rich in calcium include:

• Yogurt
• Hüttenkäse
• Letete cheese (in moderation)
• Milk
• Calcium -reduced orange juice
• Tofu

Egg white

Aging can also mean a decrease in lean muscle mass, therefore eating lean proteins remains important for women in perimenopause and menopause.

“Most women need at least 50 grams of proteins, probably up to around 75 or 80, but that differs … activity level,” says Weinandy. “There is absolute evidence that women must ensure that they get enough high -quality proteins as they get older, because it will help us all to maintain muscle mass.”

During the perimenopause, metabolism slows down and women lose muscle mass. Eating enough lean proteins and exercise, including weight training, can help people retain muscle mass and possibly build it up. But women have to prevent too much meat from being saturated fat because it can increase cholesterol, says Weinandy.

“The research is quite certain that red meat must be limited to a few times of the week,” she says.

Foods with lean protein include:

• Salmon
• Chicken
• Lean pork
• Egg
• Lentil
• Tofu

“I would encourage women to try to try, if they are currently not, a few vegetable protein meals a week,” says Weinandy. “Soybeans have all the essential amino acids that our body cannot make, but we come through food. And so it is actually considered a complete protein.”

Soy products, such as tofu, edamame, tempeh and soy milk, also have phyto -rogues in it, which can be useful for women struggling with hot flashes. Phytoestrogens are “very weak estrogen-like connections,” says Weinandy. The most recent research, she says, says that we have to add them to our diet, although this has been discussed in the past.