The Nutritionist's Take on Menopause

Menopause will happen to a significant percentage of the world's population … almost half of us! It is a time where women are often left to fend for themselves, information-wise. There are no friendly Health and Human Development teachers available to answer questions, and truthfully, some people seem to be a bit uncomfortable with the end of the reproductive stage of a woman's life. Today we look at menopause from anutritionist's perspective … what favours can you do your body during the second major change of life?

Take calcium

The lack of estrogen freely available in your body is linked to a sharp decrease in bone mass as we age, and it is critical that we have enough calcium freely available in our bodies that we are able to build bone mass up to an ideal point.

Vitamin D

Calcium without adequate vitamin D is almost useless -- vitamin D is needed for proper absorption of the calcium from the foods you eat. However, do check all of your multivitamins to make sure that you aren’t doubling up on vitamin D -- high does have been linked with adverse affects like kidney stones and abdominal pain.

Take ginger

Research from several countries around the world emerging recently suggests that the symptoms of menopause can be managed with a daily dose of ginger whole food supplements, like New Chapter's Daily Ginger. Ginger has been found to modulate prostoglandins, which has a stabilizing effect on your hormones during menopause.

Replace your fats

This is good advice from nutritionists at any stage of life, but particularly important at menopause, when the lack of sex hormones has quite an impact on our metabolism. So, replace saturated fat with unsaturated, animal fat for vegetable oil, etc.

Don't forget your fiber

Fiber is important after menopause because of the increased risk of developing colon cancer. Fiber adds bulk to the foods we eat and helps your bowel work properly. It's best to get your fiber from vegetables and fruits, as well as whole grains. You'll need around 30 grams of fiber per day.