Feel Better in Perimenopause: the Four Pillars of Peri Nutrition
The transition from your fertile years through to perimenopause is an important time to concentrate on your health and getting your nutrition right. It’s a time your body needs the right fuel to help with reducing peri symptoms, healthy ageing and giving you the nutrients to flourish into your next chapter.
This is a critical time for your health. Focusing on good health will give you a huge advantage. It will act as your protective shield to warn of any health conditions that may be triggered with changing hormone levels and increased inflammation in your body.
Unfortunately your junk food margins and tolerance to alcohol decreases during this time.
The Good News
If you look after yourself and nourish your body through the transition stage you will then enter into menopause ready to take on the world.
Right! Drum roll please!
Our Four Pillars of Perimenopause Nutrition are:
- Increase your Protein
- Improve your Gut Health
- Reduce Inflammation in your Body
- Stay Hydrated.
1. Protein
There is a decline in oestrogen from perimenopause which is linked to decreased muscle mass and bone strength. So it’s a time where you need to make sure you are eating enough protein to keep muscle mass and bone strength up.
As well as muscle mass, protein provides the amino acids needed for maintenance and repair of every cell in your body. Your need for protein goes up from approximately 1g per kg of body weight to approximately 1.2g per body weight.
You need to include a protein source at every meal the size of your palm and include protein snacks in between meals when you are hungry, they will also keep you fuller for longer and reduce you reaching for sugary snacks! Try a boiled egg, apple with peanut butter, or a handful of nuts and seeds. More about protein in perimenopause, here.
2. Gut Health
When I say gut health I’m talking about your gut micro-biome which is a complex ecosystem made up of beneficial gut bacteria that lives in your digestive tract which plays many important roles in digestion, immunity and many other biological functions. Read more on gut health here.
3. Inflammation
There is increasing and compelling evidence showing that oestrogen decline during the menopausal transition years drives women's bodies into a pro-inflammatory state. Pro-inflammatory state means that your body is in a state of trying to fight off infection all the time. That’s why a lot of perimenopausal women report painful or stiff joints.
Chronic inflammation that lasts years can cause:
- Cancer
- Heart Disease
- Diabetes
- Asthma
- Alzheimer’s disease
- Arthritis.
Eeek! NO THANKS!
Reducing inflammation is essential in perimenopause to reduce symptoms and prevent triggering chronic disease.
If you continue to eat inflammatory foods and drinks it will make everything harder, it will affect everything from weight gain, heavy periods, more hot flashes, bad sleep and increased mood symptoms. Yuck.
Foods thats cause inflammation
- Processed foods - cut that shizzle out. We're talking crisps, breakfast cereals, biscuits (basically, anything in a packet)
- Refined carbohydrates - white bread and pastries
- Hot chips and other fried foods
- Red meat (reduce how much you eat) and processed meats (steer clear altogether)
- Margarine
- Cow's dairy has been linked to inflammation in some people
- Alcohol
- Soft drinks.
Foods that fight inflammation
- Vegetables: crank up your veg intake to increase phytonutrients (naturally occurring plant chemicals that are anti-inflammatory) and antioxidants - whoop whoop!
- Tomatoes
- Olive oil
- Green leafy vegetables, such as spinach, kale, and collards
- Nuts like almonds and walnuts
- Fatty fish like salmon, mackerel, tuna, and sardines
- Fruits such as strawberries, blueberries, cherries, and oranges.
4. Staying Hydrated
Drink plenty of water, you need to drink approximately 2 litres of water a day which is about 8 glasses.
To help your body flush out any toxins that aren’t beneficial to our health and to perform vital chemical reactions for sustaining a healthy life. Staying hydrated is important for brain health and cognition. Something so simple can make a world of difference!
Have you made any changes to your diet since you hit perimenopause? Tell us all about it in the comments below! We would love to hear about it.
Looking for great sleep, reduced mood swings and anxiety? Check out our Peri Chai Latte here.