Jo Webber shares the nutrition tips to support a menopause diet for hormone balance…
Words: Jo Webber | Images: Shutterstock.
Keep consistent
Establish a routine of regular mealtimes, ideally eating three times a day and at the same times each day.
Choose natural sweetness
Go for foods that taste sweet, sour and salty, as these are most nourishing. This doesn’t mean eating refined sugar, but foods considered “energetically sweet”, such as rice, spelt, kamut, oats, quinoa, root vegetables, sweet fruits and organic dairy.
Cut out processed oils
Avoid using vegetable oils for cooking, including sunflower and rapeseed oils, those labelled “vegetable oil” and margarines, as these are often highly processed and can have an inflammatory effect on your body, as well as being bad for your hormones. Instead, choose extra virgin olive oil.
Choose stews
Go for foods that are warm, soupy, heavy and oily, such as soups, stews, casseroles and other one-pot dishes, which are easy to digest. You can add lentils for extra fibre, and oils.
Add herbs
Key herbs and spices that help with digestion are cumin, fennel, dill, black pepper, saffron, asafoetida, turmeric, cardamon, and cinnamon – use them liberally in your cooking. However, avoid chilies which are too heating.
Shun stimulants
Alcohol, coffee, black tea and fizzy drinks can all be very aggravating for both pitta and vata doshas, so can aggravate hot flushes.
Drink herbal teas
Have plenty of warm water throughout the day, with lemon and ginger to start your day and wake up digestion, then chamomile, tulsi and rose towards the end of the day to calm nervous anxiety. Green or liquorice tea is also great at helping balance oestrogen levels for all types.
Minimise refined sugar intake
The best sweeteners for you now are limited amounts of honey, molasses, barley malt and maple syrup.
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Minimise cold, dry foods
Crackers, rice cakes, crisps, dried fruits and nuts (unless they have been soaked), ice cream and other frozen foods are all harder to digest, so monitor your intake.
Fill up on fat
Oestrogen and progesterone are made from fat, so you need plenty of healthy fats in your diet. Eating good-quality natural oils will help prevent your body getting too dry. Hemp, sesame, olive and flax are all ideal. Cooking with butter, coconut oil or ghee also helps to moisten dry foods but avoid deep fried and greasy foods. Avocados and unroasted nuts and seeds are other great sources of healthy fats.
Omega-3 fats in oily fish are also great for your heart, brain and joints, helping reduce inflammation and reduce pain, including painful periods. Aim to eat oily fish (salmon, mackerel, sardines, trout, herring) three times a week, or take a good-quality omega-3 fish oil supplement daily.
Slow down to eat
Try not to get distracted while eating and instead create a calm, relaxed atmosphere for mealtimes so you can concentrate on your food and eat slowly, chewing well.
Favour phytoestrogens
Foods that help balance oestrogen levels are those rich in natural phytoestrogens, which are plant-based oestrogen-like molecules. Find them in soya (choose non-GM and fermented), tempeh, lentils, linseeds, sesame seeds, fenugreek, wholegrains and seeds, such as oats and barley. These will help relieve menopausal symptoms.
- Learn more about a menopause diet for hormone balance: Visit The Ayurveda Academy (theayurvedaacademy.com)
- Read: Ayurvedic Cooking for Westerners, by Amedea Morningstar (£18.64, Lotus Press).
- Find a therapist: Visit the Ayurvedic Professionals Association (apa.uk.com) to find a practitioner near you.
Joanna Webber is a fully qualified ayurvedic practitioner (BSc Ayurveda, MAPA) and hatha yoga teacher. She is co-founder of The Ayurveda Academy (theayurvedaacademy.com) and loves to weave together the sister sciences of ayurveda and yoga. She has three children and lives in Somerset, where she spends her spare time foraging and wild crafting. Find her at instagram.com/the.ayurveda.academy.
