The Menopause Diet was initially geared towards woman, before, during and after menopause. For those going through menopause it can help alleviate the symptoms of menopause like hot flushes, bloating, irritability and tiredness.
When a woman is undergoing menopause, estrogen levels decrease dramatically. When this occurs, weight is redistributed to the stomach, with an increase of cholesterol, risk of heart disease and osteoporosis.
Some experts argue that it is not Menopause specifically that causes woman to put on weight but a combination of things that are likely to occur during this time period in their lives. Naturally, as people age, muscle mass decreases and the metabolism will slow down, the body requiring fewer calories. More then often, the calorie intake remains the same. In addition to this weight gain and muscle loss, the older people get, the less they tend to be active, so not only are they now eating more calories then the body requires, they are burning less. Last but not least is the role of stress. Woman at this age have lived through at least half a lifetime of it. During this time they have endured stress that may have involved children and also the additional stress of menopause itself. Stress leads to weight gain and comfort eating.
Though designed to meet the special needs of woman going through menopause, the meonopause diet is helpful for anyone else who chooses to follow it as a means of managing weight and staying healthy. There are no scientific breakthroughs or surprises involved in this diet; it is really just about eating sensibly.
The diet involves ingesting high amounts of calcium through skim milk and yoghurt. This provides the body with lots of calcium to lower the risk of osteoporosis that woman are at a high risk of in this time of their lives. There are a number of foods the diet suggests woman avoid food to help deal with hot flushes, a side effect of menopause. This includes coffee and alcohols which are generally foods not recommended as apart of any healthy diet. It encourages a strong emphasis on fresh fruit and vegetables which again is not surprising. In addition to this lean meat is a component of the main meals with dried fruit and nuts for snacks in between. All these suggested foods contain vitamins and minerals that are of value for menopausal symptoms, as well as being a good base for a healthy diet and weight loss/management.
Foods that are strongly encouraged in the menopause diet are
Following is a typical sample day on the menopause diet
Breakfast
2 different breakfasts to choose from are recommended each day
OR
Lunch
Dinner