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An OB-GYN & Hormone Expert Shares 5 Nutrition Tips To Tame Menopause Symptoms
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![Mary Claire Haver, M.D. Mary Claire Haver, M.D.](https://mindbodygreen-res.cloudinary.com/image/upload/c_fill,g_auto,w_480,h_322,q_auto,f_auto,fl_lossy/org/8rzw0lckilv6u4bpf.jpeg)
Menopause doesn't get enough attention from health care professionals. Every organ system in a woman's body is affected by menopause—their brain health, their heart, lungs, kidneys… Experiencing menopause involves so much more than hot flashes. So why are women still being so underserved?
Board-certified OB-GYN and certified menopause practitioner Mary Claire Haver, M.D., is here to change all that. In her latest must-read, The New Menopause, she offers lifestyle modifications and tools to help you take charge of your health—and proper nutrition takes up a large portion of the pie.
"Just going through the menopause transition increases your risk of metabolic syndrome, including insulin resistance, by up to 30%, simply by the loss of estrogen," she shares on this episode of the mindbodygreen podcast. "So we're trying to combat that with nutrition." Below, find her top five healthy eating tips:
Get enough fiber
In the effort to maintain a healthy weight during menopause, "Fiber intake is very important," says Haver, who recommends at least 25 grams per day for most women. "After a few months, we'll push for 35 or more grams of fiber per day."
According to Haver, research shows that women who prioritize fiber intake have less visceral (or belly) fat.
With fiber, "the gut microbiome is happy and healthy and creates the butyrates, which are anti-inflammatory, being fed into the bloodstream," she explains. "[It's] also decreasing the rate at which your body absorbs glucose and blood sugar from the gut, therefore lowering your insulin levels, and insulin is one of the main drivers of fat to the intra-abdominal cavity."
Strongly consider adding high-fiber foods to each meal and adding a premium fiber supplement with an efficacious dosage to help you meet your daily goals—here are some high-quality options.
Limit added sugar
Next, Haver recommends watching out for refined sugars—not natural sugars found in fruits and vegetables but sugars added during cooking and processing. "[They're] mostly found in drinks, additives, and condiments," Haver says.
Added sugar is a major glucose spiker, and constant blood sugar spikes can negatively impact the menopause journey. Take this study1, which found that women in their 40s and 50s with higher blood sugar levels had more frequent hot flashes (regardless of their weight or estrogen levels).
Eat probiotic-rich foods
A diet rich in probiotics is great for everyone, regardless of hormonal status, but for menopausal women specifically, probiotics may help ease some of the difficulties of menopause by promoting gut health, bone strength, cardiometabolic health, mood, and more.
"One of the best sources in the U.S. for probiotics is going to be yogurt and dairy products, but if you can't tolerate that, you can do kimchi, miso, kombucha…or a supplement," Haver notes. If you do wish to go the supplement route, check out our list of the best probiotics for women over 50.
Try turmeric
"Turmeric is not essential, but it can be really helpful because it's such a powerful antioxidant and anti-inflammatory," says Haver.
Curcumin, the main active component in turmeric, is what gives the spice those major anti-inflammatory benefits, and it has been shown beneficial in helping with menopausal symptoms2 like hot flashes3—when paired with vitamin E, research finds it may even help reduce hot flashes by a third4.
How much should you take? There is no recommended daily requirement for botanical herbs, but the science indicates a range of anywhere from 500 milligrams of turmeric root extract to 1,000 milligrams on up. Here, you can find some high-quality supplements at clinically efficacious doses.
Prioritize protein
Muscle mass is crucial for metabolic health, and improved metabolic health may help ease5 menopause symptoms; poor metabolic health, on the other hand, is linked to worse menopausal symptoms5. Not to mention, muscle loss can lead to6 joint pain, frailty, osteoporosis, and more unwelcome health concerns.
And what do you need to help maintain strong muscles? You guessed it—protein.
Haver references the Women's Health Initiative study7, which followed over 24,000 women ages 65 to 79 to assess their protein intake and frailty. Researchers found that those who had a higher protein intake (way above the bare minimum 0.8 gram per kilogram of body weight per day) were much less likely to be frail.
"So now when I'm counseling patients, especially if they're coming in with low muscle mass or osteopenia, I'm recommending much higher protein intakes,” she notes. Here, find exactly how much protein women need and where to find quality sources.
The takeaway
It's not the only way to tame menopause symptoms, but good nutrition does set you up for success in pretty much every aspect of well-being (hormonal health very much included!).
In fact, "The healthier you are going into your menopause will help guide the severity of your symptoms," says Haver. That's not to say you won't face any struggles at all—but don't underestimate the power of a balanced diet.
We hope you enjoy this episode! And don't forget to subscribe to our podcast on iTunes, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, or YouTube!
7 Sources
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3462945/
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9203212/
- https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31987231/
- https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36053717/
- https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1521693423000482
- https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s13224-019-01213-7
- https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20487071/
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