What are some of the recommendations on healthy eating to offset symptons of menopause? I have heard that a diet very high in raw foods can almost eliminate the worst of the symptons. Any thoughts on this would be highly, highly, highly appreciated.

Kathleen

I went to a search engine and looked up Menopause Diet (there'a book with this same name I think) and several links popped up. You can find lots of information that way. This link is to the first site that popped up and it looks pretty basic (easy to understand which I love!!) and they're not trying to sell you anything (which I love even more!!) So you might want to check this out:
http://www.epigee.org/menopause/diet.html

Kathleen,
Menopause or not, a healthy diet of veggies, fresh fruit, and protein is always good. But I like the way Dr. Oz explained the "menopause pouch" I'll call it, or the beer belly as some would describe it. You might want to check out his book. I know since I've been following the regime of NOT eating anything that had hydrogenated stuff in it, I've dropped four pounds and I'm sleeping SO MUCH BETTER. I'm on the downhill side of Menopause, BUT I have the beer belly and don't like it, didn't understand it, and couldn't get rid of it...till now. Anyhoo...if you'd like to see the video where he explains SOME of it, go here:

http://www2.oprah.com/tows/pastshows/200505/tows_past_20050503.jhtml

Also, below that is MORE!

I have made it a practice to do this. If I pick up a CAN of anything at the grocery store and I can't pronounce what's listed in the ingredients, then I don't buy it. Period.

I also drinks tons of water. And, I eat fruit every day. I also happen to LOVE salads, so I eat a salad just about every day. But not your boring, run-of-the-mill salad. I put cucumbers, sugar-snap peas, sometimes raisians, apples, nuts, onions, tomatoes, radishes, celery, cranberries and other assorted things in there. NOW...not ALL of these each time. It varies. And...I ONLY use OIL AND VINEGAR. Dr. Oz says women put on 33 pounds a year just from salad dressing.

Anyway...hope this helps because some of the things I've said here have helped women during menopause, not just in dieting.

Hey Ann and JJ,

Thanks for the posts. I did a huge search on the net and came up with endless pieces of information. Some very conflicting.

I agree JJ, a healthy eating regime is always a good idea, regardless.

It's interesting though, when those pesty little hormones do their thing, all reasoning can be forgotten. It seems like a vicious cycle women deal with. Until we get into a really sensible way of eating and exercising, frustration can set in which causes more eating and less exercise. Hmmm.

About three years ago I ate primarily raw foods for about 6 - 8 months. Oh my gosh. I couldn't believe how much energy I had, I got to my ideal weight for me, how even my moods were, no hot flashes, and the amount of intuitive clarity was incredible. Why, one might ask, did I quit eating like that if it was so great.

I could blame it on the moon in the seventh house, my dog misbehaving, the economy shifting, the Sunday paper got delivered late, or just about anything. Fact is, I didn't realize how much things had changed until I went back to eating the "not so healthy way" again.

Anyway, I have decided to get back on track and am anxious to get feeling my very best again. And be youthful, cool, and an incredibly sexy for middle aged woman. Heck, why not. Lifes too short not to go for the gusto.

Watch out gusto, here I come.

I totally agree with getting back to feeling good, and looking great! You go girl. I hear ya and I'm doing the same. The only reason I don't eat just raw foods is because my tummy won't let me; OR if I do, I pay.

Now with all the salads I eat one would think I would hurt all the time. Not. Only the things like cauliflower or broccoli do it to me. And I still eat them, just in moderation. But you ar CORRECT-E-MUNDO (remember Fonzie?) in saying we should do things that enhance our lives and make us feel good, sexy, and energized! Oh, did I mention I take a multi-vitamin?

Everything I do I measure. And I measure it by how it makes me feel. If it makes me feel good, I call it "being in the zone." If it makes me feel bad, I don't do it again and I try my darnest to get back IN THE ZONE. I'm a Zonest. A Zone Master...A Zoniet...whatever. I am not spending the rest of my days feeling crappy, fluffy, or sad. Ain't gonna happen. This gal is going out singing.

Kathleen not only eating 'raw foods' but 'JUICING' is a fabulous way to gain unbelievable health and vigor. I still attribute my smooth wrinkle free skin, and the fact that I never had one discomfort during menopause, not one, to the fact that I've been a juicer for many years....It seems to have stopped the clock and I am 66 years into my prime.

Girls, please be more specific on exactly what you eat. By saying you eat raw foods, does that mean you are a vegetarian, Kathleen? And Chatty, what do you use your juicer for? Do either of you eat meats, or just fish? If I could find something to stop these flashes without going on hormones, which I can't do according to the cardiologist...I would give you both a cyberkiss from here!!

Hey Pam,

Great questions. No, I am not a vegie only kind of gal. Actually, I did the raw food eating a few years ago. And I must say, I did find it to be very helpful. I have done juicing too. As a matter of fact, I just finished my fresh juiced orange juice a few minutes ago.

Although I have been a meat eater since childhood, I have to say, I do really notice a difference when I cut out a lot of the meats and eat more of a "natural" diet. And it's not a diet in the sense of trying to lose weight as much as it is to feel as good -- great -- as I possibly can.

When I eat a lot of raw foods I eat lots of fruits, vegetables, and fresh nuts.

A good friend of mine wrote a book called The Greatest Diet on Earth in which she outlines step by step how to get into this way of eating and living. She claims she never once had any symptons from menopause. And truth be told, it was during the time she was writing the book I took to her way of eating, dropped about 40 pounds (it came back when I quit eating that way) and felt better than I had since my early 20's. Again, I have to wonder why I gave that up. So, I am back on track as of yesterday so everyone on this forum gets to hear about my progress on this.

What an amazing difference it did make and I am sure it will make again. I use her information as a prime model of what to do.

She used to have a website but I don't think she does anymore. I think her book is available on Amazon.com. Her name is Karen Curinga.

I do read a lot of other information and it all seems to point to the same thing. Drink lots of water (I can feel JJ's grin right now on that one), have a wide selection of fruits and veggies, nuts and eat other foods such as those with Omega 3 oils in them in moderation.

Fish is a good source of protein and doesn’t have the high saturated fat that fatty meat products do. Fatty fish like mackerel, lake trout, herring, sardines, albacore tuna and salmon are high in two kinds of omega-3 fatty acids, eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA). (I stole that last paragraph from a website on Omega 3 oils )

There is definitely more to what you eat, but overall it is the elimination of fast foods, the wrong kinds of fats, processed sugars and things of that nature.

I have to say, the first few days can be a bear due to the detoxing. Headaches and body aches are not unusual. As is bitchiness and irritability. Ooops. I forgot, that's menopauase.

But seriously, a lot of the symptons can be minimized with better eating.

Kathleen


Kathleen

On what your cardiologist said, I would recommend reading Suzanne Somers new book just to put things into perspective before making a choice one way or another.

Kathleen

Every doctor I have ever talked to highly recommends the Mediteranian diet for everything. Great for the heart, body, menopause, everything.

I have heard lots of controversy from the new Somers book. Even some of the people quoted in it are not happy with the outcome. Just an FYI