Eating recommendations during menopause

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

Anno,
What controversy? I haven't heard about her new book, but would be interested in hearing the inside scoop. And if you'd rather point me to a web site to read about it, that's okay too...Your call. You know it's funny, because I couldn't STAND her role on Three's Company, but I do so admire her for everything she has accomplished.

Kudos on the water thing Kathleen, and yes, I have a bottle of Dasani right beside me now. Once it's empty, I simply fill it back up with my "filtered water" pour one of those Crystal Light Lemonaide packets in it, shake, and drink again. I also do the Raspberry. Please don't tell me these are bad for me. I just love um! I have found that my water drinking has increased from two-three bottles a day to at LEAST six!

Kathleen, how long did it take you to loose the weight once you started on Karen Curinga eating program? If that's too personal, just ignore me. But I'm always interested in what other women have to share in this area of life. That....and finances. My two favorite subjects.

Kathleen said:

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.

Amen Kathleen.

When I was dieting(I need to start again) cutting out all those foods is what made a huge difference for me. That, drinking water, walking, and posting what I ate in the BWS Diet forum really helped. There's something too revealing about telling the world that you ate french fries and a Hershey bar, and nachos and salsa all in the same day. I think I need to start posting my food intake again!

My daughter and her roomies are here for the afternoon and dinner. They just went in the kitchen to munch. I think I'll stay here!

Anno, I can definitely see where the book Ageless would create controversy. My recommendation is to consider the information. After all, wasn't there a period in time when there was controversy over people who said the world is round.

I think often people do take the word of an "authority" without questioning it. If you look at the state of our general health today, maybe there needs to be a bit more questioning of what many authorities say is the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth.

Although I am not very familiar with the Mediteranian diet, if I'm not mistaken it does call for a lot of fruits and vegis, and fish with Omega 3. Sounds like we are on the same page with this.

Kathleen

Kathleen, I just ordered your friends book. I'm going to try her plan. I don't really have a weight problem but I want to have more energy. Here is one of my problems: I don't like fish. It makes me gag. Plus, I've had allergic reactions to fish products and the doc says I should probably avoid it. So, what can I eat to replace the nutrients that are found in fish?

Hey JJ. Not too personal at all to ask the question of how long it took. It was about a 3 month period. At that time I was also weight training and doing a lot of aerobics like walking, running and bicycling, so it wasn't the eating alone that did it. However, the eating healthy certainly gave me the energy to exercise.

Dotsie, the reason I figure it's great to have this discussion is I don't want to have to own up to eating the Hershy Bar, the Snickers, the MMs, the Nachos, the huge plates of pasta - all for my apetizers.

Actually, I think this is a great way to support one another to achieve a wonderful health goal. When you look at the state of many people's health and the fact that we are all at an age of risk for many health problems, to support one another makes incredible sense to me.

On what to eat instead of fish for the protein and other benefits, I don't feel qualified to answer that.

Ask me about marketing and I can go for hours. But food would be best left to a nutritionalist.

To our health!

Kathleen

I have Somersized several times, and been successful, but it's a learning process. It's basically food combining. In fact, over the past year, I have been completely off of any specific WOE. Since DH retired, we just graze entirely too much and I have put on 10 pounds..... I do notice that I have had a lot of intestinal gas discomfort now that I am eating everthing that is not nailed down. I did not have that issue when I was Somersizing.

I am also using bioidentical HRT - which I credit Suzanne for opening my eyes to. It's been a hassle but finally my insurance is covering my complete perscription. It was laughable to me that they would cover a certain percent of the esterol, 100% of the progenterone and 0% of the testosterone. I can't say that I feel great - but, any relief from the symtoms helps. I also fear alzheimer's which tends to run in the family - and even though the current thinking is not favorable regarding HRT and alzheimer's - I intend to do whatever I can to NOT end up as she did.

Suzanne is taking a lot of flak over the fact the she admitted to using cosmetic fillers on her face. She sells a lot of skin care products (including the Facemaster that gives a low-grade current that you apply to the muscles of the face that supposedly wards off the dreaded face lift. Her fans feel misled that she swore that this little machine has been all that she was doing. Ouch!! The Facemaster costs around $100 and she has sold a ton of them.

I can't fault her for that - we're all trying to stop the clock. On the whole, her food program works for me and I take her advice on bioidentical HRT seriously. She's done more homework on the subject than most doctors.

Pam R. - You asked for specifics and I thought maybe I would give you a typical day's menu for me. Also, let me add that since I've gone to this type of eating, my heartburn, or Acid Reflux, as all but disappeared. I still have a tad, every now and then, but hardly ever. Isn't that cool? And I'm sleeping like a log.

So...for Breakfast, I either have:

1 bowl of Kashi cereal with skim milk
maybe a piece of fruit with it
juice BUT NOT ORANGE JUICE which is pure sugar
I just happen to love tomato juice, so would you believe there is a vegetable juice at the dollar store which has NONE of the "bad" stuff in it? Yep, and it taste better to me than the high price stuff.

If I don't eat that, I eat a Kashi breakfast bar, or a piece of fruit. But always with juice and coffee. I only use Stevia as sweetner for coffee.

Lunch - bottled water. I start drinking the 16 oz. bottled water around 10ish and never stop. I drink about 5-6 of those a day, or more. Salads, sometimes as my meal, sometimes as a side dish. If a side dish, I'll eat a frozen Kashi dinner, or a turkey sandwich with mustard, no mayo, and lettuce, on bread that is wheat, and made with unbleached flour. NO SUGARS at all.

Supper, salad or bowl of Kashi cereal, or plate of raw veggies with oil and vinegar dressing along with a sandwich.

Snacks include peanuts, raw veggies, soy yogurt, fresh fruit, or a boiled egg with lemon pepper sprinkled over it.

I try to walk for 30 minutes every day.

Hope this helps!