The hormonal rollercoaster that happens during perimenopause is often associated with symptoms such as hot flashes, sleeplessness and mood changes. However, there's another side to this hormonal stage that few women are aware of: an increased risk of chronic diseases.
"The decline in estrogen during perimenopause triggers a cascade of changes in the body," explains Professor Sarah Berry, who is a professor in the Department of Nutritional Sciences at King's College in London and Chief Scientist at ZOE, a science-led meal planning platform.
Before perimenopause, Professor Berry explains that women tend to have a lower risk of chronic issues such as high blood pressure, coronary heart disease and obesity compared to men. However, their resistance quickly diminishes as estrogen levels fall during perimenopause.
"Up until perimenopause, women are doing quite well compared to men when it comes to issues like these. When they hit the perimenopausal phase, key health markers such as blood pressure, cholesterol and insulin sensitivity change dramatically and all go up," Professor Berry explains.
According to new research conducted by Zoe, sticking to a healthy diet can improve these lesser-known menopausal symptoms in as little as six months.
The research – which analyzed over 70,000 peri and postmenopausal women – found that adopting a healthy plant-based diet could reduce overall peri and postmenopausal symptoms by 30% and 37% respectively, while also improving significant changes in women’s metabolism and cholesterol which is linked with obesity and a higher risk of heart disease.
The importance of diet during perimenopause
"It's so important for women to become more aware of what they are eating during perimenopause," Professor Berry notes. "As well as thinking about diet and gut health in relation to symptoms such as night sweats and anxiety, we need to think about it in relation to disease risk too,” she adds.
The good news is that these studies have proven that diet can play a profound role in helping attenuate symptoms such as cholesterol and reduce and prevent some of them from cropping up in the first place.
© GettyHow to eat to reduce chronic disease during perimenopause
"There's no silver bullet, it's about having that healthy balance between different plants, different fibers, it's all in moderation," Professor Berry notes. "Yes, have some meat in there, yes have some fish in there, yes have some carbs, it should just be approached like a healthy diet should at any age. And it's not complicated or faddy.”
© Josep SuriaProfessor Berry’s perimenopausal diet rules
- Reduce your intake of saturated fats commonly found in red meat
- Increase your intake of healthy oils such as olive oil
- Boost your fiber intake by packing in plenty of whole grains, fruits, and vegetables
- Minimize refined carbohydrates and sugary snacks which can spike blood sugar levels
Eat foods that mimic estrogen
Foods rich in soy isoflavones found in soy products such as tofu, soymilk, edamame, soy nuts and sprouts, are extremely beneficial and have been consistently shown to improve menopause symptoms. "These contain a particular chemical which has estrogen-like properties and may help balance hormones," Professor Berry explains.
However, how much they improve menopause symptoms is variable, and success depends on the behavior of our individual gut microbiome. "Soy isoflavones bind to the estrogen receptors in our body, and activate them a little bit like HRT does, so it has that estrogen-like activity."
The strength that the soy isoflavones bind to those receptors depends on the species of bacteria you have in your gut. "If you have particular bacterial species, you would have a 75% greater reduction in symptoms."
READ: Perimenopause and gut health: what you need to know
The golden rule
"The big takeaway is that you need to focus on your diet," Professor Berry concludes. "It's the point where your symptoms are really stacking, creating this perfect storm, making everything very difficult from maintaining a healthy body weight to even making appropriate dietary choices, especially if you're sleep deprived. Be mindful about the types of food you're eating and follow those basic healthy eating principles."
Love midlife? Join Second Act today!
HELLO! originally launched its Second Act hub to reframe midlife and beyond as a celebratory, exciting new chapter full of endless possibilities. From inspirational tales of women who refuse to fade into the background, to valuable advice on navigating relationships, finances and health issues – we've featured them all. And such has been the overwhelmingly positive response from readers, we are now turning the hub into a FULL and FREE community where women like you can come together to shape something truly inspiring.
The cornerstones of the community will be two brand new newsletters. One monthly and one weekly. We are really excited about the monthly newsletter which will be themed and written by one of our roster of leading Second Act voices, including our editor at large, Rosie Green. The content will be reserved exclusively for Second Act subscribers.
We are also launching a monthly mentoring series, in the form of a five-minute video sent directly to your inbox featuring financial professionals, hormone specialists, life coaches and more. Again, it will be reserved exclusively for subscribers.
Below we have listed the inaugural benefits, and more will be added as we grow and shape the community. If you wish to help us shape our community, please take part in our one-slide survey here.
Member benefits
- Monthly newsletter written by one of our Second Act experts
- Weekly newsletter curating the best of our online Second Act articles
- Monthly mentoring videos
- Ask the expert
- Competitions
- Lots of exciting benefits to come...
Sign up to HELLO!'s Second Act newsletter today. This community is as much yours as it ours!
