Knowledge is power, and knowing ALL the facts when making decisions about our health is empowering.
We can do hard things! Give me the facts Louise!
What I know to be true is this: We are the women doing menopause in a toxic food environment, with chemically polluted foods, water, air and homes. We have increased stress from a pandemic, the impending climate crisis, global and societal violence and from ‘good girl’ perfectionism that keeps us keeping all the plates spinning and thinking of others before ourselves.
All of these factors above come together to make it hard for us to experience energy, vibrancy and our best health in menopause. We are suffering with our symptoms and whilst it is great we are talking about menopause now, there is very little information out there to give us concrete action steps and help us to help ourselves out!
Let’s look at the facts and reality of our health in our modern society and understand the symptoms we feel in our bodies.
Heads up! The stress you feel day to day and the state of your health will worsen your symptoms of menopause.
So let’s take an inventory of the nutrition and health of humans living in 2024
95% of Americans and (7% of Canadians are deficient in fibre.) All age groups in the UK do not eat enough fibre.
Why is this important to menopause?
Fibre helps our body to clear excess hormones from the peaks and toughs of hormonal change out of the body and so reduces our symptoms. It helps to prevent colon and breast cancer.
It is estimated that 50% of us are vitamin D deficient.
Why is this important?
The symptoms of vitamin D deficiency include muscle pain, joint pain, pins and needles, fatigue, depression, and loss of bone density.
At a time of life when we are losing the bone protective properties of estrogen and are prone to depression and muscle and joint pain, 50% of us are worsening these symptoms due to poor nutrition.
90% of us are lacking in vitamin E.
Vitamin E is important to prevent vaginal dryness and protect our heart health.
Cardiovascular disease is the #1 cause of death for midlife women and vitamin E along with fibre, healthy fats and magnesium protects our heart health. It also reduces hot flashes and hot flashes are, in fact, an indicator of poor cardiovascular health in middle aged women. We need more fibre, magnesium and vitamin E in our daily diet.
According to the World Health Organization, 75% of us are deficient in magnesium. Found in all leafy greens, nuts and seeds, Magnesium is our relaxation mineral which helps us to sleep, reduces anxiety, relaxes muscle tension and stops restless legs and eye twitches. Look at the foods rich in magnesium. They are missing from our diet because we do not get enough fibre! Catch 22!
One out of eight women suffer with thyroid issues in midlife. Think symptoms of thinning hair, dry skin, and uncontrollable weight gain.
A great many more women are slogging through life with undiagnosed thyroid issues, feeling sluggish, cold, and exhausted every morning.
Your thyroid needs dense nutrition packed with minerals from your food, and if you have Hashimotos, a chronic auto-immune disease, foods to improve gut health and heal and seal the digestive tract.
This ones a doozy! It is hard to talk about, carries shame, but is important.
Over the past three decades to 2010, obesity prevalence has doubled in 73 countries and increased in most others. It increased again by 1/3rd in the last ten years.
Metabolic diseases affect most of us and midlife women are the most sedentary cohort in society. We feel self-conscious of our aging bodies, feel helpless about weight gain as ‘eat less and exercise more’ does not work when our hormones start changing and don’t like to move when we are exhausted and aching.
Weight gain and metabolic issues cause increased hot flashes, anxiety as our blood sugar spikes and crashes along with our hormones, brain fog, an increase cortisol, our stress hormone.
HEADS UP!
In midlife, high cortisol STEALS your juicy hormones which will push you off a hormonal cliff.
As estrogen and progesterone deplete, your very own body will steal the building blocks for these hormones to build cortisol!
This damages your heart and bone health, drives hot flashes and sugar cravings, causes weight gain around the middle, brain fog, muscle wasting, anxiety and exhaustion. It shortens your telomeres.
It is more than likely MANY of your uncomfortable symptoms of menopause aren't caused by natural hormonal changes, but rather by nutritional depletion and metabolic challenges.
That’s why women feel so much better in their bodies when they take actions like giving up caffeine or alcohol, feel their aches and pains vanish when they eat collagen or more leafy greens and watch weight release and energy rise when they eat MORE densely nutritious foods.
Addressing our crappy diet and deeply nourishing our bodies with a whole foods diet is the first step to regaining energy, sleep, and vibrant health during hormonal changes. You will feel your body sigh with relief!
This step can be hard because we have been conditioned to control our bodies, value our weight above our health and to fit a standard cookie cutter size or look to be pretty. We need to unhook from this thinking with mindset work and support is helpful.
I am not anti-HRT. I just don’t agree with putting the cart before the horse and medicating with hormones for what are nutritional issues.
In the event that we are still experiencing symptoms AFTER we have given our beautiful bodies the nutritional support it needs to calmly pass through this chapter in life, we should consider talking to our doctor about HRT.
If we choose, to view our bodies and menopause as a machine needing a simple fix; a lift the hood and top the old girl up situation, rather than an opportunity to learn, make positive health changes and nourish our bodies, we abandon our responsibility for our personal health and lose our power to naturally increase our energy, reduce our symptoms and BUILD health in our bodies ready for an exciting next chapter.
If you recognize the uncomfortable symptoms described in this post, you can start to eat more of the foods your body needs to feel supported TODAY, by clicking the button below and down loading my recipe book.
