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Peri-Menopause and Diet

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Updated: 5 days ago



Peri-Menopause and Diet

Considering peri-menopause, is there really any need to cut out certain food types or introduce new ones into your diet?


Nutrition is a complex field, there is no clear evidence to show that any one diet or food type is beneficial to support the role of oestrogen. However, diet plays an important role in preventing some of the more common health issue that women experience due to the decline of hormones post-menopause, such as cholesterol, heart disease, bone issues.


Whilst there are no real studies that show any negative effects of certain foods and increase in peri-menopause symptoms or likewise reductions in symptoms, its useful to understand how certain food groups are beneficial in the other effects of lack of oestrogen such as weight gain, bloating, digestive issues, migraines.


Understanding Basic nutrition

Carbohydrates are chains of sugar molecules, categorised into simple or complex groups.

Simple carbohydrates, which have one or two sugar molecules, are smaller and easier to digest. This means they hit the bloodstream quickly, raising blood sugar.

Complex carbohydrates have three or more molecules and include starches and fibre, but only the starches can be digested.

Simple are broken down into glucose, which is either used immediately for energy, converted into a storage sugar or repackaged and stored as fat.

Complex is broken down into glucose but is released slowly into the bloodstream.

It is best to have a diet that contains more complex carbohydrates as this will ensure that you release glucose at a slower rate.


Fibre is a non-digestible carbohydrate, available in two types, soluble and insoluble. Women need 25g of fibre are day.

Fibre contains bulk, which leads to feeling fuller for longer. It slows the digestion of carbs, reducing spikes in blood sugar after a meal, it also reduced LDL cholesterol.

Food and Oestrogen

Fibre may also affect oestrogen levels over the long term. Bile aids digestion and contains some levels of oestrogen. In the small intestine the oestrogen is reabsorbed and sent back, fibre reduces this process. Post-menopause oestrogen is only produced in the tissues so fibre will not support oestrogen in the same way.


It is best to avoid ultra processed foods that contain many additives and are high in saturated fat. New studies show that these could be bad for our gut health, with the changes that occur due to hormones decreasing it is important that we look after our gut health.

Some ultra processed foods do contain nutritionally beneficial ingredients and so are fine as part of a varied diet.


Why is gut health important in peri-menopause?

During peri-menopause, the decline in oestrogen and progesterone can disrupt the gut microbiome, leading to digestive issues, including constipation, excess gas, bloating, heartburn. The gut barrier can also become more permeable which leads to issues such as IBS and new food intolerances.

We know that the gut is also a key organ involved in other systems in the body, the neurotransmitter serotonin is produced in the gut and helps to improve mood, pain and many other functions. Serotonin is also important for the production of melatonin which is our sleep regulator – another thing that is disrupted in peri-menopause.

Foods containing tryptophan can support serotonin production in the gut, poultry is high in tryptophan, oily fish, eggs and spinach are also good.


Will sugar make peri-menopause worse?

No, not directly. If you enjoy foods that are single chain carbohydrates it will not cause you any problems with peri-menopause. However based on all of the other factors such as weight gain related to hormonal changes, increase risk of high cholesterol and heart disease post-menopause, it is wise to review how much sugar you have in your diet.

Sweeteners are a suitable alternative if you like a sugar in your coffee, there is little evidence that they are bad, however there is some research that shows you can become more tolerant of sweet tasting food, which could mean you eat more sugar than you would naturally before you feel it is too sweet and sickening.


Is hypnotherapy good for reducing sugar?

Hypnotherapy can support you in cutting down on sugar, we know that there are many reasons we crave sweet treats, some of this is to do with the increase of dopamine (our pleasure and reward hormone) which makes us feel good and gives us satisfaction. Our brain can become more tolerant to the dopamine released after eating, and therefore crave more to get that same sense of satisfaction. There are other things that eating chocolate will do, such as give us some serotonin which improves our mood. Our brains are wired evolutionarily to hunt for this both down to the dopamine and serotonin but also the spikes in blood sugar which give us that quick energy release. As we know this makes it much harder to control our desires to eat and we can get stuck in a cycle.


Hypnotherapy can help to re-wire those pathways, replacing the dopamine from sugar with a more beneficial and longer lasting reward. We can replace the habit with a new behaviour and learn to make better choices. It can also help to identify patterns, such as stress, boredom, overwhelm, environment and routines, and make small changes which will allow you to stop that old behaviour.

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