As women reach middle age, they gradually move away from their careers and children, and unwelcome menopause arrives unexpectedly. Although they may have more time to enjoy a wonderful "world of two" with their partners, symptoms like hot flashes, night sweats, and irritability still bring considerable trouble to women in menopause.
9 Dietary Tips to Alleviate Menopause Symptoms
Experts point out that these symptoms are caused by menopausal syndrome. In addition to hot flashes, night sweats, and irritability, women in menopause may also experience symptoms of menopausal syndrome such as difficulty controlling emotions, insomnia, waking up early, listlessness, osteoporosis, and a sense of being overwhelmed.
These symptoms affect the lives and work of menopausal women to a certain extent, and also bring heavy mental and economic burdens to families and society. Therefore, women in menopause should seek timely treatment to alleviate the symptoms of menopausal syndrome and improve their quality of life.
Among these, if menopausal women can maintain a reasonable diet, pay attention to dietary pairing, and comprehensively absorb nutrients, it plays a non-negligible auxiliary role in alleviating the symptoms of menopausal syndrome. To this end, experts from Mental Health Network have summarized the following nine dietary tips for women's menopause for the reference of all women:
First tip: Moderate protein. With the degeneration of the gonads during menopause, other tissues and organs also gradually degenerate. Therefore, the diet should include high-quality proteins such as milk, eggs, lean meat, fish, poultry, and soy products.
Second tip: A low-fat diet, limiting animal fats such as lard, cream, and butter, as well as foods high in cholesterol, such as egg yolks, brain marrow, and animal organs. This is because the saturated fatty acids in these foods can significantly increase the concentration of cholesterol in the blood, promoting the formation of arteriosclerosis. It is best to use vegetable oils, such as corn oil, soybean oil, and peanut oil.
Third tip: A light diet, limiting salt intake to less than 6 grams per day. Because hypertension and arteriosclerosis are common during menopause, and salt contains a large amount of sodium ions, excessive salt intake can increase the burden on the heart and increase blood viscosity, thereby raising blood pressure.
Fourth tip: Avoid excessive sugar. Eating too much sugar can cause obesity. You can eat more complex carbohydrates, such as starch and millet.
Fifth tip: Eat more fresh green vegetables and fruits, especially those rich in carotene, inorganic salts, and fiber, such as bok choy, celery, jujubes, and hawthorn. These can increase the elasticity of blood vessels, promote the excretion of blood cholesterol, and prevent atherosclerosis and coronary heart disease.
Sixth tip: Choose foods rich in calcium. Milk and soy products are good sources of calcium. Other high-calcium foods include dried small shrimps, kelp, seaweed, crispy fish, oysters, algae, and sesame paste, which can prevent osteoporosis.
Seventh tip: Eat more foods rich in Vitamin B1, such as lean meat, millet, and beans. This is beneficial for protecting the nervous system and alleviating the symptoms of menopausal syndrome.
Eighth tip: Maintain regular bowel movements and develop the habit of defecating on time. Those with constipation can eat more foods high in fiber, such as beans, celery, and potatoes. In addition, fiber can also inhibit the absorption of cholesterol, thus significantly lowering serum cholesterol levels and preventing arteriosclerosis.
Ninth tip: Avoid strongly stimulating foods, such as alcohol, strong tea, and coffee, because women in menopause have unstable emotions, and consuming these foods can easily lead to agitation.