The menopause - food, drink and lifestyle

The most common symptoms of the menopause are hot flushes and night sweats but there can also be a feeling of weakness and fatigue, loss of libido, vaginal dryness, difficulty with memory, headaches, tension, dizziness, insomnia and depression. The situation is made worse because the rate of bone loss may increase during the menopause leading to osteoporosis - the "silent disease" - so called because there are no symptoms to warn of the reducing density in bones.

Choice of diet and lifestyle can help reduce these symptoms and can also help with bone health.  It is generally accepted that it is best to limit the intake of red meat, processed foods, salt (whether added or in cooking) and alcohol.  Tea and coffee should be replaced by caffeine-free drinks and at least two litres of water should be drunk per day.  Giving up tea and coffee may result in headaches temporally.  Fish and chicken may be eaten and also plenty of salads, vegetables and pulses.

It is important that sufficient exercise is taken and it is best that this includes some weight lifting exercise as this helps to strengthen bones.  Smoking is known to increase menopausal symptoms so it is best to give this up.

Diets may also contain some soya based foods such as tofu, celery, rhubarb, almonds and linseeds as these are possible sources of Phytoestrogen - but it will be hard to quantify the amount obtained as content varies with different species.  There is no official recommended daily allowance for complete Phytoestrogen.   Restoring hormonal balance also helps with bone health and this may be more important than maximising calcium intake.