I get lots of questions about how to handle menopause. Dealing with the symptoms of menopause can be rough, but you can take control and alleviate your discomfort in natural ways with lifestyle changes and shifts to your diet.
If you’re not quite to that stage of your life yet, read on anyway, because the sooner you start making some of these changes (like a low-fat, high-fiber diet and stress control), the smoother your transition will be when it’s time. It’s good to be informed of the whole arc our life cycle.
Lifestyle Changes You Can Make
Yoga, tai chi, acupuncture, and meditation can be used to reduce sleep problems, hot flashes, mood swings, stress, and pain in the joints and muscles. There are lots of dietary tweaks you can make and plenty of herbs and pills on the market, but sometimes gentle movement and a quiet mind that’s free of stress are the best remedies for menopausal symptoms.
Have more sex! When menopause hits, sometimes the last thing on your mind is sex.
However, having more of it will help increase blood flow to the area and decrease the vaginal dryness and discomfort that often accompany menopause.
If you’re really having trouble getting in the mood, try adding maca powder to your smoothies or drink it separately in another beverage. The journal Menopause states that maca can decrease the anxiety and depression that sometimes appear with menopause, and it can also lower the sexual dysfunction (and increase libido) in postmenopausal women without influencing the reproductive hormones. It’s also a great way to connect and destress.
Get a different kind of workout. For urinary incontinence, the Mayo Clinic suggests doing Kegels. These exercises strengthen the pelvic floor and allow you to regain some control. It’s kind of funny that you can do them without anyone around you really knowing that you’re doing them. :)
Kick caffeine and exercise more for a natural energy boost. Caffeine isn’t good for anyone, but it’s especially important to steer clear of it if you’re having trouble sleeping.
If you can’t let it go, try only having it in the morning—don’t use it as an afternoon pick-me-up or it could keep you awake when you want to be sleeping. Caffeine is also acidic, which means it will draw calcium from your bones and make them weaker and more likely to fall victim to osteoporosis.
Exercise, on the other hand, will wake you up in the afternoons when you need a boost, stabilize your mood, help you sleep at night (just don’t exercise right before bed!), and may even minimize the hot flashes you experience.
Use coconut oil both as a skin moisturizer and a deep conditioning treatment for your hair. Menopause often brings drier hair and skin with it. This is a sweet-smelling, amazing moisturizer that’s free of all the chemicals you’d find in store-bought lotions and hair products promising the same soft skin and manageable hair.
Get some sun! Just a few minutes a day will help your body produce the vitamin D it needs to process the calcium you consume via leafy greens (not dairy!), which will lead to stronger bones that are less prone to fractures when you’re older.
I’m sure you’re familiar with the idea that sun exposure can boost your mood, too, so a little sunshine can’t hurt if you’re suffering from mood swings, anxiety, or depression associated with menopause.
Herbs and Dietary Changes for Menopausal Relief
Try herbs and phytoestrogens. Herbs like ginseng, Gingko biloba, and St. John’s wort are said to be effective. In a study, 68 percent of users said the herbs helped improve their symptoms over the course of six months. Ginseng in particular has been used for mood swings and sleep troubles.
Black cohosh is one of the most talked about, researched, and controversial solutions to menopausal symptoms. Some studies say it works short-term (six months or less) for night sweats, hot flashes, anxiety, and vaginal dryness, while other studies say it does nothing and should not be used because it can cause stomach discomfort and headaches.
We need more studies on phytoestrogens to determine whether they’re beneficial during menopause, but the Mayo Clinic says that certain plant foods chickpeas (isoflavones), flaxseed, whole grains, and some fruits and vegetables (lignans) could help ease the symptoms.
Soybeans are also mentioned, but I don’t recommend eating those due to GMOs, pesticides and other reasons, such as they have been cited as trypsinogen blockers and depressing thyroid function.
Have some fermented soy products. The only soy products I’ll ever recommend are the fermented ones like miso, natto, and tempeh.
Though soy is often touted as a solution for many menopause symptoms based on studies in Asia that suggest that women there don’t have as much trouble with menopause as women in the Western world do, our soy differs quite a bit from theirs!
Most of what we have in this country is genetically engineered and heavily contaminated with pesticides. It can do more harm than good, and new studies are suggesting that more fiber and less fat may be the dietary key to why women in Asia and the Western world experience menopause differently.
Limit animal products to hold onto your calcium and decrease your chances of getting osteoporosis. Animal products are far from Beauty Foods; they’re acidic and they take calcium out of the bones in as the body tries to neutralize the acidity.
Studies also suggest that if you eat less fat and more fiber the way they do in Asia (there is no word for menopause in Japan; they don’t really need one because the transition is usually much easier there than it is here), you’ll keep estrogen levels from fluctuating drastically.
Get more vitamin E. Vitamin E has been shown to relieve menopausal flushes. The study suggests that vitamin E therapy may actually be an alternative to estrogen therapy. You can increase your vitamin E intake with dark leafy greens, nuts, tropical fruits (like kiwi and papaya), and red bell peppers. Use Vitamix, the best blender for green smoothies, to make the perfect drink for this – the Puerto Rican Glowing Green Smoothie.
Other Beauty Food solutions to menopausal concerns and discomforts include:
- Celery for bloating and stress
- Bananas when you’re fighting mood swings or depression
- Broccoli to stave off osteoporosis and arthritis while removing toxins
Ayurvedic Solutions for Menopausal Symptoms
From an Ayurvedic perspective, menopause is a woman’s movement from the Pitta phase to the Vata phase of life and discomfort comes from a preexisting imbalance in her dosha, mental strain, or the inability to efficiently remove toxins from the body and get nutrition to the cells.
Drink warm drinks and eat warm foods to ease the anxiety, hot flashes, feeling cold, and vaginal dryness that often accompany menopause. Also, making time for relaxation—whether it’s a bath, an evening with a book, massage, or yoga—is important when you’re dealing with these side effects, as is getting to bed on time (or early).
Avoid caffeine and sugar. Need some tips for breaking bad habits? I have 25 tips for breaking health and beauty-destroying habits. Add a little more fat into your diet with nuts, seeds, and avocado and see how you feel.
If instead of feeling anxious and cold, you’re feeling a little more hot-headed than usual and you also have hot flashes, UTIs, and skin problems, try the cooling, sweet and soothing Beauty Foods, like cucumbers, grapes, apples, mangoes, melons, squashes, and bitter greens.
Stay away from alcohol and spicy dishes. You may find one more reason to make the Glowing Green Smoothie your best friend. Try adding cucumber to it (but leave the melons out because those should always be eaten alone).
If everything’s just started to slow down and drag since you entered menopause and you’re feeling depressed, tired, and like you just don’t want to do much of anything, motivate yourself with spicy food and lay off the dairy products (if you haven’t already), because they can exacerbate those feelings. Exercise more, even though you don’t feel like it, and that will help, too.
When you’re approaching or going through menopause, always avoid processed foods and eat mostly vegetables, fruits, and whole grains. This is always important to do, but it especially makes going through menopause a little easier.
Avoid dairy products regardless of your symptoms. If you’ve eaten animal protein up until this point, consider eliminating it or cutting back on consumption (and eat it only at dinner) to see how you feel.
Heavier foods will slow down your digestion, possibly making your discomfort during menopause even worse. (and you don’t want to ask yourself “why is my stool green?”) Between following the Beauty Detox diet and making the lifestyle changes to reduce stress and relieve other symptoms, you’ll be able to move into this beautiful wisdom phase of your life with grace.
thank you so much for all the wonderful advice you give out free
KIMBERLY,
god bless you & your health
rose
My studies are for that young 40 woman who dropped back in progesterone production in my 30s or earlier and now is considering the best way to balance my production of estrogene with progesterone. Black Cohosh is said to be an estrogen increaser and to stay away from it in progesterone creams if one is estrogen dominant. Personally, hormones are not to be played around with ladies! I’ve watched a friend die in 60 hours at age 52 because she had a hysterectomy and used hormones given to her by her doctor, went back to work too soon, and had plastic surgery in Mexico way too soon afterwards… the hormones caused a rare, fast growing brain tumor – so my advice is to have your blood tested by a reputable osteopath or holistic doctor and look at bio-identical approaches in collaboration with nutritional wisdom. Hormones can be pegged to work specifically for you so get the lab work with a holistic doctor that comes highly recommended and KNOW what you are dealing with first.
I tried using coconut oil (Nutiva organic brand) on my face as a moisturizer, and it actually made the skin on my cheeks very dry, almost like light sandpaper. When I stopped using it and went back to my other moisturizer, my skin went back to normal and became soft again… this took about 5 days. Do you know what might have caused that? Thanks!
I don’t have the answer for coconut drying out your skin, although my sister-in-law makes natural soaps and she uses coconut oil in them. She said that she has to be careful about the amount she uses because it can be a bit drying. Also a possible chance that you could have an allergy to coconut??
You can try using olive oil also, it’s been used for skincare for centuries. :)
I rarely leave comments, but I had an overwhelming urge to say Thanks Kimberly for continuing to release great information which is supportive, interesting and which helps people think proactively about future food choices.
Just to say I love your information and was especially interested in the Menopause article. I am 50 and have started going through the menopause, but why do you when talking about menopause have to have a photo of grey haired old looking lady who looks 65 at the top of the article? Many women who hit 50 still look young and vibrant not old 60 looking and grey! why not have a younger looking 50 year old?
Anne.
I thought the same when I saw (and still see) the picture for this article.
Hi there!
I am new to your website, and am really enjoying the information.
I started the menopause process in 2007 (last period) and went through a lot of the symptoms.
I’m 56 now and experiencing the things you describe: tired, arthritis like symptoms, body stiffness, my joints hurt, the list is long………………jeez.
Seems/feels like whining, but everything I said is real for me.
I was always a very flexible, energetic and spontaneous person.
I sat on the floor recently to start a yoga program and the reality of my stiffness and join pain told me I was becoming the ” Tin Woman “.
I love avocados, nuts, and seeds and am taking your recommendation on reducing / eliminating the animal protein I take in.
I am tossing the roasted soybeans I just bought! Yikes.
Thyroid function has been a concern for my Mom and sister, possibly me too.
I want my GLOW back.
I look forward to when I can afford get a Vitamix!
Thank you for the wonderful thing that you do!
I look forward to visiting your website in the future :)
Sincerely,
Melinda Mondo
I just wanted to suggest a way that you may possibly get a Vitamix. :)
QVC.com sells it. You can buy the Vitamix from them in 5-6 payments (about $75-80/mo.)
Possibility for you??
Hello
You are all for beauty and looking good making women feel good about themselves and look good for their age which is great and why I have purchased your books. Why when writing about the Menopausal do you have a pic of an old grey tired woman? Google 50+ women most are still young looking and beautiful. How about an article making women feel good when they are getting older and going through the menopause, Showing how they can still look great instead of a tired grey woman.
Karen.
My G.P. has perscribed Welebutron for my symptoms of depression (53 yrs old) and wanting to sleep all the time and I am already on a low dose of prozac. My sister talked me out of taking it and urged me to try yoga and change my diet. I am also being treated for an underactive thyroid – I don’t want to take a handful of pills every morning. I just completed a 21-day yoga challenge and am eating more fruit and salads and am starting to feel more energetic.
On the topic of menopause, sex, and coconut oil, the go together well! Wish I would have discovered it sooner!
oh kim ,realy these good info for us .thanks and i love u .iam 57 .
@Kimberly, I love the freestyle that you make use of while writing. It makes a sensitive topic as menopause very interesting, exciting and entertaining. The flow is very inviting. For the diet change, your recommendations are excellent but I think that some of the food items put forward may not be easily sourced by some people in other parts of the world. Maybe next time, you try to be a bit more global when talking of diet change. But all the same, a very good job on your part!
Mr Nelson what do you mean. Have you gone through meanapause? If not that you can’t really question this article. She is right on the money.
Hi. So i had a total hysterectomy at age 26. Its been a little over a year since surgery. My body is now in menopause… Skin and hair are getting a big hit. Not to mention hot flashes and night sweats. Its been reccomended for me to mot take any hrt due to a dvt i had from continual hormones. I appreciate the natural advice you give. Thank you.
Hi Kimberly
You are so right about this. I discovered black cohosh and it relieves most of my symptoms. My menapause was due to surgery. I was still young in my early thirties. Black Cohosh has been a life saver. It was a big, big, big, adjustment for me. But I choose not to let menapuse attack my life. I started working out, drinking lots of water, herbal teas,sticking to a healthy diet and things improve. It has also affected my sexual life as well. Before everything was great. But I will not let menapause stop me. I use most of the things that you speak off in this blog. But thank you so much for these tips.
Hi Kimberly
Where can I purchase the maca powder?
These are great tips. Thank you so much
thanks, Kim for sharing the Information.
Simply understanding the article everyone will accept the above because it’s accurate so its good spotting an author thats blogging stuff like this for all to read.
Thank you, I love that this is all natural and healthy ways to cope
Lots of love to you Michelle! ;)
Thank you for sharing the data about how to deal with depression symptoms during a menopause. I was wondering that maca can decrease the anxiety and depression.
You are so welcome Ruth. Sending you so much love and continued support! ;)