Nutrition during the menopause

It's not just hormones that change during the menopause . The tolerance of certain foods or the need for various nutrients also changes.

Sensitive gut
The lack of oestrogen can increase the sensitivity of the digestive tract . This means that raw foods such as salad, fruit or cereal muesli are no longer as well tolerated. In this case, it is worth preparing the food gently. For example, steaming or stewing. Don't just soak the muesli in water or milk, but simmer it briefly until soft.

Menopause and body weight
But our weight can also change as a result of this hormonal shift. In most cases, our diet remains the same and yet our body weight increases. The reason for this is that body mass changes - muscle mass decreases and fat mass increases. However, as only our muscles burn energy and our fatty tissue does not, over time we have less and less "active" tissue that burns calories and more and more "inactive" tissue that burns nothing. So our body weight increases steadily - unless we follow a few tips:

• Eat slowly
  Our eating pace helps determine how much we eat. Our brain needs 20 minutes to register that we are full.
• Drink enough
  If possible, drink 1.5 - 2 liters of unsweetened drinks throughout the day.
• Whole grain products
  A high dietary fiber content fills you up faster and for longer. They also stimulate digestion. You will be able to go to the toilet regularly and effortlessly.
• Enjoy
  Sweet treats are best enjoyed as a dessert after a main meal. This way, you won't affect your blood sugar levels between meals and thus your fat burning.
• Good fats
  Give preference to healthy fats from rapeseed, olives, linseed, nuts and fish. But healthy fats also provide energy - so use them in moderation. Be sparing with animal fats from butter, bacon and sausage products.
• 5 a day
  Vegetables and salad are low-energy meal components that you can enjoy as you please. Be a little more sparing with fruit. Due to their fructose content, you should limit your consumption to two handfuls a day.
• Cut out unsuitable foods
  The first thing to do is to reduce unsuitable foods such as sugar and fat in your diet. This means:
  - enjoy sweets, snacks and sweet drinks only in moderation.
  - replace very high-fat products with lower-fat ones.
• Increase your basal metabolic rate
  with exercise: exercise for 30 minutes a day or 4 times a week for 45 minutes. This really boosts your metabolism. It also burns calories and strengthens your muscles, bones and joints.
  The most important thing is to choose a type of exercise/sport that you enjoy. Because experience has shown that we only do what is fun on a regular basis.