Diet example in menopause

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Premise

The following indications are for informational purposes EXCLUSIVELY and are not intended to replace the opinion of professionals such as a doctor, nutritionist or dietician, whose intervention is necessary for the prescription and composition of PERSONALIZED food therapies.

Menopause

Menopause refers to the definitive loss of fertility in an adult woman. It is a physiological phenomenon that arises in middle age, particularly between the ages of 45-55.

The entry into menopause is accompanied by some very specific symptoms, which can delineate the so-called climacteric syndrome; for example: reduction and disappearance of the menstrual cycle, hot flashes and night sweats, irritability, sleep disturbances, distribution of fat in android conformation and visceral deposit etc.

This variation is caused by the reduction in the synthesis of estrogen (typically female hormones) which, in addition to fertility, compromises the entire female metabolism.

The menopausal woman is more susceptible to various pathologies, including above all:

• Osteoporosis.
• Hypercholesterolemia, especially LDL.
• Hypertension.
• Hyperglycemia and hypertriglyceridemia.
• Cardiovascular events.
• Breast cancer.

In light of this greater vulnerability, it is necessary to correct the diet and eventually adopt hormone replacement therapy.

Characteristics of the Diet

In short, the menopause diet must have the following characteristics:

• Prevent osteoporosis: ensuring a sufficient supply of vitamin D and calcium, reducing excess sodium, alcohol and anti-nutritional factors (oxalates, phytates, tannins, etc.).
  NB: Some argue that excess protein and phosphorus can promote urinary excretion of calcium; the results are contradictory but it is advisable to avoid it anyway.
• Avoid overweight: promoting weight loss or maintaining physiological weight.
• Avoid metabolic pathologies (preventing cardiovascular events): reducing saturated fats and cholesterol, increasing unsaturated ones (especially omega 3 polyunsaturated ones) and all beneficial nutrients (antioxidants, fiber, potassium, etc.).
• Try to reduce symptoms by increasing the intake of phytosterols (phytoestrogens) in the diet.

Example

Postmenopausal female (last period lost more than a year earlier). He has no significant symptoms and is not taking drug hormone therapy. Practice sedentary work and exercise in the gym 3 times a week.

1 The menopause diet should not be too deficient and should provide all the necessary nutrients in the right quantities. For this reason, despite being overweight, it was decided to assign a diet that promotes weight loss more slowly than normal (-0% of calories instead of -30%).
2 Fat intake for a weight loss diet should preferably be 25% of total calories. However, the "good" lipids have a therapeutic and preventive effect against many metabolic pathologies (hyperlipemia, hypertension, etc.). For this reason it was decided to reach 30% of the total energy by preferring the best quality food sources.

DAY 1

From the nutritional translation of DAY 1 it is possible to observe some very important chemical values:

• Highlighted in green: these are the desirable values ​​of the most useful nutrients in menopause. They are: unsaturated fatty acids, fiber, potassium, calcium, zinc, vitamin C and vitamin E. They have a protective effect against metabolic pathologies and osteoporosis
  
• Highlighted in yellow: these are the nutrients not to be introduced or to be consumed in limited quantities (without exceeding). They are proteins, saturated fats, cholesterol and ethyl alcohol.
  
• Highlighted in red: these are the nutrients that do not reach the required quantity. In the example reported, the only significant case is represented by vitamin A (intake recovered from the foods contained in the following days).

* In the absence of hormone replacement therapy, the calcium requirement is likely to be higher than 300mg / day (tot 1500mg / day).

DAY 2

DAY 3

DAY 4

DAY 5

DAY 6

DAY 7