How to Manage Menopause Symptoms With Foods

How to Manage Menopause Symptoms With Foods
Every woman experiences different menopause symptoms. Most women have some hot flashes, some feel irritable, a smaller number of women battle headaches, nausea or night sweats.

Menopause Symptoms. That not-so-eagerly anticipated, but inevitable time in a woman’s life when our estrogen and progesterone hormones take a downward dive and those hot flashes sneak up on us.

Understanding what's really going on in our bodies can help us find natural solutions to the health challenges this phase of life brings us. Because estrogen levels decrease, our risk for heart disease and osteoporosis increases. Menopause is also linked to high blood pressure and weight gain, as well as a higher risk for breast cancer. While hormone replacement therapy can help, we can also battle these negative forces with proper nutrition.

here are How to Manage Menopause Symptoms With Foods

1.  Processed foods.
Potato chips or cookies might taste good, but they’re usually high in sodium or loaded with added sugars (or both), which can make you retain water and feel bloated, Jamieson-Petonic says. If you’re craving a snack, try a healthier alternative like string cheese, carrots dipped in hummus, or a few whole-grain crackers with peanut butter — they’ll satisfy your need to nibble without filling you up with the bad stuff.

2.  Eat More Tofu and Soy
Soy may give relief from hot flashes,we do know that soy may help protect our heart and arteries by lowering bad cholesterol. Many studies have suggested that this occurs because we substitute soy for meats and animal fat in our diet. So give it a try!

Eat or drink two servings of soy a day. Soy foods will take 4 to 6 weeks to show an effect.

3.  Spicy foods.
Think twice before you add that extra-hot salsa to your taco. Foods that rate high on the heat scale can actually trigger hot flashes, according to the American Academy of Family Physicians. If you’re looking to add some kick to a boring dish, Jamieson-Petonic suggests skipping the jalapenos and sprinkling on spices that provide flavor without as much heat, like cumin, curry, turmeric, and basil.

4.  Eat More Fruits and Vegetables
Fruits and vegetables offer many health benefits -- fiber, vitamins, minerals and naturally low -fat. But there are also many menopausal reasons to eat these foods. Plants have chemicals that help protect our bodies' health and well-being. Phytoestrogens are particular plant chemicals that are very similar in structure to estrogen, and may act as weak estrogen in our bodies. Simply put, phytoestrogens may trick your body into thinking it has more estrogen than it really does -- potentially diminishing some of the discomforts caused by lower estrogen levels during menopause.

5.  Alcohol.
Although it may not be necessary to swear off all cocktails and wine, there are plenty of good reasons to keep your alcohol consumption moderate. As suggested in the Dietary Guidelines for Americans from the U.S. Department of Agriculture and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, moderate drinking for women is defined as one drink per day or less.

According to the North American Menopause Society, women who have 2 to 5 drinks a day have 1.5 times the risk for breast cancer as those who don’t drink at all do, and heavy drinking also can increase your risk for cardiovascular disease. Plus, some women find that alcohol makes them more susceptible