Is the Mediterranean diet good for menopause?

Today's topic

Today on A.Vogel Talks Menopause, I take a look at the Mediterranean diet and why it can be a good diet to follow during menopause and after.

While there is no specific menopause diet, one of the easiest diets to follow and to help support your body and your mind during perimenopause and menopause is the Mediterranean diet.

I often mention it in other blogs, but I thought this week that I would just focus on this one specifically.

I'm not a great fan of diets because I find a lot of them very stressful, too restrictive, and complicated to follow. Over the years, I've done a lot of research and read about different diets. I'm very easy-going. I will eat nearly anything. But some of these diets, I wouldn't last a day. I would be miserable. I would be hungry. I would feel really tired. So, for me, over the years, the diet that I have found that suits me, allows me to eat the things that I enjoy, and is also really healthy is the Mediterranean diet.

What is the Mediterranean diet?

There are lots of references and studies on the Mediterranean diet and it's been ranked one of the healthiest diets in the world. (1)

It's called the Mediterranean diet because it's inspired by the eating habits of people who live near the Mediterranean Sea. It's considered to be a healthy long-term diet and a lot of the people in Mediterranean countries, who follow this diet, often stay healthy well into their old age.

It's also very easy to adapt. So, if you're vegetarian or vegan, or if there is a specific food group that you can't eat for whatever reason, then you can still follow the Mediterranean diet and feel good on it.

It typically consists of a high intake of vegetables and fruits. So, you would be looking at adding in lots of vegetables with every meal and having a little bit of fruit every day. It focuses on beans and pulses, also on nuts and seeds. It contains a good amount of healthy oils such as fish oils. But if you're vegetarian or vegan, then avocado and olive oil can be your main source.

There is a moderate amount of dairy but again, if you're vegetarian or you don't want dairy, you can use alternatives. And again, if you're vegan, you just cut this particular group out.

It's full of herbs and spices which make your food taste absolutely glorious. And also, there's also moderate, and the word is moderate, red wine. Some women going through menopause, find that alcohol becomes a no-no because it affects them too much. But for those of you who still enjoy a little glass of wine now and again, red wine is full of all sorts of things that are supposed to be good for your health too. But as I mentioned, in moderation.

5 health benefits of the Mediterranean diet for menopausal women

There are lots of health benefits to the Mediterranean diet which can provide helpful nutritional support both during menopause and after. So, let's take a look at how this diet can help:

Your heart

Menopause can affect your heart health in several ways including your cholesterol levels and blood pressure, so eating a diet that is rich in health fats is good for your heart health. Studies have shown that the majority of people on a proper Mediterranean diet, are less likely to end up with heart attacks and heart disease. One such study of nearly 26,000 women found that those who followed this type of diet had 25% less risk of developing cardiovascular disease over the course of 12 years.(2)

Your weight

It's really good for controlling your weight because of all the good quality protein, healthy fats, and vegetables, all of which keep your blood sugar much more stable so you're not going to crave sweet foods.

You're not going to get that high peak and a big dip in your blood sugars which can also trigger things like hot flushes, palpitations, and headaches. So, it's a really good one for getting rid of quite a few symptoms that are associated with menopause.

Your brain

It's known to be good for brain health. Again, healthy oils are needed for cognitive function. They're needed for memory, and they're also needed to help with brain fog, which is a common menopause symptom.

Your bones and muscles

It's thought to be really good for the bones because you're getting plenty of calcium and magnesium in the foods that you're eating. It's good to help with the muscles as well because your muscles need plenty of magnesium to work well. And, obviously, for postmenopausal women especially, osteoporosis is something that you have to be really careful about, so supporting your bone health is always important.

Your digestion

It's great for digestion because it contains herbs and spices that are known to help to improve digestion and elimination. And one of the things that are really important in the Mediterranean diet are herbs which are called bitters. Bitters are herbs that help to stimulate and improve digestion, , and also your absorption of nutrients that you're getting from your food.

Bitters are a group of herbs like fennel, endive, coriander, and peppermint. And in the Mediterranean diet, very often, the first course of the main meal is a plateful of the bitter herbs so people who have this diet are aiding their digestion at practically every single meal.

It isn't just what you eat but also how you eat that's important. If you look at the way a lot of the people around the Mediterranean eat, they are sitting down at the table. They are eating very slowly, and they are chewing really well. And again, if you want to avoid things like indigestion, gastric reflux, and bloating, then chewing, relaxing, and taking your time to eat is really important.

It's been shown that it takes about 20 minutes of eating before a message goes from the stomach to your brain to say that you're full and you don't need to eat anymore. So, if you eat really quickly, your brain hasn't got that message and that's often why you're hungry even after you've eaten on the run.

And I know, for me, I have been taking my time and chewing more when eating for a long, long, time. It's something that I took on board ages ago. And I find now that I can't eat quickly. If I have to eat a meal quickly, it actually makes me feel sick. So, once you get into the habit of eating slowly and relaxing, it becomes a lifelong habit.

Tips on how to introduce the Mediterranean diet

So, how do you incorporate the Mediterranean diet into your own daily life? There are lots of simple ways to include the Mediterranean diet into your daily diet. Here are a few ways that I recommend:

1. Increase your fruit and veg intake. Aim to have at least five portions, every day

I have vegetables at every single meal of the day. This morning, for instance, I had an omelette. So, I had mushrooms, I had some spinach, and I had some baby tomatoes with it. That's one portion of my five a day, that I've had by 8:00 in the morning, and sometimes having just a little plate of salad as a starter for your lunch and your evening meal, can also help you increase your intake.

Have a little bit of fruit. I'm not a great fan of a lot of fruit purely because for me if I eat too much fruit, it interferes with my blood sugar levels and makes me a bit jangly. So again, this is great because, with the Mediterranean diet, I can adapt it to having my fruit mostly at the weekend.

2. Limit your intake of red meat and processed meat

If you are a meat-eater, go for really good quality red meat a few times a week.
Have fish instead, oily fish like salmon, mackerel, and sardines are best. Sardines are such a cheap food and they are one of the best sources of your fish oils out of all the oily fish. So, even a portion of sardines on toast and maybe a few tomatoes and a little bit of lettuce, that's a fabulous Mediterranean diet meal.

3. Add in more nuts and seeds to your meals and snacks

You can also look at nuts and seeds. These are great for menopause. They're high in protein. They're high in calcium. They're high in magnesium. They've got lovely, healthy fats in them.

You can sprinkle them on your salad, or sprinkle them in your soup. Grind them up. Have them with your morning porridge or homemade smoothies. So, there are lots of different ways that you can get small amounts of nuts and seeds into your diet.

4. Add beans and pulses to your diet

Beans and pulses are good sources of protein, especially if you are vegetarian or vegan. You can easily add them to soups, stews, and salads.
For me, this is one of the great things again about the Mediterranean diet. Beans and pulses do not suit me. If I eat too many, I just bloat up and then end up being windy for a couple of days. So that's something I tend to avoid or just have very small portions of.

5. Cut out white foods

So this is your white bread, white pasta, white rice, and white sugar. And just cutting those out of your diet and going for the wholemeal, whole grain or other plant-based sources can make a huge amount of difference.

6. Use herbs and spices to flavour your food

This is a great way to make your food taste more flavoursome and also to help aid digestion. Remember eating bitter herbs and foods such as artichoke, chicory and endive can also aid digestion.

7. Remember to eat slowly and chew your food well

Try to incorporate this as part of your daily ritual with each meal.

To learn more about the Mediterranean diet, head over to our Nutritionist Emma's blog 'What makes the Mediterranean diet so healthy' for lots more information and tips.

So, I hope you found this helpful. I must admit, for me, the Mediterranean diet but going slightly low carb and without the beans and pulses is my go-to diet. I've been on it for years and I still feel really good on it.

I'd love to hear your stories about your diet because one of the things I have found over the years, not all diets suit everybody. And there will be some of you out there who will fare much better on different diets.

Until next week, take care.