SLEEP can be a real challenge for women during perimenopause. It often makes other symptoms worse and impacts on quality of life.

When sleep is bad everything can feel bad!

When sleep is good everything can feel good!

Let’s explore a few ways you can support you body with simple lifestyle medicine to improve sleep!

Food is one of the most power tools you have to influence your metabolic and overall health in perimenopause, but it must to go hand in hand with solid digestive function and a healthy microbiome.

We want to ensure we are breaking down and absorbing the nutrients from our food, we want to make sure we do everything to support the immune system (reducing inflammation) and optimising the synthesis and regulation of hormones and neurotransmitters.

We often assume that digestion is on auto pilot but like a lot of things in perimenopause, what you previously got away with, you no longer can. For example, I feel like I used to get away with eating at my desk or even in the car but now I suffer digestively.

If you are a woman somewhere on your journey to menopause there may come a time when you see a change in your cholesterol levels increasing!? 

How can this be you may ask? 
You haven’t made any changes to your diet, to your exercise or your lifestyle!!
What is going on?
 
This is something I am seeing in my perimenopause/post menopause clients lab results quite often.
 
Why is this happening?
 
When estrogen start’s to decline and go away we often see it impact on lipids.

Endogenous estrogen is a powerful antioxidant and for all those years it’s presence promoted good cholesterol over bad cholesterol.
 
So, what can we do to prevent this onset?
 
There’s are some important nutritional interventions to consider:

Click here to learn the 4 things you can do!

Have you ever been to the health professional to discuss cyclical  symptoms like anxiety, fatigue or depression to either have your concerns disregarded as “in your head” or been offered the pill or an anti-depressant despite you telling them that not what you’re looking for?

I hear these stories every day from my clients.

It is so common for women to be told their hormonal symptoms are “all in your mind” or because they can’t cope with current lifestyle pressures and stress.

I hate to imagine a woman walking away from the clinic feeling confused or second guessing her sense of understanding her body and trusting her ability to tune in to what may be going on.

Why is it that women need to speak to healthcare professionals about their health (often hormonal symptom’s) multiple times before they are taken seriously? Many jumping from practitioner to practitioner, being misdiagnosed or prescribed an unwanted medication.

The problem may lie in the fact that GP’s and other health professionals only have so many tools, training and treatments to draw on and it might not be the right fit for you on this occasion?

Today I thought it might be helpful to shine a light on  some of the most common symptoms and causes of hormone related issues.

When I talk about Lifestyle medicine for women in mid life there is almost nothing better than exercise (well, maybe……. food!).

There are no shortage of reasons to be physically active!

If your approaching menopause, maybe in the early or late stages of perimenopause, there are even more reasons!

Physical activity can trigger positive hormonal changes and plays a huge role (along side of diet) in keeping us strong and supporting our metabolism.

It is proven to reduce the presentation and severity of symptoms associated with peri/menopause. 

• Improved mood
• Reduced stress
• Enhanced sleep
• Reduced hot flashes 
• Improved cognitive function 
• Boosting stamina and enhancing quality of life.
• And so many more benefits.

Most women don’t realise that muscle mass has been shown to decrease by 3-8% per decade after the age of 30 and 5-10% after the age of 50.

The loss of muscle mass includes reduction in both muscular strength and power. This is what can leave us weak, frail and prone to falls, breaks and sprains as we age (if we don’t do anything to prevent this).

These changes in muscle are known has sarcopenia (osteopenia for bones) and affect our ability to live independently. We now know that the loss of estradiol accelerates the decline in muscle mass and bone density..

For this reason, movement in midlife needs to be thoughtfully directed at protecting muscle along with bone.

But how often and what type of exercise is best at this life stage?

How often?

• Perimenopause  approx. 5 x sessions a week

Keep in mind this is always going to be adapted to meet where each women is at in terms of fitness, symptoms, age and overall health. Never a one rule fit’s all approach here. 

Type???

For maximum benefits we talk about a combination of:

• Strengthening (weight bearing exercises). This is the most important type of exercise for midlife women. Helping with building muscle, supporting bone health, improving metabolic function and supporting mood. You want to lift weight that challenge you at the end of each set. Increase the weight/resistance as you get stronger. The old 12 reps per exercise regime needs to be revisited in this life stage. Lifting heavier but for less reps is beneficial. Aim to do it minimum 2 x sessions a week.
• Sprint interval training. If your adrenals are healthy it would be beneficial to find any type of movement you enjoy (running, swimming, rowing machine, bike, dynamic movements like squat jumps or curtsi lunges etc. ) and do it all out in intervals. One example is work 30 seconds and rest for 2-3 minutes, repeat 4-8 times.  I personally like to do the dynamic movement option or run sprints.  I imagine the he lunges and squat jumps keeping me fit for aging, so if I was ever to fall I will be quicker to respond, more agile and I know my bone density  love the impact loading.
• Aerobic (walking, hiking, cross training, dance class, fitness classes, bike riding, swimming, tennis).  Just choose what you enjoy and do this whenever you feel like it. Avoid being sedentary.
• There is a lot of messaging around walking and getting 10,000 steps each day, unfortunately studies have shown walking is not enough to keep us operating independently as we age. Walking is less about muscle and bone and more about mood and stress mitigation.
• Restorative movement (dance, tai chi, stretching and gentle yoga). Great for coordination, flexibility and balance. Reducing stiffness and often have a stress reduction quality that promotes relaxation and hormonal balance.

Just 12 weeks and you will start reaping the benefits from this holistic approach to exercise. 

If you don’t know where to start and feel a little overwhelmed. You could look at the amazing offering at eve studio in Brunswick and Preston, Melbourne.
They have the perfect blend of classes (fitness, pilates, yoga etc) and the most awesome teachers ( I am 100% biased as the studio is founded by my sister Annie. I teach fitness and yoga there and my consulting room is based out of the Preston studio).

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If your curious to know if you are in the early stages of perimenopause, check out the 10 most common symptoms women notice at the start of perimenopause. Check it out here.

If you want some simple tips on how to use food as medicine to support you into perimenopause then check out my top 5 foods for perimenopause here.

Let’s keep talking about this life stage openly and honestly. It can be a really hard time for some women! With knowledge and understanding, you can be your own health advocate and use holistic medicine and hormonal support to help manage the perimenopause and menopause journey.

Learn more about my Perimenopause pathway 1 on 1 naturopathic support. Maybe you can join my next intake of women. I would love that!

The foundation to your diet and the food that you buy from the market should be foods that come from the earth (real food)!!! Focusing on fresh salads, veggies, fruit, whole grains, legumes, nuts, and seeds.

With your focus on eating these foods in you naturally crowd out and limit the intake of poor quality, low nutrition foods like highly processed, refined carbohydrates, sugars and fatty foods (essentially, junk food).

In addition to this foundation here are 5 other ways we you can use food as medicine to support your health during perimenopause and menopause.

#1 Up the amount of protein-rich foods to support muscles and bone health. Protein is the building blocks for everything in your body and helps balance blood sugars and energy throughout the day.

We start losing muscle around age 40 but it becomes more pronounced at perimenopause. Loss of hormones (especially oestrogen) accelerates your loss of muscle mass and bone density. Insulin resistance impacts 1 in 2 women and protein can help prevent this onset. It becomes even more important at this life stage to ensure daily adequate protein intake.

Sources include:

Animal protein – meat (lamb, beef, pork, chicken, fish), eggs, dairy, protein powder.

You may like  to try this protein rich recipe for  chicken and veggie casserole or shepherd’s pie.

Plant protein – nuts, seeds, legumes, pulses, beans, tempeh, tofu, protein powder.

#2 Ensure good quality fats.

These help reduce inflammation in the body, help prevent cardiovascular disease while supporting healthy cholesterol levels.  The brain-boosting benefits of healthy fats can play a role in supporting cognition and memory while also reducing the possibility of mental health challenges that can arise during perimenopause, minimising the risk of depression and anxiety symptoms.

Sources include: Fish, avocado, nuts and seeds (whole, ground and oil), eggs, organic butter or ghee.

#3  Eat Phyto-oestrogens. 

These are compounds in foods that act as weak oestrogen’s in the body and can reduce the mild symptoms related to oestrogen’s decline including  hot flashes, dry skin and irregular periods. 

Sources include: 

» Soybeans and soy products (tempeh, tofu, soy milk) 

» Sprouted beans – alfalfa, redo clover, mung beans, split peas 

» Nuts and seeds – flax seeds/linseeds, sunflower seeds 

#4 Eat Calcium and vitamin D-rich foods 

This will help to support bone health. These nutrients have been shown to reduce bone loss that can happen during perimenopause and menopause.

Sources include:

» Calcium-rich foods: dairy products, soybeans, tofu, sardines, salmon, egg yolk, green leafy vegetables, tahini, and brazil nuts 

» Vitamin D-rich foods: egg yolk, fatty fish like salmon, tuna and mackerel.

#5 Eat to support your microbiome/estrobelmone

You want to support your gut bacteria as they play a role in not only digestive health but so many other parts of your wellbeing, brain function, the immune system, mental health and metabolism. It also plays a role in how well oestrogen is metabolised in the body which  is important, especially during perimenopause when oestrogen levels can soar and cause challenging symptoms.

The enzyme called ‘beta-glucuronidase‘, which is produced by gut bacteria, can interfere with how oestrogen is metabolised. It can convert the oestrogen back into an active form that can circulate in the body, leading to a greater circulation of oestrogens in the body than we would normally have, and in turn contribute to symptoms

Sources include: Pre (green bananas, onions, garlic, asparagus and artichokes) and probiotic (yogurt, kefir, kimchi and sauerkraut) foods. 

So there you have it. Start with one of these ideas at a time and gradually build them into your every day diet.

Last time I wrote about the first signs you might notice when your in the early stages of perimenopause.Curious to know what they are? Check it out here.

Want to know what to look out for as a possible first sign your entering into Perimenopause?

Did you know you can be in the early stages of perimenopause and still have a very regular cycle! True!

Here are the top symptoms you may notice start or worsen when you entering into the phase of perimenopause!

Mood swings

Shortening of your cycle

Sleep problems 

Fatigue

Anxiety

Heavy bleeding

Aches and pains

Weight gain

Hot flashes

Brain fog

This doesn’t sell it very well does it!

I am not saying you will experience everyone of these symptoms. Thank goodness!

Every Women’s experience of perimenopause is completely unique.

There are many other symptoms you may experience but these are some of the most common ones.

I find it empowering for women to be educated that these symptoms and experiences can be related to perimenopause. 

We need to bring more awareness and acknowledgement to this life stage. Don’t let it come as a complete shock, know that for some women it can be a challenging time but  you don’t need to suffer or struggle alone.

Through knowledge you can be your own advocate and seek holistic hormonal support to help manage the perimenopause journey.

Learn more about my Perimenopause pathway 1 on 1 naturopathic support.

Book a consultation now.