7 Foods To Eat More Of During The Perimenopause

The early months of the year often bring a zest to improve our health through diet. But this can sometimes focus on joyless rules with cutting out and reducing some foods.

For 2023, I want to take a different approach by recommending seven items to add to your meals.

1. Turmeric
2. Seeds
3. Tinned Fish
4. Ginger
5. Sea Vegetables
6. Legumes
7. Fermented Foods

These simple, delicious and affordable foods all offer a supercharged nutritional addition during the perimenopause and menopause. In particular these foods have anti-inflammatory benefits. This is particularly important in the perimenopause and menopause as oestrogen and testosterone decline, because oestrogen and testosterone have anti-inflammatory effects in the body (for example see this paper)

So sprinkle, add, eat and drink these goodies whenever you can.

This gorgeous sunshine-coloured spice should be on our menus all the time.

Turmeric is packed with polyphenols, which are compounds produced by plants that help support and feed all the vital microbiota in your gut. This is called a prebiotic effect.

Having a healthy gut microbiota, which is all the healthy microbes in your digestive system, has a vital anti-inflammatory effect on your body.

Supporting all these good bugs becomes particularly important in the perimenopause and beyond, as they can become disrupted by your changing hormones.

Estrogen and testosterone also have an anti-inflammatory effect on your body, which is lost as levels of these hormones decline. This means boosting anti-inflammatory sources elsewhere is even more important. Read my other blog, What to Eat During The Perimenopause and Menopause here. 

Tip: Stir a teaspoon of turmeric into warm milk or hot water for a nourishing drink, or mix into a marinade for fish, a vinaigrette or soup. Try making this fabulous healthy Turmeric Custard here!

We should all be reaching more for seeds as they provide a powerhouse of nutrients in a more affordable form than nuts.

These miniature heroes not only bring a lovely crunchy texture to a meal, but are also a source of protein and are a good source of omega 3 fatty acids, which are good for heart health and reduce inflammation in the body.

Seeds also provide calcium and magnesium, which are both important for bone health and for mood and anxiety, which are all particularly important during your menopause.

Zinc, found in seeds, can boost the immune system, which can be negatively affected during your menopause due to the impact on the gut microbiome, and zinc can also help hormone regulation.

A range of seeds is best to get all the benefits, including the prebiotic fibre which feeds the important microbiota in your gut. Some to look out for include hemp seeds, which are particularly high in omega 3 and protein; Sesame and poppy, which give a great boost of calcium; Pumpkin seeds are highest in zinc and magnesium.

All seeds contain phytoestrogens, with Flax (otherwise known as Linseed) and Chia being the highest.

Tip: Sprinkle seeds liberally on your breakfast, on vegetable dishes and over soup or make an extra-seedy flapjack. Here’s a favourite recipe I love making that contains lots of nourishing seeds!

Oily fish is a well-known component of the healthy Mediterranean diet, but fresh fish can be pricey and potentially unsustainable – so here I want to encourage you to stock up on some tins/cans of fish.

They are a perfect addition to any kitchen store cupboard as they are affordable, last for ages and come with an impressive host of health benefits.

Go for types that include edible bones for extra nutritional bonus, like sardines, pilchards, mackerel, anchovies and some brands of salmon.

The calcium these fish bones contain will help strengthen your bones, which can start to become weaker during menopause. Plus the omega 3 fatty acids in the fish provides anti-inflammatory properties and heart protection.

Their high protein content can help stabilise blood sugar levels and keep you feeling satisfied, which can potentially avoid weight gain.

Tip: enjoy tinned fish lightly mashed with lemon juice on a slice of wholemeal/wholegrain toast with a handful of watercress or rocket, for a satisfying lunch; Or use them to top a salad.

Both the gnarled root of fresh ginger and the dry powdered form can help aid your digestion.

Your menopause can see a decline in digestive enzymes, as well as changes to the gut microbes, which can all have a potentially uncomfortable impact on your digestion. 

To help counter this, ginger is a prebiotic, which (like some of the other foods on this list) feeds the healthy microbiota in the gut.

Research is increasingly finding that the wellbeing and range of microbiota in our gut has a major impact on many aspects of our health. By eating prebiotics found in ginger, and plant food generally, this can help improve the anti-inflammatory effects of your gut microbes.

Tip: add the warming flavour of ginger to porridge, cookies and flapjacks; Steep slices of fresh root or some dried powder with boiling water for a tangy drink. Plus add finely cut fresh root ginger to add zing to stir-fried vegetables and other dishes.

To learn more about gut health and perimenopause and menopause, take a look at my blog post Demystifying The Gut here.

Seaweed, or sea vegetables as they are also known, are still not eaten enough despite being relatively economical as a source of green leafy vegetables, plus they are so easy to use!

They are good for the gut microbiota as they contain valuable prebiotic fibre, including gentle soluble fibre, which helps to feed the beneficial microbes in your gut.
Those microbes can become out of balance during the perimenopause, so it’s helpful to think about feeding them nourishment, as well as yourself. As a result of eating prebiotic foods like this, the gut microbiota produce fabulous anti-inflammatory compounds, so important at a time when inflammation can potentially elevate due to low oestrogen and testosterone.

They also contain iodine, an important mineral for the thyroid gland, which produces the hormone thyroxine to support metabolism and energy.
During your menopause, the production of thyroxine can be disrupted, so help nourish the gland with sea vegetables.
Please note: If you are on thyroxine supplements, avoid eating sea vegetables because of the iodine content.

Tip: sea vegetables are usually brought dried and easily rehydrated by soaking in water for 10 minutes.
They require no cooking.
Then they can be mixed into vegetable dishes, brown rice and legume dishes, with plain yogurt for a delicious sea veg tzatziki, or added chopped up into a vinaigrette.

Here's a recipe where I use sea vegetables in a delicious Poke Bowl dish. 

It’s hard to find something more cost effective and healthy than a bag or tin or can of lentils or beans. They are a central component of the health Mediterranean style diet. 

They are so profoundly beneficial, providing a range of support for the gut microbiota, and the gut lining that supports those microbes, meaning plenty of anti-inflammatory benefits. They also provide protein and fibre, which helps with blood sugar balance and bulk to move food through the gut, thus supporting bowel movements.

Legumes also contain minerals, including calcium, magnesium and iron. Read more about Iron in my factsheet here. 

Most, especially soy and chickpeas, can be a source of phytoestrogens, which are compounds similar to your own estrogen, which declines during the menopause. These can have a very gentle effect on your body to soften some of the effects of dropping estrogen. But please note, those effects are much weaker than HRT (Hormone Replacement Therapy). For more facts and evidenced-based information about HRT please head to the balance menopause website here.

Note: If you find eating legumes leads to uncomfortable gut bloating and/or windiness, then try eating 1 tablespoon canned/tinned lentils. Canned/tinned lentils are already cooked, so easy to use straight from the can/tin, simply drain away any liquid. The Monash University Low FODMAP diet, developed to support those with IBS type symptoms, says that ¼ cup (Australian/UK size) of canned/tinned cooked lentils are ok to eat. 

I use legumes is so many of my recipes, take a look and find one you's like to try!

From sauerkraut to kefir, and kimchi to the drink kombucha, there is an increasingly exciting range of live fermented food to choose from in our shops.

These are all incredible probiotics, working synergistically with our own gut microbiota, having anti-inflammatory benefits, which can boost our health further.

I try to eat fermented food every day, adding dairy kefir with breakfast, having kimchi or sauerkraut, which are both fermented vegetables, to a bowl of vegetables and protein.

I drizzle live apple cider vinegar onto dishes or add it to dressings; Sometimes I add a large splash of the vinegar into a glass of sparkling water for a great flavour.
They really perk up the flavour of most dishes!

Note - add them at the end of cooking, so you don't kill the beneficial live microbes.