Sunday, February 8, 2009

Do's and Dont's of a Menopausal Diet

By Ricardo d Argence

We all have heard about the inevitability of death and taxes and yet there is one other inevitable event, for women anyway. Around the age of 40-50, females have a change taking place in their lives and bodies that is known as menopause. Hormones begin to shift and the levels change, which brings about some exciting and empowering events.

This is a natural phenomenon and it happens as you are no longer able to bear children and move into a bright new time of life. You will begin to experience power surges, great depth of feeling and excess weight.

It may seem a bit unfair to have to deal with excess pounds on top of all of the other symptoms, but, it is true. One reason that menopause causes weight gain is that the estrogen levels start to decrease that this time.

While one third of women between 45 and 50 years of old will again at least five pounds, according to most reliable studies, menopausal women will gain between 10 and 15 pounds. Fewer than 50 per cent of all women studied were able to avoid weight gain during menopause, and only then through rigorous dieting.

Weight control is important because increased weight can increase the chance for diseases such as high blood pressure, stroke, and heart disease. Exercise is a key factor which helps in maintaining proper weight, and the females should be involved with the cardiac activities as well as weight training.

If you're a woman in the age range for menopause, your diet should be nutrient-rich and well balanced. Women should be eating fresh fruits and vegetables, lean protein, whole grains and calcium containing foods on a daily basis even before menopause symptoms occur.

If you want a healthy life, free of many of the most common menopausal symptoms, adjust your diet to include healthy foods including all of the necessary vitamins and minerals.

You shoul avoid: sugar, processed foods, alcohol, soy based products like tofu and caffeine.

When you add these healthy foods to a more active lifestyle, you will be able to sail through the months of menopause. The second half of your life can well be the best years because you will have transformed yourself and become even stronger, healthier, and more radiant than ever.

Products that should be in your Diet: Vitamins A, D, C and E, calcium, iron, magnesium, zinc, fiber, phytoestrogens, and isoflavones; cottage cheese; yogurt; seafood, especially fish; fresh berries and other fruits; whole-wheat cereals and breads; leafy greens like spinach, kale, and broccoli.

By changing your lifestyle to incorporate a healthy diet and exercise, you can smile as those menopausal months come around. A lot of the uncomfortable symptoms can be lowered or gone as you go through a change in your lifestyle. If you exercise more and eat good natural foods, you can make the future your greatest and outgoing years of your life. - 15438

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