Health Center - Perimenopause
Not sure why you're waking in a sweat? Never sure when or if your period will occur or why you bleed so much when it does? You may not think you're old enough for menopause, but perimenopause—the transitional time leading up to menopause—can last several years. Let us help you manage this stage of your life.
Eating Healthy at Midlife
- Load up on calcium and vitamin D. Not one or the other; the two together are the most powerful elements in your diet when it comes to protecting your bones from age-related weakening. Yet a review of 30 studies conducted over the past 10 years found that postmenopausal women often didn't have adequate levels of vitamin D. Postmenopausal women need 1,200 mg of calcium and 600 international units (IUs) of vitamin D up to age 71; 800 IUs from age 71 on. To get ample vitamin D, you can stay out in the sun for 15 minutes a day (without sunscreen) or take a supplement.
- Go low fat. The benefits of a low-fat diet in peri- and postmenopausal women are turning out to be tremendous. One study found a diet low in fat—even "good" fat like monounsaturated fat—was associated with increased bone density and fewer fractures. Meanwhile, the longest-running study of a dietary change ever conducted—the Women's Health Initiative Dietary Modification Trial—found that women with low-fat diets were slightly less likely to develop breast cancer.
- Limit red meat. Instead, get your protein from leaner sources, like chicken (get rid of that skin!), fish, soy products and beans. Eating more than 1.5 servings of meat a day (about 4.5 ounces) could nearly double your risk of developing hormone-related breast cancer compared to women who eat less than three servings a week.
- Add a teaspoon of flaxseed oil. Or munch on pumpkin or rye seeds, slip in a serving of soy and broccoli, and scatter strawberries over your cereal. All are high in lignans, powerful plant-based antioxidants. Dutch researchers found the more lignans healthy postmenopausal women ate, the better their cognitive function (i.e., ability to remember things). We can all use a boost there!
- Fill up on fiber. Fiber—the nondigestible part of plants—not only fills you up, but since your body can't digest it, the calorie count is close to zero. You can get a heaping bowl of fiber with your morning cereal. Just make it whole grain and look for one with at least eight grams of fiber per serving. Studies find diets high in fiber not only reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease and
