Managing Menopause Symptoms Through Diet

Every woman experiences different menopause symptoms. Most women have some hot flashes, some feel irritable, a smaller number of women battle headaches, nausea or night sweats.

Whatever your menopause symptoms, the following food strategies just might help make your years around menopause a little more comfortable. I've adapted them from my book Tell Me What to Eat As I Approach Menopause. They'll help you manage your menopause symptoms, while also protecting your heart and your bones.

Remember, what works for one woman may not work for another, and what works for you now may not work as well a year from now. Also, most of the following suggestions have not had the benefit of well-designed clinical trials, so it is difficult to predict how well they will work for you.

Still, the truth is that many of the diet suggestions are things we should be doing anyway -- many years before menopause. If menopause is what finally motivates someone to make important changes in her diet and lifestyle, terrific!

Food Step 1: Eat More Tofu and Soy

Soy may give relief from hot flashes, although that benefit is still being debated by researchers. However, we do know that soy may help protect our heart and arteries by lowering bad cholesterol. Many studies have suggested that this occurs because we substitute soy for meats and animal fat in our diet. So give it a try!

Eat or drink two servings of soy a day. Soy foods will take 4 to 6 weeks to show an effect.

Here are some easy ways to add soy to your diet:

• Choose tofu dishes instead of meat at your local Chinese restaurant.
• Make instant miso soup for a quick pick-me-up snack.
• Make fruit smoothies with soy protein powder.
• Drink chocolate or plain soy milk.
• Buy baked tofu in the supermarket and experiment at home. Add it to salads or stir-fry dishes, even try it on crackers.
• Buy canned soy beans and add them to soups, chili and casseroles.