Why your nutritional needs increase in perimenopause
During perimenopause, fluctuations in sex hormones (oestrogen and progesterone) can affect other operational systems, such as your digestion, energy levels, immune system, and brain.
We're used to thinking about hormones in terms of fertility, but that's just one ball that the endocrine system is trying to juggle. It's hungry and demanding work.
In an unbalanced state, the call for more nutrients and more energy can send us the wrong signals. Sugar cravings can increase in perimenopause. It can be harder to regulate appetite. Energy levels can crash, and the mood can swing from being irritable to feeling a bit low. Sometimes, I feel like a toddler having a strop just wanting sugar. It happens to us all.
We need to remember that perimenopause is an all-over-body experience. It's running around in the background while we are trying to do all the other demanding tasks in our lives at home or in our jobs.
What isn't going to help is putting more nutritional demands on the body such as crash diets, missed meals, and revving yourself up with stimulants like caffeine. Any quick fix, like sugary stuff for energy or using alcohol to kind of self-soothe ourselves, is going to make it harder in the long run for the body to try and maintain energy and balance.
I would start by adding in a little bit of good, sensible food bit by bit. Foods rich in magnesium and calcium are good additions. Try eating more protein, as well as fresh fish, nuts, beans, tempeh, healthy foods like nuts and seeds, and oily fish like salmon. Also, fibre such as a bit of brown rice, flaxseed, vegetables, and whole grains.
Our Balance Perimenopause Multi-nutrient drink is another great way to top up your nutrient intake. You can take it on its own, or you can add it to smoothies for even more nutritional goodness.
