Food for thought
In the years preceding your final period, calcium becomes as vital as regular annual leave. So, can you navigate this life stage as a vegan?
Frequent visitors to these pages will be familiar with perimenopause – the transitional phase leading to menopause, when your fertility meets its natural end. The smorgasbord of symptoms range from raging hot flushes to insomnia, beginning far before the menopause and then continuing for years after.
But symptoms can be managed. Alongside hormone replacement therapy (HRT), dietary changes may ease the impact of falling oestrogen levels – the trigger for most perimenopausal symptoms, and the cause of higher cholesterol levels and accelerated bone loss during this stage of your life. It’s the latter that causes some people to take issue with plant-based diets. To protect your bones, you need calcium and vitamin D. Calcium supports your bones’ structural integrity and strength, while vitamin D ensures the calcium is absorbed. The recommended 10mcg of vitamin D aday can be provided by sunlight exposure during summer months, but from October to April a supplement is advisable. Calcium needs (700mg a day) can be met through two to three daily servings of dairy, but those following an entirely plant-based diet need to ensure their diet contains sufficient alternatives. Calciumset tofu and calcium-fortified plant milks are good options.
You also need to prioritise your heart health. As oestrogen levels fall, LDL cholesterol (the type linked with heart disease) rises. Dietary changes that protect the heart are the healthy eating principles – you know, by consuming at least five fruit and vegetables every day and plenty of fibre (whole grains, oats and pulses), prioritising unsaturated over saturated fats (olive oil over butter) and eating oily fish twice a week.
Skipping the fish? While some research suggests low-meat, high-veg Mediterranean-style diets can ease vasomotor symptoms (VMS) – aka night sweats – and benefit bone and heart health in women with menopause, the data is fairly limited. But plantbased diets may
