Understanding Menopause: Answering Your Questions and Debunking Myths
- nourishtoni
- Mar 26
- 9 min read
I am not a medical doctor, so this post is not going to give medical advice or discuss hormone therapies. But I will discuss what menopause means for your body and your nutrition. I also want to mention that these are my thoughts and beliefs, and others out there will have their own thoughts and beliefs.
You do not need to turn your life upside-down because of one article you read, or because of the advice you got from one doctor. Take all the information in, and then apply what you deem relevant and beneficial to YOU in your life. I am here to empower you, not to tell you what to do.
I am going to approach this blog with a series of questions that women might typically have.
What Is Menopause and When Does It Occur?
Menopause.
Just the word evokes multiple emotions - from fear and dread to excitement and relief.
Back in the day, it was a word that wasn’t to be mentioned in company.
Luckily, today, things have changed and we can freely discuss it.
There is more awareness around this important milestone in a woman’s life. Menopause is not a disease - it is a normal hormonal transition. But it can feel overwhelming, confusing, or even scary because the symptoms vary wildly between women.
What Happens in my Body?
I’m sure if you’re reading this, you know all too well what menopause is.
In a strict biological sense, menopause is the permanent cessation of menstruation as a result of the loss of follicular activity.
In a nutshell, your follicles were stimulated every month by special hormones in order for an egg to be released, in anticipation of being fertilised, while the lining in your uterus built up waiting for an embryo to implant, and when it didn’t, you got a period.
That whole process starts to decline as you age and you eventually have your last period around the age of 51 (45 - 55).
The road to menopause is a decade-long journey in which the average women’s ovaries become less and less efficient until they eventually stop responding to the hormones that once led to ovulation.
Some women glide right through it and others need assistance to cope with it’s challenges.
What is Perimenopause?
Perimenopause is the transition before menopause.
It usually lasts 4 - 7 years, but can range from 1 - 10 years.
Symptoms are often the worst here because hormones don’t just decline - they swing up and down intensely, causing:
Hot flashes
Mood swings
Anxiety
Irregular periods
Increased PMS
Weight changes
Fatigue
Why Do I Have Hot Flashes?
Your brain’s temperature control centre becomes super sensitive to small changes.
Low oestrogen narrows the “thermo-neutral zone.”
So a tiny rise in body temperature triggers a full heat response:
flushing, sweating, rapid heartbeat.
Common triggers include alcohol, caffeine, hot rooms, stress, sugar and refined carbs and high-intensity exercise too close to bedtime.
Why Do I Suddenly Feel Irritable or Anxious?
This is not in your head.
Oestrogen affects neurotransmitters like serotonin (mood), dopamine (motivation) and GABA (calm).
When oestrogen fluctuates, these chemicals fluctuate too, causing anxiety, irritability, low mood, crying easily, feeling overwhelmed and loss of motivation.
It can feel like bad PMS, but months or years long.
Supportive nutrition, strength training, sleep habits, and sometimes HRT can help dramatically.
What are the Consequences of Declining Estrogen?
Estrogen has a protective effect on the cardiovascular system, so with declining levels, levels of LDL cholesterol (the bad one) increase, which may partly explain why atherosclerosis and coronary artery disease become more common in women after menopause.
Estrogen supports bone health by slowing bone breakdown and encouraging bone formation. Therefore, with lower levels of estrogen, up to 20% of bone density loss occurs during the first 5 years after menopause and women are at risk of developing osteoporosis.
Why Am I So Tired?
Fatigue in menopause is a combination of:
Poor sleep from night sweats
Lower progesterone (a calming hormone)
Blood sugar fluctuations
Stress
Increased inflammation
Mood changes
Thyroid dysfunction (common in this age group)
This is one of the reasons women feel “less like themselves.”
What Happens to Libido?
Lower oestrogen can lead to vaginal dryness and lower blood flow, which can result in discomfort during sex.
Lower testosterone also means less desire.
Stress and sleep changes result in less energy for intimacy.
All normal. And very treatable.
Why Is Weight Gain Common During This Time?
The hormonal changes of menopause make it more likely that women will gain weight around the abdomen rather than the hips or thighs. Visceral fat (fat around the organs) increases from about 8% to 15%. Studies have shown that the average woman will gain around 1.5 kg per year during perimenopause.
But I hate to break it to you… menopause isn’t the main reason you might have gained weight. Weight gain is more commonly associated with aging, your lifestyle and your genetics. If your mother accumulated fat around her middle during menopause, chances are, you will too.
When we age, our muscle mass decreases and our fat mass increases. When we lose muscle mass, the rate at which the body can use calories drops.
ie. metabolism slows.
So if your diet doesn’t change to account for this, you’re likely to gain weight.
People also become less active as they age, so if you’re eating the same and moving less, you’ll likely gain weight.
But… menopausal symptoms such as hot flushes, poor sleep and low mood can make it harder to exercise and eat healthy food. Poor sleep can result in elevated levels of the hunger hormone, ghrelin, resulting in more snacking throughout the day.
The good news is that strength training, good nutrition and extra protein make a huge difference.
Before you even ask, hormone therapy is not the magic antidote and is not intended for weight loss.
The best thing you can do is adhere to a healthy diet and do regular exercise.
I know that pseudo-science, the media and celebrity-quick fixes can make things overwhelming and confusing, but it’s really as simple as this:
Good nutrition and an active lifestyle remain the cornerstone of a healthy menopause.
So let’s look at what that means.
When you go through these questions, how many of them resonate with you:
Are you eating at least 5 different fruits and veggies a day?
Are you eating oily fish twice a week?
Are you limiting saturated fat, salt and free sugars?
Do you get enough fiber?
Are your portion sizes too large?
Are your meal times unstructured?
Are you grazing throughout the day?
Are you regularly drinking alcohol?
Are you neglecting certain food groups?
Protein, Protein, Protein - How Can It help?
Proteins are the building blocks of life - they are needed for just about everything.
As I have mentioned, as we age, we experience sarcopenia - the decline in muscle tissue. Eating enough protein can prevent muscle loss. This not only maintains strength, but will also maintain metabolism, as muscles are more metabolically active than fat.
Protein is necessary for producing hormones, and for the transport of hormones around the body. Including good amounts of protein in your diet can reduce hormonal fluctuations. Hormones also regulate several other processes including appetite and stress, so you can see how important protein is.
High protein diets can facilitate weight loss and a healthy body composition because it requires lots of calories to process and digest the protein. This is known as the thermogenic effect of food.
Eating protein also makes you feel more satisfied, so you’re less likely to nibble throughout the day.
Research suggests that the body’s appetite for protein increases during perimenopause (due to hormonally-induced protein breakdown), but if protein requirements aren’t met, women overconsume other forms of energy.
Protein can help regulate blood sugar levels by slowing down the absorption of carbohydrates and reducing insulin spikes.
Eating enough protein, along with other key nutrients like calcium and vitamin D, can help support bone health and reduce the risk of osteoporosis. Protein can also be a valuable source of nutrients such as iron, calcium and omega-3 fatty acids.
Should I Avoid Carbs?
Absolutely not.
Exercising without sufficient carbohydrates can result in lean muscle mass loss, and this is of course counterproductive.
If you’ve had a bad night of sleep, carbs will give you a much needed lift.
Carbs should also make up 1/4 of your plate.
Instead of trying to leave them out, focus on the types of carbs you choose:
Bread/wraps - wholegrain, multigrain, rye, seeded, sourdough
Starchy veg - potatoes, butternut, beetroot, carrots, legumes
Pasta - wholewheat
Rice - brown or wild
Other grains - barley, bulgur wheat, quinoa
Cereals - oats, low-sugar granola
Fruit
Limit refined carbs like pastries, biscuits, pizzas, breaded proteins, battered foods, etc.
Will Fat Make Me Fat?
Fat is energy dense, so it can be problematic if it’s not controlled. Since you don’t have the protective effects of estrogen on your heart health during menopause, you want to make sure you’re choosing healthy fats.
Foods high in omega-3 fatty acids can reduce the overall inflammation in the body.
Fats support brain and heart health, and help with hormone production.
Fats should occupy about a thumb-sized place on your plate.
Choose healthy fats like:
Oily fish, olive oil, avocado, nuts, seeds and nut butters.
Can Nutrients Relieve Menopause Symptoms?
Some foods like caffeine, alcohol and spices can aggravate hot flushes, but it’s unlikely that menopause symptoms (hot flushes, night sweats, mood swings) can be ‘cured’ through diet.
There is not enough evidence to suggest that foods high in phytoestrogens are beneficial.
Creatine is actually one of the most useful, underused tools for women in menopause and it’s far more than just a “gym supplement”.
Creatine helps your muscles:
Produce energy quickly (ATP)
Train harder and recover better
Maintain and build strength
But the benefits go beyond just workouts.
For menopause specifically, it can:
1. Help preserve muscle mass
Menopause accelerates:
Muscle loss (sarcopenia)
Strength decline
Creatine + resistance training:
Improves strength
Helps maintain lean mass
Supports metabolism
This is one of the biggest wins
2. Supports bone health (indirectly)
Stronger muscles = more load on bones
This helps maintain bone density
This is important because menopause increases the risk of osteopenia and osteoporosis.
3. May support brain function
Emerging research shows creatine may help with:
Cognitive function
Mental fatigue
Brain energy metabolism
This may be helpful for women who report “brain fog” and low mental energy
4. It can improve energy and training performance:
Better output in strength sessions
Helps maintain intensity
Reduces fatigue
This matters because better training results in better body composition and therefore better metabolic health.
5. Potential metabolic benefits:
Some evidence suggests creatine may improve glucose handling and result in better insulin sensitivity (especially alongside training).
However, the focus on diet in menopause should be firmly on eating well and eating variety to support your all-round health - especially heart and bone health.
Rather than focusing on one single food item or one single nutrient, prioritise eating as many rainbow colours at every meal.
The health industry is an industry… their goal is to make money and profit off things like menopause.
Your job is to separate the snake oil products from the solutions that actually work.
What About Balancing Hormones?
A hormonal imbalance is when you have too much or too little of a certain hormone. Things like PCOS, hypothyroidism and diabetes.
While your hormones are imbalanced during menopause, remember that menopause is a natural stage of your life as a woman.
Many nutritional supplements claim to restore hormonal balance but few of them have actually been scientifically proven.
Drinking a concoction of vegetables and fruits is not going to miraculously “balance” your menopause-related hormones.
However, losing weight can help you restore your insulin sensitivity, cortisol and estrogen if they’re out of whack due to being overweight.
Exercise can improve the sensitivity of hormone receptors.
You cannot prevent menopause, but you can manage it.
So what now?
All of this sounds like exactly what I promote here at Nourish with Toni, right?
That’s because it is.
Reach and maintain a healthy weight:
Safe, manageable weight loss needs a daily calorie deficit of approximately 500 kcal per day, along with regular exercise.
Move more - 3 x aerobic exercise and 2 x strength sessions to build muscle (>150 mins per week of exercise).
Aim for 7 000 - 10 000 steps per day.
Start with 2-3 small changes, and once you’ve implemented those, add more.
Limit sweets, treats and sugar-sweetened beverages.
Plan your snacks.
Structure your meals - eat slowly, at specific times, without distraction.
Limit alcohol - set limits each week.
We should ALWAYS be striving to live a healthy lifestyle no matter how old we are, but during this stage of your life, menopause, you have to be meticulous about what you put in your mouth, and diligent about the way you move your body.
Final Thoughts
If you’ve read this and and are thinking, “This makes sense… but I don’t know where to start,” you’re not alone.
Menopause is a big transition - physically, emotionally, and mentally - and you don’t have to navigate it by yourself.
If you’re ready for personalised support, I’d love to help you through this chapter.
Have a look through my coaching options so I can support you every step of the way.
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