For most women, menopause begins between the ages of 45 and 55, and it is defined by the lack of a menstrual cycle for 12 months. This is a time to take care of yourself by making healthy lifestyle choices. Food and nutrition play significant roles in the health and quality of life of menopausal women. Eating well and being physically active can make this midlife transition easier.

Menopausal symptoms vary with every person. Some go through menopause with no real symptoms. However, common symptoms include hot flashes, night sweats, weight gain – especially around the mid-section, sleep disturbances and mood changes. These symptoms result from changes in hormones, most significantly changes in estrogen and testosterone. Nutrition can play a strong role in preventing and managing changes in body composition.

Some other health concerns associated with menopause include osteoporosis and breast cancer, which are chronic diseases that are common to women. These conditions may occur throughout the lifespan and can affect both men and women. However, they predominantly affect menopausal women.

Dietary factors contributing to an increased risk of cancer are excess calorie intake, especially saturated fat intake, alcohol, and environmental chemicals consumed on or in foods, adult weight gain, and inadequate antioxidants and fibre.

Weight Gain with Menopause

Due to changes in hormone levels and the natural aging process, women in menopause typically lose muscle and gain fat mass, often in the belly area. Lifestyle is also a factor, and decreased physical activity is also common around this life stage. After menopause, weight gain may also increase the risk of certain health issues, like high cholesterol, high blood pressure and insulin resistance (a condition in which your body cannot use insulin correctly, which can lead to diabetes), as well as reduced self-esteem. 

What Can I Do?

Plan for your body’s natural metabolic slowdown. 

• Be physically active. Adults should do at least 30 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity most days of the week. Being active doesn’t have to mean a trip to the gym. You can be active doing daily activities. Take the stairs, park further away from your destination and walk, garden, swim, or dance. Aim for strength-building activities at least twice per week. Not only will strength training help build back your lost muscle mass, but it also helps to slow mineral loss in your bones which may lead to osteoporosis. Most importantly, being active should be fun. Pick activities you enjoy and get moving with friends and family.

• Eat well. Foods such as vegetables, fruits, whole grains, calcium-rich products and lean protein foods contain the nutrients you need and should make up the majority of your meals and snacks. If you choose to drink alcohol, limit yourself to one drink a day on the days that alcohol is consumed. If you suffer from hot flashes, try cutting back on caffeine and spicy foods, which could trigger hot flashes in some people. Be mindful of your sodium intake and aim to cook most of your meals at home rather than eating out.

• Drink plenty of water. Water keeps you hydrated and may help manage hot flashes. It also helps move dietary fibre through the body, which is especially important if you’re working on increasing your fruit and vegetable intake.

If the changes from menopause are affecting your mood or self-esteem, remember this is a temporary state. Healthy eating and physical activity habits you put in place during menopause can help you manage symptoms and return to feeling great.

If you are looking for support to help manage symptoms of menopause, seeing a Registered Dietitian may be beneficial. Dietitians can help you manage weight gain, loss of muscle tissue, sensory and gastrointestinal changes associated with aging (e.g- constipation, diverticulosis), and assess your nutrient intake to help correct micronutrient deficiencies associated with menopause.

You may have read on social media that you should be doing kegel exercises to help strengthen your pelvic floor. BUT, what is the pelvic floor? And more importantly, what are kegel exercises and should you be doing them? The answer is…it depends.

The pelvic floor is a sling of muscles located at the bottom of your pelvis that span from your pubic bone to your tailbone. These muscles have many different functions, including:

• Sphincter control – they control the opening and closing of the urethral and anal sphincters and thereby help start and stop the flow of urine, gas and poop.
• Support – they help support the pelvic organs (such as your bladder, rectum, +/- uterus).
• Sexual – they play a role in orgasms and can help increase pleasurable sensations.
• Sump pump – they help circulate lymphatic and venous fluid back towards the heart.
• Stability – the pelvic floor is one of the four main “core” muscles, which work together to help provide stability for our abdomen, low back, and pelvis.

The Kegel refers to a pelvic floor muscle contraction, which involves contracting (flexing) and relaxing the pelvic floor muscles. Often times, however, these are done incorrectly.

When someone does have a weak pelvic floor, they may run into issues such as stress incontinence, urge incontinence, frequency, prolapse, and/or low back pain. Strengthening can be an effective way to improve these symptoms. HOWEVER, if you have symptoms such as pain with intercourse, pain with urinating or emptying your bowels, incomplete emptying, urgency, and/or frequency, then strength focused pelvic floor exercises may NOT be appropriate to start. In both cases a person may be experiencing incontinence…however, the treatment approach would be different.

In the latter scenario (increased tension), treatment may first focus on reducing pain, tension, and tightness with a variety of exercises, education and manual therapy techniques. Once this is accomplished, it may then be suitable to start pelvic floor strengthening.

A pelvic floor physiotherapist can help you determine if you have a weak or tense pelvic floor, and they can create an INDIVIDUALIZED program to help you meet your goals.

During an initial assessment, your pelvic floor physiotherapist will go over your health history, symptoms, and goals. They will then complete an external exam (i.e. posture, low back, sacroiliac joint (SI joint), hips) and/or an internal vaginal and/or rectal exam. This will allow your physiotherapist to evaluate your pelvic floor strength, coordination, tone, areas of pain, and potential prolapse. Please note that an internal exam is only completed with the Client’s consent and it does NOT involve a speculum. While an internal exam can help provide lots of useful information about the pelvic floor, it is not necessary if you are uncomfortable with the procedure, or you are experiencing a lot of pain. You do not need a doctor’s referral to see a pelvic floor physiotherapist. If you are interested in optimizing your pelvic floor, you can book an initial pelvic floor physiotherapy appointment by calling the Lake Country Sun City location, or book now with our direct online booking.