Plant-Predominant Diets and Menopause
For all you wonderful women out there, a plant-centered diet has been shown to ease some of the primary symptoms of menopause, including hot flashes, night sweats, depression, constipation, weight gain, and loss of muscle mass. If you are struggling with menopausal symptoms, you might find relief through trying a plant-predominant diet, especially one which includes daily soy, a wide variety of whole plant foods, and an abundance of plant fiber.
If you are suffering, you are not alone. One in four women experiences menopause-related symptoms, sometimes lasting decades. Changing to a plant-predominant lifestyle may help. Research suggests that eating the majority of your calories from whole plant foods, such as is seen in a Mediterranean or plant-based eating style, may bring significant relief.
Hot Flashes and Night Sweats:
Dietary factors appear to influence hot-flashes, with regular soy consumption being protective in the frequency and severity of “peripheral vasodilation.”
A large study from Japan found that women living in Japan were significantly less likely to experience hot flashes than women living in Western Countries. Similar findings were also found in several other Asian countries where soy consumption is high. Equol, a nonseroidal compound which binds with estrogen receptors also appears to be at play. Reportedly, 50% to 60% of Asian adults produce equol, compared with only 20% to 30% of adults in Western countries, apparently due to dietary differences that influence gut bacterial populations. Some studies have found that individuals who follow a mostly plant-based diet produce equol more frequently than those eating a meat heavy and highly processed Western diet.
A 2021 intervention study looking at the impact of low-fat plant-based diets including half a cup of cooked edamame per day found, “reduced frequency and severity of hot flashes and improved quality of life in vasomotor, psychosocial, physical, and sexual domains in postmenopausal women. During the 12-week study period, the majority of intervention-group participants became free of moderate-to-severe hot flashes.” www.pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34260478/
In this WAVS trial—the Women’s Study for the Alleviation of Vasomotor Symptoms— the researchers found that “a plant-based diet rich in soy reduced moderate to severe hot flashes by 88% and helped women lose, on average, eight pounds in 12 weeks…We do not fully understand yet why this combination works but it seems that these three elements are key—avoiding animal products, reducing fat, and adding a serving of soybeans…Our results mirror the diets of places in the world, like pre-Westernized Japan and modern-day Yucatán Peninsula, where a low-fat, plant-based diet including soybeans is more prevalent and where postmenopausal women experience fewer symptoms.”www.pcrm.org/news/news-releases/new-study-confirms-link-between-plant-based-diet-rich-soy-and-reduced-menopause
Similar findings were reported in a 2013 cohort study of 6040 women with natural menopause. These researchers concluded that a Mediterranean style eating pattern decreased the risk of vasomotor symptoms of menopause. Whereas consumption of high fat, high sugar diet increased the risk of vasomotor symptoms, including hot flashes and night sweats. www.pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23553160/
Depression, Low Mood, and Cognition:
Menopause often brings unwanted mood and cognitive changes. Individuals who have never before experienced depressive symptoms can find themselves with low mood, apathy, brain fog, or even more severe depressive symptoms.
Luckily, plant-predominant diets, such as the Mediterranean Diet pattern, have been shown to be cognitively protective. There is a substantial body of evidence to suggest that a healthy plant-predominant dietary pattern is associated with cognitive health, mental clarity, improved memory, and reduced rates of depression.
A 2022 cross-sectional study of 3039 adults found that plant-predominant diets were associated with better executive function and improved memory. “Greater adherence to a dietary pattern consistent with a plant-based diet was related to better performance on all cognitive tasks.” www.pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32297555/
Not only do our brains seem to function best when fed a plant-predominant diet, but mood is also improved. An analysis of 9670 participants found that “adherence to a Mediterranean Dietary Pattern ensures an adequate intake of fruits, nuts, vegetables, cereals, legumes or fish, important sources of nutrients linked to depression prevention.” www.cambridge.org/core/journals/public-health-nutrition/article/mediterranean-diet-and-depression/67F265CA11470ADC1C9AD2838B7340B7
While there is a wealth of associational data suggesting that a plant-heavy diet is neuro-protective, only recently has there been a randomized controlled trial testing plant-centered diets and depression. The 2017 SMILES trial (Supporting the Modification of lifestyle in Lowered Emotional States) found that dietary changes directly impact depressive symptoms. This study used what it called a Modified Mediterranean diet, which was composed primarily of whole grains, legumes, fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, and olive oil, with limited servings of animal products and dairy. www.pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28137247/
“The results of the study, published in the international journal BMC Medicine, showed that participants in the dietary intervention group had a much greater reduction in their depressive symptoms over the three-month period, compared to those in the social support group. At the end of the trial, a third of those in the dietary support group met criteria for remission of major depression, compared to 8 percent of those in the social support group. These results were not explained by changes in physical activity or body weight, but were closely related to the extent of dietary change. In other words, those who improved their diet the most experienced the greatest benefit to their depression.” www.foodandmoodcentre.com.au/smiles-trial/
Muscle Mass, Weight Gain, and Bone Strength:
For many women, menopause also brings unwanted weight gain, especially around the abdomen, reduced muscle mass, and weakened bones. Menopause is also associated with increased prevalence of obesity, metabolic syndrome, cardiovascular disease, and osteoporosis.
The following findings were reported in a 2021 literature review of studies conducted on diet and menopause:
www.researchgate.net/publication/352692753_Nutrition_in_Menopausal_Women_A_Narrative_Review
”Plant-predominant eating patterns, such as “the Mediterranean Diet (MD) pattern, along with other healthy habits, may help the primary prevention of bone, metabolic, and cardiovascular diseases in the postmenopausal period. It consists on the use of healthy foods that have anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties, and is associated with a small but significant decrease in blood pressure, reduction of fat mass, and improvement in cholesterol levels.”
By reducing oxidative stress, inflammation, and insulin resistance, often regarded as risk factors for muscle loss, individuals following a plant-centered Mediterranean diet had less loss of muscle mass than those eating a more typical Western diet.
“The ‘myoprotective’ effect of the the MD could be linked to higher intake of plant-based foods because they combine nutrients that act together to preserve the muscles…we have also proposed a model for the potential benefits of MD on body composition in postmenopausalwomen. The presence of antioxidants like beta-carotene, as well as vitamins C and E protects from deleterious effects of oxidative stress, while magnesium improves energy metabolism, transmembrane transport, and skeletal function.”
”Data suggest that a MD pattern, combined with other healthy lifestyle habits, may be a useful non-pharmacological strategy for the primary prevention of osteoporosis and fractures in the postmenopausal period.”
If you are suffering from menopausal symptoms, I encourage you to consider a plant-predominant eating pattern as part of your treatment plan. Such a diet, whether you choose to call it plant-based or Mediterranean style, is one that relies heavily on whole grains, legumes, a wide array of colorful fruits and veggies, leafy greens, nuts and seeds, fermented foods, and Omega-3 fatty acids. Adding in a daily half-cup serving of soy daily also appears to be protective. As the vasomotor symptoms of menopause appear to be worsened by a high-fat, high-sugar diet, you might also consider limiting these foods. Not only will eating in a plant-predominant eating pattern likely reduce your menopausal symptoms, but it is the same dietary style that has been shown to be protective against cardiovascular disease, cancer, diabetes, and neurodegenerative disorders. You really can’t go wrong when you lean into a plant-filled lifestyle.
Wishing you an easy and symptom-free menopause journey!
🌱💕
Additional resources:
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7539339/
www.pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29704911/
www.pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35833240/
www.pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35906190/
www.pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32297555/