5 Reasons Mediterranean Diet Is Best For Menopause

Popular Mediterranean Diet and Menopause 5 Benefits

5 Reasons Mediterranean Diet Is Best For Menopause

A drop in estrogen during menopause can lead to an increased risk in a woman’s heart health and brain health.
The Popular Mediterranean Diet benefits menopausal women in both of these issues.
It can also lead to fewer hot flushes and night sweats in perimenopausal women and lower the chance of developing Type 2 diabetes.
You might think that a Mediterranean diet means lots of pizza and pasta but it doesn’t.

What's in the Mediterranean diet?

The actual diet can vary across the region but the core elements are the same and include plenty of:

Fruit
Vegetables
White fish and oily fish such as sardines and salmon
Whole grain cereals such as whole-meal bread
Brown rice
Beans and pulses such as chickpeas and lentils
Unsalted nuts and seeds
Small amounts of lean meat
Low-fat dairy
Olive oil
Fresh herbs
Onions and garlic
Wine in moderation

Mediterranean diet lifestyle habits are also part of its success:

Eating slowly
Eating with others
Leading a less stressful way of life
Doing regular physical activity

Studies have found that Mediterranean communities who eat and live this way have a lower risk of heart and circulatory disease.

5 Reasons Mediterranean Diet Is Best For Menopause

The health benefits of the Mediterranean diet are not linked to a single food, instead, they are a result of following the diet as a whole.

Rich in unsaturated fats such as olive oil.
Nuts and oily fish also contain unsaturated fats.
Switching from a diet that is higher in saturated fat to unsaturated fats like the Mediterranean diet, can help lower your cholesterol levels over time, reducing your risk of heart attack and stroke.

The focus on fresh unprocessed foods can also help to cut back on salt.
Research shows that eating too much salt can cause high blood pressure.

A diet rich in fiber is also shared with lower levels of heart disease.
The soluble fiber found in pulses, beans, fruits, and vegetables is beneficial to lowering your cholesterol levels.
Studies show that following a Mediterranean diet can also help people maintain a healthy weight.

The Mediterranean diet is an eating plan modeled after the traditional eating patterns of countries bordering the Mediterranean Sea including France, Italy, Greece, and Spain.
Of course, the Mediterranean diet varies from country to country but in general, it’s a diet rich in fruits and vegetables, legumes, whole grains, fish, and healthy fats such as nuts and olive oil.

It encourages daily exercise
This is one of only a few diets that actively encourages physical exercise as part of the diet plan as well as sharing meals with others and enjoying the overall experience.

Allows for a glass of red wine in the evening.
Processed foods and refined carbs are off-limits
Red meat and dairy products are allowed in moderation.

The health benefits of the Mediterranean diet were discovered in the 1950s by American scientist Ancel Keys of the University of Minnesota, who was the first one to point out a correlation between cardiovascular disease and food intake.
He noticed the poor citizens of small towns in southern Italy were much healthier than the wealthy citizens of New York.

Pros of the Mediterranean diet

This diet is super healthy
It is beneficial for heart health and diabetes and lowers cholesterol and triglycerides and blood pressure.

The Mediterranean diet is sustainable
This diet allows for plenty of variety of experimentation.
Fiber and healthy fats are very filling so hunger is not a big problem.
It is an enjoyable eating plan that’s easy to follow.

This eating plan is flexible
This diet doesn’t ban entire food groups.
It is flexible and flavorful.
There are hundreds of recipes.
This wide variety makes it easy to follow in social situations and while eating out in restaurants

Other benefits of the Mediterranean diet:

Promotes heart health
Better diabetes prevention and management
Mental health benefits
Reduced inflammatory markers
Cancer prevention

Cons of the Mediterranean diet

It can be time-consuming
Shopping for Mediterranean diet foods and preparing meals is going to take more time than microwaving processed foods or grabbing fast food. This will take some adjustment, but this is true of any diet that discourages processed foods and encourages fresh healthy foods.
The good news is, there are tips and tricks to get more done in less time.

The restrictions can feel challenging at times
The only foods that are off-limits are processed foods and sugar and refined carbs.
Red meat and dairy products are limited but not eliminated completely.
These restrictions may feel challenging if you’re giving up processed foods and sugar for the first time but not impossible to overcome.

The Mediterranean diet may be too low in protein
For some people, if their goal is to build muscle then eating fish a few times a week, will not maximize muscle building.

Loss of calcium and iron
Fewer dairy products mean less calcium intake.
Consider taking a calcium supplement as compensation.
You might also have lower levels of iron.
Be sure to include foods rich in iron and vitamin C, which is needed for iron absorption.