Sick of night sweats and constant mood swings? Managing menopause isn’t easy, so we’ve put together some clever, natural remedies to stop your menopause symptoms from spiralling out of control
Hot flushes, mood swings, insomnia, weight gain, weak bones, bloating, brain fog, vaginal dryness, low libido, depression — the list goes on. It’s safe to say menopause is far from fun.
While some lucky women sail through menopause without so much as a single night sweat, many women suffer from all of the above (and more). Luckily, there are some amazing natural remedies and simple lifestyle changes you can try to help make menopause that much more manageable.
Here are 8 natural remedies to help manage your menopause symptoms the natural way...
Eat foods rich in vitamin C and D
When women enter into menopause, their bodies experience a number of hormonal changes. One of them is osteoporosis, the weakening of bones. This makes you more at risk of fractures and breaks. But the good news is you can strengthen bones by eating eating foods rich in calcium and vitamin D.
Calcium-rich foods include dairy products like milk, cheese and yoghurt, and green, leafy vegetables including kale and spinach, tofu beans and oily fish.
The easiest way to boost your vitamin D is to get outdoors and soak up the natural sunlight. But you can also take supplements and eat vitamin D-rich foods like eggs, oily fish, mushrooms and cod liver oil, or fortified foods like milk, soy milk, orange juice, cereals and oatmeal.
Avoid trigger foods
Keep away from caffeine and alcohol as these will keep you up at night. They’ve also been linked to trigger hot flushes, too. Sorry girls, looks like you’ll have to keep those glasses of Chardonnay to a minimum this summer!
Be wary of spicy foods too. Some women have reported that spicy foods increase hot flushes and also trigger mood swings. Keep a food diary to see which foods you react to, then you’ll have an understanding of the foods you should avoid.
Exercise frequently
Try yoga and meditation to help decrease stress and anxiety. Exercising of any form, will also help you sleep better at night, as well as improve your overall health. Even more reason to dust off those yoga tights.
Eat foods high in Phytoestrogens
Phytoestrogens are compounds that naturally occur in plants. They mimic the effects of oestrogen in the body, so are recommended to menopausal women to help balance out their hormones. Eating foods like soybeans and soy products, tofu, tempeh, flaxseeds, linseeds, sesame seeds and beans will increase your oestrogen levels and (hopefully) keep your hormones from spiralling out of control.
Drink cold drinks
Menopausal women often experience dryness in their mouth as a result of the change in oestrogen levels. Drink lots of cold water (8-10 glasses per day if you can) to help reduce symptoms and keep hydrated. The cold water will also help to cool you down when those uncomfortable hot flushes take over.
Drinking lots of water also helps to reduce bloating and prevent weight gain — upping your water intake will make you feel fuller for longer, so you’ll eat less and lose a few pounds.
Don’t skip meals
This will hinder weight loss efforts and could make your menopause symptoms worse. Instead, eat healthily and regularly. If you’re worried about gaining weight, try a protein diet — not only will you lose weight, eating lots of protein also prevents the loss of lean muscle mass that occurs with age. It’s also been found to help regulate mood and sleep too. Foods rich in protein include meat, fish, eggs, legumes, nuts and dairy.
Take natural supplements
Try Blackmores Vitex Agnus-Castus Pre-Menstrual Support to help balance out your hormones. They can also help to relieve anxiety and mood swings, breast tenderness and fluid retention, which are all common symptoms during menopause.
Try acupuncture
One of the most impressive things about acupuncture is that it has the capacity to calm an overactive, anxious state, and bring about a feeling of complete calm and equilibrium. It’s frequently used as an aid to treat stress, anxiety and insomnia — all common side effects of menopause — but a 2019 Danish study also recently found that acupuncture helped to reduce hot flushes and night sweats, too.
Loved our guide to menopause? We've got plenty more women's health advice on our Health & Wellness Edit, guaranteed to give your body a well-deserved boost. Suffer with dry skin? Here's how to give your skin a hit of hydration, plus, if you have any burning vagina questions, we've got you covered.
