7 Foods to Avoid During Menopause
Most women begin menopause at some point between the ages of 45 and 55. During the transition, which can take up to 14 years, women experience a variety of symptoms, like vaginal dryness, hot flashes, and mood changes. Some symptoms are minor annoyances, while others are incredibly uncomfortable and potentially concerning. While some symptoms are hard to avoid, a woman’s diet can impact the severity of symptoms. If you want to reduce this severity, there are several foods to avoid during menopause.
A 2019 study evaluated the association between dietary patterns and menopausal symptoms. Researchers studied 400 women using detailed surveys about their diets and symptoms. The results show that there are some diets that are associated with worse menopause symptoms. We can’t say whether these diets necessarily cause the worsening of symptoms, only that there is an association. But this information may be a useful starting point if you are having menopause symptoms and you’re willing to try changing your diet to see how it helps.
Mayonnaise and Vegetable Oils
The study found that mayonnaise and vegetable oils were associated with worse general menopause symptoms, and genitourinary symptoms specifically. These symptoms include things like decreased sexual desire and satisfaction, urinary problems, and vaginal dryness and burning. If you’re having any of these symptoms, you may want to try eating less mayonnaise and vegetable oils. You can try healthier alternatives to mayonnaise, like mustard, pesto, or greek yogurt. Instead of frying your foods in vegetable oil, try cooking techniques like baking or broiling.
Sweets and Desserts
The study also found worse menopause symptoms in those women who ate more sweets and desserts like biscuits, cakes, cookies, confections, and pastries. Their menopause symptoms were worse overall, and specifically they had worse genitourinary symptoms (reduced sexual desire and satisfaction, urinary problems, and vaginal dryness and burning). If you’re having any of these symptoms, you may want to try eating fewer sweets and desserts. You can try healthier alternatives, like a piece of fruit or a cup of yogurt. You can also try keeping sweets out of the house to help reduce your cravings.
Butter and Margarine
The study found that people who ate more solid fats, like margarine and butter, had worse menopause symptoms. Their menopause symptoms were worse overall, but they had specifically worse physical and mental symptoms. Their physical symptoms of menopause included things like hot flashes, night sweats, heart problems, sleep disorders, and muscle and joint pains. And their mental symptoms of menopause included things like depression, nervousness, anxiety, poor memory, and lack of concentration. If you’re having any of these symptoms, you might try eating less butter and margarine. Some healthy alternatives that you can try include avocado on your toast, applesauce in your baking recipes, and olive oil for cooking.
Snack Foods
The results from the study also indicated that people who ate more snacks, like potato chips, corn puffs, crackers, and popcorn, had worse menopause symptoms. Their symptoms were worse overall. Specifically, they had worse physical menopause symptoms (hot flashes, night sweats, heart problems, sleep disorders, and muscle and joint pains) and mental menopause symptoms (depression, nervousness, anxiety, poor memory, and lack of concentration).
If you experience any of these symptoms, it might be worth trying some changes in your diet. You can eat fewer of these unhealthy snack foods and instead try some healthier alternatives like an apple, some carrot sticks, or a handful of nuts. You can also try having a glass of water when you crave a snack between meals, since we can often feel hungry when we’re dehydrated.
Next Steps
In order to reduce your menopausal symptoms, consider eating fewer of the foods mentioned above. The good news is that eating more vegetables and fruits was associated with fewer symptoms of menopause, including general symptoms, physical symptoms, and mental symptoms. If you are going through menopause, try to eat a diet that is rich in vegetables and fruit. This includes vegetables like spinach, lettuce, celery, carrots, squash, peppers, tomatoes, mushrooms, and green peas. It also includes fruits like watermelon, apples, apricots, peaches, pears, kiwis, pomegranates, grapes, strawberries, and bananas. If you have more questions about how to optimize your diet or control your menopause symptoms, speak with your doctor or a registered dietitian.
Medical content reviewed by Brittany Stopa, MPH
Further Reading
- Peacock K, Ketvertis KM. Menopause. [Updated 2022 Aug 11]. In: StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2022 Jan-. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK507826/
- NIH National Institute on Aging. “What is menopause?” Last reviewed 30 Sep 2021. https://www.nia.nih.gov/health/what-menopause
- Mayo Clinic. “Menopause.” Published 17 Dec 2022. https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/menopause/symptoms-causes/syc-20353397
- Soleymani, Mahshid; Siassi, Fereydoun; Qorbani, Mostafa; Khosravi, Shahla; Aslany, Zahra; Abshirini, Maryam; Zolfaghari, Ghazal; Sotoudeh, Gity (2018). Dietary patterns and their association with menopausal symptoms. Menopause, (), 1–. doi:10.1097/gme.0000000000001245
