Boosting your metabolism during the menopause: Tips for your diet

During the menopause, women experience a major change in their hormone balance. This has many effects – including on the metabolism. This often slows down as a result of the hormonal changes, meaning that affected women often put on weight. Tips for boosting the metabolism during the menopause are therefore very welcome for many. But how can you effectively prevent your metabolism from slowing down?

Understanding metabolism: Basic requirements

In order to effectively boost your metabolism during the menopause, you should first familiarise yourself with the metabolism itself and how it works . It is regarded as a kind of motor of the body, as it performs a variety of tasks. It is responsible for supplying every single cell in the body with various nutrients. It is also responsible for removing waste products and toxins from the body.

A distinction is made between the following types of metabolism:

• Fat metabolism: It breaks down fats and makes them available to the body in the form of energy. They are also required for the formation of messenger substances such as hormones.

• Protein metabolism: In this process, proteins are broken down into amino acids and sent to the cells. This builds up enzymes, muscles and hormones. Protein also serves as a source of energy.

• Carbohydrate metabolism: As the name suggests, carbohydrates are broken down here. Glucose is formed.

As can already be seen, the hormones are closely linked to the metabolism. It is therefore not surprising that changes in the hormone balance also lead to changes in the metabolism. In fact, hormones have a major influence on how well the metabolism functions.

Menopausal women therefore often struggle with a metabolism that is too slow. Despite an unchanged diet, they suddenly put on weight. This also has to do with calorie requirements. Young women need around 2,000 calories a day. Women over 50, on the other hand, only need 1,600 to 1,700 calories. Of course, these are only guidelines. Individual calorie requirements depend on various factors.

Women going through the menopause do not gain weight evenly across the body. The unwanted excess pounds accumulate on the stomach in particular. But there are other consequences that can be attributed to a slower metabolism: Headaches, listlessness and tiredness. This is why many women ask themselves: How can I boost my metabolism during my menopause and do something good for my body?

Stimulating the metabolism during the menopause – what really helps?

The menopause is accompanied by a number of changes. It is important for many women to accept the change in their situation. However, you don’t have to accept everything that suddenly comes with the menopause. Metabolism, for example, can also be boosted effectively during the menopause with a few tips.

The right diet

If you want to stimulate your metabolism during the menopause, for example to lose weight or prevent weight gain, you don’t necessarily have to go on a diet. Rather, it is a healthy and balanced diet that helps to boost the metabolism and avoid many negative consequences.

It is essential to banish empty calories from your diet. These include sugary drinks, high-fat foods and sweets. Ready meals and fast food should be avoided in particular. What the body does need, however, are so-called micronutrients, which include vitamins and minerals .

A healthy and balanced diet therefore includes fruit and vegetables, wholemeal products, proteins and high-quality vegetable oils. Furthermore, menopausal women who want to boost their metabolism should pay attention to the nutrients they consume.

Incidentally, menopausal women should avoid carbohydrates and focus more on fibre. Some also follow the intermittent fasting approach, which means taking longer breaks between meals.

Nutrients that get the metabolism going

Vitamin B6 is an important vitamin that is found in pulses, vegetables and wholegrain products, among other things. It supports healthy fat metabolism and is considered the most important coenzyme in amino acid metabolism. Together with other B vitamins, it regulates a number of processes in the body. This is why vitamins B2, B3 (niacin), B5 (pantothenic acid), B7 (biotin) and B12 are also considered indispensable.

Vitamin C is a vitamin that not only strengthens the immune system. It also performs numerous metabolic tasks, making it a good choice. The iron balance is also regulated by the vitamin, which is found in citrus fruits, peppers and broccoli.

Red berries such as raspberries are very popular for naturally boosting the metabolism during the menopause. They are full of B vitamins and vitamin C. They also provide iron, calcium and magnesium, boosting your health in many ways.

Another nutrient that is helpful for the metabolism is zinc. The trace element promotes fat metabolism in particular. It is contained in oatmeal or nuts, for example.

Of course, vitamins can also be taken in the form of food supplements. However, it should be noted that they should support a varied diet and not replace it. It is also important to take the highest quality supplements possible. Quality is crucial when it comes to the health of the body. At Kingnature, menopausal women can find a large selection of different dietary supplements. If you are unsure about what to take, you should consult your doctor beforehand.

Stimulate metabolism with sport

If you challenge your body, you burn more calories. This does not mean that menopausal women suddenly become high-performance athletes. Rather, it is about establishing a healthy amount of exercise in your everyday life. In fact, there are many ways to get enough healthy exercise.

The metabolism can be stimulated during the menopause, for example, with a leisurely walk in the fresh air. This increases fat burning. However, this not only helps to burn calories, but also has many other positive effects on your health.

Another option is to walk or cycle more often and leave the car at home. It also doesn’t hurt to choose a sport that you enjoy. Muscle training in the gym, jogging, yoga or Pilates are proving to be particularly effective and popular.

Muscles in particular are very important when it comes to keeping the metabolism going in the long term. This is because muscle mass is not as sluggish as fat deposits. It increases the body’s basal metabolic rate, which means that it consumes more calories even when at rest.

Hormone therapy – stimulating the metabolism during the menopause with tablets

As a slow metabolism during the menopause is usually the result of hormonal changes, hormone replacement therapy is available. This involves giving affected women special tablets to compensate for these changes.

It is important to consult a doctor before taking them. Such medication is often only prescribed for severe symptoms. The risk of side effects is also not to be sneezed at. Affected women should therefore carefully consider whether they need hormone therapy.

Sufficient sleep

The human body can only be really healthy if it gets enough sleep. A lack of sleep not only increases the risk of various illnesses, but often also slows down the metabolism.

This is because the body goes into stress mode due to a lack of sleep. As a result, it wants to retain its calories and slows down metabolic processes. To counteract this, only sufficient and healthy sleep will help.

Conclusion

It is completely natural for the metabolism to slow down during the menopause. However, the consequences of this can be quite unpleasant. There are ways and means of revitalising the metabolism during the menopause. First and foremost is a healthy diet. But an active lifestyle also plays an essential role for women going through the menopause.