Constipation, gas, heartburn, random diarrhea – what is your digestion telling you? Digestion during menopause can be a challenge. Here’s what you need to know.
Digestion is a taboo subject for most women – unless it relates to the latest influencer detox program.
Ironically, it’s ok to talk about pooping caused by expensive cleanse supplements and retreats if it relates to weight loss and looking younger. But we don’t talk about the impact of hormones or nutrition on digestion enough.
Just like food, digestion doesn’t have to be complicated in midlife
Think about the last time you had a regular menstrual cycle. You were probably a little (or a lot) constipated, bloated, and gassy about a week before your period, only to have the “period poops” once you started to bleed. Normal right?
But what happens when your hormones (estrogen and progesterone) aren’t cycling in a predictable pattern anymore?
In the menopause transition, you might have digestive issues during ovulation instead of right before bleeding. You might have digestive distress during the middle and end of your cycle or for weeks at a time, the longer your cycles get.
The discomfort of bowel movement irregularity, heartburn, or bloating can easily make us point to food as the problem – especially if you stress about perimenopause weight gain. But blaming food (and restricting foods) is like pouring gasoline on a smoldering negative body image dumpster fire.
Here’s what you need to know to have better digestion during menopause
Don’t do this! Cutting calories, eliminating or reducing carbs, intermittent fasting, drinking chia seeds in water, or any other digestive recommendation from social media influencers will make your symptoms worse. Here’s why.
Use it or lose it. When you restrict calories or complex carbs, the muscles in your digestive tract have less food to contract against. This causes the digested food to move more slowly through the pipeline from your mouth to your anus (bum hole). Not drinking enough water? The problem gets worse.
If you’re afraid of weight gain related to eating carbs and you take a fiber supplement instead, you’ll likely have more gas, bloating, and constipation. To understand why, you need to understand fiber.
Fiber 101: What is it, where’s it found, and how much do you need?
Fiber is found in all plants. It’s the undigestible part of complex carbs like fruits, vegetables, whole grains, beans and legumes, and nuts and seeds. There are 2 types of fiber: insoluble and soluble.
Insoluble fiber doesn’t dissolve in water, but acts like a scrub brush to clean out all the folds in your small and large intestines.
Soluble fiber dissolves in water (think chia seeds becoming gel-like in chia seed pudding). It acts like a sponge, bringing water into the digestive tract. Soluble fiber soaks up extra blood sugar and cholesterol in the digestive system so they don’t get absorbed into your bloodstream.
When you go low-carb, you lose weight quickly in the first couple of weeks. You lose water weight because you’re not eating enough fiber to draw water into your digestive tract.
Good sources of fiber include: whole grains, oats, beans and lentils, lettuce, dark leafy greens, broccoli, okra, cauliflower, sweet potatoes, carrots, pumpkin, potatoes, corn, snap beans, asparagus, cabbage, whole wheat pasta and bread, nuts, dried fruit, pears, oranges, bananas, berries, mangoes, and apples.
Countless studies show that increasing your fiber intake lowers the risk of heart disease, metabolic syndrome, and cancer, and improves your digestion during menopause.
Foods high in fiber can also make you feel full and satisfied longer between meals and snacks. This is why eating complex carbs consistently can reduce reactive eating (aka 3 pm snack attacks) when you get too hungry. Reduce reactive eating, and you reduce the potential for more unwanted weight gain, independent of hormone-related weight gain of perimenopause and menopause.
How much fiber do you need to improve digestion during menopause?
The recommended daily intake of fiber is 25 grams for adults. This breaks down to about 7 grams per meal and a fiber-rich snack like an apple and nut butter.
Should you take a fiber supplement?
You don’t need to. You’ll get more overall nutrition by eating a variety of complex carbs like whole grains, beans and lentils, nuts and seeds, and fruits and vegetables. Skip the cost of the fiber supplement and buy more real food! Your digestive tract will thank you.
Do probiotics and prebiotics help improve digestion in menopause?
Probiotics are beneficial bacteria that work with the healthy bacteria already in your digestive tract, mainly in your colon. Foods like yogurt and cottage cheese with live cultures help the bacteria in your gut (your gut microbiome) flourish. If you and dairy aren’t friends, fermented vegetables like sauerkraut, kimchi, or beverages like Kombucha can help support a healthy gut microbiome.
Prebiotics are the food that probiotics like to eat. They’re a specific type of fiber called fructooligosaccharides or FOS found in onions, garlic, chicory root, bananas, dandelion root, and Jerusalem artichokes in higher quantities.
Should you take a probiotic or prebiotic supplement?
Lead with food first when possible. If you take a round of antibiotics and want to re-fortify your gut bacteria, or you’re traveling abroad, taking a probiotic supplement with a variety of bacterial strains may help ease digestive distress.
If you struggle with chronic constipation related to perimenopause and menopause, a probiotic supplement may help. But, only you’re also eating adequate complex carbs consistently in your daily meals and snacks.
Remember, you can improve your digestion during menopause without obsessing over everything you eat. Keep food easy. Work up to including about 25 grams of fiber per day from whole foods like fruits and vegetables, whole grains, beans and lentils, and nuts and seeds.
Click here or sign up below for easy, delicious recipes!
