Can you eat to support your brain health without falling into the dumpster fire of diet culture? Yes! You can take a non-diet approach to brain health with intuitive eating and gentle nutrition. Let’s do it!

Create your meals and snacks with a balance of complex carbs, protein, and healthy fats. Choose from colorful fruits and vegetables, whole grains, lean proteins, nuts, and seeds. These powerhouses are packed with fiber, antioxidants, omega-3 fatty acids, and essential nutrients for brain health – especially during perimenopause and menopause. Let’s get into the details!

Eat your greens! Leafy greens like kale, collard greens, lettuces, spinach, cabbage, beet greens, bok choy, arugula, and endive along with cruciferous vegetables like broccoli cauliflower, mustard greens, and brussels sprouts have hormone-balancing effects, reduce the risk of breast cancer, and support a healthy brain and nervous system.

Women who eat greens consistently have less severe perimenopause symptoms like hot flashes, more energy, less brain fog, and maintain a healthy weight. 

Fruit has been given a bad wrap because of its sugar content. However, its benefits outweigh the risks when it comes to brain and overall health after 40. Many fruits like citrus, berries, and apples are good sources of vitamin C, an antioxidant that helps protect your body and brain from cellular damage caused by free radicals. Berries are especially beneficial to cognitive function due to their high flavonoid content. Aim to eat about 2 servings of fresh fruits per day. What about other carbs?

Social media has done a great job of convincing people that carbs are necessary evils. They aren’t. 

Not all carbs are created equal. Your brain needs carbs!

Complex carbs like whole grains, legumes, and sweet potatoes are rich in fiber. The fiber helps slow the digestion and absorption of the carbs (aka sugar) into your bloodstream giving a steady release of energy. Complex carbs, like whole grains, also feed the healthy bacteria in your gut which boosts your immune system, improves moods, and keeps your bowel movements running smoothly. Eating more complex carbs has been shown to reduce the risk of heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and depression, and improve sleep!

Protein is important for women over 40. But don’t obsess over it. 

Eating adequate protein helps build and repair muscles, keeps your bones strong, helps you feel satisfied with meals, and is a component of many hormones. Eating enough protein during the menopause transition can help boost your metabolism and maintain a healthy weight. 

How much protein do you need and what are the best sources?

Most women over 40 do well with 20-30 grams of protein per meal and 5-10 grams of protein per snack, as needed. To get your protein needs met without weighing and measuring food, try the main and supporting character methods. 

The main characters of protein are foods with a greater concentration of protein per serving size. Foods like lean meat, poultry, fish, eggs, tofu, tempeh, edamame, and hemp seeds are the main characters of protein. 

Supporting characters of protein are foods with a decent amount of protein but also have complex carbs and healthy fats. This dilutes the protein concentration. Supporting characters of protein include whole grain, beans, lentils, nuts and seeds, Greek-style yogurt, cottage cheese, and hard cheeses.

When you build a meal, aim for 1 main character of protein and 2-3 supporting characters of protein. This combination will ensure you meet your protein needs while boosting the variety of foods in your meal. Variety is essential for satisfaction and increasing nutrient intake.

Remember the fat-free 90s of Snackwell cookies and crackers? That food fad didn’t do any of us any favors. 

Your brain loves fats – but not all fats are created equal. Just like carbs, there are types of fats your brain and your body function better with. 

Monounsaturated fats like olive oil, avocados, cold water fish, shellfish, nuts, and seeds support heart health – especially during perimenopause and menopause when the protective effects of estrogen start to fluctuate. 

Polyunsaturated fats such as omega-3s (ALA, EPA, and DHA) are essential when it comes to brain health. They help reduce inflammation and decrease the risk of heart disease, diabetes, and dementia. Omega-3s can also help support mental health by reducing the risk of depression and anxiety. Foods rich in omega-3s include cold-water fish, hemp seeds, flaxseeds or flax oil, and walnuts. While fish is high in EPA and DHA, the best-absorbed omega-3s, plants are high in ALA, which converts to EPA and DHA when eaten consistently. Consistency is key!

If you need another reason to eat more plants, phytoestrogens can boost your overall health during perimenopause. 

While there is some debate on the efficacy of phytoestrogens in decreasing perimenopause and menopause symptoms, these plants are still worth including in your diet. 

The types of phytoestrogens found in common foods include isoflavones and lignans. 

Isoflavones are found in soybeans and related foods like tofu and tempeh, lima beans, chickpeas, and lentils. Lignans are found in seeds like flaxseed and sesame seeds, fruits like dried apricots, dates, winter squash, and green beans. Whole grains such as wheat and rye and nuts like pistachios and almonds also have lignans. Why should you eat phytoestrogens?

Phytoestrogens bind to beta-estrogen receptors in the body. Even though they don’t bind to receptors as strongly as the estrogen your body makes or hormone replacement therapy medication, phytoestrogens can help with temperature and mood regulation. What about estrogen-related cancers like breast cancer?

Current research shows phytoestrogens can have a protective effect against hormone-related cancers 

They can be both estrogenic and anti-estrogenic depending on how much estrogen is circulating in your bloodstream. If you have enough estrogen in circulation, the phytoestrogens block estrogen receptors. If you need more estrogen, the phytoestrogens bind to the beta-receptors. It’s a win-win!

Even if your body doesn’t have the genetic predisposition to use phytoestrogens (about 30-50% of white, European, people have the gene to convert phytoestrogens to the active form of estrogen), you’ll benefit from the fiber, complex carbs, protein, and healthy fats important for brain and overall health after 40.

How can you eat more brain-health foods without getting obsessive?

Remember to take the expansive or add-in approach when it comes to eating. This means that you should focus on adding more of these brain-healthy foods rather than worrying about what you shouldn’t be eating. 

This positive mindset will increase your creativity when it comes to answering the question, “What should I be eating to be healthy after 40?”

It’s never too late to prioritize brain health, and the benefits are long-lasting. Empower yourself with knowledge and healthy habits to ensure a vibrant brain at every stage of life. You’ve got this!

The information in this post is based on the book* The Menopause Brain by Dr. Lisa Mosconi, PhD

Additional recommendations for brain-healthy eating can be found in The Brain Health Kitchen by Dr. Annie Fenn, MD