Latest / Joyful Menopause / Episode 16: Is There an Anxiety and Menopause Diet? Here’s What the Science Says

Transcript

Episode 16: Is There an Anxiety and Menopause Diet? Here’s What the Science Says · Joyful Menopause

• 0:00
  If you're a woman in your forties or fifties who's suddenly dealing with anxiety, mood swings, or that constant feeling of an unease and your doctor just handed you a prescription, you're not alone and you're not crazy.
• 0:12
  This episode is all about what's really going on in your body and how nutrition can help calm the chaos.
• 0:18
  So let's get started.
• 0:19
  Menopause doesn't have to feel like you are living in someone else's body.
• 0:23
  Your host, Lynda Enright, has spent the last 25 years helping women to thrive in midlife.
• 0:28
  Here you'll find science-based practical advice that you can start using today to get real results for your health.
• 0:34
  Welcome to Joyful Menopause.
• 0:35
  Us.
• 0:38
  Hello and welcome to the Joyful Menopause Podcast.
• 0:42
  If you've ever felt anxious and wondered if your diet might be playing a role, if or if you're already taking medications and you wanna know how nutrition can help to support your mental health, then this episode is for you.
• 0:53
  Today we are diving into the powerful connection between nutrition and anxiety.
• 0:58
  We'll explore how the food we eat can directly influence your mood, stress levels, and overall mental wellbeing.
• 1:07
  And if you're in perimenopause or menopause, you're not imagining things.
• 1:11
  This phase of life can bring a sharp rise in anxiety, even for women who've never struggled with it before.
• 1:18
  Today we're going to talk about why and what you can do about it with food and lifestyle strategies that truly support your brain and body.
• 1:26
  So let's jump in.
• 1:28
  So anxiety first of all, is incredibly common and rates are going up.
• 1:33
  Statistics show that anxiety disorders affect about one in five people in the US and women are two times as likely as men to be affected.
• 1:42
  But here's something that most people don't talk about.
• 1:45
  Rates of anxiety increase significantly during perimenopause and menopause.
• 1:50
  Some studies estimate as much as 60% of women in midlife report new or worsening anxiety symptoms, often alongside mood swings, sleep problems, and brain fog.
• 2:01
  So this isn't just a coincidence.
• 2:03
  There are actually real biological and lifestyle reasons behind it.
• 2:07
  So let me give you a few different explanations and see what might resonate with you.
• 2:12
  First of all, there are fluctuating estrogen and progesterone levels, and these affect our neurotransmitters like serotonin and GABA, which play a big role in feeling calm, clear, and emotionally just steady.
• 2:26
  Second of all, sleep disruptions, hot flashes, night sweats.
• 2:30
  These can leave you feeling exhausted, which I know for me can make me much more emotional, and I hear that from my clients too.
• 2:38
  And third, let's not forget, the real life pressures of this phase could be aging parents, career stress, parenting teens, or launching kids, and just navigating changes at this time in life in relationships, health are all kinds of different areas.
• 2:54
  So it can actually be a really perfect storm situation for rising anxiety.
• 3:00
  But here's what I want you to know, which hopefully helps you feel empowered.
• 3:04
  How you nourish yourself really matters right now.
• 3:07
  You don't need to muscle through it or just wait it out.
• 3:10
  So let's talk about how nutrition and lifestyle habits can support your mood and help you feel more grounded.
• 3:17
  So today we're talking about anxiety during perimenopause and menopause and how your nutrition can really help.
• 3:23
  But first I want to talk about some of the frustrations around this because I believe that women are not being heard in our medical system.
• 3:30
  Um, if you've gone to your doctor about anxiety, mood swings, or even just sort of feeling off, there's a good chance you were offered a prescription maybe for an antidepressant or an anti-anxiety medication, or even sleeping pills.
• 3:42
  And of course these can be appropriate tools for some women.
• 3:45
  What's often missing though from the conversation is why you're feeling this way in the first place.
• 3:50
  So here's what I believe to be true is that many women in perimenopause and menopause are being misdiagnosed or just dismissed.
• 3:58
  Instead of looking at hormonal fluctuations, nutrient deficiencies, gut health, or the chronic stressors that women are juggling, the focus often jumps straight to a mental health label and medication.
• 4:10
  You're not broken, you're not crazy.
• 4:11
  You're going through a major physiological shift and it deserves more than a 10 minute appointment and a prescription pad.
• 4:19
  Low estrogen and progesterone can impact serotonin, dopamine, and GABA, all of which influence your mood and resilience.
• 4:26
  Nutrient deficiencies, like low levels of magnesium, B vitamins, and omega threes can mimic or amplify anxiety symptoms and unbalanced blood sugar, which is very common in women over 40 can make anxiety worse.
• 4:40
  So many of the women I work with have said, I wish someone had told me this years ago.
• 4:45
  That's why this episode matters, because nutrition and lifestyle changes may not be the only answer, but they're often overlooked answers and they can make a profound difference.
• 4:55
  So now let's take a look at how this actually works.
• 4:58
  We're gonna start with your gut.
• 5:00
  When we're talking about anxiety, two key brain chemicals often come up.
• 5:04
  Mentioned them already.
• 5:05
  Serotonin and gaba.
• 5:07
  Serotonin helps to regulate mood and GABA helps to calm your nervous system and ease the tension that so many women describe to me.
• 5:14
  Supplements can be helpful, but you can do a lot with the food that you eat.
• 5:18
  So let's take a look at how food can naturally support these neurotransmitters.
• 5:23
  Fermented foods like yogurt kefir for sauerkraut.
• 5:26
  Kimchi provide probiotics that support a healthy gut and a healthy gut supports better brain chemistry.
• 5:34
  Foods that are rich in prebiotics, onions, garlics, leaks, oats.
• 5:38
  They help feed the good bacteria in your gut.
• 5:41
  And then leafy greens, nuts, seeds, wild salmon, avocados.
• 5:45
  These offer healthy fats, magnesium, and B vitamins that help regulate mood and reduce stress.
• 5:52
  At the same time, reducing sugar, ultra processed foods and excess caffeine can really help too.
• 5:58
  These can spike stress hormones, crash your blood sugar, and leave you feeling jittery and irritable.
• 6:04
  So it's not about restriction, it's about creating a foundation of nourishment that helps your brain to function at its best.
• 6:12
  Beyond food, daily habits can make a real difference too.
• 6:16
  Laughter, for example, is more than just fun.
• 6:18
  It's actually biochemistry.
• 6:21
  It triggers the release of endorphins.
• 6:23
  Your body's feel good chemicals, and whether it's laughing with a friend, watching your favorite comedy, this simple act helps reduce stress and improve mood.
• 6:32
  There's other really powerful lifestyle tools that you can use too.
• 6:36
  Move your body.
• 6:37
  Even a short walk boosts GABA and reduces anxiety and deep breathing or mindfulness practices.
• 6:44
  They can go a really long way to calm your nervous system too.
• 6:47
  And then third, spending time in nature that can actually lower cortisol your stress hormone, and promote relaxation.
• 6:55
  So going for a walk while breathing in nature triple benefit to helping to reduce your anxiety.
• 7:03
  These habits, they don't have to be time consuming.
• 7:05
  They don't have to be complicated.
• 7:07
  Think of them as just sort of mini doses of nervous system nourishment.
• 7:13
  If you're currently taking medications like SSRIs or anti-anxiety meds, nutrition can still play a really valuable role.
• 7:21
  So while you always want to check with your healthcare provider before making any major changes, food-based strategies are generally safe and supportive.
• 7:29
  A nourishing diet will help to reduce the intensity of your symptoms.
• 7:33
  Support better sleep.
• 7:35
  They can help stabilize your blood sugar, and may make your treatment more effective overall.
• 7:40
  And if you're considering tapering off medications in the future, a strong foundation of nourishment, gut health, lifestyle support can help to make that process smoother.
• 7:50
  But again, it should always be done in collaboration with your provider.
• 7:54
  There is no shame in taking medications, but nutrition can just be a powerful companion on your mental health journey.
• 8:02
  So in my Joyful Menopause coaching program, we start with building a strong foundation with these practical strategies.
• 8:08
  And the first thing we actually do is we do micronutrient testing to see where are you lacking, where are some deficiencies?
• 8:15
  How do we create a plan that's very specific for you?
• 8:18
  And then the first thing that we do in starting to make some changes is we start by prioritizing your gut health.
• 8:24
  Gut health helps your overall health in so many ways, your mental health, reducing anxiety, those can be two really big important things, which is what we're talking about today.
• 8:34
  I.
• 8:34
  Prioritizing your gut health by choosing fermented foods and fiber rich vegetables.
• 8:39
  The next thing we work on is regulating blood sugar by reducing or eliminating added sugars, ultra processed foods and excess caffeine, and for some women, using a continuous glucose monitor can be really a helpful tool to fine tune how your body personally is responding to sugar.
• 8:56
  Then next we want to optimize your diet again.
• 8:59
  When we get the information from the nutrient testing, we can figure out how to fill your diet with calming nutrients, leafy greens, nuts and seeds.
• 9:07
  Avocados and fatty fish can be some great choices.
• 9:10
  Nutrition is key, but there are other things you can build into your life too.
• 9:14
  So again, think about lifestyle choices like laughter, movement, and nature, and optimize your sleep.
• 9:21
  Remember, consistency is key.
• 9:24
  You do not have to make huge changes to your diet and lifestyle today, but when you can take small steps over time, they absolutely add up.
• 9:33
  Before we wrap up, I wanna share a story that I think many of you will see yourselves in.
• 9:38
  Nancy is a client that came to me because she was feeling anxious.
• 9:41
  She actually came to me because she was frustrated with the abdominal weight gain that seemed to appear overnight when she hit 45.
• 9:49
  Like many women in midlife, she was doing all the right things, but nothing was working.
• 9:53
  She'd done all the diets out there.
• 9:55
  She knew it all, but literally nothing could change.
• 10:00
  As we talked more, it became clear to me that weight gain wasn't the only thing that was really bothering her.
• 10:05
  She was also struggling with intense anxiety, something she hadn't experienced before.
• 10:10
  It was really starting to disrupt her work, her relationships, and her ability to just feel like herself, to feel at ease in her own body.
• 10:19
  She had no idea that nutrition could be part of the solution.
• 10:22
  So together we simplified her diet.
• 10:24
  Nothing extreme or stressful, just nourishing foods that supported her body through this hormonal transition, we worked on ways to gently reduce the stress in her life and make space for more joy, like time outside, laughter, connection with friends, great friends she already had, but we figured out how to make that happen more often.
• 10:44
  Not only did Nancy start losing the weight that had been so frustrating, but even more importantly, she started to feel like herself again.
• 10:51
  That anxious sort of edge she talked about was gone.
• 10:54
  She felt calmer, she felt more patient, and she no longer felt that tense, sort of restless energy that she had been living with every day.
• 11:02
  Her story is a reminder that anxiety isn't always about what's going on in your head.
• 11:07
  It's often about what's going on in your body and the way you nourish and care for yourself makes a big difference.
• 11:15
  Thank you for joining me and exploring how nutrition can support the management of anxiety, especially during perimenopause and menopause when so many women are just left searching for answers.
• 11:27
  If today's episode resonated with you, be sure to subscribe and share it with someone who needs to hear that they're not alone, they're not broken, and there are real steps they can take.
• 11:37
  You deserve to feel heard.
• 11:38
  You deserve to feel well, and you deserve solutions that address the root, not just the symptoms.
• 11:45
  Anxiety isn't just a mental health issue, it's a whole body issue and the way we nourish ourselves physically, emotionally, hormonally matters more than we've been taught to believe.
• 11:55
  Remember, small, consistent changes in how you eat, move, and care for yourself can make a big difference in your mood, energy, and quality of life.
• 12:04
  Take care of yourself and I'll see you in the next episode.