Hot flashes, sleep disturbances, and mood swings are common symptoms of menopause. Along with these symptoms, cholesterol levels may also increase.
High cholesterol increases the risk of heart disease and stroke, and menopause itself is associated with a higher risk of heart disease due to a number of changes that occur in your body. You can keep your heart healthy by understanding how menopause affects cholesterol.
Why does menopause cause high cholesterol?
There are three main causes:
- Hormonal changes: During menopause, women experience a decrease in estrogen levels. Estrogen has a protective effect on cholesterol by promoting “good” HDL cholesterol and decreasing “bad” LDL cholesterol. When estrogen levels decrease, this balance can be disrupted, leading to increased LDL cholesterol. If you are concerned about hormonal changes during menopause.
- Metabolic Changes: Menopause is often accompanied by changes in metabolism and a tendency to gain weight, especially around the waist. Weight gain and a sedentary lifestyle can contribute to increased cholesterol levels.
- Aging: As women age, their cholesterol levels tend to naturally increase. This age-related increase in cholesterol levels can exacerbate the effects of menopause on cholesterol.
How to Get Healthy Cholesterol for Women During Menopause?
Here are 6 tips that may help:
1. Eat More Whole Grains and Fiber-Rich Foods
Eating more whole grain foods has been shown to reduce the risk of heart disease. Eating at least 3 servings of whole grains per day is thought to provide the greatest benefit. Oats and barley are particularly beneficial for lowering cholesterol because they contain beta-glucan, a type of soluble fiber that helps lower cholesterol.
Suggested small dietary changes:
- Eat overnight oats or porridge for breakfast, or add a few handfuls to your breakfast smoothie
- Swap white rice and pasta for brown rice and wholemeal pasta
- Choose wholemeal bread or wraps whenever possible
2. Choose heart-healthy fats
We need some fat in our diet to help absorb fat-soluble vitamins (vitamins A, D, E and K) and to maintain healthy cell structure, brain health and hormone production. However, reducing your intake of saturated fat and instead choosing foods that contain heart-healthy unsaturated fats will benefit your cholesterol levels. In practice, this means less fatty meat, butter, ghee, palm oil and coconut oil and any products made with these (i.e. cakes, croissants, sausage rolls, fried foods, pastries and biscuits).
Instead, choose olive or canola oil, margarine, nuts, seeds, avocados and oily fish such as sardines, salmon, trout and rainbow trout.
Small changes to your diet:
- Eat oily fish 1-2 times a week
- Use soy instead of cream (useful in cream soups, sauces or drizzled over fruit salads)
- Swap cakes or doughnuts for fruit scones or oat biscuits.
3. Prioritise plant protein
Including plenty of plant protein foods such as lentils, peas, Quorn TM, soy, nuts and seeds helps reduce animal foods. In addition to providing protein, they are naturally low in saturated fat while providing heart-healthy unsaturated fats and fibre. Including 1-2 servings of soy foods a day can be particularly helpful for pre-menopausal women as they are rich in natural plant estrogens (phytoestrogens) which can help reduce hot flashes for some women.
You don’t have to avoid meat completely as it can be a really useful and nutritious food to add to your diet to help you get all the nutrients your body needs. Trim off any visible fat, remove the skin from poultry and keep processed meats (ham, bacon, salami and sausages) to a minimum.
Small dietary changes:
- Replace some or all of the meat in dishes such as curries, stir-fries and stews with beans, chickpeas, lentils, Quorn TM, soy mince or tofu.
- Eat 1 or 2 servings of soy foods a day (e.g. soy milk or yogurt as a breakfast substitute and some roasted soy in oat cakes for an afternoon snack).
- Try a new plant-based meal.
4. Eat at least 5 fruits and vegetables a day
There is strong evidence that including at least 5 portions of fruit and vegetables a day is associated with a reduced risk of cardiovascular disease. As well as beneficial fibre, fruit and vegetables provide a range of heart-healthy nutrients such as vitamin C, carotenoids, potassium and antioxidants.
Adding more fruit and vegetables to meals and snacks can help reduce or replace foods high in saturated fat, sugar and salt.
Small changes to your diet:
- All fruits and vegetables (fresh, frozen, canned or dried) are good, so enjoy them and add whatever you can afford and have on hand.
- Use a salad as an appetizer or side dish for dinner to increase the amount and variety of vegetables.
- Eat at least two different fruits or vegetables at each meal and at least one snack that contains fruit or vegetables during the day.
5. Eat a serving of nuts every day
Replacing foods high in saturated fat with foods high in unsaturated fat, such as nuts, can help lower cholesterol. In addition to providing cholesterol-lowering fats, nuts also contain protein, fibre, vitamin E, magnesium, potassium, zinc and copper, which are beneficial for heart health.
Nuts are relatively high in calories, but evidence suggests that eating a serving of nuts a day (30g or about a handful) helps reduce total cholesterol and LDL cholesterol (also known as ‘bad’ cholesterol) and is not associated with weight gain.
Small changes to your diet:
- In your daily diet, choose almonds, pistachios, walnuts, pecans, cashews, peanuts, hazelnuts, etc. Variety is good for your gut microbiome too!
- Choose unsalted nuts and, if possible, choose whole, unroasted nuts (rather than roasted) as these are more nutritious.
- You can sprinkle a few nuts on top of yogurt, on a green or fruit salad, use them in baking (e.g. walnut muffins) or add them (e.g. cashews) to stir-fries.
6. Foods with added plant stanols or sterols
Plant stanols and sterols are found in plant foods such as vegetable oils, seeds, grains and legumes. These compounds have a similar chemical structure to cholesterol, so they partially block the absorption of cholesterol. This has the effect of lowering blood cholesterol.
For people who do not have high blood cholesterol, there is no real benefit to consuming these products. If you do have high blood cholesterol, supplementing with 1.5g – 3g of plant stanols and sterols per day may help lower cholesterol.
Small dietary changes:
Drink one mini yogurt or sterol/stanol fortified yogurt daily, with meals, or three servings of skim milk or sterol/stanol fortified butter daily.
