How improving your gut health can help reduce menopause symptoms. To book a consultation with Trish Tucker May, Nutritionist of the Year click https://app.acuityscheduling.com/schedule.php?owner=16919664

Focusing on your digestion and gut health is paramount to creating lasting health and hormonal balance.   When your organs are functioning well, your menopause symptoms will be less.  The liver and the digestive organs need to be in good shape to avoid inflammation, irritability and hot flushes.

Nowadays, the gastrointestinal tract is sadly neglected, impacting how we feel, how well we sleep and how good we feel about ourselves.

As a nutritionist, I’ve seen some of the symptoms experienced by sluggish digestion including; bloating, skin issues, tiredness, lack of enthusiasm, hot flushes, food cravings, bad wind, bad breath, headaches, constipation and IBS.  Do you see any correlation between these symptoms and your menopause symptoms?

The good news is, I’ve also seen how great you can feel when you look after your digestive system.

Here is a list of easy to follow ways that will improve your digestion. Implementing just some of these will help you reap the rewards with better health, increased vitality and a smoother menopause.

21 ways to improve your gut health and reduce your menopause symptoms:

1. Water: drink 2-3 litres of room temperature, filtered water daily. Incorporating warm lemon water and herbal teas is a great way to increase hydration. Always focus on your fluids being tepid/room temperature, not hot or cold, as your digestion doesn’t like this.
2. Avoid caffeine, sugary and carbonated style drinks, as these fluids put a lot of strain on the body and cause dehydration. They can also spike your blood sugar and adrenals, making you feel tired.
3. Add good bacteria (fermented foods) like kombucha, kefir, miso, sauerkraut, live organic natural yoghurt, a good strain of probiotic supplement.
4. Add pre-biotics to your diet (artichokes, green bananas, leeks, onions, garlic and asparagus) to help your good bacteria thrive! We need to create the right environment for our lovely good bacteria to thrive and keep us well.
5. Drink bone or potassium broth to help soothe and heal your digestive system. A calming drink to help when your gut is unhappy. Recipe here https://www.passion4juice.com/blog/352-discover-the-benefits-of-drinking-bone-broth-for-your-health
6. Drink vegetable/fruit juices and smoothies daily (3/4 veg and 1/4 fruit). You can add nuts/seeds and avocado for a filling drink. Plenty of great recipes here https://www.passion4juice.com/blog/388-why-the-juice-cleanse-is-perfect-for-boosting-energy-levels
7. Stick garlic up your bum. Oh yes! Garlic is great for bad wind, sore bottom, itchy bottom, bloating. Gently squeeze a clove, dip in olive oil and insert up the rectum as far as the finger takes it. Ideally do this just before bed and you’ll poop it out the next day! Garlic is very healing.
8. Eat high fibre foods – beans, lentils, vegetables, fruit quinoa, buckwheat, nuts, seeds.
9. Eat vegetables half raw and half steamed daily. Remember to chew your food really well to release all of the lovely enzymes that will aid digestion.
   10. Avoid grain style foods like bread, pasta, rice. These foods are very sticky, cause inflammation in the body (plus water retention) and cause more harm than good.
10. Eat more good fats like avocados, olives, seeds, nuts, coconut oil, hemp seep oil, olive oil and MCT oil.
11. Eat organic meats (if you like eating meat). Avoid pork, which is terrible for digestion. The gut prefers lighter meats or fish.
12. Have more Vegetarian or Vegan days.
13. Avoid spicy foods that irritate your gut; listen to your body, if your stools become soft or you experience diarrhea, then don’t eat them.
14. Learn to manage the stress in your life. The brain and the gut talk to each-other so if you are stressed, then so is your gut and it will react. Focus on de-stressing techniques like yoga, breathing, meditation, mindfulness, a warm epsom salt bath or walks in the fresh air.
15. Chew your food slowly. Very very important. Get that mucous coating your food before it enters the stomach. We tend to swallow not chew our food, and this can cause many digestive issues. Take your time and chew your food until its a soupy consistency, enjoy the taste and texture. Digestion is very sensitive to stress and will shut down temporarily. You don’t want undigested food stagnating in your gut, this will cause many problems.
16. Have 1-2 tsp of apple cider vinegar before a meal, to help with digestion.
17. Don’t drink fluids whilst eating as this interferes with and dilutes with your digestive juices. It is paramount the secretions are the correct ratio so they can work for you and break down your food effectively.
18. Don’t over eat- only eat when hungry. Listen to your body.
19. Fast. Fortnightly or monthly, give your gut a complete day to rest (preferably fasting on water or vegetable juices). It’s easy to do 24 hours by having your last meal at 6pm then don’t eat again until 6pm the following day. You’ll be amazed how easy it is, how much more energy you have and that you actually feel less hungry.
20. Exercise is important for many reasons, not least because by breathing more deeply, your lungs massage your gut and help to keep things moving.

All disease starts in the gut.

Therefore, the solution to ANY issue facing you today, not just digestive problems, will begin by giving your digestive system some care and attention.

Start slowly but start today.

For more recipes you can check out www.trishtuckermay.com

To book a consultation with Trish Tucker May, Nutritionist of the Year click https://app.acuityscheduling.com/schedule.php?owner=16919664

Life changing bread recipe – as on BBC radio GLOS

I love sharing healthy recipes on the BBC radio Gloucestershire.  Here is the recipe for ‘life changing bread’.

Eating bread and cake may sound like a great way to help cope with weight loss and balancing hormones.  I call it cake as it can be made sweet or savoury – but I guess it is more like a bread then a cake.  This has been modified from the original HRT cake recipe inspired by menopause expert Abbie James.  We run workshops together and this is always a winner at retreat days. It is not only beneficial for menopausal women. It is a great recipe for the entire family. 

This cake is very special and is low glycaemic, low is sugar and packed with calcium and magnesium. It can be made grain free, dairy free, sugar free and vegan friendly. 

A slice a day is fantastic for all areas of your health. You can also switch out any ingredients you don’t have.  The version I made for Dom on the BBC radio had coconut flour instead of wholewheat and it works just as well. 

It freezes well too. 

Batch cook several loaves and freeze so you have it handy when you run out.

(makes 2 loaf tins)

• 2 ¼ cups wholewheat/buckwheat/rice or other flour
• 2 pieces stem ginger, chopped
• 2 cups raisins
• 1 ½ cups porridge oats
• Approx 1 litre soy/rice/almond/oat/hemp milk (1 carton)
• ¾ cup linseeds/flaxseeds (ground)
• 1 tablespoon malt extract (or honey)
• ½ cup sunflower seeds
• ½ cup pumpkin seeds
• ½ cup sesame seeds
• ½ cup flaked almonds
• ½ teaspoon nutmeg
• ½ teaspoon cinnamon
• ½ teaspoon ground ginger

Method

1. Preheat oven to 180°C/160°C fan-forced
2. Grease and line 2 small loaf tins
3. Combine all dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl
4. Add milk and malt extract – mix well and leave to soak for 30 minutes. If the mixture becomes too stiff add a little more milk.
5. Spoon into tins and level the mixture
6. Bake for 30 -40 minutes until golden and cooked through
7. Cool on wire Slice when cool – will keep for 5 days in fridge in a sealed bag. Freeze for 2 months

Eat a slice a day xx