Diet Guidelines for Menopausal Women

Eat the following vegetables in amounts that are moderate and satisfying; that portion should then be eaten regularly, perhaps 4 to 6 times a week.

- Asparagus: Helps cleanse arteries of cholesterol and is useful for vascular health. Too much can irritate the kidneys. It improves the feminine principle.

- Beets: strengthens the heart, sedates the spirit, improves circulation, purifies the blood, benefit’s the liver.

- Cabbage: Green and purple varieties. Helps mental depression and irritability.

- Food to build yin: wheat germ and its oil, mung bean, mung bean sprouts, string bean, seaweed, spirulina, millet, black bean, tofu, kidney bean, barley, and black sesame seed.

- Use restraint with alcohol, cigarettes, coffee, excessive and poor-quality meat.

- Important supplements: Vitamin E, B-complex, C, A and mineral calcium.

- Adequate magnesium and vitamin D from sunshine are necessary cofactors in calcium metabolism.

- Vitamin E stimulates production of estrogen. Wheat germ and wheat germ oil are especially good sources. Whole wheat also calms the spirit and strengthens the kidney-adrenal function. Take approximately 300 I.U of vitamin E three times a day at meal times if menopausal difficulties persist in spite of a good diet.

- For Chinese herbs, dang gui (angelica sinensis) brings relief from all symptoms. Also can use motherwort (Leonurus cardiaca).

- Aloe vera gel can be useful for those who don’t feel too cold. Use 2 teaspoons gel stirred into 1 cup of water 2 or 3 times a day.

- Royal jelly can notify  feminine hormonal system. A normal dosage is just 100-400 milligrams daily.

Source: Healing with Whole Foods by Paul Pitchford