Foods to Fight Menopausal Weight Gain

Dr. Travis Stork: Menopause, it's a scary word for women, especially if you don't know when or what to expect. So I am going back there to some women in our audience who're having menopause, who would love some advice from you? Dr. Lisa Masterson: Well, who out there has hit menopause? Who out there and who is worried about menopause? You worried about menopause? Julia: Hugely. Dr. Lisa Masterson: Hugely. Tell me what you are worried about? Julia: Well, the usual weight gain. I am gaining it. I am starting to gain and I am thinking, why? Dr. Lisa Masterson: So it's the weight. I know it's always the weight. Weight is such a huge issue for women as we get older, and because of our metabolism changes and we decrease muscle mass, but it's all about exercise and what you eat. You've got to eat the right things. So you know what, I am going to take you back here, and I am going to show you just you know a regular eating plan, what you should and should not eat. You want to do that with me? Julia: Yeah, I would. Dr. Lisa Masterson: Thank you. We are going to go, we are going to go. Alright, so this is like a typical craft services table here, and there is things you want to eat. Remember, the fruits and vegetables, that's where you get all your vitamins, okay. So all your vitamins are going to be in your fruits. So you want the Vitamin C, the Vitamin A, that's going to help the skin, the estrogen that's going to do, so they are going to the skin, also in the vegetables, again the vegetables are going to go in, help your skin, your eyes, your brain, everything. Now, as far as hormones, there are certain legumes or vegetables that are going to help you getting more soy, like soy beans and things like that, you might want to do this, your omega-3 fatty acids, it's huge. Julia: It is enough, I have to more nuts. Dr. Lisa Masterson: Almonds, you should just have these in your pocket, like all the time in a snack on. You don't want to do this, and what happens in menopause is that a lot of times, you get the same PMS type of cravings, because there is estrogens and hormones are fluctuating, just like in PMS. Julia: That's right. Dr. Lisa Masterson: So you just crave for these type of things, because there was serotonin levels are going down, so that's why exercise helps. Don't go for this, alright, again fruits you can get enough fruits, because how many people take 6 servings of fruits and vegetables. Julia: No, I am very bad. Dr. Lisa Masterson: Hardly anybody, but you got to do. You can do this in juices. I drink a vegetable juice, if I can't get my veggies. Fruits, vegetables, none of these like potato chips, processed foods, starches, sweets. Okay so if you are going to have a cereal, which cereal would you want? Julia: I would actually go for the flakes. Dr. Lisa Masterson: That's much better. Julia: I would go for the flakes, too sweet. Dr. Lisa Masterson: High sugar cereals, exactly. Again, that's may be something we would crave in PMS, you don't want to do in PMS, you don't want to do that in menopause either. Okay. So you want to go for the healthy fiber, that's going to help prevent colon cancer, we start to worry about colon cancer, as we go through menopause too. Calcium; things that are rich in calcium like milk, actually yogurt down there, okay. So you would want to have yogurt if you could. Alright, so the calcium for the bones, then you want, to make sure you get that, osteoporosis is a problem. Again, our eyes and things like that, omega-3 fatty acids within nuts, and our brain development just to keep going in that. Okay, little natural supply of estrogen right here in and all your vitamins that are going to help. Julia: Okay. And bread is good too? Dr. Lisa Masterson: And bread is good fiber, but you want the wheat, you want the brand type of things, not the processed ones. Julia: Okay. No butter or cheese. Dr. Lisa Masterson: You know everything. Okay, you can have a little butter and a little cheese now and then but the cheese is good, because its calcium, you just can't have it fried, and things like that. Okay. Alright. Julia: Alight, good.