Around the age of 40, you may notice changes in your body, such as increased weight gain around your stomach, irregular periods or changes in your bleeding patterns, mood changes, sleep disturbances and libido changes. These are typical symptoms of perimenopause, which marks the subtle changes in hormone levels before your periods finally stop coming. Dietary changes may decrease symptoms you experience with hormonal changes and weight gain.
Vitamin E
Hot flashes may be relieved by increasing your vitamin E intake. According to Drs. Susan Lark and Ann Louise Gittleman on the website Discovery Health, high levels of vitamin E---400 to 1,200 international units---may act like a weak estrogen and decrease the occurance of hot flashes. Focusing on green, leafy vegetables and cooking with grape seed oil will boost your vitamin E intake to recommended levels.
Vitamin C
Collagen production changes with declining estrogen levels and can leave your skin vulnerable to damage, according to Lark and Gittleman. You may notice your skin's appearance is thinner and has become drier. Increasing your intake of vitamin C-rich foods like citrus fruits, strawberries, cantaloupe, honey dew melon and dried fruits will boost your vitamin C intake. Vitamin C participates in collagen production to help maintain skin integrity and lessen visible wrinkles. Along with increasing your vitamin C intake, notes Lark and Gittleman, increasing your intake of flaxseeds or pumpkin seeds will increase your intake of alpha-linoleic acid and boost your skin integrity.
L-Tryptophan
Sleep disturbances may plague you as a perimenopausal woman. L-typtophan is an amino acid that participates in the production of serotonin, which helps to regulate sleep cycles, according to Toronto registered dietitian Leslie Beck. Foods rich in L-tryptophan include cheese, milk, cereal and bread. Including these foods at dinner time or having a glass of warm milk may help ease you into a more restful night's sleep.
Phytoestrogens
Phytoestrogens are plant-based estrogen-related compounds that can attach themselves to estrogen receptors in your body. According to Portland, Oregon, naturopathic doctor Tory Hudson, plant estrogens are 1/400 to 1/1,000 of the strength of regular estrogen. Although considered weak estrogens, phytoestrogen can mimic estrogen's effect on your blood vessels, bone and skin without stimulating your breast and uterus. Hudson recommends the following foods because of the high phytoestrogen content: fruits, vegetables, flaxseeds, spinach, cloves, beans and legumes, soybeans and cabbage.
