Perimenopausal or menopausal? Symptoms of weight gain, brain fog, hormone-induced interrupted sleep?
Menopause is – rightfully- garnering more attention around its impact on women’s lives. It feels like the world’s finally woken up to the fact we need to think beyond the hot flush and look closer at how so many of the symptoms can disrupt our mental, physical and emotional wellbeing.
Did you know that shifting to a keto way of eating could help you outsmart those menopausal symptoms? And that by adopting a keto lifestyle, not only will you optimise your fullest health over the long-term, you’ll bring yourself back into alignment and feeling, well, like you again?
Here’s how.
Rebalance Your Hormones
Hormone imbalance is the root cause for so many peri and menopausal symptoms from weight gain through to poor sleep and anxiety. Ketosis helps to keep your hormones from playing havoc. Because it optimises insulin and other hormone levels, you minimise symptoms such as hot flashes – oestrogen helps get glucose to your brain for fuel so when this drops in menopause, so does its ability to keep your brain fuelled. Keto helps reverse or at least minimise this.
With insulin and the hunger hormone ghrelin re-set, cravings are also reduced helping to keep any weight gain off.
Weight Matters
So let’s go deeper into the weight issue.
We gain weight in menopause because of a slower metabolism. Studies show that a low-carb diet works well for sustained weight loss, primarily due to the hormone balance.
By restricting your carb intake, while increasing your fat intake (low carb high fat), your body switches into a state call “ketosis”. It’s in this metabolic process where your body starts to fuel itself from its own fat stores. In ketosis, your liver will convert fat into ketones which then provide your body – especially your brain – with an energy source.
The purpose of the keto way of eating is to change the way your body converts certain foods into energy, shifting from relying on carbs as an energy source to fuelling itself with fats.
In menopause, keto can be just the ticket to rebooting your metabolism making it more effective from a weight loss and wellbeing perspective.
Boosts Sleep And Energy Levels
Keto is a great way to help you maintain steady energy levels – much needed at this busy time of life. Healthy fats offer a clean and efficient energy source that helps stabilise your energy, while levelling out your hormones. This in turn improves your sleep as hormones like cortisol, serotonin, and melatonin, stop spiking, ultimately resetting your circadian rhythm, preventing you from feeling chronically wiped out.
And because the ketones your body produces replaces glucose in your brain, you’ll also experience reduced brain fog.
Super-charge Your Long-Term Health
Menopause can turbo-charge inflammation, which in turn leads to more risk of disease. The combination of healthy anti-inflammatory fats together with alkaline foods can reduce a wide range of inflammatory issues from joint pain to diabetes -, because keto controls blood sugar, it is used clinically to prevent and reverse Type 2 diabetes. A switch to a keto lifestyle could therefore be an investment in your long-term health.
We always say the first month of keto is the hardest. Try these food changes for 30 days – see how it affects your energy levels, your sleep patterns, and your overall sense of wellbeing. We often find the weight loss becomes secondary in this process simply because you feel so much better with the changes. And let’s be candid, at this point we all deserve to feel our best selves.