Elizabeth A. O'Brien

Eating these six foods during menopause could be causing you more trouble than they are worth - avoiding them can help you feel better. If you're searching for menopause treatments, and you think you'd like to try a diet for menopause, here is a list of foods to avoid.

And before we begin, let us recognize that there is a cosmic injustice here. Our hormone levels are dropping, our heads are aching, and we're barely living through hot flashes and night sweats. Oh, and I forgot to mention that we're also gaining weight, and we've lost our libido. What calamity could possibly befall menopausal women next?

Well, let's begin with a heavy sigh because this list of foods to avoid invariably contains some foods that you adore.

You're only consolation is knowing that avoiding them may help to ease some of those uncomfortable symptoms.

   1. Caffeine: You probably guessed this one. Although our morning cup of coffee has helped us get out of bed in the mornings, and our afternoon Diet Coke has helped us get through the day, consuming too much caffeine can lead to migraines and vaginal atrophy (the thinning and swelling of vaginal tissue).

    This does not necessarily mean that you have to cut out all caffeine. What it does mean is that you should be aware of how it affects your body and act accordingly.

   Try avoiding caffeine altogether for two weeks and see if your symptoms get better. If not, have a cup of coffee.

2. Chocolate: Our beloved chocolate contains sugar and caffeine that can irritate migraine headaches -- a common symptom of menopause.

3. Alcohol: While drinking a nice glass of champagne or wine can put you in the mood, help to reduce your stress, and give you some antioxidants, it can also bring on migraine headaches and irritate vaginal atrophy. Monitor the relationship between your drinking and your symptoms to decide if your body is affected, and act accordingly.

4. Simple Sugar: Cookies, candy, and nearly ever other deliciously sugary treat can cause hot flashes and night sweats.

5. Refined Carbohydrates: These are most likely the culprit behind our weight gain as well as a contributing factor in hot flashes and night sweats.

Eating refined carbohydrates, which are carbs that have a high glycemic index level, causes your blood sugar level to immediately soar, which causes your body to create too much insulin, which causes your blood sugar levels to quickly drop. This leaves you feeling icky and hungry, so you eat some more refined carbohydrates -- it's a bad, bad cycle.

6. Spicy Foods: Spicy foods can induce night sweats. Like the other foods listed above, monitor this relationship for your body.

Bonus: How can I make a list of things to avoid during menopause and not include the mother of all symptom irritators, stress. Although this is not really a part of a diet for menopause, it's so important that I just had to fit it in here!

Stress has a hand in nearly every negative health experience that you've had not only in menopause, but in every stage of your life.

Try not to stress that you are getting too much stress (another bad, bad cycle). Reflect on your life. Try to shift your responsibilities so that you are able to do more of what you like and less of what you don't like.
That is, of course, just as long as the "more of what you like" does not consist of eating chocolates, alcohol, spicy foods, and caffeine.

Elizabeth A. O'Brien invites you to visit her website http://www.estrogensource.com to learn more about naturally balancing your menopausal hormones.

Boost your low hormone levels naturally. Visit http://www.estrogensource.com.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Elizabeth_A._O'Brien