As I'm writing this, we've just crossed the threshold into fall. The days have been vacillating between warm and cool. Our family is busy preparing for my son's Bar Mitzvah, as well as prepping our property and seasonal creek for what is anticipated to be a very wet winter. Amidst the busyness of autumn, I am curious about what you need to feel resourced going into the darker months.
Last week I ran a poll on social media to find out where you most need support. The top answer, by a wide margin, was:
what to eat.
Not how to cook things or more recipe ideas, but what to eat in midlife. Of course, this is somewhat individual, but there are general pattern shifts I can speak to in terms of how we need to consider the food groups differently:
- Fiber
As hormones decline, our motility slows, and fiber becomes more and more important to a thriving microbiome. Even when our diets has ample amounts of produce (as mine does), we often need more fiber. At the same time, compromised microbiomes means we might not yet be able to utilize all the fiber we need. I start many clients off with Sunfiber because it's easy to tolerate. If you aren't pooping easefully 1-3 times a day, I'd add a scoop of this to your morning water. Once we address gut imbalance, you can begin to integrate a more comprehensive fiber with prebiotic, insoluable and soluable fibers.
2. Protein
Surprise, surprise (not). Protein is a fad with legs.
Starting around age 30, our bodies naturally begin to lose muscle mass. To fight this, older adults actually need 30% to 50% more daily protein than younger adults. The reasons are many. Aging muscles are less responsive to standard amounts of protein. You need a higher concentration at each meal just to trigger muscle repair. The digestive system also becomes less efficient at breaking down and absorbing amino acids from food as we get older. Furthermore, low-grade systemic inflammation breaks down muscle tissue faster, increasing the body's raw demand for repair materials.
As I continue to improve my gut health and lower inflammation, I notice my protein needs have slightly decreased, but I still need a lot more than I did when I was younger. This is, in part, why some lifelong vegetarians start to sense nutrient insufficiencies after pregnancy, at midlife, or as they age, even after decades of not eating meat.
3. Watching carbohydrates.
If your A1C, gluocse, insulin and lipid markers look good, you are in the small percentage of people who can disregard this advice.
For many of us, our lab markers are the first sign that our body isn't using our food as efficiently as it used to. If you find yourself in this category, you may need to decrease your overall carb consumption (yes, it's sad, but less so when your energy improves). you can make small tweaks like eating protein first, walking after meals, and eating your carbs at breakfast and lunch. For some people with sluggish metabolisms, intermittant fasting is useful (though not recommended for women where adrenal insufficiency is at play).
4. Fat
Fat can be tricky. It's an essential building block to hormones. Many of us are simply not getting enough good fat, and it's taking it's toll. So the first question is, are you eating sufficient fat? I'm talking ghee from grass fed cows, organic 100% avocado oil, avocados, nuts, cultured butter, extra virgin olive oil.
Our fat needs can shift again towards the end of perimenopause. With the final hormone drop in the last year before menopause, some women notice a sudden weight gain even when they've been eating and exercising well for midlife. The body gets less efficient at using fat stores at this stage, and you may need to replace some fat for more protein to adjust. Yes, it's confusing, but the key is to follow the body's cues and respond.
