10 nutrition tips for perimenopause and menopause

1. Support your bones with calcium and vitamin D

Falling oestrogen levels can speed up bone loss, making calcium, vitamin D, protein, and resistance exercise particularly important.

Try to include two or three servings of calcium-rich foods each day. These might include milk, yoghurt, cheese, calcium-fortified plant alternatives, calcium-set tofu, kale, or tinned sardines with their bones.

In the UK, everyone should consider taking a daily 10 microgram vitamin D supplement during autumn and winter. Some people may need one throughout the year.

2. Eat oily fish regularly

Oily fish such as salmon, mackerel, anchovy, sardines, and herring (SMASH fish) contains long-chain omega-3 fats, which support heart and brain health. This can be especially helpful if you experience brain fog.

Aim for at least two portions of fish each week, including one portion of oily fish. If you haven’t yet reached menopause, NHS guidance recommends having no more than two portions of oily fish a week.

3. Include protein at each meal

Protein helps to maintain muscle, which becomes increasingly important as we get older. Useful sources include eggs, Greek yoghurt, fish, chicken, tofu, lentils, and beans.

Pair protein with vegetables and a higher-fibre carbohydrate, such as oats, wholegrain bread, brown rice, or potatoes with their skins. This can make meals more satisfying and help you maintain steadier energy.

4. Stay hydrated

Not drinking enough can leave you feeling tired, headachy, and less able to concentrate.

Most people should aim for six to eight glasses of fluid a day, although you may need more during hot weather or exercise. Water, milk, lower-sugar drinks, tea, and coffee all count – filtered water isn’t essential.

5. Eat a wider variety of plant foods

Your gut microbes thrive on variety, so try to include different fruit, vegetables, wholegrains, beans, lentils, nuts, and seeds across the week.

There’s no single food or probiotic supplement that can “fix” your gut or menopause symptoms. Building more variety into the meals you already enjoy is a sensible place to start.

6. Build up your fibre intake

Fibre supports digestion, bowel regularity, heart health, and healthy blood glucose levels. Adults should aim for around 30g a day.

Good sources include porridge oats, wholegrain bread and pasta, vegetables, fruit, beans, chickpeas, and lentils. Increase your intake gradually, and drink enough fluid, to reduce the chance of bloating.

7. Eat beans and other iron-rich foods

Heavier or more frequent periods during perimenopause can increase your risk of iron deficiency.

Are beans good for perimenopause and menopause?

Yes – although they aren’t a treatment for menopause symptoms. Kidney beans, edamame, chickpeas, and lentils provide fibre, plant protein, and iron. Other iron-rich foods include meat, fortified cereals, tofu, nuts, dried fruit, and dark-green leafy vegetables.

Iron from plant foods isn’t absorbed as easily as iron from animal foods. Eating beans and other plant sources alongside vitamin C-rich foods, such as peppers, tomatoes, broccoli, citrus fruit, or berries, can help.

If you’re unusually tired, short of breath, pale, experiencing heart palpitations, or losing more hair than usual, speak to your GP. A blood test can check for iron deficiency anaemia. Only take an iron supplement if a healthcare professional advises it.

8. Be mindful of alcohol

Alcohol affects everyone differently, but some people find it makes hot flushes, night sweats, and poor sleep worse.

You don’t necessarily have to give it up. If you drink, UK guidance recommends no more than 14 units a week, spread over three or more days, with several alcohol-free days.

Lower-alcohol and alcohol-free alternatives can help you reduce your intake. Organic wine isn’t necessarily safer, and adding soda water to a spirit doesn’t reduce the number of alcohol units.

9. Choose sustainable changes over fad diets

Changes in weight or body shape around menopause may be influenced by ageing, hormones, sleep, activity levels, medication, and other health conditions.

Restrictive diets can be difficult to maintain and may leave you short of important nutrients. Focus instead on changes that work in real life – more vegetables and fibre, enough protein, regular meals, and portions that leave you comfortably satisfied.

10. Support your diet with sleep and movement

Nutrition is only one part of looking after yourself. Poor sleep and ongoing stress can affect your appetite, energy, mood, and food choices, so rest matters too.

Sleep

A regular routine, exposure to daylight in the morning, and a calm wind-down before bed may help support your circadian rhythm. If menopause symptoms are repeatedly disrupting your sleep, speak to a healthcare professional about treatment rather than simply trying to push through.

Check out this short video with Dr Clare’s top sleep tips.

Movement

Exercise not only keeps your body flexible and supple, but it can also help with anxiety.

Aim for around 150 minutes of moderate activity each week, alongside muscle-strengthening activity on at least two days. Walking, dancing, cycling, yoga, Pilates, resistance bands, gardening, and lifting weights can all count, while the ‘Couch to 5K’ app is an excellent and safe way to begin running.

Start with something manageable. A routine you can maintain will be far more useful than an intense plan you dread.

There’s no perfect menopause diet and no single food that suits everyone. Start with one or two realistic changes, see how you feel, and ask a healthcare professional or dietitian for personalised advice if you have a medical condition, dietary restriction, or concerns about your symptoms.

I hope you found these tips helpful and do get in touch if I can help create a nutrition plan that’s right for you.