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Author Topic: Effects of Diet  (Read 8055 times)

Kathleen

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Effects of Diet
« on: April 02, 2022, 08:34:49 AM »

Hello ladies.

For digestive health reasons I eat a mainly plant based diet, so in effect I am vegan. I am wondering if this has any impact, good or bad, on my hormones. I suspect not as I share so many of the same experiences as other ladies here who I assume are eating a more standard diet however I don't know that for certain. I would be interested to hear about your diets ladies and if you feel that what you eat, or avoid eating is helping you during the menopause.

I look forward to reading your comments and hopefully we can all learn from each other.

Take care everyone.

K.
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Postmeno3

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Re: Effects of Diet
« Reply #1 on: April 02, 2022, 09:37:06 AM »

Hi,
I can't be much help to you, Kathleen, sorry, as I'm actually finding I'm less tolerant to what I was tolerating, with care, pre-HRT!!!! So, that's proving to be another issue! However, yeah, B12 is pretty standard for supplementing if vegan and it's important to check for absorption, a bit like the "free" levels to assess what is actually available to use? It's possible to have "normal" or even high levels which are not "free". A test for intrinsic factor will assess your capacity to absorb. However, the theory one can have "too much" is a bit of a myth as any excess is just passed in urine. I now tolerate what little alcohol, dairy and sugars I had before almost not at all which is really interesting, but the diet I try to follow, 5:2/6:1, is a low GI (glycemic index) for slow release, therefore gentler on the systems. Hope there's something here to help. Keep us posted!
« Last Edit: April 02, 2022, 10:25:02 AM by Postmeno3 »
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sheila99

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Re: Effects of Diet
« Reply #2 on: April 02, 2022, 03:37:03 PM »

I'm not sure diet has a direct impact on hormones it it certainly affects your health and how good you feel. Nothing works in isolation and they are so interlinked a deficiency in one thing can have a big knock on effect. Perhaps the reason your hrt doesn't seem to be working well is because something else is deficient?
  If you google vegan deficiencies several come up. Would seeing a dietician help? The advice above is good, as you have digestive issues it's quite possible you're not getting what you expect from the food you're eating. Sorry I can't be much help.
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Postmeno3

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Re: Effects of Diet
« Reply #3 on: April 02, 2022, 03:50:03 PM »

The older we get, the less able we are to absorb generally. Have you tried Vegan Digestive Enzymes? Solgar does a good one. I'm reminded, too, of my dearest friend (71) who has recently discovered she is histamine intolerant. I think this has been mentioned somewhere else here recently. She was getting extremely fatigued and low in mood, less motivated etc. She has a very considered, full spectrum diet and grows her own produce, buys locally from farms for eggs, sourdough etc. She looked at produce with histamine and discovered it was all the things she likes and that are supposed to be good for us; fermented foods, tomatoes, olives, mushrooms, red wine etc etc etc! Since removing these from her diet, she sleeps well and is energised and motivated with an upbeat, optimistic mood. It's fascinating!
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Kathleen

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Re: Effects of Diet
« Reply #4 on: April 02, 2022, 05:13:32 PM »

Hello again ladies and thank you all for your comments.

I was thinking about talking to a nutritionist but I would need to find one that understands the pros and cons of different eating regimes. For example I favour plenty of plant food because it helps to keep my inflammatory markers low and I want to avoid eating lots of meat because it is hard to digest and I don't want a flare up of UC.
The advice I got from the hospital when I was diagnosed was so generic it was useless.

I have done a lot of reading since then so now I have more specific concerns. For  example, when we eat meat our gut bacteria produce a chemical called TMA which our liver converts to TMAO and this has been implicated in many conditions such as heart disease. About two years ago an American drug company were trying to produce a medication that would block TMAO. Clearly this drug has not appeared yet but I wonder if a regular nutritionist would be up to speed on subjects like that?

Jaypo- As I understand it (and I could be wrong) calcium is a mineral mineral found in the soil and is present in plants so basically vegans get their calcium from the same place  that animals do lol. I take your point though and  many people worry about deficiencies which is why plant milks are usually fortified.

Postmeno3 - A while ago my doctor at Newson Health wondered if I had a histamine problem and she advised me to take a non drowsy anti histamine daily. I did this but I didn't notice any difference and I don't eat a huge amount of histamine producing foods anyway but it was worth a try.

Thanks again ladies and  food for thought indeed (sorry, couldn't resist that one lol).

Take care.

K.
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Gynaikeíos

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Re: Effects of Diet
« Reply #5 on: April 02, 2022, 07:02:54 PM »

Hello Kathleen, I am possibly  late to helping, but as I understand it there is a myth is around eating meat and heart health that goes back to somebody called Ancel Keys who did bad science a  long   time  ago. Many recommendations  that are not from  recent nutritional science just do not double  check and just make money selling  supplements  from carrying on the myth (or they sell extreme  veggie agendas  :( ) . TMAO is  greatest  from  eating fish  but fish is healthy food,  so why  fixing  on meat?  We have  excellent sources of nutrition in  offals and  red meat that  help  us as we  change in our lives and our bodies need more easily  usable nutrition.

I know how awful  UC is. One of my family  suffered with it  for years.  Have you been screened  for something called h. pylori?  Many people who have  UC or  IBS have it in their gut.  Treatment works  miracles  :)

With best wishes  :)



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Kathleen

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Re: Effects of Diet
« Reply #6 on: April 03, 2022, 07:33:42 PM »

Hello again ladies.

Gynaikeios -   Thank you for your comments. I suspect there is something to the effects of TMAO  because a pharmaceutical company were trying to develop a drug to block its actions in the body but I am no expert on the subject.

Thankfully my UC is in remission but it is a horrible condition and my heart goes out to anyone struggling with it.

Thanks again and take care.


K.

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Kathleen

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Re: Effects of Diet
« Reply #7 on: April 04, 2022, 04:14:54 PM »

Hello Jaypo.

I am sorry the hear that your daughter has IBD. It transpires that many of the things I eat are not recommended for UC sufferers, ie salads, uncooked fruit (the skins can be a problem apparently) and nuts and seeds. Luckily I didn't know this because I eat those foods daily without any problems.

If your daughter struggles with canned beans she might like to empty the contents into a colander a rinse under running water until the bubbles stop. This considerably reduces the flatulence factor apparently. Hope this helps.

Take care.

K.
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Kathleen

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Re: Effects of Diet
« Reply #8 on: April 04, 2022, 05:05:43 PM »

Hello again Jaypo.

You are welcome and I hope your daughter benefits as beans are full of protein and fibre.

I tend to be gluten free as far as possible these days. Every little helps as the say!

Take care.

K.
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ATB

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Re: Effects of Diet
« Reply #9 on: April 26, 2022, 05:14:17 PM »

Hey there!
I am a long time veggie/vegan and studied nutrition off and on, but do not have a degree so like anyones advice, take mine with a bucket of salt… oh no don’t do that, that’s bad for you  ;D

Anyway! I think you can absolutely affect hormones by the way we eat, there’s some good evidence out there for it. Some of us have intolerances as mentioned so if something isn’t right with digestion I always say, keep a super detailed food diary to try and figure it out, maybe with a decent qualified person. I think you can help some menopause symptoms with a plant based diet, such as studies showing populations that consume regular but not large amounts of soy don’t get hot flushes in menopause… but I do think that whatever type of diet we eat we can still experience menopause symptoms. I’d say that clearly a poor diet, veggie or not, consisting of heavily refined foods is going to make you feel worse whatever the issue or health concern is. If you’d like more fact-based data on your original question, that website… nutrition facts with Dr Gregor or Greger? is really good and was referenced when I studied nutrition. He has some solid evidence on heart disease there, full vegans rarely get heart disease and have lower cholesterol etc and he has some great vids on women’s health issues I remember watching. Especially one on endometriosis I found really interesting about seaweed. Also, he has one comparing average deficiencies vegans have v non-vegans and we definitely have less overall deficiencies, I go by his supplement recommendations too.
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Kathleen

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Re: Effects of Diet
« Reply #10 on: April 28, 2022, 02:27:32 PM »

Hello again ladies.

ATB - Ah, another Dr Greger fan! I hoped I'd meet one someday. His website is excellent because it deals with the science only. I also have some of his books.

I like to think that if we eat the foods that are good for our hearts, kidneys, liver etc then they have to be good for our endocrine system as well.  Things are a little tricky for me hormonally at the moment but every little helps right?

You are probably also aware of other American  MDs such as Neal Barnard  who have YouTube channels and published work on the importance of diet and of course there is our own  Tim Spector.

Take care and wishing you well.

K.
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ATB

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Re: Effects of Diet
« Reply #11 on: April 28, 2022, 02:55:54 PM »

Thanks Katherine, it’s been awhile but I think I do remember watching things from Dr Barnard too. I did the course with Dr Campbell through Cornell some years ago and various other plant based experts were covered or did modules if I remember correctly. Yes, every little does help! Absolutely. Wishing you well too.
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Kathleen

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Re: Effects of Diet
« Reply #12 on: April 28, 2022, 03:08:09 PM »

Hello again ATB.

How interesting that you did a course with Colin T Campbell. I also have his book The China Study.

Did you attend Cornell for the course? If so I guess that means you are from the US which makes my earlier remark ' our own Tim Spector' look a bit silly lol.

We have ladies from all over the world pitch up on the forum which is an excellent thing and demonstrates the wide reach of the sisterhood.

Take care.

K.


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ATB

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Re: Effects of Diet
« Reply #13 on: April 28, 2022, 03:25:47 PM »

I’m in the UK now :) yes, I know of Tim Spector a little too. Haven’t had my head in nutrition stuff for awhile now though. Good to ‘meet’ someone else here interested in this.
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Tora

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Re: Effects of Diet
« Reply #14 on: June 10, 2022, 09:05:39 PM »

Changing nutrition is working well for me so it’s wonderful to read this thread! I’m not doing anything other than common sense but it took until recently to apply the basics.
I had lost sight of personal fitness goals, I didn’t want to buy bigger clothes or feel wrong on a beach. I didn’t want cellulite/sags, sounds really vain but I want to feel and look as healthy and fit as I can naturally.
Eating clean foods, strength exercise 5 hours a week, swimming and running, getting good sleep has brought good results in very little time. Initially I wouldn’t have been capable of drastic changes without HRT but now I have lowered the dose and blood work is still good.
Taken hard work but well worth it!
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