The World Health Organization (WHO) has identified the ageing of the global population as one of the most significant demographic challenges worldwide and this includes those of you who are already in your post-menopause years.
As the first generation of women to come through a diverse array of diets over the past few decades, I’m sure that as I did, you may have arrived in your 50s or 60s feeling rather confused about the types of foods that you should be eating.
From Paleo, to high Protein, to Keto, to Fasting regimes and more … there is so much choice for women these days as to how and why to eat a certain way.
However, the dietary focus I want you to have as you move into your post-menopause years, or if you are there already and your symptoms have returned, is a focus on reducing inflammation.
The literature on the role of inflammation in health has grown exponentially over the past several decades. Paralleling this growth has been an equally intense focus on the role of diet in modulating inflammation (Hébert et al., 2019) – it’s this evidence that I’ve been following for years and I’ve been especially interested in nutrition beyond menopause.
I know from the thousands of women who have joined me on the MyMT™ programmes over the past few years, that we often don’t think about what our personal health needs are with our foods, especially when we are shopping and preparing foods for others.
But with the new MyMT™ Beyond Menopause programme on sale over the month of November, it’s time to talk about your inflammation!
Futhermore, for women aged between 50 and 70 years old, weight gain is one of their main health concerns. So, we tend to get caught up in a range of opinions and diets that may not suit our health as we move into post-menopause. I’m not just referring to our hormones, but to the changes that are occurring in organs such as our heart, muscles, liver, gut, fat cells (adipose tissue) and pancreas.
All of these areas are changing as we age and as such, pockets of inflammation may build up inside cells and tissues.
Moving from menopause to post-menopause may increase inflammation.
Understanding that menopause as a life-event, leads to inflammatory changes which affects women’s cardiovascular and muscular health in post-meonpause, was the turning point for taking back control of my own health and weight.
The type, timing and amount of food is now well established in public health science as among the most important influences on health in modern societies. As David Katz, from the Prevention Research Centre at Yale University of Public Health states,
“Optimal eating is associated with increased life expentancy, dramatic reduction in lifetime risk of all chronic disease and amelioration of gene expression.” (Katz & Mellor, 2014, p.83).
There is an extensive body of evidence that relates our diet to our health at specific phases of the life-course. However, too often we are drawn into ways of eating that may not suit our changing hormonal environment as we move out of menopause into post-menopause.
That’s why connecting the dots between menopause, inflammation, cardiovascular disease and healthy ageing was the ‘game-changer’ not only for my own health, but for women who have joined me and needed to lose weight and change their health during or after their menopause transition.
Evidence for Anti-inflammatory Foods
Diet is one of the most influential lifestyle factors contributing to the rise of inflammatory disorders and because menopause itself, is a vulnerable time for health changes, focusing on our nutrition is a change that we can all implement.
This gets forgotten in the marketing of menopause remedies and medications. However, our food matters because research suggests that a potential mechanism underlying the association of diet, inflammation and cardiovascular disease can be identified in the gut microbiota.
I’ve talked about this in previous articles this year too. Our diet shapes large bowel microbial ecology, and changes in the gut microbiota composition are associated with inflammation, including menopause-related depression.
Numerous studies have indicated a remarkable role for diet, the gut microbiota, and their metabolites in several inflammatory disorders. (Gambardella & Santulli, 2016).
Food is tied to inflammation in two ways.
- Your diet affects the species of digestive bacteria that grow in your gut (the microbiome) and the chemicals they produce during digestion. Depending on the species, these chemicals either promote or reverse inflammation.
- Your diet also affects inflammation through its relationship with weight gain and obesity. An anti-inflammatory diet, which is rich in plant whole-foods such as fruits, vegetables, legumes, wholegrains and low in processed foods, is one that promotes overall health and a healthy weight.
In contrast, foods which promote inflammation (pro-inflammatory diet) include foods that have low nutrient content, as well as refined foods such as high sugar, high fat and high salt foods.
These types of foods trigger chronic inflammation and also promote weight gain, which can also induce inflammation. So, it’s not just what you eat that can influence inflammation, it’s what you don’t eat as well. This is one of the main areas that I give you coaching support – it’s hard to change habits of a lifetime I know!
The other point to remember, is that if you consume a diet that is high in processed food, fats and sugars then you will be missing out on the power of phytochemicals – the minerals and vitamins in foods.
I talk a lot about micronutrients (vitamins and minerals) in my programmes, especially the specific nutrients that are evidenced for women as they move through menopause into their post-menopause years, i.e. the B vitamins, Vitamin C, magnesium, selenium, calcium, folate and of course, potassium for our ageing heart muscle which has to get us through our day – whether you are hiking for miles or you are active and busy.
It's not just about the Mediterranean diet!
We all know that there are numerous external factors that impact health as we age. These include smoking, drug-use, environmental pollution, ultraviolet (UV) exposure, mutagens, and a variety of medications, which increase oxidative stress in the body. [Shanaida et al.., 2025].
Oxidative stress refers to the imbalance between the production of damaging free radicals (which cause inflammation) and the body’s ability to neutralize them with antioxidants. When oxidative stress builds up, cellular structures and functions may be damaged and ageing occurs more rapidly.
Slowing down the rate of inflammation is an important nutritional goal as women move from menopause to post-menopause.
Current anti-ageing strategies also have this goal. In this regard, the term ‘geroprotector‘ has gained importance – a term which refers to certain molecules and nutrients that target the biological hallmarks of ageing, thereby delaying the onset of age-related diseases. [Shanaida et al., 2025].
One of the measurements of inflammation in the human body is an inflammatory marker known as C-reactive Protein (C-rP).
The Dietary Inflammatory Index, used this blood-marker to assess the effect of either an anti-inflammatory diet or a pro-inflammatory diet on biomarkers such as blood sugars, blood pressure, and liver enzymes. The Dietary Inflammatory Index was developed as a mathematical index which assesses the potential inflammatory activities of the diet.
A diet rich in fruits, vegetables, legumes, whole grains, fish, nuts, and low-fat dairy products showed the lowest C-rP score according to the Dietary Inflammatory Index studies, and whilst these studies aren’t without criticism, the information is relevant to women moving from menopause to post-menopause.
Because, an anti-inflammatory dietary focus is also protective against the development and progression of cardio-vascular disease. This is a salient point for women who are also overweight.
Is it only Extra Virgin Olive Oil that protects our health as we age?
The traditional Mediterranean diet, whose principal source of fat is extra virgin olive oil (EVOO), encompasses anti-inflammatory nutrients. That’s why several studies have established the beneficial role of this diet in reducing cardio-vascular disease, metabolic disorders, and even several types of cancer.
But EVOO is not the only nutrient to reduce or prevent inflammatory changes with age. It’s also about what the Mediterranean Diet ‘isn’t’.
The Mediterranean diet is low in saturated fats (animal fats). Fats are sourced instead from plant-based monounsaturated fat, mainly from olive oil.
The Mediterranean diet is also high in complex carbohydrates, from legumes and is high in fibre, mostly from vegetables and fruits. The emphasis is also on plant-proteins (beans, legumes, nuts and seeds) with minimal intake of eggs, chicken, dairy and meat.
There is also an emphasis on whole-foods in an anti-inflammatory diet, and very low, or no, ultra processed food. It is this aspect that also offers value to the reduction of inflammation.
In my programmes, I follow this approach. There is no calorie-counting nor ‘macro-counting’. My aim is to free women up from the constraints and anxiety of always counting! My focus is on eating high quality nutrients that are scientifically evidenced to reduce our symptoms and/or weight.
I especially focus on the nutrients that are known to help to reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease – afterall, women’s heart health changes as we move through menopause into post-menopause.
An anti-inflammatory, Mediterranean Diet has the most evidence behind it for women’s healthy ageing. Knowing this should help us to adhere to it and not get swayed by all the different diets that abound in popular media and the fitness and dieting industries.
When we adhere to this type of diet for at least 6-12 months, we help to prevent our platelets and red blood cells from aggregating (clumping). This is important to help reduce blood pressure and prevent clots forming in our blood.
With a Mediterranean Diet we help to reduce inflammation in our blood vessels, which is known to contribute to the vascular stiffness associated with the ageing of our blood vessels.
‘A higher reduction in the concentrations of proinflammatory markers was observed in those who showed a higher degree of adherence to the traditional Mediterranean diet.’ [Chrysohoou, C., Demosthenes B., et al (2004)]
One of the hallmark foods of the Mediterranean Diet, is the humble tomato.
Tomatoes, the second most produced and consumed vegetable in a typical Mediterranean Diet, are a rich source of lycopene, beta-carotene, folate, potassium, vitamin C, flavonoids, and vitamin E. All important nutrients for heart health.
Lycopene is a chemical that gives a tomato its red color and is also a powerful antioxidant, and has a higher release when tomatoes are cooked. Lycopene is a nutrient that reduces damage in our cells.
In the MyMT™ recipe book which is part of all my 12 week programmes, I have a Mediterranean inspired Italian Tomato Sauce which is well loved by the ladies on my progammes. The recipe is HERE for you.
As we move into the final phase of the year, I hope you can spend some time exploring any of the My Menopause Transformation programmes.
Explore the Masterclass on Menopause if you are new to this community, and explore the numerous Success Stories from women just like you!
My programmes all differ depending on whether women are wanting support with weight loss or not, or if they are thinner and leaner, but struggling with symptoms, or have found that their symptoms have returned despite being in post-menopause, or other health concerns have arrived. If you are struggling to take back control of your health at this time of life, then I hope you can explore joining me on MyMT™ – 12 weeks just might change your life.
Dr Wendy Sweet (PhD)/ MyMT™ Founder/ Member: Australasian Society of Lifestyle Medicine.
References:
Chacin-Suarez, A., & Medina-Inojosa, J. (2020). Microvascular and Small-Vessel Disease: An unrecognized connection in women with modern coronary disease. Journal of Women’s Health, 29 (6), 1-2.
Chrysohoou, C., Demosthenes B., et al (2004). Adherence to the Mediterranean Diet Attenuates Inflammation and Coagulation Process in Healthy Adults. Journal of the American College of Cardiology, 44, (1), 1-7.
Gambardella, J., & Santulli, G. (2016). Integrating diet and inflammation to calculate cardiovascular risk. Atherosclerosis, 253, 258–261. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.atherosclerosis.2016.08.041
Hébert JR, Shivappa N, Wirth MD, Hussey JR, Hurley TG. Perspective: The Dietary Inflammatory Index (DII)-Lessons Learned, Improvements Made, and Future Directions. Adv Nutr. 2019 Mar 1;10(2):185-195. doi: 10.1093/advances/nmy071.
Shanaida M, Mykhailenko O, Lysiuk R, Hudz N, Balwierz R, Shulhai A, Shapovalova N, Shanaida V, Bjørklund G. Carotenoids for Antiaging: Nutraceutical, Pharmaceutical, and Cosmeceutical Applications. Pharmaceuticals (Basel). 2025 Mar 13;18(3):403. doi: 10.3390/ph18030403.
Willcox J., Catignani G., Lazarus S. (2003). Tomatoes and cardiovascular health. Crit Rev Food Sci Nutr. 43(1):1-18. doi:10.1080/10408690390826437
