Food and your hormones

Food choice plays an integral role in physical and mental health. Almost immediately upon eating or drinking, molecules begin to circulate in every cell of your body, producing a myriad of responses in blood, muscle and nerve cells. Many natural health practitioners claim that the foods we eat are so important to our well-being that they can affect hormonal issues, helping or eliminating symptoms of menopause and perimenopause.

Marisha Golla, proprietor of the House of Tea in Toronto, says women in Asia take a softer approach to a woman's transition in life in a variety of ways, using foods and teas for their unique abilities to help manage mood swings, sweating and hot flashes. "I remember my aunt taking belly flower tea," says Golla, who is originally from Sri Lanka. "The water in the king coconut is very body-cooling. To stabilize mood and cool the body, I would suggest Japanese green tea, rooibos tea from South Africa, and evening primrose tea. I would leave out black tea. According to Ayurvedic medicine," she adds, "spinach is very, very cooling."

Dini Petty, Toronto's first female helicopter pilot and a highly successful '80s and '90s Canadian talk show personality, believes that what you put into your mouth to deal with the side effects of menopause is extremely important. Ste. Anne's Country Inn and Spa, which has recently introduced a special diet to address health issues, was the idyllic setting for Petty's first public talk on the subject of how she resolved her menopause woes with the help of her herbalist.

Some women seem to sail through menopause. Vegetarianism plays a huge part in life for these women. Many women report that stabilizing blood sugar levels and omitting processed foods and foods laced with artificial colours and hormones from the diet helps with negative PMS and menopausal symptoms. However, there is no one-size-fits-all method when it comes to managing hormone production. One food or group of foods that works wonders for one woman may not offer any discernable benefit for the next woman. It's important to experiment and see what works for you.

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