It is known that what you eat can affect the way you go through menopause, the way you feel, and also the types of symptoms women get.
These healthy snacks are ones that individuals can prepare themselves and take practically no time at all.
Eileen Durward, a menopause expert at A.Vogel, a herbal remedy manufacturer, has shared the benefits of these snacks for women going through menopause.
Even better, the snacks listed are affordable and easy to get hold of in most supermarkets.
Durward has also answered the question of whether or not enjoying a snack during the evening is beneficial.
What’s the best snack you can get? Durward said: “One of the best snacks that you can get is a combination of nuts and seeds and dried fruits.”
Nuts
Durward said: “These are absolutely great. They’re little powerhouses of energy and nutrition. Just for instance, walnuts look like little brains. These are great for brain function. They contain omega-3. Walnuts are great for your hair and your skin.
“We’ve got Brazil nuts. These are great for general repair, they are really good for your hormones, and they’re great for your skin. These are your anti-ageing nuts if you like.
“We’ve got almonds. These are great. They’ve got loads of protein. They’ve got vitamin E which is great for your skin. And, they’re high in calcium and magnesium, so they’re going to be good for your bones and your nails and your hair as well.”
Finally, she added hazelnuts are “full of fibre” and are great for your bowels if they’re feeling a “little sluggish”. Hazelnuts are good for your hair and skin too.
Seeds
The expert said: “Pumpkin seeds are full of good oils that are going to help your joints, going to help brain function, and they’re also full of magnesium, calcium and zinc as well. Zinc is great for your nails and for your skin, too.”
Dried fruit
Durward continued: “Just a little bit of dried fruit. Don’t have too much, because these are full of sugar. This is a great little handful. What you can do is you can put it in a tub. You can take it with you to work. You can carry it around in your handbag as well.
“This, if you actually think about the calorie content, and I know a lot of you will be thinking ‘Oh nuts and seeds they’re really high in calories’, there’ll be fewer calories in this little handful than there will in a jam doughnut or a couple of chocolate biscuits.
“You’re not actually getting good nutrition from those things, but these, they’re going to be full of just about everything you need to keep you going until your next meal.”
Vegetables
The pro said: “A nice little tub that, again, you can take to work or take out on the road with you. Chop things like your carrots. You can use cucumber. You can use celery. You can just use a little bit of hummus. It’s absolutely great, a fabulous snack, and the hummus has lovely oils and fats that will keep your blood sugars really nice and level.”
Nut butters
Durward suggested: “One of my favourites for a quick afternoon or morning snack is a couple of teaspoons of peanut butter. You can also use other nut butter such as almond butter or cashew nut butter as well. Again, you can just take them off the spoon. Don’t have too many. You can actually go a little bit overboard. Try and keep to a couple of teaspoons full.
“If you’re going for things like peanut butter, make sure there’s no sugar in it. Go for an organic one, with no sugar and low salt as well. You can also use these on oat cakes. These are great. Just spread a little bit. Put them together. Have a little bit of a peanut butter sandwich, if you like.
“At this particular point, I wouldn’t recommend rice cakes purely because they are very high carbohydrate. They will break down very quickly, and they’ll give you a bit of a sugar hit, which is not what you want. Oatcakes are great because they release energy really, really slowly.”
Eggs
Finally, Durward recommended: “This is a fabulous snack to take with you. It’s full of protein and will help to keep you going. I usually hard-boil mine.
“You can either slice it up and put it in a little tub with some sliced tomato and a little bit of salt and pepper, or you can mash it up with a little bit of organic mayonnaise and just eat it off the spoon. That’s a great filler, especially if you’ve got a long time to wait before your next meal.”
Night-time snacks
Durward said that having snacks before you go to bed is “important” but only if you are eating them an hour before you hit the sack.
She said: “If you’re not sleeping well and if you’re waking up in the middle of the night maybe with a little bit of palpitations. This is very often due to the fact that your blood sugar levels are so low that your body is waking up in a panic.
“My favourite indulgent snack is some full-fat Greek yoghurt and some cocoa powder. I know some of you will go ‘Oh full fat we don’t want full fat‘. You need the full fat to help keep your blood sugar level for as long as possible.
“Cocoa powder, now this is not drinking chocolate. There’s no sugar in the cocoa powder. You can use this, or you can actually use pure cacao powder. There’s only about 25 calories in a teaspoon, so this is a great indulgent snack.”