Nicky Dear Health Coach

You may have heard that the latest research suggests a mainly plant-based diet including around 30 plants a week is the best type of diet for your health.

During Menopause this is even more important and it may sound unachievable to include that many plants in any given week, but actually if you think about the fact that spices, nuts, and seeds are all from plants then it starts to look a bit easier.

I have a large spice rack in my kitchen and loads of herbs growing in my garden and I try to use as many as possible in my cooking, not only for taste but because of the amazing health benefits they bring, especially as we age and in Menopause.

Lets look at a few :

Ginger – Has long been considered of benefit as a spice that offers benefits to our health including anti-inflammatory properties, which is of course of great importance during Menopause.

Add it to your curries, in dressings, or take it as a shot with some lemon and apple (I have a delicious recipe for this on my recipe page).

I always like to check my facts, so I did some searches and found plenty of evidence to back this claim e.g. In a systematic review of randomised clinical trials a team of scientists found 25 published papers on trials which indicated that ” ginger supplementation has a significant effect on serum inflammatory and oxidative stress markers” [Mohammad Jalali et Al The effects of ginger supplementation on markers of inflammatory and oxidative stress …]

Cinnamon – I absolutely love cinnamon! The smell & taste evokes warmth and comfort and reminds me of Christmas and family gatherings.

Did you know that it also has some hugely beneficial properties that can help us manage our menopause symptoms (including weight gain)?

The way this works is that Cinnamon mimics the way insulin works in our bodies by helping to regulate our blood sugar (glucose levels) which has proven successful in helping manage type 2 diabetes *. It also contains a chemical compound called cinnamaldehyde which is a water-soluble polyphenol (which as you will know if you have read some of my previous blogs has anti-inflammatory effects on our bodies.)

It is not a magic potion however! No amount of cinnamon will undo the effects of a diet which is full of refined sugars and simple carbohydrates

* Bnouham M., Ziyyat A., Mekhfi H., Tahri A., Legssyer A. Medicinal plants with potential antidiabetic activity—A review of ten years of herbal medicine research (1990–2000) Int. J. Diabetes Metab. 2006;14:1–25. doi: 10.1159/000497588.
 [DOI] [Google Scholar]

Rosemary – Has been shown to have a hugely beneficial effect on improving brain function, insomnia, and anxiety.

It is thought that the antioxidant property of Rosemary may be responsible for these effects. Most of the research seems to have been undertaken using Rosemary extracts, but adding fresh rosemary to your diet not only enhances the flavour of your food but as it contains many, polyphenols such as Carnosic acid (which have been found to have anti-fungal, antimicrobial, antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties) it will certainly contribute to a healthy, mainly plant-based diet in many positive ways.

It can be added at the end of cooking a tray bake with lovely roasted veggies for example, or into soups, be adventurous you will be surprised what it goes with.

These are just 3 herbs and spices you can use to bring health benefits to your daily diet, there are so many more that I use regularly and which are evidenced to improve menopause symptoms in similar ways to Cinnamon, Rosemary and Ginger.

Here is a short list of some you could add to your shopping and start using in your cooking:

Cumin -(Active compound Cuminaldehyde)

Turmeric – use with black pepper to aid absorption (Active compound Curcumin and Piperine from pepper)

Chilli – (Active compound Capsaicin)

Garlic – not strictly a herb or a spice but as we use it in similar ways I’m including it as it is SO beneficial. (Active compound Allicin)

Sage – (Active compound Rosmarinic acid- similar to rosemary plus many others)

If you would like some recipes including these herbs and spices comment below and I will add some to my website.

Changing your diet can seem like a daunting task, but working along side someone can make the process so much easier.

If you are ready to invest in your future health why not give me a call or drop me a message and we can have an initial, no obligation chat about how I work.

Get in touch :

Email	Phone	Find out more about me
Nicky@nickydearhealthcoach.com	07407281148	nickydearhealthcoach.com