Lifestyle maintenance with menopause

Help Maintain Your Lifestyle, Muscle, And Strength During Menopause

Help Maintain Your Lifestyle, Muscle, And Strength During MenopauseJune 22, 2023

Empower yourself during perimenopause and menopause and take charge of your lifestyle  with Pulsin’s protein snacks and powders.

It’s a well documented and widely advertised fact that protein helps maintain and improve muscle mass and strength but did you know that protein can help with the symptoms of perimenopause and menopause?

Studies have shown that late perimenopausal and postmenopausal women have lower muscle mass when compared with early and pre perimenopausal women. This is due to something called sarcopenia, which is “the loss of skeletal muscle mass and strength as a result of ageing”, and is a good reason why protein is so important when it comes to nutrition during perimenopause and menopause.

Experts call for high protein intake during perimenopause and menopause

Expert nutritionists have stated that women going through the menopause and perimenopause should include high protein snacks and powder supplements in their diets to help maintain healthy muscle mass and strength as they get older.

During the menopause, there is a reduction in reproductive hormones that occurs alongside the end of menstruation. This typically happens during a woman’s late 40’s or early 50’s and is a natural part of ageing. Along with the menopause, many women experience uncomfortable symptoms such as mood swings, irritability, hot flushes, or trouble sleeping.

Symptoms such as these can be eased through a combination of good nutrition and exercise, according to experts.

Protein is key to countering effects of menopause

The levels of oestrogen, the hormone that regulates the female reproductive system, decrease during menopause. This can lead to a reduction in bone density and muscle mass, which may not be so noticeable when compared to the rest of the symptoms commonly experienced during menopause. However, muscle atrophy can seriously affect overall health and impact women’s lives more than they think.

What’s more is that if you are consuming a protein deficient diet, your muscle mass will reduce quicker and your body will have less capacity to store glucose. With less capacity for glucose storage, your body is more likely to store carbs and sugar as fat instead.

The good news is that by eating more protein, women can counteract these symptoms. Protein contains amino acids that are essential for repairing tissue and help the body recover from aches and pains. They also promote growth, build muscle, maintain strong bones, strengthen the immune system, and provide energy, all of which can help ease the better known symptoms of menopause as well as opposing the reduction in bone density and muscle mass.

How to increase your protein intake to counteract menopause symptoms

Current guidelines recommend that women over the age of 50 eat around 20-25 grams of quality protein with every meal. For those who follow a vegan diet and lifestyle, however, consuming enough protein can be tough. 

Meat, fish, and poultry all contain large amounts of protein but vegetarians and vegans can often find it hard to find a plant-based protein source to match that of their omnivorous counterparts. Not only that, but many women in their late forties and early fifties often find it hard to balance their lifestyle with making fresh protein-rich plant-based meals for every meal time.

It can be much easier and more cost-effective to keep protein levels high through the use of plant-based protein powders and snacks. These can be incorporated into someone’s daily routine relatively easily as a quick breakfast, mid-afternoon snack, sprinkled over certain recipes, or as a post-training recovery aid.

Plant-based protein powders and snacks can really assist with boosting protein consumption, helping women to reach their optimal protein intake and thus help alleviate some of the menopause symptoms.

Many of our products here at Pulsin are vegan friendly, gluten free, and also free from dairy, palm oil, and trans fats. 

We have a large range of protein powders and shakes to choose from that help to supplement a high protein diet and are easily incorporated into your daily routine. These range from plant based options such as faba bean, soya, pea, hemp, and rice, and include options for flavoured protein and whey protein isolate too.

Our Supershakes, in particular, provide a great source of protein as well as having the additional benefit of including vitamins and minerals to help support a healthy lifestyle.

Our Protein snack bars are a fantastic source of protein in a quick and easy-to-eat snack form, with flavours ranging from chocolate fudge to peanut chocolate, caramel chocolate, and maple and peanut!

However you are looking to supplement your diet with high protein powders or snacks, Pulsin has you covered with great tasting, convenient, and high protein products.