MENOPAUSE & PROTEIN INTAKE: How much to eat & where to get it from?
MENOPAUSE & PROTEIN INTAKE:
How much do we need and where do we get it from?
Menopausal, perimenopausal and postmenopausal women know there are so many things that change with menopause and many changes you have to consciously make in regard to your lifestyle. One of these changes is eating and eating habits, what to eat? What not to eat? How much to eat? Is my eating causing my weight gain? So many questions rightfully. So, today we are going to talk diet and specifically protein intake.
As we age, we need more protein per day but many of us do not know how much we actually need to stay healthy, strong and help us if we are active as menopausal, perimenopausal and postmenopausal women.
So, let’s talk numbers and recommendations:
1.4-2.2 grams of protein per kg of bodyweight is the aim per day.
If we average that out that it is around 0.8 grams per kg of bodyweight of protein per day. So, for example to work yours out simply follow this –
Your body weight (in kg) x 0.8 = recommended protein intake per day
Sally weighs 63kg- 63kg x 0.8 = 50.4 grams of protein per day
Be mindful of your current lifestyle and routine as well as fitness goals if you have any! (If Sally was in the gym 3x per week and weightlifting/strength training and trying to build muscle and strength she can up the average to in the range of 1.4-2.2 depending on how much muscle she wanted to build)
63kg x 1.4 = 88.2 grams of protein per day.
63kg x 1.8 (middle number of the range) = 113.4 grams of protein per day.
63kg x 2.2 = 138.6 grams of protein per day.
These are a few examples of how you can up your protein and work out how many grams to eat- the more active you are the more you should eat.
A guide to help for meals:
When making meals a standard serving of food that are high in protein (chicken breast, beef, fish etc) would ideally be the same thickness and size as the palm of your hand and this would average at a 20-30g of protein serving depending on the source it’s come from.
Women need what is the equivalent to 3-6 of these palm sized servings of high protein foods, so give yourself 1-2 palm servings per meal.
Protein sources:
Now that we’ve gone over how much protein we need and how to work it out in grams per day and how to measure it when it comes to meal servings, let’s talk where to get it and what foods are high in protein.
See the tables below. We will also get into plant based options further down.
| High protein sources | Moderate protein sources |
| · Cottage cheese
· Greek yogurt, quark yogurt · Eggs and egg whites · Fish · Lamb · Poultry (chicken, duck, turkey) · Lean pork · Lean beef · Lean game meats (rabbit, venison etc) · shellfish |
· Cheese
· Milk · Plain yogurt · Chickpeas, beans, kidney beans, lentils etc · Walnuts, almonds, pecans, hemp seeds, pumpkin seeds etc. |
It is important to note in the moderate list this food will provide protein but not as much as the high protein foods. They also provide other qualities in high quantities and not just protein. The dairy products on that side are high in fats, the legumes/beans are high in carbs and classed as a carbohydrate source, and the nuts/seeds are high in fats so classed as a fat source
Now on to supplements to help hit the recommended goals, protein powders are a great way to ensure you are getting enough protein as well as other important nutrients, however, do make sure you are reading the labels and finding ones with minimal ingredients and that have been lab tested. You also may need to trial and error the ones for you as each protein powder will have its own source and some may work better for you than others. For example, in my personal experience I use a vegan protein powder that uses pea protein despite the fact I am not vegan and still eat diary but whey proteins that I have tried from numerous brands leave me feeling hard bloated and heavy.
| Animal sourced protein powder options | Plant-based protein powder options |
| · Whey
· Casein · Egg/egg white · Beef isolate |
· Hemp protein
· Rice protein · Pea protein · Pumpkin seed protein · Vegan protein blends |
Plant based protein options:
You can still get protein from plant based options if that is your dietary preference but make sure you are using various sources as with plant based options you are not getting the full complement of amino acids you get from meat proteins.
Beans and legume options-
- Tofu
- Tempeh
- Bean pasta
Whole grain options-
- Quinoa
- Amaranth
- Teff
- Buckwheat
- Brown/wild rice
- Steel cut/whole oats
As previously gone over nuts and seeds are also good sources but are high in fats so not recommended in big amounts or as the only protein sources.
A few things to keep in mind:
Consider that high protein food can be either high or low in fats, so be mindful when meal planning if you already have a healthy fat on the plate (avocado for example) pair it with a leaner meat or low fat protein source.
Lean meats and fish as protein sources are generally better than fatty cuts of meat such as bacon, sausages, fatty beef etc.
Try to eat as wide range as you can and as diversely as possible to get a boost of vitamins, minerals, healthy fats and antioxidants.
And finally try to pick less processed options so pork tenderloin over hotdogs.