Menopause day

Well, there really is a day for everything now, isn’t there? With a lot of these things, I’m hesitant to get on board, but I definitely think the menopause is worth talking about, considering it happens to around half of all people ever. That’s quite a few humans, I’m sure you’ll agree!

Ayurveda sees the menopause as a time when a woman moves from the Pitta phase of her life to the Vata phase. Pitta is seen as the ambitious, hard-working, potentially child-bearing, basically ‘busy’ period of life, and Vata is seen as the later stages (with the Kapha years being childhood). It is for this reason that a Vata and Pitta pacifying diet is recommended, with lots of the sweet taste incorporated into dishes. If you’re menopausal or peri-menopausal at the moment, this fits in perfectly with the Autumn season, it has to be said, with plenty of sweet, grounding, earthy root vegetables around such as carrots, sweet potatoes, swedes, turnips and so on. Dried fruit like dates and apricots are also a winner, as are stewed apples with cinnamon: think moist, sweet and heavy.

I’ve written about fenugreek before, with its regulatory powers when it comes to the female reproductive system. It really is the gift which keeps on giving, so adding it to rice soups, kitchari, risotto, quinoa and other sweet, moist grains should bring some equilibrium. Oats too, are something to consider. Of course we also have the obvious but difficult things too, such as cutting out alcohol and caffeine which both dehydrate (aggravating Vata) and heat (aggravating Pitta).

Two non-kitchen herbs that are really great for women at all stages of life, but particularly in the middle phases are ashwagandha and shatavari. Both have that heavier, Kapha quality which can balance fieriness, fightiness, forgetfulness, fatigue, flightiness and all of the other Fs (yes, those ones too!) which come with the menopause.