Consuming a diet rich in legumes and fish may help delay the natural process of menopause, according to researchers at Leeds University in the United Kingdom. The research team added that eating foods rich in carbohydrates may fast-track menopause.

The age at which a person experiences their menopause can influence their health in many ways. Premature menopause, described as hitting menopause before 40, can come with several health complications, including infertility.

Some of the consequences of premature or early menopause includes:

Higher risk of heart disease
Loss of bone density
Loss of sexual desire

Conversely, early menopause might have some health benefits. A recent study suggested that a later menopause might help prevent cognitive decline in older women.

Yashvee Dunneram, a researcher at the School of Food Science and Nutrition at the University of Leeds in the United Kingdom, and colleagues carried out a study to establish the relationship between diet and onset of menopause.

Their findings were published in the Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health.

Dunneram and the team of researchers examined the data available from the UK Women’s Cohort Study — a survey of over 35,000 British-based women aged between 35 and 69.

The scientists also included information on potential confounding factors such as weight and reproductive history, physical activity levels, and hormone replacement therapy use.

Using the data drawn from food frequency questionnaires, the researchers were able to estimate the daily consumption of 217 food items that the participants ate.

A total of 914 of all the women experienced menopause naturally between the ages of 40 and 65.

How carbs, fish, legumes affect menopause

The age at which the women got their menopause on average was 51, and the study discovered that certain food items were linked with the menopause onset.

Each portion of carbohydrates, such as pasta and rice, consumed daily related with experiencing menopause 1.5 years earlier. Comparing this, for each daily portion of fish and fresh legumes, such as peas and beans, the delay in onset of menopause was over 3 years. Also, a daily consumption of vitamin B-6 and zinc was also connected with later menopause.

When comparing vegetarians with meat eaters, the team discovered that eating meat was linked with a 1-year delay in menopause onset. Among women who had not had any children, a higher consumption of grapes and poultry was connected with later menopause.

According to Dunneram and her colleagues:

“Our discoveries confirm that diet may be linked with the age at natural menopause. This may be significant at a public health level since age at natural menopause may have implications on future health results.”

Source: http://www.healthdiary365.com/2018/05/11/foods-that-may-delay-menopause/