Nutrition during Menopause and Aging

Menopause and Aging, two physiological stages of women, "are the most unknown with regard to nutrition." This statement corresponds to Gregorio Varela, President of the Spanish Foundation of Nutrition, included in his presentation of the Summer School Nutrition and Health of Women in the Twenty-First Century (University Cardenal Herrera CEU and Universidad San Pablo CEU). His speech focused specifically on the current knowledge about nutrition during menopause and old age. The data from the study provides food habits, nutritional status and lifestyles of menopausal women in Spain, coordinated by Varela, which took a sample of 1218 Spanish women in premenopause and menopause-aged between 40 and 77 years.

According to the results, 45% of women follow menopausal hormone treatment, 21% had a smoking over 10 cigarettes a day, 52.7% consumed fortified foods and 22.8% consumed vitamin supplements and minerals. With regard to symptoms, Varela noted that approximately 75% of menopausal women suffer hot flashes and short-term, medium term, vaginal and urinary disorders, mental changes and even a decrease of the resistance and the calcification of bones. The latter concern to physicians, as specified Varela, "because of its relationship with osteoporosis, obesity, hypertension and cardiovascular complications."

One of the reasons is that menopause has long been, and remains in part, "the great unknown taboo and the physiological stage for most women." The teacher confirmed the importance of nutrition and diet during this physiological change, because of its close relationship with the consequences of menopause and its mitigation. 

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