Is Menopause Messing with Your Mind? Let’s Clear the Brain Fog

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Combating Brain Fog in Menopause: Nutrition and Lifestyle Tips

In this episode of Joyful Menopause, host Lynda Enright delves into the common issue of brain fog during perimenopause and menopause. 

She explains how hormonal changes, particularly fluctuations in estrogen, progesterone, and cortisol, contribute to cognitive issues like memory lapses and difficulty concentrating. 

Lynda provides practical, science-based advice on how to alleviate brain fog through dietary adjustments and lifestyle changes. 

Key recommendations include consuming anti-inflammatory foods such as seafood, greens, nuts, and beans, maintaining a balanced gut microbiome with fermented foods, and incorporating colorful fruits and vegetables rich in phytonutrients. 

Lynda also emphasizes the importance of sleep, stress management, physical activity, and social connections in supporting brain health. 

She shares success stories of women who improved their cognitive function by making small, consistent changes.

00:00 Introduction to Brain Fog

00:53 Understanding Hormonal Impacts

02:43 The Role of Diet in Brain Health

05:55 Practical Dietary Tips

08:40 Lifestyle Changes for Mental Clarity

11:29 Emotional and Social Well-being

12:23 Real-life Success Stories

15:55 Conclusion and Resources

When you're ready, here are 3 ways I can help you to feel your best during perimenopause and menopause:

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2. For more information about Lynda and how she supports women on their health journey, click here to learn more.

3. Interested in seeing if nutrition coaching with Lynda is right for you? Click here to book a free discovery call with Lynda.

Transcript

0:00

If you have ever blanked on a word, mid-sentence, forgotten why you walked into a room, or struggled to focus on even the simplest tasks, you are not imagining it. Brain fog is incredibly common during perimenopause and menopause, and today I wanna talk about why it happens and what you can do to support your brain through this transition. Welcome back to Joyful Menopause, where we talk about what matters most for women's health in midlife. I'm your host, Lynda Enright. And today we are diving into something that so many of you have asked me about brain fog. So let's get started. Menopause doesn't have to feel like you are living in someone else's body. Your host, Lynda Enright, has spent the last 25 years helping women to thrive in midlife. Here you'll find science-based practical advice that you can start using today to get real results for your health. Welcome to Joyful Menopause. Brain fog can feel like your brain has slowed down. It might show up as memory lapses, trouble concentrating, or that really frustrating feeling that you just aren't as sharp as you used to be. You just can't pull things up as quickly. And the truth is this isn't all in your head. It's in your hormones, so I wanna talk about a few different hormones, estrogen, progesterone, and cortisol. As estrogen levels decline, they affect the brain directly. Estrogen plays a really big role in memory, mood, and focus. It supports communication between your brain cells. It helps to regulate blood flow to the brain, and it in even it helps to influence the growth of new neurons in your brain. So when those levels of estrogen shift, it can impact how well your brain is functioning just on a day-to-day basis. But it's not just estrogen shifting progesterone also can affect sleep and anxiety levels, which in turn then messes with your focus and your memory. Cortisol. The stress hormone also tends to run higher during midlife, especially if you're juggling a lot, which is the case with all of the women I work with. Busy career, taking care of family involved in their community. It can be too much. High cortisol over time can actually shrink parts of your brain that are involved in memory and learning. In addition to the hormone impacts, there's also this issue of low grade chronic inflammation, which I think is a problem for so many of us, pretty much everyone in our culture that's driven by a poor diet, by gut imbalances and stress, which can all impair mental clarity. So that's why if you want to clear that fog, you need to reduce inflammation and nourish your brain from the inside out. One of the most powerful tools you have is the food you eat. I have seen in so many women I work with that when they focus on anti-inflammatory eating and creating optimal gut health, their brain actually changes and they start seeing reduction in these symptoms. There is a direct connection between your gut and your brain. They talk to each other. This is called the gut brain axis, and the microbes, all those bugs living in your gut to help produce important neurotransmitters like serotonin, dopamine, and gaba. These are chemicals that regulate mood focus and your stress response. So when your gut microbiome is thriving, there's lots of good bugs there. Those chemicals that help you to feel good are then more balanced. But when it's out of balance, which can happen because of too much sugar, stress, antibiotics, or ultra processed foods, which I talked about in another episode, this can trigger inflammation that impacts brain function. In other words, when your gut isn't happy, your brain isn't happy either. So what do we do about it? Let's talk about foods that I recommend that will help to support brain and gut health, I like psychiatrist, Dr. Drew Ramsey refers to these categories that I think are really easy to remember. I like this seafood, greens, nuts, and beans. Great place to start. So seafood, think about salmon, sardines, and tuna. These are really rich in omega threes, anti-inflammatory, also B12 and zinc, which are critical for memory and mood. Greens, leafy greens, kale, spinach, arugula, collared greens. These are packed with folate, with fiber and antioxidants that help protect your brain. Nuts and seeds. Things like walnuts, pumpkin, or sunflower seeds, chia seeds, flax seeds. These are all great additions to meals because they're rich in healthy fats and magnesium, which supports cognitive function. And then beans, legumes, like black kidney, garbanzo beans. These are some options and they're good sources of folate, iron, and B vitamins, which are good for brain function and mood regulation. They're also a really good source of fiber that helps to create a nourished microbiome that then helps support a healthy brain. I also will add to this list. Fermented foods, good quality yogurt, kefir sauerkraut, kimchi. These are some good options and they feed your good gut bacteria, which in turn helps calm inflammation and improve mental clarity. Also consider color when you're looking for nutrient rich foods. Nutrients we get from plants, they're called phytonutrients show up in colorful foods, oranges, red, yellow, purple, black and blue. Look at your plate. Take a look at your plate every time you're eating and see if you have a lot of color. Color that comes from nature, not color that comes from a lab. The more colorful vegetables and fruit you eat, the more of those phytonutrients that you're getting that help protect and heal your brain. So we're talking today about nutrients for brain health to help to eliminate one of the symptoms women often experience during perimenopause and menopause brain fog. So let's go to some specifics. Here are some ways that you can bring some of these brain supporting nutrients into your diet without having to make huge changes and overhaul your whole diet. Just think about one small thing here and there that you can do. It all is going to add up to help you feel better and to clear your head to lift that fog. First of all, start with breakfast. Instead of grabbing something sugary, try a protein rich breakfast like eggs. You could throw some spinach in there for some good antioxidant nutrients, or maybe make a smoothie with berries, greens, and chia seeds. Lots of those phytonutrients as well as fiber that feed the good bacteria in your gut. Second thing you can do, focus on adding rather than subtracting. Where can you add nutrient dense foods in like leafy greens, Omega-3 rich fish nuts and colorful vegetables. Maybe have a salad with dinner. Swap out chicken or beef for salmon once or twice a week and sprinkle nuts on a salad. Or maybe have them as a snack. Little things that you can think about adding into your diet. Again, rather than always thinking about what we have to take away. Eating the rainbow. I talked about color. These rainbow of colors, these phytonutrients. Every time you eat, look and see how much color you have. Try to get at least three different colors on your plate. Then just keep your kitchen stocked. When you have easy staples on hand, it makes it easier to put nourishing meals together. Things like canned salmon, pre-washed greens, hard boiled eggs, plain Greek yogurt. These are all good protein sources, good fat sources, good nutrients in the greens that are going to be some powerhouses for your brain. Pair protein and fiber. This is kind of just in general what I always think about. Think about where is protein coming from and where are fruits and vegetables. That's where you're getting a lot of fiber. So things like snacking on hummus with vegetables. You got some protein in the hummus and a lot of fiber in the vegetables. Maybe apple slices with some nut butter. You get some protein and fat in the uh, nut butter. Pairing those things together. Again, just simple things. If you're having an apple, having it with some nuts or some nut butter as a way to just bump up that nutrition. Fermented foods I talked about. Keep fermented foods stocked in your kitchen too. Maybe just a spoonful of sauerkraut to your lunch on a sandwich, or on something, that you already have. You can just toss a little bit of extra fermented food, maybe some kefir with your breakfast, little things that you can do that add up. Lastly. Kind of an easy one. Drink enough water, even mild dehydration can make brain fog worse. A good rule of thumb is about half your body weight in ounces of water every day. So we're talking today about brain fog. We've covered things you can do with your diet, but there's also lifestyle choices that can really help to clear the brain fog too. Moving anytime you move your body powerful for your brain, even just walking for 20 minutes helps to improve circulation to the brain can help lift brain fog. Also, going for a little walk after you eat, even just a 10 minute walk after a meal can help to regulate blood sugars, which is also good for your brain health. Sleep. Also huge. Aiming for seven to nine hours of good quality sleep. If you struggle to create a calming evening routine, dim the lights, turn off screens an hour before bed. Try magnesium can be helpful for some women. Herbal teas can be nice keeping your bedroom cool and dark. I understand during the years of perimenopause and menopause, women often struggle to get good quality sleep I tell them, you need to get enough sleep. And they're like, I know I'm trying to get enough sleep in my Joyful Menopause program this is something we work on. There are lots of tools available to help improve your sleep. It is not your destiny to never sleep again. There are solutions. Stress is another factor. Chronic stress can impair memory, decision making, and even shrink parts of your brain that are involved in cognition. I encourage simple ways to bring stress down, deep breathing. Just think about all the opportunities throughout your day when you sit down to a meal. Can you just take a few deep breaths when you're washing your hands, when you're sitting at a stoplight? Those little opportunities to just. Uh, focus on breathing. You know, we're breathing all the time, but really to pay attention to your breathing can help to bring that stress hormone cortisol down. Journaling can be helpful. Gratitude journal is awesome. Moving, just gentle movement, stretching, going for a walk laughing. Laughing is great for lowering your stress. Spending time outside being in nature is really helpful too. Another powerful lifestyle habit is connection. The research from the Blue Zones talks a lot about the importance of connection. Spending time with people who lift you up has been shown to improve brain resilience and mood. Social interaction helps to reduce stress hormones. It increases those feel good brain chemicals like oxytocin and serotonin. This can happen in a lot of different ways. It might be just meeting a friend for coffee, going for a walk with someone that you like to be with, joining a book club or volunteering. The feeling of being seen, valued and supported directly supports thinking clearly and having balanced emotions. Two things that I hear all the time can be challenging during this time of life. And let's not ignore the emotional side of all of this. Mood swings, anxiety, irritability are very real during this time, and they can feel overwhelming. You might find yourself maybe reacting more strongly than usual or feeling like you're on this emotional rollercoaster with no clear trigger. It just doesn't always make sense. These shifts are not your fault. They're just a reflection of the big hormonal changes that are happening in your body. But the good news, what you eat and how you care for yourself can really make a difference. When you eat anti-inflammatory foods, you manage your blood sugar, you support your gut. You're not just thinking more clearly, you're also feeling more emotionally stable and resilient. You might find that you're just better able to cope with stressors. You can bounce back from setbacks more easily and feel more like yourself again. One woman that I worked with some years ago. Getting enough sleep was, and it wasn't that she wasn't able to get sleep, she had not created the best environment for her sleep. And once we made that shift, she described that she just was able to handle the stressors in her work life so much better. She had previously found herself, you know, being in tears pretty regularly because she just wasn't coping with it very well. And once we started creating some better balance and we worked on her diet and a lot of other things as well, but sleep was the first thing that we did. She just had so much more resilience and stability in her emotions. And then also, again, don't underestimate the power of connection. Whether it's just a friend, a walking partner, or, a healthcare practitioner, a trusted practitioner. You don't have to do this alone. You deserve support, and you're not meant to carry it all by yourself. I've worked with so many women who told me that they thought they were losing it. They were maybe developing dementia. They felt scattered, overwhelmed, and scared. That's a scary thing. But after making some small, consistent changes to what they ate, how they moved, how they rested. They felt like themselves again. That's the beauty of functional health, functional nutrition. It gives your body what it needs to bring it back to balance. It wants to be in balance. We just need to give it some of the tools. So Julie is an example of a, client I worked with. She's 52. She works full time. She had been dealing with really frustrating brain fog for a long time. She kind of described it as she just was walking around in a haze. She would misplace things, she'd kind of get zoned out in meetings. She was forgetting names and it was really affecting her confidence at work and at relationships. She just was really frustrated. So she came to me, you know, she was thinking something was really wrong with her brain and she was talking with her doctor and things, but, she, was putting a lot of things in place to support her. And we started talking, of course, about nutrition. And after digging a little bit deeper, we realized that she was skipping meals often she was running on caffeine, and she was just grabbing fast and easy food, which, you know, what do you think that usually is? Sugar, carbs, not necessarily a lot of protein and fiber. So we started with some simple things. She started with a protein rich breakfast I talked about. We added some more greens to her lunch. She started bringing a big salad, which she really enjoyed. She just wasn't taking the time to make it. And then we swapped out the evening wine for some herbal tea, something that was calming and helped to bring her, cortisol down in the evening rather than getting her revved up. And the wine, even though that makes you think that you're calming down, it's actually going to stimulate later in the evening and wake you back up. We also had some fermented foods. She started trying to go for a walk in the evening. Um, her and her husband would go after dinner sometimes, and she found those nights that really helped her to sleep too. Within just a few weeks, she said, I think my brain is back, and she said the fog was lifting. She was remembering things again and she finally was starting to feel like herself again. She felt sharp again. What she was most surprised about, what struck her most was not just that she was thinking more clearly, but she had confidence now. She felt that she knew what food and lifestyle was making a difference, and she felt like she could keep doing it. She just didn't know there was so much information out there that she didn't know where to begin. So if brain fog is getting in your way, remember this, your brain is not broken. It's just hormonal changes that are happening and what you eat matters. In addition, so does your sleep, your movement, and how you care for yourself overall. And also, I want you to remember that you are not alone. You do not have to figure this out by yourself. And if anyone tells you it's just menopause, there's nothing you can do about it. Know that there is a lot you can do to get back to feeling like yourself. And I have a resource for you that I, I think you'll like and can be really helpful. It's my menu plan cookbook with anti-inflammatory foods. So a great start on just some ideas of foods that that can help to build a healthy, nourished brain as well as a healthy body. So go to the show notes below and you can click to get that resource. So I think that's a great place to start and get some ideas and some foods that'll work for you. So thanks so much for listening today and remember that clarity is possible and you are so worth the care it takes to get there. Thanks for joining me and wishing you a very joyful menopause.