Spotlight on vitamin C and its role in perimenopause

Perimenopause – the transition into menopause – generally brings a raft of physiological alterations, from the poster indicators this sort of as scorching flushes and night sweats, via to lesser-known conditions like dry skin, coronary heart palpitations and joint ache. Add insomnia, anxiousness and low mood into the combine and you have a rather demanding line-up of bodily and mental hurdles to conquer.

Buckle up

Using into account the fact that quite a few health care professionals are not experienced more than enough in recognising menopause, women are typically floundering by the time I see them in the clinic. Menopause is not a disorder, it is a point of daily life, but which is not to say it’s an effortless ride. Luckily, regardless of whether you choose to deal with your signs or symptoms through pharmaceuticals or not, there are some incredibly useful eating plan and life-style steps you can place in position to ability you by way of this seismic alter, and outside of.

Get the essentials ideal

As a nutritionist, it would be remiss of me not to remind you of the significance of a well balanced diet regime with loads of plant-dependent meals, some healthy fat and a lot of color and variety. You have to have to imagine about your calcium ingestion (700mg day-to-day if you are beneath 50, 1200 mg if you are in excess of), take treatment of your intestine (think fibre and fermented meals) and guarantee you are having 150 minutes of average exercising a 7 days, ideally alongside a couple of power-dependent exercise sessions. It’s also worth slicing down on alcohol as it can play havoc with sizzling flushes, sleep, anxiety and believe about reducing saturated body fat with women of all ages about 50 nine periods much more at hazard of heart attacks than breast most cancers, midlife requirements to be really much targeted on cardiovascular well being.

All change

When it will come down to the nitty gritty of your dietary desires for the duration of perimenopause, vitamin C (also identified as ascorbic acid) can be extremely advantageous. It’s significant throughout our lives – as a powerful antioxidant, as effectively as a mobile protector and immunity supporter – but it can be specifically crucial during perimenopause when we’re usually floored by signs and symptoms, are getting problems sleeping and worry ranges are soaring. We know that vitamin C levels levels fall steadily as gals progress as a result of the menopausal changeover⁽¹⁾ nevertheless we really do not know precisely why. 1 hypothesis is that a perimenopausal system is undergoing fairly a number of physical improvements – as well as working with tons of stressors – and vitamin C is necessary for progress, fix, restoration and adrenal support.

Help act

Collagen is the most ample protein in our physique, creating up the connective tissues that deliver guidance, construction and defense in the overall body. Collagen keeps ligaments and tendons in joints powerful, it offers our pelvic floor ‘bounce’ and is a critical ingredient of pores and skin, building it stretchy and plump. As we transfer into perimenopause, oestrogen ranges start to deplete and a lot of ladies find their pores and skin gets dryer as they produce significantly less oil in sebaceous glands and the skin loses its capacity to maintain onto water. In truth, according to the American Academy of Dermatology, we practical experience a 30 p.c drop in collagen in the first five years of menopause⁽²⁾. Vitamin C is critical for healthier collagen and hyaluronic acid manufacturing⁽³⁾) so if you’re low in this vitamin your human body will not be in a position to make enough degrees. Earning up the deficit, by means of diet or supplementation, can be beneficial for joint, vaginal and skin health. Some scientific studies have also found vitamin C could enable with therapeutic tendon and ligament accidents⁽⁴⁾ and quite a few much more connection higher intakes of vitamin C with far better skin top quality, while reduced intakes are connected with a 10% improved chance of producing dry, wrinkled skin⁽⁵⁾.

Bones and brains

Somewhat staggeringly, 1 in 2 girls immediately after the age of 50 will experience a fracture, generally as a consequence of lower bone energy⁽⁶⁾. Vitamin C – together with calcium, magnesium, zinc and nutritional vitamins D, E and K – plays a crucial position in bone wellbeing and the prevention of osteoporosis. In 2018, a analyze of menopausal women of all ages in Korea positively involved vitamin C with larger bone density ⁽⁷⁾ and it has also been indicated in another paper for enhancing cognitive operate in put up menopausal women of all ages, primarily when it came to verbal remember ⁽⁸⁾. Really don’t overlook the great importance of workout for bones and brains way too. Brains bodily shrink a single % a yr just after the age of 40, but typical workout – everything that receives the blood pumping – can not only halt this but reverse it, growing mind mass by two per cent a yr when carried out consistently. Fat bearing things to do like walking, skipping, jogging, lifting weights, dancing and tennis are all great illustrations for setting up up bone matrix.

Heart delighted

Cardiovascular sickness – heart attack, stroke, angina – is the top bring about of demise in gals around 50 in the British isles. In reality a menopausal girl is nine moments a lot more probable to die of a coronary heart attack than breast cancer. Vitamin C is required to improve and keep blood vessels balanced, which is seriously important in perimenopause as circulation deteriorates substantially. Keep track of your cholesterol, blood strain, blood sugar levels and body weight to lessen your chance of heart condition. If you’re not by now, check out incorporating plenty of omega 3 into your diet program: oily fish these as salmon and mackerel are the finest resources, as properly as chia seeds, walnuts and flax.

Enamel and gums

Vitamin C is crucial for gum health and fitness and tooth restore. Bleeding gums, receding gums and tooth movement are fairly common in perimenopause, as are oral changes these types of as altered taste, dry mouth, burning mouth syndrome and a larger sensitivity to very hot and chilly food items. Somewhat worryingly, gum illness can raise the chance of other really serious health problems such as cardiovascular sickness, continual kidney illness, and rheumatoid arthritis as microbes below the gums can move into the bloodstream, influencing other areas of the system.

High histamine

Curiously, vitamin C is a all-natural antihistamine – it operates by calming down mast cells that are accountable for manufacturing histamine in the very first position. So if you endure from significant histamine degrees, vitamin C may assistance to mitigate signs and symptoms. Signs that you could have this ailment are: itchy pores and skin, problems, sinus problems, runny nose, fatigue and digestive problems. Histamine intolerance normally goes undiagnosed it can be as a immediate end result of too many histamine making foods (alcohol, yoghurt, shellfish, processed meats, avocados, aubergine, bananas, tomatoes), or occasionally for the reason that of a genetic polymorphism that implies you really don’t develop DAO which breaks histamine down. There’s also a robust hormone link with histamine intolerance, so quite a few women of all ages come across the onset of perimenopause sets off signs and brings about all types of allergic reactions that they in no way seasoned when young.

How to get plenty of?

The greatest way to get vitamin C is via your diet regime. Exposure to mild, heat and oxygen can reduce the quantity of vitamin C in new fruits and veggies so take in them quickly just after getting and always steam wherever doable to keep their nutrient status. Vitamin C massive hitters involve purple peppers, oranges, kiwi fruit, mango, tomatoes, berries, broccoli, inexperienced leafy veg, parsley, potatoes, frozen peas, blackcurrants and mangos.

Matters to consider

Environmental aspects impacting excellent of existence at the time of perimenopause may well adversely influence the diet and, as a result, vitamin and nutrient concentrations. Factors that may well have a most likely harmful affect contain becoming time poor, stressed and worn out, possessing troubles with relatives life or a lowered hunger, and struggling from weak intestine well being and variations in consuming practices. It is really worth noting that the adrenal glands, which just take above oestrogen, progesterone and testosterone manufacturing when the ovaries start shutting down, require vitamin C to keep healthful. The adrenals also develop cortisol in reaction to strain, so the far more cortisol which is built to cope with frantic daily life requires, the higher the body’s necessity for vitamin C. We all know how screening this everyday living phase can be. If you are involved that your life style is impacting your skill to attain exceptional vitamin C amounts or you may possibly not be absorbing nutrition very well owing to digestive dysfunction then supplementing with a excellent high quality manufacturer these kinds of as Altrient’s Liposomal Vitamin C might be advantageous (constantly talk to a health care professional right before embarking on a new complement routine).

Embrace the journey

Being familiar with the changes that transpire for the duration of perimenopause is incredibly empowering. Our bodies are amazing, but they need the correct fuel and assist. Wherever you are on the journey, know you’re not by yourself and there is a great deal of enable on hand.

Emma Bardwell
The Menopause Nutritionist
https://www.emmabardwell.com

References

Wiacek M et al. (2013). Menopause and age-pushed variations in blood level of unwanted fat- and drinking water-soluble nutritional vitamins. Climacteric : the journal of the Worldwide Menopause Society.16(6):689-99.
American Academy of Dermatology (2019) Caring for your skin in menopause. www.aad.org/general public/pores and skin-hair-nails/skin-care/skin-care-throughout-menopause.
Kishimoto et al. (2013). Ascorbic acid boosts the expression of form 1 and form 4 collagen and SVCT2 in cultured human skin fibroblasts.
Cosgrove M et al. (2007). Dietary nutrient intakes and pores and skin-growing older physical appearance among the middle-aged American girls. American Journal Scientific Nutrition. 86(4):1225-3
DePhillipo et al. (2018) Efficacy of Vitamin C supplementation on collagen synthesis and oxidative stress following musculoskeletal injuries: a systematic evaluation.
Age United kingdom (2019) Osteoporosis. www.ageuk.org.uk/facts-information/health and fitness-wellbeing/disorders-ilnesses/osteoporosis
Kim Ya et al. (2015) “Favorable influence of dietary vitamin C on bone mineral density in postmenopausal girls. Osteoporos Intercontinental. 2015 Sep 26(9):2329-37.
Vijayakumar TM et al. (2017). Comparative assessment of methylcobalamin and ascorbic acid on cognitive operate in publish-menopausal females – A randomized, double-blind demo. Up to date Clinical Trials Communication. 8:175-180.
McCabe D et al. (2017). The influence of essential fatty acid, B natural vitamins, vitamin C, magnesium and zinc supplementation on tension ranges in females: a systematic evaluation. JBI database of systematic opinions and implementation experiences. 15(2):402-53.