If you’ve walked through a supermarket lately, you’ve probably noticed that protein is everywhere. High-protein products such as yoghurt, milk, cereal, bread, wraps, snack bars and ready-made meals are filling the shelves. And to be clear, protein is important, particularly during perimenopause and menopause. As oestrogen levels fluctuate and decline, maintaining muscle becomes increasingly important, and getting enough protein, alongside resistance exercise, can help support muscle mass. Protein can also help with fullness and blood glucose management.
But with so much attention on protein, another nutrient that is just as important is often being overlooked and forgotten. That nutrient is fibre. Fibre can play an important role in supporting many of the areas of health that become increasingly relevant through perimenopause, menopause and beyond.
Why nutrition matters during menopause
The menopause transition involves much more than hot flushes and changes to your menstrual cycle. Declining oestrogen levels are associated with:
Changes in body composition, including reduced muscle mass and an increase in visceral fat (fast around our organs)
Reduction in bone mineral density and increased risk of osteoporosis
Insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes
Cardiovascular disease, including high cholesterol levels and high blood pressure
Imbalances in the gut microbiome
That might sound like a rather gloomy list, but there is good news. Nutrition and other lifestyle factors can play a significant part in managing these health issues and reducing the risk of developing them. Fibre is an important part of that picture.
First, what exactly is fibre?
Put simply, dietary fibre is the part of plant foods that our body can't completely digest or absorb. There are a number of different types of fibre and the all have different roles.
Soluble fibre: forms a gel in the gut helping to slow carbohydrate absorption and reduce cholesterol. You'll find it in foods such as oats, legumes, fruit and vegetables, as well as fibres such as psyllium and beta-glucan.
Insoluble fibre: provides bulk and helps things move through our digestive system, supporting regular bowel function. You'll find it in foods such as wheat bran, wholegrains, vegetable skins and nuts.
Fermentable or prebiotic fibres: provide food for our gut bacteria, supporting the gut microbiome and the production of beneficial compounds. You’ll find it in foods such as onion, garlic, oats, asparagus, leeks, chicory root and resistant starch.
The great thing is that you don't need to remember which food contains which type. Most plant foods contain a mixture of fibres, which is why variety matters.
Benefits of Fibre
When people think about fibre, bowel health is usually the first thing that comes to mind. And while that's certainly one important benefit, fibre has much broader effects.
1. It can support appetite and weight management
Fibre-rich foods can slow stomach emptying and help us feel fuller and more satisfied after eating. This can be helpful for appetite and weight management, particularly when changes in body composition and visceral fat can become more noticeable around menopause.
2. It supports blood glucose management
Certain fibres, particularly soluble fibre, slow the digestion and absorption of carbohydrate. This can help reduce the rise in blood glucose following a meal. Higher-fibre dietary patterns are also associated with better blood glucose control and a lower risk of type 2 diabetes. This becomes particularly relevant during the menopause transition, when insulin resistance and the risk of type 2 diabetes become important health considerations.
3. It can help look after your heart
Fibre is also one of our nutritional tools for looking after cardiovascular health. Soluble fibres can help lower LDL cholesterol (or "bad" cholesterol as it can cause a fatty build-up in your arteries called plaque). They form a gel in the gut that can reduce cholesterol absorption and influence how cholesterol is metabolised by the liver. Higher fibre intake is also associated with a lower risk of cardiovascular disease, and fibre may have a modest beneficial effect on blood pressure.
4. And, of course, it can help support a healthy gut
Different types of fibre can support stool consistency and bowel regularity, but the gut story goes further than that.
Fibre provides food for the trillions of microorganisms living in our gut, known as your gut microbiome. Research is increasingly looking at changes in the gut microbiome through menopause and how they may relate to metabolic health, inflammation, immunity and the gut-brain connection. One particularly interesting area is the oestrobolome, the collection of gut bacteria involved in oestrogen metabolism. This is still an emerging field, so we don't have all the answers yet. What we do know is that eating a fibre-rich diet is one way we can support a healthy gut microbiome.
So, how much fibre should you be eating?
A practical goal is to work towards around 30 grams of fibre each day, with higher intakes sometimes used for cardiovascular prevention.
Good sources of fibre include:
Vegetables
Fruit
Wholegrain breads, wraps, cereals and crackers
Oats, barley, brown rice, buckwheat and quinoa
Legumes such as chickpeas, beans and lentils
Nuts
Seeds
Top tips for increasing your fibre intake are:
Fill half your plate with salad or vegetables at main meals
Eat a rainbow – have 3 different coloured veggies on your plate at each meal
Eat a variety of plant foods – aim for 30 different plant foods per week
Eat 2 serves of fruit daily (1 serve is a medium piece of fruit like an apple or pear or 1 cup of fruit)
Eat 5 serves of vegetables daily (1 serve is 1 cup salad/uncooked veg or ½ cup cooked veg)
Have a handful of nuts/seeds everyday (about 30g) e.g. add to breakfast, smoothies, salads or as a snack
Choose high fibre snacks such as nuts, fruit, veggie sticks and hommus, popcorn, wholegrain crackers, roasted chickpeas
Swap refined grains for wholegrains e.g. wholegrain bread, cereal and crackers, brown rice, quinoa, barley, oats, buckwheat, wholemeal pasta
Include legumes 2-3x per week e.g. add to salads and soups, swap mince for beans/lentils in bolognese and Mexican dishes, snack on roasted chickpeas
However, remember to increase your fibre gradually and drink plenty of water. Increasing fibre too quickly can leave you feeling bloated and uncomfortable.
Putting it all together
We don't need to choose between protein and fibre. We need both.
A yoghurt bowl can give you protein from Greek yoghurt and fibre from berries, high-fibre muesli, chia seeds and nuts. Eggs on grainy toast can be paired with avocado, spinach and tomato. A chicken salad becomes even more satisfying with chickpeas and quinoa. Salmon can be paired with lentils and roasted vegetables. Stick to filling half your plate with veggies, ¼ of your plate with lean protein and ¼ of your plate wholegrains to get the balance right.
This is also where a Mediterranean-style eating pattern fits beautifully. It's built predominantly around vegetables, fruit, legumes, wholegrains, nuts, seeds and extra-virgin olive oil, with moderate amounts of fish, dairy, eggs and poultry and smaller amounts of red meat and highly processed foods. That naturally provides a combination of fibre, protein and healthy fats.
Final thoughts
Instead of putting all the focus on one nutrient, come back to balance. Include plenty of vegetables and fruit, choose wholegrains, add legumes, nuts and seeds regularly, and combine these fibre-rich foods with good-quality sources of protein. Through perimenopause, menopause and beyond, it’s not about protein versus fibre. Both play an important role, and building meals that provide a balance of protein, fibre and nourishing plant foods is a simple way to support your health for the long term.
If you'd like personalised support with nutrition through perimenopause or menopause, including gut health, bone health or cardiometabolic health, individual consultations are available through Clarity Dietetics.