Keto for Women Over 40 – What You Need To Know

by Ingria
on February 25, 2022

Keto for Women Over 40

Keto for Women Over 40: Once women hit 40 they begin to notice changes in their bodies. This means that a woman who wants to follow the keto diet must make some changes to ensure that it does not exacerbate any existing health conditions. So what does she need to know?

The onset of menopause is one issue that middle-aged women must cope with. This starts with perimenopause as the body starts to wind down its reproductive system (1).

During menopause, hormone levels start to fall; especially estrogen. This change in oestrogen can result in hot flashes, the need to pass urine quickly, difficulty sleeping, depression, and mood swings.

Unfortunately, weight gain is another thing that women notice. This weight is more likely to be around the belly and can quickly progress to obesity. Obesity increases a woman's risk of dying from heart disease (2). This is why women over 40 begin to consider losing weight, specifically the keto diet.

The keto diet is high fat and low carbohydrate and forces the body to burn fat for energy. This assists with weight loss by helping to balance insulin levels. The issue is that women over the age of 40 may lose a few pounds but still feel horrible. This is because of Keto Flu. The keto flu is a set of symptoms that occur as your body transitions from using carbohydrates to using fat for energy (3).

keto for women over 40

As a woman over 40, you are presumably holding down a job, raising children, and operating a home. So the last thing you need is to be weary, irritable, queasy, and constipated, which are all signs of keto flu.

To counteract this, make sure that the food consumed does not consist solely of meat, fish, and dairy products. The body needs lots of vitamins and minerals to fight against these illnesses. Cruciferous vegetables are the best source of these elements. Cauliflower, broccoli, sprouts, kale, spinach, and broccoli are among these veggies.

Keto Diet Can Cause Acidity in the Body

Women over the age of 40 should be aware that many of the items consumed while on the ketogenic diet can produce acidity in the body. Bacon, cheese, pig rinds, and even butter are examples of high-fat foods. This acidity has the potential to cause inflammation over time. Inflammation is harmful because it contributes to the development of diseases such as cancer (4).

During the peri-menopause period, the levels of several hormones begin to decline. It is these hormones that have an anti-inflammatory effect, which are oestrogen, progesterone, and testosterone (5,6, 7).

The result is that women get hit twice in the same way. The ketogenic diet promotes inflammation, and because of the lack of hormones, it can occur more quickly in women over the age of 40 than in women under 40.

It is beneficial to consume a large number of alkaline foods in order to reduce acidity and, consequently, inflammation. These veggies include cruciferous vegetables, among others.

Keto Diet Tweak For Females Over 40

When you are a female over 40, the next change you must make to your keto diet is to eat more protein. This is due to the fact that women are more likely than men to develop sarcopenia (loss of muscle). (11) Furthermore, as we age, our bodies become less efficient at producing protein for growth and repair. As a result, extra protein must be obtained through the diet. A standard keto diet contains about 20% protein, but if you are an older female, you should raise this to 30% protein. In other words, protein should account for 30% of your daily calories.

The next difference that occurs beyond the age of 40 is a proclivity to have more aches and pains. This could be because of inflammation. Unfortunately, arthritis can be caused by joint inflammation. Furthermore, women over the age of 40 are more prone than men to suffer from arthritis (12). Arthritis causes joint wear and tear due to the breakdown of collagen and cartilage. This aggravates the agony.

The NLRP3 inflammasome is a protein that the body employs to manage inflammation. This is normally a beneficial thing since it allows a cut or grazes (on the exterior of the body) to heal (13). However, if there is too much NLRP3 on the inside of the body, the inflammation becomes chronic. This, in turn, causes sickness. Unfortunately, as we become older, inflammation becomes more common. The keto diet is beneficial because ketones reduce NLRP3 levels (14). This means that inflammation and pain are minimised. So, aside from weight loss, the keto diet is ideal for anyone over the age of 40.

dangers of the keto diet

Include Collagen In The Keto Diet

The second thing women over 40 should do differently than their younger counterparts is incorporate collagen into their keto diet. Collagen, as previously said, is found in joints but is broken down in arthritic joints. Collagen is a protein that can be consumed as part of a ketogenic diet. The best approach to incorporate it into your diet is to make a broth from animal bones (15). The bones must be cooked for around 12 hours. This is an excellent application for a slow cooker. Remember to include apple cider vinegar in order to extract all of the nutrients from the bones.

The beautiful thing about this broth is that it has many other benefits aside from joint healing. It has been shown to help women sleep better. This is encouraging news because sleep is frequently disrupted during the menopausal era of life (16).

This broth can be consumed instead of a meal when fasting. Fasting is the next item that overweight women over 40 should think about incorporating into their keto diet plan. Being overweight causes the body to age faster (17).

More wrinkles are caused by the ageing process, which is a problem for ladies over the age of 40. It also implies that we may develop kidney or cardiac problems sooner than people of a healthy weight.

Fasting Gives The Body Time To Digest Food

Fasting entails going without food for a few hours. This allows the body to digest meals and removes the hormones and enzymes involved in digestion. It also implies that when food is not consumed, the body uses stored fat for energy. Fasting also allows for a complex mechanism in cells that allows DNA to be rejuvenated. The ageing process is slowed as a result of this. Oxidative stress also contributes to ageing, but it can be delayed by the keto diet. This is because ketones (produced by breaking down fat) reduce oxidative stress (19). (19).

In conclusion, women over 40 following the keto diet are encouraged to increase protein, particularly collagen. They should eat enough cruciferous vegetables and phytoestrogen-rich meals to assist the body combat inflammation. Finally, they should fast in addition to the keto diet to halt the ageing process.

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References

  1. Perimenopause https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/21608-perimenopause
  2. Understanding weight gain at menopause https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.3109/13697137.2012.707385
  3. What is keto flu? https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/what-is-keto-flu-2018101815052
  4. Processed meat and colorectal cancer: a review of epidemiologic and experimental evidence https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2661797/
  5. The Anti-Inflammatory Effects of Testosterone https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6299269/
  6. Estrogen Signaling in Metabolic Inflammation https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4226184/#idm140136434756576
  7. Anti-Inflammatory Effects of Progesterone in Lipopolysaccharide-Stimulated BV-2 Microglia https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4117574/
  8. Tips for Limiting Acidic Foods https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/acidic-foods
  9. 11 Foods High in Phytoestrogens https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/foods-with-estrogen#TOC_TITLE_HDR_4

 

 

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