Once upon a time three meals a day was considered the foundation stone of healthy eating and snacking in between was strictly forbidden if you were watching your weight. But the very latest research tells us a very different story and snacking in between meals isn’t condemned anymore; in fact it’s highly recommended. Obviously snacking on a whole bar of chocolate and a family pack of crisps when you feel that mid afternoon slump isn’t going to do you any good at all but a few strategically timed, balanced snacks can help you get more nutrients, stop food cravings, increase your energy and even keep wrinkles away.

As far as weight loss is concerned the nutritional tide is really turning in favour of snacking between meals. This is because we now know that hanging on until lunch or supper puts your body into starvation mode. Your metabolism slows right down and encourages your body to hold onto fat stores and hinders attempts at weight loss. If, however, you make sure you eat every two or three hours your body doesn’t feel under threat from starvation and doesn’t cling to fat in the same way.

It’s not just your waistline that benefits from regular snacking, however, your brain does too. This is because your brain relies on a steady supply of energy in the form of glucose from the food you eat. If you skip meals or go for long periods as you would with a three meal a day diet plan your blood sugar levels start to fluctuate so your brain doesn’t get that steady supply. The result: you feel tired, forgetful and grumpy.

In addition, studies also show that fluctuating blood sugars can encourage the release of the stress hormones — adrenaline and cortisol — which can not only contribute to the likelihood of weight gain, particularly around the middle, but can also aggravate the symptoms of the menopause, such as hot flushes, mood swings, insomnia and memory loss and increase pre-menstrual symptoms.

Finally, skipping meals or not eating often enough can make you deficient in nutrients that affect how you age. This is because snacks are a convenient and quick way to add more nutrients into your diet. For example, a handful of nuts and seeds, something you may be unlikely to add to a main meal, is bursting with skin friendly antioxidant vitamin E and essential fatty acids. Snacking also allows you to increase your intake of unprocessed, raw foods like fresh fruit and vegetables, which often shed nutrients during the cooking process, especially the antioxidant, anti-ageing vitamin C.

How, what and when?

To reap all the benefits of snacking you need to make sure you eat something small, like an oatcake or some nuts and seeds, every three or so hours. For example, after breakfast you should aim for a mid morning snack at around 11 am and then after lunch you should aim for a mid afternoon snack at around 4 pm and then after supper you could also have a very light snack just before bedtime, if you wake up in the middle of the night, so that everything adds up to three meals a day with two to three snacks in between.

This regular intake of calories and nutrients beats hunger pangs and mood swings because your blood sugar levels stay even and this sends a message to your brain that your body is not under stress and that it can keep revving your metabolism up and use your old fat stores for energy instead of clinging onto it.

Do make sure you pay attention to portion sizes though. Snacking is great for weight loss but not if you end up eating more than you normally do. If you add in snacks you do need to adjust your meal size accordingly. To do this, eat the amount of food you usually do, but spread it over five to six smaller meals and snacks instead.

Your snacks could be something like a handful of nuts and raisins, a small piece of fruit like a banana or an apple, or an oat cake spread with hummous. Remember, your meals should fit on a regular sized dinner plate and should not be piled high and your snacks should fit easily into the palm of your hand.

Your snack prescription:

The snack suggestions below can help if you want to:

• Fight Fatigue: One of the most common symptoms of blood sugar imbalance is fatigue. Eating little and often will help keep your blood sugar and your energy levels steady. Don’t forget to add some protein to your snacks though as protein slows down the rate at which your stomach empties and helps keep your blood sugar levels on an even keel. Try an organic natural yogurt with a palmful of berries and a table spoon of mixed nuts and seeds; a boiled egg with a slice of wholemeal bread or hummous with crudités.
• Lower high cholesterol: A study in the Journal of the American Heart Association found that eating a few ounces of oats a day could lower cholesterol by 16 per cent in three months so snack on a couple of oat cakes or a small bowl of porridge made from organic soya or rice milk.
• Beat Insomnia: Low blood sugar could be one of the reasons why you find it hard to get to sleep or wake up regularly in the night so try to have a snack at least 40 minutes before you go to bed. Aim for foods high in tryptophan, an amino acid that encourages sleep. Good sources are oats, peanuts and sunflower seeds so try a small bowl of oat porridge, a slice of wholemeal toast with peanut butter or a handful of sunflower seeds with a cup of camomile tea.
• Beat Memory loss/poor concentration: Study after study has confirmed the beneficial effect of omega 3 rich oily fish, like tuna, mackerel or salmon and nuts and seeds on brain function. To stay alert for longer aim for a few pieces of oily fish or a selection of sunflower, sesame or linseeds for your mid morning or mid afternoon snack when your concentration is most likely to be at its lowest ebb.
• Beat Mood swings: Snacking on low GI complex carbo-hydrates that release a steady supply of glucose to your brain is a great way to keep your blood sugar levels and your mood stable so try some mixed bean salad or a delicious bowl of comforting oat porridge with a spoon of honey or maple syrup for sweetness.
• Protect yourself against osteoporosis: To keep your bones healthy you need a steady supply of calcium, antioxidants and vitamins; so try a handful of raspberries, blueberries or strawberries and top them with a few tablespoons of organic natural yogurt and a teaspoon of ground linseeds (flaxseeds) to give your bones and joints a boost.
• Lose weight: One of the best ways to shift weight is to boost your nutrient intake so your food is digested more efficiently and to keep your blood sugar levels stable because weight gain is often a symptom of blood sugar imbalances. Snacking is the perfect way to achieve both these objectives, especially if you snack on negative calorie foods like broccoli, carrots, courgettes and celery. These foods are negative calorie foods because they use up more calories in digestion than they provide. To make them more interesting dip them into hummous or guacamole.
• Fight wrinkles: The secret of healthy skin is essential fat which keeps it hydrated and keeps wrinkles and dry skin at bay. To keep your skin glowing, try snacking on four or five olives or whole almonds (both rich in essential fats) with a piece of fruit.
• Beat symptoms of menopause: Foods rich in calming phytoestrogens will help balance your hormones and by so doing ease menopause related symptoms such as hot flushes, poor concentration and bloating. You could snack on a tablespoon of flaxseeds (linseeds) a day with some anti-ageing berries. Remember you don’t always have to eat soya; other legumes, such as chickpeas and lentils, are good sources of phytoestrogens too.

If you find yourself nodding off during the day or constantly yawning during a meeting, study session or conversation, your body could be under siege from hidden energy sappers. Fight back with the following fatigue beating tips:

Energy sapper 1: Your phone

Sleeplessness, headaches, fatigue and dizziness can all be symptoms of electrical sensitivity. Electrical sensitivity affects about 35 per cent of the population. It interferes with your body’s natural rhythms. Cordless phones may be the worst as we tend to keep them beside the bed, where we receive electrical waves from the base. Other risk areas include: using the hairdryer over 10 minutes; keeping your digital clock by the bed and sitting too close and too long in front of a computer screen.

Energy solution:

Switch to an analogue clock and a flat screen monitor and keep your wireless network router in a different room to your study or bedroom. Also if you’re working in front of a computer screen for long periods make sure you take a few minutes break at least every half an hour.

Energy sapper 2: Anaemia

Around four million women in the UK suffer from anaemia, caused by lack of iron. The symptoms include tiredness, dizziness and a racing heart. Your body needs iron to produce red blood cells which carry oxygen around your body. Without it you’ll feel lethargic, no matter how much sleep you get. It is better not to take iron unless you know that you are anaemic and then to re-test it to check that your levels are back to normal.

Energy solution:

If you suffer from tiredness and heavy periods ask your doctor for a blood test for VWD (Von Willebrand’s disease) which affects around 300,000 women in the UK and is caused by blood not able to clot properly. Your doctor also needs to test your iron levels. To reduce the risk of anaemia, make sure you eat a balanced diet with plenty of green vegetables.

Energy sapper 3: Undiagnosed diabetes

According to the healthcare commission 500,000 UK women are unaware that they have diabetes. This is partly to do with high sugar diets, obesity and sedentary lifestyles. Diabetes occurs when the amount of glucose (sugar) in your blood is too high and your body is unable to convert it into energy because there is not enough insulin or the insulin produced isn’t working properly. The body then breaks down its stores of fat and protein to try to release more glucose and the problem gets worse and this is why people with untreated diabetes feel tired and lose weight. Other symptoms include urinating often and extreme thirst.

Energy solution:

Ask your doctor for a blood test. If the test is negative for diabetes then your tiredness might be caused by your blood sugar levels. Cravings for starchy, sweet or fatty foods before your period can mean you have a blood sugar imbalance. To keep your blood sugar levels steady avoid sugar and refined processed foods as well as juices, cigarettes and caffeine. Eat every three hours and load up on low glycaemic foods such as seafood, eggs, hummous, green vegetables and fruits such as pears, grapes and apples. Replace pasta with basmati rice and have porridge for breakfast instead of packaged cereals.

Energy sapper 4: Your lunch

One in 10 people in the UK have a food intolerance which can cause lethargy and irritability. Food intolerances trigger an immune response which uses up a huge amount of energy and the most common food culprits are wheat, dairy and sugar. So if your lunch was a cheese sandwich on whole wheat bread with a bar of chocolate your body may be using up energy by simply digesting rather than converting your lunch into energy.

Energy solution:

If you suspect that you have a food intolerance keep a food diary for a few weeks and see if there is a connection between your tiredness and a specific food. Try eliminating that food and see if it makes a difference. Alternatively you can have a blood test to check for food allergies.

Energy sapper 5: Under-active thyroid

Your thyroid works by producing the hormone thyroxine which controls metabolism and regulates energy levels. If your thyroid produces too little you feel tired. You might gain weight, your skin and hair will feel dry and you may also feel depressed.

Energy solution:

Ask your doctor for a thyroid test. If you have an under-active thyroid he or she will prescribe medication to boost your hormone levels. You should also eat a diet high in fruit, vegetables, fish and seaweed and avoid alcohol and cigarettes.

Energy sapper 6: Your bedroom

Almost 40 per cent of the population suffers from some form of insomnia. A disrupted night’s sleep affects you physically and mentally. In the long run you end up with a massive sleep debt that your body can’t repay no matter how much sleep you get.

Energy solution:

To increase your chances of a good night’s sleep make sure your bedroom is a calm and relaxing place and your mattress is comfortable. Use your bed for sleeping and sex only so you associate it with rest and pleasure only. Block out noise and light, as light will impair the production of the sleep hormone, melatonin, and sleep in a well-ventilated but not cold room (around 13 -18° C, 55-65° F) as body temperature falls at night to promote feelings of sleepiness.

Energy sapper 7: Vitamin B12 deficiency

If you feel tired and are eating a healthy diet, you may be deficient in vitamin B12. B12 helps to carry oxygen around the body so it is a must for energy.

Energy solution:

You may want to ask your doctor for a blood test to check your levels of B12. Injections can then be administered by your doctor if needed. Vegans can be more at risk of a vitamin B12 deficiency so testing is important.

Energy sapper 8: Your work out

Not how but when you work out could be draining your energy. You should not exercise intensely just before bed as this will make your adrenaline, heart and respiratory rates pump and you won’t be able to sleep. Also if your exercise routine is too intense, long or vigorous for your current level of fitness, instead of energising you as moderate to mild exercise should, it will be draining you.

Energy solution:

Do energy forming exercises such as running or aerobics in the morning and focus on milder activities later in the evening. Try a walk at the end of the day or a yoga session to calm your mind and stretch your muscles. If your daily exercise routine is exhausting adjust it because the aim of exercise is to boost your energy not drain it. Don’t go the other way though and cut out exercise altogether as no exercise will trap you in a vicious cycle of tiredness. Around 30 minutes of light exercise a day can help boost energy levels significantly.

Energy sapper 9: You’re dehydrated

Dehydration occurs when you lose more fluid than you take in and your body doesn’t have enough water and other fluids to carry out its normal functions. Common causes of dehydration include intense bouts of diarrhoea, vomiting, fever or excessive sweating. Inadequate intake of water during hot weather or exercise also may deplete your body’s water stores. Mild dehydration can cause symptoms such as weakness, dizziness and fatigue.

Energy solution:

You can usually reverse mild to moderate dehydration by increasing your intake of fluids, but severe cases need immediate medical treatment. The safest approach is not to become dehydrated in the first place. Aim for 6 to 8 glasses of water or herb teas a day and don’t wait until you get thirsty to drink. You can do that by monitoring your fluid loss during hot weather, illness or exercise, and drinking enough liquids to replace what you lose. Also reduce your alcohol, tea and coffee intake as these are dehydrating.

Energy sapper 10: You’re depressed

As well as loss of libido, weight gain and lack of motivation, one of the most common side effects of depression is tiredness.

Energy solution:

As well as eating healthily and getting the mood boosting effects of regular exercise preferably in the fresh air, you may want to try some cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT). CBT is recognised as effective in helping to change the patterns of your mind so that you can control stress and depression. The herb St John’s wort is also effective for mild to moderate depression.

If like many women you are concerned about the side effects of HRT or hormone replacement therapy there are many natural options to consider. Listed below are alternatives that have solid research backing. In other words, they are solutions you can trust.

Dietary changes:

Whether you are in your 20s or your 50s it’s never too early to start preparing by making sure you have a good balance of nutrients. A healthy diet is the foundation stone of good health and is crucial during menopause for bone health and hormonal balance.

Coffee, sugar, alcohol and soft drinks should be avoided as they are known to increase the risk of osteoporosis. Instead of refined and processed food make sure you are eating plenty of fruit and vegetables, healthy protein and whole grains. You also need lots of nuts, seeds, oily fish like salmon and trout to ensure you’re getting essential fats.

Phytoestrogens are substances found in food that have a similar chemical structure to the oestrogen your body produces, and this may explain their hormone balancing effect. Studies show that they can not only take the place of natural oestrogens and increase oestrogen levels when they are too low but they can also reduce them when they are too high. As well as helping to balance hormones, phytoestrogens are also thought to have a protective effect on the heart. Research indicates that they can lower levels of bad cholesterol.

In addition, they may contain compounds that can inhibit breast and endometrial cancer (often due to excess oestrogen), fibroids, endometriosis and osteoporosis. Food sources of phytoestrogens include virtually all fruit, vegetables and cereals. However, ‘isoflavones’ — found in beans and lentils — are an even better source of phytoestrogens. Other excellent sources include: hummous, tofu, linseeds, lentils, garlic, kidney beans, mung and alfalfa bean sprouts, asparagus, plums and oats.

Food supplements:

If you suffer from dry skin and hair, aching joints, breast pain, vaginal dryness and have difficulty losing weight, you could be lacking in Essential Fatty Acids.

Food sources of essential fatty acids include oily fish, nuts and seeds but you could also supplement with fish oils to make sure you are getting enough Omega 3. The thinking nowadays is that we actually need more Omega 3 oils as we are not getting enough from our diet.

In addition to essential fats a good quality multivitamin and mineral should form the foundation of your supplement programme to make sure you have adequate nutrients for hormone balance and healthy bones, especially if you are over the age of 40 and already experiencing peri-menopausal symptoms. A good multivitamin and mineral I use in the clinic is Menoplus. You can then, if you feel you need an extra helping hand, add in other supplements which have suggested positive results in connection with the menopause; supplements like vitamin E, vitamin B, calcium and magnesium (or a combined calcium & magnesium supplement).

Vitamin E has been studied for many years for its ability to help reduce hot flushes. It is also beneficial for vaginal dryness and is a protective antioxidant that keeps skin healthy and supple. Good food sources of vitamin E include asparagus, avocados, brown rice, egg yolks, lima beans, peas, sweet potatoes, and vegetable oils.

The B vitamins (and vitamin B5 in particular) are renowned for their ability to relieve stress and support the adrenals. B vitamins also help to alleviate symptoms of anxiety, low energy levels and poor concentration that are often associated with the menopause. To boost your B vitamins go for a vitamin B complex (50mg a day of most of the B vitamins) and eat plenty of vitamin B rich food such as fish, eggs, nuts, seeds, soya beans, bananas, and leafy green vegetables.

Osteoporosis is usually a symptom of advancing age, but it can also be a consequence of the menopause. Oestrogen protects the bones by keeping calcium in the bones and thereby maintaining bone density. During and after the menopause when oestrogen levels are reduced, bone density decreases at a more rapid rate and studies have shown that supplementing with a combined calcium citrate and magnesium supplement can help maintain strong bones.

Herbs:

Agnus Castus is a great hormone balancer. It works best taken first thing in the morning, every morning and is especially for the premenopausal symptoms such as mood swings, irritability and depression which may start before the hot flushes and night sweats. Agnus Castus stimulates the pituitary gland which is in charge of producing and setting hormone levels.

Black Cohosh is the herb of choice for the menopause, hot flushes and night sweats and one of the medical journals in 2006 stated that black cohosh is ‘one of the most effective botanicals for vasomotor symptoms’. There have been concerns that black cohosh might have an oestrogenic effect and not be helpful for women with a history of breast cancer but a study showed that adding black cohosh to breast cancer cells actually slowed down the rate at which they multiplied.

There were also some suggestions that black cohosh might have a negative effect on the liver but the National Institutes of Health in America said there is no evidence of this.

Dong Quai is a herb which is often used in traditional Chinese Medicine as a tonic for the female reproductive system. During premenopausal phases, less active versions of female hormones are produced in the body e.g. oestrone instead of oestrogen. Dong Quai is believed to work by increasing the effects of these naturally produced hormones.

New research suggests that Dong Quai also contains phytoestrogens so it can work to boost oestrogen levels at the menopause and achieve a balance. The herb has proven to be most effective for relieving symptoms of the menopause, in particular hot flushes as well as vaginal dryness. (Call 0845 8800915 for details)

Milk thistle is also another useful herb around the menopause as it helps to improve liver function which is important for the detoxification of hormones.

I use a combination of organic herbs in the clinic called Black Cohosh Plus which are in vegetarian capsules.

Finally, herbs such as horsetail, nettle and alfalfa may also be used alongside dietary recommendations, supplements and exercise for the treatment of osteoporosis.

In a nutshell:

The menopause is a natural event in women’s lives and not an illness. There are many natural and effective alternatives to the drug approach of HRT, the most reliable of which have been detailed above, and these can really help to ease the emotional and physical discomfort associated with this time of life.

Eating well, exercising and using natural remedies around the menopause enables you to get on with your life and keep living it to the full.