00:11
Hi everyone, it's Mikki here. You're listening to Mini Mikkipedia on a Monday and I am recording this from Melbourne actually on a Friday morning. I'm here for the Australasian College of Environmental and Nutritional Medicine conference which is taking place. And today actually I want to chat about just some fundamental nutrition recommendations for women beyond reproductive years.

00:39
And I would say that these would probably hold for both perimenopause and menopausal women. I mean, there'll be some shifts, but I was working on slides yesterday for a sports nutrition course or class that I'm giving for my good friend Karen Zinn. And I had addressed elements of the sex differences in nutrition, metabolism, and potentially

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performance of which actually there are none. So right now the evidence doesn't support that there are any differences between males and females when it comes to performance metrics based on sex hormones. And then I realized I'd actually the first time I'd sort of put together my presentation for this course, which I've done this a couple of times now, I'd completely skipped out on differences for females.

01:35
as we head into perimenopause and menopause and why that is. And also just some base recommendations. So I thought this could be a perfect short little piece that I do here for Mini Micropedia as I developed my slides on that. So I think what I'll start with is just a reminder of why we wanna consider and why it is important to make changes to your diet as we age. And with regards to females, and of course there'll be differences for males as well,

02:04
For females, compared to their reproductive years, we're more likely to experience insulin resistance. And this is due to the fluctuation and decline of estrogen across that perimenopause and menopausal age. But it's more than that as well, because we also have an element of inflammation, and inflammation in itself can drive an increase in insulin resistance. So,

02:33
This just means that our carbohydrate intake needs to be lower than what it could have been in our reproductive years. And so I talked to a number of women actually and they talk about how nothing's changed but their bodies have changed and their fat distribution patterns have changed. And in part it is because the insulin sensitizing hormone, estrogen, is no longer present in the same amounts. Or...

03:00
it is fluctuating wildly, it is higher, it is increasing histamine, promoting inflammation and that in itself is contributing to that insulin resistance. So that is one difference that many women experience. Anabolic resistance is another one and this is also due to the decline of estrogen as well. So anabolic resistance is when the brain and the muscles do not respond to the same

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amount of amino acids that is going into the system. And as you know, we get amino acids from protein. And this means that we need a higher bolus or a higher level of amino acids in the bloodstream to, for the muscle to signal or get the message that it's initiating repair and recovery of tissue. And this of course has implications for the gains that you make in the gym with regards to strength training. There's also leptin resistance that can occur

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in our perimenopausal years, again, due to declining estrogen and also increasing inflammation. So leptin is a hormone specifically released by fat tissue to signal when we are satisfied or full. And that leptin sends signals to the brain, letting our brain figure out that we've had enough food and we can stop eating now. So when we have leptin resistance,

04:25
It means that we require more leptin in the system to tell us when we're full. So we feel hungrier for longer, even when we've had sufficient calories. And this is because of that relationship with estrogen and leptin and increasing inflammation. In fact, despite the fact that leptin is produced or sort of released by our fat tissue or our adipose tissue, people...

04:49
who do carry excess body weight and carry excess fat tissue, just almost as an aside, but it's worth noting, they also have a level of leptin resistance too. So despite the fact there is sufficient leptin around, they oftentimes, in many instances, they need more leptin to get that brain to read the signal that they've got enough food on board. We have suppressed fat oxidation and endurance capacity as we head into perimenopause.

05:17
because of that level of insulin resistance. When you are insulin resistant, your insulin levels run higher, as do your blood sugar levels, and insulin suppresses fat oxidation. So it makes it harder for us to access our fatty acids that we have stored to use as a fuel source. And this of course has implications for our ability to train longer on our own endogenous energy and

05:44
It also changes those endurance adaptations as well, because we are unable to do that same amount of training on our endogenous fuel stores, or it makes it more challenging. We have increased lipogenesis, so the creation of fat tissue. Of course, we have sleep disruption, and this is a really big one, due to that reduction in progesterone. So,

06:08
In perimenopause, you've got these fluctuating estrogen levels. Meanwhile, progesterone is on this slow decline out. And progesterone has a really calming effect on the brain. It almost works like a neurotransmitter there. And if you experience that sort of wake up at 3 AM in the morning, or 1 AM maybe, like you're wide awake, like getting to sleep isn't an issue, but staying asleep is, then this could definitely be the problem.

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reduced muscle accretion. So again, because of that anabolic resistance, it impacts on our ability to build muscle, but we also have a decline in testosterone as well. And testosterone is of course super important for building muscle. And we have increased joint pain. And this is because of reduced estrogen and it plays a role in synovial fluid and in the

07:02
pain free, if you like, sort of movement around our joints. So women certainly experience more joint pain as well in perimenopausal years compared to their reproductive years. So how does this then impact on potential recommendations that you might give someone, or you yourself might follow once you reach our age? Our age. So you wanna adopt, if you haven't already, a protein forward approach.

07:29
This is no news to you. You know that I'm a protein forward practitioner and it's the thing I hang my hat on. And the recommendations would be a minimum of 1.8 grams per kg of body weight. That is of course more than double the recommended dietary intake. And I would say actually for an athlete, I would go higher, go at least a minimum of two grams per kg body weight. And don't forget as well, and I talked to Jose Antonio about

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further recommendations that even push beyond that to even three grams per kg of body weight. And of course it all depends on energy availability and caloric requirements, but in that endurance space, as an example, like you were just breaking down muscle in the training. And because it takes so much more to rebuild that muscle, having sufficient and abundant amino acids is potentially going to help that process.

08:27
And certainly Jose has seen, and I've seen in my athletes, that when we push that protein higher, you're going to get a better recovery, which means you can go out and do more of what you want. And of course, within those protein requirements, you want a minimum of 40 grams in the first meal of the day. You guys know that Saskia and I have our 40 over 40 breakfast book, which will give you plenty of ideas in there with how to get your 40 grams of protein. We also have a...

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a lunch book coming out as well. We're just in the beginning phases of working on that. But it is essential for your brain to get the message early that it wants to initiate that muscle protein synthesis. And you do need adequate leucine, which is an amino acid, to be able to do that. And it isn't just leucine that's important. It is all of the amino acids, but leucine is the amino acid that initiates that process.

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This is different for women on reproductive years. They may get away with 25 grams of protein. That might be fine for them, depending on their overall protein goal. But I'm thinking specifically perimenopause and menopause here. The other recommendation is trying to get a minimum of 30 grams of protein post exercise to help with overcoming anabolic resistance. So again, you want that influx of amino acids.

09:46
the blood flow will be ramped up because of the training you've just done, and you wanna be able to get those amino acids at that point of the muscle. So minimum of 30 grams post exercise would also be really helpful. And remember, when you've got a lot of protein to play with, then it's being smart about putting in that sort of recovery meal post training and things like that, too. Or it doesn't even have to be a meal, because of course we wanna

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balanced calories as well, but getting in like three scoops of the clean lean protein or getting in your whey protein isolate, which might have 24 grams and then just having a little bit more than that in your protein smoothie, you can get sufficient protein but on relatively few calories, generally speaking. And you do want it to be a quick digesting one. So you're certainly going to get more bang for your buck if you like. If you have something like a protein shake.

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compared to sitting down to a mixed meal with fiber and fat and things like that. Another thing I will mention here is you wanna double down on resistance training because it is harder to build muscle, so you need to work harder to do that. And this is more than just pilates, which I was even speaking to a pilates instructor and owner of a studio last week, Nicole Dixon, mind your movement, down in Amakaroa where I was speaking.

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And she said, you know what, Pilates is awesome, but progression is a really important piece of the puzzle. And obviously I agree. And it's not enough. So if you're new to Pilates, it might well provide that overload that you require to build muscle, but at some point you do need to progress that. And it is of course relative. There are studies that show that doing lower reps and heavier weights is what is required to build muscle.

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Equally, there are studies that show that high reps and lower weights will build muscle because it's providing the same stimulus to that muscle tissue. So there are many ways to skin the cat here. You also want to, as a perimenopausal and beyond woman and athlete, is work on building your fat metabolism and metabolic flexibility. People talk about the luteal phases.

12:02
that it's harder to access those glycogen stores so we need to provide additional carbohydrate there. Whereas I look at it like, well, if it's harder to access those carbohydrate stores, surely we need to be better at accessing our fat stores. So work on building that fat metabolism by using sessions specifically to do so, such as withholding glucose prior to training. Doesn't mean fasted training. It means having protein and or some fat.

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so your body isn't immediately exposed to glucose, that will increase insulin and suppress fat oxidation. So we avoid that. Also, of course, training in a glycogen depleted state, that is an important way to increase those enzymes responsible for fat oxidation and also enhance that endurance capacity. And of course, you do want that metabolic flexibility as well. So picking and choosing the sessions where you are working on building fat metabolism

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working on performance based metrics, like higher intensity work, building on VO2 max, things like that. So you do need that balance, but don't ignore that fat metabolism piece. And of course, covered in that is the timing of your carbohydrate. So in terms of overall amount of carbohydrate, one to three grams per KD of body weight, depending on intensity and duration of the type of exercise that you do, and of course your body composition goals.

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you need less carbohydrate because you are less carbohydrate tolerant. So your body is much more readily storing that carbohydrate particularly around the middle. So you do need to drop that rate. But three grams of carbohydrate per kg of body weight for a woman who is only moderately active is probably too much. So you do need to monitor that. And whilst one gram of carbohydrate per kg of body weight seems pretty minimal,

13:56
For a woman who might weigh 75 kilos, who isn't that active, and might just be doing some light walking, you don't really need a whole ton more. I would say that if you are a moderately active female who does less than, say, an hour's activity on a few days of the week, you probably wouldn't wanna push past 90 grams in a day, 30 grams in a meal, actually. For an athlete, though, you can push it higher, and the time to have your carbohydrate is post-workout.

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or of course pre for those higher intensity sessions. And you might want to target about 1.2 grams per kg of body weight in 30 to 40 minutes post workout. So, and this is of course more essential if you are training again later in that day or training again later in the morning and you're not wanting to hit working on fat metabolism and glycogen depletion.

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or if you notice or experience that your recovery is impacted if you don't eat soon after. So 1.2 grams around per kg of body weight of carbohydrate in that 30 to 40 minutes post exercise. And then another really important time for carbohydrate is potentially in the evening meal for women who experience issues with sleep because carbs can help in the evening meal just sort of offload and calm the central nervous system down.

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is the best way to describe it. And they are also a precursor to serotonin production, which is our feel-good hormone, which in turn is a precursor to melatonin, our sleep hormone. So that's another reason why carbohydrate in the evening meal, it doesn't have to be a lot. It can be like 30 grams, 40 grams, maximum say 60 grams a cup of cooked rice, and just play around with that to see what impact that can have on

15:45
calming your central nervous system and helping aid sleep. And then when it comes to fat, that's where you have the remainder of your calories. And that might be anywhere from 0.5 to two grams per kg of body weight, depending on your goals. And of course, your caloric intake. So for those people who are wanting to improve body composition, I advocate a generally lower fat approach actually, as I'm, well, I say actually like you wouldn't know that, with a higher protein approach. So...

16:13
You know, if someone is, say, 90 kilos, then maybe they're hitting 45 to 50 grams of fat in their diet. Then those who want a higher fat intake, they may be individuals who either have super high calorie needs, or they may be running a lower carb approach. They may wanting to be down nearer the one gram of carbs per kg of body weight, and then they may be up to about two grams of

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fat per kg of body weight. So it is really individual. There is a range, but I would say that you do need a minimum of 30 grams of fat for the provision of essential fatty acids and fat soluble vitamin absorption. There is also some work looking at sex hormone production and the potential for maybe even a minimum of 40 to 60 grams of fat for that. I think that that's going to be quite individual actually.

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And I do think that the context matters. So energy availability of that diet would also play a role. But I will talk more about that in another Menaedicapedia. And then supplements wise, particularly in the perimenopause menopause years, creatine is essential for bone health, mental health, skeletal muscle size and function. And having around 10 grams of creatine for tendon and joint health has been found to be beneficial for women,

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in midlife. And I'm talking to Mike Ormsby this week about the studies that he's done on in this space. And we chat a little bit about the controversy around collagen. So those would be the macronutrient considerations for women in that sort of perimenopause space. And as you head into menopause, what can occur is that things do settle down.

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like estrogen does settle down, you no longer have those wild fluctuations, which means you'll have less inflammation, which may mean that you could be less insulin resistant as well, if a lot of that insulin resistance is driven by the inflammatory processes that occur. So I think always being open to exploring changes to your dietary approach, if you realize they're no longer working for you, I think that's really critical.

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Nutrients are really important. And if you are someone who can get all of your nutrients within six hours and you prefer to do intermittent fasting, and within that six hours, you're also training and exercising and doing your building muscle and things like that, then who am I to argue that that's not an appropriate approach for you? I would just say it can be very difficult in that scenario to get what you need. And that's always sort of where I come back to.

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I will say if you are someone that does like intermittent fasting and not having a super big breakfast, then do what Pira Atia does and just put your protein shake with minimum of 40 grams of protein in the window that would otherwise be a fasting window. Yes, you're still getting, you are breaking your fast, but it's only by a couple of hundred calories. I just don't think it's a major to be honest. But as always, listen to your body, listen to the feedback you're getting and adjust accordingly. And of course, I am here to help.

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You can book a one-on-one call with me. My Monday's Matter program is super effective for helping with body composition goals, athletes or otherwise, as we head into perimenopause. And of course, my recipe portal, Access, and our breakfast book is also there to help support your needs. So on that, have a fabulous week. You can catch me over on Instagram, Twitter and threads @Mikkiwilliden, Facebook @mikkiwillidnenutrition Head to my website, mikkiwilliden.com.

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Book a call with me and we can sort your individual nutrition needs. Alright team, have the best week. See you later.