Study: This drink protects your heart during menopause

Nobody wants it, but everyone gets it in some form. During menopause, women experience a natural hormonal change: Progesterone levels, a key component of the cycle and the hormone that prepares the uterine lining for pregnancy, drop. While estrogen levels remain elevated, this can lead to, among other things, breast tenderness. If the production of this female sex hormone also decreases, other typical menopausal symptoms such as hot flashes, vaginal dryness, and sleep disturbances can occur.

Not immediately obvious, but still important to know: Menopause also affects our heart and increases the risk of diseases of this vital organ.

How menopause affects the heart

The hormonal changes put a strain on the heart and blood vessels, as the drop in estrogen levels doubles the risk of high blood pressure. In addition, symptoms such as sleep disorders also promote cardiovascular disease. These consequences should be taken seriously—which is why researchers are now investigating whether and how women can protect themselves from heart disease through their diet during and after menopause.

A drink is said to protect the heart

To maintain heart health, everyone should avoid risk factors such as obesity, smoking, an unhealthy diet, excessive stress, and lack of sleep. Specifically for women going through menopause, a recent study shows that one drink in particular has a positive effect on heart health: beetroot juice.

The participants drank the vegetable juice containing nitrates for a week—which, according to research, are what dilate blood vessels and lower blood pressure. A control group drank the juice after the nitrates had been removed.

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Professor David Proctor, one of the researchers at Penn State University, puts the results into context: "Women may need to drink beetroot juice daily or even more often to reap all of its health benefits. Nevertheless, beetroot juice may be very useful in protecting the blood vessel health of middle-aged women […]." And this positive effect would extend not only during menopause, but also in the subsequent years of menopause.

Sources used: frontiersin.org, wechseljahre-verstehen.de

sas Brigitte

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