Why Women Should be Getting 9 Serves of Fibrous Foods (Rather than the Recommended 7)

In my Women’s Strength and Conditioning sessions, the first nutrition guidance i give them is to up their fibre, and to make sure they’re getting enough protein.

The recommended daily intake for fruit and veggies in Australia is 2 fruit, and 5 vegetables per day, but i like to add two serves of legumes (if they’ll tolerate it) or 2 serves of leafy green vegetables or ground flax or chia seeds (if they don’t tolerate legumes) in addition to this RDI.

Why?

Oestrogen.

Legumes and seeds, especially chickpeas and soybeans, contain small amounts of naturally occurring Oestrogens, (called Phytoestrogens) that are readily utilsed by the body. For women in their peri-menopausal years, their Oestrogen is rollercoastering, and a small supplement via these foods can sometimes take the edge off their symptoms, such as hot flushes(1, 2).

Defecation is one of the ways that the body gets rid of excess Oestrogen (the other is sweating), and these foods also have masses of fibre in them. This means the fibre binds up the excess Oestrogen that the body hasn’t used, and flushes it out in the toilet. If we think back to our peri-menoapusal woman, the combined effect of of a food that both supplements Oestrogen and helps move it out of the body, is that it blunts the highs, and boosts the lows, of the menopause hormonal rollercoaster(3).

For menstruating women, 2T ground flax daily has been shown to reduce period pain, PMS, and PMDD symptoms. High fibre diets are also correlated with reduced cardiovascular disease risk, better blood sugar control(4), reduced risk of some cancers(5), better functioning immune systems, and heaps more(6). When two-thirds of people living with many diseases are women, increasing fibre recommendations for women makes a lot of sense.

Women also have lower gut motility than men, which means food spends longer in there. Making sure that what is sitting in your body is feeding the good bacteria can help with bloat symptoms, irritable bowels(7), and ensure you “go” daily!!

If you’re interested in a more personalised plan, you can book an Integrated Health Coaching session with Clare here.

REFERENCES

(1) Burgess L & Wilson D, 2018, ‘What are Phytoestrogens? Benefits and Foods’, Medical News Today, viewed on 16 October 2022, https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/320630#benefits

(2) Chen M-N, Lin C-C & Liu C-F, 2015, ‘Efficacy of phytoestrogens for menopausal symptoms: a meta-analysis and systematic review’, Climacteric, 18(2): 260–269, viewed on 16 October 2022, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4389700/

(3) Jean Hailes for Women’s Health, ‘Phytoestrogens’, viewed on 16 October 2022, Phytoestrogens | Jean Hailes

(4) Domínguez-López I, Yago-Aragón M, Salas-Huetos A, Tresserra-Rimbau A, Hurtado-Barroso S. Effects of Dietary Phytoestrogens on Hormones throughout a Human Lifespan: A Review. Nutrients. 2020 Aug 15;12(8):2456. doi: 10.3390/nu12082456. PMID: 32824177; PMCID: PMC7468963.

(5) Cancer Council, ‘Information Sheet: Soy & Isoflavones’, viewed on 16 October 2022, https://www.cancer.org.au/information-sheet-soy-isoflavones

(6) Desmawati D, Sulastri D. Phytoestrogens and Their Health Effect. Open Access Maced J Med Sci. 2019 Feb 14;7(3):495-499. doi: 10.3889/oamjms.2019.044. PMID: 30834024; PMCID: PMC6390141.

(7) Bijkerk CJ, de Wit NJ, Muris JW, Whorwell PJ, Knottnerus JA, Hoes AW. Soluble or insoluble fibre in irritable bowel syndrome in primary care? Randomised placebo controlled trial. BMJ. 2009 Aug 27;339:b3154. doi: 10.1136/bmj.b3154. PMID: 19713235; PMCID: PMC3272664.