Menopause Diet: Why a Planetary Health Diet Can Be a Strong Foundation for Midlife Nutrition

The Planetary Health Diet is not a vegan diet and it is not a restrictive “menopause diet.”

It emphasizes:

• vegetables and fruit
• legumes, including beans, lentils, chickpeas and soy foods
• whole grains
• nuts and seeds
• primarily unsaturated plant fats
• smaller amounts of red and processed meat
• moderate or optional amounts of dairy, eggs, poultry and fish
• fewer refined grains, added sugars and highly processed foods

The key idea is plant-forward, not necessarily plant-exclusive.

That makes the pattern compatible with Mediterranean, flexitarian, vegetarian and many traditional dietary cultures.

In 2026, Xia and colleagues examined dietary patterns in 38,283 participants from the Nurses’ Health Study II across a 12-year period surrounding menopause.

The researchers compared several dietary patterns, including Mediterranean, DASH, healthy plant-based, low-insulinemic and Planetary Health patterns.

Higher adherence to the Planetary Health Diet Index was associated with a substantially lower observed risk of incident obesity. Women in the highest adherence group had a hazard ratio of 0.46 compared with women in the lowest group after adjustment for multiple demographic and lifestyle factors. The dietary pattern was particularly associated with greater consumption of nuts, legumes, unsaturated fats, whole grains and vegetable protein.

This does not prove that the diet prevents obesity. It was a prospective cohort study rather than a randomized intervention, so the finding is an association.

But it is relevant because it specifically examined the years surrounding menopause rather than simply extrapolating findings from younger adults.

Foods rarely deliver one nutrient in isolation.

Protein + fibre + unsaturated fats + vitamins + minerals + phytochemicals

A diet based on legumes, nuts, seeds, vegetables and whole grains can provide these together. That is biologically different from taking a capsule containing one concentrated compound.

This is particularly relevant when looking at foods such as flaxseed and sesame, which have been studied directly in postmenopausal women.

Flaxseed is one of the richest dietary sources of lignans, plant compounds that can be metabolized by intestinal bacteria into enterolignans.

In a 2019 randomized controlled trial involving 99 postmenopausal women, participants consumed 15 g of ground flaxseed per day for seven weeks or continued their usual diet.

Flaxseed consumption markedly increased serum enterolignans. Researchers also observed changes in certain estrogen metabolites, including higher 2-hydroxyestrone and a higher 2:16α-hydroxyestrone ratio. Most other measured circulating hormones did not change significantly.

These findings are interesting from a mechanistic perspective, but they should not be interpreted as evidence that flaxseed “balances hormones” or treats menopausal symptoms.

An earlier randomized study compared 25 g ground flaxseed with 25 g soy flour over 16 weeks in postmenopausal women. Flaxseed produced a greater change in urinary estrogen metabolite excretion than soy, while neither intervention significantly changed serum estradiol, estrone or biochemical markers of bone metabolism.

The important message is not that flaxseed acts like estrogen. It is that whole foods containing lignans can interact with human metabolism in measurable ways, while remaining very different from hormone therapy or concentrated hormonal supplements.

In a randomized crossover study, 24 women completed an intervention involving 50 g of sesame seed powder daily for five weeks.

Researchers reported reductions in total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol and the LDL-to-HDL ratio, as well as changes in measures of antioxidant status. They also observed increases in sex hormone-binding globulin and urinary 2-hydroxyestrone, although some hormonal comparisons between sesame and placebo were of borderline statistical significance.

This should not be translated into a commercial statement that sesame “balances hormones.” It shows something more nuanced: a whole food containing lignans, fats, protein and micronutrients produced measurable metabolic effects in this small study of postmenopausal women.

A separate line of research comes from the Plants for Joints randomized clinical trial program. The intervention combined a whole-food, plant-based dietary pattern with physical activity and stress management in people with rheumatoid arthritis and in people with metabolic-syndrome-associated hip or knee osteoarthritis.

In the one-year follow-up, many improvements achieved during the intervention were maintained. Researchers reported sustained improvements in disease activity or symptom scores as well as several metabolic outcomes.

This study did not examine menopausal women specifically, and its participants had rheumatoid arthritis or osteoarthritis associated with metabolic syndrome. The intervention also combined diet, exercise and stress management, so the observed effects cannot be attributed to plant-based nutrition alone.

It nevertheless reinforces an important concept: diet works within a broader lifestyle context.

VeggieGap foods are designed from the same food-first principle. Rather than trying to deliver one isolated “menopause ingredient,” the formulations bring together different whole-food categories so that the foods contribute to a broader dietary pattern.

Depending on the recipe, these may include:

• flaxseed and chia for fibre and alpha-linolenic acid
• walnuts, almonds and seeds for unsaturated fats, protein and minerals
• sesame and tahini for plant protein, fats and minerals
• soy foods or soy flakes for plant protein and naturally occurring isoflavones
• whole grains such as oats or buckwheat for fibre and complex carbohydrates
• vegetables such as beetroot, broccoli or spinach for plant diversity
• dates, prunes, cocoa and spices for flavour and additional plant compounds

The objective is not to claim that any one ingredient treats menopause. The design principle is to use a diversity of minimally processed plant foods to help people build a balanced, plant-forward eating pattern.

No single VeggieGap food should be presented as a replacement for a complete diet. A varied and balanced diet remains essential. Final nutrition claims depend on laboratory validation and regulatory review.

Supplements can be valuable when there is a specific nutritional need, deficiency, medical indication or life-stage requirement. But concentrated supplements can produce exposures very different from those obtained through food.

A good example is turmeric versus concentrated curcumin supplements. Turmeric used as a culinary spice is not equivalent to taking a highly concentrated, enhanced-bioavailability curcumin product.

The U.S. National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health notes that some highly bioavailable curcumin formulations have been associated with liver injury. Increasing bioavailability can substantially increase exposure. That does not mean turmeric as a food is dangerous.

Food-level exposure is not the same as concentrated supplement exposure.

Supplements can interact with medications, alter absorption, accumulate at high doses or create nutrient imbalances when several products are taken simultaneously. Discuss therapeutic or high-dose supplement use with an appropriately qualified health professional.

A food-first strategy is not an argument against supplementation. Vitamin B12 is essential for people following fully plant-based diets. Vitamin D, iron, calcium and other nutrients may also require supplementation depending on dietary intake, blood values, medical history and individual circumstances.

The distinction is between using a supplement to address a specific need and using supplements as a substitute for a high-quality diet. Supplements cannot reproduce the full nutritional complexity of vegetables, legumes, whole grains, nuts, seeds and other foods.

One useful lesson from the Planetary Health approach is that midlife nutrition does not have to revolve around restriction. Small changes can gradually alter the overall dietary pattern:

• Add legumes to one familiar meal.
• Replace one refined grain with a whole grain.
• Add flaxseed or sesame to foods you already eat.
• Include tofu, tempeh or edamame regularly.
• Make nuts and seeds part of everyday meals rather than an occasional garnish.
• Increase the number and variety of vegetables across the week.
• Use herbs and spices in cooking rather than relying on concentrated extracts.

These changes are closer to the dietary patterns examined in long-term research than a short-term “menopause detox.”

Midlife health is not determined by food alone. Strength, balance, mobility, physical activity, recovery and stress management all matter.

The Plants for Joints research is an example of this integrated approach: dietary change was combined with movement and stress management rather than treated as an isolated intervention. That broader perspective is also the basis of the VeggieGap Path.

The VeggieGap Path Nutrition Pillar helps people gradually build a more plant-forward, Planetary Health-inspired dietary pattern through small, practical changes rather than an overnight diet overhaul.

The wider Path also includes habits around strength, balance, mobility and stress management, so nutrition becomes one component of a broader approach to maintaining function and wellbeing through midlife and beyond.

Explore the VeggieGap Path and start with one manageable step →

1. Xia T, Haslam DE, Eliassen AH, et al. Optimal Dietary Patterns for Lower Weight Gain and Risk of Obesity Surrounding Menopause. JAMA Network Open. 2026;9(5):e2613102. doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2026.13102
2. Chang VC, Cotterchio M, Boucher BA, et al. Effect of Dietary Flaxseed Intake on Circulating Sex Hormone Levels among Postmenopausal Women: A Randomized Controlled Intervention Trial. Nutr Cancer. 2019;71(3):385–398. doi:10.1080/01635581.2018.1516789
3. Brooks JD, Ward WE, Lewis JE, et al. Supplementation with flaxseed alters estrogen metabolism in postmenopausal women to a greater extent than does supplementation with an equal amount of soy. Am J Clin Nutr. 2004;79(2):318–325. doi:10.1093/ajcn/79.2.318
4. Wu WH, Kang YP, Wang NH, Jou HJ, Wang TA. Sesame ingestion affects sex hormones, antioxidant status, and blood lipids in postmenopausal women. J Nutr. 2006;136(5):1270–1275. doi:10.1093/jn/136.5.1270
5. Wagenaar CA, Walrabenstein W, van der Leeden M, et al. Long-term effectiveness of a lifestyle intervention for rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis: 1-year follow-up of the ‘Plants for Joints’ randomised clinical trial. RMD Open. 2024;10:e004025. doi:10.1136/rmdopen-2023-004025