Natural remedies for menopause to survive Christmas mid-menopause

Managing menopause ordinarily is tricky enough. Throw in family, gifts, cooking, drinking and trying to remain sane? It suddenly feels impossible. The good news, though, is that there are a wide range of natural remedies for menopause symptoms. So, as a Christmas gift, here’s a few of them.

If your 12 days of Christmas looks something like this, these natural remedies for menopause will provide you the Christmas gift of relief.

But first, a quick little ditty:

On the 12th day of Christmas, my Meno gave to me:

12 hot flashes

11 pounds gained

10 gifts I forgot I already got so I double-bought

9 nights of sleep disturbance

8 tubs of used up lube

7 months without a period

6 mood swings in 3 minutes

5 golden moments of peace

4 complete outbursts

3 (hundred) tears

2 nerves left

and a Christmas full of meno-belly! 🎵

Why Christmas is stressful when you’re menopausal

Deemed as the most wonderful time of the year, Christmas is highly anticipated by so many.

If you feel you’ve lost your Christmas spirit while going through perimenopause and menopause, know that it hasn’t gone forever. It’s just difficult to cope with the stress of Christmas when you’re struggling through with a range of perimenopause and menopause symptoms.

Before we jump into our natural remedies for menopause, the first thing to note is that it’s okay for Christmas to feel daunting at this point in your life. There’s so much to do and organise. Mix that with a heap of menopause symptoms like menopause fatigue, hot flashes, mood swings, menopause anxiety and weight gain and it’s no wonder you’re not Buddy The Elf.

12 natural remedies for menopause to thrive and enjoy the festive period

So, now we know that it’s okay for Christmas to feel daunting, what can you do about those pesky menopause symptoms?

Here are our 12 natural remedies for menopause so that you can embrace the festive period!

1. Go outside and breathe in nature for menopause anxiety

Who doesn’t love a Christmas walk? Whether you’re hosting for Christmas or you’re visiting someone else, a walk will help with menopause anxiety and also help shift off any menopause bloating.

A quick walk on Christmas day gets everyone out of the house, allows your head to be cleared and gives you a moment to breathe. This is an underrated but exceptional menopause anxiety management technique.

2. Eat calcium and vitamin D rich foods for bone density and to prevent dry, itchy skin

As your hormones change during menopause, your bones can start to weaken. This increases your risk of developing osteoporosis, which – if I’m honest – is a really sucky Christmas present and one we’ll be taking back.

Make sure you consume foods rich in calcium and vitamin D because they are both linked to healthy bones.

Calcium foods you can add to Christmas dinner mean including foods such as:

• Dairy products: yoghurt, milk and cheese
  • Cauliflower cheese may not be completely traditional for Christmas dinner, but when it’s for your health, why not?!
  • A glass of warm milk on Christmas morning is a fantastic way to capture that cosy feeling while reaping the benefits of calcium. The kids can add some cocoa powder to have a hot chocolate. Everyone’s happy!
• Green, leafy vegetables: kale, collard greens and spinach
  • Swap out your standard sweetheart cabbage for kale with your Christmas dinner
  • Add some wilted spinach in your Christmas left-over sandwiches
  • PLUS sprouts are a great source of calcium, which are a must for every Christmas dinner!
• Other veggies: broccoli, turnip greens and edamame
  • Why not swap your cauliflower cheese into a broccoli and cheese? Roast your broccoli rather than boiling it. Trust me. It captures a much stronger flavour.
  • Turnip greens are the dark, leafy green bits on the top of turnips. They make a fantastic side dish with small amount of bacon. (It is Christmas, after all.)
  • Why not have a bowl of edamame beans out as snacks rather than crisps?

Foods rich in Vitamin D include:

• Many types of fish: salmon, tuna and trout
  • If you’re doing a starter, smoked salmon is a firm favourite for so many. Plus, you’ll be getting a good dose of vitamin D.
• Fruit juice
  • Skip the prosecco and swap it for some fresh OJ.
• Eggs
  • Scrambled or poached, eggs are a great Christmas breakfast. Pair your poached eggs with smoked salmon for a double-dose of nutrient goodness.

Low levels of calcium at this point of your life can lead to menopause fatigue, so start Christmas day right with a healthy, calcium-rich breakfast and continue the trend throughout the day.

3. Eat lots of fruit and vegetables to aid with weight loss

We all know fruits and vegetables are good for us. That kind of goes without saying.

What many people don’t know is how they can battle against our menopause symptoms and actually win.

Fruits and vegetables are low in calories, helping you with menopause weight control.

The following fruits and vegetables are great natural remedies for menopause:

• Vegetables like spinach, kale, collard greens, sprouts, broccoli, sweet potatoes and swiss chard
  • As mentioned previously, add spinach to your left-over Christmas sandwich, swap out cauliflower for a broccoli cheese and change your sweetheart cabbage to kale.
  • Make the swap and cook roasties with sweet potato. They crisp up beautifully in hot olive oil.
• Fruits like oranges, berries, pears, rhubarb, apples and dragon fruit
  • Why not make a rhubarb and berry crumble for pud this year? That way you can use oats, too.
  • Of course, a fresh fruit salad is always a winner. Plus it allows you to consume a lot of different fruits in one go.

4. Avoid triggering foods that cause menopause bloating, menopause anxiety and hot flashes

This step does revolve around a little bit of prep. Come on, everything about Christmas revolves around prep!

In order to know what your triggers are before Christmas, you need to track them.

It’s important to notice which foods lead to symptoms. We’re all different, after all, and what impacts you may not impact someone else going through the menopause.

You’re going to want to track your symptoms along with the context for those symptoms. What did you eat? How much sleep did you get? Were there external factors that caused you to feel a certain way?

Once you’ve tracked your symptoms for a good while, you’ll be able to pinpoint a pattern, allowing you to discover your triggers.

Knowing your triggers will help you avoid menopause bloating, panic and menopause anxiety, hot flashes and night sweats.

Again, we’re all different. However, there are some common trigger foods:

• Caffeine
  • Swap your cup of tea or coffee for a herbal tea. Chamomile tea is a great alternative, aiding with gastrointestinal disturbances such as menopause bloating. Plus, chamomile is a relaxant, aiding with menopause anxiety.
• Alcohol
  • This can be a tricky one to swallow during Christmas, so I won’t ask you to give up alcohol entirely if you don’t want to. However, I will say that cutting down is truly in your best interest. Alcohol impacts menopause symptoms such as hot flashes, headaches, menopause anxiety and depression.
  • With that in mind, drink in moderation if you don’t want to cut alcohol out entirely. There are no-alcohol wines, beers and bubbles. Plus, you could get creative with Christmas themed mocktails. What’s even better is that, with the Christmas themed mocktails, the kids can get involved too!
• Spicy food
  • Luckily, Christmas dinner isn’t traditionally spicy. Keep it that way to avoid hot flashes!
• Super sugary food
  • It can feel hard to avoid sugar during Christmas. However, there are healthier alternatives. Take a look at my Chocolate Avocado Mousse: a great choice for a sweet-tooth without all guilt.

5. Exercise. Yes, even during Christmas, for weight loss, mental health and menopause fatigue

Exercise truly helps with your mental health and menopause fatigue. Plus, weight loss is tricky to achieve without routine exercise.

During Christmas, it can be tempting to lock yourself away and watch Christmas movie after Christmas movie. You can still absolutely do that. Just make sure you make a little bit of time over the festive period to get moving.

Plus, exercise will help with menopause fatigue and better general health and wellbeing. Getting outside and moving will aid with menopause anxiety, so exercise is a huge win for – essentially – everything.

I know it can be hard to find the motivation over Christmas but I promise that if you do it, you’ll feel so much better.

6. Eat foods high in phytoestrogens for managing hot flashes

Foods that are high in phytoestrogens (which we cover in our Foods For Menopause article) are a highly effective natural remedies for menopause.

Phytoestrogens are plant compounds found in a range of foods that help to mirror oestrogen in the body. So, when your oestrogen levels are dropping, phytoestrogens can help balance it back out.

So, foods rich in phytoestrogens that you can add to your Christmas shopping list are:

• Soy products
  • Why not try The Guardian’s recipe of pan-fried sprouts with bay, soy, hazelnuts and sherry vinegar? Pimp up your sprouts this Christmas and consume some soy at the same time!
• Tofu
  • Go vegan this Christmas and replace your turkey with tofu! Or have both. After all, it’s Christmas time: a period of indulgence.
• Flaxseeds and linseeds
  • Flaxseeds and linseeds are so easy to incorporate into appetisers. A roasted garlic hummus can be topped with some flaxseeds or sprinkled into butter for your bread and butter and soup.
• Beans
  • Add a brand new side dish to Christmas dinner this year! Take a look at Bold Bean Co’s Butter Beans With Roasted Sweet Potato and Crispy Sage recipe.

7. Vaginal dryness natural remedies #1: Drink loads of water!

In terms of natural remedies for menopause, water is often overlooked. It so shouldn’t be.

Drinking lots of water is listed as number one in terms of vaginal dryness natural remedies. Plus, hydration is absolutely critical for itchy and dry skin, which is common during perimenopause and menopause.

Dryness – whether that’s in your skin or vaginal dryness – often happens in menopause because of the lowering oestrogen levels.

So, make sure you’re drinking 8 – 12 glasses of water every day, even at Christmas.

Drinking water can also aid with menopause bloating, often caused by the hormonal changes. Further, drinking enough water can actually help with menopause weight control by helping you to feel fuller and contributing towards a healthier metabolism.

Water is so magical that it can even help you with hair loss and hair health in menopause.

8. Skip processed foods and limit refined sugar to help with weight loss and menopause fatigue

If you’re suffering with menopause fatigue, it’s time to significantly lower your consumption of refined carbs and sugar.

Refined carbs and sugar can cause spikes in your blood sugar levels, which leads to mood swings, menopause anxiety and menopause fatigue.

There’s such a strong connection between diets high in refined carbs that a study discovered the risk of depression depending on these levels in post-menopausal women.

Not to mention, processed foods contribute toward poorer bone density. So, limit your sugar intake as best you can and avoid any processed foods this Christmas and give your body the gift it’s been craving.

9. Do not skip meals to help with weight loss, menopause tiredness and other symptoms

When going through menopause, you may see menopause weight gain. It’s one of the most common menopause side effects, after all. When the festive period rolls around and we feel guilty post-dinner, it can be too easy to just say “I’ll skip breakfast and lunch tomorrow.” However, I beg you: do not skip meals.

By skipping meals, your menopause symptoms may actually be worse and make it even harder to manage your weight.

Christmas or no Christmas, eat your three meals every day.

10. Prioritise protein in your meals to help with menopause bloating, mood regulation and sleep quality

Menopause bloating can feel really uncomfortable. Couple that with mood swings and poor sleep quality and suddenly our Christmas spirit is out the door, soaring back to the North Pole.

That’s why it’s so important to consume protein throughout the day. Protein can help reduce muscle mass loss. Plus, protein helps with weight loss because it contributes to making you feel full while helping burn calories.

This Christmas, add these protein-rich foods to your meal plan:

• Eggs
  • Perfect for Christmas breakfast! Poach an egg, pop it on top of wholemeal toast, add some smoked salmon, a crack of pepper and some lemon juice and you’ve got a breakfast fit for a Queen!
• Almonds
  • Take a look at Cravings Journal’s Christmas Side Dish Salad which includes almonds, lettuce, baby rocket, apple and dried cranberries. Delicious, light to eat, and the perfect starter before your Christmas dinner!
• Lentils
  • Why not make some cosy, winter warming lentil-based stews before the big day? Pack it with roasted vegetables and eat with fresh sourdough. Delicious!
• Turkey breast
  • Need I say more? Turkey breast is mostly protein. It’s also got very little fat on it and is low in calories, contains a heap of different vitamins and minerals and is already a traditional Christmas ingredient!
• Shellfish
  • Oysters, prawns, clams and scallops are great sources of protein and feel fancy for the festive season.

11. Take supplements as natural remedies for menopause

Supplements, when chosen correctly, can be fantastic natural remedies for menopause. I recommend the following supplements for menopause symptom management (they’d also make fantastic Christmas gifts!):

• Poly-ProFlora Powder Perfect to help with:
  • High stress levels
  • Sleep disturbance and menopause fatigue
  • Poor blood sugar levels
  • Menopause bloating and inflammation
  It’s 100% vegan, cost-effective and easy to consume. Plus, it tastes great.
• Totally Derma A supplement revolving around collagen with lots of other nutrients you need to support your body during menopause. Perfect to help:
  • Your hair
  • Your nails
  • Your bones
  • Your vaginal health

12. Put time aside for you to lower menopause anxiety and improve mental health

Christmas can be a nerve-wracking time for many people. Mix in the menopause and perimenopause and it’s no wonder why many women struggle during the festive period.

That’s why it’s so crucial to give yourself some me-time. Christmas is a time where we think of others, but you deserve some time, too. Take at least 30 minutes per day to do something for yourself. Whether that half an hour is spent on yoga, journalling, reading, writing or just taking the dog for a walk.

No matter what you choose to do, make sure it isn’t a chore. It needs to be something that brings you joy and tranquility. Remember, menopause anxiety is very real, and making time for yourself will help to reduce that.

Natural remedies for menopause at Christmas – in a nutshell

Christmas can be the most wonderful time of the year. Just because you’re menopausal, you’re not doomed to become the Grinch.

With these natural remedies for menopause, you’ll be dancing along to Santa Baby and rockin’ around that Christmas tree, thriving throughout this festive period!

Have a peri-merry Christmas and a wonderful 2025! 🎄