What is dietary fibre and why is it particularly important for women/

Put simply, fibre is the parts of a plant that are more difficult to digest. It's usually classified as either water solubale, which dissolves in water; and insoluble which doesn't.

Why is it important?

Did you know that dietary fibre has a role to play in pelvic floor health? If you're regularly constipated, you're more likely to be straining when you go to the toilet. This puts more downward pressure on your pelvic floor.

Now I'm not saying that an occasional dose of constipation is going to cause a pelvic floor prolapse. But, regularly bearing down, if your pelvic floor is already compromised in any way, is putting you at greater risk.

The other reason why dietary fibre is so important is for your mental wellbeing.

The gut microbiome is known as your second brain for its role in synthesizing the neurotransmitters that determine your mood. And eating more fibre means that you'll have a greater variety of microbes in your gut, meaning better neurotransmitter creation.

As we go through peri-menopause and out the other side, we can do with all the help we can get with managing mood!

Orrrrr, how about trying for aiming for around 40 different fruit and veg each week?

When I usually think about veggies, in my mind's eye, I'm imagining green veg, which include cruciferous vegetables (all the veg in the cabbage family) and leafy veg like spinach..

But of course, "veggies" also includes:

- Rainbow coloured veggies which are super rich in vitamins, minerals, fibre and anti-oxidants. 

- Fruit 

- Wholegrains such as whole meal bread, pasta, brown rice that have had very little removed from them during processing

-Beans and pulses including lentils, chickpeas and other types of beans and peas. These are not only full of fibre, but full of protein too. 

Why should we, particularly, eat more veggies? Because they're so full of vitamins and minerals.

For example:

B5 found in lentils, beans and pulses calms and nourishes the adrenals, calming your nervous system;

Vitamin C found in cruciferous veg, tomatoes and bell peppers has a role in rebalancing cortisol (the stress hormone);

Magnesium found in whole greans and dark leafy veg is essential for good sleep, good mental health and muscle and bone health.

(First, I just looked again at this picture. Is it beans? Is it prawns? Or is it some type of insect/ bug? That's varied protein for sure!)

I am not a vegetarian (I LOVE a steak so big you need a separate plate for your chips), but over the last year, I've been trying to make our meals much less dependent on meat.

And there are other options:

- Fish especially oily fish such as salmon and mackeral that is rich in Omega 3 (for healthy brain function)

- Lentils are an excellent source of protein and can very easily be substituted partially or fully for minced meat. Much cheaper too.

- Other beans and pulses are an excellent way to bulk out a meal and add fibre filled protein to your meal.

- Nuts and seeds added (a small handful!) added to the top of meal are another great source of protein.

Why might we want to move away from traditional meat sources of protein?

Firstly, eating a couple of portions of oily fish every week is essential for your long term cognitive health.

And secondly, by using vegetable-based proteins, we're also getting fibre and other nutrients.

I'm not suggesting going vegetarian or vegan, but a couple of meat free days per week is good for you and for the planet.

How much water have you had today? 

We should be aiming for around 6-8 glasses (or about 1.5 - 2 litres), or more in hot weather.

Here's the thing, thirst isn't always a reliable indicator of dehydration - by the time you're thirsty, you're already dehydrated. 

And, often when we're thirsty, we often mistake it for hunger so eat something instead.

Of course, you are still getting liquid if you're drinking teas and coffees, but water is more effective at replacing lost fluids.

Why should peri and menopausal women make sure that we're keeping adequately hydrated?

Firstly, dehydration is correlated with headaches, dizziness, short term memory loss, mood impairment, feeling tired and weak. Our reduced levels of oestrogen are already triggering these things - let's avoid making it worse.

Secondly, water helps hydrate your spinal discs and prevents tendons, ligaments and muscles from becoming tight and stiff. Dropping oestrogen levels are already impacting collagen production in joints and making us more likely to feel aches and pains. Again, dehydration will make this worse.

And finally, if we think we're hungry when we're actually thirsty, we're more likely to consume additional calories that we don't actually require.

Did you know that households are responsible for up to 70% of UK food waste?

There are loads of ways of reducing our food waste:

 - Planning our menus in advance and buying exactly what we need for the week.

- Avoiding doing the shopping when we're hungry

- Measuring out portions using scales or hands

- Meal prep in advance and freeze for later

- Using frozen foods where you can take out a portion at a time

As I think about our busy lives, actually all of these tips not only help the planet but help us to live better.

Whether that's less stress from having our meals pre-planned; sticking to better portion sizes; or meal prep for busy days, all ways to just make things easier for ourselves. Who doesn't love that?