How Ultra-Processed Foods Hijack Your Mood During Perimenopause

In this episode of Joyful Menopause, host and functional nutritionist Lynda Enright discusses the negative effects of ultra processed foods (UPFs) on mood, particularly for women in their perimenopause years. Lynda explains how UPFs contribute to chronic inflammation, disrupt the gut-brain axis, and affect dopamine cycles. She shares practical advice and simple food swaps to help improve mood and overall health, illustrated by the success story of her client Jane. This episode emphasizes the importance of making small, intentional dietary changes for better mental and physical well-being.

00:00 Introduction: The Impact of Food on Mood

00:26 Welcome to Joyful Menopause

01:19 Understanding Ultra Processed Foods (UPFs)

02:12 How UPFs Affect Mental Health

04:04 Client Story: Jane's Transformation

05:18 Practical Tips for Healthier Eating

07:30 Conclusion: Take Control of Your Mood

When you're ready, here are 3 ways I can help you to feel your best during perimenopause and menopause:

1. Want more science-backed health tips? Click here to sign up for my free weekly newsletter for practical advice on navigating menopause with confidence:

2. Click here to get the free guide: 5 Natural Ways To Reduce Menopause Symptoms.

2. For more information about Lynda and how she supports women on their health journey, click here to learn more.

3. Interested in seeing if nutrition coaching with Lynda is right for you? Click here to book a free discovery call with Lynda.

Episode Transcript

(00:00):
Have you ever noticed how aquick snack or sugary treat can

(00:03):
lift your spirits only to leaveyou feeling sluggish, anxious,
or irritable later on?
If you're in your perimenopauseyears and struggling with mood
swings, depression, or lowenergy, you are not imagining
it.
What you eat might be playing abigger role than you think.
Today, we're uncovering howultra processed foods can be
hijacking your mood and whatsimple swaps can make all the

(00:25):
difference.
Hello and welcome to JoyfulMenopause, the show dedicated to
empowering women in theirperimenopause and menopause
years through knowledge,science, and practical
solutions.
Today, we're tackling a topicthat's not just about food.
It's about how what you eataffects how you feel.
I'm Lynda Enright, your host andfunctional nutritionist.

(00:45):
I've worked with hundreds ofwomen over more than 20 years,
and I've seen over and over.
How food affects mood and stickaround and I'll tell you how my
client Jane took the tools I'llgive you today and put them into
practice and saw bigimprovements in her mood.
So let's get started.
Menopause doesn't have to feellike you are living in someone
else's body.
Your host Linda Enright hasspent the last 25 years helping

(01:07):
women to thrive in midlife.
Here you'll find science basedpractical advice that you can
start using today to get realresults for your health.
Welcome to Joyful Menopause.
We're talking today about ultraprocessed foods or UPFs we call
them and their surprising rolein mood, especially for women
navigating perimenopause.

(01:29):
First, let's start with thedefinition.
What do I mean when I say ultraprocessed foods?
These are factory made or massproduced items loaded with
additives, preservatives, andartificial ingredients.
Think packaged snacks, frozenmeals, sugary cereals, and soft
drinks, and just endlessconvenience foods.
they are convenient, but they'reoften stripped of nutrients and

(01:50):
filled with substances that justdon't naturally occur in nature.
So why does this matter?
There's research that shows thatdiets that are high in UPFs are
linked to increased rates ofdepression and anxiety.
For women in perimenopause whoare already dealing with
hormonal shifts, that can impactmood.
UPFs may be adding fuel to thefire.

(02:12):
So how exactly do UPFs disruptyour mental health?
Let's look more at why.
Number one, creating chronicinflammation.
Ultra processed foods are packedwith refined sugars, unhealthy
fats, and artificial chemicals,all of which can contribute to
chronic inflammation.
Studies, including one from theLancet Psychiatry, highlight how

(02:34):
inflammation affects the brainand is a known risk factor for
depression and anxiety.
Number two, a disruption to yourgut brain axis.
Your gut isn't just aboutdigestion.
It's often called your secondbrain.
The gut and brain communicatethrough this gut brain axis and
UPFs disrupt this system byharming beneficial gut bacteria.

(02:59):
And this can lead to moodinstability and cognitive
decline.
And number three, stimulatingyour dopamine cycles.
Have you ever noticed how eatinga bag of chips or a sugary treat
feels good for a little bit?
Ultra processed foods stimulatedopamine, which is your brain's
reward chemical.
But this short lived high oftenleads to an energy and mood

(03:20):
crash, setting you up for acycle of emotional instability.
These are concerns at any timein life, but these disruptions
can be particularly detrimentalfor women during perimenopause
and menopause.
During this phase, estrogenlevels fluctuate, and because of
these changes in estrogen, womencan be more vulnerable to mood
swings, anxiety, and depression.

(03:41):
Then you add in these ultraprocessed foods, and you're
looking at a recipe forincreased stress, poor sleep,
and worse moods.
It's not just theories, studiessuggest women in perimenopause
may rely more on UPFs forconvenience during busy or
stressful days.
This only exacerbates theproblem, creating a vicious
cycle of poor nutrition andmental health.

(04:04):
Let me give you an example, Janeis a client who I've worked with
who is in perimenopause and cameto me because she was struggling
with a variety of symptoms, oneof them being her mood.
She felt like she was goingcrazy.
She used to be so easygoing, andshe was finding herself really
irritable lately, both at homeand at work.
It was really starting to affecther relationships, and she just

(04:26):
didn't feel good about it.
When I learned more about whatshe was eating, I found that
because she was so busy, she waseating a lot of processed
convenience foods.
She'd drive through and get acoffee drink and, sandwich on
her way to work, she'd grab aburger or something similar at
the work cafeteria for lunch.
And because she was runningevery night, taking her kids to
activities, a home cooked mealwas rare.

(04:47):
Her family was often relying onquick, convenient foods for
dinner too.
I'm going to give you fourthings you can get started with
today in just a moment.
But today we've been talkingabout ultra processed foods and
the role they can play in yourmood.
So what did Jane do to fix thisand what can you do about it?
The good news is that smallintentional changes can really

(05:08):
make a big difference.
They certainly did for Jane andfor her family.
The added benefit was she feltbetter, but her kids were in a
better mood too.
Added bonus.
The first thing is to simplyfocus on whole foods.
First, you could swap out UPFsfor some nutrient dense options.
So here's some examples for you.

(05:29):
Trade chips for nuts or seeds.
You can get 100 calorie packs ofnuts that are so easy to bring
with you, or you could make yourown snack bags for an easy grab
and go snack.
You could replace sugary snackswith fruit like berries or an
orange.
Even canned fruit that's packedin water can give you something
sweet without any additives.
You do have to make sure thoughit's packed in water because

(05:51):
sometimes they do containadditives and artificial
sweeteners.
Instead of a protein bar, whichis often filled with tons of
different ingredients, you couldhave a hard boiled egg, peanut
butter, string cheese, or maybesome hummus and vegetables.
Second, planning ahead is key.
I love batch cooking or preppingmeals on weekends.
It can make your week go so muchbetter and make it easier to

(06:12):
avoid grabbing that frozen pizzaor driving through for fast
food.
Start small, maybe just prepyour breakfast for the week.
For Jane, she would grill abunch of protein on the weekends
and she'd use that in salads ora bento box type meal for her
lunch all week long.
Third, focus on a Mediterraneantype diet.

(06:33):
This way of eating emphasizeswhole grains, lean proteins, and
plenty of vegetables, which havebeen shown to support brain
health and reduce inflammation.
For Jane, she would chop up allthe vegetables she bought on the
weekend and keep them in clearcontainers in the fridge so it
was easy to see what wasavailable to grab for snacks or
for sides for meals.
And lastly, feed your gut well.

(06:56):
Add fermented foods like yogurt,those that are not ultra
processed, sauerkraut or kimchi.
Fermented foods, in addition tofiber rich foods in the
Mediterranean type diet,nourishes your gut microbiome.
And a healthy gut microbiome isgood for your brain and mental
well being.
What happened for Jean?
She began to feel like herselfagain.

(07:17):
She found she wasn't biting herkid's head off when she got home
after a busy day.
She was thinking more clearly atwork.
She just felt happier overall.
And side benefits, she lostweight, her skin cleared up, and
her asthma was gone.
To wrap up, here's the keymessage.
Ultraprocessed foods can wreakhavoc on your mood, especially
during perimenopause whenhormonal changes make you more

(07:39):
vulnerable.
But the power to improve yourmental health is in your hands
and on your plate.
Small, consistent changes canhelp you break the cycle and
help you to feel your best.
You got some ideas today on howyou can implement changes in
your diet to reduce yourexposure to these ultra
processed foods.
When your diet is filled withpackaged convenience foods, the

(08:01):
consequences are not fun and canimpact your mental well being
today and for years to come.
But what a difference you canmake when you start implementing
some of these small shifts.
I can speak from experience.
I see it happening to the womenin my practice every single day.
For more ideas on makingmenopause your best years yet,
get my free guide, five naturalways to reduce menopause

(08:23):
symptoms.
For Jane, when she just took onecomponent of the fifth way in my
guide, she saw big improvementsin her mood and her energy.
To get the guide, go to thecomments below and click on the
link.
Thank you for joining me today.
If you enjoyed this episode,please click to subscribe.
Until next time, take care ofyourself and here's to feeling
your best every day.