Plant based protein may reduce risk of early menopause, shows study

We always knew those veggies had super powers.

A study conducted by the University of Massachusetts Amherst and Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health in Boston has shown that by eating more plant protein we could help reduce the risk of an early menopause. According to Medical News Today, on average women reach menopause at the age of 51 – of course various factors can mean women will reach menopause at a much younger or older age, when their levels of estrogen drop significantly. For this particular research, 85,682 women were studied from 1991 to 2011 and had experienced menopause. They analysed how often these women consumed a particular set of foods, beverages and supplements - 131 to be precise. They also took into account those who smoked, the age of each woman, and their body mass index (BMI). Women who experienced induced menopause due to chemotherapy or surgery (where the ovaries are removed) were not included in the study. Those that were however, showed to have a lower risk of menopause if they consumed a higher amount of vegetable protein. Women with 6.5 percent daily calorie intake of vegetable protein, compared with those of a 4 percent daily intake, reduced their risk of early menopause by 16 percent. So if you're looking to try and reduce your risk of early or premature menopause look to the likes of nuts, beans, lentils, kale, broccolli, spinach, garden cress and mushrooms.