Chandigarh,18 April 2025 : Menopause marks the end of a woman’s menstrual cycles. This natural biological transition typically begins between the ages of 45 and 55. While hot flashes, mood swings and vaginal dryness are commonly known symptoms, menopause affects the body in many other ways too. In a recent Instagram post, Nutritionist Pooja Makhija highlighted some additional effects of menopause. She explained that it can lead to bloating, acidity and gastric discomfort. Moreover, many women experience an increase in belly fat during this time due to hormonal changes.
Pooja Makhija explained, “During menopause, our body changes its cupboard. Initially, it could be your hips, but now from pears, we have become apples, and we tend to store more in our visceral fat for two purposes, physiologically, because our ovaries are producing less estradiol, our fat produces estrone, which is then converted to estradiol, and that’s how the body manages with the weaning levels of estrogen. And also because fat cells have estrogen receptors, the adipocytes, and once our estrogen levels are weaning, it vary. And then, therefore, instead of going on our hips or any other places where we used to predominantly store fat, it goes on our belly.”
Another menopause symptom that affects women’s health is: brain fog. “Your thinking becomes slow, your words don’t come out as you want, your multitasking skills are down the drain. You know the word, but the phrase won’t come out at the right time. And basically, you’re lost,” said Pooja. The other changes are breath soreness as well as a burning sensation in the mouth.
Even after going through this massive change, women still outperform men when it comes to memory, fluency and attention to detail. According to the nutritionist, “An average menopausal woman can still perform as well or even better than her male counterpart at the same age, although the man is not going through any form of menopause.”
Summary: Menopause brings hormonal changes that affect both mind and body—causing symptoms like bloating, hot flashes, brain fog, mood swings, and sleep disturbances in women.