Feeling stressed, moody, or like menopause is just taking over your life? What if there were a single food that could lift your mood, stabilize your blood sugar, calm your mind, and help you handle the rollercoaster of menopause with much more ease—while actually tasting delicious?
Here’s some great news: tubers are the secret magic food you’ve probably overlooked! Not only can they help you lose weight (more on that soon), but they work wonders for your mood and nervous system. Let’s break down why adding these root powerhouses to your diet just might be your new daily ritual for hormonal harmony—especially if you’re a woman over 40. (Based on the insights of Dr. Mindy Pelz)
Key Takeaways
- Tubers are root vegetables like sweet potatoes, potatoes, turmeric, turnips, and jicama, and each color and type brings unique benefits.
- They naturally boost crucial brain chemicals (like GABA and serotonin) that help you feel calmer and happier.
- Eating tubers supports stable blood sugar, a healthy gut, and even helps your body detoxify excess estrogen.
- Getting a colorful variety is key for the best nutrient hit and gut support.
- Easy to cook and incorporate into meals, tubers are a menopause game-changer!
Keep reading to learn why tubers should be your new staple—and exactly how to use them for the smoothest menopausal experience possible!
1. Tubers Stabilize Your Blood Sugar
Balancing hormones during menopause can mean wild swings in blood sugar—and all the moodiness, cravings, and energy crashes that come with it. Tubers, thanks to their fiber content and slow-digesting carbs, help slow down sugar absorption. If you’ve ever worn a continuous glucose monitor (CGM) or checked your blood sugar with a finger stick, you might notice smaller blood sugar spikes when you add a tuber to your meal. This means more even energy, less irritability, and easier weight management.
2. They Feed Your Microbiome (and That Affects Your Mood!)
Did you know your gut bacteria produce neurotransmitters that regulate happiness, calm, and emotional well-being? A balanced gut is essential, particularly as estrogen (which helps stimulate serotonin, the feel-good chemical) fluctuates and eventually declines during menopause. Tubers contain prebiotic fibers that feed healthy gut bacteria, improving their ability to produce serotonin. If you have a history of poor eating habits or long-term use of medications like birth control, your gut may be lacking. Tubers help you build a thriving microbiome, supporting mood from the inside out.
3. Promote GABA and Serotonin Synthesis Naturally
Hormones like progesterone and estrogen help your body produce “calming” and “happy” brain chemicals called GABA and serotonin. But after about age 35, as these hormones decrease, you’re left with less natural support for your mood and nervous system. Tubers provide the right nutrients and fibers to help your body build—and use—these neurotransmitters. Unlike hormone replacement therapy, which sometimes can’t convert hormones into an active form, tubers help with both the natural production AND the healthy breakdown of GABA and serotonin.
4. Help Detoxify and Eliminate Excess Estrogen
Here’s something not talked about enough: menopause isn’t just about losing estrogen, but also about making sure your body can get rid of harmful estrogen metabolites (breakdown products), some of which can be toxic if they accumulate. Tubers pack unique nutrients and antioxidants that aid the natural detox pathways in your liver and colon, so you’re able to process and eliminate excess or “unfriendly” estrogens. This not only aids hormonal balance but may also support weight loss and reduce cancer risks associated with certain estrogen metabolites.
5. Soothe Your Nervous System for Better Sleep and Lower Stress
Feeling edgy, anxious, or having trouble sleeping? When you eat more tubers, you provide your body with the raw materials to produce calming neurotransmitters (hello, GABA again!) and soothe your nervous system. Lower stress means you pump out less cortisol (the stress hormone that, if unused, can contribute to belly fat). So, a simple step like adding some sweet potato or turnip to dinner can help you sleep more soundly and wake up calmer.
6. What Exactly Is a Tuber, and How Do I Choose Them?
Great question! Tubers are underground storage organs for plants—classic examples include sweet potatoes, yams, white potatoes, turnips, turmeric root, and jicama. The trick is variety. Different skin and flesh colors signal different antioxidant loads and nutritional profiles. For example, purple sweet potatoes are fantastic for feeding bacteria deeper in your gut (lower intestine), whereas other colors feed bacteria elsewhere. Eat the skins for extra fiber and nutrients (just be sure to scrub well and buy organic when possible).
7. Tubers Are Easy and Versatile in the Kitchen!
Tubers fit easily into nearly any meal. Think mashed, roasted, or baked sweet potatoes, colorful potato salad, grated turmeric in stir-fries or juices, or crunchy jicama slices with lime and chili. Mix up your routine by choosing a rainbow of tuber types—each one brings something different to your plate, both in taste and nutrition. For menopausal support, aim to include tubers a few times per week, rotating through different varieties.
8. They’re a Hero Food for Women Over 40
Rooted in ancestral wisdom, tubers have long been a dietary foundation for postmenopausal women. In hunter-gatherer societies, grandmothers foraged tubers as a primary food source post-menopause—supplying energy, nutrients, and the building blocks for healthy neurotransmitters and detox pathways. Science now confirms what ancestral intuition knew: tubers are a foundation food for thriving during menopause and beyond.
9. Want Extra Menopause Support? Check Out More Resources
If this has piqued your interest, Dr. Mindy’s new book, “Age Like a Girl,” dives even deeper into the lifestyle strategies (from food to fasting and mindset) that help women thrive after 40. On page 107, you’ll even find a complete list of hero foods like tubers and recipes developed to make every bite both tasty and functional. Don’t miss out on this heartfelt and research-packed resource!
Conclusion
If you’re looking for a simple, powerful way to support mind, mood, metabolism, and menopause, look to the humble tuber. These delicious root vegetables not only keep your blood sugar stable, your mood steady, and your hormones on an even keel, they’re easy to prepare and enjoy in so many ways. Next time you’re planning your meals, throw in some sweet potatoes, turmeric, or jicama—you’ll be doing your body (and mind) a huge favor!
Source: Dr. Mindy Pelz