Psychological symptoms of menopause, such as brain fog, anxiety, low mood and lack of motivation, can often manifest before physical symptoms. This is due to the effects that oestrogen and progesterone have on our brain chemistry. So how should we be supporting our brain with food?

Try increasing your intake of the following foods:

Oily fish and nuts - eat oily fish two to three times a week, opting for small fish such as mackerel, trout or salmon to minimise mercury. Try eating more nuts, seeds and linseed oil too.

Phytoestrogens - tofu, tempeh, soya, linseed, nuts, apples, fennel, celery, parsley, alfalfa, pulses, beans, lentils, peas, chickpeas, green vegetables, carrots, red peppers, broccoli and cabbage, sage and red clover are all excellent sources.

Phosphatidylcholine and phosphatidylserine - both are found in egg yolk, tofu, oily fish, beef, sardines and fatty cheese.

Phenylalanine - you can find this in pumpkin seeds, parmesan, soya beans, lean beef, chicken, salmon, mackerel, cod, eggs and pinto beans.

B vitamins - found in eggs, cereals, brown rice, fish, chicken, asparagus and dark-green vegetables.

Amino acids - especially tryptophan and glutamine, all these are found in lean meat, poultry, nuts, seeds and avocado.

L-theanine - an amino acid found in green tea (opt for decaf) that is traditionally used to enhance relaxation and improve concentration.

Vitamin C - supports brain health as we age. Get it in citrus fruits, parsley and greens.

Antioxidants - such as flavonoids. Try artichoke, basil, berries, celery, citrus fruits, parsley and turmeric.

The gut is often referred to as our second brain and the easiest way to support it is by aiming for 30+ plants per week. If you don’t have many plants in your diet at the moment, then increase them slowly as suddenly eating lots of plant-based fibre can cause bloating! Cooked over raw is easier to digest too.

These can include herbs, spices, fruit, vegetables, pulses, nuts, seeds and gluten-free grains. Also be wary of how gluten affects your concentration, gluten and dairy can have an opioid-like effect on the brain.

• Keep hydrated. Dehydration is linked to drops in memory and concentration.
• Buy the best food you can afford and take the time to enjoy it.
• Opt for warm, grounding food such as protein-rich broths and warm salads to help take energy out of the head and into the digestive system.
• Keep moving to help circulation and blood flow to the brain.
• Spend more time in nature as there are fascinating links with it improving mood.

As we age our immune systems become less effective. For those experiencing menopause, the effect is then amplified by falling levels of oestrogen, progesterone and testosterone. The result? Becoming more prone to inflammation and less effective at fending off pathogens.

During perimenopause and menopause, a number of other factors are at play too, including poor sleep, stress and anxiety, low iron levels, and hormone changes affecting digestive health, as well as tiredness and fatigue.

Nourish your gut microbiome - our beneficial microbes enjoy colourful fruits and vegetables, wholegrains, beans, and pulses, which contain soluble fibres for them to feed upon. Fermented foods like sauerkraut, kefir, kimchi, and natural yoghurt help too. They contain different strains of natural bacteria that support the balance and diversity of our own microbiome.

Cut back on free sugars - high amounts of free sugars like table sugar and sugars found in syrups, sweets, chocolate, cakes, honey, and fruit juices (but not whole fruits) disturb the gut microbiome and weaken the ability of immune cells to respond to infections.

Check your vitamin D levels - vitamin D is crucial for immune health yet deficiency is common in Northern hemisphere countries like the UK. Government advice is for all adults to take a supplement between October and April and you may need to supplement all year round, especially if you have darker skin, cover most of your skin, or have little time outdoors.

Top up on iron - if you still have regular periods, it’s a good idea to eat plenty of iron-rich foods like red meat, poultry, eggs, dried apricots, leafy green vegetables, lentils, and tofu.

Eat a rainbow of fruits and vegetables - colourful fruits and vegetables supply vitamin C, beta carotene, and plant-based antioxidants that help manage inflammation and support immune cell activity. Combining vitamin C foods like berries, watercress, broccoli, and kiwi with plant-based sources of iron aids iron absorption too.

Neuropsychiatrist and author of The Upgrade, Dr Brizedine, says that hormonal changes can help reshape women’s brains for the better in a way that creates a bracing clarity and laser-like sense of purpose. “Without the monthly cycles of fertility hormones pushing and pulling like tides through our brain, our creativity and vision can take hold powerfully,” she explains.

There’s also a drop in anxiety that allows the brain to flip its attentional style from multitasking to focusing on one thing at a time. “This isn’t a deficit,” she insists. “It means you'll become more engaged, more thorough.” In addition, “the brain is no longer stressed by its wiring being hormonally altered by 25% every month, and so the freedom to solidify its circuitry allows easier access to feelings of firmness and conviction unlike at any other time in a woman’s life.”

Incidentally, Brizendine was among the first to explore why women feel, think, and communicate differently than men through her book, The Female Brain. Her latest roadmap and positive understanding of ageing came about from her own experiences and those of the thousands of women at her clinic - she founded the Women’s Mood and Hormone Clinic at UCSF in San Francisco back in 1994.

It is here that she has listened to countless stories of joy and loss, discovery and fear, freedom and disorientation from women in 'transition' (perimenopause). “Doing 100 butt-squeezes per day helps your brain!” she enthuses. “In a large study of women at age 80, those with the greatest leg strength also had the best cognition.”

Brizendine also reveals that we genuinely get happier with age, too. “It’s called the ‘positivity effect’,” she states. “Research at Stanford and other places shows that we get happier and happier with each decade of life. There’s no real known reason for why this is, but it’s something to look forward to. And it’s important to know because it’s almost counterintuitive, as we tend to say and think the opposite.”