With menopause, a woman’s body goes through a lot of changes, which can affect their entire system – from the way they look to the way they feel and the way they sleep. While, the answer to combatting the negative impact of menopause lies in exercise, healthy eating and adequate sleep, it is important to stress on understanding how menopause works. Menopause shows prominent symptoms on skin and hair. “Skin is the largest organ of the body. And it’s the one place where health or lack of it is visible,” wrote Nutritionist Rujuta Diwekar.

Signs of menopause on skin:

Adult acne: Acne is one of the most common symptoms of menopause on the skin. It is important to get good sleep, have good food and incorporate exercise in the daily routine to combat these signs. The Nutritionist also recommended avoiding derogatory jokes about the way acne makes a person look.

Pigmentation: Patches start to appear on the skin. However, part of pigmentation is natural with aging.

Under eye: Under eye is also natural with age, but often it's more prominent when one does not get good sleep at night.

Signs of menopause on hair: Hair thinning, fall and balding

Confusion: Hair thinking and balding can make us overthink everything that we eat. This can further create confusion.

Conflict: When we think of one thing and say something else, this creates unnecessary stress in the body – this can also affect hair growth and quality.

Caffeine: When we do not eat food on time or have extreme restrictions on our food and sleep timings, we end up consuming a lot of caffeine. This further affects iron absorption, Hb levels, ultimately affecting the lustre of hair.

Best foods for healthy hair and skin:

Aliv laddoo: Aliv and coconut are great sources of iron and Vitamin E. It helps in getting healthy skin. However, on days of heavy flow, these food items should be avoided.

Rice: The consumption of rice is very healthy for skin and hair. Rujuta Diwekar recommends rice consumption.

Dahi and chaas: Ending a meal with a glass of dahi or chass helps in better absorption of nutrients – this further boosts the natural glow of skin and hair.