Can eating certain foods help ease my hot flushes?

Yes. Studies have shown that eating foods rich in soy protein can reduce both the frequency and the intensity of hot flushes, the most common menopause-related complaint among women.

Soy contains plant hormones called phyto-oestrogens that act like weak estrogens in your body. If you're troubled by hot flushes, start working soy foods into your diet. Try cooked soybeans, throw tofu into soups and stir-fries, pour soy milk on your cereal, snack on roasted soy nuts, and sprinkle soy protein powder into orange juice and smoothies. Twenty grams or two servings a day -- a glass of soy milk and half a cup of tofu -- should be enough to cool you off.

You may also want to avoid foods that contain caffeine, alcohol, hot spices, or chocolate, as well as foods served at a hot temperature, all of which can trigger hot flushes in some women. Eating smaller, more frequent meals throughout the day can often help as well.

What kinds of food can help protect my heart?

To reduce your risk of heart disease, which climbs as the oestrogen in your body declines, limit your intake of saturated fat, the kind that hardens at room temperature, and eat plenty of fibre-rich foods such as fruit, vegetables, and wholegrains.

But soy can be useful here, too. Getting at least 30 grams (three servings) a day can lower your LDL or bad cholesterol, a major risk factor for heart disease.

Which foods will help my bones stay strong?

Start with dairy products to keep your bones from thinning after menopause. Even if you're on hormone replacement therapy, you'll want to make sure you're getting plenty of calcium, the mineral your body uses to build and maintain strong bones.

To meet your daily requirement of 800 milligrams through your diet, you need at least four servings of calcium-rich foods every day. One cup of skim milk, yoghurt, or calcium-fortified orange juice contains about 200 mg. If you suspect that you're not getting enough calcium, consider taking a calcium carbonate supplement.

Some brands include vitamin D to help your bones absorb the mineral. Look for it on labels.

One serving of tofu processed with calcium sulphate provides you with 150 mg of calcium. But it's the phyto-estrogens in soy that some researchers think may help slow bone loss and even build up bone, since these chemicals seem to function like oestrogen in so many ways.

One study found that postmenopausal women who ate 40 grams of soy protein every day for six months increased the bone mass in their spines by 2 percent, while those who didn't eat soy continued to lose bone. However, more recent research has not confirmed these findings. Doctors do not recommend that menopausal women rely on phyto-oestrogens to protect their bones from osteoporosis