Thanksgiving Foods to Skip (or Rethink) for Midlife Women

Thanksgiving is a time for connection, celebration, and gratitude but if you’re a woman in midlife, it can also bring on something a little less festive: a post-holiday hormonal crash.

Here’s the truth most wellness advice skips over: hormone health doesn’t take a holiday and neither should your awareness of it.

What you eat at that big meal (and the days of leftovers that follow) has a direct impact on how you feel physically, emotionally, even mentally. And for women navigating perimenopause or menopause, some of the most common Thanksgiving foods can quietly sabotage your balance.

We’re not telling you NOT to eat the foods you love, just notice what feels good, eat intuitively and most importantly, enjoy this time with loved ones.

Here are some foods to look out for and how they directly impact perimenopausal women more than others.

Excess Sugar

From pies to sweet potato casseroles, sugar can spike insulin and worsen estrogen dominance, a common imbalance in midlife that leads to fatigue, mood swings, and stubborn weight.

Processed Meats & Conventional Dairy

These foods often contain added hormones or hormone-disrupting compounds that throw off your delicate balance even more especially when your body is already doing the work of recalibration.

Alcohol

That post-dinner glass of wine may feel relaxing, but alcohol disrupts detox pathways, burdens your liver, and wrecks your sleep which are two things your hormones desperately need to stay steady.

Seed Oils

Often found in casseroles, baked goods, and salad dressings, seed oils (like canola, soybean, and corn oil) drive systemic inflammation. For many women, this can worsen hot flashes, joint pain, and mood swings.

This isn’t about restriction. It’s about supporting your body through a season that’s already emotionally, energetically, and physically demanding.

Instead of asking, “What should I give up?”

Ask, “What helps me feel strong, stable, and clear?”

Choose simple swaps. Eat what actually nourishes your mood. And give yourself permission to enjoy the season in ways that empower—not deplete—you.

✨ Ready to restock your kitchen with hormone-supportive foods?
[Click here to get my free guide: The Longevity Kitchen Edit] . Inside, you’ll find 10 hormone-boosting foods every midlife woman should have on hand, plus 3 easy recipes to start using them today.