The Potential Role of Dietary (Poly)phenols in Cardiometabolic Risk During Menopause: A Narrative Review

Abstract

Menopause is a pivotal stage in women's life that brings with it multiple physiological changes that significantly increase the risk of cardiometabolic diseases. (Poly)phenols are plant secondary metabolites that present several mechanisms of action that could improve human health, including the regulation of gene expression, the control of lipid metabolism, the maintenance of glucose homeostasis, a reduction in blood pressure, prebiotic effects, and antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities. This narrative review summarizes current evidence on the main cardiometabolic risk factors associated with menopause (i.e., obesity, dyslipidemia, high blood pressure, and insulin resistance) and examines the potential of dietary strategies focused on (poly)phenol intake to mitigate these alterations. Current evidence suggests that dietary intervention based on (poly)phenol intake could be a great strategy to mitigate cardiometabolic alterations during menopause. Moreover, this review underscores the crucial need to develop personalized nutrition strategies to optimize the effectiveness of (poly)phenol-rich diets for postmenopausal women's health, thereby alleviating the cardiometabolic risk associated with this pivotal stage of women's lives. In addition, this work emphasizes that future research should comprehensively address the key factors involved in the main mechanisms of action of (poly)phenols in promoting health, including (poly)phenol bioavailability, the role of the gut microbiota in the colonic metabolization of these bioactive compounds, and the regulation of gene expression via nutrigenomic effects related to cardiometabolic diseases. This integrative approach will be essential for establishing evidence-based dietary recommendations for (poly)phenol intake during menopause.