Ramadan Fasting and Menopause Hormones: What the Research Shows

Ramadan Fasting and Menopause Hormones: What the Research Shows

Researchers in Saudi Arabia followed 62 healthy women, 31 before menopause and 31 after, through one month of Ramadan fasting. Weight, waist size, and body fat dropped in both groups. Estrogen fell in women who had not yet reached menopause, but rose in women who had. The study ran for about four weeks.

Medical disclaimer: This article summarises published research for informational purposes only. It is not medical advice and is not a substitute for guidance from a qualified health professional. Always consult your doctor before starting any fasting protocol, especially if you have an existing health condition or take medication.

The Short Version

• What they tested: Whether a month of Ramadan fasting changes hormones, body measurements, and inflammation differently before and after menopause.
• Who did it: Al Zunaidy and colleagues at Qassim University, Saudi Arabia, published in Frontiers in Nutrition in 2024.
• How many people: 62 women in total, all of them women, ages 21 to 68.
• How long: About four weeks — one Ramadan month.
• What happened: Weight, waist size, and body fat fell in both groups. Estrogen moved in opposite directions depending on menopause stage.
• Read the study yourself: Frontiers in Nutrition 2024 →

What They Wanted to Find Out

Menopause changes a woman's hormones and her risk for heart and metabolic problems. Millions of Muslim women fast every year during Ramadan, from before sunrise until sunset. Researchers wanted to know if this yearly fast affects women differently depending on whether they had already gone through menopause.

They tracked body measurements, sex hormones, cholesterol, inflammation, and cell-damage markers. This adds detail to other work on fasting and menopause symptoms and fasting before versus after menopause.

Who Was in the Study

Who they were: The pre-menopausal women were ages 21 to 42. The post-menopausal women were ages 43 to 68. All 62 women were described as healthy at the start.

What the fasting actually looked like: This was traditional Ramadan fasting. Women ate and drank nothing from before sunrise until sunset, for about one month. Researchers tested them one week before Ramadan and again in the fourth week of fasting.

What Happened

Both groups lost weight and body fat, but their estrogen moved in opposite directions.

• Both groups lost weight, waist size, body fat, and a fat-related weight measure called BMI (weight adjusted for height).
• Blood fat called triglycerides went down in both groups, and blood pressure's lower number also dropped.
• The "good" cholesterol, HDL, went up in both groups.
• Two antioxidant enzymes the body makes to fight cell damage, called SOD and GPx, rose in both groups.
• A molecule called TNF-alpha, which drives inflammation, dropped in both groups — but it dropped more in the younger, pre-menopausal women.

What Did Not Change

• Progesterone, another female hormone, stayed the same in both groups.
• The body's total antioxidant power stayed about the same in both groups.
• A cell-damage marker called MDA did not shift either way.
• IGF-1, a hormone linked to aging, stayed steady in both groups.
• Muscle mass was not measured in this study. Not stated in the abstract.

What the Researchers Said

The researchers concluded that Ramadan fasting was linked to better body measurements, better blood fats, and less inflammation in both groups of women. They said the way estrogen changed with fasting depended on whether a woman had already gone through menopause.

What This Means for You

• If you fast during Ramadan or a similar pattern: This study suggests weight, waist size, and inflammation may improve either way.
• If you are still having periods: Your estrogen may drop slightly during a month of fasting, based on the pre-menopausal women here.
• If you are past menopause: Your estrogen may actually rise slightly, which is different from what happens before menopause.
• Your "good" cholesterol may rise too: Both groups saw their HDL numbers go up.
• Muscle was not checked here: If keeping muscle matters to you, look at studies that measured it directly, like this one on fasting and lean mass.
• Every symptom is personal: For a broader look at menopause and fasting timing, see time-restricted eating before and after menopause.

What This Study Could Not Tell Us

• The study included only 62 women, so results may not hold for every woman.
• All participants were Saudi women, so results may look different in other populations.
• The fast lasted about one month, so it cannot say what happens over a year.
• There was no separate group of women who did not fast at all.
• Funding for the study was not stated in the abstract.

The Study Details

Al Zunaidy, N. A., Al-Khalifa, A. S., Alhussain, M. H., Althwab, S. A., Mohammed, M. A., & Faris, M. E. (2024). The effect of Ramadan intermittent fasting on anthropometric (body measurements), hormonal, metabolic, inflammatory, and oxidative stress markers in pre-and post-menopausal women: a prospective cohort (the group of people studied) of Saudi women. Frontiers in Nutrition. PMID: 39698238

Common Questions

Does Ramadan fasting change estrogen levels?

Yes, but the direction depends on your menopause stage. In this study, estrogen dropped in women who had not yet reached menopause, and rose in women who had.

Can fasting help with weight during menopause?

In this study, both pre-menopausal and post-menopausal women lost weight, waist size, and body fat after about four weeks of Ramadan fasting.

Does fasting affect inflammation in women?

Yes. A molecule called TNF-alpha, which drives inflammation, dropped in both groups, with a bigger drop in the younger women.

Is Ramadan fasting safe for women after menopause?

This study found improvements, not harm, in both groups of healthy women. It did not test women with existing health conditions.

Does fasting hurt bone or aging markers?

No. IGF-1, a hormone linked to aging, stayed the same in both groups. This study did not test bone density directly.

More Research Like This

• Time-Restricted Eating Eased Menopause Symptoms More Than Exercise
• Time-Restricted Eating Cuts Weight the Same in Both Menopause Stages
• Time-Restricted Eating Works the Same Before and After Menopause
• Does Time-Restricted Eating Change Women's Hormones? No
• Intermittent Fasting and Uric Acid in Menopause
• Adding Fasting to Exercise Didn't Improve Brain Function in Menopause
• Intermittent Fasting and Ovarian Reserve in Women

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