Impact of use of Aloe vera and nutrition counseling on menopausal symptoms of postmenopausal women

The study was aimed to assess impact of nutrition counseling (NC) on menopausal symptoms and to examine the association of Aloe vera leaves (AVL) use with knowledge, attitude and practices (KAP) scores. Sixty postmenopausal women were selected from two villages of Sangrur district and were divided into – group I (Control) and group II (Experimental) containing 30 subjects each. Experimental group was imparted NC regarding benefits of Aloe vera and its use in diet of individual and group contacts once in a week, for a period of three months along with distribution of Aloe vera plants. Pre-post menopausal symptoms with KAP scores and use of AVL in diet revealed significant decrease in hot flushes, sleep problems, depressive mood, irritability and joint pain. In group II (E) 33 per cent subjects experienced hot flushes very severely which decreased to 27 per cent after NC, while sleep problem decreased from 20 to 13 per cent. Before NC, 37 per cent faced problem of depression and 40 per cent of the subjects had irritability which decreased to 30 and 27 per cent, respectively after NC, while joint pain decreased from 40 to 27 per cent. Significant gain in score in knowledge (20%), attitude (15%) and practices (19%). The quantum of improvement in KAP was 1.54, 1.39 and 1.46 times, indicating that NC improved the knowledge of subjects about importance and use of AVL in diet which led to increase in consumption of Aloe vera resulting in decreased severity of menopausal symptoms and improved the health status of women.