YOU CAN STILL ENROL ON OUR SCIENCE ACCESS COURSE AND JOIN THE OCTOBER COHORT • OUR NEXT OPEN EVENT TAKES PLACE 31 OCTOBER 2025 • NO MORE CAKE, PASS ME THE COCONUT KEFIR! TV PRESENTER JULIA BRADBURY REVEALS ALL IN THE OPTIMUM NUTRITION PODCAST •
YOU CAN STILL ENROL ON OUR SCIENCE ACCESS COURSE AND JOIN THE OCTOBER COHORT • OUR NEXT OPEN EVENT TAKES PLACE 31 OCTOBER 2025 • NO MORE CAKE, PASS ME THE COCONUT KEFIR! TV PRESENTER JULIA BRADBURY REVEALS ALL IN THE OPTIMUM NUTRITION PODCAST •
We’re talking about menopause more than ever but for women in the thick of it, the real power lies in small changes and refusing to let the conversation fade, writes Natalie Li
“We’ve been taught to fear menopause. To cover it, medicate it, fight against it.”
“But here’s what I’ve discovered: menopause is not the end of anything. It’s the beginning of you.
“Think about this for a moment: when a teenage girl goes through puberty, we give her grace. We understand her mood swings, her growth, her discomfort. We rally around her and say, “Your body is changing, it’s part of growing up.
“But when a woman goes through menopause… another major hormonal shift… our culture offers no such grace.
“Instead of support, she gets silence. Instead of celebration, she’s told to stay small, stay quiet, and keep pretending she feels fine.
“That’s why I call menopause a “butterfly moment.” Yes, there’s a cocoon. Yes, there’s discomfort. But it’s also the chance to finally spread your wings.”
Dr Mindy Peltz, author of Fast Like a Girl, The Menopause Reset and Reset Factor, couldn’t have summed it up better as she continues to help women thrive in midlife.
These words stay with me, a 42-year-old woman, standing at the top of the stairs, wondering why she climbed them in the first place. Blank. The kind of blank that creeps in quietly, insidiously. It’s not burnout, not laziness, not even forgetfulness in the traditional sense.
This is my perimenopause, the transitional phase leading up to menopause, marked by a gradual decline in oestrogen production. And it didn’t come with a warning label.
Growing up, menopause was not discussed in my house, it was a vague notion of “the change” that happened to your mum, your aunt, the woman next door. You dealt with it stoically, silently, like a rite of passage best left unspoken.
But now? Popstar Sophie Ellis-Bextor is embracing this time of life and singing about it on her playful album Perimenopop. Instagram’s dissecting it and podcasts are unpacking it with the kind of intimacy typically reserved for a therapy session. I swim in this sea of information – it’s endless and, quite frankly, exhausting. And then I scroll past a dismissive comment: “Most women’s podcasts are about women’s issues. Menopause is done to death”. It stops me because while the conversation is louder and awareness is booming, does that mean we’ve said enough?
Karen Newby, a nutritional therapist and menopause specialist and author of The Natural Menopause Method and The Natural Menopause Method Cookbook , who’s worked with hundreds of women, doesn’t think so. “Women’s health is under-researched and not talked about enough,” she says. “As a woman myself, I know the complexities, and how we look after everyone else except ourselves. We’re not in touch with our natural rhythms because we lead such a male oriented pattern of life.”
While the conversation is louder and awareness is booming, does that mean we’ve said enough?
She’s right. We’ve been conditioned to ignore the signals, to push through, to keep going. But menopause demands something different. It asks us to pause, to recalibrate.
“So, it’s a kind of emotive area,” Karen continues. “I do think women’s health is very much about equality and equity. It’s a really interesting space.
“As I went into perimenopause in my early 40s, not many people were talking about it –
certainly not perimenopause,” she recalls. “I started doing more work in that area, and my retreats would get completely booked up really quickly. I realised there was a real need. As nutritional therapists, we know we can do so much for the transition. It’s a wonderful area to work in because you see so much change.”
So, I sit down with a student nutritional therapist who, armed with science and empathy, begins to dissect it for me – and I tell her everything. The fatigue, fog, flushes. She nods, not surprised. “It’s your hormones,” she says gently, “but it’s also your mitochondria, your blood sugar, your stress.” It’s not just one thing.”
And for some women, it’s also neurodiversity. A study from King’s College London found that menopausal difficulties increase in line with the severity of ADHD symptoms. As oestrogen declines, dopamine production, already dysregulated in ADHD, can drop further, amplifying traits like impulsivity, anxiety, and brain fog. Karen sees this too: “Many women are only now being diagnosed with ADHD, often after their children are. Menopause amplifies characteristics because oestrogen is involved in dopamine synthesis.”
She explains that hormonal windows – puberty, postpartum, perimenopause – are key moments when neurodivergent traits intensify. “Low iron status can exacerbate ADHD anxiety,” she adds. “Gentle iron supplements, omega-3s, magnesium, zinc – they all help. Foggy head, low mood, dry skin: these symptoms often fall away with the right support.”
Enough is enough. I start small. More polyphenols in the shape of blueberries, green tea, a sprinkle of turmeric. Cruciferous veg like broccoli and kale, suddenly less boring and more medicinal. I ditch the doomscrolling before bed, swap it for a walk, a stretch, a breath.
Then I call my mum. “When did menopause start for you?” I ask. She pauses. “I don’t really know,” she admits thoughtfully. “It’s all a blur.”. She is part of the boomer generation that didn’t ask, didn’t tell. You just got on with it. But I want more than stoicism, I want clarity. How do I beat the low energy and anxiety?
Newby sees it all in her clinic. “The most common early symptom is anxiety,” she says. “And a lot of women don’t put that down to menopause because they’re still in experiencing a normal menstrual cycle. We only think of menopause as hot flushes or aches and pains.”
But the reality is more nuanced. “It’s to do with subtle changes in our cycles, we’re not always ovulating during perimenopause. That imbalance between progesterone and oestrogen affects GABA, an amino acid that helps to regulate mood. That’s why sleep disturbance is often an early sign. It’s nervous system symptom that we don’t associate with hormones.”
She describes clients who say they feel “just not like themselves,” a disorienting shift that affects not only the woman but those around her. “We’re not finding joy in things we used to,” she says. “And then there’s exhaustion. Fatigue is often an early sign. Our metabolism is affected. Many women come to see me for weight gain.”
The list continues: “Anxiety, sleep disturbance, weight gain, inflammatory issues like morning stiffness, skin conditions like eczema and psoriasis, bloating. And brain fog, brain fog is a massive one. It’s really discombobulating if you can’t remember what you were talking about, especially when you’re working full time.”
In a bid to support women, Newby has compiled 60 simple recipes, like the One-Pot Cod and Coconut Curry in her new recipe book to combat and minimise the most commonly reported symptoms of menopause. Packed with nutrition but bursting with flavour, these meals are ideal for time-poor perimenopausal and menopausal women.
Newby believes food is the most accessible form of self-care. “Food is something we can all do,” she says. “It’s time to nourish ourselves. So many of my clients don’t eat properly, or don’t eat enough.”
She describes the “sad sandwich” culture: toast and coffee before rushing out the door, reactionary food choices. “Menopause is a wake-up call,” she says. “It’s about shining the spotlight back onto food as medicine.”
Her advice is simple: start your day with hydration, warm water with lemon, ginger, or cinnamon. Save caffeine for breakfast and make meals protein rich. Take time to eat. “Fifteen minutes for breakfast, thirty for lunch. I’m a big fan of leftovers,” she says, “Just put it all in a bowl, it doesn’t have to be Michelin-starred.”
She personally champions plant diversity, referencing Tim Spector’s 30-plants-a-week rule. “Half your plate should be veg, twice a day,” she says. “Phytoestrogens from tofu, tempeh, chickpeas, linseed, they’re powerful. And the microbiome? It’s central to longevity.”
Newby also recommends gentle intermittent fasting, 12 to 14 hours overnight. “It’s brilliant for insulin sensitivity,” she explains. “Many women in menopause have borderline insulin resistance.” Weight training, she adds, is essential. “It’s not just about weight loss – it’s about strength, metabolism, and mood.”
Karen is passionate about the future of menopause care. “There needs to be more conversation around food and lifestyle,” she says. “This year’s menopause month is about lifestyle medicine, and I’ve been banging that drum for years.”
Her cookbook is more than recipes, it’s a symptom-led guide rooted in nutritional therapy. “Food is inclusive,” she says. “Whether you’re post-cancer, on tamoxifen (a hormone therapy drug used to treat breast cancer), or just navigating brutal symptoms, food can be a tonic. It gives you agency.”
She’s also mindful of cost. “These meals don’t have to be expensive. A homemade meal costs less than a sandwich or ready meal.”
Her philosophy is clear: “Food is nourishment, celebration, joy. It’s health, longevity, and empowerment.”
Jackie Lynch, nutritional therapist, author of four books on menopause, and host of The Happy Menopause podcast, and her latest offering – The Happy Menopause Guide to Energy – echoes Newby. She says fatigue isn’t just about feeling a bit sleepy, it’s the kind that drags you down, makes life feel like wading through treacle. “Constant fatigue can be debilitating,” she says. “When we’re not producing the energy we need, life feels like an uphill struggle.” And when you’re navigating menopause, that struggle can feel relentless.”
Her new book focuses on how your body’s energy systems are shifting. “It’s a deep dive into the science of energy production in the body,” she explains, “the impact of the menopause on your energy, and how your diet and lifestyle can help.”
And it couldn’t be more timely. This year’s World Menopause Month is all about lifestyle, how the choices we make every day can shape our experience of menopause.
The earlier you start, the more effective this approach can be. Lynch explains: “The right nutrition in your thirties and forties, combined with a sensible work-life balance and regular exercise, lays the groundwork for a much easier menopause.”
Jackie’s approach is refreshingly practical. She doesn’t promise miracle cures, just smart, sustainable changes that help women feel like themselves again.
The message is clear: menopause isn’t a decline, it’s a transition. Jackie is part of a growing wave of experts reframing menopause as a time to reclaim health, not surrender it. “You’re not powerless,” she reminds me. “You’re just in transition. And with the right support, you can thrive.”
These are comforting words and as I navigate the often quiet chaos of perimenopause, I’m learning that clarity doesn’t come all at once, but in small deliberate choices and the courage to keep the conversation going.
