The “Renewal Years”
Rethinking Menopause, Nutrition, and Midlife
When I first kicked off this project, I had one firm rule: no talking about menopause.
Honestly, I was just plain tired of thinking about it. My own journey kicked off with a hip stress fracture at just 43, followed by a solid decade of hot flashes and doctors telling me for seven of those years that I "just needed a vacation". It wasn't until a friend in the US casually dropped the M-word that I finally had a clue what was happening. Once I started HRT, my main feeling was simply: let's move on.
Fast-forward to today, and the landscape is totally different. Science is finally paying attention to women's bodies, and everywhere you turn, someone is talking about menopause to sell a new supplement, diet, or workout. So I kept asking myself, what’s even the point of adding my voice to the noise?
Then my friends started chiming in: "You have to talk about belly fat!" "We need nutrition tips for menopause!" "What about the effects of declining estrogen?!"
And the final straw, was reading about the recent estrogen patch shortages. Apparently, the pharmaceutical industry "didn't expect" the surge in demand. Really?
Stepping back into the true spirit of this blog—educating and sharing knowledge—menopause is a piece of the puzzle I can't ignore. It was a great part of my PN training, and taking the Mindful About Menopause course with Fiji MacAlpine of DoYogaWithMe was a total game-changer.
Over the next few weeks, we're diving into the pillars of menopause with a heavy focus on nutrition, so get ready for a deep dive!
First things first: what does menopause actually mean?
Think of it as a master neuroendocrine transition that impacts your whole body, especially the brain. A woman’s brain and body are incredible at remodeling themselves during three major life stages:
Puberty
Pregnancy
Perimenopause
Just like modern medicine built a supportive framework to help us navigate pregnancy, we desperately need one for menopause. To keep things clear, here is how the stages break down:
Premenopause: The healthy baseline where estrogen and progesterone are stable and cycles are regular.
Perimenopause: The rollercoaster phase where hormones fluctuate, cycles shift, and symptoms like hot flashes start crashing the party. This can last anywhere from 4 to 10 years.
Postmenopause: Everything after your final menstrual cycle. Symptoms might still hang around for a bit, but they may start to ease off after about 5 years.
(Menopause itself isn't a single stage—it's the term for the entire process!)
While every single one of us experiences this transition differently, there are 6 core pillars (borrowing a wonderful framework from Fiji MacAlpine) that keep us thriving in this new chapter:
Food
Sleep
Movement
Toxins
Stress
Hormonal Harmony
We’ll explore all of these together in the coming weeks. But before we wrap up today, here's a fun little fact to chew on: did you know the word "menopause" doesn't even exist in Japanese? The term is Konenki, which translates to "renewal years" or "a time for regeneration." How refreshing is that? It’s a wonderful cultural reminder that this phase of life is about growth, not decline.
I hope that leaves you feeling inspired and seen. Stay strong, keep tuning in, and remember to be mindful—because wellness is about so much more than just what's on your plate!
