{"id":620,"date":"2025-07-01T08:47:13","date_gmt":"2025-07-01T00:47:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vassesc.com\/?p=620"},"modified":"2025-07-01T08:47:13","modified_gmt":"2025-07-01T00:47:13","slug":"what-ive-learned-about-menopause-in-the-last-7-days-as-a-37-year-old-bloke","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vassesc.com\/index.php\/2025\/07\/01\/what-ive-learned-about-menopause-in-the-last-7-days-as-a-37-year-old-bloke\/","title":{"rendered":"What I\u2019ve Learned About Menopause in The Last 7 Days (As a 37-Year-Old Bloke)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>&#8216;<em>Why it matters more than we think for everyone.<\/em>&#8216;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Over the past 7 days, I\u2019ve listened to two podcasts and read 120 pages of a book on menopause. &nbsp;Not exactly a medical degree, I know. But after working closely with a few women recently, particularly around nutrition and training, I realised how out of touch I was, and how important this exploration was going to be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>To be honest, I\u2019ve been out of the nutrition space in a full-time capacity for about 7 years, and while I\u2019ve kept up with nutritional information and trends, it became obvious I needed to catch up on a few things happening in our community. Funnily enough, the one thing every single woman will at some point in the VSC community go through is menopause.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Let me say this clearly, I am fully aware I am still not an expert. But here\u2019s what I\u2019ve taken away so far, and why I think it matters a lot not just for women, but for men also.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>What I have Learnt Number 1 &#8211; Exercise is Non-Negotiable.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Across the board, experts like Dr Mary Claire Haver and Dr Sarah Szal hammer home the same point\u2026 <strong>menopause impacts the body\u2019s ability to maintain lean muscle<\/strong>, <strong>regulate insulin, and manage metabolic health<\/strong>. The natural decline in oestrogen sets off a chain reaction, including:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Increased insulin resistance<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Decreased muscle mass<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Lower metabolic rate<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Greater risk of cardiovascular issues<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>You may already know this, but if not, it&#8217;s essential to inform you. The research is clear; resistance training and regular movement can dramatically reduce these effects. Not only does it support physical health, but it\u2019s also one of the most powerful tools for maintaining emotional and cognitive stability throughout life, especially during such a significant hormonal transition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Do I think this is the complete answer? Definitely not! But as I have been reading and listening, I keep thinking to myself, \u2018How is exercise not more of a prescribed answer here?\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>What I have Learnt Number 2 &#8211; Nutrition Has to Change Too.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Dr Lisa Mosconi\u2019s work on brain health through menopause was a massive eye-opener for me. She links the drop in oestrogen to increased inflammation, which is also tied to higher risks of cognitive decline, alzheimers and dementia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And while there\u2019s no magic diet, the consistent message is one I have been advocating for a long time. That when it comes to nutrition <strong>anti-inflammatory eating matters<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This includes:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Omega-3 rich foods like salmon, flaxseeds, and walnuts<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>High-antioxidant foods (berries, greens, etc.)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Wholefood carbohydrates to support stable energy and insulin regulation<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Quality fats to support hormone health<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>And adequate protein<\/strong>, which becomes more important as lean tissue becomes harder to maintain<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>This 100% is not about \u201ccutting\u201d or \u201cshredding.\u201d It is way past that! It\u2019s about fuelling the body to perform and feel strong at a time when many feel like they\u2019re losing control of both. I wonder if we investigated this further, just what effect the current modern diet is having on this stage of life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Because let\u2019s be honest, ultra-processed foods, low-protein meals, and constant blood sugar spikes weren\u2019t designed with hormone health in mind. We\u2019re seeing more women hit their 40s and 50s feeling exhausted, inflamed, anxious, and disconnected from their bodies, and being told it\u2019s just \u201cpart of getting older.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But what if it\u2019s not just age? It\u2019s also a level of health neglect.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Neglect from a system that hasn\u2019t equipped people with the knowledge, tools, or permission to take ownership of this transition. The modern diet isn\u2019t just failing; it\u2019s actively making this more complicated&#8230; just a thought in real time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>What I have Learnt Number 3 &#8211; Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) Has Been Misunderstood.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>One of the biggest takeaways I have gotten so far is how misunderstood and underutilised <strong>HRT<\/strong> or <strong>oestrogen replacement therapy<\/strong> has become. According to Dr Haver, we\u2019ve lost an entire generation of women to misinformation following outdated studies that scared people off. We now know that early, supervised intervention with HRT, before symptoms escalate, can dramatically improve quality of life and long-term health.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I can\u2019t help but wonder if men are in a similar boat? While I haven\u2019t dug into it deeply yet, there\u2019s something about the slow decline in <strong>testosterone<\/strong> in men that mirrors this conversation. We brush it off as \u201cgetting older,\u201d but I\u2019m starting to question whether we should be looking more seriously at <strong>hormonal health across both genders<\/strong>, not just to feel better, but to stay physically, mentally, and emotionally high functioning as long as we can.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As I keep this short and sharp, to reflect my complete knowledge of this subject, here are my final thoughts so far. And again, let\u2019s make it clear I am not saying I am an expert by any stretch of the imagination. But if you\u2019re in your 30s, 40s or 50s, whether you\u2019re a woman going through this now, or a guy trying to understand what your partner, sister, mum, mother in-law or client is experiencing, it\u2019s worth leaning in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It appears to me that hormones are the enemy. They\u2019re powerful, essential, and yes, they change. But with the right tools, the right lifestyle, and maybe the right guidance, we don\u2019t have to accept decline as the default. Whether a female experiencing Menopause, or a man experiencing the hormonal decline of testosterone, is exercise, good nutrition and some hormone replacement therapy early the answer? And are these things really things we need to address earlier rather than later? You are not going to stop the inevitable, menopause and a decrease in Estrogen in women, but can we be better prepared and manage it in a higher state of awareness and management by exercising, eating better for longer and preparing for hormone therapy?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I don\u2019t know! I\u2019ve only been thinking about this for a week. However, I do know that if we can take control of our bodies, minds, and emotions, we can definitely lean into a more extraordinary future.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8216;Why it matters more than we think for everyone.&#8216; Over the past 7 days, I\u2019ve listened to two podcasts and read 120 pages of a book on menopause. &nbsp;Not exactly a medical degree, I know. But after working closely with a few women recently, particularly around nutrition and training, I realised how out of touch [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"off","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-620","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vassesc.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/620","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/vassesc.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/vassesc.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vassesc.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vassesc.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=620"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/vassesc.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/620\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":621,"href":"https:\/\/vassesc.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/620\/revisions\/621"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vassesc.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=620"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vassesc.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=620"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vassesc.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=620"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}