Latest / What The Peri? - With Kirsten Cooke / Perimenopause & Supplements - What's Actually Worth Your Money (Ep 11)

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Perimenopause & Supplements - What's Actually Worth Your Money (Ep 11) · What The Peri? - With Kirsten Cooke

0:07
SPEAKER_00: Welcome to What the Perry.
0:09
SPEAKER_00: I'm your host Kirsten Cook, personal trainer, menopause coach, and a woman living it right alongside you.
0:16
SPEAKER_00: This is the podcast for women navigating perimenopause and menopause.
0:20
SPEAKER_00: The change you didn't ask for, but the conversations you need.
0:24
SPEAKER_00: Let's get into it.
0:33
SPEAKER_00: You're standing in the vitamin aisle at the chemist, or maybe it's the supermarket with a basket on your arm and a shopping list that didn't have a single vitamin on it.
0:43
SPEAKER_00: And yet here you are, stopped in front of a wall full of bottles.
0:47
SPEAKER_00: Some of them say women's on the front.
0:49
SPEAKER_00: Some of them say menopause.
0:51
SPEAKER_00: Some have the word hormone printed somewhere on the label.
0:55
SPEAKER_00: And every one of them looks like it might be the thing that's been missing.
0:59
SPEAKER_00: Or maybe it isn't the chemist at all.
1:01
SPEAKER_00: Maybe it's 10 o'clock at night and you're scrolling on the couch.
1:05
SPEAKER_00: One person is telling you that you need a particular powder, then the next person is telling you that that same powder is a waste of time.
1:12
SPEAKER_00: And somebody else again is holding up a capsule you've never heard of.
1:17
SPEAKER_00: Each of them sounds completely sure of themselves, but they don't know you, your body, or your week.
1:23
SPEAKER_00: And then you go to the kitchen and open the cupboard, and there they are, the bottles you've already bought.
1:29
SPEAKER_00: Half of one, a third of another, and one you took for a fortnight before it slid to the back and got forgotten.
1:36
SPEAKER_00: You pay good money for every one of them, and if somebody asked you today whether any of them did anything, you couldn't honestly tell them.
1:44
SPEAKER_00: So you stand there in the aisle or you sit there with your phone and you do the sums in your head.
1:50
SPEAKER_00: Do I buy another one?
1:51
SPEAKER_00: Do I try the one in the pink box this time?
1:54
SPEAKER_00: Or do I walk away?
1:55
SPEAKER_00: Because the last three didn't seem to change a thing.
1:58
SPEAKER_00: And whichever you choose, you leave without the one thing you came for, which is a straight answer about what's worth it, creatine, years ago, because it didn't suit me.
2:08
SPEAKER_00: I did what's called a loading phase, which means taking a big dose every day for a short stretch to fill your muscles up fast.
2:16
SPEAKER_00: I felt four to five kilos heavier from all the water it pulled into my muscles.
2:21
SPEAKER_00: It didn't settle, and so I stopped.
2:23
SPEAKER_00: These days I take about five to seven grams of creatine a day, every day, and I've had no water retention at all.
2:30
SPEAKER_00: Same powder, different dose.
2:33
SPEAKER_00: And that difference is a big part of what I want to walk you through today, because how much you take changes what creatine does for you.
2:41
SPEAKER_00: So this isn't an episode about things to feel guilty for buying.
2:45
SPEAKER_00: It's the opposite.
2:46
SPEAKER_00: It's the handful of things I think deserve a place in your basket right now, how much of each and why, starting with the one I'd put right at the top.
2:57
SPEAKER_00: Welcome back to What the Perry.
2:59
SPEAKER_00: I'm Kirsten Cook.
3:00
SPEAKER_00: Last week was protein, how much you need and why one poached egg at breakfast was never going to get you there.
3:06
SPEAKER_00: And as we signed off, I promised you supplements.
3:09
SPEAKER_00: So that's today.
3:11
SPEAKER_00: But I'm going to pay that promise a little differently to how you might expect.
3:14
SPEAKER_00: Rather than walking you along the shelf telling you what to leave behind, I'm going to tell you what's worth buying and how to buy it well so you stop paying extra for things you were never going to need.
3:26
SPEAKER_00: Here's what we're covering.
3:27
SPEAKER_00: First, what this whole supplement business feels like from where you're standing, because that matters before we go anywhere near the science.
3:35
SPEAKER_00: Then creatine, and we're going to spend the most time there because it's the one supplement I'd recommend to every woman at this stage of life.
3:43
SPEAKER_00: Then vitamin D, then omega-3, then iron.
3:47
SPEAKER_00: Then a quick roundup of magnesium, the natural options for hot flushes, and the cheapest training boost there is, which is probably on your kitchen bench as we speak.
3:57
SPEAKER_00: Before any of that, one thing I want to say clearly.
4:00
SPEAKER_00: This is a guide to what's worth your money, and it's built around the things I genuinely think are worth it.
4:06
SPEAKER_00: A supplement is there to fill a gap or to give your training a bit of a boost.
4:11
SPEAKER_00: It's not there to replace the protein we talked about last week or the lifting we talked about the week before.
4:18
SPEAKER_00: Think of these as the extras that sit on top of the good work you're already doing and that make that work go a little further.
4:25
SPEAKER_00: And before we get into a single bottle, the thing doing the most work for you is still what's on your plate.
4:32
SPEAKER_00: A supplement is there to fill a gap, and the best way to have fewer gaps is plenty of variety.
4:37
SPEAKER_00: Lots of different vegetables and fruit in lots of different colours right across your week.
4:42
SPEAKER_00: And that's harder than it sounds.
4:44
SPEAKER_00: A lot of us are creatures of habit, and when you're short on time, you keep it simple.
4:49
SPEAKER_00: So the same few meals go round and round and the variety quietly drops out.
4:53
SPEAKER_00: And most of us aren't eating the vegetables we need.
4:57
SPEAKER_00: Add that to how much of our food now comes out of a packet.
5:01
SPEAKER_00: More than 40% of what Australians eat in a day is ultra processed, which means made in a factory from ingredients you wouldn't find in your own kitchen.
5:10
SPEAKER_00: And Australian research says we're eating more of it every year.
5:15
SPEAKER_00: Then there are some of the newer fruit and vegetable varieties, bred to grow bigger and faster, which carry a little less of some minerals than the older ones did.
5:24
SPEAKER_00: Then add the lifestyle side we'll get to today with more time indoors and more time sitting.
5:30
SPEAKER_00: It's easy to see how gaps open up.
5:33
SPEAKER_00: So, food first, every time, and supplements for the gaps that food on its own isn't filling.
5:39
SPEAKER_00: And I'll finish with three things to do this week.
5:42
SPEAKER_00: I'll keep the doses as simple as I can and I'll come back to the important ones more than once, so there's no need to remember them all on first listen.
5:51
SPEAKER_00: I think the supplement aisle is one of the most confusing places a woman can stand at this stage of life.
5:57
SPEAKER_00: You might have symptoms you didn't have a few years ago.
6:00
SPEAKER_00: You might be more tired than you used to be, or sleeping worse, or feeling foggier than you'd like.
6:06
SPEAKER_00: And then on top of all that, you're handed a wall of choices with no way of telling which of them has something behind it and which of them simply has a good marketing budget.
6:16
SPEAKER_00: And the advice coming at you doesn't line up.
6:19
SPEAKER_00: A friend might swear by one thing, but something you read says the opposite.
6:24
SPEAKER_00: Someone online has a morning routine with a different capsule at every step of it, while you're simply trying to get out the door with your keys, your bag, and a coffee.
6:33
SPEAKER_00: It's tiring just trying to keep up with it all, and you haven't even spent a cent yet.
6:38
SPEAKER_00: Then there's the cost.
6:39
SPEAKER_00: Supplements aren't cheap and they add up quietly over a year.
6:43
SPEAKER_00: And a bottle here, a tub of powder there, a subscription you meant to cancel months ago, that's real money coming out of a household budget.
6:51
SPEAKER_00: And very often it's coming out of the small part of that budget you'd set aside for yourself, which is exactly why it stings when nothing seems to change.
6:59
SPEAKER_00: So when a bottle doesn't seem to do anything, it isn't only the money.
7:04
SPEAKER_00: You were trying to look after yourself, and you didn't get much back for it.
7:07
SPEAKER_00: And over time, a lot of women end up in one of two places.
7:11
SPEAKER_00: Either they keep buying just in case, or they throw their hands up, give up on the whole lot, and decide none of it works.
7:18
SPEAKER_00: Neither of those is where I want you.
7:21
SPEAKER_00: Because some of it does work and works well, and you deserve to know which parts.
7:26
SPEAKER_00: So here's how today is gonna go.
7:28
SPEAKER_00: I'm only gonna talk about the things I think are worth your money.
7:31
SPEAKER_00: I'd much rather tell you what to reach for, how much to take, and how to know you've bought a good one.
7:37
SPEAKER_00: And by the end of this episode, you'll be able to go back to that cupboard knowing exactly what has earned its place in there.
7:44
SPEAKER_00: Creatine first.
7:46
SPEAKER_00: And I'm not gonna be subtle about this.
7:48
SPEAKER_00: Outside of HRT, I believe creatine is the strongest supplement there is.
7:53
SPEAKER_00: It's the one supplement I would recommend for all women and especially for women in perimenopause.
7:59
SPEAKER_00: But I don't want you to just take my word for it.
8:02
SPEAKER_00: I want you to understand why, so that when you're standing in front of that wall of bottles, you know exactly what you're reaching for and what it's going to do for you.
8:11
SPEAKER_00: Before we go any further, I want to explain what creatine does because you may have heard of it over the years without anyone actually telling you what it's for.
8:20
SPEAKER_00: Creatine is something your body already makes, mostly in your liver and kidneys, from the same building blocks as protein, and you get a little more from meat and fish too.
8:30
SPEAKER_00: Most of it is stored in your muscles, with some in your brain.
8:33
SPEAKER_00: Now here's how it works.
8:35
SPEAKER_00: Your muscles run on a fuel called ATP.
8:38
SPEAKER_00: When a muscle works hard, it uses that ATP up and turns it into something called ADP.
8:44
SPEAKER_00: Think of it as a flat battery.
8:46
SPEAKER_00: Creatine recharges that flat battery back into ATP and fast, so your muscle can keep going a little longer.
8:55
SPEAKER_00: It isn't a hormone and it isn't a steroid.
8:57
SPEAKER_00: It's simply topping up a fuel stool your body already has.
9:02
SPEAKER_00: That's the part we've known about for decades, and it's why athletes and active people have used creatine for so long.
9:08
SPEAKER_00: But there's now so much more research on creatine, and we know it does a great deal more than help your muscles.
9:14
SPEAKER_00: It has a part to play for your bones and for your brain when you're stressed or running short on sleep.
9:20
SPEAKER_00: And I'll take you through both of those shortly.
9:23
SPEAKER_00: The person I trust most on this is Dr.
9:25
SPEAKER_00: Darren Kandau.
9:27
SPEAKER_00: And as far as I'm concerned, he's the world's leader on creatine, and a lot of what I'm going to share with you today comes straight from his work and from the way he talks about it.
9:36
SPEAKER_00: Estrogen is involved in how your body makes and uses creatine.
9:40
SPEAKER_00: And his reasoning is that as your estrogen falls, you may need more of it coming in from the outside.
9:46
SPEAKER_00: That's his reasoning built on lab work, and it makes a great deal of sense to me.
9:50
SPEAKER_00: And what makes me so confident about creatine is what it's done in real women, which I'll take you through as we go.
9:57
SPEAKER_00: And most of the creatine trials in women have been done in women past menopause.
10:02
SPEAKER_00: The trials in women in perimenopause mostly haven't been done yet.
10:06
SPEAKER_00: So I'll tell you what's known and I'll tell you when I'm reasoning from it, and you'll be able to tell which is which.
10:12
SPEAKER_00: One more thing worth knowing before we get into doses.
10:15
SPEAKER_00: Creatine has a long safety record, and in women, reviews have found no more side effects than a placebo.
10:22
SPEAKER_00: And if you've only ever pictured creatine as something for athletes, I'd love you to let that picture go.
10:28
SPEAKER_00: For a long time it was sold as a gym product, so it's easy to assume it has nothing to do with you.
10:33
SPEAKER_00: But the benefits reach well beyond trained athletes into ordinary women living ordinary busy lives.
10:40
SPEAKER_00: Women juggling work and kids and aging parents, women who lift twice a week, and women who are only just thinking about starting.
10:48
SPEAKER_00: This is for all of you.
10:50
SPEAKER_00: And it's worth the money.
10:52
SPEAKER_00: Over my career I've seen an awful lot of products arrive with a big splash and disappear again.
10:57
SPEAKER_00: And creatine is still here, still being studied and still doing what it says it does.
11:02
SPEAKER_00: That's a big part of why I trust it.
11:05
SPEAKER_00: So here's how I'd like you to think about it.
11:07
SPEAKER_00: Creatine isn't one dose doing one thing.
11:10
SPEAKER_00: It's three doses for three different purposes.
11:14
SPEAKER_00: There's an everyday dose for your muscle and your strength, there's a higher dose for your bones, which only works alongside training, and there's a short-term dose for your brain and the rough patches.
11:26
SPEAKER_00: We'll go through each of them in turn.
11:28
SPEAKER_00: And I'd love you to hold on to that idea of three doses because it clears up a lot of the confusion.
11:34
SPEAKER_00: When one person tells you to take three grams and another tells you to take 10, they're often not disagreeing at all.
11:41
SPEAKER_00: They're talking about different purposes.
11:43
SPEAKER_00: Once you know which purpose you're taking it for, then you know which dose is yours and most of the noise falls away.
11:50
SPEAKER_00: Dose one is the everyday dose, and it's the one most of you will start with.
11:56
SPEAKER_00: And if you're over 50, Dr.
11:58
SPEAKER_00: Kandau's advice is that you may want a little more than that, somewhere around 7 to 8 grams a day.
12:03
SPEAKER_00: And there's no need to load.
12:05
SPEAKER_00: Let me explain what that means because it's exactly where I went wrong all those years ago.
12:10
SPEAKER_00: A loading phase usually means about 20 grams a day, split into four doses of around 5 grams for 5 to 7 days before dropping back to a small daily dose.
12:21
SPEAKER_00: The idea is to fill your muscles to the brim in a week instead of about a month.
12:26
SPEAKER_00: It does work faster, but it pulls water into your muscles, and it can make a woman feel bloated or uncomfortable in her clothes, and that's not a nice feeling.
12:36
SPEAKER_00: That's where my four or five kilos came from when I had tried creatine previously in my career.
12:42
SPEAKER_00: Here's the good news: about three grams a day for about four weeks fills your muscles to the same level as a loading phase does.
12:50
SPEAKER_00: You just get there a little more slowly, and small doses spread through your day cause hardly any water retention at all.
12:58
SPEAKER_00: So there's no reason to put yourself through a loading phase.
13:01
SPEAKER_00: Start on your everyday dose and let it build up quietly in the background.
13:06
SPEAKER_00: You end up in exactly the same place.
13:08
SPEAKER_00: Now the best partner creatine has is lifting.
13:11
SPEAKER_00: Creatine helps your muscles do a bit more work in every session, and over weeks and months that extra work adds up.
13:19
SPEAKER_00: So it isn't doing the training for you, it's helping you get more out of the training you're already doing.
13:25
SPEAKER_00: And when the trials in women past menopause were pulled together, creatine improved their upper body strength.
13:32
SPEAKER_00: That's women at this stage of life getting stronger with a scoop of powder alongside the work they were already putting in.
13:39
SPEAKER_00: And remember why this matters so much right now.
13:42
SPEAKER_00: Your muscles start falling from about two years before your final period and keep falling until roughly two years after.
13:50
SPEAKER_00: Lifting and protein are how you push back against that, and creatine is a way of making the lifting count for even more.
13:58
SPEAKER_00: Each session, your muscles can do a little more work than they could have without it.
14:02
SPEAKER_00: Do that two or three times a week for months on end, and the difference starts to show up in what you can lift and how you feel lifting it.
14:11
SPEAKER_00: So if you're lifting, creatine is one of the simplest ways I know to get more back for your effort.
14:17
SPEAKER_00: And if you're not lifting yet, I'd still put creatine on your list, because hear me on this.
14:22
SPEAKER_00: It does its best work when it has some training to work with.
14:26
SPEAKER_00: The two of them belong together.
14:28
SPEAKER_00: And consistency matters far more than timing.
14:31
SPEAKER_00: Taking it every day, including the days you don't train.
14:35
SPEAKER_00: Don't stress about when, with a meal is fine, after a session is fine.
14:39
SPEAKER_00: Whenever you'll remember is the right time.
14:42
SPEAKER_00: It's a tasteless powder, so it disappears into a glass of water or a smoothie or a bowl of yogurt, and you won't even know it's there.
14:50
SPEAKER_00: That's what I do now, about five to seven grams every day.
14:54
SPEAKER_00: No loading, no fuss, and none of the heaviness I felt the first time round.
14:58
SPEAKER_00: If you're new to creatine, that's the version I'd love you to start with.
15:03
SPEAKER_00: Now dose two is for your bones, and this is where creatine starts to matter for women at this stage of life.
15:09
SPEAKER_00: Back in the exercise episode, we talked about how quickly bone can go in the years around the end of your periods.
15:15
SPEAKER_00: The rapid loss starts about a year before your final period and runs for roughly three years at around 2.5% a year.
15:23
SPEAKER_00: We also talked about why heavy lifting matters so much for it, and I won't go back over all of that today.
15:30
SPEAKER_00: Lifting is still the main event for your bones, and nothing in a tub changes that.
15:34
SPEAKER_00: But creatine has a part to play here as well.
15:38
SPEAKER_00: The bone dose is higher, 8 to 12 grams a day.
15:42
SPEAKER_00: Dr.
15:42
SPEAKER_00: Candau points out that 8 grams is the lowest dose that's ever shown an effect on bone.
15:47
SPEAKER_00: So that's where this purpose starts.
15:50
SPEAKER_00: There's one condition though, and it's a big one.
15:52
SPEAKER_00: It only works alongside training.
15:55
SPEAKER_00: In his own work, creatine without exercise showed no benefit for bone.
16:00
SPEAKER_00: The creatine isn't doing a job on its own, it's helping your training do its job better.
16:06
SPEAKER_00: So please don't buy a big tub, take 10 grams a day on the couch, and expect your bones to thank you for it.
16:12
SPEAKER_00: The training is the part that sends the message to your bones.
16:15
SPEAKER_00: The creatine helps the message land.
16:18
SPEAKER_00: No training, no bone benefit.
16:21
SPEAKER_00: And let's be clear about what it does when you are training.
16:24
SPEAKER_00: It slows bone loss at the hip.
16:26
SPEAKER_00: It doesn't build you brand new bone.
16:28
SPEAKER_00: He's very straight about this, and he says it's not going to be an osteoporotic cure.
16:33
SPEAKER_00: But slowing loss at your hip in the years where bone can go quickly is worth a great deal.
16:39
SPEAKER_00: Let me tell you about one trial.
16:41
SPEAKER_00: His group worked with women past menopause with an average age of 59.
16:46
SPEAKER_00: For two years, those women lifted weights and walked, and some of them took about 10 grams of creatine a day.
16:52
SPEAKER_00: At the end of those two years, the women taking creatine had a stronger hip structure than the women who didn't take it, and they walked faster.
17:01
SPEAKER_00: Two years of the same training and the women taking creatine came out ahead on both counts.
17:07
SPEAKER_00: And I want to be precise about what that trial showed because it matters.
17:11
SPEAKER_00: What it showed was a stronger hip structure and faster walking in women who were doing the work.
17:17
SPEAKER_00: That's a real result, and it's exactly the kind of thing you'd want on your side as the years go on.
17:23
SPEAKER_00: So if you're lifting and your bones are a priority for you, this is the dose to think about.
17:28
SPEAKER_00: And if you're not lifting yet, the everyday dose is where to start.
17:32
SPEAKER_00: And the bone dose is something to come back to once training is a regular part of your week.
17:37
SPEAKER_00: Now, dose three is for your brain and it works quite differently to the other two.
17:42
SPEAKER_00: Back in the brain fog episode, I touched on creatine for mental sharpness when your sleep has been broken.
17:49
SPEAKER_00: So here's what's going on behind that.
17:51
SPEAKER_00: A rested, healthy brain makes enough creatine on its own, but a stressed brain or a brain that's running short on sleep needs more than it can make.
18:00
SPEAKER_00: So this one isn't an everyday dose at all.
18:03
SPEAKER_00: It's a tool for the rough patches, a run of broken nights or a big stressful stretch at work or at home.
18:10
SPEAKER_00: For times like that, he talks about taking around 20 grams a day for a few days and then dropping back to your usual dose once things settle down again.
18:20
SPEAKER_00: Now I want to be really clear here.
18:21
SPEAKER_00: 20 grams is not your daily dose.
18:24
SPEAKER_00: He doesn't recommend big doses every day over the long term.
18:28
SPEAKER_00: It's around the same amount as a loading phase, but only for a few days and then you're straight back to your everyday dose.
18:34
SPEAKER_00: And the best dose for brain function specifically isn't settled yet, which is exactly why I'm giving it to you as a short-term tool and not as a habit.
18:43
SPEAKER_00: There's also a small early study that included women in perimenopause, and the perimenopausal women taking creatine slept better.
18:51
SPEAKER_00: And outside of that study, plenty of women say creatine helps their sleep.
18:56
SPEAKER_00: So think of it as something you keep in your back pocket.
19:00
SPEAKER_00: Most weeks you won't need it at all, and that's completely fine.
19:03
SPEAKER_00: But when the nights have been rough and your head feels scrambled, that's when it can earn its place.
19:09
SPEAKER_00: So how do you buy it?
19:10
SPEAKER_00: This is where I pay the promise I made you last week about which supplements are just expensive and which ones are worth it.
19:17
SPEAKER_00: And the answer is simple.
19:18
SPEAKER_00: You want plain creatine monohydrate powder.
19:21
SPEAKER_00: That's the form with the research behind it, and there's no need to pay more for anything fancier.
19:27
SPEAKER_00: Kaundao says to look for one word on the label, and that word is crea pure.
19:32
SPEAKER_00: Crea pure is a creatine monohydrate that's made in Germany and held to a higher standard.
19:37
SPEAKER_00: And make sure whatever you buy has been independently tested so you can trust that what's in the tub is what's written on the front of it.
19:45
SPEAKER_00: So plain powder, crea pure, independently tested.
19:49
SPEAKER_00: When you're at the shelf, the plain tub is all you need.
19:52
SPEAKER_00: The plain powder is the one the research was done with, and it's the one I'd point you to.
19:57
SPEAKER_00: Put your money towards that and towards making sure you take it every day.
20:01
SPEAKER_00: And here's a bonus.
20:03
SPEAKER_00: For what it does, creatine is one of the cheaper things you can buy.
20:06
SPEAKER_00: A few grams a day goes a long way, so the supplement I'd put right at the top of the list also happens to be one of the kindest to your budget.
20:14
SPEAKER_00: And I don't get to say that very often.
20:17
SPEAKER_00: If you only take one thing away from today, let it be this one.
20:22
SPEAKER_00: Vitamin D next, and this one is all about fixing a shortfall.
20:26
SPEAKER_00: Vitamin D helps your body absorb calcium, which is the raw material for your bones.
20:31
SPEAKER_00: If you're low, getting it back up helps.
20:34
SPEAKER_00: If you've already got enough, topping it up further does very little.
20:38
SPEAKER_00: So the real question isn't whether vitamin D is good for you, the question is whether you're short on it.
20:44
SPEAKER_00: And a lot of us are, and I think I know why.
20:46
SPEAKER_00: We spend far more of our time indoors than people used to.
20:50
SPEAKER_00: Indoor jobs, indoor exercise, indoor lives.
20:54
SPEAKER_00: You drive to work, sit at a desk all day, train in the gym, drive home and hardly see the sun on a weekday at all.
21:02
SPEAKER_00: Here in Australia, the latest national blood testing found that about one in five adults is low in vitamin D.
21:08
SPEAKER_00: In winter that climbs to about a quarter, and in summer it's about one in six.
21:13
SPEAKER_00: But where you live makes a big difference.
21:16
SPEAKER_00: Low vitamin D is much more common in the southern states in winter than it is up here in Queensland.
21:22
SPEAKER_00: So the season matters, and so does how far south you are.
21:26
SPEAKER_00: If you're getting daily sun through summer, you may not need a supplement in those months, but through winter, or if you live somewhere colder, a lot of women would benefit from one.
21:36
SPEAKER_00: So it isn't a yes or a no for everybody.
21:39
SPEAKER_00: It's a question about your life.
21:41
SPEAKER_00: How much of your day is spent outside?
21:44
SPEAKER_00: What time of the year is it?
21:46
SPEAKER_00: Where in the country are you?
21:48
SPEAKER_00: Your answers to those will tell you far more than any bottle will.
21:52
SPEAKER_00: One more thing worth knowing if you wear SPF 30 or SPF 50 sunscreen every day, you're making less vitamin D.
21:59
SPEAKER_00: So Supplement is worth considering.
22:02
SPEAKER_00: Now here's a difference from creatine that I really like.
22:05
SPEAKER_00: Creatine only helped your bones alongside training.
22:09
SPEAKER_00: Vitamin D doesn't need the gym.
22:11
SPEAKER_00: Its job for your bones works whether you train or not, as long as you were low to begin with.
22:17
SPEAKER_00: And if you already have enough, adding more on top of your exercise doesn't give you extra bone.
22:22
SPEAKER_00: It's there to fill a gap, not to overfill one.
22:25
SPEAKER_00: That's a nice thing to know if the gym isn't part of your week yet, because it means the vitamin D can still do its specific job for you.
22:33
SPEAKER_00: And it's a good reason not to assume more is better because once the gap is filled, the extra isn't buying you anything.
22:40
SPEAKER_00: So how much?
22:41
SPEAKER_00: Healthy Bones Australia suggests about a thousand to two thousand IU a day if you don't get much sun.
22:48
SPEAKER_00: IU stands for international units and it's what you'll see on the bottle.
22:52
SPEAKER_00: Australia's official upper limit for adults is 3,200 IU a day, so there's no need to go chasing big numbers.
23:00
SPEAKER_00: Take it with a meal that has a bit of fat in it because it absorbs better that way.
23:04
SPEAKER_00: And if you're not sure where you sit, your GP can talk it through with you.
23:08
SPEAKER_00: And while we're on bones, vitamin D has a partner, and that's calcium.
23:13
SPEAKER_00: As estrogen falls, your body absorbs less calcium and loses a little more of it, which is why the recommended amount for women goes up once you're past 50.
23:22
SPEAKER_00: And most of us aren't getting there with about 9 in 10 women in their 50s and early 60s falling short.
23:29
SPEAKER_00: So look at your plate first.
23:31
SPEAKER_00: Dairy, tinned sardines or salmon with the soft bones in, firm tofu, and plant milks with added calcium all do this job well.
23:40
SPEAKER_00: Now, omega-3.
23:41
SPEAKER_00: The usual advice is two or three serves of oily fish a week, and it's still good advice.
23:47
SPEAKER_00: But I want to tell you why it isn't quite the same as it used to be.
23:51
SPEAKER_00: Farmed salmon now carries less omega-3 than it used to.
23:55
SPEAKER_00: That's because the fish are being fed more plant-based feed these days rather than fish oil.
24:00
SPEAKER_00: It's still a good source, and I'd like that to be clear, it's just not as rich as it was.
24:05
SPEAKER_00: On top of that, most of the seafood we eat in Australia is imported, about six in every ten, and on average we've been eating less seafood than we used to.
24:15
SPEAKER_00: So if you eat fish, here's what to reach for: salmon and small oily fish like sardines.
24:21
SPEAKER_00: They're rich in omega-3 and they're low in mercury.
24:24
SPEAKER_00: And the ones to keep to the occasional meal are flake, which is shark, and orange ruffy, which will often see sold as sea perch.
24:32
SPEAKER_00: And everyday white fish like whiting, flathead, and cod are low in mercury and lovely to eat, but they carry very little omega-3, so they don't do this particular job.
24:43
SPEAKER_00: So if you're standing at the fish counter wondering which way to go, a nice piece of salmon is a lovely choice, and a tin of sardines on whole grain toast is one of the easiest, cheapest lunches you'll find that does this job well.
24:55
SPEAKER_00: It takes about two minutes and there's no cooking involved.
24:59
SPEAKER_00: But if I'm honest, most of us aren't eating oily fish two or three times a week.
25:03
SPEAKER_00: Life gets busy, not everyone loves fish, and a tin of sardines isn't everyone's idea of a good lunch.
25:10
SPEAKER_00: So, for a lot of women, a good marine source omega-3 supplement makes sense.
25:15
SPEAKER_00: That's my coaching judgment, and it's a recommendation I see from many of the experts I rate highly.
25:21
SPEAKER_00: And I want to explain why I keep saying marine rather than the plant sources.
25:25
SPEAKER_00: There's a plant form of omega-3 in things like flaxseed and chia and walnuts.
25:30
SPEAKER_00: Your body can turn some of it into the useful long chain form, and estrogen helps it to do that.
25:36
SPEAKER_00: But as estrogen falls through menopause, that ability drops right away.
25:41
SPEAKER_00: Fish is different because it already contains the long chain forms, ready-made so your body doesn't have to convert anything.
25:49
SPEAKER_00: So at this stage of life, the plant sources can't carry this one for you.
25:53
SPEAKER_00: Lean on fish or a marine source supplement.
25:56
SPEAKER_00: And if you're vegan or vegetarian, look for algal oil, which is made from the algae that fish get their omega-3 from in the first place.
26:05
SPEAKER_00: Your flaxseed and your chia and your walnuts are still really good food, so keep enjoying them.
26:11
SPEAKER_00: They just aren't the answer for your omega-3 anymore, and it's worth knowing that before you count your chia pudding as your omega-3 for the day.
26:18
SPEAKER_00: So what's it for?
26:20
SPEAKER_00: Omega-3 fats are one of the building blocks of your brain, and they help bring down one of the fats in your blood that matters for your heart.
26:27
SPEAKER_00: In the brain fog episode, I suggested oily fish for your brain, and this is the same idea, just made a little easier for the weeks when fish isn't on the menu.
26:37
SPEAKER_00: Fish first when you can and a good supplement when you can't.
26:41
SPEAKER_00: Next, iron, and I'll keep this one short and practical.
26:45
SPEAKER_00: There's an Australian study that tracked women from their 20s into their late 40s, and heavy periods became much more common as they got older.
26:52
SPEAKER_00: At 22, about one in six women had heavy periods.
26:56
SPEAKER_00: By 48, it was about one in three.
26:59
SPEAKER_00: And heavy periods and low iron tend to go hand in hand, which makes sense because every heavy period takes iron with it.
27:06
SPEAKER_00: If your periods have become heavier over the last few years, that's worth paying attention to, and it's one more reason your iron is worth keeping an eye on.
27:15
SPEAKER_00: In the sleep episode, and again in the brain fog episode, I asked you to get your ferritin checked, which is your iron stores.
27:22
SPEAKER_00: That still stands, and I won't go over it again today, and the same goes for restless legs, which we covered in the sleep episode.
27:29
SPEAKER_00: Today I'd like to give you something extra, which is how to take iron well if it turns out that you need it.
27:36
SPEAKER_00: And before anything else, test, don't guess.
27:39
SPEAKER_00: Get your iron checked before you start taking an iron supplement.
27:43
SPEAKER_00: Iron is one you don't want to be taking if you don't need it, and your iron needs full after menopause.
27:48
SPEAKER_00: If your results say you need it, here's what I teach.
27:52
SPEAKER_00: Take it with something rich in vitamin C, like a kiwi fruit, an orange or a handful of strawberries, or a vitamin C tablet, and take it away from your coffee and your tea.
28:03
SPEAKER_00: Coffee taken with an iron tablet can cut how much iron you absorb by about half.
28:08
SPEAKER_00: 50%.
28:10
SPEAKER_00: So if you've had a tea or a coffee, wait about an hour before you take your iron.
28:14
SPEAKER_00: It's a small change to your morning and it means the tablet you're paying for gets to do its job.
28:20
SPEAKER_00: So if your morning normally starts with a coffee, have your coffee first, then take your iron later in the morning with your kiwi fruit or an orange.
28:28
SPEAKER_00: Or take it mid-afternoon, well away from the copper.
28:31
SPEAKER_00: It's whatever fits your day as long as the two of them aren't going down together.
28:35
SPEAKER_00: I'd hate for you to be doing everything right, taking it every day and only getting half of it.
28:41
SPEAKER_00: Now let me round up a few things we've already covered so you've got them all in one place.
28:45
SPEAKER_00: Magnesium first.
28:47
SPEAKER_00: We talked about it in episodes four and five, so I'll just remind you how I use it with women.
28:52
SPEAKER_00: Magnesium glycinate in the evening for calm and for sleep, and magnesium L3N8 during the day, which is the form I reach for when the goal is brain and focus.
29:02
SPEAKER_00: In my experience, matching the form to the time of the day can make a real difference.
29:07
SPEAKER_00: Then the natural options for hot flushes from episode 4.
29:11
SPEAKER_00: Things like sage, soy, and vitamin E.
29:14
SPEAKER_00: For some women, they can take the edge off.
29:17
SPEAKER_00: Give them several weeks before you decide how they're going for you.
29:20
SPEAKER_00: They're not an overnight fix, so be patient with them and keep an eye on how your days and nights feel as the weeks go by.
29:27
SPEAKER_00: And the last one you've very likely got at home already.
29:30
SPEAKER_00: Caffeine is the cheapest, best supported pre-workout there is.
29:34
SPEAKER_00: A coffee about an hour before you train.
29:37
SPEAKER_00: It works best for endurance like a long ride or a run and it helps with your strength work too.
29:42
SPEAKER_00: There's nothing special to buy.
29:44
SPEAKER_00: No tub, no scoop, no bright colours, and no clever name on the front.
29:49
SPEAKER_00: Just a coffee you'd probably have had anyway, timed so it's working for you when you walk into your session.
29:56
SPEAKER_00: I love that the best supported option on the whole shelf turns out to be the one sitting in your kitchen.
30:01
SPEAKER_00: One thing though, some women find caffeine makes their hot flushes, their sleep, or their anxiety worse.
30:07
SPEAKER_00: If that's you, then skip it.
30:09
SPEAKER_00: There's no rule that says you have to have it.
30:12
SPEAKER_00: And I covered caffeine timing for sleep back in the sleep episode, so I won't go over that again here.
30:18
SPEAKER_00: So here's your week.
30:19
SPEAKER_00: Three things, and none of them needs a cupboard full of bottles.
30:22
SPEAKER_00: Step one, start creatine.
30:25
SPEAKER_00: Plain creatine monohydrate powder.
30:27
SPEAKER_00: Three to five grams a day, every day.
30:30
SPEAKER_00: Look for creapure on the label and make sure it's been independently tested.
30:35
SPEAKER_00: If you're over 50, you can go a little higher, around 7 to 8 grams.
30:39
SPEAKER_00: Don't load, just start on your everyday dose and let it build over the next few weeks.
30:45
SPEAKER_00: Keep the tub somewhere you'll see it every morning, like next to the kettle or the blender, so that taking it becomes automatic.
30:52
SPEAKER_00: Step two, work out your vitamin D situation.
30:55
SPEAKER_00: Ask yourself a few honest questions.
30:58
SPEAKER_00: Are you mostly indoors?
30:59
SPEAKER_00: Do you wear an SPF 30 or 50 sunscreen each day?
31:03
SPEAKER_00: Is it winter where you live or are you somewhere colder?
31:07
SPEAKER_00: If any of those is you, a vitamin D supplement is worth considering.
31:11
SPEAKER_00: About 1000 to 2000 IU a day if you're not getting much sun, take in with a meal that has a little bit of fat in it.
31:19
SPEAKER_00: Step 3.
31:20
SPEAKER_00: Add oily fish two or three times this week.
31:23
SPEAKER_00: Salmon, sardines, whatever you'll enjoy eating.
31:26
SPEAKER_00: Have a look at the week ahead and pencil it in now.
31:29
SPEAKER_00: A salmon fillet for dinner one night, sardines on toast for lunch another, and if that isn't realistic for your week, add a good marine sauce omega-3 instead, or algal oil if you're vegan or vegetarian.
31:42
SPEAKER_00: Fish where you can, and a supplement where you can't.
31:46
SPEAKER_00: And if your periods are heavy, please get your iron checked.
31:49
SPEAKER_00: That one isn't optional.
31:51
SPEAKER_00: And if three feels like too many for this week, start with one step.
31:55
SPEAKER_00: Creatine is the one I'd put first every time.
31:58
SPEAKER_00: Then give it a little more time.
32:00
SPEAKER_00: On your everyday dose, it takes about four weeks to fill your muscles, so be patient with it and keep your training going right alongside it.
32:08
SPEAKER_00: And before you buy anything new, go and have a look in that cupboard.
32:12
SPEAKER_00: You might find you've already got some of this sitting right there ready to go, and that's money already spent well.
32:18
SPEAKER_00: All of today's research sits in the show notes, along with every dose I've mentioned, so there's no need to grab a pen when you're driving.
32:24
SPEAKER_00: It'll all be there whenever you want to go back and check a number.
32:28
SPEAKER_00: Here's where I want to leave you today.
32:30
SPEAKER_00: Picture that cupboard again with the half-use bottles in it.
32:34
SPEAKER_00: You brought every one of them because you were trying to look after yourself, and there's nothing silly about that.
32:39
SPEAKER_00: What you didn't have was a way of telling which ones were worth it.
32:43
SPEAKER_00: That's what I wanted to give you today.
32:44
SPEAKER_00: Not a longer list, but a shorter one with the reasons attached.
32:48
SPEAKER_00: And I know how much noise there is out there.
32:51
SPEAKER_00: There'll be a new bottle on that shelf next month, and someone online will be very sure that you need it.
32:57
SPEAKER_00: You can just scroll on past.
32:59
SPEAKER_00: Now you've got a short list with the doses and the reasons behind them.
33:02
SPEAKER_00: That puts you in a far stronger position than the woman standing in that aisle at the start of this episode.
33:08
SPEAKER_00: And if there's one thing on that list I'd love you to start, it's creatine.
33:12
SPEAKER_00: It stood the test of time while I've watched fads come and go.
33:16
SPEAKER_00: It's worth the money, and its benefits reach well beyond athletes.
33:20
SPEAKER_00: Plain powder every day and let it do its work alongside your training.
33:25
SPEAKER_00: So here are the three things I'd love you to carry out the door with you.
33:28
SPEAKER_00: Creatine is three doses for three purposes, and three to five grams a day is a great place to start.
33:35
SPEAKER_00: Vitamin D is about fixing a shortfall, so work out whether you're short.
33:40
SPEAKER_00: And oily fish or a good marine omega-3, because at this stage of life the plant sources can't carry it for you.
33:47
SPEAKER_00: And if your periods are heavy, get your iron checked.
33:50
SPEAKER_00: Next week we're talking about pelvic floor and your bladder, what changes through perimenopause, and why so many of us end up planning our day around where the nearest toilet is and what helps.
34:01
SPEAKER_00: It's one plenty of women put up with quietly for years, and it doesn't have to be that way.
34:06
SPEAKER_00: And if you know a woman with a cupboard full of half-finished bottles, please send her this episode.
34:11
SPEAKER_00: She's been trying to look after herself and she deserves to know what's worth her money.
34:16
SPEAKER_00: And if you haven't subscribed yet, now's a great time as each new episode will land on your phone without you going looking for it.
34:23
SPEAKER_00: And if you can spare a minute for a review, I'd be really grateful because it helps other women find their way here.
34:30
SPEAKER_00: I'm so glad you're here.
34:32
SPEAKER_00: Look after yourself, and I'll see you next week.
34:39
SPEAKER_00: Everything I've mentioned today is referenced in the show notes, along with all the links.
34:44
SPEAKER_00: And you can find me at Kirstencookcoaching.com.
34:48
SPEAKER_00: Just a reminder, though this is education, not medical advice.
34:52
SPEAKER_00: So take these conversations to a practitioner who will actually listen to you.
34:57
SPEAKER_00: Thank you so much for being here and for listening to the What the Perry podcast.
35:02
SPEAKER_00: The change you didn't ask for, the conversations you need.