Latest / The Pressing Play Podcast / S2 E3 Pressing Play on How to Have a Magnificent Menopause with Alison Bladh
Transcript
- Jo Fiddy: Today on the Pressing Play podcast, we're asking a rather brilliant question. What does it mean to have a magnificent menopause? And I have the ideal person to explore it with. Alison Blad is an award-winning registered nutritional therapist, qualified beauty therapist, and a women's health expert, author of the number one international bestselling book, Have. of magnificent menopause, a straightforward guide to looking good and feeling great. Now, Alison has spent more than 30 years working across women's health, nutrition, beauty and wellbeing, giving her a really unique perspective on what happens to women physically and emotionally as we move through perimenopause, menopause and beyond. Her work looks at the whole woman for nutrition, weight, energy and metabolic health to sleep, stress, skin, confidence and the nervous system. And she's also the creator of Menomassage method, bringing menopause awareness, therapeutic touch and relaxation into the conversation. So today we're talking about changing bodies, why weight can suddenly feel different after 40, what we really need to know about nutrition and protein, GLP-1's beauty and aging, the power of touch and whether menopause can become a time when we stop putting ourselves last and start pressing play on ourselves. If you've been wondering how to have a magnificent menopause, then this show is for you. Welcome to the podcast. I'm so excited. Alison Bladh is here. Thank you so much for being on the pod. Alison Bladh: thank you so much, Jo. Thank you for having me on your podcast. It's a real pleasure to be here. Jo Fiddy: well, thank you. And I can't wait to tuck into this episode. And I know that my listeners are very excited as well. But before we go anywhere, so we're both originally from the UK. We were chatting a little bit off air beforehand that we've both actually built this whole chapter of our lives in different countries. So I met my Bavarian. I sometimes call him a hairy Bavarian. He doesn't like that at all. And now I live in Munich and you also live in Sweden. Tell me about that, what it's like to recreate your life in another country. Alison Bladh: Yeah, so I have my, I call him my Viking. You know, Jo Fiddy: you Alison Bladh: didn't plan, I think I was, I was always freezing cold. So I was always planning on maybe moving south from, Jo Fiddy: Nice. Alison Bladh: the UK, but no, suddenly I moved north into an even colder climate. But yeah, I met my, my Jo Fiddy: Good. Alison Bladh: Viking man in, I was working in London, living in London. Jo Fiddy: Mm. Alison Bladh: And we met in London and then we just kind of started doing the long dating thing. It started off like once every three months and then it went to every month. He would come to Stockholm. I would go to London. We kind of mixed it all up a bit. And then we both kind of decided, well, you know, what's going to happen here? So I just decided, well, why not just move to Sweden? I've moved a fair bit in my life. So I actually, I really thrive off change. Jo Fiddy: Mm. Alison Bladh: A lot of people find that quite stressful, but I really love that excitement of something new and change. Yeah, moved to Sweden, lived just outside Stockholm. And I do really love it, but I'm still very British and I go back to the UK. I do a lot of, you know, so much work there and I really am still quite British. And I actually learned the language as well, which is, you you need to, and it's not an easy language to learn Swedish. Jo Fiddy: No! How long have you been there for now in Sweden? Alison Bladh: I moved here in 2006. So I have been here, you know, for quite a few many years now, but you need, when you're living in another country, if you really want to embrace it and be part Jo Fiddy: Hmm. Alison Bladh: of society. And I mean, I work here as well teach here, as an aesthetician, Jo Fiddy: Yeah. Alison Bladh: you know, you need to speak the language, even though Swedes are brilliant at English. mean, they all speak perfect English. You kind of miss out. at dinner parties, you know, they would start speaking English to you and the more they have to drink, they kind of switch over to Swedish and then you kind of just be sat there smiling for hours on end at the end of the dinner party. Jo Fiddy: I know that feeling. sometimes, because I live in Germany, I live in Munich and I'm, you've really inspired me, I've got to embrace the language because I feel now I can do kindergarten German I would say, but I need to be more involved and I also feel when I did it recently, I found myself just doing charades, just guessing what they were saying. So it's so important isn't it to really embrace it I've got to say well done for also teaching in that language as well. would. Yeah, I don't know if I will ever be able to teach. Maybe one day, maybe one day in 10 years time I will be, ha ha, I'll be teaching in German. Alison Bladh: There we go, you've set yourself a goal now. Jo Fiddy: Yeah, see you in 10 years, see how I'm doing. Alison Bladh: So. Jo Fiddy: But I love it. So you started, I know originally when you said you got really into hormonal health as a teenager, didn't you? With your skin and you noticed that. Talk through how you got into this industry, so to speak. Alison Bladh: Yep, I had as a teenager, very bad skin. had acne, which I mean, it's tough enough being a teenager at the best of times, isn't it? But the acne really affected my self-confidence. You I didn't want to go out. You kind of walking around with your head down. And even at that age, which I still quite impressed with now, was trying to think, is it something I'm eating? Is it something I'm doing? So I kind of did a bit of a deep dive into what actually was acne and what caused it. And I started changing things that I could at that age, know, maybe not eating as much like junk food or really thinking about sugar. Maybe I shouldn't eat that. I should eat this. And I did see a difference. I really did see a difference. And I used good products on my skin. And that gave me this fascination of hormones. Because when I was reading up about acne, it can obviously be very hormonal based when you're a teenager, when you're in puberty. And that just sparked my interest for hormones. And I initially trained as an esthetician, as a beauty therapist, because I was so interested in the skin, that I'd managed to really improve my skin. I thought I can help other people do that. And because of my hormonal interest, my knowledge in the skin from a hormonal aspect, I attracted women, particularly women in perimenopause menopause. And at that young age, didn't, mean, nobody really spoke about menopause at all. I didn't really understand what it was. but I said, why are these women coming to me that are 45, like 50 with acne you can get and all these other problems. So that's when I started researching. menopause and perimenopause. And that really kind of triggered off the rest of my career really did deciding that, okay, we've got the aesthetic side that we can work. but you also need the inside piece. So I went back to university and studied nutritional science and became a nutritionalist, functional medicine, all of that piece. And that's how I help women now, all women, but particularly women that are 40 plus with, you know, the perimenopause, menopause issues. Jo Fiddy: Yeah, I love that because it's, do you feel it's such a pivotal time when you come into your 40s? It's that that type of reflection isn't there? There's so much about welcome to 40s and I sometimes you there's that challenge for women especially it's like you know life begins at 40 but then you ask but does it for women because some women come into their 40s without their guide, can't wait to talk about your book and it's a time of reflection, it's a time of It's an emotional time, a time of grief and looking at ourselves, who we are, our identity. And then there's can be so many changes that come in and changes on the inside, but also changes on the outside too. And it's so interesting what you say is because we sometimes see changes to our face like acne. And I've had rosacea actually on my cheeks, which I didn't even know. I'm come and find you at Paul's live. And that I wasn't even aware of. Because I thought, that happens to teenagers, that happens to hormonal skin. But we have hormonal skin now, because we're going through all this massive change. Alison Bladh: Yeah, totally. There's so, there's just so many things that happen in our bodies Jo Fiddy: Yeah. Alison Bladh: when we creep up to the perimenopause years. But, you know, I see in my clinical practice, that are 40, you know, 41, 42 have showing signs of perimenopause. But I think we're so, we're just so soldier on, we, as women? And Jo Fiddy: Yeah. Alison Bladh: I see so many women that have got a lot of perimenopausal symptoms. but they still don't relate it to the fact that they could be in perimenopause. And when I say to them very nicely, you could actually be on the cusp of perimenopause. No, no, no, absolutely not. No, no, that I'm no, it's kind of like, we don't want to admit that we're getting older, but they find it hard to accept that they could actually be perimenopause. Jo Fiddy: That's so true. And that actually brings us beautifully actually into your book because I think there's so much language around the word menopause. There's so much around like the demise or I talk a lot about the pause of we're entering, like we're entering our pause all years and so much of what it means to be a woman maybe on a subconscious level was fertility and looking at that key change and your book, knowing how powerful language is and your book. It's called how to have a magnificent menopause, which I love because so much of the language, as I say, is, know, surviving it, managing it. What does a magnificent menopause actually mean to you? Alison Bladh: Yeah, that title, honestly, it took a long time to get that title. Jo Fiddy: Yeah. Alison Bladh: I was exactly as you were saying, Jo, I didn't want it to be, I wanted it to be joyful. It is a phase in life. It's a transition that all women will go through, whether we want to or not, we're going to be going through the menopause. you know, it's not the title. And what it means to me is it's not, it doesn't mean, you know, or it's not pretending that menopause is wonderful because it isn't necessarily, all women suffer from symptoms, but it can be very, very tough and a lot of women can struggle. So it wasn't that in the kind of, everyone's going to have a wonderful menopause, but it, it can be incredibly challenging, but it was about giving, magnificent menopause to me is about giving the knowledge and the tools to women so they can understand. their changing bodies and they can do something about it. They can action the advice in the book easily in their everyday life. So rather than struggling and feeling like you don't know what's going on, you can actually gain that knowledge so you can feel better. Very practical. Jo Fiddy: Yeah, that is, and knowledge is power. And it's no surprise that this is a bestseller. I was in my research, I saw, isn't it outselling Davina McCall on Amazon? Alison Bladh: Yeah, it did. When it was launched in August 2025, Jo Fiddy: Mm. Alison Bladh: so it's a year old now. And yes, it was it was was number one there. So all of the amazing other menopausal books. Yes, it it outsold them, which is brilliant. I was very, very happy about that. Jo Fiddy: It is incredible and you were shortlisted for your book as well because I've, I wanted actually to sit here with it like this because I've read it and I loved it. I loved it so much. I took it on summer holidays with me and Alison Bladh: you Jo Fiddy: I had it by the pool and it got so wet. The cover, you know what, you've loved something, the sun cream Alison Bladh: Yes. Jo Fiddy: and so it's so loved. I thought I can't put this on in public. Like the cover's fallen off because it's so good. Like I'm a menopause coaching specialist, but to go in there. and dip in and take what you need for you. It is an incredible guide and I'm going to put notes in the show notes here as well. It really is a magnificent book. What inspired you to write it? When did you think, do you know what? We need this book out there. Alison Bladh: I've worked in the women's health space Jo Fiddy: you Alison Bladh: now for over 35 years and I wanted a book that was going to give the women the knowledge that they could action because it was very interesting when I was doing research before I started writing the book, all of the women that I spoke to, they said to me, Alison, please just tell me, just tell me what to do. I don't want loads of academic information. I'm not saying there's anything wrong with that, but they just... I haven't got the brain capacity, brain fog, know, focus, which can be really effective during menopause. I haven't got that capacity to concentrate on all the academic information. Just tell me what to do. And that was really the thought behind the book was that a woman could dip into it as a guide. Okay, I'm not sleeping well. I'll go to the chapter on sleep. What's Alison saying here? Okay, these supplements can help. I'm going to do this, this and this. So it wasn't necessarily, well, of course you can read it from the first pose to the last, but it wasn't necessarily meant to be read like that. It was something that you can dip in as a guide. And I wanted to be able to have realistic knowledge that was evidence-based, of course, that can actually work in real life. Jo Fiddy: Yeah, yeah, absolutely. Alison Bladh: I'm very practical. It's kind of, I want women to be able to think, I can actually do that. That isn't too difficult. It's not going to cost me a fortune. I can actually start doing that today. Jo Fiddy: Yeah, and do you find through the perimenopausal journey, menopausal journey, symptoms could just pop up? So you think you've got a hand, Alison Bladh: Yes. Jo Fiddy: like that rabbit going trying to hit the hammer, you know, in an arcade game. Suddenly, where's this come from? Where's this come from? And sometimes it's just one or two. Sometimes it's all of them. And what's so fantastic is with the Magnificent Menopause is you can go in and pick and there's a solution. There's an explanation. It's science backed. And it covers everything. It's so much. And I was going to say, so you've spent more than three decades working closely with women. And before nutrition, you were in treatment rooms, listening to women talk about their faces and their bodies. What have women told you in those rooms that they might never have said in a doctor's appointment? Alison Bladh: that's a good question. When I was working as a, well, I still do treatments now, but not as much. I'm more on the nutritional side. Women, when you go to an appointment, say you've got a facial or you're having a massage or whatever, the clients actually, you know, once you build a relationship with them, they really do talk to you. And so many women that menopausal women that I've worked on really opened up. because they didn't feel that they could talk. The one, didn't get the support from their doctor. They couldn't talk to their doctor about how they were actually maybe feeling emotionally. So I think one of the main things that women would say to me that they feel a bit lost. You know, I'm having all these symptoms. I feel terrible, but I actually really don't know where to turn. I don't know what to do. There was no kind of guidance on... Okay, I feel like this, I'm getting all these new symptoms like you were saying, what do I do? Then there was a gap there. And, you know, as a beauty therapist, you don't have the knowledge to obviously talk to women. There's a medical on the medical side Jo Fiddy: you Alison Bladh: of menopause, but you can give them support on how to manage stress. Beauty therapists have a small amount of knowledge on nutrition. Jo Fiddy: Hmm. Alison Bladh: So you could maybe talk to them a little bit about nutrition. but it's guiding this poor client in the right direction. And that's where I think a lot of clients feel lost because there isn't, it's like, where do I go? Do I go to my doctor? Do I go to a menopause specialist? And I mean, now if we're thinking about the UK, there's a lot more noise there now, isn't there, about menopause, but Jo Fiddy: Yeah. Alison Bladh: I work globally and so many countries, it's just... still not spoken about at all. It's very, very quiet. know, women don't really talk about it at all. They don't get any of the support they need. So in answer to your question, that was a very long reply. What women would say to me in treatment rooms is, feel lost. I don't know where to go. I don't know where to get help from. Jo Fiddy: Yeah, yeah, yeah, there's, because we didn't have that support growing up. And I think what I absolutely love is what you also talk about is we still want to look good. And it's not about, you know, aging and it's just we want to look the best versions of ourselves. And you talk about that, don't you? It's that area of we still want to look good. And how do you... feel about that when you hear women come in and they're like, I just want to look good. I just want to feel like myself, feel like myself again. Or what can women do? think there's about five questions in there, I'm just thinking as I'm chatting to you. Alison Bladh: Now I'm very passionate about it. What I'm trying to get across in the book is that Jo Fiddy: in Alison Bladh: it's okay to want to look good. You know, Jo Fiddy: Yeah. Alison Bladh: think we will say, no, well, you know, I'm feeling this or I'm feeling that I've got all these symptoms. Wanting to look good is a minor issue on the scale. If you're feeling terrible or you've got loads of hot fusses, you're not sleeping, but it isn't, is it? Because if we feel good in ourselves, we look the best that we can for our age, it gives you confidence, it makes you happy. It's not Jo Fiddy: Yeah. Alison Bladh: something that we should try and steer away from. It's okay to want to go and have a facial or use good products or apply makeup to make yourself look the best that you can. So I'm a real believer in that. And the chapter, actually, funny enough, the chapter on skincare and beauty. really is really a book in itself. My publisher said to me, well, that's getting a bit long, that chapter. So I will not do so much. want to get out Jo Fiddy: Yeah. Alison Bladh: of, you know, into the domain that's a women know this, but it's okay to want to look good. And it doesn't have to be complicated, you know, using good quality products that suit your skin type Jo Fiddy: Yeah. Alison Bladh: applying, you know, a little bit of makeup to make you make yourself feel better. there's so many things that happen with your skin and your hair that it's okay to look after it you don't have to feel like ashamed or that you'll know I shouldn't really be doing that or you shouldn't be spending money on that we want to look good it's natural isn't it that we as women want to look our best Jo Fiddy: Yeah, absolutely. And it's like saying that there's a fixed line in the sand that says like, who said you can't do that? That there's some expiry date that you're not allowed? It's like, well, no, we can take care of ourselves and look good at any age. If someone's listening now and they are going and they're nodding, they're nodding along and I am one of them. They're like, yeah, my skin's changed and my hair's changed. can you talk? from your experience of the impact of hormones on the face and skin. Maybe give someone an idea of why it's happening so they don't feel so alone and are there any tips that they can do to support themselves? Alison Bladh: When we come in, when we age as women, know, when we come into perimenopause and menopause and our estrogen and progesterone hormones decline and our ovarian function stops, it affects virtually every bodily system, including the skin. We need collagen in the skin to give it that kind of that plump look. When we lose our estrogen, collagen declines, but women actually, in the first three years of menopause, we lose up to 30 % of collagen in the skin. And, I can see that sometimes you go to bed and then you look in the mirror in the morning and you think, where did that come from? I didn't have that wrinkle when I went to bed. Where did it come from? Jo Fiddy: I know. Yeah. the dry as well. like, skin in the morning, I'm like, what's happened? Alison Bladh: changes quite quickly, but collagen synthesis is affected quite drastically because we need estrogen for that. And that kind of is one of the reasons why we develop more fine lines and wrinkles. And in particularly, which I think is very unfair, and I see it virtually on all women that are 45 plus, is these lines on the top lip. Jo Fiddy: Yeah. Alison Bladh: And you lose volume in your lips because of the lack of collagen. So those kind of plump lips that you had when you were younger, that your lips actually shrink. You know, that's not nice, is it? We don't want lines on our top Jo Fiddy: Thank you. Alison Bladh: lip, no. And pigmentation, all of a sudden you can find that you get these pigmentation like hyperpigmentation on the skin, brown marks on the skin. That is also to do with the aging process, but estrogen has a regulatory effect on pigmentation in the skin. So when that leaves the building, you know, the, regulation of, the melanocyte cells can be. I'm balanced so you can get more pigmentation, but it's also down to what did you do when you were younger? You know, I have, I lived in the U S for many years when I was younger. And in those years, nobody used sunscreen. It was. You just didn't use sunscreen. It was very uncool to use sunscreen. So you'd lie there on the beach, know, with some sort of horrible, smelly, like coconut oil, which would, I mean, it's terrible for your skin. Burning your skin when you were younger doesn't necessarily show up then. It shows up when you get older as pigmentation. So that's a very common thing that women can see. Moisture, as you were saying, Jo, you find that your skin gets very dry. Hyaluronic acid, which is in the skin, is affected by the lack of estrogen. Jo Fiddy: Okay. Alison Bladh: We don't produce it as much. So a skin gets drier, your skin gets more reactive. So many women say to me, I've been using these products for years. And all of a sudden I just can't use them anymore. My skin's so sensitive. It's kind of like everything becomes unbalanced in the skin. And you need to... step back and kind of recalibrate and think, OK, I need another approach here. I can't use those same products. What can I use now? You know, talk to a professional esthetician, beauty therapist so they can really look at your skin and see what your skin needs. Cleansing is very important. know, using eye makeup remover, a lot of women just use their cleansing products. Cleansing creams are great, but They're too rich for the eye area. So if you're taking your makeup off, like a mascara with a cleansing cream, it can cause puffiness around the eyes. So use a proper eye makeup remover. A toner helps the pH of the skin. And then, I mean, some of the products that I really love is like vitamin C. Products that contain a percentage of vitamin C are very, they're lovely for aging skin. retinol products, vitamin A products, also very effective for helping give you back that glow, you know, on the skin. And they're also anti-aging. And one thing that I always preach is don't forget your neck. We always, we tend to put our products to the chin line and Jo Fiddy: Yes, I know. Yeah. Alison Bladh: then here it's like, about your neck and decolletage Jo Fiddy: It's true. Alison Bladh: area? So always bring everything down on the neck area and invest in a good eye cream. Don't just Jo Fiddy: So. Alison Bladh: put your moisturiser around your eyes, invest in a good eye cream. Changes in skin happen as we age, but you just need to look at it differently. Think, okay, well, I maybe need to do this now. I'm not going to be using those products. I need slightly different products for my skin. Jo Fiddy: Yeah, so just taking the time to reevaluate what worked before and what worked now and understanding and really getting under the skin, isn't it, of what's going on and the impact of hormones. Because we now know, don't we, that estrogen impacts our brain. It impacts so much of our body, from our head to our toes, and especially gut health. From your vast experience, we hear so much as a nutritionist, we hear so much about proteins, we hear so much information. from your point of view, if we took away the Instagram, the TikToks, the wellness, all the trends that are out there, we're, as women, we're scrolling, trying to find what we need to do, what would you say is the basics and what's so empowering for women to do with their nutrition? Alison Bladh: Yeah, I love that because it's there's just so much information out there. It's overwhelming, isn't it? It's Jo Fiddy: Thank you Alison Bladh: overwhelming. And there's so much bad information as well. There's Jo Fiddy: Mm. Alison Bladh: obviously really great information from amazing people, but there's also a lot of misinformation that has no science to back it up. When it comes to nutrition, it's not rocket science what you need to do. You need to think about eating in balance. You know, there's very much all now about protein, protein, protein, which of course we need protein. I'm not saying that you don't, but it's gone a bit crazy, I think, on, know, that you should be eating quite large amounts of protein, maybe too much protein from a nutritionist point of view. You know, you need protein, but maybe not like, you don't need to go overboard with it. But when I say eat in balance, if you're in an ageing woman, 40 plus, and you're starting to think, I'm not feeling that myself, I'm struggling. digestion can really be affected. In fact, irritable bowel syndrome, the cases of that increase quite considerably in women during perimenopause and menopause because of all the changes in hormones. It has a huge effect on our metabolism, the menopause, bloating, constipation, all of those things that you never necessarily have before. The main advice that I would give, and this sounds quite boring, get rid of the junk, get rid of the ultra-processed foods, get rid of packaged foods. Treat your body by feeding it whole foods. That's how we were as humans meant to eat. We were not meant to eat all this processed packaged foods that has 30, 40 different ingredients. That isn't how we were meant to eat. And we see that now in the world. you know, the global pandemic of obesity and chronic diseases. Jo Fiddy: Yeah. Alison Bladh: And one of the reasons is obviously multifactorial, but one of them is the ultra processed foods, toxic food environment we in. So if you can reduce that as a menopausal woman, you will feel better. And there's evidence to back that up. If you reduce your ultra processed foods, you reduce your sugar intake. They see women have less hot flushes. You can manage weight better. We tend to put weight on around the tummy area during Jo Fiddy: Yeah. Alison Bladh: the menopause transition. But if you get rid of all the junk and think, OK, a balanced plate, what does that look like? There's actually in my book, there's a picture. You you've got your protein there, Jo Fiddy: There is. Alison Bladh: roughly a palm size of protein, healthy fats, which is OK to eat fat, avocados, nuts, olive oil. seeds, butter, we need, we absolutely need fat but it's the sort of fat. And then carbohydrates, I know carbohydrates as well always go we're going to go completely carbohydrate Jo Fiddy: Thank Alison Bladh: free, that's not really beneficial for for women as we go through the menopause transition, but it's sort of carbohydrates you're eating, know vegetables are actually carbohydrates, if you can fill half your plate with vegetables salads, colour, you know all of those wonderful plant-based foods, you've got your protein there, you've got your healthy fats and then you can have whole grains because we need fibre, you obviously get fibre from vegetables, but things like quinoa, brown rice, go for the brown sorts of foods rather than what I say the white, you know the white rice, the white pasta, the white potatoes, not there's nothing wrong with potatoes, it tends to be more what we do with them, you know, we deep fry them or we cover them in Jo Fiddy: you Alison Bladh: in batter or I mean there's loads of things that's what makes a potato unhealthy but a potato is okay but white potatoes tend to affect our blood sugar quite quickly so I Jo Fiddy: Hmm. Alison Bladh: would recommend you know don't have that have quinoa instead have something that has more fibre in it and then you've got your balanced plate there and think about eating you know, if you eat breakfast, if you don't, you know, eat your first meal when you're hungry. Researchers also told us that we don't need to eat all the time. Like we used to think, you know, you have to have a meal and then you have to have snack and then another meal. But that isn't the case. Actually closing your eating window so you eat less hours in the day is very beneficial for our health and for gut health. So... Don't feel that you have to eat breakfast, lunch and dinner if you're not hungry. Eat when you're hungry. I think that you should follow your body's instincts, but we tend to be routine, don't we, into eating at certain times of the day. Jo Fiddy: Yeah, definitely. That's so true. That's such fantastic advice. because fiber is so important and as well as everything you were saying, I'm thinking that also insulin resistance, do you find that how that can impact hormone or health? Could you talk a bit more about that as well? The importance of managing blood sugars? Alison Bladh: Yeah, blood sugar is a huge piece Jo Fiddy: Yeah. Alison Bladh: really in the menopausal picture because of the changes and the estrogen and progesterone, all the hormonal changes, the metabolic changes. A lot of women find that they can't manage their blood sugar like they used to. And if you're eating a diet that has a higher intake of sugar, refined carbohydrates, this affects your blood sugar. So when you eat refined product, we say if you eat a bagel or a muffin that is digested very quickly into your system and that goes out into your system as glucose. Your body doesn't like that because your blood sugar rises and it sends out insulin which is the hormone that it's like the hormone that opens the cell it's like the key that opens the cell and allows the glucose to go in and the glucose goes in and your blood sugar goes down. but it does a very good job. So when your blood sugar goes down, it virtually crashes. And then it's like your body's going, well, hold on a minute. My blood sugar is tuned low now. No, this is terrible. You need to eat something. And I can assure you, because your brain is very clever. Your brain thinks we need energy quickly. Your brain is going to send you over to the biscuit tin Jo Fiddy: Yeah. Alison Bladh: or like the hob knobs. You're not going to be eating like a broccoli salad. And you get into this roller coaster ride throughout the day. So the first thing you eat in the morning kind of sets the scene for your blood sugar for the rest of the day. If you eat the breakfast that has eggs, we say scrambled eggs and a bit of smoked salmon or some Greek yogurt with some berries and nuts in, that doesn't have that huge effect like a muffin does on your blood sugar. You don't get the crashes, you don't get the cravings. But the overall, when we look at blood sugar and insulin resistance, if you're constantly having these peaks of blood sugar, insulin gets a bit tired, your body gets a bit resistant to it. And this happens more in perimenopause and menopause because of all the metabolic changes. And a lot of women find that... their blood sugar becomes higher and higher. the next stage on from that is diabetes too. So it really is something that you need to be aware of and think how you're eating. Always combine, if you're going to eat a carbohydrate, combine it with fat because that acts as a buffer to blood sugar. So for example, if you're eating an apple, that will have an effect on your blood sugar. There's nothing wrong with apples, but it will have a higher effect on your blood sugar than just eating something fatty. Have it with some nut butter. So Jo Fiddy: Yeah. Alison Bladh: it's combining things. Eating a banana on its own can shoot your blood sugar up. Combine it with some nuts or seeds. to buffer that blood sugar, but blood sugar is a huge topic. And it really is something that, you know, we don't want high blood sugar over a long period of time because that can lead on to so many different chronic illnesses and problems. And also, you know, going back to the skin, glycation on the skin, it can lead to wrinkles and fine lines. Jo Fiddy: That's so, that's, it's so helpful. And I can just, I can just hear everyone scribbling it down as you're talking. Everyone's just like, okay. Alison Bladh: you Jo Fiddy: And I also want to just give you a shout out that you didn't say cottage cheese. So thank you so much. Alison Bladh: You I actually, cottage cheese is a brilliant form of protein, yeah, but not everybody likes cottage cheese. It's that consistency, isn't it? It's a bit, not everyone enjoys it. Jo Fiddy: I think we're overdoing it. think if everyone's just eating cottage cheese, cause they're like, we're running out of ideas, what are we gonna do? So no, I Alison Bladh: I'm sorry. Jo Fiddy: really appreciate that. And I also think we can't really have a conversation about midlife women and weight in 2026 without talking about GLP ones. And what do you feel like you wish women considered, who are considering it or already taking, GLP ones understood about nutrition? muscle and their long-term health. Alison Bladh: I come in contact with this a fair bit in my work as a nutritionalist and I just wish that everybody that was taking these medications also understood that you can't just take them. You have to look at what you're eating in your lifestyle. You know, it's really important because you're going to be eating less because you don't really have much hunger, that when you do eat that you're eating foods that are nourishing, you need protein. You need fat and vegetables and fruits and all of these things to make sure that your body is getting the nutrients, the vitamins, the minerals that your body needs to thrive. And the loss of muscle mass that we're seeing now, and a lot of people that have been taking these medications is very detrimental for our long-term health. women, as we age, we lose muscle mass. That's one of the things that I am... really strict about with my clients is it's non-negotiable. You need to lift things. You need to go, you don't have to go to a gym, but you need to lift. You need to do weight training. And that isn't up for discussion because we need to keep our muscles. And when you're taking these medications and you are not eating enough protein, know, that is going to be, your muscle loss is going to be increased. as well as the fact that you maybe are in menopause. eat healthily, eat enough protein, eat fats, eat in balance as I was saying. Don't starve yourself because it's going to affect your body in so many other ways. It's a lifestyle change really, isn't it? It's not about just stopping eating, it's looking at what you are actually eating even if it's in smaller amounts. I see a lot of people that are deficient. in certain minerals and vitamins because they haven't been eating enough. Some people hardly eat anything when they're on these medications and your body just shrinks but you lose muscle. That's the really key thing is that we do not want muscle loss. Jo Fiddy: No, not at all. it's, as you say, it's going back to the basics. It's looking Alison Bladh: Hmm Jo Fiddy: at food, cutting out the processed food, looking at the basics and not starving ourselves. And there's, mean, there's, that's another episode I have to get you back on. You know, if we look at, if we look at, you know, the trends at the moment when it comes to body size and you can only imagine how people are feeling, but no, it's so important to make sure that you're nourishing yourself. You've also created the Menomassage Method. which is really interesting to me because it's bringing together menopause support, the body touch and the nervous system. What were you seeing when you created that? What was the inspiration behind that? Alison Bladh: Yeah, the inspiration behind that was having worked so many years as a beauty therapist and talking, you you asked me what women ask in the treatment rooms, hearing so many women just lost and say, I feel terrible. I don't know what who to turn to. I started thinking, I mean, massage and there's evidence that massage is so beneficial for us, the nervous system. But in particular, there is actually research saying that massage is very beneficial for menopause. But I didn't just want, it's not just a, I mean, it isn't just a massage, it's way more in this menomassage method. It's a training for beauty therapists, for massage therapists, bar therapists, that they can take back to their salons and clinics and health farms with them, and they can support women in menopause. So it's like a three pillar approach. It's got the treatments, which there are five different treatments. It's got the... nutritional support, so they get that in the training and also lifestyle medicine and knowledge of supplementation. So they can really give the person that advice after the treatment. And they also get a copy of my book, The Client After a Treatment. So they get the whole package. But it's working Jo Fiddy: Yeah. Alison Bladh: particularly on nervous system. Anxiety Jo Fiddy: Yeah. Alison Bladh: is a huge symptom. So many women suffer from anxiety. So it's very focused on nervous system support. It's working on acupressure points that are specifically related to menopausal symptoms. It's over 23 in the 90 minute signature treatment, we work on over 23 acupressure points on the body that are related to the menopausal symptoms. We work with Gua Sha. for lymphatic drainage and to also stimulate collagen. You know, we need to get our circulation, our skin working. And there's so many other techniques in there that are specifically focusing on women in menopause and perimenopause. And also, I know you're very passionate about this, Jo, the emotional freedom tapping is what I use at the end, the... finishing ritual, which is we do this on the face and there. So yeah, there's a lot in that treatment and I've had amazing feedback from clients. One woman actually I got yesterday saying, I haven't slept properly in like four years. And she had a treatment yesterday off one of the therapists I've trained. First time she'd slept through the night. Jo Fiddy: That's incredible. That is incredible. And if anyone's interested in learning more, we will make sure that's also included in the show notes. And they go, I want one. Alison Bladh: Yeah. Jo Fiddy: I knew your last question. What are you pressing play on next? Alison Bladh: What am I pressing play on it? Gosh, I've got a lot going on. My book is coming out in Swedish. Soon, like within the next couple of weeks, because I need it for a big event that I'm doing. So that's big time press play. And then I have Jo Fiddy: Congratulations. Alison Bladh: some very exciting things in the pipeline for my Mellow Massage Method, because this is really expanded from just it being a massage to a whole concept. for menopausal wellness. So I've got a lot of very exciting things in new treatments in the pipeline for that as well. Jo Fiddy: I'm excited for you. Alison, this has just been a joy. Thank you so much for coming on the Pressing Play Podcast. Alison Bladh: Well, thank you, Joe. It's a pleasure to talk to you. Thank you for having me.