Latest / Empower Your Menopause / Episode 57: Hot Flushes & Hot Topics August 2025

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Episode 57: Hot Flushes & Hot Topics August 2025 · Empower Your Menopause

• 0:13
  SPEAKER_00: Hello and welcome back to Empower Your Menopause, podcast where we talk about all things health, hormones, and happiness.
• 0:21
  SPEAKER_00: We are your hosts here, coaches James and Julie from Fabulous Beyond 40.
• 0:26
  SPEAKER_00: Today we're going to launch something a little bit new, and that is going to be hot topics and hot flashes.
• 0:32
  SPEAKER_00: So we're going to do a monthly roundup of different things where we find headlines, what's coming up in the news, what new information is out there about the menopause world.
• 0:44
  SPEAKER_00: You know, things like what women are Googling at 2 a.m.
• 0:47
  SPEAKER_00: and some of the headlines that are making us quiver, and uh questions that we're hearing most from both our listeners and our clients.
• 0:55
  SPEAKER_00: So it's going to be a mix of things that you may find fascinating, frustrating, and maybe an occasional face palm-worthy thing.
• 1:02
  SPEAKER_00: So, James, you want to start out with what you found first?
• 1:07
  SPEAKER_01: Sure, yeah.
• 1:08
  SPEAKER_01: So the story this week that was in the independent newspaper here in the UK about a lady, Karen Davy.
• 1:16
  SPEAKER_01: We talk a lot about the medical gaslighting that happens with women over the years and how menopause symptoms are often mistaken for something else, or vice versa.
• 1:27
  SPEAKER_01: And unfortunately, Karen's been in this terrible place where she had some cancer symptoms and she went to a doctor to talk about them, but they were mistaken for signs of the menopause, and now she's unable to walk.
• 1:44
  SPEAKER_01: So this is not a I'm not bringing this to the table as a story of blame game, but I think it's interesting how after all these years, and particularly you know, the last five years or so, the menopause has become a big topic, uh a big subject of discussion.
• 2:02
  SPEAKER_01: And here we are once again where somebody somewhere is confusing some of the experience that she was Karen was having, things like hot flushes, fatigue, loss of appetite.
• 2:13
  SPEAKER_01: This is only a year and a half ago.
• 2:14
  SPEAKER_01: She assumed they were menopause symptoms.
• 2:17
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, she took them to a GP, uh, and they actually thought it was it was just the the menopause, but her symptoms then worsened.
• 2:28
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and then she was given the news it was stage four non-Hodgkin lymphoma in her kidneys.
• 2:34
  SPEAKER_01: She had a tumour wrapped around a spinal cord.
• 2:37
  SPEAKER_01: So an obviously uh awful tragic case.
• 2:41
  SPEAKER_01: I think it's worth uh just bringing it up to talk about it, to talk about when people should assume it's menopause, when people think the symptoms could be something more serious, and how do we get around that?
• 2:58
  SPEAKER_01: So, Julie, yeah, we you talk a lot about gaslighting of midlife women in in when it comes to healthcare.
• 3:04
  SPEAKER_01: What are your thoughts on this and what happened to this lady?
• 3:07
  SPEAKER_00: Well, I think you know, in a lot of cases, we go to the doctor, women are more frequently dismissed when they're um expressing complaints about pain or different symptoms.
• 3:19
  SPEAKER_00: We're looked at as you know being overly dramatic or being hypochondriacs, really, and and nothing could be further from the truth.
• 3:28
  SPEAKER_00: And it's it's something that we need to take very seriously.
• 3:32
  SPEAKER_00: A lot of women go to the doctor with blind faith, but the the truth is in the medical system, as we've already said before, doctors get little to no menopause training in medical school.
• 3:44
  SPEAKER_00: So it's really hard for them to differentiate what might be a menopause symptom or what might be something else.
• 3:49
  SPEAKER_00: And when we go in with some symptom that's nagging at us, we know our bodies better than anybody else.
• 3:56
  SPEAKER_00: So not taking whatever brush away answer you get at the first, and I'm not saying all doctors are nasty or you know, are are setting out to do us harm, but in many cases, they just don't have the time to look into things further or explore your history a little bit more.
• 4:14
  SPEAKER_00: So going in well prepared, I think, is important to let your doctor know you're taking this seriously, that you have information, you're not just coming in and complaining.
• 4:24
  SPEAKER_00: And then also finding someone, if you're able to specialize in menopause, because someone who specializes in menopause is going to have a better ability to differentiate what are truly menopause symptoms or how to look into them to make sure they're not something more serious, because sometimes health health uh health risks, health conditions can develop if we, especially if we haven't been taking good care of ourselves until now, you know, up until now when we've been looking after everybody and everything else and neglecting our own health.
• 4:58
  SPEAKER_00: So something that could potentially be serious, like this this woman's cancer diagnosis, can be brushed off because, oh, you're just complaining, aches and pains are normal at this time of life.
• 5:08
  SPEAKER_00: That's not to say you need to panic about everything, but again, staying informed, tracking your symptoms.
• 5:14
  SPEAKER_00: How long has this been happening?
• 5:16
  SPEAKER_00: How has it progressed, or is it pretty much the same?
• 5:20
  SPEAKER_00: What type of pain are you experiencing, or what type of symptom are you experiencing?
• 5:25
  SPEAKER_00: When you can take those data to your doctor, they're probably going to take them a bit more seriously because you'll have been keeping track.
• 5:35
  SPEAKER_00: I think that's probably first of all, get up someone who specializes in menopause.
• 5:40
  SPEAKER_00: And by the way, this could be male or female in the medical profession because I've been gaslit by women doctors as well as male doctors.
• 5:50
  SPEAKER_00: So this is uh a non-gender-based thing in in the medical field.
• 5:56
  SPEAKER_00: So find someone you feel comfortable with, and that may mean visiting and interviewing a few different healthcare practitioners.
• 6:05
  SPEAKER_00: You know?
• 6:06
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, and and uh speaking to your GP surgery, you know, most GP surgeries in the UK have more, at least in the UK, I'm not sure about in America, will have more than one doctor.
• 6:17
  SPEAKER_01: And some of those doctors specialise in different things.
• 6:20
  SPEAKER_01: Here at our local um surgery, we've got a GP, Emily Muirhead, who's been a friend of the podcast, a friend of Fabius Beyond 40.
• 6:28
  SPEAKER_01: She's absolutely a menopause specialist and knows what she's talking about and can help differentiate what the symptoms are and and and whether it might be something more serious.
• 6:38
  SPEAKER_01: Sorry, that's the wrong word to say because you know I'm not trying to dismiss menopause there, but obviously it's not a life-threatening disease like a a non-Hodgkins lymphoma would be.
• 6:48
  SPEAKER_01: And so then the other thing, of course, is having the confidence to advocate for yourself, and if you have any inkling that something might be more serious or might be different, or might you might not be getting the care that you you you think you deserve, then having the courage to speak up is really really important.
• 7:10
  SPEAKER_01: That's a difficult thing to do, sometimes in the face of a medical professional who has got all this training, you know, seven years of med school, whatever it is, and then for you to actually advocate for yourself.
• 7:22
  SPEAKER_01: But I think if you're not comfortable with whatever you're being told, you know, you put your foot down, ask for a second review, ask to see another GP or another doctor at the same surgery or even a different surgery, like you said, seek out somebody who's gonna listen to you rather than just blow your concerns away.
• 7:43
  SPEAKER_00: Well, and then to that end, you know, they call it a medical practice for a reason.
• 7:49
  SPEAKER_00: Yes, doctors are very well studied and educated, but we don't know to what extent every medical school is different.
• 7:57
  SPEAKER_00: Different doctors focus on different things that they're more interested in.
• 8:01
  SPEAKER_00: You know, it it's called a practice because it's constantly evolving, they're learning as they go, and they have bad days too.
• 8:09
  SPEAKER_00: So it shouldn't be at the cost of your well-being or your feeling comfortable or confident.
• 8:16
  SPEAKER_00: And if the doctor's ego is too big that they get insulted when you want to explore something further, then that's a really good indication that it's not the right doctor for you.
• 8:26
  SPEAKER_00: Been there.
• 8:28
  SPEAKER_01: Absolutely.
• 8:28
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 8:29
  SPEAKER_01: Okay, so second story then is one that I know Julie, you're bringing to the table.
• 8:36
  SPEAKER_01: One thing to say is that this the first story there was obviously quite a tragic one.
• 8:40
  SPEAKER_01: The second one is probably quite tragic as well.
• 8:42
  SPEAKER_01: Tragedy is not going to be the way we go in this new section topic and hot flashes.
• 8:47
  SPEAKER_01: No, no.
• 8:48
  SPEAKER_01: We will actually bring things that are light.
• 8:50
  SPEAKER_01: It just happened that this week a couple of things caught our eye that may be perceived as slightly negative.
• 8:54
  SPEAKER_01: So, Julie, why don't you go ahead and uh come tell us what your first story is that you brought today, then?
• 9:00
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, there's a woman in Thaftford, she she had experienced a significant loss in the family and while she was struggling with some really severe menopausal symptoms and ultimately ended up taking her own life.
• 9:14
  SPEAKER_00: And this is terribly tragic and a really sad story, unfortunately not one we hear frequently, but I won't say it's something that's 100% out of the norm because I know a lot of women who feel like they're pushed to their limit when they're going through all of these things.
• 9:31
  SPEAKER_00: We're at that time of life when there are a lot of things happening, right?
• 9:34
  SPEAKER_00: We might be updated esters, we might be losing family members or friends.
• 9:39
  SPEAKER_00: Um, there's a lot of suffering that goes on.
• 9:41
  SPEAKER_00: And then when you add that on top of everyday stress and work stress and family stress, and then the stress on your body that you experience while you're going through menopause, stress, as we know, is the number one enemy of women.
• 9:58
  SPEAKER_00: So we, well, of all people, but especially women in the menopause transition, while your hormones are doing other things and your body's changing and your health risks are going up.
• 10:08
  SPEAKER_00: And and you know, we put that lack of self-care, that lack of self-umnourishing and movement and all of those things that we need to be doing.
• 10:19
  SPEAKER_00: So there's a there's a real risk here.
• 10:22
  SPEAKER_00: And because women are so conditioned to just tough it out, push through it, there's a lot more suffering, I think, in in some cases than we may realize.
• 10:33
  SPEAKER_00: That woman who's just putting a smile on her face and everything's fine all the time may not be.
• 10:39
  SPEAKER_00: So there's a there's a toll that takes on your mental health.
• 10:43
  SPEAKER_00: Making sure you check in with your friends and family who are in this phase of life, making sure that you're reaching out for help if you're in this phase of life.
• 10:53
  SPEAKER_00: There's absolutely no shame in doing that, right?
• 10:56
  SPEAKER_00: To get the support that you need, whether that's mental health with a getting mental health support through a professional therapist, whether that's getting medical help through a menopause specialist doctor, whether it's it's having a support group that you can get involved with or community group or coaching is is great to help you sort of navigate what's happening.
• 11:19
  SPEAKER_00: Um, but I I think that there's never any shame in asking for help.
• 11:25
  SPEAKER_00: Look at corporate, uh, corporate CEOs, you look at professional athletes, they have multiple coaches.
• 11:33
  SPEAKER_00: They get help from multiple different places, and there's no shame in that respect.
• 11:38
  SPEAKER_00: So why should we feel guilty asking for the help that we need on a day-to-day basis, right?
• 11:45
  SPEAKER_00: You don't have to be superwoman.
• 11:48
  SPEAKER_00: Um, I your symptoms are real and there is a lot of help available for you, and and but nobody can read your mind, and and so it's important to let people know when things are getting serious for you that you feel like something's gotta give, right?
• 12:05
  SPEAKER_00: What do you what do you think?
• 12:07
  SPEAKER_01: Well, obviously, it's absolutely tragic case, and sadly it's not a case in silo.
• 12:13
  SPEAKER_01: I know you said that it doesn't happen that often, but you know, periodically you will read about a woman in midlife taking her own life, at least here in the UK where I live anyway.
• 12:23
  SPEAKER_01: And I think one of the things that it highlights for me is the mental health toll of midlife on women who are in the menopause health transition, it feels as though it is quite unappreciated or doesn't get the amount of I don't want to say respect, but doesn't it get the amount of um covering or attention maybe that it actually that it actually needs?
• 12:54
  SPEAKER_01: And we know that you know there are mental health challenges, stress increases anxiety, anxiety can exacerbate those mental health challenges.
• 13:02
  SPEAKER_01: And I think for me, it just highlights once again how important it is for women to make sure that they're taking some steps to looking after themselves.
• 13:14
  SPEAKER_01: And I'm not saying that you know if this lady had got better sleep or she'd reduce the stress or whatever it may be, that she'd actually not taken her own own life.
• 13:24
  SPEAKER_01: But if she'd sought help from somebody, then perhaps that might have been a step that that that would have helped.
• 13:30
  SPEAKER_01: And uh so for me, again, it brings back this idea of advocating for yourself, reaching out where you need help, making sure that you get the help that's appropriate, whatever that may be, and support that you need to help at this crucial time of life.
• 13:47
  SPEAKER_01: Because we know that it can be a time of incredible renewal as well on the positive side, right?
• 13:51
  SPEAKER_01: It's not all negative, you can take this experience, and and some women can create incredible new journeys for their life, and you know our our hope is that over time all women can see the menopause transition like that rather than seeing it as the end of something, see it as the beginning of some something new.
• 14:12
  SPEAKER_01: So I think that's really really important.
• 14:16
  SPEAKER_01: Shall we move on to story number three?
• 14:19
  SPEAKER_00: Yes, let's this is a little happier.
• 14:23
  SPEAKER_01: Well, yes and no, I think.
• 14:26
  SPEAKER_01: So story, a new study last month, you know, for years now we've been talked about this idea that 10,000 steps is the minimum we should all be getting.
• 14:38
  SPEAKER_01: And I'm not quite sure where the 10,000 steps, if you want myth, comes from.
• 14:44
  SPEAKER_01: My understanding is that um it may even come from Supersize Me, that movie from 10 years ago when uh I think it was Morgan Spurlett, the director was talking about the fact that the average New Yorker gets 10,000 steps and they're a lot healthier than other people in America are.
• 15:00
  SPEAKER_00: Well, either that or it comes from the sports, the tracker watch trackers.
• 15:04
  SPEAKER_01: Well, well, I think at the same time, really, didn't the idea of a fitness tracker counting your steps and that thing that it seems to roll into one somewhere in the annals of my my memory.
• 15:14
  SPEAKER_01: But anyway, new research has shown that just 7,000 steps a day can be enough to boost your brain power.
• 15:20
  SPEAKER_01: And so that's a good thing if you if you're not a fan of exercise, if you don't want to do as much, you can probably do a little bit less and still have the health benefits from it, which is obviously a positive.
• 15:34
  SPEAKER_01: One of the things that slightly riled me about this was the way that it was reported in some sections of the media where it was like, rejoice, you don't have to do 10,000 steps anymore, you can get away with just 7,000.
• 15:47
  SPEAKER_01: So instead of sort of like reporting it as something mildly encouraging, but saying, Yeah, still push on, it felt as though the reporting around it was a bit like, you know, don't stretch yourself anymore, don't go for 10,000, it's too hard.
• 16:00
  SPEAKER_01: Just go for 7,000, 6,000 or 5,000.
• 16:02
  SPEAKER_01: And I know that we talk about starting off with the bare minimum that you feel that you can do to get somewhere.
• 16:11
  SPEAKER_01: What I wouldn't like from these kind of stories is for people who are already doing 10 or 11, 12,000, 15,000 steps and finding it's really beneficial for them and really helpful to suddenly go, oh my god, I don't need to do 10,000 steps anymore.
• 16:25
  SPEAKER_01: I'm gonna go all the way back to 7,000 and do less.
• 16:28
  SPEAKER_01: So I think, yeah, it's good news from the fact that as a base, you know, the base level that people have can set for themselves as what might be appropriate for health benefits is great and obviously needed.
• 16:44
  SPEAKER_01: I'm I just have a word of warning there that you know if you're already doing over 10,000 and you're enjoying your 10,000 steps, don't take this as a need as a as an indication that you you're doing too much and you should go back.
• 17:00
  SPEAKER_01: Do what you feel is appropriate.
• 17:03
  SPEAKER_01: That's my take on it anyway.
• 17:04
  SPEAKER_01: I'm not sure what you think.
• 17:06
  SPEAKER_00: No, I I feel the same way.
• 17:08
  SPEAKER_00: And it I don't know where we we started having this mindset of doing the bare minimum um in of whatever we can do or like we're getting away with something.
• 17:22
  SPEAKER_00: The only person you're cheating, if you I don't like that word, but if you decide, oh, I don't have to, well, by whose standards?
• 17:30
  SPEAKER_00: What what are your goals?
• 17:32
  SPEAKER_00: What is it that you want?
• 17:33
  SPEAKER_00: Because moderation in all things includes your health.
• 17:37
  SPEAKER_00: So if you are cutting back and cutting back and cutting back to do only the minimum that you need to do to stay alive, it's kind of like the nutrient recommendations that we see on uh from the FDA and and other bodies, right?
• 17:51
  SPEAKER_00: Those those nutrient recommendations aren't opt for for you to live optimally and and have optimal health, those are the minimum required for you to avoid disease.
• 18:03
  SPEAKER_00: So do you want to be on that cusp of teetering between just avoiding disease and and optimizing your health and energy, or do you want to be able to do more?
• 18:14
  SPEAKER_00: And I would hope that most people would want to be able to continue to do more.
• 18:19
  SPEAKER_00: The thing I think this is great for is that if you aren't moving at all, or you find that you're feeling intimidated by exercise, like you said, James, knowing that you can start small and still see benefits.
• 18:34
  SPEAKER_00: That's great news for those people who aren't currently moving their bodies very much.
• 18:39
  SPEAKER_00: But for those who already are, I would say just ignore this and maybe use it to encourage friends who aren't getting any movement in.
• 18:47
  SPEAKER_00: But yeah, don't just decide what where do you want your health span to be, you know, the bare minimum or as optimal as as possible.
• 18:55
  SPEAKER_01: Exactly.
• 18:56
  SPEAKER_01: I think it's worth just highlighting a couple of things here.
• 18:59
  SPEAKER_01: 10,000 steps is quite a lot, right?
• 19:01
  SPEAKER_01: We're talking about maybe five miles, six miles is 10,000 steps or eight kilometers if you're working in metrics somewhere around eight to ten kilometers, which is obviously a significant amount.
• 19:11
  SPEAKER_01: This study was a large study, it looked at, I think, 150,000, 160,000 adults around the world and looked at their exercise regimes, etc.
• 19:20
  SPEAKER_01: One thing is when you get a study that is so vast, looking at 160,000 people, um, it's very hard to keep the controls in place.
• 19:29
  SPEAKER_01: So although they wouldn't have information on those people's exercise, nobody's controlling 160,000 people to see if they're all getting the same diet, the same have the same stress levels, whether they're getting the same sleep.
• 19:40
  SPEAKER_01: So there could be co-founding factors that actually dilute the results somewhat, but also the results compared 10,000, 7,000, 4,000 and 2,000 steps.
• 19:52
  SPEAKER_01: And they found that 7,000 was kind of like the sweet spot for seeing reductions in cardiovascular disease, cancer, dementia, depression, etc.
• 20:01
  SPEAKER_01: But that was in comparison to people who had a relatively sedentary lifestyle and were only doing 2,000 steps a day, which is kind of like your average get up and not really do very much, you know, walk to the bus to get the bus to work or whatever it may be.
• 20:15
  SPEAKER_01: And so 7,000 steps is still a relatively significant amount, but let's bear in mind as well that the increase in longevity, etc., is not just a standalone thing, it's in comparison to people who are getting no exercise at all.
• 20:32
  SPEAKER_01: And so the more exercise you do, you know, the more you should see those stats increase.
• 20:39
  SPEAKER_01: So if you are doing 10,000, as I said, and you're happy with it, continue doing your 10,000.
• 20:43
  SPEAKER_01: Don't take this as an indication that you should drop back down to 7,000.
• 20:49
  SPEAKER_00: Sure.
• 20:50
  SPEAKER_00: Well, and that's I mean it's it's lifespan versus health span, right?
• 20:54
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, that's it's fantastic if you can fantastic if you can live until you're 100 years old, but if the last 30 or 40 years of your life are are sick and not able to do anything and and miserable, uh then that's not really that's not really a goal to shoot for.
• 21:17
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 21:18
  SPEAKER_01: Cool.
• 21:19
  SPEAKER_01: Okay, so next story.
• 21:21
  SPEAKER_01: Uh our old friend Alcohol rears its head.
• 21:25
  SPEAKER_01: Now, in the past, we've had a past episode of the podcast with our good friend Holly Walsh, who's an alcohol-free coach.
• 21:31
  SPEAKER_01: If this section affects you, then do go back and listen to that one.
• 21:34
  SPEAKER_01: I can't remember the actual episode number, but we'll put a link into it in the show notes.
• 21:38
  SPEAKER_01: But this is from NBC News.
• 21:40
  SPEAKER_01: Julie, what was NBC News telling us about alcohol and women's health?
• 21:46
  SPEAKER_00: Um, this probably won't surprise anybody, but there's new data um showing that alcohol related deaths um are rising among uh women and especially middle aged.
• 22:00
  SPEAKER_00: Women and that there are a lot more long-term health impacts or health effects that than probably what has been previously reported.
• 22:10
  SPEAKER_00: So we're not the alcohol police, we're not here to judge anybody.
• 22:14
  SPEAKER_00: I like a nice glass of wine every now and again as well.
• 22:17
  SPEAKER_00: Um, but there is a place where where there, when you think about how stress affects your body, the changes of menopause affecting your body, and social drinking.
• 22:29
  SPEAKER_00: And I I know there's a lot of humor, there are a lot of humorous posts I see on social media these days about how wine is the savior of women at this time of life.
• 22:39
  SPEAKER_00: Um, but but that's not really the case.
• 22:43
  SPEAKER_00: And again, having a glass of wine now and again because you enjoy it or another some other kind of drink, that's completely up to you.
• 22:51
  SPEAKER_00: But understanding what it does in your body and to your body and thinking about the reasons that you're drinking, right?
• 23:01
  SPEAKER_00: Is it is it to relieve stress?
• 23:03
  SPEAKER_00: Is it to try to sleep better?
• 23:04
  SPEAKER_00: Is it for some other reason then you enjoy the drink?
• 23:10
  SPEAKER_00: Um, because that might be something worth considering.
• 23:14
  SPEAKER_00: Um, we don't want anybody to shorten their lifespan because they feel like that's the the thing that's going to help them manage their stress or manage their menopause symptoms, when in fact, alcohol can exacerbate your many of your menopause symptoms.
• 23:32
  SPEAKER_00: And it creates inflammation in the body, which can increase your risks of other things that you're more at risk for during this phase of life, um, because inflammation, of course, can tie into many other problems like heart disease, diabetes, arthritis, um, cognitive uh decline, that sort of thing.
• 23:55
  SPEAKER_00: So we're we're not shaming anybody.
• 23:57
  SPEAKER_00: Like I said, there's absolutely no reason to never, ever, ever, ever have alcohol again if it's something that's part of your culture, part of your life.
• 24:06
  SPEAKER_00: But thinking about how and why and how often and how much is probably a good thing to start doing at this phase of life, um, especially because we're looking at blood sugar balance, we're looking at um just so many, so many different things.
• 24:24
  SPEAKER_00: And it's one of those things that we can easily live without and still have some really fun times.
• 24:32
  SPEAKER_00: And now these days they're coming out with so many alcohol-free versions of things that are actually quite good.
• 24:38
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 24:39
  SPEAKER_01: I think the interesting thing for me about this particular study and the results that we're we're looking at is that I think the study was showing that since 2020, um alcohol-related deaths amongst women have more than doubled.
• 24:59
  SPEAKER_01: The thing is that that is actually directly correlated to increased alcohol consumption by women, according to the study.
• 25:09
  SPEAKER_01: So women are drinking more, they're getting more sick, and more women are dying because of it.
• 25:15
  SPEAKER_01: And so I suppose the message is once again, like you said, no demonizing, no nothing.
• 25:20
  SPEAKER_01: Be aware of what alcohol does, how it affects your body.
• 25:26
  SPEAKER_01: And if you are thinking of cutting down, there are definitely ways and means to help with that, whether it's through someone who does alcohol-free coaching, like our friend Holly, or going and seeing somebody if you feel as though there's something deeper going on.
• 25:42
  SPEAKER_01: Um but the thing to start off by knowing that alcohol is is actually a poison, right?
• 25:50
  SPEAKER_01: That is why we get massive headaches and hangovers and stuff like that, because our body is trying to expel it as soon as possible.
• 25:56
  SPEAKER_01: And all the other good stuff that we want to do when we're doing fitness regimes, like you know, managing our weight and things like that, they all stop as your body is processing alcohol through the body because your body really prioritizes that.
• 26:07
  SPEAKER_01: So I think that is a place to start your self-knowledge of drinking, and then it's up to you.
• 26:15
  SPEAKER_01: If you want to take the risk, that's absolutely fine.
• 26:17
  SPEAKER_01: Um, but I think it's just worth knowing what it what it does to you.
• 26:21
  SPEAKER_01: And I think this study shows that you know there's a direct correlation between increased drinking and increased alcohol-related deaths, and then it's up to the individual to make their own choice, I guess, about that is something that they're happy with and at what levels do they want to drink if they want to continue drinking.
• 26:40
  SPEAKER_00: Well, and the other the other thing I remember um reading is that women don't process alcohol as effectively or efficiently as men do.
• 26:48
  SPEAKER_00: So it stays in our body longer.
• 26:51
  SPEAKER_00: And and so the effects of it can also hit us much more strongly.
• 26:56
  SPEAKER_00: And I know a lot of times somebody's buying a round of drinks, they buy the round of drinks, whether your glass is empty or not.
• 27:05
  SPEAKER_00: You try to keep up, right?
• 27:07
  SPEAKER_00: Because that's the social thing to do.
• 27:09
  SPEAKER_00: But we shouldn't ever try to match one for one the drinks that that our male counterparts are are consuming because our body just cannot process it as quickly.
• 27:22
  SPEAKER_00: And that could I can I could see why that would contribute potentially to some of the problems that that are happening with women drinking more.
• 27:31
  SPEAKER_00: Um because that's it's important.
• 27:35
  SPEAKER_00: We are different.
• 27:37
  SPEAKER_01: Not small men, as we keep saying.
• 27:40
  SPEAKER_00: We are not small men, no, no.
• 27:42
  SPEAKER_01: Right.
• 27:43
  SPEAKER_00: So, do you want do you want to talk about the last article or should we go straight into what we're finding on Google?
• 27:49
  SPEAKER_01: Let's because we're coming up to the end of the half hour or so, and we're gonna run over anyway.
• 27:54
  SPEAKER_01: Let's go straight to what women are Googling because I know that this is something you were looking into this morning as part of our own research.
• 28:03
  SPEAKER_01: What has been coming up for you with with this then?
• 28:08
  SPEAKER_01: When you looked into what women are Googling about menopause, what are women Googling about menopause?
• 28:14
  SPEAKER_00: What really I don't want to say shocked me, but I think what really got me when I found when I saw the results is that the top searches are what is Oprah or Drew Barrymore or Jennifer Aniston or Naomi Watts or Halle Berry recommend for menopause.
• 28:32
  SPEAKER_00: Now, I know that these big names have been in the in the public eye.
• 28:37
  SPEAKER_00: They're they're actresses and and celebrities who we respect, um, and they have been advocating for menopause support, which I think is absolutely amazing.
• 28:49
  SPEAKER_00: However, none of these people is a doctor, not one of them is a doctor or a medical expert or a health expert.
• 29:00
  SPEAKER_00: These are women who are going through their own change.
• 29:02
  SPEAKER_00: And when I looked, you know, I know we trust them, they they're more visible than anywhere else, but when I looked, every one of them, safe maybe one, is promoting a specific product with their name, they're partnering with with companies so that they're making money from the products that you buy that they recommend.
• 29:27
  SPEAKER_00: And there's nothing wrong with that.
• 29:29
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, it's a free market, and and if they find products they believe in and they want to promote, fantastic.
• 29:34
  SPEAKER_00: However, generic and sponsored advice isn't the way to get healthy, it's not the best thing.
• 29:43
  SPEAKER_00: We I have a collection, and at some point I will share it.
• 29:47
  SPEAKER_00: I'm gonna make some kind of board.
• 29:49
  SPEAKER_00: I am amassing a collection of screenshots from all of these miracle products and solutions from companies who are preying on women's, I dare I say desperation, because I understand what it's like to be up at two in the morning and feeling awful.
• 30:04
  SPEAKER_00: And why can't I sleep?
• 30:06
  SPEAKER_00: And I gotta figure something out, right?
• 30:07
  SPEAKER_00: You want to search for those answers.
• 30:10
  SPEAKER_00: But um, the the best answer is an individual answer.
• 30:14
  SPEAKER_00: There's no one size fits all in in women's health, and especially not in menopause.
• 30:21
  SPEAKER_00: For the list of a hundred plus symptoms that women experience in menopause, every woman is going to experience it differently.
• 30:30
  SPEAKER_00: So finding a celebrity's solution or your friend or your aunt, um, what worked for them isn't necessarily going to work for you.
• 30:41
  SPEAKER_00: So that that was a big one for me.
• 30:44
  SPEAKER_00: That just had me shaking my head.
• 30:46
  SPEAKER_00: You want to you want to look at some of the others?
• 30:50
  SPEAKER_01: Sure.
• 30:51
  SPEAKER_01: Um, I suppose what was the one of the other ones?
• 30:53
  SPEAKER_01: What was the number one vitamin for for menopause?
• 30:56
  SPEAKER_01: Was one of them.
• 30:58
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, we discussed this a lot in Club Fabulous Beyond 40.
• 31:01
  SPEAKER_01: We've got a whole training on vitamins and minerals.
• 31:02
  SPEAKER_01: Club Fabulous Beyond 40 is our our membership for women 14 above low cost membership.
• 31:07
  SPEAKER_01: Um, there's all kinds of trainings on this kind of thing in there.
• 31:11
  SPEAKER_01: Um the answer is really kind of depends, right, on the context, what's going on, what your symptoms are.
• 31:19
  SPEAKER_01: There are some that we kind of recommend.
• 31:22
  SPEAKER_01: Um, in order, magnesium, vitamin D, omega-3s, they're kind to be the top three that we'd probably advise people to start looking at.
• 31:33
  SPEAKER_01: I suppose the key thing here is you know, try not to get self-diagnosed off TikTok.
• 31:40
  SPEAKER_01: You want somebody who or to be able to reach out to somebody who will be able to give you some help on selecting not only what the vitamins and minerals are that you need at this time of life, but also assessing what's going on in your diet.
• 31:54
  SPEAKER_01: Because if your diet's really good and your gut health's really good, you might be getting a lot of these anyway.
• 32:00
  SPEAKER_01: So you might not need to necessarily supplement if you're getting them from your food.
• 32:06
  SPEAKER_01: What you do need to supplement with if supplementation is an option, will come based on your own symptoms and potential testing.
• 32:15
  SPEAKER_01: You can get test, you can get assessed for some vitamins and minerals, and that will give you a starting point to go for.
• 32:22
  SPEAKER_01: And then finally, and I can't highlight this for me at least enough, is as much as anything else, the quality of supplement matters.
• 32:34
  SPEAKER_01: The supplement industries are notoriously unregulated.
• 32:38
  SPEAKER_01: There are certain companies who set themselves a yardstick and have it as a point of differentiation that they absolutely do test their supplements to medical grade quality testing, and then you can be sure that it's going to do what it says on the tin.
• 32:55
  SPEAKER_01: So often, you know, you see low quality supplements.
• 33:00
  SPEAKER_01: Uh calcium is one of my favourites.
• 33:03
  SPEAKER_01: You know, you get low quality calcium, you might as well go to your kids' school, walk into one of the classrooms, get some chalk off the chalkboard, and eat that, which is exactly the same thing, except it's chopped up into small pieces and put into a plastic container and sold to use calcium.
• 33:18
  SPEAKER_01: And so the quality of what's in there matters.
• 33:22
  SPEAKER_01: Minerals don't just come in one size, shape, or form either.
• 33:28
  SPEAKER_01: You know, there are multiple different types of magnesium, there were multiple different ways of taking omega-3s, there are multiple different ways of getting vitamin D into your body.
• 33:37
  SPEAKER_01: And so getting some advice from somebody is the key thing there, I'd say.
• 33:42
  SPEAKER_01: And as I say, it's just one of the many, many trainings around menopause that we do have in the Club Fabulous Beyond 40.
• 33:49
  SPEAKER_01: Now, one of the things that we talked about, Julie, when it comes to this is wanting our listeners to come up with their own questions.
• 34:00
  SPEAKER_01: So we would love to start answering some of your less listener questions.
• 34:05
  SPEAKER_01: Um, so send us a DM on Instagram at Fabulous Beyond 40 coaching or send us an email uh to either James at fabulousbeyond40.com or Julie at fabulousbeyond40.com.
• 34:17
  SPEAKER_01: We will answer your questions about menopause, about midlife, and about making peace with your body.
• 34:23
  SPEAKER_01: All you've got to do is put hot topics and hot flashes in the subject line.
• 34:28
  SPEAKER_01: We'll know then that it's for the podcast.
• 34:29
  SPEAKER_01: And who knows, you might hear your question answered in next month's episode.
• 34:35
  SPEAKER_01: Julie.
• 34:36
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, so if this episode hit home, if you're struggling with your own body image lately or your menopause experience, please don't do it alone.
• 34:46
  SPEAKER_00: We offer a menopause impact assessment that can really help you unpack what's going on.
• 34:52
  SPEAKER_00: It's a 45-minute coaching call that's designed to help women over 40 get unstuck and start making real progress with your health, happiness, and hormones.
• 35:02
  SPEAKER_00: We use a scientifically validated symptom questionnaire so we can get a clear picture of what's going on right now, and then we shift the focus to what your goals are, what your priorities are, so that we can help you start to feel better fast and figure out what that actually looks like for you.
• 35:21
  SPEAKER_00: Because again, your needs are going to be different to everyone else's.
• 35:25
  SPEAKER_00: So we'll drop that link in the show notes.
• 35:27
  SPEAKER_00: We'd love to have you book a session.
• 35:30
  SPEAKER_01: Brilliant.
• 35:31
  SPEAKER_01: Okay, so that's it for today's episode, then.
• 35:33
  SPEAKER_01: Thank you for joining us.
• 35:34
  SPEAKER_01: We're coaches James and Julie from Fabulous Beyond 40.
• 35:37
  SPEAKER_01: We're here to remind you to stay strong and stay fabulous, and we will see you next week.
• 35:42
  SPEAKER_01: Take care.