The Perimenopause Nutrient Shift No One Warned You About
Hot flashes get all the press. But for many women, symptoms aren’t flashy when they show up in perimenopause (the phase leading up to menopause and beginning as early as your mid-30s!).1
Perimenopause lasts around four years, though some women experience symptoms for much longer.2
The tricky part? Many women don’t realize they’re in it!
Symptoms can look like:
- Feeling drained in the day but wired at night (AKA: tired but wired)
- Mood shifts that seem to come out of nowhere
- Brain fog during things that used to feel easy
- Skin, hair and sleep changes (ugh, why is so much hair on the brush?!)
- Weight gain around your waistline
- Changes in your monthly cycle
Sound familiar?
A lot of women assume it’s stress, burnout, getting older or being busy. Sometimes it is. But nutritional gaps may also be playing a role behind the scenes.
Your Body Is Changing & So Are Your Nutritional Needs
Research suggests perimenopause and menopause increase susceptibility to micronutrient deficiencies.3
Translation: Your body may require more nutritional support than it used to.
Low levels of vitamin D, magnesium, calcium, iron, antioxidants and B vitamins are especially common concerns.3
These nutrients are connected to things women in their mid-30s to 50s are already thinking about: energy, mood, immune health, healthy aging, bone support and everyday wellness.
Sandwich-generation stress, sleep changes, busy schedules, slower digestion and fast-food diets can make it even harder to consistently get the nutrients your body needs.
Filling the Nutritional Gaps Is Vital
Micronutrient deficiencies are highly prevalent during midlife. But, why?
Some experts believe women in perimenopause become more vulnerable to nutrient insufficiencies due to all the struggles mentioned already (high stress, sleep disruptions, metabolic demand, etc.).3
And, honestly? That makes sense. When your body requires more internal demand to find balance, it often uses up nutrients faster.
Besides more demand, the supply of nutrients is often low, too.
Reality check: It’s recommended that you eat 3-4 servings of vegetables a day and 30 g of unsalted nuts and seeds.4 Do you hit those targets, and many others, every single day? Most of us are lucky if we remember to drink enough water before noon.
That’s why nutritional intervention is essential. Even more so, when you know the symptoms of perimenopause and menopause can be significantly reduced and made tolerable by achieving and maintaining a healthy nutritional status.4
So, what’s a girl to do?
Supplement Now to Support Your Wellness
There is no single perfect way to support your body. That’s why Partner.Co has supplements that target your different needs, such as our Co.Lab™ Vital 1 daily greens drink!
Let us quickly fill you in on how it helps fill whole-food gaps: It combines moringa (considered the world’s most nutrient-dense plant) with eight botanicals that are nutritional powerhouses.
In one Vital 1 stick pack, you’re getting more whole foods than some people consume all day.
Together with our other targeted supplements, you can support your body’s needs in perimenopause and beyond.
Bone, Muscle & Sleep Support
You’ve seen it on TV commercials: Women walking through a field with a voice-over about bone loss.
It’s a popular topic because osteoporosis affects most women during menopause, but it’s most common in those with low levels of vitamin D.5 Silver lining: Vitamin D supplementation is something you can control.
And you should because the average annual rate of bone loss during menopause, beginning 1-3 years before menopause and lasting 5-10 years, is approximately 2%, resulting in an average 10-12% decrease in bone mineral density in your spine and hip.5
All menopausal women, not just those at risk of fractures, should adopt a bone-protective lifestyle by supplementing the right nutrients and doing daily physical activity.
Speaking of supplementing, Magnical-D® combines calcium and vitamin D3 for bone and muscle support. It also has magnesium, which affects hundreds of biochemical reactions in your body, including sleep.
Energy & Quality of Life Support
Sleep isn’t always enough, though. B vitamins help support energy metabolism and nervous system health, which can feel especially important when fatigue nearly becomes your personality.6
B vitamins also play an important role in midlife because adequate intake reduces your serum homocysteine level by about 25% and, in parallel, the overall risk of stroke by 10%.7
High homocysteine levels have also been associated with osteoporosis and increased risk of bone fractures.8
To summarize that science: The potential for less risk of stroke and osteoporosis on top of more energy … just from getting some B vitamins?! That’s a quality of life hack you can’t miss out on!
Try Xceler8™ Drops, which have 25,000%of your daily vitamin B12 (don’t worry: even at large doses, B12 is generally considered safe because your body doesn’t store the excess). The benefit of this dose is to stimulate metabolism, stabilize mood and enhance energy levels.
Vital 1 also includes vitamin B6, in addition to other vitamins, to promote sustained energy and steady vitality!
Gut & Heart Health Support
New research suggests that supplementation with probiotics improves more than gut health, positively impacting cardiovascular risk factors in postmenopausal women.9
In a 12-week randomized, placebo-controlled trial, 81 Caucasian women with obesity were assigned to a low or high dose of a probiotic containing Bifidobacterium and Lactobacillus. At the end of the study, the high dose significantly improved endothelial dysfunction, systolic blood pressure and markers of inflammation and angiogenesis.9
So, what’s good for your gut could be good for your heart, too. Try Probiotiix, offering an advanced formulation of 15 probiotic strains plus prebiotics. And to support healthy digestion and nutrient absorption in your gut, reach for Vital 1.
Blood Sugar & Immune Maintenance
When nutrients are vital in your routine, you’re rewarded with better support for normal blood sugar metabolism and a healthy immune system.
Use Vital 1 to help fill whole-food nutrient gaps and get this systemwide support! It includes a nutrient-rich Molecular Botanical Blend — including sweet potato and maitake mushroom — that is known to support your blood sugar and immunity.
Current research even shows that moringa (Vital 1’s key ingredient) has multiple immune-related effects from balancing inflammatory responses in your body.10
Worth Remembering
Studies consistently show nutrition plays an essential role in supporting healthy aging, metabolic health and overall wellness during perimenopause and all the years after.
Make sure you’re addressing menopause-related concerns before they start concerning you.
Or, if they’ve already started, take back control, and shift the narrative! Supplemental support matters more than ever for women 35+.
The Takeaways:
- Perimenopause can begin as early as your mid-30s
- Hormonal shifts can affect how your body uses nutrients
- Nutrient gaps may become more common during perimenopause
- Most women aren’t consistently getting enough nutrient-rich foods
- Nutritional support plays a major role in healthy aging and wellness
- Bone, muscle, gut, immune and metabolic health all deserve your attention
- Supplements can help support nutrient gaps and modern lifestyles
Sources
- The Menopause Society – Perimenopause Overview
https://menopause.org/patient-education/menopause-topics/perimenopause - Mayo Clinic – Perimenopause: Symptoms and Causes
https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/perimenopause/symptoms-causes/syc-20354666 - Micronutrient Deficiencies and Menopause Research
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12745279/ - Cleveland Clinic – Perimenopause Overview
https://health.clevelandclinic.org/perimenopause - Nutrition and Menopause Research Review
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10780928/ - Mayo Clinic – Vitamin B12 and Energy Support
https://www.mayoclinic.org/drugs-supplements-vitamin-b12/art-20363663 - B Vitamins for Stroke Prevention
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6047336/ - Homocysteine Levels and the Risk of Osteoporotic Fracture
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15141041/ - Probiotics and Prebiotics: Any Role in Menopause-Related Diseases?
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9974675/ - Moringa Oleifera Lam and Its Therapeutic Effects in Immune Disorders
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7773658/