What Is Menopause — And Why It’s More Than Just “The End of Periods”

What Is Menopause

Menopause is often reduced to a single milestone: the moment your periods stop. But in reality, it marks a profound physiological shift with wide-reaching impacts on a woman’s health, mood, brain, heart, and bones — often lasting long after menstruation ends.

Despite being a completely normal biological phase, menopause is still clouded by misunderstanding, dismissal, and stigma — both socially and medically. Let’s change that.

🔬 What Is Menopause?

By clinical definition, menopause is diagnosed when you’ve gone 12 consecutive months without a menstrual period. For most women, this occurs between the ages of 45 and 55 — the average age in Australia is 51.

But menopause doesn’t happen overnight. It’s the midpoint in a three-phase hormonal transition:

1. Perimenopause – the lead-up, often the most symptomatic phase.

2. Menopause – the official milestone (12 months without a period).

3. Post-Menopause – the years and decades that follow.

During this transition, your ovaries stop releasing eggs and drastically reduce their production of two key hormones: estrogen and progesterone. The decline of estrogen in particular has a ripple effect across the entire body.

🧠 The Hormonal Domino Effect

Estrogen isn’t just about fertility. It plays a key role in:

• Regulating mood and neurotransmitters

• Protecting Gut Health

• Maintaining bone density

• Protecting the heart and blood vessels

• Supporting skin elasticity and collagen

• Maintaining cognitive function

• Keeping vaginal tissues healthy

  
  

So when estrogen levels fall, systems that were previously supported begin to shift — often uncomfortably.

📋 Common Menopause Symptoms

While every woman’s experience is unique, up to 80% report at least one moderate-to-severe symptom. These may include:

• Hot flushes and night sweats

• Sleep disturbances and insomnia

• Mood changes, including depression or anxiety

• Brain fog or difficulty concentrating

• Joint stiffness and muscle aches

• Vaginal dryness or discomfort

• Low libido or sexual dysfunction

• Heart palpitations

• Weight gain, particularly around the abdomen

• Fatigue, even after rest

Some symptoms ease over time — others, particularly those related to bone health, gut health, cognitive function, cardiovascular function, and urogenital health, may persist or even worsen post-menopause if left unaddressed.

🩺 The Long-Term Health Risks After Menopause

The conversation around menopause often stops at symptom relief. But the real clinical concern lies in the long-term health risks associated with low estrogen:

🦴 1. Osteoporosis

Estrogen helps maintain bone density. After menopause, bone loss accelerates — women can lose up to 20% of their bone mass in the first 5–7 years post-menopause. This increases the risk of fractures, spinal compression, and reduced mobility.

❤️ 2. Cardiovascular Disease

Estrogen has a protective effect on the vascular system. Post-menopause, the risk of high cholesterol, high blood pressure, and atherosclerosis increases. Cardiovascular disease is the number one cause of death in post-menopausal women.

💉 3. Metabolic Syndrome & Insulin Resistance

Lower estrogen levels can make it harder to maintain stable blood sugar and body composition. Many women experience weight gain (particularly visceral fat), insulin resistance, and increased inflammation — all of which contribute to metabolic disease.

🧠 4. Cognitive Changes

Many women experience brain fog, memory lapses, or difficulty concentrating during and after menopause — clear signs of how deeply hormones influence brain function. While not all cognitive changes lead to dementia, menopause is now understood as a neurological transition that may increase a woman’s risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease, the second leading cause of death for women in Australia.

🧬 What Affects How You Experience Menopause?

Several factors influence symptom severity and long-term outcomes, including:

• Age of menopause onset

• Genetic and epigenetic factors

• Nutritional status and metabolic health

• Stress load and HPA axis function

• Smoking, alcohol use, and medication history

• Physical activity levels

• Reproductive history (e.g., pregnancies, surgeries, HRT use)

That’s why no two women experience menopause the same way — and why a personalised, evidence-informed approach matters.

🌿 Can You Still Improve Your Health After Menopause?

Absolutely.

Whether you’re just entering perimenopause or 10 years post, your body is adaptable — and there’s so much you can do to feel better, reduce risk, and reclaim vitality and bulletproof your health.

Our Foundational Recommendations:

✅ Functional, whole-food nutrition

✅ Strength training for muscle, bone, and metabolic health

✅ Stress management and circadian rhythm support

✅ Blood sugar regulation and inflammatory control

✅ Genetic-informed lifestyle tweaks

✅ Targeted supplementation, where needed

✅ Hormone therapy (HRT), when appropriate and clinically guided

The key is: you don’t have to suffer through menopause. You can thrive through it.

🎯 Not Sure What Phase You’re In?

It’s common to feel confused — especially if your periods are irregular, your symptoms are vague, or you’re still on contraception.

That’s exactly why I created the Free Phase Quiz.

Menopause Quiz

Take the Quiz

It’s a simple, science-backed quiz to help you identify whether you’re in perimenopause, menopause, or post-menopause — and to point you toward the support you need to feel like yourself again.

Because knowledge is power. And support? That changes everything.