Thank you everyone for tuning into my live video! There was so much positive feedback that I am going to aim for a weekly 30 minute video on the health news of the week. There are always good studies and not-so-good viral claims to discuss, and not all of them need a deep dive.
Lifestyle Factors and Menopause
We discussed the International Menopause Society’s White Paper on lifestyle factors and menopause. I summarized the information about exercise and diet in the recording. You can read the paper in its entirety here. I think it’s worth a read for anyone who is interested.
We discussed some recommendations for people to follow in the “lifestyle” (not sure that’s the right word) space on social media. Here are the people I mentioned and some others who also offer a wealth of good, reliable, content:
The best follow for evidence based information about testosterone and women is Professor Susan Davis. She is one of the leading researchers in the area. You can find here here on Instagram. I discussed her latest article on testosterone levels in menopause and midlife in my previous post.
Amanda Thebe for fitness information, you can find her here
For nutrition advice, I recommend MenopauseDietPlan over on Instagram, run by Elizabeth Ward and Hillary Wright.
Dr. Lauren Colenso-Semple, PhD and Dr. Stuart Phillips are both experts in physiology and provide fantastic evidence-based health and fitness content.
Dr. Shelby Harris for sleep. Very evidence based and she is the person who motivated me to start running over a year ago with one post on Instagram! Really! Talk about skills!
Third Part Verification for Supplements:
We discussed the Consumer Reports paper on lead in protein supplements. There are two truths here. One is that the report is fear-mongery (a word?), because they use California’s Prop 65 as the safety bench mark. And while we should all strive to have the least amount of lead, the levels are so strict under Prop 65 that claiming a protein powder is unsafe because it had lead levels higher that Prop 65 is just not true. I’ve touched on this before with the panic over lead in tampons. The FDA’s recommended limit for lead is 8.8 mcg/day and I believe this is the better benchmark. What is concerning in the Consumer Reports piece is one product they tested had 6.3 mcg/serving and another had 7.7 mcg/serving. I think we can all agree that is too high. Of course, the caveat is, Consumer Reports is not a peer-reviewed publication, and so it’s not possible to judge the methods, and this is also a big issue.
My concern is that many people take several supplements a day, and without knowing what is in which supplement, some of them could be getting a concerning amount of lead based on cumulative exposure.
Until we get standards (in America (do not hold your breath), the safest course of action is to assess if you really need a specific supplement or powder, and if yes, chose ones that are third-party verified. I have written about that here and spoken about it in this video. These third-party testing companies (first four on the list in the slide below) test for contaminants, such as lead, and some provide additional testing for banned substances (the ones in yellow). The label proving the testing should appear on the bottle, and the products usually also display this certification in their advertising. I would personally never take a supplement or a protein powder that does not have a label from one of these third-party testers. You need to know who did the testing. It’s not enough to claim, “Third party testing,” because that’s like saying, “My mom says it’s good.” You can also use information from Consumer Reports and Consumerlabs.com, but they may not be testing the product you are interested in and they may test them less frequently than the third-party testers. Amazon is supposed to require testing, but always look for the label.
I think all of the third-party testers listed above allow you to cross check the product on their website, which I recommend. (I do not put it past a company to design a label that looks like one from NSF or USP etc.). For example, here are the protein supplements that are currently NSF Certified for Sport. And the image below is how the labeling might appear, with the NSF logo clearly visible. I am not advertising this brand, I just thought their packaging was cool (I am a victim of advertising) and their label made it easy for me to zero in on the NSF logo.
Honestly, it sucks that we have this system. The consumer shouldn’t have to worry if the product they are buying contains what it claims or if it could contain a poison. But the sad truth in America is that you can’t rely on the manufacturers for that peace of mind.
Upcoming
I am working on a post about a viral claim about progestin-IUDs that appeared on a popular podcast this week. I swear, podcast medical infotainment is going to be the death of me!
Next week is the 2025 Menopause Society Annual Meeting. I am speaking on Wednesday, and will bring you lots of updates. There are going to be several fantastic talks, and I am really looking forward to the meeting. My post about my top takeaways from 2024 meeting is still one of my most popular posts on The Vajenda. Watch this space for more.
