The truth is there simply isn’t enough research into menopause. We are one of 5 mammals that experience this life-stage. The rest live in the sea. The medical profession remain uncertain on why we experience menopause at all1(impacted, in no small part, by the fact that less than 2% of public medical research is spent on female fertility in the UK). Drawing observations from the animal kingdom, some speculate that the end of our fertility may be designed to enable us to pass on wisdom acquired to others in our ‘clan’.
In Chinese Medicine, it is believed that this ‘Second Spring’ allows us to draw the energy that had been focused in our womb and reproductive organs, to our heart and minds. Neuroscientists point to the fact that our brain, post menopause, actually grows additional grey matter - challenging the myth that this journey dampens our sharpness.
Three in four of us feel ‘blind-sided’ by menopause
Research by Gen-M2 in 2021 revealed a stat that chimes with the conversations we have in our community. Most of us experience symptoms long before we identify the cause. A study by Newson Health found that we will wait, on average, between 3 and 4 years before being ‘diagnosed’. During that time, suicide rates peek for women. 1 in 10 of us will leave the workforce. And countless lives are impacted.
Hormone irregularities make evaluating inventions difficult.
The brilliant complexity of the female form is often held accountable for the lack of gender balance in clinical studies and research. And increased and irregular hormone fluctuations in menopause make it event harder to evaluate the impact of intervention.
‘Difficult’ doesn’t mean you shouldn’t ‘do’.
We are committed to analysing the data that exists regarding all menopause. To verifying what we create, with our community. To rooting out pseudoscience. To respecting practices that have been handed down, generation to generation - but may not have the budgets of big pharma behind them to undertake clinical trials.
Smart supplements not snake oil
Our supplement range is developed by a naturopathic and medical team with years of experience working with women in menopause. Together, they analyse peer reviewed trial data for 100s of whole foods, plants, minerals and vitamins to select the very best ingredients to go into our blends.
Tested in real life, by people like you.
Our impact study participants are recruited via social media and screened purerly for any underlying health conditions that may make our blends inappropriate or difficult to evaluate. We use the Green Climeractic Scale3and the Menopause Specific Quality of Life (MENQOL) protocol to assess symptom severity prior to the tracking study, the same framework used in doctor surgeries to identify menopause. Participants then track the most bothersome symptoms by SMS. Insights gathered help us validate the results seen by individual ingredients in clinical trial settings. This data is then supported by 1000s of customers who track the efficacy of our formulas outside of study conditions every time they purchase a pouch. Which means you know our blends will also work hard for you.
GUT-INSTINCT in-field performance. COMING SOON!
Community Led innovation
Our customers can track their symptoms with us, for free too. And around 30% do. This means we are able to provide tailored 1:1 support whenever you need, as well as evolving our range in partnership with you; prioritising the symptoms that trouble you most, seeking out new ingredients to deliver new solutions too.
Small is beautiful. But our ambition is big.
As a small artisanal brand with big ambition, we don’t have the budget yet to clinically trial our range. But our ambition is big. In the next 12 months we will be instigating research that will enable us to further verify what we’ve seen in our patient-reported studies.
Insight and exploration to feed curious minds
Nutrition is a critical foundation layer in menopause. But it is not a silver bullet. We know our blends can nourish your body with what it needs at each stage of the journey. But the best approach to midlife is to nourish a curious mind, too.
We run monthly workshops with the best midlife practitioners, where we look at the evidence behind interventions alongside practical tips to get started. From HRT to CBT. From movement to meditation. Pack a new toolkit built on the firm foundation of good nutrition. Try new things. Keep dreaming. Keep creating. Because Part 2 is about YOU.
Sources
1. https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/06/us/menopause-perimenopause-symptoms.html
2. https://gen-m.com/insight/
3. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK447620/
4. The MENQOL-Intervention survey consists of 32 questions/symptoms divided into 5 domains: vasomotor (3 questions), psychosocial (7 questions), physical (16 questions), sexual (3 questions) and medical intervention (3 questions). Prior to the trial commencing, MPowder trialists are asked whether they have experienced a particular symptom in the previous week and how bothered they are by the symptom from “0” (not at all bothered) to “6” (extremely bothered), in a Likert scale format. In addition, they are asked to track key symptoms on a weekly basis to allow us to evaluate the typical time frame in which participants saw results against those symptoms. Higher MENQOL scores indicate poorer quality of life.
5. No: 30 women, 8 week trial duration, May-July 2020.
6. No: 25 women, 8 week trial duration, Feb-April 2021
