Welcome to the latest Midlife Minute episode.
Today, we’re talking about elimination diets, iron, and ferritin. I share my personal experience with prolonged antibiotic and antifungal use, clarify what the research actually says about restrictive diets, nutrient deficiencies, fatigue, and brain fog, and highlight why it’s essential to understand your iron status during the menopausal transition.
IN THIS EPISODE, YOU WILL LEARN:
Why elimination diets can be helpful in specific situations, but may not be appropriate for the long term
How removing major food groups without a replacement strategy can cause unintended nutrient deficiencies
Why some women become more reactive to certain foods during the menopausal transition
How women’s protein requirements increase during perimenopause and menopause
How low ferritin is often overlooked in women, even when they are experiencing fatigue and brain fog
Why women’s iron status fluctuates during the perimenopause to menopause transition
How some women experience significant symptoms long before anemia appears in their standard lab work
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Links:
1. The Importance of Nutrition in Menopause and Perimenopause—A Review
2. Weight gain during the menopause transition: Evidence for a mechanism
dependent on protein leverage
3. The gut microbiota in menopause: Is there a role for prebiotic and probiotic
solutions?
4. Cognitive Performance in Relation to Systemic and Brain Iron at Perimenopause
5. Accelerated Increase in Ferritin Levels During Menopausal Transition as a Marker of Metabolic Health
6. Iron and Menopause: Does Increased Iron Affect the Health of Postmenopausal Women?
7. Iron deficiency in peri-menopausal women: Clinical considerations from an expert consensus
8. Cognitive Function in Peri- and Postmenopausal Women: Implications for
Considering Iron Supplementation