Listen to Your Body: Menopause, Midlife and Hormonal Behavior

Where did the idea of MPowder come from?

Well - the motivation was entirely selfish! I was 45 when I entered peri-menopause. Night sweats. Heightened anxiety about stuff I used to do relatively confidently in the past. Alot of anger. Bloating. Oh, and a nice dose of random skin breakouts! I visited my doctor and was told I was too young to be menopausal and that my symptoms were most likely to be burn-out or depression.
I knew I wasn't depressed. And although life was hard (when isn't it?!), I didn't think I was experiencing burn-out either. Something else was happening. And it was impacting my body and mind. I simply didn't feel like me.

I'm a researcher and planner by trade. So I did the thing I always do when I want to solve something. I went deep. I learned that most of us start our peri-menopause transition from around the age of 43 (and for around 10% of us, it is even earlier).

I read about the myriad symptoms connected to this life-stage and how how long it takes women to receive support. I look at the research that exists around the lifestyle changes, medical interventions and mindset shifts that can help us 'meno-well'.

And then I headed to my local health food store to see what supplements were available.
Those shelves were confusing AND depressing. The women depicted on pack were frail, tired - and always hot! They seemed to target 'end of life' rather than mid-life! The blends felt like blunt instruments at best - few catered for the distinct bio-chemical stages our bodies go through. At the time of my search I could find just one brand targeting the peri-menopause specifically. Many use herbal components that clinical trials had shown categorically not to work.

Others use such low dosages of vitamins and minerals that they are unlikely to achieve the results seen in trials. Most relied heavily on synthetic low grade sources that the body simply doesn’t absorb well.

I wanted a solution that was focused on optimising my body. I wanted products that were based on clinical insight. I wanted to see the results of trials with real women from all walks of life.
I also wanted honesty rather than the promise of a silver bullet.
I started in early 2019 in my kitchen, dehydrating fruit and vegetables and blending them into a powder that would
deliver the nutritional hit my body needed. I started to layer on the lifestyle changes I knew were gaining traction and
scientific support.

And I began to feel better. I worked with a medical and naturopathic team to get recipes into community trials. I consulted on the value of HRT and how smart supplementation can make it work harder. I collaborated with menopause experts across multiple complimentary fields too. From CBT to CBD. From breathwork practitioners to executive career coaches. And slowly MPowder took shape. Today we are a community that co-creates products and complimentary programmes to nourish the body and mind in menopause and beyond.