Course description

Perimenopause and menopause bring real changes to your body, your sleep and your energy, and to your long-term health, especially your bones and heart. This course shows you, step by step and in plain words, how to eat well through those years, using NHS and UK guidance and everyday food on a normal budget. It's honest about what food can and can't do: eating well supports your health and wellbeing, but it isn't a treatment for symptoms, and HRT and other treatments are always a conversation with your GP.

It's a full course, not a quick tour. There are 10 sections and 50 written lessons. You follow a primary school teacher in a Yorkshire seaside town through 12 weeks: a food diary and a symptom diary, a visit to her GP, three small changes, more calcium and fibre, vitamin D in winter, less alcohol and late coffee, and strength exercises. Every section has a worksheet, answers, a cheat sheet and ready-made planners, diaries, recipes and workbooks.

What you'll learn

• The basics: what happens in perimenopause and menopause, what food can and can't do, and how to make the most of a GP appointment.
• Eating well in midlife: the Eatwell Guide, changing energy needs, a balanced plate, fibre and fluids.
• Bones, muscles and heart: calcium, vitamin D, protein, weight-bearing and strength activity, fats, salt and sugars.
• Symptoms and everyday habits: spotting your own possible triggers with a diary, caffeine and alcohol, sleep, mood and digestion.
• Supplements and claims: soya, the vitamin D advice, herbal remedies, iron and heavy periods, and how to see through marketing.
• Real life: changing bodies without fad diets, planning, shopping, batch cooking, eating at work and when you're out.

Who it's for

Women and anyone going through perimenopause or menopause, including early or medically caused menopause, and the people who support them. It ends with a final project: your own review, a balanced week and a 12-week plan. This course is general information, not medical advice.

What will I learn?

• Understand what happens in perimenopause and menopause, and what food can and can't do
• Build balanced meals using the Eatwell Guide, with enough fibre, fluids and protein
• Look after your bones with calcium-rich foods, vitamin D and the right kinds of activity
• Support your heart health with simple changes to fats, salt and sugars
• Keep a symptom diary to spot your own possible triggers, including caffeine and alcohol
• Judge soya, supplements, herbal remedies and menopause products with a clear head
• Eat well for a changing body without fad diets or food rules
• Plan, shop and cook a balanced week that works at home, at work and when you're out

Frequently asked questions