There's a condition that leads to an increased risk of heart disease, dementia, and early death that's been affecting people for as long as they've existed. The many symptoms can severely impact quality of life - ranging from headaches and memory problems to anxiety and weight gain. This condition affects more than half of the world's population, but unbelievably its rarely discussed and the scientific research that exists on it is limited. Its called menopause, and it affects 1.2 billion women worldwide. It's not a disease, but the effects can be just as serious for some women. Jonathan talks to the British doctor who's working to educate us about menopause and bring the discussion on the topic into the mainstream.: Dr Louise Newson is a GP, menopause specialist and founder of the Newson Health Menopause & Wellbeing Center. Director of the Balance Menopause App and the non-profit Newson Health Research and Education. Founder of The Menopause Charity. If you want to uncover the right foods for your body, head to joinzoe.com/podcast and get 10% off your personalized nutrition program. Timecodes: 00:00 - Intro 00:09 - Jonathan Intro 01:10 - Episode start 01:23 - What is menopause and why is it important for Dr Louise 04:29 - Being hormone-deficient is bleak 07:45 - The overall scale of menopause 13:27 - What is HRT? 18:23 - How little menopause is talked about 20:51 - Dr Louise’s push for menopause understanding & education 24:40 -What’s the accurate test for perimenopause? 30:04 - Understanding hormone deficiency symptoms 34:19 - What else can you do besides HRT: Nutrition considerations 43:57 - Does your body shape change while menopausal? 44:46 - Summary 47:18 - Goodbyes 47:47 - Outro For transcripts of the episodes, visit: https://joinzoe.com/learn/category/nutrition/podcast Dr Louise’s non-profit organisation about improving and understanding women’s hormone health: https://www.nhmenopausesociety.org/ Check Dr Louise’s app on perimenopause and menopause: https://www.balance-menopause.com/ Follow Louise: https://twitter.com/drlouisenewson Follow ZOE on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/zoe/ This podcast was produced by Fascinate Productions.