Journal
Evidence-based notes on health after 40
Research-backed articles on diabetes, perimenopause, nutrition and everything the two of them touch.
Perimenopause
17,494 women, 158 countries: what perimenopause actually feels like isn't what we're told to expect
A peer-reviewed survey of 17,494 women across 158 countries found that hot flashes are what women recognise as perimenopause — while fatigue, exhaustion, mood and digestive changes are what they actually report.
Perimenopause
Your gut bacteria recycle oestrogen — and menopause changes which bacteria are doing it
A 2026 review in Nutrients maps how gut bacteria send oestrogen back into circulation instead of letting it leave the body, how that machinery shifts after menopause, and which dietary changes actually have evidence behind them.
Diabetes
Ninety minutes less sleep raised insulin resistance by 15% in women
A randomised trial took 90 minutes a night from women who were sleeping well, for six weeks. Insulin resistance rose about 15% — and the effect was independent of body weight.
Skin & beauty
“Oestrogen skincare” is becoming its own category — and two very different products share the name
After the FDA’s move on hormone therapy labels, oestrogen skincare is being marketed hard. Two quite different products sit behind the name, and the evidence behind them is thinner than the packaging suggests.
Weight loss
Hormone therapy plus tirzepatide: 35% more weight loss after menopause — with one caveat worth reading
Postmenopausal women on tirzepatide plus hormone therapy lost 35% more weight than those on tirzepatide alone in a 2026 Lancet cohort study. Encouraging — but it's observational, and rapid weight loss at midlife carries a bone-and-muscle cost worth planning for.
Nutrition
Gut bacteria, fibre and hormones: what 2026's precision-nutrition research means for women over 40
A new 2026 review argues that fibre-rich, Mediterranean-style eating feeds the gut bacteria linked to weight, inflammation and hormone balance — and that the 'best' diet may increasingly be tailored to your own microbiome.
Diabetes
The 2026 diabetes guidelines back GLP-1 drugs in type 1 diabetes for the first time
For the first time, the ADA’s 2026 Standards of Care back GLP-1 medicines to manage obesity in adults with type 1 diabetes. Here’s what changed — and what it means for women with T1D.
Women's Health & Research
What menstrual blood is teaching modern medicine
A sample medicine spent centuries discarding is now an FDA-cleared diabetes test, a renewable source of stem cells, and a rare non-invasive window onto the immune system — including autoimmune disease.
Diabetes
Type 1 diabetes cure research: the trials worth following in 2026
For the first time, people in trials are living without insulin for years. Here's an honest, verified map of the type 1 cure research worth following — and how to follow or join it.
Perimenopause
Anxiety and brain fog, not hot flashes, are now women's top menopause complaint
Bonafide Health's sixth annual survey of over 2,000 women finds anxiety, brain fog and declining motivation have overtaken hot flashes as the leading menopause symptom — and nearly half say it's hit their income.
Diabetes
Type 2 diabetes is rising twice as fast in women under 40 — and care hasn't caught up
A major 2026 Medscape clinical review argues diabetes care still treats women as if hormones don't matter, even as type 2 diabetes rises twice as fast in women under 40 than in men.
Nutrition
Eating more protein than the official guideline supports better muscle and bone after menopause
A Women's Health Initiative analysis of 3,789 postmenopausal women finds those hitting higher protein targets than the standard RDA had better body composition and bone outcomes over 3 years.
Skin & beauty
2026 review confirms HRT restores skin collagen, elasticity and hydration
A 2026 review in the journal Life pulls together the evidence on menopause, oestrogen and skin — confirming HRT measurably improves collagen content, elasticity and hydration.
Weight loss
GLP-1 weight-loss drugs mainly burn fat, not muscle — and women lose more than men
A 2026 meta-analysis of GLP-1 trials finds the large majority of weight lost on Ozempic-style drugs is fat rather than muscle, and that women lose proportionally more than men.
Perimenopause
Cortisol belly in perimenopause: what's actually true
“Cortisol belly” is everywhere — and mostly misunderstood. What's really true about cortisol, stress and abdominal fat in perimenopause.
Perimenopause
HRT prescriptions have more than doubled since 2018 — and patches are now running short
New US data show estrogen HRT prescribing has doubled since 2018, with 1 in 20 women aged 45–54 now on it — driven partly by the FDA dropping its strongest warnings.
Diabetes
Every patient in a small type 1 diabetes trial became insulin-free
In an early UChicago trial, all 12 people with long-standing type 1 diabetes reached insulin independence after donor islet transplants paired with a new anti-rejection antibody.
Nutrition
The carbs you choose in midlife shape how you age, a 32-year study finds
Harvard and Tufts researchers followed 47,000 women for 32 years: those eating more high-quality carbs in midlife were up to a third more likely to age healthily.
Skin & beauty
Why skin changes so fast at menopause — and what hormone therapy can and can't do
Recent reviews confirm falling oestrogen drives much of menopausal skin ageing — thinner, drier, less elastic skin — and that HRT can partly reverse it, within limits.
Weight loss
People on GLP-1 weight-loss drugs moved less, not more, a Fitbit study finds
Tracking 753 adults' wearable data, researchers found daily steps and exercise fell after starting Ozempic-style drugs — a concern for muscle, especially in women over 40.
Nutrition
What to replace sugar with: the evidence on sweeteners
Stevia, monk fruit, allulose, erythritol, xylitol, sucralose, aspartame, honey and agave — what current research actually shows about sweeteners for blood sugar and health.
Nutrition
Protein for women over 40: how much do you actually need?
Why the official 0.8g/kg guideline falls short after 40 — and the protein targets that actually protect muscle, energy and blood sugar.
Diabetes
What new research says about type 2 diabetes
Recent findings on remission, meal order, time-restricted eating and sleep — and what's actually worth trying.
Skin & beauty
Do collagen products actually improve your skin?
What the evidence really shows about collagen supplements, creams and the nutrients that support your own.
Perimenopause
5 myths about perimenopause and weight
Why the scale isn't the whole story — and what actually helps.
Diabetes
How to read your glucose patterns
A simple framework for making sense of your daily numbers.
No articles in this category yet — more are on the way.