Long run
Bone health after estrogen falls
Why these particular years matter for a skeleton you need for another forty.
5 minSource: Royal Osteoporosis Society

What happens
Estrogen helps protect bone density. Bone loss speeds up around and after menopause, which is why this window gets particular attention.
It is silent. There are usually no symptoms until something breaks.
What supports bone
Weight-bearing and resistance exercise. Bone responds to being loaded.
Enough calcium and vitamin D. Many people are advised to take a vitamin D supplement through the fall and winter months.
Not smoking, and keeping alcohol moderate.
Worth raising
A family history of osteoporosis, an early menopause, a fracture from a minor fall, or long-term steroid use are all reasons to ask specifically about bone health.
Source
Background from the Royal Osteoporosis Society. Assessment and treatment decisions belong with your clinician.
The years around menopause are when bone and heart risk shift most. Understanding them early is what makes them manageable.
General information, not medical advice. Narrated never diagnoses.
More in Narrated Body
Hot flashes and what women try
What is commonly described, what tends to help day to day, and what belongs in an appointment.
5 min · NHS
Aching joints in midlife
One of the most common and least expected complaints of these years.
4 min · Narrated
When cycles start changing
What tends to shift in perimenopause, and which changes should always be checked.
5 min · NHS
Get the weekly letter
One useful email a week on perimenopause and menopause. What the studies say, in plain words. Free.
Or find out what is happening to you, free, in two minutes.