October 1, 2024 • 47 mins
Uncover the secrets to maintaining robust bone health during menopause with Claire Gill, the CEO of the Bone Health and Osteoporosis Foundation. Hear Claire’s personal journey and professional insights into the dynamic nature of bone tissue and the significant drop in bone density that occurs during menopause. She shares invaluable strategies for preventing and managing bone density loss, ensuring you can navigate midlife with strength and confidence.
Dive deep into the critical role of estrogen in women's health, exploring the historical gaps in research and how they've impacted our understanding today. Claire sets the record straight on menopause hormone therapy (MHT), debunking myths and highlighting its safety and effectiveness for women around age 50. We discuss the necessity for more research and better information dissemination so women can make informed health decisions during this pivotal stage of life.
This episode goes beyond hormone therapy, addressing alternatives for those who can't undergo traditional treatments and emphasizing a multifaceted approach to bone health. From practical steps like balanced diets and weight-bearing exercises to the importance of personalized healthcare, Claire provides a comprehensive guide to maintaining bone health through perimenopause and menopause. Join us as we shift the menopause narrative and empower women to thrive in their personal and professional lives.
About Claire:
Claire Gill founded and launched The National Menopause Foundation in 2019 to bring about a positive change in how women perceive and experience health at midlife. In May 2020, she assumed the role of CEO of the Bone Health and Osteoporosis Foundation. She has over 20 years experience in Public Relations and Marketing for national nonprofit organizations and PR firms for Fortune 500 companies.
Websites:
www.nationalmenopausefoundation.org
https://www.bonehealthandosteoporosis.org
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LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/midovia
Email Us: info@midovia.com
MiDOViA is dedicated to changing the narrative about menopause by educating, raising awareness & supporting women in this stage of life, both at home and in the workplace. Visit midovia.com to learn more.
The information, including but not limited to, text, graphics, images & other material contained on this website are for informational purposes only. No material on this site is intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome to the Medovia Menopause Podcast, your
trusted source forevidence-based, science-backed
information related to menopause.
Medovia is dedicated tochanging the narrative about
menopause by educating, raisingawareness and supporting women
in this stage of life, both athome and in the workplace.
(00:21):
Visit medoviacom to learn morehome and in the workplace.
Visit Medoviacom to learn more.
I'm one of your hosts, aprilHaberman, and I'm joined by Kim
Hart.
We're co-founders of Medovia,certified health coaches,
registered yoga teachers andmidlife mamas specializing in
menopause.
You're listening to anotherepisode of our podcast, where we
(00:43):
offer expert guidance for themost transformative stage of
life, bringing you realconversations, education and
resources to help you overcomechallenges and reach your full
potential through midlife.
Join us and our special guestseach episode as we bring vibrant
, fun and truthful conversationand let us help you have a
(01:07):
deeper understanding ofmenopause.
Hi podcast friends.
Today we're talking bone healthand menopause.
We have a special guest with us, claire Gill.
Claire founded and launched theNational Menopause Foundation
in September 2019 to bring apositive change in how women
perceive and experience healthat midlife.
(01:29):
In May 2020, she assumed therole of CEO of the Bone Health
and Osteoporosis Foundation.
She joined in 2013 and, priorto that, had a 20-year-plus
career in public relations andmarketing for national nonprofit
organizations and publicrelation firms with Fortune 500
(01:52):
clients.
She's so well-versed in bonehealth and menopause and we know
that you're going to enjoy thisepisode.
Let's dive right in.
Hi Claire, welcome to the show.
We're really excited to haveyou here today.
Thanks so much for inviting me.
I'm excited about this topic.
Yeah, yeah, we are too.
We get so many questions aboutbone health and menopause and I
(02:15):
know you and I have beenexchanging and corresponding for
quite some time now and I'm soglad that our schedules were
able to sync up and have you onthe show today.
So you are very busy.
I've given the intro at thefront end of this podcast, so
everyone knows your bio.
But, that being said, tell us alittle bit about yourself
(02:37):
before we dive into the nittygritty here on bone health and
menopause.
Speaker 2 (02:42):
Sure, well, my background was really in public
relations and marketing in myprofessional career and I did it
for a bunch of nonprofits andPR agencies, but I was really
drawn back to nonprofit workbecause that's where I started,
and this topic that we'retalking about today was also
very personal for me About theyear before I joined the Bone
(03:06):
Health and OsteoporosisFoundation.
My mom was 83 and she fell andbroke her hip, and my family and
I and my siblings we were justso shocked when we found the
statistics from the Bone Healthand Osteoporosis Foundation
about what happens to peopleafter a fracture and, as you
have talked about and I knowthat we'll be talking a lot
(03:28):
about today, there was noinformation.
Her primary care doctor didn'teven send her for a bone density
test after that, and so that'swhat we see more and more, and
so it was really personal for meand then to be able to work on
this on a daily basis and makeit my career is really a true
privilege and honor.
Speaker 1 (03:49):
Yeah.
I realize that you have thepersonal story and sorry to hear
that it took that break for youto find this new career, but so
glad that you leaned into thatpassion.
As so many people do, they turnsomething you know that's not
so great into somethingbeautiful.
Can you explain what bonehealth is and why it's crucial
(04:13):
for our overall health andwell-being?
Speaker 2 (04:16):
Yeah, I think what many people don't understand and
I certainly didn't before I gotinto this is that bone is
living tissue and it breaks downand remodels itself throughout
our lives, and it's one of thoserare instances where when we
talk about bone health and wetalk about bone issues, it
really is from birth to grave.
(04:37):
Right, we build all the bonedensity we're going to have for
our entire lives by our mid-20s.
So it's really important in ouryounger years to be doing
things that are healthy, thatmake sure that we end up with
the strongest we call it peakbone mass the strongest, densest
(04:58):
bone you'll ever have, and thenthe rest of our lives that bone
density is remodeling, breakingdown, building up, breaking
down, building up and then whenwe reach midlife, it starts to
change a little bit.
The process slows a little bit,which is why many people think
that, oh, falling and breaking abone is just what happens to
older people.
(05:18):
It shouldn't.
If the bone is healthy, weshould be able to fall and not
break a bone at any age, and soreally focusing on bone health
throughout the lifespan is soimportant, but then also keying
into those moments that areparticularly important for
people and for women.
(05:38):
It happens to be menopause,that's when we see the most
dramatic drop in our bonedensity, and so that's when we
see the most dramatic drop inour bone density, and so that's
why osteoporosis is seen as moreof a woman's disease than a
man's disease, but it impactsboth severely.
It's just that women have amore dramatic loss of bone
(05:59):
density at midlife, whereas mendo not have that dramatic loss,
and so that's really importantto think about when we're
talking about bone health.
And what is bone disease?
Osteoporosis means porous bones.
It just means that thearchitecture that we have of our
bone it's kind of like ahoneycomb, and then as we again,
(06:21):
as we age and we rebuild, thathoneycomb either stays tight or
it starts to separate and yousee greater holes, and that's
what we see for people withosteoporosis.
The architecture of that boneinside is starting to break down
a little bit, but the good newsis there are many things we can
do to both prevent and tomanage our bone health
throughout the lifespan.
Speaker 1 (06:43):
So, good.
I can't wait to get to thatyeah.
Speaker 3 (06:46):
But what is bone density?
I mean, is it the honeycombidea that you're talking about?
Because I went and got a bonedensity test.
I'm not even sure what they'relooking for.
I knew I was supposed to do it.
Was it good or was it bad, likewhat?
What is bone density when we'rethinking about that, as we go
to mid-age and we're supposed toincrease our bone?
Speaker 2 (07:05):
density.
Bone density is the density ofthe bone, how strong and tight
it is with inside the bone, andso when we measure bone density
as a way to determine whether ornot someone is osteoporotic, it
is looking at.
What your test was looking atis comparing, in a couple of
(07:27):
spots in your body, your bonedensity compared to that of a
healthy 30 year old, right?
So if we say that we build bonedensity to our late 20s, okay,
so now we're at, like you know,30, that's what they're
comparing your bone density to,and what we know is that if it's
zero or above, theneverything's great.
(07:48):
You're kind of matching alongwith bone density.
If it's anything up until likea negative from negative 0.1 to
negative 2.4, then you'reconsidered to start having low
bone density, and the closer youare to negative 2.5, which is
the cutoff, that says you'reactually osteoporotic.
That is what you need to beaware of, and so it's basically
(08:13):
just saying this is giving you akind of a view on where you are
at that stage of life.
The other important thing toknow about when you look at your
bone density test is, althoughthey measure you at a couple of
different points your arm, yourhip, et cetera, and gives you
scores, what they're calledT-scores.
That's what that negative,minus, or you know, one plus one
(08:35):
plus two negative three.
So if say, for example, thatsome people say to me they're
like, oh well, I haveosteoporosis in my hip because
the T-score at the hip wasnegative 2.6 or 7.
But the others were still inthe osteopenia range, maybe
(08:55):
negative 2.1 or whatever.
It's all osteoporosis.
You don't have osteoporosis inyour hip.
It's just showing the densitywithin that particular area.
But it's not like you only haveosteoporosis in your hip.
We don't do it that way.
It's not like I just havearthritis in my knee.
(09:16):
Do you have osteoporosis on anyof those spores?
It's osteoporosis, so it shouldreally be paid attention to.
But yeah, that's a littletricky when they talk about
T-scores and stuff and again,it's hard for people to
understand.
But that's what they're really,comparing it to your bone
density, to that of what youwould have had at 30.
Speaker 1 (09:36):
And what is?
I keep hearing conversationabout bone density versus bone
resilience.
Is there a difference and whatis the difference?
Should I be concerned with that?
Speaker 2 (09:50):
Yeah, yeah, there's.
You know people use differentterminology around it the.
I think they're talking moreabout the architecture of the
quality of the bone when theytalk about resilience.
So so, for example, my mombroke her hip, which is
absolutely a diagnosis ofosteoporosis, but her T-scores
(10:12):
still showed her as low bonedensity as osteopenia.
So she didn't, you know.
So the quality of her bonewasn't nearly as good as the
quality of someone else's bonewho was osteoporotic or, you
know, had osteopenia and hadn'tbroken Right.
So that's another thing thatwe're learning.
(10:32):
As you know, the decades havegone on.
You know, our organization is40 years old this year and when
we, you know, started out, itwas really just finding the
T-scores as being oh okay, thisis what creates someone, how we
know someone who hasosteoporosis.
But then again, science hasproved there were other factors
(10:54):
where we could then say this isa clear reason for someone to
pay attention and get treated orto have follow-up and get
treated or to have follow-up,one of those being, if you fall
and fracture over the age of 50from a standing height right now
, like they're saying so, likenot a car accident, although
that's being questioned in newscience but if you're just
(11:16):
walking, you trip over the curb,you fall on black ice, whatever
it is.
If you fall and break a bone,that is automatically a
diagnosis of osteoporosis.
The only bone breaks that arenot considered osteoporotic are
your fingers, your toes and yourhead.
Speaker 3 (11:35):
Interesting I was pretty proud of myself the other
day when I fell and didn'tbreak anything.
I know.
Speaker 1 (11:42):
I'm glad to hear that .
Speaker 2 (11:44):
When you're able to bounce a little, but that's
that's a really good point.
Speaker 3 (11:49):
So what's happening in in menopause and
post-menopause is is it justsimply the hormones are going
down, so there's no lubricationfor those bones and you're not
building up anything like what'shappening and and you know
we'll get to like what should Ido about it?
But what's really happeningthat I should be aware of and be
careful about?
Speaker 2 (12:09):
What's really happening and that you should be
aware of and there's only somethings you can do about it is
the loss of estrogen.
Estrogen plays such anincredible and impactful role on
women's health and,unfortunately, we don't know
enough about it yet.
There's still so much work tobe done on women's health
(12:32):
research, and I pointed this outto people recently a few times
because it shocked me, but lastyear, in 2023, was the
anniversary the 30th anniversaryof when women were mandated to
be included in clinical trials.
Speaker 1 (12:50):
Amazing and crazy In our lifetime.
Speaker 2 (12:55):
It's just shocking to me.
So you know again.
That's why we don't know all ofthese things.
It's amazing how much we doknow now, 30 years later, when
they've started to include womenand not just test on men and
then apply it to women the earlyleading studies on
cardiovascular disease and womenat menopause there were 1700
(13:17):
men in this study, wow, wow.
That's where it begins.
So estrogen we do know it's theloss of estrogen and this
powerful hormone that we have,and progesterone, and so we lose
up to 20% of our bone densityin our first five to seven years
post-menopausal right.
While the body has a productdrop, then we kind of again our
(13:40):
hormones kind of balance, againresettle after that, and so
there isn't such a great dropafter those first few years.
It is, but the remodeling slowsa little, you know.
So that's kind of what it is.
So I say that as about what youneed to be important, what you
need to be aware of, but youknow only certain things you can
do about it.
We do know that hormonereplacement therapy, now called
(14:04):
menopause, is hormone therapythat has been shown to help
prolong bone strength for thetime that a woman is on the
(14:24):
hormonal treatment, obviouslybecause we're getting more
estrogen and that's a keycomponent of it.
And then that also leads to thequestions people had about, oh
well, the safety and efficacy ofhormone replacement therapy and
why people haven't had it.
And so, again, science has beenupdated and we now know what was
(14:47):
looked at during the Women'sHealth Initiative back in, you
know, 20 years ago, was lookingat the increased risk for women
who were on hormone replacementtherapy at 65, and their
increase for breast cancer andheart disease.
And when they actually went backand looked at that cohort of
women who were at 50, takinghormone replacement therapy, who
(15:15):
were at 50 taking hormonereplacement therapy, there was
no increased risk.
So that's good for all of us toknow that.
What we now know is it isreally safe and effective.
It's just a shame that a wholegeneration, two generations of
women, suffered through all thesymptoms of menopause and lost
more bone density because theywere provided with this really
safe and effective treatment.
So we have a lot of work to docollectively to get updated on
(15:37):
women's health, do more researcharound the things that we don't
know and then provide whatyou're doing now right, giving
women this information aboutwhat they can and should be
aware of, and to be able to talkto their healthcare provider
about whether or not it's rightfor them.
Speaker 3 (15:58):
Yeah, recent data from the menopause society says
less than 2% of women are takingMHT, which I can't even believe
because everyone, includingmyself, that I've talked to is
like game changer.
It's a game changer.
Speaker 2 (16:06):
It is a game changer and it's really sad because I
can't tell you how many people Ispeak with from the National
Menopause Foundation who'd belike I'm not touching it.
I've heard you know thosethings, I know this.
My doctor said to me and samething.
We are in the same issue wherea lot of clinicians aren't aware
of the new science and areafraid to prescribe it and, as
(16:27):
you said, it can be a gamechanger.
Now, not all women are, youknow, candidates for hormone
therapy, but we do need to, butthat's a much smaller number
than the women who do qualifyfor it and can't get relief from
it.
So let's start with that and bevery grateful that companies
(16:49):
have been working hard to comeup with hormonal process
products, and so we have one FDAapproved in that category and
there's another coming to market, and so there'll be even more
choices for women who aren'table to take menopause hormone
therapy for whatever reason, butwill potentially be able to
take these non-hormonal versionswill potentially be able to
(17:11):
take these non-hormonal versionsand so good.
Speaker 1 (17:14):
Yeah, so good, and I don't want to necessarily get
off on a side tangent on hormonetherapy, but there is some talk
about testosterone as well, andI know there needs to be more
research done in that area, justlike everything else in women's
health.
But I'm wondering what yourtake is on testosterone and bone
health as well.
Speaker 2 (17:33):
Well, exactly like you said, there's been some talk
about it and some studiescoming about it, but there needs
to be so much more done beforewe're able to actually make a
recommendation.
I think individual providersare doing it based on what is
right for the person patient infront of them, and that's
(17:54):
important, and we need more ofthat too, and I'm pleased to see
that some of medicine isheading in that direction where
we're talking about personalizedmedicine, because what's right
for you and what's right for meand what's right for Kim are not
necessarily the same, andthat's true for men and women,
but particularly women, when wedon't have the answers yet to
(18:18):
what applies to all and whatapplies to some.
So, yeah, so there are againlots going on and, as you said,
that's also a thing that manywomen don't even know, that you
know we produce testosterone too, and when that goes off balance
as well.
It's all related to how we ageand whether or not we age
(18:43):
healthfully and what we becomeat greater risk for as we age
because of these hormone changes.
Speaker 3 (18:50):
Yeah, yeah.
So, taking hormones aside, whatsteps can people do to maintain
healthy bones while they'regoing through the, you know,
perimenopause, through menopause, what can, what can women do to
keep their bones strong?
Speaker 2 (19:06):
It's the same thing we do to build strong bones.
It is eating a healthy,well-balanced diet that again
has fruits and vegetables, leanprotein, healthy fats.
All of that those things thatwe need to do for our heart
health, for our brain health,for diabetes.
All of those things are thesame for bone.
The only difference or increasewould be paying close attention
(19:30):
to your calcium levels andvitamin D.
Okay, and again, calcium boneis made up of calcium and other
proteins, and so calcium is oneof the leading ones.
And then vitamin D helps thebody absorb calcium, and so you
need both to be at optimumlevels to be able to maintain
(19:54):
your bone health and to make upfor some of the bone loss that
we have naturally as we age.
So our need for calciumincreases a little bit from your
50 until after 50, only about200 milligrams.
It's also really important totalk with your healthcare
provider about your specificlevels.
(20:15):
How you absorb calcium is goingto be different than how I
absorb calcium.
Your vitamin D levels are goingto be different than mine, and
I joke all the time for peoplewho can see me I'm like clearly,
with this Irish skin, I amvitamin deficient.
My level is far greater thanmany other people, even living
(20:37):
in my neighborhood.
So that's something to bechecked and make sure you're
doing that, because you want allyour good work right.
If you're getting calcium andexercise and you're eating well
and you're doing all thesethings and then you're low in
vitamin D, which we just tend tobe many in the United States,
then that's something to checkto make sure that you're doing
that.
The types of exercise are alsoimportant.
(21:01):
So, while we're payingattention to our cardiovascular
health, and swimming and cyclingand things like that are
fabulous for your cardiovascularhealth, they're not good for
your bone health.
Bone health you need to be onyour feet.
We call it weight bearing, soyou need to be on your feet.
We call it weight bearing, sothere needs to be a little
impact.
It doesn't have to be jumpingrope or running, although those
are good and definitely good foryounger people.
Building to people, masswalking, anything that has that
(21:24):
impact, that you're pressingdown, that you're on your feet
doing, are good.
Dancing, hiking, you know,anything that has you on your
feet and moving are reallyimportant, and the other part of
that is muscle strengthening.
That helps.
I mean, if you think about it,obviously our bones, but our
bones are protected by themuscle.
So that's what's going to helpkeep the muscles, the bones,
(21:47):
strong, keep us upright, keep usflexible and moving so that we
don't fall.
So the muscle strengthening isreally about balance and
strength.
And, again, it doesn't matterhow old you are or what you do.
Weights lifting any kind ofweight is really really good for
(22:09):
your health overall is reallyreally good for your health
overall, but particularly foryour bone health.
So definitely want people totalk with their healthcare
provider before starting anykind of exercise routine.
And it might vary certainly bywhere your risk of fracture is
right.
Those with low fracture riskcan obviously lift more and do
(22:31):
more than those with higher risk.
But no matter what your risk,there's always something you can
do to kind of keep working atmaintaining or building your
bone strength.
Speaker 1 (22:43):
Yeah, kim and I both have our weighted vests now.
I know that those are becomingmore and more popular and it
does make a difference, I thinkyou know, just having that
little bit of extra weight whilewe're walking so that you're
building the strength and muscle.
Speaker 2 (22:59):
It can be really safe and effective for many people.
You know there's lots.
Again, it's as long as you'retalking with your healthcare
provider, making sure thatyou're not risk, because
obviously if you were severelyosteoporotic and you're adding
extra weight, not a good idea.
But if you're healthy andyou're doing it to make sure
that you're maintaining yourbone health, then it can be a
great option and that's it.
(23:20):
It's really finding what worksfor you and doing that.
I think the other thing, when wetalk about these wonderful
things we can do to build ourbone strength and maintain our
bone strength, there's a caveatin that there are some things
and risk fractures that we can'tcontrol, and I think that's
(23:42):
what's so upsetting for manypeople, particularly people who
call and reach out to us at thebone health and osteoporosis
foundation.
I have a lot of women and menwho call and say I've done
everything right, I'm in shape,I run, I do this, I eat a
healthy diet, I don't smoke, Ihaven't drank.
Why do I have this disease?
And it's like well, did anyonein your family have?
(24:04):
it your parents have it.
Whatever, it is hereditary, soyour risk goes up If you've had
a family member who's diagnosedwith it or unfortunately, like
we said, so many people goundiagnosed that you know I need
to think.
Did grandma break her hip?
Yeah, yeah, so that might be it.
She might never have gottendiagnosed, like my mother didn't
(24:25):
, right.
But you know, oh, wow, thatputs me at greater risk.
Having a smaller frame, right,also, there's only again, so my
bone density is a big bonesperson, right.
I was like, oh, finally, theselinebacker shoulders are going
to be good, I have more, there'smore room right To build
(24:46):
density.
Then there would be someone onyour frame, right, those of us.
Again, I was quickly, it wasquickly pointed out to me that
just because I have a largerbone mass right bone, doesn't
mean the quality inside rightand and being overweight and not
doing exercises and not doingthese things can actually impact
(25:06):
that too.
But for those people withsmaller frames, again, you
might've built a pink bone massand done everything right, lost
some, you know, at a density atmenopause and it's just put you
into that risk category, youknow.
So you know, I get peoplefeeling really guilty Like
they've done something wrongwhen they like what did I do?
Speaker 1 (25:30):
What could I have done Right?
Why didn't I what?
Speaker 2 (25:33):
could I have done.
It really is that moment of.
Speaker 1 (25:35):
Yes.
Speaker 2 (25:36):
You're doing.
What's more important is thatyou're now aware and that you
move forward to take steps toprevent the fractures.
That's what we really need todo and I think encouraging
people with that is a veryimportant part of what we try to
do, Because I tell people yes,I understand when you get told
(25:57):
that you have a chronic diseaseand you need to do something and
you might fracture and it couldcut your life short all of
those things.
That's a horrible thing to hear.
Then, when you breathe anddigest and say, okay, it's
manageable, it's treatable.
The drugs for treatingosteoporosis and preventing
fractures are more effectivethan statins are at preventing
(26:18):
heart attacks.
Speaker 1 (26:19):
That's great.
Speaker 2 (26:20):
Yeah, good to know there's some good stuff there.
No one wants to take medication, as we all know.
None of us want to go onmedication.
But if you're at high risk forfracture and really ending up
either God forbid dead or inassisted living or in a nursing
home, the risk of taking thatmedication are far less than
(26:41):
what could happen if youfracture.
And so, again, it's a dialoguethat people have to have with
their healthcare provider aboutwhat's your risk, where are you
in the grand scheme of thingsand whether or not treatment is
really right for you.
And we've had again, like yousaid, kim, I've had so many
people who fractured, fractured,fractured, took forever to get
(27:02):
diagnosed with osteoporosisagain, finally did got on
medication and we're like, oh myGod, I can't believe that I've
not fractured, you know again.
And so those are things toothat we need to make sure that
people are aware of that thereare.
There are a lot of goodtreatments out there If you can
find a practitioner who can walkyou through those details.
Speaker 3 (27:23):
That's great to know.
Speaker 1 (27:24):
You know, we hear, okay, we hear all the time when
we talk to people.
I, oh, I don't need to knowabout menopause, I'm already
beyond that.
And they hit that menopausebirthday right or anniversary or
whatever we want to call itparty and they're on the other
side of it and we hear oh, don'tneed to know, Thank you very
(27:46):
much, but don't need to talkabout it.
What would you say to peoplethat say that Is it too late?
Is it too late to preventfractures and take care of our
bone health?
Speaker 2 (28:01):
I mean, yeah, we always say it is never too early
or too late to take care ofyour bone health.
Whatever age you're at,whatever physical ability you're
at, it's never, never too lateto start or continue.
I think what's important whenwomen think about menopause and
(28:22):
I've passed menopause so I don'thave anything to think about,
you don't have to think aboutyour menstrual cycle anymore,
and that's a relief to so manywomen but it is time to take
stock of all of the things thatwe become at increased risk of
because of the loss of estrogen.
So, for women who you said,menopause what we think of as
(28:42):
menopause, which is just the theone year anniversary of your
last menstrual cycle, they callit the final period.
Um, that just means that'smenopause.
The journey to menopause, allthe symptoms that we have and
all the things that we have todeal with, can start as early as
late thirties, early fortiesand no one tells women that
(29:06):
either.
You know, oh, it's not when youthink you're old that menopause
happens.
It's, you know, for me, theyear after you had a baby
happens.
Speaker 1 (29:17):
It's you know for me the year after you had a baby.
Speaker 2 (29:19):
Yeah, you were early menopause too.
I was too, yeah, yeah.
So I think that's reallyimportant.
It's a journey.
This is a journey and it's veryunique for every woman too.
We do averages, right, theaverage woman, you know.
And just menopause at 51 iswhat the you know, the
anniversary of their last period, but it continues.
And then our risk for heartdisease, breast cancer,
(29:42):
osteoporosis, dementia, all ofthese things diabetes increases
after menopause.
So that's when they reallyshould start paying attention to
even more aggressive.
Look at how are they doinghealth-wise, are they checking
in on all of these things?
What's their family history forall of these different
conditions too, which can putthem at an increased risk.
(30:05):
So, like anything, life's ajourney, and just stop caring
about something you know.
Once it happens, it's like, oh,I had a baby, I don't need to
talk about having babies ExactlyFour years with that thing you
know.
Once it happens, it's like, oh,I had a baby, I don't need to
talk about having babies ExactlyFour years with that thing you
know you need to pay attentionto it.
Speaker 3 (30:20):
Well, that's the thing, right, that process in
our lives might be changing, buttaking care of our health never
changes.
That's so good.
So what should people be doingto understand where they are in
their bone test?
Is a bone density test worth it?
What should they be looking forto know where they are in their
bone test?
Is a bone density test worth it?
What should they be looking forto know where they are in this
(30:42):
journey?
And then, what should theythink about?
We talked about all thelifestyle and diet changes, but
is there anything else that theyshould be thinking about to
make sure that they're goinginto the last part of their life
as strong as they possibly can?
Speaker 2 (30:59):
So right now, the clinical guidelines for bone
density tests say that womenshould be tested at 65 and that
men should be tested at 70.
Obviously, that's not going todo much for prevention, but
that's where the guidelines are,and so we're definitely talking
more about the need for earliertesting for bone density.
(31:22):
If you have risk factors andbeyond the ones we've talked
about, you know, on this podcastthere are.
There's a list on our websitebecause there's a lot, because
there's a lot Eating disorders,intestinal, you know, digestive
issues, autoimmune diseases somany other things that impact
(31:44):
our bone health, unfortunately,because it disrupts that
remodeling process and manytimes it's the treatment for it.
So if you're on an autoimmunedisease and you're on steroids,
steroids sucks calcium from yourbones to things right.
So it's that again, looking atthat whole person versus just
one aspect of it is reallyimportant.
So we should make sure that,again, if we have any risk
(32:08):
factors that we talked about toour health care provider, about
getting an early bone densitytest because you can, about
getting an early bone densitytest because you can.
The other thing I tell peopleand this is only for people who
can afford it and unfortunatelynot everyone can but if it's
something that's reallybothering you and you have the
means.
Bone density test is about $125.
So as much as that is a make orbreak for many people in our
(32:34):
country.
When you think about some ofthese other testings like MRIs
or things that you need to getdiagnosed, it's not nearly at
that level.
It is within that range, and sothat is something to consider
just paying for it yourself ifit's really important for you to
have that baseline.
The other things that we shouldbe doing are increasing the
(32:57):
weight-bearing exercise and themuscle strengthening as we age.
Much like one of the symptomsof menopause where women get
upset about oh wait, I've eatenthe same, I'm training the same,
I'm doing everything the sameand yet I'm gaining weight,
doubtfully in my abdomen.
Biologically, what happensafter menopause is the fat in
(33:18):
our body shifts from our hips tothe abdomen, and so I've had
women say my jeans don't fitright, my blouse isn't buttoning
the same way, I weigh the same.
Why is that?
It's literally a physical shiftwhere the weight is so starting
to look at those things in yourroutine and how you might, you
might have to actually cut backon calories a little bit.
(33:40):
You might have to step up alittle bit more of your, you
know, cardio kind of stuff tokind of weight bearing stuff.
Those are all things that can bedone.
And then really preparing tohave that conversation with your
doctor here's what I'mconcerned about, here's what I
want to know with your doctor,here's what I'm concerned about,
here's what I want to know andworking on a plan that gets you
(34:00):
the information you need atbaseline to be able to monitor
and move forward.
That's great Because we can doreally.
And then again, no smoking,which we all know no smoking,
not drinking too much, and Ilove the too much statistic
because the studies actually saymore than two to three drinks a
(34:20):
day are a risk for osteoporosisand I'm like if we're having
more than two to three a day,osteoporosis isn't our biggest
problem.
Speaker 1 (34:30):
Yes, exactly, I'm like two or three a day, but if
you're having a glass, of wine acouple times a week.
Speaker 2 (34:42):
You're fine.
Don't worry about that.
But again, don't get intoretirement and then start having
cocktails every day.
Cocktails after things.
Those are things that we canpay attention to.
Speaker 3 (34:47):
Right, that's great.
Well, I will say that the DEXAscan is about the easiest
possible thing I've ever donefrom a scanning for my body
perspective.
I just laid there talking tothe guy for you know whatever,
seven, 10 minutes, and he, I wasdone and I'm like okay, Okay.
Speaker 1 (35:03):
That's good to know.
I'm up next.
Speaker 3 (35:05):
Yeah, I can do this.
Speaker 2 (35:07):
I joke, I've.
I've said this so so many times.
We should tell women that it'sincredibly embarrassing and
painful and awkward, and womenwill line up to do it right.
We all have mammograms andcolonoscopies, but no one gets a
bone density where it's yeah,you don't even take your clothes
off yeah, no you don't have totake anything off, which is so
(35:29):
weird, and you lay there, almostget a little mini nap.
Speaker 3 (35:31):
so you know I'm in yeah.
Speaker 1 (35:36):
Well, and I think you you brought up an important
point too, because it'srecommended, without other risk
factors, that you get the DEXAscan at 65, you know, with not
knowing that it is 150 bucks,let's call it, I would have
thought thousands out of pocketfor a DEXA scan.
(35:58):
So that's actually greatinformation to have.
Yeah, and like I said, it's,and then there's other.
Speaker 2 (36:04):
You know, in some communities there's hospitals
that will do free clinics and doit.
You know those kinds of things.
So you know, hopefully, that.
But if you have a risk factor,there are ways on Medicare,
medicaid and insurance to beable to get you the bone density
test.
So sometimes it's finding aspecialist who knows that right,
(36:24):
because general primary careunfortunately doesn't know
anything about bone, just likethey don't know anything about
menopause, and so we have to beour own best advocate in doing
and getting what we need.
Hopefully that will change, butit has nothing to do with the
clinicians not wanting toprovide good care.
They are overwhelmed and soreally we do have to advocate
(36:50):
for ourselves.
I also heard something recently,a statistic about that women
today, current midlife women,women going through menopause,
are far more informed than anyof their clinicians about
menopause.
Right, we're doing our ownresearch, we're really taking
(37:10):
that into heart, and so that'sgreat and that's good.
Yeah, the same with your thing.
Advocate for yourself.
Advocate, that's great andthat's good.
Yeah, the same with your thing.
Advocate for yourself.
Advocate for your parents too,when they're again going through
these stages of life, if theyfall and they break a bone and
no one follows up on that.
(37:30):
Don't let them just fix thefracture.
Make sure that they are sent tosomeone who can evaluate them
to find out if osteoporosis wasthe underlying cause, because it
is, and that's your male familyor your female, it doesn't
matter.
Grandpa and dad and stuff likethat they too.
And unfortunately for men, eventhough it happens, osteoporosis
(37:54):
happens later to them.
Their fracture outcomes areworse.
So you need to pay attention tothe whole family.
Speaker 3 (38:04):
Wow, I appreciate that.
That's good.
Speaker 1 (38:06):
I think about where where can people find a good
provider if they have concernsabout osteoporosis and bone
health?
Speaker 2 (38:14):
If they're having the discussion with their current
primary care and then they'renot getting any kind of adequate
response, then ask for areferral to osteoporosis
specialists.
We do have a list of some onour website but, honestly, that
whole section needs to beupdated tremendously and we just
haven't been able to get to ityet.
(38:36):
Needs to be updatedtremendously and we just haven't
been able to get to it yet.
So you can always reach out atinfo at
bonehealthandosteoprosisorg andwe will try to help individuals
find someone close.
But I would ask your doctor fora referral, which makes people
feel a little, you know,sometimes uncomfortable too.
Not helping I need to do this,but just express your concern
too.
Not helping I need to do this,but just express your concern.
(38:59):
Nine times out of 10, they'reso busy.
They are happy to refer you tosomeone who knows what to do.
So don't be afraid to ask.
Yeah, if you're not comfortablewith that or you don't get a
good response with that, checkwith your local hospital.
Is there someone in your systemwho is an osteoporosis expert?
And another great way to get aname of a doctor who wants to do
that, and so that's how youknow I've been encouraging
(39:22):
people to to find a specialist.
Honestly, for most peopleunless it's complicated with you
know lots of fractures and youknow all the kinds of stuff you
should be able to get your bonedensity test.
You should be able to gettreatment that you need right On
that.
It's when it's very concerningor you're really high risk that
(39:44):
you likely need to see aspecialist.
Speaker 1 (39:48):
Okay, okay, that's good advice.
That's good advice, and we aregoing to put links in show notes
, and then you also are a partof the menopause foundation, so
we can all reach out to thatwebsite as well.
That we'll put in show notes,because I know you have a lot of
resources on your website aswell, so thank you for building
(40:09):
that out and providing resources.
We're just coming off ofperimenopause month.
Today's the last day forperimenopause right.
That was a big yay rightConfetti, for bringing awareness
to that in September, so thankyou for your part in that as
well.
Yeah, is there anything elsethat you would like to share
(40:31):
with our audience before we diveinto our rapid round?
Speaker 2 (40:36):
I really, again it is .
It is that, that notion thatit's never too late to start
taking care of your bone healthat any age, and there's always
something we can do to improveit and to pay attention to it,
the same way we do all the otherareas we focus on for our
health.
So just keep that in mind forall the people that you love.
Speaker 1 (40:57):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (40:57):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (40:57):
It's important, it's really important, and I think we
don't often think about ourbones until something happens.
So I'm so glad that we had thisconversation today.
Let's have some fun, let's getto know you a little bit better.
Claire, we're going to go intoour rapid round and we want me
to start.
Kim, sure, go.
(41:18):
Okay, I'm going to pick aquestion here.
What is your favorite way tounwind?
Speaker 2 (41:25):
Reading.
I love to read and I actuallylike to read books.
I spend a lot of time on myphone and on my computer and on
social media, but when I want toreally relax and read it's with
an actual book in hand.
Speaker 1 (41:41):
So fiction or nonfiction?
Yeah, that was my question.
Speaker 2 (41:44):
Yeah, I like nonfiction.
I've read some really reallygreat biographies lately, but I
prefer nonfiction.
I like it as escape.
Speaker 3 (41:53):
What is the most unusual thing on your bucket
list that you'd want to do?
Speaker 2 (41:58):
The most, thing, sorry, say again.
Speaker 3 (41:59):
The unusual, the most unusual thing on your bucket
list that you'd love to do.
Speaker 2 (42:05):
Bucket list.
The most unusual thing on mybucket list can never happen.
Now, I have to say, because Iwanted to be a backup dancer for
Tina Turner.
Backup dancer for Tina Turner,that was one of those things
that was like, oh my God, justlet me put it in practice.
I've never danced in my life.
It was just watching herperform and I just thought the
(42:28):
coolest thing ever would bebeing a backup dancer for Tina
Turner.
Speaker 1 (42:36):
So, other than that, I would like to visit every
continent.
How close are you?
Speaker 2 (42:40):
Oh, not even close.
Okay, I've been.
I've only been to North America, South America, Europe kind of
stuff.
I still have so many more to go, but I think it would be very.
That would be really cool andthat's a fun goal.
Speaker 1 (42:55):
Yeah, yeah, you can make that happen.
Yeah, maybe we'll go with you.
Let us know when you start that.
Yeah, yeah, road trip.
Yeah, road trip, okay.
Speaking of road trips, do youenjoy city life or country
living?
Speaker 2 (43:11):
I'm definitely a city girl and I love both.
I was born in the Bronx in NewYork city and then moved to a 50
acre farm in Catskill when Iwas seven, did it all.
So I can do both, I love both,but I think in my heart of
(43:36):
hearts I'm a city girl.
Speaker 3 (43:37):
Okay, can't take the city out of you.
Well, I love that you canqualify it because you've done
both, so that's pretty good, allright.
So our last question that weask for all of our guests what
is the best piece of adviceyou've ever received?
Speaker 2 (43:53):
There's so many possible answers to that and I
even heard a really good onetoday that I should say but I
think lifelong, one of the bestpieces of advice was more a
comment that my mom would say tous when we were dealing with
whatever struggles or anxietiesor worries that we had, and it
(44:17):
was that don't worry, the sunwill come up tomorrow.
And that mattered a lot in mylife.
And after we talked about againthose things where you're in
your mind, my mom has passedaway, and we talked about how do
you deal with grief, how do youdeal with this and whatever,
and she's like you have nochoice the sun comes out
tomorrow.
(44:37):
Yeah, so that's not quiteadvice, but that's really that
stuck with me most in my lifeyeah, yeah, I, yeah.
Speaker 1 (44:45):
I love that the sun will come up tomorrow.
It always does, right, oh it?
Always does yeah, whether wewant it to or not.
Speaker 2 (44:52):
Right no Right True oh but I could use, I could.
I could use a few more sons andsleeps and such.
Speaker 1 (45:01):
We used to count them right how many sleeps until
Until I get to two X right, oruntil you're old.
Speaker 2 (45:07):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (45:08):
Yes, yes, we don't talk about sleeps anymore, like
how many sleeps until we're likewe're not sleeping anymore?
Speaker 2 (45:16):
I try to tell my daughter that napping like when
you feel like literally nappingwill become something that she
so desperately loves as she ages.
And you want to when you'reyoung.
And then a good nap, oh my God,so good.
Speaker 1 (45:31):
Yeah, so good, and it's just like the cherry on top
when you get to take a nap.
Speaker 3 (45:39):
Sarah, what a delight .
Thank you so much for takingthe time today.
You really you're a fountain ofknowledge that I know a lot of
people have heard about andreally just wanted to clear the
like noise, to break it downsimply, and so thank you for for
taking so much for talkingabout this.
Speaker 2 (45:55):
It's so important and I really appreciate you
focusing on it.
And so thank you for for takingso much for talking about this.
It's so important and I reallyappreciate you focusing on it.
And again, any way that we canassist at the bone health and
osteoporosis foundation, pleasetell people not to hesitate to
reach out to us.
That's what we're there for.
Speaker 3 (46:08):
Perfect, we will, we will.
Speaker 1 (46:11):
And audience.
With that we're going to signoff.
So until we meet again, go findjoy in the journey.
Thanks, claire, thanks Bye.
Thank you for listening to theMedovia menopause podcast.
If you enjoyed today's show,please give it a thumbs up.
Subscribe for future episodes,leave a review and share this
(46:31):
episode with a friend.
There are more than 50 millionwomen in the US who are
navigating the menopausetransition.
The situation is compounded bythe presence of stigma, shame
and secrecy surroundingmenopause, posing significant
challenges and disruptions inwomen's personal and
(46:51):
professional spheres.
Medovia is out to change thenarrative.
Learn more at medoviacom.
That's M-I-D-O-V-I-A dot com.
Welcome to the Medovia Menopause Podcast, your
trusted source forevidence-based, science-backed
information related to menopause.
Medovia is dedicated tochanging the narrative about
menopause by educating, raisingawareness and supporting women
in this stage of life, both athome and in the workplace.
(00:21):
Visit medoviacom to learn morehome and in the workplace.
Visit Medoviacom to learn more.
I'm one of your hosts, aprilHaberman, and I'm joined by Kim
Hart.
We're co-founders of Medovia,certified health coaches,
registered yoga teachers andmidlife mamas specializing in
menopause.
You're listening to anotherepisode of our podcast, where we
(00:43):
offer expert guidance for themost transformative stage of
life, bringing you realconversations, education and
resources to help you overcomechallenges and reach your full
potential through midlife.
Join us and our special guestseach episode as we bring vibrant
, fun and truthful conversationand let us help you have a
(01:07):
deeper understanding ofmenopause.
Hi podcast friends.
Today we're talking bone healthand menopause.
We have a special guest with us, claire Gill.
Claire founded and launched theNational Menopause Foundation
in September 2019 to bring apositive change in how women
perceive and experience healthat midlife.
(01:29):
In May 2020, she assumed therole of CEO of the Bone Health
and Osteoporosis Foundation.
She joined in 2013 and, priorto that, had a 20-year-plus
career in public relations andmarketing for national nonprofit
organizations and publicrelation firms with Fortune 500
(01:52):
clients.
She's so well-versed in bonehealth and menopause and we know
that you're going to enjoy thisepisode.
Let's dive right in.
Hi Claire, welcome to the show.
We're really excited to haveyou here today.
Thanks so much for inviting me.
I'm excited about this topic.
Yeah, yeah, we are too.
We get so many questions aboutbone health and menopause and I
(02:15):
know you and I have beenexchanging and corresponding for
quite some time now and I'm soglad that our schedules were
able to sync up and have you onthe show today.
So you are very busy.
I've given the intro at thefront end of this podcast, so
everyone knows your bio.
But, that being said, tell us alittle bit about yourself
(02:37):
before we dive into the nittygritty here on bone health and
menopause.
Speaker 2 (02:42):
Sure, well, my background was really in public
relations and marketing in myprofessional career and I did it
for a bunch of nonprofits andPR agencies, but I was really
drawn back to nonprofit workbecause that's where I started,
and this topic that we'retalking about today was also
very personal for me About theyear before I joined the Bone
(03:06):
Health and OsteoporosisFoundation.
My mom was 83 and she fell andbroke her hip, and my family and
I and my siblings we were justso shocked when we found the
statistics from the Bone Healthand Osteoporosis Foundation
about what happens to peopleafter a fracture and, as you
have talked about and I knowthat we'll be talking a lot
(03:28):
about today, there was noinformation.
Her primary care doctor didn'teven send her for a bone density
test after that, and so that'swhat we see more and more, and
so it was really personal for meand then to be able to work on
this on a daily basis and makeit my career is really a true
privilege and honor.
Speaker 1 (03:49):
Yeah.
I realize that you have thepersonal story and sorry to hear
that it took that break for youto find this new career, but so
glad that you leaned into thatpassion.
As so many people do, they turnsomething you know that's not
so great into somethingbeautiful.
Can you explain what bonehealth is and why it's crucial
(04:13):
for our overall health andwell-being?
Speaker 2 (04:16):
Yeah, I think what many people don't understand and
I certainly didn't before I gotinto this is that bone is
living tissue and it breaks downand remodels itself throughout
our lives, and it's one of thoserare instances where when we
talk about bone health and wetalk about bone issues, it
really is from birth to grave.
(04:37):
Right, we build all the bonedensity we're going to have for
our entire lives by our mid-20s.
So it's really important in ouryounger years to be doing
things that are healthy, thatmake sure that we end up with
the strongest we call it peakbone mass the strongest, densest
(04:58):
bone you'll ever have, and thenthe rest of our lives that bone
density is remodeling, breakingdown, building up, breaking
down, building up and then whenwe reach midlife, it starts to
change a little bit.
The process slows a little bit,which is why many people think
that, oh, falling and breaking abone is just what happens to
older people.
(05:18):
It shouldn't.
If the bone is healthy, weshould be able to fall and not
break a bone at any age, and soreally focusing on bone health
throughout the lifespan is soimportant, but then also keying
into those moments that areparticularly important for
people and for women.
(05:38):
It happens to be menopause,that's when we see the most
dramatic drop in our bonedensity, and so that's when we
see the most dramatic drop inour bone density, and so that's
why osteoporosis is seen as moreof a woman's disease than a
man's disease, but it impactsboth severely.
It's just that women have amore dramatic loss of bone
(05:59):
density at midlife, whereas mendo not have that dramatic loss,
and so that's really importantto think about when we're
talking about bone health.
And what is bone disease?
Osteoporosis means porous bones.
It just means that thearchitecture that we have of our
bone it's kind of like ahoneycomb, and then as we again,
(06:21):
as we age and we rebuild, thathoneycomb either stays tight or
it starts to separate and yousee greater holes, and that's
what we see for people withosteoporosis.
The architecture of that boneinside is starting to break down
a little bit, but the good newsis there are many things we can
do to both prevent and tomanage our bone health
throughout the lifespan.
Speaker 1 (06:43):
So, good.
I can't wait to get to thatyeah.
Speaker 3 (06:46):
But what is bone density?
I mean, is it the honeycombidea that you're talking about?
Because I went and got a bonedensity test.
I'm not even sure what they'relooking for.
I knew I was supposed to do it.
Was it good or was it bad, likewhat?
What is bone density when we'rethinking about that, as we go
to mid-age and we're supposed toincrease our bone?
Speaker 2 (07:05):
density.
Bone density is the density ofthe bone, how strong and tight
it is with inside the bone, andso when we measure bone density
as a way to determine whether ornot someone is osteoporotic, it
is looking at.
What your test was looking atis comparing, in a couple of
(07:27):
spots in your body, your bonedensity compared to that of a
healthy 30 year old, right?
So if we say that we build bonedensity to our late 20s, okay,
so now we're at, like you know,30, that's what they're
comparing your bone density to,and what we know is that if it's
zero or above, theneverything's great.
(07:48):
You're kind of matching alongwith bone density.
If it's anything up until likea negative from negative 0.1 to
negative 2.4, then you'reconsidered to start having low
bone density, and the closer youare to negative 2.5, which is
the cutoff, that says you'reactually osteoporotic.
That is what you need to beaware of, and so it's basically
(08:13):
just saying this is giving you akind of a view on where you are
at that stage of life.
The other important thing toknow about when you look at your
bone density test is, althoughthey measure you at a couple of
different points your arm, yourhip, et cetera, and gives you
scores, what they're calledT-scores.
That's what that negative,minus, or you know, one plus one
(08:35):
plus two negative three.
So if say, for example, thatsome people say to me they're
like, oh well, I haveosteoporosis in my hip because
the T-score at the hip wasnegative 2.6 or 7.
But the others were still inthe osteopenia range, maybe
(08:55):
negative 2.1 or whatever.
It's all osteoporosis.
You don't have osteoporosis inyour hip.
It's just showing the densitywithin that particular area.
But it's not like you only haveosteoporosis in your hip.
We don't do it that way.
It's not like I just havearthritis in my knee.
(09:16):
Do you have osteoporosis on anyof those spores?
It's osteoporosis, so it shouldreally be paid attention to.
But yeah, that's a littletricky when they talk about
T-scores and stuff and again,it's hard for people to
understand.
But that's what they're really,comparing it to your bone
density, to that of what youwould have had at 30.
Speaker 1 (09:36):
And what is?
I keep hearing conversationabout bone density versus bone
resilience.
Is there a difference and whatis the difference?
Should I be concerned with that?
Speaker 2 (09:50):
Yeah, yeah, there's.
You know people use differentterminology around it the.
I think they're talking moreabout the architecture of the
quality of the bone when theytalk about resilience.
So so, for example, my mombroke her hip, which is
absolutely a diagnosis ofosteoporosis, but her T-scores
(10:12):
still showed her as low bonedensity as osteopenia.
So she didn't, you know.
So the quality of her bonewasn't nearly as good as the
quality of someone else's bonewho was osteoporotic or, you
know, had osteopenia and hadn'tbroken Right.
So that's another thing thatwe're learning.
(10:32):
As you know, the decades havegone on.
You know, our organization is40 years old this year and when
we, you know, started out, itwas really just finding the
T-scores as being oh okay, thisis what creates someone, how we
know someone who hasosteoporosis.
But then again, science hasproved there were other factors
(10:54):
where we could then say this isa clear reason for someone to
pay attention and get treated orto have follow-up and get
treated or to have follow-up,one of those being, if you fall
and fracture over the age of 50from a standing height right now
, like they're saying so, likenot a car accident, although
that's being questioned in newscience but if you're just
(11:16):
walking, you trip over the curb,you fall on black ice, whatever
it is.
If you fall and break a bone,that is automatically a
diagnosis of osteoporosis.
The only bone breaks that arenot considered osteoporotic are
your fingers, your toes and yourhead.
Speaker 3 (11:35):
Interesting I was pretty proud of myself the other
day when I fell and didn'tbreak anything.
I know.
Speaker 1 (11:42):
I'm glad to hear that .
Speaker 2 (11:44):
When you're able to bounce a little, but that's
that's a really good point.
Speaker 3 (11:49):
So what's happening in in menopause and
post-menopause is is it justsimply the hormones are going
down, so there's no lubricationfor those bones and you're not
building up anything like what'shappening and and you know
we'll get to like what should Ido about it?
But what's really happeningthat I should be aware of and be
careful about?
Speaker 2 (12:09):
What's really happening and that you should be
aware of and there's only somethings you can do about it is
the loss of estrogen.
Estrogen plays such anincredible and impactful role on
women's health and,unfortunately, we don't know
enough about it yet.
There's still so much work tobe done on women's health
(12:32):
research, and I pointed this outto people recently a few times
because it shocked me, but lastyear, in 2023, was the
anniversary the 30th anniversaryof when women were mandated to
be included in clinical trials.
Speaker 1 (12:50):
Amazing and crazy In our lifetime.
Speaker 2 (12:55):
It's just shocking to me.
So you know again.
That's why we don't know all ofthese things.
It's amazing how much we doknow now, 30 years later, when
they've started to include womenand not just test on men and
then apply it to women the earlyleading studies on
cardiovascular disease and womenat menopause there were 1700
(13:17):
men in this study, wow, wow.
That's where it begins.
So estrogen we do know it's theloss of estrogen and this
powerful hormone that we have,and progesterone, and so we lose
up to 20% of our bone densityin our first five to seven years
post-menopausal right.
While the body has a productdrop, then we kind of again our
(13:40):
hormones kind of balance, againresettle after that, and so
there isn't such a great dropafter those first few years.
It is, but the remodeling slowsa little, you know.
So that's kind of what it is.
So I say that as about what youneed to be important, what you
need to be aware of, but youknow only certain things you can
do about it.
We do know that hormonereplacement therapy, now called
(14:04):
menopause, is hormone therapythat has been shown to help
prolong bone strength for thetime that a woman is on the
(14:24):
hormonal treatment, obviouslybecause we're getting more
estrogen and that's a keycomponent of it.
And then that also leads to thequestions people had about, oh
well, the safety and efficacy ofhormone replacement therapy and
why people haven't had it.
And so, again, science has beenupdated and we now know what was
(14:47):
looked at during the Women'sHealth Initiative back in, you
know, 20 years ago, was lookingat the increased risk for women
who were on hormone replacementtherapy at 65, and their
increase for breast cancer andheart disease.
And when they actually went backand looked at that cohort of
women who were at 50, takinghormone replacement therapy, who
(15:15):
were at 50 taking hormonereplacement therapy, there was
no increased risk.
So that's good for all of us toknow that.
What we now know is it isreally safe and effective.
It's just a shame that a wholegeneration, two generations of
women, suffered through all thesymptoms of menopause and lost
more bone density because theywere provided with this really
safe and effective treatment.
So we have a lot of work to docollectively to get updated on
(15:37):
women's health, do more researcharound the things that we don't
know and then provide whatyou're doing now right, giving
women this information aboutwhat they can and should be
aware of, and to be able to talkto their healthcare provider
about whether or not it's rightfor them.
Speaker 3 (15:58):
Yeah, recent data from the menopause society says
less than 2% of women are takingMHT, which I can't even believe
because everyone, includingmyself, that I've talked to is
like game changer.
It's a game changer.
Speaker 2 (16:06):
It is a game changer and it's really sad because I
can't tell you how many people Ispeak with from the National
Menopause Foundation who'd belike I'm not touching it.
I've heard you know thosethings, I know this.
My doctor said to me and samething.
We are in the same issue wherea lot of clinicians aren't aware
of the new science and areafraid to prescribe it and, as
(16:27):
you said, it can be a gamechanger.
Now, not all women are, youknow, candidates for hormone
therapy, but we do need to, butthat's a much smaller number
than the women who do qualifyfor it and can't get relief from
it.
So let's start with that and bevery grateful that companies
(16:49):
have been working hard to comeup with hormonal process
products, and so we have one FDAapproved in that category and
there's another coming to market, and so there'll be even more
choices for women who aren'table to take menopause hormone
therapy for whatever reason, butwill potentially be able to
take these non-hormonal versionswill potentially be able to
(17:11):
take these non-hormonal versionsand so good.
Speaker 1 (17:14):
Yeah, so good, and I don't want to necessarily get
off on a side tangent on hormonetherapy, but there is some talk
about testosterone as well, andI know there needs to be more
research done in that area, justlike everything else in women's
health.
But I'm wondering what yourtake is on testosterone and bone
health as well.
Speaker 2 (17:33):
Well, exactly like you said, there's been some talk
about it and some studiescoming about it, but there needs
to be so much more done beforewe're able to actually make a
recommendation.
I think individual providersare doing it based on what is
right for the person patient infront of them, and that's
(17:54):
important, and we need more ofthat too, and I'm pleased to see
that some of medicine isheading in that direction where
we're talking about personalizedmedicine, because what's right
for you and what's right for meand what's right for Kim are not
necessarily the same, andthat's true for men and women,
but particularly women, when wedon't have the answers yet to
(18:18):
what applies to all and whatapplies to some.
So, yeah, so there are againlots going on and, as you said,
that's also a thing that manywomen don't even know, that you
know we produce testosterone too, and when that goes off balance
as well.
It's all related to how we ageand whether or not we age
(18:43):
healthfully and what we becomeat greater risk for as we age
because of these hormone changes.
Speaker 3 (18:50):
Yeah, yeah.
So, taking hormones aside, whatsteps can people do to maintain
healthy bones while they'regoing through the, you know,
perimenopause, through menopause, what can, what can women do to
keep their bones strong?
Speaker 2 (19:06):
It's the same thing we do to build strong bones.
It is eating a healthy,well-balanced diet that again
has fruits and vegetables, leanprotein, healthy fats.
All of that those things thatwe need to do for our heart
health, for our brain health,for diabetes.
All of those things are thesame for bone.
The only difference or increasewould be paying close attention
(19:30):
to your calcium levels andvitamin D.
Okay, and again, calcium boneis made up of calcium and other
proteins, and so calcium is oneof the leading ones.
And then vitamin D helps thebody absorb calcium, and so you
need both to be at optimumlevels to be able to maintain
(19:54):
your bone health and to make upfor some of the bone loss that
we have naturally as we age.
So our need for calciumincreases a little bit from your
50 until after 50, only about200 milligrams.
It's also really important totalk with your healthcare
provider about your specificlevels.
(20:15):
How you absorb calcium is goingto be different than how I
absorb calcium.
Your vitamin D levels are goingto be different than mine, and
I joke all the time for peoplewho can see me I'm like clearly,
with this Irish skin, I amvitamin deficient.
My level is far greater thanmany other people, even living
(20:37):
in my neighborhood.
So that's something to bechecked and make sure you're
doing that, because you want allyour good work right.
If you're getting calcium andexercise and you're eating well
and you're doing all thesethings and then you're low in
vitamin D, which we just tend tobe many in the United States,
then that's something to checkto make sure that you're doing
that.
The types of exercise are alsoimportant.
(21:01):
So, while we're payingattention to our cardiovascular
health, and swimming and cyclingand things like that are
fabulous for your cardiovascularhealth, they're not good for
your bone health.
Bone health you need to be onyour feet.
We call it weight bearing, soyou need to be on your feet.
We call it weight bearing, sothere needs to be a little
impact.
It doesn't have to be jumpingrope or running, although those
are good and definitely good foryounger people.
Building to people, masswalking, anything that has that
(21:24):
impact, that you're pressingdown, that you're on your feet
doing, are good.
Dancing, hiking, you know,anything that has you on your
feet and moving are reallyimportant, and the other part of
that is muscle strengthening.
That helps.
I mean, if you think about it,obviously our bones, but our
bones are protected by themuscle.
So that's what's going to helpkeep the muscles, the bones,
(21:47):
strong, keep us upright, keep usflexible and moving so that we
don't fall.
So the muscle strengthening isreally about balance and
strength.
And, again, it doesn't matterhow old you are or what you do.
Weights lifting any kind ofweight is really really good for
(22:09):
your health overall is reallyreally good for your health
overall, but particularly foryour bone health.
So definitely want people totalk with their healthcare
provider before starting anykind of exercise routine.
And it might vary certainly bywhere your risk of fracture is
right.
Those with low fracture riskcan obviously lift more and do
(22:31):
more than those with higher risk.
But no matter what your risk,there's always something you can
do to kind of keep working atmaintaining or building your
bone strength.
Speaker 1 (22:43):
Yeah, kim and I both have our weighted vests now.
I know that those are becomingmore and more popular and it
does make a difference, I thinkyou know, just having that
little bit of extra weight whilewe're walking so that you're
building the strength and muscle.
Speaker 2 (22:59):
It can be really safe and effective for many people.
You know there's lots.
Again, it's as long as you'retalking with your healthcare
provider, making sure thatyou're not risk, because
obviously if you were severelyosteoporotic and you're adding
extra weight, not a good idea.
But if you're healthy andyou're doing it to make sure
that you're maintaining yourbone health, then it can be a
great option and that's it.
(23:20):
It's really finding what worksfor you and doing that.
I think the other thing, when wetalk about these wonderful
things we can do to build ourbone strength and maintain our
bone strength, there's a caveatin that there are some things
and risk fractures that we can'tcontrol, and I think that's
(23:42):
what's so upsetting for manypeople, particularly people who
call and reach out to us at thebone health and osteoporosis
foundation.
I have a lot of women and menwho call and say I've done
everything right, I'm in shape,I run, I do this, I eat a
healthy diet, I don't smoke, Ihaven't drank.
Why do I have this disease?
And it's like well, did anyonein your family have?
(24:04):
it your parents have it.
Whatever, it is hereditary, soyour risk goes up If you've had
a family member who's diagnosedwith it or unfortunately, like
we said, so many people goundiagnosed that you know I need
to think.
Did grandma break her hip?
Yeah, yeah, so that might be it.
She might never have gottendiagnosed, like my mother didn't
(24:25):
, right.
But you know, oh, wow, thatputs me at greater risk.
Having a smaller frame, right,also, there's only again, so my
bone density is a big bonesperson, right.
I was like, oh, finally, theselinebacker shoulders are going
to be good, I have more, there'smore room right To build
(24:46):
density.
Then there would be someone onyour frame, right, those of us.
Again, I was quickly, it wasquickly pointed out to me that
just because I have a largerbone mass right bone, doesn't
mean the quality inside rightand and being overweight and not
doing exercises and not doingthese things can actually impact
(25:06):
that too.
But for those people withsmaller frames, again, you
might've built a pink bone massand done everything right, lost
some, you know, at a density atmenopause and it's just put you
into that risk category, youknow.
So you know, I get peoplefeeling really guilty Like
they've done something wrongwhen they like what did I do?
Speaker 1 (25:30):
What could I have done Right?
Why didn't I what?
Speaker 2 (25:33):
could I have done.
It really is that moment of.
Speaker 1 (25:35):
Yes.
Speaker 2 (25:36):
You're doing.
What's more important is thatyou're now aware and that you
move forward to take steps toprevent the fractures.
That's what we really need todo and I think encouraging
people with that is a veryimportant part of what we try to
do, Because I tell people yes,I understand when you get told
(25:57):
that you have a chronic diseaseand you need to do something and
you might fracture and it couldcut your life short all of
those things.
That's a horrible thing to hear.
Then, when you breathe anddigest and say, okay, it's
manageable, it's treatable.
The drugs for treatingosteoporosis and preventing
fractures are more effectivethan statins are at preventing
(26:18):
heart attacks.
Speaker 1 (26:19):
That's great.
Speaker 2 (26:20):
Yeah, good to know there's some good stuff there.
No one wants to take medication, as we all know.
None of us want to go onmedication.
But if you're at high risk forfracture and really ending up
either God forbid dead or inassisted living or in a nursing
home, the risk of taking thatmedication are far less than
(26:41):
what could happen if youfracture.
And so, again, it's a dialoguethat people have to have with
their healthcare provider aboutwhat's your risk, where are you
in the grand scheme of thingsand whether or not treatment is
really right for you.
And we've had again, like yousaid, kim, I've had so many
people who fractured, fractured,fractured, took forever to get
(27:02):
diagnosed with osteoporosisagain, finally did got on
medication and we're like, oh myGod, I can't believe that I've
not fractured, you know again.
And so those are things toothat we need to make sure that
people are aware of that thereare.
There are a lot of goodtreatments out there If you can
find a practitioner who can walkyou through those details.
Speaker 3 (27:23):
That's great to know.
Speaker 1 (27:24):
You know, we hear, okay, we hear all the time when
we talk to people.
I, oh, I don't need to knowabout menopause, I'm already
beyond that.
And they hit that menopausebirthday right or anniversary or
whatever we want to call itparty and they're on the other
side of it and we hear oh, don'tneed to know, Thank you very
(27:46):
much, but don't need to talkabout it.
What would you say to peoplethat say that Is it too late?
Is it too late to preventfractures and take care of our
bone health?
Speaker 2 (28:01):
I mean, yeah, we always say it is never too early
or too late to take care ofyour bone health.
Whatever age you're at,whatever physical ability you're
at, it's never, never too lateto start or continue.
I think what's important whenwomen think about menopause and
(28:22):
I've passed menopause so I don'thave anything to think about,
you don't have to think aboutyour menstrual cycle anymore,
and that's a relief to so manywomen but it is time to take
stock of all of the things thatwe become at increased risk of
because of the loss of estrogen.
So, for women who you said,menopause what we think of as
(28:42):
menopause, which is just the theone year anniversary of your
last menstrual cycle, they callit the final period.
Um, that just means that'smenopause.
The journey to menopause, allthe symptoms that we have and
all the things that we have todeal with, can start as early as
late thirties, early fortiesand no one tells women that
(29:06):
either.
You know, oh, it's not when youthink you're old that menopause
happens.
It's, you know, for me, theyear after you had a baby
happens.
Speaker 1 (29:17):
It's you know for me the year after you had a baby.
Speaker 2 (29:19):
Yeah, you were early menopause too.
I was too, yeah, yeah.
So I think that's reallyimportant.
It's a journey.
This is a journey and it's veryunique for every woman too.
We do averages, right, theaverage woman, you know.
And just menopause at 51 iswhat the you know, the
anniversary of their last period, but it continues.
And then our risk for heartdisease, breast cancer,
(29:42):
osteoporosis, dementia, all ofthese things diabetes increases
after menopause.
So that's when they reallyshould start paying attention to
even more aggressive.
Look at how are they doinghealth-wise, are they checking
in on all of these things?
What's their family history forall of these different
conditions too, which can putthem at an increased risk.
(30:05):
So, like anything, life's ajourney, and just stop caring
about something you know.
Once it happens, it's like, oh,I had a baby, I don't need to
talk about having babies ExactlyFour years with that thing you
know.
Once it happens, it's like, oh,I had a baby, I don't need to
talk about having babies ExactlyFour years with that thing you
know you need to pay attentionto it.
Speaker 3 (30:20):
Well, that's the thing, right, that process in
our lives might be changing, buttaking care of our health never
changes.
That's so good.
So what should people be doingto understand where they are in
their bone test?
Is a bone density test worth it?
What should they be looking forto know where they are in their
bone test?
Is a bone density test worth it?
What should they be looking forto know where they are in this
(30:42):
journey?
And then, what should theythink about?
We talked about all thelifestyle and diet changes, but
is there anything else that theyshould be thinking about to
make sure that they're goinginto the last part of their life
as strong as they possibly can?
Speaker 2 (30:59):
So right now, the clinical guidelines for bone
density tests say that womenshould be tested at 65 and that
men should be tested at 70.
Obviously, that's not going todo much for prevention, but
that's where the guidelines are,and so we're definitely talking
more about the need for earliertesting for bone density.
(31:22):
If you have risk factors andbeyond the ones we've talked
about, you know, on this podcastthere are.
There's a list on our websitebecause there's a lot, because
there's a lot Eating disorders,intestinal, you know, digestive
issues, autoimmune diseases somany other things that impact
(31:44):
our bone health, unfortunately,because it disrupts that
remodeling process and manytimes it's the treatment for it.
So if you're on an autoimmunedisease and you're on steroids,
steroids sucks calcium from yourbones to things right.
So it's that again, looking atthat whole person versus just
one aspect of it is reallyimportant.
So we should make sure that,again, if we have any risk
(32:08):
factors that we talked about toour health care provider, about
getting an early bone densitytest because you can, about
getting an early bone densitytest because you can.
The other thing I tell peopleand this is only for people who
can afford it and unfortunatelynot everyone can but if it's
something that's reallybothering you and you have the
means.
Bone density test is about $125.
So as much as that is a make orbreak for many people in our
(32:34):
country.
When you think about some ofthese other testings like MRIs
or things that you need to getdiagnosed, it's not nearly at
that level.
It is within that range, and sothat is something to consider
just paying for it yourself ifit's really important for you to
have that baseline.
The other things that we shouldbe doing are increasing the
(32:57):
weight-bearing exercise and themuscle strengthening as we age.
Much like one of the symptomsof menopause where women get
upset about oh wait, I've eatenthe same, I'm training the same,
I'm doing everything the sameand yet I'm gaining weight,
doubtfully in my abdomen.
Biologically, what happensafter menopause is the fat in
(33:18):
our body shifts from our hips tothe abdomen, and so I've had
women say my jeans don't fitright, my blouse isn't buttoning
the same way, I weigh the same.
Why is that?
It's literally a physical shiftwhere the weight is so starting
to look at those things in yourroutine and how you might, you
might have to actually cut backon calories a little bit.
(33:40):
You might have to step up alittle bit more of your, you
know, cardio kind of stuff tokind of weight bearing stuff.
Those are all things that can bedone.
And then really preparing tohave that conversation with your
doctor here's what I'mconcerned about, here's what I
want to know with your doctor,here's what I'm concerned about,
here's what I want to know andworking on a plan that gets you
(34:00):
the information you need atbaseline to be able to monitor
and move forward.
That's great Because we can doreally.
And then again, no smoking,which we all know no smoking,
not drinking too much, and Ilove the too much statistic
because the studies actually saymore than two to three drinks a
(34:20):
day are a risk for osteoporosisand I'm like if we're having
more than two to three a day,osteoporosis isn't our biggest
problem.
Speaker 1 (34:30):
Yes, exactly, I'm like two or three a day, but if
you're having a glass, of wine acouple times a week.
Speaker 2 (34:42):
You're fine.
Don't worry about that.
But again, don't get intoretirement and then start having
cocktails every day.
Cocktails after things.
Those are things that we canpay attention to.
Speaker 3 (34:47):
Right, that's great.
Well, I will say that the DEXAscan is about the easiest
possible thing I've ever donefrom a scanning for my body
perspective.
I just laid there talking tothe guy for you know whatever,
seven, 10 minutes, and he, I wasdone and I'm like okay, Okay.
Speaker 1 (35:03):
That's good to know.
I'm up next.
Speaker 3 (35:05):
Yeah, I can do this.
Speaker 2 (35:07):
I joke, I've.
I've said this so so many times.
We should tell women that it'sincredibly embarrassing and
painful and awkward, and womenwill line up to do it right.
We all have mammograms andcolonoscopies, but no one gets a
bone density where it's yeah,you don't even take your clothes
off yeah, no you don't have totake anything off, which is so
(35:29):
weird, and you lay there, almostget a little mini nap.
Speaker 3 (35:31):
so you know I'm in yeah.
Speaker 1 (35:36):
Well, and I think you you brought up an important
point too, because it'srecommended, without other risk
factors, that you get the DEXAscan at 65, you know, with not
knowing that it is 150 bucks,let's call it, I would have
thought thousands out of pocketfor a DEXA scan.
(35:58):
So that's actually greatinformation to have.
Yeah, and like I said, it's,and then there's other.
Speaker 2 (36:04):
You know, in some communities there's hospitals
that will do free clinics and doit.
You know those kinds of things.
So you know, hopefully, that.
But if you have a risk factor,there are ways on Medicare,
medicaid and insurance to beable to get you the bone density
test.
So sometimes it's finding aspecialist who knows that right,
(36:24):
because general primary careunfortunately doesn't know
anything about bone, just likethey don't know anything about
menopause, and so we have to beour own best advocate in doing
and getting what we need.
Hopefully that will change, butit has nothing to do with the
clinicians not wanting toprovide good care.
They are overwhelmed and soreally we do have to advocate
(36:50):
for ourselves.
I also heard something recently,a statistic about that women
today, current midlife women,women going through menopause,
are far more informed than anyof their clinicians about
menopause.
Right, we're doing our ownresearch, we're really taking
(37:10):
that into heart, and so that'sgreat and that's good.
Yeah, the same with your thing.
Advocate for yourself.
Advocate, that's great andthat's good.
Yeah, the same with your thing.
Advocate for yourself.
Advocate for your parents too,when they're again going through
these stages of life, if theyfall and they break a bone and
no one follows up on that.
(37:30):
Don't let them just fix thefracture.
Make sure that they are sent tosomeone who can evaluate them
to find out if osteoporosis wasthe underlying cause, because it
is, and that's your male familyor your female, it doesn't
matter.
Grandpa and dad and stuff likethat they too.
And unfortunately for men, eventhough it happens, osteoporosis
(37:54):
happens later to them.
Their fracture outcomes areworse.
So you need to pay attention tothe whole family.
Speaker 3 (38:04):
Wow, I appreciate that.
That's good.
Speaker 1 (38:06):
I think about where where can people find a good
provider if they have concernsabout osteoporosis and bone
health?
Speaker 2 (38:14):
If they're having the discussion with their current
primary care and then they'renot getting any kind of adequate
response, then ask for areferral to osteoporosis
specialists.
We do have a list of some onour website but, honestly, that
whole section needs to beupdated tremendously and we just
haven't been able to get to ityet.
(38:36):
Needs to be updatedtremendously and we just haven't
been able to get to it yet.
So you can always reach out atinfo at
bonehealthandosteoprosisorg andwe will try to help individuals
find someone close.
But I would ask your doctor fora referral, which makes people
feel a little, you know,sometimes uncomfortable too.
Not helping I need to do this,but just express your concern
too.
Not helping I need to do this,but just express your concern.
(38:59):
Nine times out of 10, they'reso busy.
They are happy to refer you tosomeone who knows what to do.
So don't be afraid to ask.
Yeah, if you're not comfortablewith that or you don't get a
good response with that, checkwith your local hospital.
Is there someone in your systemwho is an osteoporosis expert?
And another great way to get aname of a doctor who wants to do
that, and so that's how youknow I've been encouraging
(39:22):
people to to find a specialist.
Honestly, for most peopleunless it's complicated with you
know lots of fractures and youknow all the kinds of stuff you
should be able to get your bonedensity test.
You should be able to gettreatment that you need right On
that.
It's when it's very concerningor you're really high risk that
(39:44):
you likely need to see aspecialist.
Speaker 1 (39:48):
Okay, okay, that's good advice.
That's good advice, and we aregoing to put links in show notes
, and then you also are a partof the menopause foundation, so
we can all reach out to thatwebsite as well.
That we'll put in show notes,because I know you have a lot of
resources on your website aswell, so thank you for building
(40:09):
that out and providing resources.
We're just coming off ofperimenopause month.
Today's the last day forperimenopause right.
That was a big yay rightConfetti, for bringing awareness
to that in September, so thankyou for your part in that as
well.
Yeah, is there anything elsethat you would like to share
(40:31):
with our audience before we diveinto our rapid round?
Speaker 2 (40:36):
I really, again it is .
It is that, that notion thatit's never too late to start
taking care of your bone healthat any age, and there's always
something we can do to improveit and to pay attention to it,
the same way we do all the otherareas we focus on for our
health.
So just keep that in mind forall the people that you love.
Speaker 1 (40:57):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (40:57):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (40:57):
It's important, it's really important, and I think we
don't often think about ourbones until something happens.
So I'm so glad that we had thisconversation today.
Let's have some fun, let's getto know you a little bit better.
Claire, we're going to go intoour rapid round and we want me
to start.
Kim, sure, go.
(41:18):
Okay, I'm going to pick aquestion here.
What is your favorite way tounwind?
Speaker 2 (41:25):
Reading.
I love to read and I actuallylike to read books.
I spend a lot of time on myphone and on my computer and on
social media, but when I want toreally relax and read it's with
an actual book in hand.
Speaker 1 (41:41):
So fiction or nonfiction?
Yeah, that was my question.
Speaker 2 (41:44):
Yeah, I like nonfiction.
I've read some really reallygreat biographies lately, but I
prefer nonfiction.
I like it as escape.
Speaker 3 (41:53):
What is the most unusual thing on your bucket
list that you'd want to do?
Speaker 2 (41:58):
The most, thing, sorry, say again.
Speaker 3 (41:59):
The unusual, the most unusual thing on your bucket
list that you'd love to do.
Speaker 2 (42:05):
Bucket list.
The most unusual thing on mybucket list can never happen.
Now, I have to say, because Iwanted to be a backup dancer for
Tina Turner.
Backup dancer for Tina Turner,that was one of those things
that was like, oh my God, justlet me put it in practice.
I've never danced in my life.
It was just watching herperform and I just thought the
(42:28):
coolest thing ever would bebeing a backup dancer for Tina
Turner.
Speaker 1 (42:36):
So, other than that, I would like to visit every
continent.
How close are you?
Speaker 2 (42:40):
Oh, not even close.
Okay, I've been.
I've only been to North America, South America, Europe kind of
stuff.
I still have so many more to go, but I think it would be very.
That would be really cool andthat's a fun goal.
Speaker 1 (42:55):
Yeah, yeah, you can make that happen.
Yeah, maybe we'll go with you.
Let us know when you start that.
Yeah, yeah, road trip.
Yeah, road trip, okay.
Speaking of road trips, do youenjoy city life or country
living?
Speaker 2 (43:11):
I'm definitely a city girl and I love both.
I was born in the Bronx in NewYork city and then moved to a 50
acre farm in Catskill when Iwas seven, did it all.
So I can do both, I love both,but I think in my heart of
(43:36):
hearts I'm a city girl.
Speaker 3 (43:37):
Okay, can't take the city out of you.
Well, I love that you canqualify it because you've done
both, so that's pretty good, allright.
So our last question that weask for all of our guests what
is the best piece of adviceyou've ever received?
Speaker 2 (43:53):
There's so many possible answers to that and I
even heard a really good onetoday that I should say but I
think lifelong, one of the bestpieces of advice was more a
comment that my mom would say tous when we were dealing with
whatever struggles or anxietiesor worries that we had, and it
(44:17):
was that don't worry, the sunwill come up tomorrow.
And that mattered a lot in mylife.
And after we talked about againthose things where you're in
your mind, my mom has passedaway, and we talked about how do
you deal with grief, how do youdeal with this and whatever,
and she's like you have nochoice the sun comes out
tomorrow.
(44:37):
Yeah, so that's not quiteadvice, but that's really that
stuck with me most in my lifeyeah, yeah, I, yeah.
Speaker 1 (44:45):
I love that the sun will come up tomorrow.
It always does, right, oh it?
Always does yeah, whether wewant it to or not.
Speaker 2 (44:52):
Right no Right True oh but I could use, I could.
I could use a few more sons andsleeps and such.
Speaker 1 (45:01):
We used to count them right how many sleeps until
Until I get to two X right, oruntil you're old.
Speaker 2 (45:07):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (45:08):
Yes, yes, we don't talk about sleeps anymore, like
how many sleeps until we're likewe're not sleeping anymore?
Speaker 2 (45:16):
I try to tell my daughter that napping like when
you feel like literally nappingwill become something that she
so desperately loves as she ages.
And you want to when you'reyoung.
And then a good nap, oh my God,so good.
Speaker 1 (45:31):
Yeah, so good, and it's just like the cherry on top
when you get to take a nap.
Speaker 3 (45:39):
Sarah, what a delight .
Thank you so much for takingthe time today.
You really you're a fountain ofknowledge that I know a lot of
people have heard about andreally just wanted to clear the
like noise, to break it downsimply, and so thank you for for
taking so much for talkingabout this.
Speaker 2 (45:55):
It's so important and I really appreciate you
focusing on it.
And so thank you for for takingso much for talking about this.
It's so important and I reallyappreciate you focusing on it.
And again, any way that we canassist at the bone health and
osteoporosis foundation, pleasetell people not to hesitate to
reach out to us.
That's what we're there for.
Speaker 3 (46:08):
Perfect, we will, we will.
Speaker 1 (46:11):
And audience.
With that we're going to signoff.
So until we meet again, go findjoy in the journey.
Thanks, claire, thanks Bye.
Thank you for listening to theMedovia menopause podcast.
If you enjoyed today's show,please give it a thumbs up.
Subscribe for future episodes,leave a review and share this
(46:31):
episode with a friend.
There are more than 50 millionwomen in the US who are
navigating the menopausetransition.
The situation is compounded bythe presence of stigma, shame
and secrecy surroundingmenopause, posing significant
challenges and disruptions inwomen's personal and
(46:51):
professional spheres.
Medovia is out to change thenarrative.
Learn more at medoviacom.
That's M-I-D-O-V-I-A dot com.
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