Perimenopause, Autumn and Vitamin D: Supporting Yourself as the Seasons Change

There’s something about September that always feels like a fresh start.

The summer holidays are coming to an end, children and teenagers are heading back to school or college, many of us are getting back into our usual work routines, and suddenly the evenings are drawing in and autumn is just around the corner.

But if you’re going through perimenopause, this change of season can also be a useful reminder to check in with yourself.

How are you actually feeling?

Are you already tired before the autumn has properly begun? Is your sleep all over the place? Are you feeling stressed, run down or finding that your energy isn’t what it used to be?

It can be very easy to put everything down to hormones when you’re in perimenopause. And yes, hormonal changes can certainly be part of the picture. But I always encourage women to look at the whole picture, because our bodies don’t work in separate little boxes.

Sleep, stress, food, movement, gut health, emotional wellbeing and the nutrients we’re getting all matter too.

Autumn means less sunshine – and less vitamin D

Vitamin D is sometimes called the “sunshine vitamin” because our bodies can make it when our skin is exposed to sunlight.

Here in the UK, this becomes particularly relevant as we move into autumn and winter. From around October to early March, sunlight generally isn’t strong enough for people to make sufficient vitamin D through their skin.

Vitamin D has a number of important roles in the body, including supporting the normal function of the immune system and helping to maintain healthy bones and muscles.

This is why UK guidance recommends that adults and children over the age of four consider taking a daily 10 microgram (400 IU) vitamin D supplement during autumn and winter. However, vitamin D needs can vary between individuals, and some people may be advised to take a different amount depending on their circumstances. If you’re concerned about your vitamin D levels or think you may be deficient, it’s worth speaking to an appropriate healthcare professional about whether testing or individual advice is needed.

Some people are also advised to consider supplementation throughout the year, depending on their circumstances.

For women in perimenopause and menopause, I think this is particularly worth being aware of. We can become so focused on symptoms such as hot flushes, weight changes, brain fog or changing periods that sometimes the basic foundations of health get forgotten.

And those foundations matter.

What about coughs, colds and flu?

Once schools go back and we’re all spending more time indoors again, it can sometimes feel as though every cough, cold and bug starts doing the rounds!

Vitamin D supports the normal functioning of the immune system, but I wouldn’t describe any supplement as something that can guarantee you won’t catch a cold or flu.

Instead, I prefer to think about how we can support our bodies more generally.

That includes eating well, getting enough sleep, managing stress where we can, moving our bodies, spending time outside, looking after our gut health and making sure we aren’t overlooking important nutrients.

For me, this is what an holistic approach is about. It isn’t finding one “magic” supplement and expecting it to do everything. It’s looking at what your individual body may need and putting the different pieces together.

Are you actually eating enough fruit and vegetables?

September can be a funny month for food too.

We go from summer holidays, barbecues and eating outside to packed lunches, rushed breakfasts, after-school activities, work commitments and getting dinner on the table when everyone seems to be going in a different direction.

Even with the best intentions, getting a good variety of fruit, vegetables and berries into everybody every day isn’t always as easy as we'd like it to be.

Food comes first wherever possible, and I’m a big believer in looking at what we are actually eating rather than simply adding supplements on top and hoping for the best.

However, supplements can sometimes be a useful addition.

When I do recommend supplements, I generally prefer not to look at nutrients in isolation unless there is a particular reason for doing so. In nature, vitamins, minerals and other plant compounds come packaged together within whole foods rather than as a single nutrient on its own.

That is one of the reasons I like a whole-food approach. Fruit, vegetables and berries naturally contain a complex combination of nutrients and plant compounds alongside one another. I prefer to think about how those nutrients work together as part of the bigger nutritional picture, rather than always reaching for an isolated vitamin or mineral.

Of course, there are times when an individual nutrient may be appropriate – vitamin D itself is a good example, particularly during the autumn and winter months – and individual needs will always differ. This is why I don’t believe there should be one blanket approach to supplementation for everybody.

One of the products I recommend is whole-food fruit, vegetable and berry capsules. They are designed to complement the diet rather than replace eating fruit and vegetables.

There is also a children's and young people's option available through the family programme, where eligible children, teenagers and young adults can receive the fruit, vegetable and berry capsules free when an adult in the household is taking qualifying products.*

That can make this time of year a particularly useful opportunity to look at the whole family's nutrition rather than only thinking about ourselves.

*Please contact me for the current terms, age eligibility and qualifying order requirements for the children's programme.

Perimenopause is a good reason to look at the basics again

One of the things I find myself coming back to again and again in my work with women is that perimenopause isn't only about chasing individual symptoms.

If you're exhausted, for example, there can be a temptation to look for something specifically for energy.

If you're not sleeping, you might look for a sleep supplement.

If your digestion has changed, you might focus only on your gut.

But I prefer to stand back and ask: what else is going on?

How are you sleeping? What are you eating? How stressed are you? Are you getting outside? Are you moving your body? Are you giving yourself any opportunity to relax? How is your digestion? Are you getting the nutrients you need?

Sometimes we become so used to feeling tired, stressed or not quite ourselves that it starts to feel normal.

That doesn't mean we need to panic about every symptom. It means it's worth becoming curious about what our body may be telling us.

A simple autumn check-in

As we move into the cooler, darker months, perhaps use September as your own little health reset.

Think about your vitamin D, the variety of foods you're eating, your sleep and bedtime routine, how much daylight and fresh air you're getting, your movement and how you're managing stress.

You don't have to change everything overnight.

Small, consistent changes are often much more realistic, particularly when you're already juggling work, family and the changes that can come with perimenopause.

And remember that what works for one woman won't necessarily be right for another. That's why I believe so strongly in looking at the individual and the whole picture rather than simply focusing on one symptom or recommending the same approach to everyone.

If you'd like to talk to me about supporting yourself through perimenopause naturally, or you'd like more information about vitamin D and the whole-food fruit, vegetable and berry capsules I recommend, please get in touch.

We can look at where you are now and what might be an appropriate next step for you.