The Day My Brain Broke (and What I Learned About Menopause and Food)

March 2018. I was 46. It was the day my brain decided to throw in the towel.

I had a mental breakdown.

Now, I know what you’re thinking — “That’s a strong start.” And yes, it was as awful as it sounds. My mind wasn’t just malfunctioning; it had gone on an holiday without leaving a forwarding address.

Coherent thought? Gone. Functioning like a normal human? Nope.

I was exhausted. The kind of tired where even blinking feels like a chore. My emotions were running on overdrive. If you so much as looked at me wrong, I’d cry like I’d just binge-watched “One Day” (seriously ugly crying, have you seen it?). And I couldn’t think beyond the thick fog of fear that wrapped around me like an unwelcome hug.

I genuinely thought I was losing it.

“Am I going mad?” “Is this early-onset dementia?”

Spoiler alert: Neither.

At the time, I was running a nutrition business from home. Sounds cushy, right? Wrong. Part of my work included catering for wellness events—a job that, on paper, I was supposed to be good at. On the morning my brain broke, I was supposed to prepare and deliver food for 40 participants at a yoga day.

Forty people. Forty hungry, health-conscious people. And me?

Curled up in a ball in a dark room, catastrophising about my life, my mental state, and why I couldn’t pull myself together.

Letting people down is not my style. I’m the type who’d fulfil a commitment even if I were in a full-body cast. But that day? There was no way. I had to cancel, leaving them scrambling for a Plan B and me wallowing in guilt.

The Wake-Up Call

It was my 17-year-old daughter who found me, a crying, exhausted wreck. Alarmed, she gently nudged me with a question:

“Could this have anything to do with what you’ve been eating recently?”

What I’d been eating? Was she serious?

“Of course not,” I snapped back (through the mental fog and tears). “I’m a nutritionist, for crying out loud. I know how to feed myself.”

But then she hit me with the truth: “It’s the only thing that’s changed, Mum.”

She wasn’t wrong.

In the months leading up to my mental crash, I’d gone vegan.

Before You Grab Your Pitchforks

Hold your tofu! I’m not here to attack plant-based diets. For some people, they work beautifully. But for me? It was a nutritional disaster.

I’d been eating a low-carb diet for six years—think full fat meat, fish, dairy, eggs, nuts, and veggies. I had energy for days, laser-sharp focus, and a bounce in my step. Then I watched What the Health and decided to level up my health by ditching animal products entirely.

Three months later, I crashed and burned.

And before you assume I wasn’t doing it “right,” let me stop you there. I’m a nutritionist. I did my homework. I made sure my diet was balanced, supplemented where needed, and checked all the boxes.

But my body? Not a fan.

The Science of My Breakdown

As it turns out, not everyone’s genes are cut out for a vegan lifestyle. Some reports suggest up to 80% of us aren’t biologically suited to it. I’d inadvertently removed the very nutrients my brain needed to function—namely B12 and D3.

At the same time, I was dealing with extraordinary stress at home (because life likes to pile it on, doesn’t it?). The combination fast-tracked the depletion of my mental resilience. Blood tests later confirmed the damage: in just three months, my B12 and D3 levels had plummeted to a quarter of what they'd been in an earlier test.

The proof was in the pudding—or, rather, the steak. Within a month of reintroducing animal foods into my diet, I was back to my old self.

What This Means for Menopause

Here’s the thing: menopause doesn’t just “happen” to you. Your body is a finely tuned machine, and food is the fuel that determines how smoothly (or not) it runs.

Experiencing brain fog, mood swings, or crushing fatigue? Chances are your diet isn’t giving your body what it needs.

Symptoms aren’t random; they’re your body’s alarm system. And during menopause—a time of seismic hormonal shifts—your body needs more support than ever.

The Fix Is Simple

If you want to feel like yourself again, the solution isn’t complicated. Commit to eating whole, nutrient-dense foods: full-fat meat, fish, dairy, eggs, nuts, and vegetables. These foods are packed with the vitamins and minerals your body craves, especially during menopause.

Ladies, we’ve worked too hard to let brain fog or exhaustion derail our careers, our goals, or our lives.

It’s time to take control—one meal at a time.

About the author

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Natasha Hodge is an award-winning menopause nutrition expert in her 50’s.

Her first nutrition business was Wide Eyed Nutrition in 2014.

She then incorporated her knowledge in food for mental health, co-running the Happy People Solutions group in 2018.

And in 2020 changed the solo business to Natasha Is Wide Eyed.

She is now dedicated to helping the 1 in 4 women who experience catastrophic menopause.

Offering a viable boost or natural alternative to HRT medication.

Helping menopausal women to relieve their own symptoms, transform their health and balance their weight as a bonus side effect with the simple and powerful tools of eating real food and fasting.

Using her background in catering she has redesigned everyday meals to kickstart your miracle body’s internal HRT back-up plan and has created delicious recipe guides to support you while you make the changes.

Her own 13-year health journey, with the last 6 years managing perimenopause symptoms with food, is distilled into the 16-week online membership.

You can also book one-off appointments for instant help.

If you need her help but want to try before you buy, get the FREE 3-part video course here: https://mailchi.mp/bacbfb4b8a4b/new-video-course

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