What I thought of the BBC’s Panorama menopause hit job

In recent years I’ve tried to avoid ‘news’ and negative commentary in general, purely to protect my own mental health. I actively choose to believe in positive outcomes rather than dwell on the bad stuff.

Let’s face it, if a subject is going to be on Panorama you know it’s going to be a dramatic take on it, so normally I wouldn’t switch on.

But being in the menopause niche, I felt duty bound to watch the BBC’s Panorama programme called “The Menopause Industry Uncovered”. And with a title like that you know it’s going to be bad stuff.

In the first part they explored, very superficially I might add, the menopause supplement industry.

In sweeping generalisations, with a medical expert thrown in for good measure, they tell us that the three supplement brands mentioned, have very little scientific proof that they help menopause symptoms at all.

My first thought was, give me the scientific proof that they don’t work.

I know plenty of excellent blends by reputable companies that work, but the programme makers wanted us to take away the snake oil message that supplements are a waste of money.

It felt a little like filler to me, a preamble towards what they really wanted to make the main focus.

And the main focus was the prescription of pharmaceuticals for menopause. Or rather, the improperly prescribed doses to be more precise.

This is the part that has a lot of women up in arms, specifically for the vilification of Dr Louise Newson and her private Newson Health clinic.

It does amaze me that a prime-time programme is allowed to find a few disgruntled clients without balancing it by including some of the many clients that far outweigh them and have been helped by Dr Newson.

From a personal perspective, my annoyance at Dr Newson’s constant on-brand message that HRT is the only way women can navigate menopause, was a major driver for me entering the niche in the first place.

So, you might think that I would welcome a spotlight and take down on the way she makes money from this lucrative strategy.

But that is not the case, because although I don’t agree with her single-minded HRT approach, I have to commend her for being instrumental in bringing menopause into mainstream conversation.

The whole feel of the programme was that menopause is a terrible time (it can be for some) and that businesses are taking advantage.

One alarming story of a cancer survivor being prescribed HRT that might possibly have led to the cancer recurring laid the blame squarely at Newson’s practise. Of course, if it is true that off licence prescriptions were not taking into account the patients cancer history and putting them at risk, it should be highlighted. But who’s to say that other clinics aren’t doing the same.

Panorama have taken a cheap shot with sensationalist claims against a well-known face in the menopause arena.

But my main issue with it is that we have as a society fully accepted that HRT is the number one approach.

How have we got to a situation where the advice that nutritionists such as myself give, which is basically to eat in a way that humans were designed to eat to help the female body do a natural job is classed as an alternative therapy?

Whereas pharmaceutical medications and fake hormones (bioavailable or not they still aren’t made by the body) are viewed as the norm.

Why did they need to do a hatchet job on one woman when they could have done a deep dive into the manufacturers and ultimate profiteers who are big pharma?

We wouldn’t even need to be beholden to drugs if we were given the facts about how our bodies work when fed correctly.

There is a passing mention of nutrition as a strategy in the programme.

Programmes like these perpetuate the myth that we are at the mercy of menopause.

What we need are balanced hormones and bodies.

What we don’t need is imbalanced messaging on our TV’s.

About the author

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Natasha Hodge is in her 50’s and is a qualified nutritionist, award-winning menopause food expert and specialist in the management of type 2 diabetes.

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 now specialises in 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 12-year health journey, with the last 5 years managing perimenopause symptoms with food, is distilled into the 16-week online membership.

Or you can book a single appointment 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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