Bone Health in Perimenopause & Menopause: How Nutrition, Hormones and Genetics Protect Your Bones

Bone health is rarely top of the list in your 40s and 50s — until something changes. A fracture, a scan result, joint pain, or a quiet realisation that strength, balance and resilience matter more than ever.

For many women, perimenopause and menopause are the turning point. Hormonal shifts accelerate bone loss, stress levels rise, and years of under-fuelling or over-exercising start to show up in bone density results.

The good news? Bone loss is not inevitable. With the right nutrition, lifestyle strategies, and personalised insight from nutrigenomics and methylation testing, you can actively protect — and even support — your bones for the long term.

Why bone health changes in perimenopause and menopause

Bone is a living tissue, constantly being broken down and rebuilt. In earlier life, bone-building cells (osteoblasts) outpace bone breakdown. From our 40s onwards, this balance begins to shift.

During perimenopause and menopause, falling oestrogen and progesterone levels accelerate bone resorption, increasing the risk of:

• Osteopenia and osteoporosis

• Fractures from low-impact falls

• Loss of strength, balance and independence

Women can lose up to 20–25% of bone mass across midlife if bone health isn’t actively supported. This is why nutrition and lifestyle matter so much during this transition.

Bone health is about more than calcium

One of the biggest myths in menopause nutrition is that bone health is simply about “getting more calcium”.

Calcium is essential — but it cannot work in isolation.

Healthy bones rely on a network of nutrients, including:

• Magnesium – critical for bone structure and vitamin D activation

• Vitamin D – supports calcium absorption and immune health

• Vitamin K2 – directs calcium into bones, not arteries

• Zinc & phosphorus – involved in bone formation

• Vitamin C & collagen – provide the structural framework for bone

My, Show Your Bones Some Love, explores this in depth and outlines the diet and lifestyle foundations that protect bone density. You can purchase my masterclass - Strong Bones for Life - and receive the ebook by clicking below:

Diet and lifestyle habits that quietly weaken bones

Many well-intentioned habits can unintentionally undermine bone health in midlife, including:

• Chronic low-calorie dieting

• Excessive cardio without resistance or weight-bearing exercise

• High stress and poor sleep (elevated cortisol impairs calcium absorption)

• High sugar, refined carbohydrate and alcohol intake

• Low protein or poorly absorbed protein

• Poor gut health affecting nutrient absorption

This is why a menopause diet plan should never focus on restriction. The best diet for menopause is one that fuels bone, muscle, hormones and nervous system resilience together.

The missing piece: genetics, methylation and bone health

This is where nutrigenomics testing and genetic methylation testing become powerful tools.

Your genes influence:

• How well you absorb and utilise calcium, magnesium and vitamin D

• Inflammation levels affecting bone turnover

• Oestrogen metabolism and clearance

• Collagen production and connective tissue strength

• Detoxification and methylation efficiency

Through DNA analysis, we can identify whether certain nutrients, foods or lifestyle strategies are more (or less) effective for you.

This personalised insight removes guesswork and helps create a DNA-based diet that truly supports long-term bone health.

Nutrition and lifestyle foundations for strong bones

For most women in perimenopause and menopause, bone-supportive foundations include:

Nutrition

• Adequate protein spread across the day

• Calcium-rich foods from both plant and animal sources

• Magnesium-rich foods (greens, nuts, seeds, legumes)

• Oily fish, eggs and sunlight exposure for vitamin D

• Fermented foods and vitamin K2-rich foods

• Plenty of colourful vegetables for antioxidants and vitamin C

Lifestyle

• Regular weight-bearing and resistance exercise

• Stress regulation and prioritising sleep

• Avoiding extreme dieting

• Supporting gut health and digestion

• Reviewing nutrient status with testing where appropriate

This is the basis of an effective menopause diet plan and perimenopause support strategy focused on strength, not restriction.

Free bone health ebook + live masterclass

If you’d like practical, evidence-informed guidance you can start using immediately:

👉 Join my upcoming Bone Health Masterclass & receive my free bone health ebook
You can attend live or register to receive the recording. We’ll cover:

• Bone health in perimenopause and menopause

• Nutrition, hormones and genetics

• How methylation and nutrigenomics testing personalise bone support

• Practical next steps you can implement straight away

Personalised support

If you’re looking for individual support, I offer personalised programmes using:

• Nutrigenomics testing

• Methylation testing

• Functional testing (gut, hormones, nutrients)

• Bespoke nutrition and lifestyle plans

Bone health is not just about preventing fractures — it’s about staying strong, confident and capable for decades to come.

If you’d like support, you’re very welcome to book a free discovery call and explore whether personalised testing and nutrition are right for you.