Answers

One page, one question.

• What are the best supplements for perimenopause? In the UK, start with the vitamin D advice (10 micrograms a day), calcium from food (700 mg a day), enough protein, and two portions of fish a week. Those carry authorised claims and the largest trials. Beyond that, the case for any particular supplement in perimenopause is specific, and this page says where it is thin.
• Which supplements help bone density in perimenopause? In the UK, meet the intakes for calcium (700 mg a day) and vitamin D (10 micrograms) first, from food where you can. Those two carry authorised bone claims and the largest trials. Vitamin K2 and creatine on its own did not change bone density in trials of two to three years, and the direct evidence in perimenopause itself is thin.
• Does chromium help women in perimenopause? Probably not. Adults need about 25 micrograms of chromium a day and food usually provides it. Trials have not shown a supplement changes blood glucose in people without diabetes, and the small weight differences reported are of uncertain value.
• Should women in perimenopause take collagen supplements? Not as a default. No product may make a health claim for collagen in Great Britain, and the trials are modest: one 12-month study reported higher bone density in postmenopausal women with low bone density, and skin studies are short and small. If you want to try it, 12 weeks at 2.5 to 10 g a day is where the trials looked; if you do not, nothing here says you are missing out.
• Is creatine worth taking in perimenopause and after menopause? The evidence for a benefit is in women who were also doing resistance training. Taken on its own, creatine showed no difference from placebo over one and two years on bone density, muscle mass or physical function in postmenopausal women.
• Should women in perimenopause take folic acid or folate? Most women in perimenopause do not need a folate supplement; food provides the 200 micrograms a day adults need. If you are planning a pregnancy, UK advice is 400 micrograms of folic acid a day before conceiving and until 12 weeks.
• Which magnesium supplement is best for women in perimenopause? There is no proven best magnesium for perimenopause. Most women can get the 270 mg a day they need from food. If you supplement, keep to 400 mg a day or less from supplements, read the label for elemental magnesium, and know that oxide was absorbed less well than other forms in a direct comparison.
• Which omega-3 supplement should women in perimenopause take? In the UK, a supplement is not a default part of perimenopause, and two portions of fish a week, one of them oily, covers most people. If you do take one, choose by the EPA and DHA per daily dose on the back of the pack, and look for at least 250 mg of the two combined.
• Can I take supplements while on HRT? Often, but check first. Whether a supplement suits you depends on its ingredients and dose, your HRT and any other medicines, so give your doctor or pharmacist the full list. Talk to your doctor before taking a herbal remedy for menopause.
• How much vitamin D should women in perimenopause take? In the UK, 10 micrograms (400 IU) a day. The advice is to consider it through autumn and winter, and to take it all year if you get little sun or have darker skin. Perimenopause does not raise the number.