Supplement library
Think of this as the supplement library an older sister would walk you through at the pharmacy, not a prescription pad. We've left out the things with thin evidence or real safety question marks. What's here, you can bring up with your doctor or pharmacist with confidence.
Skim what's here, then bring the words you don't recognize to your pharmacist. Five quiet minutes at the counter is worth more than a Reddit thread.
Looking for a medical or clinical term (genitourinary syndrome of menopause (GSM), fezolinetant, body-identical)? Those live in the menopause glossary.
Free for everyone, the essential three
Most of the supplement industry is theatre. These three are the ones with real evidence, modest cost, and a clear reason to take them in midlife.
Most adults don't make enough from sunlight, and you need it to absorb calcium. Low D is linked to mood dips and worse sleep.
Try this week: Ask your GP for a blood test once a year, the right amount depends on your level. Take it with breakfast (it's fat-soluble, needs food). Skip the mega-doses unless your doctor says otherwise.
Add it to your packAny amounts mentioned here are the ranges used in the research, not a dose for you — the right amount depends on your bloods, your meds and your doctor or pharmacist. Especially flag MHT, blood thinners, antidepressants, thyroid or diabetes meds before you start anything.
Safety checklist
We're not going to tell you what to take or screen interactions for you, that's your pharmacist's job, and they're better at it. What this checklist does is help you walk in already knowing the right questions. Tick anything you're considering or already taking, add your meds and conditions at the bottom, then print it and bring it to your appointment.
These bump into common midlife prescriptions in ways that aren't obvious. Worth a five-minute call before you start.
Nothing on this checklist is saved. Close the tab and it's gone.
This is a conversation prompt, not a medical screening. We're not pharmacists or doctors. If you're pregnant or breastfeeding, on multiple prescriptions, or have a chronic condition, the rules change, please ask a doctor or specialist before starting anything new.
A worksheet from Nila. Education, not medical advice.
Nothing ticked yet.
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Start here
Tap what's bothering you most this week. We'll open the two or three supplements worth raising for it, the rest of the library stays tucked away until you want it.
Every entry links out to where the evidence comes from, a named authority fact sheet or the trial set on PubMed, never a brand's own page. Each shelf ends with the Nila guide worth reading next. How we grade evidence.
Tap a row to open
Considering medical options?
Hormone therapy, non-hormonal Rx, vaginal estrogen, bone meds, the full menu, in plain language.
Read the primerWant a guide?
How to vet a menopause-literate doctor, naturopath, pelvic floor physio, or registered dietitian.
Browse the directoryOne more time, gently.
We're an older sister with reading glasses on, not your doctor. Supplements bump into medication, conditions, and each other in ways that aren't always obvious. Anything here is a starting point for a conversation with your doctor or pharmacist, not a replacement for what they've already prescribed you.
Sources
Including the places where the honest answer is “the evidence is thin”. See how we grade evidence.
The position statements behind every grade on this page
4 sources
We don't sell supplements, so we can be blunt: most of this category is under-evidenced, and these are the documents that say so.
Cognitive behavioural therapy and clinical hypnosis are the non-hormone approaches with enough evidence to be recommended for vasomotor symptoms. Most supplements, and several popular practices, are not.
The single most useful document for separating 'has trials' from 'has marketing'.
Read the sourceThe UK's national guideline sets out what is and isn't supported for menopause symptoms, including its position on complementary therapies and unregulated preparations.
Nutrition, activity, alcohol, smoking and weight are addressed as first-line levers for vasomotor symptoms in Canada's national menopause guideline — with realistic expectations of how much they move the needle.
Weight-bearing and resistance exercise sit inside the standard framework for postmenopausal bone health — alongside calcium, vitamin D and, where fracture risk is high, medication.
Also the honest source on what exercise alone cannot do once bone loss is established.
Read the sourceHow thin the evidence base actually is
1 sources
Someone finally counted. Twenty-five years of US supplement research on menopause, mapped ingredient by ingredient — and perimenopause is barely in it.
Two decades of US dietary-supplement research on menopause adds up to only 253 experimental studies, spread across more than 80 different ingredients — and almost all of it (n = 234) looks at postmenopause, not perimenopause.
Annual growth in this literature is 3.89%. Calcium, vitamin D and isoflavones are the only ingredients studied often enough to replicate — which is why most of the shelf below grades low.
Read the sourceAlways cheaper to ask first
