The “M” word strikes fear into many women’s hearts. For good reason.

It’s a harbinger of *deep breath* hot flashes, night sweats, migraines, changes in libido, depression, anxiety, and trouble sleeping. And in case you haven’t figured it out yet (or just needed the confirmation), we’re talking about menopause.

For those seeking refuge from the many uncomfortable symptoms, hormone replacement therapy (HRT) is often thrown up as an option.

But it may seem a little … extreme, to put it mildly, especially when there are natural (i.e., hormone-free) supplements that’ll help alleviate menopause symptoms you could explore first.

Like hydrolyzed collagen peptides.

#1: Thinning, sagging, wrinkling skin

The drop in estrogen levels during menopause causes big changes to your complexion:

• Dry and itchy: Estrogen facilitates the production of hydration-boosting ceramides, natural hyaluronic acid, and sebum. So, when estrogen levels fall, your skin becomes drier. Tiny micro-tears can form, allowing moisture to escape and irritants to enter. A potential result? An increase in or worsening of inflammatory skin conditions, such as eczema.

• Fine lines and saggy, wrinkly skin: Think the annual 1% loss of collagen (the protein that gives your skin its elasticity and firmness) starting in your 20s sounds terrible? Well, you might want to sit down for this. You lose 30% of your collagen in the first 5 years after menopause — setting up the perfect stage for wrinkles, jowls, and under-eye pouches.

So, how does collagen supplementation help? Through a potent, dual-action of 1) providing the necessary building blocks for the synthesis of collagen and 2) upregulating the activity of collagen-producing fibroblasts in the skin.

The resulting increase in collagen plumps up and draws moisture into the skin, restoring it to its former hydrated, bouncy, and balanced glory.

#2: Hair loss

About 50% of menopausal women experience accelerated hair loss and changes in texture (e.g., drier or frizzier), according to a 2022 study published in Menopause.

The culprit? Uh-huh. Once again, you can blame it all on waning levels of estrogen:

• Disrupts estrogen to dihydrotestosterone (DHT) balance: As estrogen levels decline, the delicate balance between estrogen and the hormone DHT, which is responsible for masculinizing changes such as hair loss, gets disrupted.

• Changes the shape of hair follicles: Fun fact. Research suggests estrogen may be responsible for maintaining the diameter of each hair strand. Not-so-fun-fact: the decrease in estrogen levels could, therefore, change the shape of your hair follicles from, say, circle-shaped ones that produce straight hair to oval-shaped ones that produce curly hair.

• Reduces sebum production in the scalp: Just as your skin gets cuts back on sebum production, your scalp does, too. And since that gloss-imparting scalp oil isn’t there to coat your strands, you’ll see drier, duller, more brittle, and breakage-prone hair.

A disclaimer: hydrolyzed collagen peptide supplements cannot address the root cause of menopause-induced hair loss — as you’d naturally expect from natural supplements.

What they can do, however, is create the best hair-growth-supporting conditions by:

• “Bulking up” your scalp’s thickness, improving its ability to grow new hair follicles and nourish existing ones

• Providing your body with the building blocks it needs to make healthy hair

• Shielding hair follicles from oxidative damage

#3: Mood disturbances

According to a 2023 systematic review published in Australasian Psychiatry, menopause increases vulnerability to depression.

This aligns with the broader scientific literature, which finds major depression more common in women than men, with a lifetime prevalence of 21% compared to 12%.

Researchers aren’t sure how menopause contributes to depression. Some point their

fingers at estrogen’s effects on mood-regulating GABA and serotonin, while others say it comes down to brain structure changes.

But that’s something you don’t need to concern yourself with. Because what’s more relevant is how you could lower your risk of depression during menopause.

So, how? It appears to be collagen.

Or, more specifically, an amino acid called glycine found in collagen. A 2023 study published in Neuroscience found that glycine could deliver a strong signal to the brain that may alleviate major depression, anxiety, and other mood disorders. Exciting times.

#4: Osteoporosis

You’re probably sick of hearing about estrogen by now, but it is the primary hormone driving menopause symptoms … so here we go again.

Estrogen slows down the natural breakdown of bone, meaning the consequence of its reduction during menopause is an aggressive uptick in bone loss. You stand to lose as much as 20% of your bone mineral density (BMD) just within those 5 to 6 years around menopause.

The (serious) implication? A higher risk of developing osteoporosis, a condition where your bones weaken and become more prone to breaks or fractures.

But there’s good news. Research shows that a year of daily collagen peptide supplementation measurably increased BMD in post-menopausal women. Plus, continued benefits were observed 4 years later in a follow-up study.

#5: Weight gain

During the menopausal transition, women gain an average of 0.45 kg (1 lbs.) yearly.

Think the bad news ends there? Unfortunately, it doesn’t. Most of the newly gained weight is packed on as abdominal fat, a well-documented independent risk factor for fatal and non-fatal heart attacks and strokes.

But what’s behind the sudden weight gain? There are 3 primary contributing factors:

1. A loss of muscle mass, which is more metabolically active (i.e., burns more calories) than fat and helps regulate appetite

1. Lifestyle changes, including a reduction in physical activity and diet changes

1. A reduction in estrogen levels, which shifts fat distribution to around the waist rather than on the hips and thighs

And collagen would help … how?

Well, as a protein, collagen could help address 2 of those factors. It’ll preserve precious muscle mass and promote satiety. In turn, staving off weight gain.

And that’s why we formulated our Glow Shakes with a ton of protein.

Every mega-satisfying serving packs 29+ grams of protein. Something else that helps our meal replacement shakes stand out from the others is that of those 29+ grams of protein, 17.5 grams come from hydrolyzed collagen peptides, which:

• Is typically unheard of (most meal replacements either contain 0 or squint-and-you’ll-miss-it amounts of collagen) in the market

• Would help you realize all of the collagen peptides’ menopause support benefits mentioned in this article, among other health and wellness benefits (from comfortable-feeling joints to a balanced gut microbiome)

Find the right collagen for you

OK, but what if you’re not keen on meal replacement shakes? Or have specific dietary requirements?

That doesn’t mean you’ll have to miss out on one of the best natural supplements for menopause support. The Collagen Co offers a wide range of collagen products; take our quick, 3-minute-tops quiz right here to find one that’ll perfectly meet your preferences and needs.