Welcome to the latest Midlife Minute episode.Today, we’re talking about elimination diets, iron, and ferritin. I share my personal experience with prolonged antibiotic and antifungal use, clarify what the research actually says about restrictive diets, nutrient deficiencies, fatigue, and brain fog, and highlight why it’s essential to understand your iron status during the menopausal transition.IN THIS EPISODE, YOU WILL LEARN: Why elimination diets can be helpful in specific situations, but may not be appropriate for the long term How removing major food groups without a replacement strategy can cause unintended nutrient deficiencies Why some women become more reactive to certain foods during the menopausal transition How women’s protein requirements increase during perimenopause and menopause How low ferritin is often overlooked in women, even when they are experiencing fatigue and brain fog Why women’s iron status fluctuates during the perimenopause to menopause transition How some women experience significant symptoms long before anemia appears in their standard lab workConnect with Cynthia Thurlow   Follow on X, Instagram & LinkedIn Check out Cynthia’s website. Submit your questions to [email protected]  Join other like-minded women in a supportive, nurturing community: The Midlife Pause/Cynthia Thurlow.  Purchase Cynthia’s book, The Menopause Gut. Cynthia’s Intermittent Fasting Transformation Book The Midlife Pause Supplement LineLinks:1. The Importance of Nutrition in Menopause and Perimenopause—A Review2. Weight gain during the menopause transition: Evidence for a mechanismdependent on protein leverage3. The gut microbiota in menopause: Is there a role for prebiotic and probioticsolutions?4. Cognitive Performance in Relation to Systemic and Brain Iron at Perimenopause5. Accelerated Increase in Ferritin Levels During Menopausal Transition as a Marker of Metabolic Health6. Iron and Menopause: Does Increased Iron Affect the Health of Postmenopausal Women?7. Iron deficiency in peri-menopausal women: Clinical considerations from an expert consensus8. Cognitive Function in Peri- and Postmenopausal Women: Implications forConsidering Iron Supplementation