Meet MPowder: How a personal journey became a public mission

AKT, in conversation with Rebekah Brown, founder of menopause community and supplement range, MPowder.

Menopause is a whole body and mind experience. It impacts 51% of the global population. And yet 2 in 3 of us still see it as a taboo topic. We know that many of our AKT customers are transitioning through menopause right now. Our range can help with the discomfort that comes with hot flashes, increased sweating and odour changes - gently and effectively. 

MPowder is a menopause community with a difference; all its products and programmes are formulated by specialists and then verified by their community for efficacy. Their belief is that real change comes from collaboration. And they’re shaking up the supplement space with stuff that really works.

In this conversation we talk about the founding of the community - and what makes their offer so unique.

Rebekah, could you start by telling us a little about your own menopause journey?

Well, I entered perimenopause when I was about 43 - which is statistically when most of us will begin to experience hormonal changes associated with menopause. 

The landscape has changed dramatically in the last few years, but at that time there was very little information out there about menopause - let alone the distinct biochemical stages our bodies go through as we transition from peri - to meno - and then into our post menopause years. 

When I started to experience symptoms, I had no idea what was happening to me. Almost overnight, my confidence levels plummeted, my skin and hair changed...food I had eaten happily for years suddenly made me uncomfortable and bloated. I was exhausted all the time. I became unsure of my ability to do my job. I simply stopped feeling like me. My experience at the doctor’s surgery was pretty typical too. Menopause often hits us when life is at full pelt. We may have children at home with changing needs - or ageing parents. We may be at a critical point in our careers. I had all of that going on - and my doctor decided I was ‘too young’ to be menopausal - and instead offered me antidepressants and suggested I take time away from work.

What did you do next to regain control of your health?

Like my doctor, I thought menopause was something that happened to us in our 50s. But as I researched my broad range of symptoms this new word started to pop up more and more regularly! ‘Perimenopause’. 

I was shocked to discover that this biochemical lifestage can last for around 8 years - and that menopause, the phase I did know a little about, is simply a retrospective date - the 12 month anniversary of your last bleed.

The more I read, the more fascinated I became about the impact of this transition. Our hormones affect every single cell in our body, including our brain. Which is why the symptoms that come hand and hand with menopause are both psychological and physiological. It’s a whole body and mind experience. And, to feel well throughout requires a whole body and mind approach.

How did your experience lead you to the founding of MPowder?

I changed how I ate and how I exercised. I used tools to get better at managing stress. I sought out leading experts in the medical and complementary space. I snuck into functional medicine conferences. I unpicked reams of research data. I basically used myself as a human guinea pig! 

As I started to feel better, I began thinking about my peers at work, my friends and the women I admired who were further along on their menopause journey. I found myself quietly ‘diagnosing’ people who were struggling with symptoms that I knew were markers of hormonal change.  

I am acutely aware that menopause can be a difficult topic to broach unless invited to. But I felt driven to do something because I knew of the long-term health risk of simply staggering through. 

So I began where I felt comfortable. I’m a researcher by trade, so I tiptoed onto instagram and started asking people questions and gathering personal responses. I learned that my own menopause experience was not uncommon. That doctors were struggling to identify menopause. That women were cycling through products and finding very little relief. That people were seeking robust insight, support tools and community. But, critically, as a group of individuals silenced and often made to feel invisible, women were also looking to collaborate - and to have greater agency over their menopause journeys. 

It was this final observation that had the greatest impact on what is now MPowder. I made the decision that, if I was going to make products and services, I wanted to do it ‘with’ as well as ‘for’ people in menopause. We’re the first brand I know of to co-create supplements with the women we serve. 

Tell us about MPowder’s powdered supplement range

Our powders offer targeted nutritional support for each stage of menopause. And they pack a powerful punch! We blend whole foods with therapeutic dosage levels of herbs and vitamins and minerals, which ensures maximum bioavailability and absorption. 

Each recipe is formulated by our medical doctor and naturopathic team to target the most troubling symptoms and deficiencies associated with midlife. We have Vegan Society accreditation, are GMO and gluten free - and there are over 24 ingredients in every scoop!  

But the most important distinction is that each powder is trialed by women in our community to verify impact. Their feedback - and the subsequent insight we get from every customer who signs up to our free symptom tracking service when they purchase a 30 day supply - makes us better. 

What would your message be to people at the start of their menopause transition?

Menopause should not be feared! In Chinese Medicine this stage of life is described as our ‘Second Spring’ . Part 2 can be just as brilliant as part 1. And for many in our community, it feels even better.

To find out more about MPowder, its product range and its online Meno-Well programme, follow them on Instagram @mpowderstore or drop them a line to say hello - email: yourteam@mpowder.store. 

 

MPowder have kindly given us a 15% discount code to share with you and use on their website.*

Use Code: MPOWDERXAKT15

*Customers must be over 18 years of age. Discount open to UK residential addresses only. Maximum 10 orders per household address. Redeemable on 900g single pouch purchases only.  

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