Dietary supplements? Well…

At the Saint-Pierre University Hospital inBrussels, as in other hospitals across the country, there’s a menopause clinic. That’s where Dr. Serge Rozenberg works — a gynecologist in charge of themenopause consultation.

When we ask him whether dietary supplements can help women through this period, his answer comes quickly: “Dietary supplements don’t do much. What really matters is a healthy diet andavoiding toxic excesses such as smoking, alcohol, and too much sugar or fat.But it has never been proven that taking supplements is useful. Scientificliterature shows that a healthy diet helps — it doesn’t show that supplementsdo.”

He does, however, add anuance regarding calcium and vitamin D:
“If a woman has low bone density at the time of menopause, the risk ofosteoporosis increases because of estrogen deficiency. In that case,supplements make sense. But everything else? Meh.”

Sophia Khoudri alsoworks at the menopause clinic as a general practitioner. Even though there’s nostudy proving the effectiveness of these supplements, she believes they canhelp some women:
“They feel like their hot flashes are reduced. But is it a placebo effect ornot? We don’t know. For other patients, it does nothing. But at least itdoesn’t cause harm.”

Rather than dietarysupplements, Dr. Rozenberg prefers the healthiest possible lifestyle:“Not smoking is crucial. Not drinking alcohol regularly is also important,because alcohol increases the risk of breast cancer, osteoporosis, and worsenshot flashes. Physical exercise, on the other hand, protects againstosteoporosis, cardiovascular disease, and cancer.”

That’s what he calls evidence-basedmedicine — “a type ofmedicine that shows people who follow these principles actually improve theirhealth.”

Excerpt from an article by Isabelle Huysen / Source: RTBFTendances

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