Menopause supplements in the UK: what is authorised, what isn't, and what VH Life can say

Read the reviews of any UK supplement brand and a pattern appears: the most detailed, most loyal and most disappointed reviewers are women in their forties and fifties. "Going through the menopause and this has helped my mind and how I feel." "Took it for two months for my heavy periods and noticed nothing." "Great to have products that support during perimenopause." The demand is obvious. So is the confusion, because the rules on what a supplement may say about the menopause are strict, and most marketing ignores them.

What the NHS says

The menopause is when periods stop due to lower hormone levels, usually between 45 and 55; perimenopause is the run-up. Common symptoms the NHS lists include hot flushes, difficulty sleeping, low mood or anxiety, problems with memory or concentration ("brain fog"), joint pains, and changes to periods. The main treatment the NHS discusses is HRT, alongside lifestyle measures, and it recommends talking to a GP. No supplement is a treatment for the menopause, and none may claim to be.

What a supplement may say

In Great Britain a food supplement may only use health claims on the GB Nutrition and Health Claims Register. There is no authorised claim for "menopause", "hormone balance", "hot flushes" or "perimenopause support". Any product using those words as a benefit is outside the rules. What the register does authorise are nutrient-specific claims that happen to line up with things women at this stage often care about:

• Tiredness and fatigue: vitamins B2, B3, B5, B6, B12, C, folate and magnesium "contribute to a reduction of tiredness and fatigue".
• Psychological function: B1, B3, B6, B12, C, biotin, folate and magnesium "contribute to normal psychological function". Pantothenic acid "contributes to normal mental performance"; zinc "contributes to normal cognitive function".
• Bones: calcium, magnesium, zinc, manganese, vitamin K and vitamin D "contribute to the maintenance of normal bones". (The NHS advises everyone in the UK to consider 10 micrograms of vitamin D a day from October to March.)
• Skin, hair and nails: biotin and zinc (skin and hair), selenium and zinc (nails), vitamin C (normal collagen formation for the normal function of skin).
• Muscle: magnesium, calcium and potassium "contribute to normal muscle function".

Botanicals sold for the menopause, sage, black cohosh, red clover, ashwagandha, maca, have no authorised GB health claim. Some are also not appropriate alongside HRT or certain medicines, which is a pharmacist conversation, not a marketing one.

What VH Life can honestly offer

VH Life is not a menopause product and we won't call it one. It is a once-a-day sachet that provides every nutrient in the tiredness, psychological function, skin, hair, nails and muscle claims above at claim level, in a sugar-free berry drink you make with a large glass of water. It contains ashwagandha and black maca on the label with their amounts and no claim. It contains no iron and no soya isoflavones. If you've been buying a B-complex, a magnesium, a zinc and a "women's" blend separately, it's one sachet with every dose printed.

What to do first

If symptoms are affecting your life, see a GP; there are effective treatments and a supplement is not one of them. Ask about vitamin D, and about iron if your periods are heavy, because iron deficiency causes tiredness that no greens powder will touch. Then, if you want a daily nutritional base underneath that, this is where a product like VH Life fits. Our guides on brain fog and skin, hair and nails go into the individual claims.

VH Life is a food supplement. It is not a substitute for a varied, balanced diet and a healthy lifestyle, and it does not treat, prevent or cure anything. Adults only. Not for children, adolescents, or anyone pregnant or breastfeeding. If you take medication, in particular anticoagulants or antiplatelet medicines, speak to your doctor before use.