The mere mention of the ‘m’ word was almost non-existent amongst friends and family a few years ago. Menopause and perimenopause was just something women put up with and dared not speak about.
And no one knows this more than 26 year old Becky Horrocks-Taylor who credits her mum’s hush-hush and challenging menopause journey as the reason she co-founded her food topping brand Peachie.
“I was about 15 when my mum hit menopause, although I didn’t really know what it was at the time, I could just tell that something was different,” Becky explains to HELLO! “We didn’t openly discuss it because at that time, no one was talking about it. All I knew was that my mum was going to the doctors more and she spoke about going on HRT, but I didn’t really understand why.”
The silence surrounding her mum’s menopausal experience was a reflection of the broader societal taboo around menopause, which has left many women feeling isolated, confused and uninformed.
"It was also around the time when there was a scandal around HRT potentially having a link with breast cancer, which was then disproven," Becky recalls. "I remember that was when my mum started talking to me about it a bit more because she had read that article and then just said, ‘Oh, I just took my patch off straight away because I didn’t want to risk it.’"
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Seeing her mum suffer while not having the right information at hand clearly left an impression on Becky, and 10 years later she decided to start a business that would support women going through perimenopause and menopause.
© PoberezhnaBecky joined forces with three other women to start a food business called Peachie, that makes products designed with menopausal women’s health in mind.
“Watching my mum go through menopause, I realized there were so many aspects of health that were not being addressed, particularly through nutrition,” Becky explains. “And I think what I’m most excited about is helping women with different support options and nutrition is obviously a huge part of that."
The positives of menopause
Becky's experience taught her that menopause is not just a phase but a profound life transition that can influence every aspect of a woman's life. "I remember at the beginning, that my mum’s personality change was the most obvious thing," Becky shares. "Which is not surprising when you have so many hormones changing and you don’t really understand them yourself. That was probably the hardest to see, especially when I was quite young at the time."
© PoberezhnaBut despite her challenges, Becky also saw resilience in her mum. "She started doing strength training, gym classes, and yoga, which were things she had never done before menopause. And now, those are two of her favorite hobbies. It’s nice to see that menopause, even then, encouraged her to try new things."
Through her work creating Peachie, Becky has learned that menopause doesn’t have to be such a daunting experience and her mother’s experience remains a guiding force. "I can see the positives even though there are quite a lot of scary headlines about menopause,” Becky explains. “And that is because there is more conversation around it - positive and negative.”
Healthy habits are important at any age
"It’s never too early to start getting into healthy habits and finding out what you enjoy that makes you feel good. You can have those habits already for when things do get harder. It’s not like you’re trying to learn a whole new lifestyle."
"I get asked a lot, ‘Why are you doing something around menopause when you’re not going through it?’ But I think for anything that has a taboo, it’s not just up to the people who are going through it to solve it and educate others. Everybody has to speak about it and be involved in the conversation."
