We’ve been there. That’s why we’re here.
We started The Better Menopause because we were going through it ourselves, and couldn’t find the support we needed. So we built it, with women’s health doctors and nutrition experts alongside us. This is how we got here.
It started with burnout. Then perimenopause.
In 2022, our founder Debbie Wosskow ended up in hospital with pneumonia and pleurisy after years of running on empty. She was 48, flying regularly between London and Los Angeles, building a business and raising a family. Eventually, her body said stop.
Her recovery involved a prolonged course of antibiotics. At around the same time, Debbie learned she was in perimenopause. Like so many of us, she hadn’t seen it coming. The exhaustion, poor sleep and feeling that something simply wasn’t right suddenly started to make more sense.
It was a specialist who first helped Debbie connect the dots between her gut health and the hormonal changes she was experiencing, introducing her to emerging research exploring the relationship between the gut microbiome and hormones during perimenopause. As she learned more, Debbie started looking for a probiotic developed specifically with women at this stage of life in mind. She couldn’t find what she was looking for.
That gap became The Better Menopause. Debbie brought together a team of experts, including nutritional therapist Jo Lyall, gastroenterologists and women’s health doctors, to develop Better Gut, our first formulation. Better Night, Better Metabolism and Better Libido followed, as we began building a range around the realities of midlife and the things women told us they wanted more support with.
Today, we’re a growing community of women across the UK, US and Canada. But what drives us hasn’t changed: creating the kind of products, information and support we wanted ourselves. Grounded in science, made for midlife and shaped by the real experiences of women going through it.
Years of helping women. Then it was her turn.
Long before The Better Menopause existed, nutrition had become a deeply personal part of Joanna Lyall’s life. After a successful career in media, she began retraining as a nutritional therapist in 2003, qualifying three years later and opening her own clinic alongside her corporate career.
For years, Jo worked directly with women navigating stress, reproductive health and hormonal change. She saw how often women were trying to piece together answers for themselves, and how powerful it could be to better understand what was happening in our own bodies.
Then Jo reached perimenopause herself. Suddenly, the conversations she’d been having with women for years became personal too. When Debbie’s own experience led her to start asking questions about the relationship between the gut microbiome and hormonal change, she and Jo found themselves asking many of the same questions.
The Better Menopause grew from those conversations. Together with gastroenterologists and women’s health doctors, Debbie and Jo developed Better Gut, with Jo bringing her years of nutritional and clinical experience to the formulation. Today, she leads our nutritional approach and plays a central role in developing every product. Jo is a registered nutritional therapist (Dip Nut, mBANT, CNHC).
In our own words
“We wanted to create the kind of support we were looking for ourselves: grounded in science, thoughtful about what goes into every formulation, and made with a real understanding of this stage of women’s lives.”
Why this matters
We shouldn’t have to reach menopause before we understand it.
Menopause is a natural stage of life, but that doesn’t mean it’s always easy to navigate. Most of us will experience symptoms, for some they can have a significant impact, yet too many women still reach this stage without the information they need.
women experience some menopausal symptoms.
SourceUniversity College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
of respondents to the Government’s Women’s Health Strategy survey said they had enough information about menopause.
SourceDepartment of Health & Social Care, Women’s Health Strategy survey
women find their menopausal symptoms severe.
SourceUniversity College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Too many of us only start learning about menopause when we’re already going through it. We believe women deserve better information, better conversations and better support, so we can understand what’s happening in our bodies and make informed choices about what works for us.
It starts in the gut.
During perimenopause, oestrogen levels fall and fluctuate, and research suggests the balance of the gut microbiome shifts alongside them. The gut microbiome is also thought to play a part in how oestrogen is processed and recirculated in the body. Researchers call this two-way relationship the gut-hormone connection.
It’s a fast-growing area of research, and it’s what led Debbie to a specialist and, eventually, to Jo. It’s also why our first formulation, Better Gut, was a live-bacteria supplement developed with women in perimenopause and menopause in mind. Every product since has started from the same place: the evidence, and the women we make it for.
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Oestrogen shifts
In perimenopause, oestrogen falls and fluctuates. Research suggests the balance of bacteria in the gut shifts with it.
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The gut plays a part
The gut microbiome is thought to be involved in how oestrogen is processed and recirculated in the body.
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Why it matters
Researchers are exploring links between the gut microbiome and digestion, sleep, mood and energy in midlife.
What matters to us
The principles behind everything we make, from the formulations themselves to how we talk about menopause.
Science first
We start with the evidence, beginning with the gut-hormone connection. Our formulations use high-quality ingredients chosen for a reason, and we work with nutritional, medical and women’s health experts to inform what we create.
Shaped by women
We’re going through this too. We listen to our community, learn from their experiences and let those conversations help shape what we create next.
A better midlife
We believe this stage of life deserves better support, better information and better conversations. We’re here to help women feel more informed and supported through menopause, and positive about everything that comes next.
Guided by women’s health doctors
Dr. Sabrina Ong
"Better Gut is the one probiotic I always recommend to all of my patients in perimenopause and beyond. Gut health is foundational in midlife."
Dr Shahzadi Harper
"The gut–hormone connection is one of the most under-explained parts of midlife health — supporting it can make a real difference."
Dr. Taniqua Miller
"Research shows the specific ingredients in these blends directly address the shifts many women face during midlife and menopause."
Made for midlife.
Ready to feel like you again?
Start with Better Gut, the foundation of our system, or explore all four formulas.
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