Why I Co-Developed a Dark Chocolate for Menopause

Let me get the disclosure out of the way first, because you deserve it up front: I co-formulated Menopause Hero with Alice Mushrooms. I’m their medical and nutritional advisor, and I’m an investor in their company. I didn’t go to medical school to make chocolate. And yet, here we are—and I’m very excited about it!

I know the pushback, because I've said versions of it myself. Menopause has become a gold rush. Every week there’s a new powder, patch, or proprietary blend promising to fix what a generation of women was told to quietly endure. A lot of it is marketing in a lab coat. So when a doctor shows up with a menopause product, skepticism is the correct response. But this also doesn’t mean if new products are developed, that they shouldn’t be considered. And Menopause Hero fits that bill perfectly.

Here’s my banner headline on this: It’s not prescription medication. It's infused, organic dark chocolate. Let's not overthink it.

This isn't hormone therapy, and it isn't a substitute for a real conversation with your doctor about whether hormone therapy is right for you. What it is: one square of 72% organic dark chocolate, infused with bioactive ingredients that have actual research behind them. I’ve been working on this project for over two years with the founders of Alice Mushrooms, because I believe in the power of ingredients that we can consume every day. When we started, we had over 20 bioactive compounds on our list, and we finally narrowed it down to these fabulous five. Let me tell you about them.

The lead ingredient is DIM, or diindolylmethane, which your body makes from compounds in broccoli, kale, and Brussels sprouts. As your ovaries make less estrogen, how your liver processes the estrogen you still have starts to matter more. DIM is thought to nudge the liver enzymes involved toward what's called the 2-hydroxy pathway, and in a study of postmenopausal women, it shifted estrogen metabolites in that direction. That's why it may support healthy estrogen metabolism. Getting a comparable amount from food would take more broccoli than anyone, including me, wants to eat.

Next is fennel, which has been used in women's health for centuries. Its main active compound, anethole, is a phytoestrogen: a plant compound that interacts gently with your estrogen receptors. Fennel has been studied in a randomized, placebo-controlled trial in postmenopausal women, and it's one of the ingredients that may help ease discomfort associated with the menopausal transition.

Maitake, one of the most researched functional mushrooms, brings beta-glucans, a type of fiber your immune cells are built to recognize, so it may support immune health. That matters more now, because estrogen helps regulate your immune system.

Red maca and holy basil, staples of Andean and Ayurvedic tradition, are rich in polyphenols and, together with fennel and maitake, may provide antioxidant support during hormonal aging. The cacao brings polyphenols of its own. One square is about 25 calories.

Why chocolate?

Because by midlife, most of our kitchen counters look like a pharmacy. Nobody needs another capsule to forget. What I do think we need is a “gift” to ourselves, and nothing fits the bill better than dark chocolate. It’s a reminder that we should be celebrating this stage, not medicalizing it. We should be embracing routines that make us feel good. And the routine you look forward to is the one you'll actually keep.

I believe in personalized nutrition just as much as personalized medicine. And I believe every single thing we put in our mouths can either help or hurt our overall health. Menopause Hero helps. Not the whole tin. Just one square a day.

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