
Want to Live Longer? A Female Longevity Expert Says Focus on These 3 Things | Zora Benhamou
Stronger Bolder WiserShow Notes
Ageing isn't decline, it's the beginning of something incredible, and the choices you make today are quietly building the woman you'll be at 80.
I sat down with gerontologist and biohacker Zora Benhamou, host of the Hack My Age podcast, who has interviewed more than 200 women across 50 countries about how they experience menopause. We got into why so many of us reach for alcohol in perimenopause without realising it's a short-lived fix for a real hormonal shift, and why removing it changes almost everything. Zora walked me through the three phases of the menopause transition, the levers that protect our long-term health, and why building your 80-year-old self starts decades before you get there. This one is packed with practical, hopeful information about movement, bones, nutrition, and taking your health into your own hands.
Zora Benhamou is a gerontologist and biohacker on a mission to disrupt menopause stigma and ageist stereotypes. She holds a Master of Gerontology from the University of Southern California, has traveled to over 50 countries interviewing women about their menopause experience, and hosts the Hack My Age podcast.
She is the author of the Longevity Master Plan and the cookbook Eating For Longevity.
Connect with Zora Benhamou: Website: https://hackmyage.com Instagram: https://instagram.com/hackmyage Free menopause guide at https://hackmyage.com/biohacking-menopause-101/
Other resources: Free book: Fracture Proof Your Bones by Dr. John Neustadt https://www.nbihealth.com/fractureproof/ The list of 103 symptoms of menopause https://wearemorphus.com/blogs/signs-and-symptoms
Timestamps What Menopause Looks Like in 50 Countries (00:00) The 3 Stages of Menopause Explained (03:06) 103 Menopause Symptoms Doctors Never Mention (05:19) Why Women Turn to Alcohol in Perimenopause (09:47) How Quitting Alcohol Transforms Menopause Symptoms (16:10) How to Build Your 80-Year-Old Self Now (20:04) Exercise: The Biggest Longevity Lever for Women (24:28) How Alcohol and Smoking Destroy Bone Density (30:28) What Your DEXA Scan T-Score Really Means (36:19) REMS: A Better Way to Test Bone Health (40:19) How Much Protein Do Women Actually Need (43:57) The Truth About Fasting for Women Over 50 (49:50) How to Silence Food Noise in Your Head (54:53) The Bone Supplement Most Women Get Wrong (01:03:26) Rapid Fire: Habits, Sleep Hacks and Biohacks (01:09:38) The One Thing to Start Doing Today (01:13:43)
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Sarah Rusbatch is an accredited Health and Wellbeing Coach and one of Australia's leading experts on grey area drinking. Her podcast, Stronger, Bolder, Wiser, is the go-to space for women who are questioning their relationship with alcohol, navigating life alcohol-free, or simply curious about what life could look like on the other side of the bottle.
If this episode resonated with you, please share it with someone who needs to hear it. And if you haven't already, subscribe so you never miss an episode, and leave a review to help more women find this community.
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Struggling to know what to do when stress, boredom or big emotions hit?
Download my free guide "100 Things to Do Instead of Drinking", a toolkit for sitting with those feelings instead of reaching for a glass of wine.
Get your free guide → https://sarahrusbatch.com/free-guide-100-things-to-do-instead-of-drinking
Find out more about my other programs here: https://sarahrusbatch.com/
If you want to join a space where women feel safe to be seen, ask the questions they don't always say out loud and connect with others going through the same, join my free Facebook group, Women's Wellbeing Collective here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/342319476897067
And if changing your relationship with alcohol is something you want to explore further, you can find my book Beyond Booze on Audible, Spotify, Kindle and Amazon. Click the link here: https://sarahrusbatch.com/beyond-booze
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Taking 30 days off alcohol in midlife rarely feels the way social media promises. Boredom, flatness and broken sleep often come first, and none of it means you're doing it wrong.In this video I share the five most unexpected things women discover in their first 30 days without wine, from the 5 to 7pm boredom to the friend who suddenly goes quiet. I explain why your brain can feel flat once alcohol stops lighting up your dopamine reward centre, and why sedation is not the same as restorative sleep. Most importantly, I explain why all of it settles.Key Topics Covered- Why boredom hits hardest between 5 and 7pm when you stop drinking, and why taking alcohol out means adding something in, like an evening walk, a class or a hobby.- Feeling flat after quitting alcohol: how years of drinking dysregulate your dopamine receptors, and why it evens out with time.- What to do when friends get weird about you not drinking, and why talking to your closest friends first helps.- Why sleep without alcohol can get worse before it gets better, and how to ride the emotional rollercoaster of the early weeks.Timestamps What Happens When You Stop Drinking For 30 Days (00:00) Thing 1: Boredom Between 5 And 7pm (00:40) Thing 2: Feeling Flat After You Stop Drinking (02:01) Thing 3: When Friends Get Weird About You Not Drinking (02:44) Thing 4: Why Sleep Gets Worse Before It Gets Better (03:37) Thing 5: Feeling Emotional Over Nothing (04:40) Free Support To Change Your Drinking (05:20)Also Watch My Previous Episodes:- Seven Signs You Are a Grey Area Drinker- Six Reasons Successful Women Are Quietly Quitting Alcohol- Three Reasons Women Cannot Metabolise Alcohol as Effectively as Men***Struggling to know what to do when stress, boredom or big emotions hit?Download my free guide "100 Things to Do Instead of Drinking", a toolkit for sitting with those feelings instead of reaching for a glass of wine.Get your free guide → https://bit.ly/4qOiGUw***Sarah Rusbatch is an accredited Health and Wellbeing Coach and one of Australia's leading experts on grey area drinking. Her podcast, Stronger, Bolder, Wiser, is the go-to space for women who are questioning their relationship with alcohol, navigating life alcohol-free, or simply curious about what life could look like on the other side of the bottle. If this episode resonated with you, please share it with someone who needs to hear it. And if you haven't already, subscribe so you never miss an episode, and leave a review to help more women find this community.Find out more about my other programs here: https://sarahrusbatch.com/If you want to join a space where women feel safe to be seen, ask the questions they don't always say out loud and connect with others going through the same, join my free Facebook group, Women's Wellbeing Collective here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/342319476897067And if changing your relationship with alcohol is something you want to explore further, you can find my book Beyond Booze on Audible, Spotify, Kindle and Amazon. Click the link here: https://sarahrusbatch.com/beyond-booze
Nobody walks into a marriage planning to leave it, yet so many midlife women are quietly asking whether to stay or go. Your body often knows the answer first.