Morning Glow Newsletter Vol. 19

Team Yara - Writing
Sep 26
8 min read

28 Sept 2025

Written for the women who ask twice. And the ones who stopped asking altogether. We’re bringing you back into the centre of your care.

Middle Age or Medical Mystery? Know the Difference

As we age, our bodies change. Some symptoms that seem ordinary may hide something serious. Women over 50 can sometimes get misdiagnosed because symptoms overlap with “just ageing.” Here are some of the most commonly misdiagnosed conditions, along with tips on how to spot them.

Thyroid Disorders (Hypothyroidism / Hyperthyroidism)

Your thyroid is a small gland in your neck that controls metabolism.
When it underproduces (hypothyroidism), you may feel cold, gain weight, or feel tired.
If it overproduces (hyperthyroidism), symptoms include palpitations, weight loss, and jitteriness.
Many doctors dismiss mild symptoms as “just middle age.” Ask for a full thyroid blood test (TSH, T4).

Autoimmune Conditions (e.g. Lupus, Rheumatoid Arthritis)

The immune system mistakenly attacks your own tissues.
Symptoms: joint pain, fatigue, rash, unexplained fever.
These mimic arthritis or general aches and pains. Insist on autoimmune panels (ANA, rheumatoid factor).

Fibromyalgia

Causes widespread muscle pain, sleep problems, and memory issues (“fibro fog”).
Often misdiagnosed as depression or chronic fatigue.
There is no single diagnostic test. Diagnosis relies on a patient's history and the exclusion of other conditions.

Heart Disease in Women

Women’s heart symptoms are often subtler than men’s (less chest pain, more shortness of breath, fatigue).
These can be misinterpreted as indigestion or arthritis.
Ask for tests such as an ECG, stress test, or echocardiogram if symptoms persist.

Thyroid Cancer or Nodules

Thyroid nodules (growths) often cause no symptoms until they press on structures or change thyroid function.
Because neck swelling may be mistaken for normal ageing, doctors delay imaging.
Use a neck ultrasound if a lump is felt or thyroid function is abnormal.

Sleep Apnoea

Brief pauses in breathing during sleep.
Symptoms: daytime fatigue, poor concentration, and snoring.
Often misattributed to menopause or ageing, sleep problems.
A sleep study (polysomnography) is the diagnostic tool.

Vitamin D Deficiency / Osteoporosis

Low vitamin D levels can lead to weak bones and muscle pain.
Osteoporosis is the thinning of bones.
Many doctors don’t test for vitamin D or bone density until a fracture occurs. Ask for a bone mineral density scan (DEXA) and a vitamin D blood test.

What you can do to protect yourself

Keep a symptom journal. Notes about fatigue, brain fog, pain or breathlessness help your doctor see patterns.
Ask clarifying questions at appointments. Don’t accept “it’s normal for your age” as a final answer. Request tests specific to your symptoms. Blood panels, imaging, sleep studies, whatever matches your experience.
Get a second opinion if your symptoms continue without improvement.
Trust your instincts. You know your body best.

Women over 50 have earned the right to be heard. With the right questions and tests, misdiagnosis can be avoided. You deserve answers, not assumptions.

Join the conversation here: www.yaraglow.com

When Healthy Pills Go Rogue: 7 Supplement Side Effects to Watch

Supplements are everywhere now, including multivitamins, herbal pills, and protein powders, and many of us take them in the hope that they’ll boost our health. But “just because it’s natural” doesn’t always mean harmless. Here are seven side effects that should ring alarm bells.

Heart trouble & palpitations. Some supplements act like stimulants. Ingredients like caffeine, liquorice root, or yohimbine can cause your heart to pound, raise your blood pressure, or trigger irregular heartbeats.
Upset stomach, bloating, or diarrhoea. Taking large doses of magnesium, iron, or vitamin C can upset your digestion. What starts as a mild rumble might turn into severe cramping if you’re pushing your limits.
Immune system chaos. Too much zinc or herbal “immune boosters” can do more harm than good. Overuse may suppress your immune function or even provoke flare-ups if you have autoimmune tendencies.
Kidney overload: Excess calcium, vitamin D, or certain muscle-building supplements strain your kidneys. That’s how stones form or kidney stress develops over time.
Liver danger zone: The liver processes supplements. Potent herbs, green tea extract concentrates, or high-dose vitamins like A can damage it — sometimes without warning.
Nerve problems or unusual moods, B vitamins are touted for their role in energy and mood. But too much B6 or niacin (B3) may cause tingling, numbness, lightheadedness or emotional shifts.
Clashes with medications, St John’s wort, fish oil and other common supplements interact with prescriptions. What’s supposed to help might cancel your pill or magnify side effects.

How to be safer with supplements

Use them to fill gaps, not to replace good food.
Start with low doses, proceed slowly, and monitor your progress.
Look for third-party seals that check purity and label accuracy.
Always tell your doctor what you take (even “natural” things).
Stop taking a supplement immediately if you experience yellow skin, dark urine, sudden fatigue, or digestive trouble.

Supplements can offer benefits. But they carry real risks, especially when taken in excess. When your body grumbles, listen. You deserve better than a “just age” shrug.

Timing Is Everything: Hormone Therapy’s Surprising Link to Alzheimer’s Risk

When women consider hormone replacement therapy (HRT) around menopause, they often think about managing hot flashes and osteoporosis. But new research suggests there might be long-term brain risks too, depending on when therapy starts. Here’s what you need to know.

The “Window of Opportunity” theory: Studies indicate that starting HRT closer to menopause (within 10 years) might carry lower Alzheimer’s risk, whereas beginning it decades later may be harmful. Timing appears vital.
How hormones affect the brain: Oestrogen impacts blood vessels, nerve growth, and brain metabolism. After menopause, a prolonged hormone gap might leave the brain more vulnerable. HRT begun too late could fail to offer protection or even accelerate changes.
Type, dose, and delivery matter: Not all hormone therapy is the same. Estrogen alone and combined estrogen-progestogen therapies may affect risk differently. Modes like patches may behave differently from pills due to their method of entry into circulation.
Other risk factors still count: HRT is only one piece. Age, family history, blood pressure, cholesterol, diabetes, and lifestyle (diet, exercise, sleep) all contribute significantly to Alzheimer’s risk.
What the recent study found: Post-menopausal women who began hormone therapy relatively early showed a lower association with Alzheimer’s development. But those who started it late had a higher risk or no benefit. The takeaway: timing could flip the effect.
Caution is essential: These results don’t mean everyone should or shouldn’t take HRT. The study shows association, not proof. Every woman’s risk profile is different.

What to ask your doctor

Is it within that early timing window for me?
Which hormone regimen might carry lower neurological risks?
Can I combine HRT with brain-healthy lifestyle habits (exercise, mental stimulation, good sleep)?
How often should my brain health and hormone levels be reassessed?

Hormones may have more lasting effects than just easing hot flashes. If you think HRT could be helpful, timing may not just influence side effects, it might shape your brain’s future.

Beyond the Burn: When Cystitis in Midlife Could Signal Something More

You get that familiar sting when you pee, figure it’s just a urinary tract infection, take the antibiotics, and forget about it. But for women in midlife, recurrent cystitis (bladder infection) might hide something more serious — not to scare you, but so you stay alert.

What is cystitis? It is inflammation of the bladder lining, most often caused by bacteria entering from the urethra. You feel burning, urgency, frequent trips to the loo, and sometimes blood in urine.
When midlife makes it riskier, after menopause, falling oestrogen levels can thin the urinary and bladder tissues, making infections more likely. The bladder lining becomes more fragile, making it easier for bacteria to adhere.
The cancer link that got attention in a recent UK study, doctors flagged that some women with recurrent cystitis turned out to have bladder or kidney cancer. It’s rare, but repeated symptoms warrant deeper checks rather than just repeated antibiotics.
Red flags you shouldn’t ignore • Blood in the urine (even a little) • Pain in the back or side (flank pain) • Weight loss or fatigue • Symptoms that don’t respond to standard treatment • Recurrence soon after finishing antibiotics.
What to ask your doctor • Can we do a urine culture to identify the exact bacteria? • Should I have imaging (ultrasound, CT) to look at the kidneys and bladder? • Will a cystoscopy (bladder camera) help rule out cancer? • Are there lifestyle changes (hydration, avoiding bladder irritants) that can reduce recurrence?
Prevention matters. Stay hydrated, empty your bladder fully, avoid irritants (such as coffee, alcohol, and spicy foods), and manage constipation; all of these can help support urinary health.

You don’t want to live in fear of cancer. But you also don’t like repetitive discomfort dismissed as “just another UTI.” If the pattern repeats, ask more questions. Stay curious about your body.

Anxiety Is Not Panic: See What It Really Does

Most people confuse anxiety with panic. Panic is a life-saving alarm that kicks in during real danger, while anxiety is quieter and meant to motivate you toward action.

Anxiety is future-facing. It nudges you to gather what you need for what’s ahead. It emphasises the importance of planning, gathering resources, and being ready, even when feeling restless.
Because of that future focus, anxiety can feel scattered or hyper-energetic. It makes you juggle several things in your mind at once. When your tasks and deadlines pile up, that inner restlessness can spiral.
The danger comes when anxiety loses direction. Instead of helping you act, it stretches you thin. When you can’t keep up, panic may step in to force action. That’s when you feel dread, confusion, or a sense that something terrible is about to happen.
Anxiety and panic are separate tools. Anxiety wants you to prepare. Panic wants you to survive. When you don’t separate them, they can fight for control inside you.
To work with anxiety instead of against it: Ask what it’s trying to protect you from. Ask what it wants you to do next. Task that energy into small action steps. Recognise when you’re tipping toward panic, and pause.
When you start seeing anxiety as messy energy rather than a flaw, you can begin to channel it. Its intensity becomes a tool, not a tyrant.

Anxiety lives in the tension between what is and what might be. You don’t have to tame it. You have to learn to dance with it.

Eat That Crispy Snack and Your Memory Might Flip the Script

Just a few days of eating junk food can rattle your memory. In experiments, mice fed a high-fat “Western” diet showed disruptions in memory function within four days.

The culprit? A particular group of brain cells, known as CCK interneurons, is located in the hippocampus, the brain’s memory hub. Their job is to moderate signals and maintain clean memory processing. But when overloaded, they go into overdrive, silencing critical neurons and making memory chaotic.
The trouble starts when your brain’s ability to use glucose (sugar) weakens. That forces those CCK interneurons to ramp up their firing. They take control, and the rest of the memory machinery falters.
A protein called PKM2 plays a key role. It regulates how brain cells use glucose. When glucose is scarce, PKM2 shifts metabolism in a way that prompts the CCK interneurons to become overactive and experience memory slips.
The eerie part: memory problems showed even before weight gain or signs of metabolic disease. This suggests diet can affect brain function independently of obesity.
But it’s not hopeless. The memory damage can be reversed if caught early. Restoring glucose levels calmed overactive neurons, and memory freed itself again. Interventions like dietary shifts or intermittent fasting did the repair work in mice.
For people, the study suggests high intake of saturated fat and ultra-processed foods over time may increase risk for long-term problems like dementia or Alzheimer’s. Research in human populations has already linked heavy consumption of junk food with cognitive decline.
What you can try now: replace processed and fried foods with whole foods (vegetables, legumes, whole grains), limit saturated fat, avoid “ultra-processed” snacks, and allow your brain time to reset. If you see memory slips, don’t shrug them off. Ask your doctor to check your brain's sugar use, metabolism, and whether changes to your diet might help.
Your brain and body carry the same fuel tank. When you eat sludge, your memory runs out of gas. Choose food your brain recognises.

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