Supplements¶

What the menu actually does with this¶

Three things, and nothing else:

1. Avoids contradiction. A client on iron is told, in Notes for you, not to take it with the coffee or the dairy portion — a timing note, not a dosing one.
2. Avoids duplication. A client already taking a fibre supplement or protein powder does not need the menu to solve the same problem twice, and protein powder that is already in use can be counted as a protein portion.
3. Notes where food covers it. Where the menu already delivers what a supplement is for, that is worth saying — it is the client's decision what to do about it.

Everything else goes in one line in Notes for you: which supplements were noted, and that any change to them is a conversation with their doctor or dietitian.

What the things are¶

Reference only. Presence here is not endorsement.

Calcium¶

1000–1200 mg a day, from diverse sources rather than one. This is the one the menu can genuinely influence, and it matters most where the menopause protocol applies.

Food sources worth placing: dairy portions (~250 mg each), tahini ( — very high), sardines with bones, almonds, tofu set with calcium, leafy greens, fortified plant milks. Two dairy portions plus tahini daily gets most of the way there.

Vitamin D¶

Fat-soluble, so absorption is materially better taken with a fat portion — alongside olive oil, avocado or nuts rather than on an empty stomach. That is a timing note the menu can make. The dose is not.

Often paired with K2 and magnesium, which is a common protocol and not one this menu has an opinion on.

Omega-3¶

1–2 capsules daily is the usual form. Food sources — oily fish, walnuts, ground flaxseed, hemp — are in the exchange lists and the menu should place them regardless of whether a capsule is also being taken.

Magnesium¶

Frequently taken for sleep and cramps. Food sources: pumpkin seeds, almonds, dark leafy greens, legumes, buckwheat.

Vitamin B complex / B12¶

B12 is the one to be alert to. Where nut_pattern is "Vegan" — or "Vegetarian" with very low dairy and egg frequency in nut_ffq — B12 cannot be covered by this menu, and Notes for you should say that plainly and point at their doctor. That is a statement of a limitation, which is in scope; a dose is not.

Iron¶

Absorption is helped by vitamin C in the same meal and hindered by tea, coffee, calcium and dairy. The menu can and should separate them by an hour or two. Where the client is menstruating with sys_menses_flow of "Heavy" or "Very heavy", that is a referral, not a menu adjustment.

Collagen¶

10–12 g daily is the usual amount. Contributes protein, but as an incomplete protein it is not counted toward the protein portions or the per-meal target.

Creatine¶

Commonly used, well studied for strength and increasingly for older women. Requires adequate water — relevant given the hydration target. No menu adjustment.

NAC, curcumin¶

Recognise, note, no menu implication.

Sports supplements — BCAA, protein powder¶

Protein powder is a protein portion at ⅓ scoop and can be used in options where the client already has it. BCAAs are redundant against a menu hitting its protein target, which is worth one sentence at most.

Evening primrose, maca, vitex (chaste tree)¶

Taken for menopausal and cycle symptoms. Vitex in particular is hormonally active and interacts with hormonal contraception and HRT.

Recognise and note. Never suggest. Where a client is already taking vitex and is also on hormonal contraception or HRT, that is a note to raise it with their doctor — nothing more.

The line, restated¶