The Pause Life by Dr. Mary Claire Haver

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There’s a routine blood test that tracks with your waist, your triglycerides, and your insulin after menopause. It rarely gets ordered. A rare 2026 study done specifically in 351 postmenopausal women found the lowest vitamin D group (under 21 ng/mL) had over twice the risk of metabolic syndrome versus women above 31, along with higher waist circumference, triglycerides, and insulin, and lower HDL. This was a cross-sectional snapshot, so it can’t prove low vitamin D causes metabolic syndrome. More body fat can also lower circulating vitamin D. And supplement users were excluded, so it doesn’t tell us a pill fixes anything. What I tell my patients: ask for the 25-hydroxy vitamin D test by name. Food sources worth knowing: salmon, sardines, mackerel, egg yolks, UV-grown mushrooms, cod liver oil, and fortified milk or plant milk. If you supplement, use D3, take it with a fat-containing meal, dose to your blood level, and retest. Source: Cota e Souza et al., Arch Endocrinol Metab. 2026;70(5):e260085. Educational, not medical advice. Talk to your clinician about testing and dosing.