1. Vitamin K
While getting enough of the right vitamins is important, especially during menopause, Dr. Regina says you can leave Vitamin K on the shelf. She claims it has no proven benefits for menopausal women.
"There are literally zero studies on vitamin K supporting your brain health," she explains. Additionally, vitamin K is a fat-soluble vitamin, which means it can pose risks if not carefully monitored. Dr. Regina reassures viewers that vitamin D can be absorbed just fine without pairing it with vitamin K. Good to know!
2. Collagen
Collagen is one of the most popular supplements out there, especially when it comes to beauty. Low estrogen levels during menopause can lead to dry skin, sagging, thinning hair, brittle nails, and more. But while collagen is often marketed for improving joint pain and skin health, Dr. Regina says it's not worth the hype for menopause.
"Collagen doesn’t have a lot of research behind it for joint pain and skin health," she notes. The only proven benefit of collagen, she says, is that it contains protein. "If it helps you increase your protein consumption, great. But other than that, don’t expect any other benefits."
3. Electrolytes
Do you really need electrolytes? According to Dr. Regina, the answer is probably no. Unless you’re a high-performance athlete or participating in activities like hot yoga, Dr. Regina says you don’t need electrolyte supplements.
"Electrolytes contain salt. We need less salt in our diet," she explains. Most people, especially those who aren’t sweating excessively due to intense physical activity like hot yoga, are already consuming enough—if not too much—salt. So you can skip those electrolytes, even in menopause!
4. Hormone-Balancing Blends
Last but not least, Dr. Regina calls out hormone-balancing blends for menopause as ineffective and misleading. "These hormone-balancing supplements can have up to 20 different herbal products in them, claiming that they can help to balance your hormones in menopause," she explains. However, there are two major issues with these products: "One, there’s not enough of the herbal product to actually make a difference. Two, we can’t balance your hormones in menopause—they’re low!"
Instead, she suggests using targeted herbal supplements to alleviate specific symptoms. For example, sage can work to reduce hot flashes. She warns against supplements that claim to fix everything: "A red flag would be a supplement that claims it reduces hot flashes and night sweats and vaginal dryness and insomnia and causes weight loss and reduces bloating—it can’t do all of those things." Noted!