Your Ovaries Aren't Retired, Creatine Is Trending, and Ultra-Processed Isn't Always the Villain

Key Takeaways

• ✦New research suggests postmenopausal ovaries don't simply switch off — they may develop a secondary biological function, which has real implications for how we think about ovary-sparing surgery decisions.
• ✦Creatine has early but genuinely promising evidence for muscle mass and bone density in postmenopausal women, though most studies are small and short-term; the brain-benefit claims are the weakest part of the current evidence base.
• ✦A secondary analysis of an RCT published in the NAMS journal found that replacing animal foods with plant foods — including ultra-processed plant foods — was associated with significant weight loss and fewer severe hot flashes, within a soy-supplemented vegan diet.
• ✦The ultra-processed finding is context-dependent: it doesn't mean a bag of Doritos is a hot flash treatment. The dietary context — specifically the soy supplementation and the overall shift away from animal products — appears to be doing the heavy lifting.
• ✦The ovary research is early-stage and mechanistic; it doesn't change clinical recommendations today, but it's the kind of finding that should make surgeons think twice before routine removal of postmenopausal ovaries during unrelated pelvic procedures.