Gut + skin · this week

If your gut changed at 42, here's what's actually going on.

Bloating that wasn't there last year. Brain fog by 2 p.m. Foods that suddenly don't sit right. The mechanism is real, the research is well-documented, and the levers that move it are smaller than you'd think.

By Lauren Walsh · May 2026 · read the rundown →

a note from the editor

I read the research so you don't have to spend Sunday afternoon Googling "perimenopause gut why." No miracles, no overhauls. Just what the science actually supports, plus the small repeatable habits that show up on the other side.

— Lauren

editor · The Wellness Rundown

¶ the archive everything published, mixed format, by topic

Gut + skin

If your gut changed at 42, here's what's actually going on

Why bloating, brain fog, and weird food sensitivities all show up at the same time in your forties, and what the research actually supports.

6 min read · read the rundown →

Energy

Why perimenopause exhaustion isn't 'just stress' (the mitochondrial story)

The 3 p.m. crash isn't laziness or poor sleep. It's a real biological shift, and the levers that move it are smaller than you'd think.

7 min read · read the rundown →

Daily routine

5 small wellness habits women in their 40s say actually work

The boring, repeatable practices that keep coming up in real conversations, plus the research that actually backs them up.

6 min read · read the rundown →