Want to Live Longer? A Female Longevity Expert Says Focus on These 3 Things | Zora Benhamou

Ageing isn't decline, it's the beginning of something incredible, and the choices you make today are quietly building the woman you'll be at 80.

I sat down with gerontologist and biohacker Zora Benhamou, host of the Hack My Age podcast, who has interviewed more than 200 women across 50 countries about how they experience menopause. We got into why so many of us reach for alcohol in perimenopause without realising it's a short-lived fix for a real hormonal shift, and why removing it changes almost everything. Zora walked me through the three phases of the menopause transition, the levers that protect our long-term health, and why building your 80-year-old self starts decades before you get there. This one is packed with practical, hopeful information about movement, bones, nutrition, and taking your health into your own hands.

Zora Benhamou is a gerontologist and biohacker on a mission to disrupt menopause stigma and ageist stereotypes. She holds a Master of Gerontology from the University of Southern California, has traveled to over 50 countries interviewing women about their menopause experience, and hosts the Hack My Age podcast.

She is the author of the Longevity Master Plan and the cookbook Eating For Longevity.

Connect with Zora Benhamou:

Website: https://hackmyage.com

Instagram: https://instagram.com/hackmyage

Free menopause guide at https://hackmyage.com/biohacking-menopause-101/

Other resources:

Free book: Fracture Proof Your Bones by Dr. John Neustadt https://www.nbihealth.com/fractureproof/

The list of 103 symptoms of menopause https://wearemorphus.com/blogs/signs-and-symptoms

Timestamps

What Menopause Looks Like in 50 Countries (00:00)

The 3 Stages of Menopause Explained (03:06)

103 Menopause Symptoms Doctors Never Mention (05:19)

Why Women Turn to Alcohol in Perimenopause (09:47)

How Quitting Alcohol Transforms Menopause Symptoms (16:10)

How to Build Your 80-Year-Old Self Now (20:04)

Exercise: The Biggest Longevity Lever for Women (24:28)

How Alcohol and Smoking Destroy Bone Density (30:28)

What Your DEXA Scan T-Score Really Means (36:19)

REMS: A Better Way to Test Bone Health (40:19)

How Much Protein Do Women Actually Need (43:57)

The Truth About Fasting for Women Over 50 (49:50)

How to Silence Food Noise in Your Head (54:53)

The Bone Supplement Most Women Get Wrong (01:03:26)

Rapid Fire: Habits, Sleep Hacks and Biohacks (01:09:38)

The One Thing to Start Doing Today (01:13:43)

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Sarah Rusbatch is an accredited Health and Wellbeing Coach and one of Australia's leading experts on grey area drinking. Her podcast,  Stronger, Bolder, Wiser, is the go-to space for women who are questioning their relationship with alcohol, navigating life alcohol-free, or simply curious about what life could look like on the other side of the bottle.

If this episode resonated with you, please share it with someone who needs to hear it. And if you haven't already, subscribe so you never miss an episode, and leave a review to help more women find this community.

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Struggling to know what to do when stress, boredom or big emotions hit?

Download my free guide "100 Things to Do Instead of Drinking", a toolkit for sitting with those feelings instead of reaching for a glass of wine.

Get your free guide → https://sarahrusbatch.com/free-guide-100-things-to-do-instead-of-drinking

Find out more about my other programs here: https://sarahrusbatch.com/

If you want to join a space where women feel safe to be seen, ask the questions they don't always say out loud and connect with others going through the same, join my free Facebook group, Women's Wellbeing Collective here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/342319476897067

And if changing your relationship with alcohol is something you want to explore further, you can find my book Beyond Booze on Audible, Spotify, Kindle and Amazon. Click the link here: https://sarahrusbatch.com/beyond-booze