A fresh look at perimenopause, individual health empowerment, and integrative nutritional science.

“Before you accept the third prescription for sleep, the second for anxiety, and the polite suggestion to ‘just take a vacation,’ ask your doctor one question. Just one. It could change the next ten years of your life.”

With this powerful reflection, clinical nutritionist, specialist in women’s health, and author Nancy Freire Cavalcante Novaes breaks the silence around one of modern medicine’s most pervasive blind spots: perimenopause.

For millions of women in their late 30s and 40s, the experience is strikingly similar. They walk into clinical offices reporting fragmented sleep, sudden mood shifts, brain fog, unexplainable fatigue, and metabolic shifts that no amount of dieting seems to fix.

Yet, all too often, the response from healthcare systems is fragmented: antidepressants for cognitive fog, anti-anxiety medications for nervous tension, sleeping aids, and the dismissal of symptoms as mere “stress” or “aging”.

The Invisible Transition

In her book Juro! Era PERIMENOPAUSA (I Swear! It Was PERIMENOPAUSE), Novaes combines clinical evidence with personal narrative to shed light on the hormonal fluctuations preceding menopause—a transition that often begins up to a decade before menstruation ceases.

“When a woman in her 40s experiences unexplained fatigue and anxiety, the system frequently treats each symptom in isolation,” explains Novaes.

“We see women poly-medicated for individual complaints while the underlying hormonal environment goes unexamined.”

The core message of her work centers on autonomy, education, and integrative nutrition as tools to restore clarity, vitality, and health during a critical phase of adulthood.

An Interview with Nancy Novaes

Many women describe feeling like strangers to their own bodies in their 40s. Why is perimenopause so frequently misdiagnosed?

Nancy Novaes: Because classical training often views hormones through a binary lens—either you are fully reproductive or completely post-menopausal. Perimenopause is the dynamic, fluctuating phase in between.

When estrogen and progesterone levels shift unpredictably, symptoms show up as insomnia, mood changes, or brain fog. Without a holistic view, clinicians treat each symptom separately instead of looking at the underlying endocrine transition.

How does nutrition and lifestyle impact this transition?

Nancy Novaes: Nutrition is a central lever. During perimenopause, systemic inflammation, insulin sensitivity, and circadian rhythms require targeted support.

Through specific anti-inflammatory strategies, tailored supplementation, and lifestyle adjustments, we can significantly ease the transition, restore deep sleep, and protect long-term cognitive and metabolic health.

What is the primary message you want readers to take away from your book?

Nancy Novaes: That suffering is not an obligatory cost of growing older. You do not have to accept feeling exhausted or dismissed.

When you understand what is happening inside your body, you can ask the right questions, partner effectively with your healthcare providers, and reclaim your health and vital energy.

Empowering Women Through Knowledge

Juro! Era PERIMENOPAUSA offers readers a practical, evidence-based guide to recognizing early signs, navigating medical discussions, and applying integrative nutritional protocols to support hormonal balance.

By reframing perimenopause from a silent struggle into a manageable, empowering transition, Nancy Novaes encourages women to advocate for their health and step into their 40s and beyond with strength, clarity, and vitality.

About the Author

Nancy Freire Cavalcante (@nancynovaes) é nutricionista clínica, Mestra em Ciências, pós-graduada em Nutrição Oncológica pelo Hospital Israelita Albert Einstein e especialista em saúde da mulher e nutrição hormonal a partir dos 35 anos.

Atua como consultora em longevidade, metabolismo e emagrecimento, promovendo autonomia e qualidade de vida na maturidade feminina.

Get Your Copy

• Physical Book (Amazon) Buy the paperback edition (https://a.co/d/08FjQVzG)
• E-book (Amazon Kindle) Download the Kindle edition (https://a.co/d/0dcdVRJg)
• Mercado Livre Order via Mercado Livre https://www.mercadolivre.com.br/juro-era-perimenopausa-tudo-que-voce-precisa-saber-para-nao-ceder-a-essa-transicao-hormonal/up/MLBU5192048403