Alison Bladh, No.1 bestselling author, BANT registered nutritional therapist and founder of the Meno Massage Method™, is excited to announce her role as Brand Ambassador for Headstrong, the UK functional mushroom brand, in a collaboration rooted in a shared commitment to quality, evidence-based support for women in midlife.
Headstrong, whose functional mushroom products, including their Mushroom Blend Gummies and Menopausal Bundle, are specifically developed to support women in their 40s and beyond, has appointed Alison to help educate around the benefits of functional mushrooms bringing her scientific rigour and women’s health input into the growing conversation around functional mushrooms and midlife health.
The partnership brings together two organisations united by the same belief: that women navigating perimenopause and menopause deserve clear, honest, evidence-based information, not marketing noise.
As a registered nutritional therapist, Alison understands the enormous variation between products, noting that two supplements carrying exactly the same mushroom name on the front can be very different products once you examine what is actually inside. She points to the questions consumers should be asking: whether a product uses the fruiting body or mycelium, how it has been extracted, whether active compounds such as beta-glucans have been measured, and whether the finished product has been independently tested for identity, purity and contaminants. It is precisely this rigour that drew Alison to Headstrong. Unlike many brands in this rapidly growing category, Headstrong places considerable emphasis on sourcing, extraction, dose and full transparency about what is actually contained in their products – the standard Alison believes should be the norm across the supplement industry, but which currently remains the exception.
“Functional mushrooms such as Lion’s Mane, Reishi and Cordyceps have become incredibly popular — and rightly so, because the research base is genuinely interesting for women in midlife. But as a registered nutritional therapist, I have real concerns about the quality variation in this market. A large milligram number on the front of a pack can look impressive, but it tells you very little about the quality of the starting material, the extraction method or the amount of bioactive compounds actually present. Transparency matters to me, and it should matter to every woman choosing a supplement. I’m proud to be working with a brand that shares those standards and am excited to help more women understand both the opportunity and the questions worth asking.”
The partnership launches with a series of monthly recorded content sessions, beginning with a broad conversation covering the functional mushroom category and its relevance for women in perimenopause and menopause. Alison will explore the research base behind three key mushrooms at the heart of Headstrong’s range: lion’s mane, studied for its potential to support cognitive function and address brain fog; reishi, which features in conversations around natural sleep and stress support in midlife; and cordyceps, examined for its role in energy and the fatigue so many women in their 40s describe. The series will also address where functional mushrooms sit alongside HRT and other approaches, giving women balanced, honest guidance. Content will be shared across Headstrong’s social channels, bringing Alison’s expertise to the wider UK women’s health community.
“Alison was the obvious choice for us. She brings exceptional depth of clinical knowledge in women’s nutrition and menopause, combined with the kind of warm, practical communication style that connects with the women we are trying to reach. We wanted an ambassador who would hold us to the highest standards of accuracy and transparency, and Alison does exactly that.”
Finn Hall, Founder, Headstrong
With more than 35 years of clinical experience in women’s health and wellbeing, Alison Bladh is a BANT registered nutritional therapist and Clinical Supervisor in Nutrition at the University of West London. She is also the creator of the Meno Massage Method™, a certified, trademarked treatment programme now being adopted by beauty salons and spas globally, and she is the author of the No.1 international bestselling book ‘Have a Magnificent Menopause: A Straightforward Guide to Looking Good and Feeling Great’. She is often featured as an expert in media including The Telegraph, Marie Claire, Cosmopolitan, OK! Magazine, Saga, Stylist, Woman’s Own and many many more media outlets.
