What your body needs after 50 that nobody told you about

Miyara sits at the intersection of perimenopause, AI, and community. Most health platforms go either fully clinical or fully lifestyle. What made you want to build something that tries to hold both? 

Miyara started more from a personal place. I was not getting support with my own health, and I also realised that I simply did not know enough about what was happening to my body as I was getting older. When I looked around, I saw that this was not a "Me" problem at all. Around 80 to 90 percent of women have no idea what is happening with their health, especially once they reach their late 30s and early 40s. 

So, we started from the awareness angle, building a community to help women understand what was going on. But we quickly realised that doctors themselves were often not trained in this particular life stage. Perimenopause and menopause were not something most clinicians had been properly educated on. That told us the clinical piece had to be part of the journey too, not an afterthought. 

Because this is also a life stage that has serious long-term consequences. Conditions like diabetes, heart disease, and depression can all be exacerbated during this transition. So, looking at it only through a lifestyle lens was never going to be enough. 

"It is not a me problem. Around 80 to 90 percent of women have no idea what is happening with their health as they get older." 

Most women in their 50s and 60s default to walking and yoga when they think about staying active. Both have real value, but if the goal is to still be functionally strong at 75, what does the evidence say needs to be added? 

Any movement is good. But what women specifically tend to skip is strength training, and that is where the evidence is very clear. Bones and muscles are what the research calls the currency for long-term health and longevity. Studies globally have shown that muscle mass starts declining from around 30 to 35 years of age, and muscles are what wrap around and support the bones. When muscles waste away, bones become more fragile. India, in fact, has one of the highest rates of osteoporosis in women, and a large part of that is connected to hormones and to how little attention women have paid to building muscle over the decades. 

The ideal time to start is as early as possible, ideally in your 20s. But the more important message is that there is no wrong time to begin. My own mother just started strength training at 74. The body responds. Studies have shown that starting at any age leads to meaningful changes that benefit your health over time. 

So it is not about replacing walking or yoga. It is about adding a resistance and strength component alongside what you are already doing. 

The Indian diet is carbohydrate-heavy by tradition. For a woman in her early 60s who has eaten this way her whole life, what is the realistic, evidence-based conversation about what to shift and what the body needs more of at this stage? 

The biggest shift is around protein, and it does not need to be complicated or expensive. You do not need protein powders or anything commercially packaged. Look at what is already in your kitchen. An extra bowl of curd. One more serving of dal. Cutting down on one roti or one portion of rice and filling that space with fresh vegetables or a protein source instead. Those are the kinds of changes that can happen seamlessly, without turning your entire food culture upside down. 

I think the key is to not make it overwhelming. Start with one thing. Add more protein. Reduce the carb slightly. Then build from there. 

The other thing worth saying is that global studies consistently point to plant-based foods as being generally more beneficial for long-term health. And the interesting thing is that India already has a very rich tradition of exactly these foods. Millets, lentils, pulses, locally sourced vegetables and fruits. These are not new discoveries. They have been in Indian kitchens for centuries. There is no need to eat avocado toast. Look within your own food culture and see where you can shift the structure of your plate. 

"There is no need to eat avocado toast. Look within your own food culture first. The answers are often already in your kitchen." 

Retirement removes a lot of the movement and structure that quietly kept the body going. What tends to happen in the first few years after someone stops working, and how quickly does it compound if nothing changes? 

What we see is that physical activity drops, and with it, cognitive health starts to decline as well. The principle is straightforward: use it or lose it. That applies to your brain and to your body equally. 

Genetics start playing a bigger role too. If someone has a propensity for cardiovascular disease, cholesterol issues, or diabetes, retirement can be the period when those things surface or accelerate. And alongside the physical, there is a social withdrawal that happens, particularly with men, but also with women who stop getting their blood pressure checked or skip their annual blood tests because there is no longer a structure that was nudging them to do it. 

Studies specifically on women have shown that social connection and learning new skills are among the most effective tools for slowing both physical and cognitive ageing. If nothing changes in the first 12 to 24 months after retirement, you can already start seeing decline in muscle, bone density, and brain health. That window matters. 

This is exactly why things like starting an exercise class, reconnecting with relatives, picking up a hobby, or joining a community become so important at this stage. And it does not need to be dramatic. Small, consistent changes compound in the right direction just as much as neglect compounds in the wrong one. 

A lot of what Miyara is building, being seen, being in a space with others going through the same transition, having somewhere to bring questions that feel too small for a doctor and too big to carry alone, sounds a lot like what a community like Marzi is also trying to build. How much of healthy ageing, in your view, is actually a social problem? 

I was listening to someone just yesterday who was talking about exactly this. When you see people around you being active and engaged, you are far more likely to do it yourself. Someone might invite you to try something outside your comfort zone. You might think, why not, if they can do it, so can I. That social pull is real and it is underestimated. 

For women especially, studies have shown that social connection has a profound effect on how they age. Being with friends, with family, with people who are going through a similar stage of life, that is not a soft benefit. It is a measurable health outcome. 

Communities like Marzi also do something that is harder to quantify but just as important: they break stigma. Women who have been carrying symptoms in silence, whether it is menopause or a chronic condition, often believe that what is happening to them is only happening to them. When you are in a room with others going through the same thing, that changes. Conversations get normalised. You realise you are not alone. And when you feel like you are not alone, you are more likely to take the next step, whatever that step is. 

So yes, healthy ageing is very much a social problem. The physical and the mental follow from whether people feel seen, connected, and supported. A community that gives people that foundation is doing something genuinely meaningful for their health, not just their happiness. 

"When you are in a room with others going through the same thing, conversations get normalised. You realise you are not alone. And that is when people start taking the next step."