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NBJ Summit offers insights into women’s health, great networking opportunities
This year’s powerhouse lineup features two New York Times’ bestselling authors, Dr. Pamela Peeke and Marcus Buckingham. Learn more about it.
Dawn Reiss
July 6, 2024
8 Min Read
Solaray/Dr. Pamela Peeke
A revolution is underway in women’s health, especially when it comes to perimenopause and menopause.
“For the longest period of time women suffered silently,” says Dr. Pamela Peeke, founder of The Peeke Performance Center for Healthy Living. “They didn’t understand what was happening.”
As women go through these changes, estrogen levels can vary greatly from one day to the next. Estrogen—the body’s natural mood stabilizer—works as an antidepressant by helping with the production of serotonin. Sudden drops in the hormone can trigger an emotional rollercoaster; some women feel panicked or have severe anxiety. Others experience dramatic mood swings and depression.
“As they're weaning off [estrogen], women think they're going crazy, losing their mind,” Peeke says. “But they’re not.”
Now, women are asking questions and seeking natural solutions.
“You had the blind leading the blind,” Peeke says. “The fact that it is a point of conversation right now is a revolution because now we're openly discussing the issue of women's health.”
Peeke, a well-known TEDx presenter and three-time New York Times bestselling author will share her insights at Nutrition Business Journal Summit 2024 on July 29-Aug. 1 at Terranea Resort in Rancho Palos Verdes, California.
“Our mission is to share information about the future of the industry and to grow the industry together,” says Tom Aarts, who is the co-founder and principal, Nutrition Capital Network, and the co-founder and co-chair of New Hope Network’s Nutrition Business Journal Summit.
“We talk about the trends, hot topics, what’s going on behind the scenes and we do market analysis,” Aarts says. “NBJ is known as the journal of record for the business part of the industry. Some people call it the Wall Street Journal of the nutrition industry. We’re big inside this $60 billion supplement industry which is attached to the $300 billion nutrition industry.”
Topics for this year’s conference include the state of the nutrition industry, women’s health, ayurvedic medicine, the 30-Year Anniversary of DSHEA (Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act of 1994) and more. Participants also will discuss what DSHEA means today and in the future, look at responsibly navigating and using artificial intelligence, and have several opportunities to network during activities such as golf and a visit to Catalina Island.
Marcus Buckingham, an internationally renowned thought leader and business expert, will speak on having more love in one’s work and life at the NBJ Summit.
Marcus Buckingham, a New York Times best-selling author who is known as the world’s most prominent researcher on strengths, leadership and high performance at work, will give the keynote speech, “Leading with Love,” at 8:15 a.m. Aug. 1 at the NBJ Summit. Buckingham’s 2019 Harvard Business Review cover story, “The Feedback Fallacy,” was selected by HBR as one of the most influential articles of the last 100 years.
“His thesis is there needs to be more love in your work, more love in your life and more love in your organization,” Aarts says about Buckingham’s latest book, Love and Work: How to Find What You Love, Love What You Do, and Do It for the Rest of Your Life.
Designed exclusively for CEOs and C-level executives, the annual NBJ Summit helps brands and suppliers grow their businesses. The event, which is in its 27th year, is capped to 400 people and includes an excursion to Catalina Island.
“It really is a magical event when you get the right people in the room,” says Jessica Rubino, co-chair of NBJ Summit and vice president, content for New Hope Network.
Pamela Peeke, M.D., worked with Better Being Co.’s Solaray brand to launch "her life STAGES," a product line of five vegan, gluten-free and soy-free supplements targeting women.
Women’s health shines in 2024
Now more than ever, women are seeking natural solutions.
“Women want to have a product that is customized for their specific stage,” says Peeke, who worked with Better Being Co.’s Solaray brand to launch "her life STAGES," a product line of five vegan, gluten-free and soy-free supplements targeting women through their various stages of life. Solaray’s Her Life Stages Perimenopause supplement won a NEXTY Award at Natural Products Expo East 2023 for the Best New Condition-Specific Supplement.
Peeke will speak on Insights into the Women’s Health Revolution at 9:50 a.m. Aug. 1 during the NBJ Summit at the Terranea Resort in Rancho Palos Verdes, California. She recently answered New Hope Network’s questions about how the natural supplements industry can support women’s health journeys.
Why is the supplement industry finally emphasizing women’s health?
Peeke: For so long, women’s health was shoved under the rug. There was a lack of data because nobody at a higher level wanted to fund studies. We’re at the convergence of several interesting evolutions going on. You have more women practitioners. In a majority of medical school classes today, it’s women. There are more women providers, scientists and researchers. Women are asking questions, pushing for answers about the management of menopause, which is currently listed under genitourinary diseases.
What is prompting women to seek more information about menopause?
Peeke: These are natural, normal stages and phases in a woman’s life. To medicalize them and turn them into pathology isn’t right, so they are being called out on it now.
We also have the Gwyneth Paltrows of the world—all these celebrity types, all turning 50 and marching through their 50s and 60s—who are asking a boatload of questions. They want solutions and they want answers. It’s pushing the field forward.
Why are women seeking more natural solutions?
Peeke: Women are saying, “Where are the natural solutions? Why can’t I just go to the health food store right now and make some smart choices?” If you want to get a woman’s attention, say you have a natural solution that abides by and segues with her natural circadian and physiologic rhythms—then you’ve got someone who is with you forever.
Why did you work with Solaray to create a doctor-formulated product line?
Peeke: I helped formulate her life STAGES product to help support each of the women’s stages: PMS and menstrual, perimenopause, menopause, post-menopause and libido. For years, I heard women screaming for a natural solution. I just put my foot down and said, “I’m going to do it.” And I did.
What advice do you have for women?
Peeke: Nothing works unless you are building a strong foundation for healthy living choices. You are in your 40s what you drag into your 40s. Meaning, if you are stressed out, if you are unfit, physically, if you aren’t getting sleep, that will make all the natural symptoms of perimenopause and menopause 50 times worse:
Build a strong foundation of healthy lifestyle. Then use that as the ecosystem with which you refine with supplements. I hear women in their 40s and 50 plus who drink way too much alcohol and then they wonder why their belly is residing in a different state. Whatever you are drinking, you’re wearing.
It’s clean eating. Finish your eating earlier. Have the occasional treat and alcohol. That’s fine, but do it occasionally. Instead of grab-and-go dining, do something radical. Remember that four-letter word—cook—instead of dialing and ordering it from Uber Eats.
Do physical activity. Notice I didn’t say the “E” word, exercise. Use physical activity every day of your life to be as physically active as possible. Take the stairs instead of an escalator. Go out of your way to be vertical, not horizontal.
Find things that give you joy. Dance. Tai Chi. Pilates. Yoga. At the very least, get in as much walking as you can. It will help modulate your sleep and your weight.
What else should women do?
Peeke: Clean up your sleep hygiene. Stop living with your iPhone. Put it in a charger in another room. I also wear the Oura ring. It keeps me honest; it is my report card on sleeping. I gamify it and compete against myself using the metrics.
Finally, stress management. Everyone needs a way to de-stress, whether running outside and doing something physical or routinely meditating. I love transcendental meditation. It puts you in the right mental focus and really works. So does journaling. If you want to bitch, moan and whine, do it in a journal.
Create a support network. Have a game plan. If you’re upset, which one of the tools in my toolbox am I going to choose? The people who worry me the most are the ones who feel lonely, isolated. That’s not healthy.
What are some natural things women can do when they go through perimenopause?
Peeke: That’s when women begin to experience hot flashes. They have a need to control a lot of the temperature regulation. Black cohosh will help calm down the flashes. You want to have the best blood sugar on the planet, which is why chromium is imperative. You also want sound sleep, so look at saffron, which will also help if you’re feeling anxious or panicked. Maca will help as your energy level, as does chasteberry.
When a woman is in menopause, what do you recommend?
Peeke: Once again, we’re looking at the ability to be able to control hot flashes. Green tea is a superb way to pick up flavonoids to have energy. The Moro [blood] orange has been known for its positive effect on metabolism. As a woman courses through menopause, she’s watching herself morph from an hourglass to a shot glass, her waist is disappearing like there’s no tomorrow. All the help in the world is necessary here.
As a woman transitions to post menopause, over the age of 60, you can also add in a little resveratrol to optimize your metabolism.
Editor's note: In-person attendance for the 2024 NBJ Summit is sold out, but registration for virtual attendance is still available. All attendees will have digital access to the entire program during and after the summit.
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