Last checked September 2026 against 24 sources · Editorial policy
Can you delay menopause?
You can't reliably delay menopause: its timing is mostly set by your genes, which explained 63% of the variation in a twin study. What you can do is avoid bringing it forward. Smoking can make menopause come up to two years earlier, and quitting helps. Diet links are modest: oily fish and legumes were associated with later menopause. HRT and the pill ease symptoms by replacing hormones, and the pill can hide when menopause happens.
You can't reliably delay menopause, but smoking brings it 1 to 2 years earlier. What affects timing, and what does and doesn't work.
Can you delay menopause? Expectation vs reality
What people often expect
“The right diet, supplements or hormones can hold off menopause for years”
What the evidence shows
Genes explain most of the timing. The factors linked with later menopause in large studies, such as not smoking, pregnancies, breastfeeding and diet, are associations, not proven causes. In one study of vitamin D and calcium, food sources were linked with a lower risk of early menopause, but supplements weren't. What you can realistically do is avoid an early menopause.
What can and can't delay menopause
Can menopause be delayed?
Not in any reliable way. Menopause happens when the ovaries lose their follicular activity, and the age this happens is largely inherited: in a study of 275 identical and 353 non-identical twin pairs, genes explained 63% of the variation in age at menopause. Your mother's age at menopause is a good guide to yours. Lifestyle can nudge the timing, mainly by making menopause earlier, and removing that push is the realistic goal.
Learn more →Smoking: the clearest cause of earlier menopause
In a pooled analysis of 207,231 women from 17 studies, current smokers had about twice the risk of premature menopause (relative risk 2.05) and early menopause (1.80). Risk rose with the number of years smoked. Smokers can reach menopause as many as two years before nonsmokers. Quitting works: women who had stopped more than 10 years earlier had the same risk as those who never smoked.
Diet and a later menopause
In the UK Women's Cohort Study of 914 women, each daily portion of oily fish was linked with menopause 3.3 years later and each portion of fresh legumes with 0.9 years later, while each daily portion of refined pasta and rice was linked with menopause 1.5 years earlier. Higher vitamin B6 and zinc intake were also linked with later menopause. These are associations from one study, not proof that changing your diet will delay menopause.
Learn more →Vitamin D, calcium and early menopause
In the Nurses' Health Study II, women with the highest intake of vitamin D from food, around 528 IU a day, had a 17% lower risk of early menopause than those with the lowest, around 148 IU. Calcium showed a smaller, borderline link. The associations were stronger for dairy sources, and high supplement use wasn't linked with lower risk, so food rather than pills is the better bet.
Learn more →Pregnancy, breastfeeding and later menopause
Having children is linked with slightly later menopause. In SWAN, having given birth and past use of the pill were associated with later natural menopause. In the Nurses' Health Study II, which followed 108,887 women, those with 2 or more pregnancies were less likely to reach menopause before 45, and exclusive breastfeeding for 7 to 12 months was linked with the lowest risk. The effects are modest.
Can HRT or the pill delay menopause?
Neither is designed to. HRT and the combined pill replace hormones your ovaries are no longer making reliably, which eases symptoms. The combined pill's monthly bleeds, and the withdrawal bleeds on sequential HRT, can mask menopause, so it may seem delayed. That's why contraception can simply be stopped at 55, even if you still have occasional bleeds. In SWAN, past pill use was linked with slightly later menopause, but that's an association.
Learn more →Protecting your ovaries to prevent early menopause
Surgery and cancer treatment are the biggest avoidable causes of early menopause. NICE advises removing healthy ovaries at hysterectomy only if there's a significant risk of disease. Even keeping your ovaries, hysterectomy nearly doubled the risk of ovarian failure in one study, which is one reason less invasive treatments are tried first. Before chemotherapy or pelvic radiotherapy, ask about the effect on your ovaries and about fertility preservation.
Learn more →Is later menopause better?
Partly. Earlier menopause is linked with higher heart disease and stroke risk: 1.55 times higher after menopause before 40 and 1.30 times after menopause at 40 to 44, compared with 50 to 51, while menopause after 51 was linked with lower risk. But later menopause has costs too: menopause after 55 raises the risk of uterine cancer. Avoiding an early menopause is worth it; pushing menopause as late as possible isn't a goal in itself.
Delaying menopause: the numbers
From the studies on this page
of the variation in age at menopause was explained by genes in a twin study
63%
the risk of premature menopause in current smokers compared with never smokers
2.05x
Relative odds vs comparison group (1× = same odds)
later menopause per daily portion of oily fish in the UK Women's Cohort Study
3.3 years
Bar scaled to a 12-year reference span
10+ years
Diet and pregnancy figures come from observational studies and show associations, not proven effects. The smoking link is the most consistent, found across 17 studies in 7 countries.
How to delay menopause naturally: what the evidence shows
Stop smoking to prevent early menopause
Strong evidenceThis is the one change with strong, consistent evidence. Current smokers have about twice the risk of premature and early menopause, and the risk grows with every year of smoking. Women who had quit more than 10 years earlier had the same risk as never smokers, so quitting at any age helps. It also protects your heart and bones after menopause.
Eat oily fish and legumes
Limited evidenceIn one UK cohort, a daily portion of oily fish was linked with menopause 3.3 years later and fresh legumes such as peas and beans with 0.9 years later, while refined pasta and rice were linked with earlier menopause. The evidence comes from a single observational study, but these foods are good for heart health anyway.
Related guide →Get vitamin D and calcium from food
Limited evidenceWomen with the highest dietary vitamin D intake had a 17% lower risk of early menopause in the Nurses' Health Study II, with stronger links for dairy sources. Supplements weren't linked with lower risk. After 51, women need 1,200 milligrams of calcium a day for bone health, whatever the effect on menopause timing.
Related guide →Keep a healthy weight
Limited evidenceBeing underweight makes early or premature menopause more likely, according to the NHS. At the other end, being overweight raises estrogen levels and the risk of uterine cancer. A stable, healthy weight is the sensible target rather than a way to shift menopause. Staying active and eating a balanced diet also lower your chance of uterine cancer.
Ask about keeping your ovaries
If this is the causeIf you're offered a hysterectomy for a benign condition, ask whether your ovaries can stay. Removing both ovaries causes menopause immediately, and removing one ovary made menopause come 4.4 years earlier than keeping both in one study. NICE advises removing healthy ovaries only if there's a significant risk of disease, such as a strong family history of ovarian cancer.
Related guide →Menopause delay supplements
No good evidenceProducts marketed to delay menopause have no good evidence behind them. In the vitamin D study, high supplement use wasn't linked with a lower risk of early menopause, and The North American Menopause Society doesn't recommend supplements or herbal remedies even for hot flashes. Spend the money on food and quitting smoking instead.
Related guide →
When to see a doctor instead of trying to delay menopause
Periods stopping or menopause symptoms before 45
See a doctor. Early menopause needs hormone treatment to protect your bones and heart, not attempts to delay it.
More →Before a hysterectomy or cancer treatment
Ask how it will affect your ovaries, whether they can be kept, and about fertility preservation.
More →Menopause symptoms affecting your life
Treat the symptoms rather than trying to hold off menopause. HRT, non-hormonal medicines and CBT all work.
More →
Delaying menopause: questions women ask
Can you delay menopause?
Not reliably. The timing of menopause is largely genetic, and the studies behind delay advice are observational: they show links, not proof. You can avoid bringing it forward, mainly by not smoking. Some diet factors, such as oily fish and legumes, are linked with slightly later menopause, but that's not proof they delay it.
How can I delay or postpone menopause naturally?
The best-supported step is quitting smoking: after 10 years without smoking, the risk of early menopause matched never smokers. Eating oily fish, legumes and vitamin D-rich foods like dairy was linked with later menopause in observational studies. Staying at a healthy weight helps too, since being underweight raises the risk of early menopause.
Can you stop menopause?
No. Menopause is a normal part of a woman's life, not an illness to be stopped. What you can control is how much the symptoms affect you. HRT, non-hormonal medicines, CBT and vaginal estrogen all treat symptoms effectively.
Does HRT delay menopause?
HRT isn't designed to delay menopause. It replaces the hormones your ovaries are making less of, to relieve symptoms. If you start it before your periods stop, sequential HRT gives monthly withdrawal bleeds, which can make it hard to tell when menopause happened. When you stop HRT, symptoms may come back for a short time.
Related →Does birth control delay menopause?
It doesn't stop menopause, but the combined pill can hide it, because its monthly bleeds continue whatever your ovaries are doing. In SWAN, women who had used the pill in the past reached natural menopause slightly later. Contraception can be stopped at 55 even if you're still having occasional bleeds.
Related →Can diet delay menopause?
Possibly a little. In a UK cohort, each daily portion of oily fish was linked with menopause 3.3 years later and legumes with 0.9 years later, while refined pasta and rice were linked with 1.5 years earlier. Higher dietary vitamin D was linked with a 17% lower risk of early menopause in a US study.
Related →Does having children delay menopause?
Slightly. Women who had given birth reached menopause later in SWAN, and in the Nurses' Health Study II, 2 or more pregnancies and exclusive breastfeeding for 7 to 12 months were linked with a lower risk of early menopause. The effect is modest.
How can I prevent early menopause?
Don't smoke, and if you do, quitting lowers the risk over time. Keep a healthy weight. If you're having a hysterectomy for a benign condition, ask whether your ovaries can be kept. Before cancer treatment, ask about its effect on your ovaries. Family history can't be changed, but knowing it helps you and your doctor plan.
Related →Is a later menopause healthier?
It depends on the outcome. Menopause after 51 was linked with a lower risk of heart disease and stroke than earlier menopause. But menopause after 55 raises the risk of uterine cancer. The clear health goal is to avoid an early menopause, not to push menopause as late as possible.
Do supplements delay menopause?
There's no good evidence they do. In the Nurses' Health Study II, vitamin D and calcium from food were linked with a lower risk of early menopause, but high supplement use wasn't. Products sold to delay menopause haven't been shown to work.
Related →Sources
- Snieder H, MacGregor AJ, Spector TD. Genes control the cessation of a woman's reproductive life: a twin study of hysterectomy and age at menopause. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 1998;83(6):1875-80.
- Office on Women's Health, US Department of Health and Human Services. Early or premature menopause.
- Zhu D, Chung HF, Pandeya N, et al. Relationships between intensity, duration, cumulative dose, and timing of smoking with age at menopause: A pooled analysis of individual data from 17 observational studies. PLoS Med. 2018;15(11):e1002704.
- Dunneram Y, Greenwood DC, Burley VJ, et al. Dietary intake and age at natural menopause: results from the UK Women's Cohort Study. J Epidemiol Community Health. 2018;72(8):733-740.
- NHS. Early or premature menopause.
- Women's Health Concern (British Menopause Society). Contraception for women over the age of 40. Fact sheet, 2025.
- Langton CR, Whitcomb BW, Purdue-Smithe AC, et al. Association of Parity and Breastfeeding With Risk of Early Natural Menopause. JAMA Netw Open. 2020;3(1):e1919615.
- Purdue-Smithe AC, Whitcomb BW, Szegda KL, et al. Vitamin D and calcium intake and risk of early menopause. Am J Clin Nutr. 2017;105(6):1493-1501.
- Crandall CJ, Mehta JM, Manson JE. Management of Menopausal Symptoms: A Review. JAMA. 2023;329(5):405-420.
- Office on Women's Health, US Department of Health and Human Services. Menopause basics.
- Gold EB, Bromberger J, Crawford S, et al. Factors associated with age at natural menopause in a multiethnic sample of midlife women. Am J Epidemiol. 2001;153(9):865-74.
- NHS. Side effects of hormone replacement therapy (HRT).
- NHS. Hysterectomy: considerations.
- Moorman PG, Myers ER, Schildkraut JM, et al. Effect of hysterectomy with ovarian preservation on ovarian function. Obstet Gynecol. 2011;118(6):1271-1279.
- NHS. Hysterectomy.
- Panay N, Anderson RA, Bennie A, et al. Evidence-based guideline: premature ovarian insufficiency(). Hum Reprod Open. 2024;2024(4):hoae065.
- Zhu D, Chung HF, Dobson AJ, et al. Age at natural menopause and risk of incident cardiovascular disease: a pooled analysis of individual patient data. Lancet Public Health. 2019;4(11):e553-e564.
- NHS. Womb (uterus) cancer: causes.
- Office on Women's Health, US Department of Health and Human Services. Menopause and your health.
- Farquhar CM, Sadler L, Harvey SA, et al. The association of hysterectomy and menopause: a prospective cohort study. BJOG. 2005;112(7):956-62.
- The North American Menopause Society. The 2023 nonhormone therapy position statement of The North American Menopause Society. Menopause. 2023;30(6):573-590.
- NICE. Menopause: identification and management (NG23). Updated 2024.
- NHS. Treatment for menopause and perimenopause.
- NHS. When to take hormone replacement therapy (HRT).
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