Hi,
I’m Sandra Ishkanes
Molecular Biologist, Social Anthropologist, and Functional Medicine Menopause Specialist.
BSc MA DipION
three disciplines
37 years of training, one integrated approach
Most menopause practitioners are trained in one discipline.
I have training and clinical experience in Molecular Biology, Social Anthropology, Nutritional Therapy, Functional Medicine, and Metabolic Balance. This stack is the reason I can see what others miss.
BSc
Molecular Biology
King’s College, University
of London
I can critically evaluate research and personalise client care through peer-reviewed data and evidence-based protocols. This means I can move beyond standard practices to being a leader in tailored healthcare.
MA
Social Anthropology
SOAS, University of London
This is my secret weapon for the “human side” of functional medicine. It bridges the gap between raw science and daily reality, supporting the design of lifestyle shifts that actually fit into a client’s real life.
DipION
Functional Medicine and Nutritional Therapy
Institute of Optimum Nutrition
The clinical framework to put science and clients together — a way of working that treats the body as an integrated system and looks for the root causes beneath symptoms, rather than chasing each one in isolation.
PHILOSOPHY
Every consultation is backed by my philosophy
My clinic is built to be a different kind of space for your menopausal health. It is grounded in a philosophy where your lived experience, your unique physiology, and your future potential are fully aligned.
01
A place where your
experience of menopause is taken seriously
Menopause is often brushed aside as ‘women’s things’. Whatever you are feeling — the fatigue, the sleeplessness, the rage, the strange new aches — is information about your biology. I start by listening to all of it, and using it as data that informs practice, because I have a model within which it all makes sense
02
A place where complexity is not brushed aside
Medicine has reduced Menopause to a single failing hormone, and declining oestrogen gets the blame for everything. This simplistic, outdated view is harming women and harming scientific enquiry. The biology is far more interesting — and the answers live inside that complexity.
03
A place where you can feel at home in your body again
Home is a place you come to feel safe, be at peace, and be fully yourself. I want your mind, body and spirit to be your home again. You leave knowing what is happening, why, and what to do. The fear lifts when the biology makes sense.
Practice
Philosophy directs practice
Years of close clinical work, alongside research across endocrinology, metabolism, neuroscience, nutrition and evolutionary biology, have brought me to a framework that menopausal biology supports.
01
Menopause is an evolutionary adaptation, not deficiency
Menopause codes 3 adaptive shifts — switching fuel sources; transitioning to a second hormone system that produces oestrogen and testosterone locally in tissues, from adrenal DHEA; and moving us emotionally from belonging to becoming — a sacred developmental transition where we move from a reproductive role into an era of self-actualisation. The job in clinic is to support that handover, not to override it by adding in unnecessary oestrogen
02
Symptoms are the logical result of maladaptation,
not random
Hot flushes, brain fog, anxiety, joint pain, weight gain — these are not random. Each one points to a specific shift: energy, oestrogen, or emotional. Read correctly, they are a map of where your biology needs support.
03
Metabolic support before HRT
If menopause is an adaptation, then going without HRT is not the alternative position — it is the starting point. HRT may help individual women in specific circumstances but it is hormone extension, not hormone replacement, and this deserves an honest framing
Practice builds a method
The MenoMorphosis Method
Through my practice, I have created a method to understand and resolve symptoms. It is biology-first, personalised, and built on the fact that menopause symptoms are logical and never exist in isolation. Four moves create the conditions for Morphosis – a space where your personal growth and purpose are prioritised.
M
MAP
Map the three shifts — energy, oestrogen, emotional — against your symptoms.
E
EVALUATE
Evaluate the pathway to symptom resolution with the right blood work, lifestyle and history.
N
NOURISH
Nourish the pathways
that are stalled, using
food, light, sleep, supplements and
movement.
O
OPTIMISE
Optimise your new biology — not restore the old one.
my entire body of knowledge and clinical expertise is coming soon in a book
MenoMorphosis
The greatest story never told
This won’t be another book about coping with menopause. It will be about rewriting our story — about understanding why symptoms happen and how to resolve them. About shifting from coping with decline into your innate transformative experience.
MenoMorphosis traces how our metabolic pathways transform, exposes the myths that keep women stuck in a deficiency story, and reclaims menopause as the profound physical, emotional and spiritual transition it was always meant to be. It’s an invitation to see menopause differently – and to understand your body in a way that finally makes sense.
Instead of reducing menopause to a single “deficient” hormone, I explore it as a series of intelligent biological shifts which, when properly supported, can restore clarity, strength and confidence. Drawing on cutting‑edge science and my clinical work with hundreds of women, I show what is truly changing in your body, why so many popular approaches fall short, and how to work with this transition without a life‑long dependency on HRT.
If you’ve ever felt there has to be more to menopause than you’ve been told, this book is for you.
speaking, press and media
I am available for podcast interviews, expert commentary, panel discussions, and media features on menopause, perimenopause, women’s health, and the wider context in which these experiences unfold.
My work is especially suited to conversations that want to go beyond simplified menopause narratives and explore the deeper patterns that shape symptoms, resilience, and health during this transition.
I bring to these conversations a background in molecular biology, social anthropology, functional medicine, and over a decade of clinical work with women in perimenopause and menopause. My particular strength is translating complex ideas into language that is clear, thoughtful, and genuinely useful.
- Perimenopause and menopause beyond the simple hormone story
- The metabolic, neurological, and stress-related dimensions of menopause
- Symptoms that do not fit the standard explanation
- Functional medicine and whole-body approaches to women’s health
- Nutrition, sleep, inflammation, and resilience in midlife
- How culture shapes the menopause experience
Media enquiries, speaking invitations, or expert commentary
Sandra Ishkanes
Functional Medicine Menopause Specialist
Email: mailto:sandra@sandraishkanes.co.uk
Call: 07817664873
Location: Brighton, UK
Area of expertise: HRT-free peri-menopausal and menopausal health
Credentials: BSc Molecular Biology, Kings College, University of London; MA Social Anthropology, SOAS, University of London; DipION Nutritional Therapy and Functional Medicine
Years of experience: 10+
Unique viewpoint: Menopause is a life stage with a built-in evolutionary design that extends women’s healthspan and life span. Symptoms result from a maladaptation to modern life.
PRESS
LATEST · 19 MAY 2026
Everyday Fatigue Makes You Feel Like You’re Running on Empty — 5 Expert-Backed Tips To Tackle Nagging Exhaustion
Expert commentary alongside Dr Jenna Macciochi, Dr Raj Arora and Dr Anna Persaud on why women feel exhausted despite doing ‘all the right things’.
“Sometimes the most powerful cortisol intervention isn’t a supplement, it’s a boundary.”
— sandra ishkanes, quoted in marie claire
How to take control of menopausal aches and pains |
The Telegraph |
APRIL 21, 2023 |
It took me 2 years to get diagnosed as menopausal because I’m in my 30s. And I’m nonbinary, so doctors were even more dismissive. |
Inc |
March 23, 2023 |
Something inside me clicked, like an engine shifting into higher gear. |
MenoPositivity |
March 13, 2023 |
Metabolism reset: is it really possible to give your metabolic health a reboot? |
Stylist |
February 28, 2023 |
Podcast interview
In this interview, I talk about my path from genetic engineering into functional medicine and women’s health, and the questions that shaped the work I do today.
I am interviewed by Pivot Mentor @Clarissa Bromelle
Instagram live
In this conversation, I discuss the wider biological drivers of menopausal symptoms and how to think beyond one-size-fits-all menopause support.
Please fast forward to 8.46 minutes if you want to jump to the moment when I start speaking, it took me that long to join the live!
I am interviewed by Honor, @Magical Midlife Membership @honestlywithhonor
