Everyday Wellness: Midlife Hormones, Menopause, and Science for Women 35+

Today, I’m delighted to continue my conversation with Dr. Shivani Gupta about curcumin's science and its impact on mitochondrial and brain health. Dr. Gupta is the founder and CEO of Fusionary Formulas and the author of The Inflammation Code. She holds a master's degree and a PhD in Vedic sciences, and her dissertation focused on turmeric's role in inflammation, joint health, and cardiovascular health.

In this conversation, we explore Ayurvedic medicine and daily rituals, body types and the five elements, and how they shape how we navigate our lives. We also spend significant time discussing how to...

Today’s podcast episode is brought to you by CrowdHealth.

I’m delighted to sit down with Andy Schoonover, co-founder and CEO of CrowdHealth, today. CrowdHealth is a community-powered alternative to health insurance, offering a revolutionary way to pay healthcare bills through crowdfunding. Previously, Andy was CEO of VRI, a healthcare technology company that focused on monitoring patients with chronic conditions out of their homes. He is a proud graduate of the University of Virginia and Stanford University's Graduate School of Business.

Andy and I discuss the scale of medical debt in the United States, incl...

Today, I’m honored to speak with Dr. Kumkum Patel, a double board-certified gastroenterologist and neurogastroenterologist who specializes in the gut-brain-pelvic floor connection.

In our conversation, we talk about IBS and stress in midlife, exploring the impact of the enteric nervous system, key risk factors for colorectal cancer, and how stress affects women differently in perimenopause and menopause. We discuss the influence of proton pump inhibitors, bile acid diarrhea after gallbladder removal, how women’s microbiome changes through the menopausal transition, and clues that indicate the estrobulome is optimized. Dr. Patel explains visceral hypersensitivity, the influence of moti...

Welcome to the latest Midlife Minute.

In this episode, I answer questions related to disordered relationships with food, relative energy deficiency, bone health, and intermittent fasting. 

Stay tuned to learn what can happen to your body when you’re undernourished, and how to approach intermittent fasting in a way that supports your health instead of adding more stress.

IN THIS EPISODE, YOU WILL LEARN:

How fasting culture can sometimes intersect with undernourishing the body

The link between a lifetime of anorexia, fasting, and restrictive eating and lower bone mineral den...

Welcome to the latest Midlife Minute.

In this episode, I answer questions related to disordered relationships with food, relative energy deficiency, bone health, and intermittent fasting. 

Stay tuned to find out what can happen to your body when you’re undernourished, and how to approach intermittent fasting in a way that supports your health rather than adding more stress.

IN THIS EPISODE, YOU WILL LEARN:

How fasting culture can sometimes intersect with undernourishing the body

The link between a lifetime of anorexia, fasting, and restrictive eating and lower bone min...

Today, I’m delighted to connect with registered dietitian and certified diabetes care and education specialist, Kara Siedman. Her broad clinical experience spans inpatient oncology, diabetes, and gastroenterology. She is currently the Vice President of Science and Partnerships at Resbiotic.  

In today’s conversation, we focus on the value of nutrition at the intersection of the microbiome and overall health. We discuss nutritional dogma, the impact of gastroparesis, IBS, IBD, SIBO, and other similar diagnoses. We explore midlife risk factors and medications that impact the microbiome, the influence of low FODMAP diets and irritable bowel syndrome management, food f...

I am thrilled to have Gary Taubes back on the show today. (He was with me before on episode 137. Gary is an investigative science and health journalist whose work has been pivotal in catalyzing the low-carb keto movement. He has written many books, including his most recent, Rethinking Diabetes, and his articles are in many of the best anthologies. He has also received many science awards.

Today's discussion is particularly significant, given the recent report from the American Diabetes Association revealing that the annual cost of diabetes in the United States reached a staggering $412.9 billion in 2022, with...

Today, I’m honored to reconnect with Dr. Jolene Brighten. She’s an award-winning, board-certified naturopathic endocrinologist, nutrition scientist, and leading voice in women’s health. She’s the author of Beyond the Pill, Healing Your Body Naturally After Childbirth, and her latest book, ADHD and Women: A Guide to Optimizing Your Hormones and Thriving with ADHD, which represents an expansion of her core thesis that women’s symptoms get chronically misattributed when the hormone piece is left out of the picture, which she now applies to ADHD. She also hosts The Dr. Brighten Show.

In today’s conversati...

Welcome to this week’s Midlife Minute!

Today, I examine partial and full hysterectomies and what we know about their potential long-term effects, clarifying what the research tells us about bone, brain, and cardiovascular health, and what women should discuss with their healthcare providers before and after surgery.

IN THIS EPISODE, YOU WILL LEARN:

How a partial hysterectomy differs from a full hysterectomy, and the abrupt estrogen changes ovarian removal can produce 

Why having a hysterectomy before ages 40-45 can have a greater impact than having surgery closer to natural menopausal age...

Today, I’m delighted to connect with Dr. Erin Kinney. She’s a naturopathic medicine doctor and the founder of the Kinney Clinic, which focuses on hormone replacement therapy, nutrition, adrenal health, thyroid, and lymphatic system issues. Dr. Kinney is also the stress reset expert and author of The Cortisol Cure.

In our conversation, we explore cortisol debt, how to recognize it through self-assessment, and why Dr. Kinney believes we need to change the narrative around stress. We discuss ways to modulate the autonomic nervous system, specifically the parasympathetic, the true drivers of low cortisol, including sleep and...

This episode is sponsored by Life Extension.

I am delighted to have Dr. Crystal Gossard, the Manager of Education at Life Extension, joining me today. Dr. Gossard is a Doctor of Clinical Nutrition with over 15 years of experience in nutrition, fitness, dietary supplements, and integrative functional medicine.

In our conversation today, Dr. Gossard and I discuss uncommon heart health testing, including gaps in care for women in perimenopause and menopause, and clarify the critical importance of a bioindividual personalized approach. We dive into specifics on labs, including ApoB as a direct measurement, the influence of...

I’m thrilled to reconnect with microbiome expert Kiran Krishnan today. Kiran co-founded Just Thrive and previously served as Chief Scientific Officer at Microbiome Labs. He has more than 16 years of experience in the dietary supplement and nutrition industry, with postgraduate research experience in molecular biology and virology.

In today’s conversation, we take a deep dive into the science of spore-based probiotics, their ecological impact, how they interact with the existing gut microbiome, their potential to address dysbiosis, and why standard probiotics fail to survive stomach acid in meaningful numbers. We explore research on osteoarthritis, catabolism, and...

Welcome to the latest Midlife Minute.

Today, I answer some listener questions about bone health, osteoporosis, HRT, and the menopause transition.

Stay tuned to learn more about bone loss, bone health, and proactive ways to protect your bone mass.

IN THIS EPISODE, YOU WILL LEARN:

Bone density loss during perimenopause

Value of HRT for protecting bone mass during the menopause transition 

If you’re using an estrogen patch and your estrogen levels are still low, what should you consider?

How women with osteoporosis can continue str...

I’m thrilled to reconnect with Roseann Capanna-Hodge, Ed.D., today. She's a licensed clinical psychologist, board-certified in neurofeedback, and mom of two neurodivergent children. She's also the author of the upcoming book, The Dysregulated Kid.

Today, we discuss how midlife women become stressed and how stress is an event and dysregulation is a physiological state. We also explore emotional regulation, hypervigilance, midlife’s invisible load, strategies to stimulate the vagus nerve, and ways to address both over- and under-stimulated behavior.

Stay tuned for today’s insightful and informative conversation with Roseann Capanna-Hodge. You’ll walk awa...

I’m honored to reconnect with Dr. Felice Gersh today! She is a multi-award-winning physician with dual board certification in OB-GYN and Integrative Medicine. We connected once before in Episode 221, where we spoke about PCOS and metabolic health.

Today, Dr. Gersh joins me to dive into perimenopause and menopause. We discuss various issues surrounding the Women’s Health Initiative and talk about estrogen as a family of hormones, estrogen-mimicking chemicals, synthetic hormones, and oral contraceptives. We cover the importance of thyroid function, the pro-inflammatory state associated with estrogen loss in perimenopause and menopause, and the role of nutr...

Today, I’m honored to reconnect with fan favorite, Dr. Tom Dayspring. Dr. Dayspring is a fellow of both the American College of Physicians and the National Lipid Association, and is certified in internal medicine and clinical lipidology with extensive experience in perimenopause and menopause management. He has been a frequent contributor and educator at Everyday Wellness.

In this episode, we discuss labs that help to monitor changes in insulin resistance (specifically the LPIR score), the clinical practice limitations Dr. Dayspring believes stem from a lack of humility, and aspects of women’s medical histories that may indi...

Welcome to the latest Midlife Minute.

This episode unpacks ongoing research on Lp(a), explores how women’s lipids change during the perimenopause-to-menopause transition, and clarifies what we can do about it.

Stay tuned for more!

IN THIS EPISODE, YOU WILL LEARN:

How total cholesterol, LDL, and ApoB tend to rise most steeply around the final menstrual period, rather than increasing gradually with chronological aging

Why women should have their Lp(a) checked both before and after menopause

How oral and transdermal estradiol can affect LDL, HDL, tr...

Today, I am honored to connect with Dr. Zaldy Tan, a geriatric medicine and memory disorder specialist whose research career has centered on the Framingham Heart Studies Offspring Cohort. Dr. Tan currently directs Cedar Sinai’s memory and healthy aging programs, after previously leading the memory clinic at Beth Israel and Harvard Medical School. His book, Age Proof Your Mind, translates his clinical and research background into a practical framework for people trying to assess and protect their own cognitive trajectory.

In our conversation, Dr. Tan explains why middle age is the old age of youth and th...

Welcome to the latest episode in our series of highly vetted companies I like to share with my Everyday Wellness community.

Today, I’m delighted to connect with Leslie Kenny, Founder and CEO of Oxford Healthspan. After being diagnosed with multiple autoimmune conditions and being told she was unlikely to have any biological children, Leslie put her autoimmune conditions into remission through nutrition and lifestyle changes and later went on to conceive naturally at 43. Her personal experience led her into a research collaboration with Oxford immunologist Professor Katya Simon, where she was introduced to spermidine, a naturally oc...

I am delighted to welcome Dr. Shivani Gupta today for the first of two interviews. Dr. Gupta is the founder and CEO of Fusionary Formulas and the author of The Inflammation Code. She has both a master's degree and a PhD in Vedic sciences, where her dissertation focused on turmeric's role in inflammation, joint health, and cardiovascular health.

In today’s conversation, we explore the physical effects of chronic inflammation, habits to support stress reduction, the differences between inflammaging and normal physiologic aging, and ways to nurture ourselves in midlife (which Dr. Gupta calls the Vata season). We...

Welcome to the latest Midlife Minute.

Today, I’m answering listeners’ questions about cardiovascular risk, focusing on Lp(a), LDL, statins, and the changes women experience after menopause.

Stay tuned for more!

IN THIS EPISODE, YOU WILL LEARN:

Why women should have their Lp(a) checked both before and after menopause

How Lp(a) works as a risk enhancer, and how cardiovascular risk becomes more significant when elevated Lp(a) occurs alongside high LDL

Why family history is particularly helpful for women with a 10-year calculated cardiovascular risk...

I’m honored to connect with Dr. John La Puma today. Dr. La Puma spent three decades building the case that food, nature, and light are clinical tools, not just lifestyle add-ons. He was the first physician to complete a professional cooking curriculum, and he used that training to co-develop the first cooking and nutrition course taught in a U.S. medical school, a course now adapted across roughly 80% of U.S. medical schools. He later did the same thing for Nature, co-developing and teaching the first skills-based Nature as Medicine CME course for physicians with UCLA. His most re...

This episode is another in our podcast series of conversations with highly vetted brands I feel confident recommending to my community.

Today, I was delighted to connect with Julie Sawaya, Co-founder and Co-CEO of Needed, a women's health company advancing nutrition standards across the mother span, from fertility through menopause. Julie holds a degree from Northwestern and an MBA from Stanford.

In our conversation, Julie and I discuss the silent epidemic of nutritional deficiency. We explore how oral contraceptives and food restriction can contribute to nutrient depletion, current RDA standards, and the impact of pregnancy...

Today, I’m thrilled to connect with Dr. Aleksandra Gajer. Dr. Gajer was previously an academic emergency medicine physician who pivoted after realizing ER medicine was functioning less as a place that saves lives and more as a place that manages chronic conditions that should have been caught and addressed years earlier. That observation led her to leave ER medicine and take over an established Northern Virginia internal medicine practice focusing on hormone optimization, peptide therapy, and preventative longevity-oriented care.

In our conversation today, we discuss how perimenopause is treatable and suffering through it is optional. Dr. Ga...

Welcome to this week’s Midlife Minute episode.

Today, we’re diving into listener questions about HRT dosing and the confusion surrounding administration. We explore several key themes, including absorption issues, lab draws, and cycling versus daily continuous dosing. I also compare oral progesterone with vaginal and transdermal progesterone.

Stay tuned for more!

IN THIS EPISODE, YOU WILL LEARN:

The estradiol dosage range I prefer, for bone protection

How heart disease risk can influence the route you select for HRT

I clarify the “start low and slow” approach...

We have an extra-special podcast today with my husband, Todd, where we answer many listeners' questions about our relationship, how we met, and our shared interests.

In this episode, Todd and I discuss ways to support your partner through perimenopause and menopause, the importance of shared interests and connections, and why communication is essential in midlife relationships. Todd shares his views on fatherhood and marriage, how physical activity and food are integral to our relationship, and the empty-nest/open door season of our lives. He also describes his own health and daily lifestyle, the bigger picture in...

Today, I am thrilled to reconnect with a previous guest, Dr. Mary Claire Haver. 

Dr. Haver is a board-certified OBGYN, a certified menopause provider, and the founder of Mary Claire Wellness, a private medical practice focusing on women in midlife. Her best-selling book, the Galveston Diet, and her latest New York Times best-seller, The New Menopause, are fabulous resources for middle-aged women.

In today's discussion, we dive into various aspects of perimenopause and the associated challenges. We discuss factors accelerating ovarian aging, the role of contraception, mental health shifts, and the often delayed diagnosis of p...

Today, I’m honored to connect with Dr. Salome Masghati, founder of Precision Gynecology, which provides the unhurried, root-cause-oriented care often missing in a system where women are rushed through short appointments, focusing on bioidentical hormone therapy, perimenopause, and menopause. Dr. Masghati has extensive surgical training and specializes in longevity medicine.

In today’s discussion, we explore the ovary as a signaling hub, not just a reproductive timer, and Dr. Masghati shares her views on hormone replacement therapy timing, intrinsic and infradian rhythm, ovarian function, and the differentiators between PCOS and PMOS in midlife women. We also cove...

Welcome to this week’s Midlife Minute episode!

Statistically, one in three women will die of heart disease. So, today, we’re answering some of the many questions I received about lipids and heart health. Although I’ve done other lipid-focused Midlife Minutes before, this episode is yet another dedicated to Dr. Tom Dayspring, as I’ve received such a vast number of questions on this particular topic.   

IN THIS EPISODE, YOU WILL LEARN:

Why understanding your ApoB and Lp(a) is an essential part of assessing your cardiovascular risk

Why treatments...

I’m delighted to bring you a midlife metabolic health masterclass for women today, with experts Dr. Yael Joffe, Dr. Ben Bikman, Dr. Lara Briden, Dr. Felice Gersh, and Dr. Alexandra Sowa.

In this masterclass, our panel of experts explores how women’s metabolisms change in perimenopause, how our fat cells change with age, and how those changes influence our estrogen, insulin, and body composition. We examine how muscle, estrogen, and satiety mechanisms can improve or worsen metabolic health, the roles of aging, stress, inflammation, and ovarian health, and how body changes become metabolic risks.

Join...

I’m excited to share another episode in our series of highly vetted companies.

Today, I’m delighted to reconnect with Angelo Keely, the Co-founder and CEO of Kion, for our third conversation.

I’ve been using essential aminos. I really leaned into them during my book launch, and I credit them with helping me maintain my muscle mass despite training at a lower volume.

In today’s conversation, Angelo and I discuss GLP-1s and muscle loss, exploring protein intake, the leucine threshold hypothesis, the association between declining estrogen and blunted muscle protein...

Today, I’m delighted to connect with Sara Hirsh Bordo, an autoimmune-diagnosed, 15-times award-winning documentary filmmaker, the founder and CEO of Women Rising, and the author of Autoimmunity and the Good Girls.

I loved Sara's book, and I love her work! I believe her message will resonate deeply with listeners with concurrent autoimmune conditions, and those who have grown up as people pleasers or have subjugated themselves over the course of their lives. Autoimmune conditions often tend to flare or first present during major hormonal transitions like postpartum, perimenopause, or menopause. So it’s important to understand the...

Today, we have a metabolic health masterclass, featuring Dr. Robert Lustig, Ben Azadi, Dr. Ben Bikman, Mark Sisson, and Dr. Nick Norwitz. 

In today’s masterclass, we explore why metabolic dysfunction is not simply a calories-in, calories-out issue or a failure of willpower, how insulin and leptin influence appetite and behavior, how early signs of insulin resistance can appear years before a diabetes diagnosis, and the important relationship between muscle, glucose regulation, and insulin sensitivity. We also discuss how movement supports fat burning without sacrificing muscle, why chronic cardio may not produce the results many people expect, and...

I am delighted to have Jessie Inchauspe, the Glucose Goddess, joining me on the podcast today!

Metabolic health is my passion! It is a huge focus of my work, and Jessie is truly a gift in this space! She is a rising-star author and biochemist with a clear, accessible way of explaining the science behind glucose metabolism. 

Jessie joins me today to discuss the impact of glucose metabolism and spikes. We dive into her background and how an accident created her pain-to-purpose story. We discuss the role of continuous glucose monitors and how glucose spikes i...

I’m delighted to connect with Dr. Rachel Goldman today. She is a licensed clinical psychologist based in New York City and a clinical assistant professor in the Department of Psychiatry at NYU Grossman School of Medicine. She specializes in the mind-body connection using cognitive behavioral therapy, with a focus on stress management, burnout, distorted eating, bariatric surgery support, and health behavior changes. I was honored to meet Dr. Rachel in Miami at an event where we both spoke earlier this year.

In our conversation, we discuss how to approach body image in midlife, how our families in...

Welcome to the latest summer version of the Midlife Minute. 

In this episode, we’re focusing on the gut. Even though I’ve written a book about the gut microbiome changes that occur in perimenopause and menopause, I’m often asked whether the gut is truly central to midlife. So today, I provide direct answers to the many questions I received on this topic.  

IN THIS EPISODE, YOU WILL LEARN:

How the gut microbiome and estrogen work together, and the importance of supporting both 

How the estrobolome helps recycle estrogen, and why its fu...

I am honored to connect with Dr. Eric Osansky today. He is a chiropractic physician, clinical nutritionist, and functional medicine provider. He is also an author who loves to write about hyperthyroidism and a lifestyle-focused approach to it.

In today’s conversation, Dr. Osansky unpacks his own Graves diagnosis in 2008 and highlights the typical symptoms of hyperthyroidism, the unique physiology of thyroid dysfunction, and specific risk factors. We explore traditional treatment pathways, the influence of low-dose naltrexone and other immunomodulatory supplements, and the gut-thyroid axis. We also discuss how most of our immune system is located in th...

In this episode, we’re featuring MitoQ, a company whose research around antioxidant support for mitochondrial function has been of particular interest to me.

I’m thrilled to welcome Dr. Siobhan Mitchell, the Chief Scientific Officer at MitoQ. Dr. Mitchell completed her PhD at SUNY Albany and a postdoctoral fellowship on brain aging at the University of Washington. She has held roles at multinational food companies, leading research on brain nutrition, metabolism, cardiovascular health, and weight loss. She has published clinical research demonstrating the effects of stress on women’s heart health and the importance of nutrients such a...

I’m delighted to connect with Dr. Lanna Cheuck today. She’s a board-certified urologic surgeon who transitioned from academic medicine into a distinctive career in medical esthetics.

In today’s conversation, Dr. Lanna shares her inspiring origin story, and we explore the influence of sexual health and genitourinary syndrome of menopause, common symptoms women experience, and why so few women receive treatment despite how common the condition is. Dr. Lanna explains non-surgical treatment options that improve blood flow, increase orgasms, and improve pelvic floor health, and discusses the influence of senescent cells, the celebrity non-surgical facelift, and ho...

I am delighted to connect with Michael Rubino today. Michael is the founder and CEO of Home Cleanse and the chair of Change the Air Foundation, a nonprofit dedicated to improving indoor environments and public health. He is widely recognized as the leading authority on mold remediation and indoor air quality.

In our conversation, we explore the connection between indoor air quality, gut permeability, and systemic inflammation. Michael explains how modern building practices, energy efficiency measures, and newer building materials may be contributing to health challenges. We discuss the types of tests he uses in his business...