Welcome to The Betty Rocker Show, the place to be to nourish your mind, love your body, and rock your life.
When our hormones are in balance we look, feel and perform at our best. However as we go through life, our hormones can shift and change causing a range of symptoms including fatigue, weight gain and mood swings to name just a few.
In today’s episode, I’m joined by Dr. Sara Gottfried, a doctor who specializes in women’s hormone health and is a three-times New York Times bestselling author of books I love, including “The Hormone Cure.”
We take a deep dive into how our hormones work and address 7 imbalances that are very common for women so you can better understand and address signs your body can be sending you.
My biggest goal in today’s episode is to provide you with this valuable information so you are empowered to advocate for your health care needs and can better navigate the sometimes dismissive messaging you may hear from unenlightened doctors.
Dr. Sara Gottfried is a wife, a mother to two incredible young women, a scientist, researcher, speaker, connector, scholar, seeker, and Harvard-educated MD with 25+ years of experience and a board-certified gynecologist. She reclaimed her own health and life using her methods that she recommends to the women she works with.
From her site: “My life’s mission is to help people feel fully alive and balanced from their cells to their souls. That means lengthening your healthspan, the period of time you feel in your prime and free of chronic disease. That means dialing in your weight (and lean body mass) right where you want it, getting your energy and sex drive optimized, and doing it all naturally and safely. Ultimately, you will get your hormones and genes working for you, not against you. Hop on my bus and shift from feeling “OK” to living your life fully and authentically from the heart.”
In this episode you’ll discover:
Dr. Gottfried’s Story (3:40)
- Why she started working in hormone health
- Her own struggle with her hormones
- The experience with her doctor that led her to seek other resources
- How to turn your mess into your message
- Becoming her own experiment
- The truth about perimenopause and menopause
- What happens to your hormones and cycle as you age
Hormone imbalance #1: Cortisol (9:00)
- How cortisol impacts belly fat
- The truth about visceral belly fat
- The impact of high and low cortisol levels
- The symptoms of high cortisol
- Eustress vs. toxic stress
- The role of cortisol in your body
- The negative impact of chronic, long term stress
- How your ACES score (adverse childhood experiences) affects you
- The dangerous impact of suppressing trauma
How estrogen and progesterone shift throughout your cycle (17:03)
- The importance of balanced levels of estrogen and progesterone
- How these hormones change throughout your cycle
- The importance of LH (luteinizing hormone)
- The importance of nutrition and your cycle
- What happens to your hormones when you stop ovulating
Hormone imbalance #2: PCOS – polycystic ovary syndrome (19:20)
- The rates of PCOS
- Why PCOS occurs
- How insulin resistance works
- The negative impacts of PCOS
- How a low calorie intake can lead to PCOS
Hormone imbalance #3: Perimenopause and how it affects estrogen and progesterone (22:41)
- The importance of a healthy lifestyle
- How the 4 Pillars of Health impact your hormones
- The symptoms that occur in the first stage of perimenopause
- The symptoms that occur in the second stage of perimenopause
How perimenopause affects testosterone (26:46)
- The importance of testosterone
- Why women are so sensitive to testosterone changes
- The symptoms of low testosterone
The importance of sleep (29:04)
- Why sleep is the foundation of your life
- How sleep impacts your hormones
- How your sleep cycle works
- How sleep impacts human growth hormone
Hormone imbalance #4: Human Growth Hormone (32:30)
- How HGH impacts your ability to build and maintain muscle
- How to increase your levels of human growth hormone
- Human growth hormone supplementation
Hormone imbalance #5: Testosterone (35:29)
- The importance of muscle
- How testosterone impacts your risk for cardiovascular disease
- The importance of balanced testosterone
The importance of advocating for your hormones (36:28)
- How women are getting dismissed in the medical field
- Why you need to be your own health advocate
- How your hormones can change throughout your life
Hormone imbalance #6: the androgen family of hormones (40:21)
- The negative impacts of declining levels of DHEA
- What causes your DHEA levels to decline
- The impact of toxic stress
The truth about alcohol (41:35)
- How alcohol impacts your cortisol levels
- How alcohol impacts your estrogen levels
- How alcohol increases your risk for breast cancer
- How alcohol impacts testosterone
- How alcohol impacts your sleep and insulin levels
- What Betty Rocker drinks: Dry Farm Wines
The importance of listening to your intuition (46:04)
- You are your own best doctor
- The importance of tuning into your body’s signals
- The concept of interoception
- You are powerful
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How to mitigate the impact of cortisol (49:15)
- The importance of creating your own “a la carte menu” to reduce stress
- The importance of food choices
- How to look at your life objectively
Hormone imbalance #7: Menopause (51:45)
- The right of passage
- What happens in your body hormonally
- How menopause impacts your thyroid
- Why some women have more symptoms than others
- Are you a candidate for bioidentical hormone therapy?
- The importance of the 4 Pillars of Health during menopause
- The importance of finding a middle ground for treatment
- Why it’s important to identify your values
- How to advocate for yourself
How to connect with Dr. Gottfried (59:13)
- Her book: The Hormone Cure
- Her Instagram: Saragottfriedmd
- Dr. Gottfried’s Website
- Free hormone survival guide
- Work with Dr. Gottfried
Coming up next week…..
I’m joined by Dr. Jolene Brighten, a prominent leader in women’s medicine and the emerging science of Post-Birth Control Syndrome which studies the effects of hormonal birth control on women’s health. She will add some new angles to the conversation we’ve been having and give you even more insights about your own body and hormones!
Love The Betty Rocker Show? We do too! ❤️ Share it with your friends, and subscribe on your favorite podcast player to be alerted when new shows drop!
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Share it with your friends, and subscribe on your favorite podcast
player to be alerted when new shows drop!
ABOUT THE BETTY ROCKER SHOW:
Join me for open and thought provoking discussions about health, fitness, and how to stop undermining ourselves – and start taking meaningful action that makes us role models to others…
….and, listen in on my intimate conversations with amazing thought leaders, health care professionals, athletes and celebrities to learn their secrets and insights for overcoming life’s challenges, living longer, healthier, stronger and more #flawsome lives.
New shows are released on a weekly basis during each season of The Betty Rocker Show. Shows alternate between solo episodes with me, and interviews with guests.
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