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Hosted by journalist and Hotflash inc founder Ann Marie McQueen, this episode features Dr Leigha Saunders, a naturopathic doctor, menopause specialist and mom of two whose own postpartum sleep struggles ignited a mission to help women reclaim their rest and balance.

From her sold-out “Woman Up” event to her candid insights on burnout, radical self-responsibility, and the real roots of fatigue, Leigha and Ann Marie dig into the science and soul of women’s health. They unpack why everything is suddenly labeled “perimenopause,” the hidden role of iron deficiency, and how stress, relationships and lost self-connection lie beneath so many midlife symptoms.

Sponsor shout-out 

Thank you to our sponsor, Timeline Nutrition – makers of Mitopure™, the first clinically tested Urolithin A supplement that supports cellular energy and muscle strength. Visit www.timeline.com and use the code HOTFLASH for 20% off your first order.

Highlights

• Dr Leigha Saunders shares how her Woman Up event united over 100 women seeking health and happiness.
• Why “normal” bloodwork isn’t always optimal — and how the medical system continues to fail women.
• How midlife hormones lower our tolerance for stress and change the way we recover.
• Leigha’s own burnout and “dark night of the soul” — and how she turned it into a healing experience.
• Why perimenopause can sound like “I don’t feel like myself” — and what that really means.
• The danger of assuming every symptom is perimenopause — and what to test instead.
• Iron, B12, and protein deficiencies: the hidden causes behind fatigue and low mood.
• Why collaboration between medical and naturopathic doctors is the future of women’s health.

Where to find Dr Leigh

Website: leighasaundersnd.com
Instagram: @drleighasaundersnd

Host bio

This podcast is hosted by Ann Marie McQueen, journalist and founder of Hotflash Inc, the world’s only reader-supported, research-based platform covering all aspects of menopause and midlife. With more than 30 years in journalism, Ann Marie provides evidence-based content, expert interviews, and deeply personal conversations to help women around the world navigate this pivotal life stage.

Thank you for being here

If you enjoyed this episode, please share it with someone who might benefit — and don’t forget to subscribe, rate, and review the show. For the latest research and real talk on perimenopause, menopause, and midlife straight to your inbox, subscribe to the Hotflash inc newsletter here.

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Thank you to our sponsor, Timeline Nutrition – makers of Mitopure™, the first clinically tested Urolithin A supplement that supports cellular energy and muscle strength. Visit www.timeline.com and use the code HOTFLASH for 20% off your first order.

In this episode of the Hotflash inc Podcast, host and founder Ann Marie McQueen sits down with Laura Ghita, a Romanian psychotherapist and Family Constellation practitioner, for a deeply personal and revealing conversation about how unresolved ancestral patterns can shape our midlife experiences – and how we can shift them.

Ann Marie recorded this interview several years ago, in the middle of going through menopause, just after experiencing her own Family Constellation session. What followed was a profound rethinking of how past generations and hidden dynamics impact our relationships, our health, and how we move through the world in perimenopause and beyond.

Laura explains how this therapeutic modality works, what the science says about inherited trauma, and how this work can reconnect us to our intuition, our bodies, and our personal truth. Whether you're new to Family Constellation Therapy or already curious, this episode will move you to think differently about healing – and the invisible threads that connect us all.

Highlights:

• How Family Constellation helps women in perimenopause and menopause
• Understanding the inherited beliefs about womanhood from your maternal line
• Why we can’t think our way through healing
• How trauma gets stored in our bodies – and why it matters
• The turning point when Ann Marie felt emotion linked to her great-grandmother
• Why healing is never “done” – it’s a lifelong journey

Laura Ghita is a Romania-based psychotherapist and Family Constellation facilitator with more than a decade of experience helping individuals and groups uncover the unconscious patterns passed down through generations. Her approach is grounded in psychology, trauma-informed practices, and energetic awareness. Laura travels internationally to offer workshops and one-on-one sessions, including regular visits to Seva Wellness in Dubai. Her work helps people reconnect with their deeper selves, their bodies, and their ancestral lines to bring clarity, healing, and peace

Connect with Laura:

LinkedIn Laura Ghita
Instagram: @lauraghita.psychologist

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This podcast originally ran on February 13, 2025

In this episode of Hotflash inc, GenX journalist and host Ann Marie McQueen sits down with neurologist and award-winning dementia care professional Dr Teryn Clarke to discuss the science and lifestyle strategies that can reduce the risk of cognitive decline and Alzheimer’s disease, which disproportionately affect women. 

Drawing from her book, Brain Health Action Plan: Simple, Science-Backed Lifestyle Changes that Optimize Cognitive Fitness and Reduce Alzheimer’s Risk Dr Clarke shares part actionable tips to improve brain health today and protect it for the long term.
 
 Episode highlights:

• Dr Teryn Clarke’s personal motivation 
• The power of exercise and low sugar diets 
• The surprising immediate benefits of brain-healthy habits 
• Type 3 diabetes
• Intermittent fasting explained
• Seed oils 
• Hormone therapy and 
• Iron buildup in women post-menopause
• Key supplements for brain health
• The emotional connection: how stress, loneliness, and trauma increase dementia risk
• The critical link between hearing, vision, and dementia prevention  
• Why brain stimulation matters: exercise, learning, and meaningful social connections  

🔑 Top Quote

“Genetics load the gun, but environment pulls the trigger.” – Dr Teryn Clarke

📚 Resources and Links

• Dr Teryn Clarke’s book: Brain Health Action Plan
• Website: brainhealthactionplan.com
• Follow Dr Teryn Clarke on X: @MDTeryn

📝 About the Guest Dr Teryn Clarke is a neurologist in Southern California and was named “Dementia Care Professional of the Year” by the Alzheimer’s Foundation of America in 2015. She is passionate about educating people on the modifiable lifestyle factors that can prevent cognitive decline and is the author of Brain Health Action Plan, a practical, science-based guide to optimizing brain health.

Sponsor for the original episode was Timeline Nutrition Mitopure supports cellular energy and longevity. You can still visit https://shop.timeline.com/HOTFLASHINC  and use the code HOTFLASHINC for an exclusive discount.

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BIG NEWS: Hotflash inc is the #1 Women's Health Podcast on Goodpods, and in the top 1.5 percent of podcasts according to Listen Notes. 

Thanks so much for making that happen! 

In today's episode, I talk about traveling to New York for my first big event on behalf of Hotflash inc. 

And how I finally realized that I belong in the room. 

The broad themes are connection, confidence and purpose.

But the main point, as it always seems to be, is loving and accepting yourself. And how to get there, even if it seems like it takes a lifetime. 

I talk about the long, hard road to building the confidence to feel worthy of being there, and to keep confident while there, about the essential-ness of connecting with other people, and of the beauty in finding and having a sense of purpose – all essentials, and all things that it can feel like midlife and peri/menopause threatens. 

But if you let them, they can be just the opposite. 

I talk about the feeling of ALMOST entering menopause, meeting heroes, becoming your own hero, and what it feels like to start to see yourself, accept yourself, and BECOME yourself, after all this time. 

Also discussed in this episode:

Not wearing heels when everyone else is + the beauty of proper hair and makeup

How I got involved with Perry, the sisterhood for perimenopause

Perry panel members: State of Menopause’s Stacy London, Menopocalypse author and Nyah Health cofounder Amanda Thebe, Behavioural Sleep Doc Dr. Shelby Harris,  The Menopause mogul Dr. Joy’El Ballard, Endocrinologist Dr. Disha Narang, journalist and midlife influencer Tamsen Fadel, ob-gyn and menopause expert Dr Sharon Malone and most inspirational-in-midlife maven Rachel Hughes

Yvonne, Hotflash inc perimenoposse member extraordinaire

Coffee in Bryant Park with pro-aging advocate Skylar Liberty Rose (apologies, I say ROSS)

Menopause Multiverse Cocktail Hour in Harlem: Hosted by Omisade Burney-Scott (Black Girl's Guide to Menopause) and featuring many amazing women including Karen Arthur (Menopause Whilst Black); Jessica Jolie (Age Lust) and and the fearless, wonderfully profane and inspiring Mona Eltahawy, who has such astonishing courage that I switched my own nickname for summoning courage from LADY BALLS MONAS

The hero’s journey of menopause and midlife 

Showing up for yourself

Thank you so much to Perry and Omi and sparks & honey and everyone else who helped me be a part of this.

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BIG NEWS: Hotflash inc is the #1 Women's Health Podcast on Goodpods, and in the top 1.5 percent of podcasts according to Listen Notes. 

Thanks so much for making that happen! 

While Hotflash inc takes a break, we are replaying a popular episode:

Dr Maria Luque is an Austin, Texas-based, United States Air Force veteran (she was a fitness program manager) and health science professor who studied fitness in menopause for her doctorate.

She is bothered by the reams of health, fitness and nutrition information on social media, never mind when it comes to what we are supposed to be doing in peri/menopause.  Her approach is careful, measured, and science-based, and at 47, she's really frank about her own challenges at this stage of life with brain fog, body image and more. She's also a huge fan of putting on muscle and all that can do for us, both now and down the road.

This episode was #66, originally published on March 18, 2023.

Highlights:

• Why it's better to add things that take things away (3.45)
• Losing weight doesn't address a poor body image (4.07)
• Why we are all tired of fitness (5.41)
• How the diet and fitness world is designed to bamboozle you (7.26)
• Diet and exercise can never fix everything – and it never did  (10.12)
• How perimenopause is opening up a Pandora's box (12.42)
• We have the wisdom to figure this out, we just need to listen (18.34)
• Why the HRT conversation needs a little more moderation (21.50)
• Navigating the tricky world of interpreting research (25.41)
• Other problems in menopause reporting + research (29:16)

Where to find Maria:
Web: Fitnessinmenopause.com
IG: @drmarialuque
Twitter: @DoctorLuque
Ideafit: Dr Luque

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Dr. Burt Webb is an Arizona-based ob-gyn and intimate wellness specialist who takes a holistic, functional, integrative approach to women’s health. (He also represents the non-invasive soundwave treatment Cliovana, which we discuss in part 2 of this podcast.)

This week he gets into all the different treatments, hormone therapy and otherwise – that he uses for the entire pelvic region. With almost 30 years in practice treating women, he is one of the most switched-on mainstream practitioners to appear on the podcast. 

This is a fascinating conversation and the second in our first-ever two-part episode. Don’t forget to listen back to last week, on episode 83, when we talked all about why he believes a dry vagina isn’t always just a dry vagina due to menopause. And gives us major guidance on how to tackle the issue systemically. 

Highlights: 

• Vaginal estrogen and breast cancer, including specifics on how to use it differently 
• “They aren’t as familiar with the vagina” (who he’s talking about)
• That time he coached a young woman on a plane about vaginal health (she asked) 
• How he uses vaginal 
• DHEA? 
• Additional ingredients in vaginal estrogen and why they may not work for you
• Why your clitoris is a lot bigger than you think – and any treatment needs to focus on all of it 
• Why women need to educate themselves – and men – about their bodies  
• How the body’s own healing factors can be harnessed to help your vagina
• Cliovana, radio frequency, laser treatments and the O-shot – and what’s best for what issue
• Why mixing and matching – and tissue health – are key to treating each women individually
• What to look for in an intimate wellness specialist 
• How the placebo effect plays a part in treatment 

Web: cliovana.com

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Dr. Burt Webb is an Arizona-based ob-gyn and intimate wellness specialist with a holistic approach to women’s health. (He also represents the non-invasive soundwave treatment Cliovana, which we discuss in part 2 of this podcast.)

He joins the Hotflash inc podcast to talk about how our entire body plays a role in our vaginal health – and genitourinary syndrome of menopause (GSM). With almost 30 years in practice treating women, he is one of the most switched-on mainstream practitioners to appear on the podcast. 

Contrary to the prevailing narrative – oh how we love that here – he believes a dry vagina isn’t always just a dry vagina due to menopause. And he explains all the different factors that may be going into this. 

This is a fascinating conversation and the first-ever two-part episode. Stay tuned to next week when he gets into all the different treatments, hormone therapy and otherwise – that he uses to treat the entire pelvic region. This is very different to what you are hearing elsewhere. 

Highlights: 

• The role of blood flow and nutrients in menopause – and in particular, vagina stuff 
• How and why the vagina gets lubricated (hint: it’s like a cheesecloth)
• How your gut microbiome impacts you mind, body and vagina
• The role of food insensitivities – and chemicals in processed food – in GSM 
• Why a probiotic isn’t enough 
• Vaginal hormone therapy in treating GSM 
• Why you need pharmaceutical-grade supplements (it’s about the absorption) 
• Why he looks at the tissues – and the four areas where symptoms of dryness and pain in the vagina appear
• How inflammation contributes to poor sexual health and ultimately heart disease 
• Vaginal estrogen and breast cancer - the consensus opinion 
• Why he believes most vaginal estrogen is not used correctly – and how it should be

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Michelle Aspinwall is a Medical Intuitive, Body Whisperer, and transformative healer whose mission is to shift women’s health specifically beyond 40. 

Michelle works with women worldwide using both science and spirit channeling leading them through specific and transformative health challenges. She teaches women that how they think, believe, support, and nourish themselves creates the foundation for her to become her most magnetic and vibrant being for the entirety of her life.

She also believes that we are humans and spiritual beings, and because of that, we can take part in the entire smorgasbord of the earth’s experience: East, West, and everything in between. (As in: she uses testosterone and acupuncture for her perimenopausal symptoms)

Highlights: 

• How are various systems work together
• The vital years from 37-50
• Perimenopause and our crown chakra
• Developing our intuitive muscles
• Why and how it hurts not to tell your truth during this transition – and why it has everything and nothing to do time
• Our experience, our perception of the experience, and the stories about the experience 
• Using hormones for the human parts of us to augment and assist our spiritual selves
• Understanding the magnitude of source and how it’s reflected in us 
• Why we need to tend to our heart more than ever now – and how to begin to do that 
• How she manages her thyroid and Hashimoto’s with Western and Eastern medicine, food and living in truth 
• How the stress of the world heightens our symptoms and disorders – and how to navigate the turmoil and tumult energetically 

Where to find Michelle: 

• Web: michelleaspinwall.com
• TikTok: @BodyWhisperer
• IG: @Michellepaspinwall
• FB: Body Whisperer Lounge
• Free Meditation

Join the Hotflash inc perimenoposse:

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This conversation was life-shifting for me and I hope it will be for you too. Elisa Kurylowicz is a Canadian former World Cup freestyle mogul skier turned coach and wellness mentor and host of the highly rated Elisa Unfiltered Podcast. Elisa teaches the practice of intuitive awareness, helping women to love themselves in body, business and life. She joins the Hotflash inc podcast for an epic (but so worth it) episode about the hard process of waking up to your conditioned mind so you can heal yourself.  

Highlights: 

• What happens when you face an Olympic-level 
• Cigarettes, booze, Ramen noodles and anger
• Waking up – and then going back to sleep
• How to start asking yourself big questions
• Seeing the world for what it is
• Men is a midlife crisis, women it’s menopause
• What’s going on with our urge to belong?
• Recognizing the teachers who help lift us up
• Keys to practicing intuitive awareness
• The big scary wall of what real change might mean
• Psilocybin therapy + microdosing
• Recognizing narratives around alcohol – and breaking out 
• Navigating the early stages of perimenopause while trying to get pregnant

Where to find Elisa:

• Web: elisaunfiltered.com
• IG: @ElisaKurylowicz

Adele Stratton (Elisa’s coach) IG @phoenixrisinghc

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KC Councilor is an assistant professor in Communication, Media, and Screen Studies at Southern Connecticut State University. He is also a cartoonist who draws about the experiences of being a trans and transitioning person in the world.

His graphic memoir, Between You and Me: Transitional Comics, came out in 2019.

He has also published comics in numerous academic journals, including the Annals of Internal Medicine, Literature and Medicine, Communication and Critical/Cultural Studies, and Women's Studies in Communication. His comic Cycles was published in the Eisner Award-winning anthology Menopause: A Comic Treatment. 

Highlights

• Why he’s ready to talk about feminity
• The comic that brought him on the podcast
• What it’s like going through puberty and menopause at the same time
• At 41, how he feels about the possibility of perimenopause
• Being a trans person in the US right now
• Feelings in fatherhood
• The loud and angry state of trans in the US
• The issue of trans violence 
• What medical care has been like

Find out more about KC and his work:
Web: www.kccouncilor.com
Instagram: @betweenyouandmetranscomics

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Dr Angela DeRosa is a doctor of osteopathy, integrative physician and hormone specialist in Arizona. She has a unique take on the current peri/menopause landscape as a doctor of osteopathy who also worked as senior medical director for Procter & Gamble, helping them launch osteoporosis treatments and try – and fail – to get a testosterone patch for women approved for use in 2004.

During her years with the pharmaceutical division, she saw firsthand how women’s ability to get proper medical care and treatment is thwarted due to politics, gender bias and poorly trained physicians. Her mission is to teach women about what’s happening to them physically, how they can obtain proper treatment, and how to change the paradigm of medicine so women everywhere can live healthier and happier lives.

Dr DeRosa discusses her view and experience of testosterone, which she says few doctors understand. This includes her endorsement of and cautions about the controversial use of pellets, as well as the important role of the thyroid, the vital interplay with blood sugar and the road to insulin resistance, and much more.

Highlights: 

•  What it’s like working for Big Pharma 
•  Her view on Intrinsa, the Proctor & Gamble testosterone patch the FDA did not approve almost 20 years ago
•  We are more than estrogen – and why testosterone is pivotal
•  The vital interplay between falling testosterone and insulin resistance
•  The crucial thyroid piece – and why thyroid health must come first
•  Why so many people don’t understand how to properly administer testosterone
•  Why pellets are like colour TV (and what people get wrong about them
•  How to avoid unsafe doses 
•  What is "fulminant fear", why it's rare and how to avoid it
•  Her take on “menopause is natural” 
•  Her take on fezolinetant, aka Veozah, the non-hormonal drug for hot flashes 
•  Why you want your hormone therapy to be “biomemetic” aka bioidentical
•  What you think you know about compounding pharmacies is wrong (including that they are always “expensive”) 
•  Why we need to look at the “whole universe” of what’s available 

Where to find Dr DeRosa: 

• drhotflash.com
• hormonalhealthinstitute.com

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Karen Newby is a UK-based nutritional therapist and author of The Natural Menopause Method - a nutritional guide to perimenopause and beyond.

She runs a specialist menopause clinic and hosts regular retreats, corporate talks and workshops, helping women toward greater midlife vitality. A complementary practitioner, she often works with GP menopause specialists and women on hormone therapy.

Her approach is highly practical, realistic and achievable as we deal with very low bandwidth in amongst our turbo charged, modern day world.

Highlights:

• therapeutic foods explained, including phytoestrogens
• the power of changing the first hour of your day
• her take on ultraprocessed foods + menopause
• her gentle method of cleansing to get on with feeling better
• how being "hurried women" is hurting us
• why we need to nurture our thyroid, liver and adrenals so they can do their work
• ditching years of diet industry nonsense
• what she learned about perimenopause from living in China
• sugar and hot flashes
• the role of stress

Web: www.karennewby.com
IG: @karen.newby.nutritionist


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In a week where we had the release of the new Davina McCall documentary Pill Revolution, Holly Grigg-Spall joins the Hotflash inc podcast to talk all about hormonal birth control.

Holly is the author of the 2013 book Sweetening The Pill: Or How We Got Hooked on Hormonal Birth Control, and a writer on 2021's The Business of Birth Control documentary.

Hotflash inc founder Ann Marie McQueen asks Holly all about what happened after her book was published, reaction to it and the documentary, and some of the top lines about what she found out during her years of research, all based on her own experience.

And they talk about how the conversation around menopause hormone therapy relates to the conversation around the pill, and how previous pill use could be informing perimenopause and menopause.

Sit back and dive in as we address one of the controversial subjects of our time.

Resources:

• Sweetening the Pill: or How We Got Hooked on Hormonal Birth Control
• SweeteningThePill.com
• TheBusinessofBirthControl.com

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This podcast originally ran on March 26th, 2025

In this episode of the Hotflash inc Podcast, GenX journalist Ann Marie McQueen sits down with Dr Deena Emera, an evolutionary geneticist, senior scientist at the Buck Institute’s Buck Center for Healthy Aging in Women, and author of A Brief History of the Female Body: An Evolutionary Look at How and Why the Female Form Came to Be.

Dr Emera’s research focuses on the genetic basis of reproductive longevity in mammals, and in this fascinating discussion, she breaks down the evolution of menopause, why female bodies age the way they do, and what modern science is uncovering about ovarian health and longevity.

If you’ve ever wondered why menopause exists, how it evolved, and whether science will ever be able to delay or even prevent it, this episode is for you.

Highlights:

• Understanding evolutionary biology (it's not boring, promise)
• The evolutionary mystery of menopause
• What animals do go through menopause?
• Why all women didn't used to die at 50 (and what actually happened)
• How modern life has changed menopause
• Why Dr Emera needs bowhead whale ovaries
• Can we really end menopause?
• The truth about the Grandmother Hypothesis

Quote:

"Menopause itself isn’t surprising – if you live long enough, you will run out of eggs. What’s unique about humans is that we have such a long post-reproductive life stage. That’s the real mystery we need to solve." – Dr Deena Emera

Where to find Dr Emera:

• Instagram: @deenaemera
• LinkedIn: Deena Emera
• Buy her book: A Brief History of the Female Body – Available on Amazon

The Hotflash inc Podcast is:
One of the Top 60 Menopause Podcasts
In the top 3% percentile on Listen Notes
#1 on Goodpods’ Top 10 Women’s Health Podcasts list

This episode was originally sponsored by  Timeline Nutrition. Mitopure supports cellular energy and longevity. Visit https://shop.timeline.com/HOTFLASHINC where you can still grab 20% off with code HOTFLASHINC

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Dr Mikhail Kogan came to medical marijuana via his work as a geriatrician at GW Medical Faculty Associates and as an associate professor of medicine at George Washington University School of Medicine & Health Sciences in the US. 

He co-wrote one of the most comprehensive books on the subject of cannabis in health care, Medical Marijuana, published in 2021. Although he’s not a menopause marijuana specialist (no one really is, yet), he has really helpful insights as to why the research still needs to catch up with what doctors are seeing in patients, coffee is more addictive than cannabis, and what “going low and slow” really means when it comes to experimenting. 

He joined us as part of last year’s Menopause Shift Summit, and if you didn’t catch him there, you can catch him here. 

Highlights:

• Why cannabis can be a ‘godsend’ for older adults
• Whatever medical problem we can think of, cannabis has a role 
• A reminder that cannabis was the most heavily used medicine before the 1930s 
• A look at our body’s own unique ‘endocannabinoid’ system – what he calls the oldest hormonal system in our body
• The potential role of reductions in that system in our perimenopause experience
• The myth that there is no cannabis research – and an overview of what that research shows
• His prediction about cannabis for Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s
• Low-and-slow and the ‘J curve’ and dosing 
• Why he says the cautionary advice over cannabis from addiction specialists is very different from medicinal applications 
• Back to myths, he’s also talking about medical marijuana and addiction
• His top advice for what and how to buy

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FYI: this is a very important replay of one of my most popular episodes, which was originally posted in November. 

Jennifer Harrington is a naturopathic doctor based in Sydney, Australia. Her interest in natural therapies started when she was diagnosed with PCOS in her early twenties and told she may struggle to ever have children. After experimenting with birth control pills, but found her symptoms got worse and found her way to naturopathy, and she got better. Although she had a career in television, she decided to retrain so she could help other women. After graduating she worked at the famous Chiva Som Health Resort in Thailand and later opened her own clinic. In 2014 she started Menopause Natural Solutions, and she now helps perimenopausal and menopausal women all over the world. 

In this episode you will learn about:

• Jennifer’s own perimenopausal journey, which includes massive blood loss, uterine polyps and fibroids 
• Why fibroids happen and what can be done about them
• The importance of salt and electrolytes
• What happens to ovulation in perimenopause
• What the gut microbiome has to do with estrogen 
• Why you need to know how you metabolize estrogen 
• The role of inflammation, insulin resistance and Tamoxifen
• The one thing that you might be missing that can help massively in perimenopause
• The mistake most women make with HRT
• Alternative treatments for vaginal dryness
• Why thrush shifts to BV in perimenopause 

Where to find Jennifer: 

Web Menopausenaturalsolution
Podcast Menopause Natural Solutions
Facebook menopausenaturalsolutions
Instagram @menopausenaturalsolutions
YouTube @menopausenaturalsolutions

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Web: hotflashinc.com
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Episode website: Hotflashinc

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It's a broad claim, but if I’m more clear on what is going on now that I’ve done it, I can guarantee you will be if you listen.  

Dr Kirstey Holland is a Melbourne, Australia-based doctor of Traditional Chinese Medicine who holds a double degree in acupuncture and herbal medicine. She is a practitioner of environmental and nutritional medicine, functional medicine and naturopathy. 

Her approach to perimenopause is grounded in ancient wisdom, and is personalized for every woman to suit our own unique needs – because we are all different. 

And she caught my eye on Instagram because not only is she calm, knowledgeable and relatable, she appears to know more about the totality of perimenopause than most of the other doctors on social media. 

In this podcast, Dr Holland gets at the heart of what is going on with women struggling through this transition with one of the best explanations of what’s happening internally – and how that plays out in our external world – that I’ve ever heard. She explains how this process intersects with the body’s own detoxification process and how we can step up to help, easing our symptoms, reducing inflammation and exposure to future diseases in the process. When you listen to Dr Holland, it becomes clear that in order to experience vitality during this time of transition, it’s essential that we focus on nourishing our brain, gut, adrenals and thyroid. She also talks about everything you need to consider if you are considering hormone therapy, which she is not only taking, but is skilled at prescribing in a tailored and holistic manner. 

Highlights:

• The intersection of trauma and perimenopause
• What is actually happening in our bodies – and how that plays out in our lives
• Why cleaning up what we consume is so important at this juncture
• Why we need to be careful about alcohol
• The vital role of gut health
• Why and how she tests people in perimenopause 
• The essential role of our detox pathways
• Why we need to “restump the house”
• Why do so many doctors seem to have orthorexia?
• Her magic, super-simple nutritional formula
• Why we need to remind ourselves of hunter-gatherers
• How she found her voice

Where to find Dr Holland: 

Web: Thehollandclinic.com
IG: @thehollandclinic

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Web: hotflashinc.com
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Episode website: Hotflashinc

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A solo episode where I talk about my mom.

She died right after she turned 53. 

I am about to turn 53. 

This has been a thing. 

This is a thing for people. 

Also: the gifts my mom gave me by dying young, the message I want to give you about living courageously, with fear, honoring the ones we love that we lose, energy, breaking generational barriers and some funny stories, possibly involving cakes intentionally made to resemble poop.  

Join the Hotflash inc perimenoposse:

Web: hotflashinc.com
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Episode website: Hotflashinc

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Morgan Adams is a holistic sleep coach, with two advanced certifications in sleep science coaching. She works withwomen who struggle to get a good night's sleep consistently. 

And that is something she knows all about, because she spent almost a decade using prescription sleeping medication, even though she knew that her overall sleep quality suffered. 

We talk all about her journey to better sleep, her decision to help other people get there too, and how a good night’s sleep actually starts first thing in the morning.

Highlights:

• The scourge of sleep medication 
• Why you want to get outside first thing
• Yes those sunglasses are cute, but…
• Tips to make your phone less attractive 
• The real problem with social media at night
• The role of hormone therapy for sleep in perimenopause 
• Is biohacking your sleep necessary?

And much more…

Where to find Morgan: 

Web: Morganadamswellness.com

IG: @morganadams.wellness

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Dr Quentin Oury is a leading British GP at a busy NHS service with 16,000 patients. He is focused on men’s health, including the areas of erectile dysfunction and low testosterone. He joins me to talk about a topic that doesn't get much air time, but we are slowly starting to hear more about: andropause.

Many people don’t even know what the word means, but as Dr Oury explains, it’s a little known fact that men can suffer symptoms very similar to that of peri/menopause as their hormones decline with age. 

And when you listen to him describe “manopause” as he sees it in his office, and all the challenges that stand in the way of men recognizing that this is a condition that there is a lot of help available for, the parallels to what women have been going through are uncanny. 

Highlights: 

• How andropause presents – and why it’s confused for other things
• Why his typical patient is often healthy 
• The typical symptoms – including how it impacts mental health
• What’s going on, physiologically
• The testosterone Rx
• How this area is dramatically understudied – even less than menopause
• The link to diabetes – and to medical problems later on
• Why erectile dysfunction and low libido can be a bigger  health issue
• The difference in supplementing testosterone for andropause and the dangerous practice of “juicing” for muscle growth
• Why women are usually the ones who get men to the doctor
• Where to get more information

Where to find Dr Oury (and more info):

Web: H3health.co.uk

Instagram: @dr_q_o

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Episode website: Hotflashinc

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Dr Mary Claire Haver is a Texas-based board-certified ob-gyn and Certified Culinary Medicine specialist. She’s also TikTok’s top menopause doc with two million followers, published The Galveston Diet in January and is working on another book, this one specifically about menopause. 

I spoke to Dr Haver in early April and we talked about everything from hard times to why she believes every woman should take hormone therapy to reduce their risk of disease. 

Remember to listen to the disclaimer at the end and remember, this is not medical advice. (For counterpoints on hormone therapy for cardiovascular disease prevention, check out episode 66. For counterpoints on compounded hormones, check out episode 45. For counterpoints on the evolutionary theory of menopause, check out episode 2.)

Highlights: 

• How she hit the ground running from her very first Tiktok
• Finding out about the gaps in her own education
• Why menopause gets shoved into a little corner
• How the US healthcare system is preventing better menopause care 
• Why she chose to open a private clinic (and why she knows its elitist)
• What board-certified means (and why it’s better - even if it still doesn’t have much to do with menopause)
• How far behind menopause research has been and continues to be
• Her take on how to find good experts to follow – and how to get better care at the doctor’s office
• Her dream for research
• How she prescribes HRT 
• Her take on the progesterone-progestin question (and why she doesn’t like the “demonization” of synthetic hormones)
• Remembering we are all bio-diverse (and will react to HRT in our own way and need lots of options)
• How and why she pivoted to a more pro-hormone therapy message
• Why she says hormone therapy prescribing does not require expensive hormone testing – at any stage 
• Her answer to the question: Should women go on hormone therapy for prevention, not symptom treatment
• Why she thinks our generation is having a harder time in this – and how our mothers are guiding our health choices 
• How trauma is impacting our time in menopause 
• Her advice for you if you’re struggling (and some US telehealth recommendations)

Where to find Dr Haver:

Web: Galvestondiet.com
TikTok - @drmaryclaire

Instagram - drmaryclaire; the.galveston.diet
Facebook - The Galveston Diet Mary Claire Hav

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Web: hotflashinc.com
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Instagram: @hotflashinc
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Episode website: Hotflashinc

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Day raver, cold swimmer, rabble-rouser, educator, author, podcaster, academic and publisher of scientific papers: Joyce Harper is a professor of reproductive science at the Institute for Women's Health, University College London. 

She’s also author of the 2021 book Your Fertile Years and hosts the podcast Why didn’t anyone tell me this?

Harper is uncompromised and unflappable. She is all about the evidence. She’s not opposed to HRT but isn’t a breathless enthusiast either. It has to be about the evidence, she argues, otherwise it’s just stories and anecdotes that don’t add up to anything. 

NB: We are both members of a balanced-approach group called MenoClarity, and we recorded this podcast before Joyce was quoted in a controversial Daily Mail article alleging excessive and unsafe HRT prescribing practices at a chain of private clinics in the UK. 

When I followed up with her about it, she said: "We need to give women accurate information about the menopause and treatments. In the UK we've created huge negativity – some suggesting menopause is a disorder. It's not fair to women and I really worry for the next generations who are now nearing menopause. Menopause can be difficult for some. But for most it's a transition and life post menopause can be the most exciting and liberating stage of our lives."

(As always, I’m not a medical professional and this podcast is not medical advice.  Expert opinion varies widely. Please listen to the disclaimer at the end podcast as well.) 

Highlights: 

• Almost 30 years after she completed her PhD, women still don’t understand their bodies
• Why we need to teach people what’s “normal” so they know when to seek help
• How she approaches research – and how we need to as well 
• Her top myths in women’s health and menopause
• When you should go on HRT and why dosing matters 
• How overall health sets you up for perimenopause
• Issues with the push for testosterone
• Why anecdotes are not research 
• Her research-based conclusions the claims that can prevent dementia 
• Why being post-menopause is so great 
• Her homework assignment for every perimenopausal woman

Where to find Joyce:

Web: Joyceharper.com; Globalwomenconnected.com
Twitter: @profjoyceharper
Instagram @profjoyceharper

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Web: hotflashinc.com
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TikTok: @hotflashinc
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X: @hotflashinc

Episode website: Hotflashinc

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A special episode in which I talk all about being beset with a variety of health problems that could spell trouble, and how that made me feel, and what I was finally able to do about it. 

This is a podcast for anyone who is trying to get help but is tired, sick and down, or for someone who wants to avoid feeling that way. 

It's about getting help, making it through, and finally deciding that enough is enough, and you are going to truly do what you have to so you can heal and move forward. 

Also, my perennial search for a doctor who will help me find some damn HRT continues. 

Join the Hotflash inc perimenoposse:

Web: hotflashinc.com
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Episode website: Hotflashinc

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I'm a journalist critical thinking my way through my own perimenopause.

In searching for good information, balance and context for myself, the Substack I publish on the subject, various social media accounts, and the interviews and solo episodes I do on this podcast, sometimes I just get floored at the things I see and hear on social media and in traditional media about menopause.

The reality is, I interview doctors all the time and they are knowledgeable and doing good work and passionate and all over the world, and they are also all over the place  on the basics, and have loads of blind spots.

But you wouldn't know that to look at social media.

The research is scant, considering half of women go through peri/menopause, and I just don't think as a journalist and a researcher there is room for this much certainty.

Hence, this episode.

As always: listen to the disclaimer at the end: this is not health advice.

Among the things I talk about here:

• the promise of HRT for prevention of dementia and cardiovascular disease vs the literature

• doctors menopause gurus on social media

• what 'medical gaslighting' actually is vs what people on social media are saying it is

• the missing conversation about autoimmune disorders vis-a-vis peri/menopause

• my own ongoing issues accessing hormone therapy from doctors in the Middle East

• the importance of going beyond menopause as an explanation for why more women experience dementia (and a host of other issues) than men

• asking why people get bejiggity about progesterone

• scary, uninformed yet appealing-to-the-masses influencers

• going from raising awareness about perimenopause to terrifying women – and is that better?

• an argument for the low and slow approach

• questioning the narrative that this isn't supposed to be happening

Studies referenced:

Global consensus testosterone position statement
Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism
HRT for symptoms or prevention of dementia and cardiovascular disease
Menopause: The Journal of the North American Menopause Society 2022
Circulation, the Journal of the American Heart Association 2023
Alzheimers.org.UK
Progestogens + breast cancer risk
Plos Journal 2023
Breast Cancer Research and Treatment 2008

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This podcast originally ran on July 10, 2024

In this episode Florida orthopedic sports medicine surgeon Dr Vonda Wright published a review paper Climacteric, the journal of the International Menopause Society, introducing Musculoskeletal Syndrome of Menopause. The paper has been shared widely across social media, and this interview with Dr Wright is an edited version from last year diving into Dr Wright’s efforts to create awareness of this constellation of muscle and joint problems experienced during perimenopause. 

This is an issue close to Dr Wright’s heart: it was the first thing she went though in perimenopause. 

Listen in as she explains why MSM is her mission, just what happens to our bones and muscles as we get older, and delves into the need for proper diagnosis and preventive measures such as exercise and diet, and the importance of estrogen in maintaining bone health. 

Highlights:

• 1:33 Why she’s back
• 2:45 Musculoskeletal Syndrome of Menopause
• 3:46 Personal experiences and reflections
• 4:09 Understanding bone health
• 12:22 The importance of mobility
• 22:15 Diet and supplements for bone health
• 26:58 Hormone therapy and long-term health
• 31:05 Her words of hope 

Connect with Dr Vonda Wright

• Website: drvondawright 
• Instagram: drvondawright
• TikTok: drvondawright 

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If this episode resonated with you, share it with a friend, leave a review, and hit follow wherever you listen. 

Host bio:
This episode is hosted by Ann Marie McQueen, journalist and founder of Hotflash Inc – the world’s only reader-supported, research-based platform covering all aspects of menopause and midlife. A Canadian-made, UAE-based journalist with 30 years of experience, Ann Marie launched Hotflash Inc to help women find evidence, expert insight, and honest conversations that reflect the full spectrum of the midlife experience. Through her newsletter, podcast, social channels, events, and upcoming course Your Perimenopause Game Plan, she’s building a global community rooted in truth, curiosity, and empowerment.

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Kate Deering is a San Diego-based personal trainer, holistic nutritionist and author of the ground-breaking book How to Heal Your Metabolism. 

Kate has some no-nonsense guidance for healing broken metabolisms and how to make the transition through menopause as easy as possible by drawing on the pro-metabolic approach to nutrition. 

That involves learning to understand your body and giving it the fuel it needs to function properly. She explains why menopause symptoms, and slow metabolism, can both come as a result of over-exercising, eating too little and putting yourself under too much stress in earlier life, and dispels popular myths such as the idea that eating carbs will make you put on weight. I watched a friend of mine transform in her 40s by doing this, and I’ve done it myself and felt the difference. Her take is that throwing hormones and supplements at the symptoms of menopause was never going to be an effective solution. Instead, her take is that we need to learn to look at healing any underlying issues, and and nurture and heal our body so that it can go through the process feeling healthy and strong.

Kate and I spoke last year as part of the first Menopause Shift Summit and I found her way of approaching this so helpful I wanted you to hear it. 

Highlights: 

• Why she doesn’t blame slowing metabolism on age
• What’s going on when perimenopause catches up with you
• What the bio-energetic, pro-metabolic way of eating looks like
• Pro-metabolic eating, organ meats and shellfish
• Gut and digestive issues and peri/menopause
• Why orange juice and dairy aren’t on this particular sh*t list 
• “Anti-metabolic” foods, however, are
• The issue with supplements
• How to square intermittent fasting with pro-metabolic eating (hint: you don’t)

Where you can find Kate: 

Web: KateDeering.com

IG: @katedeeringfitness

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Web: hotflashinc.com
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Today I unleash an update on my own epic perimenopause experience, which began sometime in my early 40s, wreaked all sorts of havoc, and continues to this day – aged 52, looking ahead to turning 53.

I cover a lot here, so buckle up!

• A little about my early years and what led to Hotflash inc
• A taster of some of the symptoms I've dealt with
• What's going on with me now, physically and emotionally
• What my new gynecologist has to say about all of it
• A focus on my forgetfullness
• The crying, with a guest appearance by my American friend Lizzie Bermudez
• Why my perimenopause is like a video game, and where I feel I'm at in the levels
• How I'm turning into a recluse, but I know it's temporary
• My lengthy recounting of a night in Paris where I got mugged by a gang of teenagers and dealt with a hideously drunk Englishman – all in one night
• A list of things I've been crying about
• What's going on with my vagina
• The sensory stuff
• My love for Wise Power and authors Alexandra Pope and Sjanie Hugo Wurlitzer, founders of Red School, which is a book I opened at just the right time 
• How I'm resting, puttering and snudging 

Join the Hotflash inc perimenoposse:

Web: hotflashinc.com
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Lynette Sheppard is such an important voice in the menopause space because she has such depth of experience and context for this conversation. The former nurse/manager, artist, speaker, advocate and more has, for 17 years now, been the author of The Menopause Goddess Blog. She started it, and gathered a group of 15 women around her, when "the change" started and  "really whooped her upside the head".

Lynette beautifully straddles the space between allopathic and naturopathic worlds, and so she's right there in the moderate middle and has some really great insight about how to pull from both of them in these overloaded, binary times we live in.  She's also on the other side of this transition and has some really key words for those of us wondering if we will ever make it and if we do, whether it will be better than this.

Highlights:

• Why you should feel good about taking HRT
• The difference in approaches between allopathic and naturopathic medicine
• Why the medical establishment is so stubborn
• Why perimenopause is no time to make any sudden moves
• What happens when you get past the horror of the symptoms
• Why you need your own a group of goddessess
• How men seem to change as they get older (menopause)
• Why she thinks lifestyle changes might matter most
• Some really useful relationship and sex life advice
• Why you need to be kinder and gentler to yourself, now more than ever
• Why you need your own Menopause Goddess circle

Where you can find Lynette:

Web: Menopause Goddess Blog 

Join the Hotflash inc perimenoposse:

Web: hotflashinc.com
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Episode website: Hotflashinc

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 Are you sick of spending money in menopause? According to a report from the Female Founders Fund women in North America spend an average of US$2,000 finding solutions. 

But it doesn’t have to be that way. Today I share many of the tips and tricks I’ve learned to feel better now from the evidence, from experts I’ve interviewed and from my own experience. This audio from the session I held in January with Hotflash inc Substack subscribers. 

I hope you enjoy it. 

Highlights:

• Dealing with ANTS
• When to take a break from your phone and why
• Suggestions for the daily nervous system resets you need
• Why you need to feel your feelings
• Learning from Lucky Girl TikTok
• Finding good leaders
• Air quality
• Tips for combatting insulin resistance 
• You need minerals!
• The missing fascia link
• Where to strength train and stretch for free
• Why you need even 2 minutes of morning light
• My special middle-of-the-night sleep rescue remedy

Want to become a Substack subscriber and get access to 27+ years of journalism experience tackling this major life transition? Use this link to get 20 percent off to my paid membership. Or just get the free version.  

Join the Hotflash inc perimenoposse:

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Episode website: Hotflashinc

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Gerianne DiPiano is chairman and CEO of FemmePharma, which produces among other things a range of solutions for women going through menopause. That includes personal lubricants and moisturizers, and hot flash and sleep remedies. Geri has had a three-decade career in women's health, working at the top levels of the pharmaceutical industry as well as founding her own companies. She has amazing stories to tell about the business of menopause, about the science behind hormone therapy and various products. We talk about everything from clinical trials to letting your hair go gray. 

Highlights:

• Hormones sure, but women need options for individual symptoms
• The problem with a lot of vaginal moisturizers and hormone therapies
• How we are conditioned to take hormones and what might be the problem with that
• There are risks to hormone therapy – don’t let anyone tell you there’s not
• Why you need to fact check influencers, doctors on social media + your own doctor (PubMed is a great place to start)
• What we’ve finally figured out about women – and how to use that power
• We’ve finally reached a North American menopause revolution – and what needs to follow
• A peek inside her experience as one of the only women inside Big pharma at the C-suite level
• How the traditionally male-dominated Big Pharma continues to impact women’s health care today
• The anecdote you have to hear about the possibility of a testosterone patch from Geri’s former career
• The one big thing pharmaceutical companies need to do in developing products for women safely
• Her peri/menopause experience + philosophy
• Becoming a certified silver sister

Where to find FemmePharma and Mia Vita:

Web: FemmePharma.com
Instagram: @FemmePharma

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Episode website: Hotflashinc

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Dr. Rachel S. Rubin is one of the most important voices on social media, advocating for women’s sexual health. Her frank manner and deep educational background – she is that rare combination of board-certified urologist and sexual medicine specialist and one of only a handful of physicians with fellowship training in sexual medicine for all genders – makes her uniquely positioned to talk about the range of issues we can face during the perimenopause transition. 

She’s also education chair for the International Society for the Study of Women’s Sexual Health and associate editor for the journal Sexual Medicine Reviews. Dr. Rubin completed her medical education at Tufts University, her urology training at Georgetown University, and her sexual medicine fellowship training with Dr. Irwin Goldstein in San Diego. We spoke at the Menopause Shift Summit. 

Highlights:

• How the push for ‘natural’ hurts our sexual and urinary health
• Why urinary tract issues are directly linked to menopause
• The conversation around women’s sexual health needs to focus on biology too, not just psychosocial factors
• Why your sexual health takes a village 
• Hormone therapy is THE solution for genitourinary syndrome of menopause
• Breaking down the different kinds of vaginal hormone therapy: estrogen, DHEA and testosterone
• All about testosterone: pellets, systemic and vaginal
• Orgasm problems and what we can do about them
• Focusing on joy and pleasure, not penetration
• Hollywood’s sex problem
• Kegels and apps and lasers 

Where to find Rachel: 

Web: RachelRubinMD.com
Instagram: @drrachelrubin
Twitter: @drrachelrubin

Join the Hotflash inc perimenoposse:

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Episode website: Hotflashinc

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Brooke Faught is a nurse practitioner and director of the Women's Institute for Sexual Health, a division of Urology Associates in Nashville, Tennessee. She knows a lot about testosterone and women’s sexual health because she uses it in her practice every day. I first came across Brooke when she presented her research and experience during the North American Menopause Society 2020 Virtual Annual Meeting, and then spoke to her again in 2022 for an update on advances in treatment and guidance. 

Although Brooke uses a range of hormones to help women get back to their full sexual function and desire in peri/menopause, our conversation focuses on testosterone because it is so often overlooked. 

We talked all about why testosterone can be so effective for a range of symptoms, why the research is catching up to practice, and how women can talk to their doctors about it. 

Highlights: 

• Why testosterone is just as important in women
• What role it plays
• How it’s prescribed and used and what forms it comes in
• What it can help
• The range of sexual issues connected to perimenopause that women aren’t always made aware of 
• What the research says 
• The importance of testing
• How the hormone receptor system works 
• Estrogen and testosterone used together
• Risks and side effects 
• Testosterone pellets – and why some people use them
• The International Society for the Study of Women's Sexual Health, ISSWSH
• Why your sexual enjoyment is worth the time and effort  

Where to find Brooke: 

IG: @brookefaught_sexmed
Web: WishNashville.com

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Ann Garnier is CEO and founder of Lisa Health, the US company that launched an app for menopause called Midday in conjunction with Mayo Clinic. Ann has been a senior technology executive in the healthcare space her entire career, and it just so happens that when she started Lisa Health, she was also going through perimenopause. 

The Midday app is on the cutting edge: soon it will be able to detect and predict hot flashes and other symptoms, and recommend remedies and solutions.

Highlights: 

• How her own menopause experience fuelled this technology
• Her drive to keep GenX women involved in the technology conversation
• How deep tech and data science can help us understand menopause – and predict hot flashes and other symptoms 
• The problem with most symptom trackers
• Where they get their evidence-based guidance
• The important conversations we need to be having – and the control we need to be giving up
• Staking our claim for “more” – fine is not good enough
• Why someone needs to make a red wine that perimenopausal women can drink without getting hot flashes 
• Her dream research

Where to find Ann:

Web: Midday.health
Instagram: @midday.health
Twitter: @MiddayHealth
Facebook: @MiddayHealth 

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Ann Marie is back with a solo episode, her last of the year. Get ready as she makes sense of a crazy year she's still trying to make sense of, and looks at taking that wisdom forward, so maybe you can make a little sense of where you are headed too.

Highlights:

• Why our bodies and brains work overtime to keep us safe – and why we need to recognize it when they do
•  It’s not all perimenopause
• We've got to move what we can and lift heavy things
• Duh: hormone therapy is a really good way to deal with perimenopause symptoms
• Big pharma is working overtime on us – and no one is watching
• Why how we talk about menopause is important
• Have you thought about choline? Here's why you might want to
• Everyone needs to learn this: Progestin and progesterone are not the same thing
• If you want to get to know yourself, quit drinking and eating crap
• If you feel called to do something, just do it and find out why later
• “Low and slow” for the win

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TikTok: @hotflashinc
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Twitter: @hotflashinc

Episode website: Hotflashinc

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Episode website: Hotflashinc

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Amy Fleming is way too young to be going through menopause, but her attitude about it would outshine many of her much older peers. 

She was just 27 when a series of painful issues landed her in the hospital multiple times, and ultimately found out that she was going through primary ovarian insufficiency (POI, which I accidentally call "premature" in the intro) and ultimately, premature menopause. Now, at 29, she's sharing her experiences, raising awareness for the #makemenopausematter campaign, changing the face of menopause and smashing the taboo for old or younger people to educate themselves on this inevitable life transition.

Find out how she's managed to put purpose to her pain and is helping others do the same.

Highlights:

• How she finally got the right diagnosis
• How her peers and fiance (now husband) reacted
• Finding the right HRT path
• What lifestyle adjustments work best
• How she handled the psychological impact of such an unexpected event
• Her advice for others who are going through this
• How to best advocate for yourself in this situation
• The most helpful resources

Fact check: Women do not make more testosterone than men, we make more testosterone than estrogen.

Where to find Amy:
Instagram: @girl_poiwer

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This podcast originally ran on July 4, 2024

Hotflash inc – the platform designed to find the true truth in perimenopause, menopause and beyond – makes a return to the podcast world this week! 

In the first episode back journalist and host Ann Marie McQueen interviews Lara Briden, an expert in women's health and author of the new book The Metabolism Reset.

They discuss the complexity of this entire subject, insulin resistance, the impact of modern diets, and the importance of understanding how our bodies respond to different types of food and exercise. 

Briden, a naturopathic doctor and author of period repair manual and hormone repair manual, shares her valuable and moderate insights on achieving metabolic health through tailored approaches, emphasizing gentler methods and the importance of addressing underlying health issues like gut health and autoimmunity. 

This episode aims to help listeners understand and manage their metabolic health effectively during the menopause transition.

Highlights:

• 00:48 Introducing Midi Health
• 01:21 Lara Briden's Influence and new book
• 02:04 Conversation with Lara Briden
• 03:31 Understanding Metabolic Health
• 05:42 The Role of Hunger and Satiety
• 14:50 Impact of Modern Food Environment
• 21:30 Debate on Vegetable Oils
• 28:06 Navigating Food Allergies in Restaurants
• 28:27 Understanding Metabolic Endotoxemia
• 28:47 Gut Health and Metabolic Health Connection
• 29:54 Patient Stories: Gut Health and Insulin Resistance
• 34:52 Exploring Insulin Resistance
• 37:27 Signs and Diagnosis of Insulin Resistance
• 40:30 Treatment Approaches for Insulin Resistance
• 43:20 Perimenopause and Insulin Resistance
• 43:34 The Importance of Movement and Protein
• 49:29 Final Thoughts and Reflections

Connect with Dr. Lara Briden:

• Website: www.larabriden.com
• Instagram: @larabriden
• X: @larabriden
• Books: Available wherever books are sold, including Bookshop.org, Amazon, and Pan Macmillan

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What a discussion this is. (The first explicit one too!) Jessica Jolie Badonsky is a New York City-based, board-certified family nurse practitioner and North American Menopause Society certified practitioner with more 18 years of experience in the medical arena. She is also a life coach who specializes in menopausal health, human sexuality, medicinal cannabis, and intimate wellness. And during her own menopause journey, she discovered how much more there was to to all this than hot flashes and mood swings. She is also the founder of Agelust Labs, a group progam designed to reframe the menopausal mindset with a fresh, modern approach that integrates science and spirit to help you through your meno-morphosis.

All the highlights in our conversation: 

• Why she went on HRT 
• How it’s going – good and bad
• ADHD and perimenopause
• How giving birth is like perimenopause
• Using hormone therapy to “take the pressure off”
• Why she uses a compounding pharmacy 
• The launch of Agelust Labs
• How we change about sex in menopause 
• The first mention of “queef” in the Hotflash inc podcast 
• Changing sexual attitudes – and dynamics – within a long-term relationship
• The nascent but fascinating possibility of psychedelics and menopause
• Understanding the endocannabanoid system and perimenopause 

Where you can find Jessica: 

Instagram: @agelustco @jessica_jolie_np
Web: Privatepartsofwellness.com

Join the Hotflash inc perimenoposse:

Web: hotflashinc.com
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Instagram: @hotflashinc
X: @hotflashinc

Episode website: Hotflashinc

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In the last 3+ years longtime friends Patty Pappas and Carrie Mapes have completely transformed how THC and CBD can be delivered to help people through peri/menopause, all without any psychoactive effect. They were stay-at-home moms when they dreamed up and launched their fast-growing California-based company Hello Again, which recently expanded from Everyday and Sleep versions beyond the midlife bracket. The details of how they became game-changing entrepreneurs and executed their vision –  in a pandemic, no less – is rare, awe-inspiring and relevant to all of us. Stay tuned to hear the fascinating story of how they continue to beat the odds and their perimenopause symptoms, too. 

Highlights: 

• How Hello Again was born out of a need for new symptom solutions
• Carrie and Patty’s particular perimenopause issues (and why HRT wasn’t enough)
• How and why THC + CBD work with our body’s endocannabanoid system
• Why it had to be a “vagitory”
• How their  “vagitory” impacts  gentiourinary syndrome of menopause 
• Why the 80s “war on drugs” still messes with us
• New Hello Again products + expansion plans
• Their take on the wisdom of menopause  

Where to find Hello Again:

Web: HelloAgainproducts.comInstagram: @HelloAgainProducts

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Web: hotflashinc.com
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Instagram: @hotflashinc
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Episode website: Hotflashinc

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Esther Blum is an integrative dietitian and lifestyle coach based in New York City. She’s a bestselling author and has been on a number of the top US shows including Dr Oz and the Goop Podcast. In her fifth and latest book, See You Later, Ovulator, she draws on 27+ years in nutritional counseling as well as her own personal experience to give women the resources they need to find the exact treatment, testing and follow up they need to start feeling like themselves again. (This is a woman who used to research how to get over hangovers, so she doesn’t expect you to live like a monk.)

In this podcast we cover: 

• Esther’s own perimenopause experience
• ‘Rampant negligence’ about menopause in medicine
• All the tests she does
• Why ‘normal is not optimal’
• The things you need to sort out before you go on hormone therapy
• The power of progesterone
• Why drinking alcohol and HRT don’t mix 
• Why and when you need carbs 
• How the birth control pill complicates everything
• The awesome things about this time of life 

Stay tuned to the end for her giveaway, too. 

Where to find Esther: 

Web: EstherBlum.com
Instagram: @gorgeousesther

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Web: hotflashinc.com
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Episode website: Hotflashinc

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Update: Rochelle has since exited Pause-Well Aging. 

It’s hard to believe that when Rochelle Weitzner launched her company in 2019, Pause-Well Aging was the first to target the wide-open menopause space. The beauty industry veteran ran or helped run brands like Erno Laszlo, Laura Mercier Cosmetics and RéVive Skincare before she started having hot flashes, brain fog and other “experiences”, leading her to start thinking about entering the well-aging (never anti) space in an entirely new, pretty badass way. And she just won the Female Founder of the Year award from CEW cosmetics (sharing it with Bobbi Brown). 

Highlights: 

• The two big walls she encountered when starting out
• How menopause marketing is censored on Google
• Her big pet peeve about the  “gua sha” trend 
• How the Pause-Well fascia stimulating tool works
• What helped her own menopause (and what complicated it)
• Why she doesn’t like the word "symptoms"
• What people get wrong about clean beauty
• Peptides, collagen, parabens + formaldehyde 
• Where we are on “menowashing”
• The one big thing she did for her own health 
• Menopause as a “passage to power”
• Why she trademarked "Well-Aging" 
• Her dream for the future

Where to find Rochelle and Pause Well-Aging: 

Web: Pausewellaging.com
Instagram: @pausewellaging; @rochelleweitzner
Twitter: @pausewellaging
TikTok: @pausewellaging

Join the Hotflash inc perimenoposse:

Web: hotflashinc.com
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TikTok: @hotflashinc
Instagram: @hotflashinc
X: @hotflashinc

Episode website: Hotflashinc

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Jill Angelo is the co-founder and CEO of Gennev, a virtual care platform for menopause in the US. Jill spotted an opportunity six years ago, and although Gennev started out a little different than it has ended up, they were one of the first companies to become a leader in this space. And over the pandemic Gennev pivoted to providing education and telemedicine for menopause relief to thousands of women via one-on-one and group visits through a team of ob/gyns and registered dietitians. And they must have done something right: because, the company was recently acquired by Unified Health Care Group – one of the first acquisitions in the new fast-growing menopause space.

Highlights:

• What happened when she noticed people leaving the workforce
• What women in the workplace who are going through menopause need from their employers
• The gifts menopause brings us
• How her perimenopause is going at 48
•  How Gennev started selling a lubricant and morphed into telehealth and HRT during the pandemic
• How menopause treatment is unique to each person
• What changes she’s seen in the menopause conversation
• Her take on the safety of HRT right now
• The menopause research she’s most excited about
• What annoys her about celebrities and menopause 
• Why she wants every woman to get an M-check starting at 45
• How she got over her nerves talking about menopause

Where to find Gennev:
Web: Gennev.com
Instagram: @mygennev
Twitter: @mygennev

Join the Hotflash inc perimenoposse:

Web: hotflashinc.com
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X: @hotflashinc

Episode website: Hotflashinc

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Ann Marie McQueen speaks to Irene Ndagire, a physiotherapist based in Kampala, Uganda.

She runs the Women’s Health Foundation, launched in 2014, and has been advising women on all aspects of menopause.  She recently launched Menopause Uganda to help even more people menopause symptoms, fear and other issues associated with the transition. She's also doing something that people working for menopause awareness have not been able to do – involve men. Although women in Uganda face some unique circumstances, you will hear that our similarities are much more than our differences. 

Among the topics: 

• How Irene got interested in menopause (her mother's was not so hot) (4.05)
• The biggest fear of women in Uganda (5.00)
• What women are experiencing in terms of symptoms (6.10)
• How they got men involved (6.45)
• Why most women don't take HRT in Uganda (8.30)
• Food is menopause medicine (9.15)
• Walking is a great exercise but... (12.30)
• Hot flashes are big in Uganda too (13.50)
• Menopause = old (16.15)
• The first menopause research in Uganda (18.55)
• What they need to help support women (20.50)
• How Irene got her nickname (24.20)

Where to find Menopause Uganda:
Web: Whfuganda.org
Twitter: @MenopauseUg

Join the Hotflash inc perimenoposse:

Web: hotflashinc.com
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TikTok: @hotflashinc
Instagram: @hotflashinc
X: @hotflashinc

Episode website: Hotflashinc

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Karen Arthur is the ultimate multi-potentate: a leader in the global menopause space; former teacher, fashion creative, model, activist, grandmother, mentor and so much more. Her podcast Menopause Whilst Black is now in it’s third season; she’s been featured across major media platforms in Britain and North America, and she’s a well-respected and reasonable presence on social media. Karen speaks on a range of topics including mental wellbeing and finding courage to change your mind, your direction and your life. 

Highlights:

• The power of learning to make choices (4.00)
• Realizing it was always peri/menopause (5.45)
• “I fell down a hole” (8.00)
• Navigating the space between saying “f*** it” to the life you don’t want and finding one you do (11.00)
• What helped her out of physical pain (18.27)
• Recognizing and rejecting expectations (27.15)
• A path to curating the next decades of your life (36.21)
• Affirmations are woo-woo but they work (39.50)
• What she found out about Black women in menopause (49.05)
• What helps her in menopause, including HRT, and why you have to be patient (59.50)
• We can change – and should – change our minds (1.07.29)

Where to find Karen: 

Web: TheKarenArthur.com
Podcast: MenopauseWhilstBlack
Instagram: @MenopauseWhilstBlack
Twitter: @thekarenarthur

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Ann Marie speaks with Sally Mueller and Michelle Jacobs, who as co-founders of the skin and supplement line Womaness have surged to the forefront of the industry since they launched in 2021. 

Highlights: 

• Celebrities and menopause (4.00)
• How they settled on their brand of menopositivity (9.12)
• Why a business partnership is like a marriage (11.26)
• How to run a company with your BFF (12.45)
• The fun way they deal with disagreements (15.21)
• Their own perimenopause and menopause experiences (19.36)
• What Sally wish she knew earlier about taking care of herself (25.00)
• What's menopause + what's life? (28.00)
• Why so many of us are taking big chances these days (31.32)

SPONSORS:

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If you liked this episode and you wanted to do some shopping, Hotflash inc is part of the Womaness affiliate network. Use the code HFINC20 to get a 20 percent discount (fyi: Hotflash inc will get a percentage of the sale).

Web: Womaness.com
Instagram: @womaness
Twitter: @mywomaness
TikTok: @womaness

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We hear this message all the time: compounding pharmacies and the bioidentical hormones they produce are dangerous and unregulated. But, are they? To find out Ann Marie turns to two people who are inside the industry, which accounts for about 1 to 2 per cent of drugs sold, and gets a very different story. They are Scott Brunner, CEO of the Alliance for Pharmacy Compounding, which represents compounding pharmacists and technicians as well as prescribers, educators, researchers and suppliers in the United States, and Jennifer Burch, a doctor of pharmacy and owner of the independent pharmacy her father started in Durham, North Carolina. Although this episode focuses on the compounding pharmacies industry in the US, there are takeaways that can be applied all over the world. 

Highlights: 

• The drug industry began with compounding pharmacies – so why are they still here? (4.45)

• The rigorous regulatory framework in place to oversee them (5.50)

• How compounding pharmacies help patients traditional pharmaceuticals cannot – including in menopause (7.32)

• Examples in peri/menopause where compounded medications help where pharmaceuticals cannot (10.13)

• How practioners work collaboratively with compounding pharmacists (12.30) 

• The one way pharmacists can tell if a medication is working for a patient (13.10)

• How compounded menopause hormone therapy works and is overseen by pharmacists, practitioners and patient consulation for peri/menopause symptoms – and how it’s different from how the majority of HRT prescriptions handled (13.30)

• The rare cases where compounding has gone wrong (17.30)

• The difference between synthetic and bioidentical hormones (and how even doctors confuse them) (19.01)

• Why you probably want to skip medroxyprogesterone and go for bioidentical progesterone instead (21.00)

• The imminent threat facing the compounding industry (26.00)

• Why the compounding isn’t even suited to the large-scale clinical trials it’s demonized for not having – and how it’s actually tested (27.23)

• The issue of pellets (and why the Alliance wants a more rigorous reporting system for adverse events for all drugs) (37.30)

• The case that may have scarred the FDA about compounding pharmacies (42.20)

• Are compounded medications really more expensive?(43.30)

Find out more:
Web: Compounding.com
Twitter: A4PC @a4pcrx Jennifer Burch @drjenn93

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Web: hotflashinc.com
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X: @hotflashinc

Episode website: Hotflashinc

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Dr Kourtney Sims has an unusual combination of skillsets when it comes to menopause, and has really dedicated her continuing education post-medical school to understanding this transition. The Texas-based, North American Menopause Society-certified obstetrician-gynecologist is also an herbalist, a yoga teacher, and a functional integrative women's health advocate. And she's chief medical advisor to Phenology, which is a new US company led by former Silicon Valley executive Jess Graham aimed at offering relief and guidance to women through supplements and rescue remedies.

Highlights:

• What MDs learn about menopause in medical school
• The lack of oversight of menopause treatment 
• How the system works in the UK (hint: it’s driven by pharma)
• Her take on the “menopause is a disease” narrative
• The holistic, energetic, ritual-based view of menopause
• Do worse symptoms mean larger health problems? 
• Menopause hormone therapy, disease prevention, longevity and antiaging 
• HRT + the individual 
• Why other countries are doing research on herbs and not the US
• 2 good herbs you may not have heard of for sleep + hot flashes
• Tracking perimenopause by testing progesterone levels
• What the women she sees who have an easier time have in common

Where to find more:
Web: DrKourtney.com, Myphenology.com

And no affiliation, but if you wanted to check out Phenology, use code HOTFLASHINC for 10 percent off your order.

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In this episode of the Hotflash inc podcast, host and founder Ann Marie McQueen takes you into a whole new realm of possibility: decentralized science, or DeSci. Joining her is Mack Stachowiak, a physicist, software architect and healthcare innovator who is pioneering the integration of blockchain, AI, and Web3 into healthcare as co-founder of Axon DAO.

You might be thinking, “why are you talking about this?” – and we get it. Crypto and blockchain can feel like a foreign language. But this conversation reveals how decentralized science could completely change the game when it comes to the lack of menopause and midlife research – by putting data ownership and funding power into the hands of individuals and communities.

Mack shares how Axon DAO’s platform allows people to share and monetize their health data (ethically and consensually), explains how voice biomarkers can detect hormone fluctuations, and shares mulitple menopause-specific projects he wants to launch right now – but needs the right researchers and community to do it.

This episode is for anyone tired of waiting for “more data” – and ready to build the systems we need now.

Episode highlights:

1:30 – What is decentralized science (DeSci) and why should we care?

3:10 – Why most people – including doctors – don’t even know DeSci exists

6:45 – How blockchain-backed tokens fund research in a faster, fairer way

12:00 – Why Axon DAO gives users full control over their health data

14:15 – How scientists can build research platforms using Axon DAO

18:55 – Using sleep data to support menopausal women

20:00 – How voice analysis can detect stress, PTSD, and even vagus nerve dysfunction

26:30 – How Mack’s team is handling data privacy and regulatory compliance

28:20 – Upcoming projects on Alzheimer’s, medical cannabis, and psilocybin microdosing

33:00 – The enormous gap in menopause research – and how DeSci can close it

35:10 – Voice-based hormone and hot flash tracking: already here

37:45 – Mack’s open invitation to women researchers and citizen scientists

40:30 – Why you should own your data and share it on your own terms

44:30 – Health optimization as a cultural shift: empowerment through ownership

46:15 – One medical device that could change the game – if it wasn’t siloed

48:00 – How community and open access can transform women’s health research

50:30 – “You don’t need to understand crypto – just use your email and get started”

Connect with Mack and Axon DAO:

A Plus Voice research program: 

https://aplusvoice.io

X: https://twitter.com/axondao

IG: https://www.instagram.com/axondao/

Join the Hotflash inc perimenoposse:

Web: hotflashinc.com
Newsletter: Hotflash inc. on Substack
TikTok: @hotflashinc
Instagram: @hotflashinc
X: @hotflashinc

Episode website: Hotflashinc

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Dr Jenn Salib Huber is a Canadian registered dietitian, naturopathic doctor and intuitive eating coach and she's on a mission to help women thrive in midlife.

Dr Jenn Salib Huber is a Canadian registered dietitian, naturopathic doctor and intuitive eating coach and she's on a mission to help women thrive in midlife.

She uses Instagram to break down some of the most common things you hear about food, the pervading and stubborn impact of diet culture, and help women navigate the physical and emotional changes that happen in perimenopause and menopause, including their search for food freedom and body confidence.

She's the host of 'The Midlife Feast' podcast and runs Beyond The Scale, a program that helps women "undiet" their lives after 40. 

Highlights: 

• How the menopause conversation is changing (4.30)
• What she loves about menopause (5.15)
• Early (ish) menopause (7.00)
• Being hormone sensitive (10.00)
• The power of and problem with nutrition (11.19)
• The issue of research into nutrition and lifestyle (18.50)
• The sugar conversation (23.10) 
• The problem with restrictions (26.00)
• Insulin resistance and the best way to combat it (28.55)
• The obsession with inflammation (32.15)
• The problem with armchair medicine (34.30)
• How to stay well beyond menopause (41.15)

Where to find Jenn:

Instagram: @menopause.nutritionist

TikTok: @menopause.nutritionist

Web: JennSalibHuber.ca

SPONSORS:

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Use code HOTFLASHINC to get a 20 percent discount

Join the Hotflash inc perimenoposse:

Web: hotflashinc.com
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Instagram: @hotflashinc
X: @hotflashinc

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Dr Alicia Jackson is an American scientist, health-tech entrepreneur and CEO and founder of Evernow — a next-generation telemedicine startup that is completely focused on menopause and provides FDA-approved treatment from specialists. Evernow also recently announced a very significant round of funding, with some very influential donors. We speak all about how Alicia went from MIT to menopause, how and why Evernow attracted A-list celebrity funding, modern menopause hormone therapy and what she sees as most important moving forward.

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Ann Marie speaks to Martha Hickey, professor of obstetrics and gynaecology at the University of Melbourne and co-director of the Gynaecology Research Centre at the Royal Women’s Hospital. Prof Hickey is a leader in developing national guidelines for menopause management in Australia and New Zealand and also in developing a new model of care for managing menopausal symptoms after breast cancer.

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Episode website: Hotflashinc

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See hotflashinc.com/privacy-policy for privacy information