Explore every episode of the podcast Balancing Hormones Naturally

You’ve been told to cut calories, do more cardio, and crunch your way to a flat stomach. None of that is going to work. Belly fat is a hormone problem, not a willpower problem, and until you understand what’s actually driving it, nothing is going to change.

In this episode:

- Why belly fat is different from every other type of fat, what makes it the most dangerous, and why you can’t spot reduce it with exercise.

- The three hormonal drivers behind belly fat, estrogen that isn’t detoxing well, cortisol imbalance, and insulin resistance.

- Why women need more sleep than men and what a bad night is actually doing to your cortisol, your cravings, and your insulin the next day.

- The client who lost 12 inches by focusing on cortisol and adrenal support, not cardio and restriction.

- Why your fasting insulin is the number to watch years before glucose or A1C starts to move, and what optimal actually looks like.

- The drainage pathway check, sweat, pee, poop, and breath, and why none of your detox efforts work if these aren’t open.

- The soluble fiber foods that help your body detox estrogen, including carrots, chia seeds, oranges, and sprouts.

- The supplement that mops up LPS toxins in the gut and supports your mucosal lining at the same time.

- Why manually balancing blood sugar supports your sleep, your cortisol, and your estrogen detoxification all at once.

- The circadian fast that helps clear insulin overnight without starving yourself.

- Why stevia and monk fruit still matter during your fasting window when you have insulin resistance.

- Apple cider vinegar before meals, how much, how diluted, and exactly why it helps.

- The two supplements Leah reaches for with insulin resistance, myo-inositol and maitake mushroom, and the data behind them.

- The app that locks Leah off her phone at 9pm every single night and why she credits it for better sleep.

- EFT tapping shown to reduce cortisol by 43%, and how to use it as a sleep ritual.

This is not a five day fix. But if you do these things consistently, you will see belly fat start to move, and it will stay gone.

Leah’s Favorite Things: https://www.leahbrueggemann.com/favorites

I’m Leah Brueggemann, a Functional Diagnostic Nutritional® Practitioner and Hormone Health Coach, helping you balance your hormones in effective and realistic ways so you can live a healthier, happier life. Through the Balance Hormones Naturally podcast, you’ll discover why your cycle is so important to your everyday health and how you can use nutrition to help support the rise and fall of your hormones and finally feel truly amazing.

Let’s connect:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/balancinghormonesnaturally/
Personal Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/leah_brueg/
Website: https://www.leahbrueggemann.com/
Email: leahbcoaching@gmail.com

You can eat perfectly, take all the right supplements, and still feel like your hormones are a mess. If you’re not sleeping, nothing else is going to work the way it should. Here’s exactly why, and what to actually do about it.

In this episode:

• Why sleep and hormones aren’t separate conversations, they’re the same conversation.

• The cortisol and progesterone connection, why poor sleep steals from your keep calm carry on hormone and then makes sleep even harder.

• How estrogen regulates REM sleep and why perimenopause, menopause, and postpartum hit so hard at night.

• The hunger and fullness hormones that get completely thrown off when you don’t sleep well, and why you’re not weak for craving sugar 
  after a bad night.

• Why your thyroid mineral gets depleted by stress and poor sleep, and how that loops back into weight.

• The melatonin fact nobody talks about, most of it is made in your gut, not your brain.

• Why you cannot out supplement a sleep problem.

• The four hour window between dinner and sleep, why it matters and what to do if you’re always hungry before bed.

• The screen habits that are wrecking your middle of the night sleep without you realizing it.

• The iPhone red screen hack, blue light glasses, and the sticky red paper on the Kindle.

• Why what you do in the morning is equally as important as what you do at night, and the two minute outdoor habit that resets your circadian rhythm.

• The brain dump routine that gets everything out of your head so you stop lying awake with a mental to do list.

• Leah’s full six minute nighttime habit stack, acupressure mat, legs up the wall, near infrared light, and a visualization exercise.

• The foods that actually help your body produce melatonin, including tart cherry and pistachios.

• The supplements worth considering for sleep, magnesium glycinate, reishi, valerian, and CBD.

You don’t have to spend a lot of money to sleep better. But you do have to stop skipping the basics.

Leah’s Favorite Things: https://www.leahbrueggemann.com/favorites

I’m Leah Brueggemann, a Functional Diagnostic Nutritional® Practitioner and Hormone Health Coach, helping you balance your hormones in effective and realistic ways so you can live a healthier, happier life. Through the Balance Hormones Naturally podcast, you’ll discover why your cycle is so important to your everyday health and how you can use nutrition to help support the rise and fall of your hormones and finally feel truly amazing.

Let’s connect:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/balancinghormonesnaturally/
Personal Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/leah_brueg/
Website: https://www.leahbrueggemann.com/
Email: leahbcoaching@gmail.com

The healing journey doesn’t have a finish line. And sometimes the hardest part isn’t the protocol, it’s what happens in your head when things don’t go the way you planned. Leah shares the full story of how she got here, from fibroadenomas and painful irregular cycles to minerals, mold, and becoming an NLP practitioner.

In this episode:

• Why Leah’s healing journey started with a golf ball sized lump and a breast cancer family history on both sides.

• The years of going in circles with functional doctors, naturopaths, and specialists who each had one answer that never quite fit.

• What actually worked after six months of implementing the right foundations, regulated cycles, raised progesterone, painless periods, and a positive pregnancy test.

• Why discovering minerals postpartum was the missing puzzle piece that made her fibroadenomas completely disappear.

• The mold in the basement, the joint pain at 30, and how it knocked her labs sideways even as a practitioner who knew exactly what was happening.

• Why she sent her own labs to another practitioner instead of reading them herself, and what that taught her about staying objective in your own health.

• The note her husband left her that made her cry in the shower and gave her the next step she needed.

• How the mold experience led her directly to becoming an NLP practitioner and why she brought it into the Hormone Reset Program.

• Why telling yourself “I am healed, I am amazing” doesn’t work and what actually rewires the subconscious.

• The small daily shifts that make the big changes, noticing the good, not letting a bad day mean anything, and treating feedback as just feedback.

• Why nothing is an emergency and how that one reframe changes everything about how you show up for your kids, your business, and your health.

• Why you need someone else to hold the bird’s eye view for you, because even practitioners get lost in their own weeds.

You don’t have to figure everything out. You just have to take the next best step.

Leah’s Favorite Things: https://www.leahbrueggemann.com/favorites

I’m Leah Brueggemann, a Functional Diagnostic Nutritional® Practitioner and Hormone Health Coach, helping you balance your hormones in effective and realistic ways so you can live a healthier, happier life. Through the Balance Hormones Naturally podcast, you’ll discover why your cycle is so important to your everyday health and how you can use nutrition to help support the rise and fall of your hormones and finally feel truly amazing.

Let’s connect:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/balancinghormonesnaturally/
Personal Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/leah_brueg/
Website: https://www.leahbrueggemann.com/
Email: leahbcoaching@gmail.com

If you've ever wondered whether your anxiety is causing your hormone imbalance or your hormones are causing your anxiety, the answer is both. And once you understand the loop, you can finally start to break it.

In this episode:

• Why anxiety and hormonal imbalance aren't separate issues, they're a feedback loop, and you have to stop the cycle to fix either one.
• How chronic stress eventually tanks your cortisol even when you're still under the same amount of stress, and why your test comes back low when you expected high.
• Why your body will shut down ovulation when it doesn't feel safe, and how stress is directly connected to fertility.
• The digestion connection nobody talks about, why chronic stress is the reason you're bloated, constipated, or not fully eliminating, and how that loops back into hormones.
• The progesterone piece, why stress and anxiety steal from your keep calm carry on hormone and make everything worse.
• Why identifying as an anxious person is creating an expectation loop your body keeps proving correct.
• The difference between "I am anxious" and "I'm experiencing anxiety right now," and why the wording actually matters for your hormones.
• How your brain wires itself based on repetition and emotional experience, and what that means for PMS, PMDD, and mood.
• The regulatory sandwich, a simple before-and-after tool for moments that trigger your nervous system.
• Why five minutes of breathwork twice a week isn't going to cut it, and how to actually habit stack nervous system regulation into your day.
• Why you literally cannot feel calm without enough magnesium and potassium, it's a physical fact.
• What brain rewiring inside the Hormone Reset Program actually looks like, and why supplements alone will never be enough.

Your body isn't broken. It's protecting you based on old patterns. But you can change that, starting today.

Leah's Favorite Things: https://www.leahbrueggemann.com/favorites

I'm Leah Brueggemann, a Functional Diagnostic Nutritional® Practitioner and Hormone Health Coach, helping you balance your hormones in effective and realistic ways so you can live a healthier, happier life. Through the Balance Hormones Naturally podcast, you'll discover why your cycle is so important to your everyday health and how you can use nutrition to help support the rise and fall of your hormones and finally feel truly amazing.

Let's connect:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/balancinghormonesnaturally/
Personal Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/leah_brueg/
Website: https://www.leahbrueggemann.com/
Email: leahbcoaching@gmail.com

This one is just you and me. No guest, no protocol, no checklist, just an honest conversation about what it actually looks like to keep going when life gets heavy. Because 2026 has been a year, and I think a lot of you are in a similar season.

In this episode:

• Why Leah is sharing this, not for sympathy, but to model what adapting actually looks like in real life.
• The grief button analogy that reframes how we think about loss and why time doesn't heal the way we think it does.
• Why ignoring your emotions and plowing forward isn't healing, and what she did instead.
• The specific things she pulled back on during this season and why that was the right call.
• How she supported her adrenals when stress was high, and the catnip bitters she reached for when things felt really unsettled.
• Why she put away all self-development books and just read fiction, and why that was the right move.
• The gardening hobby that became her low-stakes, low-pressure nervous system reset.
• How joy became a non-negotiable, singing with the kids, playing piano, making cottage cheese chocolate protein balls.
• Why communication with your spouse about what you actually need matters more in hard seasons than in easy ones.
• The levels system, and why having a lot of level one days is not failure, it's just where you are.
• What it looks like to still be moving forward even when forward feels slow and small.

You don't have to be okay all the time. You just have to keep moving. Even if it's smaller and slower than you'd like.

Use code LEAH to save 15% at Eversio Wellness here

Leah's Favorite Things: https://www.leahbrueggemann.com/favorites

I'm Leah Brueggemann, a Functional Diagnostic Nutritional® Practitioner and Hormone Health Coach, helping you balance your hormones in effective and realistic ways so you can live a healthier, happier life. Through the Balance Hormones Naturally podcast, you'll discover why your cycle is so important to your everyday health and how you can use nutrition to help support the rise and fall of your hormones and finally feel truly amazing.

Let's connect:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/balancinghormonesnaturally/
Personal Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/leah_brueg/
Website: https://www.leahbrueggemann.com/
Email: leahbcoaching@gmail.com

If you're trying to get pregnant, thinking about getting pregnant, or stuck in that dreaded two-week wait wondering if there's anything else you should be doing, this episode is for you. Most women wait until something's wrong to start looking for answers. This is your permission to start looking now.

In this episode:

- Why your cycle is one of the most powerful diagnostic tools you have, and how to start reading it.

- What a short luteal phase is actually telling you about your progesterone and why it matters for fertility.

- The spotting-before-your-period sign thatmost women ignore and what it means.

- Why cervical mucus is not a dirty word, it's a fertility sign, and here's what to look for.

- The PMS, bloating, mood swings, and breast tenderness symptoms that are red flags, not just part of being a woman.

- What to do nutritionally if you're coming off birth control before trying to conceive.

- Why Leah always starts with minerals, and the hair tissue mineral analysis that changed one client's 50-60 day cycles into a regular ovulating cycle.

- The full thyroid panel you actually need (not just TSH) and the optimal ranges your doctor probably isn't looking for.

- Fasting insulin, glucose, and A1C, the numbers that matter for fertility and what optimal actually looks like.

- Whether a GI map makes sense right now and the timing consideration nobody talks about.

- Why supporting your liver and detox pathways before pregnancy is one of the most important things you can do.

- The nervous system piece, and why your adrenal health is something you literally pass on to your baby.

- The candle analogy that reframes what filling your cup actually means.

Your body is giving you clues every single cycle. This episode teaches you how to read them.

Use code LEAH to save 15% at Eversio Wellness here.
Use code LEAH to save 15% at Paleo Valley here.

Leah's Favorite Things: https://www.leahbrueggemann.com/favorites

I'm Leah Brueggemann, a Functional Diagnostic Nutritional® Practitioner and Hormone Health Coach, helping you balance your hormones in effective and realistic ways so you can live a healthier, happier life. Through the Balance Hormones Naturally podcast, you'll discover why your cycle is so important to your everyday health and how you can use nutrition to help support the rise and fall of your hormones and finally feel truly amazing.

Let's connect:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/balancinghormonesnaturally/
Personal Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/leah_brueg/
Website: https://www.leahbrueggemann.com/
Email: leahbcoaching@gmail.com

Use code LEAH to save 15% at Eversio Wellness here 

Nobody tells you that becoming a mom doesn't just change your schedule, it changes everything you thought you knew about yourself. Cassie is a Master NLP Practitioner and Registered Dietitian, and she came on to have the conversation a lot of moms are quietly struggling through but not saying out loud. This one hit close to home for both of us.

In this episode:

• Why losing your independence after baby isn't a personal failure, and what it actually means to find it again.
• The specific challenge of going from hyper-independent to completely dependent on someone else's schedule, sleep, and help.
• Why stepping back and letting your husband figure it out is one of the hardest and most important things you can do.
• The dial metaphor: why your definition of a successful day has to change based on how much sleep you got, whether the baby is sick, and what season you're actually in.
• Why the hardest part of motherhood isn't the sleepless nights, it's the stories you tell yourself about what they mean.
• How to communicate what you're making something mean before you spend three days stewing over it.
• The difference between choosing your current season and feeling stuck in it.
• What it actually looks like to catch a negative pattern before it spirals, and the three ways Cassie redirects when she notices she's in her own way.
• Why asking for help doesn't make you a bad mom, a bad wife, or a weak woman, and how to start believing that.
• The inner dialogue check: are these your words, or are they your mom's words?.
• Why you can have reasons or you can have results, and how to stop hiding behind your reasons.
• How Cassie helps women who have been the backbone of their families finally start prioritizing themselves.

If you're in a season where you feel like you've lost yourself a little, this episode is your permission slip to find your way back.

Find Cassy:
Instagram: @antisettlecoach

Use code LEAH to save 15% at Eversio Wellness here

Leah's Favorite Things: https://www.leahbrueggemann.com/favorites

I'm Leah Brueggemann, a Functional Diagnostic Nutritional® Practitioner and Hormone Health Coach, helping you balance your hormones in effective and realistic ways so you can live a healthier, happier life. Through the Balance Hormones Naturally podcast, you'll discover why your cycle is so important to your everyday health and how you can use nutrition to help support the rise and fall of your hormones and finally feel truly amazing.

Let's connect:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/balancinghormonesnaturally/
Personal Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/leah_brueg/
Website: https://www.leahbrueggemann.com/
Email: leahbcoaching@gmail.com

Use code LEAH to save 15% at Eversio Wellness here 

You're not weak. You're not lacking willpower. Your cravings are actually telling you something, and once you understand what they're saying, everything changes. If you've ever stood in your kitchen at 9pm unable to stop thinking about chocolate, this episode is for you.

In this episode:

• Why sugar cravings have nothing to do with willpower and everything to do with what's happening inside your body.
• The blood sugar roller coaster, what it actually looks like, why it keeps looping, and the sneaky foods that are spiking you without you realizing it.
• Why your smoothie, your fruit snack, and your adrenal cocktail might be working against your blood sugar without you knowing.
• The simple plate formula that will change how you feel if you actually do it accurately.
• Why your cravings are completely different in your luteal phase than the rest of your month, and what progesterone has to do with it.
• How cortisol spikes your blood sugar even when you haven't eaten anything, and why the 3pm crash and nighttime cravings are a stress response.
• What your specific craving is actually telling you, if it's salt, think adrenals; if it's specifically chocolate, think magnesium.
• Why parasites feed off serotonin at night and what to watch for if your cravings only show up after dark.
• Why just cutting sugar doesn't work, and what actually does.
• The craving reset: hormone plating, fixing your mineral base, and supporting your luteal phase.
• Why HMA testing can show blood sugar imbalances before they ever show up on a standard blood test.
• What emotional eating actually is at a biological level, and why it's not a character flaw.

Cravings aren't a weakness. They're clues. And once you know how to read them, you won't need willpower anymore.

Leah's Favorite Things: https://www.leahbrueggemann.com/favorites

I'm Leah Brueggemann, a Functional Diagnostic Nutritional® Practitioner and Hormone Health Coach, helping you balance your hormones in effective and realistic ways so you can live a healthier, happier life. Through the Balance Hormones Naturally podcast, you'll discover why your cycle is so important to your everyday health and how you can use nutrition to help support the rise and fall of your hormones and finally feel truly amazing.

Let's connect:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/balancinghormonesnaturally/
Personal Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/leah_brueg/
Website: https://www.leahbrueggemann.com/
Email: leahbcoaching@gmail.com

Join the Reset Retreat: https://landing.leahbrueggemann.com/reset-retreat-oct26

Your doctor probably told you it's autoimmune, genetic, or idiopathic, which is just a fancy word for "we have no idea." But what if everything the medical industry has told you about Crohn's and colitis is wrong? Josh Dech is back, and this time he's bringing a published paper that flips the entire $40 billion bowel disease industry on its head.

In this episode:

• Why IBS is a garbage diagnosis and what doctors actually mean when they call something idiopathic
• The published paper that proves Crohn's and colitis have never met the criteria for autoimmune disease, and what's actually going on instead
• Why your genes didn't cause your bowel disease, and the difference between genetic susceptibility and genetic cause
• The six percent stat that will make your jaw drop: how the US, UK, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand make up six percent of the global population but carry sixty percent of the world's bowel disease
• The three things that separate us from countries with five to twenty-five times less bowel disease: ultra-processed food, antibiotic usage, and glyphosate
• Why thirty-five to fifty percent of your gut bacteria die in the presence of glyphosate, and why testing for it is a waste of money if you live in the US
• Generational dysbiosis: how we've gone from Amazonian tribes with 1,600 unique gut bacteria species to people with bowel disease carrying as few as 100
• The dietary mistakes people with IBD make, including why bone broth might actually be making you worse
• The two diets with the most clinical data behind them for Crohn's and colitis, and why forty to sixty percent of pediatric patients reached remission in six to eight weeks
• What fecal transplants actually are, the three ways they're delivered, and why spending $30,000 on one might be completely useless if you don't fix your terrain first
• Why you could get paid $300 to $500 per donation if you have a healthy gut (yes, really)
• The nail in the foot analogy that perfectly explains what every GI doctor is doing wrong
• The simple order of operations Josh takes every client through,environments, food, drainage, testing, rebuild, and why skipping steps is why people don't get better
• Why taking gut lining support before addressing root cause is like trying to build a house while it's on fire
• The projection that by 2030, bowel disease will affect one in 100 people, a 25,000 to 50,000 percent increase from the 1950s

If you or someone you love has been told their Crohn's or colitis is just something they have to manage for life, this episode will change how you think about that. It is reversible. And it starts with understanding what actually caused it.

Find Josh Dech:
Podcast: Reversing Crohn's and Colitis Naturally / The Reversible Podcast
Website: gutsolution.ca
Social: @joshdech.health

Use code LEAH to save 15% at Eversio Wellness here

Leah's Favorite Things: https://www.leahbrueggemann.com/favorites

I'm Leah Brueggemann, a Functional Diagnostic Nutritional® Practitioner and Hormone Health Coach, helping you balance your hormones in effective and realistic ways so you can live a healthier, happier life. Through the Balance Hormones Naturally podcast, you'll discover why your cycle is so important to your everyday health and how you can use nutrition to help support the rise and fall of your hormones and finally feel truly amazing.

Let's connect:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/balancinghormonesnaturally/
Personal Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/leah_brueg/
Website: https://www.leahbrueggemann.com/
Email: leahbcoaching@gmail.com

Every tablet you swallow is either building your cells or doing nothing. If you're exhausted, foggy, constipated, and watching your health decline as you get older, the answer might be simpler than you think. Two algae. Two jobs. Nutrition in, toxins out.

In this episode:

- Why 75% of the American food supply is ultra-processed and even your fresh produce has 50% less nutrition than it did 50 years ago.

- The two-sentence explanation of why spirulina and chlorella work: nutrition in, toxins out.

- Why your mitochondria are the real reason you have brain fog, fatigue, and weight gain after 40—and why women get hit twice as hard as men.

- The SOD connection: what your body stops making after 30, why it matters for Alzheimer's prevention, and why spirulina has 6,000 times more of it than cabbage.

- Why the blue pigment in spirulina can detect cancer cells and eject them—and why chemotherapy companies are now using it.

- The serotonin fact nobody talks about: 80% of it is made in your gut, not your brain, and why women store 52% less of it than men.

- Why chlorella before bed is the move, and what it's doing while you sleep.

- Why 95% of algae on the market has been heat-processed into uselessness, and the one thing to look for in a brand.

- How to dose it for yourself, your kids, and even your newborn.

- The 87-year-old who joined CrossFit after starting spirulina and chlorella.

If you only do one thing from this episode, start taking spirulina. Your brain and your mitochondria will feel it.

Use code LEAH B to save at energybits.com
Use code LEAH to save 15% at Eversio Wellness

Leah's Favorite Things: https://www.leahbrueggemann.com/favorites

I'm Leah Brueggemann, a Functional Diagnostic Nutritional® Practitioner and Hormone Health Coach, helping you balance your hormones in effective and realistic ways so you can live a healthier, happier life. Through the Balance Hormones Naturally podcast, you'll discover why your cycle is so important to your everyday health and how you can use nutrition to help support the rise and fall of your hormones and finally feel truly amazing.

Let's connect:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/balancinghormonesnaturally/
Personal Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/leah_brueg/
Website: https://www.leahbrueggemann.com/
Email: leahbcoaching@gmail.com

The recommendations presented in this podcast are not a substitute for medical advice from a qualified doctor. Before making any changes to your diet and lifestyle, please consult with your healthcare provider.

Every sip you take is either helping your hormones or quietly wrecking them. If you're exhausted and moody, bloated, and reaching for coffee or an energy drink just to feel something, what's in your cup is probably part of the picture. Here's the good news: you don't have to give up your coffee. There are a few swaps and additions that change what your drinks are doing to your blood sugar, your inflammation, and your adrenals, and by the end of this you'll know exactly what to pour into your glass.

In this episode:

• Why coffee isn't inherently the problem, and the one sign that tells you it's making things worse instead of better
• Mold and mycotoxins in coffee beans, where they actually come from in processing, and the brands that test for it
• Why drinking your coffee out of a plastic cup with a plastic lid means you're drinking hot microplastics
• The single easiest change that costs you nothing and requires no new product: move your coffee to after breakfast, and why your adrenals feel it immediately
• What to add to your coffee so it isn't just sugar hitting an empty stomach, including collagen for protein and the fat sources that steady your blood sugar
• Why most mushroom coffee on the shelf isn't therapeutically dosed, and what Leah adds to her own cup instead
• The specific blend she uses for energy, immune support, ATP production, and focus, plus what to add if caffeine makes you jittery but you refuse to give it up
• Why you should look up your zip code on the EWG database, and the line that reframes this whole thing: if you're not filtering your water, you are the filter
• The electrolyte conversation, including the argument that women don't need them and why sodium, potassium, and magnesium are batteries for your adrenals
• Which electrolytes to reach for if you want no stevia, no monk fruit, and no flavoring at all
• The full happy hormone hot chocolate recipe, ingredient by ingredient, and why raw cacao and baking cocoa are not the same thing
• The two secret ingredients in it: one for hair growth, stomach acid, and nine grams of protein, and one with saffron, which Leah calls her secret weapon for postpartum anxiety and depression
• Why glycine belongs in a nighttime drink, and how the whole thing supports sleep and mood at the same time
• Why maca goes in the mug for most women and why you should skip it entirely if you have PCOS
• How little maple syrup you actually need, and why your taste buds will adapt if you wean down slowly

If you only do two things from this episode, move your coffee to after breakfast and pay attention to your water. Those two alone will change how you feel. Everything else is the fun part. And if you want to be a little bougie about it, come make the happy hormone hot chocolate with me.

Use code LEAH to save 15% at Eversio Wellness here.

Leah's Favorite Things: https://www.leahbrueggemann.com/favorites

I'm Leah Brueggemann, a Functional Diagnostic Nutritional® Practitioner and Hormone Health Coach, helping you balance your hormones in effective and realistic ways so you can live a healthier, happier life.

Through the Balance Hormones Naturally podcast, you'll discover why your cycle is so important to your everyday health and how you can use nutrition to help support the rise and fall of your hormones and finally feel truly amazing. We dig deep to understand and heal the root causes of your symptoms so you can achieve lasting results through manageable and realistic lifestyle changes, allowing you to live a healthy and balanced life without a long-term pharmaceutical prescription.

Let's connect:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/balancinghormonesnaturally/
Personal Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/leah_brueg/
Website: https://www.leahbrueggemann.com/
Email: leahbcoaching@gmail.com

You've run the labs. Maybe more than once. And you keep getting told everything looks normal while you're still bloated, still exhausted, still anxious, still dealing with periods that wreck your month. You are not imagining it and you are not crazy. You're either not running the right labs or nobody is looking at them through the right lens. Here's what that actually means and which tests give you real answers.

In this episode:

• The client who came from a family of doctors, had every lab run, and was still told she was normal at six months postpartum with no energy to play with her kid.
• What functional testing actually means, and why your regular blood work can be functional testing if someone reads it correctly
• The wide "normal" range that runs from very sick to fully healthy, why you're sitting in the middle of it, and why your doctor genuinely has nothing to offer you there.
• Why TSH alone is not a thyroid panel, and the full list of markers Leah wants to see instead.
• Why hair tissue mineral analysis is the foundational lab for every one of her clients, and why minerals are the spark plugs for everything else
• The scenario where your thyroid labs are perfect but your basal temps are under 97.5, your hands and feet are cold, and your hair is falling out, and the mineral that explains it.
• Why potassium sensitizes your cells to thyroid hormone, and how stress depletes it in a loop that makes everything worse.
• Why testing before supplementing minerals matters, and what to do with food instead.
• The copper and estrogen relationship, explained with food coloring in a glass of water.
• What happens when you start supporting your liver before you've addressed the foundation, and why mobilizing copper can bring on worse acne, heavier periods, more anxiety, and more cramps.
• Why a Dutch test tells you about pathways, not just levels, and what that reveals about how you're detoxing estrogen.
• Why looking at cortisol alone will mislead you, and how DHEA shows whether you've already come through an acute stress phase and are now running on empty.
• What's actually in the viral cortisol fixing drink all over your feed.
• Beta-glucuronidase on a GI Map, why high levels mean estrogen keeps recirculating, and why this is the marker to look at when you're doing all the detox things and nothing is working.
• H. pylori, low stomach acid, and why that combination sets you up for poor nutrient absorption, overgrowth, parasites, and thyroid medication that won't absorb.
• Why Leah does not start with a GI Map, and the foundations she wants in place first.
• When an organic acids test earns its place, especially with mold, methylation, or PMDD and neurotransmitter symptoms.
• Why she won't hand you a $2,000 lab list on day one, and how she lets the first test guide what comes next.
• The mistake practitioners and clients both make with HTMA: trying to manipulate individual markers instead of reading the whole story.
• The client with Hashimoto's and a cancer history whose high tissue calcium finally connected symptoms nobody had ever tied together for her.

If your labs came back normal and your body says otherwise, believe your body. The answer isn't that the tests are useless. It's that you need the right ones, read by someone looking at your hormones specifically, and put together with your history and your actual life. That's when it stops being a pile of numbers and starts being a story that makes sense.

If you want that kind of support, book a free consult call at bit.ly/hrpfreecall and talk to Alexis, one of Leah's past clients who's about to finish becoming an FDN herself. You can also access these labs with analysis through the membership at leahbrueggemann.com under services.

Leah's Favorite Things: https://www.leahbrueggemann.com/favorites

I'm Leah Brueggemann, a Functional Diagnostic Nutritional® Practitioner and Hormone Health Coach, helping you balance your hormones in effective and realistic ways so you can live a healthier, happier life.

Through the Balance Hormones Naturally podcast, you'll discover why your cycle is so important to your everyday health and how you can use nutrition to help support the rise and fall of your hormones and finally feel truly amazing. We dig deep to understand and heal the root causes of your symptoms so you can achieve lasting results through manageable and realistic lifestyle changes, allowing you to live a healthy and balanced life without a long-term pharmaceutical prescription.

Let's connect:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/balancinghormonesnaturally/
Personal Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/leah_brueg/
Website: https://www.leahbrueggemann.com/
Email: leahbcoaching@gmail.com

---

The recommendations presented in this podcast are not a substitute for medical advice from a qualified doctor. Before making any changes to your diet and lifestyle, please consult with your healthcare provider.

If someone told you that skipping breakfast and fasting longer in the morning would help you lose weight, that advice was not built for your body. Research has actually linked eating breakfast regularly with a lower risk of type 2 diabetes and metabolic syndrome. But what you put on that plate matters just as much as eating at all, because it sets your cravings, your blood sugar, and your inflammation for the entire rest of the day. 

This episode gives you the formula and the exact breakfasts Leah rotates through so you can stop overthinking it every morning.

In this episode:

• The 30 gram minimum for protein at breakfast, why it matters for muscle protein synthesis, and how far ahead of your day you'll feel when you front load it.
• Why one egg is only six grams of protein, and what to pair it with so you're not falling short before you've even started.
• Leah's go to breakfast proteins: eggs, chicken sausage, plain chicken, salmon, and Greek yogurt, plus the reminder that last night's dinner counts.
• The veggie hash with salmon and dippy eggs that gets her to about 50 grams of protein before the day starts.
• Why fiber is the broom that sweeps out your intestines, and the specific ones she reaches for in the morning: sauteed spinach, colorful peppers, hemp seeds, and broccoli or alfalfa sprouts.
• The chia seed pudding build with Greek yogurt, protein powder, cacao, and berries when you want something that feels like a treat
• Why you barely have to think about fat at breakfast if you're already hitting the protein.
• Low glycemic carbs and why stabilizing your blood sugar at breakfast is what keeps it stable at 3pm, which matters for cortisol, insulin, and whether the weight actually comes off.
• The reheated potato trick: why cooling and reheating turns them into a resistant starch that feeds your gut and lands lower on the glycemic index.
• Why Leah skips grains at breakfast if weight loss is the goal.
• The exact two or three breakfasts she rotates through so she never has to make a decision at 7am.
• What time to eat after waking, and why the window matters for your cortisol.
• Coffee before breakfast, and Leah's blunt answer: not if you love yourself.
• Whether smoothies count, the three mistakes most people make with them, and how to build one that actually hits 40 to 45 grams of protein
• Can you eat eggs every day? If you're Leah, yes.

You do not need a new recipe every morning. Pick two or three breakfasts you actually like, hit your 30 grams of protein, get your fiber in, and keep the carbs low glycemic. That's it. Do that consistently and you'll feel the difference in how satisfied you are and how steady your energy stays, and losing weight stops feeling like a fight.

Leah's Favorite Things: https://www.leahbrueggemann.com/favorites

I'm Leah Brueggemann, a Functional Diagnostic Nutritional® Practitioner and Hormone Health Coach, helping you balance your hormones in effective and realistic ways so you can live a healthier, happier life.

Through the Balance Hormones Naturally podcast, you'll discover why your cycle is so important to your everyday health and how you can use nutrition to help support the rise and fall of your hormones and finally feel truly amazing. We dig deep to understand and heal the root causes of your symptoms so you can achieve lasting results through manageable and realistic lifestyle changes, allowing you to live a healthy and balanced life without a long-term pharmaceutical prescription.

Let's connect:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/balancinghormonesnaturally/
Personal Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/leah_brueg/
Website: https://www.leahbrueggemann.com/
Email: leahbcoaching@gmail.com

The recommendations presented in this podcast are not a substitute for medical advice from a qualified doctor. Before making any changes to your diet and lifestyle, please consult with your healthcare provider.

If you're stressed, exhausted, and watching the scale refuse to move no matter what you do, you've probably already started looking at ashwagandha and rhodiola. Before you buy another supplement, look in your pantry. There are five foods that can do more for your cortisol than most of what's on the shelf, and most of them are already at your grocery store. This episode breaks down exactly what they are and why they work.

In this episode:

• Why kiwi is the most underrated food in this whole conversation and does two jobs at once, one for your adrenals and one for your gut
• The vitamin C connection your adrenals depend on, and why the same nutrient supports your progesterone production at the same time
• The specific strains of Lactobacillus tied to stress resilience, better sleep, and lower cortisol, and why you don't necessarily need to buy a probiotic to support them.
• How GABA production and inflammatory cytokines fit into the picture, explained in plain language.
• Other easy prebiotic foods to rotate in: green bananas, sweet potatoes, garlic, onions, and leeks.
• Why potassium is your stress mineral and how depletion and stress feed each other in a loop that's hard to break from the inside.
• Avocados as a triple threat: potassium, fat that steadies your blood sugar, and fiber for your gut.
• Wild caught salmon as the sledgehammer for inflammation driven cortisol, and why omega-3s matter so much if you're dealing with food sensitivities, gut issues, alcohol, or poor sleep.
• Pumpkin seeds versus beef liver for food based zinc, why zinc is both a calming mineral and an egg quality mineral, and why Leah would just eat both.
• Why pasture raised eggs are the other multivitamin, high in choline for your nervous system and your baby's brain if you're pregnant.
• Why women who skip protein at breakfast almost always run higher cortisol all day, and the 30 gram target that sets up the rest of your day.
• What to do if you're eating well but feel like you're not actually absorbing any of it, including the digestive enzymes Leah reaches for and the one question to answer before choosing which kind.

None of this requires a trip to a specialty store or a supplement budget. These are foods that are probably already in your kitchen or a few aisles away, and they're working on the root of the problem instead of masking it. If you want to go deeper, look at the minerals actually driving your cortisol, and get testing behind your decisions, that's what the Hormone Reset Program is for. Book a free consult call at bit.ly/hrpfreecall.

But if you take one thing from this episode, go eat more kiwi. Do it.

Use code LEAH to save 15% at Eversio Wellness, and it applies to every order, not just your first: https://www.eversiowellness.com/discount/LEAH

Leah's Favorite Things: https://www.leahbrueggemann.com/favorites

I'm Leah Brueggemann, a Functional Diagnostic Nutritional® Practitioner and Hormone Health Coach, helping you balance your hormones in effective and realistic ways so you can live a healthier, happier life.

Through the Balance Hormones Naturally podcast, you'll discover why your cycle is so important to your everyday health and how you can use nutrition to help support the rise and fall of your hormones and finally feel truly amazing. We dig deep to understand and heal the root causes of your symptoms so you can achieve lasting results through manageable and realistic lifestyle changes, allowing you to live a healthy and balanced life without a long-term pharmaceutical prescription.

Let's connect:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/balancinghormonesnaturally/
Personal Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/leah_brueg/
Website: https://www.leahbrueggemann.com/
Email: leahbcoaching@gmail.com

--

The recommendations presented in this podcast are not a substitute for medical advice from a qualified doctor. Before making any changes to your diet and lifestyle, please consult with your healthcare provider.

You've probably heard that forever chemicals are bad. But what you might not know is that they're already in your body right now, in your blood, your organs, and they're not leaving on their own. The fatigue, the stubborn weight that won't budge, the thyroid issues, the hormonal chaos you can't figure out, PFAS may be a bigger piece of that picture than you've been told. The good news is there are real things you can do about it, starting today.

In this episode:

• Why PFAS are called forever chemicals and what makes them so difficult for your body to clear without active support.

• The most common sources of exposure hiding in everyday life, your cookware, cosmetics, dental floss, mattress, water, and underwear, and where to start swapping first.

• Why nonstick cookware is one of the highest exposure sources and what to switch to instead, even if you can't replace everything at once.

• Why switching to organic cotton underwear is especially important if you're dealing with infertility or endometriosis, and why that area of the body absorbs more than you think.

• Why oats, a food the wellness world loves to complicate, contain beta-glucans that actually bind to PFAS in the gut and help your body excrete them.

• The specific medicinal mushrooms highest in beta-glucans, reishi, turkey tail, and maitake, and why a tested blend matters more than just buying any mushroom supplement off a shelf.

• Why PFAS detox is not a one-day cleanse and what it actually takes: reducing exposure, bringing in binding agents, and supporting every pathway your body already uses to detox, sweating, peeing, pooping, and breathing clean air.

• How to check whether your water contains PFAS using the EWG database, and why "if you're not filtering your water, you are the filter".]

• The nutrients your liver needs to actually do its job when it's up against this level of toxic load, vitamin C, milk thistle, dandelion, and adequate protein.

You don't have to do all of this at once. The worst thing you can do is look at the full picture, feel overwhelmed, and do nothing. Pick one thing. Switch out the cookware, filter the water, check your skincare. One step in the right direction is still a step, and your body will respond to every single improvement you make.

Leah's Favorite Things: https://www.leahbrueggemann.com/favorites

I'm Leah Brueggemann, a Functional Diagnostic Nutritional® Practitioner and Hormone Health Coach, helping you balance your hormones in effective and realistic ways so you can live a healthier, happier life.

Through the Balance Hormones Naturally podcast, you'll discover why your cycle is so important to your everyday health and how you can use nutrition to help support the rise and fall of your hormones and finally feel truly amazing. We dig deep to understand and heal the root causes of your symptoms so you can achieve lasting results through manageable and realistic lifestyle changes, allowing you to live a healthy and balanced life without a long-term pharmaceutical prescription.

Let's connect:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/balancinghormonesnaturally/
Personal Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/leah_brueg/
Website: https://www.leahbrueggemann.com/
Email: leahbcoaching@gmail.com

The recommendations presented in this podcast are not a substitute for medical advice from a qualified doctor. Before making any changes to your diet and lifestyle, please consult with your healthcare provider.

If you've felt out of control in your body some weeks of the month, thought maybe you were bipolar or had a personality disorder, felt suicidal or manic out of nowhere, you might not be broken. Your cycle might just be signaling that your progesterone is tanking when it should be at its highest, and once you know that, everything changes. This is Monica Grohne's story, and she's here to tell you that you don't have to stay a victim of this diagnosis.

In this episode:

• Why thinking you have a personality disorder or bipolar diagnosis might actually be PMDD, and why so many therapists are starting to catch this.

• The diagnostic process for PMDD and why there's no single lab test, which means it requires cycle tracking and usually a few months of data.

• Why your standard OBGYN might run normal bloodwork and miss the root cause, because "normal" lab ranges aren't the same as functionally optimal.

• What low progesterone actually does to your brain chemistry when it should be highest in your luteal phase, and why GABA tanks with it.

• How energy deficiency and high cholesterol can play a role in your progesterone conversion and what to do about it.

• Why cycling SSRIs works for some people but isn't your only option if you actually address the foundations.

• The foundational things that matter for PMDD (spoiler: it's the same blood sugar and sleep and stress management that matters for everything else).

• Why women are terrible at boundaries and how that directly impacts your ability to take care of yourself and your hormones.

• What it actually looks like to live with your cycle instead of against it, including how to plan your month and adjust when life doesn't cooperate.

• How to reframe from "I'm softer so I need to avoid things" to "I'm actually in control of what's best for me".

PMDD is real, it's not your fault, and it's not a life sentence of suffering. But you have to be willing to do the work to understand your body instead of just accepting that you're crazy. Monica did it, and so can you.

Leah's Favorite Things: https://www.leahbrueggemann.com/favorites

I'm Leah Brueggemann, a Functional Diagnostic Nutritional® Practitioner and Hormone Health Coach, helping you balance your hormones in effective and realistic ways so you can live a healthier, happier life.

Through the Balance Hormones Naturally podcast, you'll discover why your cycle is so important to your everyday health and how you can use nutrition to help support the rise and fall of your hormones and finally feel truly amazing. We dig deep to understand and heal the root causes of your symptoms so you can achieve lasting results through manageable and realistic lifestyle changes, allowing you to live a healthy and balanced life without a long-term pharmaceutical prescription.

Let's connect:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/balancinghormonesnaturally/
Personal Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/leah_brueg/
Website: https://www.leahbrueggemann.com/
Email: leahbcoaching@gmail.com

The recommendations presented in this podcast are not a substitute for medical advice from a qualified doctor. Before making any changes to your diet and lifestyle, please consult with your healthcare provider.

If you keep starting over every Monday, if you have a graveyard of supplements you tried for two weeks and abandoned, if you've bought planner after planner looking for the one that finally makes you consistent, you have not been lacking discipline. Your nervous system doesn't feel safe changing, and once you understand why, everything about how you approach your goals is about to shift.

In this episode:

• Why you're great at starting something new but keep hitting a wall in the middle, right when it's time to maintain or finish.

• The real reason your brain treats a new habit, a new food, a new boundary, like a threat, and why that triggers procrastination, cravings, and mindless scrolling without you even realizing it.

• Why saying affirmations for ten seconds a day does nothing if the other ninety percent of your self talk is "I hate this, I can't do this, I'm so frustrated".

• The study on people with split personality disorder whose bloodwork changed depending on which personality they were in, and what that reveals about how much your thoughts actually control your body.

• Why "just calm down" and "just breathe" can backfire completely if you're in fight or flight, and what to do with that energy instead before you try to regulate.

• The exact order for nervous system regulation, moving the energy first, then calming the body, and simple ways to do both.

• Why identifying as someone who's "all or nothing" or who "always falls off" keeps you proving that belief right, and how to start rewiring it.

• A simple mindset shift you can use today: asking what the version of you who already has this goal would decide to do in this exact moment

You cannot hate your body into health, and you cannot white knuckle your way into lasting change either. If your nervous system is stuck in fight or flight or shutdown, no amount of willpower is going to make consistency feel easy. 

This is the piece almost nobody talks about, and once you start working with your nervous system instead of against it, everything else gets so much easier. If you want to go deeper on this work, book a consult call and ask about VIP.

Leah's Favorite Things: https://www.leahbrueggemann.com/favorites

I'm Leah Brueggemann, a Functional Diagnostic Nutritional® Practitioner and Hormone Health Coach, helping you balance your hormones in effective and realistic ways so you can live a healthier, happier life.

Through the Balance Hormones Naturally podcast, you'll discover why your cycle is so important to your everyday health and how you can use nutrition to help support the rise and fall of your hormones and finally feel truly amazing. We dig deep to understand and heal the root causes of your symptoms so you can achieve lasting results through manageable and realistic lifestyle changes, allowing you to live a healthy and balanced life without a long-term pharmaceutical prescription.

Let's connect:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/balancinghormonesnaturally/
Personal Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/leah_brueg/
Website: https://www.leahbrueggemann.com/
Email: leahbcoaching@gmail.com

The recommendations presented in this podcast are not a substitute for medical advice from a qualified doctor. Before making any changes to your diet and lifestyle, please consult with your healthcare provider.

If you’ve been told you have PMOS and walked out of the doctor’s office feeling like infertility is your future, this episode is for you. PMOS isn’t a life sentence—and you absolutely can get pregnant naturally. The key is understanding what’s actually driving your symptoms. Infertility, irregular cycles, weight gain, cravings, and androgen issues all trace back to a few core root causes that you can influence. This episode breaks down the exact steps I use with clients who go from “I don’t even ovulate” to regular cycles—and positive pregnancy tests.

In this episode I’m sharing:

• Why insulin resistance and excess androgens create a vicious loop that shuts down ovulation, and how to break it
• How to build balanced blood sugar meals (and why breakfast is the #1 predictor of hormone stability for the day)
• The egg-quality upgrades that matter most: seed cycling, removing endocrine disruptors, and supporting the brain–ovary connection
• The supplements actually shown to help PMOS, such as myo-inositol, maitake mushroom, omega-3 food sources, apple cider vinegar, and mineral support
• Why minerals and depletion matter more than you think, and how HTMA testing reveals what bloodwork can’t

Ovulation brings your period and ovulation brings your fertility. When you support blood sugar, egg quality, and mineral balance, your body becomes safer to ovulate and conception becomes possible. This episode gives you clear, doable steps to finally move toward the healthy, predictable cycle you’ve been chasing.

Leah’s Favorite Things: https://www.leahbrueggemann.com/favorites

🙏Thank you to Eversio Wellness for sponsoring this episode!

👉 Go to https://www.eversiowellness.com/discount/LEAH or enter code LEAH at checkout for 15% off.

—

I’m Leah Brueggemann, a Functional Diagnostic Nutritional® Practitioner and Hormone Health Coach, helping you balance your hormones in effective and realistic ways so you can live a healthier, happier life.

Through the Balance Hormones Naturally podcast, you’ll discover why your cycle is so important to your everyday health and how you can use nutrition to help support the rise and fall of your hormones and finally feel truly amazing. We dig deep to understand and heal the root causes of your symptoms so you can achieve lasting results through manageable and realistic lifestyle changes, allowing you to live a healthy and balanced life without a life-long pharmaceutical prescription.

Let’s connect:

📷 Instagram https://www.instagram.com/balancinghormonesnaturally/

🙋🏻‍♀️ Personal Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/leah_brueg/

🌐 Website: https://www.leahbrueggemann.com/

📧 Email: leahbcoaching@gmail.com

If you've ever thought "I could never leave my kids for that" when you hear someone talk about a retreat or a workshop, this episode is for you. Leah sits down with her sister-in-law Katie, a coach in the Hormone Reset Program, to talk about what brain rewiring and nervous system work actually looks like in real life, not as a concept, but as the reason you stop having a full-body panic response when your toddler spills his plate across the floor and just... smile.

In this episode:

• Why the first seven years of your child's life are shaped more by your nervous system than by anything you consciously do as a parent, and what that means for the mom who wants to break the cycle
• How overstimulation is different from not enjoying your kids, and why so many moms are white-knuckling through the day instead of actually being present in it
• What it actually looks like to rewire a pattern, why it feels awkward at first, and why the old path just quietly grows over once you've made a new one
• How to stop identifying as "an anxious person" and start separating yourself from the moments where anxiety shows up, because that one shift changes everything
• Why so many women use their husband as an excuse not to invest in themselves, and what actually happens when they finally have the conversation
• The real reason it feels so hard to say yes to something for yourself when you're building a house, raising kids, and watching every dollar, and how Katie talked herself through it across three emails in one weekend
• What neuroplasticity actually means in daily life, from stopping the panic attack when plans change last minute, to asking a question in a room full of people without apologizing for taking up space
• Why getting out of your day-to-day environment is the thing that makes breakthroughs happen faster, and why waiting for a retreat to come to your state means waiting to feel better

You don't have to have it all figured out before you say yes to something. The discomfort right before the breakthrough is always the loudest part. If you're ready to reset your nervous system in real life, Katie and Leah want to see you at the Reset Retreat.

Join the reset retreat here! 

Thank you to Eversio for sponsoring this episode, you can save at Eversiowellness.com with code LEAH

Leah's Favorite Things: https://www.leahbrueggemann.com/favorites

I'm Leah Brueggemann, a Functional Diagnostic Nutritional® Practitioner and Hormone Health Coach, helping you balance your hormones in effective and realistic ways so you can live a healthier, happier life.

Through the Balance Hormones Naturally podcast, you'll discover why your cycle is so important to your everyday health and how you can use nutrition to help support the rise and fall of your hormones and finally feel truly amazing. We dig deep to understand and heal the root causes of your symptoms so you can achieve lasting results through manageable and realistic lifestyle changes, allowing you to live a healthy and balanced life without a long-term pharmaceutical prescription.

Let's connect: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/balancinghormonesnaturally/
Personal Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/leahbrueg/
Website: https://www.leahbrueggemann.com/
Email: leahbcoaching@gmail.com

The recommendations presented in this podcast are not a substitute for medical advice from a qualified doctor. Before making any changes to your diet and lifestyle, please consult with your healthcare provider.

Episode 286: What Happened to My Ovulation? Why It Gets Delayed, Late, or Goes Missing

with Leah Brueggemann, FDN-P

Okay, so you usually ovulate somewhere around day 13 to 16, and now you are sitting on day 30 going, where did my ovulation go? This one is for you. In this episode I am breaking down what ovulation actually is, why it can show up late or disappear altogether, and what your delayed ovulation is trying to tell you about your health.

How interesting, right? Because ovulation is not just about getting pregnant. It is your monthly report card. It is how your body produces progesterone, your keep calm and carry on hormone. So when ovulation goes off track, it is a yellow flag we want to pay attention to before it turns into a red flag. Grab a beverage, check your step count, and let's dive in.

What You'll Learn

•        What ovulation really is, and why day 14 is just an average (a 26 to 36 day cycle is totally normal)

•        Why your follicular phase length is what actually determines your cycle length

•        The hard truth about ovulating after day 21, and why irregular ovulation is a health signal worth listening to

•        Why you cannot get pregnant without ovulating, even when it feels like you skipped your period

•        Why "hyper fertile" is not a real thing, and the myth that you ovulate multiple times in one cycle

•        What cervical mucus is telling you, from thyroid clues to low vitamin A, dehydration, and low estrogen

•        The most common reasons ovulation gets delayed: stress, nutrient deficiencies, blood sugar and insulin resistance, PCOS, thyroid, and over-exercising or under-eating

•        How to figure out which category you fall into, and simple, doable first steps to support your ovulation

Key Takeaways

•        Ovulation is what brings your period. When you ovulate, the follicle forms the corpus luteum, which produces progesterone. When that progesterone drops, your period comes. No ovulation, no true period.

•        Your cycle length is normal anywhere from 26 to 36 days. The range comes from how long your follicular phase is. Ovulation to period should stay in that 12 to 14 day window to support enough progesterone.

•        Stress is the number one cause of delayed ovulation, and it is not just emotional. Internal stress like inflammation, food sensitivities, heavy metals, and parasites all count. You cannot out-supplement a full stress bucket.

•        Nutrient deficiencies matter. Magnesium, B vitamins, zinc, and selenium all support ovulation and egg quality. When minerals are tanked, testing helps you see it, and then we ask why they got depleted in the first place.

•        Blood sugar and insulin resistance can shut down ovulation, and this is especially true with PCOS, where blood sugar spikes drive up testosterone.

•        Both an underactive and overactive thyroid can delay ovulation, and stress, gut, and liver health all impact your T4 to T3 conversion. Birth control can deplete the nutrients and disrupt the microbiome you need for this.

•        Over-exercising and under-eating send a famine signal to your body, and ovulation is one of the first things it shuts down to conserve energy.

•        You ovulate once per cycle. You can release a second egg within 24 hours, but progesterone then suppresses any further ovulation. "Hyper fertile" is not multiple ovulations.

Resources & Links Mentioned

•        Free Hormone Training, learn Leah's three secrets to balancing hormones naturally: freehormonetraining.com

•        Book a free consult call for the Hormone Reset Program: bit.ly/HRPfreecall

•        Follow Leah on Instagram: @leah_brueg

Ready to Get to the Root of Your Cycle?

If you are tired of guessing whether it is stress, your thyroid, nutrient deficiencies, or PCOS behind your delayed ovulation, this is exactly what we do inside the Hormone Reset Program. We run your testing, hand you a step-by-step map, and pair you with an accountability coach so you are never wondering "is this me?" again. You just implement and trust the process. Book your free consult call at bit.ly/HRPfreecall to see if it's a good fit.

And if you found this episode valuable, share it with a friend and post it to your stories. You never know who in your circle is praying for this exact information right now. Tag @leah_brueg so we can keep getting this message out.

Disclaimer

The information shared in this episode is for educational purposes only and is not intended as medical advice. It is not meant to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease or health condition. Please consult your qualified healthcare provider before making any changes to your diet, supplements, exercise, or wellness routine.

Cycle Syncing 101: How to Eat, Move, and Live in Sync with Your Hormones

Balancing Hormones Naturally Podcast with Leah Brueggemann

Okay, so here is the thing about cycle syncing: it is not just another wellness trend to add to your already overflowing to-do list. It is the actual tipping point. The thing that finally helps your last bit of stubborn weight come off, your cravings calm down, your moods even out, and your energy stop crashing at 2 p.m. every single afternoon.

In this episode, I am breaking down cycle syncing 101: how to use nutrition, workouts, and lifestyle to support the natural rise and fall of your hormones through every phase of your cycle. Because here is the truth, you are not built to run on a 24-hour male hormone rhythm. You have a beautifully designed 28-ish day rhythm, and once you start working with it instead of against it, everything starts to click.

How interesting, right?

What You'll Learn in This Episode

•        Why cycle syncing is the missing piece for stubborn weight, mood swings, and cravings

•        The four phases of your menstrual cycle and what is happening hormonally in each one

•        Menstrual phase: the iron, mineral, and vitamin C rich foods to prioritize while you are bleeding, plus the Chinese medicine principle of warm versus cold foods

•        Why beef liver is a powerhouse during your period, and the chili hack that makes it taste good

•        Follicular phase: cooling proteins, cruciferous vegetables, resistant starch, and why this phase is a goldmine for insulin sensitivity

•        Ovulatory phase: antihistamine support, chia seed pudding, and the eleganic acid in berries that helps neutralize estrogen quinones

•        Luteal phase: low glycemic carbs, warming proteins, magnesium-rich foods, and why blood sugar balance matters even more here

•        How to adjust your workouts through every phase without sacrificing strength gains

•        Seed cycling 101: the exact seeds, amounts, and timing to support estrogen and progesterone

•        What to do if your cycles are irregular, if you are postpartum, or if you are on hormonal birth control

•        How to actually start cycle syncing without overwhelm (hint: one habit per cycle)

Quick Cycle Syncing Cheat Sheet

Menstrual Phase (Days 1 to 7, bleeding phase)

•        Hormones: at their lowest

•        Vibe: rest, reflect, gentle movement

•        Workouts: yoga, Pilates, stretching, walks, lower weight with higher reps

•        Foods: iron-rich, mineral-rich, potassium-rich, vitamin C, warming foods like stews, chili, bone broth, sweet potatoes, ginger, wild rice, beef liver

•        Skip: ice cold drinks and smoothies (cold brings pain, warm takes it away)

Follicular Phase (post-bleeding, estrogen rising)

•        Hormones: estrogen rising, testosterone starting to climb

•        Vibe: creativity, planning, networking, new projects

•        Workouts: cardio and weight training, this is when you get strong

•        Foods: cooling proteins (chicken, turkey, white fish), cruciferous veggies, sprouts, soluble fiber, resistant starch (cooled potatoes), liver support

•        Bonus tip: finish eating by 6 or 6:30 p.m. to support insulin sensitivity overnight

Ovulatory Phase (estrogen and testosterone peak, LH surge)

•        Hormones: estrogen peaks, testosterone peaks, LH surges

•        Vibe: magnetic, outgoing, empathetic, perfect for hard conversations and big projects

•        Workouts: high intensity, heavy lifting

•        Foods: antihistamine support (vitamin C, nettle), berries (eleganic acid for estrogen detox), colorful peppers, kiwi, citrus, chia seed pudding

•        Non-negotiable: pooping daily heading into luteal

Luteal Phase (ovulation to period, progesterone dominant)

•        Hormones: progesterone rising, estrogen dipping with one mid-phase bump

•        Vibe: reflective, slower, checking things off your list

•        Workouts: strength training continues, lower weights and higher reps, Pilates, walking

•        Foods: low glycemic carbs (lentils, beans, chickpeas), warming proteins (beef, salmon), magnesium-rich leafy greens, ginger, cinnamon, turmeric, well-cooked everything

•        Critical: blood sugar balance matters more than ever, especially if you deal with PMS or pre-period anxiety

Seed Cycling Made Simple

Period to ovulation: 1 tablespoon pumpkin seeds + 1 tablespoon flax seeds daily

Ovulation to period: 1 tablespoon sesame seeds + 1 tablespoon sunflower seeds daily

Buy them whole and grind before eating (they go rancid fast), or grab them pre-ground from Funk It Wellness, where they are ground right before shipping. Use code LEAH15 to save.

Your Homework

•        Pick ONE habit from this episode and start it this cycle. Just one. That is how this works.

•        Share this episode with a friend and invite her to do it with you. Send it and say, hey, I love you, do you want to do this with me?

Episode Sponsors

Eversio Wellness Mushrooms

The only mushroom company I trust, fruiting body only, glass packaging, certified organic, and a beautiful extraction ratio that lets you hit a therapeutic dose in just one capsule instead of six. Their new Starter Set includes the 3 Mushroom Blend (morning energy and immune support), Lion's Mane (afternoon mental clarity), and Reishi (nighttime stress and sleep support).

Visit eversiowellness.com for 10% off the Starter Set, and stack code LEAH for an extra 15% off.

Funk It Wellness Seed Cycling

Organic, freshly ground seed cycling kits delivered on subscription. Use code LEAH15 to save.

Want to Go Deeper?

Grab my free hormone training and learn my 3 secrets to balancing hormones natural...

Pelvic Floor Therapy: Why Kegels Aren’t the Answer and What Actually Heals Leaking, Pain & Prolapse

Balancing Hormones Naturally Podcast with Leah Brueggemann

Seventy percent of people in nursing homes are there because of urinary incontinence. Read that again. The leaking you keep brushing off as “normal” after kids? It is the same thing that lands women in long-term care decades later. And almost nobody is telling you that.

In this episode, Leah sits down with pelvic floor physical therapist Koleen Adams (Awaken Pelvic Therapy in Lapeer, Michigan) to unpack the real reason so many women are walking around with leaking, pain with sex, low back pain, constipation, and prolapse, and being told it is just what happens after babies. Spoiler: it is not normal, it is not your fault, and Kegels are probably the worst thing your doctor could have prescribed you.

Okay, so. If you have ever been told to “just drink a glass of wine before sex”, if you skip the trampoline park because you might pee, or if you went to one pelvic floor PT and decided it didn’t work, this episode is the one to send to every woman in your life.

What You’ll Learn In This Episode

•        Why 90% of pelvic floor issues are caused by tightness, not weakness, and why Kegels can make them worse

•        How your pelvic floor is wired into your fight or flight nervous system (and why it clenches when life feels unsafe)

•        The wild client story of “sister poops” and how a phone call can trigger fecal incontinence

•        Symptoms you would never connect to pelvic floor: low back pain, hip pain, headaches, prolapse, chronic constipation

•        Why over 90% of jaw clenchers are also clenching their pelvic floor

•        The exact questions to ask before booking your next pelvic floor PT so you don’t waste another appointment

•        Why insurance-based clinics often miss the root cause and how direct pay changes the game

•        What recovery should actually feel like and the two-to-three visit rule for knowing you’ve found the right practitioner

•        How to advocate for yourself with your OB without feeling rude or pushy

Your Pelvic Floor Is Holding More Than Babies

Koleen calls the pelvic floor a “perfect little bowl” for holding trauma. And once you hear it that way, you can’t unhear it. Your pelvic floor is not just a group of muscles. It is part of your fight or flight system. Anytime your body has registered something as unsafe, whether that’s a hard conversation, a traumatic birth, an unwanted touch, or a stressful phone call from your sister, your pelvic floor automatically tightens. That tightening is supposed to be temporary. The problem is most women never come out of it.

This is why “just do Kegels” is such terrible advice for so many women. If your muscles are already gripping at a 9 out of 10, contracting them harder is not going to help. You need to learn how to release first. Without that, every other intervention is fighting uphill.

The Symptoms Nobody Tells You Are Pelvic Floor Related

Most women think pelvic floor therapy is only for peeing your pants and painful sex. Those are real reasons to go. But Koleen also treats:

•        Chronic constipation and diarrhea, including fecal smearing in kids

•        Low back pain and hip pain that won’t resolve with regular PT

•        That “sitting on a softball” pressure feeling (often prolapse)

•        Tension headaches connected to neck and vagus nerve dysfunction

•        Jaw clenching (over 90% of jaw clenchers are clenching their pelvic floor too)

•        Erectile dysfunction and testicular pain in men

•        Postpartum issues from any kind of birth, including C-sections

How interesting that one set of 26 muscles, none of which you can reach without an internal exam, can be silently driving symptoms across your entire body.

Why “It’s Normal” Is Costing Women Their Lives

Koleen shares the math on one client who leaked from age 40 to age 60. Wearing a size 4 pad, changing it four times a day, 24/7. Total spent on pads in those 20 years: $25,000. And that is just the financial cost. She skipped vacations, was anxious about every bathroom, and almost packed an extra suitcase of pads for a European trip.

Then there is the nursing home statistic. 70% of nursing home admissions involve urinary incontinence. Women fall trying to make it to the bathroom in time. They break hips. They lose independence. The thing everyone told them was “just part of being a mom” is the same thing that ends their ability to live on their own. Why are we fighting so hard to keep symptoms that don’t belong to us in the first place?

How To Find a Pelvic Floor PT Who Actually Knows What She’s Doing

Not all pelvic floor therapists are created equal. If you have been to one and felt like nothing changed, you probably went to the wrong one. Here is what Koleen says to look for:

•        They listen. You should leave the first visit feeling truly heard, not rushed through a script.

•        They take a whole-body approach. Posture, range of motion, balance, jaw, neck, sleep, stress, gut, all on the table.

•        They do internal work. This is the gold standard. Skipping the internal exam means guessing.

•        They ask permission before every touch. “Can I touch your inner thigh? Can I touch your labia?” Consent every time.

•        They use real sheets, not paper drapes. The environment should feel safe and respectful.

•        You see improvement within two to three visits. Not full resolution, but a clear sense that you are on the right track.

Interview them. Ask about success rates. Ask how long they have been doing this. Ask if they have treated your specific issue before. You are not being difficult. You are being a good steward of your body.

Action Steps From This Episode

•        Notice when you clench. Throughout the day, check in with your jaw, your shoulders, and your pelvic floor. Awareness is step one.

•        Stop fighting for your symptoms to be normal. If something feels off, it is information, not an identity.

•        Find a pelvic floor PT who does internal work and treats the whole body, not just the symptom.

•        If you have done Kegels and they made things worse, that is a sign of pelvic floor tightness. Stop. Get assessed.

•        Advocate for yourself with your OB. You can ask for a pelvic floor PT referral at your six-week postpartum visit. You don’t have to wait six months to “see if it gets better.”

“Pelvic floor issues can ruin your life. And I have the ability to help them get their life back.”

— Koleen Adams, Awaken Pelvic Therapy

Connect with Koleen Adams

Koleen Adams is the founder and owner of Awaken Pelvic Therapy in Lapeer, Michigan. She works with women, men, and kids using a whole-body ...

The Truth About Fasting for Women: Why Most Studies Don’t Apply to Your Cycle

Balancing Hormones Naturally Podcast with Leah Brueggemann

Everyone keeps telling you to fast. Skip breakfast. Push your eating window. Drink coffee until noon. And somewhere along the way, fasting got marketed as the secret to weight loss, balanced blood sugar, and longevity for every human on the planet.

Here is what nobody mentions in those reels: most of the research behind those claims was done on men or postmenopausal women. If you have an active cycle, applying that data to your body without context can quietly tank your hormones, flatten your energy, and wreck your periods.

In this episode, Leah breaks down what fasting actually does to a cycling woman’s body, when it works in your favor, when it backfires, and the one fasting style most women can use safely without sending their adrenals into a tailspin.

What You’ll Learn in This Episode
•        Why fasting research done on men doesn’t translate cleanly to menstruating women
•        How estrogen and progesterone change your insulin sensitivity across your cycle
•        The connection between aggressive fasting, LH pulsatility, ovulation, and progesterone
•        Why intermittent fasting can become a fancy way of chronically under-eating
•        What circadian fasting is, why Leah loves it, and how to do it
•        Follicular fasting: the one-day-per-cycle window where a longer fast may serve you
•        How melatonin and your circadian insulin sensitivity should shape when you eat
•        Why your minerals and vital reserve matter before you ever consider a fast
•        How to break a fast without spiking your blood sugar into the stratosphere

Key Concepts From the Episode
You’re Not a Small Man
Men run on a 24-hour hormonal rhythm. Women run on a 28 to 36-day rhythm. Their dominant hormone is testosterone, which doesn’t tank under stress the way progesterone does. Stretching male fasting protocols across a cycling woman’s body ignores all of that.

Insulin Sensitivity Changes Throughout Your Cycle
Estrogen increases insulin sensitivity. Progesterone decreases it. So depending on where a woman is in her cycle, the same fasting protocol can produce wildly different results. One snapshot in a study cannot capture that.

Aggressive Fasting Can Suppress Ovulation
Calorie restriction taken too far has been shown to lower LH pulsatility within just five days. Lower LH means a weaker ovulatory surge, which means a weaker corpus luteum, which means less progesterone. That cascade shows up as irregular cycles, thinning hair, irritability, low energy, and insomnia long before it shows up on a lab.

Sometimes Intermittent Fasting Is Just Under-Eating in Disguise
Slapping a name on a tiny eating window doesn’t change the math. If the calories aren’t there, the body reads starvation. The early energy boost most women feel? Usually adrenaline. Eventually the bill comes due in the form of stalled fat loss, blunted thyroid function, and worsening cycles.

Circadian Fasting: The Safer Default
Stop eating after dinner and don’t eat again until morning. Roughly a 12-hour window. This honors your natural insulin rhythm (you are more insulin sensitive in the morning, more resistant at night) and supports digestion and blood sugar without spiking cortisol. Most cycling women can use this safely.

Follicular Fasting (One Day Per Cycle)
Pick one day in your follicular phase and pull your final meal earlier (say, 3 pm instead of 6 pm). Estrogen is rising, insulin sensitivity is on your side, and the impact on stress hormones is minimal. One day. Then back to your normal circadian fast.

Mineral Status and Vital Reserve Come First
Fasting on top of depleted minerals and a chronically dieted body is pouring gas on a fire. Replenish first. Mineral-rich foods (yes, including beef liver, not only vegetables) build the foundation that any fasting strategy needs.

Practical Takeaways
•        Eat within 30 to 60 minutes of waking
•        Aim for 30 grams of protein at breakfast
•        Get fiber and low-glycemic carbs in early
•        Never eat a naked carb (pair the apple with a hard-boiled egg or a handful of nuts)
•        Build a dinner that can actually carry you through the night: protein, fat, fiber, low-glycemic carbs
•        Break your fast with protein, not sugar and coffee
•        Prioritize nourishment before restriction every single time
•        Pay attention to mineral intake, especially if you’ve been chronically dieting

A Line Worth Saving
“You don’t need to starve to heal. You need to support your hormones, not suppress them.”

Episode Sponsor: Aversio Wellness Maitake
Mushrooms are everywhere right now, but most products use a fraction of the dosage that was actually studied. Aversio Wellness uses real therapeutic dosages and a strong extraction ratio, so one or two capsules do the job (instead of swallowing a pile of pills).

Their newest standalone product is Maitake, which Leah is calling the new starting point for women who want a mushroom that delivers visible results. Maitake supports blood sugar balance, ovulation, and immune function, and since blood sugar drives basically every hormonal pathway in your body, this one earns its place.

Shop at aversiowellness.com and use code LEAH for 15% off.

Want to Go Deeper?
Grab Leah’s free hormone training and learn her three secrets to balancing hormones naturally:

freehormonetraining.com

Connect With Leah
•        Instagram (personal): @leahbru
•        Instagram (podcast): @balancinghormonesnaturally
•        Free Hormone Training: freehormonetraining.com

Disclaimer: This episode is for educational purposes and is not medical advice. Please work with a qualified practitioner before making changes to your nutrition, fasting practice, or supplement routine.

If you've been breaking out for years, have tried every cleanser, serum, and spot treatment out there, and still can't figure out why your skin won't clear, this episode is going to be the conversation you didn't know you needed. Leah sits down with Kayleigh Christina, certified holistic nutritionist and co-founder of ClearStem Skincare, who went from cystic acne so severe she stopped leaving the house to completely clear skin in two months, once she identified the 12 triggers no doctor had ever talked to her about. What they cover is not what you're going to hear at the dermatologist's office.

In this episode:

• Why "clean" skincare does not mean acne-safe, and how ingredients like beef tallow, shea butter, coconut oil, algae extracts, and avocado oil are some of the most notorious pore-cloggers you can put on your face, even though they're non-toxic
• What physically happens inside your pore when a pore-clogging ingredient gets stuck, why coconut oil turns into a waxy ball that has nowhere to go, and why clearing those clogs is what actually makes your pores look smaller
• Why your hair conditioner might be the reason you can't clear your skin, and where to look if it's the culprit: your hairline, the side of your face you sleep on, the back of your neck, and your back
• How randomly taking "hormone-balancing" supplements like Vitex and He Shou Wu without running labs can directly worsen your acne by disrupting the very hormones you were trying to support
• Why B12, vitamin D, and zinc show up in so many supplements, multivitamins, and "immune-boosting" beverages at levels that can spike testosterone and trigger androgenic acne, often without you even realizing you're taking that much
• The real reason food and beverage companies dump cheap, non-bioavailable forms of zinc and biotin into their products, and what to look for instead so you're not creating a toxic overload while thinking you're doing something good for your body
• How compromised gut health connects directly to jawline and neck breakouts through albumin protein from egg whites building up in the lymph system, and why food triggers are different for everyone depending on what's going on internally
• What mandelic acid actually does inside the pore, why it's effective for both active acne and aging at the same time, and how to build a simple four-product routine that heals your skin without stripping it
• How ClearStem's acne lab test screens over 86 blood markers, including heavy metals, liver and kidney function, parasites, and cell hydration, to find what conventional labs and standard doctor visits keep missing

Your skin is not broken. There are real, identifiable reasons your breakouts keep coming back, and most of them have nothing to do with how well you're washing your face. This episode gives you a completely different way to look at acne so you can stop spinning your wheels and start actually getting clear.

Use code LEAHB to save 15% at ClearStem Skincare: clearstem.com

Find Kayleigh Christina: Website: clearstem.com Pore Clogging Ingredients Checker: clearstem.com/free-checker Instagram: @clearstem_skincare and @kayleighchristina

Leah's Favorite Things: https://www.leahbrueggemann.com/favorites

I'm Leah Brueggemann, a Functional Diagnostic Nutritional® Practitioner and Hormone Health Coach, helping you balance your hormones in effective and realistic ways so you can live a healthier, happier life.

Through the Balance Hormones Naturally podcast, you'll discover why your cycle is so important to your everyday health and how you can use nutrition to help support the rise and fall of your hormones and finally feel truly amazing. We dig deep to understand and heal the root causes of your symptoms so you can achieve lasting results through manageable and realistic lifestyle changes, allowing you to live a healthy and balanced life without a long-term pharmaceutical prescription.

Let's connect: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/balancinghormonesnaturally/
Personal Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/leah_brueg/
Website: https://www.leahbrueggemann.com/
Email: leahbcoaching@gmail.com

The recommendations presented in this podcast are not a substitute for medical advice from a qualified doctor. Before making any changes to your diet and lifestyle, please consult with your healthcare provider.

If you've been cutting calories, grinding through cardio, and still can't get rid of your belly fat, it's not because you aren't trying hard enough. Belly fat is not a willpower problem. It's a hormone problem. And until you understand what's actually driving it, nothing you do is going to touch it.

In this episode I'm sharing:

• Why belly fat is biologically different from other fat, what makes it the most dangerous kind, and the three hormone root causes that drive it specifically
• How poor sleep directly raises your cortisol the next day, tanks your insulin sensitivity, and sends your cravings through the roof, and what to actually do about it tonight
• The free app Leah uses to lock herself off her phone at 9pm, plus the iPhone setting that makes late-night scrolling uncomfortable enough to stop
• Why EFT tapping was shown to lower cortisol levels by 43% and how to use it as part of a sleep ritual that actually supports your hormones
• How undereating during the day is secretly driving your nighttime cravings, and why this has nothing to do with willpower
• The three hormone pillars behind belly fat, estrogen dominance, cortisol imbalance, and insulin resistance, and why you can see fasting insulin creeping up years before your glucose or A1C ever flags
• Why soluble fiber is one of the most powerful tools for detoxing estrogen, and the specific foods Leah reaches for to keep drainage pathways moving
• What LPS is, why certain gut bacteria overgrowth produces it, and the supplement called Mega IGG that mops it up while supporting your gut lining and immune system at the same time
• How circadian fasting works differently from traditional intermittent fasting, why it's one of the least stressful tools for insulin resistance, and the one thing most women are drinking in their fasting window that's quietly working against them
• Why myo-inositol is a game changer for PCOS, mood, and blood sugar balance, and what Leah's go-to brand and dosage looks like
• How maitake mushroom has been shown to lower fasting glucose by a minimum of 33% in type 2 diabetics, and what that means for how your cells respond to insulin

Belly fat is your body telling you something is off with your hormones, not asking you to eat less and suffer more. When you start supporting your sleep, your cortisol, your estrogen detox, and your insulin sensitivity at the same time, that's when you actually start to see it shift. This episode gives you the real starting points.

Thank you to paleovalley for sponsoring this episode you can use code LEAH to save 15% with them!

Use code LEAH for 15% off at Eversio Wellness Use code LEAHB for 20% off at RoCasa Organics (first-time orders) Mega IGG and myo-inositol available at Leah's favorites in the show notes under Supplements

Leah's Favorite Things: https://www.leahbrueggemann.com/favorites

—

I'm Leah Brueggemann, a Functional Diagnostic Nutritional® Practitioner and Hormone Health Coach, helping you balance your hormones in effective and realistic ways so you can live a healthier, happier life.

Through the Balance Hormones Naturally podcast, you'll discover why your cycle is so important to your everyday health and how you can use nutrition to help support the rise and fall of your hormones and finally feel truly amazing. We dig deep to understand and heal the root causes of your symptoms so you can achieve lasting results through manageable and realistic lifestyle changes, allowing you to live a healthy and balanced life without a long-term pharmaceutical prescription.

Let's connect: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/balancinghormonesnaturally/ Personal Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/leah_brueg/ Website: https://www.leahbrueggemann.com/ Email: leahbcoaching@gmail.com

—

The recommendations presented in this podcast are not a substitute for medical advice from a qualified doctor. Before making any changes to your diet and lifestyle, please consult with your healthcare provider.

If you've been told "it's just your age" when it comes to getting pregnant, or you've been handed IVF as the only option without a single conversation about nutrition, this episode is going to change how you think about fertility. Ronit Menashe, co-founder of WeNatal, shares the story of her own pregnancy loss at 41, the research she uncovered about the massive role men play in fertility outcomes, and why the three months before conception matter more than almost anything your doctor is talking about.

In this episode, Leah and Ronit are covering:

• Why Ronit calls the three months before conception "trimester zero," and what she and her husband did during that window that led to a natural pregnancy at 42 with no IVF or major medical intervention
• The research showing men are responsible for 50% of miscarriages, and why that stat completely reframes how couples should be approaching fertility
• How men who take specific antioxidants like CoQ10, NAC, vitamin C, and zinc have a 5X greater chance of their spouse having a healthy pregnancy
• Why sperm quality directly impacts placenta formation, and how poor sperm health is linked to preeclampsia, which is the number one cause of maternal death
• The difference between WeNatal's prenatal and Egg Quality Plus, and why taking both matters if you're trying to conceive, especially later in life
• What's actually happening when your egg quality declines with age (hint: it's your mitochondria aging, not your eggs themselves) and the five nutrients that support new mitochondria production
• Why your baby will take the nutrients it needs from you regardless, and how that's directly connected to postpartum depletion, anxiety, and depression
• The new WeNatal protein powder that combines 20 grams of protein, collagen, and a full prenatal in one scoop, and why cold smoothies were a lifesaver for first trimester nausea
• Why the "strongest sperm will make it there" advice from OBGYNs is flat-out wrong, and how that dismissive narrative is failing couples
• The story of a woman who had 13 rounds of failed IVF, finally changed her nutrition and lifestyle, had a successful implantation, and then got pregnant naturally with her second baby
• Why IVF has a lower success rate than most people realize, and why nutrition and lifestyle changes should be the first step, not the last resort

It takes two to make a baby, and it takes two to prepare for one. Whether you're actively trying, freezing your eggs, or just know that kids are somewhere in your future, this episode will show you how much power you actually have over your fertility when you stop waiting and start nourishing.

Use THIS link to save with WENATAL

Thank you to Eversio for sponsoring this episode go to Eversiowellness.com and use coupon code LEAH to save! 

Leah's Favorite Things: https://www.leahbrueggemann.com/favorites

—

I'm Leah Brueggemann, a Functional Diagnostic Nutritional® Practitioner and Hormone Health Coach, helping you balance your hormones in effective and realistic ways so you can live a healthier, happier life.

Through the Balance Hormones Naturally podcast, you'll discover why your cycle is so important to your everyday health and how you can use nutrition to help support the rise and fall of your hormones and finally feel truly amazing. We dig deep to understand and heal the root causes of your symptoms so you can achieve lasting results through manageable and realistic lifestyle changes, allowing you to live a healthy and balanced life without a long-term pharmaceutical prescription.

Let's connect:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/balancinghormonesnaturally/
Personal Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/leah_brueg/
Website: https://www.leahbrueggemann.com/
Email: leahbcoaching@gmail.com

—

The recommendations presented in this podcast are not a substitute for medical advice from a qualified doctor. Before making any changes to your diet and lifestyle, please consult with your healthcare provider.

If you've been gaining weight, losing sleep, and feeling like perimenopause is just something you have to white-knuckle through, this episode is going to change how you think about what's actually happening in your body. Women gain an average of five pounds in the first two years of perimenopause alone, and it's not about eating too much. It's about what's shifting in your gut and why your body can no longer absorb, detox, and function the way it used to.

In this episode I'm sharing:

• Why perimenopause and menopause are not just a hormone levels problem, and what's happening in your gut and liver that's driving the weight gain, brain fog, mood swings, and heavy periods
• What lactoferrin is, why it drops dramatically the moment you enter perimenopause, and how that one protein controls iron regulation, immune response, and inflammation all at once
• How your gut manages estrogen through something called the estrobolome, what happens when that system breaks down, and why your heavy periods and mood swings might be a gut issue more than a hormone issue
• The enzyme beta-glucuronidase and what it means for your health when it's too high, including why estrogen gets repackaged and recirculated instead of cleared
• Why short chain fatty acids are your body's natural GLP-1 activator, how fiber and resistant starch trigger their production, and what that means for weight, blood sugar, and fullness in menopause
• How cooked and cooled potatoes and rice become a completely different food for your gut bacteria, and why that matters more in perimenopause than at any other stage
• Why cruciferous vegetables contain a compound that specifically supports healthy estrogen metabolism, and how to get it from food rather than supplements
• The FUT2 gene and what it means if you're in the 20% of women whose gut literally cannot hold onto good bacteria the way it should, plus what to do about it
• Why slippery elm bark, seaweed, bone broth, and collagen might be the missing piece if you've done everything right and your gut still isn't responding
• The five mushroom blend Leah recommends specifically for perimenopause and menopause, and which function each mushroom targets

Perimenopause is not a death sentence and it is not something you just survive. But your body is asking for different support than it used to, and the gut is where most of that work starts. This episode gives you the science and the actual action steps to begin changing what's happening at the root.

Use code LEAH for 15% off at Eversio Wellness

Leah's Favorite Things: https://www.leahbrueggemann.com/favorites

—

I'm Leah Brueggemann, a Functional Diagnostic Nutritional® Practitioner and Hormone Health Coach, helping you balance your hormones in effective and realistic ways so you can live a healthier, happier life.

Through the Balance Hormones Naturally podcast, you'll discover why your cycle is so important to your everyday health and how you can use nutrition to help support the rise and fall of your hormones and finally feel truly amazing. We dig deep to understand and heal the root causes of your symptoms so you can achieve lasting results through manageable and realistic lifestyle changes, allowing you to live a healthy and balanced life without a long-term pharmaceutical prescription.

Let's connect: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/balancinghormonesnaturally/ Personal Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/leah_brueg/ Website: https://www.leahbrueggemann.com/ Email: leahbcoaching@gmail.com

—

The recommendations presented in this podcast are not a substitute for medical advice from a qualified doctor. Before making any changes to your diet and lifestyle, please consult with your healthcare provider.

If you've ever suspected mold might be behind your symptoms but pushed the thought aside because you didn't want to deal with it, this episode is going to be hard to ignore. Mold doesn't have to be a visible, soggy, obvious problem to be wrecking your health. And the good news is, you don't have to remediate your entire house to start feeling better.

In this episode I'm chatting with Brian Karr, mold inspector and co-founder of We Inspect, and we're sharing:

• Why everyone in a house can be reacting to the same mold problem but showing up with completely different symptoms, and why that actually points straight to an environmental trigger
• The pattern most people explain away as vacation relaxation that is actually one of the biggest red flags your home is making you sick
• Why mold from a leak that happened five years ago can be more dangerous now than when it was wet, and how a dried-out colony releases up to 500 times more particles into your air
• How the at-home Dust Test works and why it's often the clearest first step if you're not sure whether you have a problem
• Why inspectors using only moisture meters and infrared cameras are missing nine out of ten mold problems in the homes they walk through
• The exposure mapping method Brian uses to identify which sources are actually driving most of your exposure, so you're not staring down a list of 20 problems thinking you have to fix all of them
• The three maintenance habits that reduce what you're breathing every day, deep dust removal, medical-grade air filtration, and short air flushing windows throughout the day
• What particle size actually matters in an air filter and why a standard HEPA unit won't catch the particles that are most likely harming you
• The cheap water sensors Brian puts under every sink, both sides of the dishwasher, and around the refrigerator, and why they've saved him from two full remediations in his own home
• Why no protocol will ever fully work if the exposure is still happening, and what it actually looks like to reduce load enough that your body can start to catch up

You don't have to have a flooded basement or black mold crawling up your walls to have a problem worth addressing. Most of the issues Brian finds are invisible, dry, and completely missed by standard inspections. This episode will help you know what to look for, what to test, and how to think about your home as part of your healing, not just your health protocols.

Find Brian Karr and We Inspect:

Website: yesweinspect.com

At-home Dust Test: dusttest.com

Instagram: @moldfinders

Podcast: Mold Finders Radio

Leah’s Favorite Things: https://www.leahbrueggemann.com/favorites

🙏Thank you to Eversio Wellness for sponsoring this episode!

👉 Go to https://www.eversiowellness.com/discount/LEAH or enter code LEAH at checkout for 15% off.

—

I’m Leah Brueggemann, a Functional Diagnostic Nutritional® Practitioner and Hormone Health Coach, helping you balance your hormones in effective and realistic ways so you can live a healthier, happier life.

Through the Balance Hormones Naturally podcast, you’ll discover why your cycle is so important to your everyday health and how you can use nutrition to help support the rise and fall of your hormones and finally feel truly amazing. We dig deep to understand and heal the root causes of your symptoms so you can achieve lasting results through manageable and realistic lifestyle changes, allowing you to live a healthy and balanced life without a life-long pharmaceutical prescription.

Let’s connect:

📷 Instagram https://www.instagram.com/balancinghormonesnaturally/

🙋🏻‍♀️ Personal Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/leah_brueg/

🎥: Watch episodes on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@leahbrueggemann

🌐 Website: https://www.leahbrueggemann.com/

📧 Email: leahbcoaching@gmail.com

If you’re exhausted, relying on caffeine, and still not feeling like yourself, this episode is for you.

Because if you’re eating well but still struggling with low energy, it’s likely not about what you’re eating, it’s about what your body is actually absorbing and producing.

In this episode, I’m breaking down how your gut microbiome impacts your energy, metabolism, and overall resilience.

In this episode, I cover:

• Why your gut microbiome plays a major role in your energy levels
• How your gut bacteria turn food into usable energy for your body
• What short-chain fatty acids are and why they’re essential for energy production
• The key roles of butyrate, acetate, and propionate in metabolism and blood sugar balance
• Why symptoms like fatigue, brain fog, and crashes may point to gut dysfunction
• How your oral microbiome impacts energy through nitric oxide production
• The top foods that support your gut (like resistant starch, fiber, and polyphenols)
• Why feeding your gut bacteria is more important than just “eating healthy”
• How minerals like magnesium and potassium support digestion and energy
• Why building resilience in your body is the key to long-term, stable energy

If you’re ready to stop chasing quick fixes and start supporting your energy at the root, this episode will completely change how you think about your gut and your health.

Leah’s Favorite Things: https://www.leahbrueggemann.com/favorites

—

I’m Leah Brueggemann, a Functional Diagnostic Nutritional® Practitioner and Hormone Health Coach, helping you balance your hormones in effective and realistic ways so you can live a healthier, happier life.

Through the Balance Hormones Naturally podcast, you’ll discover why your cycle is so important to your everyday health and how you can use nutrition to help support the rise and fall of your hormones and finally feel truly amazing. We dig deep to understand and heal the root causes of your symptoms so you can achieve lasting results through manageable and realistic lifestyle changes, allowing you to live a healthy and balanced life without a life-long pharmaceutical prescription.

Let’s connect:

📷 Instagram https://www.instagram.com/balancinghormonesnaturally/

🙋🏻‍♀️ Personal Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/leah_brueg/

🎥: Watch episodes on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@leahbrueggemann

🌐 Website: https://www.leahbrueggemann.com/

📧 Email: leahbcoaching@gmail.com

In this episode, I am joined by Sarah Thompson, and we’re diving into homeopathy—what it is, how it works, and how you can actually start using it in your home with confidence.

This is one of the most requested topics, and for good reason. Homeopathy can be one of the most powerful tools to have in your medicine cabinet, especially for families.

In this episode, we cover:

• What homeopathy actually is (and how it’s completely different from supplements, herbs, or conventional medicine)
• How homeopathy works with your body’s natural healing ability instead of suppressing symptoms
• Why symptoms are actually communication from your body, not something to immediately shut down
• The concept of the “vital force” and how it guides true healing on a deeper level
• How to start using homeopathy at home, even if you’re a complete beginner
• The first remedies to keep on hand and when to use them
• Why your kids may all need different remedies for the same illness and how to start recognizing those differences
• A simple breakdown of potency (30C vs 200C) so you actually understand what you’re using
• How homeopathy can support emotional health, including anxiety and mood shifts
• The difference between acute vs. chronic healing and when to work with a practitioner

While homeopathy is an incredibly powerful tool, it’s not a replacement for the basics like nutrition, sleep, and stress management. Instead, it’s something that works with those foundations to help your body respond better.

At the end of the day, homeopathy isn’t just about remedies, it’s about learning how to listen to your body, trust what it’s telling you, and respond in a way that actually supports long-term healing.

If you’re ready to feel more calm, confident, and equipped when it comes to your family’s health, this episode is going to completely change the way you think about healing.

Sarah’s free download: https://nodrughealth.com/?l/leah

Leah’s Favorite Things: https://www.leahbrueggemann.com/favorites

🙏Thank you to Eversio Wellness for sponsoring this episode!

👉 Go to https://www.eversiowellness.com/discount/LEAH or enter code LEAH at checkout for 15% off.

—

I’m Leah Brueggemann, a Functional Diagnostic Nutritional® Practitioner and Hormone Health Coach, helping you balance your hormones in effective and realistic ways so you can live a healthier, happier life.

Through the Balance Hormones Naturally podcast, you’ll discover why your cycle is so important to your everyday health and how you can use nutrition to help support the rise and fall of your hormones and finally feel truly amazing. We dig deep to understand and heal the root causes of your symptoms so you can achieve lasting results through manageable and realistic lifestyle changes, allowing you to live a healthy and balanced life without a life-long pharmaceutical prescription.

Let’s connect:

📷 Instagram https://www.instagram.com/balancinghormonesnaturally/

🙋🏻‍♀️ Personal Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/leah_brueg/
🎥: Watch episodes on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@leahbrueggemann

🌐 Website: https://www.leahbrueggemann.com/

📧 Email: leahbcoaching@gmail.com

One of the biggest myths women are told about hormones is that low progesterone is the problem. So the solution becomes progesterone cream, bioidentical hormones, or supplements meant to “boost progesterone.” But in reality, progesterone is rarely the root issue. It’s a signal that something deeper in the body isn’t functioning properly.

In this episode, I’m breaking down what low progesterone is actually telling you about your health and why simply trying to raise progesterone often fails to solve the problem. From ovulation quality to nervous system stress and thyroid health, progesterone levels are influenced by multiple systems working together, not just one hormone.

If you struggle with PMS, mood swings before your period, spotting, painful cycles, infertility, or short cycles, understanding the root causes of low progesterone can completely change how you approach healing.

In this episode, I cover:

• The common symptoms that often point to low progesterone
• Why progesterone is a signal of deeper hormone dysfunction—not the root problem
• How ovulation quality directly determines progesterone production
• The role egg quality and nutrient status play in hormone balance
• Why digestion and nutrient absorption impact reproductive hormones
• How chronic stress and nervous system dysregulation suppress progesterone
• Why your body deprioritizes reproduction when it feels unsafe or overwhelmed
• The connection between thyroid health and ovulation signaling
• Why minerals play a critical role in hormone production and balance
• Why testing and individualized support matter more than guessing with supplements

Your hormones don’t work in isolation. When one system becomes dysregulated, the entire hormonal “orchestra” can fall out of tune. The key to restoring progesterone isn’t just boosting a hormone, it’s addressing the deeper root causes that allow your body to produce it naturally.

If you’ve been chasing hormone fixes that never seem to work long-term, this episode will help you understand what your body may actually need.

Leah’s Favorite Things: https://www.leahbrueggemann.com/favorites

🙏 Thank you to Paleovalley for sponsoring this episode!

👉 Go to https://paleovalley.com/leah and enter code LEAH at checkout for 15% off.

—

I’m Leah Brueggemann, a Functional Diagnostic Nutritional® Practitioner and Hormone Health Coach, helping you balance your hormones in effective and realistic ways so you can live a healthier, happier life.

Through the Balance Hormones Naturally podcast, you’ll discover why your cycle is so important to your everyday health and how you can use nutrition to help support the rise and fall of your hormones and finally feel truly amazing. We dig deep to understand and heal the root causes of your symptoms so you can achieve lasting results through manageable and realistic lifestyle changes, allowing you to live a healthy and balanced life without a life-long pharmaceutical prescription.

Let’s connect:

📷 Instagram https://www.instagram.com/balancinghormonesnaturally/

🙋🏻‍♀️ Personal Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/leah_brueg/
🎥: Watch episodes on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@leahbrueggemann

🌐 Website: https://www.leahbrueggemann.com/

📧 Email: leahbcoaching@gmail.com

In this episode, I’m chatting with Kaitlyn York, a coach inside the Hormone Reset Program, to share the real story behind Kaitlyn’s hormone, skin, and mindset transformation.

Kaitlyn opens up about the long journey that started with stubborn acne, birth control struggles, and trying every product and supplement imaginable, only to realize that true healing required going deeper into the foundations of her health. From balancing blood sugar and supporting detox pathways to eventually uncovering gut imbalances through functional testing, Kaitlyn explains why healing skin and hormones is often a long game that requires patience and consistency.

If you’ve ever struggled with skin issues, hormone symptoms, or feeling stuck in unhealthy thought patterns, this episode pulls back the curtain on the deeper layers of healing.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• Why skin healing often takes years—not weeks—and why that’s normal
• The foundational habits that support hormone balance long-term
• Why supplements alone rarely solve chronic skin or hormone issues
• How gut health, liver support, and blood sugar balance affect acne
• The role alcohol and lifestyle habits can play in skin and hormone health
• How NLP and subconscious beliefs influence health behaviors
• Why emotional regulation and nervous system safety are essential for healing
• How changing your inner dialogue can shift long-term health outcomes

True healing isn’t about quick fixes, it’s about building sustainable habits, addressing root causes, and learning to work with your body and mind for the long term.

Leah’s Favorite Things: https://www.leahbrueggemann.com/favorites

🙏Thank you to Eversio Wellness for sponsoring this episode!

👉 Go to https://www.eversiowellness.com/discount/LEAH or enter code LEAH at checkout for 15% off.

—

I’m Leah Brueggemann, a Functional Diagnostic Nutritional® Practitioner and Hormone Health Coach, helping you balance your hormones in effective and realistic ways so you can live a healthier, happier life.

Through the Balance Hormones Naturally podcast, you’ll discover why your cycle is so important to your everyday health and how you can use nutrition to help support the rise and fall of your hormones and finally feel truly amazing. We dig deep to understand and heal the root causes of your symptoms so you can achieve lasting results through manageable and realistic lifestyle changes, allowing you to live a healthy and balanced life without a life-long pharmaceutical prescription.

Let’s connect:

📷 Instagram https://www.instagram.com/balancinghormonesnaturally/

🙋🏻‍♀️ Personal Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/leah_brueg/
🎥: Watch episodes on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@leahbrueggemann

🌐 Website: https://www.leahbrueggemann.com/

📧 Email: leahbcoaching@gmail.com

If you’re constantly “starting over” on Monday, buying the next planner, trying the next supplement, or looking for the next diet that will finally fix everything, this episode is for you. The problem isn’t discipline. It isn’t laziness. And it’s not that you haven’t found the right plan yet. The real reason you keep stopping and restarting has everything to do with your nervous system and subconscious patterns.

In this episode, I’m breaking down why willpower isn’t the solution, and what actually creates lasting change.

I'm covering:

• Why your brain’s #1 job is survival and how that quietly sabotages change
• The real reason you’re great at starting but struggle to maintain or finish
• How your subconscious patterns run 90% of your habits (and why affirmations alone don’t work)
• Why your nervous system chooses familiar discomfort over unfamiliar healing
• The connection between thoughts, emotions, and actual hormone chemistry
• Why you can’t hate your body into health and how negative self-talk keeps you stuck
• The identity shift that has to happen before consistency becomes natural
• How dysregulation fuels procrastination, cravings, scrolling, and self-sabotage
• The difference between forcing change vs. creating emotional safety around it
• A simple nervous system regulation pattern you can use immediately to interrupt old habits

If you feel like you’re stuck in an endless cycle of “on track” and “off track,” this episode will completely reframe what’s happening. Healing isn’t about trying harder, it’s about teaching your body that change is safe.

Leah’s Favorite Things: https://www.leahbrueggemann.com/favorites

🙏 Thank you to Paleovalley for sponsoring this episode!

👉 Go to https://paleovalley.com/leah and enter code LEAH at checkout for 15% off.

—

I’m Leah Brueggemann, a Functional Diagnostic Nutritional® Practitioner and Hormone Health Coach, helping you balance your hormones in effective and realistic ways so you can live a healthier, happier life.

Through the Balance Hormones Naturally podcast, you’ll discover why your cycle is so important to your everyday health and how you can use nutrition to help support the rise and fall of your hormones and finally feel truly amazing. We dig deep to understand and heal the root causes of your symptoms so you can achieve lasting results through manageable and realistic lifestyle changes, allowing you to live a healthy and balanced life without a life-long pharmaceutical prescription.

Let’s connect:

📷 Instagram https://www.instagram.com/balancinghormonesnaturally/

🙋🏻‍♀️ Personal Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/leah_brueg/
🎥: Watch episodes on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@leahbrueggemann

🌐 Website: https://www.leahbrueggemann.com/

📧 Email: leahbcoaching@gmail.com

In this episode, I’m joined by Katie, one of our Hormone Reset Program coaches, whose journey is a powerful reminder that you don’t have to accept feeling miserable in your body as “normal.” Katie opens up about her experience with painful periods, constant fatigue, blood sugar crashes, and relying on caffeine just to get through the day, and how discovering the root causes of her symptoms completely changed her health and her life.

As a coach, Katie shares how her own transformation fuels her passion to help other women find answers, restore their energy, and finally feel confident and in control of their bodies. Her story is proof that healing is possible when you have the right guidance, support, and tools.

In this episode, we talk about:
 • Katie’s personal struggle with painful cycles, fatigue, and low energy
 • Why so many women think their symptoms are “normal”
 • The turning point that led her to the Hormone Reset Program
 • How balancing blood sugar transformed her daily energy and wellbeing
 • What inspired her to become a coach and help other women heal
 • The power of personalized support and accountability in your health journey

If you’ve ever felt stuck, exhausted, or frustrated with your body, this episode will remind you that change is possible, and you don’t have to do it alone.

Leah’s Favorite Things: https://www.leahbrueggemann.com/favorites

—

I’m Leah Brueggemann, a Functional Diagnostic Nutritional® Practitioner and Hormone Health Coach, helping you balance your hormones in effective and realistic ways so you can live a healthier, happier life.

Through the Balance Hormones Naturally podcast, you’ll discover why your cycle is so important to your everyday health and how you can use nutrition to help support the rise and fall of your hormones and finally feel truly amazing. We dig deep to understand and heal the root causes of your symptoms so you can achieve lasting results through manageable and realistic lifestyle changes, allowing you to live a healthy and balanced life without a life-long pharmaceutical prescription.

Let’s connect:

📷 Instagram https://www.instagram.com/balancinghormonesnaturally/

🙋🏻‍♀️ Personal Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/leah_brueg/

🌐 Website: https://www.leahbrueggemann.com/

📧 Email: leahbcoaching@gmail.com

If you feel like you’re doing everything right (eating well, taking supplements, supporting your hormones) but you still don’t feel better or can’t stay consistent, this episode may explain why. The missing piece for so many women isn’t another protocol. It’s brain rewiring. Your nervous system and subconscious patterns directly control your hormones, digestion, inflammation, and stress response, and until those patterns shift, your body will stay stuck in survival mode.

In this episode, I’m breaking down:

• What brain rewiring actually is and why it’s not “woo,” but rooted in neuroscience
• The difference between calming your nervous system temporarily vs. truly regulating and rewiring it
• How your subconscious brain runs patterns that control cortisol, blood sugar, ovulation, thyroid function, digestion, and inflammation
• Why your brain acts like a prediction machine and how past experiences shape your current hormone responses
• How chronic fight-or-flight keeps your body stuck prioritizing survival over healing, reproduction, and repair
• Why no supplement, diet, or protocol can override a nervous system that feels unsafe
• How language, identity, and internal beliefs directly impact hormone outcomes
• The concept of “pattern interruption” and how changing your response in the moment rewires your physiology
• Real client examples of reduced IBS flares, inflammation, and stress symptoms through nervous system rewiring
• Why brain rewiring is about teaching your body safety not eliminating stress completely

Your symptoms are not random and they’re not just physical. They’re the result of patterns your nervous system has learned over time. When you interrupt those patterns and teach your brain that it’s safe, your body can finally shift out of survival mode and into healing mode.

This episode will help you understand why brain rewiring is one of the most powerful tools for hormone healing and how reclaiming control of your nervous system allows your body to finally do what it was designed to do.

Leah’s Favorite Things: https://www.leahbrueggemann.com/favorites

🙏Thank you to Eversio Wellness for sponsoring this episode!

👉 Go to https://www.eversiowellness.com/discount/LEAH or enter code LEAH at checkout for 15% off.

—

I’m Leah Brueggemann, a Functional Diagnostic Nutritional® Practitioner and Hormone Health Coach, helping you balance your hormones in effective and realistic ways so you can live a healthier, happier life.

Through the Balance Hormones Naturally podcast, you’ll discover why your cycle is so important to your everyday health and how you can use nutrition to help support the rise and fall of your hormones and finally feel truly amazing. We dig deep to understand and heal the root causes of your symptoms so you can achieve lasting results through manageable and realistic lifestyle changes, allowing you to live a healthy and balanced life without a life-long pharmaceutical prescription.

Let’s connect:

📷 Instagram https://www.instagram.com/balancinghormonesnaturally/

🙋🏻‍♀️ Personal Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/leah_brueg/

🌐 Website: https://www.leahbrueggemann.com/

📧 Email: leahbcoaching@gmail.com

If you’re dealing with painful periods, low energy, mood swings, acne, and bloating, and feel like nothing you try actually sticks, this episode is for you. In today’s episode, I’m walking you through a real client case study to show how hormone symptoms don’t exist in isolation. When cycles are debilitating and energy is gone, it’s almost never about just one hormone, it’s about foundations, minerals, digestion, and nervous system safety.

In this episode, I’m sharing:

• Why we always start with foundations before supplements or protocols and what “stabilize before you heal” really means
• How blood sugar balance, stress capacity, circadian rhythm, digestion, and drainage pathways set the stage for hormone repair
• What this client’s Hair Tissue Mineral Analysis (HTMA) revealed and why high copper paired with low adrenal minerals often shows up with painful periods and acne
• How low sodium, potassium, magnesium, manganese, and zinc explain chronic exhaustion, mood issues, and poor digestion
• Why weak adrenals can’t properly transport copper and how that creates hormone and skin symptoms
• The critical link between nervous system regulation, mindset, and consistency and why this became the turning point in her healing
• Why digestion sometimes doesn’t improve with minerals alone and how we decide when to dig deeper
• What her GI-MAP revealed, including low-level H. pylori, low stomach acid, weakened gut immunity, and early inflammatory markers
• How addressing gut infections, rebuilding keystone bacteria, and supporting stomach acid changed everything
• Why personalized testing matters and why no two protocols should ever look the same

The result? Pain-free periods, more energy, clearer skin, improved digestion, and a regular cycle without chasing random supplements or masking symptoms. This episode is a powerful reminder that your body isn’t broken, it’s communicating. When you support it in the right order, healing becomes not only possible, but sustainable.

If you’ve ever wondered whether testing, foundations, or a personalized approach could finally help you feel better, this episode will connect the dots in a way you haven’t heard before.

Leah’s Favorite Things: https://www.leahbrueggemann.com/favorites

—

I’m Leah Brueggemann, a Functional Diagnostic Nutritional® Practitioner and Hormone Health Coach, helping you balance your hormones in effective and realistic ways so you can live a healthier, happier life.

Through the Balance Hormones Naturally podcast, you’ll discover why your cycle is so important to your everyday health and how you can use nutrition to help support the rise and fall of your hormones and finally feel truly amazing. We dig deep to understand and heal the root causes of your symptoms so you can achieve lasting results through manageable and realistic lifestyle changes, allowing you to live a healthy and balanced life without a life-long pharmaceutical prescription.

Let’s connect:

📷 Instagram https://www.instagram.com/balancinghormonesnaturally/

🙋🏻‍♀️ Personal Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/leah_brueg/
🎥: Watch episodes on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@leahbrueggemann

🌐 Website: https://www.leahbrueggemann.com/

📧 Email: leahbcoaching@gmail.com

If you’ve been told you have estrogen dominance and your instinct has been to detox harder, cut more foods, or throw every estrogen-lowering supplement at the problem, this episode is for you. Estrogen dominance does not automatically mean you have too much estrogen, and aggressively trying to lower it often makes symptoms worse. In this episode, I’m breaking down what estrogen dominance actually is, why it’s more about clearance than production, and how to support your body without pushing it into burnout.

In this episode I’m sharing:

• What estrogen dominance really means and why your estrogen labs can look “normal” or even low
• How estrogen is supposed to rise and fall across your cycle and where things break down
• Why low progesterone often masquerades as “high estrogen” symptoms
• How impaired drainage (not detox) creates a hormone traffic jam
• The overlooked role of copper dysregulation in estrogen-heavy symptoms like breast tenderness and PMS
• Common estrogen-dominant symptoms: heavy or painful periods, PMS, migraines, anxiety, weight gain, and sleep issues
• Why DIM, calcium d-glucarate, fasting, and aggressive detox can backfire
• How liver detox actually works (phase 1 vs phase 2) and why protein and amino acids are non-negotiable
• Why you can’t detox what you can’t eliminate, and the importance of pooping, peeing, sweating, and breathing
• The gut–estrogen connection, including beta-glucuronidase and how low fiber leads to estrogen recirculation
• Simple food-based supports: cruciferous veggies, flaxseed, berries, citrus, bitters, garlic, onions, and a daily carrot
• How to increase fiber slowly without bloating and when digestive enzymes help

Hormone balance isn’t about forcing detox it’s about building capacity. When drainage pathways are open, minerals are supported, digestion is working, and fiber intake is consistent, estrogen can finally move the way it’s meant to. This episode will help you stop fighting your hormones and start supporting them in a way that actually creates relief.

If you’re ready to move beyond symptom-chasing and understand what your body is really asking for, this episode gives you a clear place to start.

Leah’s Favorite Things: https://www.leahbrueggemann.com/favorites

🙏 Thank you to Paleovalley for sponsoring this episode!

👉 Go to https://paleovalley.com/leah and enter code LEAH at checkout for 15% off.

—

I’m Leah Brueggemann, a Functional Diagnostic Nutritional® Practitioner and Hormone Health Coach, helping you balance your hormones in effective and realistic ways so you can live a healthier, happier life.

Through the Balance Hormones Naturally podcast, you’ll discover why your cycle is so important to your everyday health and how you can use nutrition to help support the rise and fall of your hormones and finally feel truly amazing. We dig deep to understand and heal the root causes of your symptoms so you can achieve lasting results through manageable and realistic lifestyle changes, allowing you to live a healthy and balanced life without a life-long pharmaceutical prescription.

Let’s connect:

📷 Instagram https://www.instagram.com/balancinghormonesnaturally/

🙋🏻‍♀️ Personal Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/leah_brueg/
🎥: Watch episodes on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@leahbrueggemann

🌐 Website: https://www.leahbrueggemann.com/

📧 Email: leahbcoaching@gmail.com

If you’ve been trying to get pregnant, have very irregular cycles, a history of long-term birth control use, and a high-stress lifestyle, this episode is for you. In this episode, I’m walking you through a real fertility case study to show what’s possible when we stop chasing quick fixes and instead support the body as a whole. This client’s story is a powerful reminder that fertility challenges aren’t always complex — but they do require the right foundations.

In this episode, I take you through:

• Why coming off birth control without proper nutrient replenishment often leads to irregular or missing ovulation
• How chronic stress and a “go-go-go” lifestyle quietly suppress ovulation and fertility
• Why we started with a hair tissue mineral analysis (HTMA) instead of running endless labs
• What mineral patterns like low sodium, potassium, magnesium, and high calcium tell us about adrenals, thyroid, and cellular stress
• The role of zinc, copper, and mineral balance in ovulation, egg quality, estrogen, and progesterone
• Why low detox capacity doesn’t mean you should push detox, and how doing so can backfire
• How supporting digestion improves mineral absorption and hormone signaling
• Why fertility work must include both partners, not just the woman

I also share how we approached her retest and what changed:

• How improving cellular vitality allowed her body to begin detoxing safely
• Why retesting labs uncovers the next layer of healing instead of guessing
• How nervous system support, habit-building, and letting go of perfection became a turning point
• Why fertility healing isn’t about forcing results, but creating safety, nourishment, and resilience

Just weeks after her retest, this client became pregnant, not through aggressive protocols, but through steady replenishment, stress reduction, and foundational support. This episode is meant to educate, encourage, and remind you that your body is not broken. With the right support, timing, and patience, fertility can return, often more simply than you’ve been led to believe.

If you’re navigating fertility challenges and want to understand why your body is responding the way it is, this episode will help you see the bigger picture and where to start.

Leah’s Favorite Things: https://www.leahbrueggemann.com/favorites

—

I’m Leah Brueggemann, a Functional Diagnostic Nutritional® Practitioner and Hormone Health Coach, helping you balance your hormones in effective and realistic ways so you can live a healthier, happier life.

Through the Balance Hormones Naturally podcast, you’ll discover why your cycle is so important to your everyday health and how you can use nutrition to help support the rise and fall of your hormones and finally feel truly amazing. We dig deep to understand and heal the root causes of your symptoms so you can achieve lasting results through manageable and realistic lifestyle changes, allowing you to live a healthy and balanced life without a life-long pharmaceutical prescription.

Let’s connect:

📷 Instagram https://www.instagram.com/balancinghormonesnaturally/

🙋🏻‍♀️ Personal Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/leah_brueg/
🎥: Watch episodes on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@leahbrueggemann

🌐 Website: https://www.leahbrueggemann.com/

📧 Email: leahbcoaching@gmail.com

For this episode, I was a guest on my good friend Brigitta’s Borinstein’s podcast Motherhood Equipped, where we discussed:

• Why hormones are messengers, not the root problem—and what actually needs support first
• The biggest mistakes women make when trying to “balance hormones” postpartum
• How blood sugar instability drives anxiety, rage, fatigue, and sleep issues
• Why pregnancy and breastfeeding are deeply mineral-depleting—and which minerals matter most
• The truth about electrolytes vs. true mineral repletion
• How cortisol, progesterone, estrogen, and insulin are all interconnected
• Why liver support plays a massive role in mood, skin, and cycle recovery after birth
• What the fourth trimester really asks of your body—and why rushing recovery backfires

We also end with a fun little rapid-fire questionnaire, answering common hormonal questions. This was such a fun interview, and full of so many nuggets and insights.

Leah’s Favorite Things: https://www.leahbrueggemann.com/favorites

🙏Thank you to Eversio Wellness for sponsoring this episode!

👉 Go to https://www.eversiowellness.com/discount/LEAH or enter code LEAH at checkout for 15% off.

—

I’m Leah Brueggemann, a Functional Diagnostic Nutritional® Practitioner and Hormone Health Coach, helping you balance your hormones in effective and realistic ways so you can live a healthier, happier life.

Through the Balance Hormones Naturally podcast, you’ll discover why your cycle is so important to your everyday health and how you can use nutrition to help support the rise and fall of your hormones and finally feel truly amazing. We dig deep to understand and heal the root causes of your symptoms so you can achieve lasting results through manageable and realistic lifestyle changes, allowing you to live a healthy and balanced life without a life-long pharmaceutical prescription.

Let’s connect:

📷 Instagram https://www.instagram.com/balancinghormonesnaturally/

🙋🏻‍♀️ Personal Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/leah_brueg/

🌐 Website: https://www.leahbrueggemann.com/

📧 Email: leahbcoaching@gmail.com

If you’re exhausted but can’t fall asleep, wake up wired in the middle of the night, or feel like you’ve tried everything with no success, this episode is for you.

In this episode, I’m breaking down the real reasons sleep struggles happen and exactly how to fix them using simple, practical sleep hygiene strategies that actually work. This isn’t about a perfect nighttime routine, it’s about training your brain and body to finally feel safe enough to rest.

In this episode, I cover:

• Why sleep is a learned neurological response, and how stress trains your brain to stay awake
• The biggest mistake people make with bedtime routines
• How blood sugar, cortisol, melatonin, and insulin all affect your ability to fall and stay asleep
• Why your wake time matters more than your bedtime
• The connection between late eating and poor sleep
• How to build a realistic nighttime routine that supports deep rest
• What to do if you’re wired but exhausted
• Simple changes that can dramatically improve your sleep in 7–14 days

If you’re ready to stop fighting your body at night and finally experience deep, restorative sleep, this episode will completely shift how you approach rest.

Leah’s Favorite Things: https://www.leahbrueggemann.com/favorites

—

I’m Leah Brueggemann, a Functional Diagnostic Nutritional® Practitioner and Hormone Health Coach, helping you balance your hormones in effective and realistic ways so you can live a healthier, happier life.

Through the Balance Hormones Naturally podcast, you’ll discover why your cycle is so important to your everyday health and how you can use nutrition to help support the rise and fall of your hormones and finally feel truly amazing. We dig deep to understand and heal the root causes of your symptoms so you can achieve lasting results through manageable and realistic lifestyle changes, allowing you to live a healthy and balanced life without a life-long pharmaceutical prescription.

Let’s connect:

📷 Instagram https://www.instagram.com/balancinghormonesnaturally/

🙋🏻‍♀️ Personal Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/leah_brueg/

🌐 Website: https://www.leahbrueggemann.com/

📧 Email: leahbcoaching@gmail.com

If you’ve been told your labs are “normal” but you still feel exhausted, bloated, moody, anxious, crampy, or completely off in your cycle, this episode is for you. Normal labs do not mean optimal hormones. And they definitely don’t mean nothing is wrong. Most women are living in the gray zone: not sick enough for medication, but not healthy enough to feel good. In this episode, I’m breaking down what balanced hormones actually look like, why lab ranges are misleading, and how to understand what your body is truly asking for.

In this episode I’m sharing:

• Why normal lab ranges does not mean optimal hormone function, and how conventional ranges are built around disease, not wellness
• The difference between conventional vs functional lab ranges, and why tighter ranges matter for symptom-free living
• Why TSH alone is not a full picture of thyroid health, and what T3, T4, antibodies, gut health, and liver function reveal
• How nutrient deficiencies and poor conversion drive fatigue, PMS, weight gain, and hair loss before labs flag a problem
• Why your doctor isn’t necessarily wrong, but is limited by insurance, time constraints, and pharmaceutical-based training
• How hormones actually work together through the hormone cascade, and why fixing just one hormone rarely solves symptoms
• The connection between cortisol, progesterone, estrogen, testosterone, thyroid hormones, and inflammation
• Why stress, blood sugar crashes, mineral depletion, and liver overload disrupt hormone flow
• What truly balanced hormones feel like: predictable cycles, stable energy, calm moods, good sleep, healthy digestion, and resilience
• The foundational steps that support hormone balance naturally: blood sugar stability, mineral replenishment, liver support, gut health, and nervous system regulation

Your symptoms are not random, they’re communication. You deserve more than being told “everything looks fine” when your body is clearly asking for support. This episode will help you understand how hormones really work, why labs often miss the bigger picture, and how to start building true hormone balance so you can finally feel like yourself again.

Leah’s Favorite Things: https://www.leahbrueggemann.com/favorites

🙏 Thank you to Paleovalley for sponsoring this episode!

👉 Go to https://paleovalley.com/leah and enter code LEAH at checkout for 15% off.

—

I’m Leah Brueggemann, a Functional Diagnostic Nutritional® Practitioner and Hormone Health Coach, helping you balance your hormones in effective and realistic ways so you can live a healthier, happier life.

Through the Balance Hormones Naturally podcast, you’ll discover why your cycle is so important to your everyday health and how you can use nutrition to help support the rise and fall of your hormones and finally feel truly amazing. We dig deep to understand and heal the root causes of your symptoms so you can achieve lasting results through manageable and realistic lifestyle changes, allowing you to live a healthy and balanced life without a life-long pharmaceutical prescription.

Let’s connect:

📷 Instagram https://www.instagram.com/balancinghormonesnaturally/

🙋🏻‍♀️ Personal Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/leah_brueg/

🌐 Website: https://www.leahbrueggemann.com/

📧 Email: leahbcoaching@gmail.com

If you’re dealing with heavy or clotted periods, intense PMS, breast tenderness, migraines around your cycle, bloating before your period, or feeling overly emotional, anxious, or wired, you’re going to want to listen to this episode. Estrogen is not the enemy. In fact, we need estrogen for ovulation, bone health, insulin sensitivity, and brain function. The problem starts when estrogen is too high, not clearing properly, or overpowering progesterone. This episode will help you understand what your symptoms are actually telling you, and where to start.

In this episode I’m sharing: 

• The 7 most common signs of high estrogen, including heavy bleeding, short cycles, breast tenderness, PMS, migraines, and more
• Why high estrogen almost always goes hand-in-hand with low progesterone (and why you can’t look at one without the other)
• How estrogen increases histamine activity, leading to anxiety, insomnia, nausea, rage, and premenstrual mood swings
• Why migraines around ovulation or before your period are often tied to estrogen fluctuations and inflammation
• How stress, alcohol, and lack of sleep worsen estrogen symptoms by slowing liver detoxification
• The difference between high estrogen vs. estrogen dominance and why labs can look “normal” while symptoms are anything but
• How copper imbalance can make estrogen feel stronger even when blood levels are normal
• Why gut health matters, including the role of beta-glucuronidase in estrogen recirculation
• Where to start naturally: blood sugar balance, fiber intake, liver support, bitters, vitamin C, and reducing endocrine disruptors

Estrogen doesn’t work in isolation. When progesterone, liver detox, gut health, minerals, and blood sugar aren’t supported, estrogen symptoms show up loud and clear. This episode will help you recognize the signs of high estrogen, understand what’s driving them, and take practical steps toward calmer moods, lighter periods, and more balanced hormones.

Leah’s Favorite Things: https://www.leahbrueggemann.com/favorites

—

I’m Leah Brueggemann, a Functional Diagnostic Nutritional® Practitioner and Hormone Health Coach, helping you balance your hormones in effective and realistic ways so you can live a healthier, happier life.

Through the Balance Hormones Naturally podcast, you’ll discover why your cycle is so important to your everyday health and how you can use nutrition to help support the rise and fall of your hormones and finally feel truly amazing. We dig deep to understand and heal the root causes of your symptoms so you can achieve lasting results through manageable and realistic lifestyle changes, allowing you to live a healthy and balanced life without a life-long pharmaceutical prescription.

Let’s connect:

📷 Instagram https://www.instagram.com/balancinghormonesnaturally/

🙋🏻‍♀️ Personal Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/leah_brueg/

🌐 Website: https://www.leahbrueggemann.com/

📧 Email: leahbcoaching@gmail.com

If you’ve been diagnosed with ADHD (or strongly resonate with it) and feel like you’re constantly hitting an invisible wall—knowing what to do but unable to follow through—this episode is for you. ADHD doesn’t mean you’re broken, lazy, or incapable. And it doesn’t mean medication is your only option. In this conversation, Gaia Broda and myself are reframing ADHD away from a life sentence and into something far more empowering: information you can use to take your power back.

In this episode we’re sharing:

• Why so many women are being diagnosed with ADHD later in life, and what’s actually driving the rise
• How identifying as your diagnosis quietly gives your power away (even when it feels validating)
• The Core Four pillars for managing ADHD naturally: movement, nutrition, nervous system regulation, and sleep
• Why knowing the strategies isn’t the problem, and what’s really stopping follow-through
• How blood sugar crashes, dopamine chasing, and nervous system dysregulation fuel procrastination and overwhelm
• Why reaching for sugar, scrolling, or avoidance isn’t a character flaw, but a signal
• The role of self-worth, agency, and subconscious beliefs in ADHD symptoms
• How hypnosis and subconscious work help rewire the patterns that keep you stuck
• Why ADHD brains often come with powerful “zones of genius” and how society teaches us to ignore them
• Where to actually start if you’re at rock bottom vs. already “managing but not thriving”

An ADHD diagnosis can be a permission slip, not an identity. ADHD doesn’t get to decide what’s possible for you. When you stop outsourcing your power to labels, hacks, or medication alone and start building agency, nervous system safety, and supportive foundations, you can move from surviving to truly thriving. This episode will help you see your brain differently, reclaim your worth, and start working with how you’re wired instead of against it.

Connect with Gaia:
Beyond Meds Podcast Spotify | YouTube 

15 Minute ADHD Morning Routine: https://bit.ly/dopaminedetoxtraining

Biohacking ADHD Membership: https://bit.ly/awcbiohackingmembership

LinkedIn

www.gaiabroda.com

—

Leah’s Favorite Things: https://www.leahbrueggemann.com/favorites

🙏Thank you to Eversio Wellness for sponsoring this episode!

👉 Go to https://www.eversiowellness.com/discount/LEAH or enter code LEAH at checkout for 15% off.

—

I’m Leah Brueggemann, a Functional Diagnostic Nutritional® Practitioner and Hormone Health Coach, helping you balance your hormones in effective and realistic ways so you can live a healthier, happier life.

Through the Balance Hormones Naturally podcast, you’ll discover why your cycle is so important to your everyday health and how you can use nutrition to help support the rise and fall of your hormones and finally feel truly amazing. We dig deep to understand and heal the root causes of your symptoms so you can achieve lasting results through manageable and realistic lifestyle changes, allowing you to live a healthy and balanced life without a life-long pharmaceutical prescription.

Let’s connect:

📷 Instagram https://www.instagram.com/balancinghormonesnaturally/

🙋🏻‍♀️ Personal Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/leah_brueg/

🌐 Website: https://www.leahbrueggemann.com/

📧 Email: leahbcoaching@gmail.com

If you’re bloated, constipated, dealing with PMS, or feeling like your hormones are off and you don’t know where to start, this episode is for you. Hormone balance doesn’t come from juice cleanses, cutting more foods, or chasing the “perfect” diet. It comes from giving your body the raw materials it actually needs to build, detoxify, and regulate hormones properly. In this episode, I’m breaking down the foundational foods every woman needs to support hormone balance, without extremes.

In this episode I’m sharing:

• Why hormones don’t work in isolation, and why gut health, liver detox, and blood sugar must be supported first
• How soluble fiber (like carrots, beets, apples, and cruciferous veggies) binds excess estrogen and supports detox
• Why many women feel worse before their period when estrogen isn’t clearing properly
• The truth about animal products and why they’re critical for minerals, protein, and hormone production
• How long-term vegan or restrictive diets often lead to mineral depletion and hormone symptoms
• Why saturated fat (butter, ghee, coconut oil) is essential for progesterone and cortisol production
• The role of carbohydrates in ovulation, progesterone, thyroid conversion (T4 → T3), and microbiome health
• Why keto and extreme carb restriction often backfire for women’s hormones
• How bitters (arugula, dandelion greens, beets, digestive bitters) stimulate bile flow and estrogen detox
• What to do if fiber makes you bloated, and why that doesn’t mean you should avoid it
• Why juice cleanses don’t support hormone balance and often worsen blood sugar and liver stress

Hormone balance isn’t about doing more, it’s about supporting the basics consistently. When digestion, liver detox, minerals, protein, fat, and carbohydrates are in place, hormones naturally regulate more easily. This episode will help you simplify your approach, stop chasing quick fixes, and start nourishing your body in a way that actually supports long-term hormone health.

Leah’s Favorite Things: https://www.leahbrueggemann.com/favorites

—

I’m Leah Brueggemann, a Functional Diagnostic Nutritional® Practitioner and Hormone Health Coach, helping you balance your hormones in effective and realistic ways so you can live a healthier, happier life.

Through the Balance Hormones Naturally podcast, you’ll discover why your cycle is so important to your everyday health and how you can use nutrition to help support the rise and fall of your hormones and finally feel truly amazing. We dig deep to understand and heal the root causes of your symptoms so you can achieve lasting results through manageable and realistic lifestyle changes, allowing you to live a healthy and balanced life without a life-long pharmaceutical prescription.

Let’s connect:
📷 Instagram https://www.instagram.com/balancinghormonesnaturally/
🙋🏻‍♀️ Personal Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/leah_brueg/
🌐 Website: https://www.leahbrueggemann.com/
📧 Email: leahbcoaching@gmail.com

If you’re getting 7–8 hours of sleep and still waking up exhausted, this episode is for you.

I used to sleep 10+ hours and still feel completely drained. Now, as a mom of three getting far less sleep, I have more energy than I ever did before. In this episode, I’m breaking down why “more sleep” isn’t the answer,  and what actually restores your energy.

In this episode, I cover:

• Why chasing sleep instead of daytime energy is keeping you stuck
• How your morning routine directly impacts your nighttime sleep
• The hidden role blood sugar crashes play in fatigue, anxiety, and 2–4am wake-ups
• Why minerals like magnesium, sodium, and potassium are non-negotiable for energy
• The difference between stimulation (caffeine, pre-workout, pushing through) and true restoration
• How to adjust movement, caffeine, and nervous system work based on whether you’re wired or shut down
• What your cycle, progesterone, and cortisol patterns can tell you about your fatigue
• Simple food, lifestyle, and supplement supports for both energy and sleep

If you’re tired of relying on caffeine, crashing every afternoon, or feeling wired but exhausted at night, this episode will help you start working with your body instead of fighting it.

Leah’s Favorite Things: https://www.leahbrueggemann.com/favorites

🙏 Thank you to Paleovalley for sponsoring this episode!

👉 Go to https://paleovalley.com/leah and enter code LEAH at checkout for 15% off.

—

I’m Leah Brueggemann, a Functional Diagnostic Nutritional® Practitioner and Hormone Health Coach, helping you balance your hormones in effective and realistic ways so you can live a healthier, happier life.

Through the Balance Hormones Naturally podcast, you’ll discover why your cycle is so important to your everyday health and how you can use nutrition to help support the rise and fall of your hormones and finally feel truly amazing. We dig deep to understand and heal the root causes of your symptoms so you can achieve lasting results through manageable and realistic lifestyle changes, allowing you to live a healthy and balanced life without a life-long pharmaceutical prescription.

Let’s connect:

📷 Instagram https://www.instagram.com/balancinghormonesnaturally/

🙋🏻‍♀️ Personal Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/leah_brueg/

🌐 Website: https://www.leahbrueggemann.com/

📧 Email: leahbcoaching@gmail.com

If you’re struggling with anxiety, poor sleep, restless legs, blood sugar crashes, muscle tension, or feeling constantly wired and depleted, especially during pregnancy or postpartum, this episode is for you. Magnesium is one of the most overlooked and under-consumed minerals for women, yet it’s involved in hundreds of critical processes in the body. And here’s the kicker: most women are deficient without ever being told. In this episode, I’m breaking down why magnesium matters so much, how to choose the right form, and why lab work often misses the real problem.

In this episode I’m sharing:

• Why over 78% of women are magnesium deficient, and why pregnancy and postpartum increase your needs even more
• The reason blood tests don’t accurately reflect magnesium status 
• How magnesium supports sleep, anxiety, blood sugar regulation, insulin sensitivity, muscle relaxation, and nervous system calm
• Why magnesium is essential for using vitamin D, and how deficiencies stack on top of each other
• The difference between magnesium citrate vs. glycinate vs. malate (and why citrate isn’t my go-to for most women)
• Why relying on food alone often isn’t enough due to depleted soil and digestive absorption issues
• How potassium-rich foods (avocados, coconut water, nettle tea) help your body use magnesium better
• The role of vitamin B6 and boron in magnesium utilization
• Why supplement quality matters, and what to look for in brands (no fillers, heavy metal testing, arsenic awareness)
• How to safely think about magnesium during pregnancy and postpartum, including topical options and individualized dosing

Magnesium isn’t just a nice-to-have supplement, it’s foundational. When this mineral is low, everything feels harder: sleep, stress, blood sugar, mood, and recovery. This episode will help you understand why magnesium deficiency is so common, how it shows up in everyday symptoms, and how to support your body wisely, especially during seasons of higher demand like pregnancy, postpartum, and chronic stress.

Leah’s Favorite Things: https://www.leahbrueggemann.com/favorites

—

I’m Leah Brueggemann, a Functional Diagnostic Nutritional® Practitioner and Hormone Health Coach, helping you balance your hormones in effective and realistic ways so you can live a healthier, happier life.

Through the Balance Hormones Naturally podcast, you’ll discover why your cycle is so important to your everyday health and how you can use nutrition to help support the rise and fall of your hormones and finally feel truly amazing. We dig deep to understand and heal the root causes of your symptoms so you can achieve lasting results through manageable and realistic lifestyle changes, allowing you to live a healthy and balanced life without a life-long pharmaceutical prescription.

Let’s connect:

📷 Instagram https://www.instagram.com/balancinghormonesnaturally/

🙋🏻‍♀️ Personal Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/leah_brueg/

🌐 Website: https://www.leahbrueggemann.com/

📧 Email: leahbcoaching@gmail.com

If your migraines show up like clockwork before your period, during your period, or right after it ends, this episode is for you. Hormonal migraines aren’t random, and they’re not a “Tylenol deficiency.” They’re a sign that estrogen, progesterone, minerals, inflammation, and nervous system chemistry are out of balance. While migraines can take time to fully resolve, understanding the pattern behind them is the first step toward real relief.

In this episode I’m sharing:

• Why migraines that hit after your period are often linked to low iron, poor absorption, or copper imbalance
• How migraines before or at the start of your period are driven by estrogen withdrawal, histamines, and prostaglandins
• The connection between fluctuating estrogen, inflammation, serotonin disruption, and migraine pain
• Why vitamin B2 (riboflavin) supports mitochondrial energy in the brain and lowers migraine susceptibility
• How gluten sensitivity can increase glutamate, lower GABA, and make migraines worse during hormonal shifts
• The role of liver detox and estrogen metabolism, and why supporting bile flow matters
• How bitters, vitamin C, dandelion, and milk thistle support both digestion and hormone clearance
• Why natural antihistamines like nettle, vitamin C, and beef kidney can calm hormone-triggered migraines
• When to consider deeper testing like HTMA or GI testing if food changes aren’t enough
• Why patience and consistency matter, as migraines are often one of the last symptoms to fully resolve

Hormonal migraines are not something you just have to endure every month. They’re feedback from your body, not a life sentence. This episode will help you understand why your migraines happen when they do, where to start with food and lifestyle support, and how to approach healing in a way that actually respects your hormones and nervous system.

Leah’s Favorite Things: https://www.leahbrueggemann.com/favorites

🙏Thank you to Eversio Wellness for sponsoring this episode!

👉 Go to https://www.eversiowellness.com/discount/LEAH or enter code LEAH at checkout for 15% off.

—

I’m Leah Brueggemann, a Functional Diagnostic Nutritional® Practitioner and Hormone Health Coach, helping you balance your hormones in effective and realistic ways so you can live a healthier, happier life.

Through the Balance Hormones Naturally podcast, you’ll discover why your cycle is so important to your everyday health and how you can use nutrition to help support the rise and fall of your hormones and finally feel truly amazing. We dig deep to understand and heal the root causes of your symptoms so you can achieve lasting results through manageable and realistic lifestyle changes, allowing you to live a healthy and balanced life without a life-long pharmaceutical prescription.

Let’s connect:

📷 Instagram https://www.instagram.com/balancinghormonesnaturally/

🙋🏻‍♀️ Personal Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/leah_brueg/

🌐 Website: https://www.leahbrueggemann.com/

📧 Email: leahbcoaching@gmail.com

If you’re ending the day feeling six months pregnant even though you started the morning fine, listen up. Occasional bloating can happen, but daily, uncomfortable, end-of-day bloating is not normal. And it’s not something probiotics or cutting more foods will fix. Bloating is a signal that digestion, minerals, stress, or blood sugar are out of sync, and once you understand the real cause, relief becomes much more attainable.

In this episode I’m breaking down:

• Why low stomach acid is one of the most common (and overlooked) causes of bloating, especially if it happens soon after meals
• How H. pylori suppresses stomach acid, why bloating won’t resolve until it’s addressed, and how it’s often passed back and forth
• The role of minerals like sodium and zinc in digestion, and why electrolytes sometimes help bloating
• How bitters support both stomach acid and bile flow, and exactly how to use them before meals
• Why poor fat digestion and sluggish bile flow cause rapid bloating, right-sided fullness, and floating stools
• How constipation (even if you’re going daily) leads to fermentation, pressure, and bloating
• The connection between blood sugar crashes, fatigue, anxiety, and bloating after meals
• Why nervous system dysregulation shuts digestion down, especially postpartum or during busy, high-stress seasons

Bloating isn’t something to silence, it’s information. Restricting food, cutting carbs, or piling on probiotics often makes it worse. When you support stomach acid, bile flow, minerals, hydration, blood sugar, and your nervous system, digestion can finally work the way it’s supposed to. This episode will help you understand what your body is asking for, and where to start so you can end your day feeling comfortable again.

Leah’s Favorite Things: https://www.leahbrueggemann.com/favorites

—

I’m Leah Brueggemann, a Functional Diagnostic Nutritional® Practitioner and Hormone Health Coach, helping you balance your hormones in effective and realistic ways so you can live a healthier, happier life.

Through the Balance Hormones Naturally podcast, you’ll discover why your cycle is so important to your everyday health and how you can use nutrition to help support the rise and fall of your hormones and finally feel truly amazing. We dig deep to understand and heal the root causes of your symptoms so you can achieve lasting results through manageable and realistic lifestyle changes, allowing you to live a healthy and balanced life without a life-long pharmaceutical prescription.

Let’s connect:

📷 Instagram https://www.instagram.com/balancinghormonesnaturally/

🙋🏻‍♀️ Personal Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/leah_brueg/

🌐 Website: https://www.leahbrueggemann.com/

📧 Email: leahbcoaching@gmail.com

If you’ve tried cycle syncing before and felt overwhelmed, confused, or unsure if it was actually doing anything, this episode is for you. Cycle syncing isn’t meant to be another rigid protocol or checklist, it’s meant to help you work with your body, not against it. In this episode I’m chatting with Eversio Wellness Co-Founder Brandi Garden, and Dr. Desiree Caruso, Naturopathic Physician, who are breaking down how to use medicinal mushrooms to support each phase of your cycle in a simple, intuitive, and hormone-supportive way that actually feels nourishing instead of stressful.

In this episode we’re sharing:

• Why cycle syncing with mushrooms works so well for hormone balance
• How medicinal mushrooms act as adaptogens to stabilize stress, blood sugar, and energy throughout the month
• Exactly which mushrooms support each phase of your cycle (menstrual, follicular, ovulatory, and luteal) and why
• Why Reishi is so powerful during your period for rest, immune support, and nervous system regulation
• How Lion’s Mane supports brain function and creativity during your follicular and ovulatory phases, even when taken at night
• Why Cordyceps can reduce caffeine dependence, improve energy, and ease PMS during the luteal phase
• How Maitake supports blood sugar and insulin sensitivity when cortisol naturally runs higher
• What to do if your cycle is irregular, unpredictable, or you’re not currently bleeding
• How to start cycle syncing without buying everything at once, and why it’s more cost-effective than you think
• Why symptoms aren’t something to fix, but feedback your body is giving you—and how cycle syncing helps you respond

Cycle syncing is not about perfection, timing everything down to the day, or doing “one more thing” to fix your hormones. It’s about listening, responding, and giving your body the support it’s asking for in each phase. This episode will help you simplify cycle syncing, feel more grounded in your body, and use mushrooms as a tool to support hormones, energy, mood, and resilience, without turning your wellness routine into another source of stress.

Leah’s Favorite Things: https://www.leahbrueggemann.com/favorites

🙏 Thank you to Paleovalley for sponsoring this episode!

👉 Go to https://paleovalley.com/leah and enter code LEAH at checkout for 15% off.

—

I’m Leah Brueggemann, a Functional Diagnostic Nutritional® Practitioner and Hormone Health Coach, helping you balance your hormones in effective and realistic ways so you can live a healthier, happier life.

Through the Balance Hormones Naturally podcast, you’ll discover why your cycle is so important to your everyday health and how you can use nutrition to help support the rise and fall of your hormones and finally feel truly amazing. We dig deep to understand and heal the root causes of your symptoms so you can achieve lasting results through manageable and realistic lifestyle changes, allowing you to live a healthy and balanced life without a life-long pharmaceutical prescription.

Let’s connect:

📷 Instagram https://www.instagram.com/balancinghormonesnaturally/

🙋🏻‍♀️ Personal Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/leah_brueg/

🌐 Website: https://www.leahbrueggemann.com/

📧 Email: leahbcoaching@gmail.com

If you’re stressed, exhausted, struggling to lose weight, or feeling like your nervous system is constantly “on,” this episode is for you. Cortisol doesn’t just rise because of emotional stress—it spikes when blood sugar is unstable, minerals are depleted, and your gut isn’t supported. The good news? You don’t need another supplement. Some of the fastest ways to lower cortisol are already sitting in your kitchen.

In this episode I’m sharing:

• Why cortisol stays elevated when blood sugar isn’t stabilized, and why food works faster than supplements
• The most underrated cortisol-lowering fruit and how its vitamin C supports your adrenals and progesterone
• How prebiotic foods directly improve stress resilience by feeding calming gut bacteria like lactobacillus
• Why potassium is a “stress mineral” and how avocados help break the stress/depletion cycle
• How omega-3s from wild-caught salmon reduce inflammation-driven cortisol
• Why zinc and magnesium are essential for calming the nervous system, and the best food-based sources
• How skipping protein at breakfast drives cortisol higher all day long
• Why pasture-raised eggs act like a natural multivitamin for your nervous system
• Simple food swaps that support your HPA axis without adding more supplements

Cortisol issues aren’t just about stress, they’re about depletion. When your body doesn’t feel nourished or safe, it stays in survival mode. This episode will help you understand how to lower cortisol naturally with food, stabilize your blood sugar, support your gut, and give your nervous system the signals it needs to finally calm down.

Leah’s Favorite Things: https://www.leahbrueggemann.com/favorites

—

I’m Leah Brueggemann, a Functional Diagnostic Nutritional® Practitioner and Hormone Health Coach, helping you balance your hormones in effective and realistic ways so you can live a healthier, happier life.

Through the Balance Hormones Naturally podcast, you’ll discover why your cycle is so important to your everyday health and how you can use nutrition to help support the rise and fall of your hormones and finally feel truly amazing. We dig deep to understand and heal the root causes of your symptoms so you can achieve lasting results through manageable and realistic lifestyle changes, allowing you to live a healthy and balanced life without a life-long pharmaceutical prescription.

Let’s connect:

📷 Instagram https://www.instagram.com/balancinghormonesnaturally/

🙋🏻‍♀️ Personal Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/leah_brueg/

🌐 Website: https://www.leahbrueggemann.com/

📧 Email: leahbcoaching@gmail.com