Lara Briden's Podcast – Details, episodes & analysis

If you’ve struggled with irregular periods, you might have noticed it can be a little tricky to figure out exactly what’s going on—and, therefore, exactly what you need to do to get your period back. 

In this episode, Lara discusses:

• the two most common explanations for irregular periods,
• how to tell them apart, and
• how hypothalamic amenorrhea is frequently misdiagnosed as PCOS. 

Links:

• Prof Jerilynn Prior's paper about hypothalamic suppression
• PCOS cannot be diagnosed by ultrasound
• Cyclic progesterone therapy for PCOS
• Lara's metabolism book

If you’ve been diagnosed with endometriosis, the big question is: What type of lesions?

In this episode, Lara challenges long-held assumptions to explore:

• the three types of endometriosis lesions, 
• emerging evidence that superficial lesions may not explain pain or other symptoms, 
• alternative explanations for pelvic pain and infertility, including pelvic congestion, immune dysfunction, and gut microbiome imbalance, and 
• an update on the bacterial contamination hypothesis.

Links:

• Could pelvic congestion syndrome explain your pelvic pain?
• Prevalence of endometriosis in asymptomatic women (1991 study)
• Surgical removal of superficial peritoneal endometriosis for managing women with chronic pelvic pain: time for a rethink? (2019 BJOG article)
• Bacterial contamination hypothesis (2018 paper)
• Fusobacterium infection facilitates the development of endometriosis (2023 paper)
• ANZCA 2024 Statement on pelvic pain and endometriosis 

What do post-pill acne, hair loss, and weight gain all have in common? They can all be the result of a temporary surge in androgens when trying to come off certain types of hormonal birth control.

In this episode, Lara discusses post-pill androgen symptoms including:

• why pills like Yasmin are the hardest to come off
• how androgens can cause weight gain, and
• natural treatments such as zinc, berberine, and cyclic progesterone therapy.

Links:

• Ovulation is the main event of the menstrual cycle
• The central role of ovulatory disturbances in the etiology of androgenic polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS)—Evidence for treatment with cyclic progesterone
• Beyond the label: A patient-centred approach to polycystic ovary syndrome
• Cyclic progesterone therapy for PCOS

Are premenstrual mood symptoms caused by progesterone or helped by progesterone? And why do antihistamines give such relief?

In this episode, Lara discusses premenstrual mood symptoms including:

• the role of histamine and mast cell activation
• progesterone sensitivity, and
• effective natural treatments such as magnesium, iodine, and body-identical progesterone.

Links:

• Lara Briden's mailing list
• Magnesium in the gynecological practice: a literature review
• 8 Ways magnesium rescues hormones 
• Taurine: 5 benefits for women's health

There can be a strong hormonal component to abdominal weight gain. And in most people, that hormone is insulin. 

In this episode, Lara discusses insulin resistance including:

• why you could have insulin resistance even if your blood sugar is normal
• the role of mitochondria, and
• all the ways to lower insulin and improve metabolism.

Links:

• Online workshop: Metabolic health and vitality for women over 40
• Insulin resistance is a cellular antioxidant defense mechanism
• High-dose fructose can cause or worsen insulin resistance (but fruit is okay)

If you're going to take hormone therapy, it's safer to take hormones that are identical to human hormones. In other words, hormones that are body-identical or bioidentical. The concept of bioidentical used to be controversial but is now conventional and mainstream.

In this episode, Lara discusses hormone therapy including:

• why the concept of bioidentical was controversial when it didn't need to be
• oral micronized progesterone for heavy periods, mood, sleep, and perimenopausal migraines, and
• some facts about body-identical estrogen (four uncontroversial things and one controversial).

Links:

• The crucial difference between progesterone and progestins
• Cyclic progesterone therapy for PCOS
• The central role of ovulatory disturbances in the etiology of androgenic polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS)—Evidence for treatment with cyclic progesterone
• Blog post with a list of body-identical brand names
• Online workshop: Metabolic health and vitality for women over 40

Endometriosis is an inflammatory disease that’s affected by hormones but is not caused by hormones. Instead, endometriosis is, at least in part, a disease of immune dysfunction. 

In this episode, Lara discusses some of the new endometriosis research including:

• the link with genes that increase the risk of autoimmune disease
• the role of a bacterial toxin called lipopolysaccharide or LPS, and
• new targets for natural immune-modulating treatment.

Links to:

• Blog post: Immune treatment for endometriosis 
• Blog post: Why I prescribe iodine for breast pain, ovarian cysts, and PMDD

Were you told you have polycystic ovary syndrome or PCOS based on a pelvic ultrasound? That may or may not be an accurate diagnosis because PCOS cannot actually be diagnosed or ruled out with ultrasound.

In this episode, Lara discusses PCOS including:

• why PCOS is an umbrella term
• the difference between polycystic ovaries and ovarian cysts, and
• why some women with undereating and endometriosis are being mistakenly told they have PCOS.

Links to:

• Blog post: PCOS cannot be diagnosed (or ruled out) by ultrasound
• Blog post about the 4 types of PCOS.
• Citation for the quote about polycystic ovaries: Diagnosis of Polycystic Ovary Syndrome: Which Criteria to Use and When?
• Lara's forum where you can post a comment or suggest a topic for a future episode. 

In a normal period, you should not lose more than about 80 mL of menstrual fluid over all the days of the bleed. That’s equivalent to about five tablespoons spread over all the days of the bleed. In this episode, Lara discusses heavy periods including:

• the role of hormone imbalance, mast cell activation, and insulin resistance,
• simple period-lightening strategies such as iron, zinc, and a dairy-free diet, and
• using body-identical progesterone to lighten periods. 

Links to:

• Blog post about heavy periods.
• Blog post about testing for insulin resistance.
• Blog post with a list of brand names of body-identical progesterone. 
• Professor Prior's document: Managing menorrhagia without surgery. 
• Lara's forum where you can post a comment or suggest a topic for a future episode. 

The pill is commonly prescribed to "regulate periods," but it can't actually do that because withdrawal bleeds from contraceptive drugs are not real menstrual cycles. 

In episode one of The Lara Briden Podcast, Dr Lara covers:

• what is a real menstrual cycle
• why there's no medical reason to bleed monthly on the pill, and 
• the difference between contraceptive drugs and real hormones. 

Links to:

• Blog post about cyclic progesterone therapy for PCOS.
• Lara's forum where you can post a comment or suggest a topic for a future episode.