Symptoms of hypoglycemia or low blood sugar include light-headedness, headaches, and anxiety. Hypoglycemia can even feel like panic attacks. 

In this episode, Lara discusses:

• why young women are more prone to hypoglycemia,
• the importance of the autonomic nervous system and a "blunted glucagon response," and 
• what you can do to feel better. 

Links:

• Prevalence of self-reported symptoms attributed to hypoglycaemia within a general female population of the UK
• Hypoglycemic symptoms in the absence of diabetes: Pilot evidence of clinical hypoglycemia in young women

Do you feel hungry all the time? Abnormally hungry? If so, it’s worth trying to figure out why. Potential drivers of abnormally high hunger include insulin resistance, gut and microbiome issues, low blood sugar, and food addiction—just to name a few.

In this episode, Lara explores food addiction and some of the controversy around the term. She also discusses the next best steps on the road to recovery. 

Links: 

• Lara's new book about metabolic health
• Poll: Addiction to highly processed food among older adults
• Dr. Jen Unwin's Resource page

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. 

For some women, stopping normal dairy products can relieve period symptoms. But why?

In this episode, Lara discusses:

• the inflammatory effects of A1 casein  
• how a mast cell histamine response can drive period problems such as premenstrual mood symptoms, heavy bleeding, and pain.

Links:

• Successful mast-cell-targeted treatment of chronic dyspareunia, vaginitis, and dysfunctional uterine bleeding
• Childhood asthma, allergies and risk of premenstrual disorders in young adulthood
• Casomorphins and gliadorphins have diverse systemic effects spanning gut, brain and internal organs

Did you know that what’s happening in your gut can affect your periods and hormones? 

In this episode, Lara discusses:

• small intestinal bacterial overgrowth (SIBO) and its role in IBS,
• how SIBO can drive or worsen endometriosis, insulin resistance, premenstrual mood symptoms, and the fibromyalgia of perimenopause, plus
• how to treat SIBO. 

Links:

• The curious link between estrogen, mast cells, and histamine
• Altered intestinal permeability in patients with primary fibromyalgia and in patients with complex regional pain syndrome

Why do antihistamines cause weight gain? And how does hormonal birth control affect metabolism?

In this episode, Lara looks at:

• how common medications affect metabolism
• why birth control that is *androgenic* is more likely to cause weight gain, and
• whether natural progesterone is more likely to cause weight gain or weight loss.

Links:

• The histaminergic system as a target for the prevention of obesity and metabolic syndrome
• High H1-affinity antidepressants and risk of metabolic syndrome in bipolar disorder
• Natural treatment of menstrual migraines
• Weight change among women using intramuscular depot medroxyprogesterone acetate, a copper intrauterine device, or a levonorgestrel implant for contraception
• Impact of micronized progesterone on body weight, body mass index, and glucose metabolism: a systematic review
• Cyclic progesterone therapy for PCOS

Are you a morning person or an evening person? And could that affect your ability to lose weight?

In this episode, Lara looks at chronotype, which is your individual disposition to be awake or asleep at certain times. And how that might affect your overall health and metabolism.

The supplement inositol is a superstar for treating polycystic ovary syndrome. It’s also been clinically trialled for weight loss, thyroid disease, anxiety, insomnia, and premenstrual mood symptoms. 

In this episode, Lara looks at:

• "what is inositol?" and how to get it from diet
• myo-inositol versus D-chiro-inositol, and 
• why it's all a little confusing.

One thing Lara forgot to mention is that to get results with inositol, you need to commit to it for at least three months. And if it works, you’ll probably want to stay on it for years. Luckily, inositol can be quite inexpensive, especially if you choose straight myo-inositol powder.

Links:

• Myo-inositol for insulin resistance, metabolic syndrome, polycystic ovary syndrome and gestational diabetes
• Inositol treatment for PCOS should be science-based and not arbitrary
• Cyclic progesterone therapy for PCOS

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)

Is your low blood sugar a symptom of insulin resistance or mild dysfunction of the autonomic nervous system?

In this episode, Lara returns to the topic of hypoglycemia to discuss:

• the difference between insulin resistance and dysautonomia,
• why unstable blood sugar does not automatically mean insulin resistance, and 
• her concerns about continuous glucose monitoring. 

Links:

• Dr Andrew Maxwell's presentation about dysautonomia, hypermobility, and mast cell activation.

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