Welcome to Chasing Eden!
Sept. 20, 2026

Menopause Explained: Hormones, Symptoms, Food, and Natural Relief

Menopause Explained: Hormones, Symptoms, Food, and Natural Relief
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Menopause is often described as something women must simply endure—but what is actually happening within the body during this profound transition? In this episode of Chasing Eden, Caroline explores the hormonal changes behind menopause, the wide range of physical and emotional symptoms women may experience, and why each woman’s journey can look remarkably different.

We’ll examine menopause through history and across cultures, looking at how diet, lifestyle, environment, stress, and cultural attitudes may influence the experience.

Caroline also discusses evidence-informed natural approaches that may support the body during this season, including nourishing foods, movement, sleep, stress reduction, herbs, and other supportive practices.

Menopause is not a disease or the end of a woman’s vitality. It is a natural transition that can become an invitation to listen more closely to the body, reconsider long-standing habits, and enter the next stage of life with greater wisdom and confidence. Join us as we move beyond fear and return to the body’s natural rhythm.

This episode is intended for educational purposes and is not a substitute for individualized medical care. Consult a qualified healthcare professional before beginning supplements, herbs, hormone products, or other treatments.


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Welcome back to Chasing Eden.

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I'm Carolyn Thompson.

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And today we're talking about something that eventually touches the

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life of virtually every woman who lives long enough to

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experience it.

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Menopause.

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But I don't want to approach menopause today simply as

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a collection of symptoms that need to be suppressed. I

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want to go farther back than that. I want to

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understand what menopause actually is, how women experienced this transition

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before modern medicine had a name for it, what women

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in different cultures experience today, and whether the modern lifestyle

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itself might influence how difficult this transition becomes. We're going

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to talk about food, sleep, sunlight, stress, movement, fiber in

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the gut, traditional herbs, soy, phytoestrogens, strength training, and some

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fascinating research from around the world. We're also going to

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talk about something I think is often missing from the

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menopause conversation.

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The body has rhythms.

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Human beings evolved around light and darkness, activity and rest, seasons,

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real food, physical movement, and social connection. Our bodies did

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not develop in a world of artificial light at midnight,

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constant notifications, highly processed food, sedentary days, and chronic psychological stress,

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as well as only five hours of sleep. So I

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want to ask a different question today. Instead of beginning with,

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what can we take to make menopause go away? What

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happens if we begin with What is the body trying

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to do during this transition, and how can we create

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an environment that supports it? This is not about romanticizing

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the past. Women centuries ago faced hardships we would never

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want to return to. And natural doesn't automatically mean perfect.

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Safe, or effective.

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But neither should we assume that every answer to a

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natural biological transition must come from a bottle. So, let's

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start at the beginning, and I mean the very beginning. Menopause,

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before it was called menopause, One of the claims circulating

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in natural health communities is that women didn't have menopause

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until modern times. You'll sometimes hear that menopause appeared with industrialization,

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processed food, or modern medicine. It's an intriguing idea, but

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when we look at history, it isn't quite true. What

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is true is that the word menopause is relatively modern.

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The French physician Charles-Pierre-Louis de Garnet used the term la

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menopause in 1812 and later la menopause in 1821. Before that,

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Western physicians used other terms for the stage of life

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when menstruation ended. But women had obviously been reaching the

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end of menstruation long before anyone invented the word menopause.

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Ancient medical writers discussed women's reproductive aging. So the biological

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transition isn't a 19th century invention. What changed was the

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way society began defining and medicalizing it. And I think

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that's a much more interesting story. Because once medicine gives

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something a name, it can begin to be viewed as

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a condition. A woman's natural transition from reproductive life into

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another stage of life, gradually became something medicine could classify, diagnose,

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and eventually treat. That doesn't automatically make medical treatment wrong,

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but it does change the lens. Instead of asking, how

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did women traditionally move through this stage? We increasingly began asking,

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What's wrong and how do we fix it? And those

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are very different questions. For much of human history, menopause

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wasn't separated from everyday life into its own medical specialty.

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Women aged within families and communities. Knowledge was passed from

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mothers to daughters. grandmothers to younger women, healers to families.

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Herbs were used. Foods were used. Rest was used. Bathing

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traditions were used. Movement was part of daily life. And

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many cultures developed their own understanding of this transition. Traditional

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Chinese medicine for example, has historically viewed aging and reproductive

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transition through a completely different framework than modern Western endocrinology.

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Traditional Chinese medicine does not describe menopause simply as an

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estrogen deficiency disease. Its classical framework talks about changes in

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kidney essence, yin and yang, blood and qi. Now, those

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aren't concepts that translate directly into modern physiology. We shouldn't

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pretend that they do. But that's interesting because the philosophy

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behind them is somewhat fascinating. the woman's entire condition is considered.

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Her sleep, her digestion, her temperature, her emotional state, her energy,

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her diet, her environment, her stage of life. In Ayurveda,

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another ancient medical tradition, menopause is also viewed as a

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life transition rather than simply a disease state. Again, the

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terminology isn't modern endocrinology, and we shouldn't pretend that ancient

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practitioners understood ovarian follicles or estrogen receptors. But the broader

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philosophy is interesting. Support the whole person during the transition.

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That idea is worth recovering.

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Now, did women in.

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The past even live long enough to experience menopause? This

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is another misconception. People often say women didn't have menopause

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because nobody lived past 40. That's a misunderstanding of historical

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life expectancy. Average life expectancy was dragged downward dramatically by

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infant and childhood mortality, infectious disease, childbirth, and injury.

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If half of the.

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Population dies young, the average lifespan can look very short.

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even though many people who survive childhood live much longer.

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Women absolutely lived into their 50s, 60s, and beyond in

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ancient societies. Not everyone did, but enough did that ancient

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writers recognized reproductive aging. So menopause is old. But here's

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where the story becomes fascinating. The symptoms don't appear to

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be experienced identically everywhere. And that opens a much bigger door.

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One of the most fascinating pieces of menopause research came

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from women living in rural Maya communities in Mexico. Researchers

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studied post-menopausal Maya women and confirmed biologically that that they

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had undergone menopause. Their hormone profiles looked menopausal. Estrogen was lower,

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follicle-stimulating hormone was higher. Their reproductive physiology had changed. But

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something unusual happened when researchers asked about symptoms. These women

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reported essentially No hot flashes. That finding attracted enormous attention.

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Because if menopause itself automatically causes severe hot flashes in

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every woman, why weren't these women reporting them? Now, later

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studies in other Mexican and Maya populations found menopausal symptoms.

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including hot flashes. So we cannot say Maya women simply

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don't experience menopause symptoms. Now, I suspect that perhaps later on,

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as their diets changed, maybe something about that, their diet

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and their lifestyle, maybe becoming more westernized, perhaps that contributed

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to it. But we don't really know. So those early

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observations raised a question that researchers are still trying to answer.

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Why can the same biological transition feel so different from

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one woman to another and from one culture to another?

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Genetics may contribute. Diet may contribute. Body composition may contribute.

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physical activity may contribute, pregnancy and reproductive history may contribute,

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smoking and alcohol may contribute, the gut microbiome may contribute,

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stress may contribute, and even cultural expectations may influence how

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symptoms are perceived and reported. Think about how important that is.

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The ovaries are only one part of the story. The

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women experiencing the transition is living inside an entire environment.

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So what is actually happening inside the body?

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Before we talk.

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About remedies, we need to understand the transition process. A

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woman is born with a finite number of ovarian follicles.

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Throughout life, that reserve gradually declines. Eventually, the ovaries respond

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differently to the signals coming from the brain. Ovulation becomes

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less predictable. Progesterone patterns change. estrogen becomes erratic. And this

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is where perimenopause can become confusing. A lot of women

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think estrogen simply starts dropping smoothly downward. But perimenopause can

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be much messier. Hormone levels can fluctuate considerably. So a

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woman can who can feel good one month and completely

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unlike herself the next. Her periods may become shorter, longer, heavier, lighter,

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closer together, farther apart. She may even begin waking at

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3 in the morning. She may suddenly feel hot when

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everyone else in the room is comfortable. She may notice

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anxiety that wasn't there before. She may have trouble remembering

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a word she has known for 20 years. Her joints

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may hurt. Her skin may feel different. Her libido can change.

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Her vaginal tissues can become drier. Body composition may begin shifting.

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And then comes the question many women ask. What is

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happening to me? The important thing to understand is that

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estrogen isn't just a reproductive hormone. Estrogen receptors exist throughout

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the body. The brain responds to estrogen. Bone responds to estrogen.

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Blood vessels respond to estrogen. The urinary tract and reproductive

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tissues respond to estrogen. Metabolism interacts with estrogen, and the

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gut appears to interact with estrogen too. So, when ovarian

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hormone production changes, women can feel the transition throughout the body.

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That's real physiology, but it doesn't mean The body is defective.

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It means the body is changing. So, let's talk about

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hot flashes and the internal thermostat. Why does a woman

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suddenly feel like somebody turned on a furnace inside her chest?

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Part of the answer appears to involve the brain's temperature

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control system. Our bodies normally tolerate a small range of

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internal temperature changes without reacting dramatically. During the menopausal transition,

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that comfortable range can narrow. A small increase in and

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body temperature may suddenly trigger cooling mechanisms. Blood vessels near

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the skin widen.

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You feel flushed. You sweat.

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Your heart may feel like it's beating faster. Then the

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body can cool quickly afterward, and suddenly you're cold. That's

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why a woman can throw the blanket off and 10

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minutes later, pull it back on. And this is where

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lifestyle begins becoming relevant. Because anything that affects body temperature,

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blood vessels, nervous system activity, or sleep may affect the experience. Alcohol,

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a hot bedroom, stress, Spicy food for some women. Caffeine for.

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Some women. Poor sleep. Smoking.

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Even the timing of meals or exercise may affect individual

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women differently. And this is why I like the idea

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of keeping a symptom journal. Not because every woman needs

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another chalk. but because your own body can teach you

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things that a generalized list on the internet cannot. So,

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for a few weeks, write down when your hot flashes occur.

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What did you eat? Did you drink alcohol?

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How much caffeine? How did you sleep? Was the day stressful?

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Did you exercise? What time did you eat? Patterns sometimes

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begin to appear and those patterns are personal. And I've

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noticed this myself. I made a few changes that made

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enormous differences in how I feel. One of those was

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the time that I sleep. Another was cutting out most

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of my caffeine, zeroing out all alcohol except the alcohol

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that I cook with, starting to exercise, definitely watching what

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I eat, So really, honestly, just to feel better, it's

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worth it. It's worth it to give up the caffeine.

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It's worth it to make myself go to bed earlier.

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It's worth it to take that 15-minute walk, maybe lift

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some arm weights, jump up on the trampoline. It's all

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worth it. There's a payoff. There's a payoff. And definitely

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changing your diet, for me, increasing my fiber intake has

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moved mountains. So let's talk about the modern environment. And

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this is where I think natural health practitioners raise an

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important question, even when some of their specific claims go

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beyond the available evidence. People like Barbara O'Neill and other

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nature-centered health educators repeatedly emphasize returning to basic biological needs.

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Clean food, water, movement, sunlight, sleep, and reducing unnecessary chemical exposures.

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Jordan Rubin's broader natural health philosophy has likewise emphasized traditional foods,

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digestive health, and the relationship between the gut and overall health.

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Those philosophies shouldn't be confused with controlled clinical evidence. But

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the basic question they raise is legitimate. Are we living

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in a way that supports normal human physiology? Consider a

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typical modern day We wake to an alarm while it's

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still dark. We immediately look at a bright screen.

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We sit in a car.

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And you don't want to get me started on that

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because on hot days, you're actually inhaling the fumes from

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the plastic dash in your car.

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We sit at work.

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We eat food manufactured in a factory. We experience constant

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alerts and psychological stimulation. We may barely see outdoor light.

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We eat late.

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We watch television or stare at a phone until bedtime.

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Then we sleep six hours if we're lucky. And we

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wonder why our nervous system feels overwhelmed. Menopause didn't create

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that environment. But menopause occurs inside that environment. And that

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is an important distinction. The goal isn't to claim modern

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living causes menopause.

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It doesn't.

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The question is whether modern living can make an already

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challenging biological transition harder. And that's much more plausible. And

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in several areas, we have good evidence that these basic

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lifestyle factors affect health profoundly. Now let's talk about food

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because this is.

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A big one for me.

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About a month ago, I transitioned to a higher fiber diet.

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And one of the reasons I wanted to include research

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from the doctor's kitchen is that Dr. Rupi Ajala approaches

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food as something that interacts with physiology rather than merely

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as calories. In his menopause work, he focuses on dietary

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patterns that can support inflammation, glucose regulation, gut health, muscle, cardiovascular.

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Health, and bone.

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And that matters because menopause is bigger than hot flashes.

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Women are moving increasingly into a stage of life where

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maintaining metabolic health, muscle, bone, and cardiovascular health becomes increasingly important. Sorry,

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I just had to take a sip of my tea. Dr.

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Rupi's menopause recommendations emphasize protein, abundant fruits and vegetables, soy foods,

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calcium-rich foods, and omega-3 rich foods. And none of those

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requires an exotic supplement. That's what I like about it.

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This is food, real food. He recommends making plant foods

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a major part of the diet and emphasizes the value

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of variety. Think about what that means practically. Instead of

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breakfast being a sugary cereal or pastry, maybe it's eggs

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with vegetables or berries and yogurt. Instead of lunch being

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something out of a package, maybe it's lentils, greens, olive oil, herbs,

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and a piece of fish. Instead of dinner being mostly

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refined carbohydrates, maybe half the plate becomes colorful vegetables with beans, fish, chicken,

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or another good protein source. These changes aren't glamorous, but

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biology doesn't care what's glamorous. If you're curious about how

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to incorporate these types of foods into your life in

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a really honestly simple, easy way, I suggest going to

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the doctor's kitchen website He has some recipes on there

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that you can try for free. He also has a membership,

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but he's written a lot of books.

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And they're really great books.

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They're really high in demand.

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The food is so delicious.

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And honestly, I'm one of those people that I used

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to eat really rich foods like butter and steak and

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potatoes and homemade bread and I really loved my starchy vegetables.

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I really wasn't crazy about cruciferous vegetables. I didn't really

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grow up eating a lot of those things. And when

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I did eat that kind of stuff, it was typically

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like when we went out to eat. So what I

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like about his website is he really makes it easy

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to incorporate these types of foods into your diet in

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a really delicious way. Last night, I made his spicy

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spatchcock chicken. And this was the first time in a

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month I've had, honestly, I've had starchy vegetables, but it

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had root vegetables with.

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A little bit of new potatoes.

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And it was absolutely amazingly delicious, like really yummy. And

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it had a side sauce that was like yogurt with

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preserved lemons and mint and some salt and pepper. And

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that was what you would kind of, you'd put on

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the chicken when you're ready to eat it. But I

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actually ate it with my veggies and it was just delicious. Now,

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as far as the other food we've been eating, I

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try to stay away from the, I was trying to

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stay away from the starchy stuff initially because I have

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metabolic resistance. So I didn't want anything that was going

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to spike my blood sugar. So I was eating a

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lot of his veggie stuff. So we had his shawarma.

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He's got some really awesome like chicken meatballs with, they

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call it something else, with mint and stuff.

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But a lot of these have you like cut up.

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Real thin red cabbage and sugar snap peas and red pepper.

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And then you saute it with some olive oil and

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salt and pepper and you just throw it into like

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a big salad or do what me and my husband did.

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We made a homemade pita bread from our fresh ground

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wheat berries, which is healthier. So anyway, I didn't mean

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to go on a rabbit trail about how fantastic the

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food is on the doctor's kitchen, but it's a really

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just delicious food makes it so much easier. to eat healthy,

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doesn't it? And he also has food prep ideas. So

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you can prep your breakfast in advance a few days

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in advance and put it in the fridge. And you know,

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there's other ways to just food prep. And it's pretty simple.

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You make it all at once and you put all

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together and just makes it easier. Just take a little

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bit of time and just a little bit.

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And you know what?

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It really pays off in the end with how you feel.

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So proteins become more important as we go through menopause

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and not less.

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And one of Dr.

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Ruppi's major recommendations is adequate protein. But what I noticed

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on his website is there's not a lot of red meat.

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And If you're going through menopause and you're a little

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bit more sensitive and you're noticing some changes in your

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energy levels and just you think something's different and I

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don't like it, perhaps you need to lower your red

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meat intake. For me, that's what I had to do.

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And I didn't even realize that was a problem until

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I started eating his food. And it's like poultry and lamb,

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things like that. with very little red meat. And I

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used to be a real advocate of red meat and

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butter and all of that, but honestly, I wasn't feeling

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that good.

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And it was becoming.

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Really hard to lose weight. So I feel like with

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these extra vegetables and this guide to help me, I'm

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suddenly dropping weight and it's effortless, honestly. I feel incredible.

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And my clothing is looser and my food is delicious.

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So one of his recommendations is adequate protein. And this

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is especially important for women entering midlife. We naturally become

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more vulnerable to losing muscle as we age. And I

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don't like that at all because I don't like lifting weights.

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But I have been starting to lift some weights.

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And it's not that bad. It's not that torturous.

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Menopause can accelerate changes in body composition. And muscle is

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not cosmetic. Muscle helps dispose of glucose. Muscle supports metabolic health.

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Muscle protects joints. Muscle helps maintain balance. Muscle helps protect

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independence as we age. So one of the most natural

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things a woman can do during menopause is build and

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preserve muscle. That means using it and feeding it.

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Dr.

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Rupi suggests roughly 20 grams or more of protein at

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meals as a practical starting point, while individual needs vary.

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That protein can come from eggs, fish, yogurt, kefir, beans, lentils, tofu, tempeh, nuts, seeds, poultry,

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or other quality foods. And I especially like combining protein

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with plants because then you're getting something else many women

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need more of, and that's fiber. If you've listened to

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our episode about fiber, you already know how strongly I

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feel about this. But menopause gives us another question or

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another reason to pay attention to the gut. Researchers have

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begun studying something called the estrobolem. That's a term describing

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gut microbes and their genes that participate in estrogen metabolism.

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This is fascinating. Estrogen doesn't simply circulate and disappear. Estrogen

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metabolites can enter the liver, be conjugated, and travel into

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the intestine. Certain bacterial enzymes can modify those compounds, potentially

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influencing whether some estrogen is reabsorbed or eliminated. Researchers are

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now studying whether differences in gut microbial communities influence estrogen physiology.

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and whether estrogen itself changes the microbiome. The relationship appears

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to go in both directions. A 2026 review from researchers

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at Singapore's Agency for Science, Technology and Research examined this

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relationship and concluded that the gut microbiome may play an

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important role and hormonal balance during menopause. But the researchers

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also made an important point. We do not yet know

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what a perfect menopause microbiome looks like. Women in different

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parts of the world have different microbiomes.

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Diet matters.

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Environment matters. Culture matters. Geography matters. That's why I don't

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want to turn this into another miracle claim. But here's

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what we already know about supporting a diverse gut ecosystem.

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Plants matter. Fiber matters. Fermented foods may matter. And variety matters. Beans, lentils, oats, barley, vegetables,

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berries matter. apples, pears, seeds, nuts, herbs, and yes, whole grains.

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These foods provide substrates that our gut microbes can ferment.

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And those microbes produce compounds such as short-chain fatty acids

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that interact with the intestinal lining, immune system, and metabolism.

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suddenly that boring advice to eat your vegetables starts sounding

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a lot more sophisticated. So let's talk about soy because

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it tends to be a somewhat controversial thing when it

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comes to estrogen and menopause. Soy is one of the

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most interesting foods in menopause research. Traditional Asian diets suggest

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have included soy foods for generations. Not necessarily ultra-processed soy

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protein isolates in everything. I'm talking about foods such as tofu, tempeh, miso, natto,

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and edamame. Soy contains compounds called isoflavones. These are phytoestrogens.

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That word frightens some people because they hear estrogen. But

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phytoestrogens aren't identical to human estrogen. They interact with estrogen

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receptors much more weakly and can behave differently depending on

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tissue and hormonal environment.

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Dr.

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Ruppe describes soyfoods as something he would recommend regularly during

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menopause because of the isoflavones, protein, and broader cardiovascular benefits.

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He says the evidence on symptoms is mixed, and he's right.

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Some controlled trials and meta-analyses show reductions in hot flash

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frequency or severity. Others show little changes. or no meaningful effect.

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A Japanese-led meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials found that soy

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isoflavones reduced hot flash frequency and severity compared with placebo.

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More recent reviews have produced more cautious results.

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That's important.

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Science doesn't always give us one clean answer. But here's

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the practical question. Do we need soy to be a

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miracle cure before tofu, tempeh, endomamy, or miso can be

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useful foods? No. They provide protein. They provide phytochemicals. And traditional,

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minimally processed soy foods can easily fit into a whole

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food diet. That's very different from promising that one capsule

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will stop menopause. So here's a fascinating plant-based hot flash study.

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One trial I found particularly interesting involved post-menopausal women experiencing

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at least two hot flashes a day. Researchers randomly assigned

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women either to continue their normal diet or to eat

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a low-fat, plant-based diet that included about half a cup

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00:39:43.320 --> 00:39:52.349
of cooked soybeans each day. After 12 weeks, total hot

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00:39:52.369 --> 00:40:00.099
flashes fell substantially in the intervention group. Moderate to severe

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00:40:00.179 --> 00:40:05.039
hot flashes dropped dramatically as well. Now, this was a

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00:40:05.119 --> 00:40:11.219
small study. Only 38 women were involved. And the intervention

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00:40:11.469 --> 00:40:18.340
changed several things simultaneously. They weren't merely adding soy. They

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were changing the overall diet. So we cannot say half

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00:40:23.619 --> 00:40:27.659
a cup of soybeans cures hot flashes. That's not what

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00:40:27.679 --> 00:40:32.500
the trial proved. But the magnitude of the change makes

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00:40:32.559 --> 00:40:38.420
this exactly the kind of non-drug intervention that deserves further study.

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00:40:39.320 --> 00:40:42.800
And I love that practicality because we're talking about food.

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00:40:45.000 --> 00:40:51.000
So another dietary pattern worth discussing is the Mediterranean diet. Again,

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don't think of this as a branded diet. Think of

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traditional eating patterns built around things like vegetables, beans, fruits, nuts, seeds,

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olive oil, herbs, fish, and once again, whole grains, and

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meals that aren't dominated by ultra-processed food. Research on Mediterranean-style

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00:41:13.489 --> 00:41:19.050
diets is and menopause symptoms is still developing. An Australian

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00:41:19.110 --> 00:41:26.389
study published in 2024 found that overall Mediterranean diet adherence

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00:41:26.969 --> 00:41:35.000
wasn't clearly associated with lower menopause symptom severity, although aspects

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of the diet were associated with better measures of quality

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of life. That's worth saying because menopause I don't want

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to cherry-pick only studies that tell us what we want

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00:41:49.360 --> 00:41:56.599
to hear. But Mediterranean-style eating has much broader evidence supporting

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cardiovascular and metabolic health. And those issues become extremely important

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after menopause. The doctor's kitchen emphasizes this same overall pattern,

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not because olive oil is magically replaces estrogen, but because

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menopause should make us think beyond this week's hot flashes.

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We should be thinking about the next 30 years. So

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what should we eat more of? Instead of turning this

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into a giant list, picture the plate. Make it colorful.

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I'm sure you've heard that before, and there's a reason why.

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00:42:40.039 --> 00:42:45.780
Put plants at the center. add enough protein, include healthy fats.

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I suggest to get you started by a food scale.

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I like to measure my chicken just to see what

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00:42:54.320 --> 00:42:59.750
it looks like when my one serving is asking me to,

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00:43:00.369 --> 00:43:03.469
you know, use 60 grams. I want to see what

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00:43:03.510 --> 00:43:07.429
it looks like just to get an idea. Include healthy fats,

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00:43:07.789 --> 00:43:13.230
use herbs generously, include fiber every day. Rotate your foods,

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feed your gut microbiome, that's really important. Eat foods that

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00:43:19.190 --> 00:43:22.440
still resemble what they were when they came from nature.

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That might mean things like salmon with greens, beans, and

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00:43:28.320 --> 00:43:31.679
olive oil, a lentil soup with herbs, which to some

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00:43:31.699 --> 00:43:34.280
people might be foreign, but believe it or not, it's

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00:43:34.320 --> 00:43:39.230
pretty darn good. Greek yogurt with berries, walnuts, and chia.

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00:43:39.989 --> 00:43:42.590
And if you're going to make it an overnight breakfast yogurt,

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00:43:42.889 --> 00:43:44.550
make sure you wait to put the crunchy stuff on

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00:43:44.570 --> 00:43:48.079
until the next morning so it doesn't get soggy. Eggs

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00:43:48.119 --> 00:43:55.019
with vegetables or tofu with broccoli and mushrooms, sardines over greens,

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00:43:56.079 --> 00:44:00.679
oatmeal with flax, berries, and nuts, an apple instead of

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00:44:00.719 --> 00:44:07.639
an ultra-processed snack, simple food. And perhaps that simplicity is

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00:44:07.760 --> 00:44:12.260
part of what we lost. So now, what about foods

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00:44:12.340 --> 00:44:16.239
to avoid? And I don't love turning food into fear

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00:44:16.260 --> 00:44:20.440
at all, but there are things worth experimenting with. Alcohol

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00:44:20.619 --> 00:44:25.199
is a big one. Some women notice that alcohol makes

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00:44:25.260 --> 00:44:30.409
hot flashes worse, like me. It can also make sleep deceptive.

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00:44:31.230 --> 00:44:35.750
A glass of wine may make you sleepy initially, but

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00:44:36.010 --> 00:44:40.800
alcohol can fragment sleep later in the I like to

457
00:44:40.860 --> 00:44:45.920
just take some magnesium bisglycinate before bed along with a

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00:44:46.000 --> 00:44:48.179
reishi capsule, reishi mushroom capsule.

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00:44:48.239 --> 00:44:49.000
That helps me.

460
00:44:49.900 --> 00:44:54.250
And if menopause is already disturbing your sleep, adding another

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00:44:54.289 --> 00:44:59.170
sleep disruptor doesn't make much sense. Try removing alcohol for

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00:44:59.210 --> 00:45:03.610
a few weeks and see what happens. Caffeine is another

463
00:45:03.769 --> 00:45:11.739
personal experiment. Some women tolerate it beautifully. Others notice more anxiety, palpitations,

464
00:45:12.019 --> 00:45:12.920
or hot flashes.

465
00:45:13.840 --> 00:45:14.840
Timing matters too.

466
00:45:15.599 --> 00:45:18.409
A cup of coffee at 7 in the morning is

467
00:45:18.489 --> 00:45:23.130
very different from caffeine late in the afternoon. Then there's

468
00:45:23.389 --> 00:45:27.369
sugar and highly refined food. We don't need to claim

469
00:45:27.429 --> 00:45:32.940
sugar causes menopause because it doesn't, but repeated glucose spikes,

470
00:45:33.480 --> 00:45:39.900
poor diet, quality, and excess ultra-processed food Don't create the

471
00:45:39.940 --> 00:45:44.619
metabolic environment we're trying to build. The goal isn't perfection.

472
00:45:45.119 --> 00:45:48.610
The goal is moving the diet back toward real food.

473
00:45:50.530 --> 00:45:56.829
So sleep may be one of the most underrated menopause tools.

474
00:45:57.949 --> 00:46:03.530
Sleep problems during menopause can become vicious cycles. A woman

475
00:46:03.590 --> 00:46:04.469
has a hot flash.

476
00:46:04.769 --> 00:46:05.389
She wakes.

477
00:46:06.090 --> 00:46:09.789
Now she's anxious about not sleeping. She checks the clock,

478
00:46:10.309 --> 00:46:14.570
then the phone. Now bright light enters her eyes. Her

479
00:46:14.630 --> 00:46:17.630
brain becomes more alert. She can't fall back to sleep.

480
00:46:18.809 --> 00:46:22.139
The next day she's exhausted. So she drinks more caffeine.

481
00:46:22.679 --> 00:46:27.039
She's too tired to exercise. She craves quick energy foods.

482
00:46:27.860 --> 00:46:32.599
She's more emotionally reactive. Then bedtime comes again and the

483
00:46:32.659 --> 00:46:36.670
cycle starts all over. This is where working with circadian

484
00:46:36.719 --> 00:46:42.280
biology makes enormous sense. The human brain uses light as

485
00:46:42.440 --> 00:46:48.199
one of its primary timing signals. Morning outdoor light tells

486
00:46:48.260 --> 00:46:52.730
the brain it's daytime, and that helps anchor the body's

487
00:46:52.889 --> 00:46:57.730
internal clock. Then evening darkness helps to prepare the system

488
00:46:57.809 --> 00:47:03.090
for sleep. But modern humans often do the reverse. We

489
00:47:03.110 --> 00:47:07.989
spend mornings indoors under dim, artificial light. Then we flood

490
00:47:08.030 --> 00:47:12.110
our eyes with artificial light at night. So one of

491
00:47:12.150 --> 00:47:14.949
the simplest things I would encourage you to do is this.

492
00:47:15.769 --> 00:47:20.530
Go outside in the morning. You don't need a complicated ritual.

493
00:47:20.989 --> 00:47:22.869
Step outdoors. Walk.

494
00:47:23.610 --> 00:47:29.409
Drink your morning tea outside. Let your eyes experience natural daylight.

495
00:47:30.880 --> 00:47:34.570
And at night... Begin reducing stimulation.

496
00:47:35.429 --> 00:47:36.269
Dim the house.

497
00:47:36.730 --> 00:47:40.670
Put the phone away. Make the bedroom cool. Make it dark.

498
00:47:41.469 --> 00:47:46.610
Create a predictable rhythm. Your body loves rhythm. Try a

499
00:47:46.679 --> 00:47:48.719
few of these. Try it for a few days.

500
00:47:48.840 --> 00:47:51.099
It might look like too much, too overwhelming. You might

501
00:47:51.139 --> 00:47:52.710
not want to bother. Just try it.

502
00:47:53.219 --> 00:47:55.679
I think you're going to be very surprised at your results.

503
00:47:56.760 --> 00:48:01.099
Sunlight is more than vitamin D. People often reduce sunlight

504
00:48:01.480 --> 00:48:04.000
to just vitamin D, but sunlight is more than that.

505
00:48:04.719 --> 00:48:10.320
Light is environmental information. Your eyes communicate light exposure to

506
00:48:10.340 --> 00:48:16.710
the brain's central circadian clock. That clock helps coordinate sleep-wake

507
00:48:16.889 --> 00:48:23.429
timing and many downstream physiological rhythms. We need to be

508
00:48:23.539 --> 00:48:27.960
careful not to promise that morning sunlight will cure menopause.

509
00:48:28.699 --> 00:48:29.039
It won't.

510
00:48:29.710 --> 00:48:35.449
Honestly, it's a combination of things. But aligning light exposure

511
00:48:35.610 --> 00:48:41.929
with human circadian biology is a remarkably low-cost way to

512
00:48:41.969 --> 00:48:50.820
support sleep timing and overall rhythm. And better sleep changes everything. Appetite, mood,

513
00:48:51.239 --> 00:48:59.920
stress resilience, energy, exercise, decision-making, pain perception, A woman who

514
00:48:59.960 --> 00:49:04.780
sleeps well has a completely different foundation than a woman

515
00:49:05.119 --> 00:49:13.210
surviving on four broken hours. So let's talk about stress.

516
00:49:14.650 --> 00:49:19.969
Because sometimes reduce stress is the most annoying health advice

517
00:49:20.429 --> 00:49:24.829
in the world. A woman thinks, wonderful, I'll just stop

518
00:49:24.869 --> 00:49:30.710
having bills, aging parents, adult children, work deadlines, and responsibilities.

519
00:49:31.630 --> 00:49:36.010
And that's not what I mean. Stress management doesn't necessarily

520
00:49:36.050 --> 00:49:41.670
mean removing every stressful circumstance. It means helping the nervous

521
00:49:41.730 --> 00:49:50.650
system return to baseline. Walk outside, pray, garden, sit quietly, read.

522
00:49:51.710 --> 00:49:56.340
Spend time with somebody who makes you feel safe. Breathe slowly.

523
00:49:57.070 --> 00:50:00.000
Take a warm bath. Throw some Epsom salt in it.

524
00:50:00.739 --> 00:50:05.340
Turn the news off. Put the phone away. Spend time

525
00:50:05.400 --> 00:50:10.900
in nature. These things can sound almost embarrassingly simple, but

526
00:50:10.940 --> 00:50:18.280
the nervous system is biological, and chronic psychological arousal affects sleep,

527
00:50:19.019 --> 00:50:26.559
blood pressure, eating behavior, mood, and our perception of physical symptoms.

528
00:50:27.519 --> 00:50:32.389
We cannot separate a woman's hormones from the life she

529
00:50:32.659 --> 00:50:37.489
is living. So I want women to stop thinking about

530
00:50:37.690 --> 00:50:42.789
exercise only as a way to burn calories. Movement is

531
00:50:42.849 --> 00:50:49.260
communication with the body. Walking tells the body to maintain capacity.

532
00:50:50.139 --> 00:50:55.860
Resistance tells muscle, we still need you. Lifting tells bone,

533
00:50:56.239 --> 00:51:04.730
stay strong. Exercise improves insulin sensitivity. It supports cardiovascular health.

534
00:51:05.619 --> 00:51:11.280
It can improve mood and sleep. And resistance training deserves

535
00:51:11.440 --> 00:51:18.780
special attention during menopause. A Swedish randomized trial studied women

536
00:51:18.889 --> 00:51:25.769
with moderate to severe vasomotor symptoms who participated in a

537
00:51:25.789 --> 00:51:34.429
15-week resistance training program. The intervention reduced vasomotor symptom frequency.

538
00:51:35.150 --> 00:51:39.489
and the effect remained evident at six months, although the

539
00:51:39.650 --> 00:51:45.110
difference wasn't maintained at the two-year follow-up. That's interesting, but

540
00:51:45.670 --> 00:51:49.860
even if strength training did nothing for hot flashes, I

541
00:51:49.900 --> 00:51:54.219
would still recommend women discuss an appropriate strength program with

542
00:51:54.260 --> 00:52:00.239
a qualified professional, because muscle and bone become increasingly precious

543
00:52:00.460 --> 00:52:05.750
with age. You don't need a fancy gym, squats, carrying groceries,

544
00:52:06.190 --> 00:52:12.610
resistance bands, dumbbells, body weight movements, gardening, stairs, whatever meets

545
00:52:12.650 --> 00:52:16.130
your ability level. The goal isn't punishment.

546
00:52:16.309 --> 00:52:18.130
The goal is capability.

547
00:52:19.230 --> 00:52:21.750
So for instance, I have a dumbbell just sitting on

548
00:52:22.150 --> 00:52:25.710
the bar, the island in my house. And so that

549
00:52:25.769 --> 00:52:29.849
reminds me to lift that throughout the day. I walk

550
00:52:29.869 --> 00:52:31.409
by it and I'll stop and I'll just do a

551
00:52:31.449 --> 00:52:35.699
few reps, with both of my arms and then I'll

552
00:52:35.840 --> 00:52:38.460
go on with my day. But it just helps because

553
00:52:39.000 --> 00:52:41.110
I'm not good at remembering to do this. I have

554
00:52:41.119 --> 00:52:43.710
so many other things going on. So maybe you need

555
00:52:43.730 --> 00:52:46.489
to put a dumbbell on your dresser or something to

556
00:52:46.530 --> 00:52:52.210
remind you. Sometimes an herb works beautifully in tradition and

557
00:52:52.289 --> 00:52:55.429
still hasn't performed well in a controlled trial. So let's

558
00:52:55.510 --> 00:53:00.429
talk about herbs because I think there's a few misconceptions

559
00:53:00.469 --> 00:53:03.030
about them to be honest. I've tried some of these

560
00:53:03.090 --> 00:53:07.039
herbs and well, let me just read on and I'll explain.

561
00:53:08.739 --> 00:53:11.739
A natural approach that you may have heard of is

562
00:53:11.780 --> 00:53:15.780
the wild yam derived progesterone cream. And there's an important

563
00:53:15.800 --> 00:53:20.400
distinction here that often gets lost. Wild yam contains a

564
00:53:20.530 --> 00:53:27.869
plant compound called diosgenin, which is chemically useful because laboratories

565
00:53:28.449 --> 00:53:33.329
can use it as a starting material to manufacture progesterone.

566
00:53:34.929 --> 00:53:39.900
But our bodies apparently cannot perform that conversion themselves. In

567
00:53:39.980 --> 00:53:43.460
other words, rubbing plain wild yam extract on your skin

568
00:53:43.599 --> 00:53:48.119
is not the same thing as applying actual progesterone. A

569
00:53:48.159 --> 00:53:53.289
placebo-controlled study of 23 menopausal women found that wild yam

570
00:53:53.329 --> 00:53:58.250
cream did not significantly raise progesterone or estrogen levels or

571
00:53:58.329 --> 00:54:02.659
improve menopausal symptoms compared with placebo. So when you see

572
00:54:02.699 --> 00:54:07.559
a cream labeled wild yam, read the ingredients carefully. A

573
00:54:07.639 --> 00:54:17.510
product containing actual micronized progesterone. It's fundamentally different from a

574
00:54:17.570 --> 00:54:23.969
cream containing only wild yam extract. Progesterone itself is chemically

575
00:54:24.090 --> 00:54:28.170
identical to the progesterone produced by the human body, even

576
00:54:28.190 --> 00:54:33.150
when the manufacturing process begins with a plant-derived precursor.

577
00:54:32.949 --> 00:54:36.650
Such as diasgenin. Okay, so.

578
00:54:38.250 --> 00:54:42.210
I have to stop here and comment my opinion on this.

579
00:54:42.250 --> 00:54:48.289
This is just my opinion. I actually am not surprised

580
00:54:48.429 --> 00:54:52.829
that the study on the wild yam cream didn't show

581
00:54:52.869 --> 00:54:57.409
a difference in hot flashes and menopausal symptoms because.

582
00:54:57.670 --> 00:54:58.110
I tried it.

583
00:54:59.130 --> 00:55:00.659
And I tried it for weeks and weeks and weeks

584
00:55:00.860 --> 00:55:03.460
and I had a ton. I had more hot flashes

585
00:55:04.119 --> 00:55:06.010
than I've, I don't remember. I've never had that many

586
00:55:06.030 --> 00:55:10.829
hot flashes ever, but I was a avid progesterone cream

587
00:55:11.010 --> 00:55:15.050
over the counter, bioidentical progesterone cream user for many, many years.

588
00:55:15.809 --> 00:55:20.760
I did not suffer menopausal symptoms like some of the

589
00:55:20.880 --> 00:55:24.739
other women in my life. And I rarely had a

590
00:55:24.760 --> 00:55:26.519
hot flash. Like it was like, oh, that must be

591
00:55:26.539 --> 00:55:30.239
a hot flash. So when I decided, and this is,

592
00:55:30.380 --> 00:55:33.510
I love Barbara O'Neill. And I've watched a lot of

593
00:55:33.530 --> 00:55:35.969
her stuff, and she's incredible. But I heard her talk

594
00:55:35.989 --> 00:55:37.969
a lot about the wild yam cream, and I thought,

595
00:55:37.989 --> 00:55:40.030
you know what? I think I'm going to give that

596
00:55:40.090 --> 00:55:43.550
wild yam cream a shot. And to be honest with you,

597
00:55:43.809 --> 00:55:45.989
it did not work for me. I'm not saying it

598
00:55:46.010 --> 00:55:49.010
doesn't work for other people. I'm just saying my experience

599
00:55:49.050 --> 00:55:53.139
was not good. I went back to the bioidentical progesterone cream,

600
00:55:53.780 --> 00:55:57.300
and I'm feeling pretty darn good right now. So I

601
00:55:57.320 --> 00:56:00.030
just thought I'd throw that in there. Some women are

602
00:56:00.070 --> 00:56:03.849
drawn to topical progesterone because they are looking for the

603
00:56:03.909 --> 00:56:08.289
bioidentical approach like me. Okay, so now let's talk about

604
00:56:08.590 --> 00:56:11.960
actual herbs because that's not really an herb. That was yam.

605
00:56:13.260 --> 00:56:15.159
This is probably the part many of you have been

606
00:56:15.179 --> 00:56:18.380
waiting for, the herbs. Women have used plants for reproductive

607
00:56:18.460 --> 00:56:23.510
and menopausal complaints for generations. Different cultures developed completely different

608
00:56:23.550 --> 00:56:27.250
traditions because they had access to different plants. And there's

609
00:56:27.269 --> 00:56:31.449
something deeply human about that. they observed and they experimented

610
00:56:31.530 --> 00:56:35.889
and they passed that knowledge down. Modern science now has

611
00:56:35.949 --> 00:56:40.670
another tool because they have now studied some of these things. Now,

612
00:56:40.769 --> 00:56:45.000
I don't know if these herbs, how they process them

613
00:56:45.400 --> 00:56:50.639
in ancient times, maybe it was different. But for instance, okay,

614
00:56:50.659 --> 00:56:52.840
let's talk about black cohosh because I'm sure a lot

615
00:56:52.880 --> 00:56:54.340
of you have heard of this. And it's in a

616
00:56:54.440 --> 00:56:59.340
lot of these self-help capsules and creams now. for menopausal women.

617
00:57:00.260 --> 00:57:03.219
Black cohosh is probably one of the best known in

618
00:57:03.260 --> 00:57:07.289
North America. It has a long history of use, particularly

619
00:57:07.349 --> 00:57:13.210
stemming from Native American botanical traditions, and it later became

620
00:57:13.309 --> 00:57:19.889
widely promoted for hot flashes and other menopausal symptoms. But

621
00:57:20.389 --> 00:57:26.739
when researchers tested it rigorously, results haven't been consistently impressive.

622
00:57:28.050 --> 00:57:34.510
A systematic review examining double-blind randomized trials concluded that the

623
00:57:34.670 --> 00:57:40.690
evidence didn't consistently demonstrate effectiveness for menopausal symptoms. And a

624
00:57:40.750 --> 00:57:46.230
year-long randomized trial comparing black cohosh, red clover, and placebo

625
00:57:47.349 --> 00:57:53.130
found that neither black cohosh nor red clover significantly outperformed

626
00:57:53.170 --> 00:57:55.610
placebo or vasomotor symptoms.

627
00:57:56.610 --> 00:57:57.489
And this is important.

628
00:57:58.909 --> 00:58:03.030
An herb can have a beautiful traditional history without being

629
00:58:03.110 --> 00:58:07.849
proven to treat a particular symptom. If black cohosh helps

630
00:58:07.909 --> 00:58:12.090
an individual woman and her healthcare professional believes it's appropriate,

631
00:58:12.750 --> 00:58:15.489
that's her decision, but I'm not going to tell you

632
00:58:15.510 --> 00:58:20.590
science has established something that it hasn't. So red clover,

633
00:58:21.269 --> 00:58:26.429
which is interesting because it contains isoflavones, which gives.

634
00:58:26.309 --> 00:58:27.969
It biological plausibility.

635
00:58:29.440 --> 00:58:35.679
But again, controlled research has been inconsistent. This illustrates something

636
00:58:35.780 --> 00:58:39.440
important about herbal medicine. We tend to talk about an

637
00:58:39.500 --> 00:58:44.460
herb as though every preparation is identical, but plants vary.

638
00:58:45.079 --> 00:58:48.090
Like for instance, where was it grown? And when was

639
00:58:48.119 --> 00:58:51.309
it harvested? Which part of the plant was used?

640
00:58:51.769 --> 00:58:55.869
How was it dried? How was it extracted? What dose?

641
00:58:56.769 --> 00:59:02.230
And what other compounds were present? Traditional herbalism and pharmaceutical

642
00:59:02.309 --> 00:59:07.639
standardization are very different worlds. That makes herbs fascinating, and

643
00:59:07.699 --> 00:59:11.440
it also makes them really difficult to study. Now, sage

644
00:59:11.500 --> 00:59:13.659
is an interesting one. It has traditionally been used for

645
00:59:13.699 --> 00:59:18.280
excessive sweating and has become a popular natural approach for

646
00:59:18.320 --> 00:59:23.440
menopausal hot flashes. And there are small clinical studies suggesting benefit,

647
00:59:24.139 --> 00:59:27.340
but the evidence base isn't nearly as large or conclusive.

648
00:59:28.079 --> 00:59:32.679
as social media sometimes makes it sound. Still, this is

649
00:59:32.800 --> 00:59:37.360
an example of a traditional plant that deserves more rigorous study.

650
00:59:38.179 --> 00:59:40.500
And it can also be enjoyed as a culinary herb

651
00:59:40.579 --> 00:59:48.800
or tea rather than automatically jumping to concentrated extracts. Fennel. Well,

652
00:59:48.969 --> 00:59:52.170
there's some interesting research out of Iran. So here's an

653
00:59:52.230 --> 00:59:57.309
example I particularly wanted to include because I wanted... to

654
00:59:57.349 --> 01:00:01.610
go outside of the American pharmaceutical system for this podcast.

655
01:00:02.809 --> 01:00:09.880
Researchers in Tehran conducted a randomized triple-blind placebo-controlled trial involving

656
01:00:09.880 --> 01:00:17.840
90 post-menopausal women. The women received phenyl or placebo for

657
01:00:17.940 --> 01:00:24.000
eight weeks. The phenyl group showed significant improvement in overall

658
01:00:24.199 --> 01:00:25.800
menopause rating scores.

659
01:00:26.519 --> 01:00:27.440
That's interesting.

660
01:00:28.599 --> 01:00:34.570
But another Iranian randomized trial involving 50 women found something different.

661
01:00:36.710 --> 01:00:41.429
Both fennel and placebo groups improved, and there wasn't a

662
01:00:41.489 --> 01:00:47.610
significant difference between them for most menopausal symptoms. That is science,

663
01:00:47.929 --> 01:00:51.880
and that was two trials with different findings. Instead of

664
01:00:51.920 --> 01:00:55.880
pretending the second study doesn't exist, we say fennel is promising.

665
01:00:56.969 --> 01:01:01.489
is traditionally used. There is some clinical evidence, but we

666
01:01:01.510 --> 01:01:06.070
need larger and better trials before claiming it reliably treats menopause.

667
01:01:07.389 --> 01:01:13.059
And that's a much stronger statement than the hype. So

668
01:01:13.139 --> 01:01:18.079
there was another Iranian trial which examined a mixture of fennel, chamomile,

669
01:01:18.199 --> 01:01:25.210
and saffron. Researchers studied 120 perimenopausal women in a randomized

670
01:01:25.449 --> 01:01:37.309
triple-blind placebo-controlled clinical trial lasting 12 weeks. Women receiving one

671
01:01:37.329 --> 01:01:43.070
of the herbal combinations experienced substantial reductions in physical, psychological,

672
01:01:43.690 --> 01:01:49.050
and urogenital symptom scores. Again, that's not proof that everyone

673
01:01:49.110 --> 01:01:52.920
should take that combination, but it's precisely the type of

674
01:01:53.019 --> 01:01:57.500
traditional herbal research that that I wish received more attention.

675
01:01:59.489 --> 01:02:02.650
Okay, flax. Okay, flaxseed is interesting.

676
01:02:03.530 --> 01:02:06.389
It's another food I like discussing because it isn't merely

677
01:02:06.409 --> 01:02:11.710
a menopause supplement. It's actual food and flax contains fiber.

678
01:02:12.610 --> 01:02:19.519
It contains alpha-linolenic acid and it contains lignans, plant compounds

679
01:02:19.579 --> 01:02:24.900
that can be metabolized by gut bacteria into compounds with

680
01:02:25.139 --> 01:02:32.829
weak estrogenic activity. That connection between plants and gut microbes

681
01:02:33.050 --> 01:02:37.489
is really fascinating. If you're going to use flax as food,

682
01:02:37.809 --> 01:02:43.360
grinding it generally makes its nutrients more accessible than swallowing

683
01:02:43.440 --> 01:02:47.619
whole seeds that may pass through intact. You can add

684
01:02:47.739 --> 01:02:53.780
ground flax to oatmeal, yogurt, smoothies, your overnight oats. And again,

685
01:02:53.800 --> 01:02:56.320
I don't want to sell it as a hot flask cure,

686
01:02:56.360 --> 01:03:01.389
but think bigger in terms of fiber, gut health, plant compounds,

687
01:03:01.730 --> 01:03:05.170
healthy fats. And it's a food that earns its place

688
01:03:05.210 --> 01:03:10.750
for multiple reasons. So let's return to the gut. Traditional

689
01:03:10.809 --> 01:03:19.940
cultures didn't have probiotic capsules. They had fermented food like yogurt, kefir, sauerkraut, kimchi, miso,

690
01:03:20.000 --> 01:03:26.489
and tempeh. Some people would argue that probiotic capsules aren't

691
01:03:26.570 --> 01:03:29.570
going to be viable in the gut. They're not going

692
01:03:29.590 --> 01:03:32.949
to survive and make it to the intestinal tract, the

693
01:03:32.969 --> 01:03:37.050
digestive tract. So they will say, hey, it's better to

694
01:03:37.090 --> 01:03:41.159
go with fermented foods to get your probiotics. And I

695
01:03:41.199 --> 01:03:44.579
actually think that there's probably some truth to that. Different

696
01:03:44.639 --> 01:03:50.340
cultures created different fermented foods. Research into probiotics and menopause

697
01:03:50.420 --> 01:03:56.730
is still young. Some trials suggest particular Probiotics may affect bone, metabolic,

698
01:03:56.809 --> 01:04:00.710
or inflammatory measures, but we're nowhere near able to say,

699
01:04:01.090 --> 01:04:06.550
take this bacterial strain and menopause goes away. Still, supporting

700
01:04:06.590 --> 01:04:13.659
microbial diversity through a varied plant-rich diet and fermented foods

701
01:04:14.239 --> 01:04:17.539
is a very different strategy from waiting until something goes

702
01:04:17.579 --> 01:04:18.659
wrong and trying.

703
01:04:18.440 --> 01:04:20.260
To repair it afterwards.

704
01:04:21.329 --> 01:04:26.019
The emerging menopause microbiome literature is one of the areas

705
01:04:26.159 --> 01:04:29.039
I'm going to be watching closely because I suspect.

706
01:04:29.219 --> 01:04:30.579
We're only beginning to understand it.

707
01:04:32.159 --> 01:04:36.440
Now, some people like traditional Chinese medicine and they'll look

708
01:04:36.460 --> 01:04:43.449
at acupuncture. This is really complicated research because, okay, so

709
01:04:43.730 --> 01:04:47.949
meta-analysis report improvements in hot flash frequency, severity, and quality

710
01:04:47.989 --> 01:04:53.260
of life. A meta-analysis involving 12 studies and 869 women

711
01:04:53.440 --> 01:04:59.650
found improvements in hot flashes and several menopause-related symptom measures.

712
01:05:00.690 --> 01:05:07.130
But when acupuncture is compared specifically against convincing sham acupuncture,

713
01:05:08.250 --> 01:05:12.510
the difference often becomes much smaller. A Cochrane review of

714
01:05:12.510 --> 01:05:16.929
16 studies involving more than 1,100 women found no significant

715
01:05:16.989 --> 01:05:22.289
difference between acupuncture and sham acupuncture for hot flash frequency,

716
01:05:22.889 --> 01:05:25.150
although severity may have improved slightly.

717
01:05:27.070 --> 01:05:28.289
So what do we do with that?

718
01:05:29.150 --> 01:05:32.690
We don't have to declare acupuncture either magic or nonsense.

719
01:05:33.150 --> 01:05:38.079
Some women report meaningful benefit. It generally has a relatively

720
01:05:38.159 --> 01:05:41.940
low rate of serious adverse effects when performed properly by

721
01:05:42.039 --> 01:05:47.510
trained practitioners. But the specific effect beyond placebo or nonspecific

722
01:05:47.570 --> 01:05:51.969
treatment effects remains debated. And that's the honest answer.

723
01:05:53.269 --> 01:05:53.590
Okay.

724
01:05:55.929 --> 01:06:00.960
Maybe we underestimate routine and ritual. And this is where

725
01:06:01.019 --> 01:06:06.280
I feel like I had a really nice shift in

726
01:06:06.380 --> 01:06:10.849
my overall physical well-being as far as my menopause health

727
01:06:10.909 --> 01:06:16.480
is concerned. So something like, Making tea, sitting down, breathing,

728
01:06:16.820 --> 01:06:22.579
going outside, preparing real food, taking a bath, praying, walking

729
01:06:22.639 --> 01:06:27.079
after dinner, turning the lights down at night. They're not

730
01:06:27.139 --> 01:06:32.260
dramatic interventions, but they create a rhythm. And this type

731
01:06:32.280 --> 01:06:34.480
of rhythm is something that modern life has stripped away.

732
01:06:36.239 --> 01:06:40.010
Our ancestors lived by sunrise and sunset. Meals happened at

733
01:06:40.030 --> 01:06:46.960
predictable times. Work involved movement. Darkness meant darkness. And the

734
01:06:47.019 --> 01:06:49.880
seasons mattered. They ate with the seasons and they had

735
01:06:49.900 --> 01:06:52.719
to go to sleep and wake up with the seasons. Okay,

736
01:06:52.800 --> 01:06:57.550
so just thinking about that, things like grounding yourself, touching soil,

737
01:06:58.409 --> 01:07:03.590
watching the sunrise, keeping the room nice and dark. One

738
01:07:03.630 --> 01:07:05.849
mistake some women try to do is they try to

739
01:07:05.869 --> 01:07:10.349
detox menopause away. So the idea that every menopausal symptom

740
01:07:10.690 --> 01:07:14.750
means you're toxic. Well, menopause is not evidence that Your

741
01:07:14.769 --> 01:07:19.289
body failed to detox. Your ovaries are aging, and that's

742
01:07:19.530 --> 01:07:24.860
normal human biology. So supporting your liver, gut, kidneys, sleep,

743
01:07:24.880 --> 01:07:29.840
and nutrition, it's sensible. Now, I know a lot of

744
01:07:29.860 --> 01:07:32.400
women will say, I didn't change anything, but suddenly my

745
01:07:32.440 --> 01:07:37.500
body changed. And there is truth behind that experience. Aging

746
01:07:37.559 --> 01:07:43.250
affects energy expenditure and muscle. Hormonal changes can influence fat distribution.

747
01:07:44.280 --> 01:07:47.559
And women do tend to notice more abdominal fat during

748
01:07:47.639 --> 01:07:53.110
menopause or during perimenopause. Sleep disruption can affect your appetite

749
01:07:53.710 --> 01:07:54.969
and stress can influence eating.

750
01:07:55.090 --> 01:07:55.690
We know that.

751
01:07:56.190 --> 01:08:02.989
Insulin sensitivity can change also. Muscle mass declines and metabolism

752
01:08:03.050 --> 01:08:06.929
changes along with that decline in muscle mass. And this

753
01:08:06.989 --> 01:08:10.840
is another reason why I don't love starvation diets during menopause.

754
01:08:11.780 --> 01:08:14.690
the answer to losing muscle shouldn't be eating almost nothing.

755
01:08:15.730 --> 01:08:21.850
So protect your muscle, prioritize protein, strength train, walk, sleep,

756
01:08:22.550 --> 01:08:27.279
build your metabolic health. The number on the scale isn't

757
01:08:27.300 --> 01:08:33.319
the whole story. Hot flashes, well, they get attention, right?

758
01:08:33.359 --> 01:08:36.319
Because we feel them. And that's kind of the big,

759
01:08:36.739 --> 01:08:39.029
that's the standout. When you think about menopause, you think

760
01:08:39.069 --> 01:08:43.750
hot flashes, but, um, Estrogen plays an important role in

761
01:08:43.770 --> 01:08:46.039
the bone remodeling, so keep that in mind because we

762
01:08:46.100 --> 01:08:50.479
also have bone loss during menopause. As estrogen falls, bone

763
01:08:50.520 --> 01:08:54.479
loss can accelerate, and that's why menopause is the time

764
01:08:54.590 --> 01:08:58.170
to become serious about your bone health and the calcium

765
01:08:58.189 --> 01:09:05.409
rich foods matter. The doctor's kitchen highlights foods such as yogurt, kefir, cheese, sardines,

766
01:09:05.510 --> 01:09:12.149
and salmon with edible bones, tofu, soybeans, and calcium containing vegetables.

767
01:09:13.439 --> 01:09:18.899
Vitamin D status matters, protein matters, and resistance exercise matters.

768
01:09:21.229 --> 01:09:24.710
Two of the foods highlighted by the doctor's kitchen deserve

769
01:09:24.729 --> 01:09:29.430
a quick mention. Pomegranate has been studied for menopausal symptoms

770
01:09:29.789 --> 01:09:33.289
with some small studies suggesting improvements, but the evidence is

771
01:09:33.310 --> 01:09:38.770
still limited. That's exactly how Dr. Ruppe presents it. Promising,

772
01:09:39.130 --> 01:09:42.949
not proven. However, keep in mind, pomegranates have a lot

773
01:09:43.029 --> 01:09:45.090
of other nutritional benefits.

774
01:09:46.130 --> 01:09:47.210
And then there are prunes.

775
01:09:48.050 --> 01:09:52.979
A 12-month randomized controlled trial study found that 50 grams

776
01:09:53.119 --> 01:09:57.930
of prunes per day helped preserve bone mineral density in

777
01:09:58.020 --> 01:10:03.270
post-menopausal women compared with controls. I love examples like this

778
01:10:03.350 --> 01:10:08.789
because they're so ordinary. Prunes are not glamorous, right? Nobody's

779
01:10:08.829 --> 01:10:11.569
going to build a billion-dollar wellness empire around a bag

780
01:10:11.609 --> 01:10:16.489
of prunes, but sometimes ordinary foods have interesting effects, and

781
01:10:16.550 --> 01:10:20.029
that is exactly why food research matters.

782
01:10:21.789 --> 01:10:22.850
Now, magnesium.

783
01:10:23.270 --> 01:10:27.789
Magnesium-rich food is really important because magnesium helps us sleep

784
01:10:27.850 --> 01:10:32.170
better and keeps us calm. Magnesium participates in hundreds of

785
01:10:32.250 --> 01:10:36.369
biochemical reactions. So rather than immediately reaching for a supplement,

786
01:10:36.470 --> 01:10:37.270
look at the food.

787
01:10:38.220 --> 01:10:40.579
Pumpkin seeds, chia, almonds.

788
01:10:40.920 --> 01:10:48.100
Leafy greens, black beans, whole grains, fiber, minerals, plant compounds, protein.

789
01:10:49.819 --> 01:10:53.619
I want to finish by returning to history. Imagine women

790
01:10:53.939 --> 01:10:57.470
hundreds of years ago. They didn't know what an estrogen

791
01:10:57.569 --> 01:11:03.750
receptor was. They couldn't measure FSH. They couldn't Google a

792
01:11:03.869 --> 01:11:07.529
symptom at 2 in the morning. But they knew women

793
01:11:07.880 --> 01:11:15.140
changed with age. Cultures developed traditions around that transition. Some

794
01:11:15.199 --> 01:11:19.949
were helpful, some weren't. And modern science has given us

795
01:11:20.390 --> 01:11:26.130
an incredible ability to investigate those traditions rather than simply

796
01:11:26.229 --> 01:11:32.220
accepting or rejecting them. Don't reject something merely because it's

797
01:11:32.479 --> 01:11:37.159
old and don't accept something merely because it's natural. Don't

798
01:11:37.199 --> 01:11:39.899
accept something merely because somebody's wearing a white coat.

799
01:11:41.140 --> 01:11:44.850
Ask questions. Look at the evidence. Look at history.

800
01:11:45.789 --> 01:11:50.279
Look at culture's outside of your own. And most importantly,

801
01:11:50.720 --> 01:11:56.350
pay attention to your body because menopause isn't identical for

802
01:11:56.560 --> 01:12:00.609
every woman. For one woman, the biggest issue may be sleep.

803
01:12:01.149 --> 01:12:07.289
For another, hot flashes. For another, anxiety. For another, weight distribution.

804
01:12:07.609 --> 01:12:09.470
And for another, vaginal dryness.

805
01:12:09.970 --> 01:12:13.609
Another, bone health. And some women move.

806
01:12:13.409 --> 01:12:18.239
Through menopause with surprisingly few symptoms. That alone tells us

807
01:12:18.300 --> 01:12:25.899
something important. There's no single menopause experience. Maybe we've been

808
01:12:26.039 --> 01:12:30.470
asking the wrong question. Maybe menopause isn't something we need

809
01:12:30.510 --> 01:12:35.449
to defeat. Maybe it's something we need to understand. Your

810
01:12:35.510 --> 01:12:45.909
body has spent decades adapting to pregnancy, stress, illness, seasons, sleep, food, work, motherhood, relationships,

811
01:12:46.189 --> 01:12:52.510
and life. Now it's entering another season. That season deserves support,

812
01:12:53.010 --> 01:13:03.390
real food, protein, fiber, plants, water, movement, sunlight, darkness at night, sleep, rest, community, prayer,

813
01:13:04.010 --> 01:13:09.170
time outside. And perhaps some of the plants and traditions

814
01:13:09.369 --> 01:13:13.689
women have turned to for generations are used thoughtfully, not blindly.

815
01:13:14.689 --> 01:13:18.149
None of this requires us to pretend science doesn't matter.

816
01:13:18.750 --> 01:13:19.529
Quite the opposite.

817
01:13:20.210 --> 01:13:24.380
The most exciting science may eventually explain why some of

818
01:13:24.439 --> 01:13:28.960
these very old practices mattered in the first place. We're

819
01:13:29.039 --> 01:13:33.279
already seeing that with circadian biology, and we're seeing it

820
01:13:33.319 --> 01:13:36.939
with a microbiome, and we're also seeing it with resistance exercise.

821
01:13:38.180 --> 01:13:41.510
So we're only beginning to understand the conversation happening between

822
01:13:41.550 --> 01:13:44.069
our food and our microbes, our hormones and our brains.

823
01:13:47.130 --> 01:13:51.090
I'm Carolyn Thompson, and this is Chasing Eden, rediscovering your

824
01:13:51.130 --> 01:13:55.430
body's divine design. If this episode helped you, send it

825
01:13:55.470 --> 01:13:58.479
to a woman who's entering this season of life or

826
01:13:58.560 --> 01:14:01.819
to a younger woman who deserves to understand what's coming

827
01:14:01.920 --> 01:14:05.779
before she gets there. And wherever you listen, follow Chasing

828
01:14:05.939 --> 01:14:11.479
Eden or go to chasingeden.net. Until next time, Stay curious,

829
01:14:11.920 --> 01:14:15.069
take care of the body you've been given, and keep

830
01:14:15.449 --> 01:14:16.390
chasing Eden.