Everyday Wellness: Midlife Hormones, Menopause, and Science for Women 35+

Welcome to this week’s Midlife Minute episode!

Statistically, one in three women will die of heart disease. So, today, we’re answering some of the many questions I received about lipids and heart health. Although I’ve done other lipid-focused Midlife Minutes before, this episode is yet another dedicated to Dr. Tom Dayspring, as I’ve received such a vast number of questions on this particular topic.

IN THIS EPISODE, YOU WILL LEARN:

Why understanding your ApoB and Lp(a) is an essential part of assessing your cardiovascular risk

Why treatments for lipid abnormalities should be individualized to fit each specific abnormality

Essential lifestyle measures for supporting overall cardiovascular health

How CAC scoring, CT coronary angiography, and Clearly AI-assisted imaging differ, what each test measures, and their limitations

How cardiovascular disease can sometimes present differently in women

Why are premature atrial contractions and premature ventricular contractions often benign when the heart is structurally normal?

How the roles of statins, ezetimibe, PCSK9 inhibitors, GLP-1 medications, and emerging RNA therapies differ, and why they should not be considered interchangeable

How declining estrogen impacts cardiovascular health

Connect with Cynthia Thurlow

Follow on X, Instagram & LinkedIn

Check out Cynthia’s website.

Submit your questions to support@cynthiathurlow.com

Join other like-minded women in a supportive, nurturing community: The Midlife Pause/Cynthia Thurlow.

Purchase Cynthia’s book, The Menopause Gut.

Cynthia’s Intermittent Fasting Transformation Book

The Midlife Pause Supplement Line

I’m delighted to bring you a midlife metabolic health masterclass for women today, with experts Dr. Yael Joffe, Dr. Ben Bikman, Dr. Lara Briden, Dr. Felice Gersh, and Dr. Alexandra Sowa.

In this masterclass, our panel of experts explores how women’s metabolisms change in perimenopause, how our fat cells change with age, and how those changes influence our estrogen, insulin, and body composition. We examine how muscle, estrogen, and satiety mechanisms can improve or worsen metabolic health, the roles of aging, stress, inflammation, and ovarian health, and how body changes become metabolic risks.

Join us for today’s impactful masterclass with our insightful panel of metabolic health experts.

IN THIS EPISODE, YOU WILL LEARN:

Why the amount of body fat you carry does not necessarily determine your metabolic health

How declining estrogen during menopause can change where women store their body fat

Why women have to work harder to maintain and build muscle as estrogen declines in perimenopause and menopause

How women can continue building muscle at any age

Why progesterone is not only a reproductive hormone or something prescribed to protect the uterine lining

The changes women may experience as their estradiol and progesterone production declines in midlife

What women considering GLP-1 medications for menopausal weight gain should look at, beyond the number on the scale

How to support your gut health and manage gastrointestinal symptoms when taking a GLP-1

The factors Dr. Joffe takes into account when evaluating women during their menopausal transition

Connect with Cynthia Thurlow

Follow on X, Instagram & LinkedIn

Check out Cynthia’s website.

Submit your questions to support@cynthiathurlow.com

Join other like-minded women in a supportive, nurturing community: The Midlife Pause/Cynthia Thurlow.

Purchase Cynthia’s book, The Menopause Gut.

Cynthia’s Intermittent Fasting Transformation Book

The Midlife Pause Supplement Line

Connect with Dr. Yael Joffe

3X4 Genetics

Instagram

Facebook

Connect with Dr. Ben Bikman

On his website

Social media: @benbikmanphd

Connect with Dr. Lara Briden

Website

Social media: @Lara Briden

Connect with Dr. Felice Gersh

On her website: Integrative Medical Group of Irvine

Instagram

All of Dr. Gersh’s books are available on Amazon.

Connect with Dr. Alexandra Sowa

On her website

Social media: @alexandrasowamd

Purchase a copy of Dr. Sowa’s book, The Ozempic Revolution: A Doctor's Proven Plan for Success to Help You Reverse Obesity, End Yo-Yo Dieting, and Protect Yourself from Disease

Podcast Episodes:

Ep. 558 Your DNA Isn’t Your Destiny – The Most Actionable Way to Use Genetics for Weight Loss with Dr. Yael Joffe

Ep. 316 The Impact of Age, Gender and Lifestyle on Metabolic Health with Dr. Ben Bikman

Ep. 372 Metabolism Repair for Women: Strategies and Insights with Dr. Lara Briden

Ep. 570 We’ve Been Wrong About Progesterone! – The Most Powerful Hormone for Heart, Brain & Longevity with Dr. Felice Gersh|Menopause & HRT

Ep. 438 - The Rise of GLP-1s: Key to Weight Loss and Metabolic Health with Alexandra Sowa, MD

I’m excited to share another episode in our series of highly vetted companies.

Today, I’m delighted to reconnect with Angelo Keely, the Co-founder and CEO of Kion, for our third conversation.

I’ve been using essential aminos. I really leaned into them during my book launch, and I credit them with helping me maintain my muscle mass despite training at a lower volume.

In today’s conversation, Angelo and I discuss GLP-1s and muscle loss, exploring protein intake, the leucine threshold hypothesis, the association between declining estrogen and blunted muscle protein synthesis, and using essential aminos to build and maintain muscle. We unpack the role of sleep and recovery for muscle health, daily versus as-needed creatine monohydrate and essential amino acid supplementation, what omega-3s are, why they matter, and how to supplement. We also cover midlife women's body composition, weight loss, and muscle building, and Angelo shares his take on the disconnect between body composition changes in midlife women and how companies actively market to midlife women, knowing the challenges we face in that area.

Stay tuned for today’s insightful and informative discussion with Angelo Keely of Kion.

IN THIS EPISODE, YOU WILL LEARN:

How caloric restriction leads to fat loss but can also cause the body to break down muscle

How essential aminos can help preserve our muscles as we age

The essential amino formula Angelo recommends for midlife women

Hormone changes may affect muscle protein synthesis

The huge impact poor sleep has on whole-body protein synthesis

Essential aminos vs. whey protein and how they differ

Value of essential aminos for maintaining muscle during caloric deficits

How aminos and creatine both need to be taken consistently, but for different physiological reasons

What to look for when choosing a quality omega-3 supplement

How to make daily supplementation easier to maintain

Connect with Cynthia Thurlow

Follow on X, Instagram & LinkedIn

Check out Cynthia’s website.

Submit your questions to support@cynthiathurlow.com

Join other like-minded women in a supportive, nurturing community: The Midlife Pause/Cynthia Thurlow.

Purchase Cynthia’s book, The Menopause Gut.

Cynthia’s Intermittent Fasting Transformation Book

The Midlife Pause Supplement Line

Connect with Angelo Keely

Visit GetKION.com/Cynthia for 20% off!

Today, I’m delighted to connect with Sara Hirsh Bordo, an autoimmune-diagnosed, 15-times award-winning documentary filmmaker, the founder and CEO of Women Rising, and the author of Autoimmunity and the Good Girls.

I loved Sara's book, and I love her work! I believe her message will resonate deeply with listeners with concurrent autoimmune conditions, and those who have grown up as people pleasers or have subjugated themselves over the course of their lives. Autoimmune conditions often tend to flare or first present during major hormonal transitions like postpartum, perimenopause, or menopause. So it’s important to understand the influence of chronic stress and how it intersects with our immune system function.

In our conversation, Sara and I discuss how self-silencing makes us sick, and overgiving keeps us that way. We explore the influence of family and culture on our health and longevity, the effects of autoimmunity, people pleasing, good-girl conditioning, and authenticity versus dissociation. We also discuss Gabor Maté’s book, The Myth of Normal, liberation, the fear of disappointment, Sara’s research, her concept of the license to be sovereign, the act of receiving, the role of epigenetics and birth order, and Sara's framework of coherence, authenticity, epigenetics, and permission.

Stay tuned for a wonderful conversation about autoimmunity, people-pleasing, authenticity, and permitting ourselves to be sovereign. Sarah's book, Autoimmunity and the Good Girls, will likely resonate deeply with many of you.

IN THIS EPISODE, YOU WILL LEARN:

How self-silencing, self-neglect, and self-betrayal can impact a woman’s health

The connection between chronic stress, suppressed feelings, good girl conditioning, and autoimmunity

What it feels like to reclaim your authenticity and be more aligned with yourself

How the fear of disappointing others can make it difficult for some women to claim their power

What Sara discovered about adverse girlhood experiences, birth order, and the caretaker role when compiling the research for her book

How becoming more sovereign can help women advocate for their own needs

Why receiving can be difficult for women who are accustomed to giving

How stillness and silence helped Sara identify her needs and wants

How girlhood experiences, self-silencing, and self-compromise can become epigenetic inputs, and what women can do to create more supportive environments

Why permission is a key part of Sara’s framework for reclaiming authenticity

Bio: Sara Hirsh Bordo

Sara Hirsh Bordo (pronounced Bordeaux) is a 15-time award-winning filmmaker and Founder/CEO of Women Rising®, named "One of the Most Innovative, Interesting, and Purpose-Driven Women-Led Startups to Watch” by Inc. Magazine.

Sara is currently directing short documentary films for Toyota and ESPN Women, and most recently, the executive producer of ConnectHer International Film Festival, consulting director for the Gates Foundation PitchFest Program, and the author and researcher behind the first proprietary quantitative survey at the intersection of female empowerment and health, Autoimmunity and the Good GirlsTM.

Sara previously held positions in media and entertainment, including Executive Director of Interactive Marketing at Paramount Pictures, VP of Digital Marketing at MGM Studios, and CEO and Co-Founder of NowLive. Autoimmunity and the Good Girls is her first book.

Connect with Cynthia Thurlow

Follow on X, Instagram & LinkedIn

Check out Cynthia’s website.

Submit your questions to support@cynthiathurlow.com

Join other like-minded women in a supportive, nurturing community: The Midlife Pause/Cynthia Thurlow.

Purchase Cynthia’s book, The Menopause Gut.

Cynthia’s Intermittent Fasting Transformation Book

The Midlife Pause Supplement Line

Connect with Sara Hirsh Bordo

Website

Instagram

Autoimmunity & The Good Girls Book

Today, we have a metabolic health masterclass, featuring Dr. Robert Lustig, Ben Azadi, Dr. Ben Bikman, Mark Sisson, and Dr. Nick Norwitz.

In today’s masterclass, we explore why metabolic dysfunction is not simply a calories-in, calories-out issue or a failure of willpower, how insulin and leptin influence appetite and behavior, how early signs of insulin resistance can appear years before a diabetes diagnosis, and the important relationship between muscle, glucose regulation, and insulin sensitivity. We also discuss how movement supports fat burning without sacrificing muscle, why chronic cardio may not produce the results many people expect, and how emerging technology could provide a far more personalized approach to metabolic care.

Stay tuned for today’s informative discussion, where our panel of experts shares their valuable perspectives on metabolic health.

IN THIS EPISODE, YOU WILL LEARN:

Leptin resistance and how it can drive the overeating and inactivity commonly associated with obesity

How elevated insulin blocks the effects of leptin

Why it’s essential to pay attention to fasting insulin rather than waiting for blood glucose to rise

Ben Azadi highlights metabolic health markers that can provide information beyond fasting glucose.

How our muscles help to regulate glucose and support insulin sensitivity

The importance of building and preserving muscle to support insulin sensitivity as we age, and how even a brief period of inactivity can reduce insulin sensitivity

Mark Sisson explains why running may not be the most effective fat loss strategy

How walking can increase your fat-burning capacity while also helping to preserve your muscles

Dr. Nick Norwitz explains how type 2 diabetes can involve different underlying pathologies, and how CGM data and machine learning can eventually help to identify specific subphenotypes

Connect with Cynthia Thurlow

Follow on X, Instagram & LinkedIn

Check out Cynthia’s website.

Submit your questions to support@cynthiathurlow.com

Join other like-minded women in a supportive, nurturing community: The Midlife Pause/Cynthia Thurlow.

Purchase Cynthia’s book, The Menopause Gut.

Cynthia’s Intermittent Fasting Transformation Book

The Midlife Pause Supplement Line

Connect with Dr. Robert Lustig

Website

On Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter

Connect with Ben Azadi

Website

On Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube, TikTok

Get a copy of Ben Azadi’s latest book, Metabolic Freedom.

Connect with Dr. Ben Bikman

Website

On social media: @benbikmanphd

Connect with Mark Sisson

Mark’s book, Born To Walk

Peluva Shoes

Connect with Nick Norwitz

On YouTube, X, and Instagram

His Substack

Previous Episodes:

Ep. 161 Robert Lustig & Cynthia Thurlow Discussing The Nutritional Battlefield & Debunking Chronic Diseases

Ep. 465 Metabolic Health 101: Fat Loss, Toxins, and Seed Oils with Dr. Ben Azadi

Ep. 316 The Impact of Age, Gender and Lifestyle on Metabolic Health with Dr. Ben Bikman

Ep. 422 Walking for Health: The Underrated Exercise You Need with Mark Sisson

Ep. 525 We’ve Been Misled About Metabolic Health – The Shocking Truth About Cholesterol, GLP-1 & Aging with Dr. Nick Norwitz