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Weight LossUnderstanding Perimenopause & Menopause with The Period Whisperer
June 4, 2024 By
Leanne Vogel
June 26, 2024
In today’s episode of the Healthful Pursuit Podcast, we have an enlightening conversation with Bria Gadd, also known as The Period Whisperer. Bria is a functional diagnostic practitioner and holistic health coach specializing in female hormones. Together, we dive deep into the intricacies of perimenopause and menopause, uncovering how these transitional periods impact women’s health.
Bria Gadd is a remarkable individual adept at navigating through life’s inevitable transitions, likening her journey to walking from solid concrete onto a precarious suspension bridge. With a grounded background that provided stability, Bria has learned to withstand life’s turbulences with grace and resilience. However, as the terrain beneath her feet has shifted, she’s encountered new challenges that shake her foundational sense of security. Instead of succumbing to fear, Bria understands the body’s natural response to hold on and survive, even when circumstances are unstable. Her story is one of adaptability, understanding, and the human instinct to weather any storm that comes her way. Through this tumultuous journey, Bria exemplifies the strength and perseverance necessary to thrive amidst uncertainty.
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Transcript
Bria Gadd
We’re going through a transition. The ground below us is shaky. It’s like if you imagine walking on one of those suspension bridges, we’ve been walking on solid concrete for a really long time, and so we can handle the winds and the stuff, but now we’re walking on a suspension bridge. And so anything that gets chucked at us is making it really shaky. And when the body feels shaky, it tries to survive. It battens down the hatches and it holds on to the things that it needs to survive. And fat’s going to be one of those things. And so it is that survival mechanism.
Bria Gadd
So I think when the best thing I always say, like, when we’re going through this, have a little self compassion. It’s not forever. It is a transition. And I think first and foremost, we always like, when things are shaky, we always want to come back down to the foundations.
Leanne Vogel
Hello. Welcome back to the show. So many of us are confused around the differences between perimenopause, menopause, and how our bodies change over time. I wanted to have my dear friend Bria Gad on the show to chat with you all about the differences and educate us on how to manage our perimenopause and menopause and really thrive in that space. Education truly is such a key piece to this so that you can understand what signals your body is telling you and how to adjust. Now, Brea is a functional diagnostic practitioner, holistic health coach, and certified personal trainer who specializes in female hormones, helping women with weight release and energy gain in pre and post menopause, and finding clarity in hormonal chaos. Her podcast, the Period Whisperer, is top 2% of all wellness podcasts in the world with an Instagram following of over 17,000. And Bria has been featured in Fox News, women’s health and top women’s publications such as the Midlife Makeover show, to name a few.
Leanne Vogel
Now, because of so many different reasons, I don’t record the video content of my episodes. But. But when I’m interviewing a guest, we have the video running and I just love to see my guest and kind of see what they’re thinking, how they’re thinking when they’re about to talk. And what I really appreciated about Bria is you could tell that she was being so intentional around the way that she answered questions. She was very focused on what I was asking and we had just such a great conversation. So I’m hoping that you enjoy our time with brea. She also put together a daily hormone checklist for our listeners here. So go ahead and check out the show notes and you can click there and check out the daily Hormone checklist.
Leanne Vogel
Some of the pieces that we’re talking about today include just understanding sex hormones, understanding the role of adrenal function in menopause, understanding the symptoms that we’re experiencing, the transition from perimenopause to menopause, what this means, how to tell we’re going through it, and some of the issues that we see time and time again with the clients that we’re working with when it comes to these phases. So let’s get going with our time with brea hey, my name is Leanne and I’m fascinated with helping women navigate how to eat, move and care for their bodies. This has taken me on a journey from vegan keto high protein to everything in between. I’m a small town holistic nutritionist turned three time international bestselling author turned functional medicine practitioner offering telemedicine services around the globe to women looking to better their health and stop second guessing themselves. I’m here to teach you how to wade through the wellness noise to get to the good stuff that’ll help you achieve your goals. Whether you’re seeking relief from chronic ailments, striving for peak performance, or simply eager to live a more vibrant life, this podcast is your go to resource for actionable advice and inspiration. Together, we’ll uncover the interconnectedness of nutrition, movement, sleep, stress management and mindset, empowering you to make informed choices that support your unique health journey. Think of it as quality time with your bestie mixed with a little med school so you’re empowered at your next doctor visit.
Leanne Vogel
Get ready to be challenged and encouraged while you learn about your body and how to care for it healthfully. Join me as we embrace vitality, reclaim our innate potential, and discover what it truly means to pursue healthfulness. Rhea, what’s up?
Bria Gadd
Hey Leanne. I’m great. I’m so excited to be here. Always love my time with you. So thanks for having me.
Leanne Vogel
Yes, of course. We were chatting before I pressed record and I meant to check the bathroom mirror before I put my video on and I had like chocolate all over my face. So thanks for just being so awesome about that.
Bria Gadd
Melted on my body many times.
Leanne Vogel
I really like chocolate. Like, I think of any food that I could possibly eat, I would say chocolate’s my favorite. Do you have like, a favorite food that you just could not live without?
Bria Gadd
I mean, I honestly, I like, I hate to be super boring and join you in that, but like, my whole life I have loved chocolate, and I still love it in. I’m getting picky about my chocolate. Like, it can’t be yucky chocolate. Like, I’m picky about how it. But, gosh, I could eat, and these days, I would say, like, now that they combine chocolate with, like, nut butters and, like, salt, I mean, I can eat mass amounts of it, for sure. So I’m a huge chocolate fan. There’s no doubt about it.
Leanne Vogel
So I’ve gotten into, like, where the beans are grown, and I’ve gotten, like, a little bit crazy about chocolate. There’s actually a special chocolate shop about an hour and a half from my house, and we will drive there on a Saturday so I can pick up, like, peruvian chocolate, because it is now my favorite source is peruvian chocolate. So if you haven’t had chocolate from Peru, I highly suggest finding some, because it is. It’s like, fruity tones. I’m starting to get into it. Like, people love wine.
Bria Gadd
So, yes, I’m with you. I love it.
Leanne Vogel
Well, thank you.
Bria Gadd
I will check out some peruvian chocolate.
Leanne Vogel
Peruvian chocolate. Okay, so today I want to chat about some of the misconceptions around the hormone conversation. We’ve had a lot of guests on the show in the past, some in support of hormone replacement therapy, and some people saying, like, you cannot get on without hormone replacement therapy, others saying, don’t even bother. Some saying, focus on your adrenals. Others saying, find the root cause. It can be kind of confusing to kind of figure out what step to take. And I think oftentimes, ladies that come to me, and maybe you’ll agree with this, with the people that you’re connecting with, but individuals that come to me oftentimes are saying, I want to fix my hormones. What do I do to fix my hormones? Are you seeing kind of the same trend?
Bria Gadd
Yes. I think on one hand, it’s really beautiful that we’re finally starting to prioritize women’s health. And I think that’s because, I mean, look, women weren’t a part of medical research and wellness research till the mid 1990s. I’m 42, going to be 43 this year. So if you’re in my age box, I mean, we’ve all been operating like small men for most of our lives, so I think it’s incredible that we’re seeing this. However, along with any new exciting conversation, there’s always, like, that marketing element to it and, like, our hormones. So I think we’re talking about our sex hormones here. I mean, there’s so much more to the picture than just our sex hormones, and they’re a part of a whole bigger orchestra of things going on in the body.
Bria Gadd
So I think the more we know about the entire function of the body and why the hormone. What’s going on with the hormones, particularly in this age box, can help us understand how to get the hormones playing in tune again.
Leanne Vogel
What do you feel like we’re missing in the hormone conversation? Because you just said there’s so much more than just sex hormones. What are we missing?
Bria Gadd
Yeah, okay. That’s a great question. So, I mean, we’ve got the main sex hormones that we talk a lot about, which for women, like, the key players we often hear are going to be estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone. And testosterone doesn’t even get much of a, you know, a voice here. And it’s, like our most dominant hormone as women. I mean, it’s not as nearly the fraction what men have, but it plays a really key role. Of course, we’ve got, like, cortisol and dhea, which are huge, because if our cortisol is elevated, then our sex hormones aren’t even balancing or producing. So, like, there’s, like, a bigger source behind that.
Bria Gadd
You know, we’ve got the impact of those things on our hunger hormones and our full hormones, leptin and ghrelin, like, there’s so much more. And they all. I really look at it like an orchestra. So if you’ve got, you know, one, the trumpet goes off, tune a little, then before, you know, the violin’s off, the piano’s off, you know, all the other things are off. And we can’t just come back and fix the trumpet, you know, call it estrogen or progesterone, if that’s what we’re talking about, and expect the orchestra to start playing in tune again. So doesn’t matter who sets it off, but either way, we kind of have to look at the whole picture anyway to bring us back into playing the song we want to be playing.
Leanne Vogel
I love that picture. And I guess my next question has to do with, is there a master composer to this orchestra? Like, are we talking the hypothalamus? Or, like, could we take it a little bit broader of, is there a conductor to this? Maybe you’ve not thought of this, but. And I really haven’t either, so we can kind of, like, flesh out the details.
Bria Gadd
I would definitely say someone to consider for the conductor would be, I guess, like, our limbic system around stress management, right? Because we’re talking, you know, if our experience with stress, which could be outside of us. Right. With, like, our financials, our relationships are, you know, that thing could be our environment, could be what’s inside of us. Could be like, what you so talk about, amazingly, like parasites or pathogens in our gut. Could be the food we’re eating, could be over exercising. Like there’s so many players. But at the end of the day, if our experience with stress means that the stress doesn’t stop pumping out, then maybe that’s, I would consider that as one of our maestros, for sure. Because however we’re experiencing stress inside or outside of us, that’s definitely going to be a big piece of the puzzle overall.
Leanne Vogel
Right. And so I totally agree with you, and what I’m hearing you say is that it’s not always about the hormones. It’s not the trumpet that’s out of tune. Everything else that’s kind of upstream to that, that’s then causing a hormone issue. Would that be fair to summarize?
Bria Gadd
Absolutely. And I think when it comes to this transitionary period, we’ll call it of perimenopause, which is like our reverse puberty. So I think this is where this talk around hormones that you’re bringing up is, you know, getting a lot of hype and discussion, and rightfully so, but it’s really just a transition. Right. It’s like in puberty, we go from not having a lot of these hormones to, like, who’s handling the hormones? And now we have enough to be reproductively capable when we’re talking about our sex hormones. And then in perimenopause, like, we’ve got the amount of these hormones changing, but even more so, I think who’s handling the hormones and what’s the rest of the body doing and the state of that body at the time of this transition? Because like any transition, whether you’re and you know this well, like moving homes or moving careers or changing relationships, transition adds a workload to the body, and it’s going to highlight the things that are maybe not so stable during that transition.
Leanne Vogel
Yes, absolutely. I can give you two thumbs up on that. For sure. For sure. And, okay, so you just said a couple of things that if listeners are new to the show, they might not have had this kind of in depth conversation. So I want to start off with you just shared, like, perimenopause, menopause, what are these things? Because I think that there’s a lot of misconception around when these things are happening, what they are, how to know it’s happening. Can you just kind of go through more of those details for those that don’t know, because most of us don’t.
Bria Gadd
Yeah. And the stats are 50% of women don’t know the differences between Peri and Menno. And I was one of them, so let’s not. And nobody needs to feel badly about it. Like, it’s the lack of education. So menopause is a very diagnosable state of the body. It basically is diagnosed by the amount of our hormone, our main sex hormones being so low, we are no longer reproductively capable. And we go an entire year without having a period.
Bria Gadd
That’s menopause. And after that you’re post menopause. Pretty much everything leading up to that from around the age of 35. Just like how puberty has this, like, okay, puberty starts around the age of eleven or so. We’ll call it give or take, right? Perimenopause, the reverse puberty starts around the age, we’ll call it 35 for all women. And it’s just not diagnosable because it’s really going to depend a lot. Like, we don’t know where your hormones were at the very beginning of it. If you’re still having a period sometimes, and not for women who maybe are on birth control and can’t tell if they’re bleeding, there’s a lot of pieces to the puzzle.
Bria Gadd
But ultimately I think if you’re over 35 and you haven’t achieved that menopausal diagnosable marker, you’re in it, you’re in the transition, the body’s moving, if that helps.
Leanne Vogel
It totally does. But hold on, right now you just said if you’re on birth control, can’t tell if you’re bleeding. But I bleed on birth control. Not saying I take birth control, but the individual listening is like, well, no, I bleed on birth control. What do you even mean by this.
Bria Gadd
Love that you said this. So on birth control, if we bleed, it’s not. We’re not ovulating. Sorry. So if you’re still ovulating, is really what I should have clarified on birth control. If you bleed, it’s like a breakthrough bleed because we’re just not ovulating and. Sorry. Ovulation is really the indication of whether we are still reproductively capable, not the actual bleed.
Bria Gadd
You know, we can have this breakthrough bleeding from our, you know, from the birth control, but it doesn’t mean we’re ovulating. And whether we ovulate or not, it’s harder to tell. Unless you’re of course checking for ovulation or measuring your temperatures. It’s going to be harder to know. Most women can recognize, oh, I’m having a period. So. So I guess that’s a yeah. I’m glad you clarified that because it’s not super accurate.
Bria Gadd
But you must ovulate to be reproductively capable.
Leanne Vogel
So what you’re saying is if I’m on birth control, I’m not ovulating? What are the issues with that? Like, so what? Woohoo. No ovulation. Is there a risk of not ovulating or is there a benefit to the body by ovulating on a monthly basis?
Bria Gadd
You know, I always feel like every woman has to do what is right for their body and their life. For sure. That’s my opinion. But we know there’s a lot of beautiful benefits to ovulating in the body. We know that having this regular cycle of the rise and fall of our estrogen, progesterone, testosterone, is really helpful for the protection of our physiology, like our bones and our muscle and everything like that. It’s really helpful for our mental health. It’s really shown to help impact and decrease things like Alzheimer’s and dementia as we get older. So there are a lot of physical and mental benefits to continuing to ovulate.
Leanne Vogel
So what you’re saying is around the age of 35 ish, we start experiencing perimenopause. You don’t really know if it’s happening, really? Sounds like maybe some of your hormones are changing over time. Are we going to start to notice some of these hormones changing over time? And what are some of the common things that are happening during this perimenopause phase where we’re not, we haven’t expected experienced menopause yet? We still have higher than menopause numbers, but things are transitioning. What’s kind of happening during that time?
Bria Gadd
Yeah, so I think what we experience in our body can be anything from changes in our cycle. Right. So, and these, I think what’s so important, I think what I will call normal, is to start to see periods come a bit closer together even, and then start to skip periods. And so there is some normalcy to irregularity in the period as you get older. What I think is messages from our body and what we should be paying attention to and reaching out to, you know, your healthcare practitioner or practitioner for help is always, if we’re having any major changes, like any discomfort, like major symptoms of PM’s, you know, anxiety, depression, mood issues, major cramps, major bloating, really heavy periods, any major changes in our period and the flow and the amount and the color is always worth getting checked out. And, you know, because these are messages from our body of what’s going on, what some of the more common, I would say, symptoms are that we start to have closer to menopause are going to be because estrogen gets a little bit dysregulated. So we start to see more temperature issues in the body. So that’s where we might start to see some hot flashes, start to see some, you know, night sweats might come up for people.
Bria Gadd
But I would say, Leanne, what I think is really important, because when we’re getting closer to menopause, what we know is the amount of these hormones are decreasing. Right. What we want is to be able to keep the balance in these hormones as best as we can. And what I think what makes it more challenging is, in these earlier years, we’ll call it. So let’s say 35 to 45, 48, where we’ll call it this earlier years of perimenopause transition. I think what’s more important to recognize is that whose job of the hormones in the body during this, in this transition is changing. So we’re going from the ovaries managing it to our adrenals managing it, and the adrenals are already handling a lot. So the state of those adrenals at the time of this transition is really going to help us start to highlight other symptoms in our body.
Bria Gadd
And this is where I think we can start to think. I need to balance my hormones. I need to balance my hormones. When the hormones might be able to balance, they might not. We don’t really know. But there’s often way more to the picture. What’s overloading the adrenals, what’s causing more stress in the body, in the gut, in the mucosal barrier, in the liver, you know, in the entire orchestra. What’s causing all the challenge? And I always say, like, perimenopause happens for us and not to us.
Bria Gadd
I think it kind of comes along to really highlight the things that are not going well for us or the things that are not working for us in life. So we deal with them now and not later, when the dysfunction settles down further and settles into disease or something worse that we don’t want.
Leanne Vogel
My hair would not grow. No matter what I did, it just wouldn’t grow. It was thinning, breaking. Then the broken hairs were causing a lot of frizz, and I was responding by taking collagen to make it better. And the collagen literally did nothing. No rapid hair growth, no epic nail health no skin changes, joint changes now you see, what I didn’t know is that the majority of collagen in the market today is derived from the entire carcass of the animal. Example, cow, pig, marine. And these materials are usually more than 90% protein and labeled as collagen peptides or hydrolyzed collagen or collagen hydrolysate collagen type one or type two, or gelatin, which is also a form of hydrolyzed collagen.
Leanne Vogel
It’s a protein supplement, and an incomplete one at that. Because of its structure, it’s not going to epically make a difference to our hair, joint, or skin health. About a year ago, I decided to try bio cell collagen as a last ditch effort to figure out if my hair could be fixed. Biocell collagen is a collagen matrix made up of hydrolyzed collagen, hyaluronic acid, and chondroitin sulfate. Not a blend of individual ingredients, so it’s free of allergens, hormones, and antibiotics, but rather extracted from pure dietary chicken. Sternal cartilage okay, so the collagen, the hyaluronic acid and the chondroitin sulfate is all extracted from the sternal cartilage. Two months into starting Biocell, y’all started messaging me on Instagram saying, what are you doing with your hair? It looks crazy good. And that was over twelve months ago.
Leanne Vogel
My hair has been growing. Okay, get this. One and a half to two inches per month for a year. My hair is getting caught in my pants. It’s so long, it’s thick. And all of those wispy, broken hairs at the side of my forehead and down below at the nape of my neck are now at shoulder length. There’s new growth. I have a healthier scalp.
Leanne Vogel
There’s no more flakes or psoriasis. It’s a nightmare day. Difference. Since sharing the struggles that I’ve had with my lack of confidence around my hair, many ladies have shared that they too, struggle with a myriad of hair health issues too. So I wanted to share what worked for me. If you go to mygrowinghair.com, i’ve outlined all the details, what I used for, how much and when. If you’re taking a collagen supplement and you’re not really sure if it’s made a huge difference in your life, if you’re losing hair or struggling with hair growth, breaking hair, you need to go to mygrowinghair.com for all the details. Again, that’s mygrowinghair.com dot, I couldn’t agree with you more.
Leanne Vogel
I always find it fun every couple of months. Some of my approaches to how I onboard clients or, you know, how I’m just thinking about the body and the process and the order of operations with individuals is constantly changing as I see how people respond to protocols and what’s going on. And I would say over the last six months, I’ve definitely shifted to saying, no, no, no, we’ll test the hormones later. We’ll figure all that out later. I want to understand root causes to generally recommending that most of my clients, as we’re onboarding, I’m not going to say all, but, like, a good majority, like, over 50%, we’re doing adrenal testing either via saliva or urine. I don’t really care about the hormone side of things, like the sex hormone side of things yet, but if we have, like, an HPA dysfunction situation, either triggered by, like, you were talking about emotions like anger, fear, worry, anxiety, trauma, depression, guilt, those sorts of things, overwork down all the way through emfs and radiation and toxic exposure, I want to kind of, like, band aid up the adrenals as best as we can as we work through root cause protocols, even though we understand that some of the reasons why the adrenals are not working correctly are some things that we need to detox or trauma that we need to work through or mold that we need to get out of the body or chemicals that we need to address. But I found that just kind of, like, supporting the adrenals as much as we can and understanding that pattern, like, are we creating too much cortisol? Are we creating not enough cortisol? And the time of the day, exactly. How are we metabolizing that cortisol? How much is left over? And is the thyroid involved? Like, just gives us such a good picture.
Leanne Vogel
And I think especially for women in that transitionary period, understanding what’s happening with the adrenals and, like, kind of holding them as much as we can while we go through other things has been really good. Really, really good, and it’s changed over time. What are your thoughts on adrenal testing? Do you feel like there’s a place for it? Thoughts on that?
Bria Gadd
Yeah, absolutely. I like to test absolutely. HPA axis dysfunction, I think, like, being able to see there. I work primarily with women in the perimenopause years, menopause years. So I will do, you know, the saliva testing on the cortisol, the HPA access dysfunction, as well as the hormones. At the same time, to understand, like, what’s really correlating with the symptoms there. But at the end of the day, like, if our cortisol is out of whack, it kind of doesn’t matter how many hormones you take. Like, if the cortisol is out of whack, we have to fix that piece.
Bria Gadd
And, you know, if the liver is backed up because we’re not metabolizing it, then it’s not going to be metabolizing the other hormones either. So if we just add more hormones, then we’re not doing, we’re probably just going to cause more trouble than we need. So I think, like, always looking at that kind of whole picture of everything, of, like, where has the loss of function happened? Because we haven’t been testing our hormones our whole lives, so we don’t even know our baseline level of what they are. And what matters is more, I think, the function of these hormones. So the function of that HPA access that you’re talking about so that we know, like, is that curve where we want it to be? Are we having the lowest amount of cortisol at night, the highest amount in the morning? Like, how are we feeling through the day? Like, are we getting the right dips when we’re supposed, supposed to have them? And working on that is going to be so critical because I think at the end of the day, you can’t avoid, like, these foundational pillars of our health that nourish our health. So whether you want to take something or not, you can’t avoid the fact that we need quality sleep, we need functional movement, we need the right nutrition for our body at the right times, and we need proper stress management overall. So all that was a lot to say. I do agree with you, and I like to look at the function and the loss of the function.
Leanne Vogel
Yes. I do this sort of testing like once a year, usually on my birthday, I just order a bunch of kits and just see where are we at this year? What’s kind of our focus? Let’s do a touch base. And this year, I think because of the amount of training that I’m doing and just my adrenals were operating a little bit higher than I want. I was a little bit high in all of the things. And so then it was scheduled breaks, going outside, taking CBD throughout the day, like just one drop, you know, afternoon, mid afternoon, evening. Some l theanine in there, like, just to, like, calm myself down. And those actions, like, I can tell a difference throughout my day. And so to just have that information can be so helpful from a lifestyle perspective to just make little shifts that make a big difference.
Leanne Vogel
And what I’m hearing you say is at the end of the day, because the adrenals are going to be caring for more and more and more of our sex hormone function, staying on top of this early is a good idea.
Bria Gadd
Yeah, absolutely. And I agree. I love that you say that gives us and it also gives us some self compassion, you know, like at the end of the day that a transition is happening and just like again, moving or changing jobs, it’s a workload on the body. So it’s a stress on the body no matter what. And so we need to unload in other areas and it is hard for us to make changes. Whereas sometimes when we see this data and I think this is what’s so powerful about testing, is that it’s like right in your face, you’re like, oh man, that’s me. Like that’s actually so it’s super motivating, I find, and really accountable, like because you’re like, oh, well, I guess that is what it is. And that’s why I’m feeling how I’m feeling and I have to do something about it or it won’t change.
Leanne Vogel
It’ll get worse, I think too for, and you talked about this a little bit earlier of like being treated like mini men and all of a sudden we’re starting to get more information. And when I get this information a lot from clients and I see it online too, of individuals that women specifically that go into their doctors and you talked about PM’s and chatting with your doctor if you’re having any abnormal signs and oftentimes we’re just told welcome to being a lady, like deal with it. So to sit down with a practitioner and go through labs and be told like, here’s what the labs are saying, here’s what you’re feeling. This matches up perfectly. Like, and here’s what we do. It’s just such a healing experience on its own because there’s so much trauma mixed up into all of that. And I’m not saying that all doctors are like this, but a good chunk of individuals who I work with have had those experiences in the past. Do you have any tips? Like when you’re talking about the PM’s and the pain and just the things that maybe we should chat with the PCP about how to approach that in a way that is empowering and we’re going into that office knowing that if they tell us to take a hike that we’re like okay, I’ll just find somebody else or any tips that you have for the individual that’s like, ugh, I don’t want to talk to my doctor about these things.
Bria Gadd
No, I totally get it. And I think, like, you and I work at a subclinical level, so our goal is to, you know, we recognize if you’re feeling something, you’re feeling it, and let’s try to get it fixed before it gets into sickness, which is where doctors really shine. Like, you’re sick, we’re gonna help you, but we don’t wanna get to the sick point. So I always, I think, and this was a big thing for me because I had the same thing at 37. I went to my healthcare practitioner, and she was really great, but I was feeling all sorts of awful things, and I’d been in the wellness industry for twelve years, and she was like, yeah, you’re the picture of health. And I’m like, I do not feel like the picture of health. Right? And when you do not feel like it, and some like, it makes you feel crazy. So not only is it dismissive, but it makes you feel like something is wrong with you in your head and not in your body.
Bria Gadd
And I think that it’s really important to recognize that. So I think two things. One, recognize that doctors have their place and they are really are there for those more, like, extreme sick situations, like, whereas. And I think that the most powerful thing we can do for ourselves is know our own body. And for me, what that really looks like is tracking and paying attention. So, like, know when your period is supposed to be due, know when you should be ovulating, know the symptoms and how you feel in each of those phases, know how your sleep is impacted, know how your nutrition is, because regard, like, when you know this, when you can kind of come into any practitioner, whether it’s you and I, or whether it’s a doctor, and be like, here’s my data, I can see it. I mean, gosh, for us, it helps us get you to the answer a lot faster, doesn’t it? And then you know that you can also be like, no, I know something’s up here, and it’s cyclical or it’s not, and it’s not because I’m depressed and I shouldn’t take an antidepressant, or it’s not because I should just go on birth control. You know, it’s something else.
Bria Gadd
And I think that Leanne is the most empowering thing that I wish, I hope, I want women to know is knowledge about yourself and the messages your body gives you is the most powerful thing you can give yourself when you’re going to talk to anybody because you know your body.
Leanne Vogel
Yeah, you’re like the CEO, boss lady of your body.
Bria Gadd
Absolutely. The CEO is a strategist. They know the numbers. They know where it is, you know, and really, our brain is like the CEO, and your body’s like the COO. They’re the operator. So we need to work together. But we got to be a bit strategic up here a little bit, don’t we? We got to know where we’re going and what’s happening and the real numbers in the body.
Leanne Vogel
Yes, completely. So when we experience this perimenopause situation, and I’ve definitely over the last, like year or two, have started noticing changes, and I’m like, okay, here we go. This is great. Okay, we’re doing this. We are doing this as we transition and we’re getting older. Oftentimes if we go to a nurse practitioner or hormone specialist now, this is changing. Granted, I think more and more practitioners are seeing that hormone replacement therapy probably isn’t the number one choice. But as we’re transitioning to this menopause experience, you’re telling me that our hormones continue to get low.
Leanne Vogel
What I oftentimes see happening is that women who maybe even have already experienced menopause are going into these doctors and other practitioners, and they’re loading them up with estrogen, progesterone, testosterone, and just like epic amounts. Thoughts on this? Why are we doing this? Are there other alternatives laid on me?
Bria Gadd
That’s a great question. So my thoughts are that when it comes to hormones, either bioidentical or HRT or pharmaceutical, you know, there’s three aspects to when we take hormones and to hormones in our body. There’s the production of the hormone, which is what HRT and bioidenticals are really taking on. They’re like, we’re going to give you more production of that hormone, right? And that’s one third. The second piece is the metabolization of those hormones. So, like, is our body, is our liver able to actually metabolize it? Because if it’s not, you know, this is where a lot of women are struggling with, you know, gaining extra weight in the belly. If they’re. If they have all this excess estrogen, the liver can’t keep up.
Bria Gadd
And then it’s got to store it somewhere. So it’s going to store it in a close fat, because hormones are fat soluble. So we have to make sure that the body is metabolizing the hormones. And then we have to make sure the cells are healthy enough to take and absorb in the hormones. So there’s three pieces of the puzzle. And I think, although I don’t think people should suffer, and I do think there’s a place for, you know, bio identical and HRT, you know, I think we have to do the underlying work first. And this is where we, like, I’m a big part of this Amazon mentality. I get it.
Bria Gadd
When I order something on Prime, I want it yesterday. However, you know, it doesn’t change the fact that the body takes time to heal and we need to do that underlying work. It always reminds me of like the three little pigs, right? If you’re going to build your house at a straw, a wolf can huff and puff and blow it down pretty quickly. Same with sticks. You want to build the foundation and you cannot avoid, again, those main health pillars of your body. So that at least we have a solid foundation. And if we do this work in making sure we’ve done everything we can for our sleep, making sure we’ve done everything I can for quality nutrition, you know, same with, like, functional movement. Even before we build fitness movement, you know, and stress management.
Bria Gadd
If we’ve done that work and we’re still in need to take these things, then at least we know there’s a good shot of them working for us and we’re not going to keep suffering. Because I think that’s one of the biggest problems is that not only do we not know what part of the puzzle is the issue or if all three are the issue, but we don’t know, like, if, you know, is if we take it and we have another issue and it doesn’t work, then we are left back in this place as women thinking it’s just me, I’m a mess. It’s my fault, you know, and we feel really lost and frustrated.
Leanne Vogel
Right, so you’re saying there’s the production of the hormone, which is what we are replacing with. So we’re taking the estrogen cream or putting the testosterone pellet in our skin. That would be the production. Then there’s the metabolizing of it, which would be how the body processes the estrogen, what pathway it goes down, how your methylation is all of those pieces to metabolizing the hormone. And then there’s absorbing. Can you talk a little bit more about the absorption piece? Like, what’s at work here? How do we support, is it because we’re focusing on the sleep and the functional movement and the nutrition and the stress that we absorb better, or is it something else or what’s at play when it comes to the absorption part?
Bria Gadd
Yeah, it’s a great question. I mean, I think there’s a few places, but I always think about oxidative stress levels at that point. You know, like, if our oxidative stress levels in the body are high because we’re exposed to mold or pathogens, because, you know, we’re exposed, you know, to. We’re over exercising because we’re eating, we have food sensitivities we’re not aware of because we’re smoking, like, right. There’s a lot of reasons that we’re. Environmental pollution that we. Our oxidative stress levels are high, or we’re just not managing stress properly. We need to spend time to get back into that place of calm.
Bria Gadd
Then the body, we start to see DNA cell damage in the body, and we can’t even absorb those and those hormones anyway. So, you know, that’s the first thing I think of anyway, when you ask about that, is that we’ve got, you know, all those pieces of the puzzle there, and they all matter to whether the hormones can. That we’re putting in, can take in. And then the other piece, I think, is so important that, you know, we still have to measure the balance. I have clients where they don’t have enough estrogen or progesterone, but the balance is still off. So you can’t very well go throwing in. If the balance is off, we’re still going to suffer. We’re still going to have issues.
Bria Gadd
So we need to restore the balance by allowing the body, you know, by healing the other pieces of why the body’s out of balance before we start adding more, you know, more to the scale.
Leanne Vogel
Right. Okay. So from an oxidative stress perspective, it’s really about addressing diet. Like, if you’re eating a standard american diet and also taking hormone replacement therapy, and it’s not working, there might be an absorption problem. There’s probably also a metabolizing problem because you’re all of that is probably out of whack. Environmental toxins probably play a role in that. Water quality is then going to play a role. Radiation exposure is probably going to play a role with oxidation.
Leanne Vogel
And then also, too, I would think, alcohol. We should probably talk about alcohol because this is a common thing. And when my husband and I moved onto our boat in 2017, we started drinking heavily because everyone drinks on boats. That’s what you do. You just drink. And I was drunk every night for a year. And it was not okay. So I just decided, no, I am no longer a drinker.
Leanne Vogel
I do not drink any alcohol, and I have been. I had one sip of lemon cello. This was the first alcohol that I had had in seven years in Italy. And I was like, not worth it. This is disgusting. Nope. I did it. Marked it off the box.
Leanne Vogel
Yuck. But as somebody who drank quite heavily and was a very social drinker, that was a huge adjustment for me. Can we talk about alcohol as it relates, maybe to the oxidative stress or just hormones, overall adrenals, like, if we’re taking hormone replacement therapy or we care about all of these things, but we’re still drinking. Maybe it’s one drink on the weekend, all the way up to what I was doing. Thoughts on alcohol?
Bria Gadd
Yeah, I mean, I do drink, so, you know, here and there. But I like to look at alcohol as, like, okay, it really needs to be the icing of the cake on the joy of my life, right? So it’s like, I should have. Shouldn’t be the joy. It shouldn’t be the, you know, my source of joy. And I should never drink or eat anything. This is sort of the only food and nutrition rule I keep is, like, I only. I don’t do it for any other reason other than fuel. So I should not be doing something from a place of, like, I need this to make myself feel better in an emotional way.
Bria Gadd
But when it comes to alcohol, I think what we need to know is that, you know, it’s a depressant. So when we drink, the brain recognizes that the body is out of homeostasis. It’s in sort of a depressed state and is in a reaction to bring us back into, you know, our balance and homeostasis, it will release, you know, cortisol and adrenaline to bring us back up. So now we already know where we’re having elevated cortisol. At that point, it’s going to add more work on our liver. It means that DHEA isn’t there. So now not only is the body breaking down at the time that the cortisol is there, but now we’re. Our production of our main sex hormones are being paired while we drink.
Bria Gadd
And it takes about five days for alcohol to get out of ours, to be metabolized out of our system. So even if you’re just drinking on the weekends, then you’re barely getting through it and you’re running back into it. So if you’re really in a place where your hormones are out of whack, taking an elongated break, in the name of healing, I think is one of the most effective things you can do.
Leanne Vogel
I totally agree. Watching my mom experience Parkinson’s and digging deep into the research on, like, neurodegenerative diseases has motivated me enough. Like, I’m a very much. If I understand what’s happening, it will motivate me to make different choices. And we touched on that a little bit, is like, once you have the knowledge, and I think there’s some issues, right. It’s like, if I find out about it, then my life is going to change, and I’m not sure I want my life to change, but I’m struggling, and so there’s that. That we need to go over, too, of just at some point, something’s got to change, or you’re going to be stuck where you are. Yeah.
Bria Gadd
One of my favorite things to do, Leanne, is really look at my year and think, like, what are our main priorities in life? Our health, you know, our career and our relationships, right? Like, these are kind of. They’re big things, and we can’t always prioritize everything all the time. I get that someone’s got to take a leave. If you take a look at your year and you break it up into, you know, four three month blocks or three four month blocks, whatever you want, if you just pick one of those blocks to really prioritize each of your main priorities, like, you know, so for me, it’s like, january, February, March, I’m just going all in on my health during that time to whatever my health needs. Does it need a healing period? So I’m pulling out all the things, you know, I’m really focusing on, like, the right movement for what might. What I’m trying to do to heal, and then the right movement for my goals, then you reach the end of that three or four month block, and now you’ve created habits, and it’s okay if that scale slides a little. Plus, you have this perspective around, like, you. You tasted the lemon cell, and you’re like, I don’t need it.
Bria Gadd
Now we have a little bit of bandwidth to say, like, oh, no, I don’t want this. And sometimes you might be like, oh, well, that’s okay once in a while for me. So it just gives us that space. And I find it to be such a powerful way to move the needle in your health when you just take a chunk, it doesn’t have to be a forever. It’s not be all year long, but, like, three or four months is going to make a big, big impact.
Leanne Vogel
What I’m hearing you say is like habit forming shifts and really not looking at the ginormous Everest that’s in front of you, but just looking at the next peak, like, what’s happening with the next peak. I do that with my workouts all the time. Like, I’m at the gym for two solid hours, and if I. When I’m doing my first movement and thinking of how long it is until I get to my last movement, I won’t make it.
Bria Gadd
I will.
Leanne Vogel
I won’t make it.
Bria Gadd
One step at a time, for sure.
Leanne Vogel
1Ft in front of the other. Okay. So earlier we were talking about the symptoms of perimenopause and menopause. There was a stat that you shared with me. 73% of women are suffering with symptoms of perimenopause and not getting the help that they need. Any advice? When it comes to getting help?
Bria Gadd
Yes. I think that one you should know, and, you know, here’s your permission, that symptoms are not normal. They’re messages that something isn’t right. And that includes weight. I think weight, we fall on a lot where it’s like people want to lose weight. Like weight, excess weight is really like kind of the canary in the coal mine. It’s the last piece of the puzzle that comes in. Like, it’s telling you there’s other things that aren’t working for you before we even gain that weight.
Bria Gadd
Likewise, to lose that weight, but I think to get support, you know, one, I think ask for help, you know, I think we’re so I have, you know, got to a stage in my life where I just. I always hire someone or join a course or do something when it’s time to prioritize that piece, because I’m not an expert in all the areas of my life. Like, if I want to learn how to be a better parent, I’m going to read a parenting book or hire some, you know, go to a psychologist or get some support. If I need help, you know, with learning a different language, because that’s important to me or helping my relationship, I’ll do the exact same. And your health is no different. I have been in the wellness industry for all these years, and I didn’t know these things. So how the average woman who’s not in the wellness industry going to find the time to learn this stuff is challenging. So reach out and find help in some way or another.
Bria Gadd
Whether it’s listening to these podcasts, whether it’s buying the small course that maybe someone offers, whether it’s actually hiring a coach or getting the support, but start to educate yourself in any way that you can, I think. And don’t be afraid to invest in yourself.
Leanne Vogel
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Leanne Vogel
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Leanne Vogel
Happy snacking. Yeah, I think the learning is so key. I was preparing a snack for myself that contained chocolate, which is why it was on my face when I was just thinking like over the last decade, how many shifts and changes I’ve made to my own personal health journey and habits that have formed, habits that have formed and then gone away because they don’t serve me anymore. And just like how different my life looks like from a decade ago of things that were really hard for me initially, but now things that I do without even thinking, like preparing a whole bunch of food on a Sunday. I don’t even think about it. It’s just I make a bunch of food and then I just eat it throughout the week. And it’s just become such an easy thing that I I don’t even think about. And so I think that education piece too is really helpful.
Leanne Vogel
Now, of course, people like us who are doing this all day long. Like I have a stack of books on my desk. Waiting for me to read on peptides. I really want to get in to learning about peptides. I am now obsessed with this topic. Not as much as chocolate, but kind of up there. And so it’s good for us because that’s kind of like we’re in the space all the time. But for the individual.
Leanne Vogel
Like you’re saying is instead of thinking of like all these things that you have to do. It sounds like just just one thing. Like focus on one thing. Like maybe it’s from this conversation these ladies are talking about adrenals. I really want to understand my adrenals more. What they do, their role, how to support them. And just spending some time either buying a program. Or.
Leanne Vogel
There’s so much free information on the Internet. The problem with that though is that sometimes the free information is not great and totally incorrect. And so I think a lot of the points that you touched on are a real encouragement. You did talk a little bit about the weight gain piece. Oftentimes ladies who have experienced. Are close to the menopause space. As their hormones are dropping, their weight is increasing. Thoughts on the things that we need to be thinking of doing.
Leanne Vogel
To like, release that weight. You know, just balance things out. When it comes to weight, do our efforts need to change. Or what’s happening there that this is happening? And how do we not get so frustrated over it?
Bria Gadd
Yeah, for sure. I understand that. I think having some self compassion. That’s why I like to look at it as like, okay, we’re going through a transition. The ground below us is shaky. It’s like if you imagine walking on one of those suspension bridges. We’ve been walking on solid concrete for a really long time. And so we can handle the winds and the stuff.
Bria Gadd
But now we’re walking on a suspension bridge. And so anything that gets chucked at us is making it really shaky. And when the body feels shaky, it tries to survive. It battens down the hatches. And it holds on to the things that it needs to survive. And fat’s going to be one of those things. And so it is that survival mechanism. So I think when the best thing I always say, like, when we’re going through this, have a little self compassion.
Bria Gadd
It’s not forever. It is a transition. And I think first and foremost, we always, like when things are shaky, we always want to come back down to the foundations. How, like, can I consistently, you know, go to bed, wake up and eat at those similar times? It doesn’t matter what expert you talk to. They’re all going to talk to you about the value of it doesn’t matter what expert you talk to. Nobody’s like, we need to eat a certain amount during this time. Like, most of us aren’t eating enough, but let’s eat really consistently. So, like, eat your breakfast, eat your lunch, eat your dinner, eat your snack.
Bria Gadd
If you need to eat enough protein. Everyone’s talking about that these days. You do such an incredible job of showing us how to eat more protein on your, I love on your instagram. So, like, eat enough to feel full and satisfied to your next meal. That’s a real then you don’t have to think about it in between. Just eat enough and functional movement if you do not have the time to be out. We all know putting on muscle is a really powerful way to maintain and increase your metabolism. There’s no doubt.
Bria Gadd
And I love it. I’m a huge fan. But if you aren’t getting seven to 10,000 steps in and just functional stretching in your life, if you don’t have time to do, then you don’t have time to do more than that. We need to again, foundationally build the body. So lock in those foundational pieces and figure out how to manage your stress every day, like proactively. Whether that’s meditation, if that’s your thing, whether that’s, you know, just some breath work, whether that’s singing in the shower, like whatever it is for you, whether that’s orgasming, find a way to release the stress and find joy in your everyday. These are the foundational pieces so you can weather the storm once you’re feeling okay. If you’re doing these locked in pieces, we can build.
Bria Gadd
We can build on those pieces. We can deepen the sleep. We can improve your muscle. We can improve your nutrition. But if you don’t have those basics down, then again, we’re going to have a really hard time walking across that bridge in a solid manner.
Leanne Vogel
Wait, you said have breakfast. And like, the number one thing that practitioners say is to intermittent fast when we start to experience menopause. Thoughts?
Bria Gadd
Not this practitioner. Perimenopause is going through a lot of stress. There’s a lot of value to fasting. There’s no doubt. But one of the most stressed, the fastest way to stress out your body is to have dysregulated blood sugar. And when you wake up in the morning, your body needs fuel. Our busiest time of the day is the day. So if you wake up, Leigh Ann, at six, you got to eat by eight, and then you eat again four to 5 hours later.
Bria Gadd
Let’s call it, you know, twelve or one, then you eat four to 5 hours later at five or six, then you’re still going from six to eight. That’s a 14 hours fast. That’s plenty of fasting. That fast during these transitionary periods should not be in the morning for women. And I will definitely stand strong on that. We got to treat our bodies like a baby during this time.
Leanne Vogel
Leanne Vogel
And so you’re eating and you’re still having a 14 hours fast, but you’re shifting that time, so you’re not going the morning without eating. Would you consider, like, a fatty coffee or some sort of fatty drink as being good enough for our breakfast?
Bria Gadd
Not if you’re struggling with hormonal, like, if you’re having symptoms. No, we get to play with those things when we’re not having symptoms. So if you’re having symptoms, your body’s telling you it needs consistency. And we absolutely need protein. We need protein, fats and carbs, you know, to make optimal hormones. So, you know, why not give your body the tools that you need? Again, you’re giving the pig just the straw. You want to give the pig the bricks and the mortar and the gloves to build it all with kind of thing. So I think first thing in the morning, we got to be having, like, a nice, balanced breakfast, because that’s what your body needs to function and to build all the things it does every single day, especially during this transition.
Leanne Vogel
Yep, I agree. What’s the biggest challenge your clients face on a day to day basis as they work through hormone support or just overall health? Like you talked about, the pillars of sleep, functional movement, nutrition, stress. What are like, some of the roadblocks that come up for individuals working through these key items.
Bria Gadd
I think because I come from like, a trainer background in nutrition and fitness, I get a lot of clients who are like, you want me to stop doing cardio? You want me to, you know, like, I shouldn’t be doing, you know, like, and I really feel like, you know, again, there is a period of time where depending on your symptoms, we might need, like, again, a period of an entire break from all fitness until the body feels safe. Because if you’re out there lifting and again, lifting weights, so powerful, great to have muscle for, like, if you’re not sleeping well and you’re not eating right and you’re not digesting right, you’re not going to build the muscle, so you’re wasting energy anyway and then your body needs that energy to heal. So I think that’s one of the biggest roadblocks that I used to come up is like, how do I stop working out every single day? And it’s like, well, we don’t need to stop working out, we just need to swap the movement. And I think what I always say to people is like, we’re out here asking olympic levels of output of our body. None of us are treating ourselves like Olympians. Olympians know there is an off season, there’s, they’ve got massages, they’ve got, you know, breaks, they’ve got cross training. Nobody’s doing that. So we don’t have really the right to ask Olympic levels of output of our body if we’re not going to treat it that way.
Bria Gadd
And we need phases in our year and in our life and this is one of those phases to pull back so we can accomplish this things.
Leanne Vogel
It’s so true. I’d not thought about the olympian template. My brother in law is actually an olympian coach and when he talks about the things that he puts his athletes through and all of the stuff they have to do, I mean, they’re training at epic amounts, but it’s so true. We’re expecting that kind of output and not at all. We are not even close at all to what they have to manage on a day to day basis.
Bria Gadd
But they are also, you know, they probably have like really clear resting periods, really clear sleep protocols. We don’t have that. We have, I have women who are waking up at like 430 to crush out on an hour workout, to do stuff for their kids, to work all day long and do stuff until they fall into bed at 1130 at night and they’re only getting these 5 hours of sleep. It’s not olympic performance by the means of athleticism, but it’s olympic performance by means of productivity.
Leanne Vogel
So we kind of touched on this kind of throughout the episode, but I kind of want to land on this a little bit. What are some of the surprising tools that you wouldn’t think would help? Hormones that do less, I guess is.
Bria Gadd
Probably the most surprising one. Everyone wants to avoid this, but the reality is I really believe that if given half a chance, the body can heal itself. I mean, obviously there’s some things that get in our way, but the body is pretty awesome on its own and, but it needs energy to do what it’s going to do. And sometimes what in order to, we have to give it that space by doing a little less. So again, this is where sometimes not working out and sleeping in instead or, you know, taking a break and eating more. Like, I think this is often what I run into. Another thing you asked, what I run into with women is like, what are the roadblocks? You know, if you’re eating 1200 to 1400 calories, that’s not enough for what your body’s trying to do right now. I’m five foot seven.
Bria Gadd
I work clearly a sedentary job. I’m, you know, talking to people like this all the time. I do make sure I walk, hit those seven to 10,000 steps. I hit the mat, you know, in some way or shape or form every day. There’s no way I could survive off the twelve to 1400 calories. So I think, you know, when you’re asking that question, I think some of the surprising things is do less and eat more of the right things, of course. But yeah, I think that’s one of the easiest things, is we need to sleep more. Not easy.
Bria Gadd
Simplest things we need to do less and eat, consume more for our physically, like the food on our plate, but also our soul food. And I think that’s a really important piece of the puzzle. You know, if your soul food, that primary food, like the richness of your relationship, your connection to spirituality, your purpose, if those things are empty, it’s going to be hard. We got to fill. We got to take the time to fill up our soul food so that the food on our plate doesn’t seem like all consuming anymore. We can just eat the stuff that’s good for us and move on.
Leanne Vogel
Fria, where can people find more from you? Connect with you. I know that you’ve put together a hormone checklist, so I’ll include that link in the show notes. Any other ways that they can connect with you and learn more.
Bria Gadd
Yeah. Thank you so much, Leanne. You can come check out my podcast, the period Whisperer podcast, where this is all we talk about pretty much all day long, anywhere you get your pods or come hang out on Instagram rea period underscore whisperer. I share lots of great little tips in this phase of life, specific to this phase of life there and just come say hi. I’m. I will talk about this all day long. So thank you so much for having.
Leanne Vogel
Me and you’re so passionate about it and the way you educate is just so wonderful. So definitely check out those and I will include in the show notes for everyone if you want. If you’re just not sure where to go to connect with brea, I’ll include all of those details there. Again, thanks for coming on the show today.
Bria Gadd
Thank you so much for having me. I so appreciate you and love what you do.
Leanne Vogel
I hope you enjoyed our time with Bria Gad. Again, you can find her by going on Instagram Bria underscore period underscore whisperer and her podcast, the Period Whisperer podcast. If you’re unsure of the links, just check out today’s show notes. I’ll include everything there. And super awesome announcement. If you guys remember, a couple of weeks ago we changed up the name of the podcast from the Keto Diet podcast over to what it is now, healthful Pursuit podcast. And I had offered up a $150 Amazon gift card to those who left a review for the show. Thank you to all who submitted their reviews.
Leanne Vogel
And thank you. A special congratulations to Valerie, who won the Amazon card. Thank you so much to each and every one of you who took time out of your crazy day to leave a review of the podcast. Supporting the show means so much to me. If ever you’re unsure of the content that I share, you have suggestions for episodes. I am all ears. The best way to connect with me is over on Instagram. Leann Vogel okay, we will see you back here for another episode of the show.
Leanne Vogel
Bye. Thanks for listening to the Healthful Pursuit podcast. Join us next Tuesday for another episode of the show. If you’re looking for free resources, there are a couple of places you can go. The first to my blog, healthfulpursuit.com, where you’re going to find loads of recipes. The second is a free pair of parasite protocol that I’ve put together for you that outlines symptoms, testing, and resources to determine whether or not you have a parasite, plus a full protocol to follow to eradicate them from your life if you need to, that’s available@healthfulpursuit.com. parasites and last but certainly not least, a full list of blood work markers to ask your doctor for so that you can get a full picture of your health. You can grab that free resource by going to healthfulpursuit.com labs.
Leanne Vogel
The Helpful Pursuit podcast, including show notes and links, provides information in respect to healthy living recipes, nutrition, and diet, and is intended for informational purposes only. The information provided is not a substitute for medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment, nor is it to be construed as such. We cannot guarantee that the information provided on the healthful Pursuit podcast reflects the most up to date medical research. Information is provided without any representation or warranties of any kind. Please consult a qualified health practitioner with any questions you may have regarding your health and nutrition program.
Hi! I'm Leanne (RHN FBCS)
a Functional Medicine Practitioner, host of the Healthful Pursuit Podcast, and best-selling author of The Keto Diet & Keto for Women. I want to live in a world where every woman has access to knowledge to better her health.
