August 12, 2025 • 27 mins
In this episode we feature:
An interview with Integrative Medicine Specialist, Dr. Tasneem Bhatia
Hum your stress away.
Morning Workouts are best.
Cold weather heart risk.
And more ways you can improve your health today!
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Unknown (00:00):
Gib. Hello and welcome to another episode of the
(00:10):
podcast. I'm Gib Gerard, herewith another one of my
favorites, special intelligencefor your health, with Connie
Celica. Edition of the podcasttoday. Connie's guest is none
other than Dr Tasneem Batia.
She's the author of the book Thehormone shift. She's going to
talk about the key phases thatwomen go through in life, all
that and more coming up. Sohere, without further ado, is
intelligence for your health.
(00:34):
With Connie Celica,if you want your brain to work
better all day, exercise in themorning. That's according to the
University of Western Australia,they found that adults who
engage in moderate intensityworkouts in the morning have
sharper brains the rest of theday. That's because morning
exercise elevates a proteincalled brain derived
(00:54):
neurotrophic growth factor, B,D, n, f, which helps neurons
survive and thrive, and levelsof that protein remain high for
eight hours after a morningworkout. As a result, people who
exercise in the morning havebetter concentration, attention
span, executive function likedecision making and working
(01:14):
memory. So if you need to be atyour best mentally, make time
for a morning workout. We'vetalked a lot about the effects
of sitting all day, according toYale medicine, prolonged amounts
of sitting increases the risk ofearly death from any cause. It's
also linked to type twodiabetes, heart problems, weight
gain, depression, dementia andmultiple cancers. Well, aside
(01:38):
from getting up every hour tomove, here's something else you
can do to counteract the effectsof sitting. Drink more coffee. A
big new study published in thejournal BioMed Central shows a
clear relationship between morecoffee and fewer negative
consequences of too muchsitting. The study followed
(01:59):
10,000 people over more than adecade, and it found that
regular coffee drinkers who satfor six or more hours a day were
one and a half times less likelyto die of all causes than non
coffee drinkers. Basically, thecoffee drinkers habit canceled
out the health risks of asedentary lifestyle. No one
(02:19):
really knows if it's theantioxidants and other natural
compounds found in coffee or thecaffeine, but there is a
definite link. Now we're notsaying your Starbucks run can
replace a real run, but coffeecan help offset too much sitting
Coming up, we'll talk to women'shealth expert, Dr Tasneem
(02:41):
Bhatia, better known as Dr Taz.
She'll talk about two phases ina woman's life, when you can
legitimately call her a superwoman, and how those phases
affect her mood and behavior.
But first, here's a heads up foranyone with heart disease, be
careful in cold weather, becausewhen you inhale cold air, you
(03:02):
chill blood vessels around yourairways, causing them to
constrict, and that quadruplesthe odds of dangerous blood
clots forming. Cardiologist, DrJoel Khan says he tells his
patients to be especiallycareful shoveling snow or
hunting big game in coldtemperatures, because the labor
(03:22):
of those two things can putextra pressure on the heart. So
he recommends taking specificprecautions. Dress warmly, cover
your mouth with a scarf to warmthe air you're inhaling, and
stay hydrated to thin yourblood. And sometimes it may be
better to leave the heavylifting to someone else and play
it safe. Here is a powerfulstress relief tip. It comes from
(03:46):
Dr Kiran Rajan, a lecturer atthe University of Sunderland in
the UK. He says the key tocalming down and improving your
resilience to stress can befound in your throat, because by
singing, humming or evengargling water, you activate the
muscles at the back of yourthroat, which are connected to
(04:07):
the vagus nerve. Now you mayhave heard me talk about the
vagus nerve before. It's thelongest nerve in the body,
traveling from your ears to yourabdomen, and the more you can
get your vocal cords to vibrate,the more your vagus nerve is
activated, and that puts you ina parasympathetic state. Now
that means your heart rate andbreathing slow down, which
(04:29):
reduces anxiety and promotesrelaxation. And the more easily
you can put yourself in aparasympathetic state, the more
capable your body will be ofadapting to stressful
situations, all that from justspending some time humming,
singing or gargling. Okay,listen to this once you catch a
(04:49):
cold, you know, chicken soup isthe recommended go to treatment.
But if you don't want to catch acold in the first place, have
tomato soup. According to theAmerican Journal of Clinical
Nutrition, cooked tomatoproducts, including soup and
spaghetti sauce, can help usavoid getting sick to begin
with, that's because thelycopene and other nutrients in
(05:10):
tomatoes, which become evenstronger when they're cooked,
boost the activity of yourimmune cells by a whopping 38%
today, our special guest is DrTasneem Batia in her latest
book, The hormone shift, shebreaks down the key phases in a
woman's lifetime when she canexpect her hormones to suddenly
make her feel out of whack. DrTAS says most people know about
(05:34):
the changes that happen early inlife, at puberty and again late
in life, at menopause, butsomewhere in the middle are two
phases that Dr Taz describes asthe superstars and super women
eras. So I asked her to tell usabout them.
So the super women era is fromabout 39 to 55 the superstars is
(05:56):
29 to 38 each of these groups ofwomen are dealing with the issue
of multitasking and jugglingwithout really having the
support that's needed to doeverything that they've signed
up to do. So if we start withthe superstars they really are
dealing with, often the startingof a family, the starting
(06:16):
starting to have children. Sothe children are often very
young. That really pulls onwomen. It depletes their energy,
it depletes their naturalresources and their nutrients.
So we've got women in this erawalking around super tired,
super fatigued, and reallyrunning on empty. Now you take
that woman and she then crossesinto the Super Woman era, which
(06:37):
is starting at about 39 whichis, you know, classic
perimenopause. They're walkinginto that era depleted. Their
hormones are shifting now allover the place, and they're
having trouble just keeping ittogether. They're feeling,
oftentimes very unhinged. Sothey may see it as now, okay, I
can't process information theway I used to. I'm gaining
(06:59):
weight. I am irritable all thetime. I'm having other symptoms
like joint pain or acne or hairloss or breast tenderness. I
can't sleep at night. But theyhave not had a great resource or
toolbox, you know, to turn to toreally help them navigate all
those different shifts.
Today we're talking to women'shealth and wellness expert, Dr
(07:20):
Tasneem Batia, she was justsaying that when a woman's
hormones begin to shift from onephase of life to another, it is
normal to suddenly feel reallyfatigued all the time, usually
irritable, and to experienceweight gain. So I asked Dr Taz
if there are things women can doto prepare and lessen the
severity of these symptoms asour hormones shift
(07:43):
definitely, I think the numberone thing women can do is to
optimize their nutrition. Ifthey have good levels of healthy
fats, protein B, vitamins,magnesium, vitamin D, omega
three fats. These hormone shiftsare subtle. They're not
noticeable, and then sort of thedisease risk that they carry is
(08:04):
also minimized. There's a reasonfor that. Every hormone,
estrogen, progesterone, thyroid,insulin, is dependent on
nutrients, first of all, to beproduced, secondly, to be
metabolized, and then lastly, todo what it's supposed to do in
the body. So if we've had poornutrition, from the get go,
right from childhood throughpuberty, all the way through
(08:26):
your 20s and 30s, then as youwalk into a hormone shift at any
of those stages that then weknow that you're not going to be
as prepared for those hormoneshifts as someone who's
nutritionally optimized. So Ithink really paying attention to
your food and looking at thingslike, are you getting the right
amount of protein in your diet?
Are you getting enough healthyfats? Are you getting clean
(08:47):
whole food sources of food sothat hopefully your B vitamin
load is where it needs to be,magnesium is where it needs to
be, deep, Vitamin D is where itneeds to be. And then really
digging in to understand if youhave deficiencies you know that
might impact how you weather anyone of the hormone shifts we've
discussed.
(09:08):
If your asthma gets worse everyfall, try this. Stop raking
leaves. That's because moldgrows on fallen leaves and
stirring them up releases sporesinto the air you're breathing,
which can trigger an asthmaattack if you absolutely have to
rake wear an N 95 surgical maskwhile you're doing yard work.
(09:29):
Today's medical term painsomnia, as you might guess,
that's difficulty sleeping as adirect result of being in pain.
And normally, what happens isyou go to bed feeling fine. But
then during the night, painbuilds up until it becomes so
severe that it wakes you up andkeeps you awake until you
finally do something about it,like take a pain pill. According
(09:51):
to the Journal of pain, 88% ofpeople living with chronic pain
will experience pain somnia. Sowhy does the pain come. Strong
while you're sleeping? Well, theleading theory is that when
we're awake, we always have somestress to deal with, which means
we also have extra cortisolflowing through our body. And
cortisol is a natural painsuppressant. But when we're
(10:15):
asleep, our cortisol leveldrops, and if you've recently
suffered an injury or havearthritis, all the pain signals
that your stress has beenmasking suddenly come to the
forefront and wake you up. Also,poor sleep is known to increase
your sensitivity to pain, Sopainsomnia becomes a vicious
(10:35):
cycle. That's why, if youfrequently wake up hurting in
the middle of the night, it isimportant to talk to a
specialist who can help you getto the bottom of your pain and
your sleep issues, and that'stoday's medical term, painsomnia
coming up. We'll hear more fromintegrative medicine specialist,
Dr Taz, author of The Hormoneshift. She'll explain how simply
(10:58):
staying hydrated can do wondersin helping to keep your hormones
balanced, but first it feelsgood to give, and now we know
that scientifically, helpingothers or giving financially
literally triggers changes inthe brain that makes us feel
happy and content. Even thinkingabout helping others feels good.
(11:21):
The University of Zurichconducted the research and gave
study subjects $100 half thegroup was instructed to keep the
money for themselves, the otherhalf was asked to spend the
money on others. Then bothgroups had their brains scanned.
Well, the group that was told tobe generous had increased brain
activity in regions associatedwith reward, pleasure and
(11:45):
happiness. But you don't have togive away every last cent or
spend all your time sacrificingfor others to get the feel good
effects. Doing any generous,selfless act will make you feel
happier and more content when itcomes to staying healthy, of
course, you should prioritizeexercise, eating well and
getting quality sleep, but astudy from the University of
(12:07):
Virginia shows our friends canbe just as essential to a long,
healthy life. For example, inthe study, when people were
asked to rate the difficulty ofclimbing a steep hill, they were
much more likely to rate thehill as easy to climb if they
were with a friend compared topeople who climbed solo. That's
because close friends provide areliable support system for when
(12:31):
we're stressed, makingchallenges seem easier, and the
American Heart Association backsthat up. They say having close
friends is also associated withlowering our risk for everything
from depression to heart attacksto even cancer. And research
shows the opposite is true too.
People reporting no closefriends are among the most
likely to suffer prematuredeath. It's why experts say we
(12:54):
should prioritize developingstrong friendships. They're a
powerful factor for living alonger, healthier, happier life.
Okay, listen to this. Here's ared flag that you're listening
to a liar. Their speech soundsmore formal. When we're
comfortable, we tend to usecontractions like won't and
(13:14):
don't, but lying takes moremental effort, according to
psychiatrist Dr Alan Hirsch, soto buy ourselves a little more
time to come up with a story,we're more than twice as likely
to unconsciously switch to moreformal phrases like will not and
did not. So if someone startsavoiding normal conversational
(13:35):
contractions, consider that aheads up back with more health
intelligence from integrativemedicine physician Dr Tasneem
Batia, better known as Dr Taz,earlier, she said that when a
woman's nutrition is optimized,it can lessen the impact of
normal hormone changes and helplower the risk of getting sick.
(13:55):
Research also shows a stronglink between poor nutrition and
a higher risk for anxiety anddepression. So I asked Dr Tez to
explain the connection. Let'sthink
about this for just a second. Soanxiety and depression are
rooted in an imbalance of ourneurotransmitters and our
hormones, and the two, likeeverything in the body, are
(14:16):
connected when we look at thebreakdown of both of these, the
neurotransmitters that make usfeel good and our hormones that
need to be balanced. Somethinglike B vitamins is critical in
both of those processes. Sothey're critical in making
neurotransmitters, breaking themdown, making hormones, breaking
them down, as is magnesium. Tome, those are two very important
(14:38):
nutrients for women's health.
When we don't have enough orit's not able to be absorbed,
that's when we see women reallysuffer. We see them with
symptoms of anxiety depression.
We also see the hormoneimbalances that go with anxiety
and depression. So estrogendominance, low, progesterone,
thyroid instability, crazy,blood sugar. Or high cortisol,
(15:01):
all of that. So the nutrientsare really kind of Ground Zero.
It's like trying to build ahouse but not having the
fundamental foundationalmaterials for the house, right?
So the nutrients, to me, arelike that. We've got to have the
right nutrients on board, or wecan't manage anxiety,
depression, hormones, all ofthese other aspects of our
health.
(15:21):
Back with more healthintelligence from Dr Taz, host
of the popular Super Womanwellness podcast, and when it
comes to boosting your healthand wellness, whether you're a
woman or a man, would youbelieve something as basic as
drinking a glass of water canhelp? I asked Dr Taz why simply
staying hydrated is soimportant.
(15:42):
Well, hydration is superimportant for a lot of different
elements, including how bloodsugar works, how our insulin,
which is another hormone, howthat works, how we metabolize
hormones and neurotransmitters.
So when we're dehydrated, acouple of things are happening.
First of all, we are hungrier.
Secondly, you know, we mayresort to behaviors that you
(16:04):
know ultimately hurt ourhormones. So instead of drinking
water, if instead you're havinga lot of high salt foods or high
sugar foods or those type ofthings, then those actually
impact the hormones in anegative way. On the other hand,
hydrating will help to kind ofkeep the entire metabolic world
happy. In terms of stabilizingblood sugar, stabilizing
(16:25):
insulin, it also keeps bloodpressure where it needs to be.
So hydration plays intometabolic health. It plays
indirectly into hormone health.
But again, everything isconnected so it interacts with
each other.
Don't bother stretching before aworkout. Researchers at hull
University in the UK foundstretching cold muscles causes
(16:48):
them to tighten, not relax, andthat boosts the odds you'll
injure yourself. Instead, it'sbetter to warm up with two
minutes of dynamic stretchinglike jumping jacks or arm or leg
swings, which involve movement,unlike stationary stretching,
dynamic stretching primesmuscles for action and improves
(17:09):
performance. Then, after youexercise, stretch the muscle
groups that you actively workedon that will help prevent
soreness by increasing bloodflow and circulation so waste
products are cleared away fromthose areas more easily, more
intelligence for your health.
From integrative medicinephysician, Dr Taz. If you'd like
to know more about her, checkout Dr taz.com and she was in
(17:31):
the news recently talking abouta phenomenon known as medical
gas lighting. For those whohaven't heard of it, I asked Dr
Tez to explain what it is andwhy it's potentially dangerous
to our health, especially forwomen.
Medical gas lighting is a termthat more and more people are
(17:52):
using these days, because it isdescribing the frustration that
many women honestly are feelingwhen they go into the exam room,
what most women are hearing, andthis is what I'm hearing from
patients when they come to me,is that doctors are telling them
that they're normal, thatthey're just aging, that they're
fine, that there's no reason toget their hormone levels
(18:13):
checked. It's not beneficial orhelpful to what's going on with
them, that they're depressed,that they're just anxious, but
not willing to jump in and tolook at the whole picture.
That's medical gas lighting. Ithink that women deserve more,
and we deserve and we needmedical providers that
understand, as women, we'reshifting. We're fluid. Things
(18:33):
are interconnected, and thesesort of like perfunctory answers
aren't going to really do us anyservice. So
if someone hears this and feelslike their health symptoms are
being dismissed or they're beinggas lighted by their doctor,
what do you recommend doingabout it? I think
many doctors today are noteducated about hormone health. I
(18:55):
think I, myself, was not until Isought this out, you know, as a
mission. So we do want to givesome grace to the medical
community out there, when aneducation system that we go
through doesn't really give usthe information, but doctors
that are collaborative andcollegial, they will see
information, they will take yournotes, they'll listen to them,
(19:16):
and they will act on them, morethan likely, those that are more
dogmatic and kind of walkbetween two lines and can't
recognize the fluidity. Youknow, when it comes to women's
health, they are probablydoctors you're not going to be
able to have a great workingrelationship with. So I think
it's important to make sure youconnect with your doctor. Make
sure that the doctor understandswhere you're coming from. They
(19:39):
may not know every single factout there that is okay, but they
need to be willing to have acollaborative relationship so
that the two of you can navigatethis journey together.
A lot of people carry theirstress in the jaw, but a
clenched jaw can exert up to 300pounds of pressure, which can
wear teeth down. Down and crackthem. And if you clench your jaw
(20:02):
for years, it can eventuallylead to arthritis, inflammation
and deterioration of the jawjoint, not to mention lock jaw
and TMJ. So try this simple, nocost solution. If you tend to
clench your jaw, make a habit ofresting your tongue against the
ridge behind your upper frontteeth, keeping your lips closed,
(20:26):
according to TMJ expert, DrAndrew Kaplan, that will
naturally help your jaw open andremain at ease. And if you
combine that move with thisbreathing pattern, it will be
even better. Inhale through yournose for a count of four, hold
it for another four seconds,exhale for eight seconds. So
(20:47):
remember in for four, hold forfour, exhale for eight that will
calm your nervous system,relaxing you even more. Here's
an email I received at Connie atintelligence for your
health.com. It comes from BrianMiceli, who writes, How rare is
it for someone to pass away ontheir birthday? Brian, it
(21:07):
happens more than you may think.
According to an analysis fromthe University of Chicago, we're
nearly 7% more likely to die onour birthday. For people age 60
and older, that jumps to 14% butfor young adults, and especially
if your birthday lands on aweekend, the risk goes way up.
For instance, for someonebetween the ages of 20 and 29 if
(21:30):
their birthday falls on aweekend, their risk of dying
shoots up 48% that's becausepeople tend to get crazy on
their birthdays. They may drinktoo much, party too hard, and
put themselves in dangerous,risky situations. For the older
population, it's usually down toover indulging with fatty food
(21:53):
and alcohol, which could triggera heart attack or stroke.
Another theory is that peoplekeep themselves going to reach
an age milestone and thensurrender to the inevitable, and
suicides go up 3% on birthdaystoo. Dr Lewis Halsey of the
University of Roehampton saysmore suicides happen on
(22:15):
birthdays, particularly withmen. He says men are more likely
to make a statement about theirunhappiness when they think
people will notice, which is ontheir birthday. Thank you for
your email. Brian, I hope thishelps. Okay, listen to this.
Here's a trick to help you getup in the morning, use a heating
pad. Now you might think aheating pad would make you want
(22:37):
to stay in bed longer, since itmakes you warm and cozy, but
sleep expert Dr Christopherwinter says when our body
temperature dips at night, itproduces sleep hormones, and at
dawn, our body temperaturestarts rising along with our
stress hormones to wake us upnaturally. So plug a heating pad
into a timer, layer it betweenyour blankets and set it to
(22:59):
start heating up about 30minutes before you need to get
up, it will speed up the naturalrise in your core temperature,
helping you wake up if you needto have surgery, you may want to
look for a female surgeon,because according to a new
study, people who are operatedOn by female surgeons are less
likely to experiencecomplications, have shorter
(23:22):
hospital stays and need lessfollow up care than when men
perform surgery. The researchwas conducted by Mount Sinai
Hospital in Toronto andpublished in the Journal of the
American Medical Association. Itreviewed more than 1 million
patient records and found thatpatients seen by female surgeons
had significantly betteroutcomes with fewer problems in
(23:45):
the months after the surgery andwhen it came to death rates post
surgery, female surgeons reallyhad an edge. It turns out
patients treated by femalesurgeons were 25% less likely to
die one year after surgery thanthose treated by male surgeons.
The reason female surgeons tendto operate more slowly and
(24:09):
achieve better results by takingtheir time and being more
careful and thorough. Soalthough men have been
considered better surgeonshistorically, if you have a
choice between two equallyqualified doctors, you may want
to choose a woman to performyour surgery. More health
intelligence from integrativephysician Dr TAs in her latest
(24:31):
book, The hormone shift, shebreaks down the major phases of
a woman's life and the distinctsymptoms that women can expect
with each phase, like when it'sperfectly normal, to feel tired
all the time, to feel moreanxious or to suddenly gain more
weight. But I asked Dr TAS ifthere are any symptoms we should
pay attention to which mightsignal something's not normal
(24:54):
and that we should see a doctor.
You know,one of the things I really want
women to. Understand or to payattention to, is that if they're
having any significant change,to not dismiss it. And that's
something that I did. So forexample, you know, when I was
having my own hormonalimbalances and journey, like I
was having massive hair loss,joint pain, feeling so tired,
(25:14):
unable to get out of the bed, itwas a very definite change how I
am normally, but as I ignoredit, the symptoms wouldn't go
away. They would just escalate.
So any escalation in symptoms, Ithink, needs to be checked out.
Any new symptoms, right, thatyou know are not really
(25:36):
something that you'veexperienced before, I think
those automatically need to bechecked out as well. So I think
women need to get into apattern, you know, and my hope
is reading the book that they'llget there. They need to get into
a pattern of having theirmermaids checked at least twice
a year, seeing their medicalprovider, having that medical
provider really quarterbacktheir care and understand, you
know, and track and trend themso that the entire team can
(25:59):
understand when a woman might begetting into trouble versus this
is just something that can bewatched over time.
That's it for our show today,our special intelligence for
your health with Connie Seligedition of the podcast, I'm Gib
Gerard. Don't forget to ratecomment and subscribe on Apple
podcast. Spotify, wherever youget your podcast. It helps us
out a lot. And also you canreach out to us on social media.
All of our links are listed downin the show notes. We try to
(26:23):
respond to every DM, everymention of the show, because
ultimately, we do the show foryou guys. So thank you so much
for listening. You.
Gib. Hello and welcome to another episode of the
(00:10):
podcast. I'm Gib Gerard, herewith another one of my
favorites, special intelligencefor your health, with Connie
Celica. Edition of the podcasttoday. Connie's guest is none
other than Dr Tasneem Batia.
She's the author of the book Thehormone shift. She's going to
talk about the key phases thatwomen go through in life, all
that and more coming up. Sohere, without further ado, is
intelligence for your health.
(00:34):
With Connie Celica,if you want your brain to work
better all day, exercise in themorning. That's according to the
University of Western Australia,they found that adults who
engage in moderate intensityworkouts in the morning have
sharper brains the rest of theday. That's because morning
exercise elevates a proteincalled brain derived
(00:54):
neurotrophic growth factor, B,D, n, f, which helps neurons
survive and thrive, and levelsof that protein remain high for
eight hours after a morningworkout. As a result, people who
exercise in the morning havebetter concentration, attention
span, executive function likedecision making and working
(01:14):
memory. So if you need to be atyour best mentally, make time
for a morning workout. We'vetalked a lot about the effects
of sitting all day, according toYale medicine, prolonged amounts
of sitting increases the risk ofearly death from any cause. It's
also linked to type twodiabetes, heart problems, weight
gain, depression, dementia andmultiple cancers. Well, aside
(01:38):
from getting up every hour tomove, here's something else you
can do to counteract the effectsof sitting. Drink more coffee. A
big new study published in thejournal BioMed Central shows a
clear relationship between morecoffee and fewer negative
consequences of too muchsitting. The study followed
(01:59):
10,000 people over more than adecade, and it found that
regular coffee drinkers who satfor six or more hours a day were
one and a half times less likelyto die of all causes than non
coffee drinkers. Basically, thecoffee drinkers habit canceled
out the health risks of asedentary lifestyle. No one
(02:19):
really knows if it's theantioxidants and other natural
compounds found in coffee or thecaffeine, but there is a
definite link. Now we're notsaying your Starbucks run can
replace a real run, but coffeecan help offset too much sitting
Coming up, we'll talk to women'shealth expert, Dr Tasneem
(02:41):
Bhatia, better known as Dr Taz.
She'll talk about two phases ina woman's life, when you can
legitimately call her a superwoman, and how those phases
affect her mood and behavior.
But first, here's a heads up foranyone with heart disease, be
careful in cold weather, becausewhen you inhale cold air, you
(03:02):
chill blood vessels around yourairways, causing them to
constrict, and that quadruplesthe odds of dangerous blood
clots forming. Cardiologist, DrJoel Khan says he tells his
patients to be especiallycareful shoveling snow or
hunting big game in coldtemperatures, because the labor
(03:22):
of those two things can putextra pressure on the heart. So
he recommends taking specificprecautions. Dress warmly, cover
your mouth with a scarf to warmthe air you're inhaling, and
stay hydrated to thin yourblood. And sometimes it may be
better to leave the heavylifting to someone else and play
it safe. Here is a powerfulstress relief tip. It comes from
(03:46):
Dr Kiran Rajan, a lecturer atthe University of Sunderland in
the UK. He says the key tocalming down and improving your
resilience to stress can befound in your throat, because by
singing, humming or evengargling water, you activate the
muscles at the back of yourthroat, which are connected to
(04:07):
the vagus nerve. Now you mayhave heard me talk about the
vagus nerve before. It's thelongest nerve in the body,
traveling from your ears to yourabdomen, and the more you can
get your vocal cords to vibrate,the more your vagus nerve is
activated, and that puts you ina parasympathetic state. Now
that means your heart rate andbreathing slow down, which
(04:29):
reduces anxiety and promotesrelaxation. And the more easily
you can put yourself in aparasympathetic state, the more
capable your body will be ofadapting to stressful
situations, all that from justspending some time humming,
singing or gargling. Okay,listen to this once you catch a
(04:49):
cold, you know, chicken soup isthe recommended go to treatment.
But if you don't want to catch acold in the first place, have
tomato soup. According to theAmerican Journal of Clinical
Nutrition, cooked tomatoproducts, including soup and
spaghetti sauce, can help usavoid getting sick to begin
with, that's because thelycopene and other nutrients in
(05:10):
tomatoes, which become evenstronger when they're cooked,
boost the activity of yourimmune cells by a whopping 38%
today, our special guest is DrTasneem Batia in her latest
book, The hormone shift, shebreaks down the key phases in a
woman's lifetime when she canexpect her hormones to suddenly
make her feel out of whack. DrTAS says most people know about
(05:34):
the changes that happen early inlife, at puberty and again late
in life, at menopause, butsomewhere in the middle are two
phases that Dr Taz describes asthe superstars and super women
eras. So I asked her to tell usabout them.
So the super women era is fromabout 39 to 55 the superstars is
(05:56):
29 to 38 each of these groups ofwomen are dealing with the issue
of multitasking and jugglingwithout really having the
support that's needed to doeverything that they've signed
up to do. So if we start withthe superstars they really are
dealing with, often the startingof a family, the starting
(06:16):
starting to have children. Sothe children are often very
young. That really pulls onwomen. It depletes their energy,
it depletes their naturalresources and their nutrients.
So we've got women in this erawalking around super tired,
super fatigued, and reallyrunning on empty. Now you take
that woman and she then crossesinto the Super Woman era, which
(06:37):
is starting at about 39 whichis, you know, classic
perimenopause. They're walkinginto that era depleted. Their
hormones are shifting now allover the place, and they're
having trouble just keeping ittogether. They're feeling,
oftentimes very unhinged. Sothey may see it as now, okay, I
can't process information theway I used to. I'm gaining
(06:59):
weight. I am irritable all thetime. I'm having other symptoms
like joint pain or acne or hairloss or breast tenderness. I
can't sleep at night. But theyhave not had a great resource or
toolbox, you know, to turn to toreally help them navigate all
those different shifts.
Today we're talking to women'shealth and wellness expert, Dr
(07:20):
Tasneem Batia, she was justsaying that when a woman's
hormones begin to shift from onephase of life to another, it is
normal to suddenly feel reallyfatigued all the time, usually
irritable, and to experienceweight gain. So I asked Dr Taz
if there are things women can doto prepare and lessen the
severity of these symptoms asour hormones shift
(07:43):
definitely, I think the numberone thing women can do is to
optimize their nutrition. Ifthey have good levels of healthy
fats, protein B, vitamins,magnesium, vitamin D, omega
three fats. These hormone shiftsare subtle. They're not
noticeable, and then sort of thedisease risk that they carry is
(08:04):
also minimized. There's a reasonfor that. Every hormone,
estrogen, progesterone, thyroid,insulin, is dependent on
nutrients, first of all, to beproduced, secondly, to be
metabolized, and then lastly, todo what it's supposed to do in
the body. So if we've had poornutrition, from the get go,
right from childhood throughpuberty, all the way through
(08:26):
your 20s and 30s, then as youwalk into a hormone shift at any
of those stages that then weknow that you're not going to be
as prepared for those hormoneshifts as someone who's
nutritionally optimized. So Ithink really paying attention to
your food and looking at thingslike, are you getting the right
amount of protein in your diet?
Are you getting enough healthyfats? Are you getting clean
(08:47):
whole food sources of food sothat hopefully your B vitamin
load is where it needs to be,magnesium is where it needs to
be, deep, Vitamin D is where itneeds to be. And then really
digging in to understand if youhave deficiencies you know that
might impact how you weather anyone of the hormone shifts we've
discussed.
(09:08):
If your asthma gets worse everyfall, try this. Stop raking
leaves. That's because moldgrows on fallen leaves and
stirring them up releases sporesinto the air you're breathing,
which can trigger an asthmaattack if you absolutely have to
rake wear an N 95 surgical maskwhile you're doing yard work.
(09:29):
Today's medical term painsomnia, as you might guess,
that's difficulty sleeping as adirect result of being in pain.
And normally, what happens isyou go to bed feeling fine. But
then during the night, painbuilds up until it becomes so
severe that it wakes you up andkeeps you awake until you
finally do something about it,like take a pain pill. According
(09:51):
to the Journal of pain, 88% ofpeople living with chronic pain
will experience pain somnia. Sowhy does the pain come. Strong
while you're sleeping? Well, theleading theory is that when
we're awake, we always have somestress to deal with, which means
we also have extra cortisolflowing through our body. And
cortisol is a natural painsuppressant. But when we're
(10:15):
asleep, our cortisol leveldrops, and if you've recently
suffered an injury or havearthritis, all the pain signals
that your stress has beenmasking suddenly come to the
forefront and wake you up. Also,poor sleep is known to increase
your sensitivity to pain, Sopainsomnia becomes a vicious
(10:35):
cycle. That's why, if youfrequently wake up hurting in
the middle of the night, it isimportant to talk to a
specialist who can help you getto the bottom of your pain and
your sleep issues, and that'stoday's medical term, painsomnia
coming up. We'll hear more fromintegrative medicine specialist,
Dr Taz, author of The Hormoneshift. She'll explain how simply
(10:58):
staying hydrated can do wondersin helping to keep your hormones
balanced, but first it feelsgood to give, and now we know
that scientifically, helpingothers or giving financially
literally triggers changes inthe brain that makes us feel
happy and content. Even thinkingabout helping others feels good.
(11:21):
The University of Zurichconducted the research and gave
study subjects $100 half thegroup was instructed to keep the
money for themselves, the otherhalf was asked to spend the
money on others. Then bothgroups had their brains scanned.
Well, the group that was told tobe generous had increased brain
activity in regions associatedwith reward, pleasure and
(11:45):
happiness. But you don't have togive away every last cent or
spend all your time sacrificingfor others to get the feel good
effects. Doing any generous,selfless act will make you feel
happier and more content when itcomes to staying healthy, of
course, you should prioritizeexercise, eating well and
getting quality sleep, but astudy from the University of
(12:07):
Virginia shows our friends canbe just as essential to a long,
healthy life. For example, inthe study, when people were
asked to rate the difficulty ofclimbing a steep hill, they were
much more likely to rate thehill as easy to climb if they
were with a friend compared topeople who climbed solo. That's
because close friends provide areliable support system for when
(12:31):
we're stressed, makingchallenges seem easier, and the
American Heart Association backsthat up. They say having close
friends is also associated withlowering our risk for everything
from depression to heart attacksto even cancer. And research
shows the opposite is true too.
People reporting no closefriends are among the most
likely to suffer prematuredeath. It's why experts say we
(12:54):
should prioritize developingstrong friendships. They're a
powerful factor for living alonger, healthier, happier life.
Okay, listen to this. Here's ared flag that you're listening
to a liar. Their speech soundsmore formal. When we're
comfortable, we tend to usecontractions like won't and
(13:14):
don't, but lying takes moremental effort, according to
psychiatrist Dr Alan Hirsch, soto buy ourselves a little more
time to come up with a story,we're more than twice as likely
to unconsciously switch to moreformal phrases like will not and
did not. So if someone startsavoiding normal conversational
(13:35):
contractions, consider that aheads up back with more health
intelligence from integrativemedicine physician Dr Tasneem
Batia, better known as Dr Taz,earlier, she said that when a
woman's nutrition is optimized,it can lessen the impact of
normal hormone changes and helplower the risk of getting sick.
(13:55):
Research also shows a stronglink between poor nutrition and
a higher risk for anxiety anddepression. So I asked Dr Tez to
explain the connection. Let'sthink
about this for just a second. Soanxiety and depression are
rooted in an imbalance of ourneurotransmitters and our
hormones, and the two, likeeverything in the body, are
(14:16):
connected when we look at thebreakdown of both of these, the
neurotransmitters that make usfeel good and our hormones that
need to be balanced. Somethinglike B vitamins is critical in
both of those processes. Sothey're critical in making
neurotransmitters, breaking themdown, making hormones, breaking
them down, as is magnesium. Tome, those are two very important
(14:38):
nutrients for women's health.
When we don't have enough orit's not able to be absorbed,
that's when we see women reallysuffer. We see them with
symptoms of anxiety depression.
We also see the hormoneimbalances that go with anxiety
and depression. So estrogendominance, low, progesterone,
thyroid instability, crazy,blood sugar. Or high cortisol,
(15:01):
all of that. So the nutrientsare really kind of Ground Zero.
It's like trying to build ahouse but not having the
fundamental foundationalmaterials for the house, right?
So the nutrients, to me, arelike that. We've got to have the
right nutrients on board, or wecan't manage anxiety,
depression, hormones, all ofthese other aspects of our
health.
(15:21):
Back with more healthintelligence from Dr Taz, host
of the popular Super Womanwellness podcast, and when it
comes to boosting your healthand wellness, whether you're a
woman or a man, would youbelieve something as basic as
drinking a glass of water canhelp? I asked Dr Taz why simply
staying hydrated is soimportant.
(15:42):
Well, hydration is superimportant for a lot of different
elements, including how bloodsugar works, how our insulin,
which is another hormone, howthat works, how we metabolize
hormones and neurotransmitters.
So when we're dehydrated, acouple of things are happening.
First of all, we are hungrier.
Secondly, you know, we mayresort to behaviors that you
(16:04):
know ultimately hurt ourhormones. So instead of drinking
water, if instead you're havinga lot of high salt foods or high
sugar foods or those type ofthings, then those actually
impact the hormones in anegative way. On the other hand,
hydrating will help to kind ofkeep the entire metabolic world
happy. In terms of stabilizingblood sugar, stabilizing
(16:25):
insulin, it also keeps bloodpressure where it needs to be.
So hydration plays intometabolic health. It plays
indirectly into hormone health.
But again, everything isconnected so it interacts with
each other.
Don't bother stretching before aworkout. Researchers at hull
University in the UK foundstretching cold muscles causes
(16:48):
them to tighten, not relax, andthat boosts the odds you'll
injure yourself. Instead, it'sbetter to warm up with two
minutes of dynamic stretchinglike jumping jacks or arm or leg
swings, which involve movement,unlike stationary stretching,
dynamic stretching primesmuscles for action and improves
(17:09):
performance. Then, after youexercise, stretch the muscle
groups that you actively workedon that will help prevent
soreness by increasing bloodflow and circulation so waste
products are cleared away fromthose areas more easily, more
intelligence for your health.
From integrative medicinephysician, Dr Taz. If you'd like
to know more about her, checkout Dr taz.com and she was in
(17:31):
the news recently talking abouta phenomenon known as medical
gas lighting. For those whohaven't heard of it, I asked Dr
Tez to explain what it is andwhy it's potentially dangerous
to our health, especially forwomen.
Medical gas lighting is a termthat more and more people are
(17:52):
using these days, because it isdescribing the frustration that
many women honestly are feelingwhen they go into the exam room,
what most women are hearing, andthis is what I'm hearing from
patients when they come to me,is that doctors are telling them
that they're normal, thatthey're just aging, that they're
fine, that there's no reason toget their hormone levels
(18:13):
checked. It's not beneficial orhelpful to what's going on with
them, that they're depressed,that they're just anxious, but
not willing to jump in and tolook at the whole picture.
That's medical gas lighting. Ithink that women deserve more,
and we deserve and we needmedical providers that
understand, as women, we'reshifting. We're fluid. Things
(18:33):
are interconnected, and thesesort of like perfunctory answers
aren't going to really do us anyservice. So
if someone hears this and feelslike their health symptoms are
being dismissed or they're beinggas lighted by their doctor,
what do you recommend doingabout it? I think
many doctors today are noteducated about hormone health. I
(18:55):
think I, myself, was not until Isought this out, you know, as a
mission. So we do want to givesome grace to the medical
community out there, when aneducation system that we go
through doesn't really give usthe information, but doctors
that are collaborative andcollegial, they will see
information, they will take yournotes, they'll listen to them,
(19:16):
and they will act on them, morethan likely, those that are more
dogmatic and kind of walkbetween two lines and can't
recognize the fluidity. Youknow, when it comes to women's
health, they are probablydoctors you're not going to be
able to have a great workingrelationship with. So I think
it's important to make sure youconnect with your doctor. Make
sure that the doctor understandswhere you're coming from. They
(19:39):
may not know every single factout there that is okay, but they
need to be willing to have acollaborative relationship so
that the two of you can navigatethis journey together.
A lot of people carry theirstress in the jaw, but a
clenched jaw can exert up to 300pounds of pressure, which can
wear teeth down. Down and crackthem. And if you clench your jaw
(20:02):
for years, it can eventuallylead to arthritis, inflammation
and deterioration of the jawjoint, not to mention lock jaw
and TMJ. So try this simple, nocost solution. If you tend to
clench your jaw, make a habit ofresting your tongue against the
ridge behind your upper frontteeth, keeping your lips closed,
(20:26):
according to TMJ expert, DrAndrew Kaplan, that will
naturally help your jaw open andremain at ease. And if you
combine that move with thisbreathing pattern, it will be
even better. Inhale through yournose for a count of four, hold
it for another four seconds,exhale for eight seconds. So
(20:47):
remember in for four, hold forfour, exhale for eight that will
calm your nervous system,relaxing you even more. Here's
an email I received at Connie atintelligence for your
health.com. It comes from BrianMiceli, who writes, How rare is
it for someone to pass away ontheir birthday? Brian, it
(21:07):
happens more than you may think.
According to an analysis fromthe University of Chicago, we're
nearly 7% more likely to die onour birthday. For people age 60
and older, that jumps to 14% butfor young adults, and especially
if your birthday lands on aweekend, the risk goes way up.
For instance, for someonebetween the ages of 20 and 29 if
(21:30):
their birthday falls on aweekend, their risk of dying
shoots up 48% that's becausepeople tend to get crazy on
their birthdays. They may drinktoo much, party too hard, and
put themselves in dangerous,risky situations. For the older
population, it's usually down toover indulging with fatty food
(21:53):
and alcohol, which could triggera heart attack or stroke.
Another theory is that peoplekeep themselves going to reach
an age milestone and thensurrender to the inevitable, and
suicides go up 3% on birthdaystoo. Dr Lewis Halsey of the
University of Roehampton saysmore suicides happen on
(22:15):
birthdays, particularly withmen. He says men are more likely
to make a statement about theirunhappiness when they think
people will notice, which is ontheir birthday. Thank you for
your email. Brian, I hope thishelps. Okay, listen to this.
Here's a trick to help you getup in the morning, use a heating
pad. Now you might think aheating pad would make you want
(22:37):
to stay in bed longer, since itmakes you warm and cozy, but
sleep expert Dr Christopherwinter says when our body
temperature dips at night, itproduces sleep hormones, and at
dawn, our body temperaturestarts rising along with our
stress hormones to wake us upnaturally. So plug a heating pad
into a timer, layer it betweenyour blankets and set it to
(22:59):
start heating up about 30minutes before you need to get
up, it will speed up the naturalrise in your core temperature,
helping you wake up if you needto have surgery, you may want to
look for a female surgeon,because according to a new
study, people who are operatedOn by female surgeons are less
likely to experiencecomplications, have shorter
(23:22):
hospital stays and need lessfollow up care than when men
perform surgery. The researchwas conducted by Mount Sinai
Hospital in Toronto andpublished in the Journal of the
American Medical Association. Itreviewed more than 1 million
patient records and found thatpatients seen by female surgeons
had significantly betteroutcomes with fewer problems in
(23:45):
the months after the surgery andwhen it came to death rates post
surgery, female surgeons reallyhad an edge. It turns out
patients treated by femalesurgeons were 25% less likely to
die one year after surgery thanthose treated by male surgeons.
The reason female surgeons tendto operate more slowly and
(24:09):
achieve better results by takingtheir time and being more
careful and thorough. Soalthough men have been
considered better surgeonshistorically, if you have a
choice between two equallyqualified doctors, you may want
to choose a woman to performyour surgery. More health
intelligence from integrativephysician Dr TAs in her latest
(24:31):
book, The hormone shift, shebreaks down the major phases of
a woman's life and the distinctsymptoms that women can expect
with each phase, like when it'sperfectly normal, to feel tired
all the time, to feel moreanxious or to suddenly gain more
weight. But I asked Dr TAS ifthere are any symptoms we should
pay attention to which mightsignal something's not normal
(24:54):
and that we should see a doctor.
You know,one of the things I really want
women to. Understand or to payattention to, is that if they're
having any significant change,to not dismiss it. And that's
something that I did. So forexample, you know, when I was
having my own hormonalimbalances and journey, like I
was having massive hair loss,joint pain, feeling so tired,
(25:14):
unable to get out of the bed, itwas a very definite change how I
am normally, but as I ignoredit, the symptoms wouldn't go
away. They would just escalate.
So any escalation in symptoms, Ithink, needs to be checked out.
Any new symptoms, right, thatyou know are not really
(25:36):
something that you'veexperienced before, I think
those automatically need to bechecked out as well. So I think
women need to get into apattern, you know, and my hope
is reading the book that they'llget there. They need to get into
a pattern of having theirmermaids checked at least twice
a year, seeing their medicalprovider, having that medical
provider really quarterbacktheir care and understand, you
know, and track and trend themso that the entire team can
(25:59):
understand when a woman might begetting into trouble versus this
is just something that can bewatched over time.
That's it for our show today,our special intelligence for
your health with Connie Seligedition of the podcast, I'm Gib
Gerard. Don't forget to ratecomment and subscribe on Apple
podcast. Spotify, wherever youget your podcast. It helps us
out a lot. And also you canreach out to us on social media.
All of our links are listed downin the show notes. We try to
(26:23):
respond to every DM, everymention of the show, because
ultimately, we do the show foryou guys. So thank you so much
for listening. You.
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