Heal in the right order

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Good morning from the Holland Clinic, on a rainy but refreshing day in Melbourne. We understand the many complexities involved in your search for health and vitality, which can feel increasingly daunting as we grow older. Yet, rest assured that you are not alone on this journey; we are here to guide you every step of the way.

Often, as a society, we look for a single magic bullet to solve our health problems, whether it's taking a pill for a headache or seeking the ultimate anti-aging cream. We latch onto the convenience of this 'one thing' that can miraculously fix our issues. This was highlighted during a recent consultation with a client who was questioning why a product marketed to her wasn't working as promised. Indeed, quick fixes can be enticing, but we've found that holistic healing is a more sustainable, long-term approach.

We had another client recently who perfectly illustrates the importance of holistic health. She was prescribed body-identical hormones, crucial to the management of perimenopause symptoms. But the hormones weren't as effective as they could have been because she hadn't made the necessary lifestyle and dietary changes. This illustrates a crucial point: no single treatment or medication works in isolation.

An important transition occurs in women's bodies around the age of 40, akin to a 'non-negotiable renovation'. Suddenly, the dietary and lifestyle habits that previously served us may no longer work. This is why we advocate for gut health, even referring to it as the 'foundation of the house'. Our gut has a profound influence on our hormonal system, acting as a linchpin in the communication network between our gut's microbiome and our body's cells.

The hormones, estradiol and progesterone, are crucial for our bodies to function optimally. To initiate hormonal therapy, having a baseline is pivotal since it enables us to assess improvements and ensure safe detoxification. Then, we need to monitor other hormones including testosterone and DHEA. We can also observe how estrogen metabolizes to prevent going down the potentially dangerous Four Hydroxy pathway.

Next, we need to examine your melatonin levels and your cortisol awakening response. Imbalances here are linked to burnout and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome which women in perimenopause often experience. Additionally, it's important to monitor your thyroid function and get ahead of any potential autoimmune disorders.

To navigate your way from fertile years through perimenopause and into menopause successfully, it's crucial to understand and manage these complex hormonal changes properly. It is not just about enhancing your quality of life, but also preventing further health complications down the line.

Ultimately, the Holland Clinic advocates for an holistic approach to health and vitality, with a focus on nutrition and lifestyle modifications. We believe in fasting, but in a supported, manageable way, and always with a focus on you feeling your best. It's not about quick fixes or fad diets. It's about making consistent lifestyle choices that you can sustain for the long term for the sake of your health.

Here at our clinic, we provide an en

The information shared in this podcast does not substitute working with your primary health care provider; it is general in nature and not considered personalised advice.

Visit us online for more information or if you wish to work with Dr Holland.
thehollandclinic.com

For your daily dose of women's health related info and ideas on how to gracefully live through health and wellbeing transitions your body experiences, visit our Instagram
instagram.com/thehollandclinic

Episode Transcript

Dr Kirstey Holland (00:00):
Good morning.
Oh, it's raining in Melbournetoday and um, it's meant to be
spring and it's meant to besummer.
So, but that's okay, that'sokay.
I think we need the rain and I'mgrateful for it.
It does make everything feel newand fresh.
I want to tell you about twopatients that I saw in clinical
practice yesterday.
Firstly, number one, we are asociety that looks for the one

(00:24):
thing, right?
So we have a headache, and we'relike, you know what, I want to
take a Tylenol, wherever you arein the world, a Tylenol, a
Panadol, a, you know, a Neurofenfor my headache.
So we often want the one thing.
And I think that there are a lotof companies out there that
market to us, particularlywomen.
You know, they mark, they tellus that we need to look younger.

(00:46):
They tell us that we, you know,we need to focus on anti aging.
And they tell us that there isthis one thing that will reduce
our menobelly or ourperimenopausal belly.
Um, and they do very well insales because we are the society
that just wants this one thingthat's going to fix it for us.
So I had a woman in my clinicyesterday in an initial

(01:08):
consultation going, why doesthis one thing not support, and
I'm not laughing at her, I'mjust laughing at our mentality
and I'm laughing at themarketing and I'm laughing at
the belief systems that we'vecreated.
You know, she's like, why doesthis one thing not work?
Because they said that it would.
Right?
So I'm going to get to a storyabout renovation and I'm also

(01:29):
going to get to a story aboutfertile ground and a garden full
of weeds.
Um, it's not long, it's just aquick snapshot.
And then the other thing is, isthat I see women come into my
clinic and there are lots ofintegrative, um, uh, OBGYNs now
that are prescribing beautiful,uh, not botanical, body

(01:50):
identical progesterone andestrogen.
Please remember that there is ahierarchy of healing and then
there is a hierarchy of hormonalsupport in perimenopause, and
this is so important.
Progesterone goes MIA first.
Estrogen needs to be moderatedand modulated and supported by

(02:10):
progesterone.
If you have estrogen withoutprogesterone, it's kind of like
leaving the kids at home withouta babysitter, right?
They're going to be really badlybehaved and a whole lot of stuff
might go down.
I think you're going to feel alot better if you've got a
babysitter in the house andyou're away for a couple of
days.
Um, you're not going to want tojust leave your kids at home
alone.
And that's what it's like whenyou're taking estrogen without

(02:32):
progesterone.
Don't forget that estrogen alsoneeds to be detoxifying down the
safest pathway possible.
Otherwise, you do put yourselfat risk for breast cancer.
And I'm one of thosepractitioners that is really
cautious when it comes to bodyidentical, um, hormone
replacement or menopausalreplacement or menopausal

(02:53):
supplementation.
Dr.
Felice Gersh talks about thefact that, um, estradiol and
progesterone are life hormones.
And they absolutely are.
They absolutely are.
But you need to have a baselinebefore you start hormone
therapy.
So this, this patient that I,this patient that I saw
yesterday in the clinic, the twothat I'm talking about, the
first woman showed that she hadthis beautiful hormonal

(03:16):
prescription, but none of thelifestyle and dietary
modifications to support thehormonal prescription.
The hormonal prescription wasbeautiful, but it wasn't
working.
And this is why.
At about 40, right?
And it's different for somewomen.
Some women it's about, you know,35.
Some women it's about 43.
But around about 40, there isthis non negotiable renovation

(03:41):
that needs to take place in yourbody.
It is non negotiable.
And I know we all kick andscream.
And believe me, I did too.
I found myself at 43.
putting on weight withoutchanging anything.
And I just had this moment whereI was like, hang on a minute.
This is weight loss resistance.
This is weight coming on with nochange in my diet and lifestyle.
So I need to look at thehormones.

(04:03):
And then of course I needed topush the dietary and lifestyle
modification piece because Ididn't want to start stacking on
the weight at around 43.
So the, the American menopausalsociety put out research
yesterday to show that The gutmicrobiome is imperative.

(04:23):
So we have to start in the gutto accomplish a successful
renovation.
So when you're going from yourfertile years into your
menopausal years, there's thisroller coaster in the middle
called perimenopause.
And this is where I'm talkingabout the fact that the
renovation is non negotiable.
So you need to renovate.
I know you love your house as itis, and I know that you

(04:46):
absolutely...
You know, love where thebathroom is and where the
kitchen is and all of thesebeautiful things.
And you might not actuallyreally have the money to
renovate at this point in time,but I'm here to tell you that if
you don't, the foundation ofyour house will go right.
So you can try to purchase softcushions and throws and you can
try to repaint, but thefoundation needs to be

(05:08):
restumped.
And this is exactly the case inperimenopause.
The dietary and lifestylemodifications that were once
working for you do not work foryou anymore.
And I'm living proof of that,and I have so many colleagues in
this space and they talk ofexactly the same thing.
So like I said, the research iscatching up quickly.
The American Menopausal Societyput out a research article

(05:30):
yesterday that showed thatperimenopausal women experience
leaky gut presentation.
So, this is where I come in withmy garden analogy.
What happens is you induce aleaky gut presentation and you
get a whole bunch of weeds inyour garden.
There is absolutely no point instanding on the other side of
the fence and throwing roseseeds.

(05:52):
at the weeds in the garden.
You have to pull out thoseweeds.
You need to completely, youknow, you need to dig up that
soil.
You need to create beautiful,fertile ground.
And then you need to plant thoseroses.
Because there is somethingcalled a gut hormonal brain
interface.
Your microbiome assists yourhormones, which are chemical

(06:14):
messengers, send beautifulmessages, clear messages to
every single cell in your body.
If you have a dysbiotic gut orweeds in your garden, The
communication between yourhormonal system and your gut
brain interface is going to bevery messy, if not dysbiotic and
extremely confused.

(06:34):
So no matter what you do, if youdon't do this in the right
order, in the hierarchy ofhealing, you're not going to
have sustainable long termvitality for good.
So you're going to be like, I'vetried all the things and
nothing's working.
I've done some gut support andI've done some hormonal support.
It's about doing the right thingat the right time in the right
order in order to have yourhierarchy of healing that is

(06:57):
sustainable and It keeps you inthat beautiful, vital state for
good.
So whether you like it or not,the renovation needs to happen
in order for you to flourish andtransition successfully.
And I'm here to tell you thatall of your perimenopausal
symptoms are brain symptoms.
So they are so important.
Don't take my word for it.

(07:17):
Look at the work of Dr.
Lisa Mascone.
Look at the work of Dr.
Dale Bredesen.
Look at the work of Jason Fung,Alessio Fasano.
So, like All of the greatresearchers and incredible
doctors in this space will tellyou exactly what I'm telling you
here.
And I'm certainly one of thosepractice that absolutely loves
my patients to Google.
So please Google it, educateyourself and know that you need

(07:38):
to heal, seal and repair yourgut first.
Then you need to know exactlywhat progesterone is doing, what
estrogen is doing and how theratio is working in your body
and how that relates to yoursymptoms.
Once you know what progesteroneand estrogen are doing, you need
to know what D H E A D H E A Sand testosterone are doing.
Then you need to know howestrogen is metabolizing down

(08:01):
the two, the four, or the 16hydroxy pathway.
The four hydroxy pathway is thebreast cancer pathway.
Do not take estrogen before youknow how you detoxify it because
you could end up with breastcancer that is induced by.
estrogen therapy.
So do not go in blind, know yourmarkers, understand where your
hormones are at, get a baselineso that you can get to the point

(08:23):
where you go, you know what?
I've got my baseline.
I can see an incredibleimprovements and I'm feeling
fantastic.
And I know that I'm detoxifyingsafely, right?
And ensure that you'redetoxifying safely first.
Before you use the hormonetherapy and then make sure that
your testosterone and your DHEAis where it should be at because
we need testosterone as womenfor our libidos and our muscle

(08:45):
mass sarcopenia is real as isosteoporosis and osteopenia we
need to hold on to muscle massand we need to make sure that
our bones are really strong andwe absolutely need estradiol for
good strong bones brains andhearts you Our cardiovascular
system goes a little haywire atthis point as well.
Every single system in the bodyis protected by female hormones,

(09:09):
progesterone and estradiol.
So we need to protect ourcardiovascular system.
We need to protect our muscles,we need to protect our bones, we
need to protect our gut, and weneed to protect our brain.
Once we know what the, what theandrogens are doing, we need to
know where your melatonin is at.
And then we need to look at yourcortisol awakening response.
I see low cortisol awakeningresponses and high cortisol

(09:31):
awakening responses all of thetime in the clinic, and they
mean different things.
There is psychological burnoutand chronic fatigue syndrome.
that women in perimenopauseexperience due to the fact that
their hormones have gone M.
I.
A.
and they now also havethyropause or andropause.
And I'm also here to tell youthat if you have a high ACE
score, adverse childhood events,you're moving from an ovarian

(09:55):
production of hormone to anadrenal production of hormone,
and your adrenals are alreadyunder pressure.
And now you go, Hey guys,actually, by the way, now that
you've been stressed out andpetrified or traumatized most of
my life, I actually need you todo the job that the ovaries once
did too.
So if you don't mind, if youcould take that on as well and
your, and your adrenals are justlike, are you kidding me?

(10:15):
Like I cannot even run for mylife.
I cannot fight for my life.
I'm like literally rollover playdead right now.
And you want to give me moretasks on my to do list?
I just cannot.
Right?
So your adrenals are just like,no, I'm sorry.
I'm on pause.
If your adrenals are in pause,your thyroid is struggling.
So that's why it is so importantto know where your adrenals are

(10:35):
at.
You need to test your thyroid.
And when I say you need to testyour thyroid, you need to do a
full thyroid panel.
It is negligent care for aperimenopausal woman
experiencing the symptoms thatshow that there's potential
subclinical hypothyroidism andnot receiving thyroid
stimulating hormone, TSH.
Um, T3, T4, reverse T3 andthyroid antibodies.

(11:00):
Because the other thing thattends to happen in perimenopause
is an autoimmune presentation.
Because our immune systems aremodulated by progesterone and
estrogen too.
So quite often, something thatnever bothered us in the past
suddenly turns into a triggerfood and we have an autoimmune
presentation.
And the question is with anautoimmune presentation is where
is it and where else is it?

(11:21):
So these are literally thebasics in order to be able to
transition successfully fromyour fertile years into
perimenopause and menopause andbeyond so that you can hold on
to your gut function, yourmuscle function, your bone
function, your brain function,and you can supplement your
beautiful dietary and lifestylemodifications that are now

(11:42):
supporting your final decades.
So please.
Make sure that you do things inthe right order so that you can
be vital for good and you don'thave to do yo yo diets.
In my clinic, it is a diet freezone.
I'm a recovering food addict.
There is zero restriction andthere is zero hunger.
And I also teach women how tofast in a supported way.

(12:03):
So it really is fasting forbeginners.
And none of what I ask you to doin my clinic, I have not done
myself.
And one of the huge pieces offeedback that I receive all of
the time from women in ourclinic is now that I know what
to do, I actually can't believehow easy it is to do it and
sustain it.
And I can't believe howincredible I feel.

(12:25):
And do you know what the reallyfunny thing is?
I have women tell me that theyfeel guilty about feeling this
good.
Isn't that incredible?
And I also think that that hasgot something to do with us as
women.
We feel like, you know, it'sokay.
Like, you know, it's all right.
It doesn't matter that I feelshitty or that I feel like I'm
always exhausted or tired.
I'll just keep going.

(12:45):
You know, it's selfish to takecare of myself to this extent.
Your vitality is osmotic.
Once you're feeling incredible,you can fill up and serve your
family, your friends, yourrelatives, and the people that
you love from a full cup.
And you can do the best job youcan.
You can be the most incrediblemother, the most incredible

(13:05):
lover, the most incrediblefriend, and you can actually
fall in love with yourselfagain.
If you're at the point where youdon't like yourself, please
change that.
It is so important.
And you know, it's quitedifficult to start with self
love, right?
So just start with forgiveness.
Go.
You know what?
I forgive myself for beinghuman.
I forgive myself forself-medicating.

(13:27):
I forgive myself for findingmyself in this position, but I'm
gonna make some better choicesand I'm gonna do them today.
So please eat three cups ofgreen, one cup of color, and 200
grams of high quality proteinper meal.
Make sure that you're focusingon your energy levels and your
nutrition.
Your nutrition is everything.
Please move in a way that youlove.

(13:49):
Hold on to your muscle mass,right?
And support yourself.
Treat yourself to some collagen.
Go to the health food store.
Get some really high qualitycollagen.
Have protein first thing in themorning.
And be gentle on yourself,right?
This is a beautiful, beautifullife we have.
We are so blessed to have it.
And in Australia, we are safe.

(14:10):
You know, we are relativelysafe.
And there's some terrible thingsgoing on in the world.
And I just want you to please,Focus on your vitality when your
biochemistry is supporting youand you feel as vital as you
possibly can, right?
You can deal with the stuff thatlife throws at you.
So welcome to being human.
Start with forgiveness.
This is a judgment free zone.

(14:31):
I love you.
I love your biochemistry.
The one thing that I tell mypatients to do is trust me to
trust their biochemistry, right?
Because so many times women endup in front of me in my clinic,
in my practice, and they havelost All faith in their bodies.
They don't trust their bodies,they don't trust themselves, and
they don't trust theirbiochemistry because sometimes

(14:52):
we feel so SHIT in this space.
That we do self medicate withfood or booze or alcohol, you
know, booze, alcohol, sweets,sugar, you name it, you know,
but please focus on yournutrition today and get eight
hours sleep.
That is the best thing you coulddo for your health today.
Make sure that you're hydratedand move in a way that you love.

(15:15):
I love you.
Have a beautiful day.
Thank you for listening to myrant.