Send me a text! I'd LOVE to hear your feedback on this episode!
Menopause can feel like your body changed the rulebook without warning. One day you’re handling pressure just fine; the next, a slammed door spikes your heart rate and your mind won’t quit. I pull back the curtain on why stress tolerance can collapse at midlife and how to rebuild it with smarter hormone care, steadier blood sugar, and nervous system-aware tools that actually fit real life.
I grow tired of experts telling us to control our stress. Or limit our stress. This is nonsensical to me because we can only mitigate the effects stress has on our bodies and we can't make it disappear. Ignoring it, numbing it, also doesn't work at menopause.
I have MANY different tools to help mitigate the effects of stress. NuCalm is a tool I've been using for many years now. I was one of their early supporters and affiliates, and I remain a big believer. Use this link for a free trial!! And if you love it, use SANDYK for a discount.
https://nucalm.com/free-trial?ref=sandy54
Email me your questions, topics, or comments to be featured on my show - whether anonymous or not - your choice. sandy@sandyknutrition.ca.
Follow me on all of my socials - @sandyknutrition everywhere.
Who am I? I don’t define myself by my past, but it’s a big part of my story. In 2010, my five-year-old daughter was diagnosed with cancer, and just a year later, I was too, but with thyroid cancer at 41. Fast forward to now, at 55, I’m navigating menopause and constantly learning what it truly means to thrive - body, mind, spirit and soul - to this next chapter of my life.
Along the way, I went back to college, became a Registered Holistic Nutritionist, earned numerous certifications, and started this podcast just before the pandemic. I come to you not only as a practitioner and a podcaster, but as a woman who’s lived it, someone driven by passion over profit, and a genuine desire to help others heal, grow, and live with more vitality, purpose, and joy.
Beyond the basics, I spotlight underused supports. Adaptogens can help some, but they won’t fix trauma or misaligned hormones. I also lean into the deeper layer: how menopause can surface old beliefs and hypervigilance, and about BEAM Therapy. See Brenda Farrugia for more on this at https://www.sobrilliant.ca/.
Please rate & review my podcast with a few kind words on Apple or Spotify. Subscribe wherever you listen, share this episode with a friend, and follow me below. This truly gives back & helps me keep bringing amazing guests & topics every week.
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Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Sandy Kruse (00:01):
Hi everyone, it's me, Sandy Kruse Sandy K
Nutrition Health and LifestyleQueen.
For years now, I've beenbringing to you conversations
about wellness from incredibleguests from all over the world.
Discover a fresh take onhealthy living for midlife and
(00:25):
beyond.
One that embraces balance andreason without letting only
science dictate every aspect ofour wellness.
Join me and my guests as weexplore ways that we can age
gracefully with in-depthconversations about the thyroid,
(00:48):
about hormones, and otheralternative wellness options for
you and your family.
True Wellness nurtures ahealthy body, mind, spirit, and
soul.
And we cover all of theseessential aspects to help you
live a balanced, joyful life.
(01:10):
Be sure to follow my show, rateit, review it, and share it.
Always remember, my friends,balanced living works.
Hi everyone, welcome to Sandy KNutrition Health and Lifestyle
Queen.
(01:31):
Today I've got another soloepisode.
I'm going to talk to you allabout stress at menopause.
Now remember, I am not yourpractitioner.
I am not a doctor.
I'm providing you with insightbased on my knowledge.
(01:51):
I don't know you, I don't knowyour situation, I don't know if
you're on hormones or not onhormones.
This is not medical advice.
And another thing, because I'mtalking about the nervous
system, it's really importantthat I have this little caveat
at the start.
And I want to note that if youhave a chronic or diagnosed
(02:15):
issue with depression oranxiety, and or you are
medicated for it, please seeyour own practitioner.
This article is likely not foryou.
Anything natural that I discusscould potentially be harmful if
you're on these medications,and it is contraindicated in a
(02:38):
lot of natural supplements.
So I do not provide medicaladvice.
And this shorter podcast thatI'm gonna talk about today, it
is very nuanced.
It's also specifically forperimenopausal and menopausal
women, mostly just who havenuanced anxiety issues brought
(03:01):
on by hormonal changes, which issomething that most of us will
undergo.
And I just want to explainphysiologically why this is
happening.
So let me just tell you firstof all, my name is Sandy Cruz.
I am a registered holisticnutritionist, I have
certifications in peptides,aging, I also have
(03:25):
certifications in endocrinologyand hormones and functional lab
testing and also functionalnutrition.
So I do know a little about alot of different things.
And I'm also a 55-year-oldwoman who is going through
menopause without a thyroidgland.
(03:48):
So I am a big believer that wecan't look at our menopausal
issues from, you know, these bigdoctors who speak about it and
not, they're not able to relateto it.
So that's why I really want totalk about the nervous system.
(04:10):
So what happens inperimenopause is first of all, a
lot of times people use theseterms interchangeably, they are
not the same.
Perimenopause means things arestarting to slow down, you're
not as fertile as you once were.
You, you know, it's harder toget pregnant.
(04:31):
If you're trying to getpregnant, you may have some um
lowering hormones, somesymptoms.
It is not the same as being infull menopause when you no
longer have a period.
Now, they mark this specialtime as one year of no periods.
(04:51):
I actually am 55.
I'll be 56 very, very soon.
Oh my God.
And uh in March of 2025, it wasexactly one year since I've had
a period.
So, in the medical viewpoint,that is full menopause.
So I will say that there aredifferences once you cross that
(05:15):
threshold in that you're maybenot going as much up and down.
I had about three years oflatter stages of perimenopause,
but there are other things thatI noticed that really were more
prevalent, and one is thenervous system, which is what I
(05:35):
want to talk to you about.
So physiologically, yourovaries are producing those sex
hormones when you are younger,you're not in menopause, even
when you're in perimenopause,you're still producing those
hormones, maybe not as much.
But what happens when you're infull menopause, those ovaries
(05:56):
shut down.
They're not making thosehormones anymore.
But, you know, we don't turninto men just because we enter
menopause, we still producethose hormones, we just don't
produce as many.
And what happens is our adrenalglands start to make those
hormones, or they they they Ithink they always do in small
(06:19):
amounts, but they basicallythat's it, that's their job now.
So most people know that theadrenal glands make, I think,
three main hormones aldosteroneas well as cortisol.
Everybody knows about cortisol.
Cortisol is not evil, it's notbad, but cortisol is that stress
hormone.
It's like a steroid hormone,and really it helps you to act
(06:44):
in situations that are, youknow, stressful.
So a lot of people have heardthat analogy about the lion
running away and being reallystressed out.
So the body, when it's in thatstate, can't really do anything
else.
So if you're in a constantstressed-out state, your
digestion may be off, your sleepmay be off.
(07:05):
It's really, really hard tofunction normally with prolonged
high stress periods in ourlives.
So just to add a little morecomplex of a scenario, our
adrenal glands now must takeover to make those sex hormones.
(07:26):
We still want to have estrogen.
So if you're not on hormonereplacement therapy, you still
have estrogen, you still haveprogesterone, but now your
adrenal glands have to take onthe extra load.
And a lot of women don'tunderstand around menopause.
(07:47):
Why am I so stressed out?
Why can't I handle stress likeI used to?
This is a main reason, mybeauties.
It's because your adrenalglands are perhaps a little
overloaded because they got abig job to do once we reach
menopause.
So today I am going to read youanother Substack article.
(08:08):
I'm gonna ask you first tosubscribe to my podcast wherever
you're listening, whereveryou're watching, you might be
watching it on YouTube, onRumble.
Be sure that you're followingand subscribing.
Subscribe to any of my um anyof my channels: Instagram,
Facebook, um, threads, TikTok.
It's Sandy Knutritioneverywhere.
(08:31):
So easy to find, right?
And then my podcast isavailable anywhere you listen to
podcasts, or you can just watchit on YouTube.
I try and post everything as Ias I have time to, because I do
most of the things myself.
So my podcast in February willhit six years, over 1.4 million
downloads.
(08:52):
And it's my little creationjust to really, really help
those who need more help from aum, I'm not giving you advice
that this is much you want whatyou must do.
I'm giving you the breadcrumbsso that you can figure out
what's the right formula foryou, because there's a lot of
advice going around in thehealth and wellness space on
(09:13):
Instagram, Facebook, andeverywhere.
So I'm not giving you anyhealth advice.
So I'm also going to say thatif you are a business that
aligns with my purpose, alignswith my passion, I would love to
hear from you because I amlooking at partnering with
sponsors.
I am looking at monetizing foronce after six years of doing
(09:35):
this.
So send me an email, sandy atsandyknutrition.ca.
Also, if you would like to befeatured on my show, if you have
questions, if you haveconcerns, if you have comments,
if you have a topic that youwant to talk about, if you have
a QA that you want to discuss,send me an email.
(09:58):
Okay, now I'm gonna get to myactual article.
Also, follow me on Substackbecause that's where I'm also an
English literature graduate.
So I write a lot.
And this is where I write a lotof explorative articles, not to
tell you about your health, butto actually help you think
about it in a different way, sothat you can kind of understand.
(10:23):
I give you the foundation, Igive you some clues, and then
you go, okay, that resonateswith me.
Because I think that health issomething that we must all
understand.
Internal resonance.
Does this resonate with me?
Does this resonate with mystory?
Because I don't know yourstory.
Okay, so let's go.
(10:44):
The article that I wrote, bythe way, it's
sandycruz.substock.com.
If you want to follow me there,short explorative articles.
And this is called How I SaveMy Nervous System at Menopause.
I have never found myself to bea typical anxious person.
I always thought that anxietymeant panic attacks.
(11:06):
Historically, the only time Ihad experienced this was when I
was over-medicated with thyroidmedication.
After I had my thyroid removed,this was back in 2011, my TSH
was suppressed to undetectablelevels, which gave me
traditional panic attacks nowand again.
(11:26):
It wasn't fun.
So here are the leading rootcauses of anxiety, a genetic
predisposition, a brainchemistry imbalance.
So neurotransmitters likeserotonin, dopamine, GABA are
imbalanced, chronic stress ortrauma, medical conditions such
as hyperthyroidism, which iswhat I just mentioned, substance
(11:49):
use or withdrawal, hormonalshifts, especially in women
during perimenopause or evenmenopause or postpartum.
Postpartum is another big timethat us ladies can go through
real hormonal shifts.
So we've all felt anxious.
I do not label, and I thinkthat the overlabeling that our
(12:13):
society loves to do cansometimes do more harm than
good.
Feeling anxious is normal, andit is a human built-in survival
mechanism.
It helps us get shit done.
When anxiety is dysfunctional,I'm talking about chronic,
lingering for weeks or months,excessive or disproportionate to
(12:37):
the situation, triggered byvague or imagined threats,
interrupting your life,relationships, or health.
Has it gone too far?
Now I'm going to mention a fewthings where you know you might
want to consider this.
You avoid people, places, orresponsibilities because of
(12:58):
fear.
You wake up with dread evenwhen nothing specific is wrong.
Your body is constantly tense,wired, or exhausted.
You have panic attacks oroverwhelming surges of fear out
of nowhere.
You obsessively overthink whatif scenarios.
It disrupts sleep, digestion,hormones, or concentration, and
(13:22):
you need to control everythingto feel safe.
Once menopause hits, women canfeel all of this intensely, even
for the first time in theirlives.
Our nervous system might reactto a massive shift in our
internal chemistry.
Add to this real life problems,which can also be very intense.
(13:45):
And listen, there are many ofus out there as a 55-year-old
woman.
I have elderly parents, I haveadult children who are still at
home.
There's a lot in most people'slives.
So this might be the perfectstorm for many women.
I happen to be one of them,which is why I'm sharing this
(14:06):
with you.
Boatloads of Oshwagon andRhodiola didn't cut it for me.
Neither did the small amount ofestrogen that I was taking.
Perimenopause and menopause arenot the same, although you'll
(14:38):
often hear the terms usedinterchangeably.
I'll break down my experience,and this doesn't mean it'll be
yours, but no one talks aboutthis definitive difference that
I personally experienced.
At age 52 in 2022, I started toexperience issues with blood
sugar regulation, began to gainmidsection belly fat, and found
(15:03):
that my HBA1C jumped to 6.1.
Pre-diabetic?
What?
This was the first year I wentdown to only four periods.
I tweaked how I was eating, andfunny enough, I was listening
to the big biohacking gurubefore this, and I was
intermittent fasting every daydoing the 16.8 fast, but still
(15:27):
had this issue.
So I'm gonna pause there for asecond.
Um, this was also the time thatI became a certified metabolic
balance coach.
It's a great program.
I don't coach in that anymore,but I highly recommend it.
If you want information onthat, get in touch with me.
But HBA1C is different thanblood glucose or fasting
(15:50):
insulin.
So HBA1C, the best way I can Ican describe it, just in a
simplified form, is how muchglucose is stuck to your blood
cells over a three-month period.
It's a really importantmeasurement because it kind of
says, okay, this is this bloodsugar issue is going on for a
(16:11):
long time.
It's just not one snapshotbecause you ate that bagel,
right?
So this is the one reason Ibecame an advocate for listening
to your own body.
And I realized that we mustlearn to turn inward instead of
giving all our power away tothese wellness influencers.
No one that you don't know, whodoesn't know you, should have
(16:37):
such a strong influence on yourpersonal health.
I've learned this myself.
Listen, nothing against PeterAtia, he's incredible.
But when I hear him talkingabout menopause, I'm like,
great, I'm glad you're using allthe literature and I'm glad
you're using your test cases ofpatients that you've worked
with.
But the facts are this when youhear from a person such as
(17:01):
myself who's going through it,who's living it, I think it's
just going to add morecredibility, more value, other
than having the MD behind myname.
So I just wanted to pause therebecause there's a lot of us who
will look and take only advice.
And advice is big.
(17:22):
You gotta be careful aboutadvice.
No one should give you adviceunless they know you.
Period.
End of story.
They can have all thecredentials in the world unless
they know you.
You need to take it to apractitioner that knows you.
In 2022, 2023, and 2024, Iexperienced the usual hot
flashes and sleep disturbances.
(17:44):
I became a certified metabolicbalance coach in late 2022 to
address my issues with bloodsugar and help a few clients
along the way.
So the year between 2024 and2025 was when more intense
nervous system challenges hit.
(18:04):
I will call this the grandfinale of perimenopause.
I also had some significantlife changes that I was not
equipped to handle.
These challenges were enough toput me into a hypervigilant
state, as though I were a wildanimal on guard from being eaten
(18:27):
24 hours a day.
I'm grateful that I can writeabout it now and today.
My estrogen was too low.
Despite being on it, it was notoptimized.
My progesterone was too high,my ratios were off.
I was taking the nervous systemsupport supplements, I was
(18:48):
writing in my journal every day,I was walking in nature every
day, but I was a fucking mess.
A literal pile of an anxiousand alternating depressed mess.
On top of all the lifestressors, every old trauma and
past negative beliefs resurfacedduring this exact time.
(19:10):
And I actually recorded apodcast about, I think I called
it the great uprooting, what noone tells you about menopause.
I wrote about the deeper, moreesoteric spiritual meaning
behind the transition ofmenopause.
It's in my sub stack, and Iactually have the podcast
recorded as well.
This was truly the scariesttime in my life.
(19:32):
More frightening than when mydaughter was diagnosed with
cancer.
More terrifying than when I wasdiagnosed with cancer.
And people are like, what?
What are you crazy?
Maybe it's because it kind oftook me by surprise the way that
I had zero ability to cope withanything that came my way.
(19:55):
I was forced to make changes tosave my mental health and
stability.
So believe me, health iswealth.
Nothing is more important thanthat.
So I'm not placing theimportance of that.
I'm just saying that myreaction was really, really
different.
I had no coping skillswhatsoever.
(20:17):
I recommend going back to yourown hormone practitioner, number
one, to get the estrogen toprogesterone ratios right if you
are on hormone replacementtherapy.
So in my article, I give youthe guidelines.
You can go back to it andSubstack.
Ensure that your practitioneris experienced in hormone
(20:39):
replacement therapy.
My practitioner was trying toget me there, but sometimes it's
not a simple fix.
And this imbalance can causemany issues, including the
anxiety, the irritability, thedepression, and more.
And better now, I get bloodwork every three months, and I
suggest you do the same untilyou're more stable.
Although remember, we aren'trobots and our hormones will
(21:03):
fluctuate our entire lives.
The other thing with me is thatI don't have a thyroid gland.
So when estrogen goes up toohigh, that can affect my thyroid
function because it increasessex hormone binding globulin.
So, like there's so manyfactors.
We are not, we don't, ourendocrine system does not work
(21:24):
in silos.
So make sure that you'reworking with somebody who looks
at the whole big picture.
I felt no help whatsoever fromAshwagandha and Rhodiola during
this time.
Adaptogens don't addressunprocessed grief, betrayal or
loss, or vagus nerves shutdown,or emotional dysregulation from
(21:47):
trauma.
No one tells you this.
Everyone, including myself as apractitioner, would say, take
ashwagandha if you're stressedand wired, take rhodiola if
you're stressed and tired, takeboth if you're both.
It was like a common line.
At menopause, this might notwork if your issues are more
intense, including if yourissues include off ratios of
(22:11):
estrogen and progesterone.
I'm not even getting intotestosterone in here in this uh
discussion, but testosteronerelates to mood as well.
Another support that might helpyou, and remember, I have no
affiliation with any of thisthat I'm talking about, and this
depends on your individualneeds.
There's a supplement calledSerenogen from Metagenics, and
(22:34):
this one includes some differentChinese herbs that might
provide more support than thego-to ashwagonda rhodiola
recommendations.
Now, another thing that you canspeak with your practitioner
about is actual glandulars.
I was having a conversationwith my mom.
So my parents grew up asfarmers, and this is an old
(22:57):
Croatia old school farming.
And I listened to a lot of whatthey tell me because I see how
this can help us if we cansomehow emulate this now in
modern day living.
So they always ate nose totail.
They didn't eat a ton of animalprotein every single day.
(23:19):
They did eat it.
And when they ate it, they atenose to tail.
They would eat the organ meats,and we were talking about that.
And, you know, my mom stillwill cook with, you know,
chicken giblets, for example.
And they're what I'm gonna sayabout organ meats, eating them
on occasion provides you extremenutrient density in a small
(23:45):
amount.
So what that means is you caneat organ meats maybe once a
month, and your protein storeswill still stay relevant, let's
just say, and your nutrientstores, I should say.
It's more about your nutrientstores.
So remember, you havenutrients, some are water
(24:07):
soluble, some are fat soluble,so some are stored, some kind of
go in and out of the body veryquickly.
So you can look at an adrenalglandular for support.
Typically, I mean, there's afew out there.
There's one that designs forhealth makes and includes, I
(24:27):
think, B6, B12, as well as theactual bovine adrenals,
desiccated.
I think it's desiccated ordried, whatever.
Look into that.
And it makes a lot of commonsense if you have issues with
your adrenal glands that youknow, adrenal support might be
(24:48):
useful for you, but speak withyour practitioner.
So the last one that I hadn'theard much about for menopausal
women, and I've been on it for awhile now, is specifically myo
and dechyroinositol.
The most studied ratio foreffectiveness is 40 to 1, which
(25:10):
mimics the natural ratios inhealthy tissues.
So make sure you look for thisif this is something you want to
try.
I found a brand that'sreasonable, reasonably priced in
these ratios, made by a companycalled Wholesome Story.
I have zero affiliations ordiscounts from these brands.
(25:30):
Remember, I am passionate overprofit here.
I'm trying to help you look andexplore possible options for
your stress support.
This one has been a gamechanger for me.
This formulation has beenpegged as a supplement that
helps with PCOS, which is whymost menopausal women don't know
(25:55):
about it.
You know, they get pigeonholedand boxed into this, you know,
PCOS category.
And so women at menopause don'teven really think about it.
These inocitals are vastlyunderutilized in menopause care,
despite offering real benefitsto women beyond reproductive
age.
(26:15):
We produce these same sugaralcohols in these ratios
primarily from glucose in ourkidneys.
Still, production oftendecreases at menopause, and
demand may exceed supply incertain situations, like PCOS,
type 2 diabetes, depression, oranxiety, poor diet, and gut
(26:40):
dysfunction.
So think about it.
We experience these symptoms inmenopause due to hormones
dropping.
So why wouldn't practitionersuse this or recommend it?
Here's why it makes sense atmenopause, unless it's
contraindicated for you, asnoted at the start of my
podcast.
(27:00):
Remember, talk to yourpractitioner.
Many women, many menopausalwomen report fewer cravings,
more stable weight, and lessbrain fog with inositol use.
In menopause, whenestrogen-related serotonin
support is gone, inositol offersan alternative route to
(27:24):
regulate mood.
Many women sleep better andfeel less on edge when using
myoinositol in the evening.
While it won't replace estrogenor progesterone, it can
modulate the downstream effectsof hormone loss, like blood
(27:44):
sugar dysregulation, moodinstability, and metabolic
slowdown.
This is a potent naturalneuroendocrine modulator.
So this one addition to my ownstack, it saved me and my
(28:04):
nervous system, and it's becomemore like it was before
perimenopause and menopause.
I'm finding myself again.
I'm no longer jumping at everysingle sound.
That's another sign, by theway.
You know, if a door closesloudly or if somebody comes in a
room and you're like, right?
That is a real sign that yournervous system may be a little
(28:27):
bit off.
Um, I don't ruminate to thepoint of driving everyone in my
family crazy because my brainnever stopped.
So here's the last importantfact.
Simultaneously, I've beenworking with Brenda Ferrugia.
I did record a podcast aboutnegative beliefs, limiting
beliefs, beam therapy.
(28:48):
I've done numerous sessions ofbeam therapy.
I don't have any affiliation orpayment or anything from Brenda
to recommend her.
It's only the graciousness ofhaving her on my podcast three
times now and experiencing thehealing that she facilitates.
Beam therapy can help withhealing trauma, releasing
(29:09):
negative self-talk, dissolvinglimiting beliefs, reducing
anxiety and fear, breaking theprogram of having to place
please others, strengtheningself-love, respect, and
boundaries.
Beam therapy gently unravelsdeeply embedded subconscious
energetic patterns layer bylayer, transmuting, dissolving,
(29:32):
and releasing the beliefs,behaviors, and traumas that can
contribute to disease.
Not cause it, contribute to.
Podcast description.
(30:01):
So that's pretty much it, mybeauties.
I hope that you found this tobe helpful.
And I come from a verydifferent perspective to really
call attention to this becausethe nervous system, I believe,
(30:23):
is so fragile during this time.
And when we do nothing and weexperience really stressful
situations, which everybody has,and we have we don't have the
troops ready to act, it can be abig contributing factor to our
(30:47):
overall health and ourlongevity.
So I really wanted to make surethat I kind of got everything
in from an unbiased perspective,but just from somebody who's
living it, who studied it, andwho researches it.
So I hope that's helpful.
If it is, please interactsomehow with this, share this
(31:11):
podcast with another friend, ormake sure that you're following,
review my podcast on Apple orSpotify.
You can do that through thosetwo methods and add in a few
kind words, and that just helpspeople to find me more.
So I thank you, and we will seeyou next week.
Bye for now.
I hope you enjoyed thisepisode.
(31:34):
Be sure to share it withsomeone you know might benefit.
And always remember when yourate, review, subscribe, you
help to support my content andhelp me to keep going and
bringing these conversations toyou each and every week.
(31:55):
Join me next week for a newtopic, new guest, new exciting
conversations to help you liveyour best life.
Hi everyone, it's me, Sandy Kruse Sandy K
Nutrition Health and LifestyleQueen.
For years now, I've beenbringing to you conversations
about wellness from incredibleguests from all over the world.
Discover a fresh take onhealthy living for midlife and
(00:25):
beyond.
One that embraces balance andreason without letting only
science dictate every aspect ofour wellness.
Join me and my guests as weexplore ways that we can age
gracefully with in-depthconversations about the thyroid,
(00:48):
about hormones, and otheralternative wellness options for
you and your family.
True Wellness nurtures ahealthy body, mind, spirit, and
soul.
And we cover all of theseessential aspects to help you
live a balanced, joyful life.
(01:10):
Be sure to follow my show, rateit, review it, and share it.
Always remember, my friends,balanced living works.
Hi everyone, welcome to Sandy KNutrition Health and Lifestyle
Queen.
(01:31):
Today I've got another soloepisode.
I'm going to talk to you allabout stress at menopause.
Now remember, I am not yourpractitioner.
I am not a doctor.
I'm providing you with insightbased on my knowledge.
(01:51):
I don't know you, I don't knowyour situation, I don't know if
you're on hormones or not onhormones.
This is not medical advice.
And another thing, because I'mtalking about the nervous
system, it's really importantthat I have this little caveat
at the start.
And I want to note that if youhave a chronic or diagnosed
(02:15):
issue with depression oranxiety, and or you are
medicated for it, please seeyour own practitioner.
This article is likely not foryou.
Anything natural that I discusscould potentially be harmful if
you're on these medications,and it is contraindicated in a
(02:38):
lot of natural supplements.
So I do not provide medicaladvice.
And this shorter podcast thatI'm gonna talk about today, it
is very nuanced.
It's also specifically forperimenopausal and menopausal
women, mostly just who havenuanced anxiety issues brought
(03:01):
on by hormonal changes, which issomething that most of us will
undergo.
And I just want to explainphysiologically why this is
happening.
So let me just tell you firstof all, my name is Sandy Cruz.
I am a registered holisticnutritionist, I have
certifications in peptides,aging, I also have
(03:25):
certifications in endocrinologyand hormones and functional lab
testing and also functionalnutrition.
So I do know a little about alot of different things.
And I'm also a 55-year-oldwoman who is going through
menopause without a thyroidgland.
(03:48):
So I am a big believer that wecan't look at our menopausal
issues from, you know, these bigdoctors who speak about it and
not, they're not able to relateto it.
So that's why I really want totalk about the nervous system.
(04:10):
So what happens inperimenopause is first of all, a
lot of times people use theseterms interchangeably, they are
not the same.
Perimenopause means things arestarting to slow down, you're
not as fertile as you once were.
You, you know, it's harder toget pregnant.
(04:31):
If you're trying to getpregnant, you may have some um
lowering hormones, somesymptoms.
It is not the same as being infull menopause when you no
longer have a period.
Now, they mark this specialtime as one year of no periods.
(04:51):
I actually am 55.
I'll be 56 very, very soon.
Oh my God.
And uh in March of 2025, it wasexactly one year since I've had
a period.
So, in the medical viewpoint,that is full menopause.
So I will say that there aredifferences once you cross that
(05:15):
threshold in that you're maybenot going as much up and down.
I had about three years oflatter stages of perimenopause,
but there are other things thatI noticed that really were more
prevalent, and one is thenervous system, which is what I
(05:35):
want to talk to you about.
So physiologically, yourovaries are producing those sex
hormones when you are younger,you're not in menopause, even
when you're in perimenopause,you're still producing those
hormones, maybe not as much.
But what happens when you're infull menopause, those ovaries
(05:56):
shut down.
They're not making thosehormones anymore.
But, you know, we don't turninto men just because we enter
menopause, we still producethose hormones, we just don't
produce as many.
And what happens is our adrenalglands start to make those
hormones, or they they they Ithink they always do in small
(06:19):
amounts, but they basicallythat's it, that's their job now.
So most people know that theadrenal glands make, I think,
three main hormones aldosteroneas well as cortisol.
Everybody knows about cortisol.
Cortisol is not evil, it's notbad, but cortisol is that stress
hormone.
It's like a steroid hormone,and really it helps you to act
(06:44):
in situations that are, youknow, stressful.
So a lot of people have heardthat analogy about the lion
running away and being reallystressed out.
So the body, when it's in thatstate, can't really do anything
else.
So if you're in a constantstressed-out state, your
digestion may be off, your sleepmay be off.
(07:05):
It's really, really hard tofunction normally with prolonged
high stress periods in ourlives.
So just to add a little morecomplex of a scenario, our
adrenal glands now must takeover to make those sex hormones.
(07:26):
We still want to have estrogen.
So if you're not on hormonereplacement therapy, you still
have estrogen, you still haveprogesterone, but now your
adrenal glands have to take onthe extra load.
And a lot of women don'tunderstand around menopause.
(07:47):
Why am I so stressed out?
Why can't I handle stress likeI used to?
This is a main reason, mybeauties.
It's because your adrenalglands are perhaps a little
overloaded because they got abig job to do once we reach
menopause.
So today I am going to read youanother Substack article.
(08:08):
I'm gonna ask you first tosubscribe to my podcast wherever
you're listening, whereveryou're watching, you might be
watching it on YouTube, onRumble.
Be sure that you're followingand subscribing.
Subscribe to any of my um anyof my channels: Instagram,
Facebook, um, threads, TikTok.
It's Sandy Knutritioneverywhere.
(08:31):
So easy to find, right?
And then my podcast isavailable anywhere you listen to
podcasts, or you can just watchit on YouTube.
I try and post everything as Ias I have time to, because I do
most of the things myself.
So my podcast in February willhit six years, over 1.4 million
downloads.
(08:52):
And it's my little creationjust to really, really help
those who need more help from aum, I'm not giving you advice
that this is much you want whatyou must do.
I'm giving you the breadcrumbsso that you can figure out
what's the right formula foryou, because there's a lot of
advice going around in thehealth and wellness space on
(09:13):
Instagram, Facebook, andeverywhere.
So I'm not giving you anyhealth advice.
So I'm also going to say thatif you are a business that
aligns with my purpose, alignswith my passion, I would love to
hear from you because I amlooking at partnering with
sponsors.
I am looking at monetizing foronce after six years of doing
(09:35):
this.
So send me an email, sandy atsandyknutrition.ca.
Also, if you would like to befeatured on my show, if you have
questions, if you haveconcerns, if you have comments,
if you have a topic that youwant to talk about, if you have
a QA that you want to discuss,send me an email.
(09:58):
Okay, now I'm gonna get to myactual article.
Also, follow me on Substackbecause that's where I'm also an
English literature graduate.
So I write a lot.
And this is where I write a lotof explorative articles, not to
tell you about your health, butto actually help you think
about it in a different way, sothat you can kind of understand.
(10:23):
I give you the foundation, Igive you some clues, and then
you go, okay, that resonateswith me.
Because I think that health issomething that we must all
understand.
Internal resonance.
Does this resonate with me?
Does this resonate with mystory?
Because I don't know yourstory.
Okay, so let's go.
(10:44):
The article that I wrote, bythe way, it's
sandycruz.substock.com.
If you want to follow me there,short explorative articles.
And this is called How I SaveMy Nervous System at Menopause.
I have never found myself to bea typical anxious person.
I always thought that anxietymeant panic attacks.
(11:06):
Historically, the only time Ihad experienced this was when I
was over-medicated with thyroidmedication.
After I had my thyroid removed,this was back in 2011, my TSH
was suppressed to undetectablelevels, which gave me
traditional panic attacks nowand again.
(11:26):
It wasn't fun.
So here are the leading rootcauses of anxiety, a genetic
predisposition, a brainchemistry imbalance.
So neurotransmitters likeserotonin, dopamine, GABA are
imbalanced, chronic stress ortrauma, medical conditions such
as hyperthyroidism, which iswhat I just mentioned, substance
(11:49):
use or withdrawal, hormonalshifts, especially in women
during perimenopause or evenmenopause or postpartum.
Postpartum is another big timethat us ladies can go through
real hormonal shifts.
So we've all felt anxious.
I do not label, and I thinkthat the overlabeling that our
(12:13):
society loves to do cansometimes do more harm than
good.
Feeling anxious is normal, andit is a human built-in survival
mechanism.
It helps us get shit done.
When anxiety is dysfunctional,I'm talking about chronic,
lingering for weeks or months,excessive or disproportionate to
(12:37):
the situation, triggered byvague or imagined threats,
interrupting your life,relationships, or health.
Has it gone too far?
Now I'm going to mention a fewthings where you know you might
want to consider this.
You avoid people, places, orresponsibilities because of
(12:58):
fear.
You wake up with dread evenwhen nothing specific is wrong.
Your body is constantly tense,wired, or exhausted.
You have panic attacks oroverwhelming surges of fear out
of nowhere.
You obsessively overthink whatif scenarios.
It disrupts sleep, digestion,hormones, or concentration, and
(13:22):
you need to control everythingto feel safe.
Once menopause hits, women canfeel all of this intensely, even
for the first time in theirlives.
Our nervous system might reactto a massive shift in our
internal chemistry.
Add to this real life problems,which can also be very intense.
(13:45):
And listen, there are many ofus out there as a 55-year-old
woman.
I have elderly parents, I haveadult children who are still at
home.
There's a lot in most people'slives.
So this might be the perfectstorm for many women.
I happen to be one of them,which is why I'm sharing this
(14:06):
with you.
Boatloads of Oshwagon andRhodiola didn't cut it for me.
Neither did the small amount ofestrogen that I was taking.
Perimenopause and menopause arenot the same, although you'll
(14:38):
often hear the terms usedinterchangeably.
I'll break down my experience,and this doesn't mean it'll be
yours, but no one talks aboutthis definitive difference that
I personally experienced.
At age 52 in 2022, I started toexperience issues with blood
sugar regulation, began to gainmidsection belly fat, and found
(15:03):
that my HBA1C jumped to 6.1.
Pre-diabetic?
What?
This was the first year I wentdown to only four periods.
I tweaked how I was eating, andfunny enough, I was listening
to the big biohacking gurubefore this, and I was
intermittent fasting every daydoing the 16.8 fast, but still
(15:27):
had this issue.
So I'm gonna pause there for asecond.
Um, this was also the time thatI became a certified metabolic
balance coach.
It's a great program.
I don't coach in that anymore,but I highly recommend it.
If you want information onthat, get in touch with me.
But HBA1C is different thanblood glucose or fasting
(15:50):
insulin.
So HBA1C, the best way I can Ican describe it, just in a
simplified form, is how muchglucose is stuck to your blood
cells over a three-month period.
It's a really importantmeasurement because it kind of
says, okay, this is this bloodsugar issue is going on for a
(16:11):
long time.
It's just not one snapshotbecause you ate that bagel,
right?
So this is the one reason Ibecame an advocate for listening
to your own body.
And I realized that we mustlearn to turn inward instead of
giving all our power away tothese wellness influencers.
No one that you don't know, whodoesn't know you, should have
(16:37):
such a strong influence on yourpersonal health.
I've learned this myself.
Listen, nothing against PeterAtia, he's incredible.
But when I hear him talkingabout menopause, I'm like,
great, I'm glad you're using allthe literature and I'm glad
you're using your test cases ofpatients that you've worked
with.
But the facts are this when youhear from a person such as
(17:01):
myself who's going through it,who's living it, I think it's
just going to add morecredibility, more value, other
than having the MD behind myname.
So I just wanted to pause therebecause there's a lot of us who
will look and take only advice.
And advice is big.
(17:22):
You gotta be careful aboutadvice.
No one should give you adviceunless they know you.
Period.
End of story.
They can have all thecredentials in the world unless
they know you.
You need to take it to apractitioner that knows you.
In 2022, 2023, and 2024, Iexperienced the usual hot
flashes and sleep disturbances.
(17:44):
I became a certified metabolicbalance coach in late 2022 to
address my issues with bloodsugar and help a few clients
along the way.
So the year between 2024 and2025 was when more intense
nervous system challenges hit.
(18:04):
I will call this the grandfinale of perimenopause.
I also had some significantlife changes that I was not
equipped to handle.
These challenges were enough toput me into a hypervigilant
state, as though I were a wildanimal on guard from being eaten
(18:27):
24 hours a day.
I'm grateful that I can writeabout it now and today.
My estrogen was too low.
Despite being on it, it was notoptimized.
My progesterone was too high,my ratios were off.
I was taking the nervous systemsupport supplements, I was
(18:48):
writing in my journal every day,I was walking in nature every
day, but I was a fucking mess.
A literal pile of an anxiousand alternating depressed mess.
On top of all the lifestressors, every old trauma and
past negative beliefs resurfacedduring this exact time.
(19:10):
And I actually recorded apodcast about, I think I called
it the great uprooting, what noone tells you about menopause.
I wrote about the deeper, moreesoteric spiritual meaning
behind the transition ofmenopause.
It's in my sub stack, and Iactually have the podcast
recorded as well.
This was truly the scariesttime in my life.
(19:32):
More frightening than when mydaughter was diagnosed with
cancer.
More terrifying than when I wasdiagnosed with cancer.
And people are like, what?
What are you crazy?
Maybe it's because it kind oftook me by surprise the way that
I had zero ability to cope withanything that came my way.
(19:55):
I was forced to make changes tosave my mental health and
stability.
So believe me, health iswealth.
Nothing is more important thanthat.
So I'm not placing theimportance of that.
I'm just saying that myreaction was really, really
different.
I had no coping skillswhatsoever.
(20:17):
I recommend going back to yourown hormone practitioner, number
one, to get the estrogen toprogesterone ratios right if you
are on hormone replacementtherapy.
So in my article, I give youthe guidelines.
You can go back to it andSubstack.
Ensure that your practitioneris experienced in hormone
(20:39):
replacement therapy.
My practitioner was trying toget me there, but sometimes it's
not a simple fix.
And this imbalance can causemany issues, including the
anxiety, the irritability, thedepression, and more.
And better now, I get bloodwork every three months, and I
suggest you do the same untilyou're more stable.
Although remember, we aren'trobots and our hormones will
(21:03):
fluctuate our entire lives.
The other thing with me is thatI don't have a thyroid gland.
So when estrogen goes up toohigh, that can affect my thyroid
function because it increasessex hormone binding globulin.
So, like there's so manyfactors.
We are not, we don't, ourendocrine system does not work
(21:24):
in silos.
So make sure that you'reworking with somebody who looks
at the whole big picture.
I felt no help whatsoever fromAshwagandha and Rhodiola during
this time.
Adaptogens don't addressunprocessed grief, betrayal or
loss, or vagus nerves shutdown,or emotional dysregulation from
(21:47):
trauma.
No one tells you this.
Everyone, including myself as apractitioner, would say, take
ashwagandha if you're stressedand wired, take rhodiola if
you're stressed and tired, takeboth if you're both.
It was like a common line.
At menopause, this might notwork if your issues are more
intense, including if yourissues include off ratios of
(22:11):
estrogen and progesterone.
I'm not even getting intotestosterone in here in this uh
discussion, but testosteronerelates to mood as well.
Another support that might helpyou, and remember, I have no
affiliation with any of thisthat I'm talking about, and this
depends on your individualneeds.
There's a supplement calledSerenogen from Metagenics, and
(22:34):
this one includes some differentChinese herbs that might
provide more support than thego-to ashwagonda rhodiola
recommendations.
Now, another thing that you canspeak with your practitioner
about is actual glandulars.
I was having a conversationwith my mom.
So my parents grew up asfarmers, and this is an old
(22:57):
Croatia old school farming.
And I listened to a lot of whatthey tell me because I see how
this can help us if we cansomehow emulate this now in
modern day living.
So they always ate nose totail.
They didn't eat a ton of animalprotein every single day.
(23:19):
They did eat it.
And when they ate it, they atenose to tail.
They would eat the organ meats,and we were talking about that.
And, you know, my mom stillwill cook with, you know,
chicken giblets, for example.
And they're what I'm gonna sayabout organ meats, eating them
on occasion provides you extremenutrient density in a small
(23:45):
amount.
So what that means is you caneat organ meats maybe once a
month, and your protein storeswill still stay relevant, let's
just say, and your nutrientstores, I should say.
It's more about your nutrientstores.
So remember, you havenutrients, some are water
(24:07):
soluble, some are fat soluble,so some are stored, some kind of
go in and out of the body veryquickly.
So you can look at an adrenalglandular for support.
Typically, I mean, there's afew out there.
There's one that designs forhealth makes and includes, I
(24:27):
think, B6, B12, as well as theactual bovine adrenals,
desiccated.
I think it's desiccated ordried, whatever.
Look into that.
And it makes a lot of commonsense if you have issues with
your adrenal glands that youknow, adrenal support might be
(24:48):
useful for you, but speak withyour practitioner.
So the last one that I hadn'theard much about for menopausal
women, and I've been on it for awhile now, is specifically myo
and dechyroinositol.
The most studied ratio foreffectiveness is 40 to 1, which
(25:10):
mimics the natural ratios inhealthy tissues.
So make sure you look for thisif this is something you want to
try.
I found a brand that'sreasonable, reasonably priced in
these ratios, made by a companycalled Wholesome Story.
I have zero affiliations ordiscounts from these brands.
(25:30):
Remember, I am passionate overprofit here.
I'm trying to help you look andexplore possible options for
your stress support.
This one has been a gamechanger for me.
This formulation has beenpegged as a supplement that
helps with PCOS, which is whymost menopausal women don't know
(25:55):
about it.
You know, they get pigeonholedand boxed into this, you know,
PCOS category.
And so women at menopause don'teven really think about it.
These inocitals are vastlyunderutilized in menopause care,
despite offering real benefitsto women beyond reproductive
age.
(26:15):
We produce these same sugaralcohols in these ratios
primarily from glucose in ourkidneys.
Still, production oftendecreases at menopause, and
demand may exceed supply incertain situations, like PCOS,
type 2 diabetes, depression, oranxiety, poor diet, and gut
(26:40):
dysfunction.
So think about it.
We experience these symptoms inmenopause due to hormones
dropping.
So why wouldn't practitionersuse this or recommend it?
Here's why it makes sense atmenopause, unless it's
contraindicated for you, asnoted at the start of my
podcast.
(27:00):
Remember, talk to yourpractitioner.
Many women, many menopausalwomen report fewer cravings,
more stable weight, and lessbrain fog with inositol use.
In menopause, whenestrogen-related serotonin
support is gone, inositol offersan alternative route to
(27:24):
regulate mood.
Many women sleep better andfeel less on edge when using
myoinositol in the evening.
While it won't replace estrogenor progesterone, it can
modulate the downstream effectsof hormone loss, like blood
(27:44):
sugar dysregulation, moodinstability, and metabolic
slowdown.
This is a potent naturalneuroendocrine modulator.
So this one addition to my ownstack, it saved me and my
(28:04):
nervous system, and it's becomemore like it was before
perimenopause and menopause.
I'm finding myself again.
I'm no longer jumping at everysingle sound.
That's another sign, by theway.
You know, if a door closesloudly or if somebody comes in a
room and you're like, right?
That is a real sign that yournervous system may be a little
(28:27):
bit off.
Um, I don't ruminate to thepoint of driving everyone in my
family crazy because my brainnever stopped.
So here's the last importantfact.
Simultaneously, I've beenworking with Brenda Ferrugia.
I did record a podcast aboutnegative beliefs, limiting
beliefs, beam therapy.
(28:48):
I've done numerous sessions ofbeam therapy.
I don't have any affiliation orpayment or anything from Brenda
to recommend her.
It's only the graciousness ofhaving her on my podcast three
times now and experiencing thehealing that she facilitates.
Beam therapy can help withhealing trauma, releasing
(29:09):
negative self-talk, dissolvinglimiting beliefs, reducing
anxiety and fear, breaking theprogram of having to place
please others, strengtheningself-love, respect, and
boundaries.
Beam therapy gently unravelsdeeply embedded subconscious
energetic patterns layer bylayer, transmuting, dissolving,
(29:32):
and releasing the beliefs,behaviors, and traumas that can
contribute to disease.
Not cause it, contribute to.
Podcast description.
(30:01):
So that's pretty much it, mybeauties.
I hope that you found this tobe helpful.
And I come from a verydifferent perspective to really
call attention to this becausethe nervous system, I believe,
(30:23):
is so fragile during this time.
And when we do nothing and weexperience really stressful
situations, which everybody has,and we have we don't have the
troops ready to act, it can be abig contributing factor to our
(30:47):
overall health and ourlongevity.
So I really wanted to make surethat I kind of got everything
in from an unbiased perspective,but just from somebody who's
living it, who studied it, andwho researches it.
So I hope that's helpful.
If it is, please interactsomehow with this, share this
(31:11):
podcast with another friend, ormake sure that you're following,
review my podcast on Apple orSpotify.
You can do that through thosetwo methods and add in a few
kind words, and that just helpspeople to find me more.
So I thank you, and we will seeyou next week.
Bye for now.
I hope you enjoyed thisepisode.
(31:34):
Be sure to share it withsomeone you know might benefit.
And always remember when yourate, review, subscribe, you
help to support my content andhelp me to keep going and
bringing these conversations toyou each and every week.
(31:55):
Join me next week for a newtopic, new guest, new exciting
conversations to help you liveyour best life.
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