November 4, 2024 • 22 mins
What if hormones could influence more than just reproduction? Join me as I explore this and more on the podcast today. Inspired by a compelling question from my client Deb, in Tasmania, I'll unravel the complex roles of hormones like oestrogen, progesterone, and testosterone in women's bodies post-menopause.
From bone and muscle health to brain and heart wellness, these hormones do much more than you might think. We’ll unpack potential health challenges like muscle mass and bone density loss, and delve into the fascinating connection between testosterone levels in the brain and Alzheimer's disease. This episode is packed with essential insights for anyone navigating perimenopause and menopause.
Discover how your body adapts to lower hormone levels and the crucial role of adrenal glands and fat tissue in hormone production. Learn why managing stress is paramount to maintaining hormone balance and explore diverse sources of oestrogen and progesterone beyond the ovaries, including the intriguing contributions of the skin, brain, and kidneys. Through my signature program, The Glow Protocol®, I've seen firsthand how balancing hormones, reducing inflammation, and regulating blood sugar can improve quality of life and aid in healthy weight management. Tune in to empower yourself with the knowledge to navigate menopause with confidence and vitality.
FINAL WEEKS for my FREE Radiant Reset Hormone Detox for Perimenopausal Women. Want in? Of course you do! Click here and download now.
Are you a woman feeling stressed, flat and experiencing the challenges of perimenopause?
It’s time to reclaim your youthful energy, radiance and self-assurance (and your ideal weight).
I’m here to help with my proven method.
Here's how I can support you -
1. Hit your health and wellbeing goals this year, balance your hormones and lose weight with your own personalised protocol, based on your body's biochemistry. Sounds awesome right!! Book a free 30 minute Introduction Call with me so we can discuss your health and wellbeing goals and also see how I might be able to support you. Book your call here.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hi, I'm Susie Garden and this is the Ageless and
Awesome podcast.
I'm an age-defying naturopathand clinical nutritionist and
I'm here to bust myths aroundwomen's health and aging so that
you can be ageless and awesomein your 40s, 50s and beyond.
The Ageless and Awesome podcastis dedicated to helping women
(00:24):
through perimenopause andmenopause with great health, a
positive mindset and outrageousconfidence.
Hit, subscribe or follow nowand let's get started.
Hello, gorgeous one, andwelcome to this week's episode
of the Ageless and Awesomepodcast.
And this is a Tuesday episodeand normally that's not a Q&A,
(00:48):
but I had an awesome questionfrom one of my clients actually,
this is Deb, from Tasmania andshe asked me a question that I
thought, oh man, this is anawesome podcast question because
I'm sure if she's wondering,then other people are wondering
as well.
So I'm going to read thequestion she said.
(01:09):
I listen to your podcast prettymuch on a daily basis.
Thank you, deb.
And I wanted to ask a question.
As our bodies have stoppedproducing estrogen and
progesterone, what are weactually running on?
Compare us to our youngerselves or even to the male
species, if we no longer havethose hormones running through
our bodies.
(01:29):
What do our bodies function on?
What makes us different frommen or young women.
All right, deb, that's amassive question.
So that was too much for aemail response from me and a bit
too much for a Q&A Thursday,because I like to keep those
episodes fairly brief.
(01:51):
But let's get into this,because this is a super juicy
question.
So I wanted to start becausethere is a long answer and a
short answer.
I'm going to give you the longanswer because it makes it
easier to understand and firstly, just to get an understanding
of the role of these hormones.
I think that will help.
(02:11):
So the role of estrogen youknow, most of us just think
about its relationship with themenstrual cycle.
It stimulates ovaries torelease eggs, it thickens the
endometrium in preparation forimplantation, and when we're
thinking of estrogen, most of usare thinking about our
fertility.
But in fact, the primary roleof estrogen is to promote growth
(02:35):
and development, right, andthat's why, at the beginning of
puberty, we start to see thisreal rise in estrogen.
If possible, I'm actually goingto attach to the Instagram and
Facebook post which this podcastis going to be seen on.
I'll pop a really awesome graphby Professor Gerilyn Pryor that
(02:57):
actually outlines graphically.
So it's really easy tounderstand the life cycle, I
guess, of our reproductivehormones.
So I'm hoping I'm able to fitthat on a social media post.
If it doesn't fit then I willpop it on the website,
suzygardencom, on my podcastpage so you can see it, because
(03:18):
it does make it a lot easier tounderstand.
So if the primary role ofestrogen is to promote growth
and development, that's why westart to see it really starting
to rise during puberty, wherewe're really seeing that growth
and development of thereproductive system,
particularly in females.
But it also builds muscle andbone.
It maintains the health of thebrain and the heart.
(03:41):
It helps maintain a healthymetabolic rate.
It helps with our glucose andinsulin management, so helps
maintain a healthy metabolicrate.
It helps with our glucose andinsulin management.
So it helps with healthy weightmanagement, as well as energy
and other things.
So estrogen actually has anumber of roles other than
reproductively and same withprogesterone, even though
progesterone's primary role isactually to promote fertility
(04:04):
and it's vital to maintainpregnancy in the first 12 weeks.
Progesterone also protectsagainst endometrial cancer and
breast cancer.
It's a natural antidepressant.
It reduces the progression ofosteoporosis.
It helps normalize blood sugarlevels.
It helps normalize blood sugarlevels and it's also known for
(04:25):
its anti-inflammatory properties, its calming properties.
The brain really lovesprogesterone, loves estrogen as
well, and also it's a goodnatural pain relief.
And look at testosterone as well, particularly in women.
(04:46):
The role of testosterone isagain, bone health, muscle mass,
libido, hair quality, mood,brain health and in fact, during
our reproductive years,testosterone levels in the brain
exceed those of estradiol orestrogen significantly.
(05:07):
And I think there may be aconnection with the testosterone
in the brain and the reductionof that during perimenopause and
menopause.
That there may be a link withAlzheimer's there, which is a
little bit concerning.
But you know, knowledge is good.
We want to know this so that wecan work towards managing this,
(05:29):
because I think that thetestosterone in the brain
actually reduces theaccumulation of the amyloid beta
protein in the brain.
That's what's associated withAlzheimer's disease, and they
think also that it speeds upnerve regeneration.
So that's super important.
Testosterone is also ananti-inflammatory as well.
So if we know the role of all ofthese hormones and we can see
(05:53):
how important they are,particularly and this is the
thing when you realize all ofthese different roles that these
hormones have, you can see whywomen's health can be a lot
poorer after menopause.
That's when we start to loseour muscle mass, and I know my
experience has been even if I'mdoing the same things in the gym
(06:16):
or at reformer or whatever, I'mnot able to maintain the same
level of muscle that I was if Idon't change some of the things
that I'm doing, in terms of mynutrition, for example.
Also, just as you know ifyou're a regular listener, I was
this year diagnosed withosteopenia, so my bone density
(06:37):
isn't what it was and that'll bebecause of the loss of estrogen
and also progesterone, probablytestosterone as well.
So we know that estrogen helpsbuild muscle and bones.
So that's a big issue.
Maintaining the health of thebrain and the heart we know that
some of the symptoms ofperimenopause, in particular the
brain fog, the memory loss,that kind of thing we know many
(07:02):
women get palpitations in aspart of the perimenopause
transition.
Also, the weight gain thathappens, you know like the
metabolism is impacted byestrogen and our blood sugar
regulation is impacted byprogesterone.
So that really promotes weightgain, particularly around the
(07:25):
middle, and also, um, promotesfatigue, makes us crave carbs,
all of those sorts of things,and I know myself I'm
particularly sensitive to thissort of stuff.
I know this about myself, um.
So keeping um my nutritionoptimal for me, having the right
balance of protein and carbsand fats, really helps me manage
(07:48):
my carb cravings, manage myenergy levels, prevent fatigue,
improve sleep, like so manythings.
So this is really important.
If you understand what's goingon, then that will help you.
Important If you understandwhat's going on, then that will
(08:09):
help you.
Now back to Deb's question,which was and I'm just getting
it up on my phone as our bodieshave stopped producing estrogen
and progesterone and I've addedin testosterone there, what are
we actually running on?
Compare us to our youngerselves or to men.
If we don't have these hormonesrunning through our bodies, how
do our bodies function?
What are they functioning on?
Well, I guess the first thingis that it's not just about
estrogen and progesterone andtestosterone.
(08:32):
They're three of our many, many, many hormones.
We have loads and loads ofdifferent hormones, and not all
of them.
Some of them, some of them thatwe don't talk about when we're
talking about our reproductivehormones, because a lot of our
systems are linked together.
If you get the loss of theestrogen, progesterone and
testosterone, that's going toimpact other hormones, for sure,
(08:53):
but we still have enough tosupport what our body needs to
do Because remembering we'removing into a different stage of
life.
We're not needing to growtaller, we're not needing to
grow taller, we're not needingto have children, we're not
needing to have the level ofhormone in our bodies anymore,
(09:15):
because we're just not doingthose same things that we did
previously in other parts of ourlife cycle.
And as for those reproductivehormones, we still actually make
some of these.
We're not just suddenlydeficient, or rather have none
of estrogen, testosterone andprogesterone.
(09:36):
It's not like that.
We just have low levels.
In fact, if I can put thatgraph up with this podcast,
you'll see that basically, ourhormone levels return to
childhood levels.
So we still have some there.
We just don't have the levelthat we are used to and we have
gotten used to it as women overour lifetime.
We've gotten used to having acertain level of these different
(09:58):
hormones in our systems and, asI mentioned before, the brain
loves progesterone, it lovesestrogen, loves testosterone.
So when suddenly these hormonesare either falling away or
they're surging, it reallyimpacts us and it's very, very
noticeable.
But we are still making some ofthese hormones and, in
(10:20):
particular and this is reallyimportant our adrenal glands,
our adrenal glands.
So they're two little glandsthat are located just above our
kidneys.
They produce small amounts ofprogesterone and estrogen.
And this is important becauseone of the things I bang on
(10:42):
about a lot is stress management.
And if we are in our stressresponse, we're producing stress
hormones, and one of thosestress hormones is cortisol.
And guess what?
We use progesterone to makecortisol.
And so if we're in our stressresponse, that progesterone,
(11:05):
instead of doing all of the jobsthat normally it would do and
remember, if we're in our stressresponse, that progesterone,
instead of doing all of the jobsthat normally it would do and
remember we're only producinglow levels of it it's going to
get diverted to producingcortisol, which is why, when
we're in our stress response,sometimes those hormone symptoms
can be worse.
And one of the things I reallylove to talk to my clients about
(11:26):
is finding a way to managetheir stress, because not
everyone loves meditating, noteveryone loves exercising, not
everyone feels like they havetime or space to prioritize
their stress, but we can reallyuse it at this time of life to
(11:46):
help support our hormone balance.
So the adrenal glands are areally important source of
reproductive hormones when weare in menopause.
Another thing is our fat tissue,so estrogen is mainly produced
in our fat tissue.
After menopause and again, asyou know, I work a lot in weight
loss and when women arereleasing significant amounts of
(12:10):
weight on my program, oftenthey can have hormonal type
symptoms.
Particularly women inperimenopause that are still
having a cycle often will getdisruption to their period.
I've met a lady that had aMirena in and she hadn't had a
period where she bled for manyyears and she actually had a
period.
She was like what is going on?
(12:31):
And it's because releasing fattissue releases a lot of
estrogen into the body all atonce and so we get symptoms of
that because the liver justdoesn't have a chance to clear
it all in time.
So definitely our fat tissuehelps.
So if you are quite on thelighter scale going into
(12:51):
perimenopause, that may have animpact on your symptoms because
you may not have a lot of fattissue producing estrogen.
Also, the ovaries do still ifyou still have ovaries, I should
say do still continue toproduce small amounts of our
hormones, including testosterone, and testosterone can be
converted to estrogen in otherparts of the body.
(13:14):
So we do still have someovarian activity, even in
menopause, obviously if you'vehad a surgical menopause, where
you've had your ovaries removed,it's a different story and I'll
mention that shortly.
But other sources of estrogeninclude skin, interestingly
(13:36):
enough, the brain, the kidneys.
So it's not just that.
It's our ovaries and that is it.
There's many, many differentorgans in our body that produce
small amounts of estrogen andprogesterone, which is why we
are more prone to gettingosteoporosis, to losing our
(13:59):
muscle mass, cardiovasculardisease, all of those sorts of
things post-menopause when ourlevels of reproductive hormones
have dropped significantly.
I mentioned before aboutsurgical menopause, so women
often who are a little younger,maybe in their early forties,
(14:21):
that have their ovaries removedprior to really experiencing any
symptoms of perimenopause andthey get plunged into menopause
overnight, and often those womendo report really quite
significant menopause symptomscompared with their counterparts
(14:44):
that have had a naturalperimenopause, then menopause
transition, where it's takentime.
Your body has naturally droppedoff its progesterone and we've
lived through these surges ofestrogen and then these drops in
estrogen and along the way thebody does adapt, and this is the
(15:05):
ideal outcome is that we canmove through this transition and
we can adapt through thesystems in our body that are
designed to do that.
We know that any sort of livingorganism, whether it's a plant
or an animal.
Human adaptability is what hasled us to survive and our body,
(15:27):
you know, starts to adapt tothat lower level of hormone and
there still may be symptoms.
Absolutely.
I hear all the time women intheir 60s, 70s still having hot
flushes.
Obviously there can be thosevaginal symptoms, all that sort
of thing, and there's things wecan do in natural health that
(15:47):
can help support this.
As you know, my GLOW protocol isvery much designed to support
women in perimenopause andmenopause and I've seen some
amazing improvements in symptomsthat even I wasn't really
expecting.
But when we can balance out thehormones, reduce inflammation
in the body, get our blood sugarand our insulin beautifully
(16:09):
balanced, that seems to justreally reduce our symptoms.
It allows for the body tofunction very, very well and
supports a really awesomequality of life, whether you're
in peri or post-menopause, andthe weight loss becomes almost a
(16:30):
happy side effect.
A lot of women that come towork with me want that weight
loss goal, which is fine, we cando that.
But I have also women that comejust because they have symptoms
, don't have a weight loss goal,and for those women we can
still do the GLOBE protocol.
We just gear that personalizednutrition plan so that you're
not going to lose big amounts ofweight, because that's not your
(16:53):
goal.
So, deb, I hope I have answeredyour question.
Do let me know, and if any ofyou have questions that have
kind of come from this podcast,please feel free to send them in
.
I absolutely love talking aboutthis stuff.
I'm just trying to think ifthere was anything else I wanted
(17:15):
to add to it.
I don't think there really isat the moment.
I think that's enough, but,yeah, just know that that.
I guess, in summary, the bodycan adapt to these lower levels
of hormones.
There are plenty of otherplaces in your body that that
can produce estrogen andprogesterone and testosterone,
(17:36):
but the conditions need to beoptimal.
Right, the conditions need tobe optimal.
You need to be managing yourstress, really refining your
nutrition.
That's why I mean, as you know,I deal in personalized
nutrition plans based onpeople's blood testing, so I'm
really getting optimal nutritionfor my clients.
But even if you clean up yourdiet, you include lots and lots
(18:00):
of whole foods, lots of greens,really using foods that are
going to support your liver.
Remember, your liver is doing alot of work at this time of
life because it's helping tomanage your hormones.
So you want to be really makingsure that every opportunity to
nourish your body, you're reallymaking good decisions and
minimizing eliminating processedfoods.
(18:23):
Minimizing eliminatingprocessed foods, fast foods,
alcohol, really minimizing that,really anything that's going to
put toxins into your body.
Try and avoid that.
And hydrating, of course,that's super important.
And also what else?
Moving your body.
I guess that's the other thing,because you've really lost your
(18:45):
hormones that are going to behelping maintain your muscle
mass and your bone health.
So the best thing you can dofor that is move your body.
Um, I'm reading a lot latelyabout having a jumping practice.
Now, that doesn't work for mybody.
My joints do not like weightbearing.
You know heavy weight bearingexercises.
I get very sore and that'salways been the case for me, so
(19:06):
jumping practice for me is notappealing.
However, in Reformer we do jumpwork and I reckon that will be
pretty similar Dancing.
I can dance for a limitedamount of time, so things like
that can work really, reallywell Finding fun movement that
you really enjoy.
And also resistance trainingwhere you're lifting heavy
(19:27):
things to keep that muscle massand your bones strong, because
that will really serve you asyou move into the years ahead,
where you want to keep yourindependence, want to keep your
quality of life, all of thosethings.
So I think I've covered it, deb.
Let me know if that's notcovered the question for you and
(19:48):
, as I said, anyone that has anyfurther questions, I would love
to answer them.
Enjoy the rest of your week.
I'll be back on Thursday withQ&A.
Thanks so much for joining metoday on the Ageless and Awesome
podcast.
If you liked today's episode,please make sure you click the
little plus button if you're onApple Podcasts, or the follow
button if you're on Spotify, sothat you get each new episode
(20:11):
delivered to you every week.
If you like free stuff, thenhead to the show notes and click
the link to receive my freeRadiant Reset Hormone Detox
Guide for Perimenopausal Women.
Or, if you'd like to continuethe discussion, head over to
Instagram and DM me at SusieGarden Wellness.
I'd love to connect with you.
Hi, I'm Susie Garden and this is the Ageless and
Awesome podcast.
I'm an age-defying naturopathand clinical nutritionist and
I'm here to bust myths aroundwomen's health and aging so that
you can be ageless and awesomein your 40s, 50s and beyond.
The Ageless and Awesome podcastis dedicated to helping women
(00:24):
through perimenopause andmenopause with great health, a
positive mindset and outrageousconfidence.
Hit, subscribe or follow nowand let's get started.
Hello, gorgeous one, andwelcome to this week's episode
of the Ageless and Awesomepodcast.
And this is a Tuesday episodeand normally that's not a Q&A,
(00:48):
but I had an awesome questionfrom one of my clients actually,
this is Deb, from Tasmania andshe asked me a question that I
thought, oh man, this is anawesome podcast question because
I'm sure if she's wondering,then other people are wondering
as well.
So I'm going to read thequestion she said.
(01:09):
I listen to your podcast prettymuch on a daily basis.
Thank you, deb.
And I wanted to ask a question.
As our bodies have stoppedproducing estrogen and
progesterone, what are weactually running on?
Compare us to our youngerselves or even to the male
species, if we no longer havethose hormones running through
our bodies.
(01:29):
What do our bodies function on?
What makes us different frommen or young women.
All right, deb, that's amassive question.
So that was too much for aemail response from me and a bit
too much for a Q&A Thursday,because I like to keep those
episodes fairly brief.
(01:51):
But let's get into this,because this is a super juicy
question.
So I wanted to start becausethere is a long answer and a
short answer.
I'm going to give you the longanswer because it makes it
easier to understand and firstly, just to get an understanding
of the role of these hormones.
I think that will help.
(02:11):
So the role of estrogen youknow, most of us just think
about its relationship with themenstrual cycle.
It stimulates ovaries torelease eggs, it thickens the
endometrium in preparation forimplantation, and when we're
thinking of estrogen, most of usare thinking about our
fertility.
But in fact, the primary roleof estrogen is to promote growth
(02:35):
and development, right, andthat's why, at the beginning of
puberty, we start to see thisreal rise in estrogen.
If possible, I'm actually goingto attach to the Instagram and
Facebook post which this podcastis going to be seen on.
I'll pop a really awesome graphby Professor Gerilyn Pryor that
(02:57):
actually outlines graphically.
So it's really easy tounderstand the life cycle, I
guess, of our reproductivehormones.
So I'm hoping I'm able to fitthat on a social media post.
If it doesn't fit then I willpop it on the website,
suzygardencom, on my podcastpage so you can see it, because
(03:18):
it does make it a lot easier tounderstand.
So if the primary role ofestrogen is to promote growth
and development, that's why westart to see it really starting
to rise during puberty, wherewe're really seeing that growth
and development of thereproductive system,
particularly in females.
But it also builds muscle andbone.
It maintains the health of thebrain and the heart.
(03:41):
It helps maintain a healthymetabolic rate.
It helps with our glucose andinsulin management, so helps
maintain a healthy metabolicrate.
It helps with our glucose andinsulin management.
So it helps with healthy weightmanagement, as well as energy
and other things.
So estrogen actually has anumber of roles other than
reproductively and same withprogesterone, even though
progesterone's primary role isactually to promote fertility
(04:04):
and it's vital to maintainpregnancy in the first 12 weeks.
Progesterone also protectsagainst endometrial cancer and
breast cancer.
It's a natural antidepressant.
It reduces the progression ofosteoporosis.
It helps normalize blood sugarlevels.
It helps normalize blood sugarlevels and it's also known for
(04:25):
its anti-inflammatory properties, its calming properties.
The brain really lovesprogesterone, loves estrogen as
well, and also it's a goodnatural pain relief.
And look at testosterone as well, particularly in women.
(04:46):
The role of testosterone isagain, bone health, muscle mass,
libido, hair quality, mood,brain health and in fact, during
our reproductive years,testosterone levels in the brain
exceed those of estradiol orestrogen significantly.
(05:07):
And I think there may be aconnection with the testosterone
in the brain and the reductionof that during perimenopause and
menopause.
That there may be a link withAlzheimer's there, which is a
little bit concerning.
But you know, knowledge is good.
We want to know this so that wecan work towards managing this,
(05:29):
because I think that thetestosterone in the brain
actually reduces theaccumulation of the amyloid beta
protein in the brain.
That's what's associated withAlzheimer's disease, and they
think also that it speeds upnerve regeneration.
So that's super important.
Testosterone is also ananti-inflammatory as well.
So if we know the role of all ofthese hormones and we can see
(05:53):
how important they are,particularly and this is the
thing when you realize all ofthese different roles that these
hormones have, you can see whywomen's health can be a lot
poorer after menopause.
That's when we start to loseour muscle mass, and I know my
experience has been even if I'mdoing the same things in the gym
(06:16):
or at reformer or whatever, I'mnot able to maintain the same
level of muscle that I was if Idon't change some of the things
that I'm doing, in terms of mynutrition, for example.
Also, just as you know ifyou're a regular listener, I was
this year diagnosed withosteopenia, so my bone density
(06:37):
isn't what it was and that'll bebecause of the loss of estrogen
and also progesterone, probablytestosterone as well.
So we know that estrogen helpsbuild muscle and bones.
So that's a big issue.
Maintaining the health of thebrain and the heart we know that
some of the symptoms ofperimenopause, in particular the
brain fog, the memory loss,that kind of thing we know many
(07:02):
women get palpitations in aspart of the perimenopause
transition.
Also, the weight gain thathappens, you know like the
metabolism is impacted byestrogen and our blood sugar
regulation is impacted byprogesterone.
So that really promotes weightgain, particularly around the
(07:25):
middle, and also, um, promotesfatigue, makes us crave carbs,
all of those sorts of things,and I know myself I'm
particularly sensitive to thissort of stuff.
I know this about myself, um.
So keeping um my nutritionoptimal for me, having the right
balance of protein and carbsand fats, really helps me manage
(07:48):
my carb cravings, manage myenergy levels, prevent fatigue,
improve sleep, like so manythings.
So this is really important.
If you understand what's goingon, then that will help you.
Important If you understandwhat's going on, then that will
(08:09):
help you.
Now back to Deb's question,which was and I'm just getting
it up on my phone as our bodieshave stopped producing estrogen
and progesterone and I've addedin testosterone there, what are
we actually running on?
Compare us to our youngerselves or to men.
If we don't have these hormonesrunning through our bodies, how
do our bodies function?
What are they functioning on?
Well, I guess the first thingis that it's not just about
estrogen and progesterone andtestosterone.
(08:32):
They're three of our many, many, many hormones.
We have loads and loads ofdifferent hormones, and not all
of them.
Some of them, some of them thatwe don't talk about when we're
talking about our reproductivehormones, because a lot of our
systems are linked together.
If you get the loss of theestrogen, progesterone and
testosterone, that's going toimpact other hormones, for sure,
(08:53):
but we still have enough tosupport what our body needs to
do Because remembering we'removing into a different stage of
life.
We're not needing to growtaller, we're not needing to
grow taller, we're not needingto have children, we're not
needing to have the level ofhormone in our bodies anymore,
(09:15):
because we're just not doingthose same things that we did
previously in other parts of ourlife cycle.
And as for those reproductivehormones, we still actually make
some of these.
We're not just suddenlydeficient, or rather have none
of estrogen, testosterone andprogesterone.
(09:36):
It's not like that.
We just have low levels.
In fact, if I can put thatgraph up with this podcast,
you'll see that basically, ourhormone levels return to
childhood levels.
So we still have some there.
We just don't have the levelthat we are used to and we have
gotten used to it as women overour lifetime.
We've gotten used to having acertain level of these different
(09:58):
hormones in our systems and, asI mentioned before, the brain
loves progesterone, it lovesestrogen, loves testosterone.
So when suddenly these hormonesare either falling away or
they're surging, it reallyimpacts us and it's very, very
noticeable.
But we are still making some ofthese hormones and, in
(10:20):
particular and this is reallyimportant our adrenal glands,
our adrenal glands.
So they're two little glandsthat are located just above our
kidneys.
They produce small amounts ofprogesterone and estrogen.
And this is important becauseone of the things I bang on
(10:42):
about a lot is stress management.
And if we are in our stressresponse, we're producing stress
hormones, and one of thosestress hormones is cortisol.
And guess what?
We use progesterone to makecortisol.
And so if we're in our stressresponse, that progesterone,
(11:05):
instead of doing all of the jobsthat normally it would do and
remember, if we're in our stressresponse, that progesterone,
instead of doing all of the jobsthat normally it would do and
remember we're only producinglow levels of it it's going to
get diverted to producingcortisol, which is why, when
we're in our stress response,sometimes those hormone symptoms
can be worse.
And one of the things I reallylove to talk to my clients about
(11:26):
is finding a way to managetheir stress, because not
everyone loves meditating, noteveryone loves exercising, not
everyone feels like they havetime or space to prioritize
their stress, but we can reallyuse it at this time of life to
(11:46):
help support our hormone balance.
So the adrenal glands are areally important source of
reproductive hormones when weare in menopause.
Another thing is our fat tissue,so estrogen is mainly produced
in our fat tissue.
After menopause and again, asyou know, I work a lot in weight
loss and when women arereleasing significant amounts of
(12:10):
weight on my program, oftenthey can have hormonal type
symptoms.
Particularly women inperimenopause that are still
having a cycle often will getdisruption to their period.
I've met a lady that had aMirena in and she hadn't had a
period where she bled for manyyears and she actually had a
period.
She was like what is going on?
(12:31):
And it's because releasing fattissue releases a lot of
estrogen into the body all atonce and so we get symptoms of
that because the liver justdoesn't have a chance to clear
it all in time.
So definitely our fat tissuehelps.
So if you are quite on thelighter scale going into
(12:51):
perimenopause, that may have animpact on your symptoms because
you may not have a lot of fattissue producing estrogen.
Also, the ovaries do still ifyou still have ovaries, I should
say do still continue toproduce small amounts of our
hormones, including testosterone, and testosterone can be
converted to estrogen in otherparts of the body.
(13:14):
So we do still have someovarian activity, even in
menopause, obviously if you'vehad a surgical menopause, where
you've had your ovaries removed,it's a different story and I'll
mention that shortly.
But other sources of estrogeninclude skin, interestingly
(13:36):
enough, the brain, the kidneys.
So it's not just that.
It's our ovaries and that is it.
There's many, many differentorgans in our body that produce
small amounts of estrogen andprogesterone, which is why we
are more prone to gettingosteoporosis, to losing our
(13:59):
muscle mass, cardiovasculardisease, all of those sorts of
things post-menopause when ourlevels of reproductive hormones
have dropped significantly.
I mentioned before aboutsurgical menopause, so women
often who are a little younger,maybe in their early forties,
(14:21):
that have their ovaries removedprior to really experiencing any
symptoms of perimenopause andthey get plunged into menopause
overnight, and often those womendo report really quite
significant menopause symptomscompared with their counterparts
(14:44):
that have had a naturalperimenopause, then menopause
transition, where it's takentime.
Your body has naturally droppedoff its progesterone and we've
lived through these surges ofestrogen and then these drops in
estrogen and along the way thebody does adapt, and this is the
(15:05):
ideal outcome is that we canmove through this transition and
we can adapt through thesystems in our body that are
designed to do that.
We know that any sort of livingorganism, whether it's a plant
or an animal.
Human adaptability is what hasled us to survive and our body,
(15:27):
you know, starts to adapt tothat lower level of hormone and
there still may be symptoms.
Absolutely.
I hear all the time women intheir 60s, 70s still having hot
flushes.
Obviously there can be thosevaginal symptoms, all that sort
of thing, and there's things wecan do in natural health that
(15:47):
can help support this.
As you know, my GLOW protocol isvery much designed to support
women in perimenopause andmenopause and I've seen some
amazing improvements in symptomsthat even I wasn't really
expecting.
But when we can balance out thehormones, reduce inflammation
in the body, get our blood sugarand our insulin beautifully
(16:09):
balanced, that seems to justreally reduce our symptoms.
It allows for the body tofunction very, very well and
supports a really awesomequality of life, whether you're
in peri or post-menopause, andthe weight loss becomes almost a
(16:30):
happy side effect.
A lot of women that come towork with me want that weight
loss goal, which is fine, we cando that.
But I have also women that comejust because they have symptoms
, don't have a weight loss goal,and for those women we can
still do the GLOBE protocol.
We just gear that personalizednutrition plan so that you're
not going to lose big amounts ofweight, because that's not your
(16:53):
goal.
So, deb, I hope I have answeredyour question.
Do let me know, and if any ofyou have questions that have
kind of come from this podcast,please feel free to send them in
.
I absolutely love talking aboutthis stuff.
I'm just trying to think ifthere was anything else I wanted
(17:15):
to add to it.
I don't think there really isat the moment.
I think that's enough, but,yeah, just know that that.
I guess, in summary, the bodycan adapt to these lower levels
of hormones.
There are plenty of otherplaces in your body that that
can produce estrogen andprogesterone and testosterone,
(17:36):
but the conditions need to beoptimal.
Right, the conditions need tobe optimal.
You need to be managing yourstress, really refining your
nutrition.
That's why I mean, as you know,I deal in personalized
nutrition plans based onpeople's blood testing, so I'm
really getting optimal nutritionfor my clients.
But even if you clean up yourdiet, you include lots and lots
(18:00):
of whole foods, lots of greens,really using foods that are
going to support your liver.
Remember, your liver is doing alot of work at this time of
life because it's helping tomanage your hormones.
So you want to be really makingsure that every opportunity to
nourish your body, you're reallymaking good decisions and
minimizing eliminating processedfoods.
(18:23):
Minimizing eliminatingprocessed foods, fast foods,
alcohol, really minimizing that,really anything that's going to
put toxins into your body.
Try and avoid that.
And hydrating, of course,that's super important.
And also what else?
Moving your body.
I guess that's the other thing,because you've really lost your
(18:45):
hormones that are going to behelping maintain your muscle
mass and your bone health.
So the best thing you can dofor that is move your body.
Um, I'm reading a lot latelyabout having a jumping practice.
Now, that doesn't work for mybody.
My joints do not like weightbearing.
You know heavy weight bearingexercises.
I get very sore and that'salways been the case for me, so
(19:06):
jumping practice for me is notappealing.
However, in Reformer we do jumpwork and I reckon that will be
pretty similar Dancing.
I can dance for a limitedamount of time, so things like
that can work really, reallywell Finding fun movement that
you really enjoy.
And also resistance trainingwhere you're lifting heavy
(19:27):
things to keep that muscle massand your bones strong, because
that will really serve you asyou move into the years ahead,
where you want to keep yourindependence, want to keep your
quality of life, all of thosethings.
So I think I've covered it, deb.
Let me know if that's notcovered the question for you and
(19:48):
, as I said, anyone that has anyfurther questions, I would love
to answer them.
Enjoy the rest of your week.
I'll be back on Thursday withQ&A.
Thanks so much for joining metoday on the Ageless and Awesome
podcast.
If you liked today's episode,please make sure you click the
little plus button if you're onApple Podcasts, or the follow
button if you're on Spotify, sothat you get each new episode
(20:11):
delivered to you every week.
If you like free stuff, thenhead to the show notes and click
the link to receive my freeRadiant Reset Hormone Detox
Guide for Perimenopausal Women.
Or, if you'd like to continuethe discussion, head over to
Instagram and DM me at SusieGarden Wellness.
I'd love to connect with you.
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