July 21, 2025 • 27 mins
Every day in my clinic, I see women battling a hidden enemy they can't quite name. They're experiencing joint pain that wasn't there before, skin that's suddenly reactive, or stubborn weight that refuses to budge despite their best efforts. The culprit? Inflammation – a natural process gone rogue that becomes particularly problematic during the hormonal shifts of perimenopause and menopause.
This episode dives deep into why inflammation matters so much during this life stage. As oestrogen declines, we lose its powerful anti-inflammatory protection, making our bodies more reactive to everything from certain foods to stress and poor sleep. I explain the newly recognised "musculoskeletal syndrome of menopause" that finally gives a name to the joint pain many women experience, and why that pain isn't just "getting older" – it's a biochemical process we can address. You'll discover how inflammation creates a vicious cycle with weight gain by disrupting insulin sensitivity, hunger hormones, and promoting visceral fat storage around your middle.
The good news? Inflammation responds remarkably well to the right interventions. I share my top strategies for reducing inflammation naturally, from prioritising specific anti-inflammatory foods to balancing blood sugar, supporting gut health, and managing stress effectively. These approaches have helped hundreds of women in my Glow Protocol see dramatic improvements, often within just weeks. If you've been told your symptoms are just part of aging or you're frustrated that your usual health routines aren't working anymore, this episode will help you understand what's really happening in your body and how to address it from the root cause.
Ready to tackle inflammation and reclaim your health during perimenopause? Book a peri-weight loss assessment with me to discover personalised solutions for your unique biochemistry. Pricing for my signature GLOW Protocol increases August 1st, so connect now to secure current rates and start feeling like yourself again.
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 Peri Weight Loss Assessment 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.
2. Follow me on Instagram and Facebook - @the.perimenopause.path
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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.
I'm Susie Garden and this weekI'm talking about oh gosh.
(00:46):
It's a word I probably mentionevery single day, but I know for
sure that not everybodyunderstands what I mean when I
say this word, and what I'mtalking about is inflammation.
You're probably going to rollyour eyes and go oh my God,
please don't switch off, becausethis is actually really
important.
This is something that I seeevery single day in clinic, and
(01:10):
you probably have inflammationin your body.
You may not even know that youhave it, because you don't have
to have joint pain or skinrashes or whatever in order to
have inflammation in your body,but some of you may have things
like aching joints.
Of course, some may have skinflare-ups, some may have gut
(01:32):
issues and stubborn weight, anda lot of this can be traced back
to inflammation and it can besomething really sneaky, really
chronic, totally overlooked,because often there aren't very
few symptoms and yeah, soinflammation is a big deal.
It's actually a big dealbecause pretty much every single
(01:57):
medical condition, mentalhealth condition can be traced
back to inflammation.
So if we have inflammationunder control as best we can,
you will be kind of avoiding orpreventing chronic disease in
later life.
And I know, when you're in your30s, 40s, 50s even, you're not
(02:19):
even thinking necessarily aboutchronic disease, particularly if
you're relatively healthy.
Like I'm, someone who's prettyhealthy.
I'm not on any kind ofprescription medications as such
, I don't have any major kind ofmedical conditions or anything
like that, and I don't eventhink about chronic disease and
(02:40):
being a problem.
But except for the fact that Iwork in this area, and so every
day I'm speaking to women mostlyI do have some male clients,
but women mostly about theirhealth and often there are
symptoms and signs that they'redescribing to me, particularly
on the peri-weight lossassessment calls, and I know for
sure that there is aninflammatory cause and that we
(03:03):
can get inflammation to amanageable level, often just
with our food choices, both whatwe're choosing to eat and what
we're choosing not to eat.
So if you've been told thatwhat you're going through in
terms of having symptoms like Ijust described, if you're just
(03:25):
told that, oh, you're justgetting older, you're going to
have a few more aches and pains,or you're going to put on
weight, or you're frustratedthat your usual way of eating,
your exercise, et cetera, isn'tworking when it comes to weight
loss, then this episode is foryou.
So what is inflammation really?
Let's start with the basics.
(03:47):
So inflammation is a naturalresponse by the body.
It is part of our immune systemreaction and it's something
that saves our lives, certainlywhen it comes to helping
managing infection or helpingfight off a cold or a flu or any
kind of bacteria or virus.
(04:08):
So it's not an inherently badthing.
Every time you cut yourself oryou get a cold or something,
your body will mount aninflammatory response to heal
you and you'll see that in termsof, you know, redness.
So if you've got a cut, forexample, redness, maybe a bit of
swelling, that kind of thing,maybe a bit of heat that's often
(04:29):
what we think of when we thinkof inflammation, but when that
inflammation becomes chronic.
So this kind of a low grade,under the radar inflammation
that's just simmering away,often you may not even know it's
there.
You may get a bit of bloatingevery now and again or something
that can be a sign ofinflammation.
(04:50):
It's often quite silent untilit builds up enough that
symptoms start to pop up andthings like your joint pain, and
that's a very common symptomfor women in their 40s and 50s
in particular.
So joint pain and stiffness,digestive issues, as I mentioned
(05:11):
, such as bloating, even such asdiarrhea constipation, that
kind of thing, such as bloating,even such as, you know,
diarrhea constipation, that kindof thing puffy or inflamed skin
, whether that's redness,whether that's feeling.
I had one client earlier thisyear who said to me at her
peri-weight loss assessment Ifeel like I'm bloated all over.
And when we first started heron the GLOW protocol, within the
(05:33):
first week when I saw her, shewas like I feel like all of the
bloating is gone and people areactually noticing my face is
less bloated and she wascarrying a lot of inflammation
in her body and that justreduced so quickly just through
food choices and so, yeah, ifyou're feeling like that,
feeling bloated all over, thenyou probably have some low grade
(05:56):
inflammation that needs to beaddressed.
It definitely needs to beaddressed.
Fatigue Ah, that's another signof inflammation.
I didn't mention that before,but, yes, if you're fatigued all
of the time, even when you'resleeping well, then maybe it's
an inflammatory cause.
Brain fog that can be anothersymptom of inflammation.
And, of course, the stubbornweight gain, especially around
(06:19):
the middle and in perimenopausein particular, our shifting
hormones actually increase oursensitivity to inflammatory
triggers, so we actually feel itmore.
And why, yes, hormones?
Of course, estrogen actuallyhas an anti-inflammatory role,
and as that starts to decline,we lose some of its beautiful
(06:43):
buffering effect, and that's whythings that perhaps didn't
bother you before, like lack ofsleep, stress, certain foods,
start having a bigger impact now.
So let's talk about one of themore obvious signs of
inflammation.
This is the one that probablymost people would be familiar
(07:05):
with, and that's joint pain.
And when you think about jointpain, you tend to think about
arthritis, as in theosteoarthritis or rheumatoid
arthritis, which is an actual,specific let's call it a disease
.
But the joint pain I'm talkingabout can include that, of
course, but it can just be anon-specific one either, where
(07:31):
it doesn't actually have amedical diagnosis.
So a joint pain is one of themost common complaints I hear
from women in their 40s and 50s,and it's certainly something I
have experienced, and so I knowhow frustrating and horrible it
can be.
Sometimes you can wake up in themiddle of the night with joint
(07:53):
pain, particularly in the hips.
Your knees might hurt walkingupstairs, your hip sake if you
sit for a long time.
I certainly have found that.
And yet nothing's necessarilygoing to show up on your blood
work.
You might get told yep, there'snothing wrong with you, you're
fine, you're just getting older.
But here's the thing that jointpain isn't necessarily
(08:16):
mechanical, it's not necessarilya structural issue.
It can be inflammation in thejoint and in perimenopause, the
decline in estrogen can lead toincreased inflammation in joints
, in tendons, even musclesoreness.
And guess what?
There's actually been aresearch paper released earlier
(08:37):
this year calling this an actualterm for the first time,
actually giving it a name, whichis the musculoskeletal syndrome
of menopause, and you canactually access that paper for
free.
The author, who's a fantasticadvocate for women in this space
she's a an orthopedic surgeonactually, so she's an expert in
(08:59):
America.
Her name is Dr Vonda Wright.
She's a fantastic person tofollow on Instagram.
She's always giving outwonderful educational posts and
information.
So the musculoskeletal syndromeof menopause was something that
was only coined this year andit's not even yet fully known
(09:20):
about by the medical population.
So it's a really good paper toread and it talks about all of
the hormonal effects on ourbodies and how that impacts us
and causes us pain.
And then the thing is, if you'recombining that with poor sleep,
which many women in Perry have,and stress, then you are so
(09:42):
much less able to manage andcope with that pain.
So you have this perfect storm,which it's not a great place to
be in, and the other thingsthat contribute to this, this
pain, are things like processedfoods, excess sugar, alcohol,
trans fats, high cortisol levels.
So your joints are speaking toyou and it might be time to
(10:06):
listen.
The other way that you may findinflammation expressed in your
body is your skin.
So if you're suddenlyexperiencing acne again, maybe
you've developed eczema, whichis what happened to me, or
rosacea, which also happened tome, seemingly out of nowhere, or
maybe your skin just lookspuffy and reactive.
(10:30):
Skin is absolutely a mirror ofwhat's happening internally,
especially in the gut and theimmune system, because you may
or may not be aware, we actuallyhave.
You've probably heard of thegut-brain axis.
Right, we actually have agut-skin axis.
So we know that there is acommunication system between the
gut and the microbiome, Ishould say and the skin.
(10:51):
We don't know a lot about it,but we know that it exists and
things like inflammatory foodslike the ones I just mentioned,
poor gut health and hormonalfluctuations can all show up as
redness in the skin, skinbreakouts, itching, dryness,
swelling all these things.
(11:16):
I've had so many women in myclinic say I thought that I'd
left all of that, the breakoutsin particular, behind me.
Why is this happening?
In my forties, I feel like I'mgoing through puberty again, and
the answer is almost alwaysinflammation meets hormone
imbalance and the fix it's notnecessarily what you're putting
on your skin, it is reducinginflammatory triggers from the
(11:38):
inside out, and the target forthat is your gut.
So if you're experiencing skinissues and you've got gut health
issues, then it's almostabsolutely going to be the case
that when we manage those gutissues, that the skin will
improve dramatically.
So the other aspect I wanted totalk about was inflammation and
(11:59):
weight gain, because that'sprobably what the majority of
women, that's probably thebiggest pain point that gets
them reaching out to me for helpis the weight gain.
For many it is also thesymptoms, but almost always I
reckon over 90% of the womenthat reach out to me it's the
weight gain.
That's the pain point.
And most of these women havedone all the things, they've
(12:23):
tried all of the different waysof eating.
They've been exercising,they've been fasting, but the
weight just doesn't budge, notlike it used to when you're in
your 30s, for example, or your20s.
So inflammation is often themissing link here, and it's
(12:45):
certainly what I focus on in theGLOW protocol in a number of
different ways that I attackthat inflammation, because
chronic inflammation impactsyour insulin sensitivity, so
that really does block weightloss and can make you feel
hungry, can make you feel crap.
It disrupts your hungerhormones like leptin and ghrelin
(13:05):
you may have heard of those.
It can slow your thyroidfunction as well.
Chronic inflammation can putstress on your liver and your
gut, which are crucial formetabolic health, and the
absolute kicker is thatinflammation also promotes fat
storage, especially the bad kindof fat, the visceral fat, the
kind that wraps around yourorgans and increases your risk
(13:29):
of chronic disease such asdiabetes, such as cardiovascular
disease, et cetera.
So you get this vicious cycleof inflammation causing weight
gain, and then the weight gainfuels more inflammation and it
just goes round and round.
And that's why I'm such a bigbeliever in eating in a way that
(13:51):
has an anti-inflammatory effectand specifically, in eating the
right foods for the individualperson, because we all have
different levels of inflammationin our body, and when I do the
bloods for the GLOW protocol,we're looking at a number of
different inflammatory markersand that helps to select the
(14:14):
right foods, but also eatingthem at the right times.
Three meals a day, no snacks,is the ideal in the right
combination of macros so we canlower inflammation, rebalance
the metabolism and finally startto feel good again.
And losing weight almostbecomes a happy side effect of
that, bringing that body backinto balance and dropping that
(14:37):
inflammation down to where itreally should be.
So what can you do to reduceinflammation at home?
There's some of the top waysthat I help people lose
inflammation, particularly inperimenopause, and, as I
mentioned, foods, using food asmedicine, focusing on
(14:58):
anti-inflammatory foods, and nowyou can Google a list of
anti-inflammatory foods.
Some of my favorite ones that Irecommend are leafy greens like
dark leafy greens, oily fish orplant-based omega-3s, berries
like dark colored berries, nutsand seeds, herbs and spices like
(15:19):
turmeric, ginger, rosemary, areall helpful.
And at the same time, though,you need to be reducing sugar.
You need to be reducing yourrefined carbs, your processed
foods.
So processed foods are prettymuch anything that comes in a
packet.
Refined carbs are all of yourwhite foods, as I've probably
mentioned before white sugar,white flour, white pasta, white
(15:42):
rice, alcohol.
You may have noticed alreadythat your ability to process
alcohol has dropped quite a bitin your 40s.
So really reviewing how muchyou drink, whether you actually
need to drink, and also reducetrans fats.
(16:03):
So anti-inflammatory foods arereally important.
So anti-inflammatory foods arereally important.
Also, really have someknowledge.
Be your own advocate,particularly around balancing
blood sugar.
Now, most people think of bloodsugar and they think of people
with diabetes, and that is.
It's just such a scratch on thesurface For all of us going
(16:27):
through perimenopause andpostmenopause.
Blood sugar really takes abeating and insulin resistance
increases.
So that means that our insulinisn't as effective as getting to
get our blood out sorry, oursugar out of our blood and into
our cells where it gets usedwhen you have a stable blood
sugar.
The other thing that happens isit keeps your cortisol at a
(16:49):
more stable level.
Okay, and keeping cortisol inthe level that we want it,
keeping blood sugar at the levelthat we want it all helps to
reduce inflammation, and thebest ways to do that are to eat
protein at every meal andactually have two bites of
(17:09):
protein first.
That actually helps to trickyour body into thinking you're
having a high protein meal andwill slow your insulin
production, which is good.
Um, so try not to snack even atall, except if you have high
calorie needs.
Um, that that's obviouslydifferent, and that's why I love
personalized nutrition.
I don't love giving blanketdietary advice.
(17:32):
Everyone is different and hasdifferent needs, but to balance
blood sugar, we know that if youcan have five to six hours
between meals and your meals arebeautifully balanced, with the
right amount of protein, carbsand healthy fats, that's going
to make a huge difference.
And it really helps also thatthe upside of doing this is what
(17:53):
you'll feel is more consistentand better energy during the day
.
You won't be up and down and upand down with your energy
levels.
No afternoon slump anymore, andthat's one of the most
consistent things in the programthat I run with the GLOW
protocol, is people saying, oh,don't get an afternoon slump
anymore, and it's because we'rebalancing out those blood sugar
levels.
(18:15):
Number three to reduceinflammation is to prioritize
your sleep.
Poor sleep drives inflammationand weight gain.
So really aim for seven toeight hours of sleep a night as
a minimum and support your sleephygiene like it's your job.
This is one of the mostcritical things that we need to
(18:35):
get back on track, particularlyfor women in peri and
post-menopause.
Supporting your gut thatprobably should be close to the
top of this list.
I haven't had this list in anyparticular order, but supporting
your gut health is critical forlowering inflammation in the
body and it's quite complex.
(18:56):
I should probably do a wholeepisode on this, but let's just
say that the majority of yourimmune system resides in your
gut, and so if your gut is nothappy, that's going to impact
your immune system and going tocause low-grade inflammation.
So the kind of things thatyou're wanting to do to help
support your gut is avoid foodsthat you know are not great for
(19:20):
you as an individual.
I have so many people that cometo me when I'm talking to them
about foods that they can't eator don't choose to eat.
I have so many people say to meoh well, lactose.
You know, I don't reallytolerate lactose very well.
I can have one flat white withmilk, but then I can't have any
more for the rest of the day,otherwise I'll get diarrhea.
(19:42):
And the thing is, if you dohave a lactose sensitivity or
intolerance, even though you'renot experiencing symptoms with
that one flat white, you'restill going to be having
low-grade inflammation in yourgut which is going to cause
problems.
Even though you're not feelingthose symptoms in your body,
there's still going to be issuesgoing on in that micro
(20:03):
environment in the body.
So, avoid those types of foodsthat you know are not great for
you and do things like improvingyour fiber intake, even just
improving that with someprebiotic foods.
And again, if you just Googleprebiotic foods, they're just
not superfoods.
They're foods that you'reprobably eating most days,
(20:26):
hopefully, but if you're not,start adding them in, some of
the ones that are really easy toeat are things like oats,
things like sweet potato.
It's just for foods with goodfiber, that particular type of
fiber that feeds up your goodgut bacteria.
And again, reducing things thatwe know that irritate the gut,
(20:46):
like alcohol, is a big one thatwe want to reduce, but often
people will.
When I'm talking to them theywill know what foods cause them
bloating, cause them to getconstipated, cause them diarrhea
, any of those sorts of things.
Just avoid those.
Lastly, stress management isprobably the other really
(21:08):
critical one and it's totallyunderestimated the damage that
stress can do to us on manydifferent parts of our body.
But chronic stress absolutelygives us chronic inflammation
and we know that when you're inperi or postmenopause sometimes
that your ability to cope withthe daily stresses in life can
be a little compromised becauseour progesterone's kind of left
(21:31):
the building and our estrogen isoften, when it's not surging,
it's lower, and that impacts ourbrain and impacts our ability
to deal with stress.
So, find something that givesyou joy.
Okay, you don't have to dressup in the caftan and light the
incense and set up a home altar.
That's lovely.
(21:52):
If you want to do that, that'slovely.
But you don't have to do that.
Just doing the activities thatgive you joy, whether it's
playing with your dog or yourcat, whether it's walking,
whether it's reading, whetherit's sewing.
If it's breath work, that'sfantastic.
Find what works for you and doit often.
So that's probably all I wantto cover today.
(22:15):
So the main thing is do you feellike you're experiencing this
inflammation?
Do you feel like your wholebody is bloated or puffy?
We feel like there is somepeople just feel like there's
inflammation.
You may be experiencing moreovert signs like like joint pain
, like changes to the skin, skinitching, rashes, rosacea,
eczema, acne, that kind of thingor stubborn weight gain that
(22:38):
just will not come off.
If so, you are not imagining it.
You are definitely not alone,because inflammation is one of
the most common yet overlookedfactors in perimenopausal health
, and addressing it is one ofthe fastest ways.
Like seriously, we can seeresults within a week or two
(22:59):
weeks.
It's amazing.
It still amazes me how quicklychanging food, getting the right
food for your bloodbiochemistry and your body and
your metabolism, can improvethings, and addressing
inflammation is one of thefastest ways to start feeling
like you again.
So I invite you, if you want tolearn more, if you're thinking
(23:20):
well maybe this is for me andyou want to get some
personalized support to reduceinflammation, to reset your
metabolism, reclaim your energy,I'd love to invite you to book
in for a peri-weight lossassessment with me.
We just get on a call for abouthalf an hour on the video.
I get to know you a little bitbetter, find out what you're
(23:41):
really struggling with, whatpotentially could be causing
that, and come up with somesolutions that may be just the
right fit for you.
The Glow Protocol is mysignature three-month program
designed specifically for womenin perimenopause and
postmenopause who want to loseweight.
Balance hormones feelincredible from the inside out
(24:04):
and don't just take my word forit.
I've got so many amazingtestimonials on my Instagram, on
my website, so go and have alook.
And just to let you know too,I'm recording this episode on
the 21st of July.
My pricing is actually underreview at the moment and will be
increasing on the 1st of Augustfor my program.
(24:26):
So if you've just been kind ofthinking about it, you've been
on the fence book in for yourperiweight loss assessment now
so that we can decide whether ornot it's a good fit and get you
in at the current pricingbefore it goes up.
Thanks so much for joining meon the Ageless and Awesome
podcast.
If you liked this episode,please make sure you click the
little plus button if you're onApple Podcasts or the follow
(24:49):
button if you're on Spotify sothat you get each new episode
delivered to you every singleweek.
If you feel like writing me afive-star review, you would
absolutely make my day.
If you found this episoderesonated with you, head over to
my Instagram and DM me attheperimenopausepath.
I would love to connect withyou.
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.
I'm Susie Garden and this weekI'm talking about oh gosh.
(00:46):
It's a word I probably mentionevery single day, but I know for
sure that not everybodyunderstands what I mean when I
say this word, and what I'mtalking about is inflammation.
You're probably going to rollyour eyes and go oh my God,
please don't switch off, becausethis is actually really
important.
This is something that I seeevery single day in clinic, and
(01:10):
you probably have inflammationin your body.
You may not even know that youhave it, because you don't have
to have joint pain or skinrashes or whatever in order to
have inflammation in your body,but some of you may have things
like aching joints.
Of course, some may have skinflare-ups, some may have gut
(01:32):
issues and stubborn weight, anda lot of this can be traced back
to inflammation and it can besomething really sneaky, really
chronic, totally overlooked,because often there aren't very
few symptoms and yeah, soinflammation is a big deal.
It's actually a big dealbecause pretty much every single
(01:57):
medical condition, mentalhealth condition can be traced
back to inflammation.
So if we have inflammationunder control as best we can,
you will be kind of avoiding orpreventing chronic disease in
later life.
And I know, when you're in your30s, 40s, 50s even, you're not
(02:19):
even thinking necessarily aboutchronic disease, particularly if
you're relatively healthy.
Like I'm, someone who's prettyhealthy.
I'm not on any kind ofprescription medications as such
, I don't have any major kind ofmedical conditions or anything
like that, and I don't eventhink about chronic disease and
(02:40):
being a problem.
But except for the fact that Iwork in this area, and so every
day I'm speaking to women mostlyI do have some male clients,
but women mostly about theirhealth and often there are
symptoms and signs that they'redescribing to me, particularly
on the peri-weight lossassessment calls, and I know for
sure that there is aninflammatory cause and that we
(03:03):
can get inflammation to amanageable level, often just
with our food choices, both whatwe're choosing to eat and what
we're choosing not to eat.
So if you've been told thatwhat you're going through in
terms of having symptoms like Ijust described, if you're just
(03:25):
told that, oh, you're justgetting older, you're going to
have a few more aches and pains,or you're going to put on
weight, or you're frustratedthat your usual way of eating,
your exercise, et cetera, isn'tworking when it comes to weight
loss, then this episode is foryou.
So what is inflammation really?
Let's start with the basics.
(03:47):
So inflammation is a naturalresponse by the body.
It is part of our immune systemreaction and it's something
that saves our lives, certainlywhen it comes to helping
managing infection or helpingfight off a cold or a flu or any
kind of bacteria or virus.
(04:08):
So it's not an inherently badthing.
Every time you cut yourself oryou get a cold or something,
your body will mount aninflammatory response to heal
you and you'll see that in termsof, you know, redness.
So if you've got a cut, forexample, redness, maybe a bit of
swelling, that kind of thing,maybe a bit of heat that's often
(04:29):
what we think of when we thinkof inflammation, but when that
inflammation becomes chronic.
So this kind of a low grade,under the radar inflammation
that's just simmering away,often you may not even know it's
there.
You may get a bit of bloatingevery now and again or something
that can be a sign ofinflammation.
(04:50):
It's often quite silent untilit builds up enough that
symptoms start to pop up andthings like your joint pain, and
that's a very common symptomfor women in their 40s and 50s
in particular.
So joint pain and stiffness,digestive issues, as I mentioned
(05:11):
, such as bloating, even such asdiarrhea constipation, that
kind of thing, such as bloating,even such as, you know,
diarrhea constipation, that kindof thing puffy or inflamed skin
, whether that's redness,whether that's feeling.
I had one client earlier thisyear who said to me at her
peri-weight loss assessment Ifeel like I'm bloated all over.
And when we first started heron the GLOW protocol, within the
(05:33):
first week when I saw her, shewas like I feel like all of the
bloating is gone and people areactually noticing my face is
less bloated and she wascarrying a lot of inflammation
in her body and that justreduced so quickly just through
food choices and so, yeah, ifyou're feeling like that,
feeling bloated all over, thenyou probably have some low grade
(05:56):
inflammation that needs to beaddressed.
It definitely needs to beaddressed.
Fatigue Ah, that's another signof inflammation.
I didn't mention that before,but, yes, if you're fatigued all
of the time, even when you'resleeping well, then maybe it's
an inflammatory cause.
Brain fog that can be anothersymptom of inflammation.
And, of course, the stubbornweight gain, especially around
(06:19):
the middle and in perimenopausein particular, our shifting
hormones actually increase oursensitivity to inflammatory
triggers, so we actually feel itmore.
And why, yes, hormones?
Of course, estrogen actuallyhas an anti-inflammatory role,
and as that starts to decline,we lose some of its beautiful
(06:43):
buffering effect, and that's whythings that perhaps didn't
bother you before, like lack ofsleep, stress, certain foods,
start having a bigger impact now.
So let's talk about one of themore obvious signs of
inflammation.
This is the one that probablymost people would be familiar
(07:05):
with, and that's joint pain.
And when you think about jointpain, you tend to think about
arthritis, as in theosteoarthritis or rheumatoid
arthritis, which is an actual,specific let's call it a disease
.
But the joint pain I'm talkingabout can include that, of
course, but it can just be anon-specific one either, where
(07:31):
it doesn't actually have amedical diagnosis.
So a joint pain is one of themost common complaints I hear
from women in their 40s and 50s,and it's certainly something I
have experienced, and so I knowhow frustrating and horrible it
can be.
Sometimes you can wake up in themiddle of the night with joint
(07:53):
pain, particularly in the hips.
Your knees might hurt walkingupstairs, your hip sake if you
sit for a long time.
I certainly have found that.
And yet nothing's necessarilygoing to show up on your blood
work.
You might get told yep, there'snothing wrong with you, you're
fine, you're just getting older.
But here's the thing that jointpain isn't necessarily
(08:16):
mechanical, it's not necessarilya structural issue.
It can be inflammation in thejoint and in perimenopause, the
decline in estrogen can lead toincreased inflammation in joints
, in tendons, even musclesoreness.
And guess what?
There's actually been aresearch paper released earlier
(08:37):
this year calling this an actualterm for the first time,
actually giving it a name, whichis the musculoskeletal syndrome
of menopause, and you canactually access that paper for
free.
The author, who's a fantasticadvocate for women in this space
she's a an orthopedic surgeonactually, so she's an expert in
(08:59):
America.
Her name is Dr Vonda Wright.
She's a fantastic person tofollow on Instagram.
She's always giving outwonderful educational posts and
information.
So the musculoskeletal syndromeof menopause was something that
was only coined this year andit's not even yet fully known
(09:20):
about by the medical population.
So it's a really good paper toread and it talks about all of
the hormonal effects on ourbodies and how that impacts us
and causes us pain.
And then the thing is, if you'recombining that with poor sleep,
which many women in Perry have,and stress, then you are so
(09:42):
much less able to manage andcope with that pain.
So you have this perfect storm,which it's not a great place to
be in, and the other thingsthat contribute to this, this
pain, are things like processedfoods, excess sugar, alcohol,
trans fats, high cortisol levels.
So your joints are speaking toyou and it might be time to
(10:06):
listen.
The other way that you may findinflammation expressed in your
body is your skin.
So if you're suddenlyexperiencing acne again, maybe
you've developed eczema, whichis what happened to me, or
rosacea, which also happened tome, seemingly out of nowhere, or
maybe your skin just lookspuffy and reactive.
(10:30):
Skin is absolutely a mirror ofwhat's happening internally,
especially in the gut and theimmune system, because you may
or may not be aware, we actuallyhave.
You've probably heard of thegut-brain axis.
Right, we actually have agut-skin axis.
So we know that there is acommunication system between the
gut and the microbiome, Ishould say and the skin.
(10:51):
We don't know a lot about it,but we know that it exists and
things like inflammatory foodslike the ones I just mentioned,
poor gut health and hormonalfluctuations can all show up as
redness in the skin, skinbreakouts, itching, dryness,
swelling all these things.
(11:16):
I've had so many women in myclinic say I thought that I'd
left all of that, the breakoutsin particular, behind me.
Why is this happening?
In my forties, I feel like I'mgoing through puberty again, and
the answer is almost alwaysinflammation meets hormone
imbalance and the fix it's notnecessarily what you're putting
on your skin, it is reducinginflammatory triggers from the
(11:38):
inside out, and the target forthat is your gut.
So if you're experiencing skinissues and you've got gut health
issues, then it's almostabsolutely going to be the case
that when we manage those gutissues, that the skin will
improve dramatically.
So the other aspect I wanted totalk about was inflammation and
(11:59):
weight gain, because that'sprobably what the majority of
women, that's probably thebiggest pain point that gets
them reaching out to me for helpis the weight gain.
For many it is also thesymptoms, but almost always I
reckon over 90% of the womenthat reach out to me it's the
weight gain.
That's the pain point.
And most of these women havedone all the things, they've
(12:23):
tried all of the different waysof eating.
They've been exercising,they've been fasting, but the
weight just doesn't budge, notlike it used to when you're in
your 30s, for example, or your20s.
So inflammation is often themissing link here, and it's
(12:45):
certainly what I focus on in theGLOW protocol in a number of
different ways that I attackthat inflammation, because
chronic inflammation impactsyour insulin sensitivity, so
that really does block weightloss and can make you feel
hungry, can make you feel crap.
It disrupts your hungerhormones like leptin and ghrelin
(13:05):
you may have heard of those.
It can slow your thyroidfunction as well.
Chronic inflammation can putstress on your liver and your
gut, which are crucial formetabolic health, and the
absolute kicker is thatinflammation also promotes fat
storage, especially the bad kindof fat, the visceral fat, the
kind that wraps around yourorgans and increases your risk
(13:29):
of chronic disease such asdiabetes, such as cardiovascular
disease, et cetera.
So you get this vicious cycleof inflammation causing weight
gain, and then the weight gainfuels more inflammation and it
just goes round and round.
And that's why I'm such a bigbeliever in eating in a way that
(13:51):
has an anti-inflammatory effectand specifically, in eating the
right foods for the individualperson, because we all have
different levels of inflammationin our body, and when I do the
bloods for the GLOW protocol,we're looking at a number of
different inflammatory markersand that helps to select the
(14:14):
right foods, but also eatingthem at the right times.
Three meals a day, no snacks,is the ideal in the right
combination of macros so we canlower inflammation, rebalance
the metabolism and finally startto feel good again.
And losing weight almostbecomes a happy side effect of
that, bringing that body backinto balance and dropping that
(14:37):
inflammation down to where itreally should be.
So what can you do to reduceinflammation at home?
There's some of the top waysthat I help people lose
inflammation, particularly inperimenopause, and, as I
mentioned, foods, using food asmedicine, focusing on
(14:58):
anti-inflammatory foods, and nowyou can Google a list of
anti-inflammatory foods.
Some of my favorite ones that Irecommend are leafy greens like
dark leafy greens, oily fish orplant-based omega-3s, berries
like dark colored berries, nutsand seeds, herbs and spices like
(15:19):
turmeric, ginger, rosemary, areall helpful.
And at the same time, though,you need to be reducing sugar.
You need to be reducing yourrefined carbs, your processed
foods.
So processed foods are prettymuch anything that comes in a
packet.
Refined carbs are all of yourwhite foods, as I've probably
mentioned before white sugar,white flour, white pasta, white
(15:42):
rice, alcohol.
You may have noticed alreadythat your ability to process
alcohol has dropped quite a bitin your 40s.
So really reviewing how muchyou drink, whether you actually
need to drink, and also reducetrans fats.
(16:03):
So anti-inflammatory foods arereally important.
So anti-inflammatory foods arereally important.
Also, really have someknowledge.
Be your own advocate,particularly around balancing
blood sugar.
Now, most people think of bloodsugar and they think of people
with diabetes, and that is.
It's just such a scratch on thesurface For all of us going
(16:27):
through perimenopause andpostmenopause.
Blood sugar really takes abeating and insulin resistance
increases.
So that means that our insulinisn't as effective as getting to
get our blood out sorry, oursugar out of our blood and into
our cells where it gets usedwhen you have a stable blood
sugar.
The other thing that happens isit keeps your cortisol at a
(16:49):
more stable level.
Okay, and keeping cortisol inthe level that we want it,
keeping blood sugar at the levelthat we want it all helps to
reduce inflammation, and thebest ways to do that are to eat
protein at every meal andactually have two bites of
(17:09):
protein first.
That actually helps to trickyour body into thinking you're
having a high protein meal andwill slow your insulin
production, which is good.
Um, so try not to snack even atall, except if you have high
calorie needs.
Um, that that's obviouslydifferent, and that's why I love
personalized nutrition.
I don't love giving blanketdietary advice.
(17:32):
Everyone is different and hasdifferent needs, but to balance
blood sugar, we know that if youcan have five to six hours
between meals and your meals arebeautifully balanced, with the
right amount of protein, carbsand healthy fats, that's going
to make a huge difference.
And it really helps also thatthe upside of doing this is what
(17:53):
you'll feel is more consistentand better energy during the day
.
You won't be up and down and upand down with your energy
levels.
No afternoon slump anymore, andthat's one of the most
consistent things in the programthat I run with the GLOW
protocol, is people saying, oh,don't get an afternoon slump
anymore, and it's because we'rebalancing out those blood sugar
levels.
(18:15):
Number three to reduceinflammation is to prioritize
your sleep.
Poor sleep drives inflammationand weight gain.
So really aim for seven toeight hours of sleep a night as
a minimum and support your sleephygiene like it's your job.
This is one of the mostcritical things that we need to
(18:35):
get back on track, particularlyfor women in peri and
post-menopause.
Supporting your gut thatprobably should be close to the
top of this list.
I haven't had this list in anyparticular order, but supporting
your gut health is critical forlowering inflammation in the
body and it's quite complex.
(18:56):
I should probably do a wholeepisode on this, but let's just
say that the majority of yourimmune system resides in your
gut, and so if your gut is nothappy, that's going to impact
your immune system and going tocause low-grade inflammation.
So the kind of things thatyou're wanting to do to help
support your gut is avoid foodsthat you know are not great for
(19:20):
you as an individual.
I have so many people that cometo me when I'm talking to them
about foods that they can't eator don't choose to eat.
I have so many people say to meoh well, lactose.
You know, I don't reallytolerate lactose very well.
I can have one flat white withmilk, but then I can't have any
more for the rest of the day,otherwise I'll get diarrhea.
(19:42):
And the thing is, if you dohave a lactose sensitivity or
intolerance, even though you'renot experiencing symptoms with
that one flat white, you'restill going to be having
low-grade inflammation in yourgut which is going to cause
problems.
Even though you're not feelingthose symptoms in your body,
there's still going to be issuesgoing on in that micro
(20:03):
environment in the body.
So, avoid those types of foodsthat you know are not great for
you and do things like improvingyour fiber intake, even just
improving that with someprebiotic foods.
And again, if you just Googleprebiotic foods, they're just
not superfoods.
They're foods that you'reprobably eating most days,
(20:26):
hopefully, but if you're not,start adding them in, some of
the ones that are really easy toeat are things like oats,
things like sweet potato.
It's just for foods with goodfiber, that particular type of
fiber that feeds up your goodgut bacteria.
And again, reducing things thatwe know that irritate the gut,
(20:46):
like alcohol, is a big one thatwe want to reduce, but often
people will.
When I'm talking to them theywill know what foods cause them
bloating, cause them to getconstipated, cause them diarrhea
, any of those sorts of things.
Just avoid those.
Lastly, stress management isprobably the other really
(21:08):
critical one and it's totallyunderestimated the damage that
stress can do to us on manydifferent parts of our body.
But chronic stress absolutelygives us chronic inflammation
and we know that when you're inperi or postmenopause sometimes
that your ability to cope withthe daily stresses in life can
be a little compromised becauseour progesterone's kind of left
(21:31):
the building and our estrogen isoften, when it's not surging,
it's lower, and that impacts ourbrain and impacts our ability
to deal with stress.
So, find something that givesyou joy.
Okay, you don't have to dressup in the caftan and light the
incense and set up a home altar.
That's lovely.
(21:52):
If you want to do that, that'slovely.
But you don't have to do that.
Just doing the activities thatgive you joy, whether it's
playing with your dog or yourcat, whether it's walking,
whether it's reading, whetherit's sewing.
If it's breath work, that'sfantastic.
Find what works for you and doit often.
So that's probably all I wantto cover today.
(22:15):
So the main thing is do you feellike you're experiencing this
inflammation?
Do you feel like your wholebody is bloated or puffy?
We feel like there is somepeople just feel like there's
inflammation.
You may be experiencing moreovert signs like like joint pain
, like changes to the skin, skinitching, rashes, rosacea,
eczema, acne, that kind of thingor stubborn weight gain that
(22:38):
just will not come off.
If so, you are not imagining it.
You are definitely not alone,because inflammation is one of
the most common yet overlookedfactors in perimenopausal health
, and addressing it is one ofthe fastest ways.
Like seriously, we can seeresults within a week or two
(22:59):
weeks.
It's amazing.
It still amazes me how quicklychanging food, getting the right
food for your bloodbiochemistry and your body and
your metabolism, can improvethings, and addressing
inflammation is one of thefastest ways to start feeling
like you again.
So I invite you, if you want tolearn more, if you're thinking
(23:20):
well maybe this is for me andyou want to get some
personalized support to reduceinflammation, to reset your
metabolism, reclaim your energy,I'd love to invite you to book
in for a peri-weight lossassessment with me.
We just get on a call for abouthalf an hour on the video.
I get to know you a little bitbetter, find out what you're
(23:41):
really struggling with, whatpotentially could be causing
that, and come up with somesolutions that may be just the
right fit for you.
The Glow Protocol is mysignature three-month program
designed specifically for womenin perimenopause and
postmenopause who want to loseweight.
Balance hormones feelincredible from the inside out
(24:04):
and don't just take my word forit.
I've got so many amazingtestimonials on my Instagram, on
my website, so go and have alook.
And just to let you know too,I'm recording this episode on
the 21st of July.
My pricing is actually underreview at the moment and will be
increasing on the 1st of Augustfor my program.
(24:26):
So if you've just been kind ofthinking about it, you've been
on the fence book in for yourperiweight loss assessment now
so that we can decide whether ornot it's a good fit and get you
in at the current pricingbefore it goes up.
Thanks so much for joining meon the Ageless and Awesome
podcast.
If you liked this episode,please make sure you click the
little plus button if you're onApple Podcasts or the follow
(24:49):
button if you're on Spotify sothat you get each new episode
delivered to you every singleweek.
If you feel like writing me afive-star review, you would
absolutely make my day.
If you found this episoderesonated with you, head over to
my Instagram and DM me attheperimenopausepath.
I would love to connect withyou.
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