December 2, 2024 • 26 mins
This week, I explore the potential of cannabis, particularly CBD oil and medicinal cannabis, in managing symptoms like sleep disturbances, mood swings, and stress. Inspired by a candid conversation with my sister-in-law, I dive into the fascinating world of cannabinoids and the pivotal role of the endocannabinoid system in maintaining hormonal balance. Despite the scientific research still catching up, I share personal insights and discuss how these natural compounds might support women's health during these challenging transitions.
We'll unravel the distinctions between THC and CBD, the main cannabinoids that hold promise for menopause relief. While THC is known for its psychoactive high, CBD stands out for its calming anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties without euphoria. It's crucial to source CBD from reputable companies, and I emphasise the importance of holistic approaches, such as personalised nutrition and stress management, in symptom management. Stay connected with my Ageless and Awesome podcast for more enriching discussions, and don't forget to check out my free Radiant Reset Hormone Detox Guide for perimenopausal women. Reach out on Instagram or via email to continue the conversation.
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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.
Before we get into today'sepisode, I just wanted to let
(00:46):
you know that the Thursdayepisodes of the podcast will no
longer be going ahead Now.
The reason for this is, you mayhave noticed, over the last few
weeks I've been rerunning anumber of flashback episodes,
and it's because I'm essentiallyjust a bit too busy to do it.
(01:08):
So I've decided just oneepisode a week is enough,
because a lot goes into planning, recording, editing, uploading,
all of the other material thatgoes along with the podcast, and
so, yeah, I've decided thatjust one episode a week is
(01:29):
enough.
So I hope that I haven'tdisappointed too many people
with that.
I know it has a pretty goodlistenership, but that's just
the way it is.
I want to make sure thiscontinues to have quality and is
not kind of becoming a bit of astressful thing for me to make
sure I get two episodes a weekout.
So, anyway, announcement over,let's get into this week's
(01:52):
episode.
Now, this week's episode cameabout because I was having a
conversation with mysister-in-law and she mentioned
that one of her friends is she'sbeen prescribed, I believe,
what she termed CBD.
Now, she wasn't sure whether itwas medicinal cannabis or
whether it was CBD oil, butshe'd been medically prescribed
(02:16):
this for her perimenopausesymptoms, which I thought was
really interesting, because Ihaven't really heard a lot about
this in just my generalday-to-day kind of experiences
with clients.
I'm not seeing it in coming upin literature and updates and
things like that, and so Ithought I would have a bit of a
(02:39):
look into it.
And when I think about it,actually I remember I think it
was last year, maybe the yearbefore having a conversation
with my GP about my sleep, whichyou all know about if you're a
regular listener of the podcastis I've struggled with insomnia
over a period of many, manyyears, not knowing and I'm
(02:59):
absolutely positive Part of itwas stress and the kind of work
that I was doing where I wascrossing multiple time zones
every second week and reallydisrupting my circadian rhythm,
and I think part of it was alsoperimenopause at the time as
well.
So I'm kind of on top of mysleep now.
But when I was going throughthis journey of working out how
(03:20):
to fix it once I actuallyrealized it was a problem
working out how to fix it once Iactually realized it was a
problem was having a discussionwith my GP about certain options
and she suggested to me CBD oiland also suggested exploring
medicinal cannabis.
So I have had some experiencein this area.
(03:41):
But once I started actuallylooking into the literature
around this, there really isn'tmuch at all in the way of
serious data relatingspecifically to perimenopause
and menopause.
There have been some studieslooking at how many women like
(04:03):
as in a percentage of populationof women in menopause are using
cannabis, but there has beenacknowledgement with some of
these studies that they've beenbiased because they've been
recruiting women that areinterested in cannabis.
So it's kind of biases andskews the data a little.
So I will preface this episodewith saying that, firstly, I am
(04:29):
not coming at this from anexpert point of view and, as in
Australia, cannabis, medicinalcannabis.
Medicinal cannabis is aprescription and scheduled drug,
so it is not within the realmof my prescribing or in my work
(04:50):
as a naturopath and herbalist.
However, I do have a bit ofknowledge about it and so I just
wanted to make that reallyclear.
That this is just educational.
It's in no way coming from anexpert's point of view.
But let's have a look at thecannabis plant, I guess, itself
and, theoretically, why it mightbe really useful to address
(05:15):
some of the symptoms ofperimenopause and menopause.
So if we look at cannabis andreally it's cannabis, the proper
Latin name, cannabis sativa itcontains, as all of our plants
do, many, many differentcomponents, many different
phytochemicals or plantchemicals, including molecules
(05:38):
called cannabinoids.
And, interestingly, the humanbody also makes cannabinoids as
part of a bigger system calledthe endocannabinoid system.
Big word, endocannabinoidsystem.
So this it's funny becauseyou've probably not really heard
much about this system, butit's a really critical system in
(06:01):
our body and it's involved innearly every biological process,
including things like ourmetabolism, our digestion, our
hormone regulation, our immunesystem, our ability to regulate
our body temperature, ourappetite, our memory, our mood,
(06:22):
our stress management, our pain,sleep and many more.
And when I'm sure if you're inthe perimenopause or menopause
at the moment, you wouldprobably be going tick, tick,
tick with a lot of these thingsor systems that the
(06:43):
endocannabinoid system isinvolved with, right?
So the thing is with thisendocannabinoid system is part
of the body's homeostasismechanism and if you remember
back to high school biology, ifyou did that as a subject,
homeostasis is essentiallyequilibrium in the body.
(07:04):
The body loves equilibrium.
We have a lot of mechanisms inour body that keep us at certain
set points, such as let's lookat temperature regulation, so
generally our body temperature,depending on which school you
look at, I'm sure when I was anurse, we were told out that our
(07:24):
normal temperature was 36.5 to37.5.
And you didn't have a feverunless you're at least 37.5 or
over.
And I've heard other since thenother measures such as 36.1 to
37.1, whatever.
It's a pretty tight range, I'msure you'd agree, and the body
likes to be within that tightrange.
(07:45):
And if we get out of that range, then there are mechanisms in
our body to bring us back there.
So if the temperature drops toocold, we'll start to shiver,
for example, we'll getgoosebumps to try and trap air
close to the skin to keep uswarmer, we will shut down blood
supply to our periphery.
So our hands and feet, or toesand fingers, to try and keep the
(08:06):
blood in the center of the body, and that's all they're
generated to keep us in thattemperature range.
And if we get too hot, what dowe do?
We sweat, right, and we getkind of thirsty.
We get, we want to take kind ofour clothes away.
We really get driven, there's areal drive to make ourselves
(08:28):
cooler.
We feel very, veryuncomfortable and it's because
our body needs to be inhomeostasis, needs to be in that
body temperature.
And we have these things forthese sort of measures or
benchmarks for many, many, manydifferent systems in the body,
and the endocannabinoid systemis part of that.
Homeostatic regulation keeps usin balance in this equilibrium.
(08:54):
Okay, so we have thisendocannabinoid system, which is
which makes cannabinoids, whichare a little chemical.
As I've said, plants also makecannabinoids, which is the
cannabis sativa plant.
There's a couple of differentforms of cannabis, but this last
(09:14):
one I'm specifically talkingabout and so we make our own
cannabinoids as well to keepthat equilibrium.
Now the endocannabinoid systemalso interacts with our sex
hormones, right, and researchshows that the change in
production of estrogens andprogesterone during menopause
(09:34):
and perimenopause is stronglyrelated to changes in
endocannabinoid system activity,which might partly explain many
of the symptoms that weexperience in that perimenopause
transition and things like themood swings, depressed mood,
(09:55):
anxious mood, lowered libido,difficulty sleeping.
A number of different symptomspotentially can be drawn back to
this endocannabinoid system.
Remember, the research is verypatchy.
It hasn't been awell-researched kind of I want
(10:18):
to call it a drug, but it's notreally a drug.
Herbal medicine plant, let'scall it a plant.
It hasn't been well-researchedin things like menopause or
perimenopause.
But if you think about it,knowing this information,
hypothetically and obviouslythis is where some medical
people and some scientists aregoing is that well, if we can
(10:39):
supplement cannabinoids backinto the body, if we can
supplement cannabinoids backinto the body, maybe this will
help regulate some of thesesymptoms, these debilitating
symptoms that women are havingin perimenopause and menopause.
And this is where I want to gointo the plant a little bit
deeper.
There are two differentcannabinoids that are extracted
(11:02):
from the flower of this plant,right, so we use the flower In
herbal medicine.
We use a whole bunch ofdifferent parts of plants, so we
might use leaves, we might useroots, we might use bark, we
might use flowers, et cetera.
So that's what I love aboutherbal medicine is that you can
(11:23):
really use with many of theseplants the whole plant for even
different things.
It's really fascinating.
And so there are two differentcannabinoids that are extracted
from the flower of the cannabisplant that gets probably the
most sort of attention inmenopause are the THC, so the
(11:45):
tetrahydrocannabinol, let's justcall it THC and the cannabidiol
, which is the CBD, and you'veprobably, if you've ever read
anything about these kinds ofproducts, you would have heard
of THC and CBD.
Now, thc is the part of theplant, the plant chemical, that
(12:07):
is the part that gets you high.
Essentially they call it thepsychoactive part of that plant,
and so the THC is what doesthat?
But the CBD does not have theTHC in it, does not have those
psychoactive properties.
So CBD does have fantasticproperties, will not give you
(12:34):
that euphoria or that high,however you or people experience
that and their perception ofthat psychoactive component.
You won't get that from the CBD.
You will get that from the THCpart of the plant.
I hope I'm not getting you guystoo bogged down in all of this,
but it is really important tosee the difference because many
(12:56):
people think, when they'rehaving their CBD oil, that they
can get high, and it's just notthe case that they can get high,
and it's just not the case.
Hence, you can buy it online.
It's not a prescription product.
So you know, if you're gettingCBD oil and it has THC in it,
that's been added into it, right, it's not part of the CBD the
(13:18):
cannabidiol.
So the CBD is really usefulbecause it does have
anti-inflammatory properties.
It has antioxidant properties,so that's going to help perhaps
with pain, and we know that bodypain can be a real issue in
perimenopause and menopause.
Some studies have found thatCBD can also reduce anxiety and
(13:40):
improve sleep, and these are twoelements that are really common
in perianmenopausal women.
And so this is the thing theCBD oil is pretty easy to get.
I would say be very mindful ofwhere you're getting it from,
because this is a big issue inplant medicine or herbal
(14:02):
medicine generally is.
A big issue in plant medicineor herbal medicine generally is
are you actually getting whatyou think you're getting?
There are issues withmisidentification of herbs, with
contamination, with deliberateand intentional switching of
herbs.
Many herbs look alike, so youneed to buy it from a company
that is actually doingthird-party testing so that you
(14:25):
know that it's actually the CBDoil that you're purchasing.
If you're being medicallyprescribed cannabis, then that's
all going to have been done aspart of that company's
arrangement with the TGA, so youdon't need to worry about that
In Australia.
I'm very much talking about theAustralian context here.
(14:46):
So the thing is, does it reallywork?
Well, this is some of thethings that we don't actually
know Certainly in terms of whenyou look at the theory, as we've
discussed, and also if you lookat people's experiences.
And that's really important,right?
Because even if there is aplacebo effect, that's still an
(15:06):
effect, and we know that peopledo report that they get
improvement in symptoms withusing these sorts of products,
which is really cool.
But, yeah, the thing is, thereis no indication at this time
(15:39):
for the use of either themedicinal cannabis or CBD oil,
although CBD oil, it's not ashighly regulated, so they can
probably say just about anythingabout it, but there's no
specific research in menopauseand perimenopause.
That's strong and certainly notindicated in terms of
prescribing these things.
If it's from your doctor,there's no indication
specifically for menopause, butif you have certain symptoms
like insomnia is a big one.
Anxiety is another big one, I'dsay that'd probably be the main
(15:59):
two Depression maybe that youmay get benefit from using these
products.
So, in terms of where you couldgo from here, if you are really
struggling with symptoms Forexample, if you are someone
where menopause hormone therapyused to be known as HRT, now
(16:23):
it's known as MHT If you're nota suitable candidate for that or
you don't want to take that, ifyou've done a whole bunch of
improvements in your lifestyle.
So the main things that we dofrom a natural point of view in
terms of managing peri andmenopausal symptoms is looking
at your nutrition.
Is your nutrition right foryour body?
(16:43):
As you know, I do personalizednutrition plans based on blood
tests, so you get the exactfoods and the exact macro
balance and the exact portionsizes for you specifically as an
individual.
That's optimizing yournutrition.
If you're doing it on your own,are you eating a majority of
(17:04):
whole foods, so foods that arenot coming from a packet, foods
that are minimally processed,really removing things like all
of your white foods, your whitepasta, your white rice, your
white bread, et cetera whitesugar, obviously.
So if you're doing that kind ofthing will help reduce
inflammation.
(17:24):
That can help with pain.
That can help with alsoreducing irritation in the brain
, which can help with sleep.
On top of that, are you movingyour body in a way that brings
you joy?
Are you managing your stress?
This is so important for uswhen we're in the perimenopausal
transition and alsopost-menopause, because it can.
(17:46):
Unfortunately, the changes thatgo on can really reduce our
ability to manage large amountsof stress.
So if you're doing things tohelp mitigate that and it can be
as easy as breathing deeply weall have to breathe.
You don't necessarily have tomake a separate breathing
practice part of your day,although that would be great if
(18:09):
you could.
Even if you do it when you'relying in bed, even if you do it
when you first wake up in themorning, if you have a moment
just to really be mindful whenyou are breathing.
Otherwise, just breathingdeeply when you're doing
whatever you do during the daywhether it's driving, shopping,
cooking, sitting in front ofyour computer, sitting in front
(18:32):
of the TV, whatever it is justusing your breath, breathing
deeply, will help keep yourstress levels down.
Even leveling it up with somemeditation Awesome.
But I get that it's not foreverybody.
So if you're getting in, as Isaid nutrition, your stress
management.
You're staying hydrated.
You're moving.
Your weight is at like a normal.
(18:55):
When I say normal, movingWeight is at like a normal.
When I say normal, I'm usinginverted commas.
I really struggle a little bitwith the concept of normal
weight.
I would much rather look atyour body composition and look
at your muscle mass versus yourfat percentage.
I think that is way morerelevant than looking at a
certain weight.
(19:16):
You know what we would callnormal, in inverted commas
weight.
So if you've got all of thatsitting in a good place and
you're still getting symptoms,then perhaps this is a
conversation to have with yourGP to see if there is something
(19:37):
there for you that's going tohelp you manage your symptoms.
So I hope this has beensomewhat helpful.
I guess the main things Iwanted to bring across is that
this is a possible option whenyou feel like you've, you know,
really exhausted all of youroptions.
Also, that you are veryinformed when you are sourcing
(19:59):
your product.
So whether it's CBD oil, that'sa bit trickier.
If it's the medicinal cannabisthat's prescribed by a doctor,
that's going to be a productthat is TGA approved.
It's a restricted drug, sothere's a lot of regulation
around that.
That's easy.
Cbd oil not so much.
So be mindful about whereyou're getting yours from.
(20:22):
I think that was probably aboutit all I wanted to say.
So I hope that has helped,giving you a little bit of
understanding about a potentialoption if you're really
struggling with yourperimenopause and menopause
symptoms.
And as someone that's beenthrough all of that myself, I
(20:45):
can tell you like, if you canfind something to really help,
it's a game changer in terms ofyour ability to just keep
healthy for a start physicallyhealthy, mentally healthy and
able to just get on with lifeand enjoy your life.
So if you are experiencingsymptoms and it's really
(21:08):
starting to impact, you reallystart to prioritize this.
We're getting towards the end ofthe year.
We're getting to that point ofthe year where we start to think
about well, what do I want for2025?
What do I want for next year?
Do I want things to continue asthey are, as they've been this
year, in 2024?
Are you happy where that is?
(21:29):
How is it different from 2023?
Were you having the sameconversation with yourself
towards the end of last year asyou're having this year?
If you're in that space, thenperhaps look at, okay, what
needs to change.
I've just given you a wholebunch of options that can help
Go back through the back catalogof the podcast.
(21:50):
Have a look.
I do have some blogs on mywebsite.
I've got a pretty active socialmedia presence as well on
Instagram, susie Garden Wellness.
There's a lot of free contentthat I offer that I also have
very specific, very tailored andunique programs for the
individual as well, so feel freeto check that out.
(22:12):
On my website atsusieggardencom, specifically
for my ladies with peri andmenopause, look at the glow
protocol.
All right.
So any questions, do let me know.
You can message me on instagramor you can send me an email.
Hello at suzygardencom.
(22:33):
I hope you've enjoyed theepisode.
I look forward to seeing younext Tuesday.
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
(22:53):
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 atsuzygardenwellness.
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.
Before we get into today'sepisode, I just wanted to let
(00:46):
you know that the Thursdayepisodes of the podcast will no
longer be going ahead Now.
The reason for this is, you mayhave noticed, over the last few
weeks I've been rerunning anumber of flashback episodes,
and it's because I'm essentiallyjust a bit too busy to do it.
(01:08):
So I've decided just oneepisode a week is enough,
because a lot goes into planning, recording, editing, uploading,
all of the other material thatgoes along with the podcast, and
so, yeah, I've decided thatjust one episode a week is
(01:29):
enough.
So I hope that I haven'tdisappointed too many people
with that.
I know it has a pretty goodlistenership, but that's just
the way it is.
I want to make sure thiscontinues to have quality and is
not kind of becoming a bit of astressful thing for me to make
sure I get two episodes a weekout.
So, anyway, announcement over,let's get into this week's
(01:52):
episode.
Now, this week's episode cameabout because I was having a
conversation with mysister-in-law and she mentioned
that one of her friends is she'sbeen prescribed, I believe,
what she termed CBD.
Now, she wasn't sure whether itwas medicinal cannabis or
whether it was CBD oil, butshe'd been medically prescribed
(02:16):
this for her perimenopausesymptoms, which I thought was
really interesting, because Ihaven't really heard a lot about
this in just my generalday-to-day kind of experiences
with clients.
I'm not seeing it in coming upin literature and updates and
things like that, and so Ithought I would have a bit of a
(02:39):
look into it.
And when I think about it,actually I remember I think it
was last year, maybe the yearbefore having a conversation
with my GP about my sleep, whichyou all know about if you're a
regular listener of the podcastis I've struggled with insomnia
over a period of many, manyyears, not knowing and I'm
(02:59):
absolutely positive Part of itwas stress and the kind of work
that I was doing where I wascrossing multiple time zones
every second week and reallydisrupting my circadian rhythm,
and I think part of it was alsoperimenopause at the time as
well.
So I'm kind of on top of mysleep now.
But when I was going throughthis journey of working out how
(03:20):
to fix it once I actuallyrealized it was a problem
working out how to fix it once Iactually realized it was a
problem was having a discussionwith my GP about certain options
and she suggested to me CBD oiland also suggested exploring
medicinal cannabis.
So I have had some experiencein this area.
(03:41):
But once I started actuallylooking into the literature
around this, there really isn'tmuch at all in the way of
serious data relatingspecifically to perimenopause
and menopause.
There have been some studieslooking at how many women like
(04:03):
as in a percentage of populationof women in menopause are using
cannabis, but there has beenacknowledgement with some of
these studies that they've beenbiased because they've been
recruiting women that areinterested in cannabis.
So it's kind of biases andskews the data a little.
So I will preface this episodewith saying that, firstly, I am
(04:29):
not coming at this from anexpert point of view and, as in
Australia, cannabis, medicinalcannabis.
Medicinal cannabis is aprescription and scheduled drug,
so it is not within the realmof my prescribing or in my work
(04:50):
as a naturopath and herbalist.
However, I do have a bit ofknowledge about it and so I just
wanted to make that reallyclear.
That this is just educational.
It's in no way coming from anexpert's point of view.
But let's have a look at thecannabis plant, I guess, itself
and, theoretically, why it mightbe really useful to address
(05:15):
some of the symptoms ofperimenopause and menopause.
So if we look at cannabis andreally it's cannabis, the proper
Latin name, cannabis sativa itcontains, as all of our plants
do, many, many differentcomponents, many different
phytochemicals or plantchemicals, including molecules
(05:38):
called cannabinoids.
And, interestingly, the humanbody also makes cannabinoids as
part of a bigger system calledthe endocannabinoid system.
Big word, endocannabinoidsystem.
So this it's funny becauseyou've probably not really heard
much about this system, butit's a really critical system in
(06:01):
our body and it's involved innearly every biological process,
including things like ourmetabolism, our digestion, our
hormone regulation, our immunesystem, our ability to regulate
our body temperature, ourappetite, our memory, our mood,
(06:22):
our stress management, our pain,sleep and many more.
And when I'm sure if you're inthe perimenopause or menopause
at the moment, you wouldprobably be going tick, tick,
tick with a lot of these thingsor systems that the
(06:43):
endocannabinoid system isinvolved with, right?
So the thing is with thisendocannabinoid system is part
of the body's homeostasismechanism and if you remember
back to high school biology, ifyou did that as a subject,
homeostasis is essentiallyequilibrium in the body.
(07:04):
The body loves equilibrium.
We have a lot of mechanisms inour body that keep us at certain
set points, such as let's lookat temperature regulation, so
generally our body temperature,depending on which school you
look at, I'm sure when I was anurse, we were told out that our
(07:24):
normal temperature was 36.5 to37.5.
And you didn't have a feverunless you're at least 37.5 or
over.
And I've heard other since thenother measures such as 36.1 to
37.1, whatever.
It's a pretty tight range, I'msure you'd agree, and the body
likes to be within that tightrange.
(07:45):
And if we get out of that range, then there are mechanisms in
our body to bring us back there.
So if the temperature drops toocold, we'll start to shiver,
for example, we'll getgoosebumps to try and trap air
close to the skin to keep uswarmer, we will shut down blood
supply to our periphery.
So our hands and feet, or toesand fingers, to try and keep the
(08:06):
blood in the center of the body, and that's all they're
generated to keep us in thattemperature range.
And if we get too hot, what dowe do?
We sweat, right, and we getkind of thirsty.
We get, we want to take kind ofour clothes away.
We really get driven, there's areal drive to make ourselves
(08:28):
cooler.
We feel very, veryuncomfortable and it's because
our body needs to be inhomeostasis, needs to be in that
body temperature.
And we have these things forthese sort of measures or
benchmarks for many, many, manydifferent systems in the body,
and the endocannabinoid systemis part of that.
Homeostatic regulation keeps usin balance in this equilibrium.
(08:54):
Okay, so we have thisendocannabinoid system, which is
which makes cannabinoids, whichare a little chemical.
As I've said, plants also makecannabinoids, which is the
cannabis sativa plant.
There's a couple of differentforms of cannabis, but this last
(09:14):
one I'm specifically talkingabout and so we make our own
cannabinoids as well to keepthat equilibrium.
Now the endocannabinoid systemalso interacts with our sex
hormones, right, and researchshows that the change in
production of estrogens andprogesterone during menopause
(09:34):
and perimenopause is stronglyrelated to changes in
endocannabinoid system activity,which might partly explain many
of the symptoms that weexperience in that perimenopause
transition and things like themood swings, depressed mood,
(09:55):
anxious mood, lowered libido,difficulty sleeping.
A number of different symptomspotentially can be drawn back to
this endocannabinoid system.
Remember, the research is verypatchy.
It hasn't been awell-researched kind of I want
(10:18):
to call it a drug, but it's notreally a drug.
Herbal medicine plant, let'scall it a plant.
It hasn't been well-researchedin things like menopause or
perimenopause.
But if you think about it,knowing this information,
hypothetically and obviouslythis is where some medical
people and some scientists aregoing is that well, if we can
(10:39):
supplement cannabinoids backinto the body, if we can
supplement cannabinoids backinto the body, maybe this will
help regulate some of thesesymptoms, these debilitating
symptoms that women are havingin perimenopause and menopause.
And this is where I want to gointo the plant a little bit
deeper.
There are two differentcannabinoids that are extracted
(11:02):
from the flower of this plant,right, so we use the flower In
herbal medicine.
We use a whole bunch ofdifferent parts of plants, so we
might use leaves, we might useroots, we might use bark, we
might use flowers, et cetera.
So that's what I love aboutherbal medicine is that you can
(11:23):
really use with many of theseplants the whole plant for even
different things.
It's really fascinating.
And so there are two differentcannabinoids that are extracted
from the flower of the cannabisplant that gets probably the
most sort of attention inmenopause are the THC, so the
(11:45):
tetrahydrocannabinol, let's justcall it THC and the cannabidiol
, which is the CBD, and you'veprobably, if you've ever read
anything about these kinds ofproducts, you would have heard
of THC and CBD.
Now, thc is the part of theplant, the plant chemical, that
(12:07):
is the part that gets you high.
Essentially they call it thepsychoactive part of that plant,
and so the THC is what doesthat?
But the CBD does not have theTHC in it, does not have those
psychoactive properties.
So CBD does have fantasticproperties, will not give you
(12:34):
that euphoria or that high,however you or people experience
that and their perception ofthat psychoactive component.
You won't get that from the CBD.
You will get that from the THCpart of the plant.
I hope I'm not getting you guystoo bogged down in all of this,
but it is really important tosee the difference because many
(12:56):
people think, when they'rehaving their CBD oil, that they
can get high, and it's just notthe case that they can get high,
and it's just not the case.
Hence, you can buy it online.
It's not a prescription product.
So you know, if you're gettingCBD oil and it has THC in it,
that's been added into it, right, it's not part of the CBD the
(13:18):
cannabidiol.
So the CBD is really usefulbecause it does have
anti-inflammatory properties.
It has antioxidant properties,so that's going to help perhaps
with pain, and we know that bodypain can be a real issue in
perimenopause and menopause.
Some studies have found thatCBD can also reduce anxiety and
(13:40):
improve sleep, and these are twoelements that are really common
in perianmenopausal women.
And so this is the thing theCBD oil is pretty easy to get.
I would say be very mindful ofwhere you're getting it from,
because this is a big issue inplant medicine or herbal
(14:02):
medicine generally is.
A big issue in plant medicineor herbal medicine generally is
are you actually getting whatyou think you're getting?
There are issues withmisidentification of herbs, with
contamination, with deliberateand intentional switching of
herbs.
Many herbs look alike, so youneed to buy it from a company
that is actually doingthird-party testing so that you
(14:25):
know that it's actually the CBDoil that you're purchasing.
If you're being medicallyprescribed cannabis, then that's
all going to have been done aspart of that company's
arrangement with the TGA, so youdon't need to worry about that
In Australia.
I'm very much talking about theAustralian context here.
(14:46):
So the thing is, does it reallywork?
Well, this is some of thethings that we don't actually
know Certainly in terms of whenyou look at the theory, as we've
discussed, and also if you lookat people's experiences.
And that's really important,right?
Because even if there is aplacebo effect, that's still an
(15:06):
effect, and we know that peopledo report that they get
improvement in symptoms withusing these sorts of products,
which is really cool.
But, yeah, the thing is, thereis no indication at this time
(15:39):
for the use of either themedicinal cannabis or CBD oil,
although CBD oil, it's not ashighly regulated, so they can
probably say just about anythingabout it, but there's no
specific research in menopauseand perimenopause.
That's strong and certainly notindicated in terms of
prescribing these things.
If it's from your doctor,there's no indication
specifically for menopause, butif you have certain symptoms
like insomnia is a big one.
Anxiety is another big one, I'dsay that'd probably be the main
(15:59):
two Depression maybe that youmay get benefit from using these
products.
So, in terms of where you couldgo from here, if you are really
struggling with symptoms Forexample, if you are someone
where menopause hormone therapyused to be known as HRT, now
(16:23):
it's known as MHT If you're nota suitable candidate for that or
you don't want to take that, ifyou've done a whole bunch of
improvements in your lifestyle.
So the main things that we dofrom a natural point of view in
terms of managing peri andmenopausal symptoms is looking
at your nutrition.
Is your nutrition right foryour body?
(16:43):
As you know, I do personalizednutrition plans based on blood
tests, so you get the exactfoods and the exact macro
balance and the exact portionsizes for you specifically as an
individual.
That's optimizing yournutrition.
If you're doing it on your own,are you eating a majority of
(17:04):
whole foods, so foods that arenot coming from a packet, foods
that are minimally processed,really removing things like all
of your white foods, your whitepasta, your white rice, your
white bread, et cetera whitesugar, obviously.
So if you're doing that kind ofthing will help reduce
inflammation.
(17:24):
That can help with pain.
That can help with alsoreducing irritation in the brain
, which can help with sleep.
On top of that, are you movingyour body in a way that brings
you joy?
Are you managing your stress?
This is so important for uswhen we're in the perimenopausal
transition and alsopost-menopause, because it can.
(17:46):
Unfortunately, the changes thatgo on can really reduce our
ability to manage large amountsof stress.
So if you're doing things tohelp mitigate that and it can be
as easy as breathing deeply weall have to breathe.
You don't necessarily have tomake a separate breathing
practice part of your day,although that would be great if
(18:09):
you could.
Even if you do it when you'relying in bed, even if you do it
when you first wake up in themorning, if you have a moment
just to really be mindful whenyou are breathing.
Otherwise, just breathingdeeply when you're doing
whatever you do during the daywhether it's driving, shopping,
cooking, sitting in front ofyour computer, sitting in front
(18:32):
of the TV, whatever it is justusing your breath, breathing
deeply, will help keep yourstress levels down.
Even leveling it up with somemeditation Awesome.
But I get that it's not foreverybody.
So if you're getting in, as Isaid nutrition, your stress
management.
You're staying hydrated.
You're moving.
Your weight is at like a normal.
(18:55):
When I say normal, movingWeight is at like a normal.
When I say normal, I'm usinginverted commas.
I really struggle a little bitwith the concept of normal
weight.
I would much rather look atyour body composition and look
at your muscle mass versus yourfat percentage.
I think that is way morerelevant than looking at a
certain weight.
(19:16):
You know what we would callnormal, in inverted commas
weight.
So if you've got all of thatsitting in a good place and
you're still getting symptoms,then perhaps this is a
conversation to have with yourGP to see if there is something
(19:37):
there for you that's going tohelp you manage your symptoms.
So I hope this has beensomewhat helpful.
I guess the main things Iwanted to bring across is that
this is a possible option whenyou feel like you've, you know,
really exhausted all of youroptions.
Also, that you are veryinformed when you are sourcing
(19:59):
your product.
So whether it's CBD oil, that'sa bit trickier.
If it's the medicinal cannabisthat's prescribed by a doctor,
that's going to be a productthat is TGA approved.
It's a restricted drug, sothere's a lot of regulation
around that.
That's easy.
Cbd oil not so much.
So be mindful about whereyou're getting yours from.
(20:22):
I think that was probably aboutit all I wanted to say.
So I hope that has helped,giving you a little bit of
understanding about a potentialoption if you're really
struggling with yourperimenopause and menopause
symptoms.
And as someone that's beenthrough all of that myself, I
(20:45):
can tell you like, if you canfind something to really help,
it's a game changer in terms ofyour ability to just keep
healthy for a start physicallyhealthy, mentally healthy and
able to just get on with lifeand enjoy your life.
So if you are experiencingsymptoms and it's really
(21:08):
starting to impact, you reallystart to prioritize this.
We're getting towards the end ofthe year.
We're getting to that point ofthe year where we start to think
about well, what do I want for2025?
What do I want for next year?
Do I want things to continue asthey are, as they've been this
year, in 2024?
Are you happy where that is?
(21:29):
How is it different from 2023?
Were you having the sameconversation with yourself
towards the end of last year asyou're having this year?
If you're in that space, thenperhaps look at, okay, what
needs to change.
I've just given you a wholebunch of options that can help
Go back through the back catalogof the podcast.
(21:50):
Have a look.
I do have some blogs on mywebsite.
I've got a pretty active socialmedia presence as well on
Instagram, susie Garden Wellness.
There's a lot of free contentthat I offer that I also have
very specific, very tailored andunique programs for the
individual as well, so feel freeto check that out.
(22:12):
On my website atsusieggardencom, specifically
for my ladies with peri andmenopause, look at the glow
protocol.
All right.
So any questions, do let me know.
You can message me on instagramor you can send me an email.
Hello at suzygardencom.
(22:33):
I hope you've enjoyed theepisode.
I look forward to seeing younext Tuesday.
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
(22:53):
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 atsuzygardenwellness.
I'd love to connect with you.
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