Real Integrative Medicine with Dr. Jordan Robertson ND (Dr. Jordan Robertson ND)

When was the last time you had a biiiiiiiig loooooooong family meal?

Do you even remember? 

Was it mashed in between days of PB and banana on the way to hockey and a fast french toast dinner because nobody had the energy to make anything good (not that french toast isn’t amazing). 

When I wanted to have a conversation about the Mediterranean diet and Slow Food, I knew I had the perfect person to join us as a guest. Dr. Antonella Aguilera-Ruiz ND is a chef, Naturopathic Doctor, lover of olive oil and teaches her patients the slow-food way.

Although you can’t see us talking with our hands about communities, kitchens and olives, I promise this episode will leave you feeling re-inspired to create a Mediterranean-focused kitchen. Even if you don’t think you have time. 

Antonella is hosting a course for our Confident Clinician network that is a perfect pairing of the Mediterranean diet principles and the behaviour change that people need to be successful. It’s intended for NDs, nutritionists, dieticians and any professionals that recommend nutrition changes to their patients. She has years of experience in getting up to her elbows in flour, olive oil and research and will help you feel more confident prescribing this diet practice that is the best-studied nutritional intervention on earth. 

Her one-day course registration is open now.  You can learn more and join here.

For the listeners! Enjoy this heart-filled conversation about food. It has helped me reconnect with my love of cooking and being in my kitchen - even when I don’t feel like I have the time. 

In today's podcast, we discuss the evidence for changing mammogram guidelines to include women in their 4th decade (40-50). I open with a new promise to bring you more authentic conversations on evidence (and more calling out of the bs online). We also talk about how to make decisions about screening for yourself (and why we are in favour of the breast cancer screening guidelines).

I hope you enjoy the episode. Remember to leave a review after listening so we can reach more women like you. 

Here's an AI-Generated summary of what we talked about in today's episode: 

• Understanding Screening Tests:

  • Screening tests aim to detect diseases early in large populations.
  • Effective screening tests must find diseases at a time when intervention can significantly alter outcomes.

• Breast Cancer Screening Guidelines:

  • Recent guideline changes focus on early detection, especially in younger women.
  • The new age bracket (40-50 years) is targeted due to the aggressive nature of breast cancer in premenopausal women.

• Addressing Misconceptions and Fears:

  • Common myths about mammograms causing breast cancer are debunked.
  • Emphasis on the goal of screening: early detection to save lives, not to cause harm.

• The Role of Mammograms:

  • Mammograms are selected for breast cancer screening due to their accessibility and safety.
  • The podcast clarifies the difference between diagnostic tests and screening tests.

• Critiquing Alternative Screening Methods:

  • Discussion on the lack of evidence supporting alternative methods like thermography.
  • Stress on the importance of relying on scientifically proven screening methods.

• Importance of Evidence-Based Screening:

  • Screening is based on population statistics and the greater good, not individual cases.
  • Encouragement to view public health recommendations within the context of overall population benefit.

• What to do next:

  • Listeners are encouraged to critically assess health information, especially regarding breast cancer screening.
  • Importance of making health decisions based on scientific evidence and personal values.

Do you overreact? Try and guess what your partner will say next? Do you withdraw over conflict? Do you vocalise your desires?

Dr. Shyamala Kiru knew she had a book inside her. She sat down and thought about what was really (and we mean really) getting in the way of her female clients from excelling in their relationships, careers, and lives. She has written the book we all need. The book teaches us the skills we need to level up. 

The skills of emotional intelligence. 

With her debut book hitting stores this month, Shyamala and I share a deep conversation about our paths towards working on our emotional intelligence. We both share personal stories about our paths, describe practical tips for navigating hard conversations, and will leave you feeling like your emotional intelligence is something you can shape - regardless of the patterns you were modeled in your life so far. 

You can grab a copy of Dr. Shyamala’s book here, or wherever books are sold. Connect with her free content on Instagram @dr.shyamalakiru

Everyone is touched by Menopause in one way or another. 

It might be you, your partner or your mother. 

Over the last year, I've been working on a project with 25 of the industry's best menopause practitioners to bring you a week-long, completely free event to help you learn about the most recent science around supporting people in menopause. 

We'll be covering concepts from HRT to weight gain, from mood and sleep to cardiovascular health. It will be a complete one-stop experience to help you gain confidence (and feel hopeful) about this stage of life. 

You can register for the event for free here. I'm incredibly proud to host these women who are standing up for better menopause care (that extends beyond a prescription). 

If you have a friend in this stage of life, forward them this email. Seeing each of these practitioners individually wouldn't even be possible! We've brought them together to share their expertise and gift you the resources you need to have a healthy menopause transition. 

Whether you're in your 40s and wondering what's coming or in your 60s and wondering what's next, this event will support you to have the most Modern Menopause possible. 

I hope you are well and look forward to sharing with you at this premier event. 

It’s probably a bit of a stretch that an adult with ADHD who has 17,000 undread emails (at last count) is going to do a podcast about managing your email. 

But hear me out. 

I think we are in an opportunity to show up with leadership when it comes to both our inbox and our outbox, by breaking down some of the email culture we’re observing out there. 

We’re going to talk about how our email culture is breeding:

• Unrealistic expectations of each other. 

• To-do lists that we can’t finish. 

• A lack of self-responsibility and self-reliance. 

• Confusing channels for communicating with each other. 

We also talk about solutions such as:

• Muting your inbox

• Not caring

• Not responding

• But also real solutions that don’t compromise your relationships and your work. 

I think you’ll enjoy this real and honest call out of all of our email behaviour. We all have an inbox AND an outbox. 

Maybe we can slowly change the culture of email for good. 

Do you ever struggle to find the word you were thinking of? 

What about walking into a room and forgetting why you were there?

What about writing a sentence and then……wait…….what was I saying? 

Brain fog is a common symptom that women feel in midlife, and although we think at this moment that midlife-related changes that impact our day-to-day cognitive function do get better with time, there are likely whispers of larger cognitive changes that start to happen in midlife. 

We can easily ignore brain and cognitive health for decades. Really, most people ignore it until it’s a problem. But we know in the research that we can prevent negative cognitive changes in women if we address specific areas of their health in their 40s and 50s. 

This episode covers a few important things

• The impact of nutrition on cognitive health and a couple of simple steps you can take to support your brain. 
• What happens to the brain in menopause and why it’s not doom and gloom. 
• Why taking action for your brain health in your 40s is an important part of preventive medicine. 

I also talk about my own relationship with my brain and how I haven’t always got along with “her” up there and what my goals are for my own personal brain health and how I plan on taking charge of my brain health. 

This past weekend I delivered a 3-hour lecture on cognitive health in menopause for practitioners as part of our Menopause Advanced Training at the Confident Clinician. If you are a practitioner and want to purchase this on-demand course, be sure to join our waitlist to get notified when the course is available for purchase. 

In today’s episode, we talk about an important phrase in women’s health

“Listen to your body”

We’re going to break down when you should actually listen to your body and when listening to your body is actually getting in your way of progress. 

Exercise is an amazing example, given that when we study exercise, we actually make the participants do the exercise. We don’t ask them if they are too tired or if they “feel like it”. The benefits they get come from the doing. Not from doing it if they want to. 

Before you listen to your body, we need to ask a few questions (and we cover them all in the episode). 

When I opened my clinic, 15 years ago, my tagline was "Be open to the possibility of change." 

I felt like my role was to help people think differently about their health, to get out of their own way and to be curious about what health care could be like. 

In today's podcast, we talk about whether or not your doctor has to believe you in order for you to get better. My argument is that for the most part, they don't need to agree with you or believe you for you to get care. 

I also introduce the uncomfortable idea that sometimes, our doctors are right. And when we've carried around beliefs for a long time, it can be hard to hear their perspectives. 

If you've ever felt like your doctor's bedside manner or delivery were a major barrier to you getting better, or if you've ever felt like your story fell flat when you shared it, tune in. I think I'll change your mind about how to think about your health care visits. 

If you're a health care practitioner who wants to get better at communication with your patients, our Practice Negotiator course is open for enrollment until November 9th, 2023. You can register here: https://discover.theconfidentclinicianclub.com/practice-negotiator-register-1

This episode is about goal setting for 2024 and taking back the word "obsession" as a positive and aspirational trait that helps people actually achieve what they desire. 

Since the pandemic, we've had to create such high degrees of self-compassion that we've lost the ability to pursue a goal relentlessly. 

Is it bad if you miss a kid's event to stay the course on your gym goals?

Is it negative for your mental health if you choose a salad?

Is it a slippery slope to be obsessed with your goals?

In this episode, we take back the word "obsession" to mean something much more positive and talk through how to get obsessed with your health so you can get somewhere. 

This is our last episode of 2023. We wanted to leave you on a "goal-setting" track for the holiday season and to help you consider how you want your 2024 to turn out. 

See you in 2024!

Then the pandemic. 

My security turned to fear. 

My husband was unemployed for 5 months, I canceled 500 appointments at my clinic and had to close aspects of our business because we couldn’t compete with Amazon. 

2 years later, with the pandemic costing our businesses over 1 million dollars, I'm almost not afraid. Almost.

When I heard April Stroink speak for the first time I knew I needed to hear more from her. She has a different strategy for supporting women when it comes to money, and strategies that acknowledge how our behaviour and beliefs impact our money choices. She wants to know how your story affects how you make decisions, and can teach you to take control of your own financial future. 

We have a great conversation on the podcast this week about how we need more financially equipped females, how feminine leadership can support business, and how you can better understand your relationship with money. Financial health is deeply linked to the rest of your health. We unpack this in this week’s episode together. 

You can find April and her offerings through her profile on Instagram or at AprilStroink.ca 

The last time I lost weight I posted that it took me 100 days to lose 10 lbs and a bunch of ‘gurus’ online told me that I had done it wrong. And if I had worked with them I could have lost the weight faster (insert eye roll). 

This episode takes a very pragmatic approach to talking about weight management - which I can do. Certainly if you are struggling with your relationship with food, or have been diagnosed with disordered eating, I’d love for you to skip this episode or come back to it at a time when you feel confident you can listen without being triggered. 

In this episode I cover

• What adjustments I made in my diet in order to move towards my goals. 
• Where I created flexibility in my nutrition to allow me to enjoy life right up until the week before the competition. 
• The impact of water weight, and why I want women to deeply understand this. 

If this episode speaks to you, reach out. Each of the clinicians at Clarity Health have expertise in supporting weight management in people of all ages and stages. Connect with us at www.clarityhealthburlington.ca (Ontario residents only). 

When I was in university, my first-year facilitator handed me a book on perfectionism and told me I should read it. I didn’t understand. How on earth could a student who couldn’t spell, barely paid attention in class, and struggled to care about assignments she didn’t like be a perfectionist?

Perfectionism might be showing up in your life differently than the “gets it all perfect all the time” definition we often think of. it's not about having a manicured lawn and perfectly curled hair (although you might do those things too if you’re a perfectionist). Perfectionism is also about how you feel about action - and whether or not you can take action - even if the outcome might be less than perfect. 

I didn’t speak up enough, write enough (because I was afraid of my own spelling), or take enough risks in my work because I was afraid of failing at the expectations placed on me. I wasn’t showing up as my full self because I knew she was far from perfect - and yet that inaction was also perfectionism getting in the way of me achieving my goals. 

This was a pinnacle moment for me. So what if my Ps and my Bs were confused on every assignment I handed in - what I was trying to say was intelligent and well thought out. NOT participating and NOT leaning in was letting my groups down and myself down. 

When I work with women long enough, their perfectionism fades. They adopt the “all or something” mentality to their health and actually get somewhere. They stop expecting the world of themselves and deeply learn how to take care of their imperfect selves. And you know what? They do better than the women who are trying to hold it all together and pretend everything is fine. 

The opportunity to get a ticket for Bulletproof Your 40s is almost gone. The doors close the day this episode airs (Thursday, January 27th). We’re changing the way women feel about their health and themselves. Recovering perfectionists invited. 

If you’ve spent 10 minutes on social media, you’ve probably heard the term insulin resistance. If you’ve spent 11 minutes on social media someone has probably scared you into feeling like your blood sugar is a problem, and you need a special solution to manage it. 

In today’s episode, we talk about what the term insulin resistant means, and why everyone needs a basic understanding of blood sugar regulation to achieve better health. With diabetes being one of the most important (and most common) health consequences of aging, understanding your personal risks and how to manage them is a massive step in the right direction toward diabetes prevention. 

And, in true Women’s Health Unplugged fashion, Jordan outlines the myths about blood sugar, why you don’t need a CGM (continuous glucose monitor) even if your favourite Instagram account wears one and what practical considerations look like to reduce your future risk of diabetes. 

In this episode, we cover: 

• What the definition of insulin resistance is

• Which lab tests you could consider to better understand your blood sugar

• Practical steps that help lower the risk of insulin resistance and diabetes

• The myths and claims you can ignore 

If you’re a practitioner and a member of The Confident Clinician, we’ll see you this weekend at our 12-hour insulin resistance advanced training. This course is free for all current members and will provide you with all of the resources you need to better support your patient population. 

If you’re not a member, you can add your name to the waitlist for our July 2023 member drive. We only add clinician members twice per year. You can learn more at http://www.confidentclinicianclub.com

There are a few things that would happen in a one-to-one appointment with patients that change how successful they are. Your health hinges on your ability to execute your habits, and yet we have such difficulty making change. 

Here are some new ideas. 

In this episode, we talk about my first course, The Pillars of Perimenopause, which is a habit change challenge slash educational program to help you actually change and equip you to have a better health experience in your 40s and 50s. 

You can register before May 1, and then we can all start together as a group. 

My takeaways for habit change?

• You need to have a new conversation in your head about your habits and I'll give you the script that will turn everything around. 
• You need to understand the MVP (minimum viable products) for your habits. 
• You need to eliminate tension and move the "line" you've drawn around your self-investment. 

I hope you join us for the course. It's currently 50% off and has a few fun bonus offers for our first cohort. 

Today's episode calls out a new application for an old lab test that you've probably never heard of, or had run on your physical exam. 

We're talking about Urate. 

If you HAVE heard of this test, you probably have gout, or know someone with gout. That's because this lab test (historically) has only been used to assess people for gout. 

In today's episode, we talk about the "new" use for urate testing that will surprise you, and why I'd advocate for the following changes for how we decide to test urate. 

• We should be testing women for uric acid levels if they have no other obvious cardiovascular risks. 
• We should be testing women for uric acid if they have a family history of gout, but don't have gout themselves. 
• We should be re-testing uric acid in women after they transition into menopause. 
• We shouldn't tolerate the current reference range in both Canada and the US, because the reference range is focused on gout. 

I know that talking about cardiovascular disease isn't exciting, but what IS exciting is finding a lab test that helps us predict your future risk of disease. Given that cardiovascular disease is the number 1 killer of women, any hints about your risk are important to me. I'd love it if it was important to you too. 

“Are you stressed?”

This question doesn’t usually elicit the kind of answer that we want from patients, and yet it’s the way we often screen for stress in a health appointment. When we ask patients if they are stressed they immediately compare their stress to others, compare their current stress to past stress, or compare their perceived stress against how they “feel like they should feel” about their life. 

None of this is helpful. 

When I asked my colleague and teammate Dr. Dominika Zarzenzny to join us on the podcast I had one goal in mind. I wanted you to deeply understand how your past stress influences your current health. Six years into clinical practice, Dr. Dominika stumbled on landmark research known as the ACE study that changed the trajectory of her work with patients. From that point on, she decided to dedicate her practice to understanding how early life events can dys-regulate one’s nervous system, and how a dys-regulated nervous system in turn influences health outcomes.

Dr. Dominika furthered her studies by training with various psychologists and experts in the field of psychological trauma. She incorporates the principles of neuroscience, attachment theory, mindfulness and polyvagal theory in her inquiry process and counselling with patients. 

She works with our patients at Clarity Health who recognize the impact of stress, experiences they have never recovered from and past hardship can have on your current  health journey, with many of our patients feeling relief and direction after a single 1 hour session. 

The question of “are you stressed” is just the tip of the iceberg. We all have stress, past experiences, relationships and circumstances that have shaped how our nervous system sees the world. If you are a human, this episode is for you. 

I was always left feeling like I didn’t have the willpower to follow a strict diet, or that I had some weird deficiency that was getting in the way of healthy skin. I was always worried when a patient wanted help with their acne because I was a secret “professional failure” that couldn’t figure out my own skin. 

I finally studied the topic in-depth so that I could present it to my peers and was shocked at the re-wiring I had to do with what I had been told about acne. Almost everything I had been taught was wrong, and I actually had the power to support my skin.

In today’s podcast episode I share the 3 lessons I want you to know about adult acne, which will give you the tools you need to set yourself on a positive path. These 3 pieces of information changed my understanding of how to support my skin and informs my practice of how to guide adults who struggle with acne. 

In this week’s episode, we discuss where ‘root cause’ medicine comes from and where things have gone wrong. 

I share my insights for how treating the root cause can look like

• Addressing the risk factors that set you up for a chronic condition 

• Treating co-morbidities to help improve your health status 

• Making changes to your lifestyle to reduce your future need for medication or the need for increased medication 

• Co-supporting long term medication prescriptions to help you get the most out of your prescription. 

What root cause medicine isn’t is the relentless pursuit of the one thing that’s gone wrong in your life and health that, if you reverse it, will cause all your health problems to go away. 

The inspiration for this episode came after a national news article about how Naturopathic Doctors in Canada are “not” a solution to the healthcare crisis. One of the things the article pointed out is that we search for the root cause, which is harmful. We break down that phrase, and when root cause medicine is important and valuable, and when to let the goal go.

We’ve had a lot of opportunities to do an episode on biohacking. We probably get asked 4-5 times per week to host someone on the show who has a product, supplement, lab test or wearable that they want to talk about. 

We’ve pretty much always said no. 

Why? Biohacking falls into this weird category of health and wellness that isn’t really evidence-based. It’s so “cutting edge” and so “ahead of the curve” that we don’t know if it works. 

In this episode, I share how to think about biohacking from wearables to supplements and the questions to ask yourself (good and bad) before you consider biohacking. 

If you’re ready for a more pragmatic approach to your hormonal health, you can still get a free ticket to our menopause summit called Modern Menopause. Get your ticket here.

In this week's episode I'm joined by my colleague Dr. Alison Danby, a Naturopathic Doctor in Ontario with a clinical and research focus on Autoimmunity. 

We cover a few pervasive myths in the wellness space on autoimmune disease and what to look for in a "good" autoimmune health plan. 

We answer questions like: 

• What does remission actually look like? Can you cure your disease?
• Does it matter if we find the root cause of your autoimmune disease or not?
• Can you avoid medication if you have autoimmune disease?
• Are the wellness trends you see online real?

We address the grief, shame and blame that people feel when they have an autoimmune condition diagnosis and how to feel more confident about moving forward with an autoimmune condition in an empowered way. 

Dr. Danby is the lead educator for The Confident Clinician's Autoimmune courses, and her next course on Evidence-Based Approaches to Rheumatic disease is open for enrollment right now. Early Bird Pricing ends October 7th. Naturopathic Doctors and Integrative Practitioners can register here. 

They are calling it a hormone revolution. 

With almost half of Canadian women between the ages of 40 and 60, there are just a few of us (myself included) who are embarking on a hormonal transition that few know anything about. 

In today’s episode, I clear up what is related to your hormones after 40 (and what isn’t) and what is happening to your body during each transition stage (yes there is more than one stage!). 

In this episode we cover: 

• The “stages” of perimenopause
• What is happening hormonally in your body, and why you feel the way you feel. 
• What testing makes sense, and what you shouldn’t waste your money on. 
• Why feeling better in this stage of life is vital to your future health and the health of our communities. 

Today’s podcast episode is sponsored by Smart Solutions. I’ve worked with Smart Solutions as an educator for two years and am encouraged by their continued dedication to providing evidence-based products and solutions to women to support their health needs. 

 Perimenopause and menopause can leave women feeling confused, overwhelmed, and stressed about their hormones. That’s why it’s important to have practical solutions to stop symptoms from getting in the way of their day. Smart Solutions offers products that contain ingredients, like chaste tree and sage to help ease the symptoms in perimenopause and hot flashes in menopause. Other ingredients, like ashwagandha and Rhodiola, are offered by Smart Solutions to help ease stress so women can focus on the important things in life.

Use my promo code JORDAN10 at checkout for your next order at smartsolutions.com to receive 10% off your order. Thank you Smart Solutions for putting the information and products into the hands of women so they can get back to taking care of what’s important in their lives.

This week’s podcast is in partnership with Jamieson and Smart Solutions

In this episode, I’m joined by my close friend, Dr. Kim Bretz ND for an honest conversation about where we go wrong in making recommendations for patients with gut symptoms, how hardly any people have SIBO (small intestine bacterial overgrowth), and why we need a new solution for patients with chronic constipation other than magnesium. 

Kim gives us a lot to think about as both patients and practitioners and highlights what the unintended consequences are when we label patients with gut “issues” that they don’t actually have. 

This episode will help you understand what to look for in a practitioner for your gut symptoms and might teach practitioners a thing or two about the evidence for testing bacterial overgrowth. 

If you’re a Naturopathic Doctor, Medical Doctor, or other practitioner that works with patients with constipation, we’d love to invite you to join Dr. Kim’s course being put on by the Confident Clinician LIVE (virtually) on May 27, 2022. We are on a mission to deliver evidence-based education for integrative practitioners. This 6 hour course will feel like you’re being handed the solutions for your constipation patients on a silver platter. Register before May 15 to save $50.00 on the course with our early bird pricing. Participants will get access to downloads, handouts, and lifetime access to the videos so even if you can’t make it live for the day, grab your seat here

https://discover.theconfidentclinicianclub.com/constipation-intensive

In this episode, we talk about 5 really simple strategies to improve your PMS that are absolutely FREE.

Hormonal health is an important area that is often poorly addressed in conventional care. Understanding and supporting your own PMS symptoms can give you back quality of life. 

In the episode we talk about

• What it means if you suddenly get PMS in your 40s. 
• The biggest pressure on your PMS in your life. 
• 5 free solutions that you can start today. 
• My personal strategies for dealing with PMS. 

If you loved the episode, share it with a friend and be sure to write us a review. 

In today’s solo episode, we talk about how to tell if it’s time to throw your plan in the garbage and try something new. 

It’s common when working with patients that people “quit” when things aren’t getting better as fast as they want to, or there’s a mismatch between what people value (natural treatments) and what people want (instantaneous results!). 

We also talk through questions you need to ask such as: 

• Do you understand your baseline? 

• Are you even tracking the right things?

• Do you even know when you should expect results?

• Do you have enough information and resiliency to navigate speedbumps in your plan. 

Healing isn’t a linear journey, and so if we expect hand-over-fist improvement every day, we’re setting ourselves up for failure. 

But also, sometimes you need to quit what you’re doing and start something different. We’ll break it down and I’ll share what I’ve learned about how to tell if your plan isn’t working for you. 

Remember that you can download our Women’s Health Unplugged App on the App Store or Google Play. Our first course on Endometriosis is available for purchase inside the app. It provides users with 5 video modules to learn on their own how to support their period pain. 

It’s common for people to think about supplements for joint pain. Maybe you’ve even tried one. The greatest challenge in treating joint pain with supplements is how consistent patients need to be, even if their joints are feeling a bit better. 

Nutrition is an amazing opportunity to support joint health and today’s podcast discusses the what and how around food for joint pain. You have to eat every day, so how can we best support your nutrition plan to be supporting your joints every day too. 

The vast majority of joint pain in people over 40 is arthritis (sorry to say!) and nutrition can change the way your joints feel. In this episode we cover

• The diets that have ZERO evidence for joint pain such as keto, carnivore and low nightshades. 
• The nutrition plan that can reduce joint pain in people with arthritis. 

With the amount of noise online about food and inflammation, let’s set the record straight! 

Enjoy the episode. 

Does un-dieting mean throwing in the towel and giving up on life?

Absolutely not. 

Today I’m joined by my friend and colleague (for a second time) Dr. Jennifer Huber, a Canadian Naturopathic Doctor, Registered Dietician and Intuitive Eating Coach who’s life mission is to help women make peace with food and their body in midlife. 

Why does this happen? We share what happens in midlife and why un-dieting might be the answer to support midlife changes. 

We dispel a ton of myths in this episode, including what “un-dieting” really means. 

We ask great questions like:

• “When did you first start having thoughts about food in a moral way?”
• “What is your first memory of someone being upset about their body?”

We highlight how these small little series of events lead to subconscious learning about food and bodies, and how that continues to shape how women feel about food in midlife - and especially in midlife. 

Midlife has a lot of body changes, and when we mix this with women who are confused about food and their bodies, it leads to a ton of confusion and shame. 

If you’ve ever attached the meaning of life or your worth to the shape of your body, you’ll want to tune in and listen to this safe, vulnerable conversation with two women on a mission to help you feel comfortable in your body. 

Dr. Jen offers many online resources for midlife women, has her own podcast, The Midlife Feast, and has online programs to support women on their journey to un-diet their life. 

You can learn more about Jen on her website  www.menopausenutritionist.ca or follow her on Instagram.

In this week’s episode, I share my yearly reflection questions, what my personal answers were, and how you can use this kind of exercise to help you move forward on your goals, whether they be health related or otherwise. 

Here are the questions for the episode and the ones that I moved through in the podcast episode. I shared my experience looking at my answers 6 months later, and how to use personal goal setting and journaling to help you achieve your own goals. 

• What are things I want to bring with me into next year?

• What are things I don’t want to bring with me?

• What things do I want to do that are new this year?

• What things in my life are on probation?

• If I started my life over from scratch, what would I stop doing?

• What would I start doing?

• What do I want to spend more time on next year?

• What do I want to spend less time on next year?

• Where am I waiting for another person to make the first move?

• Where can I be the one to go first?

• What can I do in the next week that will make the rest of my year easier?

• What can I do this year that will leave me in a better position for next year?

• Who do I spend time with that pulls me down?

• What do I notice about this answer?

• Who do I spend time with that lifts me up?

• What do I notice about this answer?

• What am I doing that I want the film crew of my life to see?

• What are the things I’m doing that I don’t want the film crew to see?

• What are my goals for 2023?

• Do I have the right systems in place to make them happen?

Enjoy this episode. We have a handful more before we take our summer break!

In this birthday episode, I'm sharing the things I'm noticing about myself as I turn 42 (like how sore I am every day mostly) and talking about the things I'm no longer tolerating about myself this year. 

We often hear the narrative of people over 40 "not tolerating any more bs" from others, but in my opinion, the buck needs to stop with me first. So I've created a list of things that I'm no longer doing. The list includes things like

• Judging Christmas lights
• Having fear about AI
• Not giving 100% in a few areas 
• Being apologetic for quitting something I'm really good at (this one will surprise you). 

I hope you enjoy the episode and it sparks some ideas for your own journey this year. I'm excited to be 42 and excited to keep working on my health. Thanks for being here along for the ride. 

I have a very exciting announcement coming up for those of you over 40 who are interested in hormone health. Stay tuned to the podcast. The announcement comes in February. 

With a wider conversation happening online about menopause, we’re seeing people come forward more than ever discussing the mental health strain that this phase of life can cause. I’m joined in this episode by one of my friends and close colleagues (we work in the same office!) Dr. Laurie Alpert ND, who is a NAMS certified menopause practitioner and your new mental health advocate. 

Laurie and I share our experience in working with people in menopause and help you feel seen and understood in this deep conversation about our moods. We cover a lot of ground (from anxiety to depression to “meno-rage”) and give you the fire under your butt that you need to pay attention to your own mental health. 

It’s common for us to blame the circumstances (teen and adult children, ageing parents, big careers) as the cause of mood changes for women over 45 and yet, menopause is a significant contributor to new depression (meaning you’ve never had an episode before) or a return of old depression (even if you’re well managed). We want every person to be able to recognize the changes their mood is having so they can get the support they need. 

Dr. Laurie Alpert is one of our NAMS (North American Menopause Society) certified Naturopathic Doctors at Clarity Health in Ontario. We serve people in person in the GTA and virtually across Ontario. You can submit a request to work with Laurie at www.clarityhealthburlington.ca

Listeners, wondering if perimenopause is contributing to your mental health concerns? Click here and download Dr. Laurie's free resource to encourage your care provider to consider your mental health in the context of menopause. 

Logic, science and evidence are not easy to find in the nutrition space online. Especially when looking at the “trends” and “recommendations” for women. Whether you’re trying to lose weight, support your joint pain or improve your mood, the online conversation about nutrition for women is often missing the big picture, focusing on data from test tubes or is just flat out wrong.

Holly Baxter is a Dietician, world-level champion fitness model and the Director of Nutrition for Biolayne online programs. In this episode, we cover a lot of ground including:

• Can you pursue mental health goals and physique goals at the same time?
• What is reverse dieting and why women need to understand their bodies to develop patience in their nutrition program. 
• How to consider the ‘cost’ of your health goals and what impact nutrition is having on your overall health. 

This episode is for any woman who has ever struggled with body image, has ever made nutrition goals and struggled with them or who is curious about the impact of their nutrition on mental health. We cover it all in this episode.   

You can find Holly on Instagram at @hollytbaxter 

Calling all Integrative Practitioners: This is the final week to purchase a ticket for The Confident Clinician’s Advanced Menopause Training happening this October 2-3. The course is held virtually and provides participants with lifetime access to a dashboard containing all of the course materials, handouts, resources and videos. We have limited the number of non-member tickets and have 4-5 spaces left for practitioners who want to accelerate their menopause practice. Grab your spot here

As the youngest of 8 kids, Dr. Sharon Malone watched her mother navigate the world with good old common sense. When she became a gynecologist, author and the health-advocate for thousands of women she took the exact same approach. 

Cited as the “first person I turn to for a whole host of issues, especially my health” by Michelle Obama, Sharon has a mission of taking information that used to “belong” to doctors and make it accessible and available to every woman. 

In her book, Grown Woman Talk, she covers conditions from fibroids to endometriosis and how to navigate midlife with confidence and health. 

In this podcast episode, we talk about how women have more choices than ever in their health care journey and how to be a good “buyer” in the world of health. She shares her advice on how to get a second opinion, and why you are the person with the greatest continuity in your own health journey (and thus should be listened to!). 

You can get a copy of Sharon’s book here. 

We often think about libido as a hormonal chemical spark that bursts in our brains and makes us hungry for passion. 

Except you just rolled your eyes and racked your brain for the last time that things felt that way. 

Today’s podcast is with my friend and colleague Dr. Jordin Wiggins, a Naturopathic Doctor and sexual health educator who is taking the world of pleasure and sex by storm. And quite frankly, offering sex re-education to a generation of women starved for pleasure. 

We cover a lot of ground in this episode but focus on how your sex life IS your life. Meaning if you’re not having pleasure in the bedroom, you’re likely also struggling in the boardroom. 

Pleasure is a different part of our brain than the ‘fireworks’ we see in the movies. Even if you aren’t in a partnership, or are just learning how to explore the pleasure side of your health, this episode will give you a framework for how to think about sexual health and steps to take to get on the path towards pleasure. 

Jordin Wiggins has her very own podcast called The Pleasure Principles and offers support for women looking for a pleasure-filled life. You can follow Jordin on Instagram  @drjordinwiggins

We don’t want you to worry. But if you’re going to worry about something, let’s at least let it be the number one health risk women face in their lifetime. 

It’s not breast cancer.

It’s heart disease. 

In this episode, I’m joined by my good friend and brilliant colleague Dr. Alex Verge, a Naturopathic Doctor who is changing the conversation about heart health for women. In this episode, Alex and I cover

• Why it’s common to miss the conversation about heart health with women in a medical setting. 
• How Estrogen impacts heart health and why risk changes after 50
• What women can do in their 30s and 40s to prevent heart disease 
• Why testing and screening needs to be more often than you’re probably doing it. 

I love all aspects of women’s health, but hold a special place in my heart for preventive cardiovascular care. If you have a heart. This episode is for you. It’s never too early to talk about cardiovascular health in women. We’re definitely not immune, and the culture of ignoring this conversation is putting women at risk. 

Alex shared her research and wisdom at our recent Menopause Advanced Training for integrative health practitioners and is running a Lipidology course for The Confident Clinician this December. If you’re an integrative health practitioner working with midlife women, these courses will support your understanding and treatment of women in midlife with cardiovascular risk. 

Naturopathic doctor Alexandra Verge has been in private practice for over 20 years and has a particular interest in cardiovascular health owing in part to a significant family history of heart disease and a personal tendency to whitecoat hypertension.

You can follow her on Instagram and Facebook here @alexvergend as well as at her clinic www.kuraclinic.ca.

Be sure to check out Dr. Alex's free resource on Blood pressure and the Mediterranian Diet here

Did you know that over 50% of women will have hair thinning as they age? 

This might be something we need to discuss eh?

In today’s episode, I share what happens to hair as we age, how to tell the difference between types of hair loss and what is possible for us as we age when it comes to our hair. 

In this episode we cover:

• The lab testing you’ll need if you feel like you’re losing your hair. 
• What happens to hair as we age, and whether or not we can do anything about this. 
• Strategies to support thinning hair that you can start today. 

We also talked about the aging process, seeing ourselves in the media and social media and how I want to open up this conversation about hair to normalize this experience that so many women feel shame over. Enjoy the listen! 

If you’re a practitioner who supports people in menopause, this is the last day to save and catch the early bird pricing for my next course through The Confident Clinician happening Saturday, October 01 - Sunday, October 02, 2022.  Grab your savings here. Price goes up September 15th at midnight(est) and registration closes September 30th, 2022!  We will be covering bone health, cognitive health, mental health, and cardiovascular disease. We’ve limited the seats to 40 non-members and are over 50% sold out. 

With an increase in hormonal symptoms appearing over 40, many people are offered treatment options such as the pill, the IUD and HRT. Each of these treatment options have wonderful effects and some side effects and may or may not fit the bill for supporting people as they transition towards menopause. 

In this episode, I sit down with Miranda Tawfik, a pharmacist with a focus on women’s health and hormone therapy. We discuss the pros and cons of each medication option and help settle some of your worries that you’ve been prescribed the wrong thing, or that they are “missing the boat” on a treatment option that they haven’t been offered yet. 

We give you timelines to consider these treatments for, what to expect and when to consider switching to something else. We cover the lab work you can (and cannot) do when you’re on these treatments and the long term health benefits and consequences of each choice. 

Whether you’ve been on the pill for decades, or haven’t used a hormone treatment since university, this episode will give you confidence in choosing which treatment option might be best for you and how to advocate to your practitioner to get it. 

Origin’s Pharmacy is owned by Miranda Tawfik and supports practitioners and patients from all over Ontario get care for all phases of life, including hormone replacement therapy for menopause. You can find out more about the pharmacy through their website https://originspharmacy.ca/ 

I’ve always been fascinated by pain. We can’t see it. We can’t measure it with a test. 

And in a medical world where we barely listen to the patient experience - this presents a big problem. 

The other problem with pain (well, one of the other problems) is that when pain lasts a long time, our brains change. 

And in a medical world where you wait months for support - this presents another big problem. 

Today’s podcast is about pain and I’m joined by Dr. Kirstie Grifiths, a Chiropractor and yogi (who you can find at @thechiropracticyogi who is on a mission to help people understand the red light, yellow light and green light around movement and body pain. There are moments where pain is a red flag (STOP WHAT YOU’RE DOING) and there are many moments where pain is a green or yellow light (keep going!). Patients are often educated to stop moving when they have any pain - which increases the likelihood of exercising less over time (and further worsening their pain)

You can see the problem. 

We have an amazing conversation about chronic pain, how pain changes your brain and how to know when to keep moving despite your pain. 

Kirstie has multiple offerings for patients looking to reduce their back pain that can be found here (free yoga for back pain) and here (Online yoga for back pain program) or you can grab them from her Instagram profile at @thechiropracticyogi https://www.instagram.com/thechiropracticyogi/ 

In today’s episode I share 3 stories I’ve never shared. Together, they make up the 3 worst pieces of business advice I’ve ever received. Some of the advice came from the bank. Some came from financial professionals. Some come from people close to me. They are stories that remind us that not advice is for us, that other people’s fears will come through in their opinions about us, and how we need to hold our values up high as we invest in ourselves and our future (financially and otherwise). 

If you’ve ever been told your idea sucked, that you should stay home as to not be a tax burden on your partner (yes, this is one of the stories) or that your quality of life should come last - this episode is for you. 

It’s a raw 1:1 with me to give you the courage to stand up for yourself and make choices that align with your life, not the life of others.

The Very Real Consequences of Self Improvement

Two total bosses get together on a zoom call and what do you get? A very real cost is about pursuing your goals, chasing your dreams, and risking everything for what you truly desire. 

Lori Kennedy is a business coach that I have admired and worked alongside for years. We’ve talked to each other’s audience back and forth and shared our wisdom with each other’s respective clientele. 

But never have we sat down and talked about our own journeys as female entrepreneurs. Never have we talked about the real cost of chasing what you want. 

And there’s definitely a consequence.

We share how the path to self-improvement includes setting boundaries, saying no, going to bed, letting go of relationships, and overcoming fear of judgement. 

We also share how to find friends at “the top of the mountain” and how to stop looking for advice from those around you who haven’t taken the plunge towards self-improvement. 

Today’s episode is a fresh look at how strong women need to lift each other up, how we need to normalize strength and the pursuit of success in women, and how we need you to overcome the consequences of change to model change for every woman around you. 

You can find Lori on Instagram.

Have you ever read the reviews of a restaurant that you love and thought “well that person is probably mean, that’s why they rated it a one-star”. 

Or have you ever sat in a cold doctor’s office and thought “This person has terrible bedside manner, they can’t be right about what medication I should take”. 

Health anecdotes are stories that have a villain, a hero and a battle! Should we use them to make decisions? Today’s podcast is all about this. If you’ve ever listened to a colleague, a friend or a family member share their experience and thought “I wonder if I should do that?.....” This episode is for you. 

It’s common in the new year for us to be bombarded with new solutions to make ourselves better, more productive and healthier. I want you to be able to listen to stories with an ‘edge’ of critical thinking, to help you decide for yourself if a story is actually helping you, or if you’re too different from the person telling the story to get the same results. 

Stories and experience have a place in medicine, but it also requires both doctors and patients to try and break down their beliefs and current ideas over and over again to be helpful. 

If you’re looking for new information about Women’s Health, you still have time to grab a ticket to our Women’s Health Summit at Clarity Health this January. You can grab your virtual ticket here. 

This week we are diving into the vault and bringing back our most downloaded and listened-to episode in 2021! We will be back next week with a brand-new episode. 

Is your morning routine part of your secret sauce or are you a roll-out-of-bed-and-run kind of person? My morning routine has been an important part of my life for years and I’ve spent a lot of time testing various strategies to make the most of my day. In this episode I give you some ideas of how to create your own routine by talking about:

• Coffee and caffeine and whether it’s helping you or not (spoiler: it’s helping me!)
• Creating calm by “deciding” how you want your day to go. 
• How I delegate tasks and projects.
• How my partner and I troubleshoot what our pain points are for the day. 
• Not waking up with an alarm, and how this affects me. 
• The importance of my morning of coffee (worth talking about twice!)

The overall theme is that my morning is a CHOICE and in this episode I want you to get inspired to choose your morning and your day. It’s a practical episode (not just a conversation about mindset) and I tell you exactly what my routine looks like.

When Dr. Laura Von Hagen sat down to write her book, she had A LOT to work with. Not only did she experience PCOS herself but she had spent years supporting many women with PCOS to achieve better health, more regular cycles, and the family they dreamed of. 

In this personal episode, Laura shares how she shifted her mindset around her own PCOS, stopped blaming herself for her symptoms, and took control of her own fertility journey. This episode is for you if you:

• Have been diagnosed with PCOS and aren’t sure how it impacts your future fertility. 
• Have been told PCOS is an “infertility” diagnosis. 
• If you feel like having fertility treatment is a “failure” (we’ll share why it isn’t) 
• If you’re confused about where to start. Start here. 

Laura’s book, My PCOS Pregnancy is available online or on her website. She works with patients through all aspects of their PCOS journey in person or online in Ontario Canada. 

Follow her on Instagram at @drvonhagen https://www.instagram.com/drvonhagen/

This episode of the podcast is brought to you by the Bulletproof your 40s workshop. We’re celebrating my 40th birthday by giving you all of the knowledge, tips, and strategies for feeling your best after 40. You can join the waitlist here. 

Amanda Thebe embodies everything I want for women in menopause: strength, resiliency and a healthy dose of swearing. 

Amanda’s journey from a horrible personal experience to the menopause advocate she is today is a gift to all women, and she shares her knowledge, wit and the tips you need in today’s episode. 

If you’ve ever found yourself dreading menopause - this episode is for you. We love Amanda so much we have given away many copies of her book to our participants of Bulletproof Your 40s, our online course happening January 29th. There’s still a chance to win copies of her book by joining us live on the day. You can grab your ticket here.

Amanda can be found busting myths on menopause on Instagram and her programs and book can be purchased through her website. 

AMANDA THEBE is a personal trainer and nutrition coach with nearly thirty years of experience in the fitness industry. Author of the Amazon best-selling book, Menopocalypse: How I Learned to Thrive During Menopause and How You Can Too! She is a popular guest on podcasts and online summits, and her health and fitness tips have been featured in media outlets like Shape, Prevention, Health Line, CBC Radio, Global News Canada, The Doctors, Lifehacker, Breaking Muscle, Girls Gone Strong, and Ultimate Sandbag Training. She lives in Toronto, Ontario.

If we ask a room full of women what their greatest health risk is they either can’t answer, or answer breast cancer. 

If we ask people what a typical heart patient looks like, they often have an immediate vision of a man. 

If we cram women’s health into a 7-minute health appointment, we probably aren’t asking her about her pregnancy history. 

This, is the bad news of women’s heart health. 

The good news is, we can change your path. If you listen to this conversation. 

Heart health is a woman’s number one health risk, and oftentimes, she’s carrying around sex-specific risk factors (like pregnancy history) that influence her status. In this episode, I’m joined by Cardiac Nurse and Naturopathic Doctor, Dr. Olivia Greenspan who shares her experience on both ends of the spectrum, and why she’s so passionate about teaching you the basics about heart health. 

We cover the risk factors nobody has asked you about, how to approach your health care appointments and why you need to start making changes today. 

Olivia practices in Ontario and you can find her on her website or on Instagram where she shares practical and pragmatic advice about women’s heart health, especially around menopause.

www.oliviagreenspan.ca

www.facebook.com/oliviagreenspannd/

IG - @droliviand

I don’t hate the word should. I think we can use this word with the right intention to help us more towards our goals rather than always feeling that we are lacking something. 

In this episode, I share the “summer shoulds” based on what I notice when working with patients through the summer months. The summer can be a wonderful time for celebration, but also is an opportunity to make things happen for our health. 

Can we do both?

This episode shares my summer goal setting and the three areas that I notice that things go sideways through the summer months. The summer is long (and short all at the same time) and as a result your health habits matter. We’ll cover how to stay on track and set reasonable goals for yourself over the next few months. 

If you’re noticing that your summer needs more support, my colleagues at Clarity Health are here to guide you towards a better understanding of your health and to develop a plan for your summer so you can make the most of it. 

You can book a discovery call here www.clarityhealthburlington.ca (Ontario Residents Only). 

There is nobody happier than I am that the knowledge about perimenopause is starting to permeate pop culture and general health information. 

But like every pendulum, we often swing things WAY WAY too far. 

What I mean is that every person with ovaries who has learned about perimenopause now thinks that every single symptom that is happening to them is hormonal and that they are knocking on menopause's door. 

This podcast episode is going to help balance out that pendulum and teach you "what else it could be" if you're experiencing fatigue, brain fog, cycle changes or other symptoms. 

Not everything is perimenopause and I want you to know the "other" possibilities so you can have great conversations with your practitioner rather than feeling like your feelings fall on deaf ears. 

If you're struggling with symptoms over 40 I am a BIG advocate of you having a hormonally-literate practitioner, but also, there are specific blood tests and considerations that need to happen to ensure that we've ruled out everything else. 

If you live in Ontario and are in need of support from a health team that understands hormonal transitions, reach out to us at Clarity Health. Fill in a web inquiry at www.clarityhealthburlington.ca and reference the podcast. It will help us place you with a practitioner that excels in the areas that you need support. 

Today’s conversation is about paying for health care, and how you are choosing to approach this conversation may be helping or hindering your own personal progress - whether you agree with paying for health or not. 

We talk about the impact of “entry fees” and the communities that are harmed by non-universal health care, but beyond that, we cover the impact of mindset on who is responsible for your health (whether money is part of the conversation or not). 

If you don’t value your health on any level, it’s very difficult to make the progress you truly desire. It’s a value conflict to not feel responsible for the cost of your health under any circumstance, but also desire the best care. It’s a conflict to want a lot out of your experience and never throw any skin in the game yourself. 

If you’ve felt yourself uttering the phrase “I shouldn't have to pay for that” when talking about your personal health journey, I want us to unpack that and the negative impact it might be having on your path to success. 

Many times in my career I’ve had to negotiate with patients about whether or not the solutions, diagnostic tests or preventive care was “worth it” to patients. When I’m negotiating the worth of a patient's health to them, how on earth does the patient come out winning?

Whether we believe paying for parts of our healthcare is our responsibility or the responsibility of the community at large, this episode will certainly make you think of the unintended consequences of not placing value on your health. 

Today’s conversation is an important one. On a few levels. 

When I sat down to do this podcast I was thinking about the medications for obesity (we’re focusing on Semaglutide/Ozempic today) I was going to focus on the “clinical” discussion. Does it work? Who benefits? What do we expect?

Then, that very week, there was a social media explosion about weight loss drugs for adolescents. 

And I realized that our conversation had to be much more emotional than that. 

Should we treat obesity with medication? Should people be able to manage their medical condition of obesity without help? Shouldn’t people be able to handle this in a drug-free way?

Just because some of the challenges related to obesity require changes in policy, access to nutrition, physical activity and mental health support doesn’t mean we don’t also need treatment options today to support the youth and adults that are at risk from their obesity today. 

I also asked hard questions like, “why do we care what medications other people are using?” or “what are your personal triggers when you hear of someone using medication for their obesity?”. 

We also dive in on some of the research in the STEP trials for Semaglutide, the longer-term data on weight regain and who benefits the most from these anti-obesity medications. 

It’s a bit of a spicy episode that I think we’d all benefit from thinking about. We know someone who qualifies for these medications or who is at risk from their obesity. How we approach this conversation touches us all. 

PCOS is the most commonly diagnosed hormone condition in women and presents with acne, hair loss, unwanted hair growth, and irregular menstrual cycles. Where does this condition come from? Fiona and I discuss the genetic basis of PCOS, and how the development of PCOS likely starts in the womb. 

We also share the challenges in the research with subclassifications of PCOS and the challenges of treating both lean and classical PCOS. We share how to decide if the research applies to your “type” and why an individualized approach to PCOS is the way of the future. 

If you’ve wondered about a PCOS diagnosis, or have a formal diagnosis from your practitioner, this episode will give you direction and hope that you can make a difference in your hormonal future. 

Dr. Finoa McCulloch owns an integrative medical clinic in Toronto Ontario called White Lotus ( Whitelotusclinic.ca). You can find her and the links to buy her book on Instagram

I’ve wanted to tackle this topic for ages. I’ve even started recording it a few times and ended up deleting it. It felt too scary to address. It felt to vulnerable to share. It felt like feathers were going to go everywhere. 

But I’m not here to be small. So let’s rip off the bandaid. 

Today’s episode is about your quitting stuff. And how it’s getting in the way of your real progress. I talk about both cancel culture and health-related google reviews. Both are a problem, and I’m going to show you why. 

It’s a bit of a touchy subject so be ready to shake up your beliefs about your health decisions and get ready to be slightly triggered. I want you to get uncomfortable with me in the name of personal growth. 

Let’s go!

Social Post #2. 

I’ve had sleepless nights in my past over online reviews. 

Not because I’ve had some bad ones. Everyone has bad reviews occasionally. 

It’s because I’m not able to do anything about them. 

Seriously. 

In this week’s episode of the podcast I talk about both “cancel culture” and reviews. I share my views on how these two things may be getting in the way of your real potential, and give you some great questions to ask yourself to be sure that you’re not blocking your own progress. 

It’s a raw episode that I tried recording a few times before I just jumped in. We’re here for growth. Let’s do it. 

If you haven’t listened to our past episodes with Dr. Erin Ley, you’ve missed out on a lot of ranting, a lot of practical solutions and a lot of laughing. 

Dr. Erin Ley is one of the Naturopathic Doctors at Clarity Health, serving people all over Ontario Canada. Erin sees both our adolescent patients and our male patients (in addition to patients looking for nutrition support and hormonal health) which gives her amazing insight into the challenges of working with this unique population. 

Whether you’re a young person yourself or have a young person in your life, this episode will give you insight into why the discussion around nutrition has become so complicated, the role of social media and belief systems in choosing nutrition for a young person and how parents can put down the responsibility of being the expert in their young adult child’s life. 

We cover additional topics such as

• Why Jordan finds working with parents and teens so challenging. 

• Why Erin loves it!

• What basic nutritional “truths there are”, and how learning these truths can make nutrition feel easier (for everyone). 

• How to think about the pattern of your eating patterns and how they fit into your life. 

• Why influencing a young person’s nutrition has a lasting impact on their life. 

Erin is accepting new patients at Clarity Health for late spring 2023 and beyond. You can submit a web request for a new patient onboarding call at www.clarityhealthburlington.ca.

You can follow Dr. Erin on Instagram @drerinnd

It’s common for us to skip over an episode if we feel like a topic doesn’t apply to us, or if we feel nervous to listen. 

This particular episode is for everyone, and we’re going to help you feel more confident thinking about cancer either for yourself, or in your family and loved ones. 

I’m joined today by Dr. Martha Sharpe ND who focuses her practice on cancer survivorship. We discuss her personal journey with a cancer diagnosis and how she felt as a healthcare practitioner trying to navigate the system. Martha has dedicated her career to helping women understand how to reduce their personal cancer risk, but also to feel empowered in their survivorship. 

In this episode we cover:

• The importance of feeling autonomous in your health care. 

• The difference between prevention and blame. 

• How to stack your health deck in your favour to reduce your cancer risk. 

• The impact of alcohol on cancer risk. 

• How an anti-cancer lifestyle is actually a whole-health lifestyle. 

• You don’t need to spend a ton of money to have an anti-cancer health plan. 

Dr. Martha Sharpe, ND, is a Naturopathic Doctor in Barrie, Ontario, Canada. Dr. Martha is dedicated to filling this gap and rewriting cancer survivorship with comprehensive, individualized, and holistic care.  She is passionate about helping people find the clarity and empowerment they need to step back into life post-cancer, and feel at home in their bodies again. You can find her on Instagram @marthasharpe_nd and learn more about her offers including a 4-week course on foundations for fuelling your body after cancer (and for cancer prevention) where she is offering our listeners a $100.00 promo. Learn more here https://marthasharpend.com/podcastpromo 

<sub>There are patterns that people who are successful with nutrition change adopt, and in today’s podcast, I’m sharing the 3 food categories that I want you to include in your kitchen to help you make it through tougher weeks (and help you meet your goals!).

It’s common for a new nutrition plan to focus on novelty, new recipes and unique ways of incorporating unique ingredients into your diet. New nutrition plans can often feel like a part-time job for many people, 🥵 and this level of bandwidth is not often available to make the changes that many people need to make with their food quality.

My 3 food categories are as follows:</sub>

1. _{Aspirational. Foods that are new, recipes, and unique ways of putting foods together that bring novelty and excitement.}
   
   
2. _{Every Day. Foods that you need to eat every day to help you meet your nutrition goals. These are the foods you reach for in the grocery store every week that are on your plan, and that can easily be pulled together in an autopilot kind of way.}
   
   
3. _{Oh 💩 S*!T💩. This category of foods are the foods in our pantry and freezer that are going to SAVE us from the wheels falling off the bus when things aren’t going well, when we’re tired or when we run out of everyday foods.}

_{Enjoy the podcast and next time you’re grocery shopping, consider if you’re filling up your cart with foods from each category.}

The concept of Neurological Reserve is probably new to you, but to Naturopathic Doctor, Dr. Pamela Hutchinson, who works with patients with neurodegenerative disorders such as Parkinson's and MS, she is acutely aware of how important neurological reserve is for ALL women. 

Our brains are a sensitive but amazing organ that literally runs our lives. 

Do we ever stop and think about how things are going up there? 

Do we ever consider how many programs or noises are running in the background? Or whether we are giving our brains enough time to reboot every day to face the demands we place on it?

Whether you have struggled with a neurological disorder or not, your brain has a reserve that will affect the way you can show up in your life, recover from illness and trauma and may protect you from future neurological decline. Dr. Pamela and I discuss the ways you can start to take care of your brain today so that it's there for you in the future. 

For over 21 years, Dr. Pamela Hutchison has been a passionate advocate for mental and neurological wellness through her work as a naturopathic physician in Victoria BC, Canada.  Her decades-long clinical focus on supporting folks with these conditions has provided Dr. Pam (as she is known affectionately by staff and patients) with a unique perspective on overall health and wellness, especially as it pertains to Brain Health.

In addition to her private practice, she is the founder and CEO of Acacia Health, a large collaborative team of healthcare professionals providing patient-centred, evidence-informed care.  A firm believer in practicing what she preaches, Dr. Pam is an avid runner and cyclist, a keen consumer of fresh vegetables, and a continual learner.  She values time connecting with animals and nature and has fostered a rewarding relationship with a family of wild crows who live near her home.

You can follow Dr. Pam on Instagram @dr_pamela_hutchison_nd 

Today's podcast episode is broadcast on both of our podcast platforms, Women's Health Unplugged, which is our public-facing podcast. It has over 500,000 downloads and has covered many women's health topics over the last few years. 

Our clinician-facing podcast, The Confident Clinician Podcast, focuses on clinical topics and studies that are changing our practices in integrative care. 

Today's topic is for everyone. We're talking about the term "hormone imbalance" and how damaging this term can actually be. We cover concepts such as

• Why accurate diagnosis is the first step towards getting treatment. 
• Why universal language is an important bridge to connect practitioners. 
• Why using vague terms (like your 'private parts') does a disservice to patients. 
• Which "buckets" of hormone concerns you might fall into, and why we need to accurately label you. 
• Where we go from here.

If you're a patient and are looking for an evidence based clinician in Ontario, you can find our clinic at www.clarityhealthburlington.ca 

If you're a practitioner, be sure to get on the wait list for The Confident Clinician at www.confidentclinicianclub.com to ensure you're the first to access our hormone assessment module in 2024 when our doors open. 

Do you create your day? Or get swept along in the emotional vortex of it all?

This week’s podcast is not just about your morning routine, it’s about the mindset you use to start your day and how that predicts your success. Mindset coach Adele Tevlin (who I’ve worked with personally in the last few years) joins me for a real conversation about how our mind can be harnessed to create the day we want. 

We know what you’re thinking! “I can’t create my day, my day is ruled by my work and my kids and my obligations.” We hear you. And we still want you to create your day. 

How your brain perceives the stressors and obligations you have changes your mental health and your ability to show up as your most vibrant self. So if you’re being swept along with what’s being “handed to you”, we want to offer you a different perspective. You can create your day instead. 

Adele supports high performing women to achieve their optimal state through mindfulness and mindset training. Her courses and daily mindset club are designed to help you design your day and life. Learning how to think and control your mindset, even in difficult times, can truly change your life. 

Adele’s free workshops can be accessed here. Follow her on Instagram for more information and your daily dose of a CEO mindset. 

Nope. Me neither. 

Our conversations about menopause and midlife on the podcast circle around similar themes. You can be strong(er) in menopause. You can be (more) confident in menopause. You can be better than you are today in menopause. 

Today’s guest is Selene Yeager. A women’s health and fitness author, insane athlete and advocate for women achieving their health goals in midlife. 

What does the outright winner of the race across America think about slowing down in menopause? (She beat the men too fyi). You’ll want to listen to her message, and it’s for all of us, whether you identify as an athlete or not. 

Selene hosts a podcast Hit Play Not Pause, and her latest book with Dr. Stacy Sims is available now called Next Level: Your Guide to Kicking Ass, Feeling Great, and Crushing Goals Through Menopause and Beyond. 

You can get a copy of the book here.: https://www.amazon.ca/Next-Level-Kicking-Crushing-Menopause/dp/0593233158

If you've ever wondered if your thyroid is getting in the way of your metabolism and weight goals, this episode is for you. 

Whether you've struggled with hypothyroidism, or have just been curious about your thyroid, I'm sure you've come across many claims that treating your thyroid will "solve" your metabolism or weight problems. 

In today's episode, we break down:

• What's real and what's myth (and what's water weight) and whether treating your thyroid will actually help your metabolism or not.
• Which lab tests you should have if you're suspicious of your thyroid. 
• What to expect from thyroid medication if you need it. 
• How we need to think about the thyroid in the bigger picture of your health. 

People with low thyroid have a myriad of challenges in managing their metabolism. When patients don't feel well, their ability to manage their nutrition and movement is impaired. This episode will help you feel like your thyroid is more connected to your overall health (and not the sole cause of how you feel). 

I'm joined today by a guest, Lexi Miles Corrin, who's the owner of WAXON wax bars, a female-only franchise helping women achieve their financial and entrepreneurial goals with over 20 locations expanding all over Canada next year. 

Lexi is also a mother of 4 under 5. 

There's nobody better to talk to us about getting help, showing up with intention in your own life and chasing your dreams than a mother of 4 who is leading other women to pursue their business goals. 

We share so many helpful "get started" points on this podcast and keep the conversation relatable and accessible, regardless of where you are in your journey. 

Lexi talks about the small 'nudges' that we need and the importance of getting clear on what you actually want out of your life to be able to take the next right step. 

Feminine leaders have a special place in my heart. They show up with vulnerability and empathy and ALSO make hard decisions and lead tough conversations. We share how valuable it is to let others into your "workspace" (both at home and at work) who can support you in achieving your goals. We discuss "letting go" of the outcomes and how we've had our hearts broken (but wouldn't want it any other way). 

Enjoy the episode. You can follow Lexi on Instagram here to see all the fun (and chaos!) of having 4 kids and a huge business. 

These were the very questions I asked today’s podcast guest, David Robert Grimes, Physicist, cancer scientist, and author on the very question of why conspiracy theories are part of our world (especially in the last 2 years).

We talk about the basics of critical thinking, how to spot the difference between “just asking questions” and “conspiracy tendencies” and why we are sometimes drawn towards radical explanations of the world around us. 

David has authored a book titled Good Thinking (North America) and The Irrational Ape (UK) that unravels the complexities of human thoughts, why we are so damn emotional when presented with new data and how to help yourself be a better thinker and learner. 

We cover brave topics like vaccines, the pandemic and health information online. Even though these topics are sure to stir up emotions, come listen with an open mind and be ready to give your brain muscles a solid flex. 

Follow David on Twitter: @drg1985, Instagram @david_robert_grimes and through his website: www.davidrobertgrimes.com

Do you wear a "wearable"?

This is one of the most common questions I get asked on Instagram (and if you don't follow me, head over to www.instagram.com/drjordannd to follow along. 

In this episode we cover

• The Apple Watch
• Whoop
• The Oura ring
• Fitbit

I share my experience with each of them (yes I've tried them all) what I loved or hated about each of them and whether or not they actually helped me meet my goals. 

We talk about what you're tracking, why you're tracking it and how to be thoughtful about the choice. 

Before you open your wallet, have a listen and see whether or not you need to get yourself a wearable to meet your goals. 

I do have a referral link for an Oura ring (I don't get a kickback or any compensation from the company) that gives you $40 off. You can check it out here. 

For today’s podcast episode, I was joined by Dr. Shelby Harris, a clinical psychologist and sleep specialist supporting women to overcome insomnia with cognitive behavioural therapy. We discuss her book, A Woman’s Guide to Insomnia, and the unique challenges that women face with their sleep versus men. 

Shelby shares tips and behavioural strategies to help you get started on your sleep journey and gives us the low-down on solutions that are evidence-based and have been proven to support a better night sleep. 

If you’ve struggled with your sleep in the last year, this episode will help you fall in love with taking care of this part of your health. We talk about wearable sleep trackers, what the ideal amount of time to sleep is, and how to make subtle changes that could have a big impact on your sleep schedule. 

You can learn more about Shelby on her website https://www.drshelbyharris.com/  or through social @SleepDocShelby

Shelby Harris, PsyD, DBSM is a clinical psychologist and sleep specialist in private practice in NY. She is board certified in Behavioral Sleep Medicine and treats a wide variety of sleep, anxiety and depression issues using evidence-based, non-medication treatments. Her self-help book, The Women’s Guide to Overcoming Insomnia: Get a Good Night’s Sleep Without Relying on Medication was published in 2019. Dr. Harris holds a dual academic appointment as Clinical Associate Professor at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in both Neurology and Psychiatry. Before going into private practice, she was the longstanding director of the Behavioral Sleep Medicine Program at the Sleep-Wake Disorders Center at Montefiore Medical Center in NYC, NY. Dr. Harris has been an invited columnist for the New York Times “Consults Blog,” and is frequently quoted in the media, including the New Yorker and Washington Post. She has appeared on the Today Show, Good Morning America and CBS Mornings. Dr. Harris can also be found on Instagram at @SleepDocShelby where she provides evidence-based information about sleep wellness and sleep disorders.

I freaking love social media BUT have had to ask myself some big questions in 2021 about the role, amount of time, and the use of social media in both my business and my personal life. In this “New Years” episode I give you the questions I reflected on about my own relationship with social, and how I’m moving forward in 2022 with intention and positivity. 

I break down some of the “triggering” content I used to engage in, how to spot confirmation bias in your own feed and the type of content I think is moving us forward as evolving humans (and yes, memes are part of this!). 

If you don’t already follow me on social media, you can find me most often over on Instagram @drjordannd where I share a ton of information on women’s health, weight lifting, and coffee memes. 

This episode is brought to you by my Birthday Celebration workshop called “Bulletproof Your 40s”. I’m throwing a full-day workshop with my colleague and best buddy Dr. Leigha Saunders and we’re sharing everything you need to know about hormones, sleep, mindset, and your metabolism. Register for the workshop here. If you join before December 31, we’re gifting you an amazing book on Menopause, and you can take advantage of our early bird pricing (which is $40 in savings - see what we did there?). Register here.

This episode is about the first period. Many of you have young pre-menstruators and menstruators in your life who would benefit from you knowing the ins and outs of puberty and what to look for around that first period. 

Teens, unfortunately, often have their symptoms chalked up to a "normal teen experience," whether they have a delayed first period, significant acne or rapid changes to body weight. This isn't true, and rapid or extreme development of hormone symptoms often have an underlying hormone condition that should be assessed. 

Young people deserve an assessment if

• They are 15 with no period (whether they have breast development or not)
• They are 13 with no secondary sex characteristics at all. 
• They have rapid changes to their androgen symptoms (acne, body hair growth, body weight changes). 
• They miss their first period and play competitive sports, are petite or maybe eating below their energy needs. 

We cover how to think about each of these areas of health and when to push for assessment in your teen. 

If you need support and live in Ontario, reach out to us at www.clarityhealthburlington.ca and submit a web inquiry. Our clinicians work with all types of hormonal concerns in young people and run evidence-based testing (blood work). 

When Dr. Anne Hussain was growing up in Pakistan, periods were not something that was talked about openly. When her periods became irregular, not only was there nobody to ask about it, but it prevented her from being properly assessed and diagnosed. 

Fast forward to moving to Canada, Anne was able to be formally assessed and diagnosed with PCOS, but only after advocating for herself and learning about her hormones on her own. 

Anne realized there was a gap in menstrual education not just in Pakistan, but also in Canada. She’s spent the rest of her career in Naturopathic Medicine creating accessible information for women and people who menstruate about what a “normal” period looks like. 

Even if you think you know what normal is, this episode is for you if you’ve ever wondered: 

• If your spotting is normal?
• If your level of bleeding or cramps is normal?
• How to advocate for yourself at our doctor’s office?
• Whether the changes you’ve experienced as you age are normal?

Have a listen, and be sure to follow Anne on Instagram. Her book on period literacy hits shelves in the spring of 2022.

It’s been a few years since our podcast on heavy menstrual bleeding (October 2020) and we have had a slew of questions from Instagram followers (follow here if you don’t already) about “is my period normal”. So here we go!

In today’s podcast, we cover everything you need to know about whether your period is “normal” or if it’s something that needs treatment. We talk about menstrual variances such as: 

• Heavy bleeding, longer bleeding (more than 5 days) and bleeding that starts and stops. 

• Ovulation that doesn’t happen right on day 14. 

• Luteal phase (second half) challenges such as shorter cycles, longer cycles and spotting before your period. 

• Irregular cycles and changes to the total cycle length. 

We talk about when to approach your doctor, how to take good notes about your cycle and when to get treated. 

We also talk about the commodification of women’s bodies and menstrual health and how often influencers pathologize changes to the menstrual cycle and cause women to chase a menstrual dream that might not be possible. 

I’ve been following the research on burnout, PTSD and resiliency for a few years because I find adaptive changes in the brain and nervous system so fascinating. Getting real results with patients often involves us recognizing the impact of their mindset, nervous system regulation and level of burnout/resilience as we construct a plan. 

We can easily see how a patient would find it hard to do a particular part of their plan if they couldn’t afford it, if the resources were too far from their house or if they were downright allergic to the suggestion. But when we think about resiliency, we often have preconceived ideas about what that means, and how “resilient” we are or aren’t. 

Dr. Jenny Liu is a Postdoctoral Associate with the MacDonald Franklin OSI Research Centre and an Adjunct Research Professor in the Department of Psychiatry, Schulich School of Medicine, Western University. Dr. Liu’s background is in the science of stress and resilience. She works with stakeholders to identify the determinants of resilience in different communities and support efforts to promote or build resilience using a number of evidence-informed strategies and approaches.

In this amazing episode, we talk about the definition of resiliency, how you need to reframe the way you consider yourself and your support systems and how you can change how you feel about your stressors just by focusing on the pillars of resilience. 

Her free self-assessment app is available online at https://twitter.com/resilient_u and is a great place for people to start to understand what is influencing their ability to show up as their best selves every day. 

You can follow Jenny on Twitter at https://twitter.com/resilient_u 

In today’s episode, I’m joined by my friend and brilliant colleague Dr. Stephanie Bayliss, a Naturopathic Doctor who focuses on mental health in women. In this episode, we help you understand if your mood deserves some attention and how to be assessed. 

Many women feel their mood isn’t “bad enough” to be flagged or treated, because their picture of depression in their mind is a different woman than what they see in themselves. Women imagine a person who needs mental health support is debilitated, on stress leave, or can’t get out of bed at all. They have a hard time seeing the impact of low mood on their fatigue, nutrition, ability to feel joy and

I love researching PMS. It’s a huge area of focus in my clinical practice and something I’ve spent thousands of hours on. Part of what I love about PMS is the integrative solutions that look at the impact of nutrition and stress on how resilient the brain feels during this (otherwise simple) hormone fluctuation. 

Calcium has emerged as a “nutrient of interest” in PMS because it fluctuates widely through the cycle (especially in the brain), impacts serotonin and mood-related chemicals in the brain, and is lower in people with PMS than in people without. 

In this episode, I give you the tools you need to think more critically about your PMS, your diet and give you the answers to take to your health care provider to talk about the role of calcium on your mood. Enjoy, share and be sure to join us for my 40th birthday party. Bulletproof your 40s is a full-day online event for women over the age of 35 who want to take their 40s and 50s by storm. We’ll be giving you an entire framework for supporting yourself as you age. Hop on the waitlist here!

Even if you’re living alone on a tropical island you’ve likely heard the online trend of syncing your menstrual cycle with your exercise. 

Is it real? Or just another way to keep women small?

I’ve taken my time bringing this conversation to the stage because I had a single woman in mind to bring on the show to discuss it. Dr. Alyssa Olenick has a Ph.D. in exercise physiology and specifically studies the impact of female hormones on training, adaptation and recovery. 

We share a vibrant (read: passionately pissed) conversation about the cycle syncing trend and whether you should be changing your exercise each week of your cycle. 

Alyssa is one of my favourite female scientists and I was thrilled we could share this conversation together. 

What we covered in this episode: 

• What is “cycle syncing” and what happens through your cycle with respect to exercise. 
• What the research actually says about hormones and training. 
• Our thoughts on the commodification of women’s menstrual cycles and how this particular trend might be causing women to move less. 

Enjoy the episode, and give Dr. Alyssa Olenick a follow @doclyssfitness

Dr. Alyssa Olenick holds a Ph.D. in Exercise Physiology and is a certified sports nutritionist and Crossfit Level 1 Trainer. Alyssa completed her doctoral training in exercise and post-prandial metabolism. Specifically in the areas of metabolic flexibility, sex differences and menstrual cycle physiology. Alyssa runs her online business ‘Doc Lyss Fitness’ and is a strength athlete, ultra-marathon runner, and all-around fitness lover who is passionate about educating people on science-based fitness to get them into the gyms and on the roads/trails — or often, doing both at the same time! You can learn more about Dr. Alyssa Olenick and her programs at www.doclyssfitness.com

Why am I not scared to turn 40? Because I’ve spent the last 10 years getting ready for this moment. 

Our health is built on habits and daily practices, and as women slide into their 40s as exhausted, kid-taxi-driving shells of themselves they are caught off guard when their hormones start to change. 

The hormone changes in perimenopause are natural, but what isn’t natural is how depleted women are when they get there. In today’s episode, I’m joined by Dr. Leigha Saunders, ND, my best friend and the hormone-sleep-queen and we break down the 5 things we want you to know as you enter your 40s and beyond. 

This episode is brought to you by my birthday celebration! Bulletproof your 40s. Tickets for this full-day event are on sale now at the early bird price of $40 off up until my REAL birthday on January 11th. Grab your ticket to join us live, or grab the recordings if you can’t make the entire day. We’re covering the 5 modules of perimenopause that we discussed in today’s episode in-depth, to give you the bulletproof vest you need to navigate this decade and beyond!

In today's episode, we tackle weight bias and stigma head-on with a guest Dr. Sylvi Martin, a Naturopathic Doctor, registered nurse psychotherapist, certified intuitive eating counsellor, and mindfulness-based eating awareness training (MB-EAT) facilitator who has a dual passion for supporting patients with their eating behaviour while also supporting clinicians to eliminate weight bias in medicine and improve the delivery of nutrition therapy in a less harmful way. 

We explore topics throughout the episode such as:

• How your weight or body shape may have affected the tests you received or the treatments you were offered from your doctor. 
• How weight bias has influenced your thoughts about yourself and others and may be influencing your health behaviours. 
• How your thoughts about food can affect the way you value yourself. 
• How the training that Naturopathic Doctors and nutritionists receive may be causing harm (and what to look for in a practitioner). 

Dr. Sylvi Martin offers both patient and practitioner programs to support healthy eating behaviour. You can connect with Sylvi as a patient through her website nourishingwellbeing.ca where she offers online patient programs. Sylvi will be spearheading continuing education programs for The Confident Clinician in February 2023 including small group training for NDs to become confident using intuitive eating practices with their patients. If you're a practitioner be sure you are on the Confident Clinician waitlist to learn more about our upcoming practitioner training here.  

Welcome Back! After a very very long season 1 (that went on for 2 years and over 150 episodes) we decided to take a break over the summer before returning to recording. 

This welcome-back episode focuses on the feelings of “new years” we often feel in the fall and how to start to think about your goals, your purpose, and your outcomes. 

If you’ve ever felt disappointed by your outcome even though you tried really hard - this episode is for you. 

If you’ve ever given up on a goal because you didn’t get the outcome you expected by a particular date - this episode is for you. 

If you’ve ever even considered changing things about yourself - this episode is for you. 

I also share my journey from a spiteful-counterculture naturopathic doctor (which is terrible to say that the counterculture in my profession was by being evidence-based at that time) towards a more compassionate and softer approach to sharing information with all of you to help you better understand your body and your health choices.

I share my initial discomfort with what we all needed out of this podcast and how humanizing our health experience and behaviour change is really what we all need. 

This episode gives us an amazing springboard to start our big conversations this season and I can’t wait to share them all with you. 

If you’re a practitioner who supports people in menopause, you can now access the early bird pricing for my next course through The Confident Clinician happening Saturday, October 01 - Sunday, October 02, 2022. You can access the early bird pricing here. We will be covering bone health, cognitive health, mental health, and cardiovascular disease. We’ve limited the seats to 40 non-members.

"What supplements do you take, Jordan?"

This is one of the most common questions I get asked on social media. I will give you the answer, but we will also talk about why you're asking in the first place. 

Wellness behaviours and nutrition have this weird space in medicine where we expect to get our answers online, our advice from friends or our hairstylist and personalized recommendations from an Instagram post. We're going to dive into this and look at why we want validation, hope, and an illusion of safety when we see someone else doing something. 

I also share with you my current and past list of supplements. I share how I made the decision to take them, what I expect the outcomes to be and what I've taken in the past. The episode's purpose is to help you feel hope that you can have a list curated for you that may help your symptoms. 

If you listen and realize you need help, our team of Doctors at Clarity Health is always ready to help residents of Ontario choose the 1-2 supplements that they need to support their health journey. You can submit a web inquiry at www.clarityhealthburlington.ca, and one of our team members will call you back. 

Janette Yee, an athletic therapist who supports people after vaginal birth and c-section is a joy to listen to. She’s vibrant, excited and passionate about something that we’ve all kept to ourselves. 

How freaking hard it is to recover from birth. 

As an athlete herself, Janette gives us the metaphor we’ve been waiting for. Birth is a season ending injury. And yet, while most athletes get trainers, time off and rehab, we send people who have given birth home with a screaming baby expecting sleepless nights, selfless weeks and no education on how to take care of themselves. 

Even if you don’t identify as an athlete, birth is a traumatic event to your body, and expecting things to just right themselves without support is a hope, not a plan. 

I loved recording this episode with Janette (we could literally talk for days) because we both get fired up about how we need to empower ourselves and other women to seek out support after this major physical (and emotional) event. 

You can find Janette on Instagram (@askjanette) and download her free resources from her website https://www.janetteyee.com/resources

I love watching someone so good at their craft. Whether it’s an artist, or a great lawyer, watching someone in their element always leaves me feeling in awe of their dedication, experience and tenacity to get great at something. 

Nobody feels that way about their doctor. 

In today’s episode, I want to address the trend of “doing your own research” for your medical care. The general distrust in medicine and the lack of appreciation about what goes into making a medical decision (combined with the internet) has left people feeling like they are actually more capable than their doctor at reading research. It’s left people feeling like there are un-read articles that only they can find (and their doctor won’t) and even that their doctor wants to choose something for them that is not the best answer (on purpose). 

Reading research, synthesizing difficult concepts, communicating those concepts and helping people make value based and pragmatic decisions about their health care is my absolute super power. But put it in the ring with blogs, podcasts, DIY health programs and people’s overestimation in their own research capabilities and I’m left going toe to toe with an accountant over their hormone dose, or a teacher over their nutrition needs. 

This episode isn’t about discouraging you from being interested in your health - quite the opposite. But being informed and interested is not the same as being a good researcher. I share my top strategies for “doing your own research” if you want to try, and when to trust the information that’s being offered to you by your health care team. 

For the first time, I’ve created a DIY program for patients with endometriosis that helps you “do your own research” with guided videos, handouts and the real evidence on how to lower your pain. If you’re a person with endometriosis or menstrual cramps, you can download the Women’s Health Unplugged app and purchase this program at a low cost.

Let’s be clear, there aren’t any magical nutrition solutions. If things “work” for people it’s because it’s a strategy that they can do and that makes a difference. The end. 

So why does intermittent fasting get such a good review in the weight loss space? Lots of the claims about it aren’t evidence-based (meaning that we don’t have compelling human studies that show benefit). Fasting can also show some positive cellular benefits which have led us to make some pretty bold statements about the benefits. 

In today’s episode, I share why I think people like fasting, what they misunderstand about it, and the side effects (yes, side effects) of this particular nutrition strategy. 

If you’ve been mulling over your next nutrition decision, this episode will help you think more clearly about what you need. 

My team at Clarity Health is ready to help support you with the next evolution of your nutrition. We’d like to see your changes last. You can book a 15-minute consultation (and a massage while you’re at it) to learn more. Ontario Residents Only.

I was inspired by conversations I have seen in academic spaces I belong to about where “responsibility” lies in health change. 

Does it lie with the individual (bottom up) or with the government (top down)? 

As I was listening to this conversation happen, it made me think about how our health solutions for people are often bottom up, versus top down in their own household. 

We ask people to eat spaghetti squash while their family eats something better. 

We ask people to exercise at the end of the day after everyone else's needs are met. 

We have normalized “finding 5 minutes to yourself” after a full day of giving, rather than starting the day with yourself in mind. 

At a government policy level we know that placing the responsibility of health change on the individual isn’t effective. Individuals can’t thrive when their environment sets them up for failure. 

And yet, that’s exactly what we ask you to do. 

Fortunately, you’re the Queen, President and Prime Minister of your household. 

Even if you are co-President, you likely have more of a say over the policies in your mini-world than you’ve taken responsibility for. Today we’re asking you to take radical responsibility for creating effective policy in your own household. 

You are the Queen, and you are a citizen. If we rely on you-the-citizen to avoid salt and vinegar chips while your entire family eats them in front of you - we get nowhere. 

If you-the-Queen sets better policies for everyone in your kingdom (yourself included) you might stand a chance at health change. 

Enjoy.

I love coffee. 

But I've also tried to quit about 100 times in my 20s because I was worried about the effect of coffee on my health and hormones. 

In today's episode, we talk about the actual research (and lack of) for caffeine on female sex hormones and why you can guilt-free have a cup of coffee. 

We also talk about how to manage your caffeine intake to help support your day to prevent anxiety, and sleep disturbance or to use your coffee as a cover-up for your poor nutrition. 

I share what my personal coffee situation looks like these days, what machines I need in my life to help me with my coffee and what you should put in your coffee to have the best cup. 

If you don't follow me on Instagram, most of the memes I post are about coffee and health. You should follow me there to laugh along with me about how much we love coffee. You can find me at www.instagram.com/drjordannd 

In this solo episode, I give you the knowledge and understanding of your bladder changes over the age of 40, and the things you can do to reduce the frequency of UTIs (Urinary Tract Infections). 

The bladder changes when hormones change. The microbiome changes, bladder tone changes and our sensations in our bladder change. This perfect storm can make women more susceptible to infections (UTIs) and increase symptoms such as overactive bladder and painful bladder syndrome (interstitial cystitis). 

We talk about what to do if you get an acute UTI (and then repeat the answer about 10 times to really hit this one home), what to eat to avoid getting a UTI (it's not what you think) and how hormone therapy supports our bladder. 

If you're in Ontario and you're struggling with bladder symptoms, my team at Clarity Health can support people in menopause all across Ontario. Fill in a web inquiry at www.clarityhealthburlington.ca .  One of our patient care coordinators will call you and set you up with the doctor of your dreams. 

I've only really known about my ADHD diagnosis for a few years. I had joked about it for years and had friends joke about it for years, but it wasn't until my kids were assessed that I really leaned into identifying as a person with ADHD. 

Working with women for the last 15 years has gifted me the opportunity to help identify ADHD in my patients, and to help them make decisions on how to support themselves. 

In today's episode, we're joined by Dr. Kate Henry, a Naturopathic Doctor whom I connected with over the research on ADHD and our personal experiences. This episode will help you understand your own brain a little better, and give you the first few steps you need to take to get assessed and taken care of. 

We tackle topics such as

• The role of diet (how your ADHD chooses your foods and how your foods worsen your symptoms). 
• The role of medication. 
• The role of accurate diagnosis (especially if you've never been flagged before). 
• How to get help (even with the small things). 

If you want to read Kate's free resources and get connected with her, you can visit her website here. 

Dun dun dunnnnnnnnn. This episode has been a long time coming. I’ve talked around this topic before in episodes sharing why testing is hard for women, and what we need out of good diagnostic and screening tests, but I’ve never tackled this topic head-on. 

So, here we go. 

I don’t want you to be frustrated when you listen to this if you’ve ever felt unheard by your doctor and chose to do a test that offered the hope of answers. 

I don’t want you to be frustrated if you’re a practitioner and you’ve been using this test with your patients. 

I don’t want you to be frustrated at all. 

We do our best with the knowledge that we have. We also make patients feel like they have to figure things out on their own because nobody is listening. Wellness also markets to our insecurities, and women are often worried about their hormones. 

For tests to be considered “good” they have to be better than what they already do, teach us something we don’t already know and guide our treatment of women better than what we would have done anyways. This test doesn’t do any of those things. 

Have a listen and stay open-minded. I’m happy to change my mind about this test if someone would run a real study on it. Science changes. I’ll change too. But I’m also not willing to lean on a test that doesn’t stand up to the test of evidence-based practice. 

Enjoy the episode!

I promise. You need to get your picture taken. 

In this episode I share the mic with my photographer, Laura Benn. We share an intimate conversation about how to get comfortable getting your picture taken and why it’s so important that you do. 

Whether you’re in business and need photos for your branding, you’ve avoid family photography or you just need to create more memories, this episode will help you reframe how to think about each picture. 

I share my own personal journey with professional photography and how I felt getting my picture taken years ago compared to now and how I’ve changed my perspective. We give you real tips on how to have a great picture taken and how to think about this snapshot in time in your life (and why you’ll want to capture it). 

Laura works with women who are looking for professional and branding photography, and I can say, she’s amazing. You can find her on Instagram (@gooseberrystudios) and at her website (https://lauralbenn.com/)

PS: I tell a story of a “kids say the darndest things” moment that does include some swearing in this episode. Just an FYI.

Welcome back! After a summer hiatus we’re ready to get back to the podcast and share evidence-based health information and mindset discussion to help you advocate better for yourself in your health journey. 

Today’s episode is a welcome-back discussion about how we often let our past decisions and failures prevent us from trying something new. We’re going to break down why we feel badly about past choices and how to reframe the experiences you’ve had with your health (even if they didn’t work). 

Everyone is in the “middle” of their health journey, which means that you’ve all done things before today and many of those things didn’t work. Or they worked a little. Or they worked and now no longer work. But not pursuing any future goals or any future solutions because you’re not in perfect health right now despite trying things in the past is not the right way to look at your future. 

If you’ve ever hesitated to try something new because you’ve been hurt or disappointed by your past attempts - this is a great reframe to help us go into the fall with a fresh new perspective. 

Welcome back! The fall is going to be great.

I call out in the episode our Clarity Health clinic that services people in the GTA who are looking to change their health. www.clarityhealthburlington.ca Fill out a web inquiry to request a call back from our Patient Care Coordinators. 

In today's episode, we’re taking a very practical approach to talking about nutrition and how to slightly change some of your routine nutrition patterns to help you meet your nutrition goals, especially if you are working on your blood sugar or weight loss. 

We use the “money” and “budgeting” metaphor to discuss why we’d even consider taking a lower calorie food option occasionally or how to think about your nutrition patterns to be sure that they are helping move you forward with your health goals. 

It’s a practical and pragmatic conversation about food including

• Why cutting out fruits and vegetables makes no sense

• Whether you should eat low fat or high fat dairy

• Why choosing lean protein can really add up. 

• How to pick a treat that meets your nutrition goals 

• Why it’s easy to get carried away with certain food groups 

If you struggle listening to discussions about food and calories, this episode might not be for you. We take a very realistic approach to discussing food choices and how your subtle daily choices may be walking you down a path you’re not interested in being on.

I give you a lot of real and practical food examples and share how I manage my treats! I hope you enjoy the episode. 

I can distinctly remember whispering to my therapist that I didn’t really like what had happened to me after becoming a parent. 

I honestly couldn’t tell if it was my physiology that was failing me, society or my perception of what parenthood was going to look like. 

It turns out, it was probably all three. 

In today’s episode, I’m joined by Dr. Laura Jasmin and Dr. Carly King, two Naturopathic Doctors and educators at The Confident Clinician. The work that Carly and Laura focus on is the impact of things like nutrition, lab testing, support and infrastructure have on maternal mental health and we’re diving deep into how the system is failing mothers and why Canada’s “no screening for maternal mental health” policy has affected all of us. 

Even if your babies are old (mine are 11 and 13 and this still shows up in my life) this episode is for you. It will help you see yourself in our stories, be given permission to grieve what we could have had in those early months of parenthood and will put a fire in your heart to support other new parents in your life. 

It’s an emotional share where you’ll hear stories of resiliency, failure and perseverance in 3 women and you’ll quickly learn why we are not taking the maternal mental health guidelines in Canada sitting down. 

If you are a practitioner or work with women and new parents in any capacity, we’d like to invite you to a free maternal mental health workshop intended for practitioners. In the workshop, you will learn to better understand our broken screening guidelines, and how to screen your patients and support them in getting the care they need. Whether you are a Naturopathic Doctor or another practitioner who works with people during pregnancy or postpartum, this free event is intended to raise the bar on maternal mental health awareness in Canada (and the US). You can register here. 

I spent the last few months doing a deep dive on iron. It compelled me enough to sit down and record a full podcast on why this nutrient needs to matter to you, why the reference range isn’t good enough, and why we’ve got things so wrong about iron. 

Iron deficiency is the most common deficiency around the globe. And when we have a stat like that, we often imagine women in low-resource countries. But it’s not just women living in developing countries that are struggling. You’re struggling too. 

Iron deficiency is the most common nutritional deficiency in ALL women. No matter where you live or how much meat you do or don’t eat. 

This episode is for you if you have ever

• Been told you have iron deficiency. Even if you think it’s fixed. 
• Have fatigue but have been told your iron is “fine”. 
• Have a diet that is low in iron (vegetarian, plant-based, etc.)
• Have a menstrual cycle. 

I talk through what iron deficiency looks like in your lab work (again, even if you’ve been told it’s fine), and how to go about starting to fix things. 

If you’re struggling with how to get iron into your life or have a chronic iron deficiency that needs support, our team at Clarity Health is ready to support you. Book a free 15-minute consultation (Ontario only) with the practitioner who resonates, or call the office to learn who you would be the best fit. 

If you’ve ever been told you have heartburn, have been medicated for heartburn (and maybe still are) or have wondered if you have heartburn - this episode was recorded just for you. 

I’m joined by my colleague and friend, Dr. Dominique Vanier, ND who has been an instrumental part of the education team at The Confident Clinician in the last year, educating more than 700 clinicians about reflux, heartburn and other digestive conditions that feel a lot like heartburn (but might not be!). 

In this episode, we’re sharing 

• Heartburn myths and realities

• GERD diagnostic challenges

• Diet's impact on reflux

• Gut-brain interaction complexities

• Misdiagnosis and treatment issues

• Proton pump inhibitors and alternatives

• What individualized health care looks like (you can improve your symptoms!)

If you’re ready for a new perspective on your digestive health, Dr. Vanier is accepting new patients at Clarity Health in Burlington servicing patients in person and virtually all across Ontario. You can find Dr. Dominique Vanier here and follow her on Instagram here. 

In this episode, I’m joined by Dr. Bat Sheva Marcus (again!) to talk about sex and how to have a thriving sex life.

We outline how little people know about what contributes to positive libido and desire (so they don’t know what they were doing right) and then have NO IDEA what is getting in the way when their desire or drive changes. This feeling of a lack of control leaves people feeling powerless and like the solution lives outside of themselves.  

This episode is for you if you are curious about

• How to learn the difference between arousal and desire. 

• How to use your erotic brain, even if you’ve been married for 25 years. 

• Why crumbs on the counter and full dishwasher ruin your libido in your 50s, and not your 20s. 

• How to think about the complexity of libido and sex, with SIMPLE solutions. 

• If you want to know if we prefer Speed Keanu Reeves or The Matrix Keanu Reeves ;) 

Bat Sheva explains the factors that give you ‘points’ (fantasy, connection and hormone levels) and ‘take points’ away (some medications, fatigue, pain and more). 

This episode is a great way to start to explore this part of your health and get some ideas for how to change. 

Here’s more about our guest, and how you can grab her book, Satisfaction Guaranteed: How to have the sex you’ve always wanted. 

Dr. Bat Sheva Marcus, a certified sex therapist, is the author of Satisfaction Guaranteed: How To Have the Sex You’ve Always Wanted. She has spent her life dedicated to bridging the gap between the medical and the psychological in women’s sexual health.  For nearly 25 years she served as the clinical director of one of the largest sexual health centers in the US. Dr. Marcus earned a master’s in public health as well as a Ph.D. in Human Sexuality at the Institute for the Advanced Study of Human Sexuality as well as a master’s degree in social work from Columbia University. 

The research on chronic pelvic pain in women should be changing the way we think about menstrual cramps, and today’s episode will help you question your own cramps, think about possible diagnoses that could be contributing to your cramps (like endometriosis) and give you insight into why we need to take care of your cramps - like yesterday. 

Endometriosis and chronic pelvic pain has always been this elusive conversation. People’s pain is not correlated to the size of their endo lesions (meaning you can have very small lesions but very big pain), pain is also present after surgical removal and pain can persist when we give people medications that suppress hormone production (which in theory makes endometriosis and cramps very quiet). 

Why does this happen? Probably central sensitization. 

The research on chronic pain has looked at the changes that happen in the brain and central nervous system (which includes the spinal cord) rather than only looking at the changes that happen at the “spot” that it affected. Endometriosis and chronic pelvic pain actually change your brain. It makes your brain feel pain more often, and to a lesser “stimuli” than before. 

THIS is why we need to assess you. 

The diagnostic delay for endometriosis averages 8-10 years, which means that people experience pain for years before we finally flag them appropriately. Which means that the brain has plenty of time to learn that the world is painful. And that’s what it does. 

I want you to listen to this episode and think about your own pain experience. Do we need to support you better to reduce your daily or monthly pain? Do we need to test you to be sure that you don’t have endometriosis or some other condition (like IBS) that’s affecting your pain? We can change your brain and your pain experience, but only if we flag you and support you. 

Enjoy the episode, and if you need support, reach out to Clarity Health in Ontario to get support. We have an entire team of practitioners who work with people with endometriosis. 

This episode was sponsored by our Women’s Health Summit in January 2023. You can grab a ticket to attend virtually (or a VIP in-person ticket) here. 

Perimenopause and menopause can leave women feeling confused about their hormones, and without practical solutions to stop their symptoms from getting in the way of their day. Smart Solutions offers products that contain ingredients, like Chaste Tree and Sage, shown to improve mood & hot flashes in perimenopause & menopause. These natural ingredients can help smooth the symptoms women experience during this phase of life. 

Use my promo code JORDAN10 at checkout on your next order at smartsolutions.com to receive 10% off. Thank you Smart Solutions for putting the information and products into the hands of women and continuing to educate women about what is possible for them in their health. 

If you want to get better, you need to do less. I know it’s scary, but today’s episode will give you the 3 strategies you need for more effective delegation. 

It’s an episode that will help you if you 

• Feel like you’re the only one in your house who can do certain jobs or they won’t get done. 
• Feel like you keep adding and adding to your plate without taking anything off. 
• Feel like you don’t have any “wiggle room” in your day and couldn’t carve out more self care. 

We’ll talk through my 3 steps to more effective delegation including how to communicate about your boundaries, what you really really want (insert Spice Girls) and how to leave space for others to learn as you delegate (rather than snatching tasks back because they didn’t do it perfectly the first time). 

I want you to feel like you have the time to take care of yourself, and if you don’t, this is a great place to start. 

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I’m always looking at my time. It’s my most valuable resource. 

Your time is your most valuable resource too. 

So why do we do so many tasks that don’t need to be done, or could be done with some help? It’s a fair question. 

This week’s podcast episode is all about getting your time back through delegation and why being clear, communicating and allowing space for clumsy learning in your delegatee needs to happen for you to truly get shit off your plate. 

I share a few examples of my own time management and the hard questions a ask my patients to think about so they can truly move towards better health. 

Today’s episode was brought to you by the Modern Menopause Summit. With over 40 topics covered, you need to be there!. You can register for your free ticket here. 

In today’s episode, I share the mic with my friend and colleague, Dr. Dolores Fernandez, a Naturopathic Doctor and the owner of Iris personal care products (lube and vaginal moisturizer!)

We talk about the importance of getting connected with vulvovaginal health, how skin is skin is skin and why you need to understand “normal” so you can pay attention to changes. 

IRIS is offering 20% off to women's health unplugged listeners for 1 month after the podcast airs. Use code WHU20 at checkout at www.lovemyiris.com. IRIS is one of our sponsors for the Modern Menopause summit and Dolores shares even MORE information about vaginal health in this special online event.   

Here’s a summary of what we discussed: 

Diagnosing and Treating Gynecological Dermatology Conditions

Takeaway: There is a gap in the healthcare field between gynecology and dermatology, leading to challenges in diagnosing and treating conditions specifically related to vulvar and vaginal health. Specialists often focus narrowly on their area, which can result in missed or misdiagnosed conditions that require a broader interdisciplinary understanding.

Importance of Vaginal Health Awareness

Takeaway: There is a notable deficiency in the general awareness of vaginal health issues across different life stages. Education and open discussion are crucial in recognizing symptoms, avoiding misdiagnosis, and promoting overall vaginal health to ensure proper care and treatment.

Education on Lubricant Products

Takeaway: Lubricants vary widely in quality, and there is a lack of regulation and standardization, which underscores the need for education on the chemistry and quality of personal care products. Understanding key aspects like pH balance, preservatives, osmolarity, and ingredients contribute to making informed choices and preventing adverse reactions.

The Evolving Needs of Vaginal Care

 Takeaway: Women should consider the evolving nature of their vaginal care needs as they age and stay informed about the latest science and product developments. It is imperative for women to adapt their care regimen in response to changes in their bodies to maintain optimal vaginal health.

Normalization and Stigma Reduction in Vulvar Health

Takeaway: Breaking down the stigma and fostering an environment where conversations about vulval health are normalized is essential. Knowledge of one's own anatomy, being vigilant to symptoms, and discussing experiences can encourage a supportive atmosphere, leading to better healthcare outcomes and advancements in research and education related to vulval and vaginal health.

Bloating is an annoying symptom that prevents many people from eating the foods they love, wearing the pants they love, and living abdominal-pain free. 

In today’s episode, I’m joined by my college Dr. Dominque Vanier, a Naturopathic Doctor and Gut-Focused practitioner who is the perfect guide to your bloat-recovery journey. 

In this episode, I ask Dominique questions like: 

• When is bloating something more serious?
• Why do hormones cause bloating and when should women have this looked into?
• Why does bloating happen randomly? 
• What are the first steps to understanding digestive health and bloating?

If you’ve ever changed your pants part way through the day, felt like you had to limit yourself because of your digestive pain or wondered what on earth was happening inside your gut (since it feels like a total disaster in there), this episode is for you. 

Dr. Vanier accepts patients in person and virtually in Ontario at Clarity Health and focuses on supporting people with digestive concerns and hormonal health (and both mixed together!). Dr. Vanier is hosting a FREE webinar for our community about the simple tips you can use to solve your bloating. Register here for the live event (or to grab the recording). 

Today’s podcast is an important episode if you exercise, identify as an athlete or have ever skipped a period. We’re talking about the energy it takes to create a menstrual period, and why women who exercise, diet or both are at risk of missing a period. 

I’m joined by Dr. Katrina Allison, a Naturopathic Doctor in British Columbia who focuses on supporting female athletes and young women with menstrual concerns. Even if you don’t think your diet or training is impacting your menstrual cycle, we cover the other symptoms that might be happening due to low energy availability and how to start fuelling yourself to have proper hormonal function. 

For many women, symptoms of heavy periods, slightly irregular cycles or night sweats can creep in to their “otherwise normal” cycles, letting their energy balance issues fly under the radar. We easily spot women who have lost their period, but that’s not the only symptom we should be looking for to ensure that your fuelling is supporting your body’s hormonal processes. 

If you’re an athlete, a parent of a young menstruating athlete or have ever lost your period while training, tune in to learn more about how you can support yourself with nutrition. 

Dr. Katrina Allison practices can be found at https://www.drkatrinaallisonnd.com/ or @drkatrinaallison_nd on tiktock or Instagram.

If you’ve watched TV in the last few months, you’ll notice a theme in the news on health: MENOPAUSE. 

Menopause is finally having it’s moment in the media. From Oprah to The National, my guest Dr. Heather Hirsch and I discuss our media appearances in the last few months, what this means for menopause and how to start getting the care you deserve. 

Heather has exploded on the menopause scene with her book, Unlock Your Menopause Type which is sold wherever you buy books.  We discuss her work as a Menopause Expert, how you can gain confidence in using HRT to treat your symptoms and why we’re finally seeing the attention towards menopause that you all deserve. 

We discuss the various menopause types, including early menopause from hysterectomy, cancer treatment or premature ovarian insufficiency, to menopause “at 50” and how your treatment may need to shift depending on who you are and what your story is. Even if you don’t experience any menopause symptoms at all (and yes, that’s a type!) you need to have a conversation about your menopause. 

Heather gives a refreshing and fun look at menopause as we dispel myths, give you the tools you need to pick a practitioner and continue this conversation on this very important life stage. 

You can follow Heather on Instagram @heatherhirschmd and buy her book, Unlocking Your Menopause Type here

PMS is more than a minor inconvenience. It can leave you feeling like a different person half the month, put strain on your relationships and can really derail achieving your other health goals. 

In today’s episode, I’m joined by Dr. Keara Taylor, a Naturopathic Doctor in Toronto and one of our expert clinicians at The Confident Clinician. Keara’s focus in her practice and her research is on the emotional regulation of people through their PMS experience, and how to equip menstruators with the tools they need to feel more calm and confident throughout the month. 

In this episode we cover:

• How to short circuit your PMS in the moment. 

• How to create a PMS toolkit of resources to help you improve your symptoms on your own. 

• How to teach your partner about PMS and why this is an important step. 

• Why “giving in” to your PMS is sometimes the right thing to do. 

You can find Keara at www.drkearataylor.com or on Instagram @drkearataylor.nd 

She works with people with PMS all over Ontario to feel better about their monthly hormone fluctuations, both physically and emotionally. 

There isn’t really an area of medicine that has led to as much self-proclaimed expertise than nutrition. If someone knows how to make a great smoothie they seem to have the credentials to give other people smoothie advice. But why with that same logic, do we never see someone who owns a beating heart claim to be a cardiologist or someone who owns a brain to be a neurosurgeon. And yet, for some reason, if you own a blender, you could be nutrition’s next big thing. Nutrition as a science has struggled to fit the research mould that we study pharmaceuticals in, which hasn’t done nutrition any favours. In this episode, I invite one of my own mentors, Alan Flannigan, to the podcast to talk about myths in nutrition, and how nutrition might just be turning the evidence-corner in the world of science and research. 

We talk about how women in particular are vulnerable to crappy science, and why it’s important for the average reader to understand why nutrition is so hard to study. If you struggle to tell what’s real and what’s fake online, this episode will give you insight (and a few laughs) on how to navigate online nutrition conversations. 

Alan is currently a PhD candidate in nutrition at the University of Surrey, having completed his Masters degree in nutrition science at the same institution. Alan is the founder of Alinea Nutrition, an online education hub dedicated to providing impartial, science-based nutrition analysis. Alan is also Research Communication Officer for Sigma Nutrition, creating educational resources for nutrition science. Originally a lawyer by background in Dublin, Ireland, Alan spent a decade practicing as a barrister before moving into science. 

Find Alan hanging out here: @thenutritional_advocate https://www.instagram.com/thenutritional_advocate/

www.alineanutrition.com

Just as an FYI, we swear a lot in this one. Totally unapologetically. The discussion requires swearing. 

Today I have the pleasure of gifting you this incredibly important and raw conversation with Dr. Jody Carrington. A psychologist who is changing the world by teaching us about empathy, connection and true friendship. We cut through some important topics such as motherhood, generational roles, friendships that end and feminine leadership. 

The entire time we recorded I wasn’t sure if I was going to laugh or cry from feeling seen. 

We talked about my office anti-harassment voicemail, my “failed” friendships, our partners taking over “mom roles,” and how frigging hard it is being a leader. 

Dr. Jody’s newest book (coincidentally named Feeling Seen) is about creating connections as the path to health and how to build resiliency in yourself through emotional regulation. 

In Jody’s words, “We need the big people to be okay. And we’re not”. 

Jody also has a podcast, an amazing Instagram account and you can learn more about her on her website. 

We know you’ve likely had information about protein shoved down your throat (pun intended) but do you really understand the WHY?

Things change during ageing and the menopause transition that affect how people’s bodies incorporate dietary protein, and the impact on this is far-reaching. From lower muscle mass, changes to change in satiety (how full you are) and a reduction in energy expenditure (how much we burn in a day), protein affects a lot. 

We review what catabolism is, and how eating the same protein you’ve always eaten doesn't provide enough building blocks to prevent muscle breakdown as you age. 

In this episode we’ll talk through: 

• Why is protein the most important macronutrient in menopause?

• What happens if you don’t hit your targets (and it has to do with appetite)?

• The impact that both aging and menopause have on metabolism and protein needs (they aren’t the same)

• Why women have different needs than men. 

We’ll also cover how to increase your protein intake to meet your needs and what you might notice if you increase your protein levels up to the targets we discuss. 

We’ve released our new Women’s Health Unplugged App on the App Store and Google Play this month, with our first on-demand course being on endometriosis and menstrual cramps. You can download the app and get ready for our subscriber-only content for the Women’s Health Unplugged podcast when we release it later in 2023.