Every week, I talk to women who feel totally overwhelmed by all the noise about menopause, midlife, and longevity. There are soooooooo many opinions out there. Some of the messaging is bossy, some fear-based, and a lot of it tells you to take this supplement, try that protocol, or wear some new device, “or else” your body will fall apart.

Methylation is basically your body adding a small chemical group (one carbon + three hydrogens = a “methyl group”) to another molecule. Sounds tiny. But that little shift can completely change how your body functions.

PMS (pre-menstrual syndrome) refers to a group of physical and emotional symptoms that a woman may experience in the week or so leading up to the beginning of her menstrual cycle (when she starts menstrual bleeding) and subsides within a few days of menstruation.  

There are two types of estrogen therapy, local estrogen therapy and systemic estrogen therapy.

80% of women will experience hot flashes, flushing, and night sweats as they transition through the menopausal years. The medical community refers to these symptoms as vasomotor symptoms or VMS.  The hypothalamus triggers hot flashes and night sweats in the brain to release heat built up in the body in response to a surge of adrenaline, one of our stress hormones.  While the sudden drop in estrogen is thought to be the primary trigger of the cascade that causes a hot flash, high cortisol, low cortisol, low progesterone, or low serotonin can also be drivers for hot flashes.  

Estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone modulate different aspects of brain function through several pathways initiated ONLY after hormones bind to receptors on our brain cells.

I'm often asked whether nonhormonal remedies are an effective alternative to hormone replacement therapy (HRT) for women transitioning from perimenopause to menopause (and beyond).

Weight changes in perimenopause and menopause are common and the result of several factors