If you’ve been told you have estrogen dominance and your instinct has been to detox harder, cut more foods, or throw every estrogen-lowering supplement at the problem, this episode is for you. Estrogen dominance does not automatically mean you have too much estrogen, and aggressively trying to lower it often makes symptoms worse. In this episode, I’m breaking down what estrogen dominance actually is, why it’s more about clearance than production, and how to support your body without pushing it into burnout.

In this episode I’m sharing:

• What estrogen dominance really means and why your estrogen labs can look “normal” or even low
• How estrogen is supposed to rise and fall across your cycle and where things break down
• Why low progesterone often masquerades as “high estrogen” symptoms
• How impaired drainage (not detox) creates a hormone traffic jam
• The overlooked role of copper dysregulation in estrogen-heavy symptoms like breast tenderness and PMS
• Common estrogen-dominant symptoms: heavy or painful periods, PMS, migraines, anxiety, weight gain, and sleep issues
• Why DIM, calcium d-glucarate, fasting, and aggressive detox can backfire
• How liver detox actually works (phase 1 vs phase 2) and why protein and amino acids are non-negotiable
• Why you can’t detox what you can’t eliminate, and the importance of pooping, peeing, sweating, and breathing
• The gut–estrogen connection, including beta-glucuronidase and how low fiber leads to estrogen recirculation
• Simple food-based supports: cruciferous veggies, flaxseed, berries, citrus, bitters, garlic, onions, and a daily carrot
• How to increase fiber slowly without bloating and when digestive enzymes help

Hormone balance isn’t about forcing detox it’s about building capacity. When drainage pathways are open, minerals are supported, digestion is working, and fiber intake is consistent, estrogen can finally move the way it’s meant to. This episode will help you stop fighting your hormones and start supporting them in a way that actually creates relief.

If you’re ready to move beyond symptom-chasing and understand what your body is really asking for, this episode gives you a clear place to start.

Leah’s Favorite Things: https://www.leahbrueggemann.com/favorites

🙏 Thank you to Paleovalley for sponsoring this episode!

👉 Go to https://paleovalley.com/leah and enter code LEAH at checkout for 15% off.

—

I’m Leah Brueggemann, a Functional Diagnostic Nutritional® Practitioner and Hormone Health Coach, helping you balance your hormones in effective and realistic ways so you can live a healthier, happier life.

Through the Balance Hormones Naturally podcast, you’ll discover why your cycle is so important to your everyday health and how you can use nutrition to help support the rise and fall of your hormones and finally feel truly amazing. We dig deep to understand and heal the root causes of your symptoms so you can achieve lasting results through manageable and realistic lifestyle changes, allowing you to live a healthy and balanced life without a life-long pharmaceutical prescription.

Let’s connect:

📷 Instagram https://www.instagram.com/balancinghormonesnaturally/

🙋🏻‍♀️ Personal Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/leah_brueg/

🌐 Website: https://www.leahbrueggemann.com/

📧 Email: [email protected]

If you’ve been trying to get pregnant, have very irregular cycles, a history of long-term birth control use, and a high-stress lifestyle, this episode is for you. In this episode, I’m walking you through a real fertility case study to show what’s possible when we stop chasing quick fixes and instead support the body as a whole. This client’s story is a powerful reminder that fertility challenges aren’t always complex — but they do require the right foundations.

In this episode, I take you through:

• Why coming off birth control without proper nutrient replenishment often leads to irregular or missing ovulation
• How chronic stress and a “go-go-go” lifestyle quietly suppress ovulation and fertility
• Why we started with a hair tissue mineral analysis (HTMA) instead of running endless labs
• What mineral patterns like low sodium, potassium, magnesium, and high calcium tell us about adrenals, thyroid, and cellular stress
• The role of zinc, copper, and mineral balance in ovulation, egg quality, estrogen, and progesterone
• Why low detox capacity doesn’t mean you should push detox, and how doing so can backfire
• How supporting digestion improves mineral absorption and hormone signaling
• Why fertility work must include both partners, not just the woman

I also share how we approached her retest and what changed:

• How improving cellular vitality allowed her body to begin detoxing safely
• Why retesting labs uncovers the next layer of healing instead of guessing
• How nervous system support, habit-building, and letting go of perfection became a turning point
• Why fertility healing isn’t about forcing results, but creating safety, nourishment, and resilience

Just weeks after her retest, this client became pregnant, not through aggressive protocols, but through steady replenishment, stress reduction, and foundational support. This episode is meant to educate, encourage, and remind you that your body is not broken. With the right support, timing, and patience, fertility can return, often more simply than you’ve been led to believe.

If you’re navigating fertility challenges and want to understand why your body is responding the way it is, this episode will help you see the bigger picture and where to start.

Leah’s Favorite Things: https://www.leahbrueggemann.com/favorites

—

I’m Leah Brueggemann, a Functional Diagnostic Nutritional® Practitioner and Hormone Health Coach, helping you balance your hormones in effective and realistic ways so you can live a healthier, happier life.

Through the Balance Hormones Naturally podcast, you’ll discover why your cycle is so important to your everyday health and how you can use nutrition to help support the rise and fall of your hormones and finally feel truly amazing. We dig deep to understand and heal the root causes of your symptoms so you can achieve lasting results through manageable and realistic lifestyle changes, allowing you to live a healthy and balanced life without a life-long pharmaceutical prescription.

Let’s connect:

📷 Instagram https://www.instagram.com/balancinghormonesnaturally/

🙋🏻‍♀️ Personal Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/leah_brueg/

🌐 Website: https://www.leahbrueggemann.com/

📧 Email: [email protected]

For this episode, I was a guest on my good friend Brigitta’s Borinstein’s podcast Motherhood Equipped, where we discussed:

• Why hormones are messengers, not the root problem—and what actually needs support first
• The biggest mistakes women make when trying to “balance hormones” postpartum
• How blood sugar instability drives anxiety, rage, fatigue, and sleep issues
• Why pregnancy and breastfeeding are deeply mineral-depleting—and which minerals matter most
• The truth about electrolytes vs. true mineral repletion
• How cortisol, progesterone, estrogen, and insulin are all interconnected
• Why liver support plays a massive role in mood, skin, and cycle recovery after birth
• What the fourth trimester really asks of your body—and why rushing recovery backfires

We also end with a fun little rapid-fire questionnaire, answering common hormonal questions. This was such a fun interview, and full of so many nuggets and insights.

Leah’s Favorite Things: https://www.leahbrueggemann.com/favorites

🙏Thank you to Eversio Wellness for sponsoring this episode!

👉 Go to https://www.eversiowellness.com/discount/LEAH or enter code LEAH at checkout for 15% off.

—

I’m Leah Brueggemann, a Functional Diagnostic Nutritional® Practitioner and Hormone Health Coach, helping you balance your hormones in effective and realistic ways so you can live a healthier, happier life.

Through the Balance Hormones Naturally podcast, you’ll discover why your cycle is so important to your everyday health and how you can use nutrition to help support the rise and fall of your hormones and finally feel truly amazing. We dig deep to understand and heal the root causes of your symptoms so you can achieve lasting results through manageable and realistic lifestyle changes, allowing you to live a healthy and balanced life without a life-long pharmaceutical prescription.

Let’s connect:

📷 Instagram https://www.instagram.com/balancinghormonesnaturally/

🙋🏻‍♀️ Personal Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/leah_brueg/

🌐 Website: https://www.leahbrueggemann.com/

📧 Email: [email protected]

If you’re exhausted but can’t fall asleep, wake up wired in the middle of the night, or feel like you’ve tried everything with no success, this episode is for you.

In this episode, I’m breaking down the real reasons sleep struggles happen and exactly how to fix them using simple, practical sleep hygiene strategies that actually work. This isn’t about a perfect nighttime routine, it’s about training your brain and body to finally feel safe enough to rest.

In this episode, I cover:

• Why sleep is a learned neurological response, and how stress trains your brain to stay awake
• The biggest mistake people make with bedtime routines
• How blood sugar, cortisol, melatonin, and insulin all affect your ability to fall and stay asleep
• Why your wake time matters more than your bedtime
• The connection between late eating and poor sleep
• How to build a realistic nighttime routine that supports deep rest
• What to do if you’re wired but exhausted
• Simple changes that can dramatically improve your sleep in 7–14 days

If you’re ready to stop fighting your body at night and finally experience deep, restorative sleep, this episode will completely shift how you approach rest.

Leah’s Favorite Things: https://www.leahbrueggemann.com/favorites

—

I’m Leah Brueggemann, a Functional Diagnostic Nutritional® Practitioner and Hormone Health Coach, helping you balance your hormones in effective and realistic ways so you can live a healthier, happier life.

Through the Balance Hormones Naturally podcast, you’ll discover why your cycle is so important to your everyday health and how you can use nutrition to help support the rise and fall of your hormones and finally feel truly amazing. We dig deep to understand and heal the root causes of your symptoms so you can achieve lasting results through manageable and realistic lifestyle changes, allowing you to live a healthy and balanced life without a life-long pharmaceutical prescription.

Let’s connect:

📷 Instagram https://www.instagram.com/balancinghormonesnaturally/

🙋🏻‍♀️ Personal Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/leah_brueg/

🌐 Website: https://www.leahbrueggemann.com/

📧 Email: [email protected]

If you’ve been told your labs are “normal” but you still feel exhausted, bloated, moody, anxious, crampy, or completely off in your cycle, this episode is for you. Normal labs do not mean optimal hormones. And they definitely don’t mean nothing is wrong. Most women are living in the gray zone: not sick enough for medication, but not healthy enough to feel good. In this episode, I’m breaking down what balanced hormones actually look like, why lab ranges are misleading, and how to understand what your body is truly asking for.

In this episode I’m sharing:

• Why normal lab ranges does not mean optimal hormone function, and how conventional ranges are built around disease, not wellness
• The difference between conventional vs functional lab ranges, and why tighter ranges matter for symptom-free living
• Why TSH alone is not a full picture of thyroid health, and what T3, T4, antibodies, gut health, and liver function reveal
• How nutrient deficiencies and poor conversion drive fatigue, PMS, weight gain, and hair loss before labs flag a problem
• Why your doctor isn’t necessarily wrong, but is limited by insurance, time constraints, and pharmaceutical-based training
• How hormones actually work together through the hormone cascade, and why fixing just one hormone rarely solves symptoms
• The connection between cortisol, progesterone, estrogen, testosterone, thyroid hormones, and inflammation
• Why stress, blood sugar crashes, mineral depletion, and liver overload disrupt hormone flow
• What truly balanced hormones feel like: predictable cycles, stable energy, calm moods, good sleep, healthy digestion, and resilience
• The foundational steps that support hormone balance naturally: blood sugar stability, mineral replenishment, liver support, gut health, and nervous system regulation

Your symptoms are not random, they’re communication. You deserve more than being told “everything looks fine” when your body is clearly asking for support. This episode will help you understand how hormones really work, why labs often miss the bigger picture, and how to start building true hormone balance so you can finally feel like yourself again.

Leah’s Favorite Things: https://www.leahbrueggemann.com/favorites

🙏 Thank you to Paleovalley for sponsoring this episode!

👉 Go to https://paleovalley.com/leah and enter code LEAH at checkout for 15% off.

—

I’m Leah Brueggemann, a Functional Diagnostic Nutritional® Practitioner and Hormone Health Coach, helping you balance your hormones in effective and realistic ways so you can live a healthier, happier life.

Through the Balance Hormones Naturally podcast, you’ll discover why your cycle is so important to your everyday health and how you can use nutrition to help support the rise and fall of your hormones and finally feel truly amazing. We dig deep to understand and heal the root causes of your symptoms so you can achieve lasting results through manageable and realistic lifestyle changes, allowing you to live a healthy and balanced life without a life-long pharmaceutical prescription.

Let’s connect:

📷 Instagram https://www.instagram.com/balancinghormonesnaturally/

🙋🏻‍♀️ Personal Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/leah_brueg/

🌐 Website: https://www.leahbrueggemann.com/

📧 Email: [email protected]

If you’re dealing with heavy or clotted periods, intense PMS, breast tenderness, migraines around your cycle, bloating before your period, or feeling overly emotional, anxious, or wired, you’re going to want to listen to this episode. Estrogen is not the enemy. In fact, we need estrogen for ovulation, bone health, insulin sensitivity, and brain function. The problem starts when estrogen is too high, not clearing properly, or overpowering progesterone. This episode will help you understand what your symptoms are actually telling you, and where to start.

In this episode I’m sharing: 

• The 7 most common signs of high estrogen, including heavy bleeding, short cycles, breast tenderness, PMS, migraines, and more
• Why high estrogen almost always goes hand-in-hand with low progesterone (and why you can’t look at one without the other)
• How estrogen increases histamine activity, leading to anxiety, insomnia, nausea, rage, and premenstrual mood swings
• Why migraines around ovulation or before your period are often tied to estrogen fluctuations and inflammation
• How stress, alcohol, and lack of sleep worsen estrogen symptoms by slowing liver detoxification
• The difference between high estrogen vs. estrogen dominance and why labs can look “normal” while symptoms are anything but
• How copper imbalance can make estrogen feel stronger even when blood levels are normal
• Why gut health matters, including the role of beta-glucuronidase in estrogen recirculation
• Where to start naturally: blood sugar balance, fiber intake, liver support, bitters, vitamin C, and reducing endocrine disruptors

Estrogen doesn’t work in isolation. When progesterone, liver detox, gut health, minerals, and blood sugar aren’t supported, estrogen symptoms show up loud and clear. This episode will help you recognize the signs of high estrogen, understand what’s driving them, and take practical steps toward calmer moods, lighter periods, and more balanced hormones.

Leah’s Favorite Things: https://www.leahbrueggemann.com/favorites

—

I’m Leah Brueggemann, a Functional Diagnostic Nutritional® Practitioner and Hormone Health Coach, helping you balance your hormones in effective and realistic ways so you can live a healthier, happier life.

Through the Balance Hormones Naturally podcast, you’ll discover why your cycle is so important to your everyday health and how you can use nutrition to help support the rise and fall of your hormones and finally feel truly amazing. We dig deep to understand and heal the root causes of your symptoms so you can achieve lasting results through manageable and realistic lifestyle changes, allowing you to live a healthy and balanced life without a life-long pharmaceutical prescription.

Let’s connect:

📷 Instagram https://www.instagram.com/balancinghormonesnaturally/

🙋🏻‍♀️ Personal Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/leah_brueg/

🌐 Website: https://www.leahbrueggemann.com/

📧 Email: [email protected]

If you’ve been diagnosed with ADHD (or strongly resonate with it) and feel like you’re constantly hitting an invisible wall—knowing what to do but unable to follow through—this episode is for you. ADHD doesn’t mean you’re broken, lazy, or incapable. And it doesn’t mean medication is your only option. In this conversation, Gaia Broda and myself are reframing ADHD away from a life sentence and into something far more empowering: information you can use to take your power back.

In this episode we’re sharing:

• Why so many women are being diagnosed with ADHD later in life, and what’s actually driving the rise
• How identifying as your diagnosis quietly gives your power away (even when it feels validating)
• The Core Four pillars for managing ADHD naturally: movement, nutrition, nervous system regulation, and sleep
• Why knowing the strategies isn’t the problem, and what’s really stopping follow-through
• How blood sugar crashes, dopamine chasing, and nervous system dysregulation fuel procrastination and overwhelm
• Why reaching for sugar, scrolling, or avoidance isn’t a character flaw, but a signal
• The role of self-worth, agency, and subconscious beliefs in ADHD symptoms
• How hypnosis and subconscious work help rewire the patterns that keep you stuck
• Why ADHD brains often come with powerful “zones of genius” and how society teaches us to ignore them
• Where to actually start if you’re at rock bottom vs. already “managing but not thriving”

An ADHD diagnosis can be a permission slip, not an identity. ADHD doesn’t get to decide what’s possible for you. When you stop outsourcing your power to labels, hacks, or medication alone and start building agency, nervous system safety, and supportive foundations, you can move from surviving to truly thriving. This episode will help you see your brain differently, reclaim your worth, and start working with how you’re wired instead of against it.

Connect with Gaia:
Beyond Meds Podcast Spotify | YouTube 

15 Minute ADHD Morning Routine: https://bit.ly/dopaminedetoxtraining

Biohacking ADHD Membership: https://bit.ly/awcbiohackingmembership

LinkedIn

www.gaiabroda.com

—

Leah’s Favorite Things: https://www.leahbrueggemann.com/favorites

🙏Thank you to Eversio Wellness for sponsoring this episode!

👉 Go to https://www.eversiowellness.com/discount/LEAH or enter code LEAH at checkout for 15% off.

—

I’m Leah Brueggemann, a Functional Diagnostic Nutritional® Practitioner and Hormone Health Coach, helping you balance your hormones in effective and realistic ways so you can live a healthier, happier life.

Through the Balance Hormones Naturally podcast, you’ll discover why your cycle is so important to your everyday health and how you can use nutrition to help support the rise and fall of your hormones and finally feel truly amazing. We dig deep to understand and heal the root causes of your symptoms so you can achieve lasting results through manageable and realistic lifestyle changes, allowing you to live a healthy and balanced life without a life-long pharmaceutical prescription.

Let’s connect:

📷 Instagram https://www.instagram.com/balancinghormonesnaturally/

🙋🏻‍♀️ Personal Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/leah_brueg/

🌐 Website: https://www.leahbrueggemann.com/

📧 Email: [email protected]

If you’re bloated, constipated, dealing with PMS, or feeling like your hormones are off and you don’t know where to start, this episode is for you. Hormone balance doesn’t come from juice cleanses, cutting more foods, or chasing the “perfect” diet. It comes from giving your body the raw materials it actually needs to build, detoxify, and regulate hormones properly. In this episode, I’m breaking down the foundational foods every woman needs to support hormone balance, without extremes.

In this episode I’m sharing:

• Why hormones don’t work in isolation, and why gut health, liver detox, and blood sugar must be supported first
• How soluble fiber (like carrots, beets, apples, and cruciferous veggies) binds excess estrogen and supports detox
• Why many women feel worse before their period when estrogen isn’t clearing properly
• The truth about animal products and why they’re critical for minerals, protein, and hormone production
• How long-term vegan or restrictive diets often lead to mineral depletion and hormone symptoms
• Why saturated fat (butter, ghee, coconut oil) is essential for progesterone and cortisol production
• The role of carbohydrates in ovulation, progesterone, thyroid conversion (T4 → T3), and microbiome health
• Why keto and extreme carb restriction often backfire for women’s hormones
• How bitters (arugula, dandelion greens, beets, digestive bitters) stimulate bile flow and estrogen detox
• What to do if fiber makes you bloated, and why that doesn’t mean you should avoid it
• Why juice cleanses don’t support hormone balance and often worsen blood sugar and liver stress

Hormone balance isn’t about doing more, it’s about supporting the basics consistently. When digestion, liver detox, minerals, protein, fat, and carbohydrates are in place, hormones naturally regulate more easily. This episode will help you simplify your approach, stop chasing quick fixes, and start nourishing your body in a way that actually supports long-term hormone health.

Leah’s Favorite Things: https://www.leahbrueggemann.com/favorites

—

I’m Leah Brueggemann, a Functional Diagnostic Nutritional® Practitioner and Hormone Health Coach, helping you balance your hormones in effective and realistic ways so you can live a healthier, happier life.

Through the Balance Hormones Naturally podcast, you’ll discover why your cycle is so important to your everyday health and how you can use nutrition to help support the rise and fall of your hormones and finally feel truly amazing. We dig deep to understand and heal the root causes of your symptoms so you can achieve lasting results through manageable and realistic lifestyle changes, allowing you to live a healthy and balanced life without a life-long pharmaceutical prescription.

Let’s connect:
📷 Instagram https://www.instagram.com/balancinghormonesnaturally/
🙋🏻‍♀️ Personal Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/leah_brueg/
🌐 Website: https://www.leahbrueggemann.com/
📧 Email: [email protected]

If you’re getting 7–8 hours of sleep and still waking up exhausted, this episode is for you.

I used to sleep 10+ hours and still feel completely drained. Now, as a mom of three getting far less sleep, I have more energy than I ever did before. In this episode, I’m breaking down why “more sleep” isn’t the answer,  and what actually restores your energy.

In this episode, I cover:

• Why chasing sleep instead of daytime energy is keeping you stuck
• How your morning routine directly impacts your nighttime sleep
• The hidden role blood sugar crashes play in fatigue, anxiety, and 2–4am wake-ups
• Why minerals like magnesium, sodium, and potassium are non-negotiable for energy
• The difference between stimulation (caffeine, pre-workout, pushing through) and true restoration
• How to adjust movement, caffeine, and nervous system work based on whether you’re wired or shut down
• What your cycle, progesterone, and cortisol patterns can tell you about your fatigue
• Simple food, lifestyle, and supplement supports for both energy and sleep

If you’re tired of relying on caffeine, crashing every afternoon, or feeling wired but exhausted at night, this episode will help you start working with your body instead of fighting it.

Leah’s Favorite Things: https://www.leahbrueggemann.com/favorites

🙏 Thank you to Paleovalley for sponsoring this episode!

👉 Go to https://paleovalley.com/leah and enter code LEAH at checkout for 15% off.

—

I’m Leah Brueggemann, a Functional Diagnostic Nutritional® Practitioner and Hormone Health Coach, helping you balance your hormones in effective and realistic ways so you can live a healthier, happier life.

Through the Balance Hormones Naturally podcast, you’ll discover why your cycle is so important to your everyday health and how you can use nutrition to help support the rise and fall of your hormones and finally feel truly amazing. We dig deep to understand and heal the root causes of your symptoms so you can achieve lasting results through manageable and realistic lifestyle changes, allowing you to live a healthy and balanced life without a life-long pharmaceutical prescription.

Let’s connect:

📷 Instagram https://www.instagram.com/balancinghormonesnaturally/

🙋🏻‍♀️ Personal Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/leah_brueg/

🌐 Website: https://www.leahbrueggemann.com/

📧 Email: [email protected]

If you’re struggling with anxiety, poor sleep, restless legs, blood sugar crashes, muscle tension, or feeling constantly wired and depleted, especially during pregnancy or postpartum, this episode is for you. Magnesium is one of the most overlooked and under-consumed minerals for women, yet it’s involved in hundreds of critical processes in the body. And here’s the kicker: most women are deficient without ever being told. In this episode, I’m breaking down why magnesium matters so much, how to choose the right form, and why lab work often misses the real problem.

In this episode I’m sharing:

• Why over 78% of women are magnesium deficient, and why pregnancy and postpartum increase your needs even more
• The reason blood tests don’t accurately reflect magnesium status 
• How magnesium supports sleep, anxiety, blood sugar regulation, insulin sensitivity, muscle relaxation, and nervous system calm
• Why magnesium is essential for using vitamin D, and how deficiencies stack on top of each other
• The difference between magnesium citrate vs. glycinate vs. malate (and why citrate isn’t my go-to for most women)
• Why relying on food alone often isn’t enough due to depleted soil and digestive absorption issues
• How potassium-rich foods (avocados, coconut water, nettle tea) help your body use magnesium better
• The role of vitamin B6 and boron in magnesium utilization
• Why supplement quality matters, and what to look for in brands (no fillers, heavy metal testing, arsenic awareness)
• How to safely think about magnesium during pregnancy and postpartum, including topical options and individualized dosing

Magnesium isn’t just a nice-to-have supplement, it’s foundational. When this mineral is low, everything feels harder: sleep, stress, blood sugar, mood, and recovery. This episode will help you understand why magnesium deficiency is so common, how it shows up in everyday symptoms, and how to support your body wisely, especially during seasons of higher demand like pregnancy, postpartum, and chronic stress.

Leah’s Favorite Things: https://www.leahbrueggemann.com/favorites

—

I’m Leah Brueggemann, a Functional Diagnostic Nutritional® Practitioner and Hormone Health Coach, helping you balance your hormones in effective and realistic ways so you can live a healthier, happier life.

Through the Balance Hormones Naturally podcast, you’ll discover why your cycle is so important to your everyday health and how you can use nutrition to help support the rise and fall of your hormones and finally feel truly amazing. We dig deep to understand and heal the root causes of your symptoms so you can achieve lasting results through manageable and realistic lifestyle changes, allowing you to live a healthy and balanced life without a life-long pharmaceutical prescription.

Let’s connect:

📷 Instagram https://www.instagram.com/balancinghormonesnaturally/

🙋🏻‍♀️ Personal Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/leah_brueg/

🌐 Website: https://www.leahbrueggemann.com/

📧 Email: [email protected]