Gennev: Let's talk about menopause

With so many symptoms, and some of them pretty unpleasant, menopause can seem like the end of your world. Or at least your world as you knew it.

Amanda Thebe was a lifelong athlete and fitness enthusiast, but when she hit perimenopause at 43, things went ... awry. Fatigue set in, and she found her previously boundless reserves of energy were drying up. And, like so many of us, she didn't realize right away that the issues she was having were hormonal.

And like many women, she ran a gamut of doctors who never even suggested perimenopause. Nausea, vomiting, and extreme fatigue led to dozens of tests (even the emergency room!) over nearly two years.

Fortunately, at a standard well-woman check up with an OB/GYN, the doc was able to diagnose perimenopause after about five minutes of conversation.  A few minutes more, and she had some next steps to start feeling like herself again. 

Her book Menopocalypse is Amanda's way of bringing attention to the fact that women need information and, once they have it, can actually thrive through this change.  

Listen to the conversation. Buy and read the book. Join us at Gennev to learn more from experts in menopause and menopause care.

Is there a connection between estrogen and breast cancer? Maybe, but it may not be what you think. Gennev CEO Jill Angelo talks with Dr. Avrum Bluming, Dr. Joanne Weidhaas, and Dr. Rebecca Dunsmoor-Su on hormones, cancer risk, and the WHI study that changed everything.

Listen to the podcast, then visit Gennev.com for more information.

Science is starting to uncover the many ways our gut flora affect our health. While many of us still believe the beneficial bacteria is good for digestion (and it is), it does a whole lot more. 

In this podcast, metabolic surgeon and gut expert Dr. Erika La Vella talks with Gennev's Director of Health Coaching Stasi Kasianchuk about the bi-directional relationship between your gut and your brain.

The "Gut-Brain Axis" affects your perception, cognition, your nervous system, your mood, pretty much everything. Given that, and how cattywampus everything is during menopause anyway, doesn't it make sense to be sure your gut is getting exactly what it needs?

Have a listen, then find Dr. La Vella at LavellaYourGuts.com and make an appointment to work with Coach Stasi or one of our other amazing coaches at Gennev.com. 

When you look your best, it's easier to feel confident. Unfortunately, midlife seems to conspire against us, at least by today's cultural standards of "best," with thicker waistlines, more wrinkled skin, and flyaway hair.

One of the first things we notice when we see someone for the first time is their hair — and this is especially true of women. If our previously shiny, glossy, thick hair is now dry, thinner, and frizzy, we feel we're not making our best first impression. That can undermine confidence before we even open our mouths.

To help women feel better about their hair, whether it's to make a better first impression or just happier moments in front of the mirror, Sonsoles Gonzalez founded Better Not Younger, a haircare brand focused on the changes many women experience as they age.

Better Not Younger isn't just dedicated to healthier hair, though; it's also changing the conversation around women and aging. 

As an executive in the haircare industry, Sonsoles noticed that products were always geared toward the "18-44 year old women" market. What happens when a woman turns 45, she asked?

Apparently, as far as the large brands go, 45-year-old women and older pretty much cease to exist. But at 52 or 53, Sonsoles, says, she still felt youthful and attractive — not ready for invisibility!

So she started her own company that researched the needs of women in this demographic and began providing products that work. 

In this podcast, Better Not Younger CEO Sonsoles Gonzalez and Gennev CEO Jill Angelo talk about providing products for women in midlife and how our culture is slowly shifting to recognize the unique value and beauty of women 40 and over.

Take a moment to listen, then learn more about Gennev and Better Not Younger at Gennev.com. 

How do you discuss a “taboo” topic like menopause on a public forum like a podcast? With humor, insight, wisdom, and patience!

Meet Colleen Ricci Rosenblum and Bridgett Biagi Garratt, the forces behind the hit podcast for midlife women: Hot Flashes & Cool Topics.

A year and 60-or-so episodes out from their launch, and Colleen and Bridgett have a genuine hit on their hands.

They've talked about the things you might imagine, given their title: peri/menopause, being empty nesters and relationships with adult children, etc. 

But they've taken on some tougher topics as well, including Colleen's daughter's history with an eating disorder, difficult pregnancies, divorce, and suicide.

Initially, they reached out to Gennev to feature Gennev CEO Jill Angelo on a podcast; they were so delightful and informed and fun, we asked them to return the favor.

What follows is a great conversation about midlife, menopause, the (glacially slow) changing attitudes towards women's health, and what it's like to go in the public eye and share intimate information. 

Do you feel comfortable in your own skin?

Many women don't, and that's more to do with the expectations we've been taught than any real problem with our health or wellness.

Emphasis on women's outsides has far surpassed focus on a woman's insides, resulting in a system that has many more solutions for "weight loss" than it does for managing menopause symptoms. 

At Gennev, we know the bodily changes that come with aging and hormone declines are natural, normal, and beautiful—they just may not all be comfortable.

So we want to help women embrace a body that may be a little heavier, a little softer, a body that has silver hair and laugh lines to show she's had a life. We want to help her be comfortable in that body, both by embracing change but also by managing hot flashes and interrupted sleep.

In this podcast, Gennev Director of Health Coaching Stasi Kasianchuk talked with Erica Mouch, a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist who also has a BA in psychology.

Erica advocates and practices from a Health At Every Size® lens in order to support people from all shapes and sizes in healing their relationship with food and their bodies. Erica is also a Certified Intuitive Eating Counselor.

Listen to their conversation, then join us at Gennev.com for more information on having a happier, healthier menopause transition. 

The physical and emotional changes that come with menopause can complicate intimacy. 

Sexual intercourse can become painful due to the thinning and drying of intimate tissue; libido may wane as hormones decrease and menopause symptoms increase.

But because sexuality, and in particular women's sexuality, is such a taboo subject in American culture, we don't talk about it. And what doesn't get discussed, generally doesn't get solved.

But times and attitudes are changing: there are more platforms now for women to get information and solutions and engage in conversation about the very real, very natural changes happening in their bodies.

Two companies helping women regain sexual health in menopause are Gennev and MiddlesexMD.

In this conversation, the CEOs of each company, and a menopause-specialist OB/GYN, talk about the importance of open conversation around women's sexuality and health, the challenges of starting a business in a stigmatized niche, and the ways their companies are helping women enjoy the second half of their lives.

Continuing our conversation with Dr. Erika La Vella, in this month's Microbiome Series, we're asking the doc about how food affects our microbiome for good or ill, how we can eat to protect beneficial gut flora, and substances that may impact our gut.

The gut microbiome is sometimes referred to as "the second brain." Why? Because what happens in the gut does NOT stay in the gut. As science explores gut flora, we're discovering more and more how  microbiome health impacts so many other systems and organs of the body.

That means taking care of the gut is pretty critical to feeling good and being healthy. And like every other organism, beneficial bacteria rely on the right food sources for optimal health.

So what do they eat? They eat what we eat, for better or worse. Fortunately, people like Dr. Erika La Vella have a good handle on what food our good gut bacteria thrive on, and she shared that information with us.

Take a listen to the podcast, then visit Gennev.com for more information to be happier and healthier through and beyond the menopause transition. 

Our environment can be pretty heavy with things that are bad for our health, including endocrine-disrupting substances.

Cleansers, detergents, scrubs, things we use to clean our environments and ourselves may be doing more damage to our health than than they prevent. What about products that go on and in our bodies — soaps, creams, powders, makeup, deodorants and anti-perspirants, hair sprays, plastic containers to hold our food in the fridge or microwave. How many products do you come in contact with every day, all days of your life?

And it's not just the products we use. Disruptive chemicals can be in our clothes or furniture or daily use objects as fire-retardants or easy-clean surfaces. 

Mary Purdy is an expert on helping us minimize our exposure to toxins in our environment and maximize our efficiency in ridding them from our bodies, homes, and workplaces.

Have a listen to the podcast, then visit Gennev.com for more information on menopause, toxins, and how to have a healthier second chapter of life. 

Many experience menopause as a time of grief and loss: loss of youth, of reproduction, of a body that looked different, behaved in predictable ways, and seemed easier to control. 

To feel some sense of grief at change is totally normal and understandable. But at Gennev, we feel the menopause transition can also be a very positive time to embrace a new you, changed body, changed attitude, new freedoms and all.

To help us understand and navigate this transition, Gennev Health Coach Katie Linville talked with Kathleen Putnam, an expert in grief, loss, and transition. 

She gave us new ways of thinking about change and aging, and new strategies to celebrate the new us on the other side of the symptoms.

Listen to the podcast, then come over to Gennev.com to learn more about how to manage menopause to have an easier, better, healthier transition.