midlife. unmasked

At Midlife: Unmasked, we usually focus onwomen's health during what I call The Missing Decade. But this episode takes a brief detour to explore an equally important conversation—men's health.

Whether it's a spouse, partner, father, brother, son, or close friend, many of us care deeply about the health of themen in our lives. Yet men are often less likely to seek preventive care, delay routine screenings, and may overlook early warning signs of chronic disease.

In this episode, Family Nurse Practitioner ZaneDye joins us to discuss what every man should know about healthy aging in midlife. We'll cover the preventive screenings that matter most, common health issues that often go unnoticed, practical lifestyle habits that promotelong-term health, and how family members and partners can encourage preventive care in supportive and meaningful ways.

As we all move through their 40s, 50s, andbeyond, nutrition becomes about much more than weight. The foods we eat influence energy, mood, sleep, muscle health, metabolic function, heart health, brain health, and overall quality of life. Yet many women receive conflictingadvice about what they should, or shouldn't, eat during midlife.

In this episode, we explore the science ofnutrition during the menopause transition and beyond. We'll discuss practical, evidence-based strategies for nourishing the body, supporting long-term health, and making sustainable lifestyle changes that fit real life, not fad diets.

Guest Bio: Dr. Kate Shafto is a board-certifiedphysician in both Internal Medicine and Pediatrics, and Integrative Medicine who is passionate about helping people build healthier lives throughevidence-based lifestyle and preventive medicine. She is the founder of Feed Your Health MD, where she partners with individuals to develop realistic, sustainable approaches to nutrition, physical activity, and healthy aging thatsupport lifelong wellness.

https://feedyourhealthmd.com/

Hot flashes are oftentreated as an inevitable part of menopause—but what if there areevidence-informed approaches beyond simply “waiting it out”?

In this episode of Midlife:Unmasked, I sit down with Dr. Brian Grosam, PhD, LAc, researcher, educator,and expert in Chinese medicine, to explore how acupuncture and integrativetherapies may help women navigate some of the most disruptive symptoms of themenopause transition. We discuss what the science says, where conventional careoften falls short, and how women can make informed decisions aboutcomplementary approaches to symptom management.

This conversation ispart of our ongoing exploration of The Missing Decade—the years whenwomen are experiencing profound biological changes, yet too often struggle tofind clear answers, trusted guidance, and personalized care.

In this episode of Midlife: Unmasked, I’m joined by Kacy Fleming, anaward-winning workplace well-being strategist and CEO and founder of TheFuchsia Tent, to explore one of the most overlooked drivers of women’s healthand career trajectories: menopause in the workplace.

After more than two decades in biopharmaceuticals, Kacy personallyexperienced firsthand the confusion and fragmentation of menopauseinformation—leading her to create The Fuchsia Tent, a community-centeredplatform designed to provide clarity, connection, and credible guidance forwomen navigating midlife. Her work bridges storytelling, evidence-informedstrategy, and organizational design to help companies better support and retainwomen in mid-career and beyond.

We talk about the gap between information andunderstanding, the real impact of menopause on professional identity andperformance, and why workplaces are unprepared for a transition that affectshalf the workforce—with a focus why menopause is not just a health issue—but aworkplace, leadership, and retention issue

So please join as we jumpright into this amazing conversation

Welcome to Midlife: Unmasked.
I’m your host, Robin Austin—nurse researcher, educator, and someone navigating midlife right alongside you.

Season Two goes deeper.

There’s a decade in women’s lives where everything starts to change—
sleep, focus, energy, mood, work, identity—
and yet, no one really explains why.

We call it “normal.”
But normal doesn’t mean harmless.

This season explores what I call The Missing Decade—
the years when early signals are dismissed, symptoms are minimized, and women are left to figure it out on their own.

Through evidence-based insights, expert conversations, and real stories, we name what’s been missing:
language, context, and a whole-person understanding of midlife health.

This isn’t about quick fixes or trends.
It’s about clarity. Patterns. Truth.

New episodes drop biweekly, with companion essays on Substack to go even deeper.

If you’ve ever wondered, “Why didn’t anyone tell me this?”—
you’re in the right place.

Because when we name it, we can change it.

In this episode of Midlife: Unmasked, I’m joined by Dr. Laura Sandquist, DNP, APRN, A-GNP-C, IFMCP a Whole Health Advanced Practice Nurse with more than 12 years of experience in functional medicine and women’s hormone health. Dr. Sandquist helps bring much-needed clarity to one of the most confusing stages of women’s health: the menopause transition.

Today’s menopause landscape is crowded with advice, trends, and supplements—many promising quick fixes, but few grounded in evidence. In this conversation, Dr. Sandquist helps us cut through the noise and focus on what actually matters.

Drawing from integrative health, functional medicine, and whole-person care, she explains how women can build a practical, personalized plan that supports hormone health, energy, and long-term well-being—without becoming overwhelmed by the endless stream of wellness advice online.

Together, we explore how to better understand the changes happening in midlife, how to make informed health decisions, and how to move beyond being sold the “next best thing” toward sustainable, science-informed care.

If you’re navigating perimenopause or menopause and looking for clear information, realistic strategies, and care that respects both the science and the individual, this conversation is for you.

Menopause does not occur in a vacuum.

It is shaped by biology — but also by culture, environment, structural inequities, and lived experience across the life course.

In this episode of Midlife: Unmasked, I sit down with Yamnia I. Cortés, PhD, MPH, RN, FAHA, FAAN, director of the CortésMenoLab and a national leader in menopause and cardiovascular health disparities research.

Dr. Cortés’ work bridges sociocultural, behavioral, environmental, and biological science to better understand why midlife health outcomes differ — particularly for Latinas and other marginalized women. We explore:

• What is often overlooked when we talk about menopause and cardiovascular risk

• How early life experiences shape menopause symptoms and heart health decades later

• The critical connection between reproductive aging, sleep, and cognitive decline

• Culturally grounded, community-engaged interventions that actually work

• Why menopause must become visible in health policy and workplace conversations

This episode expands The Missing Decade conversation by asking a crucial question:

Who has been missing from the data?

Because menopause equity is cardiovascular equity.
And midlife health is public health.

🎧 Listen now.

Midlife health is often reduced to prescriptions or quick fixes—but real, lasting change happens upstream.

In today’s episode of Midlife: Unmasked, we explore lifestyle medicine as one of the most powerful—and misunderstood—drivers of health during perimenopause and beyond. I’m joined by Andie Otto, founder of Nourished, LLC, a lifestyle medicine coach specializing in metabolic health, perimenopause support, and coaching for individuals using GLP-1 medications.

Andie breaks down how evidence-based nutrition, behavior change, and whole-person coaching can support hormone balance, gut health, energy, and long-term well-being—especially during physiologic transitions that traditional care often oversimplifies.

We talk about:

• What lifestyle medicine actually means in real life

• How to support metabolic health during perimenopause

• Navigating GLP-1 medications with sustainable habits—not extremes

• Why plant-forward eating and small, consistent shifts matter more than perfection

If you’re navigating metabolic changes, adapting to a GLP-1 medication, or simply seeking more vitality through food and lifestyle, this conversation offers clarity, tools, and encouragement for the road ahead.

https://nourishedservices.com/~nourith7/

A Conversation with Patient Advocate Aimee Osgood

Women’s sexual and vulvovaginal health is still surrounded by silence, confusion, and delayed diagnosis—despite how common these concerns are across the lifespan.

In this episode of Midlife: Unmasked, I’m joined by Aimee, a vulvovaginal and sexual health patient advocate, educator, and researcher, and a proud member of the International Society for the Study of Women’s Sexual Health. Together, we explore how science, advocacy, and lived experience intersect—and why women are so often left to connect the dots on their own.

Aimee breaks down complex medical research into accessible, practical insights, diving into the why behind conditions such as infections, pain, and changes in libido. We talk about what is currently known, what is still being studied, and how gaps in knowledge directly impact women’s confidence, care, and quality of life.

This conversation speaks directly to The Missing Decade—when symptoms are present, answers are scarce, and women are told to wait, normalize, or endure.

🎧 If you’ve ever felt dismissed or under-informed about your body, this episode offers clarity, validation, and a science-informed path forward.

In this episode of Midlife: Unmasked, I’m joined by Dr. Kristen Mark, a nationally recognized sex and relationship researcher, to unpack what sexual health and well-being really look like in midlife. We explore common myths about desire, long-term relationships, and aging—and why so many women feel disconnected from their sexuality during their 40s and 50s. This conversation connects directly to The Missing Decade, the critical years when early signals are often dismissed, yet have lasting implications for healthspan, intimacy, and quality of life.