Nourishing Our Sanity

Kymber takes a deeper look at perimenopause, aging and the complicated conversation around hormone replacement therapy. Rather than viewing menopause as an isolated hormonal transition, she explores the broader question of what a woman’s health, relationship with her body and relationship with aging looked like before entering this stage of life. She also unpacks the history of HRT, the broader effects of estrogen on the nervous system and stress response, and why addressing underlying metabolic and physiological imbalances are an integral part of the conversation.

Today on Nourishing Our Sanity:

• How trauma can shape a woman’s relationship with aging and her changing body
• What perimenopause actually is and what changes women can expect
• The complicated history of hormone replacement therapy (HRT)
• Why estrogen is more than a sex hormone — and how it interacts with the nervous system and stress response
• Why HRT isn’t a substitute for addressing underlying metabolic, thyroid, blood sugar and stress-related issues

Where to find Kymber:

• Instagram: @kymbermaulden
• Substack: @kymbermaulden
• Website: kymbermaulden.com
• Email: [email protected] 

Resources:

• Kymber’s HTMA Consultation
• Motherhood Until Yesterday (Correction: I said before in the episode)
• The 2002 Study (WHI) Rossouw et al., "Risks and Benefits of Estrogen Plus Progestin in Healthy Postmenopausal Women," JAMA, 2002

Where HRT's popularity started (the paid-promotion history)

• Background on Dr. Robert Wilson and Feminine Forever
• Background on the book itself

What The Menopause Society says now

• Reader-friendly summary of the 2022 position statement
• The formal position statement (for anyone who wants the clinical version)

Ray Peat perspective (for balance/alternative viewpoint)

• General site, where listeners can browse his full article library
• His book, From PMS to Menopause: Female Hormones in Context covers his estrogen/progesterone framework directly — a full copy is archived here

*This show is produced by Mountain Valley Media*

Kymber sits down with Amber Romaniuk to explore binge eating, food addiction, and the complex relationship between food and emotional well-being. Amber shares her personal journey with binge eating and purging, what ultimately helped her heal, and her perspective on the roots of food addiction. 

Today on Nourishing Our Sanity:

• Amber’s journey through binge eating, purging, and food addiction
• What is food addiction, and what drives compulsive eating?
• Challenging each other’s perspectives on sugar and processed foods
• How Amber and Kymber each healed their relationship with food

Where to find Amber:

• Instagram: @amberromaniuk
• Podcast: No Sugarcoating
• Website: amberapproved.ca 
• Emotional Eating Quiz: Take the Emotional Eating Quiz
• Free Hormone Imbalance Quiz: Take the Hormone Imbalance Quiz
• Complimentary 30-Minute Body Freedom Session: Body Freedom

Where to find Kymber:

• Instagram: @kymbermaulden
• Substack: @kymbermaulden
• Website: kymbermaulden.com
• Email: [email protected] 

 Additional Links

The original study behind the "sugar beats cocaine" claim: 

• Intense Sweetness Surpasses Cocaine Reward

Cambridge researchers laying out why the animal-to-human extrapolation is shaky:

• Obesity and the brain: how convincing is the addiction model?

The human evidence (or lack of it) on sugar addiction:

• “Markus & Rogers, 2017, Appetite — "Eating dependence and weight gain; no human evidence for a 'sugar-addiction' model of overweight." 1,495 people tested, and sugar-only foods showed almost no addiction-like pattern (5%), while high-fat/savory and high-fat/sweet combos did (25–30%)

The more accessible theoretical critique of the whole framework:

• Is food addiction a valid and useful concept?

Layne Norton, PhD, refutes sugar addiction claims & Mark Hyman’s Views:

• Biolayne | Evidence-based research, fitness training, and coaching
• Why Sugar Did Not Cause the Obesity Epidemic
• Darth Hyman Claims Sugar Causes 70% of Disease | What the Fitness | Biolayne

Critical Debunking of Cerebral Allergy Hypothesis:

• Clinical Ecology—A Critical Appraisal
• Dubious Allergy-Related Practices: Clinical Ecology and the Feingold Diet | Quackwatch
• Clinical ecology

Resources

• Kymber’s HTMA Consultation

*This show is produced by Mountain Valley Media*

Kymber takes a critical look at hormonal birth control through historical, cultural, and physiological lenses. She explores how hormonal contraception alters the communication between the brain, reproductive system, and the rest of the body, and reflects on the politicization of women’s health.

Today on Nourishing Our Sanity:

• Kymber’s experience with backlash around cycle tracking
• The history of birth control and how cultural attitudes shape women’s reproductive health
• The female cycle, hormonal communication, and what changes with hormonal birth control
• What happens when women stop taking hormonal birth control and the concept of “post-birth-control syndrome”
• Why restoring hormonal and neurological function may require more than simply stopping the pill

Where to find Kymber:

• Instagram: @kymbermaulden
• Substack: @kymbermaulden
• Website: kymbermaulden.com
• Email: [email protected] 

Resources:

• Kymber’s HTMA Consultation

*This show is produced by Mountain Valley Media*

Today, Kymber challenges common narratives around blood sugar, carbohydrates, and metabolic health. Drawing from both her personal health journey and her work with clients, she explores why blood sugar regulation is about far more than sugar itself. 

Today on Nourishing Our Sanity:

• The relationship between stress, the nervous system, and blood sugar regulation
• Hyperglycemia and what it can reveal about metabolic health
• Debunking common myths about carbohydrates and sugar
• Kymber's experience with the paleo, keto and carnivore diets
• Separating metabolic science from health and diet industry marketing

Where to find Kymber:

• Instagram: @kymbermaulden
• Substack: @kymbermaulden
• Website: kymbermaulden.com
• Email: [email protected] 

Resources:

• Kymber’s HTMA Consultation

*This show is produced by Mountain Valley Media*

Kymber speaks with explant surgeon, Dr. Robert Whitfield, about the complexities of breast implants, breast implant illness and the decision many women face when considering removal. They explore why some bodies respond poorly to implants, how bacterial contamination and immune responses may play a role, and what women should consider before and after explant surgery. 

Today on Nourishing Our Sanity:

• Understanding your individual risk profile and how different bodies respond to implants
• Breast implant illness: bacterial contamination, immune responses, and potential complications
• Explant surgery: what the removal process looks like and what women should know
• Fat transfer and other considerations after deciding against implants

Where to find Dr. Rob:

• Instagram: @robertwhitfieldmd
• Website: drrobertwhitfield.com
• Podcast: The Dr. Robert Whitfield Show
• Book: Breast Implants, Explant Surgery and Breast Implant Illness

Where to find Kymber:

• Instagram: @kymbermaulden
• Substack: @kymbermaulden
• Website: kymbermaulden.com
• Email: [email protected] 

Resources:

• Kymber’s HTMA Consultation

*This show is produced by Mountain Valley Media*

In this deeply personal episode, Kymber reflects on her journey toward Judaism, exploring the spiritual, cultural and political ideas that shaped her path. She discusses the evolution of her political framework, unpacks the historical meaning of Zionism and shares her thoughts on antisemitism, identity, and belonging. 

Today on Nourishing Our Sanity:

• Kymber’s Jewish conversion journey and the essay that shaped it
• The evolution of Kymber’s political and cultural worldview
• Zionism, antisemitism and the historical context surrounding both
• Wrestling with God: spirituality, doubt and Jewish thought
• Finding belonging, community and acceptance through Judaism

Where to find Kymber:

• Instagram: @kymbermaulden
• Substack: @kymbermaulden
• Website: kymbermaulden.com
• Email: [email protected] 

Resources:

• Kymber’s HTMA Consultation

*This show is produced by Mountain Valley Media*

Kymber speaks with Mira Simone about the deeply personal and transformative experience of grief following the death of Mira’s partner, Brian. Mira shares what it was like to accompany him through the end of his life and reflects on how grief has reshaped her relationships, identity and work. Together, they explore the nonlinear nature of mourning, the parallels between grief and major developmental stages and how learning to sit with loss can open the door to deeper connection, healing and meaning.

Today on Nourishing Our Sanity:

• Mira’s relationship with Brian and what it was like to steward him through death
• Why grief is nonlinear and not something we simply “get over”
• How grief parallels with developmental transitions 
• Female life stages and how widowhood reshapes identity
• How grief can deepen connection, meaning, and the work of helping others

Where to find Mira:

• Instagram: @newmoonmira
• Website: newmoonmira.com 

Where to find Kymber:

• Instagram: @kymbermaulden
• Substack: @kymbermaulden
• Website: kymbermaulden.com
• Email: [email protected] 

Resources:

• Kymber’s HTMA Consultation

*This show is produced by Mountain Valley Media*

In this episode, Kymber explores personality through a grounded, research-based lens, contrasting popular frameworks with the empirically derived Big Five model. She unpacks why systems like astrology can feel compelling while often missing the mark, and reflects on how healing, life experience and conscious growth can meaningfully shape who we become over time.

Today on Nourishing Our Sanity:

• What distinguishes the Big Five personality model from other personality frameworks
• Common critiques of astrology and why it persists culturally
• Personality traits and patterns across monogamous, non-monogamous, and BDSM communities
• How personality expresses itself under stress, trauma and relational dynamics
• The capacity for personality change through healing and development

Where to find Kymber:

• Instagram: @kymbermaulden
• Substack: @kymbermaulden
• Website: kymbermaulden.com
• Email: [email protected] 

Resources:

• Kymber’s HTMA Consultation

*This show is produced by Mountain Valley Media*

In this episode, Kymber unpacks fertility through a bioenergetic lens by explaining how metabolism, thyroid health, micronutrient status, and chronic stress all play foundational roles in a woman’s ability to conceive. Drawing from Ray Peat’s work and her clinical experience, Kymber reframes infertility as a sign of deeper metabolic and systemic imbalance — one that is often more workable and reversible than women are typically told.

Today on Nourishing Our Sanity:

• A review of bioenergetics 
• How chronic stress, oxidative stress and survival physiology suppress fertility
• Key micronutrients and systemic health factors that support female fertility
• Debunking infertility myths and restoring agency around conception

Where to find Kymber:

• Instagram: @kymbermaulden
• Substack: @kymbermaulden
• Website: kymbermaulden.com
• Email: [email protected] 

Resources:

• Kymber’s HTMA Consultation

*This show is produced by Mountain Valley Media*

Kymber sits down with Madison to explore her journey out of the Mormon church and into deeper self-trust, embodiment, and emotional clarity. Madison shares how perfectionism, external expectations, and a culture of “proving your worth” shaped her early life — and how questioning those systems led her toward healing.

Today on Nourishing Our Sanity:

• Perfectionism and Conformity: How growing up Mormon influenced Madisen’s tendencies
• Madisen’s first moments of doubt — and how it felt when her beliefs no longer matched her lived experience
• How religious systems can disconnect people from their intuition and body
• An update on Madison’s physical and emotional health post-Mormonism

Where to find Madisen:

• Instagram: @the.gut.goddess
• Linktree: Madisen, the Gut Goddess 

Where to find Kymber:

• Instagram: @kymbermaulden
• Substack: @kymbermaulden
• Website: kymbermaulden.com
• Email: [email protected] 

Resources:

• Kymber’s HTMA Consultation

*This show is produced by Mountain Valley Media*