PCOS Diva Podcast

For women trying to balance hormones with PCOS, the advice is typically to eat less and exercise more. Not only is that not particularly clear or helpful, it isn’t necessarily true. Since we struggle with both insulin resistance and inflammation, we need to be especially careful about the exercise and PCOS-friendly diet we choose. Dr. Brooke Kalanick offers practical advice on how to balance your hormones in a realistic and sustainable way. Listen in (or read the transcript) as we discuss:

- Her favorite exercise for improving insulin sensitivity

- How cortisol effects our hormones and the signs of it being too high or low

- The "hormone hierarchy" to follow when choosing where to begin

- Cautions for long-term Paleo diet

- Role of simple electrolytes in healing

There are a lot of people out there willing to tell you the best diet for PCOS. Many of them are well meaning, telling the story of what worked for them. As a result, there is a lot of confusion. Should we all eat Keto or vegan? Try intermittent fasting, low carb, no carb? The truth is this: There Is No Best PCOS Diet. It is entirely individual. Registered Dietician Martha McKittrick explains why that is true and the steps you can take to find the diet that works for you. Listen in (or read the transcript) as we discuss:

- 4 things just as (or more) important than diet

- The diet that will help you find a diet

- Role of the gut microbiome & why it may dictate your diet

- Tips and tricks to figure out what works best for you

- Exercise that we all need to do

I admit, acupuncture was one of my last resort therapies when I was really struggling with PCOS. I had tried countless pharmaceuticals and diets, but when I went to acupuncture, I saw a real difference. Dr. Farrar Duro practices reproductive acupuncture and shares some of the most common mistakes women make when living with PCOS. Tune in as we discuss those mistakes as well as:

- What to ask your doctor about your labs and treatment options

- The question to ask before you start any diet

- How Chinese medicine and acupuncture can help PCOS symptoms

- Resource for finding an acupuncturist

One of the most common and frustrating symptoms of PCOS is fatigue. We're tired. We have no energy. Relief is here! Karen Deichmann shares her secrets for boosting energy and what we can do to flip the switch when we're feeling drained. She identifies 5 major sources of energy and explains in simple terms how to amplify them so we can thrive each day. Her practical visualizations, tips and tricks will change how you move through your day and life.

"The most transformative thing that you and I and everybody else in the world can do for our brain health is exercise. It ignites all the key neurotransmitters in our brain. These neurotransmitters are related to our depression, to our sense of accomplishment, to our concentration, to our focus." - Maria Hortsmann60% of women with PCOS have some mood-related disorder. Maria Hortsmann has your magic pill - exercise. Before you roll your eyes and move on, listen as she explains the neurological connection between your movement and neurological activity. She offers straight forward advice about getting and staying motivated, and how to ignite the power of your hormones and neurotransmitters to combat depression, anxiety, and more.

- Why you resist exercise and how to overcome it

- Exercise to mood/ mental health connection

-Best activities to kind of achieve mental health benefit

- Best use of anti-depressants

- Overcoming gym anxiety (and whether you need a gym at all)

“Women with PCOS definitely have more of an uphill battle than the average person who's perfectly healthy, but it's perfectly possible to be extremely healthy with PCOS and to have normal levels of most hormones and neurotransmitters.”

-Ari Whitten

Overwhelming fatigue is one of the really troubling symptoms for many of us with PCOS. In fact, roughly 20 to 40% of the general population is dealing with mild to moderate chronic fatigue. Ari Whitten is a well-known expert on fatigue and how to overcome it. He offers information and advice that we aren’t getting from our doctors. His insights into the true root causes of fatigue and practical tips on how to boost your energy will help you reclaim your life!

Listen in as we discuss:

-Cortisol, fatigue, and PCOS

-What’s really causing your fatigue

-Circadian rhythm and it impact on … everything

-The surprise bonus functions of melatonin

-Quick tips for blood sugar regulation

Did you know that women with PCOS are three times more likely to have an autoimmune version of thyroid disease called Hashimoto's Thyroidosis? And many of the symptoms and remedies overlap closely with PCOS. Dr. Izabella Wentz is an internationally acclaimed thyroid specialist and licensed pharmacist who has dedicated her career to addressing the root causes of autoimmune thyroid disease. She joins the podcast to discuss how food can be used as medicine and much more. Listen in (or read the transcript) as we discuss:

- the symptoms of Hashimoto’s Thyroidosis

- thyroid labs to request and why TSH test is not sufficient

- practical tips to advocate for yourself at the doctor's office

- impact of specific foods on symptoms

"If you really want to experience the health benefits, you're drinking it at least once a day, possibly three to 10 times a day. When you're consuming something in that quantity, and with that regularity, then the purity becomes as important as the purity of your water."

- Simon Cheng

The research is clear, tea is strong medicine. I use tea to lessen anxiety and balance my blood sugar, but that’s just the tip of iceberg. Tea expert, Simon Cheng shares his remarkable story of healing as well as his wisdom about medicinal uses for tea. Listen in (or read the transcript) as we discuss:Tea and metabolism, insulin resistance, blood sugar issues, stress, appetite suppression, and gut/digestive healthDifference between caffeine in tea vs. coffeeIntermittent fasting teaWhy the quality of your tea matters (a lot)

If you are a woman with PCOS and/or you're using hormonal birth control, listen in (or read the transcript) because this podcast is for you. Dr. Jolene Brighten is the leading expert in post-birth control syndrome and the long-term side effects associated with hormonal contraceptives. She’s also the author of a brand-new book, Beyond the Pill. While we both agree that it is a woman's right to take the birth control pill, it is also her right to understand how to take care of her body while she takes it, what those potential side effects are, and what she should look out for. Listen in and be educated and empowered!

Why doctors fail to connect symptoms like gas, bloating, depression, anxiety, acne, yeast infections, any other number of signs and symptoms to birth control.

Nutrients you must supplement to reduce your risk of heart disease and neurological issues

Baseline lab tests to have done before, during, and after taking the pill

Why we have high rates of gall bladder issues

How and when to detox

The impact on your gut and how to repair it

Too stressed and busy for self-care? When we don't take time for self-care, our to-do list that might have taken us 5 hours before may take us 8 or 9. That stress is actually slowing us down. Worse, women with PCOS are much more sensitive to stress, and as a result, our cortisol levels are elevated, impacting our sex drive, fertility, immunity, inflammation, anxiety, and much more.

Emily Fletcher has reframed meditation as a performance and productivity tool, and her new book, Stress Less, Accomplish More, goes deeply into the neuroscience of why stress makes us stupid, why stress is making us sick, and why stress is slowing us down. Listen in and learn about her 3 Ms: mindfulness, meditation, and manifesting