Perimenopause Overwhelm: Supplements, Iron Deficiency, GLP-1s, and HRT with Dr. Lara Briden | Period Besties Podcast
Today Stasha and Katie discuss with Dr. Lara Briden how social media fuels overwhelm in women’s health—especially during perimenopause—by pushing constant supplements, prescriptions, and medical labels. Dr. Briden emphasizes “zooming out” from narratives, wearing diagnoses lightly, and “zooming in” on root causes like iron deficiency, citing a paper suggesting heavy bleeding–related low iron may explain much of perimenopause fatigue and can mimic anxiety and ADHD-like symptoms.
They cover foundational approaches (less is more), common go-to supplements like magnesium glycinate and vitamin D, and the nuanced cost-benefit of GLP-1 medications for metabolic dysfunction and food noise, including potential brain/reward effects and rebound concerns. The conversation also addresses HRT access, overpromising, differences between progesterone and estrogen, and practical takeaways like checking ferritin.
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1. A paper on Iron that 70% of the fatigue in perimenopause was from iron deficiency: https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6643/17/5/745
2. Population studies on women with natural menstrual cycles living longer:
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32998909/
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32936210/
3. Young women on BC don’t achieve peak bone density:
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/cen.13932
4. Informal survey on IG of people trying hormone therapy:
https://www.instagram.com/p/DQc9omSkvgr/
https://www.instagram.com/p/DQgPrAtkmjM/
5. Papers on evolved menopause, it’s not an accident:
https://anthro-age.pitt.edu/ojs/index.php/anthro-age/article/view/8
https://press.princeton.edu/books/hardcover/9780691171630/the-slow-moon-climbs
6. Paper that said, what if one of the main ways that estrogen helps the brain is by upregulating choline: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34849527
00:17 Perimenopause Overwhelm
02:36 Diagnosis and Narratives
05:37 Iron Deficiency Clues
06:34 Social Media Jargon Trap
08:52 Shiny Supplements Debate
12:45 Weight Loss Pressure
24:54 Supplements Aren’t One Size
27:37 GLP-1 Cautionary Lens
28:27 Birth Control Future Shock
30:31 Cycle Training Ad Break
31:08 Birth Control Data Signals
33:03 Wishful Thinking In Medicine
35:37 HRT Access And Fear
40:43 Menopause Isn’t A Defect
44:50 Estrogen Metabolism And Brain
47:47 Zoom Out Lab Takeaways
48:45 Wrap Up And Credits
Todays episode is sponsored by:
Period Coaching School and Katie Bressack Wellness.
Email us: [email protected]
PeriodCoachingSchool.com
@StashaWashburn
Charting with Stasha https://ThePeriodCoach.com/etrc
Eating For Your Hormones Guide https://katiebressack.com/freegift/
The Revolution Will Be Bloody https://ThePeriodCoach.com/Revolution
Bloody Brilliant Business https://PeriodCoachingSchool.com/Bloody-Brilliant-Business-book
Eating For Your Hormones Recipe Book https://katiebressack.com/hormone-balancing-recipe-book/
Theme music composed, recorded, performed, engineered, mixed and mastered by Ted Wulfers 663 Sound
