When our hormones become imbalanced, there are a lot of signals that can tell us something is off. Often, these symptoms can mimic a lot of other health issues, which is why it’s important to look at the underlying causes of what’s going on in our bodies. 

This week, I’m back with another solo episode to break down the causes and symptoms of estrogen excess. With this hormonal imbalance, there are a ton of symptoms that could indicate an underlying issue. In this episode, I go over the long list of symptoms, where they manifest in the body, the scientific side of estrogen excess, and how we can address the issues once they’re identified. 

This episode is packed full of helpful information and resources to help you get to the root of estrogen excess and get back to feeling like your best self!

Disclaimer: This information is being provided to you for educational and informational purposes only. It is being provided to educate you about how to take care of your body and as a self-help tool for your own use so that you can reach your own health goals. It is not intended to treat or cure any specific illness and is not to replace the guidance provided by your own medical practitioner. If you are under the care of a healthcare professional or currently use prescription medications, you should discuss any dietary changes or potential dietary supplement use with your doctor, and should not discontinue any prescription medications without first consulting your doctor. This information is to be used at your own risk based on your own judgment. If you suspect you have a medical problem, we urge you to take appropriate action by seeking medical attention.

This week, I’m joined by one of my favorite clients, Jennifer Vargas, to share her success story of working with me to heal her body and get her energetic self back.  

Jennifer was experiencing frustrating PMS symptoms that were affecting her daily life. After coming to me for help, she was able to rid her body of mold, balance her gut, improve painful PMS symptoms, and even begin to heal her relationship with herself through exercise and dance.

In this episode, we talk about her motivation to seek help outside of traditional medicine, what steps we took to reveal her issues and begin to heal them, the movement practice that helped motivate her to exercise again (and enjoy it!), and her journey through a BV misdiagnosis that later was discovered as vulvodynia.

Pain doesn’t have to be chronic, and seeking help shouldn’t be scary or frustrating. I hope Jennifer’s story motivates anyone struggling out there to seek help and find someone who will not only listen, but will also work alongside you to get to the root cause of what’s going on. 

Instagram: @shetalkshealth   

Disclaimer: This information is being provided to you for educational and informational purposes only. It is being provided to educate you about how to take care of your body and as a self-help tool for your own use so that you can reach your own health goals. It is not intended to treat or cure any specific illness and is not to replace the guidance provided by your own medical practitioner. If you are under the care of a healthcare professional or currently use prescription medications, you should discuss any dietary changes or potential dietary supplements use with your doctor, and should not discontinue any prescription medications without first consulting your doctor. This information is to be used at your own risk based on your own judgment. If you suspect you have a medical problem, we urge you to take appropriate action by seeking medical attention.

This week, I’m joined by Jillian Smith, a registered dietitian who helps women to rid themselves of frustrating gut symptoms through functional medicine so they can get back to feeling like themselves again.

In this episode, we’ll discuss why self-diagnosing can be dangerous, why we should get functional labwork done when we’re having unexplained issues, why probiotics aren’t always a cure-all and could make symptoms worse in some cases, the top irritants to our gut, and how to approach trial and error methods to get to the root of our symptoms.

Getting to the root of our gut issues shouldn’t be stressful. It can be complicated to understand exactly what’s going on in our bodies, but we hope that this episode can push you to find the answers you’re looking for, and make it just a little easier to advocate for yourself and your gut health!  

Sophie's Instagram: @shetalkshealth

Jillian's Instagram: @jilliansmith.rd, @the.gut.fix

Disclaimer: This information is being provided to you for educational and informational purposes only. It is being provided to educate you about how to take care of your body and as a self-help tool for your own use so that you can reach your own health goals. It is not intended to treat or cure any specific illness and is not to replace the guidance provided by your own medical practitioner. If you are under the care of a healthcare professional or currently use prescription medications, you should discuss any dietary changes or potential dietary supplements use with your doctor, and should not discontinue any prescription medications without first consulting your doctor. This information is to be used at your own risk based on your own judgment. If you suspect you have a medical problem, we urge you to take appropriate action by seeking medical attention

In this episode, I’m taking you through my process of getting off SSRI medication. It’s been a long journey learning about the body, the brain, and how certain things can trigger chain reactions that affect your gut and mental health. I’m excited to share what I learned on this journey with you so that you can also learn about what things might be triggering negative reactions in your body, and how you can start the process of improving them. 

I start when I was young and had exposure to a pathogen in Mexico that potentially caused inflammation in my gut. Paired with emotional trauma and going on hormonal birth control that can deplete essential vitamins and minerals in your body, it's no wonder that my mental health was suffering. Add an SSRI to the mix, and you’re looking at a lot of bandaids on a lot of problems that can be helped in a much more natural way. 

Fast forward to today. I’m now over 2 months off my SSRI, on a supplement and dietary regimen, and taking a more somatic approach to stress. I’m finally starting to feel relief from mental health issues and overall feeling back on track in life.  

Connect with me on Instagram: @shetalkshealth

Disclaimer: This information is being provided to you for educational and informational purposes only. It is being provided to educate you about how to take care of your body and as a self-help tool for your own use so that you can reach your own health goals. It is not intended to treat or cure any specific illness and is not to replace the guidance provided by your own medical practitioner. If you are under the care of a healthcare professional or currently use prescription medications, you should discuss any dietary changes or potential dietary supplements use with your doctor, and should not discontinue any prescription medications without first consulting your doctor. This information is to be used at your own risk based on your own judgment. If you suspect you have a medical problem, we urge you to take appropriate action by seeking medical attention.

In this episode, I’m highlighting another client's success story! Ani Paoletti and I began working together in December 2021 to get to the bottom of her hormonal acne, anxiety, and digestive issues that had been affecting her for at least 8 years, and made worse by removing an IUD earlier in 2021. 

After “graduating” from her program with me, Ani shares some of the things she learned about herself, how to tune in to her body, and listen to the signals it was giving her about her health. Within the first month, and after a minor diet shift, she was already able to see improvement, especially with her hormonal acne. With her willingness to try something new and discover more about herself, major changes took place over the 6 months we worked together.

Tune in to hear Ani’s success story, and learn more about how you can start the journey of addressing the root of your health concerns holistically. Hopefully, Ani’s story will empower you to take control of your health and better understand your body, just as she did!

Resources:

https://www.instagram.com/anipaoletticreative/

https://www.anipaoletti.com/linktree

Disclaimer: This information is being provided to you for educational and informational purposes only. It is being provided to educate you about how to take care of your body and as a self-help tool for your own use so that you can reach your own health goals. It is not intended to treat or cure any specific illness and is not to replace the guidance provided by your own medical practitioner. If you are under the care of a healthcare professional or currently use prescription medications, you should discuss any dietary changes or potential dietary supplements use with your doctor, and should not discontinue any prescription medications without first consulting your doctor. This information is to be used at your own risk based on your own judgment. If you suspect you have a medical problem, we urge you to take appropriate action by seeking medical attention.

When our hormones become imbalanced, our bodies send us signals to let us know that something is off. Often, these signals come in the form of symptoms that mimic a lot of other health issues. How can we know for sure what’s going on? 

This week, I’m sitting down solo to dig deep into pre-menopausal estrogen deficiency. With this particular hormonal imbalance, there are a ton of symptoms that could indicate an underlying issue. In this episode, I list the symptoms, where they manifest in the body, the possible causes, how to get your hormone levels tested, and of course, how to address the issues once they’re identified. 

This episode is packed full of helpful information and resources to help you get to the root of estrogen deficiency and get back to feeling like your best self! 

Resources:

Seed Cycling guide available here:

DUTCH Complete Hormone Test 

You may have heard about BPA found in plastics being harmful to your health. We’ve all been told not to leave disposable water bottles in our car on a hot sunny day at least once before – and if you haven’t, don’t do it!! But there’s more than just BPA hiding in our everyday foods, personal care products, air, water, and more. 

Today, Dr. Jenna Hua, an environmental health scientist, dietician, and founder of Million Markers came on the podcast to educate us about endocrine-disruptors such as BPA. She gives us an overview of the most common toxins to look out for as well as some of the sneaky names manufacturers give them to try to disguise them. Unfortunately, many of these chemicals aren’t regulated in the US as they are in other countries, meaning our exposure to them is much higher than we might realize. This can lead to a multitude of health problems such as infertility in both men and women, developmental issues, breast cancer, diabetes, and more. 

She shares some of the biggest culprits containing endocrine-disrupting chemicals like plastic containers and bottles, skincare products, inorganic foods, and more. She offers tips on how to avoid them, what we can replace these products with if they’re accessible to us, and how to get tested to see what toxins might be lurking in our bodies.      

We’re often told that in order to lose weight, we need to be in a calorie deficit, do lots of cardio, and push ourselves as hard as possible at the gym. This method might work for some, but for people with autoimmune diseases, specifically Hashimoto’s, we need to throw out the whole playbook.   

This is where Dr. Emily Kiberd comes in to save the day! For those of us with Hashimoto’s, traditional diet and exercise won’t do the trick, and she explains why in this episode. Today, we discuss so many aspects of why our exercise needs are different, and what changes we should make to reach our health and fitness goals. Beginning with Emily’s story, we explore how she was first diagnosed and why she started the Thyroid Strong Program.

Later, we dive into how strength and weight training, as well as eating a high protein diet is best for Hashimoto’s, and how to best integrate these practices into our daily routines. Then, we touch on which exercises we can do to gradually build strength in the muscles and joints that are most affected by the disease. 

You don’t want to miss this information-packed episode, and to learn even more, check out Dr. Emily Kiberd’s Thyroid Strong Program!

Website: https://www.dremilykiberd.com/

Thyroid Strong Program: https://www.dremilykiberd.com/thyroid-strong/

Which is better – a burger, or a salad? The answer depends on your gut! Join me today for this conversation with Hally Brooke, owner and founder of Live Nourished Coaching, who I spoke with about all things functional medicine, gut issues, and chronic fatigue. She shares her story of being diagnosed with a gluten and dairy allergy 20 years ago, then later being told that she has IBS and SIBO. 

After receiving very little guidance from doctors on how to heal her gut, she set out on her own journey to discover what works. Now, she shares her functional medicine wisdom with her clients (and anyone she can reach) to help them make attainable and maintainable health goals that work for their bodies. Today, she shares with us about two-degree shifts that will help us reach our goals, why chronic fatigue starts and stays in our bodies, how to fix it, and how to change our relationship with food for the better.

You might have heard before that you should adjust your diet and behaviors according to your menstrual cycle for optimal health. But what exactly does that mean? And where should you begin?

Today, I’m joined by the amazing coach Kela Smith who will break down everything you need to know about cycle optimization. Coach Kela is the CEO and program director of the Hormone Puzzle Society, author of The Hormone Puzzle Method, and host of the Hormone PUZZLE Podcast. In this episode, she guides us through every stage of our hormonal cycles and how to use these phases to our advantage. She’ll help us understand how to eat, exercise, supplement, and do self-care all at the most optimal times in our cycle. She emphasizes that whole food balanced nutrition is always best, no matter which phase we’re in.

Later, we get into Kela’s Hormone Puzzle Method, which summarizes everything covered throughout the episode, including how trauma and our emotional well-being can have an effect on our bodies, even if we’re doing all the right things for our physical health.

She takes all the mystery out of supporting our bodies as women, and leaves us with several helpful tools and routines that we can take with us to begin making small lifestyle changes towards optimizing our own health.