The Lushness Podcast

Kidney disease can progress quietly, often without obvious symptoms. So how do you know if your kidneys are actually healthy?

In this episode of The Lushness Podcast: The Black Woman’s Longevity Blueprint, nephrologist Mona Abraham, MD joins us to break down what every woman should understand about kidney health.

We talk about the numbers to know in your labs, blood pressure and kidney function, early warning signs, dehydration, kidney stones, medications like ibuprofen and NSAIDs, and what you can do now to protect your kidneys over the long term.

Because when symptoms finally appear, kidney disease may already be advanced.

Watch the full episode, “Kidney Disease Can Be Silent: The Signs, Symptoms & Numbers You Need to Know,” now on the Lushness YouTube channel.

Black women have the highest estimated rates of PMOS of any group studied and are 42 to 48 percent less likely to be diagnosed with it. If you have been told your labs are normal but something still feels off, this episode is for you.

In this episode, double board certified endocrinologist Dr. Damola Aje breaks down the official renaming of PCOS to PMOS, how insulin resistance, thyroid dysfunction, and PMOS are connected inside the endocrine system, and why your labs can look normal on paper while your body is telling you something completely different.

Topics Covered:

• What PMOS is and why the renaming from PCOS matters for Black women
• How the endocrine system works and why one hormone being off affects everything
• The signs of insulin resistance including acanthosis nigricans and skin tags
• Why normal lab ranges are not the same as optimal ranges
• The TSH range Black women should be asking about
• How to walk into your doctor's office prepared and get the answers you deserve

Dr. Damola Aje is a double board certified endocrinologist and featured expert in Ro and Endocrine News specializing in PMOS, thyroid, and menopause.

FOLLOW DR. DAMOLA AJE
 Instagram: @hormoneswithdrdamijey 

FOLLOW LUSHNESS
 Instagram: @lushness
 All other platforms: @lushnessmedia
 Website: lushness.com

Black women are not getting breast cancer more than everyone else. We are dying from it at a 40% higher rate, and the reasons run deeper than most people realize.

Breast surgical oncologist Dr. Monique Gary joins the Lushness Podcast for the most powerful breast health conversation we have ever had. From prevention to diagnosis to survivorship, she breaks down why mammograms alone are not enough, why triple negative breast cancer disproportionately impacts our community, how to advocate for yourself at every stage and why a diagnosis is not a death sentence.

This is the episode you send to every woman you love.

New episodes every Tuesday. Subscribe and leave a review it helps more women find this show.

Your brain is changing right now and most of us have no idea. 

Board-certified neurologist Dr. Kimberly Idoko joins the Lushness Podcast to break down the science behind stroke, cognitive decline and what is actually happening inside your body before you ever feel a symptom.

In this episode we cover why stroke death rates are two to five times higher for women between 45 and 64, how hypertension silently drives neurological decline, what labs and biomarkers to ask your doctor about and how to show up to your appointments armed with the right information.

This is the brain health conversation you did not know you needed.

New episodes every Tuesday. Watch the full episode on Youtube @lushnessmedia

Your weight loss isn't about willpower. And today, you're going to finally understand why.

Dr. Phyllis Pobee is a triple board-certified physician and the founder of GeneLean360, and one of the leading voices in genetic weight loss medicine. In this episode, she breaks down why traditional diet advice fails so many women and what to do about it.

You'll get the science behind what's actually happening in your body when generic diets don't work, the truth about the genetic patterns most common in Black women, and tools you can start using today.

This episode could change how you approach weight loss for the rest of your life.

Heart disease is the number one killer of Black women in America, responsible for one in every four deaths. 

In this episode, Dr. Mary Branch, board-certified cardiologist, breaks down exactly what's happening in the body when blood pressure rises, why Black women are consistently under-diagnosed and under-treated, and the specific numbers everyone should know to protect their heart.

We cover what blood pressure actually is and why 130/80 is the number to watch, how stress, salt, and genetics silently drive numbers up, how to accurately monitor blood pressure at home (and which cuff to buy), what GLP-1 medications are revealing about heart disease risk, the heart-healthy foods that actually make a difference, and the exact questions to ask your cardiologist at your next visit. This is the conversation every Black woman needs to have with her heart before it's forced to have it with her.

In This Episode:

• Why heart disease numbers are getting worse, not better, for Black women
• The blood pressure numbers you need to know (and the one your doctor may not fully explain)
• What raises blood pressure without you realizing it
• How to monitor blood pressure accurately at home
• The connection between GLP-1s and heart disease risk
• Heart-healthy foods and small daily habits that compound over time
• Questions to ask your cardiologist to become an active participant in your care

Start Here:
Get a home blood pressure cuff (Dr. Branch recommends Omron), check it once a day for a week, and bring the numbers to your next doctor's visit.

About The Lushness Podcast:
Every conversation Black women need to have. The Lushness Podcast sits down with health experts to break down the topics that matter most for Black women's longevity, whole body health, and living well at every stage.

#HeartHealth #BloodPressure #BlackWomensHealth #Cardiologist #HeartDiseaseAwareness #BlackWellness #LushnessPodcast #BlackDoctors #HealthEquity #Longevity #HeartDiseasePrevention

Your hormones are talking. Do you know how to listen?

Black women enter perimenopause earlier, experience more severe symptoms for longer, and are the least likely of any group to receive hormone therapy. In this episode Dr. Nicole Peoples breaks down what is actually happening in your body and what you can do about it.

In this episode we cover:

•  Why Black women's perimenopause symptoms are more severe and what epigenetics has to do with it
•  What progesterone and testosterone are actually doing in your body that nobody told you about
•  The truth about hormone replacement therapy and the 2002 study that changed everything
•  How to find the right specialist when your doctor doesn't have answers
•  What thriving post menopause actually looks like and how to build toward it now

Dr. Nicole Peoples is a board certified internal medicine physician with advanced training in integrative and functional medicine and a specialist in hormone health for women based in Atlanta, Georgia.

Follow Dr. Peoples: @drnicolepeoples

Free Resources: https://go.drnicolepeoples.com/freehormoneminicoursesignup

Follow Lushness: @lushness on Instagram

Website: lushness.com

Nobody taught us to connect our bleeding gums to chronic disease. Your mouth has been sending signals about what's happening inside your entire body and no one told you how to read them. Dr. Brigette White changes that today.

In this episode we cover:

• Why chronic inflammation in your mouth is a red flag for diabetes, heart disease, and Alzheimer's
• How stress, cortisol, and hormonal shifts show up in your gums and teeth first
• What a healthy mouth actually looks like and what to ask at your next dental visit
• Why oral health care was designed around the male body and what that costs Black women
• How your oral microbiome connects directly to your gut, immune system, and longevity
• Why Black women avoid the dentist and how to find affirming care that actually sees you

Dr. Brigette White is a Princeton and Penn-trained cosmetic and restorative dentist, author, and founder of Bright Whites Oral Care. 

Six episodes. Six experts. One season dedicated to Black women's longevity and whole body health.

Before Season 2 kicks off we are bringing you the most powerful moments from Season 1 of The Lushness Podcast. From sleep deprivation to chronic stress, gut health, lab work, movement, and community, every conversation was designed to give Black women the health information they deserve but rarely receive.

This bonus episode is your Season 1 recap and your reminder that your body has been talking. It is time to listen.

Season 2 premieres June 23. Subscribe and follow so you never miss an episode.

Social isolation carries the same risk to your body as smoking 15 cigarettes a day.

For Black women who have been conditioned to carry everything alone, that statistic is not just alarming. It is personal.

Trauma therapist Tacha Fletcher, LCSW, reveals why Black women were not designed to carry life alone, how social isolation is silently destroying our health, and the practical steps to build a community that actually pours back into you.

You will learn how loneliness triggers cortisol and inflammation, why hyper-independence is a trauma response not a personality trait, how to audit your relationships, and how liberation from over-giving is the key to your longevity.

Community is not just an emotional need. It is a biological one. And healing happens in community.

Learn more at Lushness.com

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Instagram: @Lushness