How Birth & Early Development Shape Immunity

Have you ever wondered why your body reacts so strongly to stress on days that should feel completely normal?

In this episode, we're joined by naturopathic doctor and educator Dr. Leah Hollon to explore how early stress, family patterns, and even the pregnancies we grew in can shape our hormones decades later. We talk about cortisol patterns, histamine overload, immune shifts, stubborn weight changes, and why so many women hit perimenopause already running a nervous system that's been on high alert for years.

And yes, we get practical. Think nervous system resets, smart cortisol support, histamine-calming strategies, and the small daily practices that genuinely start to retrain your stress response.

Dr. Leah Hollon is a naturopathic doctor, international speaker, and author of Unwinding the Imprints of Disease. She teaches integrative medicine, pharmacogenomics, and epigenetics at multiple universities and co-owns Richmond Natural Medicine.

It's a grounded, eye-opening look at how stress imprints show up in midlife hormones and what you can do to shift the system starting today.

What's Discussed:

• (02:00) What intergenerational trauma is and how it affects hormones

• (08:09) How PTSD flattens cortisol and shows up in perimenopause

• (11:46) The link between ACEs and autoimmunity, allergies, and migraines

• (15:24) What famine studies teach us about metabolism and weight

• (17:49) Why chronic stress makes weight loss harder and cardio tricky

• (20:23) How your birth story shapes stress, immunity, and hormone patterns

• (39:36) Why histamine flares, sleep issues, and wired-tired energy connect

• (41:22) Tools that regulate the nervous system and support midlife hormones

Thank You To Our Sponsor:

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• LVLUP Health: If you're in perimenopause, menopause, or just feel like your digestion and hormones are ganging up on you, try Ultimate GI Repair from LVLUP Health. You can grab it at lvluphealth.com and use my code DRJONES for 15% off your first order.

✍️ FREE GUIDES:

• Hormones 101 Cheat Sheet: https://drcarriejones.kit.com/hormones101

• The Perimenopause & Menopause Labs Test Checklist: https://drcarriejones.kit.com/labtestchecklist

• The Symptoms of The Perimenopausal Transition (WTF…) Ebook: https://drcarriejones.kit.com/perimenopausesymptom

• Which Stage of Perimenopause Am I In? Ebook: https://drcarriejones.kit.com/stagesofperimenopause

LETS CONNECT:

Dr. Carrie Jones: Website: www.drcarriejones.com Newsletter: www.drcarriejones.kit.com/newsletter IG: @dr.carriejones TikTok: @drcarriejones Youtube: @drcarriejones

Dr. Leah Hollon, ND, MPH: Website: www.drleahhollon.comIG: @leah.hollonYoutube: @DrLeahHollon

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