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Huberman Lab
Dr. Sara Gottfried: How to Optimize Female Hormone Health for Vitality & Longevity
Jan 30, 2023
02:30:36
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Quick takeaways
- Understanding genetics and family history is crucial for managing hormone health.
- Comprehensive testing, including genetic, nutritional, and microbial testing, is essential for assessing hormone status and overall health.
- Nutritional deficiencies, particularly magnesium, can significantly impact hormone health.
- Stress reduction techniques, such as meditation and yoga, can improve bowel function and support overall health.
- Female hormone health is influenced by factors such as oral contraceptives, exercise, and hormone therapy during perimenopause.
Deep dives
Understanding Hormone Health and Longevity in Women
Dr. Sarah Gottfried shares insights on managing hormone health and longevity in women. She discusses the importance of understanding one's genetics and family history in relation to hormones, as well as the impact of trauma and intergenerational trauma on the endocrine system. Dr. Gottfried emphasizes the need for benchmarking hormones in the 20s and 30s, particularly estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone levels. She also discusses the role of the gut microbiome in hormone regulation and the importance of nutrition and exercise in supporting hormone health. Additionally, Dr. Gottfried highlights the value of comprehensive testing, including genetic, nutritional, and microbial testing, to gain a clearer understanding of hormone status and overall health.
The Link Between Nutritional Deficiencies and Hormone Health
Dr. Gottfried underscores the significance of nutritional deficiencies in hormone health. She recommends thorough testing for micronutrient deficiencies, including antioxidants, vitamins, minerals, and fatty acids. In particular, she highlights the importance of magnesium, which is commonly deficient in around 78% of Americans. Dr. Gottfried also discusses the role of prebiotics and polyphenols in supporting a healthy gut microbiome, which plays a crucial role in hormonal balance.
Understanding and Addressing Constipation as a Symptom
Constipation is identified as a potential indicator of broader health issues. Dr. Gottfried suggests that constipation should be viewed as a significant symptom and addressed accordingly. She emphasizes the importance of having a bowel movement every morning for complete evacuation and defines constipation as anything less frequent. Stress reduction techniques, such as meditation, deep breathing, yoga, and holistic breath work, are recommended to alleviate stress and improve bowel function. Dr. Gottfried also highlights the significance of perceived stress reduction, as well as the need for individualized approaches and interventions.
Exploring Tools for Hormone Health and Longevity
Dr. Gottfried discusses various tools and interventions for optimizing hormone health and longevity. She recommends incorporating smoothies with a variety of vegetables into the diet to support gut health and increase intake of beneficial nutrients. Stress reduction techniques, such as meditation, breath work, and yoga, are suggested for lowering perceived stress levels. Additionally, Dr. Gottfried emphasizes the importance of comprehensive testing, including hormonal, nutritional, and microbial testing, to gain a holistic understanding of hormone status and overall well-being.
Benefits and risks of oral contraceptives
Oral contraceptives provide reproductive choice and reduce the risk of ovarian cancer. However, they can deplete micronutrients, affect the microbiome, increase inflammatory tone, rigidify the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis, disrupt thyroid function, and raise sex hormone-binding globulin levels.
Considerations for hormone-based contraception
While the NuvaRing offers lower doses of estrogen and progestin, there is still limited data on its risks compared to oral contraceptives. Hormone-based contraceptives, in general, can deplete nutrients, affect the microbiome, increase inflammation, disrupt hormone production, impact thyroid function, and raise sex hormone-binding globulin levels.
Personalized benefits of omega-3s
Omega-3 fatty acids are beneficial for cardiovascular health and have individual dosage needs. A food-first approach, like consuming fatty fish, is preferred, while using fish oil as a supplement on days without fish consumption can be considered. Personalized nutrient testing and monitoring can guide optimal dosage.
Exercise recommendations based on individual body phenotypes
Exercise should include a balance of cardiovascular and resistance training. It is important to find an exercise regimen that is adaptive for individual body phenotypes, taking into account cortisol levels and stress responses. Tailoring exercise for each person may involve different types and amounts of physical activity.
The Importance of Testosterone for Women
Testosterone plays a crucial role in women's health, impacting sex drive, muscle mass, resistance training response, confidence, and agency. Women who experience a decline in testosterone may also experience vaginal dryness, a decrease in sex drive, and a shrinkage of the clitoris. It is important for healthcare providers to inform women about the potential effects of oral contraceptives on testosterone levels to ensure informed decision-making.
Perimenopause and the Impact on Brain Function
Perimenopause, the period leading up to the final menstrual cycle, can last for around 10 years and is characterized by symptoms such as hot flashes, night sweats, anxiety, and difficulty sleeping. During perimenopause, there is a significant decline in cerebral metabolism, resulting in a slower brain energy and cognitive changes. Hormone therapy, particularly estrogen replacement within 5 to 10 years of menopause, has been shown to be safe and can alleviate a range of symptoms associated with perimenopause, including cardiovascular health, bone health, and progression to diabetes.
4.
Is It Ever Informative for Women to Know Something About Mother's Experience With Hormones?
3min
My guest is Sara Gottfried, M.D., a Harvard-trained, board-certified gynecologist and clinical assistant professor of integrative medicine & nutritional sciences at Thomas Jefferson University. Dr. Gottfried specializes in hormone health, vitality and longevity using precision/personalized approaches. We discuss female hormone health, puberty, perimenopause, and menopause, hormone testing, the microbiome, stress related hormone challenges, their causes, and various treatments. We also discuss fertility, birth control and tools for improving microbiome health, treating PCOS, insulin management, and the best nutrition, supplementation, and exercise programs for women. While the episode focuses mainly on female hormones, males will also benefit from our discussion because it includes actionable tools suggested for managing stress, bolstering the gut microbiome, and immunity—all of which stand to improve overall health, vitality and longevity in males and females.
For the full show notes, visit hubermanlab.com.
Thank you to our sponsors
AG1: https://athleticgreens.com/huberman
LMNT: https://drinklmnt.com/huberman
Supplements from Momentous
https://www.livemomentous.com/huberman
Timestamps
(00:00:00) Dr. Sara Gottfried
(00:04:07) Sponsor: LMNT
(00:07:50) Women, Family History, Heredity & Environment
(00:11:00) Puberty, Stress, Menstrual Cycles, Intrauterine Devices (IUDs)
(00:17:26) Tool: Sex Hormones, Microbiome, Estrobolome & Disease; Biomarker Testing
(00:25:11) Nutritional Testing; Vegetables, Microbiome & Disease
(00:27:33) Sponsor: AG1
(00:32:22) Microbiome, Prebiotics & Probiotics, Inflammation
(00:36:08) Microbiome Testing, Magnesium, Constipation & Thyroid
(00:42:25) Female Colonoscopy; Network Effect & Modern Medicine, Stress Factors
(00:45:13) Constipation, Stress & Trauma, Autonomic Balance
(00:55:35) Constipation Relief, Stress, Breathwork & Meditation
(01:02:58) Systemic & Societal Stress Unique to Females
(01:09:23) Testing & Future Behavior
(01:11:55) Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS) & Cardiometabolic Disease; Stress
(01:22:57) PCOS, Insulin, Glucose Monitoring and Management; Data Access
(01:29:48) Behaviors for Vitality; Exercise & Body Phenotype; Cortisol
(01:36:40) Cortisol Supplements: Ashwagandha, Rhodiola, Fish Oil, Phosphatidylserine
(01:42:36) Cortisol, Anxiety & Immune System; Adrenal Function, Resilience
(01:48:07) Tool: Omega-3 Fatty Acids, Inflammation, Specialized Pro-Resolving Mediators
(01:54:20) Oral Contraceptives, Benefits & Risks; Ovarian Cancer; Testosterone
(02:06:50) Fertility, Follicular & Anti-Mullerian Hormone (AMH) Assessments
(02:10:29) Menopause & Hormone Replacement Therapy; Women’s Health Initiative
(02:15:30) Perimenopause, Cerebral Hypometabolism, Metabolism & Estrogen
(02:21:49) Intermittent Fasting, Ketogenic Diet, Metabolic Flexibility
(02:23:29) Stool Testing
(02:25:32) Coronary Artery Calcium (CAC) Test, ACE Score & Disease
(02:31:56) Zero-Cost Support, YouTube Feedback, Spotify & Apple Reviews, Sponsors, Social Media, Neural Network Newsletter, Momentous
Title Card Photo Credit: Mike Blabac
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