Essential Ingredients Podcast 070: The Midlife Hormone Reset: Food, Mood, And Vitality Simplified with Dr. Lisa Brent
"Perimenopause, menopause, and andropause are such big biochemical shifts that they can affect every system in the body. There’s no system left untouched by hormonal changes. o we want to use that as a filter to make sure that we're looking at the big picture." —Dr. Lisa Brent
One day your body stops responding the way it used to: sleep slips, moods shift, food doesn’t hit the same, and the anxiety that never used to exist suddenly moves in. You start wondering if this is just “getting older,” or if your body’s trying to tell you something bigger. That quiet confusion between “I’m fine” and “something’s off” is exactly where the story begins.
A naturopathic doctor and acupuncturist, Dr. Lisa Brent built Be Well Natural Medicine to help women decode what’s happening in their bodies through every hormonal shift, from perimenopause to menopause and beyond. Her work bridges modern medicine with practical, whole-body care, showing that these changes aren’t the end of vitality but a recalibration.
In this episode, Justine and Dr. Lisa dig into the real markers of perimenopause, how to separate anxiety from hormonal shifts, what supplements actually help, how food and gut health tie in, and why men experience their own “pause” too. Listen in!
Meet Lisa:
Dr. Lisa Brent is a licensed naturopathic doctor and acupuncturist specializing in women's health. With a commitment to holistic and patient-centered care, she integrates primary care training with expertise in lifestyle medicine, nutrition, bioidentical hormone therapy, and gut health. Dr. Brent is dedicated to empowering her patients through education, individualized wellness strategies, and compassionate support. She is the founder of Be Well Natural Medicine, hosts educational events such as the Women’s Health Symposium, and provides care both in-person and via telehealth.
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Episode Highlights:
01:28 ND vs MD: What's the Difference?
05:13 The Preimenopause Shift
08:39 How to Talk to Your Doctor and What to Share
11:48 The Supplement Overload Problem
15:49 Food as Medicine and Why It Changes After 50
19:05 Alcohol and Hormones
24:31 Can Regenerative Farming Heal Us Too?
28:46 The Other Pause: Men Go Through It Too
31:50 Health as a Team Project
36:30 Informed Choice: What's Hype and What's Real