The JOY Broadcast Festive Joy & Happy Hormones with Debbie Townsend
Ali talks with her friend & chiropractor Debbie Townsend, also lifestyle advocate, author & Dutch Test Provider about happy hormones during the festive season.
This conversation covers hormone health, stress, menopause, and how to keep your body balanced when life gets busy. Deep science made accessible and practical.
Debbie's Wellness Triangle: Three Sides of Health
Debbie's Complete Lifestyle approach looks at three essential areas:
Physical - Movement, alignment, exercise
Chemical - Food, water, air, supplements, medications
Emotional - Mental wellbeing and stress
Key insight: Stress comes from ANY of these three sides. Poor diet is chemical stress. Lack of movement is physical stress. Anxiety is emotional stress. Your body responds to all of it.
Chronic health is preventable through lifestyle. Your body is like a bank account - you can't keep making withdrawals without eventually running poor.
The Stress-Hormone Connection
When stressed (physically, chemically, or emotionally):
→ Cortisol spikes
→ Blood sugar becomes erratic
→ Sleep disrupts
→ Sex hormones get suppressed (survival mode = no reproduction)
→ Everything compounds
Result: Exhaustion, weight gain (especially around the middle), mood swings, hormone chaos.
Food is 80% of Your Health
Stop worrying so much about running every day. Start with your plate.
The sugar problem: Modern food is loaded with hidden sugars. When blood sugar constantly spikes and crashes, cortisol works overtime to compensate.
Simple rule: Pair sugar with protein (nuts, cheese, eggs) to stabilize blood sugar.
Menopause Doesn't Have to Be Miserable
How well you go through perimenopause and menopause depends on your stress levels, diet, movement, sleep, and how you've treated your body up until this point.
It's not inevitable that this transition has to be difficult.
You Can't Delegate Your Health
Gary Barlow's story: Despite success and resources, he found himself struggling with alcohol, weight gain, and low motivation. After seeing his doctor, his first thought walking back to his car was: "Who can I get to do this for me?"
Before he reached his car, it hit him: This is the ONE thing only HE could do.
He went home, put on trainers, tried to run around the block, and thought he was going to die. But that's where it started.
The lesson: You cannot delegate your health. This is JUST ON YOU.
Ali's brings the JOY: focus Just On You, That's Joy!
Anytime you hear the word JOY, remember: it has to be JUST ON YOU.
Your health. Your hormones. Your happiness. Your choices.
When you focus on what YOUR body needs, on what brings YOU joy - that's when everything shifts.
Practical Takeaways
- Start with food - 80% of your health
- Pair sugar with protein - Stabilizes blood sugar (nuts, cheese, eggs)
- Stay hydrated - Especially if drinking alcohol
- Address stress holistically - Physical, chemical, AND emotional
- Make deposits, not just withdrawals - Your body is a bank account
- Own your health - No one can do this for you
Debbie's Healthy Hideaway Retreat
3-day immersive hormone and lifestyle retreat in January
With Debbie Townsend & Kimberly (medical herbalist)
Learn how to eat for your hormones, balance cortisol, stabilize blood sugar, sleep well, plus yoga, Pilates, and breathwork. Half sold out already.
Connect with Debbie