Everyday Wellness with Cynthia Thurlow ™

Today, I feel honored to share the first of two episodes with one of my favorite women in the health and wellness space! Dr. Tabatha Barber is a triple board-certified OB-Gyn specializing in perimenopause, menopause, and functional medicine. She is often affectionately referred to as the Gutsy Gynecologist, and she has a wonderful podcast called The Gutsy Gynecologist Show.Dr. Barber is speaking out on behalf of middle-aged women! She does not focus on any specific age group because she prefers to think about women on a continuum. In this episode, she talks with me about perimenopause, lifestyle management, and navigating the transition to middle age. We discuss the impact of oral contraceptives, their effect on the gut microbiome, and informed consent. We talk about vitamin and mineral depletion and therapies typically used in middle age- including IUDs, ablations, and hysterectomies. We dive into how to navigate cycle mapping and successfully integrate intermittent fasting during perimenopause. We also briefly touch on how to manage vasomotor symptoms. I hope you will gain a lot from this invaluable podcast! We will be sharing the second part of this show later this summer. Stay tuned for more!IN THIS EPISODE YOU WILL LEARN: Dr. Barber explains what inspired her to help and support women throughout their lifetime. What changes happen in women's bodies as they move past the peak fertility years?   How do we prepare for the time when our bodies are no longer fertile? It is vital to make the connection between gut health and gynecological health. The issue with birth control pills. How can women who have IUDs, or those who have had an ablation or a hysterectomy and still have their ovaries, understand where they are in their cycle? Why is so little research done on women, and why are women not getting the care they deserve from their medical practitioners? Problems that exist within the current medical system. Women need to ask their health care providers “why?”. How to manage vasomotor symptoms. Connect with Cynthia Thurlow Follow on Twitter, Instagram & LinkedIn Check out Cynthia’s website  Connect with Dr. Tabatha Barber On her website The Gutsy Gynecologist Show On Instagram and TikTok

I am delighted to have the opportunity to connect with Dr. Rick Johnson today! Dr. Johnson is a Professor of Medicine at the University of Colorado and is a clinician and researcher. He is an international expert on sugar and fructose and has made many discoveries on how sugar and fructose play a role in obesity and diabetes. Dr. Johnson is a gracious, humble, and brilliant man! He is also extremely curious and loves diving into things! As well as running a clinical practice, he has been doing medical research throughout his career. In this episode, we talk about his new book, Nature Wants Us to Be Fat. We get into how his curiosity has fueled his entire medical career, and talk about the intricate connection between fructose, weight gain, and re-gaining weight. We discuss the impact of obesity and hormonal regulation and how fructose lowers the ATP and impacts the mitochondria. We talk about artificial sweeteners, the polyol pathway, and uric acid. We dive into dehydration and explain how it can create fructose in the body. We also talk about the impact of alcohol and the Switch Diet.I hope you enjoy listening to our conversation as much as I did while recording it! Stay tuned to find out all you need to know about the biological switch that drives obesity!IN THIS EPISODE YOU WILL LEARN: What led Dr. Johnson to write the book Nature Wants Us to Be Fat? The role hibernation plays in the metabolic health of wild animals. How being mildly overweight can sometimes be associated with living longer. Dr. Johnson shares his thoughts on the CICO (Calories In Calories Out) model and explains how weight gain and obesity are driven by more than just calories.  The role fructose plays in weight gain and metabolic disease. The association between sugar and obesity can be traced a long way back in human history. How do some foods make us hungrier and less active? Dr. Johnson talks about the breakthrough that occurred after the hormone leptin was discovered. How fructose impacts the ATP (the energy sparked in a cell) and triggers weight gain.  Why fasting and low carb diets can help to cure obesity and maintain weight loss and overall health. What is dehydration, and why is it so significant? How salt- specifically sodium chloride, impacts weight gain. What happens in the body when we consume alcohol? There is a link between the craving for alcohol and the sugar craving. Dr. Johnson talks about the Switch Diet. He explains what it is and what it incorporates. Connect with Cynthia Thurlow Follow on Twitter, Instagram & LinkedIn Check out Cynthia’s website  Connect with Dr. Rick Johnson On his website  On Instagram and Twitter  

I am delighted to have Joel Greene, one of my favorite biohackers, joining me today! Joel is very well-known in the health and fitness community! He is knowledgeable and passionate about science, and he has some fresh and distinctive notions about the gut microbiome and weight loss. Joel is the author of The Immunity Code. He has figured out different ways for us to focus on our gut microbiome and immune function while targeting specific pathways in the body that could amplify our results for body composition and various other things. In this episode, we dive into common ideologies and dogma, diet variations, and how the second law of thermodynamics relates to food. We discuss calories in calories out, the health of the gut microbiome, dysbiosis, inflammation, butyrate, fasting amplifications, and the concept of reductionism. Joel also shares some hacks for overall wellness and better sleep quality, and I talk briefly about my background and health journey. Tune into today's fascinating conversation with Joel Greene to learn how to optimize your health with very little effort!  IN THIS EPISODE YOU WILL LEARN: What motivated Joel to move from being an interval trainer with Olympic lifting to where he is today.   There is an ongoing debate amongst scientists around calories in calories out.  How he relates the second law of thermodynamics to food and body composition. Maintaining a healthy lifestyle is vital for sustained metabolic health. Why people should eat whatever they want, from time to time to get their desired outcomes There are both positives and negatives to following a low-carb diet. There is a good rationale for being flexible and mixing things up in your diet. The Immunity Code is all about doing things that yield big results and require little effort.  Joel talks about the main tenets of The Immunity Code.  The myriad benefits of increasing the populations of certain species of “lean” bacteria in the gut. Joel shares his thoughts on butyrate. The right way to re-introduce fiber when recovering from dysbiosis. The benefits of amplified fasting.  Joel unpacks the concept of pexophagy. You can use ice and menthol to change your body composition. Some effective hacks for better sleep. Joel discusses reductionism. Connect with Cynthia Thurlow Follow on Twitter, Instagram & LinkedIn Check out Cynthia’s website  Connect with Joel Greene On his website Find The Immunity Code on Amazon

I have the honor of connecting with Gabby Bernstein today! Gabby is a spiritual teacher, motivational speaker, and catalyst for profound inner change. She recently launched her latest book, the New York Times bestseller, Happy Days. Gabby has been transforming lives- including her own for more than sixteen years. She is a number 1 New York Times best-selling author. She has written nine books, including The Universe Has Your Back, Super Attractor, and her latest, Happy Days. In her weekly podcast, Dear Gabby, she offers real-time coaching, straight talk, and conversations about personal growth and spirituality with unique and inspiring guests.In this episode, Gabby and I dive into undoing the patterns that made us feel unworthy of love. We discuss the impact that big and little T traumas have on the brain, how our coping mechanisms could reflect the traumas we experienced, and the value of supporting the autonomic nervous system- specifically the sympathetic overdrive, which is a chronic state of hyper-arousal. We also discuss the effects of shame and how it clouds our perspective on the experiences we have had, and talk about using compassion as the antidote.  I hope you enjoy today’s conversation with Gabby Bernstein! Stay tuned for more!IN THIS EPISODE YOU WILL LEARN: Noticing the patterns that keep us stuck in our lives is the first step to undoing those patterns. Why is it easier for people to stay stuck in their patterns than change them? How shame keeps us locked into painful patterns in our lives. Gabby talks about trauma and explains why everyone in the world today is traumatized. Using compassion as the antidote to shame. Creating a boundary of distance can help us view people through the lens of compassion rather than the lens of shame or blame. Addiction is an extreme way of managing impermissible trauma. How can those who grew up in traumatic circumstances change the course of their children?  The most important thing we can do for our children is to create a secure environment in which they can grow up. The book, Happy Days, is about re-parenting yourself so that you can heal the traumas of your past and undo the generational cycles. Gabby discusses tools and proactive practices for addressing trauma or uncomfortable feelings you may be experiencing from your past. About Gabby’s new book, Happy DaysGabby has long been loved by her readers as a spiritual teacher, motivational speaker, and catalyst for profound inner change. Her new book presents her most powerful teaching yet: a practical plan for transforming the pain of your past, whatever that may be, into newfound strength and freedom. It will answer your questions about why you feel blocked, scared, anxious, depressed, or alone. It will guide you to become the best version of yourself. Happy Days may not look like Gabby’s other eight books on manifesting, spirituality and connecting to the Universe. But it’s actually her greatest spiritual book of all. The journey she underwent to overcome addiction, trauma, and depression has guided her to become the woman she is today. The methods she was led to for healing, and her remarkable path of recovery, are nothing short of a miracle.“This isn’t a book filled with self-help tools offering a quick fix for your discomfort,” Gabby writes. “Instead, it’s a journey toward lifelong transformation filled with stories of resilience.” Connect with Cynthia Thurlow Follow on Twitter, Instagram & LinkedIn Check out Cynthia’s website  Connect with Gabby Bernstein On her website www.deargabby.com/happydaysDear Gabby Podcast  Find out more about Gabby’s book, Happy Days  On Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter

I feel honored and privileged to re-interview Dr. Anna Cabeca today! She was with me once before in Episode 94. Dr. Anna is triple-board certified. She is also a fellow of gynecology and obstetrics, integrative medicine, and anti-aging and regenerative medicine. She has special certifications in functional medicine, sexual health, and bioidentical hormone replacement therapy. Over the past 20 years, she has served more than 10,000 women in her private practice and millions more through her books, online videos, and articles. Dr. Anna has a new book out, called Menupause. When reviewing her book, I was surprised to discover that only 20% of those going into obstetrics and gynecology trained in menopause medicine. It almost seems that once women move beyond their child-bearing years, they become irrelevant and invisible. Fortunately, Dr. Anna is helping to change that narrative! In this episode, Dr. Anna and I dive into her new book. In addition, we talk about the need for female empowerment, the stigma of middle age, perimenopause, and menopause. We discuss intimacy as the key to connection and the importance of understanding the changes in a woman's body as she moves through that phase of life. (Dr. Anna refers to that as pausing.) We talk about understanding the role of the connection hormone oxytocin and the importance of women being solution-based when approaching that key phase of their lives. We get into statistics and the microbiome of the gut and the vagina, talk about Dr. Anna’s various six-day eating plans, and explain how those changes can improve our physiology and stabilize symptoms. We also look into stubborn weight-gain issues, the health needs of middle-aged women, and how different cultures view middle age.  I am thrilled to be bringing you today’s exciting conversation! I hope you gain a lot from listening to it!IN THIS EPISODE YOU WILL LEARN: There is time in menopause for women to re-evaluate their priorities. Dr. Anna challenges you, the listener, to start having girlfriend conversations. Talk to your best girlfriends about what’s going on with you intimately. How to empower yourself by increasing the healing hormone oxytocin in your life. There are many different ways to support your body and improve your quality of life while going through menopause. Following a keto diet and fasting will give you energy, make you feel better, and improve your sex life. What inspired Dr. Anna to write her new book? How to improve your health, and live a long and high-quality life by cooking healthy food in healthy ways. How will you benefit from fasting for six days? Who will benefit from doing a pause and following Dr. Anna’s Keto Green Plans? The predominant proteins that Dr. Anna focuses on in her plant-based plans. Changes Dr. Anna has seen in her patients' gut and vaginal microbiomes as they change their diets and transition from perimenopause into menopause. Some common causes of weight-loss resistance. Dr. Anna talks about some of the delicious hormone-balancing recipes in her book. Getting enough protein is vital- particularly as we get older. Connect with Cynthia Thurlow Follow on Twitter, Instagram & LinkedIn Check out Cynthia’s website  Connect with Dr. Anna Cabeca Check out Dr. Anna’s website Menupause Book Page 9 Keto-Green Ways to Break a Weight Loss Plateau Free Masterclass: Diabetes and Prediabetes for Women Over 40 MenuPause Book Sneak Peek Clean Keto Recipes for Menopause Quiz: What should you eat to break your weight loss plateau? MenuPause Affiliate site Dr. Anna’s podcast

I am delighted to reconnect with Teri Cochrane today! Teri is the founder of the Global Sustainable Health Institute® and an international thought leader in longevity. Through her decades of clinical work, Teri has developed The Cochrane Method®, a future-facing, multisystem health and longevity model that examines the intersection of gene expression due to pathogenic and environmental causes, energy, and her clients’ unique personal blueprint. Teri specializes in solutions to complex health conditions and serves world-class athletes. She is the author of the Amazon best-selling new release book, The Wildatarian Diet: Living As Nature Intended.Teri’s perspective on health and longevity is fresh and unique, and she has her own quirky way of describing certain potentially intangible concepts. She understands that we are all different, so every individual requires a particular and very granular approach to their diet and lifestyle to achieve optimal health.In this episode, we take a deep dive into the role of bio-individuality and focus on women’s hormones and the endocrine system. We talk about applied kinesiology. We discuss the role of oxalates and the impact of genetics, SMPs, mycotoxins (mold), candida, and strep on our health. We get into methylation, gut health, estrogen detoxification, liver detox, and ways to support our bodies. We talk about why women tend to feel fluffy, the impact of cortisol, how sleep and stress affect our health, the importance of micronutrients- especially for thyroid function, and the role of neurotransmitters. We also discuss the quality of animal-based protein and explain why chicken is a dirty bird.I hope you love listening to this valuable conversation and learn a lot from it! Stay tuned for more!IN THIS EPISODE YOU WILL LEARN: Teri unpacks what bio-individuality represents. What makes women unique in terms of their hormonal makeup? Teri talks about some of the major contributors to dysbiosis. The impact of genetics, SMPs, mycotoxins, candida, and strep on our health. Why is candida such a beast? How do hormone supplements exacerbate metabolic dysbiosis? How progesterone gets “stolen” to produce the stress hormone cortisol. The feedback we get from applied kinesiology. The genetic tests Teri uses to learn how people might react to various supplements. What are oxalates, and how do they impact people’s health? Teri discusses the two phases of liver detoxification. Teri’s preferred methodology for dealing with extra estrogen. Supporting the immune system function. What is the issue with protein from domesticated animal meats, like chicken, beef, pork, and turkey? It is vital to know your body and genes and understand how food can be either a healer or a poison.  Connect with Cynthia Thurlow Follow on Twitter, Instagram & LinkedIn Check out Cynthia’s website  Connect with Teri Cochrane On her website On Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube Find Teri’s book, The Wildatarian Diet: Living As Nature Intended, on Amazon

I am delighted to have Dr. Renee Wellenstein joining me today! Dr. Renee is a double board-certified doctor who has been working with women for over 20 years. Due to her own health challenges, she stepped outside the box of conventional medicine to take a radically different approach to heal herself from the deep depths of burnout. She has had her fair share of obstacles throughout her journey, and she has mastered the art of leaping into transitions with each pivot! Now Dr. Renee empowers women to take control of their health, jump-start their energy, improve their confidence, and reignite their libido!Low libido in women is a topic that is grossly misunderstood on many levels and does not get discussed often enough between doctors and patients. Research has shown that 43% of women experience low libido at some point in their lifetime. That is why we need to discuss it and keep the conversation open. We have to talk about low libido even though most women feel some degree of stigmatization around it and tend to feel uncomfortable talking about it with their girlfriends, loved ones, and especially their significant others.In this episode, Dr. Renee dives into connection, intimacy, sleep, exercise, and the influence of food choices on libido. She gives her specific recommendations for women who have experienced vaginal changes and the effects of hormone replacement therapy. She discusses options that can help support women who have had breast cancer treatment whose healthcare providers do not advocate hormonal replacement therapy. Dr. Renee and I explain why we do not love pellets. We also discuss some of the physical reasons for women having low libido, including the effects of certain types of medication, alcohol, gynecological surgery, the impact of hormonal changes and fluctuations, and neurotransmitters. I hope you will learn a lot from this conversation and enjoy it as much as I did! Stay tuned for more!IN THIS EPISODE YOU WILL LEARN: Where did Dr. Renee's desire to talk openly to women about libido and their sexual issues stem from? How do the synthetic hormones in contraceptives dampen a woman’s desire to have sex? Medications other than oral contraceptives could also cause low libido in women. How does alcohol consumption contribute to low libido in women? Sometimes, gynecological surgery can result in women having low or no desire for sex. How the rhetoric around hormones being harmful hurts women. Some of the synthetic and bioidentical hormone options.  Women who suspect they might have too much estrogen should consider changing their diet. Dr. Renee discusses the types of progesterone she usually recommends for women at different stages of their lives, their side effects, and their benefits. Feeding the gut microbiome can help prevent a low libido. Dr. Renee talks about the foods that will assist in keeping the gut microbiome healthy. Supplements can boost and support libido. What can women do about vulva/vaginal atrophy? Mindset is often a contributor to low libido. The problems with pellets. Connect with Cynthia Thurlow Follow on Twitter, Instagram & LinkedIn Check out Cynthia’s website  Connect with Dr. Renee Wellenstein On her website   On InstagramOn Facebook On TikTok On YouTube The Real Heal Podcast Resources:Books mentioned:Estrogen Matters by by Avrum Bluming and Carol TavrisThe XX Brain by Dr. Lisa Mosconi

I have the honor of talking to Dr. Michael Breus today! Dr. Breus is the author of The Power of When, and his latest book is called Energize. He is a double board-certified Clinical Psychologist and Clinical Sleep Specialist. He is one of only 168 psychologists in the world to have taken and passed the Sleep Medicine Boards without going to Medical School.After completing his undergraduate studies in psychology, Dr. Breus did all of his pre-meds in one year. Then he went to the University of Georgia to do a P.h.D. in Clinical Psychology. He wanted to do a sports internship at the University of Mississippi Medical Center after getting his P.h.D., but he could not get into the program. They were offering graduate students a sleep track, so he decided to do that initially and then get into the sports internship program through the back door. However, things did not end up working out quite how they thought they would!Most people do not think much about sleep until they experience sleep problems. In this episode, Dr. Breus shares his background and explains how he pivoted into becoming a sleep specialist. He talks about the impact of chronotypes and genetics. He discusses how movement and other lifestyle strategies can influence our chronotype and talks about melatonin and other hormones, including cortisol, serotonin, dopamine, leptin, and touches on biohacking and intermittent fasting. He cautions us about orthosomnia and discusses how napping can influence sleep scores. He also talks about some of his favorite items for sleep modalities.I hope you enjoy this thought-provoking podcast as much as I did!IN THIS EPISODE YOU WILL LEARN: Dr. Breus tells his story and explains how he became The Sleep Doctor.  How he managed to take and pass the Sleep Medicine Boards without going to Medical School. When he began doing chronotype research and personalizing it as part of his brand and work. Looking at the four chronotypes and what Dr. Breus refers to as chrono-longevity. Dr. Breus talks about melatonin and shares his thoughts on melatonin supplementation. Dr. Breus explains his concept of body habitus. Intermittent fasting is the best way to supply the body with clean energy. Dr. Breus discusses the five different types of energy and describes his movement program.  Dr. Breus unpacks sleep tracking, the physiology of sleep, the sleep stages, and REM sleep versus deep sleep. What is orthosomnia? How does the quality of our sleep affect our hormonal balance? Dr. Breus is a fan of naps. (Unless you have insomnia.) Why is a good pillow vital for a good night’s sleep? Some devices provide a solution for snoring. Connect with Cynthia Thurlow Follow on Twitter, Instagram & LinkedIn Check out Cynthia’s website  Connect with Dr. Michael Breus On his website On Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter The ChronoQuiz

I am delighted to have two respected researchers, Dr. Avrum Bluming and Dr. Carol Tavris, joining me today! They are the co-authors of the book, Estrogen Matters. Avrum Bluming received his MD from the Columbia College of Physicians and Surgeons. He spent four years as a senior investigator for the National Cancer Institute. For two of those years, he was director of the Lymphoma Treatment Center in Kampala, Uganda. For more than three decades, he has been studying the benefits and risks of hormone replacement therapy administered to women with a history of breast cancer.Carol Tavris received her Ph.D. in social psychology from the University of Michigan. Her books include Mistakes Were Made (But Not by Me), with Elliot Aronson; Anger: The Misunderstood Emotion, and The Mismeasure of Woman.Estrogen Matters provides a lot of scientific information that refutes much of the fear-mongering around hormone replacement therapy. It is helpful for women who have gone through cancer therapy and those who have not had to deal with cancer, in terms of the conversations they could consider having with their healthcare professionals.Dr. Bluming and Dr. Tavris are both incredible individuals, and it was an honor to interact with them! In this episode, we dive into statistical manipulation and the influence of the Women’s Health Initiative. We talk about the study limitations and the role of data mining. We discuss the benefits of hormone replacement therapy and its impact on cancer risk, coronary artery disease, bone and brain health, and more. We also look at synthetic versus bioidentical hormones, routes of administration, and what we need to think about in our own hormonal health journeys. I hope you enjoy my conversion with Drs. Bluming and Tavris today! Stay tuned for more!IN THIS EPISODE YOU WILL LEARN: Dr. Bluming talks about the Women’s Health Initiative and explains why we went off-course after it came out in 2002.  The symptoms of menopause are not trivial. They are physically and mentally harmful to the body.  We need to understand the social and political trends against hormone replacement therapy. We need to understand that estrogen for women in menopause plummets to one percent of what it was before menopause. Dr. Bluming discusses the various issues with the article about hormone replacement therapy. If a woman starts taking hormones within ten years of her last menstrual period, she will have a reduced risk of heart disease and strokes and also improved longevity.  The women who fear taking hormone replacement therapy are afraid of breast cancer.  Estrogen reduces the risk of heart disease by up to fifty percent. Drs. Tavris and Bluming talk about bone health.  The impact of hormone replacement on brain health. How the investigators of the Women’s Health Initiative manipulated their findings on dementia. How data mining gets used to sub-stratify data that has already been studied. The truth about bio-identical hormones. There is a lot of misinformation around the route of administration for estrogen. Connect with Cynthia Thurlow Follow on Twitter, Instagram & LinkedIn Check out Cynthia’s website   Connect with Dr. Avrum Blooming and Dr. Carol Tavris On Facebook On Twitter

I am delighted to have Lara Adler with me again today! Lara is a self-proclaimed environmental toxins nerd. She was on the show last year, in episode 159, where we spoke about the link between chemical exposure, weight gain, and other hormonal imbalances. I asked her to join me again today, to highlight the impact of the quality of our water on our health. Lara Adler is an Environmental Toxins Expert & Educator and a Certified Holistic Health Coach who teaches health coaches, nutritionists, and other health professionals how to eliminate the number one thing holding their clients back from the results they are seeking – the unaddressed link between chemicals and chronic health problems. She trains practitioners to become experts in everyday toxic exposures so they can improve client outcomes without spending hundreds of hours researching on their own. There have recently been so many questions about water! In this episode, Lara and I take a deep dive into the scope of the water issue. We discuss the problems around regulation, water contamination, and the crumbling water infrastructure in the United States. We discuss how differences in geography affect our exposure to certain types of industrial toxins and pesticides and talk about how our water gets disinfected with chlorine, chloramine, and fluoride. We get into the impact of biological contaminants, the role of industry and government, the effects of climate change and pollution, why we need to understand the water quality reports for our homes, and how micro-plastics can impair our health and longevity. We also talk about bottled water, water filters, and Lara’s favorite environmental health books, bottles, and reverse osmosis. IN THIS EPISODE YOU WILL LEARN The concerns expressed in the book Silent Spring started changing the tide around environmental pollutants. The United States still has very poor regulations around the number of industrial chemicals present in the water system. There might be traces of antibiotics, antidepressants, and other drugs in our drinking water. Lara explains why she purposefully does not promote any specific water filtration systems. Problems that exist in the American water infrastructure. Even though utilities in the United States are legally required to produce water quality reports (or consumer confidence reports) every year, they do not always do that. Why is it vital for you to obtain your water quality report, regardless of where you live? Lara explains the difference between groundwater and surface water. The pros and cons of disinfecting water. Why should you avoid drinking untreated spring water? The government and industry in America have not been good stewards of the country’s water supply. Lara talks about the intentional campaign run by the American government and industry to push the environmental responsibility onto the consumer. Why is chlorine added to our water supply? What does it do, and how does it impact our health? Lara shares her thoughts on fluoride. What are micro-plastics, and how do they impact our health? Some advice for re-mineralizing water purified by reverse osmosis. Connect with Cynthia Thurlow Follow on Twitter, Instagram & LinkedIn Check out Cynthia’s website  Connect with Lara Adler On her website On Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter Resources:EcojarzBooks mentioned:Silent Spring by Rachel CarsonThe Fluoride Deception by Christopher BrysonSlow Death By Rubber Duck by Bruce Lourie and Rick SmithDocumentary mentioned:Seaspiracy