The Female Health Solution Podcast

Dr. Beth Westie, women's health and hormone expert, tackles one of the most frustrating experiences women face in their late 30s, 40s, and 50s: being told their labs are "normal" while their body feels anything but. In this episode, she explores why standard blood work often misses the bigger picture—and why "normal" and "optimal" are not the same thing. Dr. Beth breaks down how conventional refer...

In this episode, I talk about why functional lab testing can be such an important tool for women who feel like something is "off," even when their standard blood work comes back normal. So many women are told their labs look fine, but they still feel exhausted, anxious, inflamed, foggy, hormonally imbalanced, or just not like themselves. I share why basic labs often miss the deeper issues and how...

You used to be the calm one. Your rule was simple: if it will not matter in five years, it does not get more than five minutes of your energy. Now there is a low hum of anxiety that never shuts off, and someone closes a cupboard and you snap. In this episode I explain the connection between low progesterone and that on-edge feeling so many women hit in their 40s, and why it is a hormonal shift, no...

Have you ever been so bone tired that you thought something has to be wrong, only to be told you are just getting older? You are freezing when everyone else is comfortable, your hair is thinning, and the scale keeps creeping up no matter how little you eat or how hard you push yourself. In this episode I explain why this may be your thyroid, why a single TSH test can miss the problem entirely, and...

In this episode I explain why your gut and your hormones are in constant two-way communication, how shifting estrogen in perimenopause slows your digestion and drives that afternoon bloat, and why the probiotics and elimination diets you have been trying may be targeting the wrong thing. Gut issues are not something I talk about from the outside. I live with a sensitive stomach and celiac myself,...

For two weeks a month you feel steady, capable, and grounded, and then somewhere around day 17 a switch flips. A wave of anxiety rolls in that you cannot shake. By day 20 it is a low sense of dread, like a thundercloud parked over you that was not there before. By day 25 your husband slams a cupboard the way he always does, and instead of a mild eye roll you go from zero to a thousand. Then your p...

You have eaten the same yogurt bowl every morning for months. Then, one random Tuesday you eat it again, same bowl, same time, and suddenly you're painfully bloated, your face is flushed, your head is pounding, and a wave of anxiety hits. So, you start a food journal. You cut the berries, then the yogurt, then the coffee, and nothing changes. In this episode I explain why this can be a histamine r...

It's 3AM and you are wide awake, more alert than you have felt all day, your brain racing through tomorrow's to-do list while you count how many minutes of sleep you might still get. In this episode I explain why so many women snap awake in the middle of the night, and why it often traces back to your cortisol rhythm, your melatonin, and the way progesterone and estrogen shift in perimenopause. If...

Have you been doing everything right, cutting out the sugar, never missing a workout, counting every calorie, and still watching the scale creep up while your energy and sleep get worse? In this episode, I'm explaining why "eat less, move more" can backfire once your hormones shift in perimenopause and menopause, and what insulin resistance may have to do with the weight that feels stuck around yo...

When you're exhausted, foggy, losing hair, and feeling like something is off, it's easy to hear "your labs are fine" and start doubting yourself. In this episode, I'm walking you through the iron deficiency signs that so often get missed, like chewing ice, restless legs, and air hunger, and why a normal hemoglobin does not always mean your iron is actually fine. I'm also getting honest about my ow...

I've read over a thousand labs from women who were told they were "fine"—their numbers looked great, yet they were completely exhausted. The problem? The tests that actually explain chronic fatigue usually aren't the ones being run at your doctor's office. In this episode, I'm sharing the five patterns I see behind exhaustion again and again, the exact labs to test for, and the order I typically s...

If I had just 30 days to fix your sleep, I wouldn't hand you a melatonin or tell you to meditate harder. Perimenopause sleep doesn't break in one place—it breaks in a sequence, and that 2 a.m. wide-awake jolt, the racing mind, the 4 a.m. ceiling-staring are each a different mechanism. In this episode, I'm walking you through the exact order I'd fix it in—what I'd address first, second, and third,...

When you're tired, bloated, anxious, losing hair, and gaining weight all at once, it's easy to feel paralyzed—where do you even start? In this episode, I'm walking you through the order I actually fix things in when a woman has everything going wrong at the same time, and why sequence matters so much more than most people realize. I'm also getting honest about my own postpartum health crisis, the...

In this episode, we are diving into the importance of my two favorite hormones: Estrogen and Progesterone.  I go over the role each of these hormones place in the female body, what it can look (and feel) like when there is an imbalance, and what we can do to fix it! Ready to get answers? Schedule a free discovery call with one of my team members to get personalized next steps: 👉 https://calendly....

Cortisol is the body's main stress hormone and often overlooked, yet so important for hormone balance and physical results. You can be eating the perfect diet and struggle to see results simply because your cortisol response is off. This episode covers a number of things to look out for if you are under stress and signals that your cortisol response needs some help! Ready to get hands on guidance...

In this episode, I dig into one of the most frustrating things I see women struggle with: being told their thyroid is "fine" based on a single number, while they're still dealing with fatigue, weight gain, hair thinning, brain fog, and feeling cold all the time. Here's what I want you to take away: TSH isn't a full thyroid test. It's just a signal from your brain to your thyroid—not a measurement...

In this episode of the Female Health Solution podcast, I'm doing something a little different. Instead of walking through the science, I'm sharing the real stories of three women I've worked with recently—each doing all the "right" things, yet feeling stuck, dismissed, and frustrated. If you've ever been told your labs are "fine" while you know something is off, these stories are for you. You're n...

In this episode, I'm tackling one of the most misunderstood topics in women's health: adrenal fatigue. While the term "adrenal fatigue" isn't technically accurate, the symptoms women experience are very real. What's actually happening is something called HPA axis dysfunction, a breakdown in the communication between the brain and adrenal glands that impacts energy, hormones, metabolism, sleep, and...

If you're struggling with stubborn weight gain, afternoon energy crashes, 3 a.m. wakeups, sugar cravings, brain fog, mood swings, or hot flashes, insulin resistance may be a bigger factor than you realize. In this episode, I break down why insulin resistance is not just a pre-diabetes issue and how it can quietly impact your hormones for years before it shows up on standard lab work. In this episo...

In this episode, I'm diving into the estrobolome, the powerful community of gut bacteria that plays a major role in how your body processes and clears estrogen. If you've been told your hormones are "normal" but you're still struggling with heavy periods, worsening PMS, breast tenderness, bloating, mood swings, or cycles that keep getting shorter, your gut may be the missing piece. I'm explaining:...

If your HRT is not working the way you expected, it does not always mean the hormones are the problem. Often, the real issue is that your body is missing key foundations needed to process and respond to those hormones effectively. In this episode, I break down the three biggest areas I look at first: your liver detox pathways, your gut and estrobolome health, and your blood sugar and cortisol regu...

If you feel like your body stopped responding after 37, it is not because your metabolism suddenly "slowed down" with age. In this episode, I break down the real reason so many women feel stuck despite eating well, exercising consistently, and doing everything "right." The truth is, your body can get trapped in a cycle involving cortisol, insulin, and estrogen that drives fat storage, inflammation...

In this episode, I sat down with Dr. Brandy Zachary (Dr. Z) to talk about functional medicine, menopause, and why so many women are being dismissed when they need real answers most. Dr. Z shares her personal health journey, from life changing illness and being declared permanently disabled to rebuilding her health through functional medicine and creating tools that now help practitioners better se...

If you feel like your body just isn't responding the way it used to, you're not imagining it. Most weight loss advice out there was never designed for women, especially not women navigating hormone changes in their late 30s, 40s, and beyond. The idea that you just need to eat less and move more sounds simple, but for many women, it actually makes things worse. When your body is under constant stre...

Waking up at 3 a.m. is one of the most common sleep struggles for women, especially during times of stress and hormonal change. This is not random and it is not just anxiety. It is often tied to a deeper connection between your liver, cortisol, progesterone, and blood sugar regulation. Between 1 and 3 a.m., your liver is most active in detoxification. If your body is dealing with blood sugar crash...