Dr. Brooke Show

There's so much debate on whether functional testing like the DUTCH test is helpful for women trying to sort out their hormone issues. I use it frequently, but like serum testing, it has its place and it's limitations. However, the biggest thing that burns me up is when a woman goes out of pocket for this test and then have so much info misinterpreted or merely just left on the table. This means y...

Some of the more frustrating symptoms of midlife hormone decline and perimenopause is stubborn fat loss, weight gain, and fat redistribution around the midsection. HRT is often part of what's promoted to manage these metabolic changes, and many women expect to lose weight when they start it. While replacing hormones like estrogen, progesterone and testosterone can help with fat loss and muscle gai...

Whether you know what to do for your nutrition or this high protein-high veggie way of eating is new, there are a few basics that women need to keep doing, over and over. Let's face it, that can get tedious, but with a few simple hacks, tricks and upgrades you will always have veggies on hand, cooked proteins at the ready, and you suprising yourself with how delicious it all is. If you're overwhel...

PCOS has a new name, but will women struggling with this lifelong, complex condition have a new experience? Women struggle both with diagnosis and adequate treatment for this condition, and while the new name honors the significance of the widespread endocrine problems of PCOS, we have a long way to go. In this epeisode I cover the nitty gritty hormone issues of PCOS, or rather PMOS (polyendocrine...

In this episode, we get into more of Q&As that you've emailed to me, posted in the Facebook group, and some directly from my patients. A few more related to HRT, plus we'll cover SHBG, progesterone cycling, and more. These episodes are always my favorite, so be sure to listen in!  For more info on how I can help you, visit my site BetterByDrBrooke .   Resources mentioned in this episode:  Episode...

Most women underestimate the bizarre, surprising symptoms that can crop up during perimenopause — such as itchy ears, voice changes, and even unusual body odors. If you thought menopause was just hot flashes, sleep issues, night sweats, zero energy and weight gain, think again. In this episode, we'll unpack some of the lesser-known signs and symptoms that hormone shifts are taking a toll on your b...

Often, when symptoms or side effects arise on HRT, the immediate reaction is to adjust the dosage. In this Q&A episode, I cover what irregular bleeding, GI symptoms like nausea and joint pain might indicate when you're on HRT and options to feel better that go beyond just a bump up or step down of your dose.   For more info on how I can help you, visit my site  BetterByDrBrooke .   Resources menti...

Whether age, experience or tough times - sometimes you just "get something" in a way you didn't before. There are a few popular, Instagram-meme-worthy concepts that have taken on a deeper meaning for me lately. I'm sharing how I understand ideas like forgiveness, boundaries and the every popular "choose yourself" in this rather personal episode. I hope this helps if you're going through something...

For more info on how I can help you, visit my site  BetterByDrBrooke . Magnesium is likely in your supplement regimen right now, as its benefits are widely known. However, many of us take one form, such as citrate or glycinate, only and miss out on other important forms of magnesium that benefit our vessels, heart, and energy production. As well, most of us, even with supplementation, might be dos...

For more info on how I can help you, visit my site  BetterByDrBrooke . Women today are becoming more aware of the value of both strength training and HRT on their bone health. Most screening, though, takes place much later and often when osteoporosis and osteopenia have already set in. In this episode, I challenge the ideas that bone loss is only a symptom of osteoporosis, we simply need to take m...

For more info on how I can help you, visit my site  BetterByDrBrooke . Most women in midlife feel exhausted, and fluctuating hormones certainly plays into that via impacting neurotransmitters, energy production and disrupting sleep from symptoms like night sweats. However, HRT is merely one piece of that puzzle. It's important to look at a bigger picture not just in terms of hormones and deficienc...

For more info on how I can help you, visit my site  BetterByDrBrooke . Probiotic supplements abound, but is the latest, fancy-pants strain the answer? In this episode, I talk about how to think about using probitoics, what they can do and whether or not you need a supplement or can you get what you need from foods. I also cover dosages and strengths, gut testing and how probitoics help common cond...

For more info on how I can help you, visit my site  BetterByDrBrooke . In this episode, I talk about using birth control instead of HRT during midlife. There are times when this option makes sense but it is important to know these hormones are different types, dosages, and come with different risk factors and are formulated for very different goals. Oftentimes they are a starting place instead of...

For more info on how I can help you, visit my site  BetterByDrBrooke . 2025 was TOUGH! In this episode, I dive into my year of unexpected chaos that completely derailed my health - and why I let it happen. I share the tools that worked to get through and what tools I need to pull back out (hint: download the FREE Midlife Is More Than HRT guide below). Most importantly, I needed to revisit my "burn...

For more info on how I can help you, visit my site  BetterByDrBrooke . Join me and my friend Mallory Leone, founder of Four Corners Studio, as we move into the end of 2025 (the year of the snake), Mallory and I talk about shedding the old skin that doesn't fit anymore, the power of folk magic, and the art of reality creation. From leaving behind old identities to embracing new beginnings, this epi...

For more info on how I can help you, visit my site BetterByDrBrooke . I've long shared my grievances about testosterone pellets, but as always, I want to give you a balanced and fair take on all things women's hormones. In this episode, I cover some advantages to pellets (there are a few!) as well as going into more detail on the downsides, including some irreversible side effects. As mentioned in...

For more info on how I can help you, visit my site  BetterByDrBrooke . The holidays are here, and it's time for the 10th annual Thanksgiving episode! Can you believe it?  Gratitude is a powerful and it is tricky. I'll share some new research on the science of gratitude and how it can be an important tool for resilience due to how it triggers a potent feel-good hormone cocktail in our nervous syste...

For more info on how I can help you, visit my site BetterByDrBrooke . Testosterone for women is among the most over AND under prescribed hormones out there. Women in their 40s and 50s are suffering and struggling to get treatment OR they are being given dosages high enough to cause potentially irreversible side effects. On the other hand, women in their 20s and 30s are prescribed testosterone with...

For more info on how I can help you, visit my site BetterByDrBrooke . It's that time of year when things can get a little chaotic - in a festive way, but still. Your social feed is about to be filled with healthier swaps for holiday treats, experts telling you how horrible sugar is and others telling you: it's only once a year! In this episode, I cover my tried and true tips and perspectives for n...

In this episode, I am asking a question I get daily in my practice from women taking HRT: do I need to be cycling my progesterone? Or is OK to just take it every day? How about estrogen, does that need to be cycled too? It's a good question and one that experts do not agree on. As I always say though, HRT can't be one size fits all and it's worth understanding why cycling might be better for you -...

Trend alert: weighted vests. These low-weight vests are all the rage in the midlife/perimenopause space right now. The menopause experts say to wear these babies every day, all day, and for every exercise. The fitness experts say there is a whole lot of problems with wearing a weighted vest for long durations and with certain exercises. I break it all down and go over the most commonly touted stud...

Nervous system regulation is all the rage and it is so important to so many symptoms and health conditions. When you have an overactive and highly sensitive system, it might not be enough to take a deep breath or trigger your vagus nerve with singing or cold water. Those tools are powerful and you should know how to use them but for many of us the ultimate root cause of mast cell activation, autoi...

For more info on how I can help you, visit my site BetterByDrBrooke . Whether you are cycling and have symptoms or are on HRT and having issues, the ratio of these two hormones can be a real indicator of issues like low progesterone, estrogen dominance or estrogen metabolism issues. You can calculate this ratio from values on your serum testing or urine testing such as the DUTCH test. In this epis...

For more info on how I can help you, visit my site BetterByDrBrooke . The love hormone, the cuddle hormone, the hormone of bonding. Not much bad to say about oxytocin! However, with so many new, compounded hormones easily available on the internet, you may be wondering if you should be taking oxytocin. I cover challenges with oxytocin delivery methods and how to naturally raise it on your own, inc...

For more info on how I can help you, visit my site BetterByDrBrooke . Part II of this two-part episode series on the "other stuff" about midlife. In this episode, I get into the tangible system I created to tackle the stuff that HRT doesn't fix — my 3G + 4R Perimenopause Process.  There is both perspective and habits as part of this system to help you know what to do - and actually be able to do i...