Happy Hormones Podcast

One of the most obvious things you might be noticing as you get older (and a key symptom of menopause) is the way your brain works (or doesn’t!). And it can be scary. Especially if you have dementia in the family. While some decline is natural, exciting research reveals proactive steps we can take to nurture and protect our cognitive function for years to come. Want to learn science-backed tricks...

I'm flipping the script today to talk about men’s health, with Ross Tomkins, mens health advocate and founder of Alphagenix. He’s also the author of 'Ageing and the Andropause'.  Ross was introduced to me by my dad, who had been instrumental in diagnosing him with low thyroid and testosterone in his 30’s and getting him back to full health. And he has since gone on to support other men with hormon...

You might think that heart health isn't your biggest priority as you go through menopause. Heart disease is often perceived as a “man's disease”, but it’s actually the leading cause of death among women over the age of 50. What's even more concerning is that almost two-thirds of women who die suddenly from coronary heart disease show no previous symptoms. The good news is that there's lots you can...

Kim Rahir is an inspiration to any woman in midlife. A busy mum of 3, she was diagnosed with MS at the age of 50 and told she would be on medication for the rest of her life. She felt powerless, so she decided to start strength training alongside her medical treatment to just feel more confident. As she got stronger, she not only felt happier, but her body started healing. Today she has no sign of...

Unless you live in a bubble, you won't have escaped the buzz about breathwork in recent years. If you've done yoga or Pilates, you'll know about the benefits, and of course 'Ice Man' Wim Hoff has made his breathwork practice famous. Despite its recent popularity, breathwork is far from a new phenomenon. Across diverse cultures, it has been practiced for millennia. These days, breathing has evolved...

I’ve always known olive oil is good for us, it’s a staple of the Mediterranean diet and well known for it’s health benefits. But I didn’t know quite how much these benefits depended on the quality of the oil and where it came from. Until I met Sarah Vachon, olive oil sommelier and founder of Citizens of Soil. She explained to me the vital difference between olive oil and extra virgin olive oil, an...

While constipation may not be a topic that's openly discussed, it's surprisingly common. In fact, it's thought around 1 in 7 adults in the UK suffer from it. Unfortunately, it's more common in women, and can get worse as we get older. That means if you're a midlife woman like me, it can be an uncomfortable and often frustrating thing to deal with. But 'common' doesn't mean it's 'normal'. While occ...

When you're going through midlife changes, it can be really hard to feel good in your clothes. Finding things to wear that accommodate your changing body shape or help you deal with uncomfortable symptoms can be a challenge. I don't know about you, but my wardrobe struggle is very real! But my friend Helen Reynolds is here to help! She is a personal style consultant who totally gets these challeng...

After developing what she describes as 'a dysfunctional relationship' with alcohol, Sarah Rusbatch made the decision to remove it from her life in early 2019 and has never looked back. She's now an acredited 'Grey Area Drinking' coach, helping other women to enjoy the benefits of sobriety and improve their health. Listen to discover what ‘grey area drinking’ is, and how to know if you’re in that c...

We know testosterone is a steroid hormone that gives men their deep voices, facial hair, muscle strength and sex drive. But did you know it plays a crucial role for women too? We only make about 5% of the levels men make, but it's a hormone that we need not only for our sex drive and muscles, but for bone and brain health as well as energy and mood. And just like oestrogen and progesterone, testos...

Walking as a form of exercise is often snubbed by the fitness industry who try to persuade us to go big or go home! But if you’re not able to do much cardio or weight training, walking on its own is hugely beneficial. Especially if you're navigating the world of menopausal hormones and feeling tired or stressed. Few things have the power to restore quite like a brisk walk and a big deep gulp of fr...

Are you eating enough protein? If you're navigating the midlife or menopause journey, chances are you're not getting enough protein. And that's a bigger deal than you might think. As levels of oestrogen and progesterone drop, you're not just dealing with symptoms like weight gain, fatigue, and mood swings. Your body also faces challenges in absorbing and holding onto protein. The good news is that...

Are you struggling to lose weight, despite doing all the right things? Firstly, don't beat yourself up. Midlife weight gain is very real, and it's not easy to shift. Our bodies are going through tough times. As well as menopausal hormone changes, there are many factors that could be causing weight loss resistance, and why you may need to look beyond diet and lifestyle to identify what could be hin...

If you're interested in healthy ageing, one of the key areas that you'll have come across is the role of inflammation in how we age and the risk of disease. The science is calling it 'inflammaging' and it's dangerous because it's hidden. You can't see inflammation at work. But it's there! And unfortunately menopause is something that makes it worse (as oestrogen has an anti-inflammatory role). The...

When it comes to our improving our health (and losing weight), we naturally focus on the physical things we need to do (diet, exercise etc). But it's our mindset that will ultimately determine how successful we are. I’ve known Caroline for many years, and you will seen her mindset videos if you’ve been through our 30 days to Happy Hormones programme. I’ve always known how important mindset is to a...

We've heard all about the health benefits of cold therapy, but if that's not your thing, did you know that there's a whole host of benefits associated with heat and red light therapy? Heat therapy has been appreciated for centuries all over the world for its wellbeing benefits. Red light therapy on the other hand is relatively new. It uses the power of infrared energy without heat (or very low lev...

PCOS is a condition that affects millions of women all over the world. It can cause all sorts of uncomfortable symptoms and messing with our hormones. The usual approach in medicine is to just treat the symptoms, but there's a different way we can go about it. By taking a holistic approach and looking at how everything in our bodies is connected, we can actually find the underlying causes of PCOS...

Are you finding weight loss so much harder as you get older? Now you're in your 40's or 50's, that old diet just doesn't work any more. You literally have to STARVE to lose any weight, and you probably know that you've just lost fluid and muscle! The minute you look at a piece of cake, that weight's right back on. So what's going on? Why is it so damned difficult to shed the pounds after 40? There...

Although your diet is super important to support your hormones, in my experience helping many hundreds of women going through perimenopause, I now think the number one indicator of how bad your symptoms are is STRESS. Learn how stress impacts your menopause and how to manage it so that you can improve your symptoms and sail through the other side! Check out the links I mentioned here; Sensate; a b...

Did you know that direct contact with the earth (walking barefoot, gardening, etc) can result in health benefits like better sleep, less pain, reduced stress and more? Find out more about how it works and an easier way to incorporate the benefits into your life. If you want to try an earthing sheet out, Sleep Earthed have offered us a 10% discount on any of their product range. Just use code Happy...

Autoimmune conditions occur when your immune system starts to attack and damage your own tissue and organs. Such mutiny is usually down to a culmination of factors including genetics, stress, gut health, hormonal imbalances and your environment. There are over 80 different types of known auto-immune conditions and they can affect any part of your body, most commonly, your joints, skin, gut and hor...

Oxytocin is not often a hormone that is much talked about. It's known generally as the 'LOVE' hormone, but has all sorts of benefits for us. It's a hormone that is released in your brain (in your hypothalamus), then distributed by the pituitary gland to the rest of your brain. It can stimulate emotions of love, trust, connection, empathy, bonding and comfort. It also works with serotonin and dopam...

It’s an amazing thing your liver – did you know it’s the largest organ in the body, weighing over four pounds? And that is has over 500 jobs to do? And it's working harder than ever. Over the last few decades, it has had to deal with thousands of new chemicals – in the air we breathe, the food we eat, the products we use and the water we drink. Not to mention that nightly glass or two of wine! And...

Exercise is vital for hormones and general health as it improves stress levels, sleep quality, mood, brain health and insulin function. But in your 40's and beyond, it's not a question of just ‘eat less, move more'! This approach can be counter productive as it can stress your body out instead of nourishing it. This is the perfect time to consider a more balanced and perhaps a more sustainable app...

Today I'm chatting with one of our amazing clients, Natalie Rumbelow. ⁠ ⁠ Natalie is such an inspiration. I can’t tell you how proud I am of what she achieved, not just for herself but her young family. We both got quite emotional realising how far she had come in a few short months. From having debilitating migraines for more than 20 days of the month, plus terrible anxiety, fatigue and monthly P...