S9 Ep70: The Midlife Hormone Reset: Food, Mood, And Vitality Simplified with Dr. Lisa Brent
"Perimenopause, menopause, and andropause are such big biochemical shifts that they can affect every system in the body. There’s no system left untouched by hormonal changes. o we want to use that as a filter to make sure that we're looking at the big picture." —Dr. Lisa Brent
One day your body stops responding the way it used to: sleep slips, moods shift, food doesn’t hit the same, and the anxiety that never used to exist suddenly moves in. You start wondering if this is just “getting older,” or if your body’s trying to tell you something bigger. That quiet confusion between “I’m fine” and “something’s off” is exactly where the story begins.
A naturopathic doctor and acupuncturist, Dr. Lisa Brent built Be Well Natural Medicine to help women decode what’s happening in their bodies through every hormonal shift, from perimenopause to menopause and beyond. Her work bridges modern medicine with practical, whole-body care, showing that these changes aren’t the end of vitality but a recalibration.
In this episode, Justine and Dr. Lisa dig into the real markers of perimenopause, how to separate anxiety from hormonal shifts, what supplements actually help, how food and gut health tie in, and why men experience their own “pause” too. Listen in!
Connect with Lisa:
Dr. Lisa Brent is a licensed naturopathic doctor and acupuncturist specializing in women's health. With a commitment to holistic and patient-centered care, she integrates primary care training with expertise in lifestyle medicine, nutrition, bioidentical hormone therapy, and gut health. Dr. Brent is dedicated to empowering her patients through education, individualized wellness strategies, and compassionate support. She is the founder of Be Well Natural Medicine, hosts educational events such as the Women’s Health Symposium, and provides care both in-person and via telehealth.
Episode Highlights:
01:28 ND vs MD: What's the Difference?
05:13 The Preimenopause Shift
08:39 How to Talk to Your Doctor and What to Share
11:48 The Supplement Overload Problem
15:49 Food as Medicine and Why It Changes After 50
19:05 Alcohol and Hormones
24:31 Can Regenerative Farming Heal Us Too?
28:46 The Other Pause: Men Go Through It Too
31:50 Health as a Team Project
36:30 Informed Choice: What's Hype and What's Real
Tweets:
You’re not “just tired” or “getting older.” Your body’s shifting—and it’s talking to you. Dr. Lisa Brent joins Justine to unpack perimenopause, hormones, and how to actually listen to your body. Tune in to learn how to thrive through the change with @justine.reichman and @bewellnaturalmedicine Owner, Dr. Lisa Brent.#entrepreneurship #socialgood #inspiration #impactmatters #NextGenChef #EssentialIngredients #WomensHealth #Perimenopause #MenopauseSupport #HormoneHealth #MidlifeWellness #NaturopathicMedicine #HolisticHealth
Inspirational Quotes:
08:11 "Perimenopause, menopause, and andropause are such big biochemical shifts that they can affect every system in the body. There’s no system left untouched by hormonal changes. o we want to use that as a filter to make sure that we're looking at the big picture." —Dr. Lisa Brent
10:28 "Our job is to be the detectives—what’s going on, what’s related to what, and where do we start? Your only job is to report what’s better and what’s not." —Dr. Lisa Brent
11:03 “The things that we notice— if we're noticing, they're worth noting.” —Justine Reichman
13:50 "As we age, even with a healthy GI, we may not absorb nutrients as efficiently even with a really good diet." —Dr. Lisa Brent
15:27 "You can gunk up your system with natural things just like with medication if you’re taking too much. We don’t need to do that." —Dr. Lisa Brent
18:13 "I do love the idea of listening to what our bodies are telling us that they're wanting, because it's often very wise. If we cut out the noise and judgment, and if we're moderate about it, then you get good information there." —Dr. Lisa Brent
21:50 "It’s really important to listen to yourself. Moderation can change the narrative for a lot of people." —Justine Reichman
23:01 "In some ways, we've gotten away from the listening and into the shoulds—what's enough, what feels good, what's appropriate." —Dr. Lisa Brent
24:18 "There’s a difference between the feeling of fullness versus, did that food really make me feel good." —Dr. Lisa Brent
25:00 "With a shift to regenerative agriculture, there’s a possibility that nutrients will go back into the soil and we’ll be able to have more to take in, and that could change everything." —Justine Reichman
25:45 "I feel hopeful about regenerative agriculture—the earth wants to nourish us, to be in harmony with the human body; we just tend to get in the way." —Dr. Lisa Brent
32:06 “I'm going to do my best now to invest in my healthy older age so that who's ever in my life at that time, isn't stuck taking care of me. It’s actually supportive if both partners are making similar diet changes.” —Dr. Lisa Brent
34:27 “It's important for people to have the support and surround themselves with it.” —Justine Reichman
37:12 “Given there's so much information out there, there's still a level of fear that is helpful to address for women.” —Dr. Lisa Brent
38:34 “It’s almost like a gold rush of a movement around menopause, that it's confusing, what's hype, what's real.” —Dr. Lisa Brent
Transcription:
Justine Reichman: Welcome to Essential Ingredients. I'm your host. Justine Reichman. With me today, I'm so excited to introduce you to Dr. Lisa Brent. She's a naturopathic doctor. She's an acupuncturist. She focuses on women's health, and she is also my doctor. And I really think she's great. I wanted to bring her here to talk about some of the things that I've been dealing with as it relates to women's health, as it relates to food, supplements and intolerances, and bring it all into the conversation. Because I know that if I'm asking this question, so many other people are.
So Lisa, thank you so much for joining me.
Dr. Lisa Brent: Oh, thank you for having me.
Justine Reichman: It's my pleasure. And I want to thank our listeners and our viewers, because truly, this would not be a podcast if it wasn't for those folks that tune in each week, and it's because of the questions that we get from you and the remarks that we get that I then look to bring key people, and I think you're going to get a lot out of this conversation. And Dr. Brent is wonderful, and so I'm excited to have you here. So let's just get started.
Justine Reichman: For those folks that are not familiar with naturopathic medicine, can we just give them a high level of what is naturopathic medicine, and how does it differ from being, what is the difference between an ND and MD?
Dr. Lisa Brent: Yeah. It's a good question. So Naturopathic Medicine is essentially primary care natural medicine. So we're trained. The basis of our training is very similar to an MD, to a Medical Doctor, but where we differ in our kind of toolkit. So our first two years of training are exactly the same. We take the same boards, but then our therapies move into more lifestyle, diet, nutritional supplements, some medication usage like bioidentical hormone therapy, that kind of thing. If you're doing women's health, thyroid and adrenal support, that kind of thing. So people see us sometimes as their primary care doctor. We don't do surgery or have hospital privileges, or that kind of thing, but we can manage a lot of things, both for acute and chronic conditions. And then sometimes, people have us as a specialty for their working on their gut health or their women's health issues.
Justine Reichman: I know that you found it be, well natural, which as I read about it, and it was a while ago, because I used to read your website all the time, and I've recommended to friends in New York who have said, I'm not sure that we can do telemedicine with California. I was just so excited about what I read because there's a lot of issues that people talk about, and this is outside of the scope of what we discussed, but Lyme disease and all these different things, and you have created and curated a group of people that can really talk to a lot of these specific issues. I remember when I first came to you that it was for mol, Lyme, I didn't have Lyme. But other people, lyme, etcetera. I hate to use the word holistic, but I mean holistic in a positive way that you look at the whole picture, and I was getting sinus infections, or what I thought was sinusitis or whatever, and it was that I had mold in my bite, and we got rid of that. And guess what? Now, I don't have that. So that was my first entree into the Be Well Natural Club, if you will. But now, we've grown a little bit, and it's been a few years.
And now, I really wanted to get into a conversation with you about, I'm going to say it right, andropause, menopause and perimenopause, all the causes, what that means. What role food, supplements and HRT play in this, because a lot of them are controversial. And I don't mean controversial necessarily in a bad way, but people have so many differing opinions, right? So I'd love to just start there. I can even say, on a personal level when I came to you, I was a little nervous. I was going off the pill. I had kept that as a crutch for many, many years. Both you and Doctor McDougal had said, 52 is the year, because that's the average age that people go into menopause. I'm still a little scared. So 53 came around, and then finally called you. I'm like, okay, I'm ready. So when other people, not just me, come to you for that, and they might not have been on the pill for all that time, do they often know that they're in perimenopause? Do they know where they are? Because I would have had no clue. I could have been in perimenopause that whole time. And then, of course, as I tell you about all my symptoms and learned more, I'm like, wait, that could have been all those things I was going through for the last five years. So I hear from you a little bit about what that conversation is like for you when people come.
Dr. Lisa Brent: Well, honestly, I think it's changed a bit in the last few years, probably, with more awareness out there, there's more conversation. A lot more famous people have hit midlife so they're kind of using their platforms to share their confusing stories. Maybe they thought something else was going on. It turned out to be perimenopause or menopause. So that's been really helpful. I think prior to that, probably more women would come, or men maybe in their 40s. Probably the common theme would be, I just don't feel like myself. I don't have the energy that I used to. I'm not sleeping as well. I'm holding on to weight. My libido is changing. My skin's changing. And so sometimes, it was really helping women see, and then you put that together with cycle changes and that kind of thing like, yeah, this is probably hormonal. We always even still want to keep an eye out. Are there other causes, other things going on? Is this something to do with your thyroid, gut health or something else? But chances are, if things are starting to change, even kind of weird stuff like the frozen shoulder thing, or changes in vision, the basket can be huge. And so anytime from the early 40s to the early 50s, we want to keep that. The pause kind of question, or lens open because it can be related to hormonal changes, and something can be done. That's important too.
Justine Reichman: I think so. And as I look back, because now, this is personal, right? If you would have asked me this 10 years ago, I would have had nothing as an experience to share. But I look back and I was like, I used to get on a plane, no problem. And obviously, there's more plane issues. But in general, I would get on a plane, no problem. I get in the car. Now, I think about, oh, my God, there's so many accidents. I just have this conversation in my head where I didn't have that sense of anxiety before. I just thought, oh, I'm an anxious person.
Dr. Lisa Brent: Yeah. That's a really good example. And I think it's an important part of this conversation too, about looking at the person as a whole, and their phase of life as a whole. Because you might think, oh, I'm developing anxiety or depression as a one off thing. Or now, I'm developing insomnia as a separate thing. Or now, my cholesterol has gone up, and I now have some heart issues. And if we treat all of those things separately, we may be missing a common reason for those things. Doesn't mean we don't do something if needed. If you need something for that anxiety, you should do that. If you need some extra help with cardiovascular issues, okay. But we want to make sure that we're looking at the bigger picture of where you are in life. Because perimenopause, menopause, andropause is such a big biochemical shift that it can affect every system in the body, your joints, your mood, your sleep, your energy level, your ability to switch time zones easily, the way you digest and absorb your nutrients. There's no system left untouched by hormonal changes. We want to use that as a filter to make sure that we're looking at the big picture.
Justine Reichman: It's the first time I'm there and I'm like, okay, I'm feeling really anxious. I haven't been anxious. I don't love to fly. Can you give me a little Xanax for me to fly? And this seems like a normal conversation. You hear what's going on in the world, blah, blah, blah. But somehow these things, you're not taking them in the same way. It's a little bit more anxiety. And to me, it was like, oh, it must be age. I remember when I was older, when I was younger, my grandmother would be like, oh, call me when you get home. Call me when you land. My mother always would say, if you don't hear us, you couldn't do this. We landed. But so my point is, if I come in there and I say these things to you, you're looking at my thing and you're like, okay, she's 47 years old. What are some of the things that we, the person coming to you, can ask? So if we have listeners that are tuning in today, or viewers that want to figure out, okay, is this regular anxiety? Or should I be looking at this in a different way? How can they ask the right questions?
Dr. Lisa Brent: I feel like it's our job to ask the right questions. Actually, your only job is to report. So, for example in our practice, we have a very lengthy intake questionnaire. It's actually quite nosy. We want to know a lot of details about your history, trauma, where you grew up, what are the genetic things in your family? What's your lifestyle? What's your stress level? All of that. And if we give you the time to tell us what's going on, and we actually really want to know even if you don't think it's important, you're like, oh, by the way, my eyelid is twitching every three days or whatever it is. We just want to hear everything that's on your list that isn't feeling quite right, or you don't quite recognize, or wasn't happening six months ago or a year ago. And then our job is to try to be the detectives. Okay, what's going on here? What do we need to investigate? What's related to what? And really importantly, where do we start? Because we also don't want to do 10 different things, or give you 10 different medications, herbs or that kind of thing. Where is the primary place of entry for us to start supporting you? And what do we need to do to investigate? We need to do some lab testing. Tell me more about what's happening with your cycle. Get a real picture of what might be at play here. And then take steps, and see what works. And then again, your only job then is to report, what's better? What's not based on steps we take?
Justine Reichman: And I think that's really important, because I think that some of the things that we think, I think I told you once that I was like, I don't really swallow. Sometimes, I can't swallow. So now, there was nothing to that, necessarily. But you don't know, so you share it because you just don't know. And we've checked my thyroid, so I know there's nothing wrong with my thyroid. It could have been an allergy. It could have been something else. But I think the things that we notice, if we're noticing, they're worth noting.
Dr. Lisa Brent: And I think we tend to be, I'll just say for women, I see a lot of women in your phase. What used to be my phase is that we just tend to adapt. Like, oh, yeah. It always kind of feels weird when I swallow. Well, that's a new thing. I always wake up at 3:00 am now, that's kind of this new thing. It's part of aging, and I just have to get used to it. We always want to know. Even the random things, if it's in any way affecting your quality of life and then we kind of see it to the end, maybe it is something new that you may have to adjust to, but maybe not. And maybe that's really clinically relevant. So yeah, bring it all.
Justine Reichman: And I would say, when I think back to the last 10 years and before that, I was always very cognizant of what I put in my body, and how it made me feel. And it was fine for a while. And then all of a sudden, I started to get this bloating, and things were not digesting, and I wasn't being regular. Probably more information than my listeners want to hear. But nonetheless, maybe it will connect with them. The truth is, by going off the pill, by telling you all those things, I was able to now be regular. Now, I do not have so many headaches. We added more than one magnesium, which I didn't realize. I figured out one magnesium, what's the difference? You choose one. Should you really be taking two or three? But they focus on different things, which leads me to my next question. So I was reading earlier, and I forgot who it was, and I can share the source with you. It was like, I think the New York Times Years where they were talking about supplements. For the last 10, 15 years, people have been really supplement heavy. And what I've read here is that they're telling people now, okay, not so many supplements. And they're saying, just the core supplements, and be careful of the Ayurvedic ones. So can you talk a little bit about that? Since I feel like while I take a few, they're really very specific. But how should we be looking at that now as we integrate that in this next phase?
Dr. Lisa Brent: Yeah. I think it's a timely topic, because there's a lot of stuff out there, and it can be very appealing. And if Halle Berry's taking it and she looks great, I should do that too. I get sucked into those things also. I think one thing is true. As we sort of hit maybe 50 and beyond, we would like to get all of our nutrients from food that would be ideal. A couple of factors that get in the way of that. One is that our food sources are not as nutrient dense as they used to be. That's just a fact of our food supply. Even organic, there's just not as much nutrition in our soil that's transferring into our food, and so that can leave some deficits. And then our digestion changes as we age, and we may not absorb even with a healthy GI, we may not absorb nutrients as efficiently even with a really good diet. So we want to keep those things in mind. And then there might be some specific needs for you. Like in your case, you need some extra magnesium. Magnesium is a great example, because most people do tend to be deficient in it. It's not very rich in the food supply, and we burn through it when we're under stress. So that's something probably we can say, generally, most people need.
But then, yeah, there's like 10 different ones. A customized or personalized program can really help. Because maybe you like the idea of magnesium, but you buy the one that gives you diarrhea instead of helping your headache. And then you can feel like that's not going to work for me. So getting some guidance along those lines can be really helpful. And then with other nutrients too, we like to get specific. Maybe looking at your cardiovascular profile, it looks like you need more omega 3 fats. So great. We see that in your labs. This is a need for you. Then if you're more motivated to take it rather than just a general, everybody needs that. So I'd say that if testing is an option, it's a great way to get more dialed in. And then if there are specific conditions that we just know, say things like ashwagandha helps with stress response, then we can make a little bit more generalized recommendations. But I think we should also be careful. You can gunk up your system with natural things, just like you can with medication. If you're taking too much stuff, and we don't need to do that if you have a fairly healthy, nutrient dense diet, and then maybe you're just supplementing a few things because you're post 50, whatever you're specifically needing on top of that, it's probably plenty.
Justine Reichman: I think it's really important to think about it that way because even the way that I eat has changed. And it changed in the last week, also from a week ago, interestingly. Things that food, I remember asking you one day, and I think for our folks that tune into our newsletter, you'll have seen that this is not the first time we hear from Dr. Lisa Brent. I had an issue when I first, it was not that long ago. But when I was first going through this change from the pill to the estrogen, and the progesterone, and I had texted you, you had text me to just check in and see if I was still having the 4:30 in the morning headaches. And I said, well, that's getting better. But PS, I have this huge zit underneath my skin, and you're like, Oh, it sounds like you're zinc deficient. Do you eat pumpkin seeds? And I don't do seeds, and I don't do seeds a lot of times, because I have always gotten some canker sores. So you're like, do you eat oysters? I'm like, I eat oysters. I took it to a whole nother level. I think I might have mentioned lobster, the whole thing, and it went away. So my question is, with some of these other things that we're talking about, exercise and weight gain, I think is a whole conversation in itself. What foods can help us, I remember doing for a hot minute. I went to acupuncture school. I don't know if I told you that, and I had a blog called The Good Mood Food. And blueberries make you happy, put you in a good mood, right? So I was wondering what role food plays in this as part of the overall picture? And how do you recommend and suggest that for people?
Dr. Lisa Brent: Well, yes, not everybody needs oysters, but you did so. You were very compliant about that. That's a good distinction between what the general recommendations are. Especially for midlife women, high protein, low carb, that kind of thing. And then, what kind of your body's needing? Which I thought you wrote about really well in that essay about craving carbohydrates. And that was probably your body's way of raising your serotonin level, and helping you to sleep better at night during this time of hormonal fluctuation. So it's hard to give across the board guidelines, because everybody is different. Phases are different. I do love the idea of listening to what our bodies are telling us that they're wanting, because it's often very wise if we cut out the noise and the judgment. And if we're moderate about it, then you get good information there. But there are some general things. During the hormonal changes of perimenopause and menopause, we think about phytoestrogen rich foods. So that's usually a pretty safe recommendation. Things that are a little bit higher in soy, maca, flax, chia seeds, have phytoestrogenic properties that can help to stabilize fluctuating estrogen. We talk about helping with anxiety and and also energy fluctuations, that's where the keep steady diet, steady levels of protein comes in. And so that you're not having blood sugar crashes, reducing alcohol and caffeine.
Justine Reichman: I'd like a sip of alcohol. I'm like, what is that? Why does that happen?
Dr. Lisa Brent: Such a low return. There's a few reasons why. One is that during, especially when you're in that menopause transition, we're just less hydrated. Estrogen is very juicy. It hydrates our cells. Our muscles, all of our cells are a little bit better hydrated with estrogen on board. And as that declines, we're slightly dehydrated, and so we don't metabolize alcohol as well. Also, the liver is pretty busy during this time, and so the work of metabolizing alcohol often will take a back seat, and we're just not as efficient. And then there's some other impacts to the subtle biochemistry of the changes in hormones and those interactions that make it just not worth it. Sadly, often you're feeling depressed, anxious or something. Like a glass of wine sounds nice, but then it's not worth it.
Justine Reichman: It's a hot day. You're like, oh, have a glass of wine.
Dr. Lisa Brent: I give away my wine. I was like, okay, is it really hot in here? Or is it me? Because it's usually me.
Justine Reichman: But the other thing that I noticed, and I'm sure some of our other folks, maybe they have different things that they've noticed, but I don't love eating hot food. I'll eat a hot steak. What I mean by hot food is like hot coffee. I've now gone to iced coffee, ice espresso with a tad of milk, iced matcha.Everything I want is cold. I grew up in New York. I took a bath to get warm. I would drink and eat anything with hot soups. And maybe it's that we're finally getting into the winter, maybe I'll feel different. But right now, I gotta tell you, I'm all about anything that's cold.
Dr. Lisa Brent: Well, I'm sure that makes sense to you. The Chinese medicine training too, right? Yes, this is the time of yin decline. We crave yin like, foods are colder, they're wetter. I think you mentioned cucumber, iced coffee drinks. There's the basic thing that most of us are running hotter, so it does cool you down. But that also touches into the idea of medicine. Listening to that, it actually feels good to have those cooler foods to help soothe your body temperature. You're medicating yourself.
Justine Reichman: It feels better. When I would eat a piece of bread, if I woke up nauseous and I ate bread, I felt better. I've never had bread and decided, oh, that feels good. But it really did. And I don't eat a lot of bread. I generally eat sourdough or something like that. But I think to your point, it's really important to listen to yourself. And you also mentioned moderation. My dad used to say that to me as a kid. He's like, everything in moderation, Justine, you'll be fine. Just everything in moderation, which changes the narrative for a lot of people. Because I think for me, I didn't grow up having to finish everything on my plate. I grew up taking it a little bit. I didn't have anybody to compete for food. There were no siblings, and I could always have more. But I always took a little because I didn't want to waste it, and then I could go back. Whereas people get a plate of food, whether in the Midwest, remember in the Arab, those big plates of food, and they feel like they have to finish it. So as I'm listening to you, and you're like, listen to your body. Listen to what your fault is. Listen to what feels good, is what I'm hearing you say.
Dr. Lisa Brent: And getting back to that, when we were children, when we were hungry, we stopped when we were full. We kind of ate more of what we liked, and less of what we did. And of course, our palates expand, and now we use more of our own wisdom. Like, I know this is gonna feel good for me. I know that this is gonna be healthier for me. But, yeah, I think in some ways, we've gotten away from listening and into what's appropriate, how much is enough? How much does it feel good? I think that even touches. And I listened to one of your other podcasts. You talked about the food industrialized food complex, and that's a whole other concept of where we've actually lost some of the signaling, like a lot of processed food. We've lost that ability to tell when we're full, and so we overeat just because the brain isn't telling us that that was enough. But we do have that in there somewhere.
Justine Reichman: I'm curious, so if you step back a few minutes, one of the parts of what you were saying was, in our agriculture, in our soil, there are not as many nutrients, and so we're not getting as many. And then we fast forward to the gut and digesting it, and we're not digesting it. So is it that we're not full? Or is it that we're full but we haven't gotten the nutrients so we still want to get more? So we're still eating because the body's craving?
Dr. Lisa Brent: It's actually an interesting question. Is there something still we're needing or craving, or are we satisfied? And that might be a little bit of a difference between the feeling of fullness. Enough food versus, did that food really make me feel good? Was that what I needed?
Justine Reichman: I think that that's an interesting conversation. And then I wanted to just resurface back to the agriculture and the lack of nutrients, because there's a whole conversation about agriculture here in the US versus other places in the world. And I know that we've all talked about it often, oh, I can go to Europe, and I can eat dairy, or cheeses and breads, and I just don't feel fine. I don't gain weight. And then I come back here and eat all these things, and I just don't feel good. And to your point where you're like, well, it's not enriching the nutrients. I'm thinking, as we evolve, right? And we're going back to regenerative agriculture. Do you, as a doctor, as somebody in this place feel like, okay, with the shift to regenerative agriculture here, which sounds similar to what they're doing in Europe because they haven't added all the stuff that we did, that there's a possibility that those nutrients will go back into the soil, and that we'll be able to have more to take in, and that could change.
Dr. Lisa Brent: I'm not an expert in this area, but you hear of a lot of really amazing movements in farming where independent farmers are reclaiming their land and re-nutrifying their soil. It's probably not the right word, and taking things away from that industrialized, genetically modified movement that really happened in this country 1950s and beyond. I feel hopeful about that. I think in that kind of metaphysical sense, the earth wants to know it nourishes us. It wants to be in harmony with the human body. I think we just tend to get in the way and do things for the wrong reasons. I feel hopeful about that. And will that be able to scale up to feed enough people? I don't know. Or do we need to have that be happening in all of the communities so that again, because one of the things I think that happens in Europe, or why people do better, there's less genetically modified farming, and also food doesn't travel as far. You're not getting your raspberries flown from Argentina, or the things coming from across the country so those things are fresher, they have a higher vibration, higher nutrients that have more recently from the ground, or the tree, or whatever. So if we had more of that, we would probably be able to get more of what we need from food.
Justine Reichman: And then I wonder, I don't expect you to know the answer, but I'm throwing it out there just because we're having the conversation. So if we ultimately could get more nutrients for our food, I wonder how that would impact everyone's health. What would we see change? And I don't really expect you to forecast or know that, but I'm optimistic that there's a possibility for that.
Dr. Lisa Brent: Yeah, me too. It seems parents or children just starting out with a healthy, diverse microbiome from cleaner foods, I think you can relate to that. All of your listeners probably have a grandmother or a great grandmother, or somebody who lived a long time, right? My grandmother had her little glass of wine every day. She wasn't super health conscious. She just ate healthfully. But she also started out her life on vegetables from the garden and chickens that they had in the backyard. And so it was kind of pre trendy, localized farming, but it was healthy. Those people had a long, healthy life.
Justine Reichman: Yeah. I think there's a whole movement or research around, oh, my God. What is it called? The Ashkenazims are like 100 years old, which is interesting. I just want to touch on one other thing that we had spoken about briefly. We were talking about all the pauses, and we did not talk about the andropause. In general, I write about women for that. But our Essential Ingredients Podcast is really about the impact of food and sustainability on health, beauty and all these different things. So I do want to touch on andropause and talk about, what are some of the things men can look about, look for. Because I don't think that's really talked about.
Dr. Lisa Brent: It's not really as much. I think one big distinction is stating the obvious. Women have this very clear sign when they hit menopause, because we cycle monthly, and this is the indicator of things changing, and it's something you can really mark, time and measure, that kind of thing. We get more signals, and probably stronger symptoms with hot flashes and night sweats, things that we can feel pretty obvious. For men, I think in general, it tends to be more subtle. But what we do see for men as they move through their late 40s into their 50s and 60s is that sometimes, they can have lower energy, there can be depression, there can be sleep disturbance, they can find that they aren't losing weight as easily. And men tend to gain a kind of stomach holding on to weight. They can have changes in sexual function like erectile dysfunction or loss of libido, so they definitely have hormonal shifts. It's tied to the decline of testosterone, which is men's main hormone. There are other hormones that play there for them, but that's the biggest driver like estrogen is for us. And again, it can be subtle. Some men can just think, oh, I'm just getting older. My kids have left home, I may be a little more depressed or something. But I think it is important to shed light on what can be some biochemical changes, and offer that support for them as well.
Justine Reichman: I think so. And I'm curious, I know that it's not talked about as much, and I know that if I have an issue with my eye, I'll tell Tim, oh, I have an issue with my eye. But we don't necessarily talk about menopause and andropause. I'm really having a problem with that word. Sorry, it's like a tongue twister to me. I'm curious if there's any recommendations you might have if people are seeing some of these symptoms in their partners, husbands, wives, etcetera, and ways that they can bring it up that's respectful but also thoughtful and caring, so that they can encourage them to have a conversation with somebody like you.
Dr. Lisa Brent: One thing that I often talk about is if I see men, and they're often the partners of women that I've seen first. And because I think women just tend to seek out, especially alternative health stuff, which is fine. I like to make the point that our health again, when you're in a partnership, say, you know a marriage or a domestic partnership, your like me taking care of myself is good for my partner and vice versa. If we're planning to age together and go through our older years, neither of us wants to be a burden on the other, and we want to have the same level of energy and interest to do things, especially maybe after the kids have moved on, or after retirement, you might have all these plans, and you want to be able to do those together. So it's kind of a joint project when you're in a relationship. It's me taking care of me is for me, but it's also for you because I don't want you to be stuck having to deal with a chronic illness in 30 years. We don't know everything that will happen, but I'm going to do my best now to invest in my healthy older age so that my children, or whoever's in my life at that time isn't stuck taking care of me. And so it can be sort of a joint project. And I think it actually is supportive. If both partners are making similar diet changes, or they're starting to eat more low carb or whatever, it's a lot less stressful than trying to eat differently. Or if both are cutting back on alcohol, it's a nice way to support each other, and to feel well so you can actually really enjoy your lives together. And when it comes to maybe seeking help for something more, I think it can be a delicate conversation. I've had women suggest to their husbands like, oh, maybe the reason you're not sleeping well is because of your adrenal stress or something. And whatever it is that can bring to life, do some blood work. And then maybe we find some other things, like some hormonal stuff or some other nutrient things, and start on a plan. And then the main motivator after that is if people start to feel better by making those changes, and then it takes on a life of its own.
Justine Reichman: I've gone from going on the pill to doing the hormone replacement therapy, is that correct? And doing that and adding a few other things really, I was so scared to do it. I think you can remember that I was like, really, because I had really bad PMS. But making this change, I'm not going to say the first two weeks weren't a little rocky because they were. But the accessibility I had to my doctor at the time made it so much easier. So the communication was integral to me feeling better. And two weeks was not a long time. I used to feel ill three weeks out of the month. I was when I wasn't on birth control so that's what I had expected for menopause. I still get some hot flashes here and there, and there's still things to work out. But I think my point is, for those people that are tuning in, for somebody like me that was nervous, this was actually like a pretty streamlined experience where I felt supported. So I think it's important for people to have the support and surround themselves with it, and integrate some of the things that we talked about. I know that you have an upcoming symposium, can you talk to us a little bit about that symposium?
Dr. Lisa Brent: Thank you. Yes. So October 25, we're going to have our 4th Women's Health Symposium that's called Thriving at Midlife. And it's basically a day. It's going to be from 10:00 am to 3:00, and it's a day of a panel of experts in hormone therapy, nutrition, and strength training. There's myself, there's an OB GYN, there's a therapist who's really wonderful, has a great approach about this whole midlife shift of identity. And we do some presentations, but we also have a lot of time for questions and answers. And I just love it. It's very content rich. And then we also do some small breakouts. So if people want to do a smaller session just to talk about, say, the GLP one medications, or just to talk about hormone therapy, or kind of a deep dive into strength training, we'll have some breakouts and then rotate those. And I just love it. I kind of felt drawn to start doing this when the whole Instagram wave started to hit, and so much information and books were coming out, which was so great. But I could tell that it was overwhelming for women. This is all really interesting. But what applies to me, and when we get information, especially through social media, it's kind of one way. So just wanted to have an in person event, or an opportunity, especially if someone's not really sure that they want to become a patient, or have a one on one thing, or maybe they already are but they want more information to where we can just talk about stuff. And what I love is when we do the question and answer time. If one person has a question, 20 other people have that same question, right? So it becomes this really dynamic way of sharing information.
Justine Reichman: Was there anything you were really surprised about that people asked?
Dr. Lisa Brent: I would say, we started this two years ago, the last one that we did in the spring and the fall, probably that was the big thing around the weight loss medications. That was when those were really sort of hitting the media. So people had a lot of questions about that. So that got us by surprise. But we're happy to talk about all that. And then I think there's still fears around hormones and hormone usage, so we do get really into the nitty gritty about that. So that's not so much a surprise, but it was, I guess, a little bit given that there's so much information out there, there's still a level of fear that is helpful to address for women.
Justine Reichman: I would say on a personal level, the things that those people asked, I would be curious about. I would be curious about the GLP one. And then, of course, I started the GLP one. Isn't that what I started? And all of a sudden, now it's like my computer's listening to me and sending me things on Instagram that are like, you could take a pill instead of getting a shot. And I'm like, oh, my God. Now I have 64 more questions.
Dr. Lisa Brent: We'll talk about it, all of it.
Justine Reichman: It's a very big question, and that just adds to your point and supports your comment around Halle Berry and that supplement. Because whether it's Halle Berry or the supplement that you could take, that's going to be a GLP one, and won't make you take a needle. Which we, for those of you that don't know, my palms are sweaty just talking about needles. But those are big questions. I think there's a lot of education people can get by, by participating in this, and it enables them to make more informed choices.
Dr. Lisa Brent: And it's always changing. We keep it on going, because the same information, there wasn't an oral GLP one six months ago. Things are, especially in this, I would almost say, almost like a gold rush of a movement around menopause. That it's confusing. What's hype? What's real?
Justine Reichman: That's really important. So those folks that are in the Bay Area, do tell us, do you invite people to join through Zoom or anything?
Dr. Lisa Brent: To do Zoom yet for this event, but next year, we're probably going to take it to some other locations, so stay tuned.
Justine Reichman: That's exciting. Okay, so the event is October 24?
Dr. Lisa Brent: October 25th, and information is on our website at bewellnaturalmedicine.net. Little detail about the schedule, and then a link to buy tickets from there.
Justine Reichman: Oh, my god, that's so great. I'm excited to go. I'm coming to that event, so I invite those folks in the Bay Area to send me a DM if you're going as well, and we can all meet up. This was so great. I have so many more questions, so we might have to do this again. But in the meantime, I encourage everyone to come join me at this symposium so we can ask more questions. And for those folks that are not familiar with your website, can you just repeat it again?
Dr. Lisa Brent: It's bewellnaturalmedicine.net, not .com. That's a different practice. I'm sure they're great, but that's not us. We are .net.
Justine Reichman: And if somebody wanted to reach out, what would be the best way?
Dr. Lisa Brent: Two syllables, you press and submit. So bewellnaturalmedicine.net. We're also on Instagram at Be Well Natural Medicine, so you can always send us a message that way. And Facebook is Be Well Marin. Pretty findable. Send us an email. We have great staff that'll give a call back.
Justine Reichman: For those folks that may not be in the Bay Area, or do you do telehealth?
Dr. Lisa Brent: We do telehealth. Yeah, those rules kind of changed a little bit during Covid, so we're back to where we're supposed to meet you in person once, and then we can do telehealth after that.
Justine Reichman: All right. Well, lucky me. All right. Thank you so much for tuning in, and I want to thank our listeners and our viewers for tuning in today. I hope you found this as insightful as I did, and there's so much that we can take away from this. I just encourage everybody to ask more questions and tune in, because we do continue to have more information on these shows. You can find Lisa, who's written some quotes for us and given us some feedback on some of the articles that we have, so make sure to subscribe to that. So we're at essential.ingredients on Instagram, and at justine.reichman. And for those that are tuning in to the podcast, we also have a video cast on YouTube. So if you like this, if you know anybody you think would benefit, share it with them. That's the greatest gift you can give them. So thanks again for tuning in. Thanks again for joining me.
