Navigating Menopause: What Does It Really Mean to Balance your Hormones?
- Author
- Mary Rothwell
- Published
- Thu 29 May 2025
- Episode Link
- None
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In this episode, I have a 360º degree discussion of menopause and how fluctuating hormones affect not just physical symptoms, but our entire wellbeing through an integrative functional medicine approach. Two experienced nurse practitioners with advanced training in functional medicine, Jane Snyder and Mary Ellen Francescani, share evidence-based strategies for navigating hormonal changes.
• Understanding the trio of female hormones - estrogen, progesterone and testosterone - and their far-reaching effects beyond reproductive function
• Perimenopause can begin up to 10 years before menopause, with wildly fluctuating hormone levels causing unpredictable symptoms
• Three nutritional foundations: eating real whole foods, increasing fiber to 45+ grams daily, and reassessing liquid intake (especially alcohol)
• The 80/20 approach to nutrition allows for enjoyment while maintaining healthy habits
• Quality sleep enables "hormonal housekeeping" and significantly impacts weight management
• Resistance training becomes crucial as muscle mass naturally declines after menopause
• Stress management techniques are essential during this often overwhelming life phase
• Menopausal weight gain (averaging 15 pounds) reflects physiological changes rather than personal failure
• Select supplements can help, but require individualized approaches and quality sourcing
• Finding an integrative practitioner who understands menopause can transform your experience
Click HERE to search for integrative practioners in your geographical area.
You can find out more about Jane and Mary Ellen HERE
Sign up for my FREE sleep workshop for women in midlife HERE.
Check out my virtual sleep program, RESTored, for women in perimenopause through post-menopause. It is over 4 hours of content and 16 resources that you get LIFETIME ACCESS to. It could literally change your life like it changed mine.
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