BONUS: A Detailed Guide to Healthy Hormones with Dr. Lara Briden

Everyday Wellness: Midlife Hormones, Menopause, and Science for Women 35+

Cynthia Thurlow

Science, Life Sciences, Health & Fitness, Nutrition, Alternative Health

4.7 • 1.2K Ratings

🗓️ 26 January 2026

⏱️ 70 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

I am excited to connect with Dr. Lara Briden today! She is one of my favorite naturopathic doctors and the author of the bestselling books Period Repair Manual and Hormone Repair Manual. She has 25 years of experience in women's health, and she currently has consulting rooms in Christchurch, New Zealand, where she treats women with PCOS, PMS, endometriosis, perimenopause, and many other hormone- and period-related health problems. Dr. Briden is a wealth of information! She brings a fresh perspective and a positive voice to the health and wellness space, and I often recommend her book, Hormone Repair Manual, to my clients and patients. Today, she and I dive into her background as an evolutionary biologist and discuss how she became passionate about supporting and advocating for women throughout their lives. We talk about perspectives on aging, what the second puberty (perimenopause) is, and the impact of histamine, mass-cell granulation, and estrogen. We discuss fat redistribution in middle age and the loss of insulin sensitivity. We speak about how using alcohol impacts brain health, sleep, the gut microbiome, appetite, cravings, and hinders estrogen metabolism. We also touch on ways to address dysfunctional uterine bleeding in middle age, explain how to advocate for your health, how middle age impacts the nervous system, and the role of inflammatory foods, including dairy. I hope you enjoy our discussion as much as I did! Stay tuned for more! IN THIS EPISODE YOU WILL LEARN: Dr. Briden discusses her background as an evolutionary biologist and how she changed her career to become an advocate for women’s health. Many women fear the aging process. Dr. Briden and I discuss women’s mindsets and perspectives on aging. Why is there so little awareness about perimenopause? Dr. Briden defines menopause and discusses the timeframe in which some women experience perimenopause symptoms. How can ongoing hormonal fluctuations during perimenopause, or second puberty, increase the likelihood of women having issues with a histamine response? Dr. Briden talks about fat redistribution in middle age and explains why women need to stay on top of it from a metabolic perspective. How can our modern-day lifestyle make the metabolic shift women experience in menopause even more challenging? Dr. Briden talks about natural treatments and hormone therapies to lighten the flow of the extremely heavy periods that some women experience during perimenopause. Dr. Briden discusses the connection between cow dairy and an inflammatory reaction in some people. Women need to understand what happens in their bodies when they have either a partial or a full hysterectomy. Dr. Briden talks about estrogen and brain health. How does alcohol affect the body? What are the best options with the fewest side effects for hormone therapy for women? Connect with Cynthia Thurlow Follow on X, Instagram & LinkedIn Check out Cynthia’s website Submit your questions to support@cynthiathurlow.com Join other like-minded women in a supportive, nurturing community (The Midlife Pause/Cynthia Thurlow) Cynthia’s Menopause Gut Book is on presale now! Cynthia’s Intermittent Fasting Transformation Book The Midlife Pause supplement line Connect with Dr. Lara Briden On her ⁠website⁠ ⁠Facebook⁠, ⁠Instagram⁠, and Twitter: ⁠https://twitter.com/LaraBriden⁠ Dr. Briden’s ⁠blog⁠ Dr. Briden’s ⁠podcast⁠ Books mentioned: ⁠Period Repair Manual ⁠(for women in their 20s and 30s) by Dr. Lara Briden ⁠Hormone Repair Manual⁠ (for women of 40-plus) by Dr. Lara Briden Free ⁠download⁠ of the first two chapters of both Dr. Lara Briden’s books ⁠The XX Brain: The Groundbreaking Science Empowering Women to Maximize Cognitive Health and Prevent Alzheimer's Disease⁠ by Lisa Mosconi, PhD

Transcript

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0:00.0	Welcome to Everyday Wellness Podcast.
0:03.7	I'm your host, nurse practitioner, Cynthia Thurlow.
0:07.4	This podcast is designed to educate, empower, and inspire you to achieve your health and wellness goals.
0:13.9	My goal and intent is to provide you with the best content and conversations from leaders in the health and wellness industry each week and impact
0:22.1	over a million lives.
0:28.9	This is Bonus Monday, your most downloaded favorite podcast.
0:35.1	I love that this community runs the gamut from medical professionals,
0:40.4	research scientists, science writers, personal trainers, and more. These are your favorite,
0:45.7	most loved podcasts of the last five years. I could not be more proud of the diversification
0:51.4	of guests that appeal to all of you. Thanks for tuning in.
0:57.0	Today I connected with Dr. Lara Bryden. She is absolutely one of my favorite naturopathic doctors
1:03.2	and author of two bestselling books, including the hormone repair manual, which is a must
1:08.6	read for all middle-aged women. She has over 25 years experience
1:12.4	women's health and is currently consulting rooms in New Zealand, where she treats women
1:17.3	with PCOS, PMS, metemetriosis, perimenopause, and many other hormone and period-related
1:23.5	health problems. We dove deep into her background as an evolutionary biologist, what got her
1:29.3	interested and passionate about helping and supporting women throughout their lifetime. We talked
1:34.2	about perspectives on aging. What exactly is the second puberty, perimenopause, the impact of
1:40.7	histamine and mass cell granulation and estrogen, fat redistribution in middle age, and the impact of histamine and mass cell granulation and estrogen, fat redistribution in middle
1:46.7	age, and the loss of insulin sensitivity. We spoke at length on the impact of using alcohol,
1:54.2	how it impacts sleep, brain health, the gut microbiome, appetite, cravings, and impairs estrogen
2:00.8	metabolism.
	...

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