BONUS: Is this Normal? Understanding Sex, Hormones, Periods and More with Dr. Jolene Brighten

Everyday Wellness with Cynthia Thurlow ™

Cynthia Thurlow

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

4.8 • 1K Ratings

🗓️ 9 June 2025

⏱️ 81 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

In a world where human sexuality often remains shrouded in silence and misinformation, I had the incredible opportunity to engage in a thought-provoking conversation with the esteemed Dr. Jolene Brighton! Renowned as a hormone expert, nutrition scientist, and thought leader in women's medicine, Dr. Brighton's expertise spans multiple disciplines, including naturopathic endocrinology and clinical sexology. With her recent book, Is This Normal, she offers a non-judgmental guide to achieving hormone balance, eliminating unwanted symptoms, and nurturing the sexual desire we all crave. In this enlightening discussion, we explore the cultural factors fueling ignorance around sexuality, the origins of hormone imbalances, the significant impact of lifestyle choices on our hormones, and the often-overlooked role of detoxification. We also delve into the profound implications of oral contraceptives and synthetic hormones on our health and intriguing topics such as PCOS, PMDD, and PMS. With so many questions to explore, this is the first in a series of two podcasts that promise to provide invaluable insights for women at every stage of life. Join me as we embark on this journey to unravel the mysteries of our bodies and empower ourselves with knowledge from Dr. Jolene Brighton's remarkable book, Is This Normal?. IN THIS EPISODE YOU WILL LEARN: How shame impacts the libido and sexuality of women. Why sex education should include the concept of consent. The impact of coming off oral contraceptives. Changing the narrative for all women. Why do women need more time to get aroused? The mind-body connection. How hormones and menopause influence women’s sexuality. Everything we do in our 20s and 30s affects our transition into perimenopause and beyond. How to avoid endocrine disruptors. Dr. Brighten discusses her 28-day detox program. Some important differentiators between PMS and PMDD. Bio: Dr. Jolene Brighten Dr. Jolene Brighten is a hormone expert, nutrition scientist, and thought leader in women’s medicine. She is board-certified in naturopathic endocrinology and trained in clinical sexology. Dr. Brighten is the author of Is This Normal, a non-judgmental guide to creating hormone balance, eliminating unwanted symptoms, and building the sexual desire you crave. A fierce patient advocate, Dr. Brighten is completely dedicated to uncovering the root cause of hormonal imbalances. She empowers women worldwide to take control of their health and hormones through her website and social media channels. Dr. Brighten is an international speaker, clinical educator, and medical advisor within the tech community. Connect with Cynthia Thurlow Follow on ⁠Twitter ⁠Instagram ⁠LinkedIn⁠ Check out Cynthia’s ⁠website⁠ Connect with Dr. Jolene Brighten On her ⁠website⁠ Find Dr. Brighton on social media: @Dr. Jolene Brighten Order your copy of⁠ Is This Normal⁠ Dr. Brighten’s ⁠digital cookbook⁠

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.
0:29.1	This is the start of bonus Mondays, a compilation of the top episodes over the past three years for everyday wellness.
0:40.7	And I have to tell you, when I went through all of this research and data, it was apparent
0:45.1	to me that we have a very eclectic, diverse group of clinicians, science writers, personal
0:53.1	trainers, and experts. I know you will love this new series. Every
0:57.7	Monday, we're dropping some of the biggest podcasts of the last three years. These are your
1:03.2	favorites, the most downloaded, ones that have resonated with you. And I love that we're going to be
1:09.2	able to share these every Monday so that you can
1:11.5	revisit some of these amazing episodes.
1:17.9	I had the honor of connecting with Dr. Jolene Brighton. She is a hormone expert, nutrition
1:23.8	scientist, and thought leader in women's medicine. She is also board certified and
1:28.4	naturopathic endocrinology and trained in clinical sexology and the author of
1:33.6	The Recent Book Is This Normal, which he refers to as a non-judgmental guide to creating
1:39.4	hormone balance, eliminating unwanted symptoms, and building the sexual desire you crave.
1:44.8	Today we had an enlightening conversation speaking at great length about a variety of topics,
1:50.2	including what drives our culture of ignorance around human sexuality, orgasms, becoming clitorate,
1:58.5	the origins of hormone imbalances, how lifestyle impacts our hormones
2:03.6	quite significantly, especially north of 35, the role of detoxification, the impact of
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