Welcome to the Huberman Lab podcast where we discuss science and science-based tools for everyday life.

I'm Andrew Huberman and I'm a professor of neurobiology and

Ophthalmology at Stanford School of Medicine. Today my guest is Dr. Sarah Gottfried. Dr. Sarah Gottfried is an obstetrician

gynecologist who did her undergraduate training in bioengineering at the University of Washington in Seattle.

She then completed her medical training at Harvard Medical School and she currently is a clinical professor of integrative medicine and nutritional sciences at

Thomas Jefferson University. She has also been a clinician treating men and women in various aspects of hormone health and longevity for more than 20 years.

She is an expert in not just traditional medicine as it relates to hormones and fertility

but also nutritional practices, supplementation and behavioral practices and combining all of that expertise in order to help women navigate every aspect and dimension of their hormones,

longevity and vitality ranging from puberty to young adulthood,

adulthood, perimenopause and menopause. And nowadays she's also treating men across the lifespan in terms of longevity, vitality and hormone health.

During today's discussion, Dr. Gottfried shares an enormous amount of information and tools that women can apply toward their hormone health, fertility, vitality and longevity.

We discussed the gut microbiome which many people have heard about, but Dr. Gottfried points out the specific needs that women have in terms of managing their gut microbiome

and the ways that that influences things like estrogen levels and metabolism, testosterone, thyroid and growth hormone and much more.

We also discussed nutrition and exercise. We touch on how the omega-3 fatty acids play a particularly important role in managing female hormone health.

Dr. Gottfried points out why women have particular needs when it comes to essential fatty acids and how best to obtain those essential fatty acids for hormone health.

We also discussed exercise and she offers some surprising information about the types and ratios of resistance training to cardiovascular training that women ought to use in order to maximize their hormone health.

We also talked a lot about the digestive system. This was a surprising aspect of the conversation I did not anticipate. Dr. Gottfried shared with us for instance that women suffer from digestive issues at more than 10 times the frequency that do men.

And fortunately that there are tools specific to women that they can use in order to overcome those digestive issues and that in overcoming those digestive issues, they can overcome many of the related hormone issues that so many women face.

Dr. Gottfried also shares with you tremendous knowledge about the specific types of tests, not just blood tests but also urine and microbiome tests that women can use in order to really get a clear understanding of their hormone status, not just of present, but also where the trajectory of their hormones is taking them.

So we have an avid discussion about puberty, about young adulthood, adulthood, perimenopause and how best to manage and navigate perimenopause and menopause, including a discussion about hormone replacement therapy.

In addition to our academic and clinical expertise, Dr. Gottfried has authored many important books on nutrition, hormones and supplementation as it relates to women and to people generally.

The two books that I'd like to highlight and that we provided links to in the show note captions are women, food and hormones and the hormone cure.

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