I am excited to have Dr. Ritamarie Loscalzo, an internationally recognized expert in nutritional endocrinology, joining me on the podcast today! Dr. Ritamarie is a doctor of chiropractic with a master’s degree in nutrition and certifications in herbal medicine, acupuncture, and Heart Math. She is deeply committed to transforming our broken disease-management system into a health care system in which practitioners are skilled at finding the root causes of health challenges and using the wisdom of nature combined with modern science to restore balance to the body. Dr. Ritamarie burned out in her early twenties and experienced many health problems. She wondered if her diet might be causing her problems, so she turned to the sphere of holistic natural medicine for solutions. She learned a lot and was able to heal. So she became passionate about using nutrition to help others make choices for better health. She founded the Institute of Nutritional Endocrinology to train doctors, nurses, nutritionists, health coaches, and other practitioners in the science of rebalancing hormones and restoring energy with nutrition and lifestyle approaches.   In this episode, she shares her story and we unpack insulin resistance, explain how to manage it, and talk about how intermittent fasting impacts blood sugar and helps overcome pre insulin resistance, insulin resistance, diabetes, and metabolic syndrome. We also dive into successfully navigating perimenopause, menopause, and a plant-based keto diet and discuss the benefits of lifestyle medicine. Be sure to stay tuned for today’s educational and information-packed podcast! IN THIS EPISODE YOU WILL LEARN: Dr. Ritamarie talks about how she developed a passion for using nutrition as lifestyle medicine and became interested in managing blood sugar. The link between blood sugar imbalance and sudden heart attacks. The value of lifestyle medicine. What are the signs and symptoms of pre-insulin resistance? How do you maintain ketosis while following a plant-based diet? What is the problem with most of the fats on supermarket shelves? Find the carb-macro ratio that works for you. Why are whole food fats better for you than oil? Intermittent fasting is vital for optimizing your health and positively impacting the pre insulin and insulin resistance phases. How a woman’s diet and metabolic health impact how she experiences perimenopause and menopause. What happens to the brain that makes women more susceptible to type-3 diabetes as they enter menopause? Why is it critically important to get enough sleep? How does exposure to endocrine-disrupters in your home and personal care products negatively impact your hormonal health? Reference: Reinvent Healthcare Connect with Cynthia Thurlow Follow on Twitter, Instagram & LinkedIn Check out Cynthia’s website  Connect with Dr. Ritamarie Loscalzo On her website On Facebook – Dr. Ritamarie or Institute of Nutritional Endocrinology (INE) Practitioners On Instagram On YouTube