Fasting, High Cortisol, & The Truth About Women’s Metabolism | Dr. Molly Maloof

Digest This

Health & Fitness, Nutrition

4.8 • 1.2K Ratings

🗓️ 20 May 2026

⏱️ 60 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

371: Dr. Molly Maloof joins me to discuss cortisol, burnout, fasting, women’s metabolism, and why so many women may actually be overdoing wellness in the name of health. We break down how chronic stress, over-exercising, under-eating, and high cortisol can impact weight gain, hormones, metabolism, and overall well-being, along with who should and shouldn’t fast, low-carb eating, intermittent fasting for gut health, boundaries, emotional health, human connection, and why learning to slow down may actually improve your health more than constantly pushing harder. Topics Discussed: → Cortisol, stress, & burnout → Fasting for women → Women’s metabolism & biohacking → Over-exercising & under-eating → Weight gain & high cortisol → Intermittent fasting for gut health → Low-carb eating & metabolic flexibility → Boundaries, emotional health, & human connection → Burnout recovery & nervous system regulation → Exercise, muscle health, & longevity As always, if you have any questions for the show please email us at digestthispod@gmail.com. And if you like this show, please share it, rate it, review it and subscribe to it on your favorite podcast app. Sponsored By: → Timeline | Timeline’s clinically proven formula is now available at a new, lower price. Mitopure now starts at $99, with the exact same science and formula. And my listeners can still get 20% off when you go to https://timeline.com/DIGEST → Kasandrinos | Go to https://www.kasandrinos.com/digest and use code DIGEST for 25% off Timestamps: → 00:00:00 - Introduction → 00:04:01 - Why Women Should Biohack Differently Than Men → 00:06:29 - Cortisol, Overtraining & Burnout → 00:09:30 - Fasting for Women: Who Should & Shouldn’t Do It → 00:11:30 - High Cortisol, Stress & Fight-or-Flight Mode → 00:14:48 - Adaptogens, Recovery & Nervous System Support → 00:17:30 - Why Less Exercise Can Sometimes Help Weight Loss → 00:21:30 - Undereating, Metabolism & Thyroid Health → 00:26:15 - How to Start Intermittent Fasting Safely → 00:31:00 - Fasting for IBS, Gut Health & Metabolic Flexibility → 00:33:00 - Negative Thoughts, Stress & Emotional Health → 00:38:40 - Why Human Connection & Touch Matter for Health → 00:42:15 - Burnout, Recovery & Learning to Slow Down → 00:46:30 - Stress, Trauma & Obesity → 00:49:30 - Sugar Addiction, Food Cravings & Emotional Eating → 00:51:30 - Dr. Molly Maloof’s Typical Day of Eating → 00:57:30 - Autoimmunity, Inflammation & Personalized NutritionFurther Listening: → “Intermittent Fasting” How To Do It, Different Types, Misconceptions, + Benefits | BOK Check Out Dr. Molly Maloof: → Instagram - Dr. Molly Maloof → Sign up for Molly’s Newsletter Check Out Bethany: → Bethany’s Instagram: @lilsipper → YouTube → Bethany’s Website → Discounts & My Favorite Products → My Digestive Support Protein Powder → Gut Reset Book → Get my Newsletters (Friday Finds) Produced by Drake Peterson Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	If you're just starting to fast, the question you have to ask yourself is, why am I doing this?
0:04.9	If you're doing it for optimal metabolic health, you want to get a fasting glucose to begin and a fasting insulin.
0:09.5	And you want to look, where is your baseline?
0:11.7	So if you're fasting insulin is like 10 or 15 and your fasting glucose is like 100, 95, you definitely are going to benefit for fasting.
0:20.7	But if your fasting glucose is
0:21.9	like 70 and your fasting insulin is like two or three or four, you need to probably look at your
0:27.7	lifestyle and ask yourself, do I really need to be fasting? Because this actually may not benefit
0:32.1	you. You're listening to The Digest This Podcast, and I'm your host, Bethany Cameron.
0:39.1	If you guys have any kind of digestive issues or IBS or trying to lose weight or just are super stressed out right now, this episode is definitely for you.
0:48.9	I have Dr. Molly Maloof on the show today, and she is a physician, medical advisor, and biohacker that focuses
0:56.2	specifically on women's health and biochemistry because biohacking for women is a lot different
1:02.7	than for men. She is the author of The Spark Factor, which is the ultimate guide on how to
1:08.1	supercharge your energy, become resilient, and feel better than ever
1:12.2	through specific ways of female biohacking. In today's episode, we cover how stress and high
1:18.1	cortisol causes weight gain and how that could be hindering your health goals,
1:23.2	how intermittent fasting can help those with IBS, IBD, Crohn's, and other types of autoimmune
1:29.2	issues, why human connection is a non-negotiable and how even massages can help improve your mood.
1:36.0	We also talk about who should be fasting, why low carb is beneficial, metabolism, burnout,
1:42.3	setting boundaries for your health, and so much more.
1:45.6	Guys, this episode was fire.
1:48.7	This is just the tip of the iceberg, and I can't wait for you all to hear this entire
1:54.1	episode.
	...

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