Hormone Havoc: Cutting Through the Noise Around Women’s Health with Dr Amy Shah
The Emma Guns Show
Emma Gunavardhana
4.8 • 1.4K Ratings
🗓️ 1 March 2026
⏱️ 66 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
A little white ago I stepped away from conversations about hormones, perimenopause and menopause on this podcast.
Not because women’s health stopped being important, for from it! It was because the conversation became louder, more crowded and, for many women, more confusing than helpful. Conflicting advice, competing experts and endless rules have left many of us wondering what actually matters, and what we should actually do day to day to feel better.
In this episode, I’m joined by physician and bestselling author Dr. Amy Shah to discuss her new book, Hormone Havoc. Rather than another conversation focused solely on treatment or supplements, we talk about the practical, everyday habits that support women through perimenopause, menopause and beyond.
We explore how hormones intersect with modern life, why midlife can feel uniquely overwhelming, and how small, consistent changes around nutrition, sleep, movement and recovery can make a meaningful difference.
This is a calmer, clearer conversation about a stage of life that doesn’t need to be feared, it just needs to be understood.
In This Episode
- Why women feel more confused about hormones than ever
- Perimenopause as a gradual hormonal transition rather than a sudden event
- The impact of modern stress and midlife responsibilities
- Moving from dieting culture to strength and longevity
- Dr Shah’s 30–30–3 approach:
- 30g protein in your first meal
- 30g fibre per day
- 3 servings of probiotic foods
- Gut health and hormone regulation
- Ultra-processed foods and metabolic health
- GLP-1 medications; benefits, realities and cautions
- Sleep, circadian rhythm and the importance of darkness
- Alcohol, ageing and brain health
- Why menopause can mark a powerful new phase of life
About My Guest
Dr. Amy Shah is a double board-certified physician specialising in integrative medicine and nutrition. She is the bestselling author of I’m So Effing Tired, I’m So Effing Hungry, and Hormone Havoc, which explores how modern lifestyles influence women’s hormones and how evidence-based daily habits can support healthier ageing.
If this episode resonated with you, follow the podcast so you never miss future conversations like this one. If you want to share your thoughts on this conversation with me and your fellow listeners, subscribe to my Substack.
Hey! Why not share your thoughts and insights to make your listening experience even better. Complete this listener survey to tell me what you want to hear: http://bit.ly/theemmagunsshow-survey
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | Hello, hi and welcome to another episode of the Emma Gunn Show and another episode featuring a guest |
| 0:13.7 | of we're on a role. I am very excited to bring this conversation to you because it is my conversation |
| 0:19.4 | with the physician and best-selling |
| 0:21.9 | author Dr. Amy Shaw, and we are talking about her new book, Hormone Havoc. That is how this conversation |
| 0:28.9 | came to be. And as you know, I haven't interviewed very many people for a while. And this book sort of fell into |
| 0:33.9 | my lap. And when I was given the opportunity to spend some time with her and have a conversation, I thought, I can't turn this down. But as you all know, for a while, |
| 0:43.1 | I stopped interviewing experts. And I really did. It started with stepping back from |
| 0:48.8 | interviewing experts about women's health on this podcast. And it's not because the subject stopped |
| 0:54.1 | being important. |
| 0:55.5 | It was because the conversation around hormones, around perimenopause and menopause and |
| 1:00.7 | women's health generally started to feel, I think, unhelpful. The information exploded almost |
| 1:08.7 | overnight. Every week there seemed to be a new protocol, a new non-negotiable rule, a new expert, declaring |
| 1:15.2 | that everyone else was wrong. |
| 1:16.9 | And I watched hormone doctors publicly correcting and occasionally sniping at each other |
| 1:21.7 | on social media about whose advice was correct, while there were other voices, some of whom |
| 1:26.9 | came on this podcast, |
| 1:28.3 | who seemed far more preoccupied with building their personal brand and selling certainty |
| 1:32.8 | and gaining followers than actually helping women understand what was happening to their bodies, |
| 1:36.8 | which was the whole point of having these conversations in the first place. |
| 1:40.3 | So the result was there was more information than ever, but also more confusion than ever. |
| 1:45.5 | When I started the podcast back in 2016, these conversations around women's health, |
| 1:50.2 | menopause, the menopause, even on menstrual cycles, even knowing about the luteal phase, |
... |
Please login to see the full transcript.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Emma Gunavardhana, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of Emma Gunavardhana and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.