Why Women's Brain Health Is at Risk in Midlife (and What You Can Do Now) with Emma Heming-Willis & Helen Christoni
The Resetter Podcast with Dr. Mindy
Dr. Mindy Pelz
4.7 • 1.4K Ratings
🗓️ 12 January 2026
⏱️ 67 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
In this powerful episode, I'm joined by Emma Heming-Willis and Helen Christoni for an honest conversation about women's brain health, dementia risk, emotional overload, and the profound changes women experience in midlife.
Women are nearly twice as likely as men to develop Alzheimer's disease, yet most are never taught how menopause, estrogen decline, chronic stress, caregiving, and emotional suppression impact the female brain. In this episode, we unpack the difference between dementia and Alzheimer's, why brain changes can begin decades before diagnosis, and why midlife is a critical window for awareness and prevention, not fear.
We also explore how nervous system dysregulation shows up as irritability, withdrawal, resentment, or burnout, why so many women feel disconnected from themselves in their 40s and 50s, and how telling the truth, emotionally and relationally, becomes essential for both brain and body health.
To view full show notes, resources mentioned, discount codes, transcripts, and more, visit https://drmindypelz.com/ep322/
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Please note our medical disclaimer.
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | On this episode of The Resetter podcast, I am bringing you Emma Willis and Helen Christoni. |
| 0:10.5 | Now, I hope you are aware of what Emma has been up to because she has written a book called The Unexpected Journey. |
| 0:18.7 | And it's about her journey with her husband, Bruce Willis, through the experience of dementia. |
| 0:26.7 | And she and Helen are on a mission to get the word out that your brain matters. |
| 0:35.1 | And specifically, they have dialed in now to helping women. They have a beautiful |
| 0:40.1 | organization called Make Time Wellness, which is giving women the tools to take back their brains |
| 0:47.9 | and to put their brains as a health priority. So what I love about this conversation that I think you all will be moved by is that they |
| 0:56.7 | have come up with a very simple way of looking at our lifestyle to support our brain not only in |
| 1:05.5 | disease prevention, but in functioning the way we want it to function right now. Because let's be honest, as we go through menopause, |
| 1:13.4 | there's the brain fog and the irritability and the trouble focusing. |
| 1:17.6 | And we can blame that on the loss of estrogen if that's where you're at. |
| 1:22.2 | Or we cannot be a victim to that experience and realize that there are some simple things we can do |
| 1:28.9 | to keep our brain working at its best. And what Emma and Helen bring forward that I really like |
| 1:35.5 | is they kept it simple. You'll hear Emma say this a lot. And they give us five tools, five things |
| 1:41.2 | that we can do on a regular basis. They are all free and they are all easy to do. |
| 1:46.3 | They line up with many of the things I've been teaching women over the years. |
| 1:50.6 | And I think there are really important to prioritize. |
| 1:54.1 | So I'm excited that the front half of this conversation is really a built around what |
| 1:59.5 | dementia is, how it differs or doesn't differ. You'll hear this in a moment |
| 2:04.8 | from Alzheimer's. What are the five things we can do to support better brain health? And then the |
| 2:12.3 | back half of the conversation, we went into caregiving. And what's really, what I wanted to bring forward is, |
| 2:19.8 | when I look at the demographics of my audience, a lot of you are dealing with aging parents |
... |
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