Live Like a Girl with Dr. Mindy Pelz - Can the Keto Diet Help With Menopause? - with Dr. Mindy and Dr. Anna Cabeca

Starting point is 00:00:00 You put your whole self in, you take the excuses out, you let itophagy win while stem cells grow and sprout, you cleanse detox and couple, balance hormones up yourself out. That's what resetting is all. Okay, resetters, Dr. Mindy here, and I am so excited to share with you this episode of the Resetter podcast. So in this episode, I got the joy of talking with Dr. Anna Cabaca. who is the author of The Hormone Fix. That was one of her books that came out last year.

Starting point is 00:00:41 And The Keto Greenway is her new book that's coming out this year. And what I love about Dr. Quebec is that we get into the nitty gritty around hormones, especially for menopausal women. So she and I share a passion for helping women over 40. We share a passion for the ketogenic diet for women over 40. and more importantly, in this episode, she talks a lot about hormones and how hormones, something as simple as like petting your dog, can cause your body to secrete oxytocin, which will regulate all of your hormones. So she's a big fan of oxytocin. And in this episode, we talk about

Starting point is 00:01:25 how do you stimulate oxytocin so that you can balance your estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone. We talk about keto. And we talk a little bit about. immunity because when this episode was was recorded, it was right at the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic. And so we dove into stress and the immune system and how the menopausal woman can navigate this time in a very successful way. So Dr. Anna Kapeka, one of my faves, excited to bring it to you. Resetters. So I am excited to bring back my next guest who I have had the the luxury, the pleasure, the benefit of talking to her many times. And I am so grateful to have her back on our platforms and back with my community. So let me just start off by welcoming Dr. Anna

Starting point is 00:02:19 Quebec. Oh, it is great to be here with you, Dr. Mindy Pels. I love our time that we spend together. Yeah, I know. Like, I feel like we could, we're just going to have like a casual conversation and that everybody on my platform is just going to listen in to the way that you and I chat and our passion. for the body and how it heals itself and hormones. So let's jump into hormones to start with here. If you guys are not familiar with Dr. Anna, she wrote the hormone fix, which is an amazing book. And she has a new book out called Keto Green 16. And I was really, I really love the cover, by the way.

Starting point is 00:02:58 I love, like, it's really clean and it just, it's a really nice book. And it's got some great solutions in it. So we will dive into Keto Green and talk a little bit about that. But I'll tell you what I want to start off with is I think there's a lack of awareness with women that once they hit 40, there is this massive hormonal decline that is about to happen to them. And it's not going to happen overnight. It's going to be a 10 to 15 year journey. And women really need to course correct and change their lifestyle. So can you talk a little bit about that, decline because I'm really trying to wake women up and help them see there are ways they can thrive, like you have said, through menopause. Yeah, absolutely. And I think I do it best by giving my own example that just really led me on this journey. You know, I was diagnosed with early menopause when I was 39 and told I was irreversibly

Starting point is 00:03:55 infertile. So that took me on a journey around the world to reverse that. I got no intention, but with the principles and practices and ancient wisdom, as well as the leading scientific research and results, incorporating that, reverse that infertility and became pregnant at age 41 having my daughter, Eva Marie, who is now 12, so I'm 53 with a 12 year old. Wow. It's really fun. Like, here we go.

Starting point is 00:04:23 More power to you. I tell you, it is fun. It is fun. And then at age 48, those symptoms of brain fog, anxiety, depression, mood swings, and, honestly, there's a certain amount that we can deal with, but one tipping symptom that many clients came in complaining of at menopausal transition time period is that symptom of gaining 5, 10, 20 pounds and not doing anything different, right? You've heard that, Mindy, over and over again.

Starting point is 00:04:56 And I actually, actually, when I first started working with women in that age range, I mean, I'd be totally honest that I was like, hmm, what do you mean you're not? Really? Like, you're just not telling me the whole story. But then when you dive in, there's a reason that women are gaining weight at this time. Exactly. That's exactly where I had to eat my humble pie, so to speak. You know, I was like, hmm, and it totally was happening to me.

Starting point is 00:05:23 And certainly, because I had my, that's why with the hormone fix, it takes more than hormones to fix our hormones. Yes. It takes more than hormones to fix our hormones. or hormones because we've been dealing and dialed in hormonal shifts. So estrogen, progesterone, testosterone, and even DHEA, it's really important to have these hormones dialed in and certainly thyroid hormones. But the major hormones and these hormones of transition based on our internal clock that goes beyond our reproductive organs, right? Because there's this ovarian hormonal decline that we've got to get ahead of. And we have to do that through lifestyle, right, through how we

Starting point is 00:06:00 care for ourselves and speak to ourselves. Yep. And the relationships we keep. And also how we nourish our body in all ways, not just the food we eat. So we have to attend to those areas to really optimize our hormones, optimize our stress hormones. But there are other hormones that have that clock too, like adiponectin, right? Like over time, not only is estrogen, progester, and testosterone and a DHA decreasing,

Starting point is 00:06:27 but adipinctin, like our fat storage hormone is. essentially, that is helping our metabolism regulate. So we feel it all of a sudden that takes a nose dive. And I think we need a lot more research around that hormone personally. And at that same time, insulin and cortisol continue to increase unless we do something different. So that's how, like that through that experience and shifting that by becoming what I call keto green and checking, like I always tell clients, I cannot emphasize enough, especially now

Starting point is 00:06:59 with fear and panic. And new, stressful news that we're faced with is check urine pH. I mean, it's the simplest thing that we can do. But it makes a difference because when we are stressed, cortisol increases and that increases hydrogen ion secretion across the renal tubules, creating a more acidic urine. So internal controls of our stresses can make a really big difference. So in this time frame, Mindy, I think you talked about how we can

Starting point is 00:07:28 create, we need to create this nourishing lifestyle practice to enhance our hormonal transition. It's so critical. And how we speak to ourselves, how we compartmentalize stress, how we manage that makes a tremendous, you know, a tremendous difference in the quality of our life and as well as this important hormonal transition that we're going through. Yeah, I, I, the thing that shocked. me in my 40s was that I feel like I came into my 40s like with a great lifestyle. Like I feel like I always say that my goal at 40 was to fit into my favorite pair of skinny jeans. Like that was what I thought I would do. And then at 50 it's like I just want to stay happy and joyful. Like in that 10

Starting point is 00:08:18 years though, my lifestyle stopped working. And I was paleo eating six meals a day. Breakfast was the best meal to have, a high-stressed rushing around rushing woman syndrome lifestyle. And that did not work for me. So talk a little bit about hormonal hierarchy because that's what you actually, one of the big takeaways from one of my first conversations with you was like how oxytocin controls cortisol and insulin and how all these hormones play a part in our overall health. Because I think there is this. desire to like take a pill and manipulate one hormone, but it doesn't work like that. I wish. I wish. But it really, it really doesn't. And that's where I learned, you know, I'm a gynecologist and obstetrician, right, trained at one of the best universities in our country.

Starting point is 00:09:12 And I wanted it all to be about progesterone, estrogen, testosterone, even DHA, but it's not. It's about insulin and cortisol. And then above that, the overarching master hormone is oxytocin. oxytocin is our master hormone. That's the hormone of love, bonding, and connection. And for our listeners, like, oxytocin is secreted when we laugh, when we play, when we are doing things we love, dancing to music. If we love cooking and painting, we increase oxytocin, playing with a pet, getting a massage and a facial. Yes, oxytocin relaxation, because it's also decreasing cortisol. Increase oxytocin, decrease, help cortisol regulation, right? Yeah.

Starting point is 00:09:59 Cortisol goes up, oxytocin goes down. When cortisol's up, and this is something that I write about chapter eight in the hormone fix, everyone has to read or listen to that chapter. But when cortisol's up for too long, our paraventricular nucleus area in the brain shuts that down, and then you get this dangerous situation, low cortisol, low oxytocin, disconnect, isolation, depression, burnout. I know I was there. Yep.

Starting point is 00:10:26 And so oxytocin, this powerful hormone of love and connection, we actually, you know, that's why it's so important part of, of like our, my daily checklist that I have my clients do. It's like, okay, what's your cheer word? What's your oxytocin boosting activity today? I mean, what are you doing to bring more love and joy in our life? And for many women, like we've been given exogenous oxytocin, pitocin, when we're in labor to increase our, increase our labor. So sometimes, especially with burnout, severe stress, PTSD, I've used exogenous oxytocin, but it's only temporary and also with orgasm. So did I mention orgasm is one of the best ways to increase. I was just going to say, you might want to dive into that a little deeper, but you're right. Pleasure, y'all, pleasure. Yeah. Yeah, you know, so one thing I learned from you when we first talked, again, that I love is that if you, we all know that we're supposed to control stress, right? Like, I used to always say that, like, don't tell me to stop stressing. Like, I've got too busy of a life to stop stressing. But what I learned from you, and I think this is so beautiful, is that you can stimulate oxytocin and it will naturally calm you. So I started to, like,

Starting point is 00:11:45 appreciate things like petting my dog. And, you know, and you start looking at things like a lot of women as they go through the menopause experience are like, oh, I don't feel like having sex. anymore. But oh my gosh, an orgasm is going to produce oxytocin, which is going to lower insulin and cortisol. You start to see how all of this is at play. Absolutely. And I'm just going to say to our menopausal women, don't power through sex. I mean, seriously, get Jolva. That's going to help you 100%, right? Like, I guarantee it. Put my name behind it on it everywhere, around it. Use it regularly myself. I mean, seriously, because pleasures for the rest of our life. And with that, with the changes that are happening to the pelvic floor.

Starting point is 00:12:28 And everyone laughs when I say this, but clitoris to anus, that is our most valuable real estate. I mean, keep it healthy. It's quality of life. Not just about sex, bladder help. We don't want hemorrhoids. We don't want prolapse. We don't want incontinence. We don't want any of those things.

Starting point is 00:12:45 Pelvic floor exercises, jolva or biodentical hormones into the pelvic floor can make a huge difference in our lives. But no, you're absolutely right. And it's the concept to one thing I learned because part of my trauma and my PTSD and my life was that chronic everyday stress. And so and post-traumatic stress and flashbacks and all of these thoughts and ruminations and fear in every aspect of my life. So I, you know, I have so much to communicate to listeners right now, especially as we fear the health of people we love during this coronavirus situation. compartmentalization. We have to carpentmentalize. Okay, there are certain things we have to think about. But I would say, okay, I'll think about that from 8 to 815. Get out my pen, get out my journal. I'll think about it then. Yeah. When the thoughts come in and they intrude upon us during the day, we have to think about that. And I love what you said that you did these oxytocin creating activities, petting your dog, you know, gratitude journaling, finding things you appreciate, laughing. And, you know,

Starting point is 00:13:54 I mean, those just so valuable to incorporate into our life. Yeah, and I don't think we give it enough credit, you know. And you can actually use it to your advantage. I have a 17-year-old son and I would, I go up and hug him. And I'm like, I just need some oxytocin for the day. And he kind of, you know, he knows I'm a little nutso. So it's a great opportunity to get an extra hug from your teenagers. So I love that too.

Starting point is 00:14:20 Yeah. Absolutely. I love that. Yeah. So, okay, talk a little. bit about, I think the other thing that is really interesting for the menopausal woman is that estrogen as it declines makes her more insulin resistant. So what, the keto and keto green are really important because we can manage insulin, but talk a little more about that. Yeah. And how,

Starting point is 00:14:46 how women of this A over 40 can really help their insulin resistance. Yeah, and really progesterone decline too. And the big part of that is, you know, so how we help our insulin resistant is by getting into ketosis, but we do it the keto green way. And we do it for women, intermittent fasting, no more snacking, creating that insulin sensitivity because insulin can work for us and it can work against us. So the more insulin sensitive, we become, the better quality of health and mind and, you know, life and less wrinkles will have as we get older. So anything that creates inflammation, is going to make us, frankly. I mean, I just have a little bit vain there, but I will tell you.

Starting point is 00:15:28 And so these are really, I mean, that's a really important factor. So creating, we're naturally getting insulin resistant as we get older. So we have to reverse it. But what I've seen in 50, 60 year olds and 70 year olds is that when we go, and actually 80-year-olds, I have three 80-year-olds that I've been, I measured their hemoglobin A1C. We see an improvement in your hemoglobin A1C. So it doesn't matter how old you are, we can see an improvement in your marker of your blood sugar management, so to speak, your insulin sensitivity. And that's really powerful. That is just hugely powerful. So as we get into ketosis, and it's also immunoprotective, right? The more insulin sensitive we are, the lower we have circulating blood sugar, the better immune system we have. And that makes, we create resilience, right? So we're going to have. We're going to have. We're going to have. face, we're going to face challenges. We're going to be exposed to many things in our life. But it's how we can bounce back from it or stave it off that makes the difference. So anything we can do to decrease inflammation. And that comes as a big part in becoming more insulin sensitive. And then of course, increase your oxytocin, manage your cortisol. Yeah. Yeah. And now you've got, if you do those three things, you're now like in the ballpark of actually feeling normal again. Wouldn't you, wouldn't you agree? Better than normal.

Starting point is 00:16:51 Big thing for me, and I talk about this a lot in Keter Green 16, and why I did a 16-day intensive program is because so many women are struggling and they don't even realize they can feel better. Or some will say, I didn't realize how bad I was feeling until I started feeling good again. And the issue is the brain fog, because, you know, like the whole concept of why do women get more Alzheimer's than men? We know that there's this estrogen window time period. But when we look at the curve, it's really more in line with the progesterone decline. And so of course, you know, we need progesterone to make estrogen. So that makes sense. But what's fascinating is that gluconeogenesis in the brain is an estrogen-dependent phenomenon. So using ketones, the brain will use glucose or ketones. Using ketones, it's not hormone-dependent. So shifting to ketones gives us this clarity. I wouldn't have been able to write my book if I wasn't Yeah. Yeah. No, people ask me all the time, how can you accomplish so many things in your life? And it's really getting those ketones makes a big difference in keeping you mentally alert and on track. And you actually get to a point where, especially, you know, I'm such a fan of fasting that I get to a point where I don't want to eat because it might interrupt my productivity. You know, it's like I've got a ketone rush right now. I'm not sure I want to eat because I'm thinking so clearly from those ketones. Well, and how often are you doing fasting now? Because I know I'm always popping into your resetter tribe. I love your resetter tribe. Well, okay, so there's a couple interesting things on the way that I teach fasting right now. And one is that I like to do, you know, I like people doing intermittent fasting most of the time. I think that is a really smart. There's too much good research out that we just can't ignore. So I love intermittent fasting for everybody. But then I think that you've got it sort of part ways when. you've got the postmenopausal woman and the woman that's like in the thick of menopause.

Starting point is 00:18:55 I feel like if the woman in the thick of menopause does too much fasting, I believe she tanks her progesterone. And because you need some, and I'd be curious your thoughts on this, you need some insulin to make progesterone. You need some insulin to make estrogen. And if people get too wiggy with fasting, especially if you still have a cycle, it can, lead to a real tanking of progesterone and a lot of like women will get spotting. The anxiety goes up. So I like postmenopausal women can fast whenever, but I strongly feel like it's the woman in the thick of it where she doesn't know when her period's coming. She's really in that middle space that she's got to be aware of not fasting too much. And I would emphasize the alkalinity part to that

Starting point is 00:19:45 because if we are really pushing our mineral reserves and stressing our body too much, then we're certainly not going to get the adequate nutrition that we need and the nourishment we need to build our hormones. So I am all about fasting, like I say 10% fasting, 80% keto green, 10% feasting. We need those feasting time periods too for that metabolic flexibility. So, you know, I really feel strongly about that. Like, that's, I feel that feasting time, healthy feasting. It doesn't mean crispy cream donuts.

Starting point is 00:20:21 Y'all, I haven't had a crispy cream donut, I can remember. But, you know, I mean, it is, it is, I think that metabolic flexibility is really important. And if we're feeling that way, too, like if we're feeling that on edge and, you know, check that pH. And it can just be too, Mindy, like our life is stressful. The stressors, right? So look at that piece and see how that shifts. And I would do more of that self. I would definitely look at that, you know, just check your urine pH during those times and just see if shifting it to being more alkaline, supplementing with minerals during the fast.

Starting point is 00:20:56 You know, I may add a shot or two of Mighty Baca. Yep. And that and see what that does. Yeah. And that actually is a really good point to talk a little more, too, about stress. Because I'll tell you what, I was, as I was putting my own menopausal journey together and trying to. to figure out what I needed for my life. I was sitting in a functional endocrinology seminar and the instructor was saying how when

Starting point is 00:21:21 the ovaries stop doing their job, they have to hand over their job to another organ in the body and they hand it over to the adrenal glands. So if your adrenals are already struggling and suffering, all of your sex hormones were going to struggle and suffer. And it literally was like somebody hit me with a two by four on the top of my head. And I thought this is the piece that I haven't really fully embraced for myself and that my poor hormones had been working so hard in their 30s and their 40. I mean, my adrenals had been working so hard. I didn't realize that now they were taking over the job of the ovaries.

Starting point is 00:22:00 So talk a little bit about that because I think that's a big missing piece for women. It's such a big missing piece. And I've been actually, I'm in the midst of book launch. My book comes out May 5th, Keating Green 16. I'm excited about it, but there's that sleeplessness that comes with book launch, right? Yeah. And there's also the challenge. Like, I believe so strongly that, you know, God intended us to rest one day a week.

Starting point is 00:22:23 And so taking one day off a week, I mean, that's just good business practices. I mean, that is just good lifestyle practices. That is good relationship practices. Like, you know, and just like, what does life look like if we spend Sundays or one day a week outside in nature? If we turn our phone off and our, you know, connection and just connect with the people we're present with. Yep. And what does that look like for us? And how does, so that has certainly been one of my challenges during book launch.

Starting point is 00:22:53 Like, how do I keep a Sabbath day? How do I keep a day, you know, a day of rest and refilling my tank? Now, but with that said, certainly one day a week, and we're not asking for much here. Yeah. But how do we incorporate this physiologic shift into every day, every aspect of our life? What if we do at 2, 4 and 6 p.m.? If we just do this, like really centering, you know, a centering practice, grounding practice during these times to reset. Even just if it's taking deep belly breasts to reset our vagus nerve, right?

Starting point is 00:23:31 What if we're just taking deep belly breast? We know that improves cortisol. And or it's a 10-minute pet break. and then a puppy break. I mean, something like that can be incredibly valuable. And especially during menopause and beyond, having these quality of life, the things that really enrich our spirit is better than any pill we can take. Yeah, absolutely. And I think we need to help women see that if you want to balance your progesterone and your estrogen, it's not the creams are great, but there's also,

Starting point is 00:24:08 another level of this that you are going to have to take ownership over. And that is calming yourself down, getting your stressed life a little bit in bay. And I'm speaking as a woman who struggles with this. But it really was powerful when I realized, oh, okay, I am supposed to rest. And if I rest, guess what? The anxiety, the sleepless nights, like all of that goes away. Yes, absolutely. And I think we can just illustrate that right now with a simple practice.

Starting point is 00:24:43 Like for each one of us listening and you, Mindy, think of something that always makes you smile. If it's you do something, say something, a person, a place, just visualize that right now. Just visualize this place that makes you smile. And think of that place right now or person or, you know, whatever maybe. I want to think of my puppy, Sandy Girl. So Sandy Girl is just adorable. She's a small rescue. you pop.

Starting point is 00:25:11 And so just think of whatever it is that makes you happy and smile and just take some deep belly breast, really expand your belly, deep breathe in and relax and breathe three times. And visualize, you know, like visualize, feel that joy. Feel how it feels like to just be in that pleasure moment and just take one more deep breath. I feel reset. I think this is a good resetting. Yeah, I was going to say, okay, wait. I have to be.

Starting point is 00:25:56 Re-center tribe. I love it. I love it. I love it. Okay. What were you thinking about? A beach in Hawaii. I am so craving some beach time.

Starting point is 00:26:06 So I've been, that has been on my list of like, I got to get to the, I got to get to warmth and get on a beach. So, yeah. Yeah. How did that feel to you to do that? Oh, yeah. Absolutely. You can transcend yourself quite quickly.

Starting point is 00:26:20 It's, it's pretty neat how that, the mind doesn't know the difference between reality and what you actually are doing, you know, visualizing. So, yeah. So, okay, talk, let's dive a little bit into some of the symptoms that women have. And then I'd also like to talk about another topic that I don't think it's enough publicity is how disease really forms so much more for women in their post-menopausal years. And why is that? But one of the things we see in our reach setter tribe is a ton of like anxiety and irritability. A lot of women are like, I'm so easily agitated and I just do not know why. What is that in the menopause experience that causes that? There's so much in it, but a lot of it has to do with the decline of progester.

Starting point is 00:27:15 And progester declines because of our ovarian function, as that declines as we get older, progesterone increases GABA or neurotransmitter GABA that, you know, it is the relaxing hormone. I always joke, you've heard me say this before. You think of GABA. Think of the rock group ABBA. Think of the musical MOVA. You know, and it just is such a feel-good hormone, right? It is.

Starting point is 00:27:39 GABA. Yeah. And progester is neuroprotective. And because that's what I experienced. And I experienced it when I went, I was experiencing it in menopausal transition when I was there at 48 and experiencing that. And then when I went straight straight on a ketogenic diet, I got the keto crazy. I got irritable, agitated. Can't do that as a single mom and dad. So that alkalinity piece and from nourishing with the

Starting point is 00:28:05 dark leafy greens and the alkalinizers, but also the habits like walking on the beach, doing my prayer, gratitude journaling, doing things that reset my physiology and adjust cortisol. because that's a really big factor because the more stressed we have. And I want to say very importantly, if we've had adverse childhood experiences or PTSD, post-traumatic stress, trauma in our life, that we do, we have a harder time with metapausal transition. So this piece is so important. Empowering oxytocin, you know, is so important, especially for us because of this. And not exactly sure, we don't have the research explaining this yet. I keep looking. It has to do with, certainly, our progesterone withdrawal, this protective, this neuroprotective hormone that has created

Starting point is 00:28:57 this cushion, so to speak, is now diminishing. So we have to use progesterone. I use progesterone. I was going to say, so what's the best way to raise progesterone? Is it through cream? Well, honestly, it's through the lifestyle, increasing your quality of life. is decreasing the stress on the adrenals, right? Because the adrenals are taking over for our ovaries. So it is through having more pleasure and more oxytocin in your life. That's a huge part of it, that mastering oxytocin, that's got to be the name of my next book. That has to be.

Starting point is 00:29:33 I love it. I love it. I love it too. And so that's part of it. And then we can supplement with progesterone to me. Because the same thing for our bones, right? As we get older, our bones are going to get weaker unless we do something about it. Same with our pelvic floor.

Starting point is 00:29:48 Pelvic floor is going to get weaker unless we do something about it. So this is where supplementation raises, you know, raises the level, but you still have to do all of these lifestyle factors to improve your quality of life. Yeah. So I do. I supplement regularly with progesterine and pregnant alone. And I'm patting my chest because I use it on my chest. So I have a spray. I was getting vitamin D.

Starting point is 00:30:11 You need vitamin D for progesterone and antioxidant. in both to work optimally. That's really important. So I was overdoing my vitamin D yesterday. But I used my PPR and my cream on my chest. I'm going to have to double up so I don't get any age spots. But it does help. Yeah.

Starting point is 00:30:26 Awesome. And what about DHA? So talk a little bit about that because I know that if you're low in DHA, it's very difficult to make progesterone and testosterone. Yes. Yeah. So DHA is intertwined in from all levels as well. Right?

Starting point is 00:30:41 And it's one of our anabolic hormones. downstream will make estrogen and testosterone from it. You know, the reproductive hormones. But when we are depleted, everything typically goes through to cortisol. DHA levels can lower even more. So it's that cycle again. How we create within us peace that surpasses all understanding. How we focus on the things that bring us joy.

Starting point is 00:31:08 How we enjoy the present moment and let go of things that we can't control, that cause a sphere. There's, you know, those are certain things. And, you know, I create, because of my journey, my trauma, my experience, my deep, dark, depression, and all those things that I had experienced. I mean, you know, I didn't have solutions. I had to create solutions. So that's where I created Mighty Maka Plus to help with an adaptogenic blend to support the adrenal, support DHA. We've seen as much as a 70% increase in DHA in two months.

Starting point is 00:31:43 Wow. And then, you know, and using natural products to help us get there. So that's one formula that I've used. And then the lifestyle habits, right? It's not just enough to be on a ketogenic diet. We have to do it so that we use our own fat stores, number one, for the most part. Like, that's important. And, you know, till that's optimized.

Starting point is 00:32:08 And we have to look at the quality of what we're doing. and how we're doing it and the integrity with which we do it. So I like thinking just even about eating. We are what we eat eight. So if we're eating something that's been very stressed, we're ingesting that, those hormones too. Yeah, so true. So true.

Starting point is 00:32:31 Okay, and then dive into testosterone. So I had a really interesting experience on my social media that I've started putting out different videos on my YouTube about like here are some lifestyle ways you could raise estrogen. Here are some ways that you can raise progestone. And then I did one on testosterone. Holy cow, do people want to know about testosterone, both men and women. And so talk a little bit. I feel like low testosterone is not talked about enough in women, and especially in the menopausal woman. We tend to think of testosterone as being a male hormone. But it is, it is not only do we need it for our libido, but it has a lot of other great benefits to us. So talk a little.

Starting point is 00:33:13 little bit about that hormone and how do we keep that hormone high? Yeah, yeah, no, it's probably one of my favorite hormones, right? Testosterone is really important for both men and women. The big issue I have, too, with many testosterone replacing clinic, so to speak, is that they're not looking at why is it low to begin with. We have to look at that. hormone disruptor stress, two big reasons that it's low. Stress will take it down. Again, reproductive hormones not needed in time of life-saving cortisol production. We just don't need it during that time, or it's not a priority. But testosterone is so critically important. We know that high-intensity interval training can increase testosterone.

Starting point is 00:33:52 A good night's sleep can increase testosterone. Loving well, increasing oxytocin can increase testosterone. So those are really critical ways to, and anything we can do to improve our DHA, improve our adrenal function will absolutely increase, increase testosterone. Yeah. It feels like there's a common thread here of the adrenals, you know, you keep, you keep hearing it. Yeah. And I think, again, it's just not, it's just like insulin, you know, you just don't tend to think we haven't been taught how important it is to balance insulin through menopause. We haven't been taught how important it is to balance cortisol through menopause. It's so, it's such a conversation that I just hope women start to grab onto. It's that important. So, so. So. So. So. Okay, so talk a little bit about, I feel like I get to pick your brain on all these things that I, I'm like, but it's really what I want to know more on. But talk a little bit about postmenopausal diseases because I feel like the other issue we have at hand is that if we could tap women on the shoulder at 40 and say, hey, you're about to go through this hormonal decline. If you do not course correct, if you do not change your lifestyle, that you are not.

Starting point is 00:35:13 only going to suffer through menopause, but you set yourself up for a disease in your postmenopausal years. Talk a little bit about how important it is for women to get their insulin under control, postmenopausal women. So get these hormones balanced so that we do not, it doesn't lead to some of the cancers and heart disease they're seeing. Yeah. And I mean, it's just critically important because it is, as we get older, we're fighting. You know, we have to empower our physiology even more. We have to empower our physiology. When we're 20, 30, we can do a lot of different things.

Starting point is 00:35:51 And we know that, right? I'm not telling you anyone, anything they don't know. But we have to empower our physiology in ways that honors our aging process. We age gracefully. Like, I own my 53 years old, right? Right. And I'm glad I'm not 32 anymore. more, right? And so, you know, these are differences in our spirit doesn't age.

Starting point is 00:36:12 I mean, I don't know. I don't know about you, Mindy. I can tell your spirit is like 18 and old. I actually have a soul age. I decided that my soul age is 25. I think I got stuck at 25. And I'll stay there for a little while. I love it. I love it. Absolutely. And that radiates from you. That's evident. So it's important. So we keep our, you know, we age optimally as we as we only, as we own it and this honor this transition. So as we're getting older, we're facing these diseases, these chronic debilitating diseases that we just see over time. Diabetes, heart disease, dementia, I mean, all of them are related to increasing insulin resistant. That's why getting keto green is so critical. So critical. And we can't just look at it one way or the other.

Starting point is 00:36:59 But I also want to give the example. Can I give two examples? Of course. Yeah. I give two examples. So, well, you have men listening too. So I want to share. with you that, you know, when I was, man, when I was 16 years old, my mom was 52 and she was undergoing cardiovascular surgeries. She was undergoing bypass surgery. So I watched her when she was in her 30s, get diabetes and then get heart disease. And by the time she was 67, she was undergoing a second heart surgery by one of the world's leading surgeons that I trained under. I'd been a cardiovascular surgeon if I didn't go to OB-GYN. I'm telling you. Interesting. And she never made it out of surgery.

Starting point is 00:37:39 Multisystem organ failure. I was a resident at Emory University at the time. And I was floored. You know, what happened? And that's what made me recognize that the devil's pitchfork, so to speak, is inflammation, adrenal hypofunction, and hormone imbalance. Those three things. When we address the underlying reasons for disease,

Starting point is 00:38:07 I mean, there's no reason she shouldn't have been able to, first of all, she shouldn't have had those surgeries. If I knew then what I know now, I would have made a huge difference. I mean, it would have made a huge difference in her life. And in my children's life, they would have known their grandmother. And so when my dad was 79, that was, let's see, about 13 years later. And he was 79 years old. And he was visiting from Pennsylvania. I grew up in Pennsylvania.

Starting point is 00:38:37 And he flew down to see me here in Georgia. My son was a year old, just under a year old. And my dad was cranky and irritable. And I was like, dad, you know, what's going on? By that time, I'd learned functional, I'd learned some functional medicine, been studying and had created an earlier version of my keto green way of doing things. And he goes, you know, Anna, I just don't feel well. And I said, well, let me call your cardiologist. I knew his cardiologist well. And so he's like, okay. And so I called his cardiologist, Mindy, and I get on the phone with him. And I said, you know, you know, Doc, you know, my dad's not doing well. He's really, you know, he's really kind of cranky and stingy, and we can't have a grandpa like that. And, and he said, you know, Anna, your dad's 79. He's had a good life.

Starting point is 00:39:24 Oh, wow. I was like, well, do you think there's anything you recommend I do and help him? He's like, no, I mean, that's it. He's had a good life, you know. Seventy-nine. So sad, right? And so I, I I went to my dad and I hung up. First I said, do you mind if I mess with his meds a little bit and intervene here? He's visiting me in Georgia. And he's like, no, of course not. And so, Dad, are you done living? That's what I asked him. Dad, are you done living? Nope. I'd like to see 80 is what he said. I said, okay. Well, do you mind? Can I take over, you know, your doctor said, I can mess with your meds and help you out here. He goes, and I'll do whatever you say. I don't like the way I feel. And so honest to God, but then I said, I had to clarify. But, you know, you know, know I'm going to take away your beer for 30 days. He was like, if it's only 30 days, okay. And so in 30 days, Mindy, he went from using 120 units of, this is a 79-year-old man. He went from 120 units of insulin a day to 20. He lost 30 pounds. I took away three of his prescription medications. Wow. And even better, he went on to live to 91. Wow. 91 good years. He just passed away.

Starting point is 00:40:37 years ago. Oh, wow. That's amazing. Yeah, and we were still challenging each other with Suduko. But when he would get sick, when he would get irritable, his memory would start to go. He would be irritable and agitate him. Like, what's going on? There's an infection. Let's get keto green. Come on. He was with me during the early years of getting keto green too. Yeah. And that actually brings up a really good point because there's been so much discussion right now with the coronavirus and everything out there that about our elderly. And that has been one of my mantras is we can support our elderly by helping them live a healthy lifestyle like exactly what you just said. Keto Green would fit perfect into that and helping them bring that inflammation down. We don't have to just look at somebody's age and

Starting point is 00:41:23 assume that they're immune compromised. Exactly. Exactly. Absolutely. Absolutely. Absolutely. And I tell you for my 79 year old dad too, I put them on testosterone as well. Injections. Like there's not an age limit for living life well. Yeah. I don't like to put 30, 40 year olds on it. No, but definitely postmenopausal. And as we get older, a little bit goes a long way. Physiology affects our behavior.

Starting point is 00:41:47 We want to optimize, not overrule our natural tendencies. Yeah, for sure. Okay, talk a little bit about what about the woman who wants to go on HRT or bioidenticals. When do you say, hey, that's a good time? when is it a bad time? With HRT, we see this a lot in our resetters that as they clean up their diet, they're not, they don't need it as much, but how does a woman get off of it? Dive into that topic for me a bit.

Starting point is 00:42:16 I'd love to. And I learned this through my own clinical experience, certainly my story. And then as I started, you know, implementing what I learned to my patient practice, when they'd come in and say, for example, the woman coming in in her 30s with irritability, PMS, you know, hating her husband and only two weeks out of the month, right? It's a symptom of hormone imbalance. So I, you know, instead of anti-anxiety medications and birth controls, I detox them. You know, here, let's do Peter Green.

Starting point is 00:42:44 I'm going to put you on Mighty Maka Plus. You're going to do some intermittent fasting and some extended fasting and check your urine pH. I wanted to be alkaline. Let's do these things. Come back in four to six weeks. We'll go over your lab work. Come back in four to six weeks. I'm feeling 90% better.

Starting point is 00:43:00 And at that point, I would decide. do I use progester? And I typically would use topical progesterone cream or oral prescription progesterone in the evening. And, you know, if needed, if needed. So that 30 to 40 year old, we'll see. You know, I want to optimize their, this transition window of time. I call it the period of neuroendocrine vulnerability, 35 to 55. And so say that a client would come back at, and so hopefully that reversed the course of her,

Starting point is 00:43:28 you know, the sequela of problems because we've shifted that, right? It certainly does. And then, say, example, a 40, 45-year-old comes in. She's having a regular bleeding, breakthrough, breakthrough bleeding, having difficulty sleeping, having urgency incontinence symptoms, and feeling the loss of libido. How would I treat her? Same way as I treated that 35-year-old. Let's detox. Let's get you on this. Maybe I'm going to add progester right then because I know I've got to regulate the cycle. I'm going to use biodentical progesterine as opposed to birth control pill. So I'm going to use that then and I'll use it cyclically with her. She's still menstruating.

Starting point is 00:44:07 And that patient comes in six weeks later with her lap 90% better, right? 90% better. And what do we need from there? Maybe we need to support the adrenals. Maybe we're going to use, you know, like what do we need to do for sexual function? That's my forte. I created a whole program called sexual CPR, created a product called JOLVA. I mean, I needed these things for my hair.

Starting point is 00:44:28 myself, right? That's how most of us discover this stuff, right? Yeah. It's so true. And then the 55-year-old patient comes in, she's having vaginal dryness, some leaking bladder symptoms when she coughs or sneezes. That's causing her to have less desire to go running, jogging, exercise, and or, you know, have sex, either irritation afterwards. I always tell clients, if you have pain every time you do something, why would you want to do it? That's so true with sexual health. So here, what do we need to do? We certainly need, you know, at that point, topical or intravaginal hormones. We absolutely do. And I'm a proponent. That's why I created Jolva, you know, just clitoris to anus, your most valuable real estate. Keep it healthy because it's only going to get worse. It doesn't matter.

Starting point is 00:45:12 It's only going to get worse. And that's just a function, just like our bones will get thinner. So we have to pay attention to this. And it's just critical quality of life. So then that patient comes back. I'm using vaginal hormones with her, whatever it may be or topical. And also, again, dietary lifestyle factors are so important here. You have to get keto-green during this time frame. I'm definitely going to start with progesterone in this client, biodentical, maybe Monday through Friday. Or if she's working Monday through Friday, let's start on Sunday night through Friday morning, use progesterum. And that helps.

Starting point is 00:45:50 That's that neuroprotective layer. We need it. It's the mother hormone up here. I would likely use that and also support her adrenals. Again, there we go with the mighty macablast, intermittent fasting, lifestyle factors are so huge. And if I needed estrogen and testosterone, I would add that on at her follow-up visit. Start low, go slow, and encourage those lifestyle behaviors that make a difference. Now, I don't think there's an end time to using natural biodentical hormones.

Starting point is 00:46:22 Okay. So yeah, and that's what I was going to say. So what I heard was that the foundation is the keto green lifestyle. And then you cycle in with these hormones to be able to assist as the symptoms appear. Is that correct? Yes. Yes, absolutely. And yet they're, I mean, the hormones still keep on declining.

Starting point is 00:46:44 It's even after menopause, they're still going down. So that's where you would say keep on all of the products you just mentioned. Yeah. Yeah, yeah, or customized bio-adetical hormone therapy, but it has to be bio-adentical. Right. Otherwise, it's, yeah, otherwise the risk is too high. Yeah. And actually, can you talk? Transdermal versus oral. Oral progesterine I'm fine with, but not oral estrogen over age 50-55. Okay. Oral estrogens increase our inflammatory markers. So if we're on oral estrogen, switching to bio-identical, there's patches that are like patches or topical compounded creams or sprays or gels. there's different bio-identical estrogens that can be used, but certainly transdermal is better than

Starting point is 00:47:29 oral estrogen for physiological reasons. Perfect, perfect. So, okay, and then let's finish up with this. Tell us about your book. What can people expect in it? And I've read parts of the new one. I read the whole hormone fix, which is awesome. And I forget what you called it. It's like your Magnus opus. Yeah, there we go. You called it the Magnus opus. Like, it is. a great book on hormones. I really recommend if you haven't seen that to see that. And so Keto green has got a lot of applicable. Like here, if you want to go keto in 15 days, did you say? You could go Keto. 16. I think I have it in here. I'm looking for my book. Okay. Why 16? I'm kind of curious. Why 16?

Starting point is 00:48:13 Well, number one, I love the number 16. Is that a great? No, I'm just curious because I think up resets all the time and I'm like, what number am I going to pick? I tell you, well, 16-hour intermittent fasting. Okay. 16 key ingredients that just worked out that. With key ingredient types, like cruciferous vegetables, I consider that one ingredient, you know? Because I really want to decreasing inflammation, balancing hormones, kick-starting our metabolism and detoxifying us all at the same time as we're losing weight.

Starting point is 00:48:41 And also the symptoms. So working with clients, 10 days, 21 days, working, playing with myself, 16 days just really, really worked. And there's a good, the number 16 in of itself, about new beginnings, you know. Yeah. Restarting, kicking, kickstarting ourselves in the right realm. And we see a great, we see great results in 16 days. Yeah, I also think there's something psychologically when you do a program that's like 16 days long and you've never done a 16 day program before. You don't have any past history to bring with it.

Starting point is 00:49:14 But if you've done a 15 day program and maybe it didn't work out or this is why I tell people, don't, don't set a New Year's resolution on January 1 because your neurology already has a history of you failing at that. So I love this idea that you chose 16 because not everybody's walking around with a 16-day program. It's like a beautiful reset to the neurology and it will set people up for success. Thank you. I haven't thought about that. That's great.

Starting point is 00:49:40 I love that. Yeah. So, okay. And then where can people find you? So I know, like, hopefully people got excited about some of the products that you have. where's the best place to go search for you? So at my website, Dr.ana.com. So like Dr.ana, d-R-A-N-A dot com.

Starting point is 00:49:57 So find me there. Okay, great. And then I have to leave on a deep question. This is what I love to ask everybody. If you had one mission, one message for the world and that you could leave this world with either a better place or leave it with an enlightened thought or a message, what would that message be?

Starting point is 00:50:18 Oh my gosh. I would say that love is medicine. Love is medicine. And self-love is medicine. Let me refine that. Self-love is medicine. Yeah, that's beautiful. Do you know that I asked this question. We've done about 50 interviews over the last year. And I would say 80% of the people say their message is love. Oh, beautiful. Isn't that incredible? So it's funny because we can be. in this place of influencing people's health. But when it comes down to it at the end of the day, what's the most important thing for our health is love. And I think it's such a great message. And that just emphasizes how important the hormone oxytocin is

Starting point is 00:51:03 to create an increase in our life and how powerful that is. We know it. And somehow the things that we love most are often put aside for us to do the busy stuff. So true. reprioritization. That is what this menopausal journey is. It is that reprioritization for the things that feed our soul. Exactly. I love that. I love that. I can't wait for your next book. What do you calling it? I'm mastering oxytocin. I better write it down because I'll forget, Wendy. Okay. That's the one that I can't wait for. So that's great. But thank you. It's just a joy to talk with you.

Starting point is 00:51:42 I just, I love what you're doing in the world. And I just, this is such an important. topic so thank you for joining me today thank you thanks for having me love you love you bye bye that's what it's all about you put fast cycling in fast types out you download car manager that's what it's all that's what resetting is all

Live Like a Girl with Dr. Mindy Pelz - Can the Keto Diet Help With Menopause? - with Dr. Mindy and Dr. Anna Cabeca

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