Live Like a Girl with Dr. Mindy Pelz - Oxytocin: The Most Powerful Hormone Ever? - With Dr. Anna Cabeca

Episode Date: May 2, 2022

For full show notes, resources mentioned, and transcripts, go to: www.drmindypelz.com/ep119/ To enroll in Dr. Mindy's Fasting membership, go to: resetacademy.drmindypelz.com This episode is about oxytocin, healing hormones through food, and Dr. Cabeca's new book, MenuPause.  Anna Cabeca, DO, OBGYN, FACOG, is best selling author of The Hormone Fix and Keto-Green 16. Dr. Anna is triple-board certified and a fellow of gynecology and obstetrics, integrative medicine, and anti-aging and regenerative medicine. She holds special certifications in functional medicine, sexual health, and bioidentical hormone replacement therapy.  She frequently lectures on these topics worldwide to large audiences and is known nationally as The Girlfriend Doctor and is the host of The Girlfriend Doctor show. She has personally developed natural products to help women balance hormones and thrive through menopause, including the highly acclaimed Julva® cream for the vulva and MightyMaca® Plus, a powerful superfood blend. She now lives in Dallas with her daughters, horses, and dogs. Please see our medical disclaimer.

That is my specialty. It takes more than hormones to fix your hormones. Resetters, Dr. Mindy here, and I am on a mission to teach you just how powerful your body was built to be. This podcast is about giving you the power back and helping you believe in yourself again. Let's jump in. On this episode of the Resetter podcast, I bring you Dr. Anna Quebec. Now, if you are not familiar with Anna, I really want to introduce you to this woman who is so passionate about helping women heal their hormonal health. And she is a triple board certified gynecologist.

She has written many books. I'll tell you two of my favorite. One of them is the hormone fix and is absolutely my go-to when women want to understand a general picture of their hormones. you've got to read the hormone fix. And she just put out a book that we all needed so desperately. And I'm so excited she did this. The book is called Menupause. And it is recipes and ideas for women going through the perimenopause, menopause, and

postmenopause years. And on top of all the books she writes and the information she puts out on social media, her podcast, she's got amazing products to help women through menopause. she also is a dear friend. This woman has just really crawled into my heart. I love what she shares about hormones, and you'll hear it in this episode. One of the things that I find so humbling is when people have been through horrific situations in their lives, and they use it as fuel for purpose, and they use it to make themselves stronger. And in the hormone fix, Dr. Anna Capeca really shares her story of losing her son when he was 18 months old. And if all the mama's out there,

this story will pull on your heartstrings, but it also will give you inspiration because what you will hear in this episode is that she has been dedicated to teaching women about their hormones. Since that time, she has been focused on healing her own hormones. And what you're going to hear in this episode is she just became a grandma and delivered her own grandbaby. So there's so much to unpack about hormones. We start off in this conversation talking about oxytocin, which is a very free hormone you can get. And we talk about why you want to get it and how we can all get it and why it should be the precursor to any food change you make. And then we dive into her six different plans that she has for helping hormones through food.

And they're all done in short little chunks. You can use the. these plans that she's created in her menu pause book, you can use them for five to six days out of the month to start to look at detoxing hormones, to building up certain hormones, to building up your gut so you can break hormones down. Literally, anything you want to know about food and hormones, this woman is put in this book. So menu pause, Dr. Anna Cabaca, I am so excited to share this episode with you. And I hope that she crawls into your heart as deeply as she has mine. Enjoy.

Also, I have to tell you a funny little strange, like, I don't know what I want to call it. Like, hobby might not be the right word, but a new little thing that I do, which is whenever I pick up a book, it does not matter if it's a book in the health space. If it's a fiction book, I first go to two places. I go to who they dedicated the book to and the acknowledgments. And I do this with all books. I've been doing it for about a year now. And what I love about it is you want to find the heart of an author. Go to those two places first.

So when I got menu pause in the mail, those were the two places I went to. And the first thing I want to say is thank you for the shout out on your acknowledgments. I love you. Your inspiration, Mindy. Yeah. Thank you. That was very sweet. And I just, yeah, I just, I love doing anything with you.

So this is really exciting. But the second thing is your your dedication. Oh my gosh, you made me cry. Like for starters, you just have some really amazing. It sounds like you have some amazing people in your life. And your story about your kids and your son and like all of that just always moves me to tears just on all levels. And so I just want to start off by highlighting your heart for my listeners because that is why I love Anna Quebec is for your heart. You put out incredible books, but it's your heart that I have

fallen in love with. Oh, thank you. Thank you. And I feel like we are so alike in that way, really. Just like spirits. Yeah, agreed. For that. And thank you. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. And so let's start off with this because before we can get into the recipes and everything we need to make men, Now all I can say is menu pause, metapause. Oh my gosh, Mindy, I've been doing this and I actually wrote a little email this morning. I was like, my whole house is in menu pause right now. We are all in menu pause. There's like, I love it.

We're in menopause. And my cousin's husband's famous, famous basketball player from the Mavericks, Rolando Blackman. And I'm like, I'm just going to share with everyone that he's in menu pause too. He's totally into it. I love it. Join us in menu pause. And actually, if outside of the book, if you could join us in menu pause the way that would mean, what that would mean to me would be like, we stop and we eat together.

Is that what it's supposed to mean? That's a good, that is a good way. And see, I love that you thought about it that way because being the fasting expert, right. I would have thought you might say, okay, we pause eating. We pause our menu. No, pause and eat together because that is good food, good medicine, good people. That's right.

That's right. So that brings me to my point that we've got to start with oxytocin and that before we dive into food, we've got to start with oxytocin the benefit of it on hormones. And, you know, maybe through like, I mean, I know you're doing the horse world with your daughter and like how do we, let's start with this question. How do we use community? How do we use friendships? How do we tap into oxytocin to balance our hormones?

You know, it's just that sense that if we could feel in love every day, doesn't the world just become a better place? I mean, bright colors, you know, you see things clear. The sky is blue, right? You're in love with everyone. They greet you. They hug you. There's, you know, I mean, it's just, that's like, that is oxytocin.

That is oxytocin. It's just the world's a better place. And it's so funny because I was thinking about this because I can't wait until my new granddaughter. Yes. That's right. You've also got it. Yes.

You delivered your granddaughter, which is also flipping amazing. Okay. Best delivery of my life. Best delivery of my life. I mean, very humbling too. Best delivery. And so, you know, I was thinking, oh, my God, one of the first movies I'm going to have her watch is trolls because that is oxytocin versus cortisol.

So you know that Pixar film, The Trolls. And it's these colorful. trolls and they've got all this beautiful Cindy Lopper song is, you know, is in their, um, uh, true colors. True colors. Yeah. True colors. Thank you.

And so, you know, these trolls are great. And they're fighting these like monsters and, and they're all gray and the world's gray and they make everyone sad and they walk around depressed and alone and there's no friends and they're not worth anything and they just kill. And what they try to do is eat up the happy trolls. Oh my gosh. Yeah. of energy. But anyway, that is cortisol versus oxytocin. Yes. Right. That is cortisol versus oxytocin. And then, of course,

true colors and, you know, lots of happy songs. And that becomes contagious and the trolls become happy. So the monsters become happy. So it's so funny, but that is a really good visual comparison. It really is a lesson to be learned here is, is the effect of stress on our physiology and the antidote to that. The antidote is laughter. It's love. It's kindness. it's compassion, it's paying it forward. It's sharing heart to heart, being authentic, letting the scales and hard shell that we may have been, you know, forced to build over time as safety,

being able to emerge from that. And metapause is this transition space to really blossom, to be empowered, to be that for yourself, like, I love my laugh lines. Yes. I love them. They're amazing. Yes.

That's what I keep telling myself. Exactly. So they are hard earned. This body has been through so much. Thank you for it. Right. Yeah. And let's let me keep, let me, let me pay it back.

Yeah. And we think about it that way too. I'm going to pay it back with love. And, you know, my cousin who I mentioned in the, in the, my dedication to is amazing. amazing human being. And I was having this conversation because I recognize she has saboteurs around her, some unhealthy community. So in my book, ManyPause, there's a chapter, pausing the things that no longer serve you.

And that's so true. And it could be people putting really hard boundaries. Look, I respect your opinion. But if you're not going to encourage me, you know, keep that to yourself. Like don't be Debbie Downer anymore. But she said when she looks in the mirror, she just scowls. She was like, oh, look what I've done to my body. And I said, well, your body's not going to pay you back in any good way.

You have to start. You have to promise me you've got the most amazing smile, the best eyes. I mean, look at your curly hair. I mean, you know, just like focus on what you do love. Gosh, this body bore you two amazing children. Right. Has contributed to your four grandchildren. Thank God for that body.

And like sometimes you have to, you have to just, you know, make it up to you believe it. And that's okay. That's okay. I consider that good medicine. Yeah. Yeah. You know, I, I hit a spot. So when I turned 40, I told myself like, oh my gosh, I'm 40 now. I don't have to care what other people think of me. That was like my mantra going from 39 into 40. Like 40-year-old women don't don't care what other people think of them. It was like my thought. Lack of tolerance. Right. But you know what I had to realize? Well, if I don't care what other people think of me, what gets highlighted is what I think of me. And I started really developing this relationship with myself.

And one of the things I realized is every time I looked in the mirror, my brain would go to the areas that I didn't like. And I would say mean things to myself. And one day I thought, well, why don't I flip that and let me go to what I do like and say, and highlight that. And I'll tell you after 12 years of doing this, when I look in the mirror, I go to the body parts that I love first. It's really a cool technique. So I think that's great that you told her that. That is so good. And discipline and practice, right? You have to have discipline and you have to

practice it on a daily basis. And I agree. And this is a difference between women and men, you know, because one of the things that I know from working with men, I mean, they'll look in the mirror and they'll be like, man, look at these biceps, man, look at them. I'm so studly. And they would totally forget about their big beer gut. Right. They totally don't even look. at it. But guys will focus on what they like. And it's true because in my core sexual CPR, I talk about this, that guys will focus on what they like about you, not what they don't like. You're focusing on that. So, and you've got mirror neurons. So don't like focus on what you like about you. Focus on what he likes about you. He is focusing on how gorgeous you are, how much,

you know, he wants to make you happy. Your smile lights him up. I mean, so you have to shift that for relational health too. It's fascinating. Yeah, super fascinating. So what do you do? You know, one of the things that I think about oxytocin and women is if I go back and I look at my 40s, who, that was tough because you've got kids leaving the house. Not yet. Not for me. Fifty-five at a 14-year-old and a grandbaby at home now. Oh, my gosh. I would take some people to come back. I want some people to come back into my home. They all laughed. And I'm now like desperately texting. The kids like, how's your day?

What are you doing? I feel like the movie that I feel like I'm living the song, cats in the cradle. You know, where are you like, I don't have time. I have time. And now they're saying that to me. But what do you do when I feel like 40s are that time that all of a sudden, all the things that beat you up in life sort of all bubble to the surface. And you combine that with the loss of progesterone, the loss of estrogen, cortisol's up.

Like, let's just take 40 to 50. What can we do if we've been sort of beaten up with life? How do we start to unwind that so oxytocin can be this hero to come in? Like, how do we, what's that process look like? That kind of unwinding, like unwinding the neural pathways. I mean, I think about that. I really want to make the emphasis, you know, have a daughter with seizures. and that's how I really started learning and studying about keto way back when.

But when we do someone has a seizure, for instance, a young 21-year-old daughter is in the case of mine at the time, and we think, okay, there's nothing organic here. She may never have another seizure. But if she has the second seizure, we know she's going to have a third, right? That's how quick those neural pathways are made. And so our responses, like how you've retrained. And it's like it doesn't happen overnight. You retrain those neural pathways of negatively talking about ourselves or seeing that,

oh, mirror, mirror, instead of mirror, yeah. Right. There hashtag more sexy. That's what we're doing in the girlfriend, doctor club right now. We got that hashtag going, Mindy, and you are totally more sexy. So, so good. Thank you, Anna. I appreciate that.

You are so welcome. Now I forgot the question. Anyway, rewiring neural pathways. Yeah, rewiring pathways. Because, you know, again, I want to dive into what you have in this book, but because you put the word pause in there, and it's really had me thinking about my 40s and now I'm 52, it's like, I've learned more about being a woman from 40 to 52 than I think my entire life, just going through this experience of menopause. And I feel like oxytocin, what is, I didn't prioritize her. And yet what my brain wants to do is say, yeah, and it's been rough. I mean,

you've had some rough bumps, some incredibly rough bumps. So we, and as do many of the women listening. So we can put a book in front of them and say, hey, eat this. Life will get better. But what I want to do is create a framework in which women can start to thrive in their 40s and 50s. And oxytocin is your hormone. That's the one we got to highlight. It is. And because oxytocin is this longevity hormone, it's been proved to regenerate, you know, with oxytocin, you can regenerate muscles, healthier, stronger, faster. You can improve memory, healthy, you know, quicker, faster. You, it's anti-aging, right? When you're in love, I mean, it's the most alkalinizing hormone in our body where cortisol is the most acidifying. I mean,

check your pH on a stressed out day in a day you're having a blast. And so what I want women to do, And I have every, like, if you look at my history and you know my midi, I mean, and there's like 10 more traumas, right? But, you know, I could, I could be deep, and I have been deep in the depths of hell. And I could be focused on that still. It was like a daily practice. What am I grateful for? Thank you for this. Oxytocin is the best medicine. And I can give all the hormones, all the drugs, all the, you know, whatever supplements that I want to give. But if. If there's no gratitude, appreciation, sense of self-love, or feeling like you are loved, you have a purpose.

Each and every one of us have a purpose. Like every one of the hormones in our body has the purpose, right? Each and every one of us has the purpose. So to feel that. And sometimes we have to make it up for ourselves because physiologically we're at a deficit. And that can be, you know, that can be hormonal. can be past life stuff possibly.

I mean, there's a lot of stuff I've seen in my 55 years, right? There's a lot that I've seen. So the underlying DNA wiring and coding, bravo, we can shift that. We can shift the quickest way and the most important way. And I'm glad you're highlighting this is with oxytosis. It's like, okay, here's menu pause. I'm so grateful for this. Look at the beauty of it, right?

It is beautiful. But someone else in the negative, like, for example, you know, my cousin Grace's saboteur, he's like, oh, I don't think you can make food look like that. Oh, yeah, that's kind of stuff around. I'm like, oh, no wonder you're sick girl. Yeah. We're definitely, we got to reframe that limiting belief. You have to call him on a shit.

Yeah. You do. You have to call him on a shit. But you also have to own yours. Like, you know, I'm, you know, I know, I know where my value is. and being able to appreciate to say a blessing before you eat this meal, a blessing of gratitude, to share with a friend, hey, I'm doing this. I made extra.

I made extra for my cousin of my Georgia buffalo shepherd's pie. I'm so excited to share that with them. Like, they're going to like it and love it, but I'm more excited that I made extra and I'm going to give it to them. I mean, my mom used to do stuff like that. Like, this is my grandma, mom. I love it. Right.

I know. You definitely have a more grandmotherly vibe. Not that you look more grandmotherly, but you definitely have the wisdom of a grandmother. And it's only been a couple of months. This is really good. Yeah. Yeah. So what do you do if you, you know, what I found about hormones, especially in 40s and 50s,

I mean, that's the only thing I can speak to personally, is that when they decline, you can look around at your environment and know that you're supposed to see. say I want to be grateful, but all your brain, your heart is like joyless. It can't find gratitude. So if I decide to just say it like, I'm really happy, Anna sent me this book and I just, you know, look at it and say the words, but I don't really feel the words. Does that work the same and over time will you grow yourself some oxytocin? I think you have to find something that you appreciate. Like if it's, you know, I really appreciate that the orchid, flower looks like a vulva. I really appreciate that. It does. That's why I have so many around.

That's right. It does look like a bovah. Each one is unique and different just like vulvas. Yeah. All unique and different and all beautiful. So you have to find something you can authentically laugh at or appreciate. Watch my Big Fat Creek wedding. Watch your, you watch trolls. Watch something that makes you laugh. But, you know, it is true. You have to, there has to be a sentiment. And this is a patient that I worked with who had, and she was a younger patient in her late 20s. I want to say she was 28 or 29. I can't remember exactly. But she would, I mean, I saw her so frequently year after year and then every, you know, a few times every month. And it finally occurred to me that, and she had fibromyalgia, this, that. The other thing, I was

supplementing. I was bioidentical hormoning. I was just detoxing. And then there was always something. And finally it dawned on me, Mindy. asked her, this beautiful young woman, I said, tell me one thing that you love about yourself. It's like nothing. That was the light bulb moment for me. That was that's why I can't get her better. And I said, you know, Crystal, I love your hair. It was just gorgeous. And she started to smile. She goes, yeah, I love my hair. And but until that moment, I said, well, I just want you to say that. I want you to say that every day. I want you to reflect it because she felt it. You see, she smiled. She felt it.

oxytocin deficiency doesn't allow you to feel. And when you're in cortisol overdrive or burnout, you have that deficiency. So you have to like generate some authentic sense of appreciation, appreciation of gratitude. You have to generate. And it is around. And sometimes we are you, we have like we're in the dark. We don't see it.

We have to find it. We have to Nancy Drew it. Oh my gosh, I love it. Nancy Drew and I read all the Nancy Trues, by the way. I figured you did. So I'm very up to speed on Nancy Drew. So here's what I'm where I'm going to. And this is where my heart's been recently, which is I think as women, the time is now for us to rally around each other and build each other up. And we as women for, you know, centuries have been breaking each other. other down. And we compete with each other. And we were, you know, when I have a son and a daughter. And when I look at the difference between how they treat, you know, the girlfriend group versus the guy group, like, it's, we need to treat each other better. And we could all raise our oxytocin by doing exactly what you just said. Give a compliment to a friend. Tell a friend how much you, she, you care about them.

And you would definitely hormonally benefit yourself and her. But instead, we're in the comparison in society. And we're always, oh, she's doing something better than me. She looks better than me. She's, you know, all those things. And we have to change that. Genuinely appreciate another person and it feels so good. Right. And that's not natural to me, especially, you know, competitive, one of the only female physicians in my med school class of 1991, right? There's 15 women out of 115 men. And there's competition, right, in so many ways. And to be. like the only DO in my residency class, you know? And, you know, there was a lot of competition

and cutthroat, right? There's that sense. And so my, I have one daughter, my daughter, Amira, it's her gifting. She, like, sees people and she sees what's good and she can't keep it to herself. I love that. Because I'm able to. And if you, you meet her and you just immediately like, oh, my gosh, you know, what a genuine soul. And that's how she is. And I was like, huh, yeah, I could take lessons. When she was little, when she started being able to talk to make people laugh and feel good, that is her gifting. And so, like, you look at that and say, oh, well, how can I do that? And, you know, you just practice. Well, what, let me try. Let me just practice. You know, where does it start? It can start with if you're your mailman, greet them. Thank you. You're doing this

every day for me. I really appreciate that. I mean, genuine. Genuine. And, you know, and I think that, That is practice. That is practice. And that is, it pays back. It pays back in spades. It sure does. And hanging around people like your daughter. I mean, I've,

I call it a positive energy exchange. I purposely seek out people who have high, loving, grateful vibrations because all I've got to do is hang out with them or talk to them for a minute or two. And like, like, like you right now. Like you, I'm just like, yes. Like I'll get off this interview and I'll be a better version of me than before. beforehand because of the oxytocin exchange that can happen amongst people, but women, I think we do it really well.

So, so, okay, so now we've got that out of the way because I, what I find is everybody wants the magic pill for hormones. And I think starting with this idea of gratitude and oxytocin is so important. So let's move. But with that, with that, like other ways to increase oxytocin, laughter, course, orgasm, climax, orgasm, intimacy, massage, facials, doing things you love and enjoy, playing with a pet, happy marriages and pet owners have longer lifespan. Right.

So that's something, I mean, that's something to pay attention to. So what can we do? Why do pet owners have, you know, longer, healthier lifespans? I mean, unconditional love. I mean, this, I don't know, I'm not, I'm a dog owner, not a cat owner, so I can't for those. But that dog has no matter what, it's like, oh, I just want to be around you. I miss you.

You were gone two minutes and I'm happy you're home. Yeah. Kids don't do that. But, you know, pets do. It's really good. I'm like trying, still trying to train my children to do that. Well, you know what? I do tell my kids when I see them now, they're 22 and 19.

And I say, okay, I just need a little oxytocin. I know you don't want to be hugged, but I want to be hugged for my oxytocin. So they kind of laugh and they know that now that that's part of the schick. They're going to get that. So, okay, so I just am so happy we're highlighting oxytocin because it's free and you can do it anywhere. You can get it anywhere. I mean, there's so many ways to get it. So beyond that, what I absolutely love about your book and bravo to you and how you laid this out is you really hit all the points that we need to be thinking about when it comes to food and hormones. Everything

from detox to gut repair to building up hormones. So talk a little bit about how you map these chapters out because it well done, my friend, well done. Thank you. I had so much fun with the title menu pause. I had so much fun with that. And coming up with the five most common pauses that I would work with clients, like they're doing everything right in our keto green world, right?

They're doing it right and things stop working. Or they have another. issue, a condition, Hashimoto's, autoimmune issue, psoriasis, and these different conditions, I would have to say, okay, well, let's pause this. Let's do, you know, okay, now we're just going to do this for, you know, five, six, seven days, and let's focus right now just on this. And so that's kind of how the plans developed. And so my core keto green is healthy fats, high quality protein and lots of good dark leafy greens, the sprouts, you know, high oxidant superfoods and cruciferous vegetables and intermittent fasting and no more snacking.

Once we get used to it, two meals a day is great. Two or three meals a day. And sometimes it's one meal a day and sometimes, you know, it's feasting days, which I love personally as the big glutton or gastronomique, let's say. Oh, I love that. That's a great title. So good. So good. And so I, so with the keto green as the core, I said, okay, here's the keto green autoimmune plan. So we call that keto green extreme and we take out all the nightshades,

peppers. And that's a hard one for me because on Middle Eastern background. I love my tomatoes. I love my eggplants. I mean, a week without Baba Anouche, will I survive? I have no idea. So we will see. We're, I'm doing it strictly this week, Kita Green Extreme. So there's that. And that's because it's very, you know, we worry about night shades being triggering peppers and really wanted to pay attention to that for my clients. And so all the menus are clean that way and still will help alkalize your body, give you good fiber and be very ketogenic and supporting.

So we've had amazing results. And then the second plan I put people on and sometimes often put people on is completely plant-based. So it's a vegan vegetarian keto green plan because we're taking out a lot of the grain, we take out all the grains that pretty much that our vegetarians tend to eat. And so really want to eliminate that. So they can experience ketosis and also not be hungry with highs and lows and blood sugar. So also because constipation is something so many people deal with. And Mindy, every time I, you know, on my questionnaire as a doctor, I have. that question, are you constipated? And they many times would say no. And then I would do an exam.

I'm like, really feel constipated. How often are you having those bowel movements? And they're like, oh, once or twice a week. I'm like, you're constipated. And they're like, oh, well, this is how I've always been. If you're not having one or two bowel movements a day, you are constipated, right? And so sometimes people don't realize that they've been this way for all their life. And I was just interviewed on a radio show. And this woman, she's in her 47, 48. And I, and I, I told her about that plan and she's also does mostly vegetarian. And she goes, oh, well, I've been constipated my entire life. That's not going to change.

I worked with it, meaning laxatives. And I'm like, oh, no, oh, no, we can still fix you. The gut lining regenerates every 72 hours. That's why menu pauses six days to get you through two 72 hours cycles. I mean, that's some of the concept, the science behind it. Plus, usually day three and four are tough on people. So you need a couple more days beyond that to really feel that re-energized lift from the work that your body's doing amazingly like magic and repairing itself.

So then the third plan swings the entire opposite way and it's more of carnivore plan, nose to tail carnivore. Seriously, my cardamom-seared liver, it's really to die for it. Oh my gosh, I have to try it. So good. My daughter, Ava, she will eat second helpings. She really loves that one. So good.

So yeah, that's a good one. It was like, I'm not cook. I haven't had, I didn't have liver, you know, since my mom passed away because that was one thing that she would do, use all pieces of an animal. Yeah. So, and that's how we used to eat incestrily. Now we take it in pills or capsules or adrenal glandulars or whatever it might be. So we're going to do nose to tail here and also give the body a chance to heal and support

digestive enzyme production. And so, and that's a really, that's a really strong plan to do. And you get into high ketosis so that brain fog lifts. And then the fourth plan is the cleanse, especially coming right out of carnivore. If you do it that way, you're already, or if you're already in ketosis, you're not hungry. So you do this cleanse great and has a liver, gallbladder flesh. And my audience is loving it. They are loving it. And it's the hardest, it's the hardest. It's the hardest one. but yet it's fun and sustainable. You feel nourished. It kind of, you know, gives you a range of food, you know, fruits and vegetables to to enjoy.

And then the fifth plan that sometimes I have to put clients on, I'm curious if you see this too, but people that have been so keto for so long or fasting so long or so carb restricted for so long that sometimes I need to carve them up in order to get a good night's sleep, to feel better, to get that power back in the gym. And so there's a carb up plan. So those are the five plans. And do you do it in a row or is it meant or is it kind of you grab one? They're all five days long.

They're all six days long. Six days. So five plans, six days long, just so you all catch the brilliance of this book. And they're all coming at hormones and menopause from a different direction, which again, I just want to point out is so flipping brilliant. Thank you. So would you do it, would it be a 30 day plan then? Would you do it 30?

I would use the seventh day to pause, another pause within a pause. So the seventh day, and that's what I figured, you know, and like the seventh day can be a feasting day, can be a fasting day, can be an opportunity to challenge your body. Okay, I've been off dairy, for instance, for six days and never going to know. Let me try it and see what happens. And if you're like me, you'll be inflamed. You'll be like, I got to stop it again. Terrible. So you'll get insight.

You'll be like, oh, this act, this style of eating work. for me. I took this out. I'm feeling better. So just so people don't lose that nuance, it's a, it's a self-discovery path. It is a self-discovery. And then you may experience, I think we should all do the plant-based plan essentially once a quarter, even, for our omnivores. And it's good gut microbial diversity with plant diversity is improved. So, so there's the logic behind that. And I want kind of what I'm planning to do, and as we're going into the spring and summer months, but planning to do each of the six-day plans every week and exploring,

okay, what makes me feel the best? I'll do that one again, longer or follow those guidelines, longer and see, but to take note how I'm doing, but there's benefit to all of them. Right. Yeah. There's benefit to all of them. So I would say, yeah, don't just choose one and stick with that one, unless you're doing amazing and it feels great.

But try all of them because you never know. know what your body really is, is calling for. And it's a good experience. Do you need to, now, I know it's for menopause, but with perimenopause, we've got, we've got women that still have a cycle. Do you need to time any of these plans around, like, if you know it's the week before you're about to have your period? Are there some you would avoid or some that you would add in? Yeah, I would say I would not do the cleanse the week before my period. Okay. I just wouldn't because you're going to have cravings. You're more insulin resistant during that. time. And I would listen to your body, give it what it needs during that time and, you know,

and see how you do. That might be a good time to do carnivore. Yeah, it could be. My other thought was, what about would you focus in on the detox and the gut repair during your ovulation window? Oh, wait, but I just had a brilliant idea. Could we do a carnivore and chocolate week before our period. Oh my God. And girlfriend time. It will sit on the couch and watch all our favorite movies. That's a very, very therapeutic.

And so I really haven't, I haven't worked with it around ovulation either. It'd be interesting. I just find, and I mean, the liver is so interesting, the liver and gut just because of how it breaks down estrogen. I feel like as you go through menopause, that becomes even more important. I do, but you know, you have this weird perimenopausal age that it's so, it's so hard to even do a flipping hormone test because you don't know when it's coming or going. Right. So do you use, could you also look at your symptoms and go, gosh, I'm feeling really anxious today.

So maybe I need to build some progesterone or my mind is really foggy. Like I know sometimes estrogen is really low when I get like really paranoid and my brain gets really foggy, like my, there's a quality to my brain that I'm like, oops, got to work on estrogen. Could you use these? Are you feeling that even when you're in ketosis, Mindy? No, not for estrogen, but progesterone, when I feel like body anxiety, now I can't use ketosis as a tool.

So I'm thinking where you up your carbs, that might be the tool to use that. I think so. I think like the carb up plan. would probably be good. Yeah. Like I love that there's six days. So I'm like, how do we take the six days

and cycle them around a woman's cycle, the six little snippets? Yeah. That's a great idea. I mean, great concept. So if I was to build that out, oops, sorry, one second. Yeah, no, you can keep going.

We love dogs on this show. This podcast is sponsored by everybody's dog that has ever been. been in the background of an interview. Oh my gosh, that is our welcoming committee here at this house. Right. For sure. For sure. Yeah, we do have to then get you a pet, a pet store sponsor. I should. I should be like, and for all the you that need oxytocin, this podcast is now sponsored by your local pet adoption agency where you can go grab yourself some oxytocin immediately. Oh, my gosh. That's a brilliant.

People are going to be messaging you right now. Yes, I want one. Give me one. I love it. So cute. I think if I was to build out a cycle, like how it would look for the cycle, I would start your cycle with keto green extreme. Right.

And then I probably, the second week, I probably do plant based because like with ovulation and just creating that really alkaline environment and supportive, gut bacteria, give them some good stuff to thrive on. And then the week, the week before your period, I would carve, I probably go back to, you know, keto grade extreme, but then the week before your period, I would, I would carve up. Yeah. I would do the carb up plan with the good sweet potatoes and root vegetables. And I think that would, that would make sense for me.

And then when you do want to do a cleanse, you know, probably the best time is that that first week of your menstrual cycle to cleanse. And that would be same true with carnivore probably. And do you find if women are going through menopause and they have hot flashes and insomnia and they're like, but I haven't had a period in 10 years. Do you feel like these organs and these body parts have just never been given the right nutrition, the right tools? So going through these six protocols can be the answer for those lingering symptoms?

Absolutely. Absolutely. And I see this over and over again in that, you know, I had actually a friend of mine who said a lead architect in India. and she's amazing. I met her in Barcelona. And she's like, Anna, these hafledges, they're killing me. What do we do? And I'm like, fancy.

Her name is fancy. Great name. We're like, fancy. We've got it. We got it. I know. It's so great. And I said, okay, this is going to work because the handful of hot flashes I've had

has been because of too much carbs and too much wine. And my hormones were dialed in, right? That is my specialty. It takes more than hormones to fix your hormones. So what's happening here is there's an underlying insulin resistant. There's an underlying insulin resistant. There's an underline. underlying receptor damage that's not well defined in the literature. I mean, really, I think that's an area that we need to look at. How do you reawaken receptor sites? Because sometimes when we add in biogynical progester, you can experience more hot flashes before they subside. And that's a reawakening. It's like giving your body what it needs. And it's like give me more type of sensation. And I really watch that. So I combine it with, so combine it with detoxification. So I

start really focusing on that keto green extreme plan. Combine some detoxification support. I add Mighty Maka Plus because it's adaptogenic. It really does help eliminate hot flashes. You may need two, three, maybe four scoops a day if you're really resistant. But to start at one because it is detoxifying and it's supportive so you don't want to get do too much too fast. So add in the detox support and then and you know,

add in the biogenical progesterone, if you're postmenopausal or you've had a hysterectomy, you do that typically 25 to 28 days a month or take one to do it every day and take one to two days off per week of biodentical progesterone and use that transdermally or prescribed orally. That's a good way to do it. It does it better which one, just curious, oral or. Well, it doesn't, it really depends. Like I have been doing this for a long time and I sometimes do oral, especially. if I'm having trouble with sleep.

So oral progesterone metabolizes 90% to the metabolites that help your body produce GABA or all are pregnant alone. And so that makes you sleep deeper, which is really nice. But I use transdermal pretty much every day except for one to two days a week. And that's my balance cream, which I created with progesterone and pregnantalone. It has tripeptide in it, which helps get rid of the sun spots from my sun worshiping body. But it's a good thing. So I put it in there, but anti-aging too.

But it's both progester and pregnant alone, and that transdermaline, use a full pump in females and a quarter of a pub in males to help them also get better night's sleep and relax. So I like transdermal for slow delivery, but I like oral for the benefit of the metabolites, too. Yeah. Yeah. And we know if we're on estrogen, we need probably closer, if we're doing oral, 200 milligrams, transgenital, that equates to 20 milligrams. But because of if we have a uterus and we're on estrogen, we have to oppose estrogen

on the uterus and we don't get into mutual cancer, endometrial buildup. Got it. So that's that there. And you have some new products out. So talk a little bit about that because I always like, well, there's two things I'm always curious. No, three things I'm always curious on with you. One is what's the next book?

So you and I talked a year ago and you're like, it's going to. to be called menu pause. And I was like, that's brilliant. To what, you know, what are your kids up to? Like, what are you doing within the horse world? Because you and I share this passion for children in the horse world. And then the third is what new products have you developed? And so when I got my box today, I'm like, what? A reparative mask for my hormonal hair? Anna, Rebecca, you are like a god. This is amazing. It is so funny how I created this. I'm telling you. because I was working on my non-D-H-E-A JOLVA formula for my Canadian people.

So I've got Jolva for the vulva, right? The most important real estate of our body, clitoris, you guys, try it. You will love it, 100% money-back guarantee me. Just read the thousands and thousands of testimonial. That's Jolva. But it has DHA and plant stem cells from the Alpine Rose, but we can't send DHA to Canada.

And so it's like, oh, I'm coming up with another formula so I can get it to them. And I used, I research. I'm like, oh, see, Buckthorn oil. I'm going to get that. and it smells terrible, but it has such good attribute. So let me make it better. And then I was like reading something. I said, it's really good for your hair.

And I was having that, you know, stressed metapausal hair and book launch hair. So I was like, this is a year ago. So book writing hair. Even in book launch time, I have all this new hair growth. I mean, it's incredible. Yeah. And it feels great. It's so funny because a fellow influencer,

Natalie Jill, Natalie Jill fits or Instagram handle. I sent her one and she immediately used it in her hair. She was texting me, how do I use it? I'm like put it in dry, put it in wet, do whatever. I mean, it works the other way. And if you use it at night and massage it in, it's great too. There's something really calming about it. But anyway, you can use it as a cream rinse or leave it in as a mask.

I like to put it in before I go to bed and rinse it out in the morning. Just lightly, don't have to use a lot. and massage it into your scalp too. But anyway, so she did this video yesterday. She goes, oh, my God, I just want to pet my hair. It feels so good. I was like, oh, my God, I'm going to use that. But it does.

It has amino. I added amino acids to it. It really is reparative for the hair. And so that coarseness, it feels soft and smooth. It really does. And it's shiny and thick and healthy. And I touch with so far, I haven't had my book launch hair loss. And just so that our listeners know when Anna got on,

we've interacted a lot in person on Zoom. And I'm like, what are you doing? You look so beautiful. So definitely the hair, whatever you're doing, this beauty locks is going in my regime. So I love it. I love it. And I'm sure it's the oxytocin here that's flowing too. There's a lot of that too.

There's a confounding variables here. Quite possibly, quite possibly. Well, just for the sake of time, you know, because I could talk to you forever. Tell me, one of the things that we have been really emphasizing on the Resetter podcast this year is gratitude. We started this conversation off with gratitude. I feel like we all got sideways in the last couple of years looking at the things that we didn't like and that were happening in the world. And I really wanted 2021 to be about, let's come back to what is working. So let me ask you this.

Do you have a daily gratitude practice, like an intentional one you do every day? Yeah, yes. And that's been a really big part of what we're seeing too in my community here is the practice. For me, it's the way, and this got me out of the depths of how before I open my eyes in the morning, I say, where did I see love? Where did I laugh? Where did I feel love? And then like, where could I have laughed more, been more loving to recognize that there's, there's just so much.

There's so much that I sometimes don't see or I let slip off. me, like your cat's in the cradle analogy. I just let it slip by me. So let me just take this moment now to embrace it. You know, the love and attention yesterday. We were out shopping, for instance, late. And of course, the store is closing. And we've got the grandbaby shopping with us for furniture.

And the woman who should be like heading out the door and closing up store, she's like, why don't you sit here? Like telling my daughter, why don't you sit here and nurse the baby? It's quiet here. You're fine. no rush, right? That's love. That's love. I'm grateful for her. She gave us pace. She gave us pause. Amazing. And where we see the magic and the pauses of our lives. And that is how I start my day. If I don't start my day that way, Mindy, then my blood sugar's higher all day. You know, I'm still watching.

Yeah. You got your CGM on. Yep. I'm on yet again going through the plans again. So yeah. I love it. And what so in this day and age, I, I, I, I think I already know what your answer will be, but in 2020, what am we in? 2022. Like, I don't even know what you're wearing. What are you the most grateful for right now? I'm grateful for this new grandbaby in my life and my daughter's choices. Yeah, I'm so grateful.

You're literally, your social media has made me cry twice in the last couple of months. And the first was the picture of you and your new grandbaby. And being able to help deliver the grandbaby, like I just can't even imagine what, what, your heart experienced in that moment. And the second was when you took a picture of the front door of the house that you lived in for 21 years. Yep. Yeah. It was hard. Yeah. Amazing heart opening moments. But you're incredible. And I, how do people find you? And I definitely, I just want you all to know that we get so many questions about recipes. And it's hard to print out to get the right recipe with the right combination and you nailed it. So I am hoping that my audience goes and gets this book. So how do they

find the book and how do they find you? Thank you. Mindy, I appreciate that very, very much. And you can find me at The Girlfriend Doctor on Instagram. I'm having fun showing up there because also that's where I keep an eye on my grandbaby and my daughter post her pictures there. So at the Girlfriend Doctor and my website is Dr.ana.com, DR.ana,a.com. And you can get my book anywhere books are sold. So please support your local bookseller and then come back to my book page on my website and get extra book bonuses. So thank you for having me. Oh, Anna, I just love you. And I love everything that you do. So thank you for taking the time. And you guys, go follow her, go get the book and enjoy. She, you've definitely been helping those of us that are

stumbling through menopause sometimes. We need beauty locks. We need mighty maca. We need some then you pause. All of those little things are little bursts of oxytocin, so thank you. Thank you so much for joining me in today's episode. I love bringing thoughtful discussions about all things health to you. If you enjoyed it, we'd love to know about it. So please leave us a review, share it with your friends, and let me know what your biggest takeaway is.