Menopause Reimagined with Andrea Donsky

Nicolé Thompson donated a kidney to her husband Constantine five days after their wedding in 2011. He has polycystic kidney disease (PKD), and his father died after 10 years on dialysis. Fifteen years later, they're both doing well.

Nicolé is a Morphus customer, life coach, and professional singer, and her story is one of the most unexpected conversations we've had on the show. She walks Andrea through living donor testing, surgery day (including a nurse who mistook her husband for a stranger), her recovery, and what life after a transplant looks like for him. Then she talks about the part so many of us know: when perimenopause arrived in 2020, she blamed her anxiety and fatigue on COVID, on stress, even on having one kidney.

What you'll learn:
- What living kidney donor testing actually involves
- What recovery felt like after donating a kidney
- What polycystic kidney disease is and why it runs in families
- Why kidney transplant patients avoid grapefruit
- Why perimenopause anxiety and fatigue are so easy to blame on something else

Chapters:
2:00 A kidney donation love story (and a very awkward nurse)
5:18 Her fiancé's polycystic kidney disease diagnosis
7:43 Living kidney donor testing: what really happens
13:56 Married 5 days before the kidney transplant
19:33 Kidney donor recovery: the first 6 weeks
21:17 What is polycystic kidney disease (PKD)?
23:23 Life after a kidney transplant: meds, grapefruit, colds
29:01 One kidney and perimenopause: anxiety, fatigue, insulin resistance
32:39 How kidney donation has changed, and would she do it again?
40:19 Her message if organ donation scares you

Take our new research survey, Perimenopause & Menopause Across Ethnicities: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeETDntSjZxIpJ8smhR8n6RoOJVFqTPkSUnfP_oP4nKW_P4Hw/viewform

This episode shares one person's experience and is not medical advice.

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My thyroid labs are "normal," but my hair's falling out, and I'm exhausted. Is this menopause or my thyroid?

If that sounds familiar, you're in good company. Andrea Donsky, nutritionist and bestselling author of Nourishing Menopause, has had Hashimoto's for more than 20 years, and once she hit menopause, her thyroid symptoms changed completely. The cold hands and weight gain she'd learned to watch for were replaced by a hoarse voice, fast weight loss, and depression.

So she sat down with Dr. Jade Guerra, a chiropractor and family nurse practitioner who has spent decades in functional medicine. They talk about what Hashimoto's actually is, why so many doctors don't check thyroid antibodies, and the kinds of testing Dr. Jade uses to look for what's behind your symptoms. Then they get into blood sugar: why insulin resistance gets more common in menopause, which fruits spike you (watermelon did it to Andrea), and why a continuous glucose monitor (CGM) can tell you more than any food list.

And if you've ever walked out of an appointment feeling brushed off, Dr. Jade's closing message is for you.

WHAT YOU'LL LEARN
- Why your thyroid symptoms can look different in menopause
- What Hashimoto's is and why a thyroid antibody test is worth asking about
- How mold and other toxins can sneak into everyday food
- Why insulin resistance gets more common after menopause
- Which fruits are easier on your blood sugar, and how to get a CGM without a prescription in the US

CHAPTERS
4:04 Why Doctors Don't Test Thyroid Antibodies
7:27 Meet Dr. Jade Guerra + Andrea's Hashimoto's Story After Menopause
9:45 Normal Thyroid Labs? Testing That Looks for the Root Cause
12:52 What Is Hashimoto's? 3 Things Every Woman Should Know
14:42 Plastics, Air and Water: Lowering Your Toxic Load
16:32 Mold in Your Food, Mold Testing and Why Daily Poops Matter
19:48 Insulin Resistance in Menopause: Why Is It Happening?
23:11 Eating for Steady Blood Sugar: Fruit, Watermelon and CGMs
26:25 Hair Loss, TSH and Being Dismissed by Your Doctor
29:35 It's Not Your Fault: Finding a Provider Who Listens

MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE
Dr. Jade Guerra on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drjadeguerra/
Ep #192, Thyropause & Hashimoto's with Dr. Amie Hornaman: https://www.buzzsprout.com/1374700/episodes/19178901-ep-192-thyropause-hashimoto-s-with-dr-amie-hornaman
Ep #207, Insulin, GLP-1s & Menopause with Dr. Sarah Wilson, ND: https://www.buzzsprout.com/1374700/episodes/19818368-ep-207-insulin-glp-1s-menopause-dr-sarah-wilson-nd

Nothing in this episode is medical advice. Talk to your own provider before starting or stopping any medication or supplement.

#thyroid #menopause #hashimotos

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My labs came back "normal." So why do I feel like I'm falling apart and gaining weight?

If you've heard that from your doctor, this one's for you. Andrea sits down with her friend (and her own doctor), Dr. Sarah Wilson, ND, founder and clinical director of Advanced Women's Health. They recorded this with no script, for both of their podcasts, and it shows. They laugh a lot, and they still get into the stuff most doctors skip.

Sarah explains why she tests insulin and inflammation, not just FSH and LH, and why you can feel off for years before your labs show perimenopause. She uses a bank account analogy for insulin and fat storage that finally makes it click. Then they talk honestly about GLP-1 medications, what the big weight loss trials actually did, and why food, supplements, and medication don't have to be an either/or choice.

Sarah also shares something personal. She used to weigh 100 pounds more than she does now, while eating well and working out, and it took years to find out why.

WHAT YOU'LL LEARN
- Why your labs can look normal when you feel anything but, and what "late reproductive" means
- Which blood tests to ask about in perimenopause, including fasting insulin and inflammation markers
- How insulin affects where your body stores fat, and why eating less often backfires
- What the GLP-1 studies don't put in the headlines
- 3 surprising things that can add to perimenopause weight gain

CHAPTERS
2:00 Why a Doctor Who Won't Budge Is a Red Flag
2:31 Meet Dr. Sarah Wilson, ND
5:36 "I Don't Know Where to Start" and How Your Feed Shapes What You Know
8:06 Normal Labs but You Don't Feel Like Yourself? The Stage Before Perimenopause
11:25 Blood Tests to Ask for in Perimenopause: Insulin and Inflammation
15:08 How Insulin Drives Menopause Belly Fat (the Bank Account Analogy)
19:46 Food First, and When You Need Extra Help
24:20 GLP-1s in Menopause: What the Weight Loss Studies Don't Tell You
27:47 Why Doing Everything at Once Backfires
32:18 "When Did You Last Feel Like Yourself?" Weight, Confidence and Real Goals
38:27 3 Surprising Causes of Perimenopause Weight Gain
40:34 Menopause as Your "Done Caring" Era, and Why Laughing Helps
50:56 How to Find a Doctor Who Actually Listens

MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE
Advanced Women's Health (Dr. Sarah Wilson's clinics in Ontario and BC): https://www.advancedwomenshealth.ca/
Finally Lose It by Dr. Sarah Wilson, ND: https://amzn.to/4jpTM9e
The Advanced Women's Health Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-advanced-womens-health-podcast/id1772009349
Dr. Sarah Wilson on Instagram: @drsarah_nd
Sarah's first visit to the show, Perimenopause Decoded: 7 Root Causes of Hot Flashes, Weight Gain & Brain Fog: https://youtu.be/u_otR4Oy-70
Ep #195, GLP-1 and Muscle Loss with Natalie Bean: https://www.buzzsprout.com/1374700/episodes/19287911-ep-195-glp-1-and-muscle-loss-in-perimenopause-what-to-eat-to-protect-it-with-natalie-bean
Ep #203, Perimenopause Weight Gain and the 17 Reasons Why: https://www.buzzsprout.com/1374700/episodes/19670683-ep-203-perimenopause-weight-gain-and-the-17-reasons-why

This episode is not medical advice. Talk to your own provider before starting or stopping any medication or supplement.

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Leading gut specialists share how they use gut-brain therapy with their patients.

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Everyone's suddenly drinking hydrogen water. Is it hype, or is there actually science behind it?

Andrea met Paul Barattiero more than ten years ago at a health show in Toronto, back when almost nobody was talking about hydrogen water. Now it's everywhere, and a practitioner friend of Andrea's has been sending her studies about it almost daily. So she invited Paul on to explain what molecular hydrogen actually is, why he says it's not the same thing as the hydrogen in H2O, and what happens in the body when you drink it.

Paul's route into this was personal. His wife spent the first decade of their marriage with heavy, painful periods, adenomyosis and significant anemia, losing about a week of every month to her bed. On a cruise in 2005, friends handed her a jug of water they couldn't really explain, and something shifted. That sent Paul down a twenty-year path that inspired him to launch Echo Water.

In this conversation they talk about gut health, oxidative stress and inflammation, why hydrogen might behave more like a signal than a supplement, how much to drink and when, and what the menopause-specific research does and doesn't say yet.

WHAT YOU'LL LEARN

- What molecular hydrogen (H2) is, and why "isn't hydrogen already in water" is the wrong question

- Why your gut may be the reason you're not making hydrogen the way you used to

- What oxidative stress and chronic inflammation actually mean

- How much hydrogen water to drink a day, and why timing it around your workout may matter

- What the menopause research covers so far, including bone density, sleep, blood sugar and heart health

CHAPTERS

3:10 Isn't Hydrogen Already in Water? Why the Answer Is No

4:15 Why We're Talking About Hydrogen Water in Perimenopause

9:03 Heavy Periods, Anemia and a Cruise Ship: How Echo Water Started

14:40 Your Colon Is a Hydrogen Ecosystem: The Gut Hydrogen Connection

20:00 Oxidative Stress and Inflammation Explained

23:55 Hydrogen, Ghrelin and Brain Fog: The Gut to Brain Signal

31:37 How Much Hydrogen Water Should You Actually Drink a Day?

41:17 Does Hydrogen Water Go Flat?

45:40 Hydrogen Water and Menopause: Bone, Sleep, Belly Fat and Heart Health

51:05 Final Thoughts

MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE

Save 10% on Echo Water: https://echowater.com/?ref=Morphus

Hydrogen research database Paul mentions: https://hydrogenstudies.com

Paul Barattiero on Instagram: @dr.paulbarattiero

Echo Water on Instagram: @echohydrogen

Affiliate disclosure: The Echo Water link is an affiliate link. Morphus earns a commission if you buy through it, at no extra cost to you, and you save 10%. Nothing in this episode is medical advice, and hydrogen water is not a treatment for any medical condition. Talk to your own provider about what's right for you.

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Leading gut specialists share how they use gut-brain therapy with their patients.

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Are Your Hormones Really Out of Balance in Perimenopause? Dr. Sharon Stills, ND, Explains What's Happening and What to Do

Told, "It's just aging"? Dr. Sharon Stills says perimenopause isn't a disease, and there's a real answer for your hormones.

Dr. Sharon Stills spent her twenties as, in her own words, "a hot mess": PMS for two and a half weeks a month, migraines, allergies, asthma, and so much bloating that strangers asked when her baby was due. There was no baby. That was her hormones. Twenty-five years, one naturopathic medical degree, and a menopause of her own later, she's a licensed ND who's helped thousands of women rebalance their hormones, and she just opened a 7,000-square-foot healing center in Scottsdale with her son.

In this episode, Andrea and Dr. Stills get into what bioidentical hormones actually are, why the cream your doctor gave you might not be working (hint: it's probably where you're putting it), and why she believes hormone decline, not "aging," is the real root cause of most perimenopause and menopause symptoms. They also cover the messy realities: insurance that won't cover hormone therapy, social media misinformation about compounded hormones, and why Dr. Stills had to fight her own insurance company over a continuous glucose monitor.

If you've ever been told your hormones are "probably fine" without ever being tested, this one's for you.

What you'll learn:

• Why perimenopause and menopause aren't a "disease," and what's actually declining in your body
• The real difference between bioidentical hormones (BHRT) and synthetic HRT, and why your body can tell
• Why rubbing hormone cream on your arms or belly might mean you're getting almost none of the benefit
• Does vaginal estrogen go "systemic"? Dr. Stills settles the debate that's all over social media right now
• What individualized hormone testing looks like, and why "here's a patch, see you in a year" isn't it

Chapters:

3:11 Why Perimenopause and Menopause Aren't a "Disease"
4:51 Meet Dr. Sharon Stills, ND: Naturopathic Medicine's Menopause Expert
8:41 From Hormonal Chaos to Naturopathic Doctor: Dr. Stills' Own Story
19:11 What Is Bioidentical Hormone Therapy? Estrogen, Progesterone & Testosterone Explained
30:11 The Hormone Cream Mistake Almost Everyone Makes
39:11 Hormone Testing, Insurance Battles & the CGM Loophole
47:41 What "Bioidentical" Really Means + Inside the Lasting Wellness Center
52:41 The Free Menopause Summit & Where to Find Dr. Stills
57:31 Final Thoughts: Please Rate & Share the Show

Learn more about Dr. Stills: drsharonstills.com

Learn to register for The Future Of Meno(pause) Medicine Summit. Visit: https://drtalks.com/summits/menopause?uid=981&oid=114&ref=2584

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Leading gut specialists share how they use gut-brain therapy with their patients.

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Can You Start Over in Midlife? Kaurie DiBerardino Rebuilt Her Entire Life at 50 After a Career-Ending Injury

"I used to be a hottie. Now I'm only hot in flashes." If that made you laugh and wince at once, this one's for you.

Kaurie DiBerardino spent years as a pediatric physical therapist, a biologist, and a holistic nutritionist. Then, at 44, a back injury ended her career overnight. What followed was a decade she describes as heavy, dark, and more life than she knew how to carry. Her kids grew up and stopped needing her the way they used to. Her body stopped cooperating. And somewhere in there, menopause arrived.

So she opened an Instagram account and started posting jokes. Her kids mocked her relentlessly. She had ten followers, one of whom was her cat.

On Mother's Day 2025, a reel went viral, and the Former Hotties Club was born. Today, it is a community of thousands of women who show up in black leggings and messy buns to laugh together about the absurdity of getting older.

This one is for you if you have ever thought it's too late, or that starting something new at 50 is embarrassing, or that everybody else has friends and you're the only one who feels this alone.

What you'll learn:

Why so many women feel invisible in midlife, and what actually shifts that feeling
How to start something new after 50 when you're terrified and have no followers yet
Why menopause loneliness hits hardest once the kids are out of the house
What actually changes mentally in menopause, and why so many women say they like themselves more afterward
How to find your people again when school pickup is no longer your social life

Chapters:

2:00 Hot in Flashes: The Menopause Design Flaw Nobody Warned Us About
3:20 Meet Kaurie DiBerardino, the 54-Year-Old Accidental Midlife Influencer
5:10 The Career-Ending Back Injury That Forced a Total Reinvention
9:20 How the Former Hotties Club Got Its Name
13:00 Gen X vs the Golden Girls: Why We Don't Look Like Our Mothers Did
16:30 The Zero Fs Era: Losing Estrogen and Gaining Confidence
20:00 How to Start Something New in Midlife When You're Scared
24:10 Midlife Loneliness After the Kids Leave, and Why Community Helps
27:10 Where to Find Kaurie and Join the Former Hotties Club

Find Kaurie:
Former Hotties Club: https://formerhottiesclub.com
Instagram: @theaccidentalmidlifeinfluencer
TikTok: @formerhottiesclub

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You're eating the same. Moving the same. But the scale is climbing and your belly is suddenly hard as a rock!

Andrea Donsky, nutritionist, author of the bestseller Nourishing Menopause: Powerful Nutrition & Lifestyle Strategies to Feel Your Best, 7x published menopause researcher, and co-founder of wearemorphus.com, has been there. At 46, she was 20 pounds heavier than she'd been before perimenopause, and she was a nutritionist who had been teaching healthy living for decades. She still couldn't figure it out, and she blamed herself.

In this solo episode, she has the conversation she wishes someone had had with her back in 2016. This episode isn't another lecture about calories but rather an honest explanation of what actually shifts in your body during perimenopause and menopause, and what you can do about it.

What you'll learn:

• Why you're gaining weight in perimenopause when you haven't changed a thing about how you eat.
• What changing estrogen has to do with where your body stores fat, and why it lands on your midsection.
• Why "eat less, exercise more" is the wrong advice for women in this stage of life.
• How sleep, muscle loss, stress, insulin resistance, inflammation, and gut health all quietly feed into weight gain.
• What Andrea's B.A.L.A.N.C.E. Blueprint approach to eating actually covers and how it works.
• And why "not recognizing yourself" in the mirror is grief, not vanity.

Chapters:

0:00 Eating the Same, Exercising the Same, Still Gaining Weight
1:50 20 Pounds Heavier at 46: Andrea's Own Weight Gain Story
2:35 The 17 Reasons We Gain Weight in Perimenopause and Menopause
3:49 Estrogen, Belly Fat, and Why Your Jeans Don't Fit Anymore
4:34 It's Not Vanity, It's Grief: Not Recognizing Your Own Body
5:16 Gen X, Diet Culture, and the 2016 Video That Made Her Face It
7:28 Sleep, Muscle Loss, Insulin Resistance, and Menopause Belly
8:14 Why "Eat Less, Exercise More" Fails Women in Midlife
8:57 The B.A.L.A.N.C.E. Blueprint: What You Can Actually Do About It
9:50 You're Allowed to Want to Lose Weight and Still Have Compassion For Yourself

Get Andrea's book here: "Nourishing Menopause: Powerful Nutrition & Lifestyle Strategies to Feel Your Best." (Simon & Schuster, May 5, 2026)

U.S. & Europe: https://amzn.to/4rFj7jk
Canada: https://amzn.to/4r2IDz3

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"I'm doing everything right, and the scale still won't move." If that's you, the scale might be the wrong thing to watch.

Andrea Donsky, nutritionist, bestselling author of Nourishing Menopause, 7x published researcher, and co-founder of wearemorphus.com, sits down with Daphne Bascom, MD, PhD, a former head and neck surgeon who left the operating room for lifestyle medicine and is now Chief Operations Officer of The Vegan Gym. Daphne is 59, competes as an IFBB Bikini Pro, and has been putting on muscle for a decade on a fully plant-based diet. She is also blunt about the parts that are hard.

This one is for you whether you're vegan, plant-curious, or a total carnivore. Nobody is asking you to give up meat. The question is whether you're getting enough protein and enough different plants, and whether you're measuring the right thing.

WHAT YOU'LL LEARN

- Can you get enough protein on a plant-based diet in menopause, and what the newest muscle research actually found

- Why the scale lies, and what body composition means in plain English

- What body fat percentage is healthy for women in midlife (the published ranges may surprise you)

- Why you can't out-exercise a bad diet, and the minimum strength training that still moves the needle

- What a full day of plant-based eating looks like when you're aiming for 100+ grams of protein

- Why 30 different plants a week matters more for your gut than any single "superfood"

TIMESTAMPS

0:00 Why Plants Have Power in Perimenopause

3:03 Meet Dr. Daphne Bascom: Surgeon Turned Plant-Based MD

6:07 Why Doctors Get Almost No Menopause Training

7:36 Going Plant-Forward: What Changed for Her at Nearly 60

10:27 Can You Get Enough Protein Without Meat in Menopause?

13:29 Why the Scale Lies: Body Composition vs Weight

14:37 What Body Fat Percentage Is Healthy in Menopause?

16:59 You Can't Out-Exercise a Bad Diet

22:15 A Full Day of Plant-Based Eating With 100+ Grams of Protein

27:34 30 Plants a Week, Your Gut, and Your 90-Year-Old Self

CONNECT WITH DAPHNE BASCOM, MD, PhD

Instagram: @wingmandaphne

Website: wingmanwellness.com

The Vegan Gym: thevegangym.com

The Vegan Gym on YouTube (free full days of eating, recipes, shopping lists): youtube.com/@thevegangym

Thrive on Plants podcast: thriveonplants.buzzsprout.com

Rate and review the podcast if this helped. It's how other women find us.

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Keto worked like magic in your 20s and 30s, but then perimenopause hit, and it stopped. Ben Azadi joins Andrea Donsky, author of Nourishing Menopause and 7x published menopause researcher, to explain why strict keto and fasting can backfire on shifting hormones, and how "flexing" instead of white-knuckling gets you back to results.

Ben Azadi is back, and this time he's telling us why strict keto is the wrong move once you hit perimenopause.

We talk through his revised book Keto Flex and why "flexing" in and out of ketosis, instead of staying in it forever, is the piece most women in this life stage are missing.

What you'll learn:

➡ Why doing keto and fasting too aggressively in perimenopause can backfire on your cortisol and adrenals
➡ What cyclical ketosis (keto flex) actually looks like week to week
➡ How ketosis may affect leptin, thyroid (T3), and testosterone, and why your labs can look "normal" while you still feel off
➡ Why brain fog and memory issues might improve with a fat-adapted metabolism
➡ Which fats to build meals around, and which seed oils to quietly drop

Buy Keto Flex Revised: The Advanced Guide to Metabolic Flexibility, Fat Burning, and Hormone Health for Every Body at Every Stage https://amzn.to/44I6BWI

Chapters:

0:00 Welcome Back: Ben Azadi Returns to Talk Keto Flex

3:08 What's New in the Keto Flex Revised Edition

6:00 The 4 Pillars of KetoFlex: Adapt, Fast, Phase, Flex

11:34 Why Strict Keto Backfires in Perimenopause

14:54 How Keto Flex Affects Leptin, Thyroid (T3), and Testosterone

21:00 Brain Fog, Memory, and Mitochondria After 40

24:40 Keto Flex vs. Fasting Mimicking Diet, Plus Protein and Whole Foods

31:20 The Truth About Seed Oils (and a Joint Pain Story)

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You didn't change a thing, but the scale keeps climbing, and it's all landing on your belly. In this episode, we discuss what's going on now that you're in perimenopause and menopause.

Andrea Donsky, 7x published menopause researcher, author, menopause educator, and co-founder of wearemorpus.com, sits down with online health coach Aram Grigorian, who has spent 17 years helping women 35 and older change their body composition without the shame, the crash diets, or the thousand-dollar programs. This one is candid (heads up, there's some swearing), and it cuts through the noise you've been drowning in since your symptoms started.

Aram and Andrea get into why fat starts settling around your middle in perimenopause, why "eat less, move more" is technically true but nearly useless without a system, and the uncomfortable truth that a lot of women are actually eating too little to lose weight. They also talk honestly about alcohol, sleep, muscle, and why the number of calories you can eat has more to do with muscle than motivation.

What you'll learn:

• Why perimenopause belly fat happens (and why it shows up now when it didn't in your 20s)
• The difference between weight gain and fat gain, and how you can drop or add 15 pounds in 72 hours without gaining an ounce of fat
• Why your doctor's "just eat less and exercise more" advice keeps failing you
• How much alcohol is really costing you in sleep, recovery, and calories
• Why eating too little can stall your weight loss, and how to figure out how many calories you actually need

Chapters:

0:00 Intro: Meet Andrea and Guest Aram Grigorian
2:25 Why Women Aren't Broken: Aram's Story
6:30 Why Perimenopause Weight Goes to Your Belly
12:00 Weight Gain vs Fat Gain: The 15-Pound Water Weight Swing
17:30 "Eat Less, Move More" and Being Dismissed by Your Doctor
24:30 Alcohol, Sleep, and Your Menopause Weight
32:00 Why Eating Too Little Stalls Your Weight Loss
39:00 Muscle, Body Fat, and How Many Calories You Really Need
45:30 Body Image, Mindset, and Getting Your Partner On Board
51:30 What You Can Actually Control (Plus Where to Find Aram)

Learn more about Aram: https://www.instagram.com/4weeks2thebeach

Listen to Andrea's interview on Aram's Podcast 211. Nourishing Menopause w/ Andrea Donsky: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/211-nourishing-menopause-w-andrea-donsky

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Leading gut specialists share how they use gut-brain therapy with their patients.

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If you're doing everything "right" and your body still feels like it's falling apart in perimenopause, this one is for you.

Andrea sits down with Dr. Cassie Smith, a dual-board-certified endocrinologist who grew tired of watching women get normal lab results and zero answers. She wrote the book "Fix Your Gut, Fix Your Hormones" because she was one of those women, too. This conversation goes deep into why your gut is running the show behind your hormones and what you can actually do about it.

We get into the stuff nobody explained to you: why your "UTI" might not be a UTI, why insulin is the domino that knocks over your estrogen, your progesterone, your thyroid, and your sleep, and what microdosing a GLP-1 really means (with real numbers, not hype).

What you'll learn:

• Why perimenopause belly fat and stubborn weight gain often start in your gut, not your willpower
• What "microdosing GLP-1s" actually means, the real dose ranges, and who it may help
• Why recurring "UTIs" in perimenopause are sometimes due to estrogen deficiency, not infection
• How your gut bacteria change the way your body metabolizes estrogen and thyroid hormone
• The fasting insulin test most doctors skip, and exactly what to ask for at your next appointment

Listen to this next:

Ep #195: GLP-1 and Muscle Loss in Perimenopause: What to Eat to Protect It with Natalie Bean: https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/ep-195-glp-1-and-muscle-loss-in-perimenopause-what-to

Chapters:

0:00 Why your gut controls your hormones in perimenopause
3:31 What damaged your gut before perimenopause: birth, antibiotics, everyday meds
9:37 The "UTI" that isn't: estrogen deficiency vs infection
13:20 Good vs bad bacteria: inflammation, thyroid, and estrogen
19:14 Insulin, cortisol, and the "metabolic dumpster fire"
28:14 How to lower insulin without "eat less, move more"
35:33 Microdosing GLP-1s for PMOS: the actual doses
42:06 PMOS, medical gaslighting, and the 103 symptoms doctors miss
46:51 How Dr. Cassie works with patients + where to find her

Learn more about Dr. Cassie Smith here: https://www.modern-endocrine.com/

Dr. Cassie Smith's Book: Fix Your Gut, Fix Your Hormones: The Critical Connection Your Doctor Is Missing… And Why You Still Feel Terrible Despite “Normal” Labs https://amzn.to/44GLALR

Educational only, not medical advice. Dr. Smith's GLP-1 dosing reflects her clinical practice and is individualized for each patient. Talk to your own provider before changing anything. These statements have not been evaluated by the FDA and are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.

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Leading gut specialists share how they use gut-brain therapy with their patients.

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Have you spent your whole life saying yes when you meant no? You are not alone, and midlife might be the best time yet to change that.

In this episode of Menopause Reimagined, Andrea Donsky, nutritionist, author, soon to be 10x published menopause researcher, educator, and co-founder of wearemorphus.com, sits down with her childhood friend, Sharon Neiss-Arbess, a copywriter-turned-novelist who finally wrote the book she had been carrying around for years. They have known each other since grade five, so this one feels less like an interview and more like hanging out with two old friends over coffee.

Sharon's newest book, How I Learned to Pee in the Forest, is a collection of 18 short, true stories about everyday moments that taught her how to stand up for herself, set boundaries, and stop apologizing for taking up space. It is real talk about people-pleasing, asking for help, and giving yourself permission to start something new, no matter your age.

Topics:

• Why "no" really is a full sentence, and how to stop being a people-pleaser in midlife
• How to set boundaries without guilt (and why so many women learn this late)
• A simple bedtime habit that may help you wind down for better sleep
• What it actually takes to start something new after 40 or 50, in any area of life
• The difference between self-publishing and traditional publishing, in plain language

Chapters:

0:00 Intro: Empowering Yourself in Perimenopause and Menopause
2:30 From Sears Copywriter to Self-Published Author
7:00 The First Three Books and Where the Ideas Came From
11:30 "How I Learned to Pee in the Forest": 18 Real-Life Stories
14:30 Boundaries, People-Pleasing, and Why "No" Is a Full Sentence
18:30 Short Stories for Better Sleep at Night
21:00 Self-Publishing vs Traditional Publishing
25:30 Why Art Can Bring People Together
29:30 Where to Find the Books + Final Thoughts

Learn more about Sharon and her books at https://sharonneissarbess.com/

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I wore the Leela Quantum necklace for months before recording this episode because I wanted to experience it day to day before sharing it with you. I took it to California and had a really interesting experience with my daughter that I'll tell you about in this interview with Todd Shipman, a wellness entrepreneur who came into this space as a skeptic and stayed because of what he found. We explore what "quantum energy" actually means, what EMFs from your phone, car, and AirPods may be doing to your body, and how to stay both open-minded and discerning. I ask the questions you'd want answered.

What you'll learn:

• Whether "quantum energy" is woo-woo or actually rooted in real physics (and what the 2022 Nobel Prize did and didn't prove)
• Why some people wonder whether everyday EMF from phones, cars, and AirPods affects how they feel, and what the open questions are
• What Todd says his company's own testing looks at, like HRV.
• How sleep and brain fog in perimenopause relate to the nervous system, as general education
• The honest questions to ask before you spend money on any "energy" wellness product

Chapters:

0:00 Is Quantum Energy Woo Woo? Why This Isn't What You Think
3:04 Meet Todd Shipman + What Quantum Energy Actually Means
7:08 The 2022 Nobel Prize, Entanglement & Why He Tried to Debunk It
10:17 EMF and How You Might Feel: Sleep, Stress & the Questions to Ask
16:06 The Tesla Headache Story: My Daughter and the Necklace
24:12 Food Sensitivities, Structured Water & the Claims to Question
32:54 Inside the Necklace: Brass, Titanium Spheres & Frequency Recipes
42:24 Bloating, Digestion, Sleep & Wearing It Every Day
51:43 Where to Start, the Discount & Final Thoughts

Learn more about Leela Quantum.

A quick note: this is an education-first conversation, not medical advice. Todd is sharing his company's research and personal experience—nothing here is intended to diagnose, treat, or prevent any condition. If you have a serious health condition or a food allergy, always work with your doctor and never substitute any wellness product for medical care or your EpiPen.

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Leading gut specialists share how they use gut-brain therapy with their patients.

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Dry, irritated, and every lubricant burns or makes a mess? You're not alone. 91% of women say their libido changes in menopause.

Andrea Donsky, nutritionist, author of Nourishing Menopause, 7x published menopause researcher and menopause educator, and co-founder of wearemorphus.com, sits down with Deborah Porteous, co-founder of The Pleasure Pods Company, who hit vaginal dryness in her early 50s and couldn't find a single product that didn't irritate her, ran everywhere, or ruined the sheets. So she and her partner Brian spent two years with a formulator and a team of plant scientists building something better: a 100% plant-based solid that melts at body temperature. This is the honest, slightly cheeky conversation about dryness, painful sex, and pleasure that most of us never got to have.

Topics:

• Why vaginal dryness hits almost 40% of women in perimenopause and menopause, and why it's nothing to be embarrassed about
• The difference between a lubricant, a vaginal moisturizer, and vaginal estrogen, and why it's not either/or
• What's inside Pleasure Pods and why the solid format matters
• How women are using the pods beyond intimacy: massage oil, face, dry skin, even travel
• Why sexual wellness products for women are still so hard to advertise, and what that stigma costs us

Chapters:

0:00 How a solid-to-liquid lubricant works (cold open demo)

1:10 Libido in menopause: what almost 1,400 women told our survey

5:00 Meet Deborah Porteous and the story behind Pleasure Pods

9:30 Talking vaginal dryness on a pitch stage: the CHFA launchpad story

13:00 Why so many lubricants burn, itch, or irritate after 50

18:00 Mango, cocoa, and kokum butter: what's actually in the formula

23:30 How to use it: palms, warm massage oil, face, and dry skin

29:00 Lubricant vs vaginal moisturizer vs vaginal estrogen

35:00 Cutting a pod into pieces for overnight vaginal moisture

39:30 The stigma of marketing women's sexual wellness products

44:00 Deborah's panel podcast and where to buy Pleasure Pods

Learn more about Pleasure Pods here: https://thepleasurepods.com/

Watch the interview on YouTube: https://youtu.be/n1odK1pPdV8

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If you're on a GLP-1 and nobody told you how to eat on it, this one's for you. We get into it in depth.

CORRECTION: In the opening we say a GLP-1 can cost you "25 to 40 percent of your muscle mass." That's the wrong denominator. The accurate figure is that roughly 25 to 40 percent of the weight you lose can come from lean mass, not 25 to 40 percent of the muscle you have. Natalie's nutrition advice in the rest of the interview is based on the correct figure.

Andrea Donsky, nutritionist, bestselling author of Nourishing Menopause, 7x published menopause researcher, menopause educator, and co-founder of wearemorphus.com, sits down with nutrition and fitness coach Natalie Bean, who is GLP-1 certified and has spent 31 years helping people change how they eat. If you're taking Ozempic, Mounjaro, or Wegovy, thinking about it, or you just want to take back control with food, Natalie walks through what actually protects your body. Spoiler: protein is not optional, and the scale is not the whole story.

What you'll learn:

• Why roughly 25 to 40 percent of the weight you lose on a GLP-1 can be lean mass, and how to push back with food
• How much protein women in perimenopause and menopause really need (and why it climbs on a GLP-1)
• Whether you'll gain the weight back when you stop, and what a maintenance dose actually does
• The GLP-1 side effects nobody warns you about, from dry mouth to constipation to brittle bones
• Why cardio is not the enemy, and where strength training and cortisol fit in

Chapters

0:00 GLP-1 and muscle loss: the Mayo Clinic stat that stopped me

0:48 Meet Natalie Bean and who GLP-1 meds are really for

4:45 Food noise, sugar cravings, and insulin resistance after 40

9:45 Do you gain the weight back after stopping a GLP-1?

14:10 How much protein you actually need on a GLP-1

19:40 GLP-1 side effects: dry mouth, digestion, bones, dehydration

25:10 Fiber, constipation, and eating every 2 to 3 hours

30:10 Why consistency beats variety when you start over

35:10 Cortisol, cardio vs strength, and non-negotiable supplements

Listen to this next:

Tired of Fighting Food Cravings? Try This Instead: https://youtu.be/2PQxAbnll8s

Work with Natalie: https://nutritionforeverinc.com/

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Leading gut specialists share how they use gut-brain therapy with their patients.

Listen on: Apple Podcasts Spotify

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If you have been watching the GLP-1 conversation explode and quietly wondering if there is another way, this one is for you. Andrea sits down with Sarah Kennedy, founder and CEO of Calocurb, for an honest, science-forward talk about appetite, cravings, and why our relationship with food shifts in perimenopause and menopause. Sarah explains why hunger is biology rather than a willpower problem, and how Calocurb uses a hops extract from New Zealand research to gently support your own natural appetite hormones. It is not a pitch for a magic pill, just a grounded look at one more option so you can decide what is right for you and your body.

Topics Covered

• Why weight and appetite feel so different in perimenopause and menopause
• The willpower myth, and why hunger is biology, not a personal failing
• What GLP-1s are in plain English, and why everyone is talking about them
• Where Calocurb came from, and the New Zealand science behind it
• How a natural, hops-based option is different from the injections
• What it is actually like to use day to day
• What the research has shown so far
• A straight answer on the canola oil question
• Sarah's honest story of making peace with food
• Why this is one tool, not a magic fix

Use this link to save on Calocurb: https://www.calocurb.com/morphus

Chapters

0:00 At peace with food (promo)
0:50 Welcome and who is Andrea Donsky
1:46 Meet Sarah Kennedy, and life in New Zealand
3:24 What is a GLP-1, and why it is everywhere
5:59 Satiety hormones and what shifts in perimenopause
6:52 Willpower is a misnomer: the physiology of hunger
9:46 The Calocurb origin story: New Zealand government science
11:53 Bitter taste receptors all the way down the gut
13:20 1,000 extracts tested, and why hops won
14:46 The first human clinical: a 600% hormone increase
15:57 How it compares to semaglutide and Ozempic
16:59 How to take it: timing, empty stomach, and onboarding
19:10 Why it is considered gentle on the body
20:27 Building a routine and intermittent fasting
21:24 Can you take it with your medications
22:23 Side effects, bloating, and what they actually mean
23:37 Gastroparesis: how it differs from the synthetics
24:59 The clinical studies, including a women-only trial
28:11 Blood sugar, insulin resistance, and the newest trial
29:25 A message for women gaining weight in midlife
30:41 Sarah's personal story with food
32:45 Age limits and adolescent research
33:33 Do you take it forever, and the weight-regain question
36:44 The canola oil question, answered transparently
39:54 Hops and estrogen: is there an effect
41:08 Where to find Calocurb
42:13 A tool in the toolkit
43:12 Closing thoughts and how you can help

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Andrea Donsky is a Registered Holistic Nutritionist with over 20 years of experience in health and wellness, a published menopause researcher, and the founder of Morphus. She is the author of Nourishing Menopause (Simon and Schuster) and Unjunk Your Junk Food, and the host of the Menopause Reimagined podcast, where she shares the latest science, real-talk strategies, and tools to help women thrive through perimenopause and menopause.

Andrea shares her own perimenopause story, the messages from readers that brought her to tears, and the work still ahead for menopause education and care. If you have ever wondered "what is happening to me," this one is for you.

In this episode:

• The emotional reality behind a bestseller
• Why women bought this book so fast, and the education gap it closes
• Andrea's own search for answers in perimenopause
• The tools in the toolbox: nutrition, lifestyle, supplements, mindset, exercise, and hormones, if you choose that path
• A reminder that your voice, your experience, and your health all matter

Get the book and join the community at wearemorphus.com. If it helped you, please leave a review so another woman can find it too.

Amazon Canada: https://amzn.to/4r2IDz3

Amazon US: https://amzn.to/4rFj7jk

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Andrea Donsky is a registered holistic nutritionist with 20+ years of experience, a published menopause researcher, the co- founder of Morphus, the host of this podcast, Menopause Reimagined, and the author of Nourishing Menopause (Simon & Schuster) and Unjunk Your Junk Food.

In this episode, Andrea sits down with Dr. Amie Hornaman, "The Thyroid Fixer," to unpack what happens to your thyroid in perimenopause and menopause. If you've been told your labs are "normal," but you still feel exhausted, foggy, freezing cold, and like your body isn't your own, this conversation is for you. Dr. Amie introduces a term every woman over 40 should know: thyropause.

What you'll learn:

• Why so many perimenopause symptoms are actually undiagnosed thyroid issues
• What thyropause is and why Hashimoto's often switches on after 40
• The five thyroid labs to ask your doctor for (and what to do if they refuse)
• Why T4-only medications like Synthroid may not be enough on their own
• How to find a provider who actually understands thyroid hormone replacement

Chapters:

0:00 Why your thyroid tanks after 40 (thyropause explained)
2:00 Welcome back to Menopause Reimagined & meet Dr. Amie Hornaman
5:10 What the thyroid actually does (from hair loss to heart rate)
8:45 Hypothyroidism vs hyperthyroidism: which one hits women hardest
12:00 Thyropause: the perimenopause and Hashimoto's connection
16:15 1 in 8 women? Why the real number is closer to 1 in 4
19:25 Medically gaslit: Andrea's story of being dismissed by her doctor
23:40 The thyroid tests your doctor probably isn't ordering (TSH, free T3, reverse T3, TPO, TG)
28:30 T3 vs T4: why Synthroid alone may not be enough
33:45 Why you can stay on thyroid medication for life (and why that's okay)
38:10 Finding the right dose: the trial-and-error reality
42:25 Inside The Thyroid Fix book and Fixer Formulas supplements
47:00 Where to find Dr. Amie and grab the book

Links:

The Thyroid Fix: The No-Nonsense Guide to Fix Fatigue, Fogginess, and Fat That Won't Budge https://amzn.to/3Prfxvr

Learn more about Dr. Amie Hornaman here: https://dramie.com/

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Leading gut specialists share how they use gut-brain therapy with their patients.

Listen on: Apple Podcasts Spotify

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Not medical advice. Always talk to your healthcare provider. Morphus may earn a commission on affiliate links.

Andrea Donsky is a Registered Holistic Nutritionist with over 20 years of experience in health & wellness, a published menopause researcher, and the founder of Morphus. She is the author of Nourishing Menopause (Simon and Schuster) and Unjunk Your Junk Food, and the host of the Menopause Reimagined podcast, where she shares the latest science, real-talk strategies, and tools to help women thrive through perimenopause and menopause.

If you've ever been told it's just stress, just aging, or just in your head, this episode and Andrea's new book are what you've been waiting for.

In this very personal solo episode, Andrea shares the story behind her brand-new book, "Nourishing Menopause: Powerful Nutrition and Lifestyle Strategies to Feel Your Best." After 14 years in perimenopause (11 of them not even knowing it), she knew women like us deserved better. This book is the roadmap she wished existed when she was sitting on her couch, counting hot flashes or Googling symptoms at 3 AM.

What you'll learn in this episode:

• The 103+ symptoms of perimenopause and menopause your doctor probably never mentioned
• Why phantom smells, anxiety, and digestive issues are often hormonal (not "in your head")
• The 17 reasons women gain weight in midlife (and why eating less isn't the answer)
• Andrea's personal story with anxiety, panic attacks, OCD, PTSD, and Hashimoto's thyroiditis
• Why weight training matters more than cardio and how to start

Chapters:

0:00 Why I Wrote Nourishing Menopause

1:30 The 103+ Symptoms Most Women Never Hear

3:10 Phantom Smells and Symptoms Doctors Dismiss

4:50 Why 1 in 5 Women Doesn't Know Her Stage

6:35 17 Real Reasons We Gain Weight

8:50 Stress, Anxiety, and Hashimoto's

11:15 Sleep, Protein, and Hormone-Supportive Eating

13:25 Why Weight Training Is Queen

Get your copy of Nourishing Menopause here: http://www.nourishingmenopausebook.com

Download the resources mentioned in the book: https://wearemorphus.com/pages/book-resources

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You walked out of another appointment feeling unheard. Here's how to flip the next one.

In this week's episode of Menopause Reimagined, Andrea Donsky, nutritionist, published menopause researcher, educator, author, and co-founder of wearemorphus.com, sits down with Shirley Weir, founder of Menopause Chicks and one of the original voices in the menopause conversation. Shirley has spent over a decade moderating questions from a community of more than 60,000 women, and she's distilled what she's learned into a practical framework called Script Tips, designed to help you stop being dismissed at the doctor's office and start getting the answers you actually need.

This is the conversation every woman in perimenopause and menopause needs before her next appointment.

What you'll learn:

• Why over half of women leave their health appointments feeling dismissed (and the two reasons they went in the first place)
• Shirley's Script Tips framework: the exact language to use when you walk into the room
• Why "impact" is the single most important word you can say to your doctor
• What's actually covered under Canada's new menopause hormone therapy Pharmacare program (BC and Manitoba launched March 2026)
• How preventing UTIs in menopause may help reduce dementia misdiagnoses

Chapters:

0:00 Why Women Feel Dismissed at Doctor Visits in Perimenopause

3:15 How Shirley Weir Built Menopause Chicks (And Why It Started in 2012)

8:00 Why "Doctor Google" Wasn't Enough: The Information Gap

12:30 Speak Menopause: Why the Right Vocabulary Changes Everything

17:00 Don't Blame Everything on Perimenopause (Phantom Smells, Swelling, More)

21:30 Script Tips: The Method That Flips Your Doctor Appointment

28:30 The Impact Statement: The One Thing Most Women Forget to Say

34:00 Free Menopause Hormone Therapy in Canada: BC and Manitoba Pharmacare

39:30 UTI Prevention in Postmenopause (And the Dementia Connection)

43:30 Tell Three People: The Grassroots Movement Changing Menopause

🌐 Connect with Shirley Weir at Menopause Chicks: https://menopausechicks.com 📱 Find Shirley on social: @menopausechicks

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Leading gut specialists share how they use gut-brain therapy with their patients.

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