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Episode 16: Wait…Why is My Cholesterol High? Cholesterol Chaos & The Perimenopause Connection
53 Plays1 month ago
You’re eating well, moving your body, and doing all the right things…so why is your cholesterol going up? You’re not alone!
Between ages 45–64, 77% of women experience elevated cholesterol, and it’s not just about diet. Hormones, liver health, and estrogen decline play a huge role.
In this episode, we break down how shifting hormones impact LDL and HDL, why liver health matters more than ever, and what you can do to naturally support healthy cholesterol through food, movement, and lifestyle.
✨ The good news? With the right support, you can bring your cholesterol, and your hormones, back into balance.
Cholesterol Supportive Foods (foods that help lower LDL and support HDL): Almonds, Apples, Bananas, Cold water fish (trout and salmon), Carrots, Dried legumes (and then soaked and cooked), Garlic, Grapefruit, Oats, Extra virgin olive oil, Walnuts, Strawberries, Brown rice, Soy beans (tofu and tempeh!!!), Fresh pressed juices of carrot, celery and beet. Carrot helps to flush out fat and bile from the liver, Cayenne pepper
Liver Supportive Foods (foods that support the liver and detoxification): Fresh Garlic, Cruciferous Veggies, Beets, Bitter Greens (dandelion greens), Berries, Spirulina, Fresh Herbs like oregano, parsley, sage and basil), Lemons
Estrogen Supportive Foods: Ground Flax Seed, Soy (tofu, tempeh, miso, edamame) - remember to purchase organic, Sesame Seeds, Sunflower Seeds, Strawberries, Blackberries, Cruciferous Veggies (cabbage, kale, broccoli), Broccoli Microgreens (powerhouse food)
Where to find us:
IG @whatsmyageagain.podcast or email us at: wmaapod@gmail.com
Where to find Tanya:
IG @tlcholistic / FB @tlcholistic
Book with Tanya: https://tlcholistic.janeapp.com/locations/tlc-holistic
Join the TLC Community: https://www.patreon.com/tlcholistic
Where to find Kim:
IG @kimdesmarais.nutrition /FB @KimDesmarais
Book with Kim: Complimentary Connect Call
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Transcript
Introduction to 'What's My Age Again'
00:00:00
Speaker
Welcome to What's My Age Again, the realest podcast for women who are done chasing trends and ready to feel empowered. Hi, I'm Kim. And I'm Tanya, holistic nutritionists and childhood best friends who've been there, done that, and bought the collagen.
00:00:16
Speaker
more than once. Each week we provide actionable steps that you can start today to help you thrive through every decade to come. We're cutting through the wellness noise to bring you honest conversations about aging, hormones, health, beauty, mindset, and everything in between.
00:00:33
Speaker
You see, we're also on a mission to age gracefully one WTF moment at a time. Backed by research and real life, we're here to share what actually works, what's a waste of time, and how to truly thrive through the messy, magical midlife transition.
00:00:49
Speaker
We're
Nostalgia and TV Shows
00:00:50
Speaker
so happy you're here. Let's dive in. Hi everybody. Welcome back to What's My Age again. hi Tanya. Hey Kim. How's how's it going? Things are good. I hope everybody listening is doing well. Thanks so much for listening in today.
00:01:05
Speaker
yeah it's so fun to be back. Wednesdays are like my favorite day. um So I was running around this morning. I'm going to Ontario soon and was- Yes, you're leaving like what? 48 hours?
00:01:19
Speaker
Less than 48 hours. In 48 hours I will be in Ontario. Oh nice. um Yeah, I'm actually going for CHFA, so I'm super excited about that. Oh, I'm so jealous. I wish I was coming with you this time. Next year.
00:01:31
Speaker
Next year. um So I'm just running around in the mornings. I think we can all relate. Before we go away, we're you know usually pretty busy. so anyways, I had the TV on in the background watching Young and the Restless. I still watch that. I feel like it's- Oh my God, Tanya, you still watch that? That's like memory high school.
00:01:50
Speaker
Yeah. memory from high school
Skepticism in Health Marketing
00:01:53
Speaker
my mom always watched it in that after school slot and now i pvr it so now because life is busy i'm like 30 episodes behind so i have it playing in the background and i usually fast forward the commercials but whatever when it gets busy i keep going so kim did you know just want to put it out there um I heard that Tim Hortons has a new protein hot latte or protein ice latte. And I can't lie.
00:02:24
Speaker
It literally stopped me in my tracks. Like I literally just before. Googling this. I'm looking it up. Please Google it. Please Google it. i stopped in my tracks and I was like, okay, I feel like we have to.
00:02:38
Speaker
Literally talk about this and make sure that any of us that are visiting the drive-through, maybe we give some thought into what else is in there? Where's the protein coming from? Are you finding anything?
00:02:51
Speaker
Is it saying anything? it's not on their menu yet. Interesting. But there's a lot of, like, I'm looking up for everybody. I'm looking up the ingredients to see what's in this new protein latte. Yeah. Um, but I don't see it yet. Okay. We will have to, maybe they haven't updated their site yet.
00:03:08
Speaker
So we need to stay tuned, but this is my little side note to say, examine ladies, examine, examine, because, didn't oh yeah, because people health wash, like, guess what? Everybody's talking about protein right now. oh get your protein latte. Okay.
00:03:25
Speaker
great, but what else is in that protein latte? And where does the protein come from? And also you're so right. It's so marketed towards our demographic because the the commercial was like, um no mess, no protein powders, no shakers, just come on in and we'll do it for you.
00:03:45
Speaker
And we'll throw in coffee. Okay. Exactly. So totally not related. It was just in the forefront of my mind. So we'll comment on that. I'm sure as soon as we know, but just ah let's be aware when we visit, you know, the drive-through that's.
00:04:00
Speaker
Yeah. We need to do an episode actually, Tanya, because like health washing is big out there. Like it's, and it's like, some A client of mine was asking about mayonnaise the other day and they picked up this Hellman's mayonnaise that said with olive oil and they said, that's a good oil. And then I was like, check the ingredients. And the first ingredient is canola oil.
00:04:21
Speaker
So maybe there's a drop of oil of olive oil in there somewhere, Hellman's. But like what's on the front or the marketing is that splash of health. But really what we need to do is take a look at those ingredients and know exactly what's in there.
Cholesterol and Menopause
00:04:36
Speaker
I love it. Thank you for letting me brain dump that before we get into talking about um today's episode, which is all about why cholesterol can typically raise during perimenopause and postmenopause and what we can do about it.
00:04:55
Speaker
So I think let's be honest to start off, Kim. Let's just be real. That when we started talking about a cholesterol episode, we were like, our brains were like actually creating smoke out of our ears because you take this huge topic like cholesterol and I'm not exaggerating. I think there's at least, at least 200 episodes that we could probably list that would take half an hour or longer in terms of cholesterol.
00:05:21
Speaker
So let's be really clear here. Today's episode explains to us why we can see our cholesterol rising when it's never been high before, when we are you know, people that are eating and living a certain lifestyle.
00:05:38
Speaker
But a lot of women are experiencing this. A lot of women in my practice are coming to me and saying, oh my gosh, look at my blood work. Everything's still great. Why is my cholesterol like this? Great point, Tanya. It's so true. So we're going to really narrow our focus on that today.
00:05:53
Speaker
We'll do other episodes about cholesterol, myths about cholesterol, why you know it gets a bad reputation sometimes, and all about cardiovascular health. But this one, we're really going to focus on, yeah, Tanya, it's I've had the same experience when clients come in and they're like, I haven't changed anything. I'm eating the same way. I'm moving my body the same way.
00:06:18
Speaker
But my labs came back and I have high cholesterol. So I just thought that I would start with this stat that I found, which was so interesting. So women between the age of 45 to 64, Kim, by the time this episode comes out, you're going to be 45.
00:06:34
Speaker
You're going to be in this range. Sorry, I just had to add that lovingly. I'm not far behind you. Oh my gosh, yes. between I'm embracing it. I'm embracing it.
00:06:45
Speaker
As you should. So women between 45 and 64, this is crazy to me, 77% of us will at some point experienced raised cholesterol.
00:07:00
Speaker
That's high, Tanya. That's high. That's high. And that's why this episode is so important because it's going to happen to most of us, right? So- But before I think we go into...
00:07:14
Speaker
you know, more about why this happens. I think it's really important to talk about that that. This is more like than just diet and lifestyle and movement. Because again, we said we could be doing all the same things and our cholesterol, 77% of us increases.
00:07:31
Speaker
This is a definite relation to fluctuations in our hormone directly also related to our liver. And I think before we talk about what's happening, it's really important to give a little cholesterol 101 and understand actually what cholesterol is and why we're not demonizing cholesterol in, you know, at all,
Understanding LDL and HDL Cholesterol
00:07:55
Speaker
essentially.
00:07:55
Speaker
And like Kim said earlier, we will do a whole other show in things like this, but it's really, I think, crucial at this point to understand the basics of cholesterol to the health of our bodies.
00:08:08
Speaker
A hundred percent. And you're so right, Tanya. Like cholesterol... it kind of gets a bad reputation, right? But actually cholesterol is so important and very protective.
00:08:23
Speaker
So cholesterol is vital to the production of all of our hormones that we're speaking about. Estrogen, progesterone, testosterone, cortisol, d You know, we, as Tanya mentioned in a previous episode, we need cholesterol to make vitamin D from the sun.
00:08:40
Speaker
um Every single one of our cellular mamma membranes are... are made from cholesterol. it Cholesterol wraps around all of our nerve cells. It's the myelin sheath.
00:08:52
Speaker
It supports our brain. Like, it's so important. And so Tanya, maybe if you could, we also, you know, there's, there's different types of cholesterol, right? So maybe Tanya, we can dive in a little bit to that.
00:09:08
Speaker
Do you want to talk about HDL, LDL? Yeah, I think that's a great idea. So we all probably have looked at our labs and seen LDL and HDL. Um, low density like lipoproteins and high density lipoproteins. And we probably know our doctors or other people have said, oh, it's okay, the good cholesterol versus the bad cholesterol.
00:09:29
Speaker
Let's not demonize cholesterols. Let's talk about the fact that LDL and HDL are both vital in the body, in the right balance.
00:09:41
Speaker
So to call LDL bad, that's going to be a great misservice to LDL. And here is why We need to understand that LDL carries cholesterol through the body.
00:09:54
Speaker
So it deposits it in all the places that Kim just mentioned, in all the different cells, in all the different body system organs of the body, because it's needed there.
00:10:05
Speaker
It performs vital life sustaining functions. However, when it's out of it's hence That's when we have some issues that we have to look into. So it is not bad.
00:10:19
Speaker
And then we have HDL, the high density lipoproteins when people are like yes, that's the good guy. Well, he's deemed the good guy because when LDL is out of balance, we get too much that accumulates in our blood inside.
00:10:34
Speaker
In our arteries and that's where we can start to see problems. So HDL with its cape sweeps in there and clears the bloodstream. So literally think of it as like a cleanup crew takes the extra LDL, transports it back to the liver.
00:10:51
Speaker
for processing and then followed by hopefully excretion of this excess from the body. So because HDL is kind of thought of removing the excess cholesterol, you know, it's, it's the hero and it's definitely very, very important, but again, balance with ah LDL, they work together.
00:11:12
Speaker
So HDL is made primarily in the liver which is what we're gonna touch upon later. we you know Why liver health is also important at every time.
00:11:23
Speaker
So the goal is not to say bad versus good. I think me and you both hate that Kim, bad food, good foods. It's not bad cholesterol versus good cholesterol.
00:11:34
Speaker
Our goal here is knowing that we wanna keep our LDL at an acceptable level while maintaining our HDL at also an acceptable level, so they work in balance.
00:11:47
Speaker
And the problem I think that we're seeing where the panic button is going off with all of us that are getting labs back with elevated cholesterol is we're not understanding what's going on behind this, and we're not understanding that there are ways to lower LDL while maintaining HDL, and exactly, Kim,
00:12:07
Speaker
the why behind it. Tanya, you just explained that so perfectly. It was so great. And yeah, like this, it's, it's really all about the balance.
Estrogen's Role in Liver and Cholesterol Health
00:12:18
Speaker
Um, so maybe we can move on a little bit and talk about why does cholesterol go up during perimenopause and menopause? Why are people seeing an increase of this on their, when, when,
00:12:32
Speaker
All is the same from their end. i My diet, my lifestyle is the same, but I'm in perimenopause and all of a sudden I'm seeing this on my blood labs. Yeah, no, for sure. And I guess that we can talk first about estrogen, all going back to that lovely estrogen and remembering that we have receptors on every single part of our body and estrogen is vital in many body processes, not just within, you know, our reproductive system. So one thing is, is that estrogen increases LDL receptor activity in the liver. So what does this mean?
00:13:10
Speaker
So our liver has receptors, um, because we're eighties babies and nineties, people. I feel like a good analogy definitely- Love your analogies, Tanya.
00:13:20
Speaker
Okay, you're ready for this one? You're going to remember this one because we we we played this together. So you just wait for it. So the liver has LDL receptors. So you remember those fluorescent Velcro mitts that were like half fluorescent green and half fluorescent pink, and you would throw tennis balls at them and they would like catch the tennis ball and they would stick to it? Yeah.
00:13:39
Speaker
So we want to picture the receptors on the liver as these Velcro catchers. So the more estrogen that you have, you know, estrogen boosts the stickiness of these receptors.
00:13:55
Speaker
So the balls, AKA the LTL, you throw it once, boom, boom. it's stuck there. So this prevents excess LDL from going into the system.
00:14:06
Speaker
And it means that we the liver is better and more efficient at keeping that ltl LDL in the liver and out of the blood, therefore breaking it down for excretion.
00:14:18
Speaker
But as you can imagine, as estrogen goes down, that ability, that sensitivity also goes down. So less LDL is being allowed to be...
00:14:31
Speaker
caught in the liver for excretion and breakdown, more is going into your body and you know maybe ending up in blood vessels and arteries. So like the Velcro is old and worn out. You throw the ball and it just falls right off.
00:14:46
Speaker
Yes. That was a great analogy, Tanya. Great analogy. the Tell me more about estrogen. What else does estrogen do for us? Because really, this is this is where it's at.
00:14:57
Speaker
This is where it's at. This is why we're seeing changes in our labs. So estrogen raises HDL cholesterol. So again, not calling it the good cholesterol, but this is the cleanup crew cholesterol. So it has a lot of benefits, right? It's needed. Exactly. So estrogen. And especially when as estrogen drops, like you said, Tanya, the fewer LDL particles get cleared.
00:15:21
Speaker
So we need to really focus on supporting that HDL, that cleanup crew. And it's like a sick joke, right? It's like, not only is our Velcro not sticky anymore, but we're actually, as estrogen goes down, our ability to produce HDL also goes down. So there's less men on the job to clean up the mess. We're like, thanks.
00:15:42
Speaker
Thank you for that. So yeah. So estrogen helps the liver. um produced a key protein needed to build HDL, right? So the lower the estrogen, the less ability to build more of that HDL.
00:15:56
Speaker
So when we don't have, as we just said, more up um an abundance of HDL, the garbage truck the garbage trucks that are collecting the LDL, you know, where it doesn't need to be, we have less of them able to be out there taking that stuff back to the dump.
00:16:13
Speaker
So now it's like a two-pronged. More LDL escaping, less cleanup crew to deal with it. Again, the analogies, Tanya. I love it. I love it.
00:16:24
Speaker
Estrogen also does something else too. It also improves that bile acid metabolism. Can you talk to that a little bit? Yeah, for sure. That's a good point. um So we talk about also the liver uses cholesterol. See, here's another necessity that you were talking about at the start.
00:16:43
Speaker
Cholesterol is necessary to make bile acids, right? And bile acids are what what help the body digest and break down fats.
00:16:55
Speaker
All of our fats. So this is just, so this is, that bile comes from our gallbladder. So it's made in the liver, goes to the gallbladder, gets released from the gallbladder into our intestines and helps us break down all of our fats.
00:17:08
Speaker
And this process is so important. Right. And estrogen stimulates it. So as we know, if we have less estrogen, this process is also slowed down, right? And it can be compromised.
00:17:21
Speaker
So the bile production does naturally slow as we age and that cholesterol recycling becomes less efficient. So now for going back to the dump, the dump is, the trucks are still going, but the the land trucks are full. Yeah.
00:17:37
Speaker
trucks are full It's a mess. There's not enough trucks and the dump is full. We promise those guys. It's not all doom and gloom, but like, hope you're all with us. I hope you're all with us. And you know what, to be honest too. So if and also a note on here, if, you know, if you have your gallbladder removed,
00:17:59
Speaker
This is another reason to speak to your practitioner about how to support your digestion, making sure to support ah the digestion of fats. And there's so many things you can do from taking digestive enzymes from ox bile, really, but digging deep with your practitioner is so important here.
00:18:16
Speaker
For sure. And Kim, you're always so good at really talking about that and the importance of digestion and, you know, you're really on top of that. So that's a really good point to bring up as well. Yeah. Foundational.
00:18:27
Speaker
Foundational. Foundational for sure. And if that wasn't enough, guys, the crews are in a mess, you know, the landfill's full. So here's the other thing. The last thing before we get into, you know, there's more.
00:18:40
Speaker
Is that estrogen reduces liver fat and inflammation. So this is what we want. So again, when we have an abundance of estrogen and it's balanced, it helps prevent the fat accumulation in non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. You know what I mean?
00:18:56
Speaker
And inflammatory, other inflammatory processes in the body, but not especially in the liver.
Managing Cholesterol During Menopause
00:19:01
Speaker
um But unfortunately, as estrogen goes down, that protective mechanism goes down as well.
00:19:07
Speaker
So less estrogen means that we have less of that inherent protection. And this is where it is crucial as we age to protect estrogen.
00:19:19
Speaker
and so support our liver even more. um we will definitely talk about this in subsequent episodes because a healthy liver, it means better metabolization of cholesterol overall.
00:19:32
Speaker
Making the right forms like HDL, excreting the forms like LDL. A hundred percent. And you're going to note, we're going to get into, so we're not going to just dump all this on you without talking about things that you can do to support yourself.
00:19:44
Speaker
And you'll notice as we get through, a lot of the things we say and foods that we suggest, et cetera, are actually also supporting your liver because it is so crucial. It's one of the root the roots to this, right? Supporting estrogen, supporting your liver.
00:20:01
Speaker
I couldn't agree more. So yeah, estrogen declines and all kidding aside, the whole system does slow down. So we see a rise in LTL, we see a decrease in HDL. So this throws off your whole balance of your cholesterol panel in general. So you might show a higher total cholesterol and it's just what happens. Cholesterol changes.
00:20:22
Speaker
at this time of our life, but there's always ways that we can help support these pillars, the mechanisms of our body. And I mean, we got through the doom and gloom part, all kidding aside though, the why, you know, the understanding what's happening. So, I mean, here's some things that we can actually do to support our bodies during this time.
00:20:44
Speaker
Well, and before that, Tanya, one thing I'd love to say too is just, This is what could happen, right? Not everybody will experience these, but the whole point of this podcast is for you, especially for those women who've looked at a blood test and been like, what is happening?
00:21:03
Speaker
This makes no sense. So to take the fear out of it and to really dig down to let you know, like, what could be happening in your body. So this was more of an educational piece to sort of exactly take that fear out of it.
00:21:17
Speaker
That's so good, Kim. I love that. That fear and that frustration. That frustration, too, of, listen. I'm working so hard. I'm doing all the right things. and what Why am I doing this when some people are having McDonald's every day, not doing anything, and their cholesterol hasn't been touched? And a lot of the times, let's be real, we're like...
00:21:37
Speaker
Listen, we are looking at our husbands and we're like, how are you aging like fine wine over here? And we are doing all the things. Your cholesterol is stable, but excuse me, my cholesterol is elevated.
00:21:50
Speaker
So this kind of gives us light that like, and grace, ladies, like it's not a fault necessarily of how you're eating and, you know, living your life, especially if it's clean and you're doing the things.
00:22:01
Speaker
It's the changes in our bodies. And we are going to give you tools and ideas of how we mitigate this and support. because they are because it's Because it's a change in the support, not a change. Keep doing what you're doing.
00:22:13
Speaker
If you've got all those healthy practices in place, but taking a look at different ways to support yourself through this to rebalance that cholesterol. And just a note, if you are eating McDonald's, not you, nobody on our listeners, I'm sure, but those people are guaranteed those cholesterol levels are not.
00:22:31
Speaker
Yeah, you're right. They're just not getting them checked. So I'm with you. It's so true. No, you're so right. Okay, so so our favorite pillar is what you can do to support yourself.
00:22:44
Speaker
So I think number one that we always like to talk about is food as medicine. And I think it's important to say too, when we say food as medicine, I have this conversation a lot, but I'd like to say it again here.
00:22:56
Speaker
If you go to the hospital or a doctor and you need to take something to, you know, treat something and you need to take two pills a day to get rid of an infection and you go back in a month and you still have the infection and the doctor says, well, did you take your medicine? And you say yes.
00:23:14
Speaker
And did you take it as prescribed? Well, no, I just took one pill a day. the same with food to a certain degree. A beautiful base diet is always that.
00:23:25
Speaker
But sometimes when we're talking about really using food as a medicine, almost as a prescription medicine, in this case, foods that can really help to lower that LDL will sustain that HDL.
00:23:38
Speaker
Sometimes we have to look at working with a practitioner and actually taking medicinal doses, taking a certain amount every single day to achieve that. So having cholesterol-lowering foods in the diet is amazing, but having certain ones in medicinal forms, that's when we're going to see a really big change and shift, especially when it comes to our cholesterol.
00:23:57
Speaker
Tanya, I love that. And you know what? It's so interesting. I think people don't realize that about holistic nutritionists, that it is so important, the dosage, and that there's there' is a science to what we do, right? There's a reason that we're recommending and at these specific foods at certain doses. So thank you for for mentioning that. That was a really good point.
00:24:20
Speaker
Okay. Yeah, no problem. So I think we'll give a whole list, maybe in the show notes, because if you're driving, don't pull over. You don't have to write these down. Like if you're cooking, don't worry.
00:24:30
Speaker
We'll list them in the bottom. But a couple of foods that are noteworthy, I think that are important that, you know, we can all get into our day um that helped to lower that LDL cholesterol and make a balance. um The first one I would say almonds.
00:24:44
Speaker
Mm-hmm. Almonds is shown to reduce LDL. Okay. Exactly. All those healthy fats are super protective as well. Absolutely. What about an apple day?
Dietary Choices for Cholesterol Management
00:24:55
Speaker
I digress. We're never going to get through the list. Okay, go. What about an apple a day? do you feel about that one? That's a true statement. Apple a day. i feel like that's one of those tied tried and trued. I don't know what I'm saying. Tried, tested, and true.
00:25:09
Speaker
Is that right? There you go. Thank you. cold water fish, like trout, salmon, never farmed. Absolutely. And tons of omega-3s in there as well. So supports decreasing that LDL, increasing that HDL, also decreasing inflammation. So amazing for cardiovascular health.
00:25:33
Speaker
I love that. Absolutely. And then we have um things like soy, tofu, and tempeh. Very, very protective. Of course, organic only.
00:25:44
Speaker
And a whole bunch of things. Walnuts, strawberries, and fresh pressed juices, especially carrot, celery, and beet. Carrot especially is very, very helpful.
00:25:57
Speaker
Carrots lower oxidative stress. And we're going to get into why that's super important, probably on another cholesterol, because we could go off on a tangent here. But super high in antioxidants, high in fiber.
00:26:11
Speaker
And actually, just you mentioned, Tanya, the fresh pressed juices. It's something that I do weekly. Sometimes in the winter, it changes to more of a broth because I want the warmth. But it's a great way, first of all, to clean out your fridge if you've got extra veggies in there that you haven't used during the week.
00:26:29
Speaker
And second of all, to get in those minerals, those phytonutrients, um the vitamins and minerals that you wouldn't eat like you wouldn't necessarily get unless you ate a whole bunch of carrots.
00:26:42
Speaker
or like It's a great way to pack it in there. I love that. And also going back to your point too, when you're talking about maybe people without gallbladders, yeah, we're not talking that there's fat in these things, but when we talk about digestion, which can also be affected by our hormones, when we're having rich mineral broths, either veggie mineral broths, bone broths, these cold pressed juices, they're also really absorbable and accessible to our body to pull of these nutrients and these minerals, right? Yeah.
00:27:10
Speaker
Absolutely. And so supportive of our liver, adding a squeeze of lemon juice in there, even better beets and So supportive to our liver, which well which we'll get into as well, but which, as we said, estrogen and liver, so important in supporting our cholesterol. And I feel like, Kim, maybe just while we are on that topic and you put that in, I think we should talk ah briefly right now about the liver connection.
00:27:35
Speaker
And again, we will have another episode for this, and we will be sure to list a whole bunch of liver foods below. But I think it was really important to kind of piggyback the liver right after we just talked about cholesterol foods? Because I think what you're going to notice is that a lot of the foods, they're the same kinds of foods, right? 100%. Well, and you said from the beginning, right? cholesterol is metabol like Cholesterol metabolism depends on the liver. The liver is like our chemical processing plant, right? it
00:28:07
Speaker
It helps... So it helps metab but metabolize the cholesterol and excrete it from our body, but also all of our hormones like excess estrogens. There you go.
00:28:18
Speaker
Perfect analogy. Literally the processing plant. It is the warehouse that does all of this work. I love it. So that liver connection, estrogen and cholesterol metabolism, they both depend on the liver and levels of estrogen affect the liver. So...
00:28:36
Speaker
Right now has never been a better time to support our livers. Any time in life is, but let's be honest, most of us don't realize this until later in life. Do you think I supported my liver before I was 30, Kim?
00:28:53
Speaker
With the excessive amount maybe of alcohol and toxins in our lives, perhaps not, but... Saying this, again, and for those of you who listened to our perimenopause episode...
00:29:07
Speaker
All of the symptoms that people could experience, all of the... Supporting our liver is such an important way to not only support cholesterol, as we're talking about, but also supporting hormone balance before or before or during perimenopause. But it especially during especially since, as Tanya mentioned, we've probably done a number to our liver.
00:29:30
Speaker
I mean, I've been living a almost 45 years. Yeah.
00:29:35
Speaker
And so toxins build up, you know, if if you consume alcohol, if you're not looking at the beauty products that you're putting on your skin, if you're not eating organic, you're eating a lot of processed foods, our liver is taking a lot of load.
00:29:51
Speaker
Yeah, and we have to remember that's cumulative. So we didn't know what we didn't know. And even right now, yeah, I can have my you know air filter next to me, but like we're always going to get a certain level of toxins. So at some point, we have to realize, for the purpose even of this episode, you can't look at...
00:30:09
Speaker
helping to lower your cholesterol and fix that balance if you're not looking at your liver. And again, we will definitely go into in depth about the liver in a different episode.
00:30:20
Speaker
And we will list some foods below that you will see. So I think that when we talk about food, those two lists are going to be the most important for this purpose of the podcast.
00:30:32
Speaker
But what about beyond the food? Can I add one more food before we move on? Yes, please. One more that I think needs to be on everybody's list is garlic. Garlic is so good for cardiovascular ah health in general.
00:30:47
Speaker
It raises our HDL. It also, not this episode, but it actually lowers blood pressure. It supports against cardiovascular disease. And it's such a medicinal food in general, antibacterial, antiviral. So, you know, cold and flu season's coming up. Garlic is definitely something you want to add to your diet.
00:31:07
Speaker
So I think garlic's another really important one on here. Absolutely. And I'm so glad that you added that. And it's like one of the OG food as medicine. And like, as we were talking about before, as like prescription medicine. So you better believe having as much of it as possible. But if you're working with a practitioner, your protocol will have a medicinal call for how much garlic you should be taking a day. if The goal is to really change those labs.
00:31:33
Speaker
So thank you for that. i'm That's amazing. Beyond that, I think the pillars are still very important in a nutshell to bring them up. Movement. Movement for the purpose that it helps actually raise your HDL and it helps keep those blood vessels flexible.
00:31:51
Speaker
So movement cannot be ignored. And I think secondary to that as well, not secondary in terms of important, but next is stress and sleep.
00:32:01
Speaker
I know you guys are probably like, all we talk about is diet, movement, stress, and sleep. These are the foundational pillars and sleep directly impacts cholesterol and hormones.
00:32:15
Speaker
Oh, 100%. And we've talked about this before, you know, again, not fully and in nutshells and whatever, but sleep is that restorative time. And if we're not sleeping properly, our hormones aren't regulating and it it definitely has an impact.
00:32:31
Speaker
Absolutely. And if we don't have sleep, it increases our stress hormones, which does wreak havoc on all of the systems that we've been talking about. So 100% focus and prioritize that sleep.
00:32:45
Speaker
I couldn't agree more. And I think that at the end of the day, we, you know, I think we've done a pretty good job. I hope we've done a pretty good job in really showing us that these cholesterol shifts in midlife for us women, they're anything but random. Even if you are getting your labs and you're again, frustrated, upset, or going, someone switched my labs.
00:33:08
Speaker
Like, ah you know what I mean? Like they're not random. They are always most often connected to that decline in estrogen, right? And, you know, other hormones as well, but always, always that connection there. 100%, Tanya.
00:33:24
Speaker
And I think just, I just before, because I know we're, we really want to keep these episodes to half an hour and we're really trying to do this, but just because we were talking so much about estrogen and the effect estrogen has on cholesterol, I just wanted to state that we also want to support estrogen through food.
00:33:46
Speaker
And there's so many ways we can do that by getting phytoestrogens in our diet. And so Tanya and I, in the show notes, please read the show notes this time. We'll put a ton of information about, you know, foods that can help build and support our estrogen in our body.
00:34:04
Speaker
foods like flax seeds, like as Tanya said, organic soy, tofu, tempeh miso, sesame seeds, and tahini, garlic again, which does everything for us.
00:34:16
Speaker
um Am I forgetting any, Tanya, that we were discussing earlier? no I feel like those are really important. You can get a lot out of, you know, certain fruits as well. Berries are always great ones, but So important. And I think that's a great list. Exactly. Read the show notes this week. They are a wealth of knowledge.
00:34:35
Speaker
And again, we won't be putting the medicinal, you know, denominations next to that because every body is different and everybody is different. But especially with these estrogen building foods, you better believe that consistency and dosage is key and it's going to vary for each of us.
00:34:51
Speaker
So if you don't have that trusted, good healthcare practitioner, reach out and Because this is a time when, again, the food is very medicinal.
Nutraceuticals and Supplements for Cholesterol
00:35:01
Speaker
What you eat and how much you're eating matters.
00:35:06
Speaker
to Oh, and Tanya, I cannot forget. See, this this episode could have gone on for for two for for another half hour, but another one that we can't forget is those cruciferous vegetables, right? The broccoli, the kale, the cauliflower, because they're so super supportive of estrogen and they also have indole-3-carbinol in there, which helps our liver to detoxify estrogens and and So super important for us to to bring these foods into our diet.
00:35:35
Speaker
Sorry, I digressed, Tanya. No, that's it's absolutely essential. And I think that we can digress. First off, this is our podcast. And second off, you know this is really important information.
00:35:48
Speaker
And I think too, lastly, before we really do sign off for today, um we can't ignore the power of nutraceuticals, whether they're natural supplements,
00:36:00
Speaker
whether they're botanicals, homeopathy, there is a role for all of this. And I will say I have a very... um good list supplements, nutraceuticals that are my go-tos when I'm working with women in the case of these elevated cholesterols during perimenopause.
00:36:22
Speaker
Now, again, as you've said before, Kim, nothing is a quick fix. So even taking the most beautiful supplements, you have to be doing all of the foundational steps around it.
00:36:34
Speaker
Taking the supplements and not doing the rest isn't going to help. But in this time, In my opinion, there are nutraceuticals um that will differ for everybody that are absolutely essential in balancing that cholesterol.
00:36:50
Speaker
And i'm it's not a spot to list them here because, again, they're highly individualistic. We're all different. But, again, another real pull for finding a practitioner that you feel comfortable with and will work on your individual case with you.
00:37:05
Speaker
100% Tanya, that's absolutely it. There's so much that we can do to support. Also, you know, for those of you who are looking into hormone support with HRT, there are some, you know, supporting that estrogen can be really important. But again, as Tanya said,
00:37:24
Speaker
Speaking to your healthcare practitioner is so important, first and foremost. Testing those hormones to make sure that you are actually needing estrogen is also very important.
00:37:35
Speaker
And not seeing the supplementation that's recommended or HRT as that quick fix. As Tanya mentioned, it's always key because that's not doing that's not getting to your liver, right? Like that's not getting to those root hormones.
00:37:51
Speaker
causes. That's again, that bandaid that's going to help, but not get to the root cause. um So yes, I hope this gives you a ton of information to think about, kind of takes that fear out of things, gives you questions to ask your practitioner you might reach out to about all of this um and giving you some ideas of what to add to your diet.
00:38:15
Speaker
to help support you. For sure. Again, we end it with saying, um, common symptoms are common, but they aren't normal. So nothing to panic about. If you're one of those 70, 77% of women that you most likely may be, this is now you have are empowered. You have the knowledge, you understand the why, and you are armed to work with who feels right for you to get you on that journey of rebalance in the most individualized way possible.
Listener Engagement and Feedback
00:38:45
Speaker
And we love your questions because that's how Tanya and I come up with these episodes. Like sometimes we plan for something and then somebody will send a question. It'll be like, okay, yes. And we'll change our calendar.
00:38:56
Speaker
um So we are going to be hosting another podcast about cholesterol because again, as Tanya said in the beginning, it is such a massive topic. So send in your questions, send in your questions now so that we can build ah an episode that, that works for you.
00:39:12
Speaker
All right. Don't go out to Tim Hortons and get that protein.
00:39:21
Speaker
I was just thinking that. We have not talked about the link between sugar and cholesterol, but there is one coming soon. Do not buy the latte. It will not help your cholesterol or estrogen.
00:39:34
Speaker
All right. Okay, we'll see you soon. and Bye. hey guys, thanks so much for hanging out with us today. If this episode resonated with you, we would love it if you would hit like, subscribe to the podcast and share it with a friend.
00:39:49
Speaker
We love to hear from you because let's be honest, this show is for you. If you have a topic you'd love us to tackle or want to learn more about something we talked about today, send us a message. We got you.
00:40:02
Speaker
Stay connected with us on social media at what's my age again dot podcast for even more knowledge and inspiration between episodes. Kim and I aren't doctors or your healthcare practitioners.
00:40:15
Speaker
Everyone's body is unique, so always consult your own healthcare provider before starting something new.