Transcript
Speaker: Hello everyone and welcome back to another episode of the Kate Hamilton podcast. So in today's episode, I sit down with Gwen Bastien-Enright and Gwen is and nutritional therapist and she is founder of Gwen Wright Nutrition. She specializes particularly in women's health, perimenopause and midlife health for women over the age of 35. Her tagline is helping women over 35 thrive in perimenopause and feel like themselves again.
Speaker: We have the most amazing conversation. I am absolutely buzzing after it. I'm recording this intro after having the conversation with her. And I am so full of energy. I have learned so much. And I'm just feeling really positive and optimistic about the decade ahead. And I really think you're going to feel the same way too. We talk about everything from neurodivergence in perimenopause.
Speaker: just how much stress affects us over the age of 40. We talk about liver health, gut health, brain health, slowing down and being more mindful in our lives. We talk about exercise, cortisol, alcohol, caffeine, and anything else that you could think of that has been an issue for you or you're wondering about and in relation to your health over the age of 35.
Speaker: I loved this conversation and i can't wait to share it with you. So here you go. Gwen, welcome to the podcast. Thank you so much. So excited. We finally got there. We got this organized. We're only months in the making. Sure.
Speaker: Better late than never. I think it was last September when I first reached out to you after the horology event. Yeah, it was. Yeah. Yeah, I'm really excited. I love to talk all things and women's health, which is what I do a lot of the time on this podcast. And and I heard you speak at that event and and your knowledge and your way of talking about issues and things that women have to deal with as we head towards midlife. And it was just so you were just so refreshing to listen to. And I was like, I need I need to talk to Gwen. So thank you so much for coming on and talking to me today.
Speaker: You're welcome. yeah Before we get started, do you want to do a little bit of an intro about you and what who you are, what you do and and what led you to it? Yeah. um So my name is Gwen Bastian Enright and i am a nutritional therapist specializing in women's health. And I work predominantly with women over 35. So perimenopause, postmenopause.
Speaker: I do see people outside of that too, because invariably I end up being asked to see husbands or daughters or sons. um And my clinic has kind of grown with me. So when I graduated, i was a breastfeeding mom.
Speaker: So everybody I saw was fertility, miscarriages, breastfeeding. And then as I hit perimenopause, I just naturally attracted perimenopausal women. And insofar, I would even narrow down to neurodivergent perimenopausal women, if I had to say, like, that's probably the the niche I'm in. um And I work with nutrition, lifestyle supplements, but it's way beyond just making dietary tweaks like, you know, um you've heard me speak. It's it's everything, really. I look at everything.
Speaker: And so I love what I do because. Yeah, it's just amazing job. I'm so lucky. So when we to say nutritional therapist, For anyone who doesn't know what is a nutritional therapist as opposed to like a nutritionist or dietitian or like so what like what, what, what is,
Speaker: What makes nutritional therapy specifically that? Yeah, different. Okay, so I'm going to try and rein this in because I actually lecture in nutritional therapy as well. so ah So it's a part-time diploma.
Speaker: So this is straight away where it's different to dietetics. Dietetics is something you would go and study as a degree or and as a master's. For example, in Ireland, nutritional therapy is a part-time diploma. It's four years later.
Speaker: very intense. You do a lot of clinical hours. The study I did was based in functional medicine. So not kind of the orthodox medicine like your GP would practice here, but kind of a much more holistic way of looking at it based in functional medicine. And then say a nutritionist could be somebody who's done maybe a three week online certificate. They can call themselves a nu nutritionist. So we're different. Dietitians can do things like they can administer, oh my God, intravenous supplements for example you know they can work on oncology wards things like that whereas a nutritional therapist can't we have a bit more freedom which is great so we're not bound by certain regulations now we are regulated I'm a member of ANP NTY like you know I'm ah i'm accredited um but I think we've quite a lot of freedom so we get to use a lot of different types of tests and things and interpret them to shape how we address the body so I would always say nutritional therapy
Speaker: is super holistic because we go way beyond the food that you're eating. And we look at, are you digesting the nutrients from your food? How can we determine, you know, we, I would use quite a lot of testing in my clinic, even blood tests, um which I know a lot of say a nutritionist can't do.
Speaker: Yeah. Okay. And so to kind of ah but like, apart from kind of courses and, you know, different degrees and diplomas, the actual, like ah a dietitian, which more works in a medical,
Speaker: Yes, exactly. situation Whereas you're much more a lifestyle that, yes, you we could be working with people with diagnosis of different types, but much more in a day to day lifestyle, how a kind of a practical approach to how they can implement things in their life.
Speaker: Yeah, so what I would always pride myself on and a lot of the feedback I get is I know what it's like. Okay, so I have two young kids. I'm self-employed. We've animals. I have elderly parents. um We built a house in the middle of all of this.
Speaker: I make things practical how they tie into a busy household. You know, the foods that fit in with the family. I'm i'm speaking to a client of mine this morning and like I try and get people to work with me so four to six months if they have ongoing issues.
Speaker: And she was saying about just an example that she was very stressed the other night and where she would have always reached for x food. she made herself a toasted sourdough sandwich and served beetroot salad on the side. Do you know? And she just said, she goes, I hadn't even realized how much of an impact working with you has been until I was in that super stressful situation and I reached for the healthier option. Do you know? But that's what I try and do. It's like, him so my motto, I don't know if i've said it to you before, but it's one woman at a time.
Speaker: So I always think if I support one woman, it has that lovely trickle down effect. So like if one woman is listening to this podcast, She will benefit, but most likely her partner, her sisters, her daughters, because women talk.
Speaker: And that's, I suppose, how I really want to work. I want it to be practical, that it can fit into your lifestyle, be realistic. I work within, you know, time constraints, money restraints, et cetera.
Speaker: um And i one of the wonderful things is I set my own hours. So my initial consultation is two hours. So I have two hours to pour over all the stuff you're going to tell me. So it's lovely. It's much more conversational rather than me prescribing.
Speaker: You know, the initial consultation is usually actually me not talking very much at all. It's just the client, um which is a great way to work, I think. Yeah, so it is genuine like nutritional therapy. You're you're merging. nutrition and actual therapy and what's going on in the person's life. Because one thing that I've noticed from working with hundreds of women over the years is it's never really about food.
Speaker: Exactly. It's always so much deeper than that. Oh, it's, we' you know, we're looking for trauma. We're looking at neurodivergence. So that's one of the reasons I've gone and I've done a few extra courses and recognizing neurodivergence and being aware, because what can look like um chronic fatigue is actually neurodivergent burnout in some cases. You know, sometimes it's childhood trauma is resulting in the overeating and the binge eating.
Speaker: So whilst I'm not a therapist and I will refer on. So that's a huge part of how I work is I work with people in my local area. I'm so happy I know where you are because if I have clients in Wicklow, I can send them your way. Do you know, like I work with a personal trainer down here vis for bone health, which I'm sure we'll touch on.
Speaker: I can tell you what exercises to do, you know, so I will often work within a team, which includes a psychotherapist, you know, an osteopath, et cetera, et cetera. So that's why when I say it's holistic, it really is way beyond. And often I look at not what you're eating, but why you're eating that.
Speaker: Yeah, massively so. And I think it's so individual to the person as to, you know, like a lot of people obviously can't afford to have all these different experts all at the same time. But every person is going to be different as to what is going to be the first important thing.
Speaker: and act point of action, I suppose, isn't that of ah ah What needs to be dealt with first in order to deal with this and to yeah that it it very much depends. I'd love to touch on this neurodivergence in perimenopause because there there's a huge amount of women.
Speaker: and This is seems to be really new in the past. Now, maybe it's just ah it's i it's just come into my radar, but from from my perspective, it feels like there's been a huge increase in women my age and maybe yeah within a decade of me getting diagnosed with ADHD or autism or both.
Speaker: And it seems to happen as ah between the age of 40 and 50, really, isn't it? um Why is that? So there's a number of reasons. Depending, I should have asked you if I can swear.
Speaker: course, we do. We're quiet. Basically, we don't give a fuck anymore. um its Women get to the point where they've been masking all their life and then perimenopause happens and you just simply can't anymore.
Speaker: So lots of girls in particular, because the criteria are still written for boys, especially ADHD, the criteria based on hyperactive boys. But that's not how ADHD presents in girls and women at all. Girls and women internalize it because they learn. So as do autistic girls, they learn very quickly how to mask and fit in and pretend to be like neurotypical people.
Speaker: And when you hit perimenopause and your hormones are doing this, you're literally incapable of pretending anymore. a once you hit 40, I'm sure you've already noticed this. I'm 45. I've really lived this. You really just don't give a shit anymore. You know, if you annoy somebody, you just don't care. you just, you have no more fucks to give basically. And I think that's what happens to a lot of neurodivergent women is where they could have tolerated certain things and they could mask. If their estrogen plummets one day, they just can't.
Speaker: So they unmask, but they're actually themselves for the first time in 40 years. ah which love this I love this kind of approach to perimenopause in the sense, you know, when you feel like, oh my God, I'm going crazy. It's like, no, you're just dropping all the bullshit. Sometimes I actually feel like that. I really want to just go and live in a cabin in the woods away from everyone.
Speaker: but yeah keep but she just get away from all the people I just build a moat I let them in when I want and then you they need to go but um but that's just so interesting as well and um I'm kind of asking this as well kind of from a personal perspective as well um I I haven't got myself tested or anything but I would have been well once I hit the age of 21 started getting absolutely hammered with panic attacks.
Speaker: So the doctor eventually diagnosed me with like panic disorder. And I was, you know, I was years really overcoming that with CBT, with medication at the time. And for a long time, that has really, kind you know, that's been something in my past, in the past, like two years. noticing these symptoms coming back in me a little bit. And and I notice particularly like when I'm driving, you know, like on a motorway, I'm like, I can't focus. And then I freak out that I can't focus. Then my mind starts racing and I'm like, is this anxiety or am I ADHD? Do I have ADHD?
Speaker: Do you know, it's also quite common and with menopause. It's one of those so symptoms that people don't associate with menopause is the inability to drive and especially motorways.
Speaker: You've no idea the amount of women that I see that are like, I just can't do it. I can't do the drives anymore. So it's a very... I think it's a very subtle type of anxiety that people aren't recognizing. But I see it a lot, especially with some of my postmenopausal clients around 56, 57, who used to drive everywhere for their job. And all of a sudden they're like, i can't when I need my son to drive me or have to get the bus. And I'm, you know, but I've noticed it myself. I have much more anxiety driving than I ever did before.
Speaker: yeah I see all the things that could happen. Whereas before I just, you know, we just get the car and drive. But so, and it's, it's the fluctuations of hormones are heightening. So if we go into the real science of it, the estrogen and progesterone affect the neurotransmitters in our brain. So like dopamine would be very important with ADHD. You know, we often talk about people with ADHD chasing a dopamine hit. So it's like picking up that phone and scrolling, that doom scrolling, you know, that quick, oh, that's really funny. That made me laugh. That's a dopamine hit.
Speaker: So we think, you know, it depends. Everybody with ADHD is different. There's three different types of ADHD, but it's that inattentiveness sometimes, but this quick hit of a reward or, you know, nice food or something. I think when you're driving on the motorway, you're just not getting that. It's just monotonous, you know?
Speaker: So it could be ADHD. It could just be that you're in menopause or perimenopause and your hormones are... doing that and it just seems to coincid be a coincidence. So what we find in the United States, the average age of a woman being diagnosed is 39 for ADHD, which is often seen as the most common beginning of perimenopause. So coincidence, I don't know. And then treatment wise, HRT is actually now being recommended as treatment for ADHD over the ADHD meds for women over 40.
Speaker: So settling the hormones can have a better impact on you, say, than Ritalin. For some women, not ah not every woman, obviously. so that's That's fascinating. And that makes so much sense. And it's, yeah, like, it's funny because someone someone said to me,
Speaker: would you not go get tested? And I was kind of like, sure, what are they going to do for me now? Like, that's like going to get some learning support in school. Like, i wonder what are we going to do about it now that, you know, I've, I've got through the education system. I've, you know, I've but had a career, I've changed careers, I've built a business. I'm, you know, I'm managing and very much, I think as well, like in relation to perimenopause, like I'm, I'm 40. So I think i've I've started to notice little changes in myself in the past year.
Speaker: Yeah, really. Subtle ones. But I also am very conscious that I work with a lot of women hello who are between the ages of 40 and 60. So I'm very aware of different symptoms of of issues that women are coming across of what potentially lies ahead. So I i feel like I'm hypersensitive to things and not to be over the top about things either. And that's because it's it's so different for everybody. But and ah that with that talk that you did at the horology event, and I don't know if it was yourself or just when you you were all discussing at the top that they were driving on a motorway. Someone said, I was afraid to drive on motorways. And it was the first time I ever felt seen about that because that was something that really was tied in with my anxiety in my early twenty s I overcame it. And it's something that's creeping back in, but I refuse to give into it. And and but I was like, wow, OK, that's not just a me thing.
Speaker: and No, it's and it's not something that I'm being irrational. And it's not even that I'm worried, like I'm not worried about anything when I'm driving. I'm possibly subconsciously worried about feeling that way yes when I'm on it. And that's triggering it then, you know what i mean? So it's just it's an interesting cycle that I'd say I hope a lot of of people will listen and be like, I can relate to this and I feel seen.
Speaker: I think so. Because i like I said, I see that particular thing very often. But I think that the the brain ruminating in the background all the time something women do anyway. We are more hyper vigilant. Like that's, I'll fight anybody on that because most women can tell you exactly who was driven by, who's walked by, what were they wearing because we've had to be more vigilant for ourselves and then for our children. So I think our brains are always going in the background. And the problem is with perimenopause, we're such a state of flux of change that it's just one more thing and something has to give.
Speaker: You know, like I think that's the key thing, because I, you know, a lot of the questions I get asked about perimenopause when I do talks or podcasts and stuff, I just I think the biggest thing I want women to realize is you you're not the same you were when you were 20 anymore.
Speaker: And you have to just accept that and go, OK, well, what's my new normal? But actually what you did in your 20s may not have been the best for you anyway.
Speaker: Yeah, you just, your body, you just got away with it. That's exactly it. Whenever it's like, one of the main questions I get, why do I suddenly no longer tolerate alcohol going? Why do I get hangovers now? I'm like, well, you should have had them when you were 20. Do you know what I mean? Like drinking eight to 10 drinks on a night out and getting up the next day. Like that's actually not normal.
Speaker: You should be s flattened by that amount of alcohol in your system. But we all did it and we all got away with it. And all of a sudden now, and that's one of the earliest symptoms that women might notice is their tolerance to alcohol. It's just suddenly awful, you know? And women are like two glasses of wine and have a headache.
Speaker: And I always say, well, track your cycle. Is it in the luteal phase? Is it the week before your period? Because the way your hormones are then, your liver isn't working as well. So they're the little things. So maybe you keep your wine for when you actually on day one to ovulation and you might be fine having a couple of glasses of wine, but then you don't drink the week leading up to your period.
Speaker: You know, it's it's that kind of adaptation, i think, that takes a lot of pressure off other things. And then like symptoms like you for the anxiety creeping up, it might not because you're actually
Speaker: respecting the change instead of fighting it. I don't drink anymore, really. The very, very odd occasion. But for that reason, it's it's just it it was the one time throughout my adult life that, you know, ah once I overcame the anxiety that it would always resurface. And it would it just and then as I've gotten older, it's just not worth it. It kind of a hangover would feel like and even just a few drinks would be hangover, but it would feel like I'm fucking with my mental health. And just every time I did it, I was like, I feel like I'm pushing it each. It's just not worth it. And so I think particularly when I like I used to be a teacher. So when I change careers, And, you know, I was studying and then I was building business and and I was like, I can't do both.
Speaker: I cannot the stress the pressure of this and alcohol. And I just saw for a long time I didn't. And it just it didn't agree with me anymore. But am I right in thinking when it because we will get into perimenopause symptoms and nutrition and lifestyle and advice and, you know, all that. And but am I right in thinking because patterns that I've noticed with myself is when stress is high, everything's worse. And then the problem for us as we're 40, 45, 50 and beyond, we have more responsibilities. There's more stresses in our lives. Quite often we're looking after more than just our kids. And then if we have alcohol, which is a stress in the body, we've got all these things we're trying to keep doing. We're still climbing the ladder in our careers where we're just doing too much.
Speaker: 100%. If we could take stress out, I don't think perimenopause would be a problem for most women. So the statistics are 25% of women have no symptoms at all. 25% have life-threatening symptoms, as in the rate of suicide is really, really high, especially towards the end of perimenopause and early menopause.
Speaker: um And then 50% of us have some amount of symptoms that affect our everyday life, but we can function. You know, we're not suicidal. I mean, that's the extreme, you know. But I genuinely think if we could take out stress completely right apart from the normal healthy oh you know um i don't know we live in the middle of the woods and we have lots of deer so if a deer suddenly appeared in the window outside me for me to do that like that's normal right but that stress that you were just talking about all that if we took that out i reckon 75 percent of women would probably just sail right through perimenopause and 25 percent would have some symptoms
Speaker: Like we completely underestimate the impact of stress and how we've just accepted it. It's almost like a badge of honor. to list all the things that you do. do you know? Isn't it?
Speaker: I always think it's this lie that we were told that women can do everything. That really annoys me. i rant about this on my social media quite a lot. me too this mo ah Women are so good at multitasking. Men can't multitask. Men are choosing not to multitask. word thaty where're what We're the fools that are trying to multitask and do everything and and at ah yeah at a cost of our own health. A huge cost to us. And I see it if I look at My mother is a great example. So she's going to make sure now, 74. She hasn't turned 75 yet. um And she gets very little stress in her life. Never has. She is not a stress head. But when she gets stressed, her asthma kicks in like that.
Speaker: But it has taken her over 60 years to realize. Like she literally only realized it this March. And my dad and I were like, Really? We've always know stress is your trigger.
Speaker: And it just made me really sad in some ways because how many other women are out there who are living with that stress, who are not realizing the health problems they're getting because of it and the whole hatred of perimenopause and menopause and calling it a hormone deficiency.
Speaker: And I'm just like, hang on a minute, because you look at some tribes, other cultures where it's celebrated. It's only if you really look at it as in Western culture where we are expected to build a career, raise the children, look after our parents, look good, be thin, be fit.
Speaker: We're the ones who are struggling with menopause, you know? Not if you're living in a hut somewhere in a tribe where you don't have any of those stresses, where you just have to keep your children alive, love your partner, put food, you know what I mean? The simple.
Speaker: So yeah, stress. I could talk about stress for an entire day, I think. And this is why the urge, like, and I know I won't be the only woman who has that experience that they want to go live in a cabin in the woods. I love that you actually do live in the woods, by the way.
Speaker: Maybe I will come down your your neck of the woods and little live down there somewhere. But you know, that that urge to be away from people is genuinely your soul trying to be like,
Speaker: Please yeah give me a break. Like, get yeah get me away from the the stress. And it's not the people. It's the stresses. Because obviously we need people. Human connections the connection is hugely important. Yes. But we feel like pushing everyone away because we just can't deal with it. No, it's the demands, the decisions, the the mental load of everything. And the problem is that so many of us end up in Burnett.
Speaker: And then we have to rest. know what mean? Like the body will get you and it'll either get you through horrendous hot flashes and insomnia and anxiety, or you will just have burnout. Like I've had long COVID for cheapest going on seven years now. um And I've explored my way out of it and I'm doing touch wood. doing great.
Speaker: But it's, i a lot of my friends and colleagues were like, sure, we all saw that coming back in 2017. Remember back in 2019? I'm like, oh yeah, back when I had a miscarriage and I didn't listen to my body.
Speaker: So that's part of what I would love to do is get women, you know, slightly earlier and sort go, are you aware of the impact of stress on you? How are you dealing with it? And it's that window of tolerance. i don't know if you've heard about that.
Speaker: There's some psychologists speak about the window of tolerance, which if you look at a child, they have very wide window of tolerance. You know, they can put up with a lot. If you think yourself on holiday.
Speaker: Right? Usually, okay, so the booking goes wrong and you're like, eh, we're on holiday. Food takes an hour, eh, we're on holiday. Right? But imagine if you were in your normal work day and you had the kids to pick up from school, you're trying to plan dinner, you're trying to record a podcast, I'm seeing a client, and then you want to grab a quick bite to eat and the service is anyway delayed.
Speaker: Like, you're going to s snap because your window of tolerance is really narrow. So if we could have everybody's window of tolerance nice and wide, then things wouldn't bother us.
Speaker: And then we would be resilient to the stress. So we can't all move to a cabin in the woods. Some of us are lucky enough. I live in a nature reserve. I'm very lucky.
Speaker: But if we can't do that, if we can just become more resilient to the stress. So that's a huge part of what I do. And you see, i see it, women's anxiety goes away. They sleep better.
Speaker: Like I've had one client, we didn't even work on her sleep. That was not part of why she came to me. And she texted me about six weeks later and she goes, Gwen, I've been sleeping through the night for the first time in seven years.
Speaker: wow and all we did hadn't she hadn't and she hadn't actually started anything I talk told her to do we just talked about the impact of stress and how she perceived it and where the stresses were coming from I just made her aware the awareness of that let her sleep through the night like how amazing wow it just just becoming the observer in your life and not just being constantly reactive I suppose And yeah because, yeah, my next question was going to be in relation to stress. What can we actually do about it? So obviously, I think sometimes we really do need to take a look at our lives. Why am I pushing so hard and work? Do I really need that extra little bit of money that I'm working so hard for? Is it actually going to be worth it? what what's the rush in pushing my business why do I have to you know a lot of time we're chasing goals that are money related that aren't actually going to make us any happier we just think they are and why are we you know there obviously are acute stresses where you know we have a sick loved one and we you know we have money worries that need to be dealt with or you know we have like you know there'd be a lot of of people you know who would be dealing with a disabled child or, you know, there there are situations that are are are more stressful than the norm, so perhaps.
Speaker: But for in general, depended like completely depending on our circumstances, I think we need to look at what we're ah how much we're trying to do. And if we are in a situation where we have quite a stressful thing to do, but we can't do all the other things as well, we can't do everything at the same time.
Speaker: And I think we need to, for me, what I've found is my thing is is slow down. slowan And I'm actually really practicing surrender, which is really, really working for me. And just being like, stuff i need to stop trying to make situations different to what they are.
Speaker: And that doesn't mean you're giving up, but you're surrendering to what how things are now. And I'm really trying to just slow down. listen to my gut and be like, what do I actually want to do? Because I'm getting to that. I don't give a fuck stage as well. I'm like, I'm not doing things.
Speaker: Please. I say no to most things now because I will only do what I want to do or what is something. Yeah. Sorry, we have to do hard things or I'll do something that's hard. if it's moving towards something that's important to me that I believe in, that is helping others, helping my family, helping myself, that's important.
Speaker: But then when I start getting stressed and overwhelmed, i'm like, I need take a step back. I'm doing too much. Yeah. So that's but I suppose that is awareness. What would be your suggestions here for, you know, if for where we where should someone start if they're just so overloaded?
Speaker: Do you know what? I think i'm simple things. Because yes, learning to say no, setting boundaries, slowing down, including rest, like they're all the things I would talk to somebody about.
Speaker: comment it in two ways. Sometimes I verbally explain it and I list all the things they've told me they do. Sometimes that is all it takes for me to just repeat back.
Speaker: Because I always ask, it's one of my questions, especially in my mini sessions, I always say, just talk me through a typical day. And usually by the time they get to four o'clock, I stop and I'm like, are you not exhausted? Because I am listening to you and they go, what?
Speaker: But that's my... Oh, you know, so just becoming more aware is number one. Some people I will actually test their cortisol levels and I'll show it to them in black and white because tests don't lie.
Speaker: So in some cases, the people who are really like, I'm not stressed, I'm fine, I can deal with it all. I'll power it through. I get the data. You do blood tests, you do urine tests and you show them. And then just learning for people to actually get familiar with their body. So in some cases, again, if they want measurable, you know, wear a watch, track your heart rate for a day or two, so was see how it goes. And for other people, it's literally just, can you just sit for a minute, couple of times a day and do a little body scan?
Speaker: It has multiple reasons why I get people to do that because they're actually getting rest. They're tuning into their body, but they're actually slowing down and pausing. But it's like homework from me that I'll say, okay, three times a day before your meal, because that helps with digestion anyway. It's just do a round of box breathing and note if there's tension, pain or something anywhere.
Speaker: But I find honestly people, when you talk to them about it, so even people listening to this already get more aware And then of course you can go much deeper, you know, you can journal it, find out what is causing you the stress, do a brain dump.
Speaker: Client I spoke to recently, I said, just set a timer for five minutes and just write everything that's in your head. Just put it on paper. Neuroscience has shown that if we write it on paper, it eases, you know, and it eases, can ease anxiety, can help you sleep.
Speaker: Just write it down. But that's one of the big things I think is that ah is create that awareness. And then you can do what, you you know, like me. I used to be a yes woman. Literally was known in my old college as the yes woman. A lecturer dropped out 24 hours before a lecture. Ring Gwen, she'll cover it. I wouldn't have known the subject, but I would go in there and I'd lecture the shit out of it. And literally anything. Oh my God, we haven't written that presentation. Call Gwen, she'll do it. And I'd be up till three in the morning with a newborn.
Speaker: like an idiot because I didn't want to say no to anybody and now I'm always like have waiting list I mightn't I just want to go swimming with my friends you know like I went towards the wedding on Tuesday no Wednesday morning because I had no clients booked and it was a dry day and I went oh I'm off on the horse now yeah old me would have been busy doing something at the laptop Yeah, you know, the laptop where you'd be cleaning the house or you'd be thinking of preparing for something else that. Yeah. And it yeah it's creating that time for you. And I think what I've learned from my own journey as well and just from a personal trainer perspective is like for me, I found it very hard to sit with sit still, to sit with my body and like and from from my anxiety background. Deep breathing would quite often like trigger me. Yes. um So what I found actually calmed me was movement. And I really believe for a lot of people, particularly very stressed people, that it starts with the body. It starts with caring for body. we're going to talk about nutrition now in a minute. But like, you know, and I'm not talking about going to the gym and working out like a bodybuilder or anything like that. Going for a walk. Going to a workout class, going to a dance class, going for a swim, going going for a bath and exfoliating and then moisturizing, like actually caring for your body and yeah and and in relation to preparing the food and thinking about the food and what food that you're eating is doing for your body, which we'll talk about. would
Speaker: ah For me, like my best and I talk about this, ah I have talked about this on the podcast a little bit before. My best way to meditate is I will go. i live I live near the sea. I will walk out of my house. I will walk down a lovely country road, which brings me 10 minutes down to the sea. And I walk along the beach there and I walk as far as the end and I sit down on the stones and then I'll just I just sit and I just breathe in the sea for a few minutes. with my dog and she's there, but I throw few stones at her because she's like, you know, but in general, I have that moment. But I, if I just drove down and sat there, i know yeah the little my mind would be going 90, whereas I find the repetitive nature of just getting out for a walk. it just it's like it's like it rocks my brain to sleep like my thinking brain to sleep and then i i'm like i'm brand new when i get back and the same can happen like if i go and i go lift weights for an hour it's a different kind of meditation for me but it's a you're fully in the moment and i find it harder to get myself up and going to lift weights sometimes if i'm not in the mood whereas the walk i'm like i'll always do that and that's what i do with my clients i'm like your walk It's not about the amount of calories that you burn. It's about the amount that you People like, steps do like? Just walk every day.
Speaker: And then when they get to the point that they're like, oh, I had to drive the kids around all day. I had this meeting that meeting. I didn't get a chance to get a walk and I'm raging. I missed my walk because they realize how much it's done for them.
Speaker: Oh, honestly, do not underestimate the power of walking. I'm... Literally, I always say to people, if that's all you start and there is so many health benefits associated with walking.
Speaker: Yeah. know Even for PMOS, like formerly known as PCOS, walking is number one recommendation. If somebody like me who had long COVID, chronic fatigue, like even I couldn't walk anymore and I would be like that. i was like, I can't even walk a kilometer. I'd still walk though, just shorter. And I would be very much like you. We have, we're surrounded by river. We're short drive to the sea. We have a lake that we swim in all summer. So swimming and walking near water and just standing. My daughter's the same. Like you'd often see me and her just standing front of the sea and just... Yeah, that's my I always say that water is my happy place.
Speaker: But there is research behind it. There's science like walking in the woods, the forests, trees, if you can. There's something called fractals in trees. So there's shapes that the brain perceives and lowers cortisol in the body. So stress hormones are lowered by exposure to trees for up to a week after you do it.
Speaker: Wow. I didn't know that. That's so interesting because I may know the kind of witchy side to it. I think the science side to it I love. I know i'm I'm all about the science. That's part of my training is functional medicine. Like i said, I have a master's and a bachelor of degree in science. that That's my area. So I'm like, if show me a paper.
Speaker: But I love the witchy, the woo stuff as well. But that's one of the things that I always say that to people, if that's what you can. And it's like, you know, when you want to work at a tough problem, or you sit down, you're not creative, go for a walk. Because when you come back, you'll be able to do it. Or if you want to have a hard conversation with somebody, do it walking beside them. No eye contact. It takes all the pressure off. like So it's something we do. I walk every day. My 12 year old has walked every single day this week.
Speaker: And the first two days had to kick her out the door. And then yesterday she went, I'm going, is it okay if I go for a walk with my own mom? I'm like, yeah, off you go. We live in an area that's safe that she can do it. But it's so interesting because it just took four days in a row for her as a 12 year old to go, my God, this really helped me.
Speaker: She came back happy. Do you know, she went out like So yeah, walking. um And it's, I don't recommend or prescribe meditation per se very often because I think it's hard for most of us to sit and clear our minds. i I don't know who can clear their minds. Maybe people without ADHD. I don't know. well I can't do it. and But a guided meditation.
Speaker: But it takes time to build up to that. So I completely agree with you. Joyful movement. Dancing is another one that I always recommend. I put on loud music. We dance around the kitchen. But doing something that gives you joy. So sea swimming for some people, you know, and then we've got the whole science of the water activating the vagus nerve and calming you.
Speaker: But I think the worst thing is Movement for the sake of burning calories if you're dealing with stress and anxiety. Yes, because it's just adding more. Yeah, yeah. Yeah, so movement for joy and ideally outside. That would be one of the first things I say to every perimenopausal woman.
Speaker: Did you get outside today? Did you move your body today? And if they're having a bad day, the answer is always no. Yeah, I know. Or, oh yeah, I got up at five and did my spin class. I'm like, well...
Speaker: That's not what meant. Yeah, not the same. That's the yeah. I'm sorry. Some people love spin classes, but in general that, you know, that's yeah, that can be starting your day and that level of stress. para meol can be but no It's how you start the day. And I am, I interpret, I work for a lab and I interpret one of their hormone tests for them. So I do a lot of tests every single week for different practitioners, clients, men, women, whatever.
Speaker: And I can tell by their cortisol, I know who's fasted and I know who's done too much exercise in the morning. I can tell them. And I've had so many people say, how did you know? I'm like, cortisol doesn't lie. There's a massive spike, huge.
Speaker: Yeah. But then they have a massive crash. And then what do they do? They're exhausted. They reach for the chocolate, the coffee, because they they're on that roller coaster of stress hormones, which affects your blood sugars, which affects weight gain and perimenopause.
Speaker: So yeah, starting the day off with a nice morning walk outside would be a much nicer way. Do the spin class later in the day. Yeah. Yeah. And yeah, if, ah and the main thing really is food before exercise, isn't it? To give your, so that you have time, you have a little bit of time for your cortisol to come down and managing your cortisol is usually helped by managing your blood sugar levels. Am I right? Yes.
Speaker: They are absolutely intrinsically linked, the two of them together. um And I think that's one of the things we have to let go. i mean, i I fasted. I used to fast as well. I used to do 17 hour fast overnight and then perimenopause hit.
Speaker: ah And I suddenly went, this is not working for you anymore. I was a raging, oh, screaming nonstop at the kids, like awful cranky person to be near. And since I just eat when I'm hungry, i mean, what a simple thing. Eat when you're hungry.
Speaker: I'm nowhere near as cranky because my blood sugars are balanced. I'm not having that huge. I don't need to reach for the coffee. I drink the coffee because I like it it's it. There's a completely different way. So one of the things I try and get people to do. So this is my own little, i should probably trademark it. But anyway, I always say to people, you know, when you get up, hydrate.
Speaker: So many people don't do that. Start the day with, um you know, big glass of water. ah Herbal tea, whatever, but not caffeine. If you're in perimenopause and you're stressed and then get outside, get daylight on your eyes. Like we know that science supports the circadian rhythm. Then you nourish your body with food and then you move your body and then you caffeinate ideally.
Speaker: Yeah. If you're super stressed and anxious. So it's, and some people like just changing around. So the people who wake up, they have a coffee and then they go and do their spin class. Then they shower,
Speaker: Then they eat, then they hit the laptop. Maybe they're even eating their breakfast in front of the laptop. So they haven't been outside at all because they've been under glaring lights. They really struggle to sleep. Just by changing a little bit of it around and moving the timings, even a small little bit of food before so.
Speaker: Again, i' have a runner as a client at the moment and we were saying this, like even a slice of toast with peanut butter and honey and then go do your six, seven K run. And then when you come back, have a really well balanced breakfast and then her coffee.
Speaker: But it's changed her performance completely. Yeah, completely. Like she's getting more out of her runs. I have clients who go to the gym all the time who work out and just putting in that fuel before they're working out. And they're like, oh, Gwen, I can lift more. And I'm like, yeah, because you have energy in the body.
Speaker: Yeah, and I think this is, you know, from over the age of 35, 40, this is something that's just so important for women. Like my husband can just grab, eat like he eats like half a banana before going to the gym for at six o'clock in the morning and, you know, and then eats when he comes back and he's fine. And, you know, I could do that.
Speaker: Yeah, 10 years ago, but I like, I just, I can't anymore. And I do. And it's funny, you don't feel it in the moment. No, it's later in the day. And I think thus that that, well, you said the coffee, because I think sometimes when we get to pregnant, I was like, oh, I can't do this. and I have to this first and have to do. And then suddenly there's more rules and you're already stressed. And so and now on my bone density and I have to lift weights and I'm like, but I have to be heavyweight. And so it becomes, that could be a bit of like ah an overload thing. like if you like coffee you can have coffee like for me you can I love going for my walk after I drop the kids to school I usually go to the gym then I'll go for my walk and I get my little takeaway coffee on my walk by the sea and I just love it I love it um so if someone told me I had to give that up be like what what but why and but doing coffee first thing when I get up before I have anything else is yeah it's it does it doesn't work for me anymore and it's a difference between enjoying it as a ritual I think and needing it
Speaker: 100% like and I love I've tried two coffees every single day sometimes if I'm in that part of my cycle I'm on holidays I can have three i mean there's times I can I have coffee at three or four o'clock in the evening I still fall asleep but I have to make sure where I'm at in my cycle and how I'm feeling that day if I'm anyway stressed it has to be a decaf coffee You know, because I'm very aware of my body. That is one thing a chronic illness will teach you. You get really good at, and I would say most people who are like, I can have coffee first thing every morning and I'm fine. Yeah, let's unpack your day. Are you actually fine? How many supplements are you relying on? you know, how many meds are you on?
Speaker: Who you screaming at during your day? Just because you think you're okay, you know, are you actually thriving though? And this is a huge part of what I would do. I want women to thrive and not survive. Yes.
Speaker: And so many of us are stuck in survival mode and we are accepting, feeling bloated, heavy, tired, anxious, cranky. And we just accept that as part of being a woman in our forties. And I'm like, why?
Speaker: Like, why do we have to accept that? You know, we should all be bursting around with energy and enjoy and like that, have the rituals. Enjoy the coffee. Enjoy your food. So that's another thing. You know, as I say, what you eat is important, but the the why you're eating it and the how you're eating it to me are more important. So like somebody could have McDonald's.
Speaker: And eat it mindfully and joyfully with their friends and slowly and then go for a walk after. And they might have a better glucose response than having a home-cooked meal in front of the laptop and sitting for the next four hours.
Speaker: Yeah. Which is mad. And I'm not telling anybody to go and eat McDonald's. Okay. That's not what I'm saying. But just we know from the science that the the state you're in when you're eating is hugely important to how your body handles the food and what it does with it in the digestive tract.
Speaker: That's so interesting because I such a firm believer in any type of, in inverted commas, diet that you're trying to lose weight with or get healthy with or whatever. that tells you that you can't have an ice cream when you're out with your child or you can't have desserts or a glass of wine at dinner with your friends if that's what you like to do or that you can't. Like I think of it, and ive ah my child has has had a few appointments kind of at Sandyford Direction. And so on the way back, we're kind of passing McDonald's and Carrick Mines.
Speaker: to McDonald's for dinner today you know and so and it's just so lovely and it's just me and him it's a little bit of a a alone time just the two of us the older two are not there and I wouldn't swap that for the world and I'm not going to sit there with my little my Tupperware while he has a happy meal like I'm going to sit and have my mac chicken sandwich with him and get on with my normal healthy lifestyle and it doesn't have to be a big deal I honestly, i the minute I see people, it's such a red flag to me. When there's a list of foods you're not allowed to eat, I'm just like, nah, I'm out. Unless you're allergic to it and it makes you feel really, really bad. Yeah. And of course, like I'm allergic to dairy, so I really can't have any dairy. and My daughter can't handle any gluten or kiwis. She's allergic to them. So yes, we cut them out.
Speaker: But I drink alcohol. I have Pringles the odd time because I like them. I had an ice pop yesterday and I like really enjoyed it It was my favorite type. I'm all about enjoying, but because like that, I was sitting there and enjoying it, you know, or I talk to the kids about what part of that ice pop is your favorite. you know what mean? Because also I was like, I've had hemp seeds today. can list all the wonderfully nourishing foods. Yeah, you've had all your, you've had all your fiber, your healthy fats, your protein, your all the good stuff because it in. So I'm like, I can get ice pop. So I very much add things into people's diet. I'm very much about what can we add in?
Speaker: They will often crowd out the stuff that I might be able to see they're not really serving them. But you'll never get a plan from me that says... stop coffee, stop all your alcohol, unless, like I said, you have a very obvious, so like hot flashes. if If somebody is listening who has really bad hot flushes, I do usually say try no caffeine and no alcohol for a month and see how you feel.
Speaker: Because I've had some clients where genuinely they disappeared, gone, no more hot flushes. Their liver, because the liver is what's um trying to metabolize the alcohol and the caffeine, the liver doesn't work as well for us women as we age. As estrogen declines, the enzymes in the liver just don't work as well. Like we know that. That's scientific fact, right?
Speaker: Now we can support it. So I have lots of tools, which is why I don't get hangovers because I know what to do. It's like a little cheat cheat way there. But I also don't have massive amounts of hot flushes yet.
Speaker: Maybe, you know, ive but heat regulation comes from the liver. A lot of it. So for some women, the extra burden of the caffeine and alcohol is just too much. So they get hot flushes.
Speaker: If they then go on holiday, I often say to them, if you're on holiday and you you know you're relaxed, have a cup of glasses, have an espresso, see how you feel. And they'll write to me and go, no hot flushes. But then they come home and it's just, it's your load. You know, we talk about histamine, that's a conversation for another day, really. And we talk about histamine intolerance, but really what it is, it's your bucket is overflowing.
Speaker: So with histamine, you might get, you know, the the allergic type reactions and stuff. And it's very common in perimenopause to suddenly get asthma or allergies you never had before. But I always think of it the same with things like alcohol, caffeine, processed foods, stress,
Speaker: this lack of sleep, smoking, all of those things, they're just filling your bucket. And when we get to perimenopause, our bucket is still the same size, but we're much slower at emptying it.
Speaker: do You know, so we end up with an overflowing bucket much quicker than we did when we were 20. So we can put in foods, we can put in lifestyle supports, and we can put in supplements. I mean, there are some supplements out there that just magic. and their, like, horology is one. I swear by my horology, Menno, like, I really do. When I run out, I know it within the week.
Speaker: I'm like, yeah I'm snapping at people, and I'm like, order, to order, quick, quick, quick. But ah because it helps me manage my load, you know? So...
Speaker: I can't even remember where it started off. McDonald's. But yeah, so like that. The liver, your point that you just made there about the liver and heat regulation. But it was interesting because I think it was you at that event that said about beetroot. And it's the one thing I took. I was like, I'm having beetroot on the side of everything. I was telling my mother now. And my mother loves her glasses of wine. She's actually on a little break at the minute and she's feeling amazing. But I'm like, now you need to be having beetroot with everything, you know, your liver is not working the same way it was. It's still good for the heart as well, you know, beetroot. But yeah, like the liver is so overlooked. I'm so passionate about talking about the liver. I lecture the liver in college as well because it's responsible for so much between the liver and the brain. They take up 50% of our energy production.
Speaker: Oh wow. 50, like that's huge. So think of all the women that you work with, that I work with, that walk around with temperature and regulation issues like hot flushes or they get cold or whatever, and brain fog, lack of concentration, anxiety, depression, things that affect the brain and they're bone tired. If you could just support the liver, so either you take the load off, which can be the caffeine, the alcohol medications like paracetamol depletes the liver.
Speaker: hugely things like metformin statins they all go through the liver everything you put into your body whether it's topically you know ah orally everything has to go through our liver all our hormones go through the liver if you're taking hrt it goes through the liver if Can you imagine why you're so tired if your liver is working overtime and it's not able to work as well because we're over 40?
Speaker: So if you just show your liver some love, and I really noticed that when I stopped the liver support, had an outbreak of my acne here couple of weeks ago. And I was like, why? I've changed.
Speaker: And I went, oh, I stopped taking my liver supporting supplement. Do you know, because I got, I went, it's the summer, I don't need my supplements. But I kept going with my caffeine, my alcohol, all the things, but I didn't put my crutch in and I didn't have much beetroot, for example.
Speaker: you know, so that's where I think nutritional therapy is amazing. Sometimes it's about lowering the load. And sometimes it's about putting in the support and sometimes it's a marriage of the two. A bit of both. Yeah, I was going to say kind of a seesaw effect. kind of It is a seesaw effect. So for me and for you, it sounds like if I said stop drinking coffee, the stress wouldn't be worth it.
Speaker: Yeah. Like I've tried to give up coffee and I get such bad headaches. It is not worth it. So I need to support my liver to metabolize that caffeine a little bit more.
Speaker: Yeah. Fine. Yeah. And then I see like for myself, alcohol just wasn't worth it anymore. Whereas for a lot of people, they enjoy their glass of red wine or their, or you know, whatever it is, a couple of beers and that's okay. yeah i am In the right right amount and in the right situation. And yeah. So with supplementation, so you say liver support, is there supplements that you recommend that women, ah or is this a very an individual thing when it comes to supplements for liver?
Speaker: is It is and it isn't like even a good multi, and magnesium and B vitamins and iron are kind of key nutrients for the liver. So that's why really good daily multi magnesium and B vitamins would often be recommended for somebody with anxiety, depression, poor energy. And it's one of the reasons they work is they help us make energy, which supports the liver. So it's kind of an indirect way of supporting liver. it's not a separate. So yeah so if if you take horology balance or horology, you are supporting you know you're you're supporting your liver for this. Exactly. yeah And then simple things like milk thistle can be phenomenal, which you can just buy in the health shop as drops, right? Can be super helpful. um And then my favorite is NAC, N-A-C, N-Acetyl Cysteine. Like,
Speaker: That's the one I'm, I ran out of and acne came within short periods of time. So NAC is a really powerful antioxidant and it basically mops up stuff in your body. Like, so it's a precursor to glutathione, which some people have heard of. It's our most powerful antioxidant in the body. So protects us from DNA damage.
Speaker: I'm really simplifying here, but NAC. So NAC is definitely something I use with a lot of my perimenopausal women. It's not crazy expensive, very little side effects. You just have to make sure, um you know, if I make broad statements like this, always check with whatever medications you're taking. Magnesium and buogitamins are pretty much safe with everything. Probiotics are pretty much safe with everything. But liver support does depend because it supports the liver.
Speaker: So if you're taking a medication and suddenly it's broken down quicker in the body, That and might not be a good thing because it's not going to be in your body long enough. So with medications always are on the side of caution. I use um a really cool interactions checker so I can plug it all in. I can put in the supplements I want to use, what the client is using, and it'll give me all the interactions, you know, to be really sure. Or you can just ask your pharmacist.
Speaker: yes well Yeah. Yeah. I think, you know, if you've got and any type of condition that you're taking medication for, very important to to go with the guidance on that before the other the other stuff. Yeah. Yeah. absolutely percent and So in relation then to I know we've we've touched on it. So we've talked liver health, brain health and perimenopause. So we talk kind of talked to anxiety. and You've just touched on brain fog because I know this is something that a lot of women experience, brain fog, forgetfulness, just yes gent genuinely struggling with that. and
Speaker: What do you recommend? i Apart from, I would imagine that this stress reduction that we spent a huge amount of time talking about, the liver support, all of this is going to help with the supplement supplements we've mentioned is all going to help with this. Is there anything else that you think needs to be considered?
Speaker: So it really depends. One of the first things to do, and this is really important when you kind of realize you're edging into perimenopause territory anyway, is to rule out hypothyroidism. So to make sure that th thyroid is working properly, because one of the main side effects or symptoms of a slow thyroid is brain fog.
Speaker: And thyroid and estrogen are closely tied together. So any good GP, if you go in 39, 40 and you say, I think I might be in perimenopause, they should do bloods and they should check your thyroid. So that's really important.
Speaker: Also checking your B12, your folate and your ferritin, which is your iron storage, because a lack of iron can cause brain fog. So don't assume brain fog is due to perimenopause unless you've ruled out The other things, that's the first thing. I think that's really, really important.
Speaker: The amount of people that come to me and it's literally a nutrient deficiency. You correct that and their brain works just fine. Yeah. And actually in relation to the, the sorry to interrupt, it to the blood tests. So I i worked with Orla Hoflaherty for a little while and you know she got me to get bloods and she wanted the detailed report. Whereas before I'd have just gone and got my bloods done once a year and the you know the doctor would like, oh yeah, everything's good. And I'd be great. Whereas we got the detailed report, there was nothing clinically low.
Speaker: yeah But my ferritin was almost clinically low. She was like, hey, your ferritin is so low. So I had to I had to go take specific supplements to help with that. And it made a huge difference to some of my anxiety symptoms. Absolutely. Honestly, with brain health, you cannot overlook the importance of the nutrients, because if you don't have the nutrients to make red blood cells, then how is oxygen going to get to your brain?
Speaker: Yeah. How's it going to get your muscles? how are you going to work out? You know, um and you can't concentrate. So it's one of the signs of anemia, for example, but B12 deficiency is rampant in Ireland and a lot of labs aren't testing for it anymore. So I would do the same. I send a letter to my clients, GPs, and I ask them to run very specific bloods. Most GPs are really good and they will just run it. There's one or two that won't, but then we go to private labs, you know. but Yeah, like my GP, for example, she would know she is she ran everything that I asked, but she was like, why why why? Why is this person asking for this? There was a little bit of a defense and I didn't have a letter. i was like, oh, well, you know, we just, and yeah, we just want to, I just want that tested. just to know I find, honestly, the letter is brilliant and then I will interpret
Speaker: So like all I would have done for you, like I want to interpret the optimum range and not the normal range because the normal range keeps getting bigger and bigger and bigger. But the optimum is in here somewhere. So optimizing the bloods, I think, is number one. If you're anywhere, I ask people to do it every six months. Vitamin D deficiency causes depression.
Speaker: So like... And what' the what are the statistics on depression in Ireland? Exactly. No, but this is the thing. So if somebody comes to me and they they even have low mood, I'm like, let's run your vitamin D and it'll be, oh I was told it was fine. And I'm like, what is it? 50.
Speaker: I wanted a 200. The is 120, but the optimum is 150 to 200. So everybody's being told they're fine. But I would say 80% of the population in my clinic anyway, are actually deficient.
Speaker: So ruling them out and then the gut health. So gut and brain health are absolutely linked through the vagus nerve. Again, we could talk about the vagus nerve for an entire day.
Speaker: But so supporting your gut health with probiotic foods, probiotic supplements as needs be, but even just fiber, just Feed your body fiber. and That can play a huge role.
Speaker: um And then the other thing is consider HRT. Absolutely, because estrogen and progesterone are both important for cognitive health. So if there is a history of cognitive decline in the family, you know, maybe have a consideration.
Speaker: Maybe HRT is the right thing for you. Now, there is absolutely no evidence yet that HRT prevents Alzheimer's or cognitive decline. right I think we have to make sure that's really clear. There's no guideline.
Speaker: So whereas for bone density, for osteoporosis, HRT is the number one gold standard treatment. right That we know. But for cognitive health, it is not. However, oestrogen helps us form new new neurons, new brain cells. It forms new connections in the brain.
Speaker: Progesterone is the calming because it activates something called GABA in the brain. So for anxiety and sleep issues, progesterone might be the answer. So for a lot of brain health, HRT might be the answer if somebody can take it, you know, not everybody ah can take it because of breast cancer or whatever. Um, but that's something to consider. So check the nutrients, support the gut and maybe consider HRT is what I would say for brain health in a, in a,
Speaker: Tiny little nutshell. that no That's so helpful. And that was going to be a question that I asked you in relation to bone density, because obviously as a personal trainer, from my standpoint, obviously, you know, lifting weights, super important for not just for our muscle health, for our bone density. And it's so amazing to see so many women over the age of 40 now going to the gym, lifting weights, buying weights, lifting weights at home. It doesn't matter. that and There's so much more of this happening and it's just, it makes me so happy. and to to see but in relate I was at a talk at a separate talk to to and to the one that you were at a a different event where there was ah an amazing woman talking about HRT and she was talking about it in in relation to bone density and I learned a lot there that I didn't know that and and that the new forms of HRT are not to be feared in the same way as HRT 15 years ago where it was like oh is this going to at higher risk of of breast cancer, and that new HRT is safe. It's not for everyone, obviously, but it's definitely worth a conversation, particularly if you're struggling. And, but I, but I would have just thought if I don't struggle, I won't bother. Yeah. But in relation to bone density now, I'm like, I'll have to look into that more because I know I lift weights, but also, ah you know, I want to keep my bone density and ah as optimal as possible as I age. So that will be something I will look into.
Speaker: I think if you know you've osteopenia, it's worth considering. If you've osteoporosis, it's a no brainer to me, right? Now, the problem in Ireland is we don't get DEXAs at a baseline, which I think we all should.
Speaker: At 25, you should have a DEXA. what's your That's your optimum bone density, right? 25. it declines after 25. That's depressing. Isn't it? Isn't it so depressing? You're declining for 25, my God. I know, I'm like, I'm 45, so that's 20 years down the line. We need all the right nutrients. The focus has been on calcium and vitamin D, but actually the research is showing magnesium is by a mile the most important nutrient for bone density. That doesn't even get talked about.
Speaker: because teach classes on bone density and I'm always like the research is so overwhelmingly saying magnesium is more important than calcium vitamin D. I'm like, why aren't we shouting this from the rooftops?
Speaker: But anyway, there is basically our bone turnover. So we use up bone at a higher rate when estrogen declines. So estrogen sort of maintains bone density. So as estrogen is going down, we use up more bone than we make.
Speaker: The other thing with and bone density is the gut. And this is the coolest area of research. So there's bacteria in our gut that can also increase or decrease bone turnover.
Speaker: Oh, wow. so Yeah. So by running a stool test, which I've done on people, you can see if they have the right bacteria to help with bone density or not. There's also bacteria, Acromantia is one specific one that produce something called butyrate in the gut that helps fracture healing.
Speaker: So like, it's just so beyond calcium. And absolutely strength training, 100%. But things like um jump rope, skipping, strengthens the calves. So hanging or pull-ups, which I keep looking at my house going, where can I hang a bar? um But like, especially if people have diagnosed osteopenia or osteoporosis, when they come to me, they tell me where it is. i can refer them to the right practitioner to work with. And I have had people who have reversed osteopenia into normal or osteoporosis into osteopenia, but it's rarely just food or just lifting.
Speaker: Bone density in particular, it's everything as well as muscles, building muscle, because building muscle also can help with balance and protect you from falls.
Speaker: yeah Right. So it's it's not just lifting the heavy shit, even though we should all be doing it. But it's, I mean, there's so much more. Yeah. Yeah. and ah like I feel like, you know, what I think we like we will definitely have to a part two because there's so much more we need to talk about. And I'm going to round it up here because if we don't, we'll be another half an hour at least. We'll be another hour. and And this has been such a fantastic conversation. And like i I have learned so much. i've i I feel so motivated. So like so full of energy after this conversation. Last question before we finish up. What does the word help mean to you?
Speaker: you know what? I thought that was one of the toughest questions anybody's ever asked me. Yes. I love it. went, what does health mean? And you know what? The fact that I had ill health for so long and I really was, i couldn't do anything. I used to collapse in the evening in front of my children.
Speaker: So health for me is being able to do what you want without pain. without having to choose one thing over the other so that I can go and I can move my body and I can still play with my children and I can still cook the dinner and I can read a book and function. So it's about doing all the things that I want to do without having to sacrifice something else.
Speaker: I love that. It's freedom, isn't it? I love that. Without the sacrifice. Yeah. That's amazing. and Gwen, thank you so much. This has been this this is such a beneficial conversation. It's going to help so many people. Thank you for sharing your expertise, your knowledge. I really appreciate it. If anyone would like to reach out to you or follow you or book in for an appointment with you, where is the best place for them to find you?
Speaker: So I'm Gwen Wright Nutrition, um online email, website, everything. it's GwenWrightNutrition.com, Gwen Wright Nutrition on social media everywhere. So that is by mile the easiest thing. So it's Gwen Wright, G-W-E-N-R-I-G-H-T. So play on my husband's name, Enright and Gwen. So Gwen wrote together. Yeah, because I'm everywhere. Yeah. So if you just go, even if they Googled you, they'd find you. If they Google Gwen Gastian Enright, I'll come up. Or Gwen Nutritionist.
Speaker: Ireland I'll come up I think I'm the only Gwen in Ireland so I will and i'll I'll link your Instagram and your website in the show notes anyway so you they and they can reach out to you and and yeah thank you so much this has been amazing thanks for having me Thank you so much for listening to this episode. And as always, if you enjoyed it, please do share it with your friends and your followers in your WhatsApp groups, on your stories. If you do, tag me at Kate Hamilton Health and at Kate Hamilton Business and do share the episode with anyone that you think it may help.
Speaker: Also, if you haven't yet, please do subscribe to the podcast. This makes such a difference in growing it. These little things of sharing it with people who need it, subscribing. and And I really, really appreciate and your help and your support as I continue to grow this.
Speaker: If you are looking for support with your health and your fitness goals and you want a long term sustainable approach that is realistic and science backed, this is exactly what we do inside my Nourish Her health and fitness coaching.
Speaker: If you're looking for support while you're building your business and you want to do it in a profitable way that doesn't cost you your health and your freedom, this is exactly what I do in my Lead Her business mentorship.
Speaker: I've shared links to both in the show notes. So if you're interested, have a click, have a read, reach out to me. I'm happy to answer any of your questions and I hope you have a great day and I will see you on the next episode.
