What if your body breaking down isn’t just “a woman of that age” thing—but a clue you’ve been ignoring too long?

In this raw and revelatory conversation, we sit down with Dyna Vink—integrative health practitioner, founder of Holistic Nutrition Lifestyle, and functional medicine whisperer for women in perimenopause. But she's more than a practitioner. She’s a former corporate exec who walked through the fire of hormone havoc, medical gaslighting, and career reinvention—and came out swinging.

We explore the moment Dyna’s career crumbled and her hormones went rogue—and how she turned data, grit, and root-cause science into a powerful body of work that now helps women reclaim their vitality, clarity, and confidence… on their own terms.

You’ll hear how to:

1. Recognize the real symptoms of perimenopause (forget “just hot flashes”)
2. Use functional medicine testing to decode what your body’s actually begging for
3. Shift from symptom management to root-cause healing
4. Create resilience through nutrition, mindset, and nervous system care
5. Redefine success after your body stops playing along with hustle culture

Here’s your permission slip to stop grinning and bearing it—and to get curious, courageous, and wildly damn intentional with how you treat your one-and-only body. Because you’re not too much. And you’re not crazy. You’re at a crossroads.

Pass this episode on to a woman who needs to hear the truth behind the symptoms—and hit follow to keep hearing more stories that call BS on burning out. You’ve got options. And you deserve to know them.

Sara Ferrer: Holistic approaches. He guides women to uncover the root causes of their symptoms and creates sustainable lifestyle shifts that restore vitality and confidence.

Sara Ferrer: We'll also dive into the tools and frameworks she's created to help women feel at home in their bodies again. I love that. And the importance of root pause, healing, and the lessons she's learned about resilience, empowerment, and redefining health on your own terms.

Serena Reynolds: I'm Serena and I build systems that make leaders impossible to ignore.

Serena Reynolds: Turning podcasts into pipelines and webinars into cash machines.

Sara Ferrer: And I'm Sara, an email marketing pro here to convert clicks into cash. Together we are two women in charge, digging into the fearless, the, oh, so very flawed, but fabulous journeys of female founders rewriting the rules.

Serena Reynolds: So let's dive in.

Serena Reynolds: Welcome to our show, Dyna.

Dyna Vink: Great to have you. What a wonderful introduction.

Serena Reynolds: Can you take us back to the moment when you realized that this path is what you wanted to dedicate your life to and your work to?

Dyna Vink: Hmm. That's such a great question because, you know, many women coaches and entrepreneurs come to their, their passion through life experience. Right? It, that's what drives you.

Dyna Vink: You, you see this? Need and you, you go out and you solve it. And well, for me it was being exited from the corporate world and I had worked there as a marketing director in a high tech firm in the headquarters and, you know, high responsibility job. I had had a, a, a pretty rough perimenopause myself, 13 years of, of it.

Dyna Vink: And, um, HRT hadn't really made any difference to me. So, uh, once I was exited from corporate, then I thought, okay, um, I'm in my fifties now. Corporate doesn't want me. Uh, so I've always wanted to run my own business. I, I just thought that I would. Be more prepared to, to do that. And let's think about what I can do where my age is not a problem, you know, where my age is not a liability, but it's, it's an advantage.

Dyna Vink: But the, you know, the medical system just is not geared, it's not prepared, it's not equipped to, uh, to help women. So that's kind of the, you know what, what, what, uh, started me going, and it wasn't until I was into it for a couple of years that I uncovered the functional medicine testing and whoa, that is such a difference because then you can just.

Dyna Vink: Hone right in on the, on, on the issues and give very targeted help to rebalance the body. You know, so lifestyle approaches are always fantastic, but, uh, to get at some things that are perhaps challenging, like thyroid issues or gut issues or, you know, uh, parasites or, you know, uh, hormone imbalances, I mean, it's, it's a way of, of getting to that sort of immediately and, and being able to resolve those issues.

Dyna Vink: Yeah.

Dyna Vink: Right. And, uh, that's kind of a new word for a lot of people.

Dyna Vink: They may have heard of menopause, uh, in sort of veiled terms, but perimenopause could be new. And perimenopause is that whole transition cycle. So once the, the hormones start to shift a little bit, then, uh, that's, that's perimenopause. So perimenopause goes for as long as it takes until you've been without a period for 12 months.

Dyna Vink: You know, if you've got. Gut issues. If you've got, um, you know, parasite problems, if you've got heavy metals, if you've got any of these things, then those don't resolve by themselves. Uh, you know, those are imbalances in the body and, uh, unless you do something about it, they will persist and, and become, you know, bigger problems than they were.

Dyna Vink: So, and sleep issues are another example of that. So that's, that's kind of the continuum on perimenopause to post menopause, uh, cycle.

Serena Reynolds: So I, I have to ask this. So, so obviously you have chemical menopause as well, which is where menopause is induced by, by something that's happened like a ectomy or a hysterectomy, or.

Serena Reynolds: Or whatever.

Dyna Vink: Chemotherapy. Yeah,

Dyna Vink: That's right. And so when, when the body doesn't have time to go through that, that transition period when it's just done, you know, overnight kind of thing, um, then there's a, there's a real tough job for the body to, to adapt.

Dyna Vink: Um, we have estrogen receptors all over our body. It's not just a, a reproductive thing, you see. And, um, estrogen is very protective of, of us, of. Bones of skin, of heart, of everything. And when you suddenly remove that, that's a big shock for the body to go through. And then of course, there's also the balancing of of progesterone.

Dyna Vink: So you've got a lot of, you know, things happening all at once. And if there isn't, uh, some kind of well management and care and rebalancing that happens after these events, then it can be a pretty tumultuous time. Some women do okay with, with hormone replacement therapy, but others can't take it or don't wanna take it.

Dyna Vink: So it's, it, it's, it's usually not a ail silver bullet in any case, but it can help.

Serena Reynolds: So I, I'm, I'm in the age bracket now where this is affecting me and my friends and, and my social circles. So. I am also at that age where if I find my doctors, it's almost, I can almost hear the tut, oh, she's just a woman of that age.

Serena Reynolds: And or maybe, maybe it's just society that says that we should just get on with it. Um, or maybe that's my own personal opinion. Not my opinion. It's not my opinion. I take that back. It's not my opinion, but it's my perception of how. We're, we're told to treat this so, so let's go a little bit deeper into what it actually means for women and how that actually affects them mentally, physically, et cetera.

Dyna Vink: So, um, that's a problem. And, and, um, you know, things are very slowly coming about, but you know, when you think of that, uh, you go to your doctor for help and that it's a trusted advisor and they, and they just dismiss everything. So that's a bad feeling. Women start to doubt themselves and, uh, you know, whether they.

Dyna Vink: Are really feeling this or whether it's all in their head. But you know, the fact is, is that this is not an illness. This is a, a, a normal transition that women go through and, uh, doctors are there to treat illness, right? They're not there to promote health. They're there to treat illness. And so, you know, usually they, they have a, a, a fallback to pharmaceuticals.

Dyna Vink: It, it, it's not a root cause solution, right? You're, you're, you're trying to treat symptoms and most people get, uh, a, a lot of side effects from these drugs. So 80% of people who get antidepressants have side effects. 50% of of people who get sleep medication get side effects. So this is, this is not. You know, an, an easy solution in any way.

Dyna Vink: Like this is like quite alarming. Um, your libido starts to drop, and so this can cause marital or, you know, relationship problems at, at home. Um, it can make you feel lack of confidence. You, you know, you start to wonder what's going on when the weight pile's on. So you've got body issues, your clothes don't fit anymore.

Dyna Vink: So suddenly, you know, you're looking around, what can I possibly wear? And you have to figure out the whole wardrobe situation. Um, at work you may be in presentations and whatnot. You start to, to get hot flashes and anxiety, you get brain fog and you forget your, your words. Uh, it's, it's, you know, there's so many things going on.

Dyna Vink: They're not looking for how to promote wellness, right? So, so they're looking for different markers that are illness marketers. That's not what we have. So most of the tests that are done don't catch all the subtleties that, uh, that are actually happening in the biochemistry of your body.

Serena Reynolds: And how do you feel about that?

Dyna Vink: Well, that was one of the reasons I was so excited that functional medicine testing is there so that, so that it can pick all that stuff up. Right? I mean, what, because

Serena Reynolds: And you know, you know, I mean this podcast is definitely not about man bashing at all. But I have seen so many women suffer horrifically actually from side effects menopause. Um, you know, some have lost their jobs or some have had to give up their jobs.

Dyna Vink: Yeah, it's about 20%.

Serena Reynolds: So, so isn't that so, so, okay.

Serena Reynolds: Technically not an illness. Technically it's a natural process, but if I'm not mistaken, I, I read this somewhere once, I could be wrong, but it's only us and dolphins that go through it. There's no other mammals that have menopause. So how natural really is it for us to, to, to have that big hormonal shift?

Serena Reynolds: We're not getting the help from the medical profession, which is where we would knock on the door to start with. So what is out there for us?

Dyna Vink: Yeah. Well, uh, so you, you know, starting with the lifestyle, uh, approaches, uh, there are some, uh, I, I'll call them tweaks. Um, they're, they're, uh, easy but they're not simple.

Dyna Vink: And so being able to avoid, uh, inflammatory foods because inflammation is the cause of a lot of these challenges that, that people have, and it's also the source of a number of diseases.

Serena Reynolds: Okay, let's name and shame these foods, the top ones.

Dyna Vink: Yeah. So, um, it would be, uh, processed foods. Usually dairy, uh, has a, a very inflammatory effect.

Dyna Vink: Sugar is a bad one. Uh, alcohol and caffeine are bad ones. Uh, generally flour is not so good. Right. So those, I know

Sara Ferrer: you're making me suffer now. I got all the fun stuff.

Dyna Vink: Just think Mediterranean diet, right? And you've, and, and then it, uh, it's very tasty. It's very delicious. It's, it's, uh, you know, high in good fats.

Dyna Vink: So, uh, yeah, so that's a, a, a, a big change. Uh, another one would be the whole sleeping thing, and how do you get better sleep and preferably without using, you know, some kind of sleep inducement, some.

Serena Reynolds: I'm leaning in closer to hear this. How do we get better sleep? I'd love to know.

Dyna Vink: Yes. Well, a couple of key tips would be not to eat or drink, uh, within three hours of going to going to bed.

Dyna Vink: So that's, uh, a big part. Um, avoiding screens. 'cause that blue light can be very intoxicating, very stimulating to the eyes and the brain. So, uh, cut that out at least an hour before, uh, before bed. So going back to the old book reading, right? That's, that's much better than reading screens, than, uh, having your, your bedroom, uh, very dark.

Dyna Vink: Uh, so removing all sorts of lights and, and prompts and whatnot, uh, that's a, a good idea. Having your bedroom a, a cooler temperature makes a big difference. Having, uh, bedding and sleep clothes that are absorbent because, uh, because often there heat, um, hot flashes at night and that can wake you up and, and so you wanna make it as.

Dyna Vink: So there would be, uh, walking is, is fantastic. Uh, Pilates yoga is fantastic, but also very important would be weightlifting. So weightlifting is important to, uh, to, uh, well build muscle and building muscle protects bones. So once you, you're losing your estrogen, then that makes you a candidate for osteoporosis.

Dyna Vink: Right? Totally key. I if you can say, oh, I'm feeling this. That's, that's, uh, you know, I, I'm feeling anxious. Um, I, I know what to do about being anxious. I'll just do some, some breathing exercises and within five minutes I can quell that, that anxiety. Within two minutes, I can quell that anxiety, you know, because I know what to do when that happens.

Dyna Vink: So that mindset piece of, of being in control and, um, and being positive. And when you're telling yourself positive things, you're not telling yourself negative things. Right. So you can just process the one thing at, at, at, at a time and that's a, a, a very powerful thing to be able to practice. So that's the lifestyle.

Dyna Vink: Yeah.

Sara Ferrer: What do you find is the challenge in people? Or is there, like, I imagine someone comes to you, they hear this and then they go, well, wait, how do I, how do I, what is the Mediterranean diet? Like how, what? Like, okay, where do I get the bread that doesn't have that, that flour, like. Again, 'cause I just, I think sometimes with listeners we get, you know, our feedback, which is there's someone like you is the expert who comes in and you guide us.

Sara Ferrer: Yeah. How

Sara Ferrer: do you address that?

Dyna Vink: Well, the, you're absolutely right. The, the behavior change is the biggest, you know, the, the biggest challenge. And, um, I find that it helps a lot to have data and that's where the functional medicine testing comes in. Right?

Serena Reynolds: So let's talk about what actually functional medicine is fast. Let's hit that, that nail on the.

Dyna Vink: Okay. So, uh, functional medicine is a way of looking at the body in, in its whole, right? Whereas traditional medicine, uh, it carves everything up. So you've got, uh, endocrinologists, you've got cancer experts, you've got internists. You, you know, you, you've got somebody to take care of every part, but not who looks at the whole body.

Dyna Vink: And so functional medicine is a way of, is, is, is the practice of, of looking at that whole body health, uh, which I think is, is. Um, well novel, right? I mean, it, it makes good sense. And then, and then the, they, they've gone and developed a series of tests that are far more sensitive and, uh, expansive than what traditional medicine does.

Dyna Vink: They're shipped to the home and then, uh, they're taken. So urine tests, there are blood spot tests, there's hair tests, uh, stool tests and um, saliva. So the saliva test is, is for testing cortisol. So you do that four times in a day to, to measure where your cortisol is. So, um, tho those tests are, are, are fantastic way to get the data on exactly what's going on in your body, and then you can, you know, then you can develop a, a customized wellness plan and then you're monitoring.

Dyna Vink: Uh, against those very specific issues. Right? So then you, you start to get the effect of, of that, uh, within, you know, a couple of weeks. Uh, some, sometimes it's, uh, a week, sometimes it's three weeks. You start to notice the, the, the difference. And so that's very rewarding, right? That that's encouraging to people, that they can see a result, they can see a change.

Serena Reynolds: Okay. So how does that time with menopause, how does, how does that bring your work in together to, to help come up with solutions for women?

Dyna Vink: Well, um, for perimenopause it's typically an area where there, there isn't much help, right? And so that's an area that I specialize in. Other people specialize in children or they specialize in just general, um, health.

Dyna Vink: Things going on at the same time. And so, you know, when I did it, uh, for myself, I found, uh, that even though I'd been doing all these lifestyle things, I, I, I had heavy metal, which is quite normal after decades. Right. You just sort of absorb it from different places. Uh, it turned out I had some parasites, which is common for like.

Dyna Vink: Between 30 and 40% of the population have it. So not a, a, a big surprise. I had, uh, a, a very small level of candida overgrowth, which can be very unpleasant. And, um, and then I had, uh, some, uh, hormone imbalance. So even though I had been doing all the life. Style things. There were still these issues that were out of balance.

Dyna Vink: And your reaction is to clench against that. So, you know how many dentists are gonna ask about your parasite situation, right? They're gonna sell you, uh, uh, uh,

Serena Reynolds: a night guard.

Dyna Vink: You know, be impact in keel. They may not have been really bothersome for, for you. But then once there's a change, then all these other things are suddenly out of whack too. And so that's, that's kind of why I, I focused on perimenopause is because, you know, lifestyle alone is, is great, but it's, it's not the whole thing.

Dyna Vink: And it's like HRT is might help with the, with, with the hormone piece. But there are all these other things that are still left in question.

Serena Reynolds: If I was to come to you. Um, with perimenopause symptoms, what, what would happen? How would we step through this? What would be the first step? Paint me a picture. How would that look?

Dyna Vink: Uh, then, then we would go ahead with the functional medicine testing. I would, uh, recommend what tests, uh, would, would be taken. They would be sent to you. I would, uh, recommend that you start with a detox. So, uh, a detox in this case is focusing on, uh, clearing the liver elimination pathways. So this is important because if there's anything else that needs to be, uh, cleared out, whether it's heavy metals or uh, bacteria overgrowth or you know, or parasites or whatever that needs to be cleared out, it needs to have an escape route.

Dyna Vink: And, uh, so then you can do the detox in, in preparation for the, the test results to come in. And once the test results are in, then we can start with the, with a, a personalized wellness plan, which is based on all the, the, uh, biochemical markers that, uh, that you've, you know, that you've shown in, in the tests.

Dyna Vink: And then we modify, we, we go along. We can make some modifications along the way. Um, sometimes the detox go the, the treatment goes a little quickly and there may be some side effects so we can back off a bit. Other times it's fine, we can go faster. Uh, so we can make those, those determinations along the way.

Dyna Vink: And some, some women, uh, wanna come back after, uh, after a year, you know, they wanna do a couple of tests once a year just to determine what's going on. So, you know, those are, those are really helpful tools to, to have the data in order to guide that decision making.

Sara Ferrer: It sounds, Dyna, like this is true. You've been through, you had mentioned 13 years, you've been through the symptoms, the gaslighting, the unknown.

Sara Ferrer: So this is. Sounds like you're really freeing a lot of women, mentally, physically, spiritually, emotionally, from all these symptoms of perimenopause, which I think are so informative, right? It's more than just you're sweating, right? Or, or you're this. The more you talk, I'm like, holy shit, this is all encompassing, right?

Sara Ferrer: And you gotta get up, go to work, do this, be a good partner, whatever that may look like. So I guess what I'd like to know is. You've been doing this. Now you're, it sounds like you're incredibly fulfilled, your wealth of knowledge. We typically like to ask our guests around this time, you know, a, a surprise question from a previous guest.

Sara Ferrer: And so I'd like to do a little caveat there because I hear the passion from you, and I know that there's some people that like when it's personal, the business is not separate from who they are. So let me say this. I'm gonna extend that question, which we historically don't alter the questions, but what's the next step when you step down, step away?

Sara Ferrer: Or what's the next five to 10 years look like for the business? For holistic nutrition lifestyle? 'cause I feel like, I'm not sure baby girl's gonna be stepping away anytime soon the way she talks about it with passion and knowledge. Don't, don't, don't, don't step away on us. You gotta give us another 30 years of your experience at least.

Dyna Vink: Yeah. Yeah.

Serena Reynolds: Sara's gotta reach that far. Yeah,

Sara Ferrer: Let's say 10 years for the business, if that. Yeah.

Dyna Vink: Well, I've already, um, embarked on that journey and uh, I'm already into that very question. So two years ago I left Canada and I sold all my stuff and I moved with my cat and two suitcases, and I moved to Panama. And where I am now. And so this was part of it because my, my work is primarily online and I thought, okay, uh, I've had enough of all the, you know, the, the post pandemic situation in Canada.

Dyna Vink: He's just right there. And, uh, so as far as growing the business, I have plans for that too. And, uh, where I will take it is now I only have, uh, one, uh, employee, but, um, the, the, the plan is to start offloading more and more to other employees as I bring them on board so that I, I'm not always. Uh, on the front lines, right, so that I can step back and, you know, kind of transfer my knowledge to other people who can then carry on the work and continue to, to serve these women who, who are in such a, you know, such a need.

Sara Ferrer: That's a fantastic answer. Like, I'm here, like she's not giving up anything and you're like, girl, I'm in Panama. I'm living my best life already. And like, let me ask you something too, because we talk a lot about atmosphere, mental shifts. You've mentioned a lot about dietary. Um, for those who are listening, who are like, 'cause I remember years ago, years ago, maybe eight years ago, I went to Panama and at the time it was one of the hottest places.

Dyna Vink: No, it's way easier here. Um, so there, there are fewer of the call them negative pulls or negative influences here. Uh, when I came here I was quite, uh, careful about selecting friends and friends that were. Way easier to make here than they were in, in Canada. Uh, so I mean, I'm still a, a, a ferocious Canadian, but, um, I'm also glad to step away and to be able to, uh, to work in, in this environment and, and I've got.

Dyna Vink: Uh, the, all the cows here are. Pasture grazed. They don't have any grain feeding or anything like that at all. Uh, the chicken here is amazing. We're just, uh, uh, 20 miles away from the ocean, so there's lots of fish as well. Uh, so it, you know, it's, it from a food standpoint, it's a lot easier to eat clean here than, uh, you know, than certainly anywhere else I've ever lived.

Serena Reynolds: Have you found that also in Spain, Sara?

Sara Ferrer: Oh, yeah.

Serena Reynolds: As she was saying, I could almost transfer it straight over to,

Serena Reynolds: yeah, day and night

Serena Reynolds: to Spain.

Sara Ferrer: But how do you do better when 99% of what's around you is ultra processed? Or you gotta drive the car to go to a park that's 25 miles away versus just walking, having. Sidewalks, having things be pedestrian friendly, like

Serena Reynolds: as a Brit, as a Brit going to Florida to Orlando. Um, I, I won't just tell all of Florida 'cause I, I know it's not all like it.

Serena Reynolds: I went to Orlando and I couldn't see sidewalks, pavements. There was, there was no walking zones.

Dyna Vink: Yeah.

Serena Reynolds: It was, it's not

Serena Reynolds: designed for

Serena Reynolds: walk. And, and it was, that was a real eyeopener for me. And then, and then of course the, the shopping experience in supermarkets. Was was very different to what I was used to.

Sara Ferrer: Mm-hmm. Yeah. I mean I think, you know, this whole talk about atmosphere and mental shift, I mean the mental shifts really do, and this is what I'm hearing from you, Dyna, it's like, it's the people you choose to be around you, right?

Sara Ferrer: Mentally, emotionally, all that. But then like. What's available? You know, it's, it's, it's, it's another job if you have to, it sounds like what you're saying is, you know, if you have to actively always go out of your way to do things, there's so many more challenges and obstacles and more chance of failure, right?

Sara Ferrer: More friction. So it sounds like you kind of figured it out. You moved to Panama, you're with your cat, you sound happy, the business. You have a great plan. So now let's have you hit our next guest. With, uh, with a question, what would you like to, and remember, you have no idea what age they are, what industry they work in, but assume that they are a woman.

Sara Ferrer: So that is, that is a fair assumption.

Dyna Vink: So that's the question.

Sara Ferrer: Awesome. Great question.

Sara Ferrer: So tell me for those who are listening and they're like, okay, she's online, great. So I don't have to visit her in person because as many people as they wanna go to Panama, that might be a bit of a barrier to get, you know, get services.

Serena Reynolds: I'd go to Panama.

Sara Ferrer: What does that look like, those intro steps to learning more about you?

Dyna Vink: Well, the, uh, the easiest thing would be just to go to holistic nutrition lifestyle.com to the website and, uh, write up, uh, there, there's a, there's a, a button to book a discovery call. So we could have this dis, you know, this discussion to see whether you're a good candidate for functional medicine testing.

Sara Ferrer: I love that. I love that. And anyone listening, I think this has been a great conversation, not only for those who are in it or on the fringes of it, but just for those of us who are like, oh. This is really impactful to know. 'cause I think the more we talk about it, the less taboo it becomes. Y you know, I mean, I, I, I think you've tackled a lot of those, those uncomfortable issues to ta talk about parasites, um, you know, loss of, of libido.

Sara Ferrer: But the more we can normalize this, the more empowered we feel and the more we feel less crazy, which ultimately at the end of the day, when you feel crazy, that really limits your ability to get help. Right.

Serena Reynolds: When you think how, just a generation ago from me, it wasn't talked about. Menopause was like, sh it's the change.

Dyna Vink: Yeah. Well, and you know, my mother went through it as well, but, uh, she, she didn't, she didn't connect the dots right. Uh, so the fact that she fell and broke her shoulder was not part of the, the perimenopause experience for her and the fact that she was losing all her hair, she didn't connect that.

Dyna Vink: And the fact that she was having relationship problems with her family. She didn't connect any of that. And so now in hindsight I can, I can say, ah, you know, this is what's going on. But, um, yeah, it's, you know, to try and demystify this is, is really my mission and to provide assistance so that women can, can feel empowered and, you know, take back control of their lives.

Sara Ferrer: This was very enlightening and dare I say, encouraging, right? Like at the end of the day. Problems are gonna happen. Knowing that there's a solution really makes life or future experiences a lot easier. So thank you so much for sharing your knowledge.

Dyna Vink: Well, it was a, it was a delight to, to speak with you and to uh, and to share.

Sara Ferrer: Awesome. Thanks so much, Dyna.