Today, we’re diving into the fascinating world of midlife health myths and must-know truths that every woman should hear during perimenopause. From bone density to hormone shifts, we tackle the outdated advice that’s still circulating—and what actually works now.

Is calcium really king for bone health? (Spoiler: not exactly.) What role do weight training, vitamin D, and K2 play? We also decode the misunderstood “pill hangover” and what it means for your symptoms now—even years later.

Functional nutritionist Elizabeth Katzman walks us through what to eat for hormone support, which supplements are essential, and why your lab results may not tell the whole story.

So grab your favorite beverage, kick back, and let’s bust the myths and rewrite the midlife wellness playbook—together.

In this enlightening episode of the podcast, the hosts take listeners on a journey through the often-misunderstood realms of midlife health, engaging in a game aptly named "Myth or Must Know: Midlife Edition." This dynamic format allows for a lively examination of prevalent health myths, starting with the widely held belief that calcium supplements are the cornerstone of maintaining bone health. The hosts reveal, with a mix of humor and insight, that these supplements are not the panacea they are marketed to be and can even lead to complications like arterial calcification. Instead, they advocate for a more holistic approach that includes micronized calcium, along with the powerful duo of vitamins D and K, to truly support bone integrity.

As the episode progresses, the conversation delves into the complexities of hormonal health, dismantling the notion that normal lab results equate to balanced hormones. The hosts stress the importance of recognizing the individual variability in hormonal responses, noting that what feels optimal for one person may not hold true for another. This exploration is not only informative but also liberating, as it empowers listeners to embrace their unique health journeys without falling prey to generic health advice.

Moreover, the podcast highlights the significant interplay between gut health and hormonal balance, elucidating how our digestive systems impact estrogen processing. The hosts provide practical tips for maintaining gut health, emphasizing that regular bowel movements are essential for eliminating excess estrogen and preventing symptoms of dominance. With a blend of wit and wisdom, this episode equips listeners with critical knowledge, encouraging them to advocate for their health and wellbeing through informed choices. It's a refreshing reminder that while midlife may bring challenges, it also offers opportunities for empowerment and growth.

Foreign. The name of this game is Myth or Must Know Midlife Edition.

So I will give you a sample prompt and you say whether it is a myth or a must know truth, and then you can give a little explanation if you'd like. All right, first one. Calcium supplements are the most important factor for bone health.

They are not. And calcium can get lodged in our arteries where we don't want them. So supplementing with calcium when our estrogen is low can be dangerous.

I like mchc. It's micronized bovine calcium. It's very bioavailable. It doesn't tend to coagulate in our arteries. So I really like mchc.

And also actually, you know, vitamin D and K together is much more supportive than calcium, so. Wow.

Okay. Back in the day, you know, in the 80s and 90s, everyone's like, drink your calcium, take your calcium. You know, do that. Wow. Okay.

Number two, if your labs look normal, your hormones are balanced, well, you could.

Ask probably 10 different people and show them your same labs, and they would probably all have different interpretations. So that would be a definite myth that just because someone tells you they're normal, that everything is somehow balanced and balanced.

By the way, balanced for one person is not balanced for another. I know women who feel amazing on really high estrogen, and I know women who feel amazing on pretty low estrogen. So. And a lot of that's genetics.

So what is right for one person is not necessarily right for you.

It's individual.

It's very individual.

Okay. The pill only affects your body while you're on it.

Right? Right. Myth.

Total myth.

It does, for a very long time, affect our receptor function and the way our brains communicate with our ovaries. And for there. There are some women who are very blessed. They get off the pillow. They get a cycle immediately.

Not just, you know, withdrawal bleeds, but they're actually. They're ovulating right out of the gate, and their skin looks great and they're sleeping. There are those women.

I don't want to make it seem like everyone who is ever on the pill is going to have short and long term issues, but for many women, the issues last. They could be 20 years later.

Okay. Gosh, it's like the more, you know, weight training is more effective for bone health than cardio.

Yeah, it is. We. We need resistance on our bone. And muscle health is a great indicator of bone health because, you know, if you are.

If you're putting resistance on your muscle, you're also putting resistance on your bone, and that's how we gain bone density and cardio. Like swimmers and bike riders, for example, have really poor bone density, especially bike riders in their neck and upper back.

Swimmers kind of notoriously don't have great bone density. And when you're doing a lot of cardio, you're increasing cortisol, which breaks down bone. So definitely strength training is the hero there.

Okay. Hormonal shifts are inevitable at midlife, but suffering through them is not correct.

That is true. You do not have to suffer. There are, whether it's herbs or HRT or lifestyle changes, we have a lot of tools to make sure that it doesn't.

You do not have to be miserable.

That's such a good thing. Gut health has nothing to do with hormonal health.

Oh, yeah, a tremendous amount. And again, a lot of it is out of our hands.

If you're eating a perfect diet, but you're losing estrogen, you are losing your diversity virtue of that alone by changing nothing. So, yeah. And it affects how we metabolize our estrogens.

So we could have more circulating estrogen, which would make us sick, which I really didn't talk about.

But if someone is not going to the bathroom daily, they really shouldn't be taking HRT because you're going to be accumulating recirculating estrogen. So it's one of the first thing I'll ask a woman. It can also be related with thyroid function.

So if you have a sluggish thyroid, you have sluggish digestion, and we really have to address that or up your magnesium. We have to get you going to the bathroom every single day to get rid of circulating estrogen.

And so a lot of that has to do with the function of our microbiome as well.

Wait, that's fascinating. So I did not know that. So if you do not go to the bathroom every day, it's not a good idea to pump extra estrogen into your body. Wow.

Because you have to be able to eliminate what you don't need. Right?

Yes. You'll have a lot of estrogen dominant symptoms.

Like, what are some of those? Like, what would happen? Like, if you got the buildup, let's.

Say, like, you're gonna feel bloated, your energy is gonna be erratic, you're gonna skin, you know, everything. You'll, you'll, you know, you'll feel it, you'll be crampy, your breast tenderness will increase.

All the things a lot of people will say, well, just take more progesterone. And it's like, not if you're not going to the bathroom. It's not gonna. The progesterone. Yes.

Has to be balanced with the estrogen, but it's not going to fix the fact that you're not eliminating through going to the bathroom.

Well, I'm so glad you're bringing that up too, because I feel like so many women, especially as your metabolism slows down, that's exactly what they're dealing with. I have so many friends that are like, I'm so constipated, like, I don't know what to do. I've got. And it's just. It seems like a vicious cycle.

Yes. And it's also one of the issues that women will have if they're on the GLP1s because it slows gastric emptying.

So, you know, I know a lot of women who have gotten into problems because they haven't gone to the bathroom enough while they're on the GLP1s. So there's a lot of research that shows HRT plus GLP1s can be amazing. But you have to couch that on the fact that you gotta be going to the bathroom.

Right. Right. You have to. So that you would do that by taking upping the magnesium, upping the fiber. Is there any. Anything else?

I mean, sometimes you just need a good cup of coffee. Yeah, right, Exactly.

Hot flashes are caused only by low estrogen.

No. Insulin plays a huge factor, so you really got to keep your glucose in check. Honestly, the only times I had major hot flashes were.

And I remember perfectly because I tried it twice just to make sure I ate honey on an empty stomach. And holy cow, honey is pretty clean, you know, But I sweat through my sheets.

Woke up in the middle of the night through my sheets, and I did it again just to see. And sure enough. But yeah, stabilizing blood sugar is crucial for managing hot flashes.

Wow. I just. I never made that connection at all. Because you think it's like, hormonal, like with estrogen, but not with insulin. Wow.

Yeah. Yeah. And again, it goes back to insulin being a hormone. And they're all talking to each other. Yeah.

And final one, you can only build bone density in your younger years.

Right. Very false. You can definitely build it with protein weight training. I personally, I go to something called Osteo Strong.

There are locations all over the place. I don't have an affiliation with them. I don't know other locations. I'm lucky enough to have one 10 minutes away, so I go once a week.

It takes 10 minutes. And it is crazy there. And there's women of all ages. You know, there's 90 year old women there, there's 30 year old women there.

It's 10 minutes, you don't sweat. It's resistance, but it's safe resistance. So it simulates what gymnastics would do.

Like when you pound down out, affecting your joints in a negative way. It's a very quick circuit and I've interviewed a lot of women there and I've done it myself for about two years now.

And it substantially increases bone density when you pair it with protein.

That's good to know. Have you ever had a DEXA scan?

I have. I do DEXA every six months.

What I actually like a little bit more, but it's harder to access, but they're becoming more popular, is an echoite REMS scan. It's an ultrasound and it tells you your bone quality and your fracture risk.

So a DEXA will tell you the density of your bone, but it doesn't let you know if you have a really dense bone, but it's not flexible, you have a high risk of a fracture. So you may think, oh great, I've got dense bone. But if the quality of it is too stiff, you have a high fracture risk.

So an ultrasound REMS scans different areas, just like a DEXA would, but it actually lets you know the quality and it will give you a score of what your rectory risk is. So even though on a DEXA it shows that I am osteopenic, it has gotten better each time I've looked.

And the whole time my REMS has always said my bone quality is really great and I only have a 5% risk of fracture.

Oh, wow.

Okay, that's good to know because I feel like we, we've been hearing about desk dexas for a while, but that sounds like we get more information out of it.

Yeah, I, I love it. And a lot of the osteostrong locations have it, and again, no affiliation with them. I just happen to really like that combo.