Integrative Women's Health Podcast

“It’s okay that you don’t want to do the thing that looks so good on paper.” - Julie GrangerSometimes the hardest transitions are the ones that come when everything in your life looks like it's working. The career appears successful. The business is growing. The credentials are there. Other people admire what you've built. And yet, somewhere underneath all of that, there's a quiet sense that something no longer fits.For many midlife women, that realization comes as a surprise and can be quite unsettling. We spent decades learning how to achieve, how to care for others, how to keep moving forward even when things are difficult, but very few of us were taught what to do when the path we worked so hard to create no longer feels aligned. And even fewer of us know how to navigate that uncertainty without immediately rushing toward the next certification, the next goal, or the next plan.In today's episode, I'm joined by Dr. Julie Granger, physical therapist, coach, and founder of Illuminate Freedom Coaching, to talk about life and career transitions, identity shifts, and learning to trust yourself through periods of uncertainty. Julie and I discuss her journey through cancer, entrepreneurship, multiple career pivots, and ultimately building work that feels more aligned with who she has become, the nervous system's relationship with change, why women often stay attached to identities that no longer serve them, the role of community and co-regulation during transitions, financial safety and decision-making, how perimenopause can amplify the inner signals we've spent years ignoring, and more.Enjoy the episode, and let's innovate and integrate together!---Learn more or watch the video version of this conversation at https://integrativewomenshealthinstitute.com/what-to-do-when-youre-stuck-in-your-life-and-career-with-julie-granger/.Connect with me and access our entire platform at IntegrativeWomensHealthInstitute.com (https://integrativewomenshealthinstitute.com/).Find and follow us @integrativewomenshealth on YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/@integrativewomenshealth) and Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/integrativewomenshealth/).

“Perimenopause likes to really throw us through a loop, and things that might have previously been stable no longer feel so predictable.” - Vanessa Weiland, NP, HT, MSCPEven with the expanding conversation on perimenopause, our clients and patients with chronic illness are still being left out. The one-size-fits-all approach doesn’t address those with hypermobility syndromes, mast cell activation syndrome, dysautonomia, or complex chronic illness. In perimenopause, conditions you’ve dealt with for years can change significantly. Symptoms that were manageable for years suddenly become more intense, pain patterns shift, sleep becomes less reliable, and many women find themselves wondering whether this is "just perimenopause" or something else entirely.What makes this phase especially challenging is that hormones don't operate in isolation. Estrogen, progesterone, connective tissue health, immune function, mast cells, autonomic regulation, sleep, and stress physiology interact simultaneously. Myopically looking at menopause through the lens of hot flashes and hormone replacement therapy makes us miss the much more complex reality facing women who are already navigating chronic health conditions. For these patients, finding stability often requires a more personalized and layered approach.In today’s episode, I'm joined by Vanessa Weiland, a nurse practitioner, menopause specialist, and founder of Phases Clinic, known online as Bendy Menopause. Vanessa shares her journey with hypermobility and chronic pain and explains why perimenopause can be such a pivotal transition for women with connective tissue disorders and related conditions. We discuss the relationship between hormones, mast cells, and the nervous system, why standard menopause protocols don't always work for this population, how progesterone, estrogen, and testosterone can affect symptoms differently, practical strategies for building a supportive clinical team, the overlap between hypermobility, long Covid, trauma, chronic pain, and neurodiversity, why small, individualized changes over time are often the key to helping these patients feel better, and more.Enjoy the episode, and let's innovate and integrate together!---Learn more or watch the video version of this conversation at https://integrativewomenshealthinstitute.com/bendy-menopause-strategies-for-care-with-heds-and-other-hypermobility-spectrum-disorders-with-vanessa-weiland/.Connect with me and access our entire platform at IntegrativeWomensHealthInstitute.com (https://integrativewomenshealthinstitute.com/).Find and follow us @integrativewomenshealth on YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/@integrativewomenshealth) and Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/integrativewomenshealth/).

“Your body might be acting up right now, but your body is amazing, and it will respond.” - Monica ReagorUp to 1 in 5 women struggle with PCOS, and while it can start with irregular cycles or difficult periods, over time it tends to lead to other symptoms and conditions, from fatigue and insulin resistance to anxiety, fertility struggles, chronic pain, and many more. Unfortunately, many women spend a long time being dismissed by practitioners while their list of symptoms and the impact on their quality of life grows year after year.PCOS is a chronic condition that requires constant adaptation. It’s an ongoing relationship with the body that shifts through different phases of life, from the first menstrual cycle to perimenopause and beyond. Living with PCOS, like with many other chronic conditions, requires women to constantly work to balance life with PCOS with careers, caregiving, productivity, and all the other demands. That’s one of the reasons access to community and long-term support makes such a difference.In this episode, I’m joined by Monica Reagor, co-founder of the PCOS Awareness Association, a community, support group, and resource organization for women living with PCOS. We discuss the lived experience of PCOS, the importance of creating sustainable support systems for women navigating complex hormonal and metabolic conditions, Monica’s delayed diagnosis journey, the emotional impact of trying to keep up with life with chronic illness, the physiological and mental impact of PCOS, the overlap between PCOS and perimenopause, why healing often requires more than protocols, and more.Enjoy the episode, and let's innovate and integrate together!---Learn more or watch the video version of this conversation at https://integrativewomenshealthinstitute.com/advocating-for-better-pcos-care-pcos-resources/.Connect with me and access our entire platform at IntegrativeWomensHealthInstitute.com (https://integrativewomenshealthinstitute.com/).Find and follow us @integrativewomenshealth on YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/@integrativewomenshealth) and Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/integrativewomenshealth/).

“IBS can precede an autoimmune diagnosis by about 5 to 15 years.” - Dr. Izabella WentzIBS is the ultimate catch-all diagnosis. It doesn't really tell you anything, and so many women spend years with their symptoms expanding way beyond digestion. Bloating turns into fatigue. Food sensitivities become anxiety, skin issues, pelvic pain, brain fog, autoimmune symptoms, cycle changes, or chronic inflammation that no one can ever explain. As practitioners, it’s our job to unravel that IBS diagnosis and help our clients to get to the root cause.Gut health is never only about the gut. The intestinal lining, the microbiome, the immune system, the nervous system, stress physiology, infections, and nutrient status are constantly influencing one another. This is why gut issues often show up with other chronic conditions like endometriosis. Once your gut ecosystem loses resilience, the ripple effects can show up almost anywhere in the body.Today, I’m joined by Dr. Izabella Wentz, pharmacist, thyroid expert, and author of The IBS Solution. Izabella shares how her IBS diagnosis during pharmacy school eventually led to uncovering Hashimoto’s thyroiditis and a much deeper understanding of the gut-immune connection. We talk about intestinal permeability and autoimmunity, the role of stress and nervous system regulation in shaping the microbiome, why IBS can sometimes mask other conditions, how to start thinking more systematically about root causes, functional testing, practical clinical strategies for helping clients move beyond symptom management, and more.Enjoy the episode, and let's innovate and integrate together!---Learn more or watch the video version of this conversation at https://integrativewomenshealthinstitute.com/getting-to-the-root-cause-of-ibs-with-izabella-wentz/.Connect with me and access our entire platform at IntegrativeWomensHealthInstitute.com (https://integrativewomenshealthinstitute.com/).Find and follow us @integrativewomenshealth on YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/@integrativewomenshealth) and Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/integrativewomenshealth/).

“We have accepted making health decisions with only 20% of the data.”Hospitals can save a life in a crisis. They can stabilize, diagnose, intervene, and provide exceptional care in our most vulnerable moments, but we need more than hospitals can provide. By the time most people need that level of care, they’ve already spent years under the influence of other forces shaping their wellbeing.The future of healthcare can’t be only inside clinics, hospitals, or electronic records. It has to include the realities of daily life. It also has to acknowledge that more data doesn’t automatically mean better care. Information is useful when it’s connected, interpreted thoughtfully, and applied in ways that honor each person’s unique context, values, and capacity for change.In today’s episode, I’m joined by Nasim Afsar, MD, MBA, physician executive and author of Intelligent Health, to explore what it would take to redesign healthcare around prevention, personalization, and true consumer ownership. We talk about why clinical care represents only one piece of the health equation, how AI and predictive tools could help identify risk earlier, why fragmented data limits progress, the true costs of emerging technologies, misaligned financial incentives in healthcare, and why clinicians must have a voice in shaping the systems being built around our patients and communities.Enjoy the episode, and let's innovate and integrate together!---Learn more or watch the video version of this conversation at https://integrativewomenshealthinstitute.com/health-intelligence-a-vision-for-safe-and-healthy-health-and-care-with-ai-with-nasim-afsar/.Connect with me and access our entire platform at IntegrativeWomensHealthInstitute.com (https://integrativewomenshealthinstitute.com/).Find and follow us @integrativewomenshealth on YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/@integrativewomenshealth) and Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/integrativewomenshealth/).

“The more you know about how things operate in your body, the better decisions you can make.” - Tierra DuncanHormonal birth control is one of the most important tools in modern women’s healthcare. It has expanded autonomy, protected reproductive choice, and helped many women prevent unwanted pregnancy. But somewhere along the way, it also became the default answer for a wide range of symptoms, often without enough conversation about why those symptoms are happening in the first place, what tradeoffs may exist, or what other options might better support that individual woman.For practitioners, this is where nuance matters. Painful periods, acne, bloating, cycle irregularity, endometriosis, PCOS, and perimenopausal symptoms don’t emerge in a vacuum. They can reflect inflammation, metabolic dysfunction, nervous system stress, nutrient depletion, sleep disruption, or broader hormonal shifts. Sometimes birth control may be the right tool. Sometimes it may be one tool among many. And sometimes what’s most needed is a deeper investigation into root causes rather than symptom suppression alone.Today I’m joined by Tierra Duncan, author of The Birth Control Illusion, to talk about informed consent, hormonal literacy, and helping women make empowered decisions about contraception and symptom care. We also talk about the often-overlooked role of lifestyle medicine in supporting symptoms that are too often treated as if birth control is the only answer.In this episode, Tierra and I discuss how hormonal birth control works, common misconceptions about withdrawal bleeds and hormone suppression, potential impacts on mood, bone health, and nutrient status, how different birth control options can affect women differently, and more.Enjoy the episode, and let's innovate and integrate together!---Learn more or watch the video version of this conversation at https://integrativewomenshealthinstitute.com/navigating-birth-control-with-author-tierra-duncan/.Connect with me and access our entire platform at IntegrativeWomensHealthInstitute.com (https://integrativewomenshealthinstitute.com/).Find and follow us @integrativewomenshealth on YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/@integrativewomenshealth) and Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/integrativewomenshealth/).

“When life is hard, you need to take a break before you break.” - Marisa Renee LeeSome experiences in our lives don’t have a clear beginning, middle, and end. Chronic illness is one of them. As clinicians, supporting our clients means more than managing symptoms or finding the right protocol. It’s about helping them to learn to live inside a body that no longer feels predictable, while still trying to hold onto identity, purpose, and connection.What makes this kind of experience especially complex is that it doesn’t exist in isolation. It’s shaped by culture, by expectations around productivity and independence, and by the very real pressure to keep going even when your body is asking you to slow down. For high-achieving women who wear multiple hats, that tension can be profound. And when uncertainty stretches on for months or years, it often brings a kind of grief that isn’t always obvious, because nothing has technically ended and yet everything has changed.In this episode, I’m joined by Marisa Renee Lee, author of Waiting for Dawn and Grief is Love, to explore life with chronic illness through the lens of grief and uncertainty. Marisa shares her journey with long COVID, the identity shifts that come with becoming disabled, how internalized beliefs around independence make it harder to ask for help, the loneliness of navigating unpredictable symptoms, and what it means to live well even while acknowledging your limitations.Enjoy the episode, and let's innovate and integrate together!---Learn more or watch the video version of this conversation at https://integrativewomenshealthinstitute.com/navigating-grief-with-chronic-illness-with-marisa-renee-lee/.Connect with me and access our entire platform at IntegrativeWomensHealthInstitute.com (https://integrativewomenshealthinstitute.com/).Find and follow us @integrativewomenshealth on YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/@integrativewomenshealth) and Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/integrativewomenshealth/).

“Spaces where people go to optimize their health and longevity should have clean air.” - Dr. Bailey DevineOne of the most fundamental influences on health that’s often overlooked is air quality. In clinics, gyms, studios, and rehabilitation settings, air quality shapes the environment in which healing and performance are supposed to occur.The pandemic forced us to look more closely at viral transmission and long-term health risk and what became clear is that peak fitness doesn’t always protect someone from the long-term effects of viral illness. For athletes and highly active people, repeated infections can affect cardiovascular health, endurance, recovery capacity, and overall longevity. Clean air, better ventilation, and thoughtful prevention strategies are ultimately part of the same conversation we’re already having about sustainable health and performance.In this episode, I’m joined by Dr. Bailey Devine, clinician, athlete, and founder of Clean Air Athletics. Bailey shares how her early research during the pandemic led her to advocate for cleaner air in athletic and healthcare environments, why viral illness can have lasting impacts on performance and long-term health, why messaging around masking became so confusing, how tools like high-quality masks and CO₂ monitors help people better understand the air they’re breathing, why clean air may be one of the most important public health conversations happening in fitness and clinical spaces today, and more.Enjoy the episode, and let's innovate and integrate together!---Learn more or watch the video version of this conversation at https://integrativewomenshealthinstitute.com/how-to-optimize-longevity-and-fitness-with-clean-air-gyms-and-clinics-with-dr-bailey-devine/.Connect with me and access our entire platform at IntegrativeWomensHealthInstitute.com (https://integrativewomenshealthinstitute.com/).Find and follow us @integrativewomenshealth on YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/@integrativewomenshealth) and Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/integrativewomenshealth/).

“There's such an incredible need for supporting women in this very intimate way.” - Dr. Genevieve NewtonRed light therapy has become a hot topic in wellness conversations, yet for many clinicians, it still feels unclear where it truly fits. Is it a gimmick, a biohacking trend, or a meaningful therapeutic tool? As practitioners, we have to be careful. Our clients don’t need another gadget. We need to understand mechanisms, dosing, safety, and how to integrate a tool into a comprehensive, evidence-informed plan of care.What makes light therapy compelling in women’s health is that by supporting mitochondrial function, circulation, collagen synthesis, nerve sensitivity, and tissue regeneration, red and near-infrared light offer a cellular-level intervention that complements the musculoskeletal, hormonal, and nervous system work we’re already doing. When used thoughtfully, it can support both short-term symptom relief, like improved lubrication and reduced pain, and longer-term structural changes in tissue integrity and resilience.Today, I’m joined by Liz Frey and Dr. Genevieve Newton of Fringe. At Fringe, they’ve long championed the healing power of light. Their range of targeted red light therapy products has helped thousands of people address localized pain, inflammation, and skin concerns, and they continue to expand the possibilities of what red and near-infrared light can do. In this episode, Liz, Genevieve, and I explore the science of red, near-infrared, and blue light, how different wavelengths and intensities affect tissue, what research shows for pelvic health conditions and fertility, dosing and contraindications, how to integrate light therapy into your practice, and more.Enjoy the episode, and let's innovate and integrate together!---Learn more or watch the video version of this conversation at https://integrativewomenshealthinstitute.com/using-red-light-therapy-and-vibration-therapy-in-perimenopause-and-menopause-with-fringe/.Connect with me and access our entire platform at IntegrativeWomensHealthInstitute.com (https://integrativewomenshealthinstitute.com/).Find and follow us @integrativewomenshealth on YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/@integrativewomenshealth) and Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/integrativewomenshealth/).

“It takes more than hormones to fix our hormones.” - Dr. Anna CabecaWhen it comes to vaginal health, pelvic floor health, and incontinence issues, hormones play a critial role. From the type of hormones to oral formulations, injections, and topicals, there are a lot of options for hormone therapy, from the delivery vehicle to the forms of hormones used.At the same time, you can’t optimize hormone health through hormone replacement only. We have to take a holistic picture, starting with the gut, lifestyle, and stress management. This approach enables the body to resuscitate, repair, and rejuvenate itself, allowing it to function at its peak. At this point, hormone therapy can offer a complementary supporting role, increasing the opportunity for optimal health and wellness.Today’s guest, triple board-certified OB-GYN Dr. Anna Cabeca, has been working with women in midlife for decades, and she’s an advocate for a holistic approach to hormone support, which she calls hormone replenishment.In this episode, Dr. Anna and I discuss when to start thinking about supporting your hormones, the connection between gut health and hormone balance, the need for personalized treatment appraoches, detoxification pathways, and the use of topical hormones, Dr. Cabeca’s products for women in midlife, how her patients have improved their vaginal health and reversed incontinence in post-menopause, and more.Enjoy the episode, and let's innovate and integrate together!---Learn more or watch the video version of this conversation at https://integrativewomenshealthinstitute.com/getting-nerdy-about-hormones-topical-transdermal-oral-oh-my-with-dr-anna-cabeca-do/.Connect with me and access our entire platform at IntegrativeWomensHealthInstitute.com (https://integrativewomenshealthinstitute.com/).Find and follow us @integrativewomenshealth on YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/@integrativewomenshealth) and Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/integrativewomenshealth/).

“We've learned so much. Now, as PTs, we not only look at musculoskeletal and neuromuscular systems but also at pain science.” - Amy SteinPelvic pain is never just one system. It sits at the intersection of musculoskeletal function, nervous system regulation, hormonal shifts, immune activation, and lived experience. And for practitioners working with complex pelvic pain, endometriosis, bladder conditions, or postpartum and perimenopausal clients, progress often comes not from a single intervention, but from curiosity, collaboration, and a willingness to keep learning.Clinicians need to evolve alongside their patients. As our understanding of pain science, movement, nervous system regulation, and supporting therapies continues to expand, so does our ability to help people who have been dismissed or misdiagnosed. Staying innovative isn’t about chasing every new tool. It means knowing when to turn the dial up, when to pull back, and how to individualize care in a way that truly supports healing.Today, I’m joined by Dr. Amy Stein, physical therapist and founder of Beyond Basics Physical Therapy (https://beyondbasicsphysicaltherapy.com/). Amy and I discuss her journey into pelvic pain care, how the field has evolved over the last two decades, the role of physical therapy within multidisciplinary care, how pain science has reshaped movement and rehab strategies, innovative tools like shockwave therapy, red light therapy, and neuromodulation, what to look for when referring to pelvic physical therapy, how to avoid common pitfalls in complex cases, why personalization is essential, and more.Enjoy the episode, and let's innovate and integrate together!---Learn more or watch the video version of this conversation at https://integrativewomenshealthinstitute.com/innovations-in-pelvic-physical-therapy-with-amy-stein-of-beyond-basics-physical-therapy/.Connect with me and access our entire platform at IntegrativeWomensHealthInstitute.com (https://integrativewomenshealthinstitute.com/). Find and follow us @integrativewomenshealth on YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/@integrativewomenshealth) and Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/integrativewomenshealth/).

“What a GLP-1 agonist does is teach us about our weight health hormones.” - Ashley KoffGLP-1 medications are everywhere right now, and for many women in perimenopause, they feel like the only thing that can finally move the needle. But for practitioners, this landscape is far more nuanced. In midlife, women’s weight is tied to shifting sex hormones, gut peptide function, nutrient status, nervous system load, inflammation, and life experiences. When GLP-1s enter the picture, they can help, they can harm, and they can reveal underlying issues we might otherwise miss.Understanding how these medications work inside the full weight ecosystem is an essential part of responsible, trauma-informed care. GLP-1s impact digestion, vagal tone, appetite signaling, bowel motility, and cardiometabolic markers, and they interact with stress physiology and immune activation in ways that can either support or destabilize clients already navigating complex chronic conditions. When practitioners rely on GLP-1s as a standalone tool, we risk overlooking the deeper patterns driving weight changes in perimenopause.Today, I’m joined by registered dietitian Ashley Koff, author of Your Best Shot, for an evidence-informed conversation about GLP-1s in midlife. Together, we explore when these medications can support whole-body health, when they create new problems, how to evaluate your clients’ readiness, red flags that practitioners often miss, assessments to determine whether your clients’ weight health hormones are functioning as intended, low and microdosing strategies, how GLP-1s influence pain and immune activation, why a multidisciplinary approach is essential for sustainable outcomes, and more.Enjoy the episode, and let's innovate and integrate together!---Learn more or watch the video version of this conversation at https://integrativewomenshealthinstitute.com/ashley-koff-on-glp-1s-and-weight-in-perimenopause-when-they-help-when-they-harm-and-the-red-flags-youre-missing/.Connect with me and access our entire platform at IntegrativeWomensHealthInstitute.com (https://integrativewomenshealthinstitute.com/). Find and follow us @integrativewomenshealth on YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/@integrativewomenshealth) and Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/integrativewomenshealth/).

“Focus on the skill of listening to your specific body, your specific symptoms, and figuring out what your system is responding to.” - Cait Van DammIf you work with women navigating chronic illness, you’ve probably seen the “Doctor Roadshow” up close. These women have seen multiple practitioners without resolution and arrive at your practice exhausted and overwhelmed, with a list of protocols, supplements, and instructions that could fill a binder. They’ve done everything they were told, but still don’t feel better. Instead of clarity, they’re drowning in noise.This is the moment we have to recognize that what they need from us is to help them step back. What looks like resistance or burnout is often a dysregulated nervous system trying to protect you. Clients who have lived with chronic conditions for years tend to lose connection to pleasure, internal cues, and trust in their bodies. They stop listening inward and start chasing external solutions, which only deepens the overwhelm. Rebuilding safety, awareness, and sustainable self-regulation is the foundation they need to optimize their health.Today, I’m joined by Functional Nutritionist Robin Randisi and Pelvic Floor Therapist and Nervous System Coach Cait Van Damm to explore how we can help our clients to overcome the long haul of chronic illness. We talk about stripping back complex protocols, rebuilding interoceptive awareness, creating spaciousness for the nervous system, helping clients experiment with what works for their specific bodies, how they help clients to reconnect with pleasure, shifting away from checklist-style protocols, and more.Enjoy the episode, and let's innovate and integrate together!---Learn more or watch the video version of this conversation at https://integrativewomenshealthinstitute.com/what-gets-missed-for-chronic-illness-healing-how-simple-unsexy-tools-create-sustainable-recovery-with-robin-randisi-cait-van-damm/.Connect with me and access our entire platform at IntegrativeWomensHealthInstitute.com (https://integrativewomenshealthinstitute.com/). Find and follow us @integrativewomenshealth on YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/@integrativewomenshealth) and Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/integrativewomenshealth/).