19: The Cortisol Loop Hijacking Your Hormones with Dr. Taz Bhatia

19: The Cortisol Loop Hijacking Your Hormones with Dr. Taz Bhatia

September 1, 2026 · 56 min · Episode 19

About this episode

This episode explores the impact of cortisol on women's health and the physiological effects of stress.

Stress is often presented to women as a vague explanation for symptoms no one has investigated deeply enough. You are exhausted, anxious, unable to sleep, gaining weight, or noticing that your cycle has changed, and the conversation ends with advice to relax. But what if stress is not the end of the explanation? What if it is the beginning of a physiological loop affecting nearly every system involved? In this episode of The Ovary Club, I sit down with Dr. Taz Bhatia to examine what happens when a healthy stress response stops resolving and cortisol begins running the show. We trace the progression from feeling constantly activated to disrupted sleep, unstable blood sugar, low progesterone, sluggish thyroid function, inflammation, burnout, and chronic disease. We also explore why ignoring your intuition can become a stress input of its own, what cortisol testing can and cannot reveal, and how to build a recovery plan without overwhelming an already overwhelmed body. Dr. Taz Bhatia is a triple board-certified integrative medicine physician, bestselling author of Super Woman Rx and The Hormone Shift, and founder of hol+. Her clinical approach combines Western medicine with Chinese…

People in this episode

Host: Alisa Vitti

Guest: Dr. Taz Bhatia

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Mentioned in this episode

Books & works: Super Woman Rx, The Hormone Shift

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