The Talk: Talking About Menopause and Symptoms (part 2)

Jen Hardy [00:00:11]:

Welcome to the fabulous over 50 podcast. I’m your host, Jenn Hardy. And today, we’re having the talk. Yes. It’s part 2 of menopause. Because when you were going through puberty or before you went through it, someone sat you down and said, hey. These are the changes that are coming. But now we’ve got a not lot of other changes.

Jen Hardy [00:00:32]:

And who’s sitting us down? No one at all, Because it’s kind of a little taboo thing. Nobody wants to talk about menopause and the 35 plus symptoms that come with it. And today, we’re gonna talk about the importance of weights, some psychological changes, and all kinds of other things. So Grab a beverage of your choice. Share this with a friend. Take a listen. I guarantee you’re gonna learn something. I know I did.

Jen Hardy [00:01:00]:

And go back and listen to part 1 because it’s amazing, and it’s something that we all need. Women from 30 to a100, you’re going to learn something about your body. So I’ve got some friends that are in their seventies and eighties, and you’re saying, like, every decade, Right? Things are changing. So for them, are there still things that are going to be changing in this process that maybe they should know about that they’ve never been told?

Kristin Mallon, CNM, MS, RNC-OB [00:01:29]:

Yeah. So one of the things that I think is just, like, so important and super, super powerful for women that are, like, 60 Into 70. I mean, I could probably talk about each decade and come up with, like, you know, a a treatment plan for each decade. But into the sixties seventies is we really lose sight about how important bone health is when we get into our sixties and our seventies and our eighties. And the maintenance of bone health And the prevention of osteoporosis and osteopenia through, you know, and and hormone, balancing can definitely be one way, but it doesn’t have to be the way. So it can be through supplementation, with vitamin d, omega 3 essential fatty acids, calcium, certainly, adequate protein intake, and then Definitely weight bearing exercise, and weights become so important. So when we’re young, cardio is very important. And then as we get older, it’s almost like an inverse relationship of how important weights are.

Kristin Mallon, CNM, MS, RNC-OB [00:02:26]:

And I always tell women, like, that are in their seventies eighties that we see. I’m like, They’re like, well, I’m playing tennis or I’m doing yoga, I’m doing Pilates. And I’m like, I don’t care if you do anything. I’m like, just please pick up some weights, Start with £2, £3. Get up to 12, 15 pounds because that’s gonna prevent bone fracture. That’s gonna prevent Lumbar fracture, so, like, having those really tiny, like, spiral fractures in our spine, and then ultimately, Chronic pain and debilitation with back pain, hip pain, joint pain, where we can’t do the things we love because We can’t travel, we can’t walk because we have so much back pain. We can’t sit in a plane and go see somebody that we really wanna see because It’s too uncomfortable. We have too much pain in our hips or in our back to to make those, to make those kind of Do those things and activities in our lives.

Jen Hardy [00:03:18]:

And all and lifting weights. I mean, that seems like a very simple solution to be able to prevent that kind of pain.

Kristin Mallon, CNM, MS, RNC-OB [00:03:24]:

So simple. So, so simple, and so, so important. It’s just, you know, like how when when you’re young, they’re like, oh, I want what should I do? And they’re like, drink water, and, you know, drink water and exercise. And When you’re when you’re past 60, it’s like lift weights. Just lift weights and take a calcium supplement. I mean, other supplements too. And

Jen Hardy [00:03:42]:

Right.

Kristin Mallon, CNM, MS, RNC-OB [00:03:43]:

And, you know, Yeah. We’re always we’re big pros of lots of data and, you know, micronutrients testing, etcetera. But, yeah, weights is just Super, super important every decade.

Jen Hardy [00:03:53]:

That’s that is really important. And then, you know, you see all these ads about all these calcium things. You know, take 1 a month or whatever. Does it matter if we take a prescription calcium or a regular calcium?

Kristin Mallon, CNM, MS, RNC-OB [00:04:06]:

So I’m, always tell my friends I’m a vitamin snob. I am not a big fan, and especially, like, being in, pregnancy of prenatal vitamins. I don’t really like prescription vitamins because they tend to have glycols and fillers and sulfates and binders in them. Anything that had to go through day approval, and and it’s a lot. It’s a long process. Usually isn’t, in a very pure or natural form or in the best form or the most bioavailable form. So I really prefer, you know, something without any dyes or fillers. And so we use, The companies that we use a lot, we use Designs For Health, Seeking Health, Zymogen.

Kristin Mallon, CNM, MS, RNC-OB [00:04:48]:

Those are the companies that, like, have pretty, pretty high standards. Thorne is another one, for their vitamins. And so their calcium, they do a calcium mag combo, or even a multivitamin from them is gonna have, like, a really high quality and, you know, keep you away from toxins and metals that can sometimes get into that can leach into vitamins, Especially vitamins that are made offshore. So some vitamins are made in China or Indonesia. They’re made in India. And so I I just I don’t always trust those ingredients a 100% as as I do something that’s like made in America or Canada. Just makes me feel a little bit more confident in in those brands.

Jen Hardy [00:05:29]:

And and that’s something really important to consider too, what we’re putting in our body. Right? Because that’s gonna affect our overall health. And so taking the extra couple of minutes to read a label and to make sure that what we’re getting is the right thing. And even if it’s a couple dollars more, If that’s you know, adds a couple years to your life in the long run because you’re, you know, you’re being a little bit more careful, then that’s a really good thing. Are there And speaking of that, what about foods? Are there foods that we should lean on maybe or avoid to help our symptoms?

Kristin Mallon, CNM, MS, RNC-OB [00:06:01]:

So there’s something called the blue zones, which has been tested for longevity. So they know that I mean, pretty much this has been replicated in Study after study after study, which is the Mediterranean diet pretty much a stand that stood the test of time against every other diet. You know, now we’re, you know, at FOMGEVITY, we’re doing a lot more, like, genetic testing and and nutrigenoma testing, and so we’re looking at someone’s DNA and saying, like, okay, Maybe you have DNA that comes more from, like, you know, Northern Denmark, and so you should eat this way, or you have DNA that comes from the southern tip of Africa, and so you should really eat this way. But without that type of data, the Mediterranean diet has women who consume a Mediterranean diet tend to live longer. They have, better cardiac health. They actually have better sexual health. They have lower cholesterol. They I mean, the the health benefits of that type of diet Just go on and on.

Kristin Mallon, CNM, MS, RNC-OB [00:06:57]:

So I usually tell women, like, kind of like just as a blanket overall, shoot for that. Also, the cleaner, the better. So the The shorter the shelf life of your food, usually the better it’s gonna be. It’s great to source food locally because then it’s less of a chance of there being any Cross contamination with soil or leaching of antibiotics, like, if you get something that’s organic, but then, you know, was there a dairy farm that was close by and then Something was leached into the food. Also just kind of like the environmental consideration and, you know, like, something at a local farmer’s market is It’s coming from America. It’s coming from some from a place that’s close to you, and you know it’s fresh. Like, it wasn’t picked, you know, a week ago or 2 weeks ago, you know, that it was, Like every day that goes that after a food has been picked, it’s losing nutrients. So those are just kinda like Blanket things that I think are good to kind of think about.

Kristin Mallon, CNM, MS, RNC-OB [00:07:51]:

And and most places nowadays, you know, especially in the summer do have farmers markets like nearby, Access to stuff like that.

Jen Hardy [00:08:00]:

Alright. And aside from that and the the supplements and and things like that, what are some other changes that we can make To ease some of these things and make them better. Because I know you know? Like you said, it’s some people really struggle with these symptoms. Some people don’t so much. But if someone’s out there thinking, okay. Look. I’ve I’ve decided for whatever reason, I’m not taking any hormones. What can they do to help Easy.

Kristin Mallon, CNM, MS, RNC-OB [00:08:26]:

Yeah. So and we get this a lot. So we do a lot of coaching on women who don’t wanna take any hormones, and they wanna do everything naturally. And sometimes if they’re open to using supplements, we will kind of meet their symptoms where they where they’re at, and maybe make a recommendation of a black cohosh, or a Wild yam or a soy based product. It depends on, like, what what they’re open to. Some we do some herbs, you know, dong or red clover, dandemic root, things like that. You know, just everybody’s kinda very different. So if they’re open to herbs, we might go down that In general, though, like, we always kind of would say I would, like so if if I wasn’t gonna see anyone, it was just the advice I was giving on the podcast, I would say, number 1, To start with the liver detox.

Kristin Mallon, CNM, MS, RNC-OB [00:09:11]:

So cleaning out the liver is very, very, very helpful, and it can help the body to process any of the of the old Breakdown like old estrogen metabolites, old progesterone metabolites that might be still recirculating in the system causing excess symptoms. So, you know, to clean up myth milk thistle, dandelion root, these are kind of good teas and herbs that are used to clean cleaning out the liver. A lot of times a local acupuncturist will be able to kind of help with liver detoxification or, if there’s a local vitamin store, they’ll they’ll have, like, a liver Tox kit that usually includes like, different licorice root or different types of supplements that’ll work towards, cleansing of the liver. So I say start by cleansing the liver. The next thing to do would be, to do a gut cleanse and the same thing like we’re talking about with the gut microbiome and the estroblum. You can actually, If you wanna do a gut microbiome test you can look in, your gut microbiome and see like am I having estrogen metabolites like, Is there an indication that, like, I’m not cleaning everything out of my system thoroughly and effectively and that’s causing me to have excess symptoms? So so those 2 things. Right? Like a gut cleanse and a liver cleanse. Start with that.

Kristin Mallon, CNM, MS, RNC-OB [00:10:25]:

Then you wanna get your diet pretty clean, you know, No preservatives. Try to eat as organically as possible. I know it’s not always the cheapest option, but, you know, I always say if it has a peel that I’m gonna eat, then I I wanna Pay for the organic. So, you know, I don’t always buy organic bananas because I don’t eat the peel. And then, You know, try to make fresh food every single day. Really increase protein intake. So the increase of protein intake, that’s one of the things that, like weights, Needs to go up every single decade. Our protein consumption needs to go up every single decade.

Kristin Mallon, CNM, MS, RNC-OB [00:10:59]: Most of the women that we see, whether they’re in their forties, fifties, or sixties, Are not consuming enough protein for their decade. And so that’s a quick fix. Just adding Greek yogurt into your Breakfast or maybe an egg white, adding up, like, a little bit if you eat chicken or fish, just like a little bit more Maybe some protein or whey or soy or hemp powder into a beverage to boost protein. And then, of course, The weights. So adding weights will help to build muscle, and then muscle combined with a higher protein intake will help to actually build muscle, And that building of muscle will help to lower insulin levels. Insulin is a hormone, so the lower insulin hormones will actually reduce homocysteine. Homocysteine can actually react a lot with, different hormone metabolites in the body that are related to perimenopause and menopause, And that can help to smooth out the symptoms too. So those are kind of like step 1, 2, 3, and 4 of what I would do with someone who was like, don’t wanna do any hormones and, you know, they might be open to herbs at the end if they did all those steps and they still kind of were like, well, I I’m still having insomnia, I’m still having Sweats are are hot flashes, then they might wanna add an, an urban at the end to kinda just smooth them out and get them through.

Jen Hardy [00:12:14]:

That is so helpful. Oh my gosh. And it because that’s actionable. It’s not super hard. Right? And and you can just baby step Each one instead of having to do, like, all at once. Oh my gosh. But, that is that’s awesome. And I think, you know, keeping this conversation open and talking to your friends about it.

Jen Hardy [00:12:32]:

You know? Because it’s just not something I don’t know. The the first talk was awkward enough, and and my mom definitely did not explain any of what was gonna be coming Later in life, you know, because I think that generation was like, oh, it’s all taboo. You know? We don’t talk about those things. And I think, You know, we’ve got a younger generation now that’s open to hearing it, so this is good. And I think as women of a certain age, It’s kind of our job to help educate even though that was something that wasn’t done for us. And so if you’re listening, I think you should Take this information. See, I said should. You could take this information and share it with with people and not scary, though.

Jen Hardy [00:13:11]:

And I think that’s maybe what people are afraid of. They don’t wanna Scare people. You know? It’s kinda like when you’re pregnant. I don’t know if this is ever and people would walk up and say, oh my gosh. This horrible thing could happen or that horrible I mean, You don’t want that. Right? But maybe asking people, do you want to know? Do you wanna have this conversation? And giving them the opportunity to hear it.

Kristin Mallon, CNM, MS, RNC-OB [00:13:33]:

Yeah. And sometimes, like, sharing your own story lets people feel comfortable to share their story. And then, you know, I’m sure, Jen, the next time I talk to you in a year from now. Hopefully, more people are talking about it, and I’ll be like, oh, there’s this new symptom that we didn’t it’s you know, we’re starting to hear a lot, like, on TikTok and social media. People talking about, like, ringing in their ears. Like, that’s a new symptom with menopause too. So maybe the list will be even longer, and then we’ll have more things to be like, oh, you’re not alone because that’s that’s part of this. One of the things I will say is that, like, I really always encourage, like, 2 really, really big things.

Kristin Mallon, CNM, MS, RNC-OB [00:14:06]:

One is that, like, if a woman is feeling out of swords or something’s up and she’s 38 to 60, she should consider hormonal imbalance as as the So I think a lot of times women are running to rheumatologists, and they’re running to cardiologists, and they’re looking all over the place. And, like, sometimes it’s right under their nose that it’s it’s a hormonal imbalance. And then looking there first can sometimes save them a lot of headache. And then the second thing I I think is super, super important, and I was talking to my husband about this other night, and he was like, I can’t believe that no one knows this. He’s like, you need to tell everybody this, which is that, like, when women have new onset, Anxiety, depression, OCD, PMS, rumination, ADHD, brain fog, and they’re in their late thirties, forties, and fifties, We should consider hormones as the cause, not necessarily treating with SSRIs, SNRIs as necessarily line number 1, Which is totally a valid option too, but sometimes it can be treated really simply just a little bit of progesterone. And so I’d love For that to be a conversation with therapists and psychotherapists and psychiatrists, so some of them are reaching out to me now, which I think is so cool. And Oh, gosh. Tell me what you know.

Kristin Mallon, CNM, MS, RNC-OB [00:15:17]:

Tell me what you know about hormone balancing because I’d like to incorporate this into my practice, which I honor them for so much. But I I would love to just offer that to women that, like, if you have new anxiety or new depression, and you’re that age, it totally might just be hormonal and, to look at that into that avenue too.

Jen Hardy [00:15:35]:

Which would explain why the antidepressants aren’t doing what they should for a lot of women because that’s not the problem. Right? And so there you go. Also, you’ve said the word rumination a lot. Can you explain to everybody what that means? Because that’s not a word a lot

Kristin Mallon, CNM, MS, RNC-OB [00:15:48]:

of people use all the time. So I think rumination, is a word that I hear so women kind of, maybe don’t use that word to me, but that’s the word that I kind of interpret what they’re saying is, like, They they’ll have obsessive thoughts or they’ll someone will say something to them and they’ll they’ll be thinking about it and thinking about it and thinking about it. I don’t know. I should’ve said this or should’ve acted this way or, like, I could’ve done this or they go to bed at night and they’re still thinking about something or something they did or didn’t do or, they feel bad about something. They’re feeling bad for days days days, and and that’s what I mean by rumination.

Jen Hardy [00:16:19]:

Okay. Yeah. I can relate to that, actually, that yeah. That’s Okay. Well and see and that’s good to know because it’s one of those things where, like, am I nuts? Am I going crazy? And speaking of that, like, this is how important this conversation is. The house that I live in, the woman who was here before me was checked into a psych ward and was there for over a month before they realized it It was just menopause. It was postmenopausal things, and they got her hormones regulated. And she came home, and she was fine.

Jen Hardy [00:16:46]:

It had nothing to do with whatever, But her husband panicked because he’s like, this isn’t my wife, and took her somewhere. You know? And so I think that’s the when I heard that, I thought, okay. This this can’t happen again. No. This can’t happen to 1 more woman. And, I mean, a month, that’s a long time to Think that you’re you’ve lost it completely when really you’re just going through something completely natural.

Kristin Mallon, CNM, MS, RNC-OB [00:17:12]:

Right. Absolutely. And I mean, even, you know, I was a psych major in In undergrad, and not that I know a lot about psych anymore because I didn’t pursue that path. I mean, I ultimately went into nursing and became a midwife, but, I remember that even something like schizophrenia, which is a pretty significant mental health challenge, peaks for women at 40 to 45. And so I’m like, that coincides perfectly with perimenopause. So not to say that schizophrenia is gonna be treated with progesterone, But I’m like, I wonder if it would help.

Jen Hardy [00:17:43]:

Right. Well, because that just makes too much sense. Because when you think about all these things, right, the OCD and the rumination and the Anxiety approach. You throw all of that at a person who has a heightened experience for those things at that time. Yeah. That would explain so many things. Well, awesome. Is there or do you have any last parting words for everybody?

Kristin Mallon, CNM, MS, RNC-OB [00:18:06]:

Yeah. So I really just would encourage any woman who is seeking help to seek out a menopause specialist. So Someshvity Health, we don’t treat in all 50 states, but we do coaching in all 50 states, so we are more than happy to Get on a call with anyone, walk them through their symptoms, and and, like, what I what I laid out to you, especially if you’re not interested in a prescription anyway, you just wanna kinda walk through what your symptoms are, what herbs would be good, what type of liver cleanse, what type of gut cleanse would be good to get you on the right track. Please reach out to us, use us as a resource, and know that there are answers out there, and get them from someone who says I am a menopause specialist. This is what I do every single day.

Jen Hardy [00:18:47]:

I love it. And where can they find you?

Kristin Mallon, CNM, MS, RNC-OB [00:18:50]:

So our website is femgevity health.com. We do a live, Instagram question and answer session every Monday night. So most Monday nights unless it’s a holiday, 8:30 PM EST and 5:30 PM Pacific time. And so that’s also a great place to come drop a question if you wanna know something that’s, like, been bothering you, and we usually answer Questions live on there too.

Jen Hardy [00:19:15]:

That’s awesome. And this is not sponsored by FIMGEvity. They have not paid money to me. She has not paid money to be here. I just think I wanted to find the person that had the answers. That was a woman. And because to me, that’s so important. I actually I did have a man gynecologist on here several years ago because he had he had something to say that I thought was very important.

Jen Hardy [00:19:35]:

But in this, I think it’s just important to have it come from a woman because Yeah. You know, there’s a lot of gynecologists out there. There are so many. But they I think they just don’t understand This. And and you are really focused, and you’ve spent all this time learning and researching, and and that is why you’re here. So So like I said, this is not sponsored, but I do encourage you to reach out. I’ve talked to Kristen outside of interviews, and she is a great resource. And the coaching thing, you know, if you’re thinking, I’m I’m feeling certain ways and I don’t understand them, I don’t really need a psychologist, I just need Some kind of balance, this this coaching situation is ex I feel like it’s perfect.

Jen Hardy [00:20:21]:

So if you’re listening, you know, don’t be afraid to reach out because that’s why that’s why this episode exists. And if you have any questions, can they ask you like, on Instagram or whatever, can they reach out and ask A question in the messaging or

Kristin Mallon, CNM, MS, RNC-OB [00:20:35]:

Definitely. They can DM us, or they can even email me directly. I’m happy to answer questions directly. You can include my email in the show notes if you want. I’m I’m I want to help women so badly so that I am more than happy to do it.

Jen Hardy [00:20:49]:

That’s awesome. Alright. Well, thank you so much for joining me today and talking about menopause. I really appreciate it. Is she amazing or what? Oh my gosh. I have learned so much over these 2 episodes, and I hope that you’ve enjoyed them as much as I have. Please share these episodes with friends, With family, with any woman you know, 30 and up, because people need to know about this before it happens because then you’re not wondering, oh my gosh. Is it just me? Is there something wrong with me? No.

Jen Hardy [00:21:19]:

There isn’t. Your it’s your body. It’s working just the way it’s supposed to, and these changes are completely normal. Speaking of change, I am changing up what I’m doing. I realized I was doing so many things. And Right now, my family needs me, so I am really enjoying doing this podcast. And I’m also just doing a thing called Jen’s friends. Just these 2 for right now.

Jen Hardy [00:21:46]:

Okay. And maybe writing a book or 2 on the side because I really have a hard time with just 1 or 2 things. But Jen’s friends, It’s a daily video email for women over 50. I’ve got the most encouraging, Wonderful family. And every day, they’re telling me how great I am and how successful I’m gonna be. But I realized not every woman has that, and I am paying it forward and sharing it with you or your friends or your family or any woman you think needs to hear this every morning because we’re getting up and saying, good morning, beautiful. You are going to be successful today. We’re gonna have a little projects and all these different little things, and I would love it if you would check it out.

Jen Hardy [00:22:31]:

Go to the website, Jen Hardy.net/friends. It’s easy. Or just go to Jen Hardy.net. You’ll find it there too. And Do you have suggestions for the podcast? What would you like to hear about? Because, really, this is your show, and I wanna be talking about the things that you wanna be listening to. So jennhardy.net/contact or go to the button on the top, send me a message, and say, hey, Jen. I wanna hear about this Or that or tell me what you didn’t like, and I won’t do things like that anymore because I really do want your input. I value you, And I especially value the time that you spent listening because, honestly, time is the most important thing we have.

Jen Hardy [00:23:14]:

And the fact that you’re spending it with me It’s pretty phenomenal. So thank you for listening. Stay tuned, and stay fabulous.