Dr. Lara Briden: Navigating Supplements, Hormones, and Social Media Noise S3E18

Perimenopause Overwhelm: Supplements, Iron Deficiency, GLP-1s, and HRT with Dr. Lara Briden | Period Besties Podcast   Today Stasha and Katie discuss with Dr. Lara Briden how social media fuels overwhelm in women’s health—especially during perimenopause—by pushing constant supplements, prescriptions, and medical labels. Dr. Briden emphasizes “zooming out” from narratives, wearing diagnoses lightly, and “zooming in” on root causes like iron deficiency, citing a paper suggesting heavy bleeding–related low iron may explain much of perimenopause fatigue and can mimic anxiety and ADHD-like symptoms. They cover foundational approaches (less is more), common go-to supplements like magnesium glycinate and vitamin D, and the nuanced cost-benefit of GLP-1 medications for metabolic dysfunction and food noise, including potential brain/reward effects and rebound concerns. The conversation also addresses HRT access, overpromising, differences between progesterone and estrogen, and practical takeaways like checking ferritin.   Tempo code BESTIES for 3 months free https://apps.apple.com/us/app/tempo-cycle/id6758034296    1. A paper on Iron that 70% of the fatigue in perimenopause was from iron deficiency: https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6643/17/5/745   2. Population studies on women with natural menstrual cycles living longer: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32998909/  https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32936210/   3. Young women on BC don’t achieve peak bone density: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/cen.13932   4. Informal survey on IG of people trying hormone therapy:  https://www.instagram.com/p/DQc9omSkvgr/ https://www.instagram.com/p/DQgPrAtkmjM/   5. Papers on evolved menopause, it’s not an accident:  https://anthro-age.pitt.edu/ojs/index.php/anthro-age/article/view/8 https://press.princeton.edu/books/hardcover/9780691171630/the-slow-moon-climbs   6.  Paper that said, what if one of the main ways that estrogen helps the brain is by upregulating choline: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34849527      00:00 Welcome and Setup 00:17 Perimenopause Overwhelm 02:36 Diagnosis and Narratives 05:37 Iron Deficiency Clues 06:34 Social Media Jargon Trap 08:52 Shiny Supplements Debate 12:45 Weight Loss Pressure 15:19 GLP-1s Explained 22:20 Who Benefits Most 24:54 Supplements Aren’t One Size 25:54 SSRIs Hype Cycle 27:37 GLP-1 Cautionary Lens 28:27 Birth Control Future Shock 30:31 Cycle Training Ad Break 31:08 Birth Control Data Signals 33:03 Wishful Thinking In Medicine 35:37 HRT Access And Fear 40:43 Menopause Isn’t A Defect 44:50 Estrogen Metabolism And Brain 47:47 Zoom Out Lab Takeaways 48:45 Wrap Up And Credits   Todays episode is sponsored by: Period Coaching School and Katie Bressack Wellness. Email us: [email protected] Our Websites: PeriodCoachingSchool.com KatieBressack.com Instagram and Facebook: @StashaWashburn  @KatieBressack  Freebies: Charting with Stasha https://ThePeriodCoach.com/etrc Eating For Your Hormones Guide https://katiebressack.com/freegift/ Books: The Revolution Will Be Bloody https://ThePeriodCoach.com/Revolution Bloody Brilliant Business https://PeriodCoachingSchool.com/Bloody-Brilliant-Business-book  Eating For Your Hormones Recipe Book https://katiebressack.com/hormone-balancing-recipe-book/ Theme music composed, recorded, performed, engineered, mixed and mastered by Ted Wulfers 663 Sound