Vibrant Menopause Podcast Heather Awad, MD

The gut-brain connection has been THE hot topic in academic and popular science for a while now because of the incredible evidence that's come out to support its validity. But as humans, we've known, or at least intuited, that there's some sort of connection for much longer. Just think about the ubiquity of the phrases "listen to your gut" or "butterflies in my stomach"!Now, combine our long-standing human intuition with the rapidly stacking evidence from studies, and what we're left with is ...

One in every four workers in the US works the night shift. So when the sun goes down and the other 3/4ths are getting ready for bed, they're starting their day of work. If you've never experienced this before, take a moment to think about the unique challenges this kind of work poses...You might be wondering things like, "when are they supposed to eat?", "how do they spend time with their families?", "when do they sleep?", "how do they get good quality sleep?", etc... And these are all very v...

Something I've noticed in myself and with clients is that when us women hit midlife, we start to see our brains changing with menopause. Most frequently we observe more brain fog and difficulty recalling words. Inevitably, we then begin to consider what our future cognitive health looks like, and turn to family members to try to get a glimpse into the what might lie ahead.There's no denying that these changes are daunting, especially if you weren't expecting them, but fortunately for us, ther...

If you're like me who grew up in the '80s, you'll probably remember the seasonal color analysis trend that gained huge popularity. Now, fast forward to 2024 and it's back and more specific than ever before, with new categories and analysis protocols that are allowing people to really narrow in on the exact clothing, jewelry, hair, and nail color palettes that suit them the best.My guest today, Jeannie Stith, is a color analysis expert and the founder of Your Color Guru, and she's been a leade...

I haven't mentioned it much on the podcast, but I've been gluten-free for over a decade now. The decision to cut it out wasn't prompted by anything related to weight loss, but rather some lab results showing that I have an autoimmune disorder that can flare up when I eat gluten. So that was that and I haven't looked back!That being said, after I cut out gluten I did find that I dropped a pant size, but after doing some digging I realized that this sudden weight loss wasn't directly related to...

This week we're back with a shorter episode, but it addresses a question that's really important to acknowledge and have in the back of your mind when on a weight loss journey. That question, of course, is "what's your Krytonite?"In the context of weight loss, I generally think of "kryptonite" as irresistible food items; things that, more often than not, cause you to succumb to their power. For many it's chocolate or ice cream, or for others it's bread or pasta. But unlike S...