High Performance Health

Angela Foster

The High-Performance Health Podcast is all about optimising your body, mind and lifestyle for high performance.  Packed full of actionable insights, strategies, bio hacks, lifestyle hacks, mindset strategies and expert performance advice, Angela Foster is on a mission to optimise your human potential. Featuring interviews with some of the top experts on the planet in the fields of health, performance and business, this show aims to inspire, educate and empower you to live an energetic, healthful and limitless life.

  1. 1d ago

    The Silent Heart Risk Every Woman in Perimenopause Needs to Know About | Michelle Routhenstein

    Most of us assume that if we look healthy on the outside, our heart is fine on the inside, but today, preventive cardiology dietitian Michelle Routhenstein explains why that's exactly the assumption that gets women into trouble, especially through perimenopause and beyond. We get into the two numbers your doctor probably isn't checking, ApoB and Lp(a), the first five diet changes Michelle makes with clients to bring down high cholesterol numbers, why stretching may be doing as much for your arteries as it does for your joints, and why blood pressure, not HRV, deserves far more of your attention as you move through this life stage. WHAT YOU'LL LEARN ●      Why heart disease can silently progress in women who look and feel healthy ●      What ApoB and Lp(a) actually measure, and why they matter more than LDL and HDL alone ●      The first five diet changes to lower high ApoB or non HDL cholesterol ●      Why saturated fat, fiber, and gut health all influence your cholesterol numbers ●      Why blood pressure, not HRV, deserves more of your attention in perimenopause ●      How menopause hormone therapy really affects your cardiovascular risk ●      The minerals your heart needs to keep beating and pumping properly TIMESTAMPS 00:00 Heart Disease Risk in Women: ApoB, Lp(a), and the Tests Your Doctor Isn't Running 10:18 The Hidden Inflammation Driving Your Heart Disease Risk (And How to Test for It) 19:29 The Truth About Saturated Fat and Cholesterol After 40 22:19 The First Five Diet Changes to Lower High ApoB or Non HDL Cholesterol 29:24 Bloating, Gut Health and Thyroid: The Hidden Heart Disease Risks in Perimenopause 39:41 Why Stretching Might Be Protecting Your Arteries, Not Just Your Joints 51:48 Does Menopause Hormone Therapy Actually Protect Your Heart? VALUABLE RESOURCES • Take the BioSyncing Quiz to help you understand what’s actually happening in your body — and how to fix it. 👉 https://biosyncing.scoreapp.com/   A BIG thank you to our sponsor who makes the show possible: • MitoQ - Support your cells at the source with MitoQ NAD+ Dual Action, designed to boost NAD levels and help your cells actually use them for steady energy and sharper focus 👉 https://www.mitoq.com and use code ANGELA for 10% off your first order.   ABOUT THE GUEST Michelle Routhenstein, MS, RD, CDCES, CDN, is a preventive cardiology dietitian and the founder of Entirely Nourished, a nutrition counseling practice specializing in the prevention and management of heart disease. She holds a master's degree in clinical nutrition from New York University and has spent over a decade helping clients improve markers like ApoB, Lp(a), blood pressure, and inflammation through personalized, science-based nutrition. She sits on the medical advisory board of the National Menopause Foundation and works with clients at every stage, from prevention to recovery after a cardiac event. Website: https://entirelynourished.com/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/heart.health.nutritionist/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michellerouthenstein/

    1 hr
  2. 4d ago

    The Mitochondrial Fix Perimenopausal Women Are Missing for Energy and Recovery

    In this episode, Angela is joined by Brad Currier from Timeline to explore why mitochondrial health may be a missing piece of the puzzle for women struggling with energy, recovery and performance in perimenopause. They discuss the role of mitophagy, the process of clearing out damaged mitochondria, and how exercise and Urolithin A work to support cellular renewal. The conversation also reviews research showing improvements in muscle power, strength, endurance and recovery with Urolithin A supplementation, alongside Angela's personal experience of noticing a decline in energy when she stopped taking it and improvements when she restarted. Key Takeaways Exercise naturally supports mitochondrial renewal and mitophagy. Mitophagy helps remove damaged mitochondria that can impair energy and recovery. Urolithin A is the only clinically validated supplement currently shown to specifically support mitophagy. Studies have shown improvements in muscle power, strength and endurance with Urolithin A supplementation. Research suggests it may help reduce muscle damage and improve recovery. Benefits develop gradually over weeks and months rather than being felt immediately. Mitochondrial support may be particularly valuable during perimenopause when recovery often becomes slower and energy less reliable. VALUABLE RESOURCES •  Take the BioSyncing Quiz to help you understand what’s actually happening in your body and how to fix it. 👉 https://biosyncing.scoreapp.com/

    14 min
  3. Jun 15

    Sleep Scientist: The Missing Health Habit That Improves Sleep, Stress & Recovery for Women Over 40

    Most women think poor sleep is inevitable as they get older. It isn't. It is your stress hormones, your cortisol cycle, and a specific stage of deep sleep called N4, and all three can be addressed.  I sit down with Dr. Juliane Hellhammer, a psycho-neuro-endocrinologist specialising in stress and sleep, and what he shares will make you rethink everything you thought you knew about rest and recovery. If you have ever woken at 2am with your mind racing, struggled to feel recovered no matter how much sleep you get, or wondered whether your wearable is actually telling you the truth about your sleep quality, this episode gives you the science and the solutions. Because what if the sleep stage that matters most is the one no one is talking about? WHAT YOU’LL LEARN • Why perimenopausal women wake up at 2am and what is actually driving it • What N4 deep sleep is and why it matters after 40 • What destroys deep sleep quality in perimenopausal women and how to fix it • Can wearables accurately measure deep sleep stages • What poor sleep does to brain fog and fatigue in perimenopause • Why trying too hard to sleep is keeping you awake • What genuinely high quality sleep looks like TIMESTAMPS 00:00 Why Deep Sleep, Stress & Sleep Duration Matter in Perimenopause 07:48 Why Trying Too Hard to Sleep Is Destroying Your Deep Sleep 13:26 What High Quality Sleep Really Looks Like and The Ancient Ingredient That Improves It 23:20 Why You Wake Up at 2–4am in Perimenopause and How to Fix It 27:34 Top 3 Evidence-Based Upgrades for Sleep and Recovery 30:25 How to Use the Sleep Well Supplement for Best Results VALUABLE RESOURCES •  Take the BioSyncing Quiz to help you understand what’s actually happening in your body and how to fix it. 👉 https://biosyncing.scoreapp.com/   ABOUT THE GUEST Dr. Juliane Hellhammer is a psychoneuroendocrinologist, PhD researcher, and Founder and CEO of daacro, a specialist clinical research organisation based in Trier, Germany, focused on stress, sleep, and psychobiology. With decades of experience running clinical trials on how chronic stress and cortisol impact health, she is one of Europe's leading experts on the physiological relationship between stress and sleep disorders. Try Sleep Well Dissolvable Granules: https://www.avogel.co.uk/herbal-remedies/sleep-well/ Website: http://www.daacro.com LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/juliane-hellhammer-phd-38865232/

    37 min
  4. Jun 12

    Why Wearing Sunscreen All Day May Be Doing More Harm Than Good for Women Over 40

    Why Wearing Sunscreen All Day May Be Doing More Harm Than Good for Women Over 40 In this thought-provoking episode, Angela Foster sits down with renowned beauty expert and author Liz Earle MBE to challenge conventional wisdom about sunscreen and sun exposure. Liz discusses why current public health messaging around universal, all-day SPF use might be too extreme, potentially robbing us of vital Vitamin D and other essential benefits of natural daylight. KEY TAKEAWAYS Many people assume they still get Vitamin D while wearing sunscreen. However, Liz points out that this only happens because most people apply it too thinly or miss spots.  Applying high SPF when it is completely unnecessary, like on a dark winter morning during an underground commute, is a sign that public health messaging has become too broad.  Our skin isn't just a physical barrier; it actively receives light and communicates with the body's immune system.  Exposing your skin to gentle, early-morning sunlight (when the UV index is low) acclimatizes it.  Medical professionals and researchers are beginning to speak out against extreme sun avoidance.  BEST MOMENTS "When people say, 'Yes, you get Vitamin D from the sun when you're using sunscreen,' yeah, because you're not using your sunscreen properly. You're actually allowing some of that UVB to come through the skin." "The worst thing that we can do is stay indoors all year and then rush out for our two-week summer beach holiday and fry ourselves on the beach... That's because our skin has not got used to the sunlight." "The skin is actually an organ of light reception. This is what we're just beginning to understand, that the skin has light receptors on it for reasons—they're signaling, it's not just blocking and keeping our insides intact." "I don't know if you take collagen supplements, I do, but actually by going out in early morning light, I'm telling my body to make more collagen. So it's preparing the skin." "He says that he thinks that we will look back at this time and our lack of sun exposure as being as damaging to our health as smoking." VALUABLE RESOURCES • Take the BioSyncing Quiz to help you understand what’s actually happening in your body — and how to fix it. 👉 https://biosyncing.scoreapp.com/ A BIG thank you to our sponsors who make the show possible: • Timeline - Support your mitochondrial health: Timeline Mitopure delivers Urolithin A at the clinically studied dose to support cellular renewal and energy production, helping counter the natural decline in mitochondrial function that comes with age. 👉 Get 20% off Mitopure when you visit http://timeline.com/ANGELA and use code ANGELA. * These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.

    9 min
  5. Jun 8

    Why Mobility Is the Longevity Key Perimenopausal Women Keep Missing | Juliet Starrett

    Most women in perimenopause are training hard, eating well, and still dealing with joint pain, stiffness, and injuries that never fully heal. Juliet Starrett, New York Times bestselling author and co-founder of The Ready State, joins me to reveal why the joint pain and stiffness so many women write off as ageing is actually a specific syndrome nobody warned you about. We get into what 30 minutes of floor sitting a day can do for your hips and low back, why most exercise routines are silently narrowing your range of motion, and the five weekly movement non-negotiables Juliet recommends for every woman over 40. WHAT YOU'LL LEARN • Why perimenopause triggers joint pain, frozen shoulder, and mobility loss • How 30 minutes of floor sitting a day rewires your hips and reduces pain• Best movement habits for women over 40 • How strength training may be stealing your flexibility over time • How to train through injury without making it worse • The HRV myth debunked and what to track instead VALUABLE RESOURCES • Take the BioSyncing Quiz to help you understand what's actually happening in your body and how to fix it. 👉 https://biosyncing.scoreapp.com/ A BIG thank you to our sponsors who make the show possible: • Timeline - Support your mitochondrial health with Urolithin A at the clinically studied dose to support cellular renewal and energy production, helping counter the natural decline in mitochondrial function that comes with age. 👉 Get 20% off Mitopure when you visit http://timeline.com/ANGELA and use code ANGELA. * These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease. ABOUT THE GUEST Juliet Starrett is a New York Times bestselling author and co-founder of The Ready State, where she and her husband Dr. Kelly Starrett have spent decades helping people move better, hurt less, and stay physically capable as they age. Their work focuses on making mobility and strength training practical and accessible for anyone dealing with pain, stiffness, or the feeling that their body is working against them.Website: https://thereadystate.com/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/julietstarrett/YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TheReadyState

    55 min
  6. Jun 5

    The High Estrogen, High Histamine "Perfect Storm" No One Warns Women About

    Whittling your diet down to five "safe" foods isn't healing your gut — it's masking a deeper imbalance that declining estrogen may be driving. Nutrition expert Cynthia Thurlow joins Angela Foster to unpack why so many women suddenly can't tolerate foods they once ate freely, and what's really happening behind the bloating, palpitations and brain fog. The conversation explores the link between estrogen loss and a leaky small intestine, the histamine-hormone "perfect storm" that can trigger hives and cramping, and why bloating during perimenopause is so often multifactorial. Cynthia also explains when bloating becomes a red flag worth investigating. You'll learn how to identify your personal food triggers without cutting entire food groups, why eating in a parasympathetic state matters, and which gut supports — from fibre and hydration to TUDCA — can help as progesterone and estrogen decline. If you've ever felt like your body suddenly turned against your favourite foods, this episode will help you understand why. KEY TAKEAWAYS Stop eliminating food groups as your default fix. Whittling your diet down to a handful of "safe" foods signals an underlying gut imbalance that needs support — not an ever-expanding exclusion list. Recognise food sensitivities as a likely leaky gut symptom. As estrogen declines it acts like failing "mortar" in the small intestinal lining, letting food particles leak into the bloodstream and provoke an immune response. Watch the histamine-estrogen "perfect storm." During high-estrogen days, loading up on high-histamine foods (leftovers, kombucha, fermented items) can trigger hives, congestion, cramping and diarrhoea — so keep histamine foods low or infrequent during those windows. Eat in a parasympathetic state. Sit at a table, remove distractions, and take four to five deep breaths before meals rather than eating standing, in the car, or on the move. Always get persistent bloating evaluated. Bloating from morning to night is different from bloating that appears after meals, and persistent symptoms should be checked because, in rare cases, they can signal something serious like ovarian cancer. QUOTES "The goal is to never get to a point where you're excluding entire classes of foods." "If we look at the small intestinal lining as like a brick and mortar system, the mortar is the estrogen." "I literally was talking to a podcast host and I broke out in hives head to toe because I was high estrogen, high histamine stress. And it was like the perfect storm." "It's not really that you need to cut out all these food groups. We just have a nuanced conversation. Don't go overboard with any one food." "I've just seen too many people blow off symptoms for a year or two that end up being bigger issues than they would have been had they been addressed up front." VALUABLE RESOURCES • Take the BioSyncing Quiz to help you understand what’s actually happening in your body — and how to fix it. 👉 https://biosyncing.scoreapp.com/ A BIG thank you to our sponsors who make the show possible: • Timeline - Support your mitochondrial health: Timeline Mitopure delivers Urolithin A at the clinically studied dose to support cellular renewal and energy production, helping counter the natural decline in mitochondrial function that comes with age. 👉 Get 20% off Mitopure when you visit http://timeline.com/ANGELA and use code ANGELA. * These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.

    14 min
  7. Jun 1

    How to Improve Mitochondria After 40: Zone 2, Sprints, and What Actually Works | Brad Currier, PhD

    You're training consistently, eating well, sleeping as best you can and yet the energy isn't there, recovery is taking longer, and something just feels off.  Brad Currier, one of the leading researchers in mitochondrial science, gets into why mitochondrial decline is the hidden driver behind low energy, slower recovery, and reduced muscle performance in women over 40 and what the latest clinical research shows you can actually do about it. If you want to train hard, recover well, and feel genuinely energetic into your 40s and beyond, this one is worth your full attention.  WHAT YOU’LL LEARN • Why mitochondria decline with age and what it means for energy and recovery after 40 • What mitophagy is and why most active women in their 40s should know this • How urolithin A triggers mitophagy and what the clinical data actually shows • What rep range builds strength and longevity for women in their 40s • How exercise improves skin health and collagen from the inside out VALUABLE RESOURCES • Take the BioSyncing Quiz to help you understand what’s actually happening in your body — and how to fix it. 👉 https://biosyncing.scoreapp.com/ A BIG thank you to our sponsors who make the show possible: • Timeline - Support your mitochondrial health: Timeline Mitopure delivers Urolithin A at the clinically studied dose to support cellular renewal and energy production, helping counter the natural decline in mitochondrial function that comes with age. 👉 Get 20% off Mitopure when you visit http://timeline.com/ANGELA and use code ANGELA. * These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease. ABOUT THE GUEST Brad Currier, PhD, is a Senior Clinical Scientist at Timeline and completed his PhD at McMaster University, where his background as an elite athlete led him into muscle physiology and performance nutrition research. He co-authored the new ACSM resistance training guidelines and leads clinical trials on urolithin A and mitochondrial health. His work sits at the intersection of cellular science and real-world performance, helping active women understand why energy, recovery, and muscle function change after 40 and what the clinical evidence says they can do about it. Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/brad_currier/ LinkedIn: https://ch.linkedin.com/in/brad-currier

    51 min
  8. May 29

    The Real Reason Women Can't Lose Weight in Perimenopause, and Why HRT Doesn't Always Fix It

    Navigating midlife body changes can feel like waking up in a completely different body, even when your routine hasn't changed. Around 15% of active women transition through menopause without experiencing significant weight gain, finding that standard calorie deficits and exercise still work. However, the vast majority notice that previously effective fitness and nutrition habits suddenly stop yielding results. This shift is highly associated with a changing hormonal environment—specifically decreasing estradiol and declining progesterone levels—rather than just the natural ageing process. While it seems logical that hormone replacement therapy (HRT) would be the perfect fix, the reality is much more complex. HRT yields highly variable results for body composition; it helps some lose fat, has no impact on others, and can even cause weight gain. WHAT YOU’LL LEARN Approximately 15% of active women navigate menopause without significant weight gain and can still successfully lose weight using standard calorie deficits. For many women, the fitness and nutrition strategies that worked five or ten years ago become noticeably less effective during midlife. Accelerated fat gain during menopause is heavily associated with decreasing estradiol and progesterone levels, alongside rising follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH). Distinguishing between weight gain caused by natural ageing and weight gain caused specifically by menopause remains a complex challenge for researchers. Hormone therapy does not offer a universal solution for weight management, with individual results varying wildly from fat loss to unexpected fat gain. VALUABLE RESOURCES • Take the BioSyncing Quiz to help you understand what’s actually happening in your body — and how to fix it. 👉 https://biosyncing.scoreapp.com/ A BIG thank you to our partner who makes the show possible: • Timeline – Support your mitochondrial health and muscle strength with Mitopure®, the only clinically validated Urolithin A supplement backed by 15+ years of research. Use code ANGELA for 20% off 👉 https://www.timeline.com/promotions/exclusive-offer-for-angela-foster-s-community

    8 min
4.9
out of 5
61 Ratings

About

The High-Performance Health Podcast is all about optimising your body, mind and lifestyle for high performance.  Packed full of actionable insights, strategies, bio hacks, lifestyle hacks, mindset strategies and expert performance advice, Angela Foster is on a mission to optimise your human potential. Featuring interviews with some of the top experts on the planet in the fields of health, performance and business, this show aims to inspire, educate and empower you to live an energetic, healthful and limitless life.

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