Harmony Hub Health

Michele
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  • Medicine
  • Updated Biweekly

Functional Medicine, Hormone Health and Weight Loss with Michele Postol, CRNP 

  1. 5d ago

    Estrogen, Menopause & Cholesterol: What Every Woman Should Know

    Send us Fan Mail Your cholesterol panel changes in midlife and suddenly you’re told to “eat less fat” or “start a statin” with little explanation. We slow that down and follow the real question: why did your numbers change now? For many women in their 40s and 50s, the missing context is the menopause transition and the sharp drop in ovarian estrogen, a hormone that affects far more than periods. Estrogen influences blood vessel function, inflammation, insulin sensitivity, fat distribution, and how the liver handles lipoproteins, which is why LDL cholesterol, triglycerides, and overall cardiometabolic risk can shift even when your habits stay steady. We also zoom out from the standard lipid panel and talk about smarter cardiovascular risk assessment. LDL-C can’t tell the whole story, so we explain ApoB as a clearer signal of how many atherogenic particles are circulating, plus why lipoprotein(a) is a largely genetic marker that often isn’t checked but can meaningfully change your prevention plan. If triglycerides are creeping up alongside abdominal fat, cravings, fatigue, or rising glucose, we connect the dots to insulin resistance and metabolic dysfunction. Hormone therapy comes with nuance too. We break down why oral vs transdermal estrogen can produce different effects, why hormone therapy is not recommended solely for heart disease prevention, and why timing, personal history, and clot risk matter. You’ll leave with practical next steps to discuss with your clinician and a mindset shift that matters: you are more than your LDL. If this helped, subscribe, share with a friend navigating menopause, and leave a review. What midlife lab change are you trying to make sense of? Support the show linktr.ee/harmonyhubhealth Find me at www.harmonyhubhealth.com Email me at michele@harmonyhubhealth.com

  2. Sep 21

    PCOS Is Now PMOS, and It Was Never Just About Your Ovaries

    Send us Fan Mail PCOS just got a new name, and it’s more than a rebrand. “Polycystic ovary syndrome” has pushed generations of women to think this is only an ovary problem, or that you must have cysts, weight gain, or infertility to count. The updated term, polyendocrine metabolic ovarian syndrome (PMOS), finally puts the spotlight where it belongs: on the bigger story of hormones, metabolism, insulin signaling, ovulation, and long-term cardiometabolic health. We break down what PMOS actually means, why two people can share a diagnosis and look completely different, and how clinicians diagnose it in adults versus adolescents. We also talk about what needs to be ruled out first, because thyroid issues, elevated prolactin, pregnancy, congenital adrenal hyperplasia, Cushing syndrome, medication effects, and rare androgen-secreting tumors can imitate parts of the PMOS picture. If you’ve ever felt like you were diagnosed from an ultrasound photo or a social media checklist, this conversation offers a clearer, more grounded path. From there, we get practical. I walk through the common functional medicine “patterns” that often drive symptoms, including insulin resistance, inflammation, nutrient deficiencies, adrenal-and-stress load, post-pill timing, and lean PMOS. Then we zoom into treatment foundations that move the needle: sustainable nutrition (not a magical PCOS diet), building muscle with resistance training, treating sleep like part of your hormone plan, and building real stress resilience. We also cover supplements like inositol with an evidence-informed lens, plus why metformin and other medications are not “failure” and can be the right tool for the right person. If this helped you connect the dots, subscribe, share it with a friend, and leave a review so more women can find accurate, practical PMOS support. Support the show linktr.ee/harmonyhubhealth Find me at www.harmonyhubhealth.com Email me at michele@harmonyhubhealth.com

  3. Sep 14

    Your Ride-or-Die Might Be Part of Your Health Plan

    Send us Fan Mail Your body is listening to your relationships. Not in a vague, feel-good way, but in the very real way your nervous system decides whether it’s safe to downshift, recover, and heal. I’m pulling friendship, connection, and loneliness into the health conversation where they belong. We talk all the time about cortisol, HRV, vagus nerve function, inflammation, sleep, hormones, and “stress resilience,” but we forget one of the oldest regulators humans have ever had: another safe human being. I share what it looks like when adult life slowly squeezes friendship out, how you can end up surrounded by people and still feel alone, and the hard question many of us avoid asking: am I truly cared for, or am I just useful? Then we get practical and physiological. I break down how chronic social isolation is associated with poorer sleep quality, higher inflammation, and increased cardiovascular disease risk, and why connection can act like a buffer against allostatic load even when nothing about your circumstances changes. We also talk about prevention in the real world, the friends who notice you’re not yourself, push you to make the appointment, and remind you that resilience is the ability to recover, not the ability to carry everything without help. When you’re done listening, do the one thing that actually changes the trajectory: reach out, schedule it, and ask the question that matters. If this hits home, subscribe, share it with a friend who needs it, and leave a review so more people can find this conversation. Support the show linktr.ee/harmonyhubhealth Find me at www.harmonyhubhealth.com Email me at michele@harmonyhubhealth.com

  4. Sep 7

    Your Stress Bucket Is Full: How to Build Resilience Before You Overflow

    Send us Fan Mail Your body reacts to an overflowing inbox the same way it would react to a threat with teeth, and that’s the quiet reason so many people feel tired but wired. As September ramps up and calendars fill, we zoom out from the “Do you have a pill for this?” question and get honest about what actually moves the needle: stress resilience, the ability to respond to pressure and then recover back to baseline.  We use simple, memorable frameworks to make the physiology click, like the rubber band stress response and the stress bucket that gets filled by everything from poor sleep and caffeine to inflammation, blood sugar swings, under-fueling, chronic pain, and nonstop notifications. You’ll hear one of our favorite reality-check questions, “Does this deserve my physiology?”, plus how to keep everyday annoyances from turning into a full-body alarm.  We also connect the dots to longevity and health span through the science of allostatic load, the cumulative wear and tear of chronic activation. Then we get practical: how to use HRV and other patterns as feedback, why sleep consistency and morning light matter, how protein and steady meals can calm “anxiety-like” symptoms, how to move your body without overtraining, and how to practice turning the alarm off with breathing, prayer, meditation, time outside, and connection.  If your stress bucket feels like it’s always at the brim, listen through to the end and pick one small change to create more room. Subscribe for more integrative, root-cause health guidance, share this with someone who’s overwhelmed, and leave a review so more people can find the show. Support the show linktr.ee/harmonyhubhealth Find me at www.harmonyhubhealth.com Email me at michele@harmonyhubhealth.com

  5. Aug 31

    The Future of Functional Medicine? Inside Therapeutic Plasma Exchange

    Send us Fan Mail Microplastics, forever chemicals, autoimmune flares, long COVID, POTS, longevity medicine. A lot of big health conversations keep circling back to one surprising place: what’s floating around in our plasma. I’m introducing therapeutic plasma exchange (TPE), also known as plasma exchange or plasmapheresis, and explaining why a procedure that’s been used in hospitals for decades is now drawing attention far beyond the ICU. We start with the basics so the idea feels concrete, not scary: what plasma is, what actually happens during a TPE procedure, and why it’s not the same as donating blood. Then we get precise about what’s proven vs what’s evolving. I walk through established, guideline-supported uses in autoimmune, neurologic, and hematologic care and explain why having a diagnosis is not the same as being a candidate. Timing, disease severity, labs, cardiovascular stability, vascular access, and the right setting all matter. From there, we move into the most asked-about areas: autoimmune disease and antibody-driven illness, PANS/PANDAS in severe cases, suspected autoimmune dysautonomia and selected POTS presentations, and the emerging research around long COVID phenotypes. We also unpack environmental medicine headlines, including human data on lowering circulating microplastics after TPE and what PFAS research suggests, without pretending that lowering a level automatically prevents disease. Finally, I lay out the safety realities, why this is not a spa treatment, and how I think about combining conventional medicine with functional medicine to address both removal and root cause. If this helped you think more clearly about TPE, subscribe, share this with someone who’s been curious, and leave a review so more people can find a grounded, evidence-aware explanation. Support the show linktr.ee/harmonyhubhealth Find me at www.harmonyhubhealth.com Email me at michele@harmonyhubhealth.com

  6. Aug 24

    The Calcium Shell: Is Your Body Stuck in Survival Mode?

    Send us Fan Mail A single hair test result can spark panic fast, especially when someone sees “high calcium” and gets told they’re a “calcium shell.” We slow that all the way down and explain what hair tissue mineral analysis (HTMA) can actually tell you, what it cannot diagnose, and why we never make health decisions by chasing one flagged number on a report. We walk through how hair minerals differ from blood work, why blood levels can look “normal” while symptoms persist, and how HTMA becomes most useful when you focus on mineral patterns and ratios. You’ll hear how we think about calcium to phosphorus (Ca/P) and calcium to potassium (Ca/K) as prompts to investigate energy, digestion, body temperature, and thyroid physiology, without claiming the hair test diagnoses hypothyroidism. We also dig into sodium to potassium (Na/K) and sodium to magnesium (Na/Mg) as clues about stress resilience and adaptability, then map those patterns to real symptoms people bring into clinic: chronic fatigue, brain fog, anxiety, hormonal changes, muscle tension, headaches, constipation, hair loss, and the frustration of poor recovery from exercise. From there, we connect the dots to “survival mode,” including the less-talked-about reality that stress is often physiological: inflammation, autoimmune issues, under-eating, blood sugar swings, poor sleep, overtraining, perimenopause, chronic infections, nutrient deficiencies, and years of pushing through. We also cover the practical safeguards that matter before interpreting high hair calcium, like sample contamination (hard water, pools, dyes, products) and the conventional labs and medical factors that should be considered when calcium regulation is a concern. The goal is simple: use HTMA as one piece of a bigger functional medicine puzzle so you can ask better questions and choose smarter next steps. If this resonates, subscribe, share the episode with a friend who’s been pushing too long, and leave a review so more people can find it. What symptom are you trying to get to the bottom of right now? Support the show linktr.ee/harmonyhubhealth Find me at www.harmonyhubhealth.com Email me at michele@harmonyhubhealth.com

  7. Aug 17

    From Christmas Kisses to Cancer Care: The Story of Mistletoe Therapy

    Send us Fan Mail Mistletoe is supposed to be a cute holiday tradition, but there’s a far more serious thread running through this strange evergreen plant. When I hear “mistletoe,” I don’t think party photos, I think integrative oncology, immune modulation, inflammation, and more than a century of cancer research into European mistletoe (Viscum album). That contrast is exactly why this conversation matters: it’s easy to dismiss mistletoe as nonsense or oversell it as magic, and both reactions miss the truth. I walk through the real history, including how mistletoe moved from folklore into early 20th century anthroposophic medicine and then into modern complementary cancer therapy research. We get specific about what’s inside mistletoe extracts, including mistletoe lectins and other compounds studied for effects on immune signaling, apoptosis, and inflammatory pathways. And I draw a firm line between intriguing lab results and what human outcomes can prove, because immune marker changes do not automatically mean better cancer control. Then we zoom in on the clinical evidence: trials across multiple cancers, a key focus on quality of life, and why systematic reviews can show promising signals while still flagging bias and methodology problems. I also cover practical safety points like differences between preparations (host tree matters), typical subcutaneous injection protocols, expected local reactions, possible flu-like symptoms, and why you should never DIY this. Finally, we put mistletoe in its proper place: an adjunct that may support the person receiving treatment, not a replacement for oncology care, and not an FDA-approved cancer treatment in the United States. If you care about integrative cancer care that’s grounded, nuanced, and focused on the whole person, listen now, share this with someone who needs clarity, and subscribe and leave a review so more people can find it. Support the show linktr.ee/harmonyhubhealth Find me at www.harmonyhubhealth.com Email me at michele@harmonyhubhealth.com

  8. Aug 10

    Ozone Therapy: What Is It Actually Doing in Your Body?

    Send us Fan Mail A bag of blood, a burst of ozone, and a reinfusion can look downright strange if you don’t know what you’re seeing. I’m breaking down ozone autohemotherapy in plain English: what major autohemotherapy (MAH) actually is, why it’s not “magic,” and why the most interesting part isn’t the tubing, it’s the signaling that may follow once that treated blood returns to circulation. We go deep on the science framing that makes ozone therapy worth discussing responsibly: redox signaling, hormesis, NRF2 activation, antioxidant defenses, mitochondrial function, immune communication, inflammatory pathways, and endothelial function. I explain why medical ozone is not an oxygen transfusion and why “more ozone” is not the goal. We also cover the most important safety line for anyone researching ozone treatment: you do not breathe ozone, and proper medical ozone therapy uses controlled concentrations and specific routes that avoid lung exposure. If you’ve been dealing with chronic fatigue, brain fog, post-viral symptoms, chronic inflammation, recurrent infections, or questions about EBV (Epstein-Barr virus), I share how I think about these patterns through the lens of immune modulation and overall terrain rather than simplistic “kill the pathogen” stories. I also compare routes like rectal ozone insufflation, vaginal ozone, topical ozonated oils, and ear insufflation, including where evidence is thinner and where claims online get ahead of reality. I close with the unglamorous basics that can make or break results between sessions: hydration, protein, colorful plants, minerals, blood sugar regulation, movement, sleep, and nervous system support, plus how I individualize dose and frequency instead of following one-size-fits-all social media protocols. If this helped you think more clearly about ozone autohemotherapy and functional medicine terrain, subscribe, share with a friend, and leave a review so more people can find nuanced health education. Support the show linktr.ee/harmonyhubhealth Find me at www.harmonyhubhealth.com Email me at michele@harmonyhubhealth.com

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Ratings & Reviews

4.7
out of 5
9 Ratings

About

Functional Medicine, Hormone Health and Weight Loss with Michele Postol, CRNP 

Information

  • Creator
    Michele
  • Years Active
    2024 - 2026
  • Episodes
    125
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Harmony Hub Health
  • Show Website
    Harmony Hub Health

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