Lara Briden's Podcast

Are you a morning person or an evening person? And could that affect your ability to lose weight?
In this episode, Lara looks at chronotype, which is your individual disposition to be awake or asleep at certain times. And how that might affect your overall health and metabolism.

The supplement inositol is a superstar for treating polycystic ovary syndrome. It’s also been clinically trialled for weight loss, thyroid disease, anxiety, insomnia, and premenstrual mood symptoms.
In this episode, Lara looks at:

• "what is inositol?" and how to get it from diet
• myo-inositol versus D-chiro-inositol, and
• why it's all a little confusing.

One thing Lara forgot to mention is that to get results with inositol, you need to commit to it for at least three months. And if it works, you’ll probably want to stay on it for years. Luckily, inositol can be quite inexpensive, especially if you choose straight myo-inositol powder.

Links:

• Myo-inositol for insulin resistance, metabolic syndrome, polycystic ovary syndrome and gestational diabetes
• Inositol treatment for PCOS should be science-based and not arbitrary
• Cyclic progesterone therapy for PCOS

What do post-pill acne, hair loss, and weight gain all have in common? They can all be the result of a temporary surge in androgens when trying to come off certain types of hormonal birth control.
In this episode, Lara discusses post-pill androgen symptoms including:

• why pills like Yasmin are the hardest to come off
• how androgens can cause weight gain, and
• natural treatments such as zinc, berberine, and cyclic progesterone therapy.

Links:

• Ovulation is the main event of the menstrual cycle
• The central role of ovulatory disturbances in the etiology of androgenic polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS)—Evidence for treatment with cyclic progesterone
• Beyond the label: A patient-centred approach to polycystic ovary syndrome
• Cyclic progesterone therapy for PCOS

If you're going to take hormone therapy, it's safer to take hormones that are identical to human hormones. In other words, hormones that are body-identical or bioidentical. The concept of bioidentical used to be controversial but is now conventional and mainstream.
In this episode, Lara discusses hormone therapy including:

• why the concept of bioidentical was controversial when it didn't need to be
• oral micronized progesterone for heavy periods, mood, sleep, and perimenopausal migraines, and
• some facts about body-identical estrogen (four uncontroversial things and one controversial).

Links:

• The crucial difference between progesterone and progestins
• Cyclic progesterone therapy for PCOS
• The central role of ovulatory disturbances in the etiology of androgenic polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS)—Evidence for treatment with cyclic progesterone
• Blog post with a list of body-identical brand names
• Online workshop: Metabolic health and vitality for women over 40

In a normal period, you should not lose more than about 80 mL of menstrual fluid over all the days of the bleed. That’s equivalent to about five tablespoons spread over all the days of the bleed. In this episode, Lara discusses heavy periods including:

• the role of hormone imbalance, mast cell activation, and insulin resistance,
• simple period-lightening strategies such as iron, zinc, and a dairy-free diet, and
• using body-identical progesterone to lighten periods.

Links to:

• Blog post about heavy periods.
• Blog post about testing for insulin resistance.
• Blog post with a list of brand names of body-identical progesterone.
• Professor Prior's document: Managing menorrhagia without surgery.
• Lara's forum where you can post a comment or suggest a topic for a future episode.