This Week’s Episode Special Guest: Dr. Mariza Snyder
Summary:
In this enlightening conversation, Kimberly speaks with Dr. Marisa Snyder who discusses her new book, ‘The Menopause Revolution,’ focusing on the importance of understanding perimenopause and the holistic approaches to women’s health during this transition. She emphasizes the need for education about hormonal changes, the role of lifestyle in managing symptoms, and the potential benefits of bioidentical hormones. The discussion also covers mental health, postpartum support, skin and hair changes, and the significance of maintaining bone health. Dr. Snyder encourages women to embrace this phase of life as an opportunity for empowerment and growth, redefining their midlife experience with intention and care
About Dr. Mariza Snyder
Dr. Jason Giles is a triple board-certified physician (Addiction Medicine, Anesthesiology, and Pain Medicine) who has revolutionized addiction treatment through both personal triumph and professional innovation. With 25+ years of sobriety and two decades practicing addiction medicine, Dr. Giles brings an unmatched combination of lived experience and clinical expertise to one of America’s most pressing health crises.
As founder and director of Addiction Doctors, a multi-specialty telemedicine group, Dr. Giles oversees the detox and stabilization of hundreds of patients daily across both coasts, partnering with America’s premier treatment centers. His mission: reaching the vast underserved population struggling with addiction by developing technology and models that expand access to life-saving care.
Dr. Giles’ journey began with his own fentanyl dependency during anesthesiology residency—a rock-bottom moment when he realized he couldn’t keep his word to himself about stopping. His recovery through a long-term monitored program (which boasts 90-95% ten-year success rates) catalyzed his career transformation from anesthesiologist to addiction medicine pioneer.
For 15 years, Dr. Giles operated a boutique specialty practice treating everyone from championship athletes and Fortune 50 executives to billionaires and their families, hand-building long-term recovery programs focused on relationships rather than quick fixes. This elite-level experience, combined with his personal recovery journey, informs his contrarian yet highly effective treatment philosophy.
Guest Resources:
Website: drmariza.com
Book: The Perimenopause Revolution: Reclaim Your Hormones, Metabolism & Energy
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Episode Chapters
00:00 Introduction to Dr. Marisa Snyder and Her Work
02:14 Understanding Perimenopause: The Importance of Education
04:39 Holistic Approaches to Health During Perimenopause
09:05 The Role of Hormones: Natural Shifts vs. Bioidentical Hormones
15:54 Navigating Mental Health: Hormones and Postpartum Support
20:17 Empowering Women: Access to Hormonal Support and Care
22:02 Reproductive Longevity and Choices
23:58 Optimizing Cellular Energy for Pregnancy
27:15 Navigating Hormonal Changes in Midlife
29:03 Skin, Hair, and Hormonal Health
33:25 The Importance of Estrogen in Women’s Health
35:30 Nutrition and Lifestyle for Metabolic Health
39:39 Setting Up for Future Success
41:47 Empowerment in Midlife and Beyond
[RESOURCES / INFORMATION]
SOLLUNA PRODUCT LINKS
- Glowing Greens Powder™
- Feel Good SBO Probiotics
- Feel Good Detoxy
- Feel Good Digestive Enzymes
- Feel Good Starter Kit
- Feel Good Skincare
KIMBERLY’S BOOKS
- Chilla Gorilla & Lanky Lemur Journey to the Heart
- The Beauty Detox Solution
- Beauty Detox Foods
- Beauty Detox Power
- Radical Beauty
- Recipes For Your Perfectly Imperfect Life
- You Are More Than You Think You Are
OTHER PODCASTS YOU MAY ENJOY!
- Wellness Insights: How to Listen to Your Body for Nutritional Guidance [Episode 878]
- How the Power Foods Diet helps with Weight Loss with Dr. Neal Barnard EP. 877
- How Not to Age with New York Times best-selling author Dr. Michael Greger [Episode #873]
- How to eat to reduce anxiety with Harvard nutritional psychiatrist Dr. Uma Naidoo [Episode #867]
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Transcript:
Solluna By Kimberly Snyder (00:01.016)
Hi, everyone. Welcome back to our Monday interview show. I am so excited for our very special guest here with us today, the lovely Dr. Marisa Snyder. She has a brand new book out, which I love, called The Harry Menopause Revolution, Reclaim Your Hormones, Metabolism, and Energy. Dr. Marisa has written many other books on female health, on hormonal health in particular.
She is a powerhouse advocate for midlife women, leveraging 17 plus years as a practitioner, author and speaker to spark a massive movement for women in perimenopause and beyond. She is the host of the top rated Energize with Dr. Mariza podcast where we had a wonderful conversation about the heart last year. I’m getting goosebumps because Dr. Mariza, I always say Mariza because I know her personally.
Dr. Mariza (00:48.363)
Yes!
Solluna By Kimberly Snyder (00:55.394)
is a friend of mine and it’s really powerful when someone is really embodying the energy that’s coming forth in their work. She is such a passionate human. She is so in her heart. She’s so authentically cares about helping other women. She’s been through a lot of this herself. She’s coming from firsthand experience. So with all that, Dr. Marisa, thank you so much for joining our feel good community today and be back.
Dr. Mariza (01:22.447)
Kimberly, it is such a pleasure. Yes, I’m so happy to be back. I’m so happy to be a part of the beautiful feel good community that you have cultivated. You know, what an honor to get to be here and to just speak as two women, as two mamas, know, navigating this beautiful journey and, and really setting not only ourselves up for success in the second half of our lives, but also every single woman who gets to walk this beautiful journey with us.
Solluna By Kimberly Snyder (01:45.068)
Yes. I love how there’s a lot of conversation. There’s just a lot out there about menopause. And you’re here highlighting in your new book about perimenopause, which I think can feel a little bit more nebulous for many. And there’s sort of this clear, you know, I haven’t gotten my period in a year, so I must be in menopause. But what I’m going to ask you questions as I was reading this, this book, Dr. Marisa,
Dr. Mariza (01:51.971)
Yes.
Solluna By Kimberly Snyder (02:14.83)
It’s like, know, just sort of questions I think a lot of women have, including myself. So the first is, and I love in the beginning of the book, you say it’s really important that we educate ourselves about these processes even before we’re in them. So we have, you know, a sense of knowledge, we can empower ourselves. But if you’re in your 30s and 40s, and you’re still getting your period every 28 days, and you’re not experiencing symptoms like
hot flashes or you some of you have a whole quiz in here. Yes. Exactly. like, you know, like myself where I’m like, Hey, I’m still getting my period and I don’t have any symptoms. Then we say we’re not in perimenopause yet, but it’s still good to know about it.
Dr. Mariza (02:45.327)
kind of the classic menopause, late perimenopause symptoms.
Dr. Mariza (02:55.043)
Me too.
Dr. Mariza (03:01.899)
Absolutely. Just like it’s important for us to know as little girls what puberty is, you know, being prepared for your first bleed and also those four to six years where our brain is coming online for our reproductive years. That’s a huge neuroendocrine transition that I think we could even do a better job at preparing our girls for. But then, you know, we prepare women for pregnancy and postpartum. And equally as important, we should be preparing women
Solluna By Kimberly Snyder (03:26.338)
Yes.
Dr. Mariza (03:30.681)
for perimenopause. Anytime we go through a big hormone shift that deserves our attention and a new level of support, women should be educated about their bodies and what to expect and how they can really shore up their health and feel amazing as they move through that journey. I mean, I think that every woman deserves that pathway through.
Solluna By Kimberly Snyder (03:54.35)
Yes. So a lot of, and I love how holistic your book is covering things like diet and sleep and exercise. And a question I have for you, and this is a really broad question, before perimenopause, see during perimenopause and after perimenopause, a lot of these amazing suggestions, eating more fiber, you talk about gut health, you talk about all these things.
Dr. Mariza (04:05.901)
Yeah.
Solluna By Kimberly Snyder (04:18.424)
How is it different within the perimenopause? Because wouldn’t we already be wanting to focus on whole foods and exercise? What is the specific shift, if any? And for many, maybe it’s saying, hey, everything’s changing. I have no choice but to focus on this as my protocol is because I’m starting to feel more moody or I’m starting to get these hot flashes.
Dr. Mariza (04:28.792)
Mm-hmm.
Dr. Mariza (04:34.691)
Yes.
Dr. Mariza (04:39.021)
Yeah, I think that’s what it is. You’re absolutely right, Kimberly. If we could, as soon as we have a cycle, we have a menstrual cycle, we are optimizing our blood sugar, we are sleeping like our life depends on it, we are managing our heart, we are regulating our nervous system, girl, I would say start as early as you can. However, the truth is that a lot of us can get away with cheats.
You we can get away with a little less sleep. You maybe we’re in grad school or maybe we have kids early or, you know, we just have some wiggle. You know, when I was growing up, I was taught that I diet to stay thin. That was a big part. That was like, okay, we, you put on a little bit of weight, you get on that treadmill.
Solluna By Kimberly Snyder (05:16.321)
Yes.
Dr. Mariza (05:21.121)
treadmill or your that treadmaster, you calorie restrict a little bit for a couple of weeks, you get back down to that size, right? And then you just, and then you go back to doing what you’re doing. And you kind of, you kind of go into these loops where you’re like, okay, I need to like really buckle down and get disciplined. And then you lose the weight. And then, you know, again, you go back to doing life.
But in pre-menopause, and mind you, I always believed that we should be eating for our gut health and our metabolic health, but this was just the narrative in the 80s and the 90s and even 2000s when we weren’t talking about the profound changes that were going on. And also we were just, it was all about being thin or whatever that goal was that the magazines were touting. But as we step, yeah.
Solluna By Kimberly Snyder (06:02.35)
Well, the I was laughing because now it’s like people are just taking ozempic before. I everybody’s just like, let me take ozempic and lose the weight and then I’ll change how I eat, you know.
Dr. Mariza (06:07.042)
Right, yeah.
Dr. Mariza (06:13.679)
Exactly, yeah, I mean, there’s always a new strategy, right? But when we go through perimenopause, we have to understand that the hormones that are changing, these are hormones that have been rhythmically showing up every single month throughout our menstrual cycle to run hundreds of physiological processes. We’re talking about estrogen and progesterone being immune system modulators.
metabolic boosters. They are managing water retention and gut microbiome diversity. They’re helping us to grow our bones and our muscles. They’re protecting our heart. They’re helping our brain to function. They’re getting us to sleep at night. They’re helping us to regulate our mood and help us to feel more peaceful and calm during parts of our cycle. You know, I always joke that everybody loves
Day 12 us, right? Two days before ovulation, estrogen is peaking at our highest peak. We feel energized. We want to be out and about. We feel sensual. We’re connected with our partners. And mind you, can it be that way a lot through our cycle? Sure. But there’s something about that pre-ovulation boost that feels so good. You know, we were taught to not really honor and appreciate day 27 us.
You know, the one that wants the girl version of us that wants to go inward, that wants to have some time to herself, that needs a little alone time to kind of regulate because progesterone and estrogen are declining. Well, in perimenopause, now these hormones are not rhythmically regulating and releasing the way that they were for the last 25 to 30 years. Now these hormones are erratically declining. And as a result, these protective shill hormones that are doing so much more
than bikini medicine. For a long time, we used to believe that the only difference between us and men was the parts of the bikini cupboard. So our boobs and our ovaries and our uterus, and that was it. But now we know that these hormones are helping to modulate and regulate multiple areas of the body, including the brain. And as they begin to falter, for each and every one of us, it’s gonna be a unique journey. But as they begin to decline, and it’s not linear linearly, and it definitely doesn’t announce itself,
Dr. Mariza (08:28.207)
we’re gonna feel that protective shield begin to falter. And we may realize that that, you only six hours of sleep on a Saturday night or us just randomly dieting, it just isn’t working anymore. Our bodies are calling in a new level of support and a deeper understanding of our bodies. And that’s what perimenopause really ushers in, is having to understand our bodies in a new way, having to really honor what our body is going through.
Solluna By Kimberly Snyder (08:45.677)
Hmm.
Dr. Mariza (08:57.684)
and be more consistent with the lifestyle strategies that are going to support our bodies along the way.
Solluna By Kimberly Snyder (09:05.484)
Yes, I love that. There’s more, and I don’t ever like to use the word mindfulness, right? Because we talk so much about intuition in the heart, but there’s more, let’s say, intention around what we’re eating. And we’ll get into that in a moment and about the metabolic changes. But right off the bat, Dr. Maurice, I’m reading this and thinking about it within myself, and a lot of women have this question. was talking to my hairdresser about this and she’s in full menopause.
Dr. Mariza (09:14.434)
intention.
Solluna By Kimberly Snyder (09:35.06)
And there’s this sort of balance between really honoring the natural lifestyle. of course, know, whole foods were about organic, were about great soil, were about exercise and lifting weights, more all these things. And then there’s the bio-identical hormone conversation, which
You know, we had Dr. Erica Schwartz on here as well, who’s like a big advocate for bioidentical hormones. And so there’s the side of, hey, the women are having these symptoms and the bioidentical hormones can help. It’s like another, you know, medicinal strategy. And then there’s the other side and other people having the conversation or say, mother nature knows that we go through these shifts. And then there’s a decline of certain hormones. And why are we as a culture manipulating
taking hormones when nature decided these hormones to shift.
Dr. Mariza (10:28.015)
Hmm, I love this question. You know, there’s a, it’s a big one. It’s a huge one. Let me, I wanna first just share where I’d land on this is that I believe that women deserve all the tools in the toolbox. Whatever is gonna move you towards feeling more alive in your body and feeling more optimized, I would never deny a woman anything that is gonna move the needle in that meaningful way.
Solluna By Kimberly Snyder (10:30.606)
It’s a big one. It’s a big Get out.
Solluna By Kimberly Snyder (10:37.314)
Yes.
Dr. Mariza (10:54.425)
You know, we live in a modern day world where our soil is impacted and where we are living in, you know, dark boxes most of the time of the day. And, and, there’s a lot of things about this life, this modern day life that isn’t conducive to optimized hormones or even an optimized body. If we aren’t intentional about it, right. We can easily get sucked into all the blue light and eating.
packaged foods and doing a lot of takeout and not really honoring our heart and our nervous system. Like, you know, that can really wear on us. And I will say that as our hormones are declining erratically, you know, we didn’t kind of live with the same stressors that we’re living in today. And so I think that that’s a major part of this conversation is that we kind of weren’t being bombarded as hard.
as we are with all of the different chemical, physical, and emotional stressors that we are contending with today. And so I feel like our menopause and perimenopause journey can feel even more intense, can feel more exacerbated due to these other stressors that oftentimes some of us aren’t able to mitigate. You I think about all the single mamas out there who, you know, I wish, I know, I wish for them that they had more free time, that they had, you know, more, more…
resources to make some of the changes. if bioidentical, you know, hormone replacement therapy or oral micronized progesterone can help get the sleep that they desperately need so that they can show up to be the best mama that they can be for morning routine the next day, then I am a full body yes to that option for them. And so I think that it’s a yes and hormones are powerful optimizers, but we need lifestyle in place as well. 100%.
Could I tell you that hormones have been the game changer, the end all be all for me in terms of this journey? No. I would say that honoring my heart and my nervous system has been huge part of this journey. Moving my body meaningfully has been a beautiful part of this journey. Having community and eating towards having less inflammation in my body, those have been the biggest levers. And hormones have been super helpful too. I think it is very much a yes end depending on your journey.
Dr. Mariza (13:13.517)
but that women should not be denied any level of care.
Solluna By Kimberly Snyder (13:17.944)
beautifully said, you know, I had a few friends over for dinner the other day and one of them is in, you know, she would define perimenopause and she said she just sort of woke up feeling very tired and off for a while. And then she did get her blood work done and she was working with a doctor and she got the hormones and you know, she, but then she was struggling with this question, you know, aren’t we supposed to have these natural hormonal shifts? And everybody was kind of talking about it. And I said to her,
But do you feel better? She said, yeah. infinite possibilities. There isn’t a right or wrong, right? We step into that field of just there is and where y’all have unique bodies and unique journeys. And so I think it’s really, and I think about my grandmother, my mother, who didn’t really talk about menopause. And when I did ask my mother once, she just said, it wasn’t a big deal. But to your point, maybe she didn’t.
Dr. Mariza (13:51.683)
Well, there we go.
Yes.
Solluna By Kimberly Snyder (14:17.754)
wasn’t aware of certain things and maybe there was less microplastics and it affected her in a different way, who knows? But there is a, you there are lots of possibilities out there. There’s a lot of conversation, including your wonderful book, and everybody has to decide for their bodies.
Dr. Mariza (14:34.713)
what’s gonna help them feel amazing, absolutely. Yeah, I think, you there’s a couple of reasons why we women, lot of the generations before us, especially our grandmothers, maybe even our mothers, my mom, she knew. She knew about perimetapos and metapos, it was very obvious. And she, yeah, she was like, what is happening right now to me? And she made some really powerful pivots that changed the course of her life in such a positive way.
Solluna By Kimberly Snyder (14:49.262)
I knew you knew.
Dr. Mariza (15:02.091)
But she had to, know, again, we’re all kind of mitigating some of these big constants that a lot of us are working and maybe some of us don’t even necessarily love what we’re doing every single day, but we got to show up. And then we’ve got our families to take care of and we have our households to take care of. so, you know, anything that can help a woman feel, again, better, help her to mitigate her symptoms and really future proof her health is…
to me is the number one priority. And when we look at the statistics, you know, just whether it’s hormone replacement therapy or not, although we do live longer than men, you 25 % more of our lives are spent in debilitating health. And, you know, one could argue that it’s 100 % because of hormones. Others could argue that it’s lifestyle, but I have a feeling that it’s a combination of the two. And so whatever we can do to support women, I will always be a yes to that.
Solluna By Kimberly Snyder (15:56.366)
There are some sobering statistics about women, particularly with brain health, mental health, you mentioned in here, dementia, Alzheimer’s. So can you talk a little bit about how this knowledge and working with perimenopause and menopause can help protect us and hormones potentially, and lifestyle of course, can help protect us against these neurodegenerative conditions.
Dr. Mariza (16:22.977)
I love this question. As I mentioned earlier, whether it’s puberty or postpartum or perimenopause, these are all big neuroendocrine transitions. And what a gift that our brains can go through such massive upgrades to be mothers, to step into childbearing years, and to step into our wise woman years. Now in this upgrade, I will tell you, it doesn’t always feel like an upgrade. My first couple of weeks of postpartum,
Solluna By Kimberly Snyder (16:33.25)
Dr. Mariza (16:52.623)
It didn’t really feel like an upgrade. I was like, I need some sleep. you know, and when you step into motherhood in that big, beautiful way, as your hormones are, know, postpartum is where we have some of our lowest hormone states and women really experience that and feel that. Same thing with perimenopause. When we are going through that…
Solluna By Kimberly Snyder (17:11.63)
Dr. Mariza, sorry to interrupt Dr. Mariza. On that point, if anyone’s listening to this and they’re having a lot of struggles postpartum, are some doctors, such as yourself, prescribing progesterone and hormones to help with postpartum?
Dr. Mariza (17:17.411)
Mm-hmm.
Dr. Mariza (17:25.271)
Yes, absolutely. Yes, oral micronized progesterone or even progesterone injections in those really difficult times, those first three months of postpartum can completely change the game in terms of a woman’s mental health outcomes, pulling them out of suicidal ideation. And again, that really severe postpartum depression.
Solluna By Kimberly Snyder (17:31.148)
Mmm.
Solluna By Kimberly Snyder (17:40.418)
Wow, thank you for.
Solluna By Kimberly Snyder (17:46.488)
Thank you. And for anyone listening to that, think that’s important to know. I certainly didn’t know that was an option. And I remember feeling a lot of moods and I don’t know if it was strong postpartum depression, but I think there was blues, there was just all sorts of feelings.
Dr. Mariza (18:00.665)
Yeah, all sorts of feelings that we’re trying to grapple with, right? Because the society tells us we should be so grateful that we have these beautiful babies. And we are. It’s a very conflicting and confusing time where you want to be so present for your baby. You want to make sure you keep them alive. That’s the number one. That’s what our brains are literally rewired for is their survival. We want to be appreciative and loving and being this beautiful heart centered place.
Solluna By Kimberly Snyder (18:11.106)
Yeah.
Dr. Mariza (18:30.347)
And then we’re also having these conflicting emotions, these really intense emotions from baby blues to maybe even more severe depression, anxiety, and really this level of things are feeling insurmountable. And we have to understand that the brain is still massively reorganizing in postpartum big time to rewire for that baby. And it’s also depleted of some of the most critical hormones that it needs, including allopregnenolone.
Solluna By Kimberly Snyder (18:44.29)
Yeah.
Dr. Mariza (18:58.261)
And if we can give women a little bit of a booster to kind of get over that hump, then why wouldn’t we do that? So I’m a big fan. I also was on oral micronized progesterone in the beginning, because I was, I think more so it felt like deeper sleep deprivation in the beginning. It’s so hard to tell. You’re like, am I just losing it because I’m not getting enough sleep or am I losing it because I’m just feeling very low? It’s a challenging time. It’s just all over the place.
Solluna By Kimberly Snyder (19:04.758)
Amazing. Thank
Solluna By Kimberly Snyder (19:22.798)
It’s so cool.
Dr. Mariza (19:26.927)
It breaks my heart that so many women don’t necessarily feel as supported as they should. And that these tools are not easily and readily accessible when they come and report these types of symptoms. But I want you to know that oral micronized progesterone or even progesterone injections are so inexpensive. They’re so cheap. We’re talking about less than 12 bucks for a prescription for a month.
Solluna By Kimberly Snyder (19:37.997)
Yeah.
Solluna By Kimberly Snyder (19:48.952)
Mm-hmm.
Dr. Mariza (19:54.575)
So it can really change the game. if you are listening to this and you’ve got either you’re in your postpartum, especially perimenopausal postpartum, like I was, like so many women today are, we’re having children later and what a blessing that is that we can get to do that. But that comes with perimenopause and postpartum together. So if you’re listening to this and either you’re thinking about having a child or you’re in postpartum right now,
Solluna By Kimberly Snyder (20:09.07)
Yeah.
Dr. Mariza (20:18.989)
I just, hope you hear this and know that you deserve support and that there are doctors out there that will absolutely give it to you. And that solution of oral micronized progesterone or even injections is very easy to get your hands on in terms of accessibility. It’s FDA approved, it’s been proven safe time and time again. It’s what I use to even get pregnant at 41 years old. So I just want women to know that that should be available to them.
Solluna By Kimberly Snyder (20:44.096)
naturally you got pregnant.
Dr. Mariza (20:45.839)
I did, well, I naturally got pregnant my first month trying when I was 40 years old. Mind you, I primed up for an entire year. So I was very aware that I was prepping to get pregnant for a long time. I got pregnant and I lost that baby about six weeks in, six or seven weeks in. By the time we did the ultrasound, I already lost the baby. And we weren’t sure if it was low levels of progesterone or maybe it was genetics. I wasn’t sure. But what I did know,
Solluna By Kimberly Snyder (20:51.768)
Peace.
Dr. Mariza (21:15.553)
is that if I was going to try to get pregnant again, which I did three months later, that would be one of the things that I would check the box to make sure that I had enough of that progestation hormone to maintain that pregnancy. So I was on oral micronized progesterone right after that miscarriage and then getting pregnant three months later with Kingston. And I stayed on oral micronized progesterone until I was in my 15th week of pregnancy. Yeah.
Solluna By Kimberly Snyder (21:43.2)
And so as it relates to your book and you mentioned so many of us in our community are career women or we’re doing lots of things, maybe we’re traveling and maybe having children a bit later in life. then even my grandmother naturally had babies to 48, right? Just the way different.
Dr. Mariza (22:01.113)
Amazing.
That’s some amazing reproductive longevity right there in your family. That’s incredible.
Solluna By Kimberly Snyder (22:10.158)
But you know, again, maybe it’s choice. have a lot of friends who, you know, even their companies offered egg freezing. So they did that. They’re thinking, okay, maybe down the road, I’ll do IVF. So how would you balance if you’re in your perimenopause and now you want to do IVF or over natural pregnancy?
Dr. Mariza (22:17.903)
Mmm.
Dr. Mariza (22:30.521)
Great question, I love this. You I always say that I am standing on the shoulders of my mother who fought so hard to just get in the room, to just be in the room where it was happening. And she worked so hard for her girls. And to be a CEO of my business and to be mission driven, to be on purpose and to get to, you know, transform lives, it’s only because of what my mom did for me. I just wanna say that and you know, I know that
Solluna By Kimberly Snyder (22:37.39)
Mmm.
Solluna By Kimberly Snyder (22:57.784)
Amazing.
Dr. Mariza (23:00.623)
I know she would have wished this. It was just so much harder when she was doing it in the 80s, you know, than it is for us to do today. And so because of that, I was, I was able to wait to have my son, you know, that was, that was really a gift that I could build this career before having this. I already had a New York Times bestselling book before, you know, before, same with you. Like we had these books and we had this mission and then we’re like, you know what? think, I think it’s time to get, some babies, you know, and, and, um,
Solluna By Kimberly Snyder (23:27.79)
Yeah, not rated 25, there’s life happening. And for some it’s 25 and that’s great.
Dr. Mariza (23:32.911)
Yeah, for some, yeah. Yeah, my mom, I mean, when I was born, she was 19, you know, she, know, so, and then 21 when my sister was born. And so it was a very different life for her. And I mean, gosh, you know, was she happy to be a grandma so late in life? She didn’t know, who knew that, you know, she would have me at 19 and I wouldn’t have her grandbaby until I was 41 years old. But for women who are looking on that journey, whether it is they just want, they want to try to have a baby naturally.
in their late 30s or early 40s, or they are going the route of IVF or whatever route that works best for you. I would say the first thing is really focusing on optimizing your cellular energy. When we think about having a baby, that is the most metabolically driven marathon of your lifetime. every cell in your body as a woman is centered around nourishing and creating that baby.
Right, but even every single month, the act of ovulation is a really profound metabolic event. We’re talking millions of mitochondria to gear up to release that one selected egg. And let me tell you, that egg then selects the sperm. Don’t think she doesn’t, okay? She’s like, listen, line up, line up.
Which one, which one are you viable enough to make this happen, right? It’s such a metabolic experience that requires so much cellular energy. And so I always tell women, it’s really important that we are eating to support our blood sugar. We’re eating to support our gut microbiome and our overall metabolic health. And the recipes in this book, they translate. They translate to if you’re trying to get pregnant, they translate for having great metabolic health in the second half of your life throughout pre-menopause.
At the end of the day, I want you to feel alive, energized. I want you to have phenomenal metabolic capacity and resilience, whether you’re trying to have a baby or not, or whether you’re just navigating the second half of your life. And so you’ve got recipes in there that move the needle. Another part of the journey is really getting clear on, I would say, knowing your heart, reading Kimberly’s newest book.
Dr. Mariza (25:42.707)
regulating your nervous system, like really creating say a safe, calm, nurturing environment to usher in that beautiful journey, because so much of it is it’s an inside job of prepping for pregnancy. And then also, I would say, you know, so there’s some critical supplementation that you can be you can you can make sure that you’re taking taking into account one of my favorite companies, I don’t know if this is one of yours to Kimberly, but we natal does a beautiful job at creating incredible
prenatal products that I absolutely love, you but we want to make sure that we are optimized in terms of our omegas, our antioxidant rich kind of diet and supplementation, things like choline, activated B vitamins, those types of things. So there’s a lot of things that we can do to shore up, but also making sure that we’re testing our hormones. You know, let’s make sure that you’ve got enough of that progestation hormone to maintain that pregnancy in the second half of of after ovulation. That’s what progesterone is all about. Progesterone,
Solluna By Kimberly Snyder (26:33.848)
Mmm.
Dr. Mariza (26:40.687)
its number one job is to maintain that pregnancy when we get pregnant. And so in perimenopause, for a lot of us, progesterone begins to start to drop, starts to lower as early as our mid 30s. So it’s important to be looking out for that hormone, testing all of our other hormones as well. Just making sure that you’re shored up. Do you have enough thyroid hormone to maintain that pregnancy as well?
Remember, our hormones are not only driving all of the biological processes in our body and communicating messages from cell to cell, but really they’re helping to shore up our reproductive longevity. So making sure that those are dialed is so important in this journey as well.
Solluna By Kimberly Snyder (27:18.99)
love that. These are such, I mean, I feel like you should write a book about that too. Because the whole postpartum, the whole, you know, pregnancy later in life, a friend of mine, our neighbor had a baby at 51. And she said, I’m, you know, perimenopause, kind of menopause. She was going through her IVF and she got an egg donor and she did this whole thing. And she’s in major.
Dr. Mariza (27:32.877)
Wow, it’s amazing.
Solluna By Kimberly Snyder (27:45.026)
recovery, she’s migrating. It took a big toll on her body, but she was able to do it. And so, you know, it’s amazing that we even have these potentials for women who want to go that route. I think it’s amazing.
Dr. Mariza (27:56.911)
Yeah, it is amazing. And it very much, Kimberly, it’s such a yes and. I will tell you, my mom probably had a much easier journey when she had me at 19 than when I had my son at 41. You know, I could have had a 19-year-old at the same time as the one-year-old as well. And so I think it’s important that there’s one, there’s a level of wisdom that we come in.
Solluna By Kimberly Snyder (28:05.742)
Sure.
Dr. Mariza (28:19.171)
which is so beautiful because I can’t even imagine having a baby at 19 years old, like all the beautiful lessons I’ve learned leading into 40, right? Like, my gosh, I am a new person like many times over before I get to 40 years old. And I know that my body needs a new level of support at that age as well. There’s a lot more intention, intention about sleep, intention about moving.
Solluna By Kimberly Snyder (28:33.71)
totally
Dr. Mariza (28:41.463)
intention about how I’m nourishing my future brain and my future body, intention of how I’m nourishing that potential future baby to come on into the world. And so those are the things I think we’re thinking about. Also a lot of extra grace during this time as well. Again, yes, we have the wisdom and we’re not 19 anymore. our bodies are calling in a new level of support, especially as we’re priming up for a pregnancy at that age.
Solluna By Kimberly Snyder (29:08.6)
Thank you for that. And one of the things you also speak about in here is changes in skin and hair, which, you know, talk about different symptoms and sometimes we’re not really paying attention as much to our, you know, moods or we think it’s normal or cycles, but many women will notice if their skin starts to thin or hair. And you mentioned a little bit about how some hormones can help with that. Can you talk a little bit about support in those areas?
for women that are concerned. I read the statistic how much balding is increasing in women as well.
Dr. Mariza (29:45.007)
Yes, absolutely. and estrogen can be playing a major role there as well as thyroid hormones. So would say if you are losing hair, it is worth running the hormone panel to see where you’re at. There’s a lot of different options that are available out there to help regrow hair. know, if HRT directly connected to increased hair growth, we don’t have the research isn’t fully clear there, but it can support. I would say that it’s often, you know, what’s the mineral profile? What are your
nutrients looking like, what are some lifestyle strategies that we can implement to bring that hair back? But often it’s usually something related to our thyroid or nutrient deficiencies that I find is playing a role in the hair loss. In terms of skin, estrogen is very much playing a role here. Estrogen is a major regulator of collagen production, again, of bone remodeling, of…
of our muscles and tendons, our connective tissue. And as estrogen begins to decline, we’re gonna see changes in our skin texture, dryness, or even the kind of the suppleness or the hydration that our skin used to be able to carry. And that’s why you’re seeing like, know, topical estrogen that’s on the market that you can put on your face. And I will say, you know, terms of, know, specifically, I just wanna spend a little bit of time on…
genital urinary symptoms of menopause. And so I do truly believe that all vaginas need estrogen. I think it’s 99 % of women will experience general urinary symptoms of menopause. That can lead to UTIs, incontinence, vaginal atrophy, vaginal burning, painful intercourse, low libido, less orgasmic orgasms. And so note that at some point in time, as we move through that menopause journey,
Solluna By Kimberly Snyder (31:15.491)
Mm.
Dr. Mariza (31:30.631)
our vaginal health will be impacted with that lack of estrogen. And so that’ll be something that even if you don’t consider systemic HRT, I want every woman to have the option to at least get vaginal estradiol. And because we’re seeing rejuvenation with vaginal estrogen, women are like, can I just put some of this on my face? And so I will say that talking to so many dear friends that are dermatologists and kind of in that realm,
Solluna By Kimberly Snyder (31:35.64)
Thank
Dr. Mariza (31:59.371)
that the best thing that we can do for our skin is not only eating for our skin, right? Reducing inflammation, but also making sure that we have sun protection. Wear your hats, put on your sunscreen. You know, those are the things that are going to move the needle. If you want to try estrogen for your face, you can. You know, there’s not a lot of research there, but definitely estrogen for your vagina. That’s going to be a big one that I think is going to play a major role in your quality of life down the road.
Solluna By Kimberly Snyder (32:23.872)
So you’re referring to Dr. Marisa putting a cream on your vagina every day that will localize so it’s not going everywhere. It’s going everywhere.
Dr. Mariza (32:35.511)
No, it’s yeah. And usually it’s inserted and it’s usually only like once a week or twice a week. It depends on what your specific protocol is, but that allows for your, to keep your vaginal health optimal. And we’re not just talking about atrophy. We’re talking about UTIs. We’re talking about vaginal flora. We’re talking about the pH of your vagina. As we begin to lose estrogen in the perimenopause transition, particularly vaginal estrogen,
that will impact the quality of our vaginal health. And a stat that a lot of women don’t know is that UTIs are one of the most common reasons as we get older for women to end up in assisted living. Yeah. And those can be prevented with vaginal estrogen.
Solluna By Kimberly Snyder (33:17.41)
Really? Wow. And so.
And would you often prescribe vaginal estrogen along with HRT?
Dr. Mariza (33:29.943)
Yes, it depends on the woman. So initially I would say most women, systemic HRT can get the job done. But after a while, even with systemic HRT, so a patch or a cream of estradiol, may even, you will at some point need vaginal estrogen.
Solluna By Kimberly Snyder (33:48.942)
So Dr. Marisa, from an Ayurvedic standpoint, as we go into this period, way Ayurveda talks about it energetically is there’s more vata coming in, air, wind, and so that can create brittleness, right? That’s sort of where we start to go towards brittle bones and we want to prevent osteoporosis. Not hair growth, but brittleness in your hair, breakage or nails.
Dr. Mariza (33:59.662)
Mm-hmm.
Dr. Mariza (34:13.209)
breakage, yeah.
Solluna By Kimberly Snyder (34:14.798)
So what are some of the protocols that you talk about in this book, even if you’re not using that specific argument language, but we want to keep things, you know, the opposite of brittle lubricated health. you buy the everyone will listen to this, please check out our YouTube. I want you to look at Dr. Marisa’s beautiful glowing skin, her really thick hair, to see that she’s really embodying this.
Dr. Mariza (34:25.303)
lubricated. mean, the, the, the, yeah.
Dr. Mariza (34:39.395)
I am embodying it, I embodying my, and I mean, again, I’ve got, I’ve always had pretty thick hair as well, but I just turned 46 a couple weeks ago, so I am in the thick of perimenopause, there is no doubt about it. And I will say that HRT, particularly when it comes to bone protection, is probably one of the best things that we can do. One of the best things, and we know that one in two women will have an osteoporotic fracture, one in three will have cardiovascular disease, and we can point to,
that decline in estrogen, I know that women talk about it being natural, but you know, the stats are pretty clear in terms of our cardio metabolic health and our bone health, that estrogen is one of the best things that we can do to help prevent this. Now, I will also say that jumping and moving your body and working out and weight resistance, that’s going to help protect your bones as well. Good supplementation is going to help protect your bones. And especially if there’s a history of your family of osteoporosis or osteopenia,
Solluna By Kimberly Snyder (35:19.969)
Hmm.
Dr. Mariza (35:35.861)
I say, let’s bring estrogen on board as well. mean, whatever I can do to ensure that you don’t break a bone when you’re in your 70s or your 80s, like I’m gonna do it. Next, you’re talking about breakage in general in terms of hair breakage and in changes in skin, just not feeling the same. Estrogen’s gonna help a lot significantly, but also again, making sure that you are making sure that you’re consuming those important vital nutrients. And that’s why I really…
dial that in the book of how to eat metabolically healthy foods. And what you’ll find within those principles is eating foods that are full of antioxidants and micronutrients, prebiotic and probiotic rich foods, omega rich foods. So like really fatty fish. These are the types of foods that are not only going to fuel your future brain, but are going to protect your gut microbiome, are going to protect your muscle and bone, are going to help support your metabolic health. know, anytime I eat, I always ask myself,
Solluna By Kimberly Snyder (36:05.005)
Yes.
Dr. Mariza (36:31.841)
Is this going to fuel my future brain? That’s what I wanna know. And if it’s not, I’m not eating it. And so I think that’s the kind of conversation we should be asking when we’re thinking about what we’re putting into our bodies, that molecular information. Is this going to serve me? And one of those things that I’ve learned over the last several years is something that is never serving my brain anymore and probably never did, but that’s alcohol. There is no place.
There’s no place for alcohol in my life, particularly when I ask myself that question, is this going to protect my future brain? And it is a no, it’s a full body no.
Solluna By Kimberly Snyder (37:09.55)
It’s such a downer, isn’t it? Even one class.
Dr. Mariza (37:10.889)
Yes, even one glass, even one glass. mean, you know, 70 % of women in peri-menopause and menopause are struggling with sleep issues. And let me tell you, that alcohol is doing you no favors. You know, we can see in the data that heart rate variability declines, resting heart rate declines, how you feel in the morning, you’re just not going to feel good, even with that glass of wine. And so I really want to dispel the myth that the wine down
is the ticket to reducing our stress, calming our system and helping us to get better sleep because the research is clear that it’s not. It’s not doing any of those things for us. There’s so many other ways to get more heart centered, to attune to our calmness and joy and to set ourselves up for deep, restful sleep. Alcohol is not the answer in this journey.
Solluna By Kimberly Snyder (38:00.782)
I agree. When I was in college, I certainly went through my drinking years, it just becomes… Living in New York City, living the life, it’s such an impact even having one glass. And the Blue Zones, my friend Dan Buettner, who’s been on here as well many times, talks about, the Blue Zones have some alcohol, but they’re also living such a, I would say, stress-free life, but they’re more natural and they’re gardening and they’re close to their…
Dr. Mariza (38:06.577)
Living in New York City.
Solluna By Kimberly Snyder (38:30.048)
extended families and there’s a lot of other factors I think that are boosting. It’s like the alcohol is there, but they don’t have as much, I see like modern stressors as we have today. And again, it’s a personal thing. I just know if I even have a little bit of alcohol, it really affects me horribly from a headache to sleep, like you said, just many things. Yeah.
Dr. Mariza (38:52.111)
of being grouchy in the morning, not showing up for the people the way that you want to show up for. That’s the question I always ask myself in my night routine is how am I setting up my future self for tomorrow morning? Because whether I like it or not, my little almost five year old, I’m almost five is what he tells me, I’m almost five, he is up at 6.30 in the morning, you know what I’m saying? And mama better be ready.
because he wants to play and he wants to cuddle and he wants to, he calls it, he’s like, mama, it’s a wake up time. And you know what, that’s exactly what it is. And so how I take care of myself in the evening, my evening routine, my sleep routine, it’s really rooted in how I want to show up, not only for myself the next day, but also for the people that matter most to me, for the work that I get to do in the world. And so I’m a big proponent of how do you set up your future self for success?
And I have a whole chapter devoted to this of like, how do we get that deep restful sleep? When so many of us are struggling with sleep, there’s a lot of things that we can do to really mitigate that. And like you said, in the blue zones, like a lot of them, when the sun goes down, the lights are off. They’re really rooted in things that are gonna optimize their circadian rhythm. They’re outside in nature throughout the day. They are physically active by nature. So there’s a lot of ways that they’re mitigating stressors in their lives. And alcohol, they’re not using alcohol to cope at all.
Solluna By Kimberly Snyder (39:51.662)
Yes.
Solluna By Kimberly Snyder (40:16.45)
No.
Dr. Mariza (40:17.089)
You know, it’s a little bit with dinner or a little bit here before dinner. It’s a very different way that they approach it all. It’s very different than how we approach it in our society.
Solluna By Kimberly Snyder (40:26.838)
Exactly. They feel very whole to me when I read about them in Dan’s books or in his Netflix series, versus in our society, there’s almost this lack of peace or lack of feeling stable. So we’re trying to get things from.
Dr. Mariza (40:31.151)
Mm-hmm.
Dr. Mariza (40:38.735)
Mm-hmm.
Dr. Mariza (40:42.425)
We’re trying to get it. We’re trying to get it from the bottle of wine or the glass of wine. And it’s very much a narrative for us as women too, like the Miami wine culture and the alcohol culture. And I will tell you, like I said, I’ve worked with so many patients over the years and there comes a point where we just don’t, not that we ever really well metabolized it, but maybe we just didn’t feel it. But ma’am, when hormones begin to decline and our liver and our body is not processing alcohol the way that it used to, we…
It’s just, it’s not doing us the, it’s not doing us any favors to begin with. One, there’s no amount of alcohol that’s good for our brain or our body, but the, whatever we thought were benefits, those, those often are completely mitigated by the, the side effects of drinking alcohol.
Solluna By Kimberly Snyder (41:28.448)
Yes. Well, Dr. Marisa, I could speak to you all day. There’s such a wholeness, speaking about wholeness in your wonderful book, The Perimenopause Revolution. Beautiful cover, everybody. We will link to it directly in our show notes, but Dr. Marisa, is there anything that we didn’t cover that you’d like to share with our audience or your overall message that you would like to leave everyone with?
Dr. Mariza (41:54.349)
I want every woman who’s listening right now to know that you deserve to feel amazing in your body. This is not a decline. This is the chance for you to rewrite your midlife story and to step into a stronger, more authentic, more resilient version of you. I want you to know that that is 100 % possible. And when I wrote that book, that was my entire through line. It’s how to set you up to win.
in the years where you are redefining you, where you are choosing you, and you are creating a life that is full of energy and abundance. And so how I built this book was all the actionable science-backed strategies to make that a reality for you. And if you go and get the book before it’s available, which I, know, for so often, lot of these are going out for pre-order, the bonuses that I built into this book will move the needle today. You don’t have to wait for the book to get started, workout videos.
Solluna By Kimberly Snyder (42:45.155)
What?
Dr. Mariza (42:49.199)
meal plans, recipes, sleep and morning routines. mean, name it, anything you could possibly imagine. Lab trackers, symptom trackers. You could just get started the second you get those bonuses. You just go to drmresa.com forward slash book. The bonuses are there. I have a master class that walks you through the entire book to get started so that we are supercharging your results.
Solluna By Kimberly Snyder (43:12.43)
And we will link to that as well in our show notes so you can click straight through to get Dr. Marisa’s bonuses as you get her new book and you prepare for this revolution. It’s so empowering the way you said that, Dr. Marisa. It’s not a decline. I mean, we’re really throwing the conversation on its head from decades, generations before. This is an opportunity, like you said, to feel even more whole, even more in touch, even more connected, more authentic.
Dr. Mariza (43:40.687)
Yeah, we deserve that. Let’s claim it. Let’s claim it as ours because that’s how it gets to be. It’s just, it’s a decision. And I don’t know about you Kimberly, but I have decided. I have decided that I am stepping into the most powerful chapter of my life, the most joyful chapter of my life. And I am so excited for it. Yeah.
Solluna By Kimberly Snyder (43:47.79)
Ugh.
Solluna By Kimberly Snyder (44:01.39)
And one thing quickly before we leave, and I know you talk about this a little bit in the book, is about women’s sexuality and libido. I think another societal idea is that, know, sexual or, you know, feeling sensual anymore. And with lifestyle shifts, it doesn’t have to be exactly the same as when we were 18 years old, but there’s an opportunity to evolve that sensuality in these.
Dr. Mariza (44:27.105)
Absolutely, evolve that sensuality. Again, the tools and the resources are available to create more intimacy, more deep connection, to usher your partner into that new ascension that you are stepping into. And yes, to all the lube and vaginal estrogen as well. Like let’s make sure that we, you are feeling super supported in all areas of your sensuality and your intimacy. And again, no stone left unturned.
to make sure that you feel like you feel intimate, you feel energized in your sexual energy. I believe all women can have that, especially with the tools that are available.
Solluna By Kimberly Snyder (45:07.904)
Amazing. Well, we’ll go on on that note, Dr. Marisa. Thank you so much for being here with us, sharing not only your wisdom and your knowledge, but your beautiful heart. And we will link directly to the book and to Dr. Marisa’s pre-publication bonuses. The Menopause Revolution is again what the book is called. Thank you again so much, Dr. Marisa. Loved as always speaking to you.
Dr. Mariza (45:32.963)
Thanks so much, Kimberly, honey.
Solluna By Kimberly Snyder (45:35.288)
Thank you so much everyone for tuning in. Everything again is on the show notes at mysaluna.com. So we’ll see you over there. We’ll link to other articles I think you would enjoy. Otherwise we’ll be back here in just a few days. I’ll see you on social as well at underscore Kimberly Snyder. Until then sending you all so much love, take great care.
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