WTH?!? Episode 108: Women's Health at All Ages with Dr. Anna Cabeca

Doctor Eckel. Well, welcome back everybody. I am Dr. Greg Eckel and this is what the health. I have Dr. Anna Kabeca on the show today and we are talking women's health at all ages. Should be a very juicy show. Dr. Kabeca is the best selling author of the Hormone fix and keto green 16. She's triple board certified and a fellow of gynecology and obstetrics, Integrative Medicine and Anti aging and Regenerative Medicine. She holds special certifications in functional medicine, sexual health and bioidentical hormone replacement therapy. She lectures frequently on these topics throughout the world to large audiences and is known nationally as the Girlfriend Doctor and is host of the Girlfriend Doctor show. She has personally developed natural products to help women balance their hormones thrive through menopause, including the highly acclaimed Julva Cream for the Vulva and Mighty Maca Plus a powerful superfood blend. She now lives in Dallas with her daughters, horses and dogs. Dr. Kabeca, welcome aboard.

Thank you. Thanks for having me. Great to be here with you.

Oh, I am so excited for our conversation. You know, our audience is really, we have got about 70% of the folks that listen to us are women. And so this is women's health at all ages. And we've got a fun show in store here.

Yeah, I'm excited. It's my favorite topic.

I love it, I love it and I love that our circles are getting closer and closer as we grow in this online community. So I always love seeing you and to have you on the podcast, such an honor. And we get to start with this is a juicy topic which is improving and maintaining sexual health and intimacy, which is a, you know, I think this is the year, I mean, every year as we age, I think it's great to have these conversations and for more and more people to understand what it means because it is about quality of life and it is about connections. And you know, I created this platform what the health is to share the real information with people and so I'm really excited for you to be bringing it here.

Yeah, no, and probably one of the most important topics to address now because there's no time other, you know, in our, in our lives that we have dealt with the physiology of disconnect that we are seeing at pandemic levels. Right. The physiology of disconnect. And that creates lack of intimacy, that creates lack of desire, that creates a physiology of divorce, that creates the physiology of burnout. And it is, I think it's at crisis levels right now and it comes to beg. Well, what's the underlying physiology of this? And honest to God, Greg, if I hadn't experienced severe post traumatic stress, PTSD and severe grief and severe depression going on over a decade ago and gone through it to be where I'm at now to inspire others, I mean, it just is amazing. And honestly, there's nothing I learned in med school, nothing I learned in textbooks or research that gave me the insight other than walking through it myself. And always say, I wish no other physician the journey I've been on to learn what I know. And that's why I'm glad you start off this discussion with this important topic of intimacy, because it does drive couples, you know, this physiology that we can experience from chronic everyday stress or post traumatic stress, or we're in perimenopause menopause and we've had adverse childhood experiences, hey, guys are not exempt from this either. I've worked with so many veterans and guys who have had trauma in their life and worked on this physiologic reaction as well.

It is so intimacy, you know, a lot of times it's got a bad, bad word or, you know, people think, oh, can we talk about that? And it's like, yes, we can talk about it. And in fact, you can structure ways to bring it back together of, you know, a lot of times folks in long term relationships or whatnot, especially, you know, here over the last two years of extraordinary stress. So why is stress such a libido killer and not leading to intimacy? And I don't even want to link the libido with intimacy. So let me just, let me back that up. Let's just talk. What is intimacy?

Yeah, you know, and when you say the word intimacy, I always think of.

The.

Twist on it that says into me, you see? Right, Intimacy. And so it is that, that aspect of feeling connected to someone else, you know, having a safe place of connection. And I really look at intimacy in that way. We can think physical intimacy. And you know, there's times where you can be physically intimate with someone you don't even like. And that's not what I'm talking about here. I'm talking about intimacy like the connection that, like the spirit in me sees and recognizes the spirit in you type of correct connection. And that's intimacy. We are, we are one with each other. And this whole. So that's that, that type and physical intimacy and relationship, it is that concept of being able, having that safe space, that connection. And when we lose intimacy, whether it's in the bedroom or outside the bedroom, whether it's in the kitchen, it's at the dining room table. And you're not intimate, you're not having heart centered communication where you feel safe and able to communicate. You've lost intimacy. I think that's really important. And you're right, it doesn't have to tie into our libido. But for women, it is that connection, that intimacy that increases our libido, our drive, our desire.

One of the words that comes up with it is vulnerability. When you really put it into me, you see intimacy. It is, it is that component of we kind of have to let our hearts open. And that is hard to do when you are under stress, when you are living in fear, you have post traumatic episodes. I mean, you look at the adverse childhood experiences, the ACE scores, and people are carrying a lot of armor around the heart, right. In Chinese medicine, we talk about the Emperor or the Empress. It's all heart centered medicine. And so how do you talk about that with couples or with women in particular around that vulnerability? Because that is ultimately what we're talking about, is having people in their hearts, with their hearts open and connecting on that level, right?

Absolutely. And I think there's no area in a couple's life and a woman's life and a man's life that is more vulnerable than when it comes to our sexuality, when it comes to our sexual health, our sexual desires. And, and this is what is critically important. It is important, I say I have a whole program called sexual cpr and it's like a very holistic program to help revive our sex lives. And there are seven key areas that can interfere with your sex life. You know, we know medications, right? Certain medications like antihistamines, asthma medications, certainly statin medications can interfere with our sexual response and our sex life. Certainly, you know, medicines that help with urinary urgency can create tremendous vaginal dryness and create a problem with intimacy. So all of these things and then psychological. What are beliefs about sex and intimacy? Where are we, like, where do we hold that vulnerability? Where have we put up a barrier of protection? And what I say is like, there are three, like in cpr, cardiopulmonary resuscitation. Learned this as residents and med students, certainly. And way before I volunteered on an ambulance squad and I volunteered in hospital. So the CPR, but there's ABCs, and for CPR there's airway, breathing, circulation. In sexual CPR, it's a, is for accepting where you are now. And oftentimes women say, well, if I lose ten pounds, I'll be sexier and I won't be. So whatever if I wasn't, you know, as noticing these wrinkles and if I need, you know, whatever, I'm going to get this fixed, then I'll feel sexier. Like, no, accept where you are right now because be sexy. Sexy is confidence, sexy is healthy. Sexy is communicable. You know, really being able to communicate. So A is accept where you are now. You know, we're the best we are today, that we will be today. So accept it. B is be present. And I say this with all compassion to my fellow busy moms and working parents. Is number one is like that to do list can wait. That carpool line, you know, me think about these things. That shopping list can wait. Like, the time to do those things is not when you're being intimate. There's intimate, you know, there's mirror neurons. And what you're thinking and feeling is definitely perceived by your partner. So be present. That sensate focus that goes to that. Be really present with the touch and number C, commute, letter C, abc. Communicate. Communication that is critically important. If our upper lips aren't talking, as my friend Marcel Pick says, neither will your lower lips. So it's communicate. And I had a client because always when I work in sexual health and hormone balancing for couple, for around sexual health, I treat the couple. I don't just treat the individual, I want to treat the couple. And so I had a couple come in to see me. And well, beforehand I had a patient who came in and she said, Dr. Ann, I have no desire for, you know, intimacy. I haven't initiated sex in a long time. And I said, well, you know, what's, you know, what's going on? Let's talk about this. And what are some areas that have trouble you? She goes, number one, he always, you know, plays with my nipples. And that's uncomfortable for me. I said, well, what. How does he react when you tell him? Well, I never told him. I never told him that they've been married 15 years. And she never told him because he likes it. I'm like, he wants to make you happy. He's doing it because he thinks you like it. So that's the number one secret men need to know, women need to know about men, is that your pleasure is his pleasure, her pleasure is his pleasure. And that's the dynamics there. So that was really important. Then I worked on with a couple, Greg, and they had been married for over a decade and a beautiful couple in their mid-30s. And he, they came in Together and sat down with me in my office, in my medical office there in Georgia. And he said, you know, Dr. Hannah, you know, I. You know, my wife is amazing. She has these amazing orgasms, but she never wants to initiate sex. And, you know, we want to. Want to fix this. What's going on? You know, her hormones were dialed in. All that stuff was good. And I said, well, huh, Mark, what do you do when you're finished having sex after. After her orgasm and your orgasm, your climax? And he goes, I roll over and fall asleep. And I'm like, oh, there you go. Well, oxytocin, the hormone of orgasm, love connection and bonding works differently on men and women. For men, it makes you tired, so you want to roll over and go to sleep. A normal physiologic response. But for women, it's that time of connection. If we have great sex and you climax and you roll over and go to sleep, it's like I'm missing something. That's that time for positive communication. That's that time for open, heartfelt vulnerability in a very positive way. Because, again, there's no time for negative anything negative talk. It is, you know, it is magnified in that moment. So this is where love connection, positive reinforcement comes into play, and that creates that intimacy. Well, they came back to see me a few months later, and she goes, he said, you know, she's initiating sex half the time now. And it was that little difference.

It's amazing that we are not taught these things in sexual education and that it will take some couples, you know, 15 years of being together or 20 years together to have any communication about what pleases them sexually and what touch they want. You know, I love that you said communication is. Is sexy and that knowing, like, it is okay to communicate. Like, I think you are right. Most men in a heterosexual couple, they want to please their women. Like, that's their job. That's our job as men in that relationship. Like, it turns us on to know that we're turning our women on. And so, like, having that ability to have that communication directly from your partner to, you know, what feels good to her, what doesn't, then, you know, you can do more of it. So women, if you aren't kind of getting what you want, make sure you explicitly tell the men. I mean, we are good mind readers, but not that good.

Like, I would say, I've yet to meet maybe you, Greg. I've yet to meet a male mind reader, right?

I'm not a man. I'm not a mind reader.

So when it comes to women, right? For sure.

In general, not a migraine.

And I think, I mean, that's such an important thing. And I tell clients, practice outside the bedroom. You know, hey, I really love it when you help me do dishes or when you do. When I came home and you had the dishes clean or the trash was done, I mean, gosh, that just. That's awesome. It's just really sexy to me. Thank you. Or, honey, like, these things are going to make me want to have sex more often. I can't go into the bedroom and see your dirty clothes on the floor.

Please.

Like, I love this to be our intimate love shack. You know, like, how can we phrase it in such a way that's really positive and encouraging. And then that switch, that mentality is different. And not being afraid of how what we say will be perceived. And often the time to say, it is not in the bedroom, it's outside the bedroom. If you say, honey, we'd like to. I'd like to play with this and see what you think about it, you know, and explore that. And it is missing. It is missing. We can communicate on so many levels about so many things. And when it comes to that, that's an area where it almost is. It is shut down. And that's where I want to open because, you know, right. Karmically and energetically are, you know, to look at our sacral chakra, to look at our source energy. That is powerful. I mean, that is healing and for feminine. It is. It is such a powerful energy. And I have, you know, I've. I'm raising four daughters and I just delivered my granddaughter yesterday.

Greg.

I was blessed to be able to be her, you know, do her delivery in a child in a birthing center.

And.

Yeah, just gorgeous. So now I've got. I have a third generation in my. In my household. So I am really, really blessed about that.

Oh, that's amazing. Congratulations. That is spectacular. And to be able to be there and to be. To help, just be present for that, that's amazing.

To bring her, help bring her in this world. I mean, it is an honor. After all the hundreds and hundreds of babies I delivered. This was absolutely my favorite.

No kidding. I mean, you're going to make me cry on the air here. Doctor. Yeah. That is so beautiful. So that component. So we got communication and then the other aspect of oxytocin, right. Men and women experience that differently, and that was, again, crucial advice. So for the women watching, you can just send them this show, you can share this podcast with your partner to say, hey, Dr. Greg and Dr. Anna were talking about some really fun stuff. Let's watch it together. Or you can watch by yourself and then let's talk about it afterwards. So we will do the heavy lifting here, but then the communication needs to be open for everybody to get on the same page. Before we get into oxytocin, one book that I really like. So, because a lot of times folks aren't in touch with their love languages. I love the Love Language book of, like, there's five different types of ways that people can experience love. And so finding. Figuring out your love language is also a nice place for this intimacy conversation to happen for couples. Okay. I just wanted to put a plug in for that.

So I love that. I couldn't agree more. I love Gary Chapman's work, the five Love Languages. They have it for children, they have it in the workplace place, they have it for couples. I think it's mandatory reading. And I was blessed. I interviewed him on my Girlfriend doctor show last February for Valentine's Day, and he. It was just such a powerful. A powerful conversation. And what. One of the things we talked about, too was, you know, how to restore that intimacy after an affair, after whether, you know, an emotional affair, physical affair, and how. How to overcome that. And this is the concept of understanding, where did we lose that communication? Where did we seek to get it from an outside source where, you know, to really use it as. As a. As a learning opportunity and to, you know, to share and to communicate on a deeper level with. With the, you know, person that you love most in this world that you've committed to. So I think that was really such a. I mean, was so powerful in five Love Languages. I've read it three times, to be honest. Yeah.

Yeah, it's awesome. I mean, I use it with my children. We do it at work with the co workers, because everybody has a different love language. And, you know, it's not just a sexual love language. It's love language. It is how we experience love. And so when we talk about feeling love, we think of this hormone, oxytocin, that gets released. And that component, I think, is really crucial for. For men to understand that women experience it differently. And that is the time, like, you shared. I think that's a very motivating story for a lot of couples and in particular, men that feel like, well, my wife isn't just interested in sex anymore and intimate sex. So how can oxytocin deficits lead to negative habits?

Yeah, no, definitely. And I write about this in all my books. And my first book is the Hormone Fix. And I always say it takes more than hormone to fix your hormones, because, you know, we can dial in someone's hormones physiologically. There's a lot more to it. And so that's where I wrote the Hormone Fix. And chapter eight, I think, is mandatory reading. And it can be on Audible or Kindle, A plug for that. Because I share my story of being to hell and back. And I talk about the stress, cortisol, oxytocin disconnect, that physiologic disconnect that can happen when you do experience a high cortisol. Then you're burned out from cortisol, so you get these low cortisol levels. When you cortisol goes up, oxytocin goes down. When cortisol's up for a long time, cortisol is down and oxytocin is down. I call that the physiology of burnout, physiology of divorce. And that's when you're like, you know, I know my husband. You know, I love my husband. I just don't feel love for him. Gosh, you know, I love going out and playing tennis, but I don't feel like it anymore. I mean, gosh, you know, these social obligations and church obligations and these things. And I used to love it, but I don't feel love for it anymore. That is a physiologic response causing a behavior. It's a physiologic experience causing a behavioral response. And it's really important to understand that. And that's. That. That's what's happening when you get into this oxytocin deficit. And it's either because our body's not making enough oxytocin, or there's damage to the oxytocin receptor sites. And that could be for a number of reasons. So chapter eight, the Hormone Fix. I mean, a big plug for that. Because I want people to understand we have to shift our physiology to affect our behaviors, and we have to shift our behaviors to affect our physiology. And that's so powerful. And when it comes to intimacy, again, this is something my patients used to tell me all the time. I talk about sexual health and intimacy and libido, and they'd say, no, I have no libido, but once we get started, I'm good to go. Okay. Like, I'm in it. Once we get started. Yeah, then I'm glad. And that's a secondary sexual response, which is very normal physiologically for women. So the whole. To create that primary initial desire we need to know that we are loved, that we have that connection. Someone speaking our love, like can love us, but if you're not speaking our love connection, our love language, we're not hearing it right. And you know, and that's that, that's that communication piece again. That's so powerful. And so what I've learned on this journey and in using oxytocin medicinally in patients when I've needed to, but creating the behaviors in my life that bring oxytoci into a daily priority have been game changing. I'll tell you this. I mean, Greg, you know my story. I've been through trauma. You know, one thing that we share in common is tremendous loss. Tremendous loss and grief. And I've, I've been so depressed. I remember a time in my life before opening my eyes. I didn't imagine how I could start the day. I just grieved. I grieved the loss of my son. I grieved the loss of my mother. I grieve the loss of my marriage. I mean, there was so much grief that resulted, right? And for a while it was. I mean, and I can honestly say now because of what I've learned, what I know, what I teach, I don't have to fake being happy anymore. I don't have to fake it. You know, happiness is not a result of external environments. Right. It is an internal manifestation that creates happiness. And you know, I have been to hell and back to learn that.

Yeah, it truly is an inside job. And when you figure that out, that it's just you creating that, it really, I mean, that will also bring tears to my eyes if joy though, in that, you know, it is us filling our own cup and realizing like it's, I mean, it's quite amazing to be alive, you know, in total awe and gratitude. Just talking with a patient earlier of just like how magnificent these things are that we just walk around in. And so just even from that level, you know, all of the research on gratitude, etc. It isn't a fake it till you make it thing here, folks. It is really around feeling it and you can feel it that happiness. And like Dr. Anna is saying, you guys know my story. I want to, you know, we are going to have all of your where to find Dr. Anna. All of the links are in the show notes. So I want people to connect up for sure because that is why I wanted to bring you on the show and share, share what you're, what your teachings are and your kind of this path because it is, it is this is where the change happens is at this level and from sharing from here, having these conversations together and then incorporating everybody in as well so that we can create the more beautiful world our hearts know and desire. It starts in there, like within us, you know. So having that said, there are ways like how do you bring the joy like your oxytocin encounters on a day to day basis? Do you have any like secrets to share with us on that?

Oh, absolutely, Absolutely. My favorite thing to share. And I would say like one of the things that you know, I write about is certainly how I shifted. You know, number one, our physiology affects our behavior. And so the reverse is true, the contrary is true. Our behavior affects our physiology. Once I really recognize that and experience that, that's become part of my daily discipline to do oxytocin seeking behaviors in a healthy way. There's unhealthy ways we can have oxytocin seeking behaviors, then there's healthy ways. And so like I can refer to for example shopping sprees, gambling, binging, those are unhealthy ways to experience oxytocin seeking behaviors. Sexual promiscuity, things like that can be, and I use the word promiscuity in a very cautious way. I don't really want to say that. I want to just say sometimes we're just using sex medicinally to increase our oxytocin, to feel alive for a moment and then it passes. Right. And so there's, there's something to that. There is definitely something to that. And so our physiology affects our behavior and our behaviors affects our physiology. So when we can do healthy oxytocin seeking behaviors, and it comes with certainly gratitude, journaling, thinking positive thoughts, doing things we love and enjoy, getting outside, bonding with nature, having great friends, laughter, community, pets, certainly self pleasuring, pleasure, intimacy, those are things that increase oxytocin. So on a daily basis, one of my hacks has been and comes from this process of starting the day with oxytocin thoughts. So I think to myself, where did I see love yesterday? What am I grateful for? And you know, where do I show love? And this is, and that's a really important, those are important questions. Those are, that's a practice I've developed and has changed my physiology. And doing something that increases my oxytocin before I get out of bed in the morning, I think that's a very powerful shift to the physiology of your entire day. So that's really a big piece of it. And the second piece is empowering our physiology. So that we're healthy. Recently, just February 16, 2022, the Royal Society published a study looking at attractiveness. And what did people perceive as attractive? What they found is that people with a higher immune system, higher immune function, are perceived as being more attractive. And so that's it. Like when you're healthy and radiant, I mean, that's attractive. Healthy people are attractive, right? They may look different, right. But if they're healthy, they have this apparently this high physiologic. And they looked at five different aspects of, you know, of immune. Immune function. And those. Those individuals were perceived as more attractive. And I would completely resonate with that statement, right. Isn't that powerful? That is so powerful. Have healthy physiology is very attractive. That's a higher end. You know, this is energy because you're. If you're healthier, you have a higher energetic vibration. You're magnetizing versus repulsing people away are repelling. Repulse, repel is kind of the same. But, you know, you're repelling people away with a negative energy and a low vibration. Or you're attracting the wrong people to you. Right? So people at a lower vibration that needs to come up to your vibration, that will pull you back down with them. And it's true. There's something to that. So love is the highest vibration, compassion is the highest vibration. Those two, love and compassion are at this really high level of vibration. So you can bring that into your heart and into your life on a daily basis. That's a huge part of the medicine I prescribe, and it's part of the Keto green way, where the green part is alkalinizing part, which oxytocin is the most alkalinizing hormone in our body. So beyond what we eat. And I teach that a lot. My new book coming out is Menupause. So I've got amazing menu plans in there to help us with hormone balancing and creating this amazing physiology. There's the alkalinizing piece of hormones, and there's what we eat and how we nourish our body. There's other ways we're nourished besides with what we eat. And that's a big part sometimes we miss.

Oh, I love that. I definitely want to circle back into the menopause and the alkalinizing of foods and that foundational component, the piece where folks really rush into. I mean, you know, like, oh, well, I got to go get my hormones checked. Like my, you know, we're just not together. You know, the man is thinking, boy, is my, you know, Wife or partner going through menopause, and the woman is thinking, well, is that my guy going through andropause? Or like, there's hormonal changes, so everybody has to go get their hormones checked. But you have a pre and a post and a kind of a menopause component of looking at hormone health that is kind of uniquely from yours.

Yeah, I love to talk about this because I've lectured nationally and internationally when it comes to sexual health and hormone balancing in both men and women, but especially women before, during, and after the time of menopause and how this transition in life, while mandatory suffering is optional. And I think that's a really important piece. We think, oh, well, it's, you know, A, B and C have had hot flashes and are struggling, and now they're on blood pressure medicine and incontinence meds. And this, that and the other thing, you're like, oh, my gosh, that's. That is not okay. That even though it's normal in today's society, that is not optimal and nor is it necessary. And there's so much we can do to change that. And it is. I'm passionate about empowering people to take the next right step in their lives so that they can be free of as much medications as possible. But what I think is really funny is I always tell women in this area regarding sexual health and intimacy, again, is that men will come home with their testosterone injection and their little blue pill and they'll be like, honey, look what I brought home. And women are like, oh, my gosh, that's going to hurt. That's going to cause pain. That's going to be uncomfortable. And even if they're not thinking it, you know, when you have pain every time you do something, why would you want to do it? If, like, you're a baseball player and you get up to bat and you get hit by the ball, every time you get up to bat, you may still love the game, but you're not going to want to play it right. And that's what women need to understand when we have natural changes of menopause. You know, vaginal dryness, decrease in elasticity, decrease in our normal secretions after sex, it feels like can be discomfort during sex. It can be a discharge odor after sex, bladder infections after sex. Those are consequences that will give a negative feedback to that initial response. Yeah, I'm open to sex. You're not even open to it anymore because again, if it's uncomfortable, you have odor problems afterwards, et cetera. Why would you want to why would you want to. So I really work in, number one, heal the physiology. And that's all part of my keto Green way. And number two, this is where, you know, I use bioidentical DHEA in my product Jalva. My innovative product, Jalva that I created to help women with atrophy as we get older, to help support the pelvic floor, to help support the vulvar tissue and vaginal tissue in a way that reverses the hands of time with natural ingredients so that we have positive reinforcement and we're able to experience pleasure before, during and after intercourse. And that is for the rest of our lives. I have women in their 70s reclaiming that part of themselves and their relationship. And it's beautiful. Beautiful to see that it's not all about sex, let me tell you. It's a nice cherry on top.

What is so Jolva is that product. And that is a. Just a vaginal lubricant to help the tissues become younger, I would say. Or how to talk about it.

Yeah, it's actually a topical vulvar cosmetic. So I created this vulvar cosmetic and it is to be used clitoris to anus on the fragile tissue. It certainly can be used during intercourse as well. Very safe. And it's designed with ingredients. Has plant stem cells from the alpine rose, which is this beautiful rose. I love to describe this. Why? The reason I actually research these stem cells is because this rose blossoms in the Swiss Alps amidst the harsh conditions of ice, snow, rocky terrain, and it just blossoms. You can imagine if that doesn't exemplify femininity in midlife and beyond. Nothing does. Right. To blossom and be beautiful right in this. In this time, despite the harsh conditions around us. I love that. And the plant stem cells have. They are able to stimulate collagen growth, reduces fine lines and wrinkles, have antiviral properties, again, very crucial to the pelvic floor, which has been exposed to so many things, human papillomavirus, herpes virus, and all these other, you know, parasites, bacteria, et cetera, that, you know, it's just part of Candida yeast. So I incorporated these plant stem cells and, you know, the rejuvenative properties of them are very, very beautiful, very powerful. I combined it with dhea. It took me years to combine to create this combination, to fine tune it. And I combined it with dhea, which is one of our adrenal pro hormones that are associated with healthy aging and healthy sex life and the healthy immune system and all these good things. So I combined it with that and some emollient, natural emollient ingredients including coconut oil and shea butter. And combined it in such a way that it deeply penetrates into the tissue and is very natural in reversing the hands of time. We see a woman's elasticity return her pH improve of the vagina. So less infections, less odors, structure always say with pelvic floor exercises, helps decrease those accidental leaks when we cough or sneeze or exercise. And also your natural secretions of the within the vaginal walls which is important for that natural lubrication. So you can use it during intercourse certainly, but. And also for self pleasuring, but definitely using it on a daily basis as you would your cosmetic, you know, your favorite cosmetic cream. And I've come out with a lip formula too. So for the upper lips. So I've got my kiss, my Jelba kiss. So that's brand new because we, some patients were like oh, you know, because I would tell them you can use it for the fine lines and wrinkles on your lips. I'm like, I'm not going to use my jalva for the vulva on my lips. And I'm like, I come up with an even better formula for lips.

There you go.

So upper lips, lower lips.

There you go. The upper lips and the lower lips. I mean you gotta have, you gotta get them all covered.

That's it, that's it, that's it.

So with. So that's great. I wanted to, you know, I was wanting to know more about that and so definitely sharing that info is awesome. The component. So that's on one continuum. Then we've got also a discussion around hormone balancing but really optimizing fertility because we are seeing infertility on the rise. And so that is a little concerning out there to many in the medical community and also to those couples trying to get pregnant. So what do you have on that front?

Yeah, definitely like again prescribed reading is my book the hormone fix. Because chapter eight is the stress chapter I've referenced. Chapter six is a hormone disrupting chapter. There's a lot of hormone disruptors that are causing infertility and it's really important to realize that. So cleaning up our diet and our lifestyle and becoming more insulin sensitive. Sensitive is crucial to establishing healthy fertility. So we've had really beautiful, lots of great new pregnancies in our keto green community. And even you know, early menopause being reversed as it was in my own life and my own story when I had infertility and early menopause at 39. I failed the highest doses of fertility meds. And I was told by my colleague and reproductive endocrinologist that, you know, he said, anna, the only chance for you to have another baby is egg donation. That's it. We've tried everything.

Wow.

That was grief upon grief. That was heartbreak upon heartbreak in my life at that time over 15, 16 years ago. Because as part of my healing journey around the world, I reversed with the grace of God, I reversed early menopause and became naturally pregnant at 41, delivering my daughter Eva Marie, so 55 and she's soon to be 14. And yeah, healthy hormone balance is critical. Having the energy and the brain function and the memory because teenage girls, I don't know if you know this, Greg, but they can manipulate their mamas.

Yes. I have a 16 year old who is very wise that way.

Very wise. Yeah, yeah. There's some innate wisdom there. Yeah, for sure.

Yeah. So let's talk about towards the kind of the last third of the show, aging well from inside out. And then I also want you to talk on nutrition is key. Your keto Green, you brought that up a few times. But I want to flesh that out and kind of have it more explicitly stated and the lifestyle component. So, you know, aging well. We are in a longevity community together. So we are going to age very well and we want to bring everybody listening along with us. Right. So how are we doing that? Aging well inside and out.

Yeah, yeah. And I think this is where again, inside affecting our physiology through how we nourish our body and the behaviors that we do as well. So and I mentioned the keto Green way and that's my method, right. That is my method in getting our body into ketosis. As women, we do it differently than men. We need to do it differently, differently. Adding in the important alkalinizing component, checking urine PH to get that alkalizing urine ph for so many reasons. And again, empowering oxytocin, the most alkalinizing hormone in our body, to overcome cortisol stress, physiology. That's the keto Green way. And with that it includes intermittent fasting, no more snacking and you know, healthy fats, high quality fats and so important for women. I went in high, I was in high school and College in the 80s. And so that's the no fat movement, low fat movement. Really no fat movement was, you know, the rage, all the rage. That was taught to be the number one answer. Now we have an obesity, we have a sick aging population with aging in our nursing homes and no one wants to live that way. Right? Like, when you start every marriage, you're like, oh, I don't want to end in divorce. Well, when you start, you know, with your life, you do things in your life, you're like, I don't want to end up in a nursing home home. And you definitely don't. But there is definitely an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure in both these instances. So. And it's so true. And we've seen what, you know, what has been brought in to our world as, you know, a lot of contaminants that affect our physiology and make us age quicker. So we have to be very responsible consumers and clearing that up. So the keto green way and testing, not guessing is part of that. And with my new book, Menupause, I love the name. So Menupause is kind of taking it to another level because a lot of times we get stuck. We are in the keto community, we are in the paleo community. We're vegan or vegetarian. And we forget that we've evolved in many ways and we're all different. And what suits us at one certain time in our lives may not suit us at another time. So working with menopausal women who often have metabolic issues, I've had to pause certain things in their regimens, in their plans, in their lifestyle and eating behaviors to get them to break through a plateau or to turn the tide and get them feeling better. So beauty from the inside out and healing from the inside out comes from this comes from nourishing our body, removing inflammatory foods, using, activating the innate ability to heal. And so with the recipes, and it's really a fun cookbook, too, because my publisher let me do all kinds of great color, you know, color photography and color recipes. But the plans are key because we, you know, pausing certain things and just changing things up and using food as medicine. It's powerfully insightful. And so what I want people to experience is that discernment of what's. What does my body need right now? What is the next right step for me? What can I do in the shortest amount of time that is going to take me closer to my goal or help me reach my goal faster? And that is the way I think and that truly is this methodology to bring to life and to bring it to people's homes and kitchens?

Love it. I love it. So when is the book coming out?

It is coming out April 12th. April 12th. So we are in pre order stage. We are in pre order and with the, you know, just A big shout out is with the link we gave you. We have a $20 gift card to our store for the community. I know. Get the book from anywhere, come back, do the receipt. There's a bunch of book bonuses, but for pre order, there's an extra $20 gift card.

Oh, awesome. That's so thank you for passing that on to our listeners and viewers. So that's a great bonus. So we've got those links in the show notes for everybody to get out there. I mean, you know, it always. People are at a loss of what to eat and you make it simple. You actually give them a menu and you have a system developed right with it. Plus you got over $20 bonuses there or $20 off in the store. So that's phenomenal. So thank you, Dr. Anna, for that.

My pleasure, My pleasure. You know, I just feel like we've struggled so often. I never wish anyone the journey I've been on to learn what I know. And I think that's where, you know, I could be again. You know, a decade and a half ago I was, you know, stressed, depressed and my hormones were a mess, you know, and I know as being a leader in my field, right. Of hormone balancing, sexual health, et cetera, that it takes more than hormones to fix your hormones. And so getting this dialed in and then changing it up when we get into that rut, I know it's. It is what I have needed to do personally as well, you know.

Thank you for going through that for everybody and for sharing your journey. Because to get people ahead where you don't have to linger in suffering, you don't have to be stuck, you don't have to be alone. You know, there are really heart centered providers out here leading the way into what I call thriving. You know, we can all age well with our brawn and with our beauty and with our brains and with community. And that's what it's about. I mean, that's where the change is happening at this level. You know, unfortunately, we're not hearing it from the top down. In fact, we're hearing just the exact opposite of what we, what we share on our show. I always know we're going in the right direction if we're walking the opposite direction of the crowd. So, you know, that's why I created again, the platform here. What the health. If you guys are liking the show, please be sure. Think of two of your friends or family members. Maybe it is your husband, maybe it is your wife. Share the show and make sure you leave us a review as well, five star reviews with what you got out of the show. Those are greatly appreciated. It helps me with my mission, helps Dr. Anna with her mission of just helping as many people as we can. And this is how we get the word out. So in the last portion of the show, what else, what do you recommend for, you know, what can they start today to start moving the needle in the right direction?

Oh my gosh. Okay. There are so many things, but I always come up with something different. I think one of the biggest things that some people don't realize is not drinking with your meal. And that is just Science 101. Because it was. But it blew my mind. I went to Australia. Part of my journey around the world that I share in my, in my books is that when I was in Australia, I went to this health retreat in Kinkin, Australia and you know, was a fasting retreat, eventually was a fasting retreat. But our first meal there, they didn't bring any water. And I'm an American, right? I'm like, why didn't bring water? And they explained, they said, well, it dilutes your digestive enzymes so you won't digest the food. Food as well. It's really important you get as much nutrition from your food as you as you can. And that was a huge aha moment. I'm like, of course, that makes sense, right? And yet we get free refills when we sit down to eat. We get huge drinks to eat with our meal. And you're really chewing three times and you know, chugging fluid just to. And it's the opposite. Chew till it dissolves in your mouth. That's what mucus does, that's what saliva does. And that's really critical to start digesting in your mouth. So not drinking with your meals is game changing as far as your physiology and your weight loss and your decrease in inflammation and digestive issues are really problematic as we get older in menopause and andropause for both men. So for both men and women and empowering our bodies, natural digestive process is critical. Using bitters, you know, adding digestive foods to that. But I say no more than 4 ounces. That lets me have my 4 ounce glass of wine and I'm good.

Okay, There you go. That's awesome. That's a pro tip right there.

Yeah.

And you know it is, right? You're putting water into your stomach, you're diluting the stomach acid. Makes total sense. Yeah.

So I'm sure you get the other ones like intermittent fasting, you know, like of Course I would say keto green, you know, gratitude, journaling, those are all other really powerful one.

This one sometimes gets the bottom more in depth into the keto green regimen.

Yeah, absolutely. So keto green starts with intermittent fasting, ideally 16 hours between dinner the night before and breakfast. You start me start where you're at 12, 13, 14. But we know the intermittent fasting of greater than 12.5 to 13 hours in women who have had breast cancer results in a significantly decreased risk of recurrent breast cancer. So that for me is worthy, front page newsworthy. And it's why my plans are always 13 to 16 hours of intermittent fasting and then breaking fast with a keto green meal. Meaning healthy fats, high quality protein and fiber, rich dark green, leafy, low carbohydrate greens and herbs and spices that are medicinal in a way. Right. Cinnamon for instance. It helps with blood sugar control, turmeric, anti inflammatory, adding those things in. So a keto green break fast would be smoked salmon with capers on raw onions with some sauteed spinach, arugula, greens and some olive oil and some seasoning, maybe some paprika to give it color, black pepper. That's a keto green meal. That's addressing healthy fats, high quality protein and the alkalinizers, we cannot forget the alkalizers. Really important for women, really important for immune function and longevity as we age because of the support of clearing uric acid. Right. And you know, and that's number one. And then also you know, supporting, supporting our gut micro microbiota to really support gut microbial diversity. As we know that is related to better markers of all health and longevity. So adding those in is important. Now where I've twisted things in menopause is there certainly I have a six day pause and all things green. So there's a carnivore nose to tail plan and then there's also a vegan six day plan and there's a carb up plan. So there's different plans to kind of break through an area that may have been a sticking point.

So. Oh, that's awesome. You know, I think where do you feel the biggest pitfalls are around implementing kind of that ketogenic esque diet, the.

Acidifying component like men and women do it differently. Men. A lot of the keto work originally on men and especially when research comes into anything, we typically look at men because we're not having to control for hormonal fluctuations, hormonal contraceptives, times of the cycle, times of the month, whatever so we become difficult as women to study however and men have 10 times as much testosterone. That's an anabolic steroid, right. That keeps your bone muscle stronger, healthier, longer. Women we don't. And so especially in perimenopause and menopause all are hormonal levels are fluctuating and decreasing. And so a ketogenic diet's an acidifying type of diet and that is going to affect our metabolism long term. We may get short term results. But unless we're adding the very important alkalizing component, the greens, the support for our gut bacteria, especially considering a big part of our gut bacteria is part of the, you know, it's the estrepolome, it's the where we need to detoxify our estrogen healthfully and we rely on the estrobolone for that. And so that's where people get keto wrong. So I really am a big advocate of checking urine ph. You know what gets tested, you know test don't gas. What gets measured gets managed that expression. But also we know that a higher uric urine ph, more alkaline urine ph is associated with all markers of health and longevity.

Do you have an ideal number there for ph of urine for just over.

7 according to so 7 is neutral, less than 7, we're getting into acidic and then over 7 it's alkaline and urine ph and research. Because I was looking, I was interviewing Dr. David promoter on my girlfriend doctor show and he was talking about uric acid. Well I mean high levels of uric acid associated with a very acidic urinary ph as well as a very acidic, a very keto type diet. And this is where many women especially do keto for a long time, then start gaining weight. You're like what's going on? And this can be part of the metabolic stall with elevated uric acid. However, when you have a high urine ph, you're clearing uric acid you typically have associated with lower uric acid levels or clearing of uric acid. And I found that research to be pretty affirming to like my, my whole test stone gas, check your urine ph and get it above 7, get it alkaline 7.58 when you go to sleep at night and in the morning and if it's not, then there's fine tuning. Maybe you're not getting a good night's sleep, you're waking up cortisol spiking in the middle of the night again causing cortisol will cause hydrogen ion secretion across the renal tubules creating an essential acidic urine ph. You can measure that. So you can be eating perfectly but be under stress and have an acidic urine ph. So we, we have to fix our physiology. And that comes into. You're the only one who can upset yourself. You choose how to react to the external stressors in our environment. So that, that's part of heal, you know, mentally healing our physiology.

Oh, I love it when somebody. How quickly can you see the changes in the urine for folks? Because I know we'll get questions and people are going to be reaching out because we've got some folks that take action on this information. If they're starting to make dietary changes. Is it something that will change immediately or will it take a few days?

Sometimes it can take a while, especially if there's diabetes, if there's inflammation, if there's other issues, but use it as information. So sometimes we can start shifting our diet to create perfection, but we have to start shifting our thoughts too. And it's part of that troubleshooting. So I really, I do get into that in my books and certainly on my website. There's a lot of free content around the urine ph and alkalinizing urine. And I think it's really critical to understand for some of my clients in my Magic Menopause online program to help women through menopause. They, some of them took them a long time initially and now they're. It's, it's so much easier. It's so much easier. But the troubleshooting and I kind of always joke with my audience. I say get your Nancy Drew on for guys. You know, get your Hardy Boys on. You guys remember me? Like, I was so Nancy Drew oriented. Like, figure out the clues. Like, listen to the clues again. What, you know, what could have shifted you from an alkaline urine ph to acidic or what could be causing this acidity and could be dehydration. It could be, you know, an inflammatory food. Like if I have, if I'm alkaline and I eat a piece of dairy, have some dairy or cheese or something, I'll be acidic, you know, and, and that was, I mean, it just confirms continually that dairy is not good for me. Anyway, it's very sad story. And I keep trying. 10 years now to everyone, right?

I know. Oh, I don't want to believe it. Right. I don't want to believe it, but it is. So that is, it is a test, don't guess. And that is, I love that. I think, you know, kind of ending on curiosity and running experiments and, and really getting in tune with your own vessel. Right. Because we are pretending to be separate in this reality. So I'm going to bring it full circle into that beautiful way that you talked about oneness at the start of the show and in creating more intimacy for all, it is the more beautiful world our hearts know and desire. So, Dr. Kabeca, thank you so much for coming on the show.

Thank you.

Any last parting words for folks?

Thank you, Greg. Thanks for having me. I would just really emphasize don't give up. I mean, don't give up. No matter what you are dealing with, how overwhelmed you may be, what diagnoses you may have layered on, I promise you, you can be better tomorrow than you are today.

Awesome. With that, folks, this is another episode of what the Health and this one was a lot of fun. Be sure to share this one. Pick two people right now after this and press send. Share what you learned and let's get the word out because this is the year. This is the time it is on. So for more curiosity and self experiments to learn about what the power of these things are. Thanks for tuning in. I couldn't do it without you. This is what the Health on the contact talk radio Tuesdays from 2 to 3 Pacific Time. See you next week.