I'm 40, Why Does My Body Feel So Broken?

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Why does my body feel so broken? This is JJ Virgin, four time New York Times bestselling author, celebrity nutrition expert, and fitness hall of famer. I've been on a lifelong quest for answers to the toughest health questions, and now I'm sharing what I found with you. Welcome to Ask the Health Expert. Lee asked during consultation. I'm 40. Why does my body feel so broken? Hey, I've got the perfect person to answer this question with me. Dr. Karen Dunson's in the house. She's an obgyn and functional medicine expert, and she used her expertise to get this loose 100 pounds and keep it off and healed herself from chronic disease. Now she helps tens of thousands of women lose weight, regain their energy, and master midlife through her Stop the Menopause Madness summit and her brilliant Health revolution podcast and YouTube channel. When she's not out helping women take control of their health, she's out singing. She's a singer with the Savannah Philharmonic Chorus. She'll be right back to answer this question. Stay with us.

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That is such a great question. And I can really relate to it myself. When I was in my 40s, my health really started to go off the rails. And by 47 I weighed over 240 pounds and I was obese. I had chronic fatigue, I had pain in my body every day. I had anxiety, depression, and I really, my health was such a mess. And so I can really relate to that. And I talk to so many women who feel the same way. They say, wow, I hit my 40s and I just feel so broken. Every day it's something new. And if you can relate, then this question is definitely one you want to listen to. So you're not alone is what I want you to know. So many women I talk to say that their health feels out of control and basically like a dumpster trash fire. So why is this? Well, it's a combination of factors. So the obvious reason is that you don't have as many eggs in your ovaries anymore, right? Starting about the age of 35, you're considered advanced maternal age when it comes to having children. And that's because your eggs are older and they're more likely to have chromosomal anomalies when making a baby. But also they don't produce the healthy level of hormones that your body is used to seeing. So round about 35 and 40 is when we hit perimenopause or around the time of menopause. And menopause usually occurs at the age of 51 in America. So you've got these obvious changes in your sex hormones. And considering that all the cells in your body have receptors for estrogen, progesterone and testosterone, your three sex hormones that both men and women have, well then they're not, these receptors are not getting hit hit, they're not getting stimulated. So you're not having the benefits from these sex hormones. And I know you're saying, well, I thought sex hormones were about sex and making babies and reproduction and having a libido. Well, yes they are, but they're about so much more. And so the truth is that you need these for healthy brain function and mood and healthy neurotransmitter levels. And healthy gastrointestinal function and hair, skin and nails. Every system in your body actually needs these hormones to stay healthy. And so that's the most obvious reason why in your 40s you start having problems. Because your levels of typically progesterone are going down and estrogen are going up. And estrogen is your weight gain, water retention, pms, fibroid endometriosis hormone. And progesterone is the antidote to it. It's your anti, anxiety, antidepressant, diuretic, weight loss, sleep, sleep well, feel good, happy hormone. So you get this imbalance going on and it really wrecks havoc where you can feel tired during the day, you wake up in the middle of the night and can't go back to sleep, or you wake up not feeling rested, or maybe you're starting to gain weight, a few pounds every year, but they're adding up slowly but surely and really bothering you. Maybe your moods are off kilter and you're feeling irritable and snapping at people. People, or you can't remember things, you go into a room and say, what did I come in here for? So it can be just myriad the effect of these hormonal imbalances. So this we know. But what most of us don't know is the deeper part. So sex hormone imbalance at perimenopause in your 40s is kind of like the part of the iceberg that you see sticking above the surface of the water. And it, it looks like it's big, but it's not too big, and it's not too insurmountable. And we deal with the sex hormone imbalances and then we'll be fine, right? Well, not entirely true. Because if you go down below the surface of water and you look at the rest of that iceberg, it is ginormous, right? 20 or more times as big as the part sticking up out of the water. Well, this is the thing that sunk the Titanic, because they thought it was just a little bit of ice, but it was huge, huge icebergs below the surface. And it can sink your own health. So you really want to pay attention to what's going on beneath the surface that you might not be aware of. And that primarily has to do with your cortisol, stress hormone, and all the things that affect it, right? Your other hormones, toxicity and inflammation in your environment and really nutritional inputs, your energy, body, right. So the process, parts of you that you can't detect with your five senses that are your thoughts, feelings, beliefs, and these all go into program your overall health. And this is one of the reasons why our 40s and 50s are so particularly difficult. In our country we have pathologic, perimenopause and menopause, meaning in some countries they don't even have any of these symptoms. They just one day stop having a period, no symptoms, and and life goes on. But in our country, it really is a big upheaval and very traumatic transition for so many of us because we don't necessarily address these above the surface iceberg issues, but often the bigger issues going on below the surface. So great question. You're not alone and hopefully this gives you some context to know exactly what's happening and where you might start to determine what needs to happen first for you to improve your health.

This is JJ with Ask the Health Expert. I do this five times a week, so make sure you never miss a show by going to subscribetojay.com.

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