325: Holistic Hormonal Balance + Birth Control with Dr Jolene Brighten

Namaste, it's Sahara Rose. And welcome back to the Highest Self podcast, a place we discuss what makes you your soul's highest evolvement. I am so excited to be recording this podcast from my new place in Miami. It has been a long time coming and a dream of mine to live here. I remember last year I was here exactly at this time for our Rose Gold Goddesses Miami launch party. And I told all of the girls at the party that one day I will live in Miami. But I wasn't sure how that was possible because my husband works in the music industry and has an office in la. So I wasn't sure how I would be able to somehow move to Miami. And he would move despite the office. But I held the space anyways. And here I am a year later, living out my Miami dreams, taking walks outside by the warm ocean that I could literally dive into. And it's so turquoise and blue. And I'm super excited when things open to go to more dance classes and tap into the beautiful multicultural community here. So I'm sharing this with you because I know that my move has been a topic that I've been keeping you guys on board on throughout this journey, and it finally happened, and I'm here, and it feels like such an upgrade and so expansive in every way. So if you are thinking about moving or if you are wanting to, you know, start a new life somewhere, have a fresh start with all of the shifts and changes that are happening, perhaps you are feeling this call to recreate something somewhere else or to just expand more into nature, more by the mountains or by the ocean or the city or whatever it is that is calling you. This is. This is my reminder to you that you can make it happen. No matter what is the limitation that you may think is there right now, just know that any limitation can be surpassed if that true desire is there. And I'm excited to see how it unfolds for all of you. So in today's episode, we are talking about all things female hormones. Female hormones is, to me, such a catalyst into spirituality. And not only is it catalyst, but it's actually like a sister. It's something that you always go. Go back and forth with. For me, it was very much a catalyst into my spirituality, but it's also something. The moment things feel off hormonally, I know something is off spiritually. And that's why you hear me and so many people speaking about our menstrual cycles and our wombs and our sacred sexuality and sensuality and all of these things because it is inherently connected with our femininity and our divine nature. And we can only achieve wholeness when we do address the underlying imbalances that are happening within our wombs. And whether you have a physical womb or not, if you are someone who identifies as being a female, you have a vulva, you have female hormones, you are affected by this all. So some questions that I commonly get, and I see a lot happening in the Rose Gold Goddesses community that I really wanted to bring a doctor, an expert on, to ask is, firstly, birth control. So many of us are wanting to get off birth control and not knowing what to do. Instead, what are other options out there that are more natural and feeling really confused because, you know, maybe your doctor is the one that put you on the pill, and you're like, I can't do this. So it's really important for us to see that there are other options available for us and also know the pros and the cons, because unfortunately, no type of birth control yet is perfect. And to me, it boggles my mind that we can go to the moon, but we can't just, like, fix this most basic issue that every single woman has. Maybe because it's a woman's issue, not a men's issue, but I'll get to that later. So this topic of birth control, how we can, you know, find a form of birth control that works for us? I know I was on the pill when I was in college and got off of it, and coming off of it revealed a lot of hormonal imbalances for me. So for a lot of people getting off it now, they're realizing maybe there is underlying PCOs, or they're experiencing amenorrhea or endometriosis or whatever else it is. So we talk a lot about birth control in this conversation. Another big thing I see a lot of women have is pcos. And PCOS is not just cysts. It stands for polycystic Ovarian syndrome. But what Dr. Bryden talks about on today's episode is that's not the best term for it because it doesn't always show up as cysts. And that was just the initial name for it. And she describes why and how it's been such a long battle for this to even be recognized as a medical condition, and again, comes from further sexism and really not looking at women's issues as serious as male issues. So we talk a lot about pcos, how it affects our bodies, how to find balance hormonally and some other Issues as well, from fibroids, endometriosis, painful periods. I mean, we really go about as many topics as we could fit into this hour to really give you the most benefit. And I love Dr. Jolene Brighton. I follow her on Instagram and she has such great, great, incredible information about all things female hormonal balance. So she is like my go to pick to take these questions to who really understands things from. She's a naturopathic doctor, so she's really trained with herbs and holistic modalities and understands the spiritual connection and also has done medical research and has been working with female hormones for decades now. So she is someone that really has the knowledge as well as, you know, can understand our concerns and speak our language. So I'm super excited for her to be on the podcast today and break down so many questions that women have. So many questions that maybe our own doctors have not been able to answer for us or our Google searches have not been able to find clarity on. I hope that this episode helps give it to you. I know for myself having suffered from so many hormonal imbalances, namely not getting my period for over two years, suffering from amenorrhea. And, you know, I'm grateful for that because it was the catalyst of my growth journey. And I also know how scary it is. So I am hoping that this can give you some clarity, some awareness, some action steps and some guidance and how you can move forward and also get more help from a medical professional. So, without further ado, let's welcome Dr. Braden to the Highest Self podcast. Welcome Dr. Brighton to the Highest Self podcast. It's so great to have you here.

Yeah, it's so great to be here.

And the first question I'd love to ask you is, what makes you your highest self?

I love this question. And it's also like a challenging question, right? But I think the thing that makes me my highest self is really tapping into my intuition and keeping space every single day for that to where I don't get caught up in the busy, busy hustle, hustle that is very common for entrepreneurs. And also to be an A type personality. I always want to be like, let's be my most logical self in everything. But to really be at my highest self requires taking that time, Even if it's 10 minutes a day, to really go inward and do that internal check. It also helps me show up a lot better as a partner and a wife and mother. I'm like, the mother's the big one.

Yes, totally. We were just chatting about how you move to Puerto Rico and just go snorkeling in your free time, which is just so incredible and just shows that we can take action to create that into our reality and create more of those pockets of time. So you inspired me, girl. I'm moving to Puerto Rico, too.

You get to hang out with, like, octopi, cuttlefish. It's a good time.

There's this new documentary on Netflix about the octopus. Did you see or hear of that?

I have seen it. And, like, you know how Netflix just forces things on you? Yeah. Pops up. And it pops up.

Watch this octopus documentary, right?

So I've seen it. I haven't watched it yet. I got, like, a little emotional when I saw, like, a shark came into the scene as you and I were talking. Like, I get a little triggered by sharks, and I was like, I can't watch it if the octopus was gonna get eaten by a shark. But I do want to see it, because here I had a great day snorkeling, and one day I was just. If you just float and you can be still enough, like, talk about a practice of mindfulness is snorkeling. Like, if you want to see the best stuff, you have to be still and just float and be really present. And I got to see three octopi, and that was incredible because just they'll see you, and they get really shy, and then if you sit there long enough, they'll start to come out like, okay, you're not trying to get at me. You're not trying to eat me. And it's something I've actually been trying to teach my son because he'll want to, like, dive down and look at things, which is, like, fun. And he's seven, and I get that. But explaining to him, like, if you want to catch the most out of life, it's actually happening when you're still. And it's the space between the movement where you will see the most things.

That is so beautiful. And, yes, what a great lesson for life. So you are the period whisperer. You know so much. You've written an incredible book called beyond the Pill. And you are are a naturopathic doctor and really specialize in female hormones. And I know so many of my community members, my Rose Gold goddesses, are really diving deeper into their hormonal health. I think when we go on a wellness or spiritual journey, that's just a very natural place that you either start or eventually end up in, because it plays such a huge role in our lives. And, you know, different symptoms show up from PCOS to amenorrhea, which I suffered from. But then also just the questions that so many of us have about, like, why is my period early? Or. Or this or that, and what that really means. So I thought you were just the perfect person to dive further into this. And I'd love to start with. For those people who have made the decision that they want to transition off of birth control pills, but they don't really know how, they're a little bit afraid. What's your suggestion for them?

That's a really interesting place that you start with the segue of, like, people who are working on their higher self. Right. And they're working on their spiritual self. And yet that is something I find a lot of people arrive to when they're like, an email better, I'm exercising, I'm meditating, I've got everything unlocked. And then they stand back and they're like, wait, why am I on the pill? And what is that doing? Or what's going on with my iud? And it's something that we've been encouraged very much in many different capacities, not just with doctors to go on autopilot when it comes to our reproductive health of, like, just do what you're told, don't question it, and you're not going to get pregnant. And, like, listen, like, when I was 17, I started the pill. I was like, yes, please, not getting pregnant, definitely a good thing. And yet many of us don't understand how it works. And so let's talk about that, and then we'll talk about coming off. So the way that hormonal birth control works, if it is to stop your ovulation, it must work at the brain level. Now, this is always a big aha for people because it was so often told, like, oh, you take these hormones for your ovaries to stop ovulating. But the way ovulation works is it starts in your brain. So it is a cascade of hormones throughout the month that are leading to your period if you don't become pregnant. And it's all orchestrated by the brain. The ovaries are taking the signals from the brain and they're responding to that. So for birth control to work to shut down ovulation, it works at the brain level. The IUDs, the hormonal IUDs, they don't always shut down brain ovarian communication. They can, but it's not like the pill, where that's the primary mechanism. So when you come off of hormonal birth control, there can be some time between brain ovarian communication being reestablished. So that may look like amenorrhea. We expect you to maybe not get your period back for about three months coming off of birth control. If you had regular cycles when you started it, if you had TCOs or irregular cycles before, we expect it can take about six months. For some, it can even take about 18 months before you start ovulating again. Which if you come off of birth control to try to get pregnant, and this is especially true with the depo shot, it can take longer for it to wear off. You come off with the expectation to get pregnant and you don't have a period. Yes, you do need a period to be able to get pregnant because what precedes that is ovulation. So that can have a lot of women panicked. Which is why if you're listening to this now and you're debating going off of it, I recommend going off of it in advance, at least six months, maybe even sooner from trying to get pregnant. And even if you don't want to get pregnant, really for everyone, step one is coming off. You need a backup birth control method if you are having sex with a male partner. And the reason for that is because one, we don't know when you're going to start ovulating again. So if you are someone who's like, I want to do fertility awareness method, you might need a condom in the meantime. And two, you don't want to get pregnant right away because hormonal birth control is causing a lot of disruption in your system in various ways if you haven't been taking care of yourself the whole time. So nutrient depletions like zinc, selenium, vitamin C, vitamin E, B vitamins, ones that are crucial to pregnancy but also just to being a high functioning adult. You have to replenish those nutrient stores. Yes, we want to dial in diet. Yes, we want to make sure that we are digesting, digesting and absorbing our food. So tending to our gut. And we're going to likely need a supplement. If you're on birth control right now, you definitely want to be on a multivitamin or prenatal. So that's a few of the things I talk about in my book. I could definitely go off for a long time talking about like your metabolic health and inflammation and all the other things we want to do. But I know that was a lot right there at the beginning. So do you have any questions?

Yeah, no, I think that's really great advice and your book really outlines it so much more And I think the next natural question for people is, well, if I get off birth control, what do you recommend as a more natural form of birth control?

Yeah, so when it comes to birth control, there's no one size fits all. That's really the slippery slope that we have fallen into, that we've literally fallen into a pit with birth control at some point, because I think we've all had the story of trying a birth control method that didn't work for us. And so you really have to evaluate what's true for your body, what's going to work best for you. And when it comes to natural methods, we have barrier methods, which they don't get a lot of play. Like, a lot of people don't talk about those. But barrier methods are the only thing going to protect you from HIV, HPV, other STIs.

That would be like a male or female condom.

Male, female condom, dental dams. So those barrier methods, we also have, you know, cervical cap. Those have a higher failure rate, though. So you also have to look at what is the typical use and what's the perfect use. So whenever you hear the pill is 99% effective, I'm like, that's if you're perfect with it, but typical use is 91% effective. And you'll still hear people say, well, it's not that hard to do perfect use. I'm like, then why would we be reporting typical use? Saying, this is typically what people do? Because there are issues that come up. If you vomit within a couple hours of taking your pill, it's probably not going to be that effective. So we've got the barrier methods. There's also the copper iud. There are some people who do great with it. They absolutely love it. I've monitored patients, so I take anytime we have a medical intervention, I want baseline labs, I want baseline symptom tracking for my patient, then an intervention, and then we track. So there are people out there, and there might be someone who comments like, how dare you recommend the copper ad? What about copper toxicity? Like, you could die. And it's like, yes, that can happen with some people, but it doesn't happen with all people. Which is why you should be monitoring that with lab work and definitely monitoring your symptoms. And if you're taking a multivitamin or prenatal or you love oysters and you're getting plenty of zinc, then that can help counter any copper. There's not sufficient evidence to say that there's copper toxicity with the copper IUD that occurs. However, they do say that if you have copper storage disease, that you shouldn't have a copper iud, which should all give us pause to say, well, there is a possibility there. So if you have endometriosis heavy or painful periods, copper IUD is not for you. I have a whole TikTok video of, like, three reasons not to get a copper iud, and that's it. Because it makes periods heavier and it definitely makes them more painful for people who already have painful periods. So, you know, copper IUD is, I will say, highest efficacy rate and hands down, if it works for you, you love it. And if it doesn't work for you, then you absolutely won't. And then there's fertility awareness method, which I love, because if you're using barrier methods or using copper aud, then you can also use fertility awareness method. And why I love it is not because I don't want anyone to be like, well, Dr. Brighton loves it, therefore that should be my method. That's not what I'm saying. What I'm saying is I love it because you get so intimately involved with your body and its signs and its symptoms that you understand when things are not normal and that you can clue in way sooner than labs will. We have this. Doctors often tell us, like, your labs are normal, therefore everything's normal. Let me tell you that by the time labs are showing that they're abnormal, the body's no longer compensating. The patient often experiences something in their body as not normal. And we'll say that before lab symptoms shift. And that's what fertility awareness method can help you with as well. So if people don't know what this is, this is not the rhythm method. This is not the calendar method. That's being like, oh, we all ovulate on day 14. No, we do not. So an ovulation can, for you be day 14 one month and day 16 the next month and day 10, like, the month later, like, it can shift because as a cyclical creature, you're very much in tune with your environment. Hello, 2020, the biggest environmental disruption, the signals we're getting. Everybody's periods are all over the place this year. And painful and weird, right? Where I mean, like, why do I have these symptoms? I've never had these symptoms before. Because you're in tune with the environment. So with fertility awareness method, you are tracking your basal body temperature. The minute you wake up, you take your temperature, you're tracking your symptoms. Do you see raw egg white consistency in your underwear? That's fertile cervical mucus. It's Not a bad thing. It's a very good thing. You have healthy hormones. We want to see that. That's a sign that you are in your fertile window. We will see a temperature spike which is with the LH spike. That's what the brain saying in the ovaries. And then we will subsequently see ovulation happen. The base. I have to say we're both on TikTok and I'm. It's like I knew only 17 states mandated medically accurate sex education, but I didn't know how much of an impact that was really having. Like, I never. It wasn't tangible for me until I had a video that's like 2 million views where I told people you're only fertile one day out of the month. As if you have an egg that's a company that is, you know, liberated from your ovaries, that's going to live 12 to 24 hours. And it's sperm that can only have five, maybe six, maybe seven. But really you'll need a six day fertile window. And people are like, I mean, there were people arguing in the comments being like, this is a lie, this is misinformation. You can get pregnant any day of the month. And I'm like, okay, have you ever tried to get pregnant? Because you can't. It's not the way that it works. And so fertility awareness method makes the assumption we ovulate once in a month. Yes, there can be outliers, but typically you're only going to ovulate once in a month. Sperm lives five to six days. So that means that if you are like really in the mood and you have fertile cervical mucus, don't have unprotected sex because you're probably going to get pregnant and then you're going to be tracking your physical symptoms. But also you can measure even the cervix height, which is a little tricky. And that's like, if you're going to get into that stage, honestly, if you want to do fertility and awareness method, working with a fertility awareness educator can be so tremendous and really helping you have your confidence kind of dialed in and being able to meet your doctor and dialogue in a way where they don't just dismiss you. Because I don't think it's funny and yet so many doctors think it's funny to be like, oh, fertility awareness. Nothing you wouldn't call that. I'll see you when you're pregnant. That's what we call that. That's so disempowering for you to say instead when someone says, I'm doing fertility awareness method, I'm like, tell me about your temperature tracking. Tell me about your fertile cervical mucus. I go through and ask those questions. And if they're like, yeah, what do you mean temperature? I'm like, okay, you're not really doing fertility awareness method. Let's talk about that.

I think these are really good because yes, I do know a lot of people try doing it and they just assume like, okay, so like I can have sex during my period with ejaculation inside or right before after because I can't get pregnant. But sometimes that sperm lives, you know, for the five or six days and then maybe they ovulate earlier than they thought and they're just guessing they're not really taking the temperature. So then you hear stories like that and then people are like, oh my gosh, this doesn't actually work. So what would you say are the best methods to prevent anything from slipping up? And would you still recommend your partner not ejaculating inside of you if you are using this method?

Yeah. So you're talking about is doing the pull out method, which has about a 20% failure rate. I mean, it only if it's done correctly. I mean, it's up in the 90s in terms of its percent of, you know, successful. Nobody gets pregnant. And so, you know, it only has about a 4% failure rate if done perfectly. The amount of body awareness it takes for a man, pretty tremendous. But also some men, their brains really get overridden by their hormones and everything that's going on. So you really have to check in with your male partner about that. And you can use, I know people who use the fertility awareness method with the pull out method. And I have patients who haven't gotten pregnant for years and then decided to get pregnant and they got pregnant. And so that works for them. Will that work for you? Maybe, maybe not. If you can't risk having a baby, you're better off to use a barre method. So use a condom and certainly during your fertile window, use that. Now what you brought up is a really interesting point because people will say, well, how did I get pregnant? Because I was on my period and that's when we had sex and I got pregnant. Well, let's say your period is seven days long. So you're bleeding for seven days and then you ovulate on day 10. So you had sex on day seven because you're like, well, so like on my period it'll be fine. Three days later you ovulate. Now here's what is really important to understand because we will often hear people talking about, about the menstrual cycle as four phases, which gets a little bit confusing. You'll not hear doctors talk about that regularly because we focus on the three phases. Because the follicular phase's goal is ovulation. Is it wrong to say four phases? No. But when we're saying four phases, what are we talking about? Talking about the uterus. We're not talking about the ovaries. The ovaries do not care that the uterus is shedding. They're like, we're getting an egg ready. That's their job. And so to understand that, well, your uterus may still be bleeding, you can ovulate. Like that can happen at the tail end. Is that the best scenario for implantation? Absolutely not. Because you need to have that endometrium built up. However, at the same time to recognize that in a three day window, if your estrogen spiking and then you ovulate, it is possible. Because what could have been left that you were bleeding was actually leftover blood and not so much the lining of the uterus. The lining of the uterus was already building. So it's a little bit confusing because your uterus is doing one thing and your ovaries are doing another thing. And then your doctor saying one thing and then you'll hear other people talking about four phases and that's another thing. And so just to understand that the ovaries during the follicular phase primary goal is get ready for ovulation. Ovulation is a one day event. Then we move into the luteal phase. The uterus is menstruating, then it's building up the lining. And then if there's implantations, things go a different route. If there's not, after the luteal phase, the lining sheds. Does that make sense?

Totally. And I think you said something important. You said, you know, you might ovulate. Day 10. So would day one be the first day of your menstruation?

Yes. So day one is the first day that you have flow. And sometimes we'll have like a little bit of spotting if it's like less than a tablespoon. So a tablespoon or less, not really your period. That spotting, that's always like. I'm like, some things people are like, oh, there's like something wrong if you spot. It's not uncommon to spot. And in some ways I'm like, your body's just like, hey, don't wear Those white pants tomorrow let you know. I'm like, your body did you solid there. So, yeah, the first day is that you have a flow. And so a typical period is about three to five days. Seven days is not abnormal. Beyond that, we start to get concerned that that's, that's a long period to be having. But you can have, you know, spot. And this is the thing, the spotting still counts at the end. You want to track it as that. So five days maybe of regular bleeding. And then there was brown spotting for two days. So you want to be like, okay, brown spotting for two, period. The amount of time you're bleeding is roughly seven days.

Got it. Yeah. I think that's super helpful for people because there seems to just be this assumption of like, your ovulation is just two weeks after, like, that's it. Like, and just like kind of keep that in mind. Or even I feel like most people kind of count ovulation for a couple days because you just don't really know exactly what day it's on. If you're doing the fam method for a long time. Could you actually pinpoint the exact, exact day that it happens or is it still this like, window of a couple days?

It's good still to like count the couple days. I think if you just like, absolutely do not want to become pregnant, that's like a total deal breaker. And so with that, though, I will say there are femtech devices like Natural Cycles, that's FDA approved contraceptive. That doesn't mean that you just take your temperature and you call it a day, still pay attention to your symptoms. Okay. And then there's Daisy, which is a fertility monitor. And those are great because they really can. I mean, they take an algorithm and it's like where math beats chemistry in terms of like managing your fertility. Like the math beats the pill in some women in terms of. Because we all know somebody who got pregnant on the pill. And so with that, I think those are great devices to have on board. I personally find them way easier to use than a calendar charting method. I'm just not going to do it. I tried and I was like, I just can't do this paper method with this ruler. But you can get it dialed in to where you are, like, okay, okay, my temperature spiked and it's very small spike. I will also say that devices like the Oura ring. So I wear the Oura ring and I've been surprised that I'm like, whoa, there's a little. I can actually see when ovulation happened there's this little spike. Is that what it's approved for? No, but I am a bit of an expert, so I also.

How much would the spike be? Like, point how many degrees it can.

Be just like 0.2, 0.4 for some is very, very small spike. And you know, for some they'll even feel hotter that day. Like, they'll feel their body temperature go up, but it's not enough to do just the temperature. And that's what I really want to drive home. Because when they've studied this and the studies that are like, wow, there's actually a high success rate with this method, you're also paying attention to your symptoms. So being in the mood. Okay, when your libido upticks and you have no problems with vaginal lubrication, that, yeah, you're around ovulation because that's what your body is designed to do. So libido will actually spike before ovulation. As a way. It's mom and nature being so smart, being like, let's capture some sperm because there's going to be an egg and that's going to increase the success rate. And you know, always for people who are listening, who don't want to have children, I totally get that. Which is why you want to learn how nature designed it, because nature wants you to procreate. That's like what is being driven here. So if you don't want to learn the game and play nature's game, and then you can you outsmart it. And you know, and then I will say this, though, you know, as I said, someone always gets pregnant with the pill. I had said the highest efficacy rate IUDs, there's no failure, there's no human failure variable in that. Yet we all know an iud baby. Like, we all know these people have gotten pregnant with these methods. And so this is when, you know, when I finally defaulted to on social media, as I just say, and Jeff Goldblum says in Jurassic park that life finds a way. Like, life will find a way. And there are people, I mean, I've had patients in their 40s with an IUD who are like, I'm pregnant. Like, statistically, I thought I wasn't even, like, gonna be able to get pregnant. And yet here I am with an IUD and I'm pregnant. So just to understand that no method is 100% pregnancy proof except for abstinence. And that's not realistic for a lot of people. And let's just be real about it, because I know there are people that are like, they, like pie in the sky, dream that people can practice abstinence, but biology.

Exactly. Well, thanks so much for explaining that. And I do want to note, like, I had a copper iud, but I got it done at somewhere that they did not use an ultrasound. So it was not placed correctly. And it was just, like, scratching me. And I thought that it was just because they said you might have spotting for the first month. And I was. I also, for me, like, I feel like I do a lot of, like, yoga and twists and stuff. So psychologically, I was always afraid of, like, I was kind of thinking, what if it's scratching me? Even though it already was scratching me. So I would recommend for someone to go to a doctor that uses an ultrasound just to make sure it's in the right place.

Yeah. And your doctor should always. I mean, as part. Once you get an IUD place, they should say to you, if at any point it doesn't feel right, you can't feel the strings, anything. You come in and we do a transvaginal ultrasound. So for everyone listening, it's not going to be over the tummy ultrasound like you see on every pregnancy movie. This will be a transvaginal ultrasound. It's a wand that's inserted into the vagina so that we can visualize the uterus. And so. So the thing I will say is that every Planned Parenthood has this available. So that's the other thing, too, is that if you are like, something's not right, and you're, like, traveling, you can actually pop into a Planned Parenthood and they can visualize it right away. Perforation risk is low. With IUDs, people are always. And so perforation, basically, the IUD is trying to bust out of your uterus, and so it's going through the wall. That is a bad deal. It's low. You know, with the Mirena IUD, which is a hormonal IUD, it's less than 0.1%, is very, very low. Expulsion is much higher. So with the Mirena IUD and the hormonal IUDs, we've got a higher rate. With the copper IUD, it's even higher. And that's when your uterus is like, this is my house and you do not belong here. And it kicks it out. And really, with that, it can be painful depending on, like, if it gets lodged in the cervix. It's a matter of you just need to have strings pulled. And it will be removed pretty quickly. But these things are like, when you have a device, I mean, it's just like the implant in your arm, even a device in your body, it's a foreign object, right? And it's also an unknown. And it also, it can always feel like you know something going on. You can get it visualized. You can always have your doctor check it out. But before it's ever placed, they should be going over, what are the risks. That is part of the informed consent. And the informed consent isn't just that I gave you the information. It's that you asked all your questions and you fully understood the information. If you did not have all your questions answered, if your doctor was just like, oh, it's not that big of a deal, and kept on moving, nope, that is not an informed consent. They need to back it up and repeat a correct answer. Because the informed consent is both a legal and ethical obligation that you are entitled to so that you make the best decision for yourself. But also so you know when to seek help and you know when to see your doctor. So with, like, IUDs, pelvic inflammatory disease risk can be higher. There was an IUD a long time ago that was like, just a bad device. And that was before the FDA was even approving devices. They were like, yeah, sure, just put it in women. And it was bad. It was a bad deal. And women were getting pid. It's much lower now, but you still need to know that if you end up with a fever, chills, nausea, vomiting, low, abdomen aching, weird discharge coming. And I have a whole discharge article@drbrighton.com if it's like, sick mucusy, not like cervical mucus. It's like, cloudy, it's white, it's green, it smells bad. This is a problem if you're having sex and your partner touches your cervix. Because, yes, that happens and you want to scream. We call it the chandelier sign sign where we'll actually, we'll move the cervix between our fingers when you move it back and forth. And we call it the chandelier sign. Because you will want to jump up and grab the chandelier because you are in so much pain. These are all signs of pelvic inflammatory disease. Yes, the risk is low. It's like, much lower than it used to be. And yet you still need to know what that is. Because, yes, it is an infection that's serious. You definitely need to go to the doctor. I call it like, do not pass go, do not collect $200. Go directly to a clinic. Condition, get some treatment right away because it can scar your tubes, your fallopian tubes. And so that can set you up. And then that's when women will say, well, my IUD caused infertility, we'll back it up. It's not that the IUD caused infertility, the IUD increased the risk for pelvic inflammatory disease and that led to your infertility. And that's like a very serious thing because sometimes we find ourselves not wanting a baby until the prospect of not being able to have a baby is there. And then we're like, okay, hold up, I'm reevaluating every.

Thanks so much for explaining that. And definitely, guys, check out her website. So many great articles and TikTok videos. So such great advice. So a lot of people are sharing natural birth control herbs, you know, using herbs for this. What are your thoughts? Do you think we should. We could do it in conjunction with things or. My concern is that it could decrease your chances of fertility when you are. If you are ready to have a child.

Yeah, I don't think we have any studies on like long term impacts of fertility, but this is the tricky thing. We just don't have great studies on that and on herbs that would actually work for fertility. And the problem is, is that anything that's natural can't really be patented. And so like there's not a lot of money in that. Right. So it doesn't mean there isn't efficacy there. But I just want to be careful here because. Because if you absolutely cannot get pregnant, then you're rolling the dice there. And my concern is that something that is preventing fertility may also be messing with your hormones and messing with other issues. And so it's kind of like, okay, so you're not taking a pharmaceutical that's messing with your hormones now you're trying to use herbs to mess with your hormones. And I know that in the current political climate I'm like, I just don't know how I feel. I've been sat with this enough, like seeing TikTok videos, educating women about abortifactant teas and things that they can be drinking to have an at home abortion. And there's one in particular that like, as a tea, it's okay to drink and it may or may not help you, but if you use the oil you could die. And I'm like, and I kind of want to chime in and be like, okay, but if you use the oil, like you could die. And please, like be careful because it's not like essential oils and like, oh like it's not more effective. And yet I'm like, I can't really touch that right now now because this is just a bad idea to be educating in this way on social media without like, what if somebody's trying to use that on their, in their second trimester? That's not appropriate and nobody's doing the informed consent with them that an herb that's an abortifactant may not work and may be a teratogen which means that it has now essentially mutated your baby like that a teratogen means monster forming. And so that's essentially can cause malformations and you can have defects. And so that's something I get really concerned about. But I think I'm like really concerned about that on the medicine front. And then like as a human I'm really concerned that this is the way things are going in our society, that women are so afraid about having these things taken from them that they're now taking to social media to educate. There's websites popping up and these people are not licensed health care providers and some of them aren't even trained in herbs like myself. And so it makes me a bit concerned. So you, if you want to use, use herbs in a capacity to like, you know, there's one thing of like let's take some biotechs to help support progesterone and like we'll like, you know, eat more broccoli to help clear our estrogen out. And rhodiola, like we've got great studies on rhodiola actually and you know, for energy and stamina and helping our hormones overall, like that's different than being like, I want to totally modulate my fertility and like prevent pregnancy with that. And so you do want to work with someone who's trained in that. And I still like, there's just not a lot of great evidence in doing that and why do it when we have these other methods?

I remember I was in Costa Rica and it was this like one month like off grid experience in the mountains and we were on our way up and there was this woman who was like eight months pregnant, like she was about to give birth and she was eating papaya and she's like, I love eating papaya seeds. She's just eating up all the papaya seeds. And I'm like, I'm pretty sure that that's like a considered a natural birth control, like you know, a preventative birth control thing. And I told her that, she's like, oh I've never heard of that. Have you heard of this?

No, I haven't. We actually. It's anti parasitic though. Okay. Oh, I wonder. Like, I very much have had enough patients who. They crave things and then we find things. And I'm like, well, that actually makes sense for this kind of craving that you had. And so I'm like, it actually makes me wonder, like you're in Costa Rica.

Like, maybe it was the anti. Because I was like, I'm pretty sure that's not good for a baby. But you just. I wish there were more studies on these things so we could for sure know. And the other thing. Thing that I heard was that stevia was used like the stevia plant was used as a natural birth control in like Panama for many years. Have you heard of this?

I've heard of that. And then parsley being another one as well. I was pregnant with my son and I had all this parsley that had overgrown. So I made this parsley pesto and I was eating it. And this was something that one of my colleagues had like said to me. She. She's like, that can actually be an abortifactant. So we're not taught about herbs to use them as abortifactants. We're taught as a caution. Nobody takes tincture or parsley. That is not something that was in my. I was using regularly in my herbal wheelhouse. And yeah, I was like, I think I'm gonna be okay if I eat this parsley pesto. Like, it's just. And she's like, it's a lot of parsley. I'm like, but it's also like my gut can. Right. It's not like a tincture. And so that's the other thing is the forms of things that they come in, like oils are going to be way more potent. We don't do essential oils internally or over to a gravid uterus. And then a gravid uterus is a pregnant uterus. Uterus that has a little human in it. And then also knowing that like some things you don't take as a tincture in pregnancy and yet it can be safe to drink as a tea. And to have it in tea form or to have it added in your food, like culinary is generally regarded as safe. It's when you go into the medicinal forms that like, you definitely want to consult someone with these things. And again, without the studies or really knowing, you have to like, that's the other thing too is that I'm always like, what happens if it fails. You find you're pregnant and you want to keep this pregnancy. What happens, you were on this, right? And so we know, like with vitamin, vitamin A in the form of retinol palmitate, it's not just were you taking it at the time that you got pregnant, it's like, what were you taking, like leading up to it and how high were those doses that can have an impact on babies?

Well, so fascinating. We'll take a quick break so I can give a shout out to our sponsors. If there's one mineral you should be worried about not getting enough of, it's magnesium. Magnesium is the body's master mineral. Powerful with over 600 critical reactions, including detoxification. Fat metabolism, energy, even digestion is influenced by the presence of magnesium. But there are two big problems here, here. Magnesium has been missing largely from US soil since the 1950s, which explains why it's estimated that about 80% of the population may be deficient. And most magnesium supplements out there only contain one or two forms, when in reality there are at least seven your body needs and benefits from. That's why I'm so excited to tell you about a new magnesium product I've been taking called Magnesium Breakthrough. It's the ultimate magnesium supplement, easily the best I've ever had or experienced with all seven forms of this mineral. I'm even more excited because it's finally back in stock. Magnesium Breakthrough has been selling faster than the company who makes it by optimizers has been able to keep up with. It's already sold out a few times and due to supply shortages, with everything going on in the world, it could be sold out again shortly. So the highest self podcast was able to arrange some stock to be set aside just for our audience. And I guarantee it's the best deal available for this product. Seriously. With our combined discount of 10 off with code SAHARA10, you can save up to 40% off select packages of Magnesium Breakthrough, which is an amazing value. So you won't find this deal on Amazon or even the company's own website. This deal is exclusive for our podcast listeners and it's legitimately only available for a limited time while supplies last. So say goodbye to having to use seven different bottles of magnesium just to get a complete dose. For fastest possible ship types, go to buyoptimizers.com Sahara and use coupon code SAHARA10 to save up to 40% off select packages to get the most full spectrum and effective magnesium product out there. Again, that's buyoptimizers.com Sahara and you can Find that Lincoln code in the show notes. It's officially fall vata season in and you know what that means Pumpkin spice everything. So if you're a high self podcast listener, you probably love pumpkin spice lattes, but you probably don't love the sugar, the dairy, etc that goes into them. Well, I have something just for you. So I've been talking about Organifi products for a really long time, but this season they have their special pumpkin spice gold recipe which is insane. It has turmeric, ginger, reishi mushroom, lemon, lemon balm, turkey tail, mushroom allspice. It literally tastes like a pumpkin spice latte without the sugar. Plus all of the superfoods. So you can find this in all of their other incredible products including their gold chocolate, their green, their red juice. So many wonderful things to keep your immune system really healthy, strong and vibrant and also help you with just the stress levels that we're experiencing right now. Over on their website@organifi.com using coupon code Sahara for your 20% discount. That's Organifi O R G A N I F I.com with coupon code Sahara and you can find that link in the show notes. So a lot of women have told me I wish I could track my cycle, but I can't because I have irregular periods and a lot of them it's because of pcos. And I know this is something you speak about a lot. Can you share with us? First of all, is PCOS showing up more today or are people just getting diagnosed with it more? You know, it feels like everyone I talk to is having PCOS.

Yeah, it's definitely being recognized more. So one in 10 are estimated to have PCOS. I wouldn't be surprised if it's a little bit higher than that. And what we've come to understand is that it can take two to three years before a person with PCOS can actually find a provider to diagnose them and give them adequate treatment. And so I mean it can take years. I mean there, there's going to be someone in the it's going to be like it took me a decade and I went through a dozen doctors. There has been a big fight for a long time, like all things in women's medicine to get it recognized. So PCOS has been one Endometriosis side effects with birth control medicine is coming around a lot quicker to PCOS and endometriosis and still very hesitant about any birth control side effects being real. It's such a bizarre thing to me. So with PCOS this is polycystic ovarian syndrome. It's really important for people to know. It's a very outdated name in that not everybody has polycystic ovaries. However. However, women with PCOS had to fight so hard to even get it recognized by doctors that now to change the name would probably be a whole new battle. So with that, you do not have to have polycystic ovaries to get the diagnosis. The younger you are, the more likely they'll be there. The older you are, the less likely they're going to be there, because they're not really cysts, as we're coming to find out, what they more likely are are follicles. Your body's really trying to ovulate, and it's like, all right, we didn't ovulate, let's get even more follicles ready. And so it's not that you have cysts as much as that you have eggs that are just really, really wanting to ovulate. They just really want to get there. So. But the hallmark of what we really see with pcos, so that the Rotterdam criteria, there's polycystic ovaries. So you have to have two out of three. The other is elevated androgens. And that can be found on lab work or that can be found. If you find it on lab work, you're going to find it on the face or the head or the chest. And that is, you can have signs. So it can be clinical signs of excess androgen. So hair on the chin, chest, abdomen, hair loss on the head. You can cystic acne or back, knee. You're going to have acne in other places as well. Oily skin. Some have really strong body odor. That can be those androgens as well. And so that's what you're going to see more of the time. But something that you see in almost all cases that are uncontrolled or undiagnosed with PCOS is the irregular or lack of ovulation. And so this is the thing where it gets quite tricky is because. Because there's women who get diagnosed with pcos and they're like, my insulin looks good, my inflammation looks good. And I'm ovulating, like, every other month. I'm doing pretty good. And I'm like, that's because you're figuring out how to manage it. And that can make it harder sometimes because they're, like, handling their symptoms and their doctors like, well, it's not so cut and dry. So I say that because it is possible to get to a regular menstrual cycle. It might be more like a 45 day cycle, but it is possible. So that means you'd be ovulating. And it is also possible to get those androgens in check so you're not struggling with those symptoms as well. But that's pcos and we are seeing more of it, likely because the medical community is actually recognizing it, diagnosing it more often.

What do you think about people prescribes metformin for it?

Metformin.

Metformin.

I did a podcast a couple of weeks ago and we were talking about fluconazole and she was like the F word one.

Exactly. Not a doctor here. Yeah.

So when metformin can really help with the insulin sensitivity issues. So if you are showing signs of prediabetes or diabetes, it can be a great go to pharmaceutical to use. And it's not a forever pharmaceutical. That's what's really important to understand. So I encourage people that if your doctor is going to prescribe you a pharmaceutical, ask them what the plan is to get you off of it. Because with metformin, you know, so that's going to help so that your blood sugar levels get in check, which is really, really important because with insulin issues, that stimulates the cells in the ovaries to make more androgens. And then that's one way that we can help with androgens, but also like prevent cardiovascular risks. What a lot of people don't realize is that, and that's because they get PCOS diagnosis, their doctors like, here's birth control, send you underway. And I'm like, did anyone tell you about fatty liver disease or cardiovascular issues or diabetes or any of these things that can come with pcos. And so you'll hear a lot of people I will say too, if you're listening to this, you may have been told that to have PCOS you have to be over overweight. Once upon a time we thought that, then we got new science, we did better. Okay, so that's old and your doctor should be shifting away from that mindset. Not everybody is overweight, but everybody with pcos, everybody in the population in general can benefit from strength training. And so with that, if you're to be put on metformin, looking at diet and lifestyle. No, this is not like, please, if you have pcos, I'm not saying like you just need to eat right and exercise, lose weight. That's your problem. No, no, no, no. But looking at like, maybe you want to run less card, more strength training because that cardio can be taxing those adrenals and they can kick out dhea. And I got more androgens that you're dealing with then. In addition, building muscle mass helps sensitize insulin burning fat. And like, okay, listen, like, if you are a woman, you should have fat. Like, this is normal, okay? Like hips, butt, thighs, breasts, like, even jiggly arms. Like, these things are normal. We're meant to carry some fat. It is an endocrine organ, though, just like your muscles can be. Which means that it can be producing more estrogen, which estrogen can be problematic because if we are not ovulating with pcos, we don't have progesterone to oppose it. Now we get endometrial hyperplasia, which then you get that wicked heavy period. And your doctor's telling you that you're going to get endometrial cancer one day. You know, that is something that is like a long time off for a lot of people if you. So I just want to say that because doctors will say, like, you have to get on the pill right now or you're going to get endometrial cancer. And it's like, well, you have some time to work on this other stuff and try to get your body ovulating and work on the stuff. This other stuff. So that's going to be more like a year process down the line than an immediate thing. You know, with that building muscle mass, eating, like, lots of plants. We all need to be eating lots of plants. I know there are people out there doing the carnivore diet and they swear by it. And I'm like, please, can we just study you? Because we don't have enough data for me to fill. I don't know. It goes against everything that I've ever known is just being a human. But also my nutrition degree and like my doctorate and like everything and what I've seen patients. And yet there are people who get really great benefits. I still contend that given what plants give you to balance your hormones, go with the plants. So lots of plants so that you're feeding that microbiome so that you. That you've got that fiber so that you are staying full, but you're also moving your bowels regularly, that's going to help with your estrogen as well. And so eating in a way that's focused on nutrient density and not focused on caloric deprivation or focused on, like, bad foods. I hate the bad foods. Like, I was part of the bad, bad food crew, like in my 20s, but I was working off the US D, a food pyramid, very ironically, where I was like, why foods are bad foods and I have to only have whole grain foods and whole grain pasta for every meal. Whole grain everything, right? Whole grain pasta, whole grain bread. Oh, my God, I gotta lose all this whole grain.

I didn't eat enough bread today.

Shit. That was so me. And I seriously, like, I was like, trying to eat six servings of grains a day. And, like, I felt awful just doing it. And I would struggle to get enough vegetables in. It was finally, like, I was like, my goal is I want to get like nine servings of vegetables. And I started shifting. I was like, oh, my joint inflammation is going away. Like, oh, yeah. Like, it took like a decade later for me to figure out, oh, you're really gluten sensitive. Like, you're one of those special people. Like, but not everybody is. But, you know, we see a lot of that happens on social media. It happens in doctor's offices where people are like, that food's bad. Don't eat bad food. Well, when we label it bad psychologically, what happens when you eat it? You think you're bad. Cake is not bad. It's delicious. Like, how can something be that delicious and be bad? It just can't, right? But it's one of those things that is, like, there's this human experience that we are here to have, and it is not one of deprivation and perfection like that. Like, you came here to experience it all, and sometimes that all is going to be sleeping in, eating ice cream late at night, watching a movie, skipping your workout. Those things will happen. And so really what I like to focus on is nutrient density. And even in my book, we do a modified elimination diet, and I hope everybody reads up to that, where I talk about, these foods are not bad. We're just testing what's true for you. Because for some people, dairy is driving their acne. Let's find out if that's true for you. And. And there is studies, there's science to back up that, yes, dairy can drive acne in some people. And what I want everyone to really focus on is what is true for me and only focus on that. Because, you know, I say all the time, like, I get a lot of great information, but it's not true for everyone. And there's a lot of great information out there, but it's not going to always be true for you or you can't apply everything. I mean, oh, my gosh, like, just in. So I have been in. Man, I'm A nutrition for almost two decades now. I'm getting old like that. Dang. But with that, like, the trends and the diet thing and everything, that I think fat is bad. Like, oh, yeah, I was part of that. Fat is bad. I like no fat. And I was on birth control. And I wonder why I had no libido.

I remember I ate like, guacamole once, and I felt so guilty after it. I was like, I can't believe I just ate all that guac. And now it's like the superfood, you know?

Totally. Right? And you watch all of these trends. I mean, there for a while, like, gluten was the devil. It still is the devil in some camps. And when I explain to people, is that, like, maybe it is for you, maybe it's not. Like, sometimes you go to other countries and you don't have a problem with it, and sometimes it's certain things. And we definitely know there's cross activity with autoimmune disease. So, like, if you have Hashimoto's or you like, if you have celiac disease for sure or you have psoriasis, then gluten is probably not a good idea for you. But then there are people that are like, I don't understand. I cut it out. I bring it in and cut it out. I would never have a problem. I'm like, maybe it's not a problem for you. Good for you. Because I love sourdough bread, and I wish I could have it right.

So I want to talk about. Speaking of nutrition, I want to talk about intermittent fasting for female hormonal health, because some people say it's the best thing ever. Some people say for hormone health, it's the worst thing ever. What's your take?

Intermittent fasting. I've actually seen it works really well in menopause, and it can work really well in your perimenopausal years. So when you. You get into your 40s, as you're becoming less fertile, and it really depends on what's going on. So I actually had a head injury in 2016. I did keto and intermittent fasting as part of rehabilitating my brain. I never stopped ovulating. My body is, like, really resilient. This is why I come from this huge Hispanic family, because my body's like, I will ovulate no matter what. Nothing will ever stop me. But in that, I didn't have any disruption to my menstrual cycle. I didn't have the capacity to say, like, oh, did I have any major hormonal shifts because I was also using progesterone therapy in my luteal phase. So after ovulation I would then start progesterone therapy as part of brain rehab. And I do well to intermittent fast when I travel. So I find that when I'm traveling I will fast for a period. I adjust to time zones a lot better. So I do find times that personally it works really well for me and I do it in a window where, where it's like I close the kitchen at 7pm and then I don't eat again until like 7, 8, 9am Just depending on how I feel. And that's something that, that didn't work for me in previous years. I was too metabolically unstable for my adrenal glands. But a 12 hour fast window, most people can do that, that's doable for most people and that's a great way for your gut. And most people don't realize that's intermittent fasting too, is that 12 hour window. So I'm gon into like some more specifics about intermittent fasting. But we found there is a nervous system in your gut column, the migrating motor complex and it sweeps everything through. It's why we have healthy bowel movements in the morning. It's why we don't get small intestinal bacterial overgrowth. Those critters stay in the large intestine. It's really important. And we don't totally know what the enteric nervous system has to do with our entire nervous system and parasympathetic and sympathetic activity. So when you actually give that 12 hour break, that's when you can get like four sweep cycles. It's very, very healthy for digestion. So most people can do that. Who can't do that? People who have adrenal issues may not be able to do that. They will wake up in the middle of the night, they'll feel hot, sweaty, anxious and they're hungry. That's okay to not be doing the 12 hours like if you need to eat, but closer to bed, that's okay. That's a healing phase maneuver. Totally okay to do. People, sometimes people with diabetes, they're not able to do that. They have to eat a little bit closer. And so it really depends on what is true for you. Now there's other forms of intermittent fasting where people will skip a whole day sometimes. And I will say if you are cyclical, you are better off doing that. If you are like you want to try it? Because let's be real here, I could say that it might mess with your hormones, but if you want to try it, you're going to try it, right? And some women just, they just love to run little experiments on themselves. This person right here included, I do the same thing. So the best time to try it would be prior to ovulation. Because after ovulation, ovulation, your insulin sensitivity switches. You're a little less sensitive and you're gonna be hungrier. You're gonna be like, I need more food. Now if you're wanting to do the, like, I'm gonna take a whole day off and fast. Like, these are actually protocols that we use when, like, sometimes when there's like chronic gut inflammation going on, if we really gotta heal the gut, even like Crohn's and ulcerative colitis, sometimes we're like, you're just gonna take the total day off and just drink water and just rest the gut. So there's also therapeutic benefit to that. And this way, the thing you have to be mindful of though, is that if you end up, you're like, I'm going to start going and doing this intermittent fasting, or I'm only eating. I personally couldn't do the, like, I'm just going to eat in a like four to eight hour window. I'm like, that feels stressful for me. Like, that's psychologically stressing me out. But if you're going to do that, you need to be tracking your menstrual cycle. You need to be tracking all of your symptoms. If you get hangry, you start getting shaky, you get hot, sweaty, you're more irritable. Things like your body's telling you, don't wait for your whole menstrual cycle. Menstrual cycle be thrown off. Your body's telling you, but you want to track that and understand that it might take three months of you doing that before your body's like, nope, we're not going to compensate anymore. And then you have symptoms show up. But when it comes to the research, in terms of the beneficial ketones that we get, the autophagy, I mean, the research is there and it's been there for a long time. It's getting a lot more traction now. But back when I was getting my nutrition degree, caloric restriction, so going down to like eating chores, calories a day, having these short feeding windows, they were talking about it back then. They have done it with animal models and actually shown lengthening of telomeres. Basically that's your biological clock ticking down. So the science is there. Keep in mind, most of the time, science is being done on men. And you have to recognize that as a cyclical creature, you are interacting with your environment. You're way more in tune with your environment than your male counterpart because your body's taking signals from the environment and saying, do you have enough food to ovulate and get pregnant and sustain myself and a human and then birth it and then breastfeed it as well? Am I running? So this is where, like, cardio can do us in. Sometimes it's like, am I running really hard? Like, all the time my body doesn't know if it's a lion or tiger or bear. Oh my, like, what is something coming after me? So it's about the signals we need. And so, you know, one way though is that when you're intermittent fasting is when you are eating, eating nutrient dense food. So you are eating, you're not going fat free on me, you are eating plants. You are getting as much nutrients in high quality foods in so that you are signaling from the environment that, hey, there are nutrients available. It has been argued that we likely practice intermittent fasting as our caveman selves, because we didn't always. It was feast or famine sometimes, right? Like, we would have to hunt for things, go after things, forage for things. And so sometimes you would get up and there wouldn't be food. And so you'd be out, you'd be hiking, you'd be foraging, you'd be exercising. Like, and it wasn't, you know, contrary to the belief that, like, the men were out doing all. No, there were lots of women hunting as well. These are just stereotypes that we made up and like Disney stories. And they're not, like, rooted in reality. And so it may very well been that we were doing that all along. And so this again comes back to, like, is it true for me? And you know, back to what I said before, I do find that the people who are most successful with keto and with intermittent fasting tend to be more advanced in age. And so in your 20s, it may not work for you. If you are a marathon runner and you're wanting to, like, you know, do intermittent fasting, know that you're compounding the stress. If you come from a background that gave you a high allostatic load or you have high achievement scores and you are now intermittent fasting. And you have to understand that it's not the individual stressor, it's the totality of the stress that's taking place. And only you can truly examine that and answer Is this the best thing for me in the context of everything that's going on? So this all is to say it depends?

Yes. Well, that's a really great explanation. Yeah. I found for myself when I was dealing with amenorrhea, even though I wanted to do all the fasting, that was not right for me at the time because I needed to do, you know, had to do basically like no exercise, just like stretching because I needed to like. I also didn't have that much body fat on me too. So it was just not the right move. Whereas now I'll do about 14 or 16 hour fasts, which is basically like skip breakfast. But I do drink a coffee that has like MCT oil and stuff like that. But I do know a lot of other people say that coffee is not good for female hormonal health. And I know we had a chat about this before because you're a Portland coffee lover. So what is your thought? Can we have coffee and still have healthy hormones?

Oh, absolutely. Coffee can actually help with estrogen metabolism. So if you're estrogen dominant, sometimes coffee can help with that. The problem is that one, if you're drinking poor quality coffee like that can definitely be problematic. Sometimes the way that decaf is processed is worse for you than regular coffee because they're using chemical compounds in there. So again, it's back to what is true for you. There's a small subset of the population that's a slow metabolizer. They're the kind of people that this is like my husband, they have coffee at noon, midnight, they're still wide awake. That's a slow metabolizer. So for you, if you want to have coffee, you're going to want to have it earlier the day. If you find that you are jittery, you're really hungry, you're anxious, you know you are sweating when you have coffee, it's probably throwing catecholamine. So you're getting like a stress response to that. So that's not great for you. But when it comes to coffee. Yeah. I mean it used to be that people would say like, oh well, it like depletes magnesium. And I'm like, can we talk about alcohol for a minute then? Because like, especially like as everyone's a great quarantine. But just also to, you know. The other thing I want to talk about too here is as I bring up alcohol, it's just being mindful of rituals as well. I think in a Western society we often forget how important rituals are and it happens a lot in the wellness Space where we just start taking stuff away from people without ever thinking about the ritual. And I actually had, when I was in medical school, one of my herbal medicine teachers, she taught the herbal medicine class and she was one of the clinicians that I worked under, and she was Native American. And what was really interesting to me, she taught me and I carried that forward in my practice is you never take. If someone's smoking, you never take away that ritual. Like, that is their ritual and tobacco is sacred. And really coming from that perspective, where she's like, instead, it's about harm reduction. So a lot of my training was about harm reduction. So, like, how do we reduce harm? And about getting them to roll organic tobacco, if it's. If it's that important to them, make it sacred. And what's interesting is you go through that process with people, you often find that ritual melts away and they find a new ritual. Like, you help them find a new ritual that really serves them. So just that comes up as I'm like, aha. Being flippant about alcohol. And then I'm like, well, there's still this ritual of people coming home at the end of the day and, like, having a glass of wine where people are like, that's bad. Breast cancer, all this stuff. And yet we have to recognize, well, this is a ritual. And coffee can very much be, like, for my husband, that's like going to church in the morning. I swear, like, he's like, measuring everything by the grams. And like, I mean, it's a whole thing. Everything's like weighted, measured, all of that. And so, you know, with that, as I say that one of the best ways, though, for you to examine is coffee impacting you in a negative way, is to pull it out and then reintroduce it and see how you feel when you feel a little more energy. Yes, you will. Like, that's not as much of a problem. But let's say you have fibrocystic breasts. So you have lumpy, bumpy breasts that get more tender before your period. And you, you take out coffee and then you find out that, like, oh, my breasts actually weren't tender this cycle. And, like, the lumps and bumps are going to take some time to go away. Well, that's a sign that, like, that perhaps wasn't working for you. But I think it's really easy for us to vilify things and to be like, this is bad. It's always bad. And yet I'm. This is my Myers. This is my personality type, where it's Always. Like, it depends in this context, it could be bad. Like, if you are drinking a pot a day, that could go bad. Like, that could go a bad direction for you if you're having GI irritation. So that can happen if you have diarrhea after you drink coffee, your tummy's like, I don't like this. Stop it. So some people do get that irritation. It's usually because of high tannins, which are actually antimicrobial and keeping some things in check in your gut as well. And then the other thing I'll say about coffee is that Dale Bredesen, who does a lot of work in reversing Alzheimer's, he has a great book, if anybody has. I mean, we should all know about this because 66% of the population that has dementia is women. That's who's getting these cognitive diseases as we age. And he and Dr. Perlmutter have found great efficacy in their protocols with using coffee and introducing coffee. What's interesting is that when I had my head injury, I actually would fast. I just couldn't even eat in the morning, and I would crave coffee, and I would drink four cups of coffee, which I thought was pretty kind of crazy. You're fasting, you're drinking four cups of coffee. And like, I was fine. And I was like, this is so my dogmatic self, because it still lives in there sometimes was like, this is not possible. This is bad. You're doing a bad thing. And then I heard Bredesen speak, and he was like, we do a fast. And then we have. We have them drink at least two, if not four, sometimes more cups of black coffee because it actually spikes specific ketones that heal the neurological tissue of their brain. And I was like, whoa. So again, it depends. And we have to be careful because what applies to, like, I wouldn't want to, you know, a young teenager, like, I wouldn't want my kid, like, he's seven, drinking, like, straight up espresso or anything like that. Yet there's countries where they do it doesn't stunt your growth as we used to believe. I totally believe that when I was a kid. And we also have to recognize that it does have medicinal benefit. Like, it does have medicinal benefit. So who are we talking about? In what context? And is it actually true for them? Because I think. I think it's like, you'll hear things like, where people are like, wine is bad for female hormones. Well, arguably, yeah. It raises estrogen. So having a glass of wine is bad in that it could raise estrogen. However, it can also drop your cortisol and your catecholamines pretty quickly and you feel calm and less stressed. You pass that one glass, you're going to do as a disservice after that. But that one glass may be shifting other hormones and things feel better. Then there are people like, well, resveratrol, that's good. Oh, well, your blood sugar, that's bad. And it's like, you know, like you can't get it right all the time. And sometimes just being happy and enjoying something, it's like one of the best things you can do for your overall health. I'm not saying everybody go binge drink alcohol and coffee all day. You gotta drink your water. Totally.

Yes. I think that's super important. And, you know, certain phases of your life might draw you to certain types of medicine, and they really all are medicine, including, you know, plant medicines like marijuana, et cetera. Like, you could find studies. That's good. You could. Friend said. He said it's bad everything, you know, like, for me, I don't drink alcohol, I don't smoke weed, but I like coffee. So it's like everyone will have like, their. Their vices or whatever, whatever you want to call it, but it's really medicine.

Yeah, well. And that's where it comes to ritual again, where it's like, we call it a vice. And yet is it a vice or is it a ritual? Yeah. And then I don't want to be like that person, but this happened to me. And so we call it cannabis because that's the botanical name, whereas marijuana. I messed it up with it with. Because we grew up and that was the word. And I just. For everybody listening, this was so embarrassing to me that I was. I was at Mindy Greens, revitalized, out on a hike in the desert, and this cannabis doctor. I said marijuana. And she was like, that's actually a very racist term and very stigmatizing and is why we have not been able to advance legislation. She's from Canada and she's like, I can't even believe you're from the United States. And you said that.

She's. Why is marijuana a racist term?

So it was actually used to make it to where it was like, that's the. You know, that's what Mexicans use and that's what black people use kind of. And it's like this drug. Whereas cannabis is the botanical name. So that's the scientifically accurate.

Because also, like Santa Maria, that's what it's called in Spanish, right? Yeah, right.

Yeah, but it's what in the US they've used when they, I guess when legislation is being passed and for everybody listening, like this is an herb. Just as we're talking about Rhodiola, just as we were talking about Viatex, it's been amazing to see, see the research that's coming out of Stanford on cannabis. And so with that though, I guess when legislation they're just like, that's the marijuana and like the kids are smoking dope and like that kind of thing where it's like. And that really holds science and medicine back, which is problematic. I actually had a plane flight next to a 60 something year old. She was so rad. She was like on all these pain meds and she was on all these pharmaceuticals and she's telling the story about how her kidneys were and fast failing her and they were like getting her ready for dialysis and telling her get her affairs in order because after dialysis, like it's, it's not a long road that you have. And she decided to see a cannabis doctor try it. She got off all of her payments, all of her medications went back to her doctor told. And she lived in Eugene, Oregon. So it's kind of surprised by this, but she told her doctor, I stopped all my meds. And he was, because he was like, oh my gosh, your kidneys look amazing. You don't need dialysis. Like, what happened? She's like, I, I stopped all my meds, I started cannabis. And he was like, I'm not going to see you as a patient anymore if you're using cannabis. And that was like, end of that. And I was like. And she's like, so I fired him right then and there. And I found a doctor that like wasn't going to put me on dialysis. I'm like, your doctor was more comfortable with your kidneys failing and you dying than you using a stigmatized medicinal plant. Like, that's insanity to me. That's why I'm like, let's just take a moment and like talk about like. But I seriously, I don't know you. If, if you saw me, people would see me on the camera. Go rewind this and look at it. I got a little red is I even told that story because I was like, I should know that my family's from Mexico. I should know that this is everything that went on. Yeah. With the criminalization and just everything around it. It's so interesting. I feel like in the 90s I knew nothing because now I'm learning so Much in life.

Totally. Yes. It's super important that now these, you know, these different medicines are coming to life and then it's also remembering that something that might be medicinal for one person is not medicinal for everyone, but it's giving people the opportunity to use what works for them and not saying, oh well, this didn't work for me so no one should have it. And I feel like oftentimes like we read a book or listen to a podcast or something and this person personally didn't have a good experience with it. So then it like becomes bad for every single person. So it is like, you know, people can share their experiences with it, but if you're actually getting benefit from something, don't listen to the stigma, just keep doing it. And it's really amazing to see all types of plant medicines now like psilocybin, etc. So much more research is being done on these plants and to use them as allies. Again, not another crutch, but another way to bring you back to your own body's healing wisdom.

Absolutely. No, that's so well said. And I think that again comes back to the Is it true for me because whether that person is telling you September is PCOS awareness month and there was a lot I was just listening to from the PCOS community about how many people were just like, you have to lose weight and you have to like everyone has to eat this way or that way and like if it's not this way then you're doing life wrong. And you know, we forget about the like psychological diet. Right? Like I think a psychological diet is more necessary than a like physical diet in terms of what you eat, what you consume and what you, you let in. It's like sometimes you need like fast from that, like take a little break from that. But just so interesting to just see. I've always been very anti dogmatic in terms of my approach as a physician because I have just seen time and again so many patients, they don't fit the textbook that we have to get creative. I mean I get the people that like they've seen so many doctors and struggled and it's like we have to try something new in all of this, but just to examine things and to recognize that like that person sharing their story, it's absolutely true, it's 100% true for them. That doesn't always mean you can apply it to yourself. And I think we've really moved out of the age of like the surrender your power to the guru. I think that was happening for a really Long time where it was like, this person has been there before me and, like, they know more than me and they're more educated than me. So I'm just gonna surrender my power and like, let them tell me. And that sometimes took the shape of a doctor. So the white coat was a really easy one for people to be like, I'll just give you my power. But it also happens with, like influencers on social media. It can happen with. It's happened for a very long time with celebrities. Like, it's happened in a lot of ways.

Politicians.

That's what I never think. I don't. I think I've never like, slippery sloped myself into that one being, like, reasoning my way into being like, oh, yeah. But that could definitely happen too, to where you just give up your power. And it's a lot of more work to take the reins and drive the chariot. It's a lot more work than just let the horses run free. But I will tell you, when you get to the end, you're going to be way less satisfied if you were not in charge and you were not driving that. And that's so much of what I really just try to drive home to people and also to recognize that you've got this. Like, you do not have to depend on external validation or even a doctor for every single thing. We're here when you need us, but you, you shouldn't always need us because you should need us. For a minute, we get you back on course and then you're like, I got this. I know what I'm supposed to do.

I love that so much. And yeah, it's, you know, I think sometimes I know for myself. When I was dealing with amenorrhea, not getting my period for years, I was like, I felt like this unfairness of like, why do I have to now spend all of my time trying to figure this out and learn all of these things and like, that it was like taking me away from like what I wanted to actually. And I like, you know, sometimes you forcibly have to become that expert in whatever it is that you're experiencing. But now I'm so grateful for it because I get to have these interests and these types of conversations and have learned so much about my body. That's always going to be useful. And sometimes your own personal health problems are your greatest gifts. But you only see that on the other way.

Yeah, no, that we went through that with my son. Having pandas, People who don't know, that's pediatric autoimmune neuropsychiatric. Disorder that's associated with strep. It is not the cute little teddy bear. Not cute at all. Doesn't need bamboo. And with that, like, I. I mean, I knew because I have definitely, like, had my, like, rough patches in life. My ace scores, like, really high. So in childhood, I was. I've been served enough. In childhood, I thought I was good through adulthood, I thought I got my lessons. And like, at that time, I'm like, I know that when I just 1/2 to surrender, Let myself feel whatever I have to feel. Go deep into the darkness if it's there, follow it down See what's there and know to come back up for your for air. I knew all of this, and yet still at times, I hated it. And I was like, I regret this. I hate this. Like, regret this. I regret that. Like, I not even regret. That's not even the right word. It's just more of like, I'm bitter that I have to learn about, like, I. And people were like, write a book on pandas. And I was in the thick of it. I'm like, I don't want to do that. That's not what I love. That's not what I want to study. And yet my son has been able to turn around. He is thriving. I got him back way faster than others. And I realized that, like, man to understand that it's autoimmunity. And I'm like, I worked with so many women with autoimmunity. Like, what a blessing. What a gift to witness and to work with so many patients that once it came to my son, I was like, I got this. This autoimmune. I got this. Like, I'm not even tripping. Like, I have got this. And so through that, like, I think it's important. Like, I often see this quote that goes around realm that's like, it's like, impossible to have, like, gratitude and basically feel a negative emotion. Like, what we label a negative emotion. Like, it's impossible to feel gratitude. And I don't know what the quote is exactly, but, like, depression at the same time or anything like that. And I'm like, no, that's not true, actually, because you can simultaneously have emotions. You're very complex like that, where you're like, I can recognize what I'm grateful for. I can be doing my gratitude. But right now, I hate all of this. And I'm feeling this, and this is hard. And, like, that's not because you're not grateful enough or you're not, like, spiritual enough or not. It's because you are a human having a human experience. And you're being begged. You are being begged to have that experience and to process and to grow and to move through it. And you can hate every minute of it. That's okay, too. But I think it's really important, what you said about, like, your amen arena of, like, hating it and then realizing, like, what a gift to have gone through this and to have all this. I will also note that's a time not to be doing intermittent fasting. Eat the calories, people. Like, if you have hypothalamic amenorrhea, someone should be telling you that. That also reminds me, there's like, if you have a history of eating disorders, don't be jumping on any of these, like, you know, go gluten free or, you know, like, try to cut out the dairy or intermittent fast or any of that. Unless you are working with somebody who is specifically trained in eating disorders. Because it can be a trigger for you. Because that's just another one of those where a lot of patients feel the same way, too, where they're like, I hate. Why is this my burden to carry? And yet, one thing I will say to everybody that's listening to this is that I think in some ways it's part of our story, but it's also part of our story to tell. And it's so important because you never know who's going to be healed when they hear your story. And I see this play out so many times on social media or when I broke down on social media, because I was like, I was just about to launch a book, and I'm like, beyond the pills coming out. And I'm like, you got to be on it on social media, be professional, be these things. And then I just lose it. I'm like, on an Instagram live, and I just start crying, and I'm just like, my day sucks, like, 90% of the day. And I was like, I can't keep up the facade. I can't keep this going. And I just explained what was happening with my son and how many moms with special needs were like, like, special needs children were like, I thought I was failing looking at everyone on social media. And when I saw that, I was like, this is someone I respect who's having a really hard day, and she's crying in front of thousands of people. Like, it's okay if I cry by myself in my bathroom. And like, that really opened my eyes so much to, like, you know, we used to tell our stories more. We Sit around a campfire, tell stories. We used to talk about things. So much of women's medicine has been made taboo and we've been disempowered and silence. It is painful to carry the burden of your own story. Part of telling our story helps us process it. And now we have to pay for counselors. We all do. Okay. So if you do that, no worries, especially in 2020. But the other thing is that when you tell the story, someone else can hook in and be like, that actually is helping me in this way. Or I thought that was normal and I've been living with that. And yet you healed from that. And I don't have to live with that. Like you telling your story about amazing. And there are people out there that are going to hear it and be like, I gave up. I thought that I was never going to have a period. Like I just gave up. And then to hear that like healing is possible and that sometimes all we need is just to have that hope. That's like, you've tried every med, you've tried every diet, you've tried everything, but you haven't tried hope. And that's been the thing that's been missing in all of this.

Yes. Preach. So beautifully expressed. Thank you for that and thank you for all of your wisdom. This was like a masterclass just in itself today. So where can listeners connect with you further? Join your email list, get your new book and just get your wisdom nuggets on a daily basis.

Well, the main place you want to find me is drbrighton.com and if you go to drbrighton.com hormonekit you will find a meal plan and recipe guide to help you get started on eating a nutrient dense diet and really focusing on optimizing your hormones. It is gluten and dairy free so that it is inclusive in that way. I have enough in auto autoimmune community that are like, no, this has to be gluten and dairy free. So you can grab that there. You can also find me on Instagram. It's rjolenebrighten V R I G H T E N and you can also find me on TikTok at the same handle and I've got videos on YouTube so it just depends on where you want to hang out. You can come hang out with me.

Awesome. Thank you again for sharing your wisdom with us.

Yeah, thank you so much for having me. This is a great conversation. Mmm.

Goddess, yes. How incredible was that conversation? I hope you were taking notes and you can always go back and re listen And I how scary it can be when your hormones are out of balance or when you're not getting your period or you're experiencing pain or cramps or whatever it is. But just know that you can find healing and you can find your way around. And learning about your body is always a gift. It's always going to bring you into further alignment. And for some of us, that this is just a major part of our journeys to really understand ourselves. I know that this was for me. So wherever you are in your journey, I'm sending you so much love, so, so much healing, so much clarity, so much awareness and let this knowledge guide your path so you can find the foods, the herbs, the practices, the lifestyle techniques, everything to benefit you at the highest level. So your hormones can be balanced, your life can be juicy, your womb can be interconnected and you can really radiate at your highest self. So thank you so much for listening and thank you doctor, Dr. Brandon for being on this episode. So don't forget to join us in Rose Gold Goddesses. We are diving deep this month healing the mother wound. The mother wound is something that so many of us hold onto. Whether it is upfront obstacles that we have had with our own mothers in this lifetime or if it's an intergenerational trauma that has been suppressed. And we see this show up in our relationship with other women, our relationship with ourselves, our inability ability to communicate and express with our own mothers. Maybe anger or sadness or guilt or shame we feel when we are in communication with our mothers and how important it is to really heal from that wound, to bring about upmost wholeness. And we can really only manifest and be as magical as the depth that we go into into ourselves. So if we really want these incredible, you know, rainbows and unicorns and goddesses in our lives, well, we got to work with the more shadowy aspects of ourselves. So that's what goddess Sarah Dwen is all about. She's all about diving deep into your shadows, into your inner witch, into your mother wound and bringing about healing, transformation and magic. So come join us this month in Rose Gold Goddesses to dive deep and receive the 12 other goddess circles we have done. My healing and embodiment through dance course, my awaken your powers masterclass, my sex money magic masterclass and so much more all included in your membership that is rosegoldgoddesses.com you can find that link in the show notes and I'm so excited to meet you inside. If you loved this episode, I would love to send you a free gift which is the first half of my unreleased book Eat Right for your mind body Type. This is a different book than Eat Feel Fresh, my first book ever which is not released anywhere and I am gifting it exclusively to those who leave a review of of my podcast in the itunes store. So all you gotta do is head over to itunes where you may be listening to this podcast and leave a review. Take a screenshot that you've left it and email it over to me@saharaatfeelfresh.com again that's Sahara S A H A R A@eatfeelfresh.com and I will send you back the first half of my unreleased book Eat Right for your mind body Type which goes all into iron, Veda doshas, plant based nutrition, body types, all of the things in a really fun and engaging way. So this is my gift to you for free for supporting the podcast. Every single review I personally read. It really helps the podcast be listened to by more people so we can raise the vibration of the planet together and I am so grateful to have you on this journey. Thank you so much for listening and I'll see you on the next episode. Namaste.