What Women Need to Know About Perimenopause, Hormones & Birth Control - Lara Briden
Perimenopause is not a medical condition and you are not broken. Dr Lara Briden explains what is really happening to your hormones after 40, and why alcohol makes all of it harder.
In this episode I sit down with Dr Lara Briden, naturopathic doctor and author of Period Repair Manual, Hormone Repair Manual and Metabolism Repair for Women. Lara reframes perimenopause as a second puberty and pushes back on the fear-based messaging filling our feeds. We cover alcohol as the bigger hidden hormone disruptor, the iron deficiency being mislabelled as brain fog, what the pill really does to a teenage cycle, and why insulin resistance locks women out of their own energy stores. This is the kind of knowledge that lets you walk into your doctor’s office and advocate for yourself.
The big ideasKey Takeaways
- 01Perimenopause is a second puberty, not a medical condition, and many of its symptoms are temporary.
- 02Brain fog can be iron deficiency in disguise. If your periods are heavy, ask for full iron studies.
- 03Alcohol is the bigger hormone disruptor. It raises estrogen and makes the drops that follow even steeper.
- 04The pill can interrupt a teenager’s cycle while ovulation is still maturing, a process that takes around twelve years.
Jump straight inEpisode Chapters
- Dr Lara Briden On Chaotic Perimenopause Periods
- Second Puberty, Low Iron And Brain Fog
- Estrogen Swings, Alcohol And Fear Marketing
- What The Pill Does To Teen Cycles
- Pill Bleeds, Hormonal IUDs And Real Periods
- Should You Get Endometriosis Surgery?
- PCOS Should Be Renamed PMOS
- How To Treat High Androgens Naturally
- How Insulin Resistance Starts In Midlife
- Why Midlife Weight Loss Advice Fails
- Rapid Fire Hormone Questions Answered
Tap a chapter to watch from that moment on YouTube
Meet your guestDr Lara Briden
Dr Lara Briden is a naturopathic doctor with more than 25 years in women’s health and the author of Period Repair Manual, Hormone Repair Manual and Metabolism Repair for Women, published in Australia and New Zealand as The Metabolism Reset.
A former evolutionary biologist, she now consults from Christchurch, New Zealand, treating women with PCOS, PMS, endometriosis and perimenopause.
- Book resources and references
- Lara’s podcast
- Website: larabriden.com
- Instagram: @larabriden
Sarah Rusbatch is an accredited Health and Wellbeing Coach and one of Australia’s leading experts on grey area drinking. Her podcast, Stronger, Bolder, Wiser, is the go-to space for women who are questioning their relationship with alcohol, navigating life alcohol-free, or simply curious about what life could look like on the other side of the bottle.
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