Women's Fertility & Lifestyle Debate: Dangers Of Not Having A Period! Fasting Can Backfire For Women
Timestamps are as accurate as they can be but may be slightly off. We encourage you to listen to the full context.
Podcast Summary
This groundbreaking episode brings together four leading women's health experts with over 80 years of combined experience to address crucial issues that have been largely ignored in medical research and practice. The conversation explores the fundamental physiological differences between men and women, revealing how historical research bias has left women underrepresented in studies until 1993. (00:54) The discussion covers menstrual cycles as indicators of whole-body health, PCOS and endometriosis management, fertility challenges, and the perimenopause-to-menopause transition that affects all women. The experts emphasize how inflammation and insulin resistance are key factors in women's hormonal health, and provide actionable strategies for managing these conditions through lifestyle interventions. (30:17)
• Main themes include understanding menstrual cycles as health markers, addressing the research gap in women's health, managing hormonal conditions naturally, family planning decisions, and navigating perimenopause with evidence-based approaches.Speakers
Dr. Stacy Sims
Exercise physiologist and sports medicine expert specializing in how women's physiology differs from men's, particularly in response to training and nutrition. She has extensive experience working with elite female athletes and recreational exercisers, focusing on how hormonal fluctuations impact performance, recovery, and health outcomes throughout the menstrual cycle.
Dr. Natalie Crawford
Fertility doctor and reproductive endocrinologist who runs an IVF clinic while advocating for natural fertility awareness. She specializes in helping women understand their hormones, fertility, and reproductive health decisions, with particular expertise in PCOS, endometriosis, and fertility preservation strategies including egg freezing.
Dr. Mary Claire Haver
Women's health specialist and former OBGYN with 20 years in academics as a professor and residency program director. After experiencing her own menopause journey, she recognized significant gaps in medical training around menopause care and now focuses on educating healthcare providers and women about perimenopause and menopause management.
Dr. Vonda Wright
Orthopedic sports surgeon and academic researcher specializing in musculoskeletal aging and women's health. Her career focuses on changing how we age by preserving mobility to prevent chronic disease, with particular emphasis on bone and muscle health during hormonal transitions throughout a woman's lifespan.
Key Takeaways
Menstrual Cycles Are Vital Health Indicators
Your menstrual cycle serves as a monthly report card for your overall health, not just reproductive function. (31:07) If you can't predict when your period will arrive within a few days each month, this irregularity signals potential underlying health issues. As Dr. Crawford explains, "Your body's meant to work like clockwork when it comes to your hormones and your menstrual cycle." The cycle affects every system in your body - brain, bones, muscles, and cardiovascular health - because estrogen and progesterone receptors exist throughout your entire body. Women should track their cycles not just for fertility awareness, but as an early warning system for metabolic dysfunction, stress overload, or other systemic problems that require attention.
PCOS and Endometriosis Require Lifestyle-First Approaches
Both PCOS and endometriosis are fundamentally inflammatory conditions that respond well to targeted lifestyle interventions before medical treatments. (42:01) For PCOS management, focus on reducing insulin resistance through a plant-forward diet rich in fiber, adequate sleep, stress reduction, and resistance training to build muscle mass. Dr. Crawford emphasizes that "building and using skeletal muscle is one of the most effective ways to combat insulin resistance that exists." For endometriosis, emerging research shows cold water exposure (10°C for 10 minutes daily) can significantly reduce inflammatory symptoms. (76:05) Both conditions benefit from anti-inflammatory protocols that address gut health, as inflammation in the digestive system directly impacts hormonal balance and symptom severity.
Fertility Awareness Is Crucial for All Women
Understanding your fertility timeline is essential for making informed life decisions, regardless of whether you want children immediately. (124:30) Women are born with all the eggs they'll ever have, losing the majority before reproductive years even begin. Natural fertility rates drop significantly with age: 20% monthly success rate at 30, 10-12% at 35, 5% at 38, and 3% at 40. Dr. Crawford recommends that if having children is a life goal and you're not ready by age 32, egg freezing becomes a smart financial and biological decision. Even for women with conditions like PCOS or endometriosis, the same lifestyle factors that improve overall health - sleep, stress management, anti-inflammatory diet, and exercise - directly impact egg quality and fertility outcomes.
Perimenopause Starts Earlier Than Most Women Realize
Perimenopause typically begins 7-10 years before menopause (average age 51), meaning symptoms can start in the mid-to-late 30s for many women. (163:45) The first symptom is often "I don't feel like myself" - decreased resilience to normal stressors, sleep disruption, and cognitive changes, even while periods remain regular. Dr. Haver explains that your ovaries become "stubborn" as egg count decreases, requiring the brain to work harder to trigger ovulation, causing unpredictable hormone fluctuations. Rather than waiting for irregular periods to seek help, women should advocate for hormonal support when they notice these early changes, as low-dose estrogen can prevent many symptoms without suppressing natural ovulation.
Inflammation and Insulin Resistance Are Root Causes
Nearly every women's health condition discussed - PCOS, endometriosis, fertility issues, and menopausal symptoms - has inflammation and insulin resistance as underlying drivers. (38:38) Our modern environment promotes insulin resistance through processed foods, sedentary lifestyles, chronic stress, and disrupted sleep patterns. Dr. Crawford notes that "the world around us honestly promotes insulin resistance" and "you have to fight against kind of the systems that are in place." The most effective interventions target these root causes: prioritizing sleep (when your body fights inflammation), managing stress through boundaries and mindfulness, eating anti-inflammatory whole foods with adequate fiber, and building muscle mass through resistance training. These lifestyle changes are more impactful than any single supplement or quick fix.
Statistics & Facts
- Less than 1% of the $450 billion spent on medical research in the US is allocated to women over 40, despite women being 51% of the population and making 80% of healthcare decisions. (06:59) Dr. Wright emphasizes that women represent nearly 90 million people in this demographic, yet receive minimal research funding.
- Women are living 20% more of their lives with chronic disease or mental health disorders compared to male counterparts, despite living an average of 6 years longer than men. (07:26) This statistic highlights the quality vs. quantity of life disparity between genders.
- It takes women an average of 7-10 years to receive a diagnosis of endometriosis after symptoms begin, with 50% of patients with unexplained infertility having undiagnosed endometriosis. (73:27) Dr. Crawford explains this delay is due to systematic dismissal of women's pain and inadequate research funding for women-specific conditions.
