Lara Briden's Podcast

Making friends with your luteal phase

There's a lot going on in the luteal phase, but treating premenstrual mood symptoms might be simpler than you think. In this episode, Lara discusses common drivers

Irregular periods: Is it PCOS, hypothalamic suppression, or something else?

If you’ve struggled with irregular periods, you might have noticed it can be a little tricky to figure out exactly what’s going on—and, therefore, exactly what you need t

The hidden story of endometriosis: Pain, lesions, and the microbiome

If you’ve been diagnosed with endometriosis, the big question is: What type of lesions? In this episode, Lara challenges long-held assumptions to explore: the three typ

Decoding hypoglycemia: Is it insulin resistance or dysautonomia?

Is your low blood sugar a symptom of insulin resistance or mild dysfunction of the autonomic nervous system? In this episode, Lara returns to the topic of hypoglycemia t

Hypoglycemia in young women: The science behind "hangry"

Symptoms of hypoglycemia or low blood sugar include light-headedness, headaches, and anxiety. Hypoglycemia can even feel like panic attacks.  In this episode, Lara discu

Food addiction and other causes of abnormally high hunger

Do you feel hungry all the time? Abnormally hungry? If so, it’s worth trying to figure out why. Potential drivers of abnormally high hunger include insulin resistance, gu

What's the story with dairy and periods problems?

For some women, stopping normal dairy products can relieve period symptoms. But why? In this episode, Lara discusses: the inflammatory effects of A1 casein  how a mast

How IBS and SIBO can affect periods and hormones

Did you know that what’s happening in your gut can affect your periods and hormones?  In this episode, Lara discusses: small intestinal bacterial overgrowth (SIBO) and

Medications that cause weight gain

Why do antihistamines cause weight gain? And how does hormonal birth control affect metabolism? In this episode, Lara looks at: how common medications affect metabolism

Does your chronotype affect your ability to lose weight?

Are you a morning person or an evening person? And could that affect your ability to lose weight? In this episode, Lara looks at chronotype, which is your individual dis

Inositol for mood, sleep, and PCOS

The supplement inositol is a superstar for treating polycystic ovary syndrome. It’s also been clinically trialled for weight loss, thyroid disease, anxiety, insomnia, and

Help for post-pill acne, hair loss, and weight gain

What do post-pill acne, hair loss, and weight gain all have in common? They can all be the result of a temporary surge in androgens when trying to come off certain types

Top 6 natural treatments for premenstrual mood symptoms

Are premenstrual mood symptoms caused by progesterone or helped by progesterone? And why do antihistamines give such relief? In this episode, Lara discusses premenstrual

The most common cause of weight gain

There can be a strong hormonal component to abdominal weight gain. And in most people, that hormone is insulin.  In this episode, Lara discusses insulin resistance inclu

A safer type of hormone therapy

If you're going to take hormone therapy, it's safer to take hormones that are identical to human hormones. In other words, hormones that are body-identical or b

Endometriosis is a disease of immune dysfunction

Endometriosis is an inflammatory disease that’s affected by hormones but is not caused by hormones. Instead, endometriosis is, at least in part, a disease of immune dysfu

Why PCOS cannot be diagnosed by ultrasound

Were you told you have polycystic ovary syndrome or PCOS based on a pelvic ultrasound? That may or may not be an accurate diagnosis because PCOS cannot actually be diagno

Natural treatment of heavy periods

In a normal period, you should not lose more than about 80 mL of menstrual fluid over all the days of the bleed. That’s equivalent to about five tablespoons spread over a

Pill bleeds are not periods

The pill is commonly prescribed to "regulate periods," but it can't actually do that because withdrawal bleeds from contraceptive drugs are not real menstrual cycles