The Hormone Lifestyle Zone
A Podcast by Meg Richichi
Taking the mystery out of women’s hormonal issues, struggle
and the many things that dance in between.
I’m super excited to have Nina Shyne join me on today’s podcast. Nina is an extraordinary Empowerment Coach who helps women struggling with emotional eating, binge eating, obsessive yo-yo dieting, and feeling inadequate about their bodies. I love her approach to empowering women to create a new relationship with food by fostering a positive inner dialogue and a healthier relationship with themselves. Nina truly understands the challenges many face. Let me share a bit of her backstory. At the age of 46, weighing 206 pounds and experiencing serious health complications, she made the decision to turn her life around after 36 years of yo-yo dieting. Nina is now a recovered emotional, binge, and compulsive eater. For a long time, food was her escape. In her words, “My body was my enemy, and dieting and exercising were the grueling ways I punished myself for never having a body that was ‘good enough,’ while turning to food to cope with everything from boredom to crises.” In today’s episode, Nina and I delve into the importance of shifting our perceptions and beliefs around food and body image. We take a deep dive into the impact of trauma on the nervous system and discuss the significance of processing the internal and physical sensations that hinder our healing. We explore the power of choice in the healing process, cultural shifts in alcohol consumption, and the challenges posed by diet culture. I also share my recovery journey from bulimia and anorexia.
The greatest we can give ourselves is learning to love ourselves unapologetically while focusing on self-compassion and understanding that we are not broken.
In this episode of the Hormone Lifestyle Zone, I had an amazing conversation with today’s guest and present client– Ky’Osha Williams. She is a mobile crisis clinician working on the front lines of mental health, helping individuals in serious crisis. Metaphorically, Ky’Osha is the person who talks countless people off the ledge. A job of incredible intensity that she expressed as frequently challenging to turn off at the end of a workday.
I emphasize the degree of stress because it landed Ky’Osha in the hospital 16 years ago with a serious bout of viral pneumonia that was “misdiagnosed” as bacterial pneumonia and subsequently included an unnecessary and avoidable 5-day course of intravenous antibiotics.
Shortly after her hospitalization, Ky’Osha’s health started to slide and spiral downward into an array of symptoms ranging from indigestion, acid reflux, and constipation to fatigue, tingling, flank pain, and brain fog, including parasites.
Today’s conversation is about peeling back the onion on working with Ky’Osha to address a 16-year struggle that countless doctors couldn’t or didn’t address. During this episode, I share my root cause approach, honing in on specific labs, lifestyle recommendations, supplements, and anti-inflammatory diet, which brings us to today’s podcast. And, yes, we take a deep dive into the world of parasites!
Welcome to The Hormone Lifestyle Zone!
Sweet Lovelies, If you haven’t already, please subscribe on SPOTIFY OR ITUNES. You can also watch episodes on MY YOUTUBE CHANNEL.
Today’s episode is a sequel to my previous Podcast, The-Gut-Hormone Connection- Connecting the Dots. During that episode, I took a deep dive into various aspects of gut function and integrity, including a detailed explanation of how dysbiosis and leaky gut are directly linked to hormone imbalances. If a woman doesn’t address underlying gut issues, she’ll never balance her hormones.
During today’s podcast, I’ll discuss how women can optimize their gut health, including lifestyle and supplement recommendations (see below at the bottom of show notes) to rebalance their hormones.
Food is powerful Medicine! What you eat and assimilate is sent into your bloodstream to fuel every cell in your body. Influencing every aspect of who you are, including cellular mitochondrial energy essential in supporting the production of estrogen, progesterone, testosterone, thyroid hormones, cortisol, neurotransmitters, insulin, glucose signaling, and so much more!
I’ll also discuss the “Rootiest-Root Causes” of WHY your gut and hormones have gone awry and why you may not be thriving. Sweet Lovelies, it isn’t just about taking a probiotic or being on a restrictive diet.
Whether you’re struggling with endometriosis, funky pap smears, recurrent UTI, vaginosis, PCOS including psoriasis, acne, fatigue, fibromyalgia, or Brain fog- this episode may provide the answers you need to start healing.
I’ll unpack how and why creating a healthy gut includes optimal drainage and detoxification, efficient digestion, healthy bowel habits, and a vibrant, diverse microbiome, allowing optimal hormone signaling and hormone balance. Sweet Lovelies welcome to The Hormone Lifestyle Zone.
Supplement Recommendations: Click on products to order supplements
Similase BV (Integrative Therapeutics): A comprehensive, microbial enzyme supplement that aids in the digestion of all food groups while also providing additional enzyme activity for the digestion of beans, legumes, and cruciferous vegetables (e.g., broccoli, cabbage, and brussels sprout) that produce gas in sensitive individuals. Dosage: 1-2 capsules with each meal.
Ther-Biotic Complete Probiotic (Klaire Labs/SFI Health): One of my favorite full-spectrum probiotics! Dosage: 1-2 capsules daily with meals.
HPA Adapt (Integrative Therapeutics): Encourages calm, reduces stress-related fatigue, & supports cognitive function. It supports the HPA axis in maintaining hormonal balance and a healthy stress response. Follow dosage recommendations & don’t take if pregnant or nursing.
Total Vegan (NuMedica): This is a great tasting plant-based high protein shake that supports your immune system, digestive system, body composition, bone health, and detoxification. Note: Don’t take if pregnant or nursing.
Magnesium Citrate (Pure Encapsulations): 2-4 capsules at bedtime to help with constipation. Note: If pregnant or nursing, consult your physician before taking this product.
GI UltraMax (MotherEarthLabs): Follow the dosage recommendation on the label. Promotes healthy gut tissue and leaky gut repair, supports a balanced, thriving microbiome, Soothes Inflammation, aids in metabolism & weight management, and helps to reduce sugar cravings. NOTE: Don’t take if pregnant or nursing.
The following are two of my favorite Fulvic and Humic Acid Product Lines: Fulvic and Humic are essential trace minerals that support DrainingDetoxification (including heavy metals and environmental chemicals), Nutrient Absorption, GI Health, Immune Function and Brain Health.
Humic and Fulvic SC/Capsules & Fulvic 400X/Liquid (MotherEarthLabs): Supports Follow dosage recommendation on bottle. Note: Consult with your physician if you’re pregnant or nursing
Electrolyze and Micro-Boost (Beam Minerals): Follow dosage recommendations for both products. Note: Consult with your physician if you’re pregnant or nursing
When women inquire about my services, they frequently start the conversation with, “Meg, my hormones are out of balance.” And then I ask, “Tell me, what’s going on with your gut?” Nearly 99% of the women I work with (including many of today’s listeners) have unsuspected underlying gut issues with symptoms ranging from gas, bloat, and constipation to heartburn and loose stool, including undiagnosed parasites and bacterial infections.
If women don’t address underlying gut issues, they’ll never balance their hormones.
Your gut takes front and center stage in every aspect of your health, including hormonal challenges like PMS, infertility, PCOS, fibroids, endometriosis, heavy bleeding, hot flashes, and night sweats.
I sense that many women are confused by what triggers hormone imbalances. My intention and focus throughout today’s episode are to help you better understand and grasp the connection between your gut and your hormones.
As you’ve heard me say over the years- what you eat, assimilate, and what you eliminate has a tremendous impact on your reproductive or sex hormones.
I’ll take a deep dive into the following aspects of gut function and gut integrity impacting women’s hormones:
• Why the GI Tract is your body’s largest immune organ.
• I’ll explain why the microbiome plays a key role in how you eliminate excess estrogen. And how a certain gut enzyme can inhibit estrogen from being excreted via the bowels. Increasing a woman’s risk for fibroid, polyp, PMS, ovarian cysts, and estrogen-related cancers.
• I’ll help you understand WHY it’s crucial for women to have 2-3 daily bowel movements.
• I’ll deconstruct why and how intestinal hyperpermeability (aka leaky gut) and dysbiosis (an imbalance of good and bad gut bacteria) are major contributors to hormone imbalances.
• And why Leaky Gut Syndrome is associated with nearly all autoimmune disorders, compromised immunity, and mental health disorders such as depression, anxiety, ADHD.
As always- I want to empower all my Sweet Lovelies with evidence-based information that allows you to take control of your hormones and celebrate the exploration of life’s exquisite journey.
Welcome to The Hormone Lifestyle Zone!
Sweet Lovelies, if you haven’t already, please subscribe on SPOTIFY OR ITUNES and watch episodes on MY YOUTUBE CHANNEL. You can also reach me directly at info@megrichichi.com
Penny suffered for over 20 years with Breast Implant Illness (BII). Her symptoms of fatigue and Raynaud’s syndrome developed within months of her breast augmentation. By the time Penny came to see me, she had debilitating joint and muscle pain, a diagnosis of connective tissue disease that included Sjogren’s syndrome, brain fog, and cognitive decline– so severe that she couldn’t remember how she drove to our appointment.
Nearly 300,000 breast augmentations are performed annually in the United States, and 25% of these women will go on to develop Breast Implant Illness. My next guest is Penny Treese, an extraordinary woman, mom, wife, artist, and workshop facilitator. Penny spent two decades suffering from breast implant illness. During today’s episode of THLZ, she shares her unimaginable story.
Breast Implant Illness (BII) is a syndrome that includes a constellation of symptoms driven by a systemic inflammatory immune response occurring in women who have had breast augmentation.
Common Breast Implant Illness Symptoms that can manifest within weeks, months, or years after receiving breast implants: Joint & Muscle Pain • Fatigue • Brain Fog • Rashes & Skin Issues • Anxiety • Depression • Mood Swings • Food Sensitivity • Allergies • Autoimmune Disorders • Cancer
Dr Lillian Schapiro, gynecologist and dear colleague, referred Penny to my clinical practice. It took her nearly 6 months to finally contact me. That one phone call changed her life forever, as well as mine. Every aspect of Penny’s health was in rapid decline, and in her own words, “Meg, I would have died in a few months if I didn’t make that call and start working with you.” During our first session, I referred her to Dr David Brothers, an amazing explant surgeon located here in Atlanta.
Penny suffered for over 20 years with Breast Implant Illness (BII). Her symptoms of fatigue and Raynaud’s syndrome developed within months of her breast augmentation. By the time Penny came to see me, she had depilating joint and muscle pain, a diagnosis of connective tissue disease that included Sjogren’s syndrome, brain fog, and cognitive decline– so severe that she couldn’t remember how she drove to our appointment.
I am honored to have Penny share her BII journey. She displays tremendous honesty, and vulnerability coupled with immense grace and courage as she tells her story. This journey also includes our 9 months of working together and peeling back the onion that has helped her recover and reclaim her life.
Sweet Lovelies, If you haven’t already, please subscribe on SPOTIFY OR ITUNES. You can also watch episodes on MY YOUTUBE CHANNEL.
I’m excited about today’s podcast for a variety of reasons. Beginning with this episode, I’ve decided to bring my clients on as guests to THLZ. I want these lovely women to share their personal stories, health journeys, and life rumbles and tumbles because they are also your stories.
What if YOU were living with chronic lung congestion and sinus infections? What if you had a lifetime of constipation, gas, and bloat? What if your fatigue, unexplained weight gain, aches, and pain made it difficult to move forward with your life? These are just some of the reasons why my next guest, Julia Marie B, came to see me.
Julia has been a fashion content creator and influencer for eight years. She has a tremendous following on TikTok because Julia is so relatable and so creative– she loves helping women look and feel their best. During today’s episode we’ll take a deep dive into Julia’s health crisis and how I helped her turn her life around.
