Dr. Sara Gottfried: How to Optimize Female Hormone Health for Vitality & Longevity

Huberman Lab

My guest is Sara Gottfried, M.D., a Harvard-trained, board-certified gynecologist and clinical assistant professor of integrative medicine & nutritional sciences at Thomas Jefferson University. Dr. Gottfried specializes in hormone health, vitality and longevity using precision/personalized approaches. We discuss female hormone health, puberty, perimenopause, and menopause, hormone testing, the microbiome, stress related hormone challenges, their causes, and various treatments. We also discuss fertility, birth control and tools for improving microbiome health, treating PCOS, insulin management, and the best nutrition, supplementation, and exercise programs for women. While the episode focuses mainly on female hormones, males will also benefit from our discussion because it includes actionable tools suggested for managing stress, bolstering the gut microbiome, and immunity—all of which stand to improve overall health, vitality and longevity in males and females.

For the full show notes, visit hubermanlab.com.

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Timestamps

(00:00:00) Dr. Sara Gottfried

(00:04:07) Sponsor: LMNT

(00:07:50) Women, Family History, Heredity & Environment

(00:11:00) Puberty, Stress, Menstrual Cycles, Intrauterine Devices (IUDs)

(00:17:26) Tool: Sex Hormones, Microbiome, Estrobolome & Disease; Biomarker Testing

(00:25:11) Nutritional Testing; Vegetables, Microbiome & Disease

(00:27:33) Sponsor: AG1

(00:32:22) Microbiome, Prebiotics & Probiotics, Inflammation

(00:36:08) Microbiome Testing, Magnesium, Constipation & Thyroid

(00:42:25) Female Colonoscopy; Network Effect & Modern Medicine, Stress Factors

(00:45:13) Constipation, Stress & Trauma, Autonomic Balance

(00:55:35) Constipation Relief, Stress, Breathwork & Meditation

(01:02:58) Systemic & Societal Stress Unique to Females

(01:09:23) Testing & Future Behavior

(01:11:55) Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS) & Cardiometabolic Disease; Stress

(01:22:57) PCOS, Insulin, Glucose Monitoring and Management; Data Access

(01:29:48) Behaviors for Vitality; Exercise & Body Phenotype; Cortisol

(01:36:40) Cortisol Supplements: Ashwagandha, Rhodiola, Fish Oil, Phosphatidylserine

(01:42:36) Cortisol, Anxiety & Immune System; Adrenal Function, Resilience

(01:48:07) Tool: Omega-3 Fatty Acids, Inflammation, Specialized Pro-Resolving Mediators

(01:54:20) Oral Contraceptives, Benefits & Risks; Ovarian Cancer; Testosterone

(02:06:50) Fertility, Follicular & Anti-Mullerian Hormone (AMH) Assessments

(02:10:29) Menopause & Hormone Replacement Therapy; Women’s Health Initiative

(02:15:30) Perimenopause, Cerebral Hypometabolism, Metabolism & Estrogen

(02:21:49) Intermittent Fasting, Ketogenic Diet, Metabolic Flexibility

(02:23:29) Stool Testing

(02:25:32) Coronary Artery Calcium (CAC) Test, ACE Score & Disease

(02:31:56) Zero-Cost Support, YouTube Feedback, Spotify & Apple Reviews, Sponsors, Social Media, Neural Network Newsletter, Momentous

Title Card Photo Credit: Mike Blabac

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