MORE BLOG POSTS — Estrogen
Why I Needed Three Books to Explain Weight Loss After 40
Posted by Lena Edwards MD on
Because βeat less and exercise moreβ is never going to cut it. Β If losing weight after 40 were as simple as eating less and moving more, no one would need to write books about it, right? And most of us wouldnβt need to resort to fad diets and weight loss medications. But the truth is that no matter how clean your menu or how much cardio you clock in every week, your scale wonβt blink an eye if other hidden factors are messing with your metabolism. After years of working with women who were eating well, exercising, counting calories,...
A Tale of Two Hormone Frenemies
Posted by Lena Edwards MD on
The Complex Relationship Between Female and Thyroid Hormones Fatigue. Weight gain. Brain fog. Hair loss. Constipation. Mood changes. Trouble sleeping. Feeling cold one minute and hot the next. Welcome to menopauseβ¦or is it? Yes, itβs easy to blame perimenopause and menopause for nearly every symptom that plagues women over 40. But just because something has feathers and webbed feet doesnβt mean itβs always a duck. And letβs not forget that birds often function in flocksβjust like your hormones. Thyroid hormone is just as important as female hormones, and women over 40 are much more prone to developing thyroid problems. The...
Hair Loss in Women After 40
Posted by Lena Edwards MD on
One of the most common complaints I hear from my female patients over 40 is that they're losing more hair than they used toβeven if they haven't changed a thing. Sometimes it's the growing collection of hair wrapped around the shower drain. Sometimes it's the increasingly crowded hairbrush. Other times it's a ponytail that seems noticeably thinner than it once was. The truth is that some degree of hair shedding is completely normal. Most people lose dozens of hairs every day as part of the natural hair growth cycle. But if you're noticing more hair than usual in your brush,...
Histamine Intolerance: The Menopause Symptom Nobody Warned You About
Posted by Lena Edwards MD on
Hot flashes. Anxiety. Insomnia. Heart palpitations. Headaches. Brain fog. Random itching. A nose that suddenly behaves like itβs allergy season year-round. A glass of wine that used to feel relaxing but now leaves you flushed, wide awake at 2 a.m., and questioning every life decision you've ever made. Sound familiar? I thought soβ¦. Most women assume these symptoms are simply part of stress or aging. And to be fair, many of them are. But thereβs another player that often flies under the radarβone that can quietly stir up a surprising amount of chaosβespecially during perimenopause and menopause. Meet histamine, an...
Why Women Over 40 Wake Up at 3 AM?
Posted by Lena Edwards MD on
The Top Six Sleep Saboteurs You fall asleep just fineβ¦only to snap awake at 2 or 3 AM for no obvious reason. Your eyes open. Your brain suddenly decides itβs the perfect time to review your to-do list, replayΒ conversations from earlier in the day, or contemplate the meaning of life while the clock ticks by. If this sounds familiar, youβre not alone. Night waking becomes extremely common for womenΒ over 40. Many assume itβs simply part of getting olderβbut in most cases, itβs a signalΒ something deeper is going on inside your body. Several biological shifts occur in women after 40, and...