MORE BLOG POSTS — Perimenopause

What  Is Fatty Liver Disease?

Your liver is one of the hardest-working organs in your body. It helps regulate blood sugar, processes fats, manufactures important proteins, breaks down medications, and performs hundreds of other functions that keep you alive and kicking.

But sometimes, fat begins accumulating inside liver cells—often thanks to metabolic problems like insulin resistance and excess abdominal fat. When this happens in the setting of metabolic dysfunction, it's called metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD). But that's a mouthful, so we'll stick with fatty liver.

Sleep Apnea: The Sneaky Saboteur Behind Unexplained Symptoms.

The symptoms of sleep apnea are sneaky—which is why common symptoms that make women over 40 miserable are often chalked up to the “usual suspects.” Besides fatigue, women may also complain of:

• Insomnia or frequent nighttime awakenings
• Morning headaches
• Brain fog or poor concentration
• Mood changes, anxiety, or depression
• Waking with a dry mouth or sore throat
• Getting up frequently to urinate during the night
• Feeling unrefreshed despite spending enough time in bed

Since sleep apnea can disrupt multiple hormones, increase inflammation, and keep your nervous system on high alert night after night, it’s easy to understand how your long-term health can be negatively impacted.

You can be the poster gal of healthy eating and take a multivitamin every morning, but thanks to the “usual suspects,” you can still come up short on nutrients your body needs. And after 40, things like hormonal shifts can change how your body uses certain nutrients. Chronic stress can increase demand. Gut problems can interfere with absorption. Medications can quietly deplete nutrients over time. And if you’re eating less in an attempt to lose weight—or taking a medication that dramatically reduces your appetite—you may simply not be getting enough in the first place. Unfortunately, nutrient deficiencies don't always announce...

You’ve seen the before-and-after pics, read the rave reviews, and maybe even discussed these “wonder drugs” with your health care practitioner. And while medications like semaglutide and tirzepatide have been game changers for many women who use them, they don't magically erase every metabolic problem that contributed to weight gain in the first place. They don't build muscle, improve the quality of your diet, guarantee adequate nutrition, fix your sleep, balance your hormones, or teach you how to maintain your weight if the medication is eventually stopped. And that's where the conversation needs to get a little more interesting.  ...

If you’ve followed me for any length of time, you know I’m not a fan of recommending supplements simply because someone on social media promised they’ll make women over 40 thinner, younger, and maybe even smarter. Supplements should have a purpose. But as we get older, some of those purposes become increasingly important. Maintaining muscle mass gets harder. Collagen production declines. Oxidative stress (think “internal rusting”) can increase. And our bodies still need adequate nutritional support to repair tissue, recover from exercise, and keep our natural detoxification systems doing their jobs. Sometimes, dietary intake alone simply doesn’t cut it. That’s...