Healthier Life Through Menopause Podcast with Catherine Shelton | Nutrition & Lifestyle Tips for Women · Catherine Shelton | Health & Wellness Coach

63 \\ Getting To The Root Cause Of Your Menopause Symptoms

·53 min·3 clips

Indra links blood-sugar swings with hot flashes through the body's stress response.

1. Healthier Life Through Menopause Podcast episode 63 examines getting to the root cause of menopause symptoms with Catherine Shelton and Dr. Indra Bharathan. 2. Catherine Shelton hosts the episode, while Dr. Indra Bharathan contributes experience from UK general practice, functional medicine, and a multidisciplinary private practice. 3. The episode asks whether perimenopause symptoms should be understood only through changing sex hormones or through the wider factors affecting each patient. 4. Indra defines functional medicine as a "root cause approach" and says it is a way of viewing the person rather than a single treatment. 5. Indra compares ongoing inflammation with a smoldering fire that sends signals through the body. 6. She says mood changes may involve estrogen shifts, inflammation in the brain, nutrient deficiencies, chronic infections, or allergies. 7. The Dr. Indra practice includes a consultant psychiatrist, consultant endocrinologist, two general practitioners, a nutritional therapist, and a happiness and contentment coach. 8. Indra explains hormone support through production, receptor sensitivity, metabolism, and clearance, with cholesterol supplying the baseline for many hormones. 9. Her nutrition framework emphasizes vegetables in multiple colors, adequate fiber, digestible healthy fats, and reducing toxins, caffeine, alcohol, and ultra-processed foods. 10. Indra connects stress and blood-sugar swings with hot flashes and describes a plate containing half vegetables, one-quarter protein, and remaining carbohydrates and fats. 11. Indra says a continuous glucose monitor can help some patients observe how particular foods affect their blood sugar. 12. She argues that cravings for caffeine, alcohol, sugar, or carbohydrates may signal a need for stimulation or energy rather than a simple lack of willpower. 13. Indra recommends examining sleep, movement, stress responses, and perceptions of the surrounding world as lifestyle factors affecting inflammation. 14. She encourages women with irregular cycles to notice signals such as sleep changes, temperature patterns, and a need for rest rather than relying only on calendar timing. 15. Indra calls connection and community therapeutic for the hormonal system and discusses loneliness, shared meals, and the effects of isolation during lockdown. 16. The supplement discussion names magnesium glycinate, vitamin C, vitamin D, probiotics, omega-3s, ashwagandha, and chasteberry, with repeated advice to consult a practitioner. 17. Indra says magnesium glycinate may support calmness, sleep, and gut motility, while vitamin C is discussed in relation to antioxidant activity, progesterone metabolism, and bowel movement. 18. The interview remains conversational and educational, moving from Indra's career and clinical model into nutrition, exercise, sleep, community, supplements, and possible HRT support. 19. Women seeking practical perimenopause nutrition and lifestyle frameworks. 20. Listeners wanting medication-only menopause guidance may skip it.

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