Welcome back to my discussion with Dr. Linda Marquez Goodine! This is part two of our conversation about menopause, where we address more of your incredible questions. Let’s get right into the conversation!
Dr. Linda: “I’m excited! You know, this is my jam. I love, love, love everything menopause. Let’s help some ladies be powerhouses.”
One of the questions we didn’t address specifically last time was about bringing estradiol levels up to the optimal state they were in the twenties and thirties, like a 300 to 400 metric on lab results:
Dr. Linda: “You have to navigate those levels to feel your best. That’s where bio-individuality comes in. I always tell people it’s personal preference. It’s like choosing between driving a Toyota or a Mercedes. In my practice, I haven’t seen levels as high as 200–300. Most women I see do really well between 60 and 80. Some are fine at 100. You have to figure out what works best for you. You also have to consider what other modalities you can use to achieve the same physiological response in the absence of hormones. Exercise is huge. I was at the gym yesterday training with someone, and I told her, ‘This is what we need for a genetic and epigenetic response.’ Look at an athlete like Simone Biles. She’s the epitome of strength, power, and explosiveness. It’s not from cardio, but from training specifically for those traits.
Your thoughts can make you sick. Absolutely, 1000%. If you think, ‘I have to be on HRT, or I’ll fall apart,’ you’re setting yourself up for that. It’s a big mental construct. You have to challenge those beliefs.
It’s not just one thing. It’s a combination of your labs, your diet, your thoughts. Everything you consume affects you, even what you read and watch.”
If you end up getting bioidentical hormones, how long should you take them?
Dr. Linda: “That’s an individual decision. I’ve gone on and off them myself. The biggest factor for me and for most women is stress. That’s the number one thing. Stress. Whether it’s physical, chemical, or emotional. Stress is always the biggest culprit.
Have you ever noticed that on vacation, you can eat anything, and you don’t gain weight? That’s because you’re relaxed. Stress overwhelms us, and being in a constant ‘go-go-go’ state breaks the body down.”
The importance of sleep:
We also talked about sleep and why it’s critical for recovery.
Dr. Linda: “Sleep is essential. When you don’t sleep enough, it’s harder to build muscle or recover properly. One mistake women make is overtraining and under-eating. This leads to hypoglycemia in the middle of the night, which interrupts sleep. You need to train smarter, not harder.
Everything that you start your day with will determine what your quality of sleep is like. Start your day with sunlight, don’t wear sunglasses for those first 10 minutes, and expose yourself to the natural light. In the evening, prepare your body for melatonin production. Cut off meals by sunset, dim the lights, and avoid screens.
You know, a lot of people just watch TV all night long, or they’re on their computer, catching up with work, social media, so forth.
It’s like, no, sit down and read a book, sit down and do a crossword puzzle, which is great for the brain. Do some stretching, do some meditation, do some rehab flexibility exercises. There’s a lot you could do.”
Adaptogens and hormones:
A listener asked about black cohosh and whether it works.
Dr. Linda: “Black cohosh and Vitex are two herbs that are often used for hormonal issues to help with hot flashes. Some women swear by them, while others don’t notice much of a difference. Bio-individuality matters here too. What I’ve seen work really well are adaptogens like ashwagandha. But if you’re on thyroid medication, you need to be careful with ashwagandha.
So how these adaptogens work is they impact what’s called the hypothalamus pituitary adrenal access. Now the adrenals, once again, as we are, that’s your backup to make your estrogen and it also makes cortisol. So I really believe that I’ve seen women do just as well with that and with literally hardly any side effects.
So I also wanted to mention that there’s also, holy basil, also known as the Tulsi. You can use like 500 milligrams a couple of times a day. That’s also calming. Shashandra for women that are in menopause is another one that’s a little bit more stimulating.
She also highlighted the benefits of maca. “There’s red maca for women, black for men, and yellow for general use. I use maca every day and love it.”
What About Food?
Dr Linda: “You should just be eating right. When you hit your thirties, you really have to pay attention to what you’re doing in your thirties. Cause that’s a precursor.
That’s a preview of what you do in your thirties and what’s going to happen in your forties. If you’re struggling, if you’ve struggled through and you’re beginning to struggle through menopause right now, or perimenopause, and you’re in your fifth decade of life, you always want to look back and it’s like, man, did I take care of my myself in my thirties? And that’s why it’s important that I really believe we should have this education, but they’re not educating us.
They’re not educating women on what they need to do during this time.”
Karen: “Just if we could please bring accountability to the people who make some of these things and hold them accountable, you know, like just an American company making two different types of Froot Loops and Froot Loops is not healthy at all, but what the fuck, why are they making it better for Canada and worse for America? They are an American company. Even the great, great, great granddaughter of Kellogg herself is saying, I don’t care if we lose, if we make less money, I don’t care.
These chemicals are making people sick. The food dyes, they’re making people sick. And so just to have those conversations and bring that awareness to the things that are in the foods that are in these boxed processed foods is huge.
It’s eye opening for millions of people that may not have even realized it yet. And now they’re realizing it. So then you can, you get the education, you can make better choices.
All these companies are accountable. They shouldn’t be putting that shit in there to begin with.”
Dr. Linda: “And one of the things that has been coming up with just health in general has been prescription prices and I’ll have these conversations with some of my patients. I said, instead of lowering prescription prices, why not lower the possibility of us needing them by finding out what do we need? What is the number one medication that we’re needing has anything to do with blood sugar and metabolism? Well, what’s causing that? Once again, as you said, look at these chemicals that are put in the food.
And it’s very profitable. Sickness is profitable. Just like these big tobacco companies have purchased these food giants because wow, they have a customer for life.
You can feed a toddler junk food, and you’ve got them for life. Maybe they’ll never smoke, but you’ve got an addict to all these neurotoxins and the chemicals and the crap in the food that these food giants are putting in there that are setting them up for failure. And so that’s what we have to look at.
And like I’m excited about going back to the basics. And even with women, when it comes to women’s health and hormones, you have to eat real food. You gotta eat real food.
Real food is everything. You need protein, protein, protein—one gram per pound of your ideal body weight. Your body needs protein for its trillions of cells and lipid barriers.”
She also suggested eating protein first in a meal: “If you have chicken and avocado, eat those first. You can still have carbs, but eating the protein and fat first will fill you up so you naturally eat less of the carbs.”
The importance of protein and strength training:
Dr. Linda stresses how vital protein and lifting heavy weights are for women’s health.
Dr. Linda: “Protein is the backbone of our cells and the lipid barriers that protect them. Aim for one gram of protein per pound of your ideal body weight. Pair that with strength training to create an epigenetic response. Exercise is the only thing that can do that.”
She explained the difference between power/strength and endurance training that women inherently have endurance but need to build explosive power.
Dr. Linda: “Short, explosive sprints or exercises like lifting heavy weights are essential. Women in their fourth and fifth decades don’t need long gym sessions. Increase the frequency but shorten the duration.
For example, plyometric exercises like jump box training are incredibly effective. Set a timer for 30 seconds and track how many jumps you can do. Rest, then repeat. Always aim to beat your previous number. If you’re doing less, it’s a sign you’re not recovering enough.”
For those with joint issues or who can’t jump, she suggests alternatives.
Dr. Linda: “Battle ropes, wall pushups, or similar movements can achieve the same benefits. These workouts are short but effective. Even five rounds of these exercises, done three to four times a week, can be transformative.”
“Eat your protein and fat first. If you have chicken and avocado, eat them before touching the carbs. Often, this satisfies your body’s needs and reduces room for carbs. When your nutrient sensors aren’t satisfied, your body craves fast energy, like sugar. Address the root cause with proper nutrition.”
Processed food is the enemy:
Dr. Linda discussed the hidden dangers of restaurant food: “Even grilled chicken and broccoli at a restaurant often come loaded with preservatives and seed oils. Cooking at home gives you control over the ingredients and ensures a healthier meal.”
While I love the social aspect of dining out, I’ve noticed the difference in taste. Preservatives and low-quality oils are unmistakable. Doctors are not taught anything about exercise or nutrition in school, which is really sad because that should be looked at as a modality as well as drugs.
I always ask patients that come in to see me how much they’re moving, what kind of exercise they do, what they are eating, what’s their sleep like. They tell me, you know, Oh, I walk every day. I’m like, that’s not exercise.
I said, that’s soul food. That’s not doing anything at an epigenetic level to challenge you. I tell them, okay, start lifting. Even it’s just moving their body, using their body as weights. And then we start adding in and going through the phases. So I really believe as doctors aren’t taught that because it’s not lucrative.”
Systems vs Symptoms:
Dr Linda: “When I talk to my patients, I say, hormones have a lot of mechanisms. First, you have to look at where they’re made. Are they even transported? And if they are transported, do they get into the docking site and are they released to be used? And once they’re used, are they metabolized and excreted out of the body? Something happens somewhere in that whole pathway.
It’s like getting a car that’s not working properly and it’s a brand new car. It’s like, okay, wait a minute. Something happens somewhere in the assembly line.
Where was the error? Where do we need to fix it? It’s no different with hormones. If it was really a hormonal issue, then every 20 something year old woman would have breast cancer. They would have cervical cancer, right? They would, because their hormones are higher in their twenties compared to their forties.
But why is it that you have more women in their forties and fifties that have hormonal cancer of some sort you’ve got to look at?
Well, I have to look at the systems that are impacted from the hormone distribution, how they’re made, to how they’re transported to what happens when they get into the receptor site, if they’re even available for that, or are they hanging out too long? Or have they been used up properly? Are they being excreted? You’ve got to look at that.
And they are not taught to look at systems based medicine. It’s more symptoms based medicine. And that’s the difference with when you see allopathic practitioners that are symptom based, not systems based. So that’s the difference there.”
What are the top 5 things to lose the belly, get the sleep and stop being so annoyed by people?
Dr Linda: “It’s a good question. So number one, lift heavy shit too. Get your protein dialed in.
You can create epigenetic changes with that, with exercise, with nutrition, even with sleep, you know, get to bed.
So I would say the exercise, nutrition, sleep, and managing the stress. We have to have modalities to release stress because stress is inevitable. Everybody’s going to have it in one form, the physical, chemical, or emotional.
You gotta manage the stress. And one thing that’s overlooked and we really forget about a lot is the connection, connection and community. The CNC. We were created to be in communities. We weren’t created to isolate.
And so you need that connection. If we get the exercise, the proper movement, the proper food, the nutrition, we get the sleep dialed in, we get the stress dialed in, the stress management strategies dialed in, and we got the connection. You’ve got to have a connection. You have to have a community.”
All of these autoimmune diseases, what is the root cause and what is the protocol for treating?:
Dr Linda: “Stress. That’s what it all comes down to. Physical, chemical, and emotional stresses.
You can have the precursor in there. You can have a genetic predisposition to an autoimmune condition. However, I always say genes load the gun, lifestyle pulls the trigger. Stress is a big thing. So what does cortisol do? It interferes with how the brain is firing off and your brain is not going to fire off on all cylinders.
Number two, it’s also going to impact the gut. I always see that. And if you look at a woman, and why some women go through that postpartum depression, or a lot of them start to have autoimmune conditions right after they give birth to the baby. It’s a sickness. It’s not natural.
And so coming back to autoimmune conditions, when I’m talking to patients it’s like, well, when we have a conversation with them, it is almost like interviewing them. A lot of the times they know what caused it.
And we go back in the timeline and we look at, ah, it was that divorce. Oh, it was that new job relocation. This is what happened. Your mom or dad got sick. You lost your best friend. Usually a hundred percent of the time there is something that happened that was a stressful event that ended up turning on that autoimmune condition.”
Karen: “So does it mean that for the rest of your life that you have to eat a certain way, you have to do things a certain way?”
Dr. Linda: “what I talked about, the exercise, the nutrition, the sleep, the stress, the community. I really believe those are the five pillars that we will be working on for the rest of our life.
You just get to learn how to create more stress management strategies.”
Hypnotherapy and regulating the nervous system:
Dr. Linda: “And I think that’s where you master. You’re helping people with that and going back and erasing those stories that are going in their subconscious mind.
It’s in the background playing all the time, but they don’t know., I’m a true believer. That’s where hypnotherapy counseling comes in. You’ve got to release that.
You can do all the other things, but if there’s those old stories that are ruminating in there and you don’t even know that they’re ruminating in there, you don’t know what you don’t know. It’s a blind spot that it’s going to be very difficult.”
Karen: “And I think that if you’re not really familiar with hypnotherapy or just kind of not sure what it’s all about, just try journaling and meditation and a bath. Do all of the other things and just see how it works for you. And once again, hypnotherapy is a great tool to release things that are stuck in your subconscious that you’re not aware of, just like Linda said, and it’s beautiful thing. And it helps you regulate your nervous system, which is so important.
And then I’m echoing everything that Linda said about your nervous system. You’re in fight or flight 24/7, most of us are, and we don’t realize it. We don’t understand what the physical complications are happening inside our beautiful bodies or chemical sets.
It’s just so important to regulate your nervous system, get in that relaxation, and mitigate stressors.”
If you’d like to learn more, visit Dr. Linda’s website at drlindamarquez.com. She also hosts webinars, in-person seminars, and open Q&A sessions. Thanks for being here!
