277. Everything Women Need to Know About Perimenopause, Menopause & Hormone Therapy - Compilation
episodePreviously titled “Everything Women Need to Know About Perimenopause, Menopause & Hormone Therapy - Compilation” — renamed by the publisher on Aug 4, 2026
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What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
Hey guys, welcome back to the Ultimate Human Podcast. I'm your host, human biologist, Gary Brekka. Today, we're doing something a little different and I'm fired up about this one. What you're about to watch is a compilation, three conversations that I've been wanting to put together for a long, long time.
What are the early signs of perimenopause?
Because if there's one area where women have been let down by medicine, by media, by the system, it's menopause.
Why do standard hormone tests often miss symptoms?
50 million women have unnecessarily suffered for decades because of one misquoted study. That's not a headline. That's a quote from the chairman of the FDA. Let that land. So today I'm bringing you three of the most important voices in this entire space. First.
How can frozen shoulder indicate hormone changes?
Dr. Jessica Shepherd, a board-certified OBGYN, menopause expert, and someone who completely has rewritten the playbook on women's hormonal health. Then Dr. Vonda Wright, a board-certified orthopedic surgeon, will tell you why a frozen shoulder is not just a joint problem. It's your body screaming that your hormones are in crisis. And finally, my wife, Sage. who lived this, tested this, and came out the other side. By the end of this episode, you will know what perimenopause actually is, when it starts, what to test, why standard blood work misses it, and what to do when you find the answers. If you're a woman or you love a woman, stay in your seat. This one matters. My first guest changed the way that I understand women's hormonal health and, honestly, the way I show up as a husband.
Dr. Jessica Shepard is a board-certified OBGYN and menopause specialist who didn't stay in the system when the system was getting it wrong. She blew the whistle. She founded Modern Menno.
What is the truth about hormone therapy and breast cancer?
She wrote the book Generation M, and she's made it her mission to capture women before they fall off the hormonal cliff and give them the building blocks to thrive at 60, 70, and 80. Here's Dr. Jessica Shepard. I know that you're a classically trained physician, but at some point there was a shift in your career and your career choices. And I'm always fascinated by that because comfort would dictate that you just stay in the system, do what the system tells you, you make a good living, kind of keep your mouth shut. Don't raise your hand. But I wonder if there was, what preempted that shift?
What does 'natural' hormone therapy really mean?
You know, there are really pivotal moments in your life where everyone gets choice in to decide what they want to do with that moment. And my background, a little behind the scenes about me is I got my undergraduate degree in kinesiology, exercise physiology. So I really understood what the body could do, what it could adapt to when it's optimized. So I feel that the beginning of my medical career was in the best of, the best of what the body can do. And so going into medicine, obviously we know how to fix train wrecks. We deal in illness and disease, which is great. We do need that side to society. So now practicing 15 years of seeing the worst and fixing disease and operating, I did a fellowship in minimally invasive gynecology.
How can the Dutch test provide a clearer picture of hormone levels?
So it's high volume surgeon. But what I really started to understand is the story. The story behind the scenes of all these women that I would see in the exam room. And I knew deep down, I was like, there's something else going on. And that something else is all the behind the scenes thing that allow people to show up with disease. Whether that's with nutrition, exercise, stress, emotional issues that are going on. Actually... feed into how we present in chronic disease as well. And so I think that that was the pivotal moment that I said to myself, I have to do something different.
What role do toxins and mold play in hormonal health?
And that's when I ventured more into looking at root cause, looking at lifestyle, being able to actually educate while empowering women about their life, especially in midlife. I think most say, I still have a period, I can't be in that phase. Yeah, I think we affix a period or a menstrual cycle to functionality in the sense of nothing's wrong, right? Or nothing is changing. And that's really not even biologically how our bodies work. Nothing shifts overnight.
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
0:12–0:27
2
What are the early signs of perimenopause?
0:27–0:33
3
Why do standard hormone tests often miss symptoms?
0:33–0:49
4
How can frozen shoulder indicate hormone changes?
0:49–1:44
5
What is the truth about hormone therapy and breast cancer?
1:44–2:26
6
What does 'natural' hormone therapy really mean?
2:26–3:17
7
How can the Dutch test provide a clearer picture of hormone levels?
3:17–3:52
8
What role do toxins and mold play in hormonal health?
3:52–54:52
Speakers
5 identifiedMore from The Ultimate Human with Gary Brecka
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