The Dr Louise Newson Podcast

113 - Mothers, daughters and hormone havoc with Lorraine Candy

Journalist, podcaster, and author Lorraine Candy, who is former Editor in Chief of Cosmopolitan, Elle, Sunday Times Style, and Former Parenting Columnist for the Sunday Times Magazine. She co-hosts the chart-topping weekly podcast, ‘Postcards from Midlife’, with fellow journalist Trish Halpin. During lockdown Lorraine, 53, wrote the highly successful book, ‘Mum, What’s Wrong With You? 101 Things Only Mothers of Teenage Girls Know’, a family memoir of hilarious personal anecdotes and guidance from experts on adolescent mental health and parenting as a perimenopausal woman.

From teenage hormones to menopausal hormones, in this podcast episode Lorraine and Louise discuss the importance of educating women about the perimenopause and menopause, and revisit their experiences of battling the media to help bring the taboo topic to normality. Further in, Lorraine and Louise have an honest conversation about raising teenage girls in particular, and offer advice on how to keep your cool while keeping the channels of communication open.

Lorraine’s book is heartily recommended by Louise, a mum of teenage girls herself, and it is available to buy now, published by 4^th Estate.

 

You can find Lorraine Candy on social at:

Instagram - @lorrainecandy

Twitter - @lorrainecandy

Facebook - @sundaytimesLorraine

112 - ‘Menopause is a public health issue’ with Nick Panay

World renowned Consultant Gynaecologist, Nick Panay, of Hormone Health, shares his past and current interests in hormone related issues such as menopause, pre-menstrual syndrome, progesterone intolerance and Premature Ovarian Insufficiency.

He describes ongoing areas within women’s hormone health where there continues to be huge unmet need and how, through training, he is seeking to overcome this, not just in the UK but globally through his work with the International Menopause Society.

Together, the experts discuss the importance of their roles in empowering women and supporting them to make their own choice about treatments and both agree that as a public health issue, the menopause requires a national approach that focusses on preventative rather than reactive medicine.

Nick’s 3 aims for global menopause care:

1. Women have ease of access to information about the menopause
2. Recommendations on hormone therapy and menopause care need to be updated and made applicable, globally, to all healthcare professionals
3. Receive funding for a definitive study on the best way to treat the menopause for all the benefits and no side effects or risks – that is the holy grail.

 

Find Nick on social media at:

Twitter - @HormoneHealth92

Facebook - @HormoneHealthClinics

Instagram - @hormonehealthuk

LinkedIn - Nick Panay

Website - https://hormonehealth.co.uk/

111 - Looking after your skin with Votary’s Arabella Preston

In this episode, Dr Louise Newson talks to Arabella Preston, co-founder of Votary skin company, about her background as a make-up artist and what prompted her to start creating cleansing and facial oils from her kitchen table.

Together they discuss how to best care for your skin and how to know what products to buy among the crowded skincare marketplace. Arabella discusses the almost taboo topic of female facial hair and how to deal with it. She also talks openly about recognising her own early signs of perimenopause and what she has learnt about the impact of hormone changes on the skin.

 

Arabella’s 3 top tips for looking after your skin:

1. Make sure you’re cleansing your skin properly using a non-foaming product and a proper face cloth, every day.
2. The best thing to do for your skin when it comes to anti-aging is to wear a good SPF (suncream) that suits your skin and wear it every day, all year round.
3. Explore active ingredients to help your skin, like retinol and retinoids, they are a vitamin A derivative and great for menopausal skin.

 

Find out more about Arabella’s cleansing and facial oils or her magic razors at the Votary website www.votary.co.uk

110 - Finding support with POI in the digital space with Anita Elawure

In this inspiring episode, Dr Louise Newson talks to Anita Elawure, a women’s health advocate, who shares her startingly honest experience of Premature Ovarian Insufficiency since she was a teenager. After many years of trying to ignore her situation, she began to look into what it really meant, for her fertility and the impact of living in a postmenopausal state for the rest of her life. 

Anita decided to create a platform for her to share her experiences, in the hope that she and others wouldn't feel so alone, and provide a safe place that offered support and learning from others going through POI. Eighteen months ago, Anita founded Blossom Living with POI and, as her page says, “You have me. I have you. Together we blossom.” 

Anita’s top 3 tips: 

1. If you’re at the start of a journey with POI, find your support system. Get someone you can rely on emotionally, that can come to appointments with you or help you do research, because it’s so important. 
2. If you know someone facing POI, be there for them, tell them you’re here for them and ask what you can do to help. 
3. Sometimes it might feel like you’re going crazy. It’s OK. You’re not going crazy and your feelings are valid. Find ways to express yourself and take one day at a time. Advocate for yourself, understand your treatments, and know what you need to take care of yourself. 

Follow Anita and Blossom Living with POI on Facebook, Instagram or YouTube 

109 - Looking after your future health with Professor Gordan Lauc

Gordan Lauc is a Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, and the Chief Scientific Officer at GlycanAge. In this episode Dr Louise Newson feeds her inner geek and enjoys a fascinating conversation with Gordan as he describes his groundbreaking research into glycan molecules and their role in aging and disease processes. Even though scientist's understanding of the biological importance of glycans is still developing, ‘glycoscience’ has now become a vital field in life and medical sciences.

Aging is the accumulation of damage in your body over time, caused by a long-term over-activation of the immune system. Analysing your body’s glycan molecules is a way of discovering your biological age and helps you know whether your current lifestyle is optimal for good health as you age. It is possible to lower your biological age by changing your diet, exercise, sleep habits and stress levels.

Professor Lauc’s top 3 tips:

1. If you’re interested in finding out more about your biological age and future health, you can get a test from www.glycanage.com that uses a pinprick of your blood and analyses your glycans. You can receive a report that will advise you on healthier changes you might need to make to your habits and lifestyle.
2. Don’t be afraid of finding out more about your future health, it can be a very useful warning signal and potential negative changes to disease processes can be halted and reversed.
3. Nourish your health and take care of it. We were not made to live into our 80s or 90s, so invest in your health and do something about it. Do something today for the good of your health tomorrow.

 

GlycanAge is giving away a 15% discount to our listeners and donating a further 15% to @themenocharity for every test purchased with the code 'NEWSONHEALTH15'.

 

You can find Gordan Lauc on social media at:

Twitter: @gordanlauc

LinkedIn: gordanlauc

 

You can also find GlycanAge on social media at:

Instagram: glycanage

Twitter: glycanage

Website: https://glycanage.com/

108 - Functional Imagery Training with Helen Pearce

Helen is a Functional Imagery Training (FIT) practitioner and weight loss coach who discovered FIT a couple of years ago and has been helping women to achieve lifestyle changes using this effective technique. FIT is a technique that supports behaviour change using mental imagery.

 

Coming from two decades of research showing that mental imagery is more strongly emotionally charged than other types of thought, FIT gives people a powerful tool to strengthen and sustain motivation to reach goals they value: weight loss, increased physical activity, or better sleep for example, which in turn leads to confidence and increased self-esteem. Women often experience weight gain, lethargy, or low mood around the perimenopause and the menopause which can lead to a negative cycle of poor choices, comfort eating and misery!

 

Living through the pandemic and associated lockdowns with all the extra stresses it has brought has also made healthy living harder for some. FIT uses mental imagery blended with motivational interviewing (a type of empathetic counselling/coaching) to help clients identify the health and fitness challenges they face now and how they would like to feel in the future. FIT is about mindset change, not a diet technique. It teaches people to imagine in a detailed way what it feels like and looks like to achieve their ideal selves and how that will benefit their health, and also benefit the people closest to them. FIT enables people to imagine in detail the steps they have chosen to reach their ideal selves. 

 

Helen's 3 take-home tips: 

 

1. Don’t see change in a negative way. We tend to focus on the things we have to give up when thinking about changes we need to make to lose weight, get fitter, have a more balanced sleep, work, or play routine. But if we can look more at the positive benefits to come out of changes to our lifestyle and plan manageable steps that don’t feel like we are denying ourselves everything we enjoy, the changes will be positive and enjoyable. 
2. Weight gain, along with symptoms of the perimenopause and menopause such as poor sleep, brain fog, or lethargy often leave women feeling depressed and self-critical. We can sometimes feel we have little control over the changes and beat ourselves up over what we may perceive as 'letting ourselves go'. Don’t beat yourself up, acknowledge that it can be a difficult time and it is not a weakness of character or an inevitable slippery slope. Talk to someone, a friend, an expert, a FIT practitioner or coach. You are not alone!
3. Prioritise yourself. In the words of RuPaul, ‘if you can’t love yourself, how in the hell are you going to love someone else!’ We are used to putting family and others first and sometimes forget (or just don’t consider) our own needs. Try to put some time into your day when you just focus on yourself, take a walk, read a book, listen to music, but above all take a moment to ask yourself, ‘am I looking after myself? What do I need? How do I feel and how do I want to feel?’ After all, no one else can look after you as well as you can look after you.

107 - Osteoporosis: What is it and how to prevent it, with Prof James Simon

In this episode, Dr Louise Newson is joined by Professor James Simon as they take a deeper look at our bones and discuss osteoporosis: what happens to your bone strength during the menopause, what are the risk factors for developing osteoporosis and what we can all do to try and prevent it. 

  

Professor Simon's 3 top tips for keeping your bones strong and healthy are: 

1. Have adequate calcium from your diet and if you're lactose intolerant (or vegan) you may need to take calcium supplements spread throughout the day. 
2. Take good care of your skin by using sun block and a hat, but try and get the vitamin D you need through time in the sun and from fortified foods. 
3. Do regular weight-bearing exercise that impacts through your bones as you hold your own body weight during the activity. 

106 - Seeing the bigger picture with Men’s Health specialist Dr Jeff Foster

If you have a male partner, this episode is definitely one for them too. Dr Jeff Foster is a GP and Men's Health specialist who shares an interest with Dr Newson in hormones and the effects of them - or lack of them - on our lives and future health.

 

Together they discuss what makes up the specialities of Men's Health and Women's Health, and explain why seeing the bigger picture - one that looks at the whole person - is crucial to understanding and treating hormone deficiencies. Dr Foster discusses testosterone in men and how symptoms of low testosterone can mirror some menopausal symptoms. They discuss the benefits of testosterone on wider aspects of health, and caution is shared about the worrying popularity in some young men to use steroids and newer unregulated drugs such as SARMs.

 

Dr Foster's advice to women is to look at the men in your life and see if they're struggling with similar symptoms such as fatigue, brain fog, or low libido, and give them a nudge to speak to their doctor.

 

Dr Foster's 3 tips for men are:

1. If you think you may have low testosterone, fill in the Adam Score which is 10 simple questions that indicate whether this might be a problem. Fill in the Adam Score here.
2. Go and speak to your doctor if you are showing symptoms of low testosterone, don't be tempted to book a testosterone test yourself online.
3. If your test results come back normal but you continue to have symptoms, try and see a Men's Health specialist doctor for further investigation and discussion.

Dr Foster's website is www.drjefffoster.co.uk and you can follow him on social media:

Instagram @drjefffoster

Twitter @doctor_jef

 

The British Society of Sexual Medicine has some useful guidance for healthcare professionals on managing testosterone deficiency, read this here.

105 - Living with Premature Ovarian Insufficiency and starting a family

Emily Fisher had always known her mother experienced an early menopause and was wary the same could happen to her. When she went to the doctors with her concerns, she was merely given the advice to 'have children young', but she wasn't ready to take this step in her early 20s and decided to look into her fertility options. Investigations did indeed confirm her fears and with the help of a fertility specialist with an interest in POI, she was able to become pregnant. 

 

After having twins, Emily suffered with multiple symptoms that could have been explained away as related to post-pregnancy hormones, but she knew there was more to it. Specialists offered conflicting advice on how best to manage her very low mood, brain fog and hot flushes. With the help of a POI specialist, Emily had to advocate for herself to get the right type and dose of HRT, and she's now becoming more confident to talk to family and friends about what she has gone through and about the treatment she takes. 

 

 Emily's tips for young women who may have POI: 

1. Find out your family history, ask your mother, aunties, cousins, grandmothers what age they were when they started menopause. If any of them had it when young, try and speak to a healthcare professional about it. If you're having any trouble getting pregnant, act early and if you can afford it, see a fertility specialist that specialises in POI. 

 

2. Do not give up! If you think something's not right, see another doctor if you have to, or a nurse specialist.  

  

3. Talk to you partner, tell your friends and family. Don't be embarrassed, we need more women to speak about this. Doing this will help you feel less alone.

 

You can follow Emily on Instagram at @motheringandthemenopause 

104 - Mindfulness and Menopause with yoga teacher Claudia Brown

Back for a second time on the podcast, Dr Louise Newson is joined by yoga teacher, Claudia Brown who runs workshops at Newson Health Menopause and Wellbeing Centre.  Claudia is an Om Yoga magazine columnist and runs classes, workshops and retreats in Cheshire and the West Midlands. She is currently launching, ‘The Ultimate Wellness Experience – Mindfulness and Menopause.’  She also works with professional footballers, teaching yoga at a number of football clubs!  Together, Dr Newson and Claudia discuss mindfulness, what it is and what it isn’t, why compassion and embodied cognition are so important during your menopause journey, and they discover that Louise is actually an advanced mindfulness practitioner! 
 

Claudia’s 3 Top Tips for your mindfulness practice are as follows, 

1. STOP.  Build time into your day / schedule to stop, breathe, move, and treat it like you would treat an important meeting. 
2. Make an event of it!  When you have decided what works for you (for eg, a mindful shower or a mindful walk) really make an event of it and take in all 5 senses, sound, sight, taste, touch and smell) 
3. BE KIND TO YOURSELF!  Tame that Inner Critic and remember, you can have awareness but without compassion it isn’t mindfulness. 

 

Claudia Brown

Email: claudia@yogabyclaudia.com

Instagram: yogabyclaudia

Facebook: www.facebook.com/yogabyclaudiauk