The Dr Louise Newson Podcast

084 - Menopause and Health - Dr Annice Mukherjee & Dr Louise Newson

Dr Annice Mukherjee is a U.K. hormone specialist with almost 3 decades of experience in hospital medicine. From the early days, her specialism in hormones has always focussed on optimising quality of life in hormone diseases, imbalances and deficiencies. Her knowledge helped her hugely when she went through an early menopause due to a cancer diagnosis ten years ago.

Annice is the author of “The Complete Guide to the Menopause” which is hot off the press, having been published by Penguin Random House on 28th January. 

In this episode, Dr Newson and Annice discuss how different hormones in the body interact with each other and the importance of using holistic approaches in managing menopause alongside HRT, as well as for those of you who do not take it. She emphasises that in the context of today’s world, lifestyle approaches are all the more important and should be adopted by every women in menopause to optimise wellbeing and long-term health.   

Annice’s Three Take Home Tips:

1. Menopause affects every system in the human body and all hormones interact with each other. Improving your overall health can help with hormone balance and your menopause experience. Understanding how to do this is key. 
2. Stress is more prevalent and relentless in today’s world and acknowledging and addressing your stress, even with tiny lifestyle tweaks, downtime and applying selfcare can be transforming, both in terms of menopause symptoms and your overall health. 
3. Exercise, good nutrition, good sleep habits, stress management and some complementary therapies can work as well as, or better than the many of the alternatives to HRT and don’t have any of the down sides or side effects. 

You can buy Annice’s book here: https://linktr.ee/annicemd 

 Find Annice on Instagram:  @the.hormone.doc

Facebook: @thehormonedoc

083 - The Importance of Lifestyle During the Menopause - Amanda Thebe & Dr Louise Newson

Amanda Thebe is a personal trainer and nutrition coach, with nearly 3 decades in the health and wellness industry. She is the author of 'Menopocalypse: How I Learned To Thrive During Menopause and How You Can Too!' Dr Newson actually helped Amanda with the HRT chapter in the book. Amanda (who is British) joins Dr Newson from her home in Texas, USA. 

In this episode, Dr Newson and Amanda discuss how menopause awareness differs across the Atlantic, yet despite our different medical organizations, women still are not being helped through menopause. Women are still being dismissed by doctors or misdiagnosed, so there is still much work to do. As well as a discussion about the role of HRT in menopause management, they discuss the importance of lifestyle changes that are integral to supporting menopause and bulletproofing women into aging against the major diseases like diabetes, CVD, osteoporosis and Alzheimers. 

They also discuss: 

• Living a movement based life vs a sedentary life. 
• Knowing there is an entry point into exercise for everybody. 
• Making small changes that develop into lifelong habits. 
• Simplifying nutrition to support your body. 
• Cutting through misformation in the health and wellness world 
• Adding things of benefit rather than deprivation and restriction. 

Amanda Thebe's Three Reasons to Buy Her Book:

1. It's giving you knowledge and knowledge is power!
2. There is a 12 week strength training programme in the book - it's great for during lockdown.
3. The book contains advice on how to age resiliently. This is about how to live your life based on your strengths!

Buy Amanda's book 'Menopocalypse' here: www.fitnchips.com/books/

Find Amanda on Instagram: @amanda.thebe

082 - The Personal & Professional Costs of the Menopause - Chris Oglesby & Dr Louise Newson

Chris Oglesby is the chief executive of Bruntwood, which remains a family-owned and run company founded on a belief that its success comes from the success of its colleagues, customers and the communities in which it operates. He works tirelessly helping cities such as Manchester to thrive in many ways including by improving health inequalities, funding research and by supporting cultural and community initiatives.  

Chris talks to Dr Newson about how his wife, Jane, really struggled during her perimenopause and menopause and how difficult it was for him to watch her experience various symptoms. He also speaks openly about his sister, who also found it difficult to receive adequate help and treatment for her menopause. 

Dr Newson and Chris explore ways in which menopause in the workplace can be addressed to improve organisations and also about how poor menopause care is a global health problem which urgently needs to be addressed. 

Chris Oglesby's Three Take Home Tips for employers:

1. Start with your own awareness, do your research and learn more about how the menopause may affect your staff. 
2. Then you can roll out a programme of awareness within your business to benefit all colleagues, both male and female.
3. Look at pathways into providing your female staff with high quality treatment and menopause advice.

081 - Pilates & the Menopause - Dinah Siman & Dr Louise Newson

In this episode, Dr Louise Newson is joined by Dinah Siman who is a Yoga and Pilates teacher and the founder of Menopause Pilates.

Dinah chats to Dr Newson about the history of Pilates and how the method arrived in the UK with Alan Herdman, and how it is now established as a tried and tested system for functional body work.  Dr Newson shares her experience of Pilates during her last pregnancy and talks with Dinah about the huge benefits of muscle strengthening, bone loading, flexibility and proprioception it brings during menopause and beyond, and the focus on breathing and pelvic floor health. 

Dinah also talks to Dr Newson about the one-day Menopause Pilates course that she has have created for Pilates teachers and fitness professionals. The course contains evidence based information and exercise and educational resources and will be launching early in 2021. Dinah has been teaching Pilates to women in the menopausal transition for over 23 years, this combined with her own experience of menopause and passion for sharing menopause education has resulted in this unique one-day course.   

Dinah's Three Take Home Tips:

1. Try to view the menopause as an opportunity to learn Pilates, it will also benefit your long term health and fitness. 
2. If possible, start learning Pilates with a 1:1 session or shared private lesson for a bespoke approach, before joining a class.
3. And finally - give it time.  It can seem like learning a new language and that doesn't happen overnight, so have patience!

Follow Dinah on Instagram: @menopausepilates

Email: dinahsiman@gmail.com

 

080 - ”How My Work Was Affected by the Menopause” - Kate Halfpenny & Dr Louise Newson

In this episode, Dr Louise Newson talks to Kate Halfpenny, who was a celebrity stylist and designer for over 20 years. Kate now has a globally successful, British-made bridal brand, Halfpenny London, which she launched in early 2000.

Kate had her first and only child, Sylvester, at 40 and talks to Dr Newson about how her perimenopausal symptoms started a year or two after that. Now 45 and 6 months into her body identical HRT regime from Dr Newson and Newson Health, she has started to feel like the powerhouse she once was, managing to keep a few balls in the air again and not struggling as much to communicate and be the business woman/mother/wife/friend she knew she could be. 

Kate Halfpenny's three Take Home Tips and signs that you may have low hormone levels:

1. If you're experiencing unexplained fatigue even after a good night's sleep then it may be down to your hormones.
2. Another sign can be a lack of mental clarity, if you are struggling to multitask or concentrate on more than one thing at once.
3. Loss of libido - this is also a common symptom of the perimenopause and menopause.

 

079 - Media & the Menopause - Nadia Sawalha & Dr Louise Newson

In this episode, Dr Louise Newson is joined by Nadia Sawalha. Nadia is a well-known British actress and TV presenter and has been part of Loose Women from the outset. While talking to Dr Newson, Nadia is very open and candid about her menopause experience and how frightened she was. She talks about how she has always been a very positive and outgoing person and found herself becoming very negative and argumentative. She has had some very dark thoughts which, understandably, were very scary to her. 

Nadia talks to Dr Newson about how little she knew about menopause in the past and how important it is that women have access to evidence-based information and treatment. Nadia is determined to talk more openly going forwards to educate more women about the symptoms and also the numerous health risks associated with low hormone levels. 

Nadia Sawalha's Three Take Home Tips:

1. As women we have to talk about it, share information and be open to changing our minds about the menopause and HRT.
2. Spread positive messages and don't be judgemental about the choices of other women.
3. We need to challenge the myths and negativity surrounding the menopause and HRT. 

 

078 - Urogenital Symptoms of the Menopause - Lavinia Winch & Dr Louise Newson

In this episode, Dr Louise Newson is joined by Lavinia Winch, Ambassador for YES organic vaginal moisturisers and lubricants and a patient representative for all aspects of women’s gynaecological health, but especially for menopausal urogenital symptoms.  

Lavinia shares her story and talks openly about the 30 years of misdiagnosed vaginal and vulval symptoms which were eventually resolved by choosing responsibly formulated lubricants and vaginal moisturisers. Also touched on is Lavinia’s diagnosis of endometrial cancer, and the importance of recognising the signs and symptoms, of which the most common is post-menopausal bleeding.  

Dr Newson and Lavinia discuss the lack of progress since 2000 in terms of healthcare professionals’ training and treatment of menopausal symptoms, both for vaginal health and for the wider range of symptoms. 

The difference between bio-identical unregulated hormone therapy and the regulated body identical HRT available on the NHS is another topic covered, and the importance of women using self-knowledge and seeking evidence-based information in order to work collaboratively with GPs to reach individualised solutions. 

Lavinia’s Three Take Home Tips:

1. Be aware of the main menopausal symptoms but particularly those relating to urogenital function.
2. Learn about the make-up of our vaginas and vulvas and how to maintain a healthy intimate environment.
3. Seek out a GP or specialist who has a real interest in women’s health and continue until you get the help and support that’s right for you. Don’t give up! 

077 - Spoon-Fed: Food & Tim Spector - Tim Spector & Dr Louise Newson

Tim Spector is a Professor of genetic epidemiology at King's College in London and also co-founder of Zoe. In this podcast, Dr Louise Newson talks to Tim about his newly published book, Spoon-Fed. This ground-breaking and informative book really leads the reader to question their current diet and their relationship with food.

Dr Newson and Tim discuss the importance of gut health and gut biodiversity, in particular with respect to our mental and physical health. Many diseases could be prevented by having the right knowledge of food and cooking from scratch rather than eating processed foods. They also talk about simple ways to improve health and nutrition. We are all individuals and our way of eating can be individualised to optimise our health. 

Tim Spector's Three Take Home Tips:

1. Try and eat 30 plants a week, that includes nuts, seeds and herbs. Think diverse!
2. Have some fermented foods every day. Think the Three K's: Kombucha, Kefir and Kimchi but also yoghurt and cheese.
3.  Look at fasting and the timing of how you eat. The longer you can rest your microbes overnight, the better your metabolism is. Trying to rest between 12 and 14 hours a night can really help you.

Click here to find out more about Tim's new book 'Spoon-Fed'

Find Tim on Instagram: @tim.spector

Twitter: @timspector

076 - Menopause and Employment Law - Victoria Duddles & Dr Louise Newson

Dr Louise Newson is delighted to welcome Victoria Duddles, solicitor and Principal Associate at Weightmans LLP.  Dr Newson and Victoria Duddles first met when they were both guest speakers at a Birmingham CIPD event all about menopause in the workplace.

In this podcast, Victoria talks with Dr Newson about the employment law implications for employers when managing and supporting women in the workplace who are going through the menopause and in particular how the Equality Act 2010 may apply.

Victoria Duddles' Three Take Home Tips for employers:

1. Put in place menopause policies and training and communicate these with your workforce.
2. Make sure the menopause conversation is open for all staff, but especially for those during discussions about performance or absence.
3. There are lots of resources available for employers, from bodies such as CIPD and ACAS. As a manger or even supervisor, you can look at these and educate yourself on how to best support the women in your workplace.

Instagram: @weightmans_law

075 - Premature Menopause & Fertility - Dr Rebecca Gibbs & Dr Louise Newson

In this episode, Dr Louise Newson is joined by Dr Rebecca Gibbs, an Obstetrics and Gynaecological Consultant at The Royal Free Hospital in London. Dr Gibbs is also an ambassador for The Daisy Network, a charity dedicated to providing information and support to women diagnosed with Premature Ovarian Insufficiency.

In this podcast, Dr Gibbs and Dr Newson have an in-depth conversation about the challenges of being diagnosed with Premature Ovarian Insufficiency (premature menopause) whilst going through fertility treatment. They also discuss the reality of menopause education for gynaecologists in the U.K. and why it’s so important that women take their HRT when diagnosed with the menopause younger than expected. 

Dr Rebecca Gibbs' Three Take Home Tips for women dealing with POI:

1. Take your HRT. You may well feel much better. 
2. Take your HRT. It’ll prevent long term health problems.
3. Don’t be afraid to push for the help that you need when dealing with healthcare professionals.

Find out more about The Daisy Network: www.daisynetwork.org

admin@daisynetwork.org.uk