208. The Menopause Gaslighting Problem with Integrative Dietitian Esther Blum’s No BS Guide to Hormones

208. The Menopause Gaslighting Problem with Integrative Dietitian Esther Blum’s No BS Guide to Hormones

 

In this episode of The Big Silence, Karena Dawn sits down with integrative dietitian and menopause expert Esther Blum, bestselling author of See Ya Later, Ovulator! Esther pulls back the curtain on why perimenopause and menopause are still barely taught in medical school, why so many women are dismissed, medicated, or told to just "have more sex," and what it actually takes to feel like yourself again. From hormone replacement therapy myths to the truth about the "menopot" belly, protein, and gut health, this conversation is equal parts validating and empowering.

 

Why is menopause still treated like a footnote in modern medicine even when it affects more than 50% of the population?

Esther Blum has spent nearly 30 years helping women get real answers instead of being handed a birth control prescription and sent home. This episode is the education so many of us never got.

Timestamped Highlights

The Menopause Gaslighting Problem (02:43)

  • 02:43The real story of a doctor's outrageous response to a patient's perimenopause weight gain

  • Exactly what to say to your doctor if you suspect you're in perimenopause and want to be taken seriously

  • Why pelvic floor dysfunction is so normalized, and what almost nobody tells you about it after childbirth

Food, Muscle & the Truth About the "Menopot" (18:51)

  • The protein minimum most women are falling drastically short of and why it matters more now than ever

  • Esther's blunt take on plant based versus animal protein for women in midlife

  • Why she spends more time telling clients to eat more, not less, and what carbs at night actually do for you

Trauma, Grief & the Nervous System (35:55)

  • A striking mental health statistic tied to the perimenopausal years that doesn't get talked about enough

  • Esther opens up about the connection between early trauma and hormonal health that surprised even her

  • Her honest answer to whether you can slow down or interrupt perimenopause itself

 

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