Episode 76: Everything You Need to Know to Heal Your Body (Even During the Holidays) With Hormone Specialist, Lauren Papanos
Lauren Papanos, MS, RD, CSSD is a registered dietician nutritionist, hormone specialist, and nutrition researcher. She started as a collegiate sports dietician where she worked with countless women dealing with hormonal imbalances and reproductive-related issues. Her passion for helping women heal their bodies grew and she founded Functional Fueling to help women identify the root causes of underlying hormonal imbalances and actually heal. In this episode, Lauren shares the three main reasons most women have reproductive issues from PCOS to cramps, why most of us are malnourished, how to heal hormones (hint: it's not cycle syncing as you've heard of), and protocols to follow based on symptoms you experience. Lauren also dives into the metabolism and thyroid, offers amazing health hacks no one ever talks about, and shares tips for healing your body during the holidays.
SHOW NOTES:
On this week’s episode of The Everygirl Podcast, we’re jumping right into the interview with Lauren Papanos, a registered dietician nutritionist and hormone specialist. The interview begins with Josie asking Lauren to explain how she first got into health and nutrition—Lauren discusses her Greek family history and personal background as a student-athlete, both of which inspired her to start paying attention to her own health and the health of others. She explains how her own hormone challenges inspired her to dive deeper into the endocrine space and help other women get the answers that they deserve about their well-being. Josie asks Lauren why so many women today are suffering from hormone challenges, and Lauren explains that it actually has more to do with our environment and dietary choices than anything else. She dives into the lack of nutrients in our soil and the impact that the chemicals and toxins that are in pesticides can have on our hormonal reuptake. She also discusses the impact of dysregulated nervous systems and hustle culture on our hormone balance. Josie and Lauren then discuss some of the things that we can do to improve our hormonal health. Lauren walks through energy availability, nutrient availability, and exercise: All things that matter for the overall balance of our hormones. She provides a list of vitamins and minerals that we all need to prioritize in our diets in order to achieve optimal hormonal health. Josie and Lauren dive a little bit deeper into the subject of over-exercising, including how to tell if you are exerting your body to an unhealthy extent and how to tackle the difficult mindset changes that come with exercising less. Then, the interview turns to the relationship between hormonal imbalances and our cycles. Lauren explains why most traditional cycle-syncing practices actually will not work for people who have hormonal imbalances to begin with. Josie and Lauren have a conversation about how you should approach each week of your cycle if you have a hormonal imbalance versus if you simply experience bad cramps and PMS symptoms. Lauren explains why ovulation is the most important part of the cycle to track for hormone balancing, rather than the date when your period actually starts. Josie pivots the conversation to metabolism and the thyroid, and Lauren breaks down some of the most common myths surrounding metabolism. Lauren also explains how testing for thyroid problems can be extremely complicated, and the reasons why you should seek out an endocrine expert to test your thyroid levels rather than a regular doctor if you want to get the full story behind your metabolism. Finally, Josie asks Lauren to walk through her tips for staying healthy during the holiday season, from facing difficult conversations with family members about food and diet to allowing yourself to genuinely enjoy the festivities. The episode closes with rapid-fire questions for Lauren.
Must-Listen Moments:
[5:13] The unexpected reasons why women today are facing hormonal imbalances, from hustle culture to poor nutrition
[14:36] What traditional cycle-syncing gets wrong about balancing hormones, and how you can adjust your habits to your cycle based on your symptoms
[24:30] Lauren explains why ovulation is the MVP of your hormone cycle, and the best method for tracking ovulation
[27:53] Myth-busting everything you thought you knew about metabolism, plus the extra steps you need to take to discover whether you have a thyroid problem
[39:12] Lauren’s top tips for staying healthy during the holiday season, especially if you have to have hard conversations with family surrounding diet and nutrition
More from The Everygirl:
Find and listen to more episodes at https://theeverygirl.com/