I have been teaching women, and my male students and mentees, that a woman’s period is a report card for her health for years, so you can imagine my excitement when I found Lara Briden who is an expert in all things the female cycle and how to be a detective in your own health journey.  Lara Briden is a naturopathic doctor and the period revolutionary—leading the change to better periods.  Informed by a strong science background and more than twenty years with patients, Lara is a passionate communicator about women’s health and alternatives to hormonal birth control.  Her book Period Repair Manual is a manifesto of natural treatment for better hormones and better periods and provides practical solutions using nutrition, supplements, and natural hormones.  Now in its second edition, the book has been an underground sensation and has worked to quietly change the lives of tens of thousands of women. Lara has helped thousands of women find relief for period problems such as PCOS, PMS, endometriosis, and perimenopause and currently has consulting rooms in Christchurch, New Zealand.   In this episode, we talk about: The main hormonal phases for women, puberty, fertility, perimenopause and menopause What is a healthy cycle What is ovulation and why it is so important even if you don’t want to get pregnant How to know if you’re ovulating The signs that might make you think you’re ovulating Mucus changes The Fertility Awareness Method Progesterone and why it's so important What things like PMS, heavy bleeding, pain, long cycles, long bleeds and anovulatory cycles are trying to tell you about your health. PCOS and how it is overly diagnosed Hypothalamic amenorrhea - lack of period Hair loss, hot flushing Insulin resistance Low thyroid hormone - often mistaken for perimenopause with a lot of my clients What happens when you train according to your cycle Hashimotos disease Why we both don't like the term oestrogen dominance Fasting window according to circadian rhythms is enough of a fast Training fasted How many calories women need to eat for healthy ovulation   I highly recommend signing up to Lara’s newsletter on her website. https://www.larabriden.com   And her book Period Repair Manual is a must for all women and all men working with women. https://www.larabriden.com/period-repair-manual/ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.