The Precision Health with Mirthe Podcast

Why you want to make sure your thyroid levels are OPTIMAL, and not just NORMAL. Do you have symptoms that you think could be related to your thyroid, but you’ve had your thyroid checked on your latest blood panel, and all was ‘fine’? Common symptoms related to a sluggish thyroid include: 👉🏻 Weight gain 👉🏻 Low energy 👉🏻 Hair loss 👉🏻 Low mood 👉🏻 Cholesterol levels that are creeping up 👉🏻 Difficulties conceiving/ infertility Did you know that most lab reference ranges are based on the average of the population, not optimally healthy individuals.. what that means for your thyroid is that while you might have gone to your GP to run a thyroid panel, and they came back as ‘fine’, chances are they might be outside the optimal range, contributing to niggly thyroid related symptoms such as weight gain, low mood and energy, or worse, contribute to the development of atherosclerosis and cardiovascular issues. Often basic blood panels also only look at TSH - a pro-hormone, which does not tell us the full story of what is actually going on with your thyroid health. Check out my latest blog post where I go into detail on what thyroid markers you want to add to your next health check, and what ranges they should be in, if you want to be more proactive and take control of your health trajectory… So that you can look and feel better not only now (optimal thyroid hormone levels are needed for weight loss, hair, mood and energy levels), but also in the long run (ie better longevity, prevention of strokes, heart attacks, cancers and more!). Find the full blog post with the reference ranges and links to research to back it up here: https://mprecisionhealth.com/making-sense-and-optimising-your-thyroid-lab-results/

The breakfast debate – better to skip and fast, or is breakfast still the most important meal of the day?
 
With some influencers touting the benefits of fasting for health and longevity, with others promoting that one has to eat right after waking, in order to keep the metabolism and hormones healthy, it is easy to get confused.
 
But what is the truth?
The answer sadly is not quite that clear cut … and the daily eating schedule that is best for you might not only depend on the best timing science tells us, but other factors, such as work and social commitments too.
 
In today’s episode I will dive into what science says on meal timing, breakfast, intermittent fasting, and their impact on hormones, cellular health (ie inner anti-ageing, longevity promotion and ill health prevention), metabolism and hunger, so that at the end you hopefully feel equipped to make a better and educated choice on when and how to eat and fast, to suit not only your health goals, but also your life!

Do you struggle with hormonal issues, such as PMS, PCOS, acne, painful periods, endometriosis, fibroids or other, and have been told that the only solution is to go on the pill? But you’d like to naturally support your cycle with dietary and lifestyle choices? In this episode I will dive into some of the most important underlying dietary and lifestyle trigger for hormone imbalances.
 
In the next episode I will elaborate on some of the easiest dietary and lifestyle tweaks you can do to upgrade your hormones and bring them back into balance, stay tuned!
 
----- Get your FREE ebook on '12 Tweaks to Beat the Bloat & Get Rid of That Muffin Top for Good - & Why it matters' here:
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In this first part of a Masterclass on Female Health and Hormones, Functional Medicine practitioner Mirthe Eckl addresses common female issues like PMS, painful periods, PCOS, recurring vaginal infections, anxiety, endometriosis, cysts and fibroids, bloating, a sluggish metabolism and perimenopause chaos like hot flashes and weight gain around the middle - that many of us have been told to ‘just live with’ (or go on the pill to suppress symptoms). She dives into the underlying biology of hormone imbalances like estrogen dominance, low progesterone and high testosterone levels, such as from chronic inflammation, food intolerances, gut and vaginal microbiome imbalances, chronic infections, nutrient deficiencies, chronic stress, blood sugar spikes and more. If you are interested in learning more on how to address these imbalances with simple dietary and lifestyle tweaks with maximum effect to support the natural cycle and hormones, what supplements to take, and also which testing to do to dive a little deeper and get to the root cause of what is going on, then reach out to me via mirthe@functionalmedicine.me.uk to access the full Masterclass.

In this episode I dive into how stress can mess with our hormones and cycle. Stress, and being in constant fight-or-flight, also called 'The Rushing Woman Syndrome' often is the missing link to why hormones are in chaos despite trying to eat well, exercising, etc. Learn how stress is linked to estrogen, progesterone, ovulation, fertility, having purpose, and what to do about it.
 
Join me for an 8 week hormone reset, live on zoom (with recordings for those that cannot make the live sessions!) - January 31st - March 20th, 2024. Learn how and when to eat, fast, implement keto and carb cycling, sleep, manage stress, move, and more such as how to implement saunas, clean up your body care products, and more. To find out more or sign to, head to https://functionalmedicine.me.uk/nad/

Why you may not be getting enough even if you are supplementing, why it matters, and how to fix it.

To drink Diet Coke or real coke - or should there be a third option?Aspartame, the zero-calorie sugar substitute used to sweetened Diet Coke, but also many other ‘diet’ and ‘sugar free’ products on the market, has just been classified as a type 2B carcinogen (=possibly contributing to the development of cancer) by the @whoI have done a dive into the research on how aspartame (and at what dose!) can affect your health, beyond its possibly carcinogenic effects, plus those of some other sugar substitutes and sugar itself.Listen to it in this episode, or read the details in my latest blog post here: https://functionalmedicine.me.uk/2023/07/15/sugar-and-aspartames-impact-on-health/I’d love to hear your thoughts - will you still drink diet coke?

While much has been done to achieve a longer life span in the recent decades, and average life expectancy now being much higher than just a century ago, research has only just started to catch up on improving the quality of life in those years.
 
While age-related illness such as cardiovascular disease, Alzheimer’s, type 2 diabetes have become so common that they are almost accepted as a ‘normal’ part of ageing, research in the past years has shed light onto a new fascinating area, called ‘health span’ and anti-ageing. Health span research looks into how best to keep one healthy as we get older, as to enjoy a high quality of life, void of ill health, for as long as possible.
 
One of the leading researchers in that field, Professor David Sinclair from Harvard Medical School, has become known for his team’s discovery of the ‘9 Hallmarks of Ageing’ (1) describing what underlies age related decline, including mechanisms like ‘zombie cells’ (senescent cells) accumulating and more. In easier words, it is damage to our cells that accumulates, and our renewal capacity not being able to keep up with housekeeping and repair, that, once it builds up, contributes to our bodily decline.
 
But what does that all mean in practical terms? What is one to do to extend one’s health span, and prevent age related illness and decline?
 
I am summarising the top 6 most important strategies to prevent age related decline and to optimise health in this video. To read it, head to my latest blog post: https://functionalmedicine.me.uk/2023/07/07/simple-steps-to-improve-your-health-extend-your-life/ 

While we have made tremendous leaps over the past century in extending how long we live and increasing our lifespan, we are living in an epidemic of chronic disease, with those added years not necessarily coming with good quality of life and health, also called health span.
 
Recent years has brought attention to the topic of health span, and how we can make sure we make the most of the years we have, and optimise health to be able to fully thrive. And while there are some advanced drugs and tools out there that take this to the next level, there are some simple tricks you can add to your daily routine that will make all the difference.

Listen in to learn about the different stages of stress, such as being wired yet tired, and how it can progress to burnout. I will dive into the effects these can have on our health, but also how inflammation, nutrient deficiencies and gut issues can contribute to mental health concerns.