Your Body of Evidence Podcast

This episode addresses a significant clinical gap in the women's health content landscape: the neglected nutrients, the bidirectional relationship between nutrition and hormones, and the Australian-specific deficiencies that are silently driving preventable health consequences in women across every life stage.

Your hormones are not a life stage problem. They are a daily biochemical reality. Here is what the standard conversation is missing.

This episode talks about:

1. The bidirectional relationship of hormones and nutrition.
2. The 3 neglected minerals, zinc, copper and iodine and their specific impact on hormone health.
3. Hormone mineral levers of zinc, copper, oestrogen and progesterone and why they're so important for women's health.
4. The histamine hormone story, how your menstrual cycle quietly affects histamine and why you might only have symptoms at certain times of the month.

This episode is episode one of a two part series.

The second episode of this series will talk about the role of the uterus beyond fertility… and what a hysterectomy changes.

Can we stop saying: "People are scared of change" or "The brain hates change". There's a pop neuro myth circulating: "The brain fears change" or "People hate change". This is followed by an explanation that the amygdala sends off an alarm or a warning in the face of change.

Here's the thing. Sure, some change is uncomfortable, but the brain has an accelerator and a brake when it comes to change. And it's less about fear and more about a "decisional balance". The brain is assessing the cost of change, and sometimes it may resist change if there is risk or uncertainty... and that's protective, probably smart. The brain is also wired for trying new things, and actually novelty, curiosity, reward, belonging and pleasure will often motivate change pretty quickly.

Ever wondered why two people get the same health advice, and one follows it for years while the other has stopped by week two?

Personality does affect health — but not in the way it's usually sold. Of the five major traits, conscientiousness (being organised, disciplined, able to follow through) predicts health and longevity most consistently — not optimism or positivity. The reason is unglamorous: conscientious people are slightly more likely to actually do the things that protect health, then do them again tomorrow. In one study of nearly half a million people, low conscientiousness predicted poorer health, higher body mass and more substance use across every group tested.

But the effects are modest. Personality nudges the odds; it doesn't write the outcome. And conscientiousness isn't linearly good — the same drive for control is, at its extreme, a recognised vulnerability, most clearly in restrictive eating (with a signposted note and a companion episode).

I also walk through the other four traits, correct the old Type A myth (it's hostility that carries cardiovascular risk, not drive), place MBTI honestly, and cover what heritability really means.

The final third is practical. Traits aren't fixed. Low conscientiousness responds to environmental design and self-efficacy — small guaranteed wins — not to being told to try harder. And change happens through relationship, repetition and reframing, not fear.

The takeaway: you can't choose your temperament, but you can choose whether your plan was built for the person you actually are.

You have had blood tests and your GP has told you everything is normal. You don't feel like your normal self. Standard blood panels are designed to identify pathology, not to optimise function. Reference ranges are population averages. A result that falls within the reference range is not a result that cannot be improved.

In this episode Lisa reveals five functional tests that consistently reveal clinically actionable findings that a standard panel misses. This episode is about the gap between normal and optimal, and the testing that lives in that space. Specifically this episode talks about 5 tests that I recommend in addition to the standard set that you can ask for: fasting plasma homocysteine, whole blood histamine, plasma zinc and serum copper, four point salivary cortisol and vitamin D. Print the list of five tests from this episode and take it along to your next appointment.

You don't need to request all five simultaneously. Start with the ones most relevant to you and your presenting symptoms or concerns.