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The Superwoman CodeAuthor: Dr. Ashley Margeson, ND
Searching for the most kickass version of yourself? Each episode we dive into the science of lifestyle to bring a little inspiration to your life - from periods, to mental health, to relationships and to the Superwomen walking among us; The Superwoman Code is a raw and real deep dive into thriving in the modern day world. Join host and Naturopathic Doctor, Dr. Ashley Margeson; natural women's health expert and hormone whisperer as she navigates the world of women's health and shares her experiences, research and favourite wines (of course!) to help you become the Superwoman you always knew you could be - on your own terms. Language: en Genres: Business, Entrepreneurship, Health & Fitness Contact email: Get it Feed URL: Get it iTunes ID: Get it |
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Hormone Health Is Preventative Health: What Your Periods, Pregnancy & Perimenopause Can Tell You About Future Health
Episode 147
Sunday, 30 August, 2026
Welcome to SEASON SEVEN, Superwomen! I'm so excited to be back in your listening ears, and I'm truly pumped for what this season is going to look like. This podcast started in 2019, pulled us all through the last seven years, and we are now entering the 147th episode, in the seventh season. Holy cow! Today on the podcast, I'm asking a very important question... "What if your periods could give us clues about the health you'll need to protect ten, twenty or thirty years from now — even if there was never anything "wrong" with them?" We'll explore why hormone and reproductive health belong in the preventative-health conversation. We look at what menstrual cycles, pregnancy history, PCOS, perimenopause and menopause can tell us about cardiovascular health, metabolic health, body composition, bone and healthspan. But this isn't an episode about looking for hormone problems. A normal menstrual history is information. An uncomplicated pregnancy is information. The timing and pattern of perimenopause are information too. We'll look at how reproductive history can help us understand health trajectory earlier — and why something doesn't have to be wrong before it becomes useful information. Hormones are data, not destiny. The goal is to use that data to build better preventative-health plans long before we're treating the outcomes we're trying to prevent. RESEARCH USED IN THIS EPISODE Global Healthspan-Lifespan Gaps Among 183 WHO Member States — Garmany & Terzic, JAMA Network Open, 2024. This is the study behind the discussion that women have a wider healthspan-lifespan gap than men. JAMA Network Open full article | PubMed Menstrual Cycle Regularity and Length Across the Reproductive Lifespan and Risk of Cardiovascular Disease — Wang et al., JAMA Network Open, 2022; 80,630 women followed for 24 years. JAMA Network Open full article | PubMed Menstrual Cycle Regularity and Length Across the Reproductive Lifespan and Risk of Premature Mortality — Wang et al., BMJ, 2020; 79,505 women followed prospectively. PubMed Association Between Reproductive Life Span and Incident Nonfatal Cardiovascular Disease — Mishra et al., JAMA Cardiology, 2020; pooled data from 307,855 women. JAMA Cardiology full article | PubMed Adverse Pregnancy Outcomes and Cardiovascular Disease Risk: Unique Opportunities for Cardiovascular Disease Prevention in Women — American Heart Association Scientific Statement, Circulation, 2021. PubMed Gestational Diabetes and the Risk of Cardiovascular Disease in Women: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis — Kramer et al., Diabetologia, 2019; more than 5.3 million women. PubMed Hypertensive Disorders of Pregnancy and Risk of Cardiovascular Disease-Related Morbidity and Mortality — systematic review/meta-analysis involving more than 13 million women. PubMed Menopause Transition and Cardiovascular Disease Risk: Implications for Timing of Early Prevention — American Heart Association Scientific Statement, Circulation, 2020. This is one of the most important papers supporting the episode's preventative-health framing of perimenopause. PubMed Are Changes in Cardiovascular Disease Risk Factors in Midlife Women Due to Chronological Aging or to the Menopausal Transition? — SWAN; Matthews et al., JACC. The study separating age-related changes from menopause-associated changes in LDL, total cholesterol and ApoB. PubMed Changes in Body Composition and Weight During the Menopause Transition — SWAN; Greendale et al., 2019. Fat gain accelerated and lean mass declined around the menopause transition without a corresponding acceleration in overall weight gain. PubMed Abdominal Visceral Adipose Tissue Over the Menopause Transition and Carotid Atherosclerosis — SWAN Heart Study, 2021. PubMed Bone Mineral Density Loss in Relation to the Final Menstrual Period — SWAN; Greendale et al., 2012. The research behind our discussion of the accelerated bone-loss window around menopause. PubMed
