Meet Cindy And Her Mission

SPEAKER_01 0:02

Welcome to Hormone Heroes, where I share testimonials from real people who have experienced bioidentical hormone therapy. Men and women share the symptoms they have experienced and the difference proper hormone replacement has made. I'm your host, Dr. Kelly Hopkins, and I have been in the functional medicine space for over 30 years, with a focus on hormones for 20 years. Please keep in mind this podcast is for educational and entertainment purposes only. Please consult with your physician or practitioner for medical advice. Let's get started with today's guest. Hello and welcome to the podcast. Today I have a very special guest. Her name is Cindy Dupuy. She is a functional medicine dietitian, practitioner, and you're a what do you call it? I call it a meno guide. I love that for menopause, a menopause guide. That's great. She received her degree in dietetics and food administration from Cal State in Long Beach. So she's in the beautiful state of California. And when you see her on video, she's definitely got California vibes. She's beautiful. And Cindy is her practicing. What's the name of your website? It's a natural balance. Is that right? It's called the Living Balance. A Living Balance. Yes.

SPEAKER_02 1:33

Or double.net. I know it's a different one. A living balance.net. No, I know. Everyone else gets that same thing. Yes.

SPEAKER_01 1:41

All right. Awesome.

SPEAKER_02 1:42

Well, welcome to the podcast, Cindy. Thank you, Dr. Kelly. That was a really sweet and nice introduction.

SPEAKER_01 1:49

We're just a couple of girls having fun, aren't we? Yes. Yes. Well, tell us a little bit about your journey. You mentioned that you started this 18 years ago into the functional medicine realm.

Early Menopause And Finding Functional Medicine

SPEAKER_02 2:02

Yes. Well, got me started. I mean, yes, I did get my degree in dietetics and food administration a long time ago. And then I didn't do anything with it. I got married, had kids, worked for my husband at the time. And then about early 40s, I was going through a divorce and I was really struggling and had a lot of digestive issues and stumbled across Dr. Mark Hyman and then so stumbled across the Institute of Functional Medicine. They were having their six-day training here in Pasadena, and I went, I gotta go. And during that training, I realized that I had found my tribe and found and got me back into the body and helped me heal myself. I was able to heal my digestive system. And that's what got me all going. And I studied and worked and learned as much as I possibly could and then opened up a practice. And, you know, I call myself a generalologist. You know, we have all these allogists in Western medicine, and there might be a need for that. I'm not saying there isn't. But, you know, end up coming to people like me and like you when they're not getting help by the Western medicine paradigm. So that's what got me into functional medicine. And at the same time, I went into an early menopause. I was at 43 when I went into menopause. Stress can do that. Stress can do that. Yeah. And I also had lost quite a bit of weight. So my wife says, We're not making hormones. Sorry. Yes. And um, so the combination of the two, exactly. And so my perimenopause was from one week, and then the next month I wasn't my periods were gone. I went like that. It's like, okay, here we are. So that was kind of my perimenopause to menopause journey and journey into finding functional medicine.

SPEAKER_01 3:56

So divorce is hard no matter what the cause, and it does wreak havoc on our adrenal system and hormones, just like you mentioned. You also we talked about how you ended up being

Osteopenia Diagnosis And Standard Care Gaps

SPEAKER_01 4:10

diagnosed with osteopenia, which is a bone loss, the beginning of bone loss.

SPEAKER_02 4:16

Yes. And it's interesting because it happened this year. So I'm gonna tell you my age because I think it correlates with this, with what I'm gonna say here. So I'm 67, and this is the first time I've ever had a DEXA scan, a bone scan. Yes. And I had to ask for it. And most women are not offered it until they're age 65, which is ridiculous because most of our bone loss, as you know, happens in the first seven years of going into menopause. And so women are losing a tremendous amount, it could be up to 20% of their bone in the early part of menopause, but yet then they are not scanned for it until later part. So, yes, I went in and this was the telehealth call, and I did see my scans, and it was barely, barely, barely tiny into osteopenia. And the doctor got on the phone with me, and she's very old school, and I was already a little bit upset with her, but anyway, and some other things that she did. But her take on this was that I was to go on a biphosphonate. She didn't ask about or look at my family history, she didn't talk about diet, she didn't talk about, you know, what my exercise regime is, she didn't talk about lifting weight, she didn't, she just said calcium, really, and biphosphonates. And I already have, I mean, my digestive system is where my weak spot is, and so that was not going to do me any good there. That's what you think about that. And, you know, some women might be a little bit panicked that they have osteopenia, which, you know, again, there's a scale, okay. There's a range of osteopenia, and I'm at the very lower end of the range, but I wasn't because it's like, okay, we don't know when this bone loss happened. Did it happen 10 years ago and I've been maintaining? We have no idea, right?

SPEAKER_01 6:14

Right.

SPEAKER_02 6:14

Could I start lifting more weights? Sure, I can. Do I need to wash my protein? I'm pretty good about that. So there's a lot of different things you can do. And so, no, I wasn't worried about it because we have no context.

unknown 6:28

Right.

SPEAKER_02 6:28

We have no idea when this happened and if it is continued to happen. And that's the other thing I want to encourage women to do is first of all, ask your doctors. And many of them will do it if you have risk factors. And there's many, many different things. And I have a blog post that talks about different risk factors. So you can use that as like, I really would like it to have it done, and this is why. If they're not willing to do it, a bone scan, you can get yourself, and it's like what 50 to 75 bucks, I think.

SPEAKER_01 7:00

Depending on the facility, but yes, very affordable.

SPEAKER_02 7:03

Very affordable and very much worth it because we don't want to mess around with that. And the other thing is, is once women are diagnosed with, say, osteopenia and osteoporosis, they may not test you again for another two years. It's like, really? So I would say

Scans, Risk Factors, And Patient Advocacy

SPEAKER_02 7:20

either ask your physician or you know, pay out of pocket because it's not that much. And it's well worth know if what you are doing is helping or hurting or where you're at. So you can take control over that.

SPEAKER_01 7:34

Right. And if you went into menopause around the age of 43, then you had you've been in menopause 20-ish years. Yeah. And that's a long time to be without estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone. Let's go back to your initial illness and talk to us about how you personally healed your gut. What sort of testing did you do? How did you start digging up what you're so passionate about now? Okay.

SPEAKER_02 8:05

And anyone who has digestive issues knows why I'm passionate because this can be so uncomfortable and so debilitating sometimes. So I did happen to see a natural path, and this was interesting. And she did order the GI effects from Genova Labs. Okay. So we got that. It wasn't the entire stool test. It is, excuse me, yes, it is a stool test. GI Maps and Genova Labs both do a functional stool test where they're looking at the functionality. They test all different things, enzymes, fat, bile salts, search chain fatty acids. It's a very good, complete snapshot of what's going on in the digestive system for the most part. And, you know, it's interesting because this was 20 years ago, all right, more than 20 years ago. And she, I don't think she was looking for maybe her own specific things, but she missed a heck of a lot of what the test showed. So it was interesting when I was at the training with the IFM, Estimate Functional Medicine. You know, you start, you sit next to the same person, you come back every day, you're saying, so you, you know, start a conversation. And the gal is sitting next to, she was an atroph from Canada. And she goes, Well, do you have your tests? And I said, Yes. So I brought them in the next day. And she goes, You're not making any stomach acid. Uh-huh. And you're not absorbing any of your fat. And of course, stress, okay, sure, definitely affects stomach acid and depends on the person. So I started to down stomach acid HCl.

SPEAKER_01 9:40

And you take that right before meals, correct? If anybody wanted to try that. Yes.

SPEAKER_02 9:45

And that actually is, I mimics your stomach acid and it's very important for digestion

Gut Healing: Tests, HCl, And Enzymes

SPEAKER_02 9:50

on a lot of different levels. I could take 10 of them at that point in time with one. Wow. That is how little I was making. Yes, yes. You pour I think I also, yeah. But thank God I sat next to somebody who could say, you know, do this and try trade up to see what your tolerance is, right? And I didn't have H. pylori because H. pylorid can be a factor here. You know, that was tested for. And what I started to do is I started to take zinc carnosine to heal the stomach lining, started to do things to calm my poor adrenals down and to calm me down. That was a big part of it. Sure. Yeah. And then I think I also had SIBO, and SIBO wasn't a big deal. It wasn't really talked about. I had not hadn't heard of it. I think I probably did at that point in time. So I did a variety of things. I supported my body with the digestive enzymes with the HCL, did some candida protocols and some other protocols as well. Do you know who Dan Calish is? I do, yes. Okay, well, me too. So I happened to do a course, and again, this was like 20 years ago at least. And I realized I had, I forget what it was, but a parasite.

SPEAKER_01 11:04

Uh-huh.

SPEAKER_02 11:05

So, but you know, it just kind of all came together like a little patchwork.

SPEAKER_01 11:11

So, just in case listeners don't know what is SIBO, can you describe what that is?

SPEAKER_02 11:17

Yes. SIBO is small intestinal bacteria overgrowth. And most of our bacteria is supposed to be in our large intestine. Yes. It's not supposed to wander up to our small intestine. But when it does, it's very uncomfortable because when we eat certain foods, especially a lot of the healthy food spores, the bacteria will eat it and emit either hydrogen or methane gas. And so guess what? We get all bloated and uncomfortable. And it's not fun.

SPEAKER_01 11:44

So would you say bloating could possibly be an indication someone might have SIBO?

SPEAKER_02 11:50

Definitely. It could be an indication that somebody has SIBO, especially a pattern of bloating where it gets worse throughout the day.

SPEAKER_01 11:57

Okay.

SPEAKER_02 11:57

I will say low stomach acid can cause bloating. And I do ask my clients do you experience bloating right after you eat? And if that's the case, usually it's stomach acid in addition to, or just an issue with stomach acid.

SPEAKER_01 12:12

Okay, very interesting. So you worked with your body by healing your adrenals, doing some supplements, decreasing stress. You said digestive enzymes, HCL, which is hydrochloric acid, stomach acid. And what was the other couple of things you did for yourself?

SPEAKER_02 12:30

I did do a candida protocol.

SPEAKER_01 12:32

Candida protocol. Uh-huh.

SPEAKER_02 12:34

And candida is yeast. Yeast. Yes. I did show that I did have some overbirth of yeast. Okay. And you know, prior to all this, I had always had kind of an issue with constipation. Okay. So, you know, the digestive system of my family is a weak area. My mom had colon cancer. And I would say that she passed not from the colon cancer. She didn't pass from the colon cancer, but it was from the treatment that she received for the cancer. Oh. And I believe that she also had, you know, strictures as a result of it and overgrows. It was just, it was a mess. Yeah. She basically starved to death. That's basically what ended up happening. Oh, gosh. Um, I know. I know what a way to go, right? Yes. So that

SIBO Basics And Bloating Patterns

SPEAKER_02 13:20

is a weak spot. And either now or a little bit later, it would like to kind of bring this into menopause a little bit. Sure. Yeah. Um for it. What can happen into menopause? So anyone who's ever had SIBO or treat anywhere with SIBO knows that SIBO can kind of go back and forth a little bit. It can come back a little bit or it can come back with a vengeance. And part of that is we are not taking care of the underlying issue here. Sometimes seaboel can happen because we have, you know, ongoing constipation. And so things back up. We can have it because it can be triggered by intestinal bug. It can trigger it by that. You know, problem with peristalsis, a problem with bile, because one of the properties or one of the functions of bile is to sterilize our food. Same thing with stomach acid, right? Well, stomach acid sterilizes their food. So if you're not making enough there, there's a chance you're going to have more issues all and down the line. As we get into menopause, what can happen with some women, depends on your genetic makeup, is we can have a harder issue making bile. There is a process of combining so bile is made of bile salts, taurine, choline, and one other thing. I'm forgetting what it is. But anyway, it's a combination of it. And sometimes when we lose that estrogen, that ability to combine and have that enzymatic action happen to create the bile diminishes.

SPEAKER_01 14:51

And the bile is created in the liver.

SPEAKER_02 14:53

Yes, the bile is created in the liver, and then it goes to the gallbladder. And then when we eat a fatty food or a food with fat in it, then it'll go in, or just digestion in general, it'll go into the upper part of the small intestine. And interestingly enough, most gallbladders are removed in menopause. Right. And maybe right after pregnancy as well, especially if a woman, you know, has had more than two children. And part of that is baby needs a lot of choline. Uh-huh. So the body will shunt the choline that maybe mom needs for baby. If mom's not getting enough, she may end up with a problem with a gallbladder issue. What I found for me, and I had since done some genetic testing, and so I went, look at this. This is where history can also come in. Okay. Your family history is really important. And that is, I think we've always had problems with biome. Now I'm I've never had anything overt other than I have constipation issues, which can be a part of it, but my mom had gallbladder issues. There's other people in my family that have danders, dry skin, or will have to go to the bathroom, you know, where I have to eat something fatty. So obviously there's some familial issues with bio. It took about 10 to 12 years. And

Menopause, Bile, And Genetic Links

SPEAKER_02 16:10

was I on HRT then? If I was, it was a very low dose because that's it was given out at that point in time. Sure, sure. Yeah. So I think I was on a very low dose. And I was having such issues with my heels cracking and bleeding, and my skin around my fingers kind of cracking and bleeding. And I kind of went, okay, is it thyroid? Because that could be, right? Sure. Am I dry skin? Tested that, thy look great. And I thought, okay, is it a gut issue? Is it, you know, affecting my skin and the skin barrier? And I don't know. I don't think I think maybe it was Dr. Ben Lynch. So he's really big on the genetics part, and he has a supplement line called seeking health. But anyway, and he's pretty brilliant. He can go off sometimes, but he's pretty brilliant. I will look him up. Look him up. He's been pretty quiet lately, actually. At least he hasn't been on my radar. Anyway, I think I came across something there. And I started to take a supplement that would support making my bile. Oh my god. My cracked heels went away.

SPEAKER_01 17:20

Interesting.

SPEAKER_02 17:21

The little bit of constipation that I had left, all of a sudden that smoothed things out. And I do have a genetic SNP, and it's homozygous, which means I have it from both families, so both sides of the family, that does affect my conjugation of the choline to make bile. It's like hello.

SPEAKER_01 17:40

Wow. Yeah. And you discovered that just through your own research.

SPEAKER_02 17:45

Through my own research, which I'm learning and reading and listening constantly.

SPEAKER_01 17:50

So obviously the supplement contained choline.

SPEAKER_02 17:54

What was the name of it, just in case it's well, there's two different supplements that I might recommend. One is actually by Dr. Ben Lynch. Okay. And it's called Biolnutrients. And it's a nice blend. And then there's another one by Zymogen, which is XYMO G-E-N. And it's called Lipotropics or something close to that. Okay. I usually do the bionutrients more than the lipotropics. Lipotropics does not have magnesium in it. Sometimes I'll have a magnesium-sensitive client. So Okay. So you have a choice.

SPEAKER_01 18:30

Yes. Very interesting. So back to estrogen, your lack of estrogen. Yes. Decreasing the efficiency of the bile production. Yes. And you were on a very low dose, which probably wasn't enough to help.

SPEAKER_02 18:48

It wasn't enough to help my body do what it needs to do. And even though I'm on a much higher dose of estrogen now, and by the way, I was on a biased, of course. It was 80-20. So

Cracked Heels, Choline, And Bile Support

SPEAKER_02 19:01

even though I'm on a higher, I haven't played with it so much of pulling back the bial nutrients. I still haven't. Yeah, I don't blame you.

unknown 19:14

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 19:15

Kelly's kind of working.

SPEAKER_01 19:17

So when you're approaching a female patient that's perimenopausal or menopausal, addressing the bile production is huge. Do you want to follow up with any other approaches you have for a menopausal female?

SPEAKER_02 19:32

I think approach would be because the loss of our hormones affects every single tissue and organ in our body. Right. And our genetics are going to kind of determine where that's going to show up for a woman. Right. So taking a really good symptom assessment and family history, their history assessment, guides me then to where I need to focus for that particular woman and how to support her. And I think one of the biggest things that I like to do for the woman that comes to me, whether she's on HRT or not, especially for the woman who is not, I like to point her in the direction of getting as much knowledge that she can so she can make a decision on her own of whether or not she wants to pursue having HRT, being on HRT or not. It's her decision. Sure. But yeah. So educating a woman and supporting her.

SPEAKER_01 20:42

So do you have all your patients do genetic testing or do you encourage it?

SPEAKER_02 20:47

I don't. I don't. If someone is curious, I may recommend them to somebody else who does do that because it's the interpretation. It's not something that I feel comfortable with. I think it can be a nice tool, but to kind of go, oh yeah, this is why. It's nice to have, but I think if you're going to spend the money on that, I mean it's nice to have it. Okay. But if I was to spend my money or recommend someone spending money, I would rather see an organic acid test, an oats test. Okay. So we actually see what the body is doing with the resources that it has. Because genetics will determine how our body utilizes, you know, different vitamins and minerals and all of that. Okay. How well it is detoxifying both our hormones and our environmental toxins, and/or a Dutch test. And I think we get more bang for a buck. Again, seeing a Dutch test is a derived urine test. And it is a little bit pricey, but it tells us how we metabolize our hormones, estrogen, testosterone, progesterone, looks at melatonin, looks at our cortisol throughout the day, and looks at some of the organic acids as well. So I think I'd rather see that. And you know what? Just starting with good blood work.

SPEAKER_01 22:00

Yes. I feel a long way. Sure. Give us your list of typical lab tests you'll order. Okay. In normal, normal air quote

Estrogen Dosing, Protocols, And Lessons

SPEAKER_01 22:10

blood work.

SPEAKER_02 22:11

Okay. So someone's gonna come to me and I'm gonna give them a panel, right? Okay, for everybody. Let's not say they're in menopause or premenopause, not necessarily woman or not. Okay, so we have the CMP, CBC, which is the standard panels, a standard lipid panel, too. If you want to go deeper, you can. And then of course, the inflammatory markers. All right. So we've got CRP, we've got homocysteine, we've got sedate, ferritin, insulin. Okay. Dastine insulin. Dusting insulin, yes. Dusting insulin, yes. So those are my inflammatory markers. I always like to see a thorough thyroid panel. Sure. Which doctors don't do, right? What tests do you include? Okay, so TSH, which is what every doctor does, is your thyroid stimulating hormone, but it's not really your hormone. Right. I mean, it's not, it's not your thyroid hormone. And then always free T4, free T3, if we're lucky, reverse T3. And I always want to see the antibodies, thyroid antibodies, too, at least once. If it hasn't been done and if there's been a huge change, then I always like to see it. You know, and some people will say, Well, I already know I have Hashimoto's. Sure. And so my doctor won't retest my antibodies. It's like, that's because your doctor doesn't know that you can lower your antibodies by supporting your system, and that's what we want to do. Right.

SPEAKER_01 23:35

So much of Hashimoto's is controlled by food. Yes. And the gut. And the gut. Yes.

SPEAKER_02 23:42

Yeah. Yes. It is so much of it. It is amazing. Yes. It's amazing. And what else? I do like to see an iron panel. Uh-huh. No matter what. So that would include, you know, iron, total iron capacity. Thank you. What's my B for and for saturation? And of course, ferritin, which iron stores and an inflammatory marker. Yes. What else do I like to see?

SPEAKER_01 24:10

You do hormones, female hormones.

SPEAKER_02 24:12

I do. I don't necessarily do it on my perimenopause because it can be all over the place.

SPEAKER_01 24:17

Sure.

SPEAKER_02 24:18

It depends on where they are in their menopause travel. And I kind of base that on symptoms. I don't test least progesterone estrogen in my menopausal woman who's not on HRT because it'll show up normal because it's normal for menopause.

SPEAKER_01 24:37

Yes. And we explain that over and over every day. Normal is not optimal. No, it's not optimal.

SPEAKER_02 24:44

It's not optimal.

SPEAKER_01 24:46

Do you do any additional anything else? We do, we do everything you just mentioned. We will do some just we do micronutrient testing here through spectra cell, but just okay, we can get a few values B12 and folate, vitamin D. Vitamin D. Yes, that one's always huge. But yeah, everything you mentioned,

Testosterone, Hair, And Bone Building

SPEAKER_01 25:10

plus some a few micronutrients if we're not doing the big Spectra cell test. Do you do RBC magnesium and then zinc? Yes. Not all the time, not just kind of generally, but if we feel like someone needs those, we will do those. Okay.

unknown 25:27

Okay.

SPEAKER_02 25:28

Yeah. So we pretty much are on the same page with that.

SPEAKER_01 25:31

Yeah. I love fasting insulin. Yes. It's so nice to especially we do medical weight loss here in the clinic. And it's so nice to be able to tell people their insulin resistance and watch it decrease over time. Yes. Yeah. Okay. So that's for your females. And then what's your next approach? With my females, um, you have these lab results.

SPEAKER_02 25:58

When I after I have these lab results, then I pair them with what's going on symptomatically. And then we come up with a protocol, and often it is dietary. Okay. But a lot of people that come to me actually have been digging for a while. And so they'll come to me a lot of the times eating fairly well, but I'll have to tweak it. Usually I will have to tweak the carbs, the protein, and the vegetables. I mean, everyone's so focused on carbs and protein. It's like, okay, but we got to get the veggies in too, you guys. We got to get those green things in. It's really important. We got to get color in. Right. And then timing of eating and you know, at least a 12-hour fast at night. All these things, getting a woman to sleep, super, super important. Yeah. If we can get her to sleep, we can calm a lot of the things down. So just basically coming up with an initial protocol, usually, which does usually include some supplementation, some dietary changes, and some lifestyle changes depending on what her needs are. And if there's digestion involved in that, then that. And then I always do ask them to go back to their doctors asking specifically for this, this, and this, and we see how far we can go. And then I'm always looking for doctors who I can work with because a lot of the women that do come to me are, you know, 65 and older. And so unfortunately, they've missed that 10-year window. That if a doctor is going to prescribe, they often are not comfortable after that 10-year window after a woman has gone into menopause. So we have all these women who are 65 and older who perhaps have never been offered any type of hormone replacement, and then they're told that they're too old and that it'll cause blood clots, which it doesn't. And you know, we've got two decades of women who are just have been forgotten.

SPEAKER_01 27:55

Yes. Our oldest female hormone patient is 83.

Labs That Matter: Thyroid To Insulin

SPEAKER_01 28:01

And lots and lots and lots in their 70s. And so we will, if we're starting a female on hormone replacement therapy, we will, and she's been in menopause a while, you know, 10 years or more. We will start low and slow and give the body a chance to accommodate all that new nitric oxide and the flexibility of the vascular system again.

SPEAKER_02 28:25

And I love hearing that.

SPEAKER_01 28:28

I do. Yeah. And we just ramp up from there. So you mentioned you're on HRT. What are you personally doing?

SPEAKER_02 28:37

What am I personally doing? So right now I am personally doing a transdermal cream, a compounded cream per estrogen. And I'm kind of at a I like my higher doses. Yeah. I'll tell you, I'm playing with things, right? Yeah. We can be dangerous on ourselves. I'm probably at about four milligrams a day of my compound and cream. And then is it biased? Is it a combo? No. That's just just estradiol. Yeah. Okay. Just estradyle. And then I do a compounded progesterone. And I probably do about 70, between 60 and 80 milligrams a night. I do take a week off a month. I do. And you know, a lot of women will have a you know a breakthrough bleed with that. I don't seem to know how to do that. Even when my estrogen's gone way, way, way high. It's like I still don't like wow. But from the time there was a period I was experimenting. You know, the Wiley protocol. I do.

SPEAKER_01 29:48

Yes.

SPEAKER_02 29:48

So I believe this is like it wasn't called that, but it sounds like it's very similar. Where I wanted to experiment with that physiological dosing and the dosing. Where you change it almost every day, the amount of estrogen, amount of progestin you're doing to mimic a cycle of a fertile woman, right? Yes. And I must be a hyper absorber because I'm I don't feel right. And you know, estrogen can squash appetite.

SPEAKER_01 30:22

Yes.

SPEAKER_02 30:23

I couldn't get enough to eat. And I've never really had a big problem, you know, with an appetite. I mean, I can eat. Sure. But but this is like, I gotta eat. It's like, oh my god. And we tested my estrogen or we did we progesterone and estrogen. And um, I think I was like at 1500. I was way, way, way, way, way, way, way, way up there. So of course we cut it back, but I still and I didn't like it. So I'm just on a static dose. That's yes, that's what I I might zip it up a little bit. Now I know you do

Food, Sleep, And Lifestyle Foundations

SPEAKER_02 31:00

testosterone, and I hadn't been educated in that, and I'm ashamed to say that. But you know, we we get on, we get on board when we get on board, right?

SPEAKER_01 31:09

That's right. We we do better when we know better.

SPEAKER_02 31:12

We do better. I like that. I like that a lot. So it's just been kind of, you know, I've been on the journey of hormones and really finding out about it. So I can help my clients a lot more. So sure. I can come at it different ways. And testosterone, I do have testosterone cream. Didn't really know a whole lot and was a little bit shy about it. And I'm like, I'm fine, I don't need testosterone. And I've started to take it now. My hair, it could be something else, seems to fall out a little bit when I start taking even a minuscule amount of testosterone.

SPEAKER_01 31:46

Testosterone increases the hair loss, hair growth cycle in females, especially. And what it will do is the three phases are catogen, antigen, and telogen, I believe. And all that means is our hair has a cycle to it. And so initially, when someone starts testosterone, you might notice a little more hair in your hairbrush or in the drain of the shower. But we always point out that at the hair growth line, yes you see more hair, or your your hair stylist may see little sprigs of hair sticking. Yes. So, but we do test for if a female is losing more hair than is normal, we do test for DHT, which is dihydro testosterone. And then we'll address that if they are converting too much testosterone to dihydrotestosterone, which is what makes men and women lose hair, scalp hair. So, and then you know, we can come in with finasteride or something like that to combat that. But do you use salt palmetto at all? Does that work? We do you do? Okay. Yeah, we use dim uh diandolmethane. You probably use that. And we a lot of our supplements will have salt palmetal in them. Okay. Especially with, you know, for our men and their prostates and things like that. So yeah, that's a great supplement. But anyway. No, well, I was curious, and I think it's I think it's nice for everyone to hear it too. Yeah. Well, and females, young females, make 10 times more testosterone than estrogen. And so in our dosing, we actually give women testosterone to estrogen in a 10 to 1 ratio or close to it. So, and men make a hundred times more. So, we're not turning anyone into, you know, we're we're not changing a female into a male. Now, there are some people that want that to happen, of course. Yeah, but women in general, we just give them a nice youthful female dose. Okay.

SPEAKER_02 33:59

So, and

The Missed Window And Safer HRT Starts

SPEAKER_02 34:00

I like that. And I am, like I said, playing with it. And the last time I tested my estrogen in blood, it was still higher than probably it should be. And it was close to 300. So I'm trying to kind of like, well, let's give me a little bit of testosterone, let's see what that does. Uh-huh. So I can bring the estrogen down. And you know, the other thing that caught me with the testosterone was bone health and the fact that it will promote the building of bones, the osteoblasts.

SPEAKER_01 34:35

Yes. So eight percent a year, it builds back bone.

SPEAKER_02 34:39

And yes, and so going back to the osteoporosis, you know, estrogen is FDA approved for preventing uh osteoporosis. And I don't know any of my clients who have fairly you know late stages of osteopenia or osteoporosis, they have never been offered estrogen by their physicians.

SPEAKER_01 35:02

Yeah, it's a presentative right. Well, the biophosphates have a better return on investment line, than you know, a natural human substance. Yeah. At the end of the day, that's what's going on. Yeah. Well, Miss Cindy, tell us more about your website. I know you have a blog, you have two books that you've written. Give us a little download on what all you've produced in your career. What all I've produced in my career.

SPEAKER_02 35:35

Well, I do have a website. Like everybody else. No, but I do have a blog, and the subjects of what I put up there are about health, and I think they're very helpful. And you can scroll through that. If you go up to the blog, you'll see recipes, you'll see wellness. And I'm a foodie, I love food. And when I, you know, I'm recommending or telling a person, male or female, that I really want them to cut out their carbs and this and that. I want them to still enjoy food. So I try to find recipes that they can utilize so they still feel like they can have some bread. Like I have a rosemary almond bread, which is just about a bit bread, and it's easy to make. It's kind of a staple here. And I feel like I'm having some it gives my bread, you know. I found a new recipe for a grain-free non-recipe, N-A-A-N. So, you know, with Indian. Yeah, it's like it's so easy to make.

SPEAKER_01 36:38

The pictures are beautiful, made my mouth water.

SPEAKER_02 36:40

Well, good. I'm glad they aren't my pictures. I have to admit, I stole those pictures, they aren't mine, but I'm glad it made your mouth water. That was the whole idea. Yes. So I'm

Program, Recipes, And CGM Insights

SPEAKER_02 36:50

hoping people will take advantage of that. On, I believe, the first page. I should visit my website once in a while. The first page, you can click to download. I have Cindy D's paleo recipes. I think there's about 16 of them. It's just a nice little start inside that book. And again, the pictures are very pretty. I had a friend help me do it, put it together, and she's a graphic artist, so she's got a great eye. So that's fun. I do have a guide to essential blood work, lab work, and you can get that if you go into my Instagram onto my bio. My Instagram is Cindy underscore dupuy, my last name. So C-I-N-D-Y underscore and then D U P U I E. Yes. So you can get it to it from that. I launched a course just recently, and I'll be doing it again in January. I'm so excited about it because it feels like it's a culmination of 20 years in course, you know, of you know, I've done other courses for other reasons, and it's just felt like it was bringing it all together and it's specifically for women of a certain age. So the perimetopause and menopause, and the course is called Grace in Transition. And it's just guiding women into our later years with grace, with joy, with energy and vitality. That's everything that's behind it. And the course description, it is on my website. And I know you know this, but I don't know if everyone knows this. Is that to me, HRT is icing on the cake. It's the okay, it's the sweet stuff that just dials it in. It does make it sweet, in my opinion. Right. But we have to have a good foundation. So we have to have a good diet, we have to move, we have to sleep, we need to look at our digestive system, we need to look at our environmental exposures and toxins. We need to look at our um adrenals, thyroid, blood work. We need to support all of that. So that's what is done in that eight weeks. So it's just kind of putting bringing it all together in a community. We meet once a week. So that's kind of the newest thing. And the next time that will happen is in January.

SPEAKER_01 39:12

So yes, that sounds phenomenal. And if someone wants to sign up for that, they go to your website, they'll go to my website and I should go on on my website.

SPEAKER_02 39:25

And do I have a waiting list? I think I will go right after this call to make sure uh-huh they can sign up for the waiting list that's coming up in January. And to be honest with you, I don't know how much I'm gonna charge because this first one was a beta one. I charge just a minimal amount. And by the way, I offer a CGM as part of the course because I think that's important too, right? And tell us what that is. Oh, CGM is a continuous glucose monitor. And I think everyone should wear one at least once. And I do think there's

Working With Men And Real Barriers

SPEAKER_02 40:00

other factors, knowing your fasting insulin is really important, and you're wearing a CGM too for a lot of different reasons, but that is part of the program. And what I've done is since there's a beta, is I charge a very nominal fee. And then at the end of the program, I am having my participants, my ladies, you know, let me know what they felt like the course was worth. Should they have a good idea? Yeah. Yeah. So these ladies are gonna put the price on that course for the next. So okay. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 40:35

We've sort of we've focused on females, but you also treat men and children and you treat everybody.

SPEAKER_02 40:42

I do treat everybody, not so much children. If someone was to come in and get a little bit, I used to do more with children. And I find to really be effective, I am better when I hone in on a couple different groups and a couple different areas. I'm just better. I'm just better at it. Yeah. I can focus in on learning more, what the newest thing is, you know, all of that. Sure. I do love working with my men. They're different than women. I know you know that. And I love educating them. I don't necessarily, I haven't gotten into the hormone part with them yet. So I am a neophyte there. I feel like I know enough to at least have a conversation with them and at least tell them why I think hormone replacement might be good for them. Or if they're young, what we need to be working on, maybe not starting on hormone replacement. Same thing as my younger women. It's like, let's look at our adrenals, let's let's support some different areas first and thyroid, all of that, and see how far we get, and then go on to hormone replacement and what can happen if you start it too early, at least in men. Yes. So I do love working with my men. They often can be very, you know, their brains just work differently than ours do.

SPEAKER_01 42:02

What I've noticed, it's hard to get a man to eat differently. Sometimes females will be a little more pliable that way. Yeah. Meat meat and potatoes, at least in this part of the world where I live.

SPEAKER_02 42:17

You know, in California, it's a little bit easier. Because that, yeah, because the the even just eating out, they're going to be exposed to more healthier eating. It's just sort of being around

Final Advice And How To Connect

SPEAKER_02 42:30

them. Yeah, not to say that we still, I mean, I still have to go in there, but usually it's easier for them to do that. Yeah. It's not as foreign. Sure. It's not as foreign. So, and again, by the time they come to see me, usually they're pretty motivated.

SPEAKER_01 42:46

Sure. That makes sense. Yeah. Well, Cindy, you are a hormone hero and you've shown us very ideally how gut health and healing the body with food controls so much of our bodies, including our hormones. Is there any last parting words as a hormone hero you would like to say to us?

SPEAKER_02 43:08

You know, it's weird. I always get emotional. That's okay. I think that parting words would be listen to your gut. If you don't feel like you're getting the help that you need, there are a lot of good people out there who can help you and don't give up.

SPEAKER_01 43:27

That's great. Great advice. And we will have everything Cindy's mentioned in our show notes. But Cindy, would you like to give our listeners your phone number as well as your website one more time?

SPEAKER_02 43:41

Yes, my phone number is 949-370-9843. And I also also um would like to let them know that when they go on to my website, there is a very annoying pop-up. It looks like a chat box like you would, you know, chat in. No, it is a pop-up where you can book a 20-minute call with me, an introductory call, just to find out if possibly it, you know, we're a match. I find out more about you, you find more about me and what I have to offer. So that's a great place to start.

SPEAKER_01 44:15

Yeah, I thought I saw that. I thought that was great. So just there's nothing to lose. And you get to talk to Cindy. That's wonderful. Well, thank you so much, Cindy. We really appreciate your expertise.

SPEAKER_02 44:29

Thank you, Dr. Kelly, and thank you so much for what you're doing. And I am planning on finding out more about what you do. Excellent. Excellent. Thank you so much for what you do.

SPEAKER_01 44:45

Thanks for listening to Hormone Heroes. Take a moment to subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts so you don't miss the next episode. While you are there, help us spread the word by leaving a rating and a review. If you would like to share your bioidentical hormone story or need help finding a physician in your area, please email us at drkelly at hormoneheroes.org. That's D-R-K-E-L-L-Y at H O R M O N E H E R O E S dot org. We want you to be a hormone hero.