Podcast Summary: Making Space with Hoda Kotb
Episode: Dr. Mindy Pelz on the Wisdom That Emerges from Menopause
Date: January 14, 2026

Episode Overview

In this heartfelt and enlightening conversation, Hoda Kotb sits down with Dr. Mindy Pelz—renowned women’s health expert and author of "Age Like a Girl"—to reframe menopause not as a period of decline, but as a transformative biological and neurological shift that empowers women. Together, they explore the science, daily habits, and mindset shifts that can help women embrace this phase and find strength, clarity, and self-compassion.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Reframing Menopause: Not Decline, but “Becoming”

• Menopause as a Biological Remodel: Dr. Pelz explains that menopause is not just a hormonal decline, but a purposeful brain and body transformation. Neurons associated with people-pleasing and external validation are replaced with those fostering self-knowledge and assertiveness.

  • Dr. Pelz: "Your brain is remodeling itself... The neurons that kept you addicted to everybody else's opinion of you go away and you start to build new neurons that make you more introspective. You turn within and you’re like, 'What do I want?'" (07:41)

• A Large Part of Life: Over 42% of a woman’s life is potentially post-reproductive; this period is a significant and meaningful time worthy of investment and understanding.

  • Dr. Pelz: "We live 42.5% of our life, if we're lucky, post-reproductively. That’s a large part of our life." (04:03)

2. Menopausal Symptoms as Messages

• Physical & Emotional Shifts: Both Kotb and Pelz discuss common symptoms: brain fog, depression, anxiety, and memory loss.
• Temporary, Not Permanent: Dr. Pelz reassures listeners that the symptoms are part of a brain and hormonal "remodel"; it’s chaotic like home renovation, but purposeful.
  • Dr. Pelz: "It’s like a kitchen remodel. You wouldn’t walk into the middle of the dust and be like, 'When is this gonna be done?'... It’s purposeful." (06:17)

3. Lifestyle Tweaks for Brain & Body Health

• Connections Matter: Genuine interpersonal connections produce oxytocin, which reduces stress hormones and supports hormone balance.

  • Dr. Pelz: "When you connect with another human, oxytocin comes in. Oxytocin brings down cortisol... By bringing stress down, you become more insulin sensitive. All of your sex hormones start to balance." (09:28)

• Declutter for Mental Clarity: Creating calm physical environments supports the chaotic remodel happening in the brain.

  • Dr. Pelz: "Just know there’s a lot going on up there as your remodels itself. Can you make your environments feel calm?" (11:28)

• Storytelling for Memory: Sharing stories from one’s past exercises the brain and helps regenerate connections that support memory.

  • Dr. Pelz: "When we tell a story about something in the past, we are actually exercising our brain and making it go back into the memory center." (11:41)

4. Nutrition & Fasting

• Your Diet Needs to Evolve: Foods that worked in your 30s may not suit your needs in your 40s or 50s. Dr. Pelz champions whole foods—proteins, vegetables, legumes, tubers (especially sweet potatoes for magnesium and gut health).

  • Dr. Pelz: "The diet that you thrived on at 35, you may not thrive on at 45, and at 55, it might really be damaging." (13:37)
  • Dr. Pelz: "Sweet potatoes are amazing... they feed your microbiome, regulate your blood sugar." (14:31)

• Fasting, Ketones, and Metabolic Flexibility: As estrogen declines, the brain uses glucose less efficiently; shifting to ketone fuel via intermittent fasting helps clear brain fog, improve mood, and aids weight loss.

  • Dr. Pelz: "As you go through menopause, your brain slants more towards a lower glucose diet." (15:04)
  • Dr. Pelz: "Intermittent fasting—13 to 15 hours—helps you switch to a fat burning energy system... The brain fog goes away, the depression, the anxiety goes away." (16:12)

• Fasting in Practice: Details on fasting windows, what you can drink (black coffee, full-fat cream), and the importance of protein for the first meal and per workout needs.

5. Exercise & Sleep

• Fasted vs. Fed Workouts: Fasted cardio promotes fat loss; protein is helpful before strength training—protein powder in coffee or amino acid supplements are practical hacks.

  • Dr. Pelz: "When you go in a fasted state to the gym... it’s gonna burn fat to find glucose." (20:10)
  • Dr. Pelz: "For strength training, amino acids are incredibly important before a workout." (20:34)

• Sleep and Light: Estrogen was the body's "timekeeper," and its loss disrupts sleep cycles. To recalibrate circadian rhythms, seek natural light in the morning/midday, use red lights at night to mimic sunset, and lower bedroom temperatures by 2 degrees at night.

  • Dr. Pelz: "When you get up in the morning and you see the sun rise, your eyes register that and send a message to the timekeeper in the brain and say, 'It’s daytime, turn off melatonin.'" (28:16)
  • Dr. Pelz: "You need your core body temperature to go down by 2 degrees." (30:09)

• Self-Soothing Routines: Meditation, yoga, chanting, and box breathing calm the nervous system and improve sleep quality.

  • Hoda Kotb: "It’s like you have a bunch of lake water in a jar and you shake it, then you watch how it drops down. I feel that way when I’m meditating." (33:08)

6. Stress & the “Sandwich Generation”

• Impact of Chronic Stress: In midlife, caring for aging parents and children ("sandwich generation"), many women are maxed out. The adrenal glands take over estrogen production in menopause; if already overwhelmed, this can lead to the worst symptoms.

  • Dr. Pelz: "Having a highly stressed, rushing life is a recipe for menopausal madness." (35:41)

• Learning to Make Space for Yourself: The huge mindset shift in menopause is transitioning from self-sacrifice to self-care, which can initially unsettle families and partners.

  • Dr. Pelz: "You might have been getting a lot of worth from caring for everybody else." (36:45)
  • Dr. Pelz: "I put an appendix to men in this book... so that women could hand the book and just say, here you go." (37:02)

7. Hope, Agency, and the Hero’s Journey

• Temporary Turbulence, Brighter Horizon: Symptoms are temporary; what emerges is a liberated, self-aware woman ready for the next joyful chapter.

  • Dr. Pelz: "Your brain is remodeling itself so that you can start living life on your terms. You’re in a temporary stuck spot." (38:30)
  • Dr. Pelz: "Don’t wait for a hero to show up and make this menopausal experience amazing for you. Be your own hero." (39:02)

• Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT): Helpful for some, but not a universal fix. Symptoms can indicate deeper life dissatisfaction—suppression may miss the opportunity for transformation.

  • Dr. Pelz: "It’s not a one size fits all... you need to have an OB that you’re really working closely with... Maybe the depression, maybe the rage is because there are parts of your life you don’t want to play anymore." (39:56)

• Finding One’s Voice: There is a cultural shift—women are increasingly naming their needs, saying “no,” and finally doing life on their own terms.

  • Dr. Pelz: "What happens at menopause is this massive remodeling and this neurochemical shift wakes us up: 'I don’t wanna play that game anymore.'" (41:44)
  • Hoda Kotb: "It takes so long to find your voice." (41:27)

8. Personal Rituals and “Making Space”

• Dr. Pelz’s Ideal Day: Meditation, nourishing reading, surfing (learned at 56!), hiking, chanting music, and doodling—all create peace, self-knowledge, and joy.
  • Dr. Pelz: "Every day, I get in the water, two hours a day I surf. There’s whales jumping, there’s otters next to me." (44:01)
  • Dr. Pelz: "At night, I sit in my room with red lights on and the chanting music, and I just doodle. What it does is let my thoughts sort of move through me from the day." (44:35)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• "I wanted to figure out why the human body would continue to thrive for a female once her reproductive cycle went away." — Dr. Mindy Pelz (04:06)
• "You're not a victim to this ten year experience. It's an opportunity to get to know yourself in a different way." — Dr. Mindy Pelz (09:39)
• "The brain fog goes away... because what comes with ketones is more dopamine, more gaba, there's a whole neurochemical shift just from eating [differently]." — Dr. Mindy Pelz (16:12)
• "We have outsourced so much of our worth and care to other people. Don’t wait for a hero… Be your own hero." — Dr. Mindy Pelz (39:22)
• "What happens at menopause is this massive remodeling and this neurochemical shift... we’re like, 'You know what? I don’t want to play that game anymore.'" — Dr. Mindy Pelz (41:44)
• "If you had a clean slate… how would you spend that day?"
  "I meditate. I always try to put something good into my brain through a book… I surf… I walk, and at night I doodle... just letting my thoughts move through me." — Dr. Mindy Pelz (42:46–44:35)

Useful Timestamps

• 03:27 - The "mama bears" and origins of Dr. Pelz's menopause research
• 06:17 - Explanation of the neurological "remodel" during menopause
• 09:28 - The biological benefits of connection and oxytocin
• 11:41 - Storytelling as memory exercise
• 15:04 - Why intermittent fasting helps brain fog and mood
• 20:10 - Exercise tips: fasted vs. fed workouts
• 28:16 - How light exposure resets sleep cycles in menopause
• 35:41 - The crushing impact of stress during perimenopause
• 39:02 - Take charge: "Be your own hero"
• 41:44 - The cultural importance of finding women’s authentic voices
• 42:46–44:35 - Dr. Pelz's personal rituals and ways of "making space"

Tone & Style

This episode blends the warm, practical energy of Hoda Kotb with Dr. Pelz's blend of science-backed advice, gentle encouragement, and real-life stories. Dr. Pelz is upbeat, compassionate, and empowering in her approach, consistently validating women’s experiences while urging self-advocacy and lifestyle experiments.

For Listeners

Whether you’re moving through menopause or supporting someone who is, this episode reframes the discussion as a story of hope, agency, and self-discovery. It’s packed with actionable tips and mind shifts to make this period not just bearable, but a powerful new beginning.

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