The Candace Cameron Bure Podcast

Episode: Asks The Experts: What do I do about Perimenopause and the Stress Hormone Rollercoaster?

Host: CandyRock (Candace Cameron Bure)
Guest: Dr. Tabatha Barber
Date: October 21, 2025

Brief Overview

In this episode, Candace welcomes back Dr. Tabatha Barber for an in-depth, practical, and compassionate discussion about perimenopause—the mysterious and often-misunderstood phase before menopause—and the broader hormonal rollercoaster many women experience in midlife. Together, they decode what perimenopause really is, why so many women are struggling today, the complex interplay of stress, gut health, toxins, and lifestyle, and provide actionable advice for understanding, navigating, and even thriving through this transition. With a blend of professional expertise, personal anecdotes, faith, and humor, Candace and Dr. Tabatha offer a vital resource for women seeking clarity, community, and empowerment on their wellness journey.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Defining Perimenopause & Menopause

• Perimenopause confusion: Candace shares how online advice left her unsure: "The internet told me, oh, no, girl, you're in perimenopause. You’ve been in perimenopause for 10 years because that’s when it starts." (05:01)
• Medical Clarity:
  • Dr. Tabatha: "Menopause is literally one day. It’s when you haven’t had a period for a year and you’re not on any hormonal birth control…Before that, there’s this transition of perimenopause." (05:27)
• Why confusion exists: The medical definition was vague, but social media and influencers have made perimenopause trendy—often labeling all midlife hormonal chaos as perimenopause even if it’s just hormonal imbalance for other reasons.

2. Symptoms and Misconceptions

• Classic perimenopause symptoms: hot flashes, night sweats, mood swings.
• Subtle symptoms often missed: joint pain, muscle fatigue, subtle weight gain, changes in vision or bowels, dry eyes.
  • Dr. Tabatha: “Really hot flashes, night sweats, mood swings are the classic ones. But before that, a lot of the time we see joint pain and muscle fatigue.” (26:30)
• Early body signals (e.g. change in menstrual cycles) often reveal underlying issues not strictly related to ovarian aging.

3. The Modern Hormonal Rollercoaster

• Why women struggle more now:
  • Changes in lifestyle and environment mean women today experience more drawn-out and severe symptoms than in past generations.
  • Dr. Tabatha: “20 plus years ago, it wasn’t a big deal. Women didn’t struggle the way they do now... So we have to ask, why is the internet telling you at 35 you’re in perimenopause?” (06:34)

4. Stress, the Nervous System, and Hormones

• Explanation of sympathetic ("fight or flight") and parasympathetic ("rest and repair") nervous system roles.
  • Dr. Tabatha: “If you are in constant survival mode, the ovaries are the first thing to shut down offline.” (12:14)
• Chronic stress disrupts hormone communication, gut health, and ovary function, often leading to irregular periods or missed periods, even in young athletes or women under emotional strain.
• Candace's personal PTSD/panic story: "I had flown to a city… and I immediately started hyperventilating… my body just took over." (11:41)

5. Gut Health, Food Noise & Weight Gain

• Gut infections and microbiome imbalances have surged, especially post-pandemic.
• Certain bacteria (Firmicutes, Bacteroides) increase appetite and weight gain: “There are two different bacteria...When they are out of balance, women are more prone to having ferocious appetites and gaining weight.” (16:00)
• “Food noise” is explained as a real, often gut-driven obsession or craving—addiction to sugar, gluten, or even yeast in the microbiome can biologically fuel cravings.
  • Memorable: “It’s not you, it’s them.” – Dr. Tabatha (23:05)
• Strategies: Use herbal supplements, address gut infections, rewire brain patterns, and give yourself grace.

6. Sugar, Gluten, and Yeast

• Sugar and gluten act like addictive substances, producing short-lived dopamine highs, followed by crashes and increased craving.
• Yeast overgrowth can cause cravings and even skin or scalp issues; conventional medicine often overlooks this connection.

7. Renewing the Mind & Faith Integration

• Creating new mental pathways is like forging new trails in the brain. Techniques include therapy (like brain spotting), biblical affirmations, and behavioral hacks (rubber band technique).
• Candace shares: “I did some brain spotting...thinking...renewing my mind with the thought that I want to think and not what I have naturally gone to all my life.” (25:00)
• Faith is central: “Pour those scriptures over you of what God says about you.” – Dr. Tabatha (25:30)

8. Alcohol & Toxins

• Alcohol taxes the liver, which then can’t process estrogen efficiently, leading to “estrogen dominance”—causing heavy periods, irritability, and weight gain.
  • “Even one glass [of wine] every night increases your risk of breast cancer by 23%.” – Dr. Tabatha (39:43)
  • “It’s the number one modifiable risk factor for breast cancer. Yet we keep blaming hormones. And it’s not the hormones, it’s the alcohol." (40:13)
• Sugar is another culprit: try replacing with fruit, increase chocolate darkness, remove artificial sweeteners.
• Women today face an onslaught of toxins—plastics, skincare, cleaning products, foods—that are "hormone disruptors", especially for estrogen and testosterone. Dr. Tabatha emphasizes the importance of reducing exposure and supporting liver detox.

9. Practical Detoxification & Everyday Advice

• Start by avoiding heating food in plastics (hot food releases more toxins into food), clean up personal care and cleaning products by referencing EWG.org or Yucca app.
• Toxin overload can also explain struggles with stubborn weight: “Your fat is actually protecting you. It’s keeping you safe from your toxic world.” (47:02)

10. Bloodwork and Root-Cause Health

• Routine lab panels are not enough; advocate for a functional medicine approach with complete hormone, thyroid, antibody, and infection panels.
  • Dr. Tabatha: “All you’re being told is you don’t have to be in the hospital, that your body is still enough in homeostasis... It is really not helpful. And it gives women such a false sense of security.” (52:11)
• Taking charge: Women can now order their own labs online and find providers who interpret results in an integrated way.

Listener Questions & Answers

1. What can be done about menopause “belly” and muffin top? (58:09)

• Dr. Tabatha: "Estrogen is like Goldilocks. It doesn’t like to be too high or too low. Both cause weight gain…stress hormone (cortisol) and insulin resistance also drive fat to the midsection… it is a huge health indicator, not just vanity."

2. How do you balance Christian faith and prioritizing fitness? (60:24)

• Candace: “Everything is permissible, not everything is beneficial... God gave us a body to take care of, but how do we not let it consume you?... It’s life, and it’s about intention.”
• Dr. Tabatha: "Whatever you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it for the glory of God... I promise you, He wants you to be strong and love your body and take care of it and be a good steward of it." (64:12)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On redefining perimenopause:
  • "Menopause is literally one day. It’s when you haven’t had a period for a year and you’re not on any hormonal birth control… So before that, there’s this transition of perimenopause." – Dr. Tabatha Barber (05:27)
• On stress and ovary shutdown:
  • "If we are in survival mode, run from a bear, we’re not going to go and get pregnant and have a baby. So the ovaries are the first thing to shut down offline when you are in constant survival mode." (12:14)
• On “food noise”:
  • "…that food noise is very, very real. And yet there’s friends that they’re like, I don’t know what that means… but the person who knows what that means, knows exactly what that means." – Candace (17:32)
• On shame and gut-driven cravings:
  • "It’s not you, it’s them." – Dr. Tabatha (23:05)
• On sugar addiction:
  • "It actually affects the morphine receptors in our brain and gives us a high for, like, 10 to 20 minutes when we eat it. So it’s like this dopamine hit… and then you crash." (21:10)
• On toxin overload and protection:
  • "Your fat is actually protecting you. It’s keeping you safe from your toxic world." – Dr. Tabatha (47:02)
• On advocating for your health:
  • "Take ownership over your own health." – Dr. Tabatha (57:55)
• On faith and embodiment:
  • “Whatever you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it for the glory of God.” (62:34)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• Intro, Perimenopause Confusion: 03:31–07:37
• What is Menopause, Medical Definitions: 05:27–07:37
• Stress, Hormones & Survival Mode: 08:38–14:50
• Gut Health, COVID, Food Noise: 15:04–20:39
• Sugar, Gluten, and Addiction Cycle: 20:39–23:08
• Renewing the Mind, Faith Practices: 23:08–26:01
• Symptoms & Early Warning Signs: 26:14–29:09
• Alcohol, Liver, and Hormone Processing: 35:09–41:48
• Sugar & Toxin Impact: 43:11–48:02
• Toxins & Environmental Impact: 48:02–51:03
• Bloodwork and Functional Medicine: 51:21–57:07
• Listener Q&A (Menopause Belly, Faith and Fitness): 58:09–64:12

Conclusion

This episode is an honest, faith-driven roadmap for women navigating perimenopause and hormone challenges, with science-based, practical tips for reclaiming agency over one’s health. Through the lens of functional medicine and spiritual encouragement, Candace and Dr. Tabatha break down the myths, validate women’s lived experience, and empower listeners to break free from shame, speak up for their wellbeing, and embrace the rollercoaster with support and hope.

To dive deeper, download the free whole body guide or join the Together Community for ongoing support and practical resources.