Podcast Summary: “What Men & Women NEED to Know About Menopause”

The Dr. Josh Axe Show – Featuring Dr. Mindy Pelz (Dec 18, 2025)

Episode Overview

This episode features Dr. Mindy Pelz, bestselling author and leading expert on women’s health and hormones, in conversation with Dr. Josh Axe. Together, they unravel myths and science around menopause, challenging the narrative that it’s solely a period of decline. Dr. Pelz explains how menopause can rewire women for wisdom, confidence, and leadership—while also diving into the science of diet, lifestyle, hormone therapy, and the essential role of mindset. This episode is packed with practical advice, paradigm-shifting science, and encouragement for women—and those who care for them—to approach menopause as a season of empowerment and transformation.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

Redefining Menopause: Not a Decline, but a Rewiring

• Statistics That Changed Dr. Pelz’s Perspective:
  • 45–55 is the most common age for suicide in women.
  • 70% of divorces are initiated by women after age 50.
  • Women may spend 40%+ of their lives post-reproductively.
• Purpose of Menopause (Anthropological, Neuroscientific, and Mystical Lens):
  • Menopause is a biological and cultural design for women to step into leadership, not obscurity.
  • [05:54] Dr. Mindy Pelz: “Our brains and our bodies are rewiring themselves for a new purpose in life…and that was actually the purpose to stand up in greater leadership in the world. We were not meant to be tossed aside.”

Hormonal Changes & Brain Health

• Estrogen’s Neurochemical “Bath”:

  • Estrogen stimulates 10+ critical neurochemicals (dopamine, serotonin, acetylcholine, oxytocin, etc.).
  • Its decline explains mood changes and brain fog in menopause.
  • [09:25] Dr. Mindy Pelz: “Every time estrogen comes in and she peaks... she stimulated dopamine, serotonin, acetylcholine ... which basically made you happy, focused, compassionate...”

• Rewiring the Female Brain:

  • Three big rewiring periods: puberty, postpartum, and menopause.
  • Menopausal changes prune “people pleasing neurons” and foster self-leadership and truth-telling.
  • [39:40] Dr. Mindy Pelz: “The rewiring itself is moving you towards a brain that can finally stop caring what everyone else thinks.”

Diet, Metabolic Health, and the “Primal Menopausal Diet”

• Metabolic Shifts:

  • Menopause impacts glucose metabolism; the brain is less efficient at using glucose and needs more ketones.
  • Symptoms are dramatically worsened if the metabolic system is neglected.
  • Most doctors are missing this link, treating menopause only with HRT.
  • [32:09] Dr. Mindy Pelz: “Menopause symptoms are exaggerated when the metabolic system is off. Most doctors are ignoring the metabolic system.”

• Primal Menopausal Diet:

  • Mimics hunter-gatherer post-menopausal diets: wild/grass-fed meats, fish (especially salmon), nuts, seeds, tubers (esp. sweet potatoes and yams), legumes, low-glycemic fruits, lots of vegetables.

  • Ancient wisdom: tubers feed bacteria that help break down estrogen (esp. purple sweet potatoes in Japan).

  • Eliminate ultra-processed foods, excess sugars, poor oils.

  • [16:10] Dr. Mindy Pelz: “Tubers were the main thing they [hunter-gatherer grandmothers] went to hunt for... The purple sweet potato or yam…might be the miracle food for the menopausal woman.”

• A1C as Key Health Marker:

  • Hemoglobin A1C is the crucial metric for menopausal preparation; high A1C predicts a turbulent menopause.
  • [23:35] Dr. Mindy Pelz: “If your hemoglobin A1C’s at 5.9, 6.0…get ready—it’s going to be turbulent. We need to get you metabolically healthy before you go into this experience.”

• Top Foods for Menopause:

  • Grass-fed beef, wild fish (esp. salmon), protein-forward meals, tubers/sweet potatoes, lots of vegetables, low-glycemic fruits.

Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT): Nuanced, Not the Hero

• Personalized, Not Universal:

  • HRT is not a one-size-fits-all “hero,” despite cultural messaging.
  • Many women need to address inflammation, metabolic health, and lifestyle first.
  • “Outsourcing power” to hormones or drugs is disempowering.
  • It can take years to find the right HRT combination; it’s not a free pass past lifestyle changes.
  • [18:55] Dr. Mindy Pelz: “When you put a woman on a medication…and it doesn’t solve her problems, she doesn’t blame you, she blames herself. So there is so much damage being done in this conversation.”
  • [27:10] Dr. Mindy Pelz: “HRT isn’t the hero. It’s the woman who was brave enough to change her diet and start fasting and working out.”

• Risks & Concerns:

  • Dr. Axe highlights possible HRT-breast cancer links (anecdotally and per patients).

  • Chinese medicine: exogenous hormones may turn off the body’s own taps; risk of “qi stagnation” (potential for cancer).

  • Both hosts agree HRT should only be after exhaustive diet/lifestyle changes.

  • [21:00] Dr. Josh Axe: “Do that first…Perfect your diet, supplements, and lifestyle…then if you still need HRT, use the lowest effective dose. But that’s not what’s happening.”

Supplements & Natural Compounds

• Core Supplements:

  • Magnesium and zinc (critical for hormone production).
  • High vitamin D levels (70–90+ for menopausal women), omegas (balance of 3, 6, 9).
  • Wild yam, black cohosh, shatavari—herbal supports for hormonal balance.
  • [54:11] Dr. Mindy Pelz: “The two that every woman should be bathing herself in is magnesium and zinc… Then vitamin D… And all the omegas.”

• Peptides:

  • Cerebrolysin (focus, BDNF support), GHK-Cu (“the copper peptide,” for skin and tissue health).
  • Excitement for emerging use of glandular bioregulators (esp. European research).

Sleep & Melatonin in Menopause

• Why Menopausal Women Wake at 2–3am:
  • Estrogen regulates melatonin; less estrogen leads to sleep disruption.
  • Solution: Leverage light (morning and night), movement (morning workouts), meal timing (daylight eating), cool temperatures at night.
  • [63:53] Dr. Mindy Pelz: “Your sleep was regulated by estrogen. You don’t have as much estrogen. So you need to tell that timekeeper where you are in the day…number one thing is light.”

The Grandmother Hypothesis & Culture

• Evolutionary Role of Post-Menopausal Women:

  • Elders were key to survival—gathered food, mentored, and "grew the brains" of youth with storytelling, transferring wisdom.
  • Neurochemicals (acetylcholine, dopamine) are stimulated in mentorship and physical presence.
  • Western culture shames aging in women, whereas other cultures revere wise women; post-menopausal leadership is essential but underutilized today.
  • [45:46] Dr. Mindy Pelz: “She found food, she shared knowledge, she created support, she grew the brain of the younger child…by all means, we’re evolutionary heroines in my book.”
  • [47:13] Dr. Mindy Pelz: “When you’re in that leadership/mentorship role, the dopamine you get in person…is 10 times the amount on Zoom or the phone.”

• Call to Mentor and Build Community:

  • Dr. Axe: “Women 40+, find some young women to go and mentor...it will bring so much value to your life as well.” [42:00]

• Connection Is Critical:

  • Strongest factor in health and longevity isn’t diet—it’s community, connection, and purpose.
  • Oxytocin system shifts in menopause; need for deeper connection, especially in marriage and friendship.
  • [49:50] Dr. Mindy Pelz (re: marriages): “When the kids go and you’re left with a post-menopausal woman…dying to calm her stress brain by connecting to you…the best thing you can do is go into her feeling state.”

Emotional & Spiritual Wisdom

• Menopause as a Path to Leadership and Truth:

  • Neurobiological changes prime women for increased intuition, confidence, and less “people-pleasing.”

  • Women must reclaim their postmenopausal power instead of internalizing shame around aging.

  • [36:03] Dr. Mindy Pelz: “There’s great news for women…those neurons go away and they make room for neurons that allow you to finally tell your truth…to stand up in a position of leadership…to live in a world that is designed by you. You are being rewired for leadership.”

Quotes & Memorable Moments (w/ Timestamps)

• On the new view of menopause:

  • “Our brains and our bodies are rewiring themselves for a new purpose in life…that was actually the purpose to stand up in greater leadership in the world.” – Dr. Pelz [05:54]

• The metabolic connection:

  • “Menopause symptoms are exaggerated when the metabolic system is off. Most doctors are ignoring the metabolic system.” – Dr. Pelz [32:09]

• On HRT:

  • “HRT isn’t the hero. It’s the woman who was brave enough to change her diet and start fasting and working out.” – Dr. Pelz [27:10]

• The power of mentorship:

  • “Find some young women to go and mentor and add value to… it will bring so much value to your life as well.” – Dr. Axe [42:00]

• Post-menopausal wisdom and leadership:

  • “The rewiring itself is moving you towards a brain that can finally stop caring what everyone else thinks.” – Dr. Pelz [39:40]

• On female community and connection:

  • “The dopamine you get when you are in person with somebody…is like ten times…as much as online.” – Dr. Pelz [47:13]

Key Segment Timestamps

• [05:54] – The evolutionary and neuroscientific purpose of menopause.
• [09:25] – How estrogen “bathes” the brain and what’s lost post-menopause.
• [16:10] – Why tubers (sweet potatoes/yams) are central to menopausal diets.
• [23:35] – Why A1C and metabolic health are vital pre-menopause.
• [27:10] – HRT’s place: tool, not hero.
• [32:09] – Doctors missing the metabolic angle in menopause.
• [36:03] – Neurological shift: menopause as a path to increased authenticity and leadership.
• [39:40] – Pruning “people-pleasing” neurons.
• [45:46] – The Grandmother Hypothesis and cultural wisdom.
• [49:50] – Need for connection and oxytocin’s changing role.
• [54:11] – Must-have supplements: magnesium, zinc, vitamin D, omegas.
• [63:53] – The biology of menopausal insomnia and actionable sleep tips.

Summary Tone & Final Takeaways

Dr. Mindy Pelz and Dr. Josh Axe strike an uplifting, empowering, science-backed, and deeply practical tone throughout. Their message: Menopause is not something to dread or medicate away, but a divinely engineered opportunity for transformation—if women have the right information, make empowered lifestyle choices, and embrace their new role as leaders and mentors.

Dr. Pelz’s new book “Age Like a Girl” is recommended for those seeking deeper guidance on thriving through menopause and becoming cultural “heroines” for the next generation.

Resources & Where to Find More:

• Dr. Mindy Pelz on YouTube and social media for deep dives and practical content.
• Books: “Age Like a Girl”, “Fast Like a Girl”, “Eat Like a Girl” by Dr. Mindy Pelz.

This summary distills the most transformative insights of the episode and provides a roadmap for anyone seeking to approach menopause as a season of power, wisdom, and vibrant health.