Podcast Summary: The Thyroid Fixer – Episode 582

The Menopause-Pet Connection: How Healing Your Pet Can Heal You with Dr. Marlene Siegel

Date: November 28, 2025
Host: Dr. Amie Hornaman
Guest: Dr. Marlene Siegel

Overview of the Episode

This episode dives into the unique and deeply intertwined relationship between human health—especially for women navigating thyroid, hormone, and menopause issues—and the well-being of their beloved pets. Dr. Amie Hornaman hosts integrative veterinarian Dr. Marlene Siegel for a transformative discussion on how optimizing your pet’s health can heal you too. Listeners learn about core root causes of disease (for both humans and pets), the power of belief systems and emotional connections, and actionable steps for building health from the ground up. Dr. Siegel shares her six-step healing blueprint for pets, which parallels holistic human wellness and offers an opportunity for mutual transformation.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Pet-Human Soul Connection

Timestamps: 09:17–11:36

• Pets as Soul Guides: Dr. Siegel discusses how pets can be “fur guides” who bring up belief systems and emotions for their humans to heal, describing the connection as spiritually significant.
  • “I think they are our fur guides, if you will, that are in physical form… It's in that quest to make sure that they have the best life possible that we start to open up and to learn.” (Dr. Siegel, 09:17)
• Mirrored Health Issues: She sees emotional and physical conditions often mirrored between pets and owners, sometimes down to organ-specific diseases.
  • “...the emotion that is attached to the organ system oftentimes will be reflected or mirrored in that particular pet. And it's almost like they're saying, here's your sign, and do you see it or do you miss it?” (Dr. Siegel, 11:36)

2. Belief Systems in Medicine & the Power of Curiosity

Timestamps: 12:00–16:42

• Challenging Standard Care: Dr. Siegel recounts a story where sticking to traditional diagnosis and treatment prevented optimal care for a cat, paralleling Dr. Amie's own thyroid patient experiences.
  • “Remain curious… Use critical thinking skills and discernment and your natural intelligence to figure out, is that really the right answer? Is that the truth?” (Dr. Siegel, 14:28)
• No Blame, No Shame: Both stress self-forgiveness for what we didn’t know in caring for our pets and bodies.
  • “No one is intentionally trying to harm that fur baby they love so dearly. Let's put that one to bed.” (Dr. Siegel, 16:42)

3. Disease as Dis-Ease: Deficiency & Toxicity

Timestamps: 16:42–24:03

• Root Causes: Deficiency in essential nutrients and excess of toxins (glyphosate, microplastics, etc.) are primary causes of modern chronic diseases in both pets and humans.
  • “All dis ease comes from deficiencies of essential nutrients… and the other half… are the toxicities.” (Dr. Siegel, 21:53)
• Example: Most pets on kibble are vitamin D and magnesium deficient, which cripples their innate immune system.

4. The Six-Step Core Healing Blueprint

Timestamps: 27:15–52:49

Dr. Siegel presents her structured protocol for restoring pet health (with direct parallels to human health):

Step 1: Stop the Harmful Inputs

• Diet: Feed a species-appropriate, minimally processed raw diet.
  • “...dogs do not have a digestive enzyme for vegetables… He can't even digest it. That was mind blowing.” (Dr. Hornaman, 34:37)
• Water: Use filtered or structured water.
• Environment: Address indoor air quality, cleaning agents, EMFs, and negative thought patterns.
  • “We need to feed them their species appropriate diet, which is not processed foods. If nature or God intended for an animal to eat a kibble diet, there would have been a model in nature that would have processed that and made a kibble.” (Dr. Siegel, 38:31)
  • "Opinions are like rectums, the butthole. Everybody has one, but some stink worse than others." (Siegel, 33:51)

Step 2: Supply Essential Nutrients

• Focus on appropriate vitamins, minerals, amino acids, fatty acids—especially those making up cell membranes (plant-based omega-3s/6s over fish oils).

Step 3: Heal the Gut

• Look for signs like poor appetite, recurring GI disruptions, itchiness as indications of leaky gut that needs intervention.

Step 4: Optimize Detoxification

• Address all six organs of elimination: kidney, colon, lungs, liver, skin, lymphatics/fascia.

Step 5: Support the Mitochondria

• Mitochondrial dysfunction leads to loss of cellular energy and disconnected (“rogue”) cells—rooted in both degenerative diseases and cancer.

Step 6: Clear Metaphysical & Emotional Blocks

• Address trapped emotions—often mirrors the owner’s emotional struggles.
  • “The number one theme that I see is helping people into either forgiveness for themselves or for others, and also to stop the blaming and shaming that is directed towards the self.” (Dr. Siegel, 52:08)

5. Pet Longevity & Breaking the ‘Norm’

Timestamps: 40:43–42:14

• Current “norms” for pet lifespan have regressed in recent decades, with an alarming rise in pet cancers.
  • “Dogs are living seven years shorter than they did 25 years ago. The appearance of glyphosate… has… been one of the contributing factors to decreasing longevity.” (Dr. Siegel, 41:19)

6. Action Items & Final Thoughts

Timestamps: 53:44–57:32

• Start with education. Don’t get overwhelmed; take one step at a time.
• Dr. Siegel now offers telemedicine and individualized consults, in addition to educational resources and courses for both pet parents and veterinarians.
  • “If I can't shift that belief system… we're not going anywhere… But we know what we know. We don't know what we don't know.” (Dr. Siegel, 53:44)

Notable Quotes and Memorable Moments

• On Growth & Learning:
  “When you know better, you do better.” (Dr. Siegel, 00:00 & echoed throughout)
• On Emotional Parallels:
  “Their trapped emotions are basically our trapped emotions.” (Dr. Hornaman, 52:00)
• Dr. Amie’s Vulnerability:
  “How did I go 15 years not knowing this stuff?...There is a lot of shame.” (Dr. Hornaman, 16:19)
• Mic Drop on Disease:
  “There’s no disease, Amy. I think there is dis-ease. When the body is not in balance, there is no homeostasis.” (Dr. Siegel, 19:29)
• Practical Wisdom:
  “Remain curious. Remain open to at least hearing what is being told to you. And then you can use critical thinking skills and discernment…” (Dr. Siegel, 14:28)
• Inspirational Closer:
  “I plan on being 120 and still going strong.” (Dr. Siegel, 57:16)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• Soul Connection & Mirrored Disease: 09:17–11:36
• Navigating Belief Systems in Medicine: 12:00–16:42
• Deficiency and Toxicity as Root Causes: 16:42–24:03
• Six Steps Introduction & Step 1 Deep Dive: 27:15–40:43
• Pet Longevity Truth-bombs: 40:43–42:14
• Six Steps (2–6) Outlined: 44:20–52:49
• Forgiveness as the Ultimate Lesson: 52:08–52:49
• How to Access Dr. Siegel’s Resources: 53:44–57:32

Resources & Follow-Up

• Dr. Marlene Siegel: drmarlenesiegel.com — for courses, tele-consults, products, and more
• Dr. Amie Hornaman: dramiehornaman.com — for functional thyroid and hormone health programs

Tone: Warm, honest, science-based, encouraging self-forgiveness, curiosity, and empowerment for both humans and pets.

Summary for Non-Listeners:
This episode offers a powerful invitation to see the inextricable link between your pet’s health and your own holistic wellness. Armed with practical (and sometimes mind-blowing) insight, Dr. Siegel’s approach demystifies why chronic illness is on the rise, shows how emotional healing is often a two-way street between pet and person, and empowers you to take an active, informed role in healing—without blame, shame, or overwhelm.