The Health Courage Collective

Jaksot

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  272: Why are Doctors so Divided About Hormone Testing? 16.09.2026 23min

  How to work with your perimenopausal hormones in a way that prevents or drastically delays the chronic diseases of aging shouldn’t be a hidden secret or controversial or confusing or seen as a matter of opinion or only available to people with the finances to self pay for services not covered by insurance.  But for now it is.So, what’s the deal?  Why don’t medical providers agree about the value of testing sex hormones around the time of menopause?www.healthcouragecollective.comLink to North American Menopause Society’s 2022 Official Hormone Therapy Position Statement: https://menopause.org/wp-content/uploads/professional/nams-2022-hormone-therapy-position-statement.pdfACOG faq page: https://www.acog.org/womens-health/faqs/hormone-therapy-for-menopauseiPolish Digital Press on Nails: https://ipolish.fashion/?srsltid=AfmBOop9LljxZfdtRvwTpZmMhgdStAlVjYQbnn0G7T-rozoGs7NL9I45Are you ready to give your cells their best chance to not have to stop living before they die by allowing them access to physiologic levels of hormones, but aren't sure how to even get started?  Join the waitlist for my new beta program here and help me figure out how best to help wonderful women like you get the hormone care they deserve!Join the Waitlist HereCome visit me: www.healthcouragecollective.comemail me: [email protected]
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  271: The Muscle Building Rules Change After 40 09.09.2026 23min

  One of the biggest drivers of the long, slow rot model of aging is the loss of muscle mass that accompanies aging.  There are forces at play that drive that age-related muscle loss.  But once you know about them, you can take countermeasures to overcome them and persist into old age with more autonomy and possibilities than people who don’t deliberately age with anabolic resistance in mind.  Not affiliate Links:Buy Fortagen amino acids here $105 for 45 servings roughly equivalent to 50 gm protein each - aa blend enhanced for anabolic growth.  Fasting and keto friendly.  Do not take with other protein sources.Buy Kion essential amino acids here $50 for 30 servings - roughly equivalent to 18 gm protein each.  Ok to combine with other protein sources.Are you ready to give your cells their best chance to not have to stop living before they die by allowing them access to physiologic levels of hormones, but aren't sure how to even get started?  Join the waitlist for my new beta program here and help me figure out how best to help wonderful women like you get the hormone care they deserve!Join the Waitlist HereCome visit me: www.healthcouragecollective.comemail me: [email protected]
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  270: Women Live Longer But Spend More Time in Poor Health 02.09.2026 18min

  While you may know that on average women tend to live longer than men, do you know how many of those years are lived in good health compared to men?  There are plenty of challenges unique to being female, but did you know that there’s a magic time period where we can jump in and dramatically change how our future is going to play out?  come to my website: www.healthcouragecollective.comAre you ready to give your cells their best chance to not have to stop living before they die by allowing them access to physiologic levels of hormones, but aren't sure how to even get started?  Join the waitlist for my new beta program here and help me figure out how best to help wonderful women like you get the hormone care they deserve!Join the Waitlist HereCome visit me: www.healthcouragecollective.comemail me: [email protected]
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  269: Waking Up at 3:00 AM during perimenopause 26.08.2026 22min

  Sleepio web based app with virtual therapistSomryst CBTI appCBTi coach free appInsomnia coach free appProvider directory CBT-I: https://cbti.directory/ Book: Quiet Your Mind and Get To Sleep: https://www.abct.org/books/quiet-your-mind-and-get-to-sleep-solutions-to-insomnia-for-those-with-depression-anxiety-or-chronic-pain/Your risk of all of the chronic diseases of aging, how healthily you age, and how powerful you’re able to be in your life are all affected by how well you sleep.  Good sleep is a tremendous advantage to all areas of your life, but unfortunately elusive for over 50% of American adults and up to 85% of perimenopausal women.  There are so many good and effective tools to try for improving sleep.  And while it’s great to have options, they can make sleep seem like a harder problem to solve than it is.  Different problems have different solutions, and sleep is no exception.  Where to focus your resources gets way easier to decide once you understand the 4 aspects of sleep and which one of them is tripping you up.  Poor sleep is absolutely a solvable problem, and worth the effort to finally figure out.  And you won’t have to do so by randomly guessing anymore.Are you ready to give your cells their best chance to not have to stop living before they die by allowing them access to physiologic levels of hormones, but aren't sure how to even get started?  Join the waitlist for my new beta program here and help me figure out how best to help wonderful women like you get the hormone care they deserve!Join the Waitlist HereCome visit me: www.healthcouragecollective.comemail me: [email protected]
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  268: Kindness Affects How You Age 19.08.2026 19min

  What things affect how well you age?  There are lots and lots of factors, but one of the funnest ways to boost your oxytocin, serotonin, dopamine, substance P, and overall healthspan is with kindness to yourself and others.  It improves your mood, reduces pain and cardiovascular risk and helps you live longer and stronger.  And the goodness is contagious.my website: www.heatlhcouragecollective.commy email: healthcouragecollective@gmailcomAre you ready to give your cells their best chance to not have to stop living before they die by allowing them access to physiologic levels of hormones, but aren't sure how to even get started?  Join the waitlist for my new beta program here and help me figure out how best to help wonderful women like you get the hormone care they deserve!Join the Waitlist HereCome visit me: www.healthcouragecollective.comemail me: [email protected]
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  267: Protect the Organ that's Protecting Your Future 12.08.2026 19min

  If you want a healthy future into old age, you need a healthy liver.  Fortunately, it’s extremely robust and pretty low maintenance, considering how much crazy complicated stuff it does. But at least 1 in 4 Americans has liver dysfunction, which will slowly steal some of their agency of what they’re able to do as they get older.  I think it’s worth 20 minutes of your time to learn how to love and protect your liver.  Did you know one of your liver’s best protectors is estrogen?  Come to my website: www.healthcouragecollective.comAre you ready to give your cells their best chance to not have to stop living before they die by allowing them access to physiologic levels of hormones, but aren't sure how to even get started?  Join the waitlist for my new beta program here and help me figure out how best to help wonderful women like you get the hormone care they deserve!Join the Waitlist HereCome visit me: www.healthcouragecollective.comemail me: [email protected]
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  266: Why You Can't Sleep 05.08.2026 29min

  Provider directory CBT-I: https://cbti.directory/ Book: Quiet Your Mind and Get To Sleep: https://www.abct.org/books/quiet-your-mind-and-get-to-sleep-solutions-to-insomnia-for-those-with-depression-anxiety-or-chronic-pain/Sleepio web based app with virtual therapistSomryst CBTI appCBTi coach free appInsomnia coach free appYour risk of all of the chronic diseases of aging, how healthily you age, and how powerful you’re able to be in your life are all affected by how well you sleep.  Good sleep is a tremendous advantage to all areas of your life, but unfortunately elusive for over 50% of American adults and up to 85% of perimenopausal women.  There are so many good and effective tools to try for improving sleep.  And while it’s great to have options, they can make sleep seem like a harder problem to solve than it is.  Different problems have different solutions, and sleep is no exception.  Where to focus your resources gets way easier to decide once you understand the 4 aspects of sleep and which one of them is tripping you up.  Poor sleep is absolutely a solvable problem, and worth the effort to finally figure out.  And you won’t have to do so by randomly guessing anymore.Are you ready to give your cells their best chance to not have to stop living before they die by allowing them access to physiologic levels of hormones, but aren't sure how to even get started?  Join the waitlist for my new beta program here and help me figure out how best to help wonderful women like you get the hormone care they deserve!Join the Waitlist HereCome visit me: www.healthcouragecollective.comemail me: [email protected]
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  265: Don't Miss These 5 Midlife Screening Tests 29.07.2026 25min

  5 Midlife Screening Tests That Give You a well deserved Unfair AdvantageWhere to get a DEXA scanWhere to get a Continuous Glucose Monitor  I’ve used Ageless Rx and had a good experienceWhere to get a VO2 max testFeeling overwhelmed by “all the guidelines”? In this episode, I narrow it down to five screening tests that are actually worth your time in midlife.  Especially if you want to feel strong, independent, and fully alive in your 70s and beyond. We start with the biggest threat to long-term health (metabolic dysfunction) and why tracking your glucose (ideally with a continuous glucose monitor) can change everything. Then we cover the DEXA scan for bone density, muscle, and visceral fat, plus the VO2 max test as the #1 predictor tied to all-cause mortality. We also talk smarter cardiovascular risk screening (beyond basic cholesterol, plus blood pressure) and cancer screenings that still matter: colorectal, breast, cervical, and skin. The theme: don’t aim for normal.  Aim for optimal.00:00 Why Screenings Matter00:32 Show Intro And Mindset03:06 What Counts As Screening04:42 Aim For Optimal07:39 Test One Glucose Tracking09:41 Test Two DEXA Scan11:59 Test Three VO2 Max15:21 Test Four Heart Risk Labs20:16 Test Five Cancer Screening23:30 Wrap Up And Next WeekAre you ready to give your cells their best chance to not have to stop living before they die by allowing them access to physiologic levels of hormones, but aren't sure how to even get started?  Join the waitlist for my new beta program here and...
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  264: How Shakespeare Helps You Age Better 22.07.2026 27min

  How Shakespeare Helps You Age Better: The Missing Half of IntelligenceIn this Health Courage Collective Podcast episode 264, host Christina Hackett argues that aging “abnormally well” requires more than logic, data, and risk stratification: it requires story-based “primal intelligence,” a set of human abilities AI cannot replicate. Drawing on Angus Fletcher’s book Primal Intelligence and examples of influential figures inspired by Shakespeare (including Steve Jobs, Maya Angelou, Abraham Lincoln, Darwin, and Tesla), she explains that modern education trains people to think like computers, which fails when life demands decisions with little or no data. Fletcher’s four elements of primal intelligence are outlined: intuition (spotting exceptions and anomalies), imagination (leaping into uncertain futures), smart emotion (using feelings as feedback on your life narrative), and common sense (knowing when you do not know and detecting unknown unknowns). Hackett connects these skills to adapting plans amid chaos and creating healthier outcomes as we age.00:00 Big Questions00:33 Podcast Welcome01:21 Logic Versus Wisdom02:55 Shakespeare Changed Minds07:19 Clausewitz And Surprise09:28 Primal Intelligence Explained10:36 Why Story Beats AI14:50 Four Primal Powers15:31 Intuition Spotting Anomalies16:27 Imagination For Uncertainty17:25 Smart Emotion Dashboard18:23 Common Sense Unknown Unknowns19:59 Aging Better With Story21:23 Planning For Chaos24:12 Practical Takeaways And Close26:49 Outro And DisclaimerAre you ready to give your cells their best chance to not have to stop living before they die by allowing them access to physiologic levels of hormones, but aren't sure how to even get started?  Join the waitlist for my new beta program here and help me figure out how best to help wonderful women like you get the hormone care they deserve!Join the Waitlist HereCome visit me: www.healthcouragecollective.comemail me: [email protected]
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  263: Don't Waste the Gift of a Bad Day 15.07.2026 21min

  Do you ever have bad days?  Do you think that if you were somehow different or better…you wouldn’t?  Nope.  Everyone has bad days sometimes, and there are 6 things you can do to extract all the value out of the gift of a bad day.  Instead of spiraling down, you can spiral up.  Your bad days won’t take you as low or last as long.  But you’ll still have them sometimes.  And that’s OK.  You’ll know exactly what to do.www.healthcouragecollective.com00:00 Bad Days Happen00:29 Podcast Intro01:19 When Plans Fall Apart03:56 The One Day That Matters04:59 Elite Performers Expect Slumps07:03 Step 1 Expect Bad Days08:13 Step 2 Catch Turnarounds11:00 Step 3 Learn From It12:25 Step 4 Play Badly Well13:49 Step 5 Commit To Protocol15:14 Step 6 Design Great Days18:37 Six Steps Recap20:08 Closing And Disclaimer Are you ready to give your cells their best chance to not have to stop living before they die by allowing them access to physiologic levels of hormones, but aren't sure how to even get started?  Join the waitlist for my new beta program here and help me figure out how best to help wonderful women like you get the hormone care they deserve!Join the Waitlist HereCome visit me: www.healthcouragecollective.comemail me: [email protected]
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  262: Are Colonoscopies Helping Us? 08.07.2026 27min

  Cologuard at home test link: https://www.cologuard.com/insuranceTo learn more about preparing your brain for anesthesia, read the Amen Clinics Blog on Anesthesia and POCD or the Amen Clinics Blog on Surgery Risks.Are Colonoscopies Helping Us? How to Make Colon Cancer a Problem You Don’t Have to Havewww.healthcouragecollective.comAre colonoscopies actually helping (women and society)?  Colorectal cancer (the second leading cause of cancer deaths in the U.S.) is one of the most preventable because it usually develops predictably over about 10 years and colonoscopy can both find and remove polyps in the same visit. She contrasts this with mammograms (episode 258) and explains why colonoscopy payoff is high but not perfect: prep quality and provider skill strongly affect what gets missed, with an adenoma miss rate around 24%. She reviews updated screening guidance to start at 45 (earlier with risk factors), discusses alternative tests like Cologuard and SHIELD, and weighs real risks—prep complications, perforation, bleeding, and sedation—against the dramatic survival difference between localized and metastatic disease.00:00 You Can Prevent This Cancer00:49 Podcast Welcome And Breathing01:37 Mammograms To Colonoscopies04:19 Why Colon Cancer Is Predictable06:42 Colonoscopy Removes Polyps07:55 Rising Rates And When To Screen09:35 Prep Quality And Doctor Metrics12:23 Miss Rates And Screening Gaps15:58 Risks And Sedation Concerns20:26 Risks Of Skipping Screening23:31 Other Tests And Costs25:38 Wrap Up And Final Thoughts Are you ready to give your cells their best chance to not have to stop living before they die by allowing them access to physiologic levels of hormones, but aren't sure how to even get started?  Join the waitlist for my new beta program here and help me figure out how best to help wonderful women like you get the hormone care they deserve!Join the Waitlist HereCome visit me: www.healthcouragecollective.comemail me: [email protected]
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  261: How You Breathe Affects How You Age part 2 01.07.2026 21min

  What if your body were doing something automatically without any conscious control from you that contributed to fatigue, weight gain, sleeping problems, respiratory problems, mental health struggles, heart disease and poor athletic endurance?  Tons of people’s bodies are doing this and they have no idea.  They also have no idea that they can change it.  For free.  And if they do, they’ll age at a more elite level with fewer health conditions.my website: www.healthcouragecollective.comThe Oxygen Advantage (work of Patrick McKeown) Book, program, etcAre you ready to give your cells their best chance to not have to stop living before they die by allowing them access to physiologic levels of hormones, but aren't sure how to even get started?  Join the waitlist for my new beta program here and help me figure out how best to help wonderful women like you get the hormone care they deserve!Join the Waitlist HereCome visit me: www.healthcouragecollective.comemail me: [email protected]
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  260: How You Breathe Affects How You Age part 1 24.06.2026 21min

  Since our body breathes without us having to think about it, it seems like it would do this automatic job correctly and optimally.  Unfortunately, since the industrial revolution, we have drifted away from our proper way of eating, moving, sleeping, AND breathing.  What?  There are simple, easy, and free things we can be doing to improve our body’s ability to more fully oxygenate all of our cells for better longevity, mental health and athletic performance, and it’s not breathing more.  It’s breathing less.  My email: [email protected] Oxygen Advantage (work of Patrick McKeown) - book, program, etcAre you ready to give your cells their best chance to not have to stop living before they die by allowing them access to physiologic levels of hormones, but aren't sure how to even get started?  Join the waitlist for my new beta program here and help me figure out how best to help wonderful women like you get the hormone care they deserve!Join the Waitlist HereCome visit me: www.healthcouragecollective.comemail me: [email protected]
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  259: Protocol For Days When You Have No Motivation 17.06.2026 22min

  Do driven, high achieving people ever have days when they just don’t have any motivation?  I think yes.  I think they’d tell us they experience the same feelings and motivational deserts as the rest of us.  The only difference is in how they reflexively act when they have no motivation.  It’s easier to reactively act like your more ideal self when you have a pre-established protocol in place for days when you have no motivation and all you have to do is unthinkingly obey it.my website: www.healthcouragecollective.comwork with me for a limited time steal of a deal!Are you ready to give your cells their best chance to not have to stop living before they die by allowing them access to physiologic levels of hormones, but aren't sure how to even get started?  Join the waitlist for my new beta program here and help me figure out how best to help wonderful women like you get the hormone care they deserve!Join the Waitlist HereCome visit me: www.healthcouragecollective.comemail me: [email protected]
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  258: Are Mammograms Helping Us? 10.06.2026 31min

  How do you feel about mammograms?  Have you had one?  More than one?  Or, are you feeling guilty or reckless for not getting one yet?  Conventional medical dogma is definitely to get regular mammograms.  Mammograms are our first line of defense against breast cancer.   You probably personally know someone who has encouraged you to get a mammogram because a mammogram discovered cancer in them or someone they love, and they want to make sure you’re taking care of your health by getting screened before it’s too late.  We’re very indoctrinated that mammograms save lives.  Too bad they don’t.https://auria.care/science  coupon code: drjenn20U.S.  QT imaging locations: https://www.qtimaging.com/locations/ Dr Jenn Simmons’ Podcast episodes:11,  34,  64,  96,  125,  142,  144Cochrane report on mammographic screeningBoobs: The War on Breasts Documentary by Megan SmithArticle in the Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine to an article called “Mammography Screening is Harmful and Should be Abandoned.”Are you ready to give your cells their best chance to not have to stop living before they die by allowing them access to physiologic levels of hormones, but aren't sure how to even get started?  Join the waitlist for my new beta program here and help me figure out how best to help wonderful women like you get the hormone care they deserve!Join the Waitlist HereCome visit me: www.healthcouragecollective.comemail me: [email protected]
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  257: An Investment With Guaranteed Returns 03.06.2026 15min

  What if you had the opportunity to invest in something with guaranteed returns?  You'd be crazy not to.  If you're in your 40s or 50s, now is the critical time to make the investments that will payoff huge in your 70s and 80s!Come to my website: www.heatlhcouragecollective.comAre you ready to give your cells their best chance to not have to stop living before they die by allowing them access to physiologic levels of hormones, but aren't sure how to even get started?  Join the waitlist for my new beta program here and help me figure out how best to help wonderful women like you get the hormone care they deserve!Join the Waitlist HereCome visit me: www.healthcouragecollective.comemail me: [email protected]
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  256: You Want Me to Still Have Periods in my 60s and 70s? 27.05.2026 23min

  If you’re thinking about replacing your hormones as they decline with age, it’s important to really think through why you want to take hormones and how you want to take hormones.  So that you’re a thinking woman making intelligent decisions about her future rather than an object being acted upon.  Standard practice is that the only reason to take hormones is to take the edge off your most bothersome perimenopausal symptoms and that how you take them is to take the lowest effective dose of estrogen and only to add progesterone if you still have your uterus.  But those aren’t the only reasons or methods, and I think understanding alternative frameworks of thinking about hormone replacement will make your future better, whether you decide to keep having periods in your 60s and 70s or not.email me: [email protected] you ready to give your cells their best chance to not have to stop living before they die by allowing them access to physiologic levels of hormones, but aren't sure how to even get started?  Join the waitlist for my new beta program here and help me figure out how best to help wonderful women like you get the hormone care they deserve!Join the Waitlist HereCome visit me: www.healthcouragecollective.comemail me: [email protected]
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  255: Are You Quietly Capping Your Potential? 20.05.2026 11min

  Aging at an elite level requires acting strategically right now, while you’re in your 40s and 50s to give your future self an advantage.  Not just biologically, but also mentally.  The way you choose the things you want to work toward affects whether you’re going to be able to push the envelope in terms of what you’re capable of becoming in your 70s 80s and beyond.come to my website: www.healthcouragecollective.comAre you ready to give your cells their best chance to not have to stop living before they die by allowing them access to physiologic levels of hormones, but aren't sure how to even get started?  Join the waitlist for my new beta program here and help me figure out how best to help wonderful women like you get the hormone care they deserve!Join the Waitlist HereCome visit me: www.healthcouragecollective.comemail me: [email protected]
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  254: Melatonin During Perimenopause 13.05.2026 28min

  How confident are you in choosing the right dose and right form of melatonin to optimize your health in your 40s and 50s?  Our natural production of melatonin decreases with age and with declining sex hormone levels.  And it affects more than just your sleep.  So is it something you should be taking?  And how much should you take and how often should you take it?   www.healthcouragecollective.comAre you ready to give your cells their best chance to not have to stop living before they die by allowing them access to physiologic levels of hormones, but aren't sure how to even get started?  Join the waitlist for my new beta program here and help me figure out how best to help wonderful women like you get the hormone care they deserve!Join the Waitlist HereCome visit me: www.healthcouragecollective.comemail me: [email protected]
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  253: It's Time to Use Better Lube 06.05.2026 13min

  Good overall health for women requires good vaginal health.  Good vaginal health requires your lube to be made of high quality ingredients.   This is applicable for all women using lube vaginally, but especially around the time of perimenopause when vaginal dryness becomes more common, vaginal pH often starts to shift, the vaginal microbiome often changes and risk of infections goes up.  Most lubes can make all of those things worse, not to mention introducing toxins into your systemic circulation.  It’s time to become more discerning about your lube ingredients.  The typical ones sold in grocery stores are not good enough for you.Reminder of our criteria we require our lube to meet: 1- Won’t raise your vaginal pH 2- Won’t alter your microbiome 3- Is isosmotic (matters for water based only)4- Doesn’t contain any harmful ingredients (ie. any type of paraben, chlorhexidine gluconate, nonoxonol 9, propylene glycol, glycerin, fragrances, petroleum based oils, quaternium 15, polyquaternium 15, benzocaine, menthol, or any type of sugar)  Sex therapist Amanda Louder’s podcast notes that list pH of different lubes and osmolality of different lubes:  https://amandalouder.com/podcast/295/ Dr. Anna Cabeca’s waitlist for her lube, VelvėHer daily vaginal moisturizer with DHEA, Julva: $60.16Brands mentioned on “The Good List” of this episode:Coconu - both water based and oil based lubes $23Uberlube - silicone based $22Sutil - Especially promoted to women with a drop in estrogen $18Good Clean Love $15Aloe Cadabara flavored and unflavored $10Desert Harvest $22Sliquid $22My website: www.healthcouragecollective.com - let’s hang out and get you confident and at peace about your hormone health and on track to not have to stop living before you die!Are you ready to give your cells their best chance to not have to stop living before they die by allowing them access to physiologic levels of hormones, but aren't sure how to even get started?  Join the waitlist for my new beta program here and help me figure out how best to help wonderful women like you get the hormone care they deserve!