Dry, irritated, and every lubricant burns or makes a mess? You're not alone. 91% of women say their libido changes in menopause.

Andrea Donsky, nutritionist, author of Nourishing Menopause, 7x published menopause researcher and menopause educator, and co-founder of wearemorphus.com, sits down with Deborah Porteous, co-founder of The Pleasure Pods Company, who hit vaginal dryness in her early 50s and couldn't find a single product that didn't irritate her, ran everywhere, or ruined the sheets. So she and her partner Brian spent two years with a formulator and a team of plant scientists building something better: a 100% plant-based solid that melts at body temperature. This is the honest, slightly cheeky conversation about dryness, painful sex, and pleasure that most of us never got to have.

Topics:

• Why vaginal dryness hits almost 40% of women in perimenopause and menopause, and why it's nothing to be embarrassed about
• The difference between a lubricant, a vaginal moisturizer, and vaginal estrogen, and why it's not either/or
• What's inside Pleasure Pods and why the solid format matters
• How women are using the pods beyond intimacy: massage oil, face, dry skin, even travel
• Why sexual wellness products for women are still so hard to advertise, and what that stigma costs us

Chapters:

0:00 How a solid-to-liquid lubricant works (cold open demo)

1:10 Libido in menopause: what almost 1,400 women told our survey

5:00 Meet Deborah Porteous and the story behind Pleasure Pods

9:30 Talking vaginal dryness on a pitch stage: the CHFA launchpad story

13:00 Why so many lubricants burn, itch, or irritate after 50

18:00 Mango, cocoa, and kokum butter: what's actually in the formula

23:30 How to use it: palms, warm massage oil, face, and dry skin

29:00 Lubricant vs vaginal moisturizer vs vaginal estrogen

35:00 Cutting a pod into pieces for overnight vaginal moisture

39:30 The stigma of marketing women's sexual wellness products

44:00 Deborah's panel podcast and where to buy Pleasure Pods

Learn more about Pleasure Pods here: https://thepleasurepods.com/

Watch the interview on YouTube: https://youtu.be/n1odK1pPdV8

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Morphus: Menopause Reimagined

💊 Shop Morphus Supplements: https://wearemorphus.com/collections/all

📖 Order "Nourishing Menopause: Powerful Nutrition & Lifestyle Strategies to Feel Your Best." (Simon & Schuster, May 5, 2026)

Amazon Canada: https://amzn.to/4xaREJK

Amazon US: https://amzn.to/4rFj7jk

📰 As seen in USA Today: https://bit.ly/43nrMwO
✅ Fill out our surveys: https://bit.ly/4jcVuLh
🦋 SUBSCRIBE to our list: https://bit.ly/3VdDA0V

FOLLOW US:

TikTok @andreadonsky & @wearemorphus

Instagram: @wearemorphus | @andreadonsky

Facebook: /wearemorphus

DISCLAIMER: This is not medical advice. Always consult your healthcare provider. This podcast contains affiliate links; Morphus may earn a commission. Thank you for your support.

If you're on a GLP-1 and nobody told you how to eat on it, this one's for you. We get into it in depth.

Andrea Donsky, nutritionist, bestselling author of Nourishing Menopause, 7x published menopause researcher, menopause educator, and co-founder of wearemorphus.com, sits down with nutrition and fitness coach Natalie Bean, who is GLP-1 certified and has spent 31 years helping people change how they eat. If you're taking Ozempic, Mounjaro, or Wegovy, thinking about it, or you just want to take back control with food, Natalie walks through what actually protects your body. Spoiler: protein is not optional, and the scale is not the whole story.

What you'll learn:

• Why a GLP-1 can cost you 25 to 40 percent of your weight as muscle, and how to push back with food
• How much protein women in perimenopause and menopause really need (and why it climbs on a GLP-1)
• Whether you'll gain the weight back when you stop, and what a maintenance dose actually does
• The GLP-1 side effects nobody warns you about, from dry mouth to constipation to brittle bones
• Why cardio is not the enemy, and where strength training and cortisol fit in

Chapters

0:00 GLP-1 and muscle loss: the Mayo Clinic stat that stopped me

0:48 Meet Natalie Bean and who GLP-1 meds are really for

4:45 Food noise, sugar cravings, and insulin resistance after 40

9:45 Do you gain the weight back after stopping a GLP-1?

14:10 How much protein you actually need on a GLP-1

19:40 GLP-1 side effects: dry mouth, digestion, bones, dehydration

25:10 Fiber, constipation, and eating every 2 to 3 hours

30:10 Why consistency beats variety when you start over

35:10 Cortisol, cardio vs strength, and non-negotiable supplements

Listen to this next:

Tired of Fighting Food Cravings? Try This Instead: https://youtu.be/2PQxAbnll8s

Work with Natalie: https://nutritionforeverinc.com/

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======
Morphus: Menopause Reimagined

💊 Shop Morphus Supplements: https://wearemorphus.com/collections/all

📖 Order "Nourishing Menopause: Powerful Nutrition & Lifestyle Strategies to Feel Your Best." (Simon & Schuster, May 5, 2026)

Amazon Canada: https://amzn.to/4xaREJK

Amazon US: https://amzn.to/4rFj7jk

📰 As seen in USA Today: https://bit.ly/43nrMwO
✅ Fill out our surveys: https://bit.ly/4jcVuLh
🦋 SUBSCRIBE to our list: https://bit.ly/3VdDA0V

FOLLOW US:

TikTok @andreadonsky & @wearemorphus

Instagram: @wearemorphus | @andreadonsky

Facebook: /wearemorphus

DISCLAIMER: This is not medical advice. Always consult your healthcare provider. This podcast contains affiliate links; Morphus may earn a commission. Thank you for your support.

If you have been watching the GLP-1 conversation explode and quietly wondering if there is another way, this one is for you. Andrea sits down with Sarah Kennedy, founder and CEO of Calocurb, for an honest, science-forward talk about appetite, cravings, and why our relationship with food shifts in perimenopause and menopause. Sarah explains why hunger is biology rather than a willpower problem, and how Calocurb uses a hops extract from New Zealand research to gently support your own natural appetite hormones. It is not a pitch for a magic pill, just a grounded look at one more option so you can decide what is right for you and your body.

Topics Covered

• Why weight and appetite feel so different in perimenopause and menopause
• The willpower myth, and why hunger is biology, not a personal failing
• What GLP-1s are in plain English, and why everyone is talking about them
• Where Calocurb came from, and the New Zealand science behind it
• How a natural, hops-based option is different from the injections
• What it is actually like to use day to day
• What the research has shown so far
• A straight answer on the canola oil question
• Sarah's honest story of making peace with food
• Why this is one tool, not a magic fix

Use this link to save on Calocurb: https://www.calocurb.com/morphus

Chapters

0:00 At peace with food (cold open)
0:50 Welcome and who is Andrea Donsky
1:46 Meet Sarah Kennedy, and life in New Zealand
3:24 What is a GLP-1, and why it is everywhere
5:59 Satiety hormones and what shifts in perimenopause
6:52 Willpower is a misnomer: the physiology of hunger
9:46 The Calocurb origin story: New Zealand government science
11:53 Bitter taste receptors all the way down the gut
13:20 1,000 extracts tested, and why hops won
14:46 The first human clinical: a 600% hormone increase
15:57 How it compares to semaglutide and Ozempic
16:59 How to take it: timing, empty stomach, and onboarding
19:10 Why it is considered gentle on the body
20:27 Building a routine and intermittent fasting
21:24 Can you take it with your medications
22:23 Side effects, bloating, and what they actually mean
23:37 Gastroparesis: how it differs from the synthetics
24:59 The clinical studies, including a women-only trial
28:11 Blood sugar, insulin resistance, and the newest trial
29:25 A message for women gaining weight in midlife
30:41 Sarah's personal story with food
32:45 Age limits and adolescent research
33:33 Do you take it forever, and the weight-regain question
36:44 The canola oil question, answered transparently
39:54 Hops and estrogen: is there an effect
41:08 Where to find Calocurb
42:13 A tool in the toolkit
43:12 Closing thoughts and how you can help

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Morphus: Menopause Reimagined

💊 Shop Morphus Supplements: https://wearemorphus.com/collections/all

📖 Order "Nourishing Menopause: Powerful Nutrition & Lifestyle Strategies to Feel Your Best." (Simon & Schuster, May 5, 2026)

Amazon Canada: https://amzn.to/4xaREJK

Amazon US: https://amzn.to/4rFj7jk

📰 As seen in USA Today: https://bit.ly/43nrMwO
✅ Fill out our surveys: https://bit.ly/4jcVuLh
🦋 SUBSCRIBE to our list: https://bit.ly/3VdDA0V

FOLLOW US:

TikTok @andreadonsky & @wearemorphus

Instagram: @wearemorphus | @andreadonsky

Facebook: /wearemorphus

DISCLAIMER: This is not medical advice. Always consult your healthcare provider. This podcast contains affiliate links; Morphus may earn a commission. Thank you for your support.

Andrea Donsky is a Registered Holistic Nutritionist with over 20 years of experience in health and wellness, a published menopause researcher, and the founder of Morphus. She is the author of Nourishing Menopause (Simon and Schuster) and Unjunk Your Junk Food, and the host of the Menopause Reimagined podcast, where she shares the latest science, real-talk strategies, and tools to help women thrive through perimenopause and menopause.

Andrea shares her own perimenopause story, the messages from readers that brought her to tears, and the work still ahead for menopause education and care. If you have ever wondered "what is happening to me," this one is for you.

In this episode:

• The emotional reality behind a bestseller
• Why women bought this book so fast, and the education gap it closes
• Andrea's own search for answers in perimenopause
• The tools in the toolbox: nutrition, lifestyle, supplements, mindset, exercise, and hormones, if you choose that path
• A reminder that your voice, your experience, and your health all matter

Get the book and join the community at wearemorphus.com. If it helped you, please leave a review so another woman can find it too.

Amazon Canada: https://amzn.to/4r2IDz3

Amazon US: https://amzn.to/4rFj7jk

Send us Fan Mail

======
Morphus: Menopause Reimagined

💊 Shop Morphus Supplements: https://wearemorphus.com/collections/all

📖 Order "Nourishing Menopause: Powerful Nutrition & Lifestyle Strategies to Feel Your Best." (Simon & Schuster, May 5, 2026)

Amazon Canada: https://amzn.to/4xaREJK

Amazon US: https://amzn.to/4rFj7jk

📰 As seen in USA Today: https://bit.ly/43nrMwO
✅ Fill out our surveys: https://bit.ly/4jcVuLh
🦋 SUBSCRIBE to our list: https://bit.ly/3VdDA0V

FOLLOW US:

TikTok @andreadonsky & @wearemorphus

Instagram: @wearemorphus | @andreadonsky

Facebook: /wearemorphus

DISCLAIMER: This is not medical advice. Always consult your healthcare provider. This podcast contains affiliate links; Morphus may earn a commission. Thank you for your support.

Andrea Donsky is a registered holistic nutritionist with 20+ years of experience, a published menopause researcher, the co- founder of Morphus, the host of this podcast, Menopause Reimagined, and the author of Nourishing Menopause (Simon & Schuster) and Unjunk Your Junk Food.

In this episode, Andrea sits down with Dr. Amie Hornaman, "The Thyroid Fixer," to unpack what happens to your thyroid in perimenopause and menopause. If you've been told your labs are "normal," but you still feel exhausted, foggy, freezing cold, and like your body isn't your own, this conversation is for you. Dr. Amie introduces a term every woman over 40 should know: thyropause.

What you'll learn:

• Why so many perimenopause symptoms are actually undiagnosed thyroid issues
• What thyropause is and why Hashimoto's often switches on after 40
• The five thyroid labs to ask your doctor for (and what to do if they refuse)
• Why T4-only medications like Synthroid may not be enough on their own
• How to find a provider who actually understands thyroid hormone replacement

Chapters:

0:00 Why your thyroid tanks after 40 (thyropause explained)
2:00 Welcome back to Menopause Reimagined & meet Dr. Amie Hornaman
5:10 What the thyroid actually does (from hair loss to heart rate)
8:45 Hypothyroidism vs hyperthyroidism: which one hits women hardest
12:00 Thyropause: the perimenopause and Hashimoto's connection
16:15 1 in 8 women? Why the real number is closer to 1 in 4
19:25 Medically gaslit: Andrea's story of being dismissed by her doctor
23:40 The thyroid tests your doctor probably isn't ordering (TSH, free T3, reverse T3, TPO, TG)
28:30 T3 vs T4: why Synthroid alone may not be enough
33:45 Why you can stay on thyroid medication for life (and why that's okay)
38:10 Finding the right dose: the trial-and-error reality
42:25 Inside The Thyroid Fix book and Fixer Formulas supplements
47:00 Where to find Dr. Amie and grab the book

Links:

The Thyroid Fix: The No-Nonsense Guide to Fix Fatigue, Fogginess, and Fat That Won't Budge https://amzn.to/3Prfxvr

Learn more about Dr. Amie Hornaman here: https://dramie.com/

Send us Fan Mail

======
Morphus: Menopause Reimagined

💊 Shop Morphus Supplements: https://wearemorphus.com/collections/all

📖 Order "Nourishing Menopause: Powerful Nutrition & Lifestyle Strategies to Feel Your Best." (Simon & Schuster, May 5, 2026)

Amazon Canada: https://amzn.to/4xaREJK

Amazon US: https://amzn.to/4rFj7jk

📰 As seen in USA Today: https://bit.ly/43nrMwO
✅ Fill out our surveys: https://bit.ly/4jcVuLh
🦋 SUBSCRIBE to our list: https://bit.ly/3VdDA0V

FOLLOW US:

TikTok @andreadonsky & @wearemorphus

Instagram: @wearemorphus | @andreadonsky

Facebook: /wearemorphus

DISCLAIMER: This is not medical advice. Always consult your healthcare provider. This podcast contains affiliate links; Morphus may earn a commission. Thank you for your support.

Andrea Donsky is a Registered Holistic Nutritionist with over 20 years of experience in health & wellness, a published menopause researcher, and the founder of Morphus. She is the author of Nourishing Menopause (Simon and Schuster) and Unjunk Your Junk Food, and the host of the Menopause Reimagined podcast, where she shares the latest science, real-talk strategies, and tools to help women thrive through perimenopause and menopause.

If you've ever been told it's just stress, just aging, or just in your head, this episode and Andrea's new book are what you've been waiting for.

In this very personal solo episode, Andrea shares the story behind her brand-new book, "Nourishing Menopause: Powerful Nutrition and Lifestyle Strategies to Feel Your Best." After 14 years in perimenopause (11 of them not even knowing it), she knew women like us deserved better. This book is the roadmap she wished existed when she was sitting on her couch, counting hot flashes or Googling symptoms at 3 AM.

What you'll learn in this episode:

• The 103+ symptoms of perimenopause and menopause your doctor probably never mentioned
• Why phantom smells, anxiety, and digestive issues are often hormonal (not "in your head")
• The 17 reasons women gain weight in midlife (and why eating less isn't the answer)
• Andrea's personal story with anxiety, panic attacks, OCD, PTSD, and Hashimoto's thyroiditis
• Why weight training matters more than cardio and how to start

Chapters:

0:00 Why I Wrote Nourishing Menopause

1:30 The 103+ Symptoms Most Women Never Hear

3:10 Phantom Smells and Symptoms Doctors Dismiss

4:50 Why 1 in 5 Women Doesn't Know Her Stage

6:35 17 Real Reasons We Gain Weight

8:50 Stress, Anxiety, and Hashimoto's

11:15 Sleep, Protein, and Hormone-Supportive Eating

13:25 Why Weight Training Is Queen

Get your copy of Nourishing Menopause here: www.nourishingmenopausebook.com

Download the resources mentioned in the book: https://wearemorphus.com/pages/book-resources

Send us Fan Mail

======
Morphus: Menopause Reimagined

💊 Shop Morphus Supplements: https://wearemorphus.com/collections/all

📖 Order "Nourishing Menopause: Powerful Nutrition & Lifestyle Strategies to Feel Your Best." (Simon & Schuster, May 5, 2026)

Amazon Canada: https://amzn.to/4xaREJK

Amazon US: https://amzn.to/4rFj7jk

📰 As seen in USA Today: https://bit.ly/43nrMwO
✅ Fill out our surveys: https://bit.ly/4jcVuLh
🦋 SUBSCRIBE to our list: https://bit.ly/3VdDA0V

FOLLOW US:

TikTok @andreadonsky & @wearemorphus

Instagram: @wearemorphus | @andreadonsky

Facebook: /wearemorphus

DISCLAIMER: This is not medical advice. Always consult your healthcare provider. This podcast contains affiliate links; Morphus may earn a commission. Thank you for your support.

You walked out of another appointment feeling unheard. Here's how to flip the next one.

In this week's episode of Menopause Reimagined, Andrea Donsky, nutritionist, published menopause researcher, educator, author, and co-founder of wearemorphus.com, sits down with Shirley Weir, founder of Menopause Chicks and one of the original voices in the menopause conversation. Shirley has spent over a decade moderating questions from a community of more than 60,000 women, and she's distilled what she's learned into a practical framework called Script Tips, designed to help you stop being dismissed at the doctor's office and start getting the answers you actually need.

This is the conversation every woman in perimenopause and menopause needs before her next appointment.

What you'll learn:

• Why over half of women leave their health appointments feeling dismissed (and the two reasons they went in the first place)
• Shirley's Script Tips framework: the exact language to use when you walk into the room
• Why "impact" is the single most important word you can say to your doctor
• What's actually covered under Canada's new menopause hormone therapy Pharmacare program (BC and Manitoba launched March 2026)
• How preventing UTIs in menopause may help reduce dementia misdiagnoses

Chapters:

0:00 Why Women Feel Dismissed at Doctor Visits in Perimenopause

3:15 How Shirley Weir Built Menopause Chicks (And Why It Started in 2012)

8:00 Why "Doctor Google" Wasn't Enough: The Information Gap

12:30 Speak Menopause: Why the Right Vocabulary Changes Everything

17:00 Don't Blame Everything on Perimenopause (Phantom Smells, Swelling, More)

21:30 Script Tips: The Method That Flips Your Doctor Appointment

28:30 The Impact Statement: The One Thing Most Women Forget to Say

34:00 Free Menopause Hormone Therapy in Canada: BC and Manitoba Pharmacare

39:30 UTI Prevention in Postmenopause (And the Dementia Connection)

43:30 Tell Three People: The Grassroots Movement Changing Menopause

🌐 Connect with Shirley Weir at Menopause Chicks: https://menopausechicks.com 📱 Find Shirley on social: @menopausechicks

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Morphus: Menopause Reimagined

💊 Shop Morphus Supplements: https://wearemorphus.com/collections/all

📖 Order "Nourishing Menopause: Powerful Nutrition & Lifestyle Strategies to Feel Your Best." (Simon & Schuster, May 5, 2026)

Amazon Canada: https://amzn.to/4xaREJK

Amazon US: https://amzn.to/4rFj7jk

📰 As seen in USA Today: https://bit.ly/43nrMwO
✅ Fill out our surveys: https://bit.ly/4jcVuLh
🦋 SUBSCRIBE to our list: https://bit.ly/3VdDA0V

FOLLOW US:

TikTok @andreadonsky & @wearemorphus

Instagram: @wearemorphus | @andreadonsky

Facebook: /wearemorphus

DISCLAIMER: This is not medical advice. Always consult your healthcare provider. This podcast contains affiliate links; Morphus may earn a commission. Thank you for your support.

You used to digest everything. Now a salad wrecks you. If perimenopause changed your gut overnight, this one's for you.

Andrea Donsky, nutritionist, published menopause researcher, menopause educator, author, and co-founder of wearemorphus.com sits down with nurse practitioner and bestselling author Cynthia Thurlow to unpack the gut-hormone connection nobody warned us about. Cynthia's brand new book, The Menopause Gut (out April 28), is the paradigm-shifting guide to why 94% of perimenopausal women suddenly have digestive issues, and what to actually do about it.

What you'll learn:

• Why you can't digest food properly if you're stressed (and the 4-breath trick that changes it)
• What the estrobolome is and how it's recycling your estrogen in ways that make bloating worse
• The fiber mistake that's making your gut feel worse, not better
• Why your gut suddenly looks more like a man's after menopause
• How PCOS and perimenopause collide (and why it's not "over" when your period stops)
• The difference between intermittent fasting and "digestive rest" and which one works better in midlife

Chapters:

0:00 Cynthia's Morocco Story: When Perimenopause Broke Her Gut

2:10 Why Gut Health Gets Worse in Perimenopause and Menopause

6:32 Digestion Starts in the Brain: The Parasympathetic Connection

11:10 Estrogen, Histamine, and Why You Suddenly React to Foods

15:58 Postbiotics 101: Butyrate, Urolithin A, and Short-Chain Fatty Acids

21:30 Fiber, Bloating, and Why You Can't Just Jump to 30 Grams a Day

26:15 The Gut-Bone Connection Nobody Talks About

29:58 Sleep, Stress, and the Cortisol-Constipation Loop

34:42 The Vagus Nerve: Your Gut-Brain Superhighway

39:00 Intermittent Fasting vs Digestive Rest: What Changed Her Mind

42:50 PCOS, Insulin Resistance, and Menopause: The Missing Conversation

46:40 Where to Find Cynthia and The Menopause Gut Book

📖 Get Cynthia's new book The Menopause Gut (out April 28): https://amzn.to/4r2IDz3

Send us Fan Mail

======
Morphus: Menopause Reimagined

💊 Shop Morphus Supplements: https://wearemorphus.com/collections/all

📖 Order "Nourishing Menopause: Powerful Nutrition & Lifestyle Strategies to Feel Your Best." (Simon & Schuster, May 5, 2026)

Amazon Canada: https://amzn.to/4xaREJK

Amazon US: https://amzn.to/4rFj7jk

📰 As seen in USA Today: https://bit.ly/43nrMwO
✅ Fill out our surveys: https://bit.ly/4jcVuLh
🦋 SUBSCRIBE to our list: https://bit.ly/3VdDA0V

FOLLOW US:

TikTok @andreadonsky & @wearemorphus

Instagram: @wearemorphus | @andreadonsky

Facebook: /wearemorphus

DISCLAIMER: This is not medical advice. Always consult your healthcare provider. This podcast contains affiliate links; Morphus may earn a commission. Thank you for your support.