EP 2: The most important hormone we aren't talking about with Dr. Anna Cabeca
Release Date: 05/19/2020
Ep 64: Lowering LDL cholesterol on a high-protein diet | Are healthy desserts "orthorexic"?
Muscle Science for Women
In this episode the ladies answer questions from listeners including one about how to lower LDL cholesterol on a high protein diet: what might be causing the high LDL reading; what other factors other than diet may be contributing; and their advice for some lifestyle factors and further research to address the potential issue. They also discuss how much is too much protein powder: what percentage of your daily protein amount ideally should come from whole foods, and how much is ok to get from supplements like protein powder? How can you best meal prep or plan when you have a job that keeps you...
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Ep 63: Are BCAA's any good | Do you need a coffee detox?
Muscle Science for Women
In this episode, Rachel and Ashleigh answer listener questions about the efficacy of BCAA's for muscle building and recovery, the concept of "macro thresholds" ie, how much wiggle room do you have with your macros if you're trying to lose fat, and whether or not you should really be doing a coffee detox. If you want more information on BCAA's and EAA's, check out episode 59 of the podcast. If you have any questions or topic ideas for the ladies, send them to Get on the waiting list for their NEW Strong & Sculpted Shoulders Workshop waitlist: Check out our specialized program,...
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Ep 62: Vegan Protein | Nutritional deficiencies from a meat-based diet?
Muscle Science for Women
In this episode, Ashleigh and Rachel talk about how to enjoy vacation without guilt, vegan protein powders, and Ashleigh's nutritional deficiency test results. They discuss how to balance "vacation mentality" with enough discipline that provides a sense of control while still allowing you to enjoy time off, new experiences, and a break from your regular life. They also talk about protein powders and their thoughts on vegan protein. Ashleigh discusses the results of her Genova Metabolomix+ nutritional deficiency test, including whether her meat-forward diet is giving her enough variety,...
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Ep 61: Are genetic "body types" a thing, and how do you train accordingly?
Muscle Science for Women
This is a fun one! In today's episode, Rachel and Ashleigh discuss the concept of body types: (you've probably heard of these, ectomorph, endomorph, and mesomorph). They talk about: how these body types are characterized if there's real "truth" to these categorizations whether you can change your body composition dramatically outside of your body type how to train to optimize your body type and how all this may impact your feelings about your body and your capabilities. They also talk about specific strength training for sports, gestational diabetes management, and they tease their...
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Ep 60: Talking to teens about fitness
Muscle Science for Women
Ashleigh and Rachel are VERY excited to answer questions from some younger listeners! They answer questions from a high school listener about weight gain and birth control, training plans for weight loss, training around injury, and optimal nutrition for younger people. They also dive into pesticides in your coffee (and how to avoid them); why they don't give out free workouts to help sell their programs, and more. Any more teens have fitness questions? Looking for advice? Do you have questions about how to talk to your teens about fitness or encourage them? Send us your thoughts about...
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Ep 59: Essential Amino Acids: what exactly are they and why do we need them
Muscle Science for Women
In this episode Ashleigh asks the CEO and co-founder of Kion, Angelo Keely, to do a deep dive on essential amino acids. As a life-long meat eater, Ashleigh is skeptical about EAA supplements, so they talk about: What essential amino acids are and why they're important The differences between BCAA's and EAA's How much you're actually getting from your food How to make sure you're getting enough to optimize your health How to best incorporate EAA's to optimize intake, muscle growth, and overall health Can you overdo it and ingest too many EAA's? Are supplemental EAA's necessary, and if you want...
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Ep 58: Should Ashleigh give up working out? | Can stronger glutes fix low back pain?
Muscle Science for Women
In this episode Ashleigh shares her struggles with burnout, comparing her current self to her former self, and struggling with balancing her current goals and responsibilities with her training plan. She and Rachel dive into concepts like identity and fitness, the importance of training in an organized and progressive way, and how to move past boredom and even burnout. They also answer questions about training with lower back pain, including which exercises may help and setting expectations around recovery time, and Rachel talks about her own struggles with back injury. Finally, Ashleigh...
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Ep 57: How to "start over" in the gym | Rachel's new job
Muscle Science for Women
In this episode of Muscle Science for Women, Ashleigh and Rachel dive into a case study of a woman looking to start over again in her fitness and strength journey, after kids and taking time away from the gym. They provide practical tips on how to overcome obstacles and mental hurdles, identify small wins and how they add up to big change over time, and how much time and effort a busy person really HAS to dedicate to their workout program to see results. They also chat about Rachel's new part time job and a work trip Ashleigh is excited about! If you've always wanted to test some things out...
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Ep 56: Not making progress in your fitness goals? Here's the missing piece
Muscle Science for Women
In this episode, Ashleigh and Rachel talk about some of the ways their beliefs and behaviors around fitness and nutrition have changed over the past ten years; they discuss what may be missing from your plan if you seem to be doing everything right but just aren't seeing progress; and what the margin of error is when trying to determine your optimal macro ratio. If you have any questions you want answered, send them to . Get fit with us in 2024 - sign up for the Grow Your Glutes Workshop: https://www.rgfit.com/glutes Or our flagship strength training program, Muscle Science for Women:...
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Ep 55: Can you REALLY grow your legs in a home gym? | Prepping for pregnancy
Muscle Science for Women
In this episode Ashleigh and Rachel discuss whether or not you can effectively grow your legs and glutes with a limited home gym (and give plenty of advice on how you can maximize your workouts no matter where you are or what equipment you have). They both recently invested in some of the trendy new walking office treadmills and talk about whether they think they're worth it; how their meal prepping has changed over time; the best way to prep for pregnancy; and they have their favorite "lifting straps vs. no lifting straps" debate, AGAIN. This one is a fun episode, and full of practical...
info_outlineDiscovering the intricacy of the female body is a beautiful process. Our delicate hormonal balance affects all aspects of our health and wellbeing, from the condition of our skin to the quality of our sleep and sex lives. In this episode, I interview Dr. Anna Cabeca who is board certified in genealogy and obstetrics, integrative medicine, and anti-aging and regenerative medicine and who is also an authoritative voice in the realm of functional medicine, menopause, and women’s sexual health. Dr. Cabeca unpacks the three major hormones and how an increase or decrease in their levels affect us and explains how they can be managed and even optimized for healing. We get into the variables that affect the efficacy of oxytocin supplementation, the use of exogenous hormones such as melatonin, and the relationship between adiponectin and weight loss resistance. Turning our attention to her newly released book Keto-Green 16, Dr. Cabeca explains how her approach to the ketogenic diet differs from the mainstream understanding, highlighting her views on alkalizing foods, the need for digestive enzymes, consuming greens versus proteins, intermittent fasting, and much more.
Want to connect, ask questions for the podcast, or offer feedback? Drop me a note on Instagram @themusclemaven, send me an email at ashleighvanhouten.com, and sign up for my weekly newsletter at ashleighvanhouten.com
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Key Points From This Episode:
- How Dr. Cabeca’s personal experience informed her approach to her OB-GYN practice.
- Three major hormones—insulin, cortisol, and oxytocin—and how the levels change with age.
- The impact of the stress hormone (cortisol) on other hormones and our health in general.
- An explanation of the role of oxytocin in the body and how it can be optimized for healing.
- The dangerous cortisol-oxytocin disconnect that occurs amid prolonged stress and trauma.
- Suggestions for the lifestyle practices that can help you regulate oxytocin and cortisol levels.
- The variables that can affect our physiological response to oxytocin supplementation.
- Advice about the correct use of exogenous melatonin: dosage, timing, and more.
- The relationship between adiponectin levels and weight gain in menopausal women.
- The four key markers that women need to pay attention to when it comes to their hormones.
- How Dr. Cabeca’s approach to the ketogenic diet differs from the traditional view.
- Distinguishing between foods that have an alkalizing effect versus those that are alkaline.
- The importance of increasing your digestive enzymes and not diluting them with liquids.
- The ideal amounts of protein versus greens in Dr. Cabeca’s approach to the keto-green diet.
- Guidelines around the best times to eat, intermittent fasting, and stabilizing your blood sugar.
- Caloric restriction versus fasting and how each affects our basal metabolic rate.
- Using metrics and tracking in a way that is non-dogmatic and serves your goals.
Tweetables:
“It takes more than hormones to fix our hormones. That’s where lifestyle medicine becomes really powerful.” — @AnnaCabeca [0:05:18]
“We really need to look at the major hormones and for me, those are insulin, cortisol, and oxytocin. Those three hormones are the most powerful hormones in our body, with oxytocin being the crowing hormone.” — @AnnaCabeca [0:05:57]
“It is our own activities and our perceptions and our lifestyle practices that increase our own natural oxytocin. We manage cortisol and do practices that increase oxytocin.” — @AnnaCabeca [0:18:25]
“Increasing your digestive enzymes is one of the key things that we need to do and focus on, especially as we get older.” — @AnnaCabeca [0:43:06]
“These low-calorie days that we have, destroy our metabolism. We are better to fast than eat small meals.” — @AnnaCabeca [0:59:42]
Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode: