094 - The Cholesterol Secret: Essential Building Block for Your Well-Being
W.O.W. MD - Your Wellness Optimizing Warrior
Release Date: 06/20/2025
105 - Beyond the Numbers: Understanding the Complexities of Hormone Therapy Surveillance
W.O.W. MD - Your Wellness Optimizing Warrior
Most women don’t really understand how hormones like estrogen fluctuate during their cycle. If you were to test a woman’s estrogen, the level you would get would vary greatly depending on which part of her cycle she was in. Ovulation marks the peak of estrogen levels during the entire cycle. At the same time, the level of estrogen at ovulation is dependent on the quality of egg that is released during her cycle. Further to this, normal levels of estrogen don’t always reflect the optimal levels. This highlights the importance of data interpretation when your levels are being tested,...
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104 - Unveiling the Overlooked: Testosterone's Role in Women's Health
W.O.W. MD - Your Wellness Optimizing Warrior
Why don’t we know more about optimal testosterone levels, especially since it can be so beneficial for women? Part of the problem is that research into women’s health is significantly underfunded. Testosterone is an estrogen antagonist, so it could help with estrogen-dominant conditions like endometriosis. Yet, it isn’t put forth as a possible treatment. Many women have excellent tolerance levels for the right amount of testosterone so long as their health professionals consider their physiology and reason for treatment. Menopause is another hormone-related issue many women struggle...
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103 - Decoding Hormone Testing: Testosterone Levels for Women: Myths Versus Science Part 2
W.O.W. MD - Your Wellness Optimizing Warrior
In today’s episode we’re continuing our conversation about testosterone therapy, including its benefits and the importance of monitoring testosterone levels. Understanding the testosterone levels you should strive for and measuring your physiological responses is key to using it beneficially. Testosterone is the main anabolic hormone in the body. It repairs, restores, and regrows damaged tissue. The problem is that the normal range established by labs—a guide most doctors will use to identify if your testosterone is low—is not always the best baseline to use. In an ideal world,...
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102 - Decoding Hormone Testing: Testosterone Levels for Women: Myths Versus Science Part 1
W.O.W. MD - Your Wellness Optimizing Warrior
This episode is for all the women who have left the doctor disappointed—turned away and told their hormone levels were fine even when they didn’t feel right. Hormone level testing isn’t given much thought by the majority of medical professionals, yet it’s crucial to providing adequate patient health. Right now, there is a complete lack of standardization in this area. A part of this is due to the fact that hormones impact men and women differently, and we don’t know how introductions of hormones will impact any specific individual. There is also a difference between testing for...
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101 - Botox for All Ages: Understanding Its Impact and Benefits with Meghan Morrissette
W.O.W. MD - Your Wellness Optimizing Warrior
We’re welcoming Meghan Morrissette, my aesthetics nurse, again today to bring our conversation about Botox and other types of neurotoxin treatments to a close. We’ll be addressing more common questions in this episode. When is the best time to get Botox? Is there a better age to start? Patients in their 20s typically seek neurotoxin treatment for facial balancing, as they haven’t largely experienced the signs of aging. By relaxing some of the facial muscles, you can also reduce the appearance of static wrinkles later in life, which are caused by repetitive muscle movements. Social media...
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100 - Botox Uncovered: Essential Knowledge for Aesthetic Treatments with Meghan Morrissette
W.O.W. MD - Your Wellness Optimizing Warrior
We are continuing our conversation about Botox with Meghan, my aesthetics nurse. Is all Botox the same? Actually, they can vary in some ways. If you don’t feel ecstatic about the results a few weeks later, you can experiment with different types of neuromodulators. For example, instead of the Botox brand name you can try Dysport, Daxxify, Xeomin, and more. If your treatment is going well and you’re happy with it, you don’t need to change anything. Typically, injectors don’t carry all the different brands. The dosing discussion can be challenging for patients and injectors, so it’s...
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099 - The Botox Breakdown with Meghan Morrissette: Science, Art, and Results
W.O.W. MD - Your Wellness Optimizing Warrior
This week’s episode is all about Botox as we welcome my aesthetics nurse Meghan Morrissette. As a holistically-minded person, the idea of injecting myself with a toxic chemical just to look better did not appeal to me for many years. However, now that I have a deeper understanding about what Botox can really do, I think it’s worth exploring, which I recently did myself. I had a great experience trying Botox for the first time with Meghan. She has a soft, delicate touch, and the needles are tiny, so I felt no pain at all. She’s passionate about giving natural results and long-lasting...
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098 - Beyond Insurance: Taking Full Control of Your Health
W.O.W. MD - Your Wellness Optimizing Warrior
Today we’re concluding our conversation about being independently healthy. This time, we’re focusing on preventative care and maintaining your health. Most patients believe their health insurance plan is there to keep them healthy, but this is not true. The medical insurance industry is designed only to cover catastrophically high expenses in serious health situations. It’s important to remember that your health insurance does not guarantee you access to a wide array of services with your medical care provider. If you want services outside of what’s covered by your insurance, you may...
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097 - Understanding Your Medical Insurance: Beyond the Basics
W.O.W. MD - Your Wellness Optimizing Warrior
In this episode we’re continuing our conversation about being independently healthy, focusing on covered medical expenses. Medical insurance premiums have skyrocketed—they are extremely expensive, and therefore unaffordable for many people. If possible, it’s important to prioritize having your deductible on hand in case you ever need it. You may also need a contingency plan for specific medical expenses which are not covered. If it’s a therapy focused on maintaining wellness, balancing hormones, or anti-aging, it will likely not be a covered expense. The medical insurance...
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096 - Independence Day Special: Becoming Independently Healthy
W.O.W. MD - Your Wellness Optimizing Warrior
Many of us are familiar with the idea of being independently wealthy, but what does it mean to be independently healthy? Health independence is the ability to maintain your physical and mental wellbeing without relying on external support. If you want to be independently healthy, you need to eat well, exercise often, sleep soundly, and manage your stress. Having this knowledge is one thing, but using it is another. The reality is that 40% of Americans suffer from two or more chronic illnesses, and 3 out of 4 Americans are overweight or obese. It’s also much easier to be independently healthy...
info_outlineWe all have men in our life that we care about, and it’s important to keep their health at the top of our mind. One factor that can greatly impact men’s health is his cholesterol, however the way cholesterol works is greatly misunderstood. In this episode we’re debunking cholesterol myths and shedding light on what matters when it comes to cholesterol and men’s health.
70% of heart attacks are first time events, which means those who have one never knew they had heart disease in the first place. If you experience a heart attack, it’s really important to make diet and lifestyle changes. You will likely also be given medications by your doctor to help manage your heart health.
But here’s what you need to know: cholesterol is not the enemy. It’s actually an important molecule that serves many vital functions. It helps maintain the integrity of your cell membranes, plus supports hormone production (estrogen, progesterone, testosterone, cortisol, and more), and many of these hormones are vital to men’s optimal health.
Without cholesterol, you can become deficient in vitamin D. Cholesterol turns into vitamin D when we’re exposed to sunlight, and this vitamin is very important for maintaining bone health. Cholesterol is also needed to produce bile acids which help digest and absorb dietary fats in the digestive system.
A lack of cholesterol, specifically due to malabsorption, has been linked to neurodegenerative diseases like dementia. It’s indispensable for brain health and cognitive function. This doesn’t mean high cholesterol is the answer. When it comes to your levels, balance is key. You deserve a doctor who can take the time to guide you through balancing your cholesterol holistically.
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