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The Gut-Hormone Link You Need to Know with Steven Wright

The Girlfriend Doctor w/ Dr. Anna Cabeca

Release Date: 03/28/2025

Empowering Women: Beyond the Estrogen Window

The Girlfriend Doctor w/ Dr. Anna Cabeca

Hormones can be wild, especially in perimenopause and menopause, and sometimes it feels like no one talks about just how much they mess with your mind, mood, and energy. But there’s a real science behind why things feel off, and it’s not all in your head. I sat down with my friend and hormone expert, Dr. Betty Murray, to talk about the gut-brain-hormone connection and why it’s such a big deal for women in this season of life. She’s not only a Functional Medicine Pioneer with over 20 years of experience, she’s also the Founder of The Menrva Project, a game-changing platform rethinking...

Unlocking the Power of Pelvic Light Therapy

The Girlfriend Doctor w/ Dr. Anna Cabeca

You might not think of light as a healing tool, but red and near-infrared light can do some pretty amazing things, especially when it comes to pelvic health. From easing perimenopause struggles to helping your body bounce back after birth, this kind of light therapy is opening up a whole new world for women dealing with pain, discomfort, or intimacy issues. I had such a good conversation with Dr. Genevieve Newton (Fringe’s Scientific Director) and Elizabeth Frey (Pelvic Health Physiotherapist) about how this all works, and why more women need to know about it. If you’ve been dealing with...

Cracking the Code of Hormone Health

The Girlfriend Doctor w/ Dr. Anna Cabeca

Hormones are wild, especially when you realize they’re not just about how much you have, but how your body uses and processes them behind the scenes. That’s what hormone metabolite testing helps uncover, and honestly, it’s a game-changer. I’m sitting down with Dr. Liz Bartman, an incredible Naturopathic Doctor with a deep background in hormone science, to talk about how we can actually test our hormones in a meaningful way and what those results are really telling us. We chat about the different ways to test—blood, saliva, urine—and why each one tells a slightly different story....

Innovative Treatments for Incontinence and Sexual Health

The Girlfriend Doctor w/ Dr. Anna Cabeca

Bladder leaks, dryness, and low libido aren’t exactly dinner table topics… but maybe they should be. These issues are way more common than we think, especially during and after menopause, and they have a huge impact on how we feel day to day. That’s why I sit down with Dr. Rena Malik, a Board-Certified Urologist and Sexual Medicine Specialist who’s made it her mission to talk about the things most people won’t. We talk about everything from pelvic floor problems to how hormones like estrogen and testosterone affect our sexual health and bladder function. Dr. Rena shares why stress...

Navigating Autoimmunity: Insights on MCAS

The Girlfriend Doctor w/ Dr. Anna Cabeca

Hormonal shifts in perimenopause and menopause can do more than throw off your cycle—they can actually stir up inflammation, spark strange symptoms, and even trigger immune responses that leave you wondering, what is going on with my body? If you've ever felt like your symptoms don’t quite “fit in a box,” this conversation is for you. I sit down with Dr. Tania Dempsey—a brilliant MD and expert in complex, multi-system diseases—to talk about Mast Cell Activation Syndrome (MCAS), why it’s often missed in women, and how hormones can play a huge role in triggering it. This episode...

Breaking the Silence on Mental Health with Karena Dawn

The Girlfriend Doctor w/ Dr. Anna Cabeca

Growing up with a mom struggling with severe mental illness, Karena Dawn learned early what it meant to carry heavy things in silence. That experience shaped so much of her life—including the dark years she rarely talked about. In this episode, she shares her journey from that painful silence to healing, forgiveness, and ultimately, purpose. We talk about how fitness became her lifeline and how she found her voice by telling the truth in her powerful memoir, The Big Silence. You may know Karena as the co-founder of Tone It Up, a wellness community that’s inspired millions of women—but...

Reclaiming Sacred Sexuality

The Girlfriend Doctor w/ Dr. Anna Cabeca

We’re back for part two of an eye-opening, soul-stirring conversation with Seren Bertrand. We’re talking sacred sexuality, feminine energy, and that beautiful, mystical power that lives in your body, especially in your vulva. Seren shares her own story of reclaiming her sensual energy and reminds us why our bodies are not only wise, but sacred. If you’ve ever felt disconnected or just a little curious about what it means to feel truly alive and sensual in your skin again, you’re in the right place. Seren is the brilliant Author of Womb Awakening and a guiding voice in the feminine...

Awakening the Enchantress Within - Part 1

The Girlfriend Doctor w/ Dr. Anna Cabeca

Menopause can feel like everything’s shifting—your body, your emotions, even your sense of who you are. It’s not just a phase to get through, it’s an invitation to slow down, listen in, and reconnect with the deeper wisdom within. In this conversation with Seren Bertrand, the award-winning Author of Womb Awakening, we talk about what it really means to step into this next chapter as a woman. Seren has walked with thousands of women through their feminine awakening and brings such grounded, mystical wisdom to the table. We talk about the “Dark Goddess” showing up at age 28, the...

Navigating Menopause: The Pelvic Floor Connection

The Girlfriend Doctor w/ Dr. Anna Cabeca

Most women don’t realize just how much menopause messes with their pelvic floor—until they’re leaking when they laugh or feeling like their body just isn’t working the way it used to. These changes can feel confusing, isolating, and even a little embarrassing—but they’re more common (and more fixable) than you think. This week, I sat down with my friend Kim Vopni—aka The Vagina Coach—to talk about what’s really going on with your body during this phase of life. Kim’s a certified personal trainer, menopause support practitioner, CEO of a Global Pelvic Health company, and...

Is Pelvic Floor Health Essential for Life?

The Girlfriend Doctor w/ Dr. Anna Cabeca

Most of us don’t think much about our pelvic floor—until we start leaking when we laugh or feel pain we can’t explain. That’s why I had such a powerful conversation with my friend Jana Danielson, who knows this topic inside and out. She shared how her own journey through chronic pelvic pain led her to discover the healing power of breath, movement, and mindset. Jana’s not just a wellness expert—she’s a woman who turned her pain into purpose. From teaching Pilates to creating the world’s first pelvic floor fitness tool (yes, the Cooch Ball is a thing—and it works), she’s...

More Episodes

Sometimes, feeling “off” isn’t just about stress or aging—it could be your gut trying to tell you something. Your digestion plays a bigger role than you might think, influencing everything from your energy and hormones to your mood and even your sex life. Steven Wright, Functional Medicine Expert and Founder of The Healthy Gut Company, is back to share why gut health is the key to feeling like yourself again. We get into the hidden culprits behind bloating, brain fog, and even intimacy struggles—because, yes, your gut impacts that too!

Turns out, simple changes can make a big difference. Steven breaks down how digestive enzymes can transform your digestion, why butyrate is a game-changer for gut healing, and what all of this has to do with hormone balance. We even tackle a topic most people avoid—how gut health can impact erectile function and what men can do about it. If you’ve been dealing with stubborn symptoms and wondering what’s really going on, you won’t want to miss this one.

Taking care of your gut is one of the best ways to support your body, and it doesn’t have to be complicated. And if menopause symptoms have been throwing you for a loop, I’ve got you—check out my Magic Menopause Program and let’s get you back to feeling amazing!

Key Timestamps:

[00:00:00] Introduction.

[00:04:02] Gut health journey and solutions.

[00:08:21] Beyond the everything's toxic paradigm.

[00:12:01] Enzyme production and digestion.

[00:15:00] Digestive health and food variety.

[00:19:42] Intimacy and digestive health.

[00:22:02] Enzyme dosage and sensitivity.

[00:24:11] Digestive enzymes and aging.

[00:27:39] Importance of butyrate for health.

[00:32:08] Butyrate and gut health.

[00:34:02] Tributyrate vs. Sodium Butyrate.

[00:40:20] Erectile dysfunction and gut health.

[00:45:49] Estrogen and gut health connection.

[00:47:53] Importance of gut health.

Memorable Quotes:

"It's not the foods that are wrong, the foods are not the enemy, it's the fact that your body is not capable of digesting these normal everyday foods and we should be looking upstream to what's going on with the body instead of blaming the foods." [00:12:05] – Steven Wright

"If it doesn't work, most of the time you have a gut issue that you need to address along with the BHRT. And if you do those things together, everything you're wanting from your program will start to come together." [00:46:08] – Steven Wright

Links Mentioned:

Magic Menopause Program: https://order.magicmenopause.com/

Healthy Gut (Code: DrAnna for 15% off): https://healthygut.com/dranna

Holozyme: https://healthygut.com/drannaholo

Tri-X: https://healthygut.com/drannatrix

HCL: https://healthygut.com/drannahcl

HoloImmune: https://healthygut.com/drannaimmune

Mag-HP: https://healthygut.com/drannamaghp

Beserene Bundle: https://healthygut.com/drannaserene

HistaHarmony: https://healthygut.com/drannahh

Connect with Steven Wright:

Website: https://healthygut.com/