740. How To Balance Cortisol For Better Energy, Mood and Sleep
The Female Health Solution Podcast
Release Date: 07/28/2025
768. Normal Labs, No Answers: How to Find the Root Cause of Hormone Issues with Dr. Jenny Gerken
The Female Health Solution Podcast
Have you ever been told your labs are “normal,” but you still feel exhausted, foggy, wired, or not like yourself? I'm Dr. Jenny, one of the docs on the team with Dr. Beth Westie. In this episode of The Female Health Solution Podcast, I share my clinical perspective after working with hundreds of women inside Dr. Beth Westie’s practice. We dive into why normal blood work doesn’t always mean your hormones are functioning well and how deeper testing helps us uncover what’s really happening behind the scenes. I also show the difference between blood work and the DUTCH Test, why cortisol...
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767. The Truth About Fatigue, Cortisol, and Adrenal Health
The Female Health Solution Podcast
If you are exhausted all the time and can’t figure out why, this episode is for you. Today I’m breaking down the real truth about adrenal health, cortisol, and fatigue, and why so many women feel stuck, dismissed, or confused when it comes to their energy. Fatigue is not one thing. It is not always just stress, and it is definitely not something you should be told to “just push through.” One of the most frustrating things about fatigue is that so many symptoms overlap. Low energy can come from nutrient deficiencies, blood sugar instability, thyroid dysfunction, estrogen or progesterone...
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766. Wired But Tired: The Cortisol Pattern Most Women Miss
The Female Health Solution Podcast
The wired-but-tired feeling is incredibly common, especially for women, and it’s one of the most frustrating places to be. You want energy during the day. You want sleep at night. But instead, it feels like your body is doing the exact opposite of what it should. In this episode, I’m breaking down what’s actually happening behind the scenes when you feel wired but tired and why pushing harder, drinking more coffee, or just “trying to relax” usually makes things worse. When I see this pattern, it almost always points back to dysfunction in the HPA axis, which controls your adrenal...
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765. The Hidden Hormone Drain: How Estrogen and Progesterone Affect Your Energy
The Female Health Solution Podcast
Have you ever noticed that your energy is not consistent throughout the month? Some weeks you feel sharp, motivated, and on top of everything, and other weeks you feel exhausted, anxious, foggy, or completely wiped out. That is not random. That is hormones. In this episode, I walk you through how estrogen and progesterone impact your energy across your entire cycle and why understanding this changes everything. Once you see it, you cannot unsee it. I break down what a typical 28 day cycle looks like and what your hormones are supposed to be doing at each phase. What we cover in this episode:...
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764. Is It Cortisol? How to Tell If Your Adrenals Are Really the Problem
The Female Health Solution Podcast
How do you know if it’s really your cortisol causing symptoms like exhaustion, burnout, low mood, or low libido? How do you know if it’s adrenal insufficiency, adrenal dysfunction, or something else entirely? In this episode, I break down exactly how to tell the difference between low cortisol and high cortisol, why symptoms overlap with thyroid issues and other hormone imbalances, and why guessing or treating blindly can actually make things worse. What I Cover in This Episode • The difference between adrenal function vs cortisol output • Why blood, saliva, and urine cortisol...
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763. Sleep & Hormones: Why Your Brain Won't Shut Off At Night
The Female Health Solution Podcast
In this episode, I break down why you can feel exhausted all day but suddenly wired the moment you try to sleep. We talk about how cortisol, melatonin, blood sugar, and perimenopause all play a role, and what you can actually do to get real rest. What we cover: 1. Cortisol and melatonin basics Your circadian rhythm depends on high cortisol in the morning and low cortisol at night. If cortisol spikes in the evening, you will feel “tired but wired.” Taking melatonin will not help if melatonin is normal and cortisol is the real problem. 2. How DUTCH testing reveals the root cause A...
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762. What Your Regular Hormone Labs Can’t Tell You
The Female Health Solution Podcast
In this episode of the Female Health Solution Podcast, I break down one of the biggest frustrations women face: Your labs come back “normal,” yet you still feel exhausted, inflamed, moody, or nothing like yourself, and no one can explain why. Here’s what we cover: Why basic blood work misses the real problem Regular labs look for disease, not dysfunction. A standard CBC or hormone panel can’t show how your hormones are produced, processed, or eliminated. Blood tests catch crises, not the early warning signs of perimenopause, adrenal burnout, or estrogen dominance. What DUTCH...
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761. How to Protect Your Hormones During the Holidays
The Female Health Solution Podcast
Your hormones are not separate from your life. They’re responding to it. And nothing reveals that more clearly than the holiday season. Every year, women take on more—more planning, more emotional labor, more mental load, more pressure to make everything magical. And we tell ourselves it’s “just busy,” but physiologically, there’s so much more happening beneath the surface. When your schedule gets unpredictable, your meals get irregular, or your sleep gets pushed aside, your cortisol rises. When cortisol rises, progesterone dips. And when progesterone dips, you feel it: heavier...
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760. Is It Really Perimenopause? The Truth About What Your Body Is Really Doing
The Female Health Solution Podcast
Today is a little different...I'm pulling back the curtain on what’s really happening inside your body during this stage of life—and what most women are never told. If you’re in your 40s (or even your late 30s) and you’ve wondered, “Is this perimenopause… or is something actually wrong with me?” this conversation is for you. As I’ve moved into my forties myself, and having worked with hundreds of women in this phase, I’ve become even more aware of how much confusion and noise surrounds this transition. Perimenopause has almost become a buzzword, but very few women understand...
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759. The Top 5 Herbs Every Woman Needs for Hormone Balance
The Female Health Solution Podcast
In this episode, I’m breaking down exactly how specific herbs in our cycle-based tinctures support your hormones in a real, clinical way—not just “woo” or wishful thinking. We talk through five key herbs you’ll find in my Estrogen support and progesterone-support tinctures—red clover, angelica, white peony, Vitex, and red raspberry leaf—and what they actually do in the body: How red clover helps your estrogen receptors work properly (without “adding more estrogen”) so you can calm brain fog, mood swings, and night sweats. Why angelica and white peony are powerful...
info_outlineCortisol often gets a bad rap, but it’s actually essential. Produced by the adrenal glands, cortisol helps wake you up, energize your mornings, and regulate your stress response throughout the day. It should peak mid-morning and slowly taper off by night. But stress, caffeine, poor sleep, and even late-night workouts can throw off this rhythm.
If you can’t get up in the morning or hit that afternoon slump, chances are your cortisol is off. Let’s talk about some ways to get it back on track:
You can’t out-supplement bad sleep. If you’re not in bed by 10 p.m., you’re missing your hormonal “golden hour”—a critical window when your body detoxifies, regenerates, and resets cortisol patterns for the next day. Poor sleep disrupts this process, making your system more sensitive and reactive.
Sleep tips:
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Power down by 9:30 p.m.
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Avoid intense workouts after 7 p.m.
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Skip screens and opt for a relaxing bedtime routine.
The food you eat—and when you eat it—impacts your cortisol response. One of the simplest ways to stabilize your system is by eating complete nutrients: protein, fat, and carbs in balanced amounts throughout the day. Most women are not eating enough protein! Shoot for 30+ grams of protein per meal.
Morning strategy:
Eat a high protein meal within an hour of waking up—even if it’s small. Not hungry in the morning? That’s a sign your cortisol might be off.
Throughout the day:
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Eat regularly (don’t skip meals).
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Include stress-friendly carbs (yes, carbs!) to support insulin balance.
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Focus on high protein foods
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Avoid extreme diets that aren’t tailored to female physiology.
Needing three cups of coffee just to function? Or winding down every night with a glass (or two) of wine? That’s a signal your nervous system is relying too much on external crutches. Instead, we want your body to naturally produce energy and relax without chemical prompts.
The goal: Not to eliminate these completely, but to shift toward choice over dependence.
Supplements can help—but only when the foundation is solid. That’s why I love my Adrenal Balance Tincture, packed with adaptogens that modulate your stress response. But remember: even the best herbs won’t help if you’re sleeping 4 hours a night and living on caffeine.
Finally, don’t forget to play. Engaging in a hobby like painting or gardening activates your brain’s creative centers, which helps balance your mood and enhance resilience. Add the fun back into your day—your cortisol will thank you.
🎉 Join the Free 5-Day Adrenal Repair!
We’re launching a Free 5-Day Adrenal Repair —designed specifically to improve your cortisol response. It’s not restrictive. And it’s packed with strategies to help you feel calmer, more energized, and less reactive to everyday stress.
✅ Real food
✅ Morning & Evening routines
✅ Daily guidance
✅ No judgment
✅ Big shifts in just 5 days