Thrive on Plants

Forty percent of women are not being heard by their doctors when they report menopause symptoms. Andrea Donsky was one of them.
She is a nutritionist with 26 years of experience. She had studied health and wellness her entire career. And she still spent 14 years in perimenopause without knowing it.
When she finally understood what had been happening to her body, she did not keep it to herself. She spent two years researching, surveyed over 5,200 women, published her findings, and wrote the book she wished she had been handed at 35. That book is Nourishing Menopause: Powerful Nutrition and Lifestyle Strategies to Feel Your Best. 
In this episode, we cover:
Why perimenopause likely starts earlier than you think, and why most women miss it
How one night of poor sleep disrupts insulin, increases cravings, and contributes to weight gain
The REST Protocol for better sleep: Routine, Environment, Support, and Technology
Why "eat less, exercise more" stops working in perimenopause, and what to do instead
The 17 reasons you may be gaining weight, and most of them are not your fault
How your gut microbiome and estrobolome affect hormone clearance
The blood tests every woman in midlife should be asking her doctor for
Andrea's simple protein formula, built directly from the research
Why most electrolyte supplements are formulated for male athletes, not perimenopausal women
How mindset shapes your menopause experience more than most people realize
Andrea's research found that 50 to 90 percent of the top 10 most common menopause symptoms are brain and mental health related
Get Nourishing Menopause (available now): https://www.amazon.com/dp/1668061546
Audible: https://www.audible.com/pd/Nourishing-Menopause-Audiobook/B0FXHRZX63 
Book website: nourishingmenopausebook.com (a great download is available on this site)
Learn more about Andrea and her research: https://wearemorphus.com
Follow Andrea Donsky: 
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wearemorphus 
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@andreadonsky 
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@wearemorphus
Additional resources to help you thrive on plants:
🌱 Access the free Plant-Powered Body course: Access Here
🌱 Take the free health assessment for women 40+: Start Here  
🌱  Watch every episode on YouTube
⭐️ If you loved this episode, please leave a review! ⭐️
Here’s how to do it on Apple Podcasts:
Go to the Thrive on Plants Podcast page: Click here
Scroll down to the ‘Ratings & Reviews’ section. Tap ‘Write a Review’ 
(you may be prompted to log in with your Apple ID). 
Thank you for your support!

Lori Baum is a medical assistant who has spent over two decades working in oncology. She knows cancer. She knows screenings. She eats well, stays active, and has been proactive about her health for years.
And still, in November 2022, she found the words "invasive carcinoma" on her phone screen at lunch.
In this episode of Thrive on Plants, Lori shares her full story: a heavy family history of cancer, a negative BRCA test, a breast MRI that changed everything, and a triple-negative breast cancer diagnosis that her mammogram earlier that same year had completely missed.
What follows is one of the most honest conversations we have had on this podcast. Lori talks about what it actually feels like to go through 16 rounds of chemotherapy and 15 rounds of radiation, how she stayed active and kept eating well when treatment was taking everything from her, what the healthcare system gets right and gets wrong during survivorship, and how she found her way back to herself on the other side.
Lori is now 58 years old, fully plant-based, strength training, running half marathons, and training for an Ironman relay. She says she is in the best shape of her life.
Topics covered:
Why family history and dense breasts may require more than a standard mammogram
Triple negative breast cancer: what it is and what treatment involves
How Lori stayed active and ate well through chemotherapy and radiation
The emotional weight of survivorship and what comes after treatment ends
How plant-based eating and strength training transformed her recovery
Why self-advocacy is the most important tool you have in your healthcare journey
Connect with Lori: [email protected]
Additional resources to help you thrive on plants:
🌱 Access the free Plant-Powered Body course: Access Here
🌱 Take the free health assessment for women 40+: Start Here  
🌱  Watch every episode on YouTube
⭐️ If you loved this episode, please leave a review! ⭐️
Here’s how to do it on Apple Podcasts:
Go to the Thrive on Plants Podcast page: Click here
Scroll down to the ‘Ratings & Reviews’ section. Tap ‘Write a Review’ 
(you may be prompted to log in with your Apple ID). 
Thank you for your support!

Content Warning: This episode includes an honest, courageous conversation about the mental health toll of hormone deficiency, including a moment of profound hopelessness. Sarah speaks to this with full self-awareness and strong support in place. If you or someone you love is struggling, please reach out to the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline by calling or texting 988.

What happens when a nurse practitioner who specializes in women's hormonal health spends an entire year fighting to get her own hormones covered by insurance?

That is exactly what happened to Sarah Katkhouda, FNP-C.

Sarah is a women's health nurse practitioner and a provider at MIDI Health. In this episode, she pulls back the curtain on one of the most frustrating and overlooked realities in women's healthcare: the gap between what women need and what the system is actually willing to provide.

After undergoing a hysterectomy and oophorectomy for pelvic congestion syndrome, Sarah was plunged into surgical menopause overnight. What followed was a year of insurance denials, medication shortages, dose trials, canceled appointments, and a slow but deliberate fight to reclaim her health, her strength, and her sense of self.

In this episode, we cover:
What pelvic congestion syndrome is, why it is underdiagnosed, and what women need to know before pursuing surgical intervention
The critical differences between surgical menopause and natural menopause, and why treating them identically is doing women a serious disservice
How to optimize estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone, and why the sequence and method of delivery matter
The role of muscle in hormonal health, metabolic resilience, and longevity, and what happens to musculoskeletal integrity when hormones are out of range
How to self-advocate when you feel dismissed or worn down by a system that was not built with women in mind
Sarah does not sugarcoat what this year has cost her. She also does not stop there. She shares what she has learned, what she wishes she had known, and why she is committed to making sure other women do not have to fight as hard or as long as she did.

Connect with Sarah Katkhouda, FNP-C:

Sarah is a provider at MIDI Health, a telehealth organization focused on women's midlife health. MIDI accepts insurance and is available in all 50 states.

MIDI Health: https://www.joinmidi.com

Disclaimer: This episode is for educational and informational purposes only. It does not constitute medical advice. Please consult a qualified healthcare provider for guidance specific to your individual health needs.

#MenopauseHealth #HormoneReplacement #SurgicalMenopause #WomensHealth #HRTAwareness #TestosteroneForWomen #PelvicPain #PelvicCongestionSyndrome #MenopauseSupport #HormoneOptimization #MidlifeWomen #WomensHealthAdvocacy #ThriveonPlants #DrDaphneBascom #PerimenopausalHealth #MuscleAndHormones #MentalHealthAndMenopause
Additional resources to help you thrive on plants:
🌱 Access the free Plant-Powered Body course: Access Here
🌱 Take the free health assessment for women 40+: Start Here  
🌱  Watch every episode on YouTube
⭐️ If you loved this episode, please leave a review! ⭐️
Here’s how to do it on Apple Podcasts:
Go to the Thrive on Plants Podcast page: Click here
Scroll down to the ‘Ratings & Reviews’ section. Tap ‘Write a Review’ 
(you may be prompted to log in with your Apple ID). 
Thank you for your support!

Most of us were never taught about the pelvic floor. And yet it affects everything from bladder control and bowel health to sex, exercise, and how we age through menopause. In this episode, Dr. Daphne sits down with Dr. Sara Reardon, board-certified pelvic floor physical therapist and author of Floored, to have the conversation most of us never got from our doctors or our mothers.
In this episode we discuss:
What the pelvic floor actually is and why it affects everything from peeing and pooping to sex, exercise, and menopause
The three reasons women have been kept in the dark about pelvic health (and why this is a medical system failure, not a personal one)
Why Kegels are not the whole answer and why some women actually need to relax, not strengthen
How perimenopause and declining estrogen quietly change your pelvic floor, even if you've never had children
Topical vaginal estrogen, prolapse, hysterectomy, orgasms, running incontinence, and more
Resources:
Book: Floored: A Woman's Guide to Pelvic Floor Health at Every Age and Stage by Dr. Sara Reardon: https://thevagwhisperer.com/floored/
Dr. Sara Reardon's website and The V-Hive app (your pocket pelvic floor therapist): https://www.thevagwhisperer.com/
Find a pelvic floor PT near you (Academy of Pelvic Health Physical Therapy): https://pelvicrehab.com
Follow Dr. Sara Reardon on Instagram: @the.vagina.whisperer | YouTube: @thevaginawhisperer | App: @the.vhive
If this episode helped you, please subscribe, leave a review, and share it with a woman in your life who needs to hear this. Your pelvic floor has to last you a lifetime. Start caring for it today.
Additional resources to help you thrive on plants:
🌱 Access the free Plant-Powered Body course: Access Here
🌱 Take the free health assessment for women 40+: Start Here  
🌱  Watch every episode on YouTube
⭐️ If you loved this episode, please leave a review! ⭐️
Here’s how to do it on Apple Podcasts:
Go to the Thrive on Plants Podcast page: Click here
Scroll down to the ‘Ratings & Reviews’ section. Tap ‘Write a Review’ 
(you may be prompted to log in with your Apple ID). 
Thank you for your support!

Description:
268 million years. That is how much collective life the Black community in America is on track to lose to preventable chronic disease. Kwame Terra, a plant-based public health strategist, walked over 2 million steps in 30 days to launch bEHR Health, a platform designed to recapture that time. This conversation will change how you think about health, community, and what real prevention looks like.
In this episode of Thrive on Plants, Dr. Daphne Bascom sits down with Kwame Terra, MPH, the founder and CEO of bEHR Health Systems (Black Electronic Health Record) to talk about the life expectancy gap facing Black Americans, why 80-90% of health outcomes are determined outside the clinic, how a 55-year-old physician lost 20 pounds and stopped taking blood pressure medication after a community walking challenge, and why Kwame believes "the desire to live" is the true root of longevity.
Kwame has been plant-based for over a decade, studied public health at Xavier University of Louisiana and Columbia University, worked on organic farms, and built a health platform that is producing measurable, real-time improvements in community health scores. He is also the person behind the bEHRathon, a virtual walking challenge launching April 1, 2026 with the goal of collectively walking to the moon (239,000 miles) in 30 days.
Whether you are plant-based, plant-curious, or simply believe that your zip code should not determine your lifespan, this episode is for you.
JOIN THE bEHRATHON (April 1-30, 2026)
The bEHRathon is a virtual walk/run challenge on the bEHR Health app. The mission: unite 2,500+ participants and collectively walk 239,000 miles to the moon in 30 days. All you need is 7,000 steps a day. Learn more here: https://luma.com/fpz4hxmv
The app is free for the first 30 days. Download now so you are ready for April 1:
https://behrhs.com/
How to get involved:
- Download the bEHR Health app (free 30-day trial)
- Commit to 7,000 steps a day in April
- Invite your friends, your run club, your family, your community
- Share this episode with someone who needs to hear it
CONNECT WITH KWAME TERRA + bEHR HEALTH
Website: https://behrhs.com/
Social: @behrhealth (all platforms) | @kwameterra
#PlantBased #HealthEquity #BlackHealth #bEHRHealth #bEHRathon #WalkingChallenge #LifestyleMedicine #ThriveOnPlants #Longevity #PlantBasedDiet #FoodIsMedicine #WholeFoodPlantBased #PublicHealth #PreventiveMedicine #WalkToTheMoon
Additional resources to help you thrive on plants:
🌱 Access the free Plant-Powered Body course: Access Here
🌱 Take the free health assessment for women 40+: Start Here  
🌱  Watch every episode on YouTube
⭐️ If you loved this episode, please leave a review! ⭐️
Here’s how to do it on Apple Podcasts:
Go to the Thrive on Plants Podcast page: Click here
Scroll down to the ‘Ratings & Reviews’ section. Tap ‘Write a Review’ 
(you may be prompted to log in with your Apple ID). 
Thank you for your support!