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Explore the latest articles by Dr. Sara Szal, where she blends science and holistic wisdom to address the most pressing issues in women’s health, longevity, and personal transformation.
Your Hair Loss Isn’t About Your Shampoo: What Your Body Is Actually Telling You
Your hair is thinning. Maybe it’s collecting in the shower drain, or your ponytail feels thinner than it used to. You’ve tried new shampoos, expensive serums, biotin supplements. Nothing seems to work. I’ve been there and understand this isn’t a problem of vanity, hair loss is a big deal emotionally and it’s a big deal…
A Simple Evening Protocol for Nervous System Regulation
This five-minute nightly practice supports sleep, focus, and nervous system resilience. Most people end the day replaying what went wrong only to have their nervous system pay the price. I recommend a simple nightly ritual to shift your brain out of stress and into agency. Here’s how it works: Pair psychologist Martin Seligman’s “What Went…
The Thyroid Problems Most Doctors Don’t Measure
Women are told their thyroid labs are normal far more often than men, yet they are also far more likely to have thyroid disease. This is not coincidence, it is biology. Thyroid disorders are among the most sexually dimorphic conditions in medicine, meaning that we see major differences between men and women. Autoimmune thyroid disease, hypothyroidism,…
Your Body Wasn’t Designed for This! The Indoor Epidemic Is Killing Your Heart Rate Variability (and What to Do About It)
We’ve built a world that is incompatible with our biology. The average person spends 93% of their life indoors, which represents one of the most dramatic environmental shifts in human evolutionary history, compressed into roughly three generations. Meanwhile, your nervous system is paying the price. I’m talking about heart rate variability, or HRV. For those…
Perimenopause in 12 Minutes? Why 87% of Women Never Get the Treatment They Need
Your doctor has 12 minutes for your appointment. Your perimenopause and menopause will last, on average, 42 years. The math has never worked, and women are paying the price with their health, their careers, and their quality of life. A 2025 study published in Mayo Clinic Proceedings revealed what millions of women already know from…
Testosterone: The Most Abundant Hormone in Women
If testosterone were a party guest, women would be the hosts. Androgens are the most abundant hormone in women. Yet this class of hormones (that includes DHEA and testosterone) still gets introduced like it wandered in from the men’s side of the room. Women make testosterone every day, from the ovaries and adrenal glands, plus…
When ‘Acceptable’ Vitamin D Hides Insufficiency: A Physician’s Discovery
We’re both physicians. We both had ‘acceptable’ Vitamin D levels. We were both insufficient. I’m Sara Szal, an OB/GYN with 30 years of experience. My Vitamin D was 32 ng/mL. My doctor said, “You’re fine. Above 30 is sufficient.” But I was struggling with recurrent infections, seasonal mood issues every winter, rising anti-nuclear antibodies, and…
The Top Hormone Imbalances I See in Women
Hormones don’t fail quietly.They speak through symptoms, often long before labs look “abnormal.” In my clinical work, these are the most common hormone imbalances I see in women, especially during premenopause, perimenopause, and menopause. Many women experience more than one at the same time, which is why symptoms can feel confusing or contradictory. High Cortisol…
The Exhausted Achiever’s Body: What Your Symptoms Are Actually Telling You
You achieved everything on the checklist. The education, the career, the carefully constructed life. So why does your body feel like it’s breaking down? This isn’t a personal failing. It’s a physiological inevitability when we ignore how female bodies actually work. The Biology of Achievement at All Costs Female physiology operates on multiple overlapping rhythms:…