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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.
POTS and the Autonomic Nervous System: A Post-COVID Rise in Dysregulation
Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (POTS) is a condition where your autonomic nervous system struggles to regulate blood flow and heart rate properly when you stand up, leading to an exaggerated increase in heart rate (tachycardia) without a corresponding drop in blood pressure. This dysregulation can cause symptoms like dizziness, fatigue, brain fog, and even fainting.…
5 Strategies for Reducing Your Risk for Autoimmune Disease
Autoimmune disease is when your immune system goes rogue—like a glitchy security system that starts attacking the VIP (you) instead of actual intruders. It’s not a rare problem: 25 million Americans have a diagnosed autoimmune disease, and up to 50 million are dealing with some level of immune dysfunction. That’s a lot of overzealous immune…
Environmental Pollutants as Toxic Signals (Part 2): Decoding the Damage and Defending Your Brain Health, Nervous System, and Well-Being
Environmental pollutants aren’t just passive bystanders in our bodies—they’re active, meddling saboteurs. These toxins, whether they hitch a ride through the air we breathe, the water we sip, or the plastics in our pantry, act as biological signals that interfere with our brain health, nervous system, and overall well-being. Mounting evidence shows that environmental pollutants,…
Environmental Pollutants as Toxic Signals (Part 1): Understanding the Hidden Threats to Your Brain Health, Nervous System, and Well-Being
Think of your nervous system as a high-speed train system—efficient, precise, and designed to keep everything running on schedule. Messages zip from your brain to your body like bullet trains, ensuring you can think, move, and function without delays. But what happens when environmental pollutants sneak onto the tracks? Imagine lead as a pile of…
Stress Hormones in Postpartum, Perimenopause and Menopause: Focus on Norepinephrine
When I worked in mainstream medicine, I was perplexed about why so many of my patients aged 35 and older were taking either selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) or selective norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs) to treat certain types of depression and anxiety. SSRIs work by blocking reuptake of serotonin by nerves, and SNRIs work by…
Divorce in Midlife: Experience, Independence, and Self-Awareness Converge
If you’re in your 40s and suddenly thinking, I’d rather be alone with a houseplant than stay in this marriage, you’re not alone. Women initiate nearly 70% of divorces, and midlife is prime time for calling it quits. Why? Because the “I’m Done” decade is real. The most common age for a woman to initiate divorce is…
Leaky Gut and Autoimmune Disorders
Severe fatigue, brain fog, aches and pains, feelings of tingling and numbness, stubborn weight gain, abdominal pain, digestive problems, hair loss, insomnia, and even anxiety are common complaints I have heard over the years from my patients, many of whom struggle to keep their conditions under control with steroids, anti-inflammatories, pain killers, and other medications.…
Filling the Gaps in Women’s Health: Personalized Guidance Is Essential
Women may have gained more power and equality in many areas, but there is one that remains broken: women’s healthcare. In this sector the gender gap is real and widening. Men have an advantage in terms of research, access, opportunity, and advice. The current healthcare continues to adopt a one-size-fits-all approach and the solutions offered…
Women and Autoimmune Disease: Why Are Our Rates Higher?
Approximately 24 to 50 million people in the U.S. currently have an autoimmune disease, which means their immune system is attacking their own healthy tissues and cannot correctly distinguish self from non-self. As a result of autoimmune attack, there is damage and dysfunction in the affected tissues. Women are disproportionately affected by autoimmune disease. Why…