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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.
The Day After: Neurohormonal Reverb After Finishing Somethin' Big (A Book, For Instance)
Have you ever finished a gigantic project, and been surprised by how you felt the next day? A bit unsettled. Out of sorts, maybe? Adrift? That’s how I feel today. Baby is launched. But why such weirdness? And my enduring followup question: What’s the neurohormonal backstory? It’s been an 18-month arc of getting my book…
Cortisol Switcheroo (Part 2): How to Right-Size Your Cortisol When It's Bringing You Down
One month ago, I wrote about my Achilles heel, which is the wayward, dysregulated hormone called cortisol. I wrote about “cortisol switch” which I’ll define again in a moment, but first up… let’s talk about how cortisol, the main stress hormone produced by your adrenal glands in your mid-back, brings you down and ramps up your…
My Paleolista Soul Sister: Julia Ross and The Diet Cure
Most Americans are now unable to stop eating refined sweets and starches. Why? Because these foods are actually more addictive than alcohol or drugs! No joke. Sugar ages you prematurely and feeds the wrong message to your genetic code. Stop the sugar train. As NIDA chief Nora Volkow explained in her April 30, 2012, 60…
The Cortisol Switch: How Cortisol Makes You Fat and Angry, Plus 7 Practices to Rock Your Stress
Have you heard of the “cortisol switch?” Here’s the scenario. When you’re stressed, you feel the positive vibe of cortisol – the rise of energy, the focus, the charge, the ascent. Cortisol is the main stress hormone made in your adrenal glands and it’s designed to get you out of danger. It has 3 main…
Your Boobs on Booze: How Alcohol Affects Your Breast Health
Darlings, first the good news. You have a choice about how estrogen works for or against you in your body. The bad news is that the latest, best evidence shows that 3 or more servings of alcohol per week may increase your risk of breast cancer quite seriously. Three. Per week. Most women I know…
Game Changers: 7 Women Who Rock My World (+ Connect Me to My Higher Purpose)
I am so very blessed. Here’s why. 7 Women. One Year. These 7 women have vaulted me to places I never thought possible in the past year, from the Fire Starter Sessions with Danielle Laporte (did her book, then did a live Fire Starter, and, WOW, life shifted to technicolor in so many delovely and…
Why I Love Michelle Obama: Humility. Grace. Integrity. Subversive. And Those Arms!
Michelle Obama feels like a real person. No pretense. Not precious. She was not brought up in wealth and privilege – she came from a working class family. She attended public schools. Neither parent went to college. She rode city buses for 3 hours per day to get to magnet high school. She earned her…
Addiction to Struggle: How It Shows Up (with thanks to Jung) + 3 Tips to Settle Down
In Portland last week, I was immensely enjoying dinner with my sister, her 11-month baby, and my elder daughter, now officially a ‘tween. We were having a magical time, hanging out at a hip Portlandia-esque natural foods restaurant called Blossoming Lotus, when the talk turned South. We were chatting about middle school, and the topic…
Medicine Woman Meets Medicine Woman: Talking Shop with Ana Forrest of Forrest Yoga
Recently I received an extravagant gift: an interview with my favorite yoga luminaries, Ana Forrest. Ana Forrest is not your typical international yoga rockstar. In fact, she’d probably correct me if I called her a rock star, and insist that she is a modern Medicine woman. (Actually, as I get to know Ana better, I bet she’d…