This week, I talked about my experience with having a lumbar spinal cortisone shot at UConn. Spoiler alert: it was a great experience! Just waiting for it to take full effect, but I already have a lot less overall nerve pain. It's exciting! Maybe I'll be back on the bike next weekend! I talked about the health benefits of acetyl-l-carnitine, an amino acid that can help with nerve pain and function. I'm taking it for my nerve pain, and I'll see if it helps! I started to discuss peri- and postmenopausal women and nutrition. Low energy availability and relative energy deficit are totally a thing, and women tend to arrive their because they undereat due to a fear of gaining weight! We get some expert opinions on why older women, especially athletes, should eat more.

This week I talked about my spinal stenosis, how I'm managing, what the MRI said, and how it'll be treated. Let's hope for the best! I also talked about the loneliness epidemic, how and who it's affecting, and how to help. We finished with natural progesterone and other things to help with menopause symptoms.

This week, we talked about two essential amino acids that are harder to obtain in a vegan diet, but not impossible: leucine and lysine. They can be found in beans, nuts, seeds, and pseudograins like quinoa and amaranth. They're both important for building muscle and collagen. Lysine is also important for immune function. We also got started on whether it's really necessary to take estrogen as part of a natural hormone replacement protocol. Hint: maybe not! We continue to make estrogen into our menopausal years, even if you can't see it in blood work. It's in the organs!