Dr. Natasha Campbell-McBride is a medical doctor who graduated in Russia, and after practicing for five years as a Neurologist and three years as a Neurosurgeon she started a family and moved to the UK, where she got her second postgraduate degree in Human Nutrition. She is well known for developing a concept of GAPS (Gut And Psychology Syndrome), which she describes in her book Gut And Psychology Syndrome - Natural Treatment for Autism, ADHD, Dyslexia, Dyspraxia, Depression, and Schizophrenia.

The GAPS diet was developed to naturally treat chronic inflammatory conditions in the digestive tract as a result of a damaged gut lining.  Through years of research and clinical experience, Dr. Natasha Campbell-McBride adjusted her protocol to fit the needs of her patients suffering from a variety of intestinal and neurological conditions as a result of an imbalanced bacterial ecosystem within the GI tract.  The GAPS Diet focuses on removing foods that are difficult to digest and damaging to gut flora and replacing them with nutrient-dense foods to give the intestinal lining a chance to heal and seal.

In my interview with Dr. Natasha, we talk about the importance of gut health for fertility, pregnancy as well as the important role that gut health plays in the health of your children!

Topics discussed in today's episode

• What is the connection between the hormonal health and gut health?
• The relationship between menstrual cycle irregularities and gut dysbiosis
• How do antibiotics impact gut flora?
• What impact do hormonal contraceptives have on gut flora?
• The role that breastfeeding and vaginal delivery play in the development of healthy gut flora
• The relationship between abnormal gut flora and illnesses such as Autism, ADHD, allergies, food sensitivities, eczema, asthma, etc.
• The relationship between miscarriage and the toxic load we acquire in our modern world
• The relationship between gut health and fertility
• Using the GAPS diet to heal and seal the gut wall and improve fertility
• Nutrition for fertility, preconception, and pregnancy
• The importance of cholesterol for fertility and pregnancy and hormone balance
• The difference between raw dairy products and pasteurized supermarket dairy products
• The role of fermented foods in the GAPS healing protocol
• Why is it important for both the mother and father to focus on their gut health when trying to conceive
• The relationship between gut health and acne

Connect with Dr. Natasha

You can connect with Dr. Natasha on her website! and the GAPS diet website!

Resources mentioned

• Dr. Natasha | Dr. Natasha Campbell-McBride
• GAPS Diet | Dr. Natasha Campbell-McBride
• Gut And Psychology Syndrome - Natural Treatment for Autism, ADHD, Dyslexia, Dyspraxia, Depression, and Schizophrenia (book) | Dr. Natasha Campbell-McBride

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Music Credit: Intro/Outro music Produced by Sirc of (The Nock)

In this episode I stray from my usual interview format to share some information about an important topic, xenoestrogen exposure, and some of the ways to reduce your daily exposure to these endocrine disrupting hormones.

In case you don't know me already a few things you might want to know are that I trained as a Justisse Body Literacy Advocate with Justisse Healthworks for Women several years ago, I have been charting my own menstrual cycles using the Fertility Awareness Method for the past 14 years or so, and I am the founder of FertilityFriday.com as well as the Fertility Friday Podcast!

Topics discussed in today's episode

• What are xenoestrogens and how do they disrupt the balance of our hormones?
• What impact can xenoestrogens have in the menstrual cycle?
• The link between conventional meat and dairy products and menstrual cycle irregularities
• Why it might be a good idea to consider eating organic and local when possible
• Why you might want to do a household cleaning product and beauty product detox
• How conventional cleaning products can destroy indoor air quality
• Why the birth control pill is actually a xenoestrogen
• How does the birth control pill impact a woman's hormones?

Connect with Lisa

You can connect with Lisa on the Fertility Friday website and on Facebook and Twitter!

Resources mentioned

• Lisa | Fertility Friday
• FFP 037 | Managing Your Fertility Naturally with Fertility Awareness | Lisa Hendrickson-Jack
• The Clean 15 | Environmental Working Group
• The Dirty Dozen | Environmental Working Group
• "No poo" | DIY Baking Soda & Apple Cider Vinegar Rinse | Mind Body Green
• Easiest Natural DIY Deodorant Recipe Ever - How to make Natural Deodorant that Actually Works in 30 seconds or less!! | Fertility Friday
• Norwex Cleaning Products

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Music Credit: Intro/Outro music Produced by Sirc of (The Nock)

Geraldine is the founder of the Justisse Method - a comprehensive method of fertility awareness cycle charting that she founded in 1987. She is the CEO of Justisse Healthworks for Women, and she is the Academic Dean of the Justisse Training College. She has worked as a fertility awareness educator and a holistic reproductive health practitioner since 1977, and she has been active in the reproductive health freedoms movement since then.

If you didn’t get a chance to listen to the episode Geraldine and I recorded last year, you’ll want to go back and listen to episode 56 which I will link to this episode. In our previous episode, Geraldine talked in depth about the history of Fertility Awareness-Based Methods and how Justisse came about. She talked about the important role that she played in bringing this knowledge into the secular realm to allow free access to all women regardless of their marital status or religious affiliations.

In today’s show, we delve into the psycho-spiritual aspects of fertility awareness, the different ways that our bodies are commodified and mistreated within the standard medical system, and the implications these issues have for modern day feminists.

Topics discussed in today's episode

• Where does the Fertility Awareness Method fit in with modern day feminism?
• Why is our fertility treated as a "disease" that needs to be "treated" by modern medicine?
• Why are women still told that hormonal contraceptives do no harm to our reproductive systems?
• What is misogyny? And what does it have to do with the way women's bodies are treated in our medical system?
• The importance of calling it what it is - "birth control" vs. "contraceptive endocrine disruptor" vs. "temporary sterilization"
• The role of fear in the development of birth control methods
• The complicated relationship that women have with their bodies and their fertility
• Unplanned pregnancy, and why hormonal birth control is considered the only 'valid' birth control option
• The consequences of unplanned pregnancy, and the lack of support for mothers with newborn children
• The importance of proper attachment between mother and baby within the crucial first 2 years of life
• The role of breastfeeding in encouraging proper attachment between mother and child

Connect with Geraldine

You can connect with Geraldine on the Justisse website and on Facebook!

Resources mentioned

• Justisse Healthworks for Women | Geraldine Matus
• FFP 056 | The History of Fertility Awareness-Based Methods | The Justisse Method of Fertility Management | Learning and Teaching Fertility Awareness | Geraldine Matus
• FFP 063 | Lady-Comp & Daysy - Using Tech with Fertility Awareness | Holly Grigg-Spall
• The US needs paid family leave - for the sake of the future - TED Talk (youtube)
• Misogyny: The World's Oldest Prejudice | Jack Holland (book)
• The Fear of the Feminine: And Other Essays on Feminine Psychology (book) | Erich Neumann
• The Denial of Death | Ernest Becker (book)
• Magical Child | Joseph Chilton Pearce (book)

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Music Credit: Intro/Outro music Produced by Sirc of (The Nock)

Holly is the author of Sweetening the Pill or How we got hooked on hormonal birth control. If you haven’t had a chance to read this book and you’ve ever had any questions about the pill you need to get your hands on a copy ASAP! And if you haven't yet listened to my first interview with Holly you'll want to make sure to listen in! In our previous episode together Holly and I delve into the book and really hash out some of the most common side effects of the pill, and dispel some of the most common myths about the pill!

In today's episode, Holly and I talk about her most recent project as an ambassador for Daysy and Lady-Comp. We talk about the implications of using tech for cycle tracking and why most Fertility Awareness Educators, myself included, tend to discourage the use of fertility devices with prediction technology.

Topics discussed in today's episode

• What are Daysy and Lady-Comp and how are they used for Fertility Awareness tracking?
• How effective are these devices?
• How do these devices "know" when you are fertile and infertile?
• Do these devices encourage women to continue relying on external technology instead of learning about their bodies?
• Why do Fertility Awareness Educators discourage the use of predictive technology for Fertility Awareness?
• How can these devices bridge the gap between hormonal birth control and the fertility awareness method?
• Can Daysy and Lady-Comp give women an option when they want to transition off the pill?
• Do these devices just take us back to the rhythm method and encourage women to count the days of their cycle?
• The future of birth control technology from IUDs to remote control birth control
• How do Fertility Apps use our data without our knowledge?
• The importance of meeting women where they are with their knowledge and comfort with their own bodies
• The role that devices like Daysy and Lady-Comp can play in helping women transition from hormonal birth control and gain knowledge about their bodies

Connect with Holly

You can connect with Holly on her website and on Facebook and Twitter!

Resources mentioned

• Sweetening the Pill Website | Holly Grigg-Spall
• Sweetening the Pill Facebook Page | Holly Grigg-Spall
• Sweetening the Pill: or How We Got Hooked on Hormonal Birth Control (book) | Holly Grigg-Spall
• Sweetening The Pill Book Review | Fertility Friday
• FFP 021 | What Hormonal Contraceptives Really do to Women | Sweetening the Pill | Holly Grigg-Spall
• Top 10 unexpected effects of coming off the pill | Lisa Fertility Friday
• Daysy Fertility Monitor
• Lady-Comp Fertility Computer

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Music Credit: Intro/Outro music Produced by Sirc of (The Nock)