DeepSummary
The episode features an interview with Dr. Soyona Rafatjah, a functional medicine physician, who discusses how functional medicine differs from conventional medicine in addressing hormonal imbalances. She explains that the conventional approach often relies on prescribing medications like birth control pills to suppress symptoms rather than addressing the root causes. In contrast, functional medicine takes a holistic approach by investigating potential underlying factors through comprehensive lab testing and tailored lifestyle and nutritional interventions.
Dr. Rafatjah emphasizes the importance of getting the right lab tests done at the appropriate time in a woman's menstrual cycle to accurately assess hormone levels. She recommends tests for reproductive hormones, thyroid function, nutrient levels, metabolic markers, and inflammatory markers. Additionally, she highlights the role of stress, diet, and inflammation in contributing to hormonal imbalances and shares practical tips for self-care and adopting a more balanced lifestyle.
The discussion also explores the limitations of the current healthcare system, which is built on an insurance model that incentivizes more procedures and medication rather than promoting long-term health. Dr. Rafatjah suggests that functional medicine offers a more comprehensive approach by addressing root causes and partnering with patients to develop personalized treatment plans.
Key Episodes Takeaways
- Functional medicine takes a holistic approach to addressing hormonal imbalances by investigating root causes through comprehensive lab testing and lifestyle interventions.
- Getting the right lab tests done at the appropriate time in a woman's menstrual cycle is crucial for accurately assessing hormone levels.
- Factors like stress, diet, and inflammation can contribute to hormonal imbalances, and self-care practices are essential for maintaining balance.
- The current healthcare system is built on an insurance model that incentivizes treating illness rather than promoting long-term health, which is a limitation that functional medicine aims to address.
- Functional medicine practitioners collaborate with patients to develop personalized treatment plans tailored to their unique needs and circumstances.
- Comprehensive lab testing for women should include reproductive hormones, thyroid function, nutrient levels, metabolic markers, and inflammatory markers.
- Self-care practices like exercise, meditation, and activities that bring joy are crucial for nurturing overall well-being and hormonal balance.
- Addressing the root causes of hormonal imbalances often involves lifestyle and nutritional interventions, rather than just suppressing symptoms with medications.
Top Episodes Quotes
- “Yeah, I mean, there's a reason why I think people nicknamed the american health care system the sick care system, and there's a lot of reasons for that, I think mainly because our healthcare system is based on health insurance and health insurance reimbursement.“ by Soyona Rafatjah
- “If you're a woman who has a family history of thyroid disease or has any hypothyroid symptoms at all, which there's so many that if you're feeling off, then you most likely have at least one hypothyroid symptom, then I recommend you probably go with the ulta labs option, which if you go to ultalabs.com primehealth, you can get a 43 biomarker marker test for about $500.“ by Soyona Rafatjah
- “The habits are the foundation for health, those types of things. Of course, some women do have some pretty major underlying issues that need to be addressed more fully. And we definitely realized that in our women's health group, for instance, we ran a group with, like, 20 women, and we did a lab panel for them.“ by Soyona Rafatjah
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Episode Information
Behind Her Empire
Yasmin Nouri
12/13/23
As we navigate the complexities of modern living, achieving and maintaining hormonal balance can feel like an uphill battle. Functional medicine goes beyond conventional methods, focusing on root causes rather than merely alleviating symptoms—an empowering approach that’s slowly becoming the norm, and we're diving deep in today's episode!
In this episode you’ll learn:
* Easy functional tips anyone can implement
* The most important labs to run for hormones
* When in your cycle to run hormones labs
* Top contributors to hormone imbalances
* Why conventional medicine can fall short
Dr. Soyona Rafatjah is a board-certified Family Medicine physician and Co-Founder and Medical Director of PrimeHealth. Dr. Rafatjah is passionate about helping her patients reach their health goals. She helps them address the root cause of their issues and focuses on disease prevention in addition to treatment. Her patients feel in control of their health with the knowledge and tools she gives them.
Through an intimate, patient-physician partnership, and a whole-body approach, she and her patients develop a personalized treatment plan which adjusts to their needs and environment over time.
Labs we talk about in the episode:
Go to UltaLabs.com/PrimeHealth and scroll to the bottom to find the "PrimeHealth - Women's Health" panel for a full thyroid panel, reproductive hormones (E, P, T, LH, and FSH), adrenal hormone (DHEA-S), nutrient markers (Vit D, B12, homocysteine), iron studies (iron, TIBC, ferritin), metabolic markers (glucose, insulin, hba1c), anemia markers (Hb & Hct), and inflammatory markers (hs-CRP, ferritin, and reverse T3).
2) Inside Tracker - click this link or use code PrimeHealthPro25 for 25% off your entire order. We recommend the Ultimate Panel, which includes a ton of digestible information but keep in mind that this does not include a full thyroid panel (only TSH).
This episode is brought to you by beeya:
* Learn more about beeya's seed cycling bundle at https://beeyawellness.com/free to find out how to tackle hormonal imbalances.
* Get $10 off your order by using promo code BEHINDHEREMPIRE
Follow Yasmin:
* Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/yasminknouri/
* Website: https://www.behindherempire.com/
Follow Dr. Soyona:
* Website: https://primehealthdenver.com/
* Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/primehealthdenver/
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