LISTEN TO THE PODCAST – Also available on Spotify and Apple Podcasts
Menopause is natural, but suffering through it doesn’t have to be.
In this episode of the Thyroid Pharmacist Healing Conversations podcast, I interviewed my dear friend and long-time collaborator, Dr. Anna Cabeca, also known as The Girlfriend Doctor. Dr. Anna is a triple board-certified OB-GYN, bestselling author, hormone health pioneer, and the formulator of some of the most effective and beloved women’s health products on the market, including Julva® and Mighty Maca Plus®. Her personal journey through early menopause and infertility led her on a global quest to uncover the root causes of hormonal imbalances, and ultimately, reclaim her health and fertility.
We dive into why perimenopause and menopause can feel so destabilizing for women, especially alongside thyroid conditions, and what to do to feel vibrant and empowered in this “second spring.” Dr. Anna shares how to navigate hormonal decline, blood sugar shifts, mood swings, vaginal atrophy, libido changes, and adrenal fatigue using targeted lifestyle strategies and powerful biohacks like urine pH testing, CGMs, adaptogens, and topical DHEA.
If you’ve been told that menopause means the end of joy, energy, intimacy, or vitality, this episode will make you feel hopeful, inspired, and back in control of your hormones.
What you’ll learn in this episode:
- Menopause is natural, but suffering doesn’t have to be part of it. Many women are told to brace for hot flashes, mood swings, and weight gain as inevitable. Dr. Anna explains why menopause is a transition, not a disease, and how targeted support for hormones, inflammation, and adrenal health can help you thrive in your “second spring.”
- The Keto-Green method balances metabolism and mood, especially during perimenopause. Traditional keto diets can worsen symptoms for some women due to increased acidity and stress. Dr. Anna’s approach combines a modified keto approach with alkalinizing foods, intermittent fasting, and hormone-friendly nutrients to support brain health, insulin sensitivity, and energy without the typical keto crash.
- Your urine pH and ketones tell the real story. Instead of guessing how your body is responding, Dr. Anna recommends simple at-home urine testing for pH and ketones. These biomarkers reveal how food, stress, sleep, and even emotions affect your physiology, and guide personalized adjustments for hormone and metabolic balance.
- Oxytocin is a missing piece in the hormone conversation. Often overlooked, this “connection hormone” helps regulate cortisol, improve mood, and restore vitality. Dr. Anna highlights how pleasure, laughter, and even playing with pets can naturally raise oxytocin, shifting the body out of burnout and into healing.
- Topical DHEA for vaginal rejuvenation can be a game changer. From discomfort and dryness to incontinence and low libido, vaginal atrophy can erode quality of life. Dr. Anna explains how products like JULVA®, along with DHEA and pelvic floor support, can restore comfort, sensation, and confidence at any age.
- Yes, you can reverse premature ovarian failure. Dr Anna’s story proves it. After being told she was infertile and in early menopause, she reversed her symptoms, conceived naturally at 41, and now helps other women do the same.
Freebies
- Free trial of Julva® cream
- Dr. Anna’s Hormone Fix Quiz
Guest Resources / Connect with Dr. Anna Cabeca
- Visit Dr. Anna’s Website
- Listen to The Girlfriend Doctor Podcast
- Follow Dr. Anna on Instagram and Facebook
- Sexual CPR Program: Dr. Anna’s holistic approach to supporting intimacy, libido, and sexual well-being.
- Book by Dr. Anna: The Hormone Fix – Burn fat naturally, boost energy, sleep better, and stop hot flashes, the keto-green way.
- Book by Dr. Anna: Keto-Green 16 – The fat-burning power of ketogenic eating + the nourishing strength of alkaline foods = rapid weight loss and hormone balance.
- Book by Dr. Anna: MenuPause – Five unique eating plans to break through your weight loss plateau and improve mood, sleep, and hot flashes.
Supplements We Discussed
- Mighty Maca Plus®: Dr. Anna’s signature adaptogenic blend of over 30 superfoods and botanicals to support adrenal health, hormone balance, and detoxification.
- Julva® Balance Cream: Used to rejuvenate vulvar tissue, improve moisture, and support local hormone balance.
- Julva® Kiss: A DHEA-based lip renewal complex that can moisturize, plump, and reduce fine lines.
- Bioidential Progesterone and Pregnenolone (topical/oral) can support sleep, mood, and cognition, especially in perimenopause. Dr. Anna’s Balance® Cream is enriched with tri-peptides and features natural ingredients derived from wild yams.
- Vitamin D, B vitamins, iodine, tryptophan: Nutritional support for hormone pathways, serotonin, and adrenal function. I like Vitamin D3 by Pure Encapsulations.
- Probiotics for women: can be helpful to support the gut and vaginal microbiomes, as well as overall health. I like Seed’s VS-01 Vaginal Synbiotic.
Other Tools and Resources
- Continuous Glucose Monitors (CGMs): Dr. Anna recommends the Stelo CGM and Freestyle Libre for blood sugar awareness.
- Ketone and pH testing strips: To monitor nutritional ketosis, metabolic flexibility, and alkalinity.
- Red light therapy, pelvic floor therapy, vibration therapy: For rejuvenating pelvic health and reversing atrophy.
- Oxytocin-boosting practices: Joy, dancing, play, laughter, nature, pets, intimacy.
Books and Articles About Hormone & Thyroid Health
- How Do Adaptogenic Herbs Benefit Hashimoto’s?
- The Benefits of Vitamin D for Your Thyroid
- The Best Probiotics for Hashimoto’s
- Are Your Adrenals Sabotaging Your Health?
- Solutions to Increase Low Libido in Those with Hashimoto’s
- Did Your Thyroid Condition Start or Worsen During Perimenopause?
Get the Full Episode Transcript
Let’s Connect!
- Follow me on Instagram:@izabellawentzpharmd
- Get my FREE weekly thyroid & gut health newsletter: Sign up here
- Subscribe & Review: If you loved this episode, please leave a review on Apple Podcasts or rate it on Spotify!
Got questions? Drop them in the comments! 🙂
About Our Host
Dr. Izabella Wentz
Dr. Izabella Wentz is a compassionate, innovative, solution-focused integrative pharmacist dedicated to finding the root causes of chronic health conditions. Her passion stems from her own diagnosis of Hashimoto’s thyroiditis in 2009, following a decade of debilitating symptoms.
Dr. Izabella Wentz has written several best-selling books, including the New York Times bestseller Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis: Lifestyle Interventions for Finding and Treating the Root Cause, the protocol-based #1 New York Times bestseller Hashimoto’s Protocol: A 90-Day Plan for Reversing Thyroid Symptoms and Getting Your Life Back, the Wall Street Journal bestseller Hashimoto’s Food Pharmacology: Nutrition Protocols and Healing Recipes to Take Charge of Your Thyroid Health, and her latest book, Adrenal Transformation Protocol.
Thyroid Pharmacist Blog
Instagram
Facebook
TikTok
Rootcology
About Our Guest
Anna Cabeca, DO, OBGYN, FACOG, is the best-selling author of The Hormone Fix, Keto-Green 16, and MenuPause. Dr. Anna is triple-board certified and a fellow of gynecology and obstetrics, integrative medicine, and anti-aging and regenerative medicine. She holds special certifications in functional medicine, sexual health, and bioidentical hormone replacement therapy.
She lectures frequently on those topics and shares the secret behind the ebb and flow of intimacy as she demystifies the fascinating hormonal changes over time. She will help you discover how the “love hormone”, oxytocin, can breathe life into your relationship, how cortisol can take it away, and how the delicate balancing act of those hormones can reignite your libido and support a healthy relationship – most importantly, the one you have with yourself.
She is sassy, blunt, speaks from the heart, and has a wonderful sense of humor, and this is why we call her The Girlfriend Doctor, because everyone needs a friend like her!
She has personally developed natural products to help women balance hormones and thrive through menopause, including the highly acclaimed Julva® cream for the vulva, and MightyMaca® Plus, a powerful superfood blend. She lives in Dallas with her daughters, horses, and dogs.
Leave a Reply