Menopause as Neurochemical Rewiring for Leadership and Wisdom

Key Quotes

"The grandmother hypothesis is trying to explain like okay so how did evolution set us up for that because that a baby is so vulnerable like so who's gonna take care of that baby now it would make sense you'd say oh well the mother um but she might have a few other babies that she's dealing with and you know who knows what cave life in general was like the the husband it sounds so sexist but the husband was off because was off getting a big animal kill to your point a human doesn't come out of the womb fully formed ready to go live on its own so it needs somebody to take care of it and so the grandmother became pivotal to tribe life and without the grandmother there wouldn't have been food."

This quote explains the evolutionary basis for the grandmother hypothesis, suggesting that post-menopausal women played a crucial role in the survival of early human tribes by providing essential food resources. Dr. Mindy Pelz highlights that this role was vital for the survival of vulnerable infants and the continuation of the species, positioning grandmothers as evolutionary heroines.

"what's happening to us as we go through this massive neurochemical shift is that our brain rewires itself and the neurons that used to keep us stuck in people pleasing behaviors and codependency actually sluff away and new neurons start to form and you start to see this woman who goes from i'm gonna take care of everybody else's need to a woman who's like i'm gonna live life on my terms now i'm gonna tell you what i think now and we can laugh about that but that's actually the brain rewiring itself and and the big piece of menopause is that it's rewiring a woman's brain so that she can do her next job in the culture which if you look at anthropology the next job is leadership"

Dr. Mindy Pelz posits that menopause is not merely a hormonal change but a significant neurochemical shift that rewires a woman's brain. She explains that this rewiring facilitates a transition away from people-pleasing behaviors towards a more assertive and self-directed leadership role, aligning with anthropological observations of women's post-reproductive societal functions.

"The big thing that we're not talking enough about in menopause is that with these this neurochemical shift needs to come a lifestyle shift"

Dr. Mindy Pelz emphasizes that the profound neurochemical changes associated with menopause necessitate a corresponding shift in lifestyle. She argues that this lifestyle adjustment is a critical, yet often overlooked, component in navigating this life stage effectively, beyond just acknowledging the hormonal shifts.

"The menopausal brain actually works really well and best on ketones so they fasted every day they did a probably by the time they went to bed and they did their little track 17 18 hours of fasting every day and so they were getting a dose of ketones every single day"

Dr. Mindy Pelz explains that the menopausal brain functions optimally on ketones, a byproduct of fat metabolism. She connects this to the ancestral practice of daily fasting, suggesting that the 17-18 hour fasting periods observed in hunter-gatherer societies provided a consistent source of ketones, which are beneficial for cognitive function during this life stage.

"The old style of prescriptions and an old healthcare model was you have a symptom you're given a diagnosis and then you're given a pill that has been our our whole system what I think we're starting to learn now is that if you're going to be given the diagnosis and the pill you need to be given the lifestyle as well otherwise you're always going to be addicted to the pill"

Dr. Mindy Pelz critiques the traditional healthcare model, which often relies on medication to address symptoms without integrating lifestyle changes. She argues that for treatments like hormone replacement therapy or weight loss drugs to be truly effective and sustainable, they must be combined with lifestyle modifications, otherwise, individuals risk becoming dependent on medication.

"at the heart of all good health is self responsibility and our healthcare system doesn't set us up for self responsibility think about it I go in I've got a problem I hand it over to the doctor the doctor gives me a fancy diagnosis and all of a sudden and a treatment plan and and I'm just doing what the doctor says but so many times if that doesn't work I'm like yeah my doctor messed up then I go back to the doctor and I'm like give me something else"

Dr. Mindy Pelz asserts that personal responsibility is fundamental to good health, a concept she feels is undermined by the current healthcare system. She observes that patients often defer their health management entirely to doctors, leading to a cycle of seeking external solutions rather than developing self-awareness and proactive health practices.