Menopause Reset - Dr Mindy Pelz

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Dr. Pelz defines menopause as a neurological, metabolic, and hormonal transition—not a medical condition—requiring strategic lifestyle shifts to regain energy, mood, weight balance, and vitality.
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She focuses on five lifestyle changes she believes are essential to improving life during menopause:

1. Reset your relationship to food
2. Detox daily
3. Balance your blood sugar
4. Use fasting to your advantage
5. Get off the hormone roller coaster

Dietary Strategies

Dr. Pelz promotes food as hormone therapy, with the focus on metabolic health, inflammation reduction, and supporting estrogen/progesterone detox.
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✅ Foods to Include:

• Cruciferous vegetables (broccoli, kale, arugula): estrogen detox via liver
• Leafy greens (spinach, dandelion, chard): minerals and alkalinity
• Wild-caught fish, grass-fed beef, organic poultry: clean protein for hormone repair
• Avocados, olives, coconut, nuts, seeds: healthy fats for blood sugar and hormone synthesis
• Berries, apples, citrus: low-glycemic fruits with phytonutrients
• Bone broth & collagen: skin, joints, and gut repair
• Fermented foods: for microbiome balance
• Sea vegetables (kelp, nori, dulse): natural iodine source

​❌ Foods to Avoid:

• Refined sugar: drives insulin resistance and hormone chaos
• Refined flours/grains, especially gluten-containing grains
• Dairy (for many): can increase inflammation and estrogen load
• Seed oils (canola, soybean, corn oil): omega-6 imbalance
• Caffeine and alcohol (especially if poorly tolerated): worsen hot flashes and sleep

Fasting Guidelines (by Hormone Phase)

Dr. Pelz teaches cycle-based fasting for cycling women and adapted fasting for menopausal women.
🌀 For Perimenopause:

• Practice intermittent fasting (13–15 hours) most days of the week
• Use 24-hour fasts 1–2x/week to stimulate autophagy and growth hormone
• During low hormone phases (days 1–10 and 21–28): more fasting is tolerated
• During ovulation and luteal phase (days 11–20): increase carbs, reduce fasting

​🔁 For Postmenopausal Women:

• 15–17 hour fasts, 3–5x/week is ideal
• 24-hour fast 1x/week can be beneficial
• 5-1-1 Method (5 days fasting, 1 feast day, 1 rest): balances metabolic flexibility

Important: Dr. Pelz emphasizes fasting is not starvation—feast days are essential for restoring progesterone and preventing adrenal depletion.

Supplement & Detox Support

Pelz recommends supporting hormone pathways through gentle daily detox and key nutrients:

• Magnesium – adrenal, sleep, insulin
• Vitamin D3 + K2 – immune + hormone receptor health
• Omega-3s (cod liver oil) – brain, hormones, inflammation
• DIM + Calcium D-Glucarate – estrogen clearance
• B-complex + methylated folate – for liver methylation
• Liver support herbs: Milk thistle, dandelion, glutathione
• Wild yam, Maca, Vitex, Evening Primrose – gentle hormone balance support

Lifestyle Principles

• Prioritize sleep: Melatonin drop post-40 affects circadian rhythm
• Reduce toxic load: Clean body care, water, home products
• Use strength training 2–4x/week: For muscle + insulin sensitivity
• Sun exposure: For vitamin D and mitochondrial rhythm
• Breathwork, grounding, cold exposure: for nervous system balance

Protocol in Practice For postmenopause

1. Start with a 13–15 hour fast 5x/week
2. Remove sugar, refined grains, and gluten
3. Add cruciferous veggies + healthy fats daily
4. Feast one day a week (high-protein, nutrient-dense)
5. Incorporate strength training + magnesium before bed