In this episode, we delve into a recent study published Dietary Modification and Supplement Use For Endometriosis Pain (March 2025) that investigates the role of dietary modifications and supplement use in managing endometriosis-related pain. The research, conducted by a team from the University of Edinburgh and University College Cork, explores how certain dietary patterns and supplements may influence pain levels in individuals with endometriosis.

Strengths

• Comprehensive Approach: The study examines both dietary changes and supplement use, providing a holistic view of non-pharmacological interventions for endometriosis pain.
• Collaborative Research: The involvement of multiple institutions enhances the study’s credibility and depth of analysis.
• Open Access Publication: Being published in an open-access journal ensures that the findings are readily available to the public, healthcare professionals, and researchers.
• Large Sample Size: The study surveyed 2,388 women with confirmed endometriosis, providing a substantial dataset for analysis.
• High Engagement: A significant majority of participants (84%) reported making dietary changes, with 67% noting pain improvement. Additionally, 59% used supplements, and 43% found them beneficial.
• Identification of Specific Interventions: The study pinpointed particular dietary modifications and supplements associated with pain relief, such as:
  • Reducing alcohol (53% reported improvement)
  • Limiting gluten and dairy (45% each)
  • Decreasing caffeine intake (43%)
  • Adopting a low FODMAP diet (32%)
  • Following a Mediterranean diet (29%)

• Relevance to Complementary Therapies: The study sheds light on non-pharmacological approaches that many women with endometriosis are exploring to manage their symptoms.

Limitations

1. Observational Design: As an observational study, it cannot establish causality between dietary changes or supplement use and pain reduction.
2. Self-Reported Data: The reliance on participants’ recollection of dietary changes and pain levels introduces potential recall bias, affecting data accuracy.
3. Lack of Control Group: Without a control group, it’s challenging to determine whether observed improvements are due to the interventions or other factors.
4. Variability in Interventions: The study did not standardize the types or amounts of dietary changes and supplements, making it difficult to assess specific effects.
5. Potential Placebo Effect: Participants’ expectations and beliefs about the efficacy of dietary changes and supplements might have influenced their perception of pain relief.

Join us as we discuss the implications of this study for those living with endometriosis and consider how diet and supplements might play a role in pain management strategies.

As always, we'd love to hear from you. Send us a DM on Instagram or email at hello@hormonehealthstudio.com.

Samantha Payne founded The Pink Elephant Support Network 9 years ago, on the back of her own personal experience with pregnancy loss. We are excited to chat to Sam today about her tenacity for change and her passion for driving awareness and support for women, couples, and individuals who experience early pregnancy loss in Australia.

Sam shares: "if one of my children in 20 years time had to face the journey of miscarriage, it better bloody be different to what it is now".

Pink Elephant's is a platform that offers tiered support for your individual needs at a time of loss. Something Chloe personally found helpful on her journey. If you, too, have experienced pregnancy loss, you may find these links useful:

• Your Support Journey
• Help a Loved One
• How to Get Involved and Raise Awareness

The Pink Elephants also share some incredible resources on their instagram @pinkelephantssupport page or you can find their Podcast, The Miscarriage Rebellion here.

As always, we'd love to hear from you. Send us a DM on Instagram or email at hello@hormonehealthstudio.com.

Husky, sniffly voices from Chloe and Georgia in their timely episode covering all things sickness, in particular Winter viruses.

Some topics covered in this episode include:

• Why do we get more sick in Winter?
• Factors that increase your risk of sickness (such as super common nutritional deficiencies)
• Fever - should you let it run it's course?
• Our favourite Naturopathic herbs and supplements to use when we're sick
• Also, have you ever heard of leisure sickness? Also known as Holiday Sickness Syndrome. In this episode, we explore why some people get sick just as they start to unwind—and what you can do to avoid it.

Resources

Sleep and our immunity

• Reduced sleep, particularly shorter than 7–9 hours, is associated with increased URTIs. Strategies improving sleep should be explored to prevent URTIs. PMID: 33997896

Nasal saline spray and reducing viral symptom duration:

• Study protocol of the Edinburgh and Lothian Virus Intervention Study in Kids: a randomised controlled trial of hypertonic saline nose drops in children with upper respiratory tract infections (ELVIS Kids). PMID: 33952557
• Nasal sprays and behavioural interventions compared with usual care for acute respiratory illness in primary care: a randomised, controlled, open-label, parallel-group trial. Lancet ISSN: 2213-2600

Thanks for listening!

As always, you can find more information about our team on Instagram at @hormonehealthstudio or if you would like to reach out to us, you can email hello@hormonehealthstudio.com.

A bite sized ep (actually closer to a full meal) but this week's episode is all about protein! And in particular, why protein is so incredibly important for us as women and those with a menstrual cycle.

Protein directly influences how our hormones function, as it's protein thats responsible for the synthesis of oestrogen and progesterone which regulate our menstrual cycle AND the hormone insulin that regulates our appetite, energy and cravings.

Learn how how much protein you should be eating, take a deep dive into the protein leverage hypothesis and hear Chloe's analogy to explain reaching your daily protein targets.

Georgia also gives us an insight into our Feel Good Program, a self paced 4 week program focusing on sustainable weight loss, improved energy, and overall wellness, centred around targeted nutrition and how to meet individual protein requirements. Click here to access our Feel Good Program.

Thanks for listening!

As always, you can find more information about our team over at @hormonehealthstudio or if you would like to reach out to us, you can email hello@hormonehealthstudio.com

Another birth story to kick off season three of Hormone Health Podcast. For this week's episode we hear from Georgia who welcomed her third baby, little Lottie into the world via a beautiful home birth experience in August 2024.

Georgia talks us through her decision to try for a Vaginal Birth After Caesarean (VBAC) at home after her second birth resulted in an emergency caesarean due to breech position. If you have experienced a VBAC before, you may resonate with Georgias feelings of increasing anticipation, doubt and excitement as labour and birth approach, these feelings only intensifying as you go beyond your "due date", or in Georgias case... up to 42 weeks and 1 day. Georgia talks us through her tactics to support whilst she was labouring, making a special mention to her TENS machine and her birthing affirmation "I can, and I will".

Thanks for listening and we hope you enjoy!

As always, we would love to hear from you if you had any podcast feedback, or would like to hear any specific topics or stories. You can reach out to us at: hello@hormonehealthstudio.com or a DM on Instagram.

We're back for our third season after a mini (maxi) hiatus from the microphones. During this time away, Georgia and Chloe both welcomed their beautiful baby girls into the world, adding to the ever growing Hormone Health Studio girl gang.

So thanks for being here, for welcoming us back into your ears, and we hope you stick around for what will be an awesome next chapter in the Hormone Health Podcast series.

To mark the month of April being caesarean awareness month, today's episode is Chloes recount of her birth story to her daughter Olive. This episode discusses Chloe's the details of her induced labour which required a caesarean along with other positive and not so positive recounts from her birth experience (hello balloon catheter). She also shares some helpful resources on preparing from induction and caesarean and supporting recovery.

We hope you enjoy and thanks for listening.

Episode Resources

• The meta analysis Chloe was referring to in the podcast (PMID: 23834460)
• C-Section Scar release by Maddy from BodyLane
• Helpful instagram account: @OneMammaMidwife

As always, you can find more information about our team over at @hormonehealthstudio or if you would like to reach out to us, you can email hello@hormonehealthstudio.com

This episode is a must for those preparing for labour and birth and for those, including birth partners, who will be present during a labour and birth. We were lucky enough to speak with well-known, Rhea Dempsey, who over the last 40 years has attended thousands of births.

This was such a fascinating chat about:

• The stats mothers are up against birthing in this modern world
• Understanding pain in labour - functional physiological pain vs pathological pain
• The hormonal changes that happen during normal physiological birth - the dance between Queen Oxytocin, Endorphins, and Adrenaline
• The similarities between Runner's High and "the magic of 7cm" during normal physiological birth
• The "Crisis of Confidence" many women face throughout labour
• How to prepare for a powerful, positive birth with tips on creating a conducive environment, when the right time is to get into a birth pool, as well as Rhea's thoughts on tools like the birth comb and the TENS machine

If you are wanting to learn more, Rhea has two phenomenal books - Birth With Confidence and Beyond The Birth Plan.

I know many of you have been longing for this episode so we would absolutely love to hear your thoughts. Send us an email at hello@hormonehealthstudio.com or tag us on Instagram.

What can you do to thrive through peri-menopause?

Today we chat with the amazing Kimberly Vucurovic, also known as The Menopause Psychologist. This podcast episode is a must for every woman - whether you are currently in the journey of peri-menopause or whether it feels years away.

We talk about the negative thoughts associated with peri-menopause, the overwhelm, and how we can work to shift our mindset on such a journey.

Download! Share! DM us on Instagram! Flick us an email at hello@hormonehealthstudio.com! We'd love to hear your thoughts on this one.