High Performance Health

Brain fog in perimenopause isn't inevitable decline.Brain fog in perimenopause isn't inevitable decline. It's a systems puzzle, and once you understand what's actually driving it, you can do something about it.

In this episode I'm joined by Dr. Sarah McKay, neuroscientist and author of The Women's Brain Book, and we break down the real neuroscience behind why your brain feels different in midlife, what the research actually says about HRT and brain health, and the evidence-based strategies to protect and optimise your cognitive performance.

WHAT YOU’LL LEARN

• What actually causes perimenopause brain fog (it's not just your hormones)

• How night sweats disrupt sleep architecture even when you don't fully wake up

• Why anxiety and waking at 3am are early signs of the perimenopause transition

• What the research really says about estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone on brain health

• Why the progesterone and GABA sleep claim is not what it seems

• How your career and daily habits are already shaping your long-term dementia risk

• Why your mindset about aging may be affecting your cognitive performance

• The daily framework for protecting your brain: sleep, nutrition, strength training, and stress

TIMESTAMPS:

VALUABLE RESOURCES

• Take the BioSyncing Quiz to help you understand what’s actually happening in your body — and how to fix it.

👉 https://biosyncing.scoreapp.com/

A BIG thank you to our sponsor who make the show possible:

- MitoQ - Support your cells at the source with MitoQ NAD+ Dual Action, designed to boost NAD levels and help your cells actually use them for steady energy and sharper focus

👉 https://www.mitoq.com and use code ANGELA for 10% off your first order.

ABOUT THE GUEST

Dr. Sarah McKay is a neuroscientist and author of The Women's Brain Book, a fully updated guide to the female brain across perimenopause, menopause, and midlife ageing. She has dedicated her career to helping women understand the brain science behind hormones, cognition, and brain health, cutting through the noise to give women evidence-based answers about what is actually happening in their brains and bodies at midlife.

Website: https://drsarahmckay.com/

Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/drsarahmckay/

Health expert and Parsley Health founder Dr. Robin Berzin joins host Angela Foster to discuss a proactive approach to managing perimenopause and menopause. Dr. Berzin emphasises the importance of listening to our bodies, tracking whole-body symptoms over time using tools like the Parsley Symptom Index, and utilising continuous blood work to catch early hormonal shifts before standard symptoms like hot flashes begin.

WHAT YOU’LL LEARN

How to actively listen to your body and identify early, subtle signs of perimenopause before major symptoms like hot flashes even begin.

How tracking whole-body symptoms and blood work over time reveals personalised hormonal trends that one-off lab tests completely miss.

How optimising sleep consistency and monitoring heart rate variability (HRV) with wearables can lower your biological age and improve stress resilience.

How a personalised combination of proactive lifestyle tracking, lab data, and tailored hormone therapies can naturally regulate your metabolism, mood, and energy levels.

VALUABLE RESOURCES

• Take the BioSyncing Quiz to help you understand what’s actually happening in your body — and how to fix it.

👉 https://biosyncing.scoreapp.com/

A BIG thank you to our partner who makes the show possible:
• Timeline – Support your mitochondrial health and muscle strength with Mitopure®, the only clinically validated Urolithin A supplement backed by 15+ years of research. Use code ANGELA for 20% off 👉 https://www.timeline.com/promotions/exclusive-offer-for-angela-foster-s-community

What if the key to looking and feeling 20 years younger wasn't another supplement stack, but something you could get for free, starting tomorrow morning?

Liz Earle's biological age is over 20 years younger than her chronological age, and in this episode she breaks down exactly why. It comes down to three things most women in their 40s and 50s have never considered: circadian rhythm and the light you are exposed to, the water you are drinking, and the energy your cells are actually running on. If you are feeling tired, foggy, or like your body is aging faster than it should, this episode will change how you see your daily environment.

WHAT YOU’LL LEARN

• Why morning light fixes low energy, poor sleep, and hormone imbalance after 40

How indoor LED lighting damages your mitochondria and the simple swap that reverses it

• Why sunscreen may be blocking the vitamin D and nitric oxide you need after menopause

• How tap water disrupts hormones and energy and what to drink instead

• What EZ water is and why it matters for mitochondrial energy and aging after 40

• Why mineral deficiency causes fatigue and brain fog in perimenopause

• How grounding and circadian light slow visible aging from the inside out

TIMESTAMPS:

VALUABLE RESOURCES

• Take the BioSyncing Quiz to help you understand what’s actually happening in your body — and how to fix it.

👉 https://biosyncing.scoreapp.com/

A BIG thank you to our sponsors who make the show possible:

• Stride - Find out your biological age and how your daily habits are influencing it with DNA, bloodwork and microbiome testing with a Stride One membership

👉 https://www.getstride.com/angela/ for 10% off

• Timeline - Support your mitochondrial health: Timeline Mitopure delivers Urolithin A at the clinically studied dose to support cellular renewal and energy production, helping counter the natural decline in mitochondrial function that comes with age.

👉 Get 20% off Mitopure when you visit http://timeline.com/ANGELA and use code ANGELA.

* These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.

👉 Liz Earle’s new book, How to Age: Supercharge Your Health and Feel Better Than Ever If not please use this https://amzn.to/4wCbux2

ABOUT THE GUEST

Liz Earle, MBE, is a bestselling author, wellness pioneer, and one of the UK's most trusted voices on healthy aging for women. With nearly 40 years in the wellness space, she specialises in the science of longevity, circadian biology, skin health, and mitochondrial nutrition. Her latest book How to Age explores how light, water, and cellular energy determine how well women age after 40 and beyond.

Website: https://www.lizearle.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lizearleme/?hl=en

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/lizearlewellbeing

Angela presents a bitesize episode inn which she explores the physiological changes behind midlife weight gain, focusing on the role of cortisol and the hormonal shifts occurring during perimenopause. 

They highlight how the decline and fluctuation of oestrogen and progesterone lead to a redistribution of body fat from the hips and thighs to the abdominal area, as the body transitions out of its fertile state

WHAT YOU’LL LEARN


Hormonal Fat Redistribution: During perimenopause, declining oestrogen levels signal the body to shift fat storage from fertile areas like the hips and thighs to the abdomen.


Muscle Mass and Metabolism: Loss of lean muscle mass in midlife significantly slows metabolism, as muscle is a primary "metabolic organ" that consumes glucose and fat for energy.


The Importance of Protein: Prioritising high protein intake and sufficient calories is essential for building and maintaining muscle, especially as it becomes harder to do so during perimenopause.


GLP-1 Considerations: While GLP-1 medications can aid weight loss, they often suppress appetite so significantly that meeting necessary protein requirements for muscle preservation becomes a major challenge.

VALUABLE RESOURCES

• Take the BioSyncing Quiz to help you understand what’s actually happening in your body — and how to fix it.

👉 https://biosyncing.scoreapp.com/

A BIG thank you to our partner who makes the show possible:
• Timeline – Support your mitochondrial health and muscle strength with Mitopure®, the only clinically validated Urolithin A supplement backed by 15+ years of research. Use code ANGELA for 20% off 👉 https://www.timeline.com/promotions/exclusive-offer-for-angela-foster-s-community

If you are eating well, exercising, and still gaining belly fat, losing mental sharpness, and waking up exhausted, your mitochondria are likely the missing piece. This is not a willpower problem. It is a cellular energy problem, and it starts earlier than most doctors will tell you.

In this episode, I sit down with Siobhan Mitchell, neuroscientist and mitochondrial health researcher, to explore how oestrogen loss disrupts mitochondrial function and why your gut microbiome plays a bigger role in oestrogen recycling than most women realise. We also cover S-Equol and why it is one of the most powerful compounds for perimenopause belly fat, brain fog, and night sweats. If you are looking for real answers on why your body feels different in your 40s and what you can actually do about it, this episode is for you.

WHAT YOU’LL LEARN

• Why belly fat shifts to your middle during perimenopause

• How the estrobolome recycles estrogen through your gut microbiome

• What S-Equol is and how it reduces brain fog, belly fat, and night sweats

• The difference between estrogen alpha and beta receptors and why it matters

• Why estrogen loss causes joint pain and frozen shoulder in perimenopause

• How NAD+ decline affects your energy and mitochondrial function after 40

• How chromium helps with blood sugar spikes and food cravings in perimenopause

TIMESTAMPS:

VALUABLE RESOURCES

• Take the BioSyncing Quiz to help you understand what’s actually happening in your body — and how to fix it.

👉 https://biosyncing.scoreapp.com/

A BIG thank you to our sponsors who make the show possible:

• MitoQ - Support your cells at the source with MitoQ NAD Plus Dual Action, designed to boost NAD levels and help your cells actually use them for steady energy and sharper focus

👉 https://www.mitoq.com and use code ANGELA for 10% off your first order.

ABOUT THE GUEST

Dr. Siobhan Mitchell is Chief Scientific Officer at MitoQ and holds a PhD in neuroscience with a postdoctoral fellowship in brain ageing from the University of Washington. She specialises in mitochondrial health and healthy ageing, with a particular focus on how estrogen loss affects cellular energy, metabolism, and brain function in women during perimenopause and beyond. 

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ellen-s-mitchell

If you are eating well, exercising, and still gaining belly fat, losing mental sharpness, and waking up exhausted, your mitochondria are likely the missing piece. This is not a willpower problem. It is a cellular energy problem, and it starts earlier than most doctors will tell you.

In this episode, I sit down with Siobhan Mitchell, neuroscientist and mitochondrial health researcher, to explore how oestrogen loss disrupts mitochondrial function and why your gut microbiome plays a bigger role in oestrogen recycling than most women realise. We also cover S-Equol and why it is one of the most powerful compounds for perimenopause belly fat, brain fog, and night sweats. If you are looking for real answers on why your body feels different in your 40s and what you can actually do about it, this episode is for you.

WHAT YOU’LL LEARN

• Why belly fat shifts to your middle during perimenopause

• How the estrobolome recycles estrogen through your gut microbiome

• What S-Equol is and how it reduces brain fog, belly fat, and night sweats

• The difference between estrogen alpha and beta receptors and why it matters

• Why estrogen loss causes joint pain and frozen shoulder in perimenopause

• How NAD+ decline affects your energy and mitochondrial function after 40

• How chromium helps with blood sugar spikes and food cravings in perimenopause

TIMESTAMPS:

VALUABLE RESOURCES

• Take the BioSyncing Quiz to help you understand what’s actually happening in your body — and how to fix it.

👉 https://biosyncing.scoreapp.com/

A BIG thank you to our sponsors who make the show possible:

• MitoQ - Support your cells at the source with MitoQ NAD Plus Dual Action, designed to boost NAD levels and help your cells actually use them for steady energy and sharper focus

👉 https://www.mitoq.com and use code ANGELA for 10% off your first order.

ABOUT THE GUEST

Dr. Siobhan Mitchell is Chief Scientific Officer at MitoQ and holds a PhD in neuroscience with a postdoctoral fellowship in brain ageing from the University of Washington. She specialises in mitochondrial health and healthy ageing, with a particular focus on how estrogen loss affects cellular energy, metabolism, and brain function in women during perimenopause and beyond. 

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ellen-s-mitchell