Lara Briden - The Period Revolutionary

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Lara Briden - The Period Revolutionary

♀️ Helping women understand periods, hormones & metabolism
with practical, compassionate strategies.
🔸Feel better. DM 'help' for links

I'm a naturopathic doctor, women’s health activist, and the author of the books Period Repair Manual, Hormone Repair Manual, and Metabolism Repair for Women.

06/03/2026

How are you all? I've been deep into writing, my happy place. Will share more women's health content soon. 🤍

25/02/2026

To me, what’s most interesting about the ever-expanding list of potential benefits from GLP-1 agonist medications is not the drugs themselves. It's the biological insight they offer.

They show just how deeply metabolic health is connected to every other aspect of health, including immune health. That’s because metabolic dysfunction (aka insulin resistance) is a whole-body signaling problem, not just a blood-sugar issue.

Improve metabolic health (however you do it), and the benefits will ripple outward into better immune, hormonal, and mental health.

There are many ways home to metabolic health. In my metabolism book, I explore how that “road home” can look different for everyone, depending on individual metabolic obstacles, such as gut health, thyroid function, medications, androgens, and more.

Link: https://www.larabriden.com/metabolism-book/

23/02/2026

If you’ve struggled with irregular periods, you might have noticed it can be a little tricky to figure out exactly what’s going on—and, therefore, exactly what you need to do to get your period back.

In a 15-minute solo episode, I explore some of the reasons for irregular periods, including PCOS and the oh-so-common hypothalamic suppression, which is *frequently misdiagnosed as PCOS*.

Link to listen, watch, or read: https://www.larabriden.com/irregular-periods-is-it-pcos-hypothalamic-suppression-or-something-else/?April

20/02/2026

The common thyroid test TSH can vary a lot between labs, even when your thyroid function hasn’t changed.

That’s because TSH tests are not fully standardized, especially in the US and Canada. (They’re somewhat more standardized in Europe, UK, Australia, and New Zealand.)

So rather than reading too much into a single TSH result, your doctor will usually look at:
• trends over time (ideally using the same lab)
• symptoms
• and TPO antibodies, a marker of thyroid autoimmunity.

✨ If you’re on thyroid medication, know that small shifts in TSH don’t necessarily mean your dose is wrong.

Link to the article “Same blood test, different results": https://www.statnews.com/2026/02/18/tsh-thyroid-stimulating-hormone-blood-test-pituitary-labs-standardized-assay/

12/02/2026

Emerging evidence suggests prolactin is much more than a pituitary hormone. It's also produced locally by the spinal cord and immune system, where it can change how pain receptors respond, making even mild signals feel painful, and potentially contributing to PMS, migraines, and pelvic pain, including endometriosis pain.

Prolactin is supposed to be kept in check by dopamine, but when dopamine signalling drops (e.g, late luteal and with chronic stress), prolactin can rise. Prolactin also rises with higher estrogen.

You can support more sustained dopamine (and therefore lower prolactin) with strategies like outdoor light, social connection, moving the body, magnesium, zinc, iron, and vitamin B6. (Scientists are also working on how to block or downregulate prolactin.)

Here are a couple of articles about the potential role of prolactin in pain, migraines, and endometriosis:
• Identifying a link between prolactin and female pain: https://healthsciences.arizona.edu/news/stories/identifying-link-between-prolactin-and-female-pain
• Prolactin-induced sensitization of trigeminal nociceptors promotes migraine co-morbidity in endometriosis: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/03331024241313378

And stay tuned for my new book about periods!

11/02/2026

The uterus has important roles beyond pregnancy. It’s part of pelvic architecture and can support bladder function and reduce the risk of prolapse. It’s also wired into the nervous system and improves sexual sensation for some women.

Intriguingly (through mechanisms scientists don’t yet fully understand), an intact uterus seems to support both a healthy heart and brain!

Links:
• An Arizona State University article exploring the uterus–brain connection: https://news.asu.edu/20240528-health-and-medicine-asu-research-finds-link-between-removal-uterus-brain-function
• Is there a better treatment for uterine fibroids than hysterectomy? https://www.healthcentral.com/condition/uterine-fibroids/non-surgical-treatment-options-for-uterine-fibroids

The second article looks at less-invasive fibroid treatments such as uterine artery embolization, radiofrequency ablation, and myomectomy.

I’ve just written the fibroid section for my new period book, and I’ll just say this: fibroids are so much more than estrogen. Think smooth-muscle signalling, vitamin D, insulin, immune function, and even circadian rhythm. It’s a fascinating story, so stay tuned.

And chime in with your uterus or fibroid story 💛

09/02/2026

Zinc continues to be one of the simplest (and most overlooked) solutions for period pain.

A 2024 meta-analysis of randomized trials found that daily zinc supplementation significantly reduced dysmenorrhea (normal prostaglandin-type period pain). Even a low dose of 7mg showed benefit when taken consistently.

It works by reducing prostaglandins, normalizing progesterone receptors, improving circulation, and preventing uterine muscle spasm.

The paper: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11643716/
My zinc article: https://www.larabriden.com/7-ways-zinc-rescues-hormones/?2026

08/02/2026

💡 What nobody tells you about your period 👇

1️⃣ Painful or heavy periods aren’t “normal.” They can point to inflammation, insulin resistance, or hormonal suppression.
2️⃣ Pill bleeds don’t fix cycles — they just mask symptoms.
3️⃣ Food, stress, and immune reactions can directly impact cycle pain and bleeding.

Rethink what “normal” really means. 💛

Support & education for this phase → BN Healthy ANZ

🎧 Comment “Listen” and we’ll send you the episode link!

08/02/2026

Now streaming 🎧

Weight regain after surgery isn’t always about food or willpower. Hormones, metabolism, and menstrual health can play a bigger role than many women realise.

In this episode of the Australian Weight Loss Surgery Podcast, Jacqui Lewis speaks with Lara Briden - The Period Revolutionary about periods, perimenopause, and what common symptoms may be signalling about overall health.

A calm, educational conversation focused on understanding the body — not blame or shame.

👉 Comment LISTEN and we’ll share the link.

05/02/2026

Metabolic health comes from general health. Specifically, it comes from getting everything you need, including (but not limited to) protein, movement, and outdoor light.

The female body doesn't like to be micromanaged. Instead, can we embrace a little more softness in pursuit of metabolic health? And a little less rigidity? Health is a dynamic, whole-body project, not a numbers game.

Link to my metabolism book: https://www.larabriden.com/metabolism-book/

"You do not have to be good.
You do not have to walk on your knees
for a hundred miles through the desert repenting.
You only have to let the soft animal of your body
love what it loves."

~ Mary Oliver

29/01/2026

Join me next week for a free, interactive online session with Natalie from Daysy fertility tracker 💫 (With real-time subtitles.)

Together we'll explore:

🔸Why ovulation is so important for general health.

🔸The key signs to track (and what they can tell you about hormones and overall health)

🔸Common (and fixable) causes of irregular periods

🔸Treatment ideas for pain, heavy bleeding, and premenstrual mood symptoms

Brought to you by Ona Health App, a cycle tracker and AI-powered functional health companion.

Here's the signup link: https://subscribepage.io/rLibZO

See you there 💛

27/01/2026

In a new perimenopause animal study, scientists didn’t model "low estrogen." Instead, they modelled high/erratic estrogen + low progesterone. Because that is what actually happens in the initial four or five years of peri (while periods are still fairly regular).

As it turns out, a high estrogen-to-progesterone ratio is quite bad for the brain. 🧠

And when scientists added back progesterone (but not estrogen), brain metabolism and memory improved.

Perimenopause ≠ estrogen deficiency.

Link to the Nature paper "Perimenopausal state oestradiol to progesterone imbalance drives Alzheimer’s risk": https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-025-66726-4

Address

Christchurch

Telephone

+6439749200

Website

https://www.larabriden.com/

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