Lara Briden - The Period Revolutionary

Lara Briden - The Period Revolutionary ♀️ Clinician & author
30+ years curious about female biology
Periods • hormones • metabolism (explained simply)
🔸Feel better. DM 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.

Pregnancy remodels the brain, and (interestingly!) a second pregnancy seems to impact different regions. A first pregnan...
28/04/2026

Pregnancy remodels the brain, and (interestingly!) a second pregnancy seems to impact different regions. A first pregnancy affects areas such as the default mode network, involved in empathy and theory of mind, while a second pregnancy appears to shift more toward attention networks and motor systems.

Female biology truly is so very fascinating. (Thirty-five years into this work, and I’ve never lost my curiosity or sense of awe about how it all works.)

Link to the Neuroscience article: https://neurosciencenews.com/second-pregnancy-brain-changes-30150/

More evidence that women with PCOS may have higher ovarian reserve, which can translate to prolonged ovarian function an...
23/04/2026

More evidence that women with PCOS may have higher ovarian reserve, which can translate to prolonged ovarian function and potentially later menopause.

This tracks with many of my PCOS patients who don't achieve fully regular ovulatory cycles until their mid to late 30s.

Through an evolutionary lens, a genetic tendency to PCOS (higher androgens, more follicles, longer cycles) could be (at least in part) a survivor adaptation for later reproduction in a harsh environment.

Essentially, a somewhat delayed reproductive timeline. (Of course, there are lots of other factors in PCOS, and improvement is possible at any age!)

Link: https://obgyn.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/aogs.70198

According to a new study, urban women may have higher estrogen over our lifetimes compared to women living more traditio...
20/04/2026

According to a new study, urban women may have higher estrogen over our lifetimes compared to women living more traditional lifestyles.

It's all because of differences in our estrogen-metabolising microbiome (estrobolome) that can make it harder to properly eliminate estrogen.

Scientists don't yet know all the consequences of the higher estrogen, but (among other issues) it could contribute to a tougher perimenopause because the higher estrogen goes, the further it has to fall.

Link: https://www.newscientist.com/article/2522701-urban-living-may-be-causing-big-changes-to-our-oestrogen-levels/ =1776640009

Insulin resistance is a hormonal condition that affects nearly 1 in 2 adults. Importantly, as with other hormonal condit...
13/04/2026

Insulin resistance is a hormonal condition that affects nearly 1 in 2 adults.

Importantly, as with other hormonal conditions, it is not your fault.

Instead, it’s the result of cumulative, multi-generational impacts from environmental toxins, medications, microbiome disruption, circadian misalignment, and ultraprocessed foods.

There is a way back to better insulin sensitivity, and it starts with shaking off any feelings of blame or shame.

Reminder: Metabolism is governed by complex regulatory systems. Before the 1970s, when those systems were still functioning normally, most people just lived their lives without having to micromanage food or exercise.

Your body's got this!

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

From Twitter 😂
12/04/2026

From Twitter 😂

In perimenopause, estrogen often goes up for five or six years, but not always.About one in four women experiences a lon...
12/04/2026

In perimenopause, estrogen often goes up for five or six years, but not always.

About one in four women experiences a long, slow decline. And others can have a fairly flat pattern, with no major overall drop.

The chart on slide 3 shows average estrogen levels during the years before and after the final period.

But of course, estrogen also rises and falls steeply within each cycle.

Tip: A heavy period is strong evidence that estrogen was relatively high for much of that cycle, even if a blood or urine test happens to show a low level at one point in time.

Link to the full paper: https://www.ahajournals.org/doi/10.1161/CIR.0000000000000912

Symptoms of hypoglycemia or low blood sugar include light-headedness, headaches, and anxiety. In a pair of podcast episo...
10/04/2026

Symptoms of hypoglycemia or low blood sugar include light-headedness, headaches, and anxiety.

In a pair of podcast episodes (watch, listen, or read), I discuss why young women are more prone to low blood sugar, the importance of the autonomic nervous system, and what you can do to feel better.

Links:
Hypoglycemia in young women: The science behind “hangry”: https://www.larabriden.com/hypoglycemia-in-young-women-the-science-behind-hangry/

Decoding hypoglycemia: Is it insulin resistance or dysautonomia?: https://www.larabriden.com/decoding-hypoglycemia-is-it-insulin-resistance-or-dysautonomia/

The brain changes shape and function across the menstrual cycle. And a new imaging study suggests that progesterone (not...
30/03/2026

The brain changes shape and function across the menstrual cycle. And a new imaging study suggests that progesterone (not estrogen) may be a key driver of that change.

So, progesterone is far more than just a “calming” hormone. Instead, it appears to actively shape brain networks, emotional processing, and cognition in real time.

Big picture, that progesterone-driven change is likely to be very good for the brain. But it can also feel disruptive.

Links:
Progesterone linked to brain structure changes: https://conexiant.com/neurology/articles/progesterone-linked-to-brain-structure-changes/

Troubleshooting progesterone: A practical guide to making progesterone therapy work for you: https://www.larabriden.com/troubleshooting-progesterone/

image by Light & Paper

Cyclic progesterone therapy for PCOS just got a little more interesting.A recent study found that pregnancy-level proges...
23/03/2026

Cyclic progesterone therapy for PCOS just got a little more interesting.

A recent study found that pregnancy-level progesterone may help “reset” the o***y by temporarily suppressing follicle development, clearing accumulated antral follicles, and improving subsequent follicle selection.

This potentially adds a new dimension to the rationale for Jerilynn Prior's cyclic progesterone therapy.

Links to:
- Gestational progesterone is linked to improved menstrual regularity after: https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1116183
- My 2024 article about cyclic progesterone therapy for PCOS: https://www.larabriden.com/cyclic-progesterone-therapy-for-pcos/

Happy Equinox, everyone! No matter where you are in the world, today we all share the same length of day. 🌏Are you welco...
20/03/2026

Happy Equinox, everyone! No matter where you are in the world, today we all share the same length of day. 🌏

Are you welcoming spring or autumn?

Art by

Get an instant mood boost from sparkling water? Scientists might have just figured out why.According to a new small stud...
13/03/2026

Get an instant mood boost from sparkling water? Scientists might have just figured out why.

According to a new small study, carbonation could boost alertness by activating sensory nerves in the mouth, which signal the trigeminal nerve, brainstem, and prefrontal executive networks.

It’s similar to another study that found the astringent taste of cocoa polyphenols can directly activate the autonomic nervous system.

Part of the benefit is the repeated stimulation with every sip, generating small bursts of trigeminal activity. A bit like the alerting effects of cold water on the face or chewing gum.

Links:
- Drinking sparkling water helps gamers stay mentally sharp for hours: https://www.news-medical.net/news/20260304/Drinking-sparkling-water-helps-gamers-stay-mentally-sharp-for-hours.aspx

- That dry, bitter taste may be waking up your brain: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2026/02/260206012224.htm

And if you’re worried about sparkling water harming your teeth, know that the amount of carbonic acid is very low. Plain sparkling water is safe for enamel (it's far less acidic than soda or juice).

This was me on a walk today, thinking about how it feels to be the patient for a change.When I spoke with my new integra...
13/03/2026

This was me on a walk today, thinking about how it feels to be the patient for a change.

When I spoke with my new integrative doctor yesterday, she suggested some metabolic testing as part of my work-up. Which is, of course, entirely sensible.

But I felt a flicker of reluctance. As if any “bad” reading might reflect badly on me, not just as a practitioner, but somehow as a person. I know many of my patients feel the same.

Yet we don’t think about other health problems that way. For example, my thyroid is trending a bit underactive, but I don’t feel that’s a moral failing. Why should insulin resistance feel any different? Especially given how much it's driven by things outside our control, like thyroid function, medications, and environmental toxins.

My metabolism book is all about reframing insulin resistance in exactly this way: rejecting the old narrative that it’s simply the result of eating too much, and instead approaching it as something to troubleshoot.

Link: https://www.larabriden.com/metabolism-book/
Chapter 5 covers testing, including the tests I'll have:

• triglycerides-to-HDL ratio
• uric acid
• ALT
• fasting insulin

(And no, I don’t use a continuous glucose monitor or CGM. As I explain in the book, I’m just not a tracking kind of person.)


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