Dr. Sydney Baker, San Diego, CA (2025)

07/21/2025

Your luteal phase is the 10-14 days leading up to your menstrual bleed.

This tends to be the part of the cycle my patients struggle with most.

The luteal phase isn’t a mistake or a curse. It’s a time of slowing down, rooting in, and nourishing yourself deeply.

Here’s what your body actually wants in this phase:
🩸 More food (your metabolism speeds up)
🧠 More B vitamins (for mood and energy)
🧂 More minerals (to replenish what’s coming)
💤 More rest (you’re not lazy—you’re wise)

What’s on my plate lately?
Grass-fed steak for iron + B vitamins
Raw carrot salad for fiber + gentle estrogen detox
Tallow fries for cozy carbs + satisfaction

Your cravings aren’t the problem—they’re communication.
Your fatigue isn’t a flaw—it’s a cue.

This is not the week to do it all.
This is the week to come home to yourself.

Want to live in rhythm with your cycle, not in spite of it? My latest Substack breaks it all down, season by season.

07/16/2025

“If your hormones were really off, we’d just put you on birth control anyway.”
Sound familiar?

Tired, bloated, acne, moody, irregular cycles—and still told “it’s not worth testing”?

That’s not care. That’s dismissal.

Hormones can (and should) be tested—with the right timing and the right context.

You don’t need the Pill.

You need answers.

Find a provider who understands that.

07/10/2025

You don’t always need fancy powders or gut protocols.
Most people skip the basics — and then wonder why they’re bloated, sluggish, or irregular.

Start here:

– Big glass of water first thing to get your bowels moving
– Abdominal massage (yes, you can do this yourself)
– Water away from meals, not with them
– Walk after eating — your gut needs movement
– Bitter greens to prime digestion

Simple. Free. Effective.
Not trendy — just what your body has always needed.

If you implement these practices and your digestion is still not optimal, then it could be worth it to run a stool analysis test or consider tweaking your diet to avoid foods that tend to cause more inflammation.

Swipe for the how & why.

07/08/2025

Being healthy doesn’t have to mean spending a ton. Often, if we go back to the basics (and leave out all the fancy stuff) we’ll notice more of a difference in the long term.

As a doctor (and a human), I’m always looking for ways to support my health without overspending. These are 5 small habits I’ve built into my routine that keep my body feeling good and help me stick to a budget.

From making my own dressings to making matcha at home, these swaps are simple, sustainable, and surprisingly satisfying.

Save this post if you’re trying to eat healthier without blowing your budget.

05/29/2025

Hi, I’m Dr. Sydney Baker — and I’m so excited to reintroduce myself.

After years of working in integrative care, I’ve officially launched my own practice and website — and I’m now accepting patients both virtually and in-person at in Solana Beach, CA.

I practice root-cause medicine with a focus on hormone balance, whole-body wellness, and truly listening to your story. You deserve a doctor who sees the full picture and treats you, not just your symptoms.

If you’re ready to feel like yourself again, I’d love to support you on your healing journey.

Visit my website to learn more or book a free intro call!

Www.drsydneybaker.com

05/21/2025

The amount of women who come to me having been told that birth control is their answer for acne, PMS, painful periods, heavy flow, mood swings, PCOS and perimenopause is astounding.

While I’m grateful for our ability to have control over our reproductive rights as females, oral contraceptives ARE NOT and SHOULD NOT be touted as a one size fits all hormone solution.

You deserve more. More education. More time with your doctor. More understanding of your body & labs. And more OPTIONS for non hormonal solutions to all the above imbalances, because they do exist.

05/18/2025

Stepping into something new—
Not just a new look, but a new chapter.

Over the past few months, I’ve been quietly working behind the scenes to create a brand and business that feels like me—rooted, intuitive, and devoted to the kind of care I believe in. This process has felt more like a ceremony than a rebrand. A marking of the moment I chose to branch out on my own and offer naturopathic medicine in a way that’s fully aligned.

I’m now seeing patients both virtually and in person at in Solana Beach, and I couldn’t be more excited to grow into this next season of practice.

Swipe through to see the new brand, feel the energy, and if you’ve been looking for support—I’d love to walk alongside you. Find me at drsydneybaker.com

Special shout out to for making all my website & branding dreams come true ✨

05/25/2023

Your morning sets the tone for your whole day. Here's a few tips on how to plan your mornings to support your adrenals. By no means is it necessary to do ALL of these, but they are all good inspiration. Find a few that align with your lifestyle & try to make them a habit!

Unfortunately, taking one or two supplements geared towards adrenal health is usually not enough to fully restore their function. It takes time, routine and consistency, all of which are heavily reliant on your diet and lifestyle choices.

⏰ Your adrenal glands love predictable patterns. They love it when you go to bed & wake up around the same time every day.

☀️ They appreciate it when you expose yourself to sunlight each morning before turning on the tv or scrolling on your phone.

☕️ Making sure to have some food in your stomach before you drink coffee helps prevent cortisol spikes (your stress hormone).

🚿 Did you know that turning your shower on cold for the last 2 minutes can help your body build resilience and support your ability to manage stressors 🥶 this one takes some getting used to !

🍳 Prioritizing protein in your breakfast helps maintain steady blood sugars throughout the day, thus decreasing internal stressors. Aim for 30g of protein for breakfast.

💨 As little as 2 minutes of daily breath-work has been shown to help regulate your nervous system & decrease your amount of perceived stress.

📔 Writing down 1-5 things that you are grateful for every day (or even just a few days a week) can help to rewire your thoughts and brain chemistry to focus on more positive things than negative.

The overall goal with each of these habits is to communicate to the body on a cellular level, that you are safe & taken care of. We literally need to teach the body to relax down to a cellular level so it can heal. This takes a multi-faceted, individualized approach & patience.

05/09/2023

I know I left you hanging, but here is my advice for supporting your adrenals!

Diet & lifestyle changes are listed first & so important because they are LONG-TERM and don't require supplements or anything fancy. Implementing some of these suggestions into your daily routine can make a significant difference over time. Remember, we have to have patience with our adrenal glands and can't expect them to be fixed in a week or even a month! True healing takes time⏳

Sometimes nutrient deficiencies can make everyday tasks a lot harder for the body. Checking nutrient status and supplementing if necessary can be a huge help to the adrenals as well.

Herbs can be beneficial for those with adrenal dysfunction, and the class of herbs that helps build our resilience to stress is termed "adaptogens". I have listed a few here, but it's important to work with someone who fully understands herbs before diagnosing and dosing yourself!

As always, these are general recommendations and should not be used as individual medical advice. Having a doctor who understands adrenal dysfunction is imperative to helping you repair the health of these sweet little glands and get your energy & your vitality back!

05/05/2023

We've discussed what your adrenals do and which symptoms could indicate that they are dysfunctional, but in order to actually assess adrenal health, we need to look into the following 6 tests, which make up the Adrenal Stress Index (ASI):

1. Cortisol: Helps evaluate your stress response and your rhythm of cortisol release during the day. This is best done by collecting saliva 4 times during the day as saliva is a more accurate representation of cortisol levels than blood. (blood can still be helpful though!)

2. Insulin: Proper production and release of insulin helps maintain balance blood sugars. If insulin levels are not optimized, that is a sign your body is internally stressed and constantly chasing balanced sugars but never quite getting there.

3. DHEA: Produced by the adrenals, it helps determine how you've adapted to stress. It can also shed light on what other hormones are being affected due to the stress.

4. 17-OH Progesterone: When the body needs more cortisol, it converts progesterone to cortisol. This test helps us evaluate your stage of adrenal dysfunction and can help identify the underlying cause of high cortisol levels.

5. Secretory IgA: Evaluates impact on immune system and gut permeability. Remember your adrenals help rule your immune system and a leaky gut is a major sign of dysfunction.

6. Gluten antibodies: Helps determine intolerance to gluten. Food intolerances are stressful for the adrenals, so this test can help identify if gluten is a trigger for that patient & give them reason to avoid it throughout the healing process.

It's not always necessary to run ALL of these tests, but a couple of them + a good history and picture of your symptoms can help you and your doctor decide if adrenal support is what your body needs!

05/04/2023

You may have heard of the term adrenal fatigue, but do you really know what it means?

Your adrenals are responsible for managing your response to stress, which can include external stressors like traffic, work, family or finances AND internal stressors like inflammation, poorly balanced hormones or blood sugar.

Our adrenals kick in when the body in under stress and they produce excess stress hormones which keep us going by raising our blood pressure and heart rate. Eventually though, they tap out and can no longer keep up with our body's demands. Thats when these symptoms tend to show up.

Poorly functioning adrenals can significantly lower your moods and energy, contribute to poor sleep, weaken your immune system and make your periods & PMS symptoms worse.

Whether you are pregnant, a busy parent or going though a life transition, your adrenals deserve love and attention!

If you suffer from these symptoms, you should 100% test your adrenal function.

My next post will detail the test that I typically recommend to do so 🤩

05/02/2023

Are you caught in what seems like a never-ending cycle of stress & exhaustion?

CHECK UP ON YOUR ADRENALS!

Facts:
-We live in a beautiful but increasingly stressful world
-We feel the need to constantly push ourselves & perform better
-As a collective, we are not good at relaxing or even knowing WHAT relaxes us
-The majority of the population does not have healthy sleeping habits
-Many are reliant on stimulants and/or caffeine to feel awake on a daily basis

Myths:
-Fatigue is just something that happens with age
-There is no such thing as "adrenal fatigue"
-You can "catch up" on missed sleep

If any of these strike a chord or resonate with you, I encourage you to seek out a doctor that will test your adrenal function. Look out for more posts on adrenal function and health.

Dr. Sydney Baker

07/21/2025

07/16/2025

07/10/2025

07/08/2025

05/29/2025

05/21/2025

05/18/2025

05/25/2023

05/09/2023

05/05/2023

05/04/2023

05/02/2023

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