Women on Fire®

Dr Bo Hendgen DO ND is the founder and CEO of Absolute Essential, a New Zealand-based company.

Absolute Essential designs 100% organic, premium quality essential plant oil products of the highest therapeutic value.

Born in Germany, Dr Bo grew up in France and studied aromatic medicine there.

If you’ve never heard of it before this type of healing looks at the science of therapeutic essential oils.

Additionally, Dr Bo is a naturopathic doctor, a doctor of osteopathy and holds a PhD in paediatrics.

She says the first thing to remember when using therapeutic essential oils is they’re powerful.

Did you know your digestive system/gut goes through big changes in peri/menopause?

It’s important to learn about as it can impact your entire perimenopause and post-menopause journey. The gut links to the brain, to emotions, to immunity and can be behind symptoms you may have put down to hormonal shifts such as brain fog and weight gain.

The health of your gut can change your life. True story!

Anna Veale is a Men’s Mindset Coach who helps high-functioning, busy men get connected to what matters using her ‘men’s formula’.

Anna has 20 years experience in the wellness industry and has worked with everyone from business owners to professional sportsmen. Indeed, she’s worked with the English Premiership Rugby Club Saracens, footballers, rowers and marines.

While she works with both genders, she believes her passion for working with men comes from having three older brothers who Anna calls incredible role models. She adds that she’s been privileged to witness the growth and success of hundreds of men through working with them.

Anna is the author of the book Only Human, holds diplomas in life coaching, is a Quantum Mindfulness Practitioner and Coach, has trained in acceptance and commitment therapy and mental health first aid AND she underpins many of her teaching with the ancient wisdom of Ayurveda. As a point of interest, she’s also a qualified personal trainer, Pilates and yoga instructor.

She uses a range of modalities including: mindfulness, meditation, breathwork and visualisation.

One of Anna’s specialities is supporting men whose female partners are going through perimenopause and menopause.

Ah sleep, it’s often the holy grail of perimenopause and post-menopause.

It has to do with a myriad of changes in your body. And it can affect so much: how you look, feel and produce in the world.

If sleep’s a problem for you Jenna shares some tips and tricks to support you.

Nicky Pellegrino is a best-selling author in the UK, Australia, and New Zealand. She writes delicious novels about Italy and her stories are filled with food, friendship, and love. And the kind of people who will feel like they’re your friends.

If you’ve never read one of her Italian novels we recommend you do with a full tummy and prepare to have your passport ready.

Nicky’s also the author of Don’t Sweat It: How To Make ‘The Change’ A Good One. It’s a candid, honest and warm guide to perimenopause and menopause. Nicky wrote it after perimenopause crept up on her and threw her usually-together self into turmoil.

The empowering book tells the story of Nicky’s own experience from rage to missing libidos. It also includes other women’s stories and the latest research on perimenopause, menopause and post-menopause.

Nicky’s currently writing her 15th novel which increasingly features women in midlife. Her latest release is P.S. Come To Italy.

Born in Liverpool, Nicky’s half Italian, and spent her childhood summers in Italy, hence the Italian flavour of her novels. She’s been based in New Zealand for 30 years after meeting her husband at a wedding.

Well known for wisdom and the wit of her storytelling she’s also a former editor and currently a freelance writer on a diverse range of subjects including health.

Congratulations on landing here, we are so excited to be bringing Women on Fire^® season 2 to you.

I’m your host Jenna Moore. I’m an accredited integrative health and menopause coach and I’ve been doing this work since 2016.

Women on Fire^® covers all things perimenopause, menopause, post-menopause and midlife, because too many women don’t know enough about it.

In case you’re wondering, EDC stands for endocrine-disrupting chemicals and they, along with xenoestrogens, can play havoc with hormonal balance. Therefore, they have the potential to magnify perimenopause/menopause signs and symptoms.

In this episode, Jenna explains them more.

Even though it’s no longer swept under the covers, the life stages of perimenopause and menopause can be confusing. And post-menopause needs its own toolkit.

Additionally, there can be an overwhelm of information out there so how do you sort the wheat from the chaff?

Jenna explains some basic facts that every woman should know.

Alison Brahe Daddo – or Ali as she is commonly called – was only 16 when she burst onto the Australian modelling scene in the mid-80’s.

Many of us, in both Australia and New Zealand, grew up seeing her gorgeous face on the pages and covers of Dolly, Cleo and Cosmopolitan magazines and as a model for companies like Portmans, Nivea, Covergirl and Jacqui E.

Ali went on to marry TV presenter, actor and heartthrob Cameron Daddo in her early 20s and the couple moved to the United States for Cam’s career. While there, Ali left the modelling industry and fulfilled her dream of becoming a mother to three children. She’s also worked as an educator, teaching Bodyfulmind exercise and heading up a program that prepared couples for birth, labour and post-partum. She went on to earn her teaching degree in Early Childhood from UCLA and has trained in Rudolf Steiner Education.

Since returning to Australia in 2017, she and Cam – now married for over 30 years – co-host the hit podcast “Separate Bathooms” and Ali is also a writer on parenting, relationships and the joys of being a woman. She’s also a patron of RizeUp Australia, a charity that assists domestic abuse families into new homes and safe lives.

Her first book, Queen Menopause, Finding Majesty In The Mayhem is wonderful. Described as a friendly, frank, compassionate and comprehensive companion for any woman experiencing menopause, it truly is!

Do you feel like you’ve put on weight overnight? Especially around the belly?

And do you feel like no matter what you do you can’t budge it?

It’s common and there can be a lot of reasons behind it. But just as importantly there’s a lot you can do.

Vinka is a functional nutritionist, whose mission is to help everyone feel their best.

She uses modern and traditional diagnostic tools including blood work analysis, genetics, hormone testing and the symptoms of the body to diagnose root cause issues for her clients.

Vinka’s a self-professed science geek who loves learning about the human body. She says she gets a buzz helping her clients set and reach their health goals by learning how to implement realistic diet and lifestyle changes.

Holly Zachan was 40 years old, juggling a business and being mum to two young children when she was blindsided by a diagnosis of hypoactive (underactive) thyroid disease.

After reacting to her medication, she started to connect the dots with some of her symptoms and perimenopause.

From there, she realised she needed to take stock and reassess her life.

Holly shares her story.

Lisa Tamati is a woman in menopause.

She’s also a former endurance athlete, best-selling author, and a health optimisation, longevity, high performance and mindset coach.

Lisa is relentless and wrote a book of the same name. It tells of the highs and lows and the sheer tenacity it took to help her 74-year-old mother recover from an aneurysm and subsequent brain damage.

Indeed, Lisa doesn’t take no for an answer because she believes nothing is impossible. Even when she’s told it is!

In this episode, Lisa shares her story and her journey with menopause. In addition, she imparts wisdom about DNA, epigenetics, hormone methylation and perimenopause/menopause and post-menopause.

On this episode of Women On Fire^® we’re talking about the beauty of ageing, common concerns such as hair changes and pigmentation as well as makeup.

As we grow older our hair changes, our skin changes and the way we look changes.

And sometimes we’re not quite sure what to do.

The good news is that there are a lot of tools and options on hand and we’ve given you an overview in this episode.

Men Are From Mars, Women Are From Venus was written in the 90s and became the biggest-selling relationship book of all time.

Since then, author John Gray has written over 20 more books including Beyond Mars and Venus which takes into account how times have changed.

John’s wisdom is legendary and he’s been a guest on many well-known shows such as Oprah and Dr Oz.

In this episode, he goes into the link between our sex hormones, our masculine and feminine sides, and their effect on relationships and libido.

Suitable for all ages as well as peri/menopause (so share it with everyone), John addresses the subject from a heterosexual viewpoint but it can translate to same sex relationships as well. He covers this in more detail in Chapter 9 of Beyond Mars and Venus, Mars and Venus In The Bedroom.

On this episode of Women On Fire® we’re talking about sex drive and the effect of menopausal hormones.

Many women find they lose their libido in perimenopause / menopause however others find just the opposite.

It can be frustrating but there are things you can do so don’t hesitate to reach out with any questions.

Dr Mirjana Janjic is a women’s health specialist with a specialist interest in state-of-the-art medical laser treatments for stress incontinence, vaginal atrophy, vaginal prolapse and snoring.

These are all common issues during menopause but many women are too embarrassed to talk about them. The good news is they’re usually treatable.

Indeed, after training with specialist gynaecologists in Europe who are the pioneers of minimally invasive gynaecological laser procedures, Dr Mirjana introduced the innovative approaches to Melbourne, Australia and then Auckland, New Zealand.

Dr Mirjana is a Fellow of the Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP), Fellow of Cosmetic Physicians College of Australasia (CPCA) and a Board Certified Aesthetic Medicine Physician (AAAM).

Dr Linda Dear has the perfect training behind her to work with women navigating the waters of perimenopause/menopause.

Indeed, her background brings a wealth of knowledge of both holistic wellness and academic/medical training to the table.

Not only is Dr Linda a NAMS (North American Menopause Society) Certified Menopause Practitioner, she’s also a medical doctor with a fitness background.

In addition, she completed a psychology degree and post-graduate training in the ACT model of psychotherapy.

And as if that’s not enough, Dr Linda graduated from London Medical School and added a post-graduate diploma in obstetrics and gynaecology.

So to say she’s well-qualified to help women take a multi-pronged approach to manage menopause is something of an understatement.

There is so much conflicting advice and data about caffeine and alcohol, especially during perimenopause and menopause.

So we took a look into the subjects. And the truth is, it’s confusing for everyone.

Everyone is different and this is very true of women going through peri- and post-menopause.

So this episode lays out a few facts, a few theories, and a few experiences.

Rebecca Gibney is one of Australasia’s most-loved actresses. A household name in both Australia and New Zealand, her performance as Julie Rafter on Packed to the Rafters earned her a Gold Logie Award for Most Popular Personality and two Silver Logies for Most Popular Actress.

But accolades aside – and she has many more – Rebecca has been winning hearts on our screens for decades. From The Flying Doctors and Halifax fp TV series to the film, The Dressmaker she has shared her beauty, talent, and charisma with us.

Now in her 50s, she is refreshingly candid about filters and growing older as well as sharing her wonderful sense of humour on social media.

Currently starring as beautiful Daisy and executive producing the popular rom-com series Under The Vines, Rebecca drops in for a quick visit to Women On Fire^® to talk about Daisy, menopause, and growing older.

MenoMe^® offers both 40+ and 55+ to help alleviate the symptoms of menopause.

40+ is designed for women in perimenopause (because on average women enter perimenopause around age 40). And 55+ is formulated for women in post-menopause (because on average women enter post-menopause around this time).

However, the truth is you could choose either.

This episode is all about 55+, what it contains and how it works.

LotsaLocks^® by MenoMe^® is formulated to alleviate the hair thinning and loss that’s common during perimenopause, menopause, and post-menopause.

As a result of this, approximately 2/3 of women experience some form of hair thinning in midlife due to hormonal shifts.

Scientific studies show the ingredients in LotsaLocks^® help to mitigate this.

Learn more in this mini pause^® episode.