Amita Sharma Shares NourishDoc on Healthy Habits with Dori DeCarlo on WoMRadio

0:00 She is sure, she is sure, she is strong, she is true, is true, she is brave, she is she is you. She is you, she is she is sure, she is true, she is strong, she is straw, she is true, is true, she is brave, is bray, she is she is you. Hello, everyone, welcome to today's Word of Mom Radio. Here on the Word of Mom Media Network. I'm your host, Dori Di Carlo, and you know we are here week after week, show after show breaking those myths that morepreneurs and business women, especially those of us building our businesses from home, that were just dabbling in between bake sales and getting our nails done. We're not We are smart, we are savvy, and we are sharing the wisdom of women in business and in life. And I'm looking forward to bringing today's guest into our Healthy Habit show. Amita Sharp is the co founder of nourishdoc, a global holistic wellness platform for women to manage their hormone transition from PMS to postmenopause. Inspired by her perimenopausal journey and working in the high tech world, Amita felt unsupported and a need to bring the taboo topic of perimenopause at the workplace out for an open discussion. With her personal experience

1:31 of going through perimenopause and keeping it a secret, it added more stress to her perimenopause state. Amida is on a mission to make this taboo topic be a part of DEI health equity at work for women in their forties who feel that they cannot discuss this with HR or their colleagues. It really is such a ridiculous thing that this is such a taboo subject because every woman is going to go through it if you live long enough. So, with all this being said, Amita, welcome to Word of Mom Radio. Thank you, Thank you so much. You guys are doing incredible work, you know, talking about all kinds of topics that we are so scared to bring it out and open, this being one of them. So I am really excited to share my journey and also hear your journeys and maybe share some laughs and then you know during.

2:28 The show, absolutely, and you know what, I think it is so important. It is twenty twenty five. Women should not feel embarrassed humiliated about the natural things that go on in our bodies every month and then as we age going through the change. It's amazing. So I would love for you, Amita, to take us on your journey and share one in spine. You to start this business and this huge venture, and you know kind of some of the lessons that you learned along the way.

3:10 Yeah, you know my journey. I at the time when the perimenopause started, I was in my early forties, and to be honest with you, I had no clue what perimen of pause was until I started this business. It's like, you know, an average educated wrooman does not know what Perryman it was, is right, And I went through this whole perimen of our journey in silence and suffering, thinking that God knows what's happening with me, you know. And I go to my obgi N I get medication, and my body doesn't react good to these strange medications, you know, on a regular basis. So I started turning to holistic and I experimented, and that's not the way we should do, you know, now, I look back, right. And then on top of that, at work, I'm getting heart flashes, and I'm getting I'm not sleeping well at night, and at work I'm not able to focus, and I'm like, oh my god, the age discrimination it's and I'm so scared to go talk to etch her with not that they don't know my age, but but I'm scared, like, oh, they might judge me, right, that they might tell my manager or you know, she might is not able to focus keep an eye on her. Things like that right in my head. I'm sharing what's going on in my head at the time, and I'm like so stressed out, so with anxiety, anxiety. Just wanted to get through this

4:43 whole phase of my life and it took ten years. So that's the point I'm trying to make is perty menopause is a state, a transition for women. She words the menopause, which happens when you're fifty one fifty two on an average, and that stay stage and state could last up to ten years or maybe more or some less for some women. For me, it was a long drawn out anxiety, stress, all kinds of strange things happening, and women don't feel that they can't talk to anyone. I felt that and it impacts their livelihood financial which it impacted me as well, because you know, I ended up putting jobs after every year and a half and taking up some consultings and taking breaks in between because I could not function like the pressure of a full time corporate job. Because I couldn't, I was not able to manage my symptoms properly, is what I'm saying. And I'm sure the story is of millions of women out there even today, every day.

5:49 It's amazing because each of us, let's face it, every woman is different. You know. I had horrible periods. I had two dncs because of hops. I mean it was awful, and then but I had I was very I used to get my period the first Friday of the month at five o'clock, I'd go to the book. Okay, in the afternoon, I go into the bathroom, put out a pad, and go on with my day. And so August of my I was going to be fifty eight in November. That August got my period. September, we're camping out. I didn't get my period, and I'm sitting there and all of a sudden, I went, oh, my gosh, I think I'm having a hot flash. And my daughter looks at me and she goes, you are a freak of nature.

6:36 She's like me. You know. Her boss had been going through menopause since she was forty. The peridich and hot flashes and everything. I had my first hot flash at fifty eight years old and serious, yes, furiously. It literally just was like, oh okay, And but I can't even tell you that. My friend one time we were watching football game and here she is in her house. She had on sweatshirt, pants, everything. All of a sudden, she's going hot flash. Look over, she's in her underwear because she had soaked through. Oh my god. So there is such extremes that women go through. And while you're in business and you're working, you were saying about switching jobs and things. How do you hit those significant hurdles that you're dealing with in this very meenopausal state where you are so losing focus and everything else? Yeah, how did you handle things like that? Amita?

7:41 I you know I resorted to holistic. To be honest with you, I'm a big but I was always having a big believer of iureda ecupuncture. So the way I had dealt with that, I started going regularly for acupuncture practice, right, and it helps, It helps you know there is evidence. And then I started getting regular are you wethic practices therapy? No? Things like Shirodhar. I don't know if you're familiar with these terms, I will explain you in a minute, things like a younger things like some of the other supplements, you know. So I resorted to these therapies. It comes to me naturally. I changed my entire diet. I changed my entire exercise regimen. I cleaned up like you won't even believe my diet, you know, no alcohol, very little alcohol once a month, no caffeine, like really cleansing. And then I started cleansing my system very systematically. Every two months, I'll go on a very mono diet, you know, for two three days, like a plain, very simple soup kind of a diet, right, so it cleanses my system. So I went on that. I had to go on that because otherwise I was not able to function. And then, you know, in the last two three year years, when I was researching into you know, wanted to do something in wellness, and this suddenly, like a tube light came back to me and I interviewed like about three thousand

9:11 experts from all over the world, most of them women mid age forty something, and they all talked about the you know, issues they were having, and I said, oh my god, I had the same issues, and they were all talking about menopause. I'm like, we, you know, why don't I just you know, dip my toes here in menopause and see if there is anything in it. Right. That's kind of how this whole started thing started. I started talking to people and they say, yeah, oh my god, you're kidding me. I have the same thing. That's you know, amito. We say it all the time on this show. Women start with why basic something they're going through it, and then they start to realize, wait a minute, I'm going through this. I can't be alone.

10:01 There have to be other women that are willing with this too. Yeah. Yeah, And it really is the most frustrating part of it is that we still feel embarrassed. Yes, don't discussed. It's crazy, it really is. It's absolutely crazy that at this time of life, and at this time of our evolution as a species, that women still have to feel so ashamed and everything else of something that I'm sorry, it creates life. We are life givers. So going through menopause is the end of that, and TV the real beginning of our tremendous wisdom. And you know, as somebody's looking at it holistically, you know, That is why other cultures, the women who now have gone through menopause and are no longer using that part of themselves. That is who the elders are. That is who they are, the most respected women. That's who you look to for healing and energies and everything else. And it's only in this country.

11:16 And then you know in our culture that we're meant to feel like uh now, uh huh, we need to step into our power. We really need and I think it's really important, you know. And it's as you were talking about doing things holistically. That's me and everybody on the you know, who listens to the show regularly knows that I ate a lot of soy. I ate a lot of at amammy the whole time that is going through. When I found I would get like hot flash clusters, you know, and then I wouldn't get them for weeks, and then I get enough handfuls of otamammy just eating the soy and stuff like that, trying to make sure that I'm keeping my I didn't want to take my gynecologists went to give me these horse formone pills. I'm like, I don't think so, you know, I can't see putting that stuff in my body. But that's me, you know, it has to take their wellness journey there their right.

12:19 No at charty, of course, the traditional at charity eat tablets or whatever they are with the horses urine right that that's how they have been made, and it works with some women. I'm not that I'm against personally against taking any medication or a charity and doesn't work for some other women. And I personally believe more believer in like you are saying, of supplementing with phytoestrogens, foods that are containing natural estrogens, like soil, like eat a mammy like you know, I eat broccoli and you know these cauliflowers of the way and the seeds, you know, things like that, and maybe some supplements that have a natural astronm in it, you know, to supplement my body of the receding hormones that's happening right for all of us.

13:08 So I think women, what I felt is that as a woman, women don't even understand I'm talking about an average woman, not like you and me. They don't even understand what's going to what's happening or what's going to happen in their bodies and how It's going to impact not only their physical we're talking in the physical sense, but also their careers, you know, their their intimacy with their partners, the relationships, right, I mean we we're not even scratching that surface. Right, It can impact everything around you. That's what women don't understand and they need to understand that. Right notes, I want to come back to talk about that.

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14:57 We need your help. Donation are critical in order for us to continue our work. We also need volunteers to help with research and development. Please visit Unsilenced Voices dot org for more information. And we're back here on Word of Mom Radio. We are talking with Anita Sharma, co founder of nourishedc. I want to talk about the different things that women do and what needs to be shared and what we need to learn about the whole perimenopausal, menopause, postmenopausal, all of those things that are going on. So just let's talk Anita.

15:44 Yeah, absolutely, So you know, the first thing is women need to understand different stages, right, It's not just menopause, and most of us, including met menopause, is heart flashes, you know, brain fog, you don't know that us so many other symptoms that are associated with when you're going through this whole transition. So women need to understand the fact perimenopause, which we talked about earlier, very quickly the transition into menopause menopauses, by the way, just one day it's basically your birthday birthday in the sense you haven't gone through period for twelve consecutive months, that is the menopause, Bertha. And then for the rest of your life you are postmenopausal, all of us. Right, So we need to understand these three distinct phases. That's number one. And then within the perimenopause, women need to understand what first stage, then the second stage, and the years right before menopause. The symptoms could be different because the hormones fluctuations can be different. So we don't understand that. And that's what we need to have a better understanding, because you know, we say, oh my god, most of my friends, oh my god, I'm putting on weight, right We so many of women complain about the weight on their mider you know, the it's not going away, or I just smell air and I put on weight.

17:05 But we don't understand why the heck all these things happening. So, you know, these are the things we need to understand. How our female sex hormones in the first stages of the perimenopause are acting up, progesterons going down first, estrogen is still at the top, and most of us can get eastern and dominant, and because of that the weight part comes into being right. So this is just basic, basic knowledge, but I feel that all of us should understand why it is happening and what should we do about it? Right then, as we inch towards further into the perimenopause, as a side node or site symptom, the sexual desire could also fluctuate, you know, loss of libido can happen. We don't understand, right, and we do. We don't want to talk about it to our partners. That's the other thing we should understand. We should we should talk about it, right And don't you think.

18:03 One thousand percent? And I don't think when you have that intimate partner that there's any subject you shouldn't be able to talk about, you know, because let's face it, if you're going through menopause, they're dealing with the rectiles of dysfunction exactly. You know, you're both going through a shift in what you're going to be able to do and to do and desire and all the rest of it. You know. But you know, you've got athletes out there talking about stuff for a rectile to ysfunction, but women don't get up and talk about pre menopause, and we don't and we should because there's nothing to be ashamed about. What kind of things can you do to foster that that you things like that, No, no, that there are there are a lot of things you can do.

19:05 See, that's what we don't understand is basically it's the blood flow, right, And I'm not a medical doctor. I'm sharing all this information after doing research and talking in my interviews with about three thousand experts. Just a little disclaimer here, but some of the breathing exercises, for example, some of the yoga postures, some of the pelvic health right the area the pelvic health area where the blood flow kind of gets a little bit lower because of the hormonal fluctuations. All these can be done right. She should bring the energy back, and so that's what I think. And also some of the foods we were talking about. There's some kind of orgasmic meditation that has research. Believe it or not, you know, I'm using the word orgasmic meditation, but it is true. One of the mds actually she teaches this and it helps. So some of the practice of firing up you know, the kundolini or in Yogic terms, so the yoga practices that can fire up you know, that can bring this desire back. And the big thing also is your anxiety and stress. Most of us are stressed in the mid age if you think about it, so you really need to it's all interconnected. If you're relaxed, right, your desires will also come. So I think by the time we reach in mid mid age, we have already, you know, accumulated so much baggage, whether it's kids, whether it is job, whether it is stress, anxiety. So all

20:38 that relaxation techniques help with building the desire right. So these techniques can be done, you know, diligently and also talking openly. You don't want to hold on to everything, so things like like I said, pelvic health exercises, some yoga pastures, some breathing exercises, some sub comments, making sure you know the food we are talking about. All these combined even some acupuncture and i eurthic practices can help bring all that together. You know, that that energy back, right, And that's what people should discuss openly and see what is it that they can do to at least having some kind of a maintenance and not go completely dip into it, right, because it is important. The reason is that sixty percent of the women in usn UK who are getting divorced are going through the menopausal journey. So it is a fact and we never talk about it.

21:39 And I'm not saying sexual health and intimacy is the only reason why they're getting divorced, but I am sure if you ask them, this could be one of the reasons. Right, this could be. I'm not saying this is the only reason. It makes perfect sense because again, both partners, the whole shifts that are going on, and when you don't openly discuss things like that, embarrassment, whatever, then the risks begin to the women out there that are listening. They're looking to start businesses things like that, and they're also dealing with this. What do you want to say to them, Anita. Yeah, because you know women who are trying to start their businesses. I would just say simple thing like open communication. Right.

22:23 I am like that. I hold on to things I don't say openly right what I'm feeling many times I have changed over the years. But if you are trying to start businesses, especially in these kind of sexual health or I don't know, something that is very kind of discreet is the word. You need to be able to discuss this openly, open a channel of communication without the fear of being judged. And that's what most of us are fearful of. I know myself, I for years and years I was fearful of being judged by others, how everybody else will perceive me. And we women had this amazing ability that we feel more important how others are feeling about us then we are feeling about ourselves. And that's my biggest advice to most of the women who are listening that pay attention to what you are feeling.

23:20 Listen to your internal voice more then worry about how others are going to feel about you, how others are going to judge you. Don't be conscious about your looks and the you know, the body image all the time. Just be comfortable with who you are. You know it's easy said than done, but I know, but that's really what I want to say to women out there. That's a great message to give. It really truly is because you know, it's not about being a size to not everybody is. That's being healthy where you are both physically and men. Yes, you know, I have to ask as we're wrapping up because we were talking about it right before we started. I would love for you to tell us about the app that you are creating that's going to be coming out.

24:14 So the app is about really helping women. You know, they should be they should feel safe when they come to the app and ask questions, and we wanted to make it affordable as well. We didn't want to be so like priced prohibitive for women. So the app is really starts with the self care. You know, you can do self care and be super affordable, like ten dollars a month something like that. And then you go into the next stage of where will you have the ability to ask questions from the experts, different type of experts like sexual therapists as an example, a yoga you know, a mindset or a dietician or an MD, different type of experts so you can ask these questions. The next would be that and finally a concierge services where you can feel safe and do one on one. So the app would be designed, like I said, in a simple Creed way, starting with some simple affordable then going to the next level and the concier way. And we're releasing in March. So I'm really super excited because I genuinely want this app to be accessible to as many women in the world as possible.

25:27 Well, we will make sure that by the time this show airs, this is going to be live, so you will be able to click on the links and find out more about it. And I really encourage you too. So as we're wrapping up the meta, what would you like to leave our listeners with and how may they reach out to you? Well, they can go to www dot nourished doc dot com. That's our website and that's where we will be posting the link to download the app as well. What I want to leave the listeners with is investing in yourself, believing in yourself. Self care. Self love is not selfish.

26:11 You owe it to yourself. You have given your life, you have given yourself, to your family, to your parents, to your everyone. Give everything now for yourself. That's what I really want to leave all the women with. I love that and we say it all the time. Self care is not selfish because you know what mom's out there. The family revolves around you. You are that nucleus and if your nucleus is not spinning correctly, everything is going to bounce off you, it's not going to be able to flow, So take care of you moms.

26:51 You deserve it. I love your message, Amita, and I am so happy that you came and took the time to be with us today. A word of mom Radio. Thank you so much for all of you tuning in. I want to thank you for being with us. We're gonna close out with our fabulous theme song from Smith's Sisters and the Sunday Drivers. So till next time. This is Dory di Carlo saying, go out and create a marvelous youth. Bye for now. She is sure, she is sure, she is strong, she is strong, she is true, she is true. She is braz Bray, she is boul. She is you.

27:34 She is you, she is you, she is she is sure, she is sure, she is strong, she is strong, she is true, she is true. She is brave Bray. She is she is you. She is you, she is you, she is you. Sure of herself. Yes, she takes care of his powerful and strong. Yes, she knows who she is has integer eddy woman strong and true. You know her by name, see this woman as you. She is sure, she is strong, he is strong, she is true, is true, she is brave. She is, she is you, is you, she is she is sure, she is strong, is strong, she is true, is true, she is brave, she is she, she is you.

28:24 She is She adds value and hope, has proved to be brave. See it's never too late, never time to behave Reaching for dreams doesn't matter. The age believes in herself, unleash from her cage. She is sure, she is sure, she is strong, is strong, she is true, is true, she is brave, she is, she is you, she is, she is sure, she is strong, is strong, she is true, is true. She is brave, she is brave, she is she is, she is you.