Do your hormones decide whether you can workout? To close out the season, I’m joined by Dr. Lauren Colenso-Semple, a researcher who studies female physiology, exercise, and nutrition. She’s known for cutting through the fitness myths aimed at women. We talk about what female hormones actually do, and don’t do, when it comes to strength training. We also cover why the basics of building muscle don’t change with your cycle, birth control, or menopause.

In this episode:

- What the research says about estrogen, progesterone, and muscle growth in women

- Cycle syncing: why changing your training around your cycle may cost you consistency

- Lifting through perimenopause and menopause, and what actually matters for muscle and bone

-How to spot hormone-based marketing that’s built on fear, not evidence

About Dr. Lauren:
Dr. Lauren Colenso-Semple holds a PhD in Integrative Physiology and is a Certified Strength & Conditioning Specialist. She co-owns the MASS Research Review and writes a free weekly newsletter, Fact Check Fridays.
🌐 drlaurencs.com | 📸 @drlaurencs1

Connect with me: @drnatashamehta | natashamehtamd.com

That’s a wrap on this season of Brain & Body Things. Thank you for listening. We’ll be back next year with a new season, so subscribe so you don’t miss it!

For the full experience, check out the episode on YouTube!

You sent in the questions, and this episode is all yours. Dr. Natasha Mehta, a double board-certified physician, is joined by not one but two friends and fellow moms, who ask the questions. Nadia Kahn-Singla & Mukti Lavu do not work in medicine. They bring a fresh, real-world perspective as 40-something year old consumers trying to sort out what’s worth their time, money, and energy. Together, they cover how to train smarter as you age, recovery tools, plus wellness & nonsense trends filling your feed. As always, the lens is function first: what actually helps your brain and body move, heal, and perform.

YouTube link to watch us in this beautiful Venice, CA studio.

The podcast episodes drop weekly on Monday's in seasonal chunks. Subscribe to stay up to date, and tune in when you can! Be sure to rate, review, and follow on your favorite podcast app and let me know what other brain & body things you'd like to hear about.

For more information about me, check out my website.

Follow me on Instagram or Tik Tok @drnatashamehta.

This episode is not sponsored.

What does it take to build a practice that actually reflects your values? This week I sit down with Denise Beckers, CEO of BLAKE Physical Therapy & Wellness, a Los Angeles practice built on an integrated, team-based approach to physical therapy and wellness.

We talk about what it means to turn purpose into a working practice model: how care teams can collaborate instead of working in silos, where traditional medicine and rehab fall short for patients, and what has to change in the way we practice. We also get honest about being women leading in healthcare: building teams, growing a business, and holding it all together outside the clinic too.

YouTube link to watch us in this beautiful Venice, CA studio.

The podcast episodes drop weekly on Monday's in seasonal chunks. Subscribe to stay up to date, and tune in when you can! Be sure to rate, review, and follow on your favorite podcast app and let me know what other brain & body things you'd like to hear about.

For more information about me, check out my website.

Follow me on Instagram or Tik Tok @drnatashamehta.

This episode is not sponsored.

Most people are told a concussion is "mild" and that they’ll feel better in a week or two. Many do. But when symptoms linger, people are often left without answers. They’re told their scans are normal, that it’s “just stress,” or to rest in a dark room and wait.

In this episode, I sit down with neuropsychologist Dr. Megie Shean to talk about what actually happens to the brain after a concussion. Where the term "mild" comes from, and why we still use it. We cover why recovery isn’t a straight line and what a thoughtful, whole-person recovery plan looks like. We get into the overlap between brain injury, sleep, mood, and stress. We also explain what neuropsychological testing can tell you that an MRI can’t.

Dr. Megie (Margaret) Shean, PsyD, is a licensed clinical psychologist and neuropsychologist in private practice. She has more than a decade of experience caring for people with complex medical and psychiatric conditions, with a focus on traumatic brain injury and PTSD. Her work combines neuropsychological assessment, trauma-informed psychotherapy, and cognitive rehabilitation. She also brings in mindfulness and body-based approaches. She previously spent over six years at UCLA as a clinical instructor in Psychiatry and staff neuropsychologist with Operation Mend, treating post-9/11 service members and veterans.

Dr. Shean is licensed in California and Washington and sees patients in many other states by telehealth through PsyPact. Learn more on her website.

YouTube link to watch us in this beautiful Venice, CA studio.

The podcast episodes drop weekly on Monday's in seasonal chunks. Subscribe to stay up to date, and tune in when you can! Be sure to rate, review, and follow on your favorite podcast app and let me know what other brain & body things you'd like to hear about.

For more information about me, check out my website.

Follow me on Instagram or Tik Tok @drnatashamehta.

This episode is not sponsored.

Most people know Botox from the dermatologist's office. But in rehab medicine, it's a workhorse. In this episode, Dr. Natasha Mehta, a double board-certified physician and physiatrist, breaks down how botulinum toxin quiets overactive muscles. We cover the difference between a spasm, spasticity, and dystonia, what the injection actually does, how long it lasts, who it helps, the real safety picture, and why the shot is only half the treatment. Plus: is "trap Botox" wellness or nonsense?

More in Wellness or Nonsense?, we take on the viral “cortisol cocktail.” And in Mom Life Prescription, the simple habits that keep kids healthier as they head back to school.

YouTube link to watch us in this beautiful Venice, CA studio.

The podcast episodes drop weekly on Monday's in seasonal chunks. Subscribe to stay up to date, and tune in when you can! Be sure to rate, review, and follow on your favorite podcast app and let me know what other brain & body things you'd like to hear about.

For more information about me, check out my website.

Follow me on Instagram or Tik Tok @drnatashamehta.

This episode is not sponsored.

Longevity medicine is everywhere right now, but what does it actually look like in a doctor's office? This week I talk with Dr. Avinish Reddy, an internal medicine physician who now focuses on longevity, about how prevention-first care works, who concierge medicine is really for, and how to tell useful testing from expensive noise. We also get into the wellness-adjacent side of longevity: the trends, the tools, and the habits that matter more than any of them.

About Dr. Reddy: Dr. Avinish Reddy is a board-certified internal medicine physician focused on longevity and prevention, and the founder of the concierge practice Elevated Medical. His care centers on heart health, metabolic health, brain health, and physical resilience, with a strong emphasis on relationships and social connection as drivers of healthspan.

🔗 Learn more about Dr. Reddy!

YouTube link to watch us in this beautiful Venice, CA studio.

The podcast episodes drop weekly on Monday's in seasonal chunks. Subscribe to stay up to date, and tune in when you can! Be sure to rate, review, and follow on your favorite podcast app and let me know what other brain & body things you'd like to hear about.

For more information about me, check out my website.

Follow me on Instagram or Tik Tok @drnatashamehta.

This episode is not sponsored.

Can your body's own biology help it heal? This week I sit down with Dr. Danielle Aufiero, a fellow PM&R physician and one of LA's early leaders in regenerative medicine, to talk about platelet-rich plasma (PRP) and the wider world of orthobiologics. We separate what the evidence supports from the hype, and talk about who's a good candidate, what recovery actually looks like, and where these treatments fit between physical therapy and surgery.

About Dr. Aufiero: Dr. Aufiero is board-certified in PM&R and has more than 20 years of experience as a regenerative musculoskeletal specialist. She has been a partner at the Orthohealing Center in Los Angeles since 2009, and was one of the first physicians in the city to treat stubborn spine pain with PRP. She trained at the Kessler Institute under regenerative medicine pioneer Dr. Gerard Malanga, is well-published in her field with multiple FDA studies and clinical trials under her belt, and is a clinical assistant professor of PM&R at Western University of Health Sciences and adjunct professor of PM&R at Touro University.

Dr. Aufiero just opened a new clinic in Beverly Hills. It is a culmination of everything she believes in and practices, anchored in a functional sanctuary designed to make patients feel safe, regulated, and ready to heal. Check out the Fluid Mosaic Method.

YouTube link to watch us in this beautiful Venice, CA studio.

The podcast episodes drop weekly on Monday's in seasonal chunks. Subscribe to stay up to date, and tune in when you can! Be sure to rate, review, and follow on your favorite podcast app and let me know what other brain & body things you'd like to hear about.

For more information about me, check out my website.

Follow me on Instagram or Tik Tok @drnatashamehta.

This episode is not sponsored.

What does a real training week look like when you're a doctor, a business owner, and a mom of young kids? In this AMA, Dr. Natasha Mehta, a double board-certified physician, walks through her actual week of workouts: what she does, why she does it, and how she fits it around clinic, school drop-off, and everything else. No perfect routine. Just the priorities that keep her strong, mobile, and functional for the long haul.

Then in Wellness or Nonsense?, we discuss intermittent fasting. And in Mom Life Prescription, we discuss Exercise Snacks and VILPA (Vigorous Intermittent Lifestyle Physical Activity).

YouTube link to watch us in this beautiful Venice, CA studio.

The podcast episodes drop weekly on Monday's in seasonal chunks. Subscribe to stay up to date, and tune in when you can! Be sure to rate, review, and follow on your favorite podcast app and let me know what other brain & body things you'd like to hear about.

For more information about me, check out my website.

Follow me on Instagram or Tik Tok @drnatashamehta.

This episode is not sponsored.