Episode 14 – airs November 20, 2025

Why is it that women experience stress more intensely than men? Drs. Daina Parent and Annette Schippel discuss the connection between women’s hormones and the effects of stress on the female body. Dr. Schippel shares her personal and professional experience navigating the stages of a woman’s reproductive journey and how endocrine health plays a significant role in hormone balance. Drs. Parent and Schipple emphasize the importance of working with qualified healthcare providers trained in herbal medicine in order to find the right herbs for each person and symptom picture. Dr. Schippel offers invaluable clinical tools and takeaways to create a strong foundation for any woman to navigate stress management and optimal wellness with nutrition, herbs, lifestyle and more.

Dr. Annette Schippel is a chiropractor and a graduate of Logan College of Chiropractic, she brings over 25 years of experience to her work. She owns two thriving family practices that focus on pediatrics, women’s health, and clinical nutrition, and she regularly sees patients from across the United States and around the world.

Known for her expertise in functional medicine and endocrinology, Dr. Schippel has become a respected educator, author, and speaker. She has written and co-authored numerous clinician manuals and lectures domestically and internationally on topics in nutrition and functional endocrinology.  She has had the privilege of visiting Medi-Herb in Australia for 3 years to receive advanced training in phytotherapy.  She also had the honor to speak on alternative approaches to Metabolic Syndrome at the 2014 International Health Management Forum in Bejing China.

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Highlights of the episode include:

• Female hormones and stress sensitivity
• Adrenal burnout and perimenopause: the resiliency of the stress response affects hormone balance
• How herbs modulate and synergize with hormones

Podcast Summary

• 2:24 Female hormones and stress sensitivity
• 4:00 The HPA Axis and the stress response
• 5:35 The thyroid adrenal connection
• 7:57 Cortisol, DHEA and the adrenal cortex
• 9:15 Prolactin, dopamine and high prevalence of autoimmunity in women
• 11:30 Key differences in male and female hormones: estradiol, testosterone, and DHEA
• 15:27 Peri- and menopausal hormone shifts
• 16:33 Adrenal burnout and perimenopause: the resiliency of the stress response affects hormone balance
• 21:13 Clinical strategies for adrenal support to mitigate perimenopausal symptoms – diet, exercise, sleep, digestion, and mental health
• 25:42 Herbs for adrenal support and endocrine balance – rehmania, ashwagandha, chaste tree, schizandra and more
• 29:33 How herbs modulate and synergize with hormones
• 30:02 Social media trends – perspectives on ashwagandha
• 33:06 Why guidance from a healthcare provider with herbal knowledge matters – finding the right herbs for each person
• 35:35 Choosing the right herb – how patient health history and symptom picture inform herbal selection
• 44:39 Using blood chemistry to inform patient protocols
• 45:55 Personalizing herbal protocols for different stages of the lifespan
• 48:38 Nutrients and herbs for libido and vaginal dryness and how adrenal resilience plays a role in these symptoms
• 50:32 Circulation, sexual health, and blood-flow support
• 52:53 Improving vasodilation through nitric oxide; whole foods and herbs that support circulation (beets, mountain spinach, red algae, and more)
• 54:45 Herbs as modulators – herbs won’t increase or decrease hormones too much
• 55:16 The truth about wild yam creams
• 58:54 The practitioner-patient journey – navigating better health together
• 1:01:51 Key clinical takeaway for supporting women’s health and stress management – how to build a good foundation and never lose sight of what you’re trying to build

This podcast is sponsored by Standard Process

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