Amber Stitt [00:00:00]:
Hello and welcome to The Amber Stitt Show. I am your host, Amber Stitt. And today we welcome Kristin Mallon, a board certified nurse, midwife, and a menopause and longevity expert. Welcome, Kristin.
Kristin Mallon [00:00:14]:
Thank you so much for having me. I'm so excited to be here.
Amber Stitt [00:00:16]:
So there's so much that you do that I love speaking about. Just personally in my world, being in my 40's, business owner, it's really like if I'm not feeling well, that could really determine my day. So as a person that really loves to research and dive deep into input and with focusing on talents as step number one, I personally love learning all about the wellness factor in business. And so I'm very curious to see, was it you being a mother of four that was the reason you stumbled into this, more of this expertise, in addition to being a nurse? Can you talk with us a little bit about what brought you into this industry, a profession, lifestyle? Because it sounds like it's something that's all day, every day for you.
Kristin Mallon [00:01:02]:
Yeah, definitely. So I really wanted to work in women's health because there's a lot in women's health that has to do with wellness. Most of the time in women's health, especially around pregnancy and childbirth, women are well, and they just kind of need a little bit of guidance about how to optimize their wellness, how to optimize their pregnancy, how to optimize their health in general. And that part of medicine really appealed to me. So that's really why I kind of went into this area in the first place. I really enjoy working with women. I mean, being a woman, and then also I really like all the multifacets that women have. All the different personalities that women have, and all the challenges that women kind of present when working with them from a health perspective.
Kristin Mallon [00:01:39]:
And then it's definitely a lifestyle because I'm a very proactive person. And so I like to always kind of plan and prevent and anticipate as much as possible. And so my health is no exception to that.
Amber Stitt [00:01:51]:
Yeah, well, I know that if I feel better, I'm going to be better in business. And I think sometimes when I go back to the diagnostics, the testing, almost even down to the foods, and just where you are, even in your cycle, it can determine sometimes how you're interacting with others. So if something's not right in your day, if you're like, "Hey, everything else is from a medical wellness perspective, maybe it's a conversation I need to have with somebody," like, you can almost troubleshoot, reverse engineer that this is all checking out. But there might be something else I need to work on. So I just feel like we do so much and so many people depend on us and count on us as females, whether or not you're a business owner, entrepreneur, a person being an individual. We talk here on the podcast, too, about personal development, but this is step one, and it's so crucial. Do you think that sometimes, because we're used to doing so much, we might dismiss the importance of this?
Kristin Mallon [00:02:45]:
Yeah, definitely. And I think a lot of times, this kind of wellness or this type of kind of health prevention, health strategy is really like putting gas in your car. Right? Women just want to go, go, and they don't want to stop and put gas in their car. But if you don't do that, you're not going to be able to continue to head on the road. And so this is kind of one of those pit stops, even like in a race car driver, like a race car driver that's zooming around the track as fast as possible, 200 miles an hour, they still have to do the pit stop, change the tires, make sure all their fluids are correct. And that's really what this is and where this kind of comes into play.
Amber Stitt [00:03:17]:
Yeah, it's kind of like I have an almost five year old, and so it's like, okay, you know, you're tired, you need to go take a nap. And it's like, "I'm not tired!" And you almost don't want to admit, like, I need to pump the brakes and take some relief. It's funny how we, in our minds, sometimes do that. So you're able to help women in person, but you also have a virtual practice. So can we talk a little bit about that? Because I believe that you have multi, like you said, multifaceted, and you do some writing, and so can you talk a little bit about how people work with you?
Kristin Mallon [00:03:46]:
Yeah. So the main way that women work with me now is through my company called FemGevity Health, which is really about optimizing health, balancing health. Some people kind of call it integrative health, or people call it holistic health. Some people now call it longevity medicine, or longevity health. I really like the term longevity medicine because I think that that kind of blends the benefits of medicine with the component of integrative, the holistic and integrative approach that we see from other allied health practitioners, like chiropractors, and nutritionists, and people that practice mental health. And so I like bringing medicine into those professions, which is why we kind of use longevity medicine at FemGevity Health, you'd be surprised at how much better a woman can feel when her hormones, vitamins, and micronutrient levels are balanced. So that's a lot of times where we start and women will be like, "Oh, my gosh, I feel so amazing.
Kristin Mallon [00:04:40]:
I feel so much better. I can't believe I'm sleeping. I'm not having these mood changes. I'm not having this issues with anxiety and depression." And they're like, "I feel so amazing." And I'm like, well, actually, you just feel normal because we've just kind of brought your levels of minerals and vitamins and hormones back to their optimal levels. And that's a lot of what we do at FemGevity Health.
Amber Stitt [00:05:03]:
Well, I know I have you for two episodes here, so I really want to get way into the weeds on the longevity part. And so I work in insurance planning, and people's lifespans will be longer hopefully with technology and some of the resources and science we have. Now that we want it, we can go and try our best to go get it. And living long lives and living happier lives. And I know that I dive into my wellness, I call it my alliance, about once a quarter. And there's a couple of things we do with blood work, among other pieces to it. But it's a very strange thing to stop and take some time out of your calendar to go get all the checkpoints done. You almost feel like it's not productive, but then when you can see the outcome, it's pretty amazing.
Amber Stitt [00:05:44]:
And so when you're working with people, is there a common denominator outside of that, "Oh, wait, I could feel normal." Do you have any recommendations? Even if somebody were to, like I said, I go quarterly. I think it depends on your medications that you have to take, too. Is there anything that you could say, even from a get go today, that they could apply and they could start seeing some results?
Kristin Mallon [00:06:05]:
Yeah. So I think you kind of bring up two really important issues. One is that a lot of times women like yourself are in their 40's or 50's, which is where we can kind of see the hormones and vitamin levels and micronutrient levels kind of start to fall off in terms of, like, our diets just can't keep up. The way we farm just can't keep up with our needs. And our hormones are naturally declining as we head towards perimenopause and menopause. And so women will often feel that, "Oh, I'm just getting older." They'll chalk up a lot of their symptoms to aging, or they'll chalk up a lot of their symptoms to having young kids or the stress of their life, managing a job, managing a business, managing a family, working in usually multiple different faceted areas. And so they feel that it's just normal to feel that way.
Kristin Mallon [00:06:49]:
So that's the first thing I want to say, is that it's not normal to feel that way. It's normal to sleep through the night. It's normal to have a normal sex drive. It's normal to not feel anxious, even on your period. It's not normal to have cramps. It's not normal to have abnormal cycles. So all of that, I just want to really encourage women to seek out a medical professional like myself or other allied professionals that do the same type of work we do, to really just know that it can be better. And then the second thing that you kind of bring up is, I think a lot of us are used to going to a doctor every single year and just being told, "You're not sick," right? So, like, you don't have cardiovascular...(normal ranges)...
Kristin Mallon [00:07:26]:
Exactly like, you don't have cardiovascular disease, you don't have bone loss, you don't have cancer, you don't have fill in the blank. And that's not what we do at FemGevity Health, and that's not what a lot of integrative holistic longevity medicine practitioners do. We look at your lab values and we say, or any data point, because we do, like, gut microbiome balancing and micronutrient balancing and genetics. We test genetics as well. Is, is this optimal? Is this optimal for where you are? And so we're always trying to optimize and very similarly to how an athlete is, pretty much every single woman we see has room to optimize, just like any athlete that we would see, even if they're an Olympic athlete, they're the top of their game. They probably could get half of a second faster or a little bit half of an inch longer on some type of athletic event. So those are the two things I would say is one, not normal to feel that way? So just kind of even just knowing that, and like women that go and get gaslit by their doctors or their medical practitioners, it's okay to get a second opinion or seek out someone who will actually listen and then don't settle for someone in your 40's or 50's or 60's, just telling you it's normal. Figure out someone who's going to optimize.
Kristin Mallon [00:08:40]:
Exactly. Yeah.
Amber Stitt [00:08:41]:
Well, I like how you talk about, in my world, to be strategic partners. If I specialize in my area, then I would bring an expert. So I like how you work alongside the chiropractic, the naturopath. You're welcoming that because it's like anything that we do, we need multiple people to be successful on a team, team effort in the home. So it sounds like. Is this where you can work with others nationally, virtually? Is that an option with you?
Kristin Mallon [00:09:06]:
Yeah. So we do work with anyone in any state, or even any country. We can work to coach outside of the US, and then we are licensed in certain states to prescribe. And so a lot of what we do is data backed, which is why I'm very into working with allied health professionals, because I'm like, "Great, let's align on the data. Let's align on where the research falls." And you really can't argue with data and studies and evidence based care. And so it's great to kind of share that information across a valid health spectrum.
Amber Stitt [00:09:36]:
I haven't shared this with, really anybody outside of individuals, but there was an experience with me in my late 30's going to a provider here in Arizona for IVF, and it was looking at the values once, and you're absolutely a candidate for IVF. There's no other way around it. This is what we need to do. And as I went into his practice, the practice was very disorganized. His commentary, when I'm on the table getting my diagnostic, my fertility tests done, was very off putting, but I'd already spent the money because he told me, "This is just the way it should be." And after a failed transfer, I went to a different practice. I walked in, there was a different vibe, a different feeling. The other physician said, "I think we can work with this."
Amber Stitt [00:10:13]:
And we then were switching to do a second transfer with her. And just the overall feeling of not being stressed, that someone felt like they were more on my side. And let's just say I was successful. And I won't go into the details, because not everyone can have the same success story, but if I would have had a second opinion, even just knowing that feeling of the information being explained a little bit differently, there was more respect for me. It was a warm feeling, and it changed my mindset. And I feel like that was part of being successful. So, I mean, I really should have had a second opinion. And so I'm glad you said, "I know it's an extra step, it's another date on the calendar," but, I mean, this is our life, and sometimes we don't give ourself enough grace to invest that time.
Kristin Mallon [00:10:55]:
Yeah. And we're in the business of time. And so a lot of what longevity medicine practitioners do is we're all about extending lifespan and extending health span. And so getting to the end of your life and not being in a nursing home and being able to go on an airplane and still have the strength to put your luggage in an overhead bin and being able to walk upstairs and to have the mobility so that you can sit on the floor and play with your great great grandchildren. And so, yeah, it's 30 minutes here, it's an hour here. Four times a year. You're talking about maybe 4 hours a year to get back a decade worth of life at the end of your life.
Amber Stitt [00:11:31]:
It's kind of like retraining the brain a little bit. I mean, it is take the time for that. And I know that we've grown up listening to maybe some things that came from medieval times that we still haven't renamed certain things. And I know even my pediatrician, he told me that there was like, "hysterectomy" was actually from hysteria. And there's still these old terminology from back when they didn't understand science. And he as a man was like, "They should be updating things." So when you talked about levels, you don't have to have symptoms, you don't have to have cramping. Let's pause there for a minute, because I know that you helped dispel some menopausal myths, but are you really saying with the right levels, counteracting with micronutrients, or hormones, you don't literally have to go with what we've always heard from,
Amber Stitt [00:12:16]:
"This is what it was like to be on menopause." Are you saying that there's some hope there?
Kristin Mallon [00:12:19]:
Yeah, absolutely. And at FemGevity, we always say "Menopause Your Way" because there are some women who are not interested in doing anything that doesn't have to do with food based solutions. And so we support women through that. And then we have women who are very interested in multiple forms of HRT and multiple forms of hormone replacement, and we're okay with that, too. So we really kind of meet women where they're at, help them to understand what their levels mean, what is possible with their levels, what the options are, what the treatments are, what the herbs could possibly be, the botanicals, the nutraceuticals, the supplements. And then we kind of go from there. And there is so much to be gained from proper menopause management when it comes to longevity. And this is really where women differ so much from men.
Kristin Mallon [00:13:05]:
And a lot of what we hear in longevity medicine is about men. There's a lot of people talking about longevity medicine from a male based perspective. But what women don't understand is that the way they go through menopause affects their longevity and will set them up for, I see more success long term in their 60's, 70's, 80's, and beyond.
Amber Stitt [00:13:24]:
Okay. And for the audience, let's go back for a second when you're talking about going with treatment outside of food based. So if people are just like, "Look, I am not going to eat healthy. Like, you're going to tell me this, I'm not going to do it. Let's supplement it out." Is that where you're willing to work with both sides of the spectrum? Is that what you mean on that?
Kristin Mallon [00:13:42]:
Yes, we're willing to work with supplements. Sometimes when we run tests on women and we get them the data, we'll get them the gut microbiome results. We'll get them the results of their micronutrient and mineral levels, of a metablomix level or estrogen metabolite levels. They can see where they're not optimized, and they can kind of compare themselves against where women kind of traditionally fall, where symptoms traditionally start, and then they can make a decision for themselves. Do they want to supplement with food? Do they want to supplement with supplements and herbs and nutraceuticals? Or do they want to take hormones and hormone replacement?
Amber Stitt [00:14:17]:
And you mentioned something about bone loss. And I have a provider here in Arizona who had mentioned that I might need to go get a DEXA scan for a bone scan, but I was not old enough yet to do that. But she goes, "I ended up having osteoporosis because no one would believe and order one for me out of my network, of my grouping." And the goal was to then look at the levels to say, "You could use a bone up supplement," or something like that. And they recommended you need to go lift weights and start lifting weights because muscle with the bone combination. And I was okay. They're like, "But we really want you to be doing some heavier duty lifting. You're not going to bulk up, I promise."
Amber Stitt [00:14:51]:
And so their advice was really get after the proteins, the muscle and protecting bones because like you said, going onto an airplane or scooping down to get grandkids. I mean, there is so much that we just assume we're going to be sitting a certain way and look a certain way and be in a home because we're a certain age. But you're saying it doesn't have to be like that.
Kristin Mallon [00:15:12]:
Absolutely not.
Amber Stitt [00:15:12]:
If we give ourselves some time, way in advance, to just set the tone for awareness on that, right?
Kristin Mallon [00:15:18]:
Absolutely not. And then to also understand kind of like, what the true risks and benefits are for something like estrogen replacement in that very specific example that you gave, because the number one medication for prevention of bone loss, three times more effective than any other medication, is estrogen. So I think women kind of don't understand that the proper balancing of estrogen has enormous benefits for cardiovascular health, bone health, and metabolic health, and has zero risk for cancer when done properly. Now, when done in excess, it can be cancer provoking, it can be cancer enhancing. It's not cancer causing, but it can enhance a cancer that already is there already exists. And so I think that that's really important to kind of understand what the true benefits and risks are of taking estrogen and what the risks are of not taking estrogen, as well, or progesterone, or testosterone. Testosterone is another great one. A lot of women have low libido, low sex drive, low motivation.
Kristin Mallon [00:16:18]:
They have difficulty with energy levels. They have lower abdominal weight gain that, like, spare tire that women get around their abdomen and joint pain. And so a lot of women just chalk this up to, "Well, that's just normal part of aging." But when we run their testosterone levels, we see that they have almost zero testosterone in their bloodstream, and women actually have three times more testosterone than estrogen. So we don't have as much testosterone as men. Obviously, we're not men.
Amber Stitt [00:16:42]:
If there's low to zero, I don't know if it can ever be zero.
Kristin Mallon [00:16:45]:
Oh, it can be zero, definitely.
Amber Stitt [00:16:47]:
Wow.
Kristin Mallon [00:16:47]:
Yeah. And estrogen can be zero, too.
Amber Stitt [00:16:50]:
And so that could just be a conversation away, and you could just feel so much better. We have to break the barriers, and we do that, too. Just even in my industry, we have to give gratitude to where we've been. But innovating, looking at the information, there's so many resources now, and as we talk about it with business, even on the podcast, it's like there's so much out there, there's so many resources, and we just need to plug in and give ourselves a chance to be proactive and do it for ourselves. And so I really appreciate you bringing the awareness here. And so the description boxes for our episodes will have a way to locate you. Is there anything super special you want to share? Just about any projects, or anything you have going on outside of the website, which I know I looked at. It's very helpful and easy to navigate through.
Amber Stitt [00:17:37]:
Anything else you want to let people know about before we wrap up today?
Kristin Mallon [00:17:41]:
Our website is www.FemGevityHealth.com, and then we also do an Instagram Live, usually every Monday night around 9:00 p.m.. Eastern, give or take.
Amber Stitt [00:17:50]:
Okay.
Kristin Mallon [00:17:51]:
It's a great place for women to come ask us questions, and we do different topics every single week. And there's a lot of times where we'll be talking about something and people can kind of actually chime in and then the conversation gets started with the community. So it's a pretty good place to come if you're not sure, or you want to kind of get clarity around a specific topic.
Amber Stitt [00:18:10]:
I love that. That's awesome. So thank you so much for being here for part one. We're going to get really into the details in our next episode so you all can look for that coming up here soon. So thanks again for being here today, Kristin.
Kristin Mallon [00:18:21]:
Thanks so much for having me.
Amber Stitt [00:18:25]:
Thank you for joining us on today's episode of The Amber Stitt Show. For more information about the podcast, books, articles, and more, please visit me at: www.AmberStitt.com. Until next week, enjoy your journey at home, and at work. Thank you for listening!
