Jannine Versi | Smashing The Menopause Taboo & Empowering Women From The Co-Founder of Elektra Health

Written By Kristel Bauer

LISTEN ON APPLE PODCASTS HERE: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/jannine-versi-smashing-the-menopause-taboos/id1500457853?i=1000542819849

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If you've been experiencing irregular periods, brain fogs, or mood changes, you might be undergoing perimenopause without even knowing it. Today, Jannine Versi will be sharing how women can take control of their health and hormones, and where to find support during those physical changes.

Key Takeaways From This Episode

  • Most prevalent menopause symptoms. When do they start?

  • How to make lifestyle changes that support your health

  • Is it beneficial to eat soy products?

  • Why you need to set boundaries around work

  • 3 tips for picking quality supplements

 Disclaimer: All information and views shared on the Live Greatly podcast & the Live greatly website are purely the opinions of the authors, and are not intended to provide medical advice or treatment recommendations. The contents of this podcast & website are intended for informational and educational purposes only. Always seek the guidance of your physician or other qualified health professional when you have any questions regarding your specific health, changes to diet and exercise, or any medical conditions.

About Jannine Versi

Jannine Versi is the Co-Founder and COO of Elektra Health. Elektra Health is built around one simple mission: smashing the menopause taboo. They’re creating a movement to reimagine menopause as the beginning of a new chapter, one that is powerful & transformative.

Elektra Health provides deep expertise & science-backed solutions alongside community support & guidance to give women agency over their hormonal health. Their approach is holistic and integrative, and it starts with education from trusted experts.

Connect with Jannine

 

About Vegamour

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Kristel Bauer, the Founder of Live Greatly, is on a mission to help people thrive personally and professionally. She is a corporate wellness expert, Integrative Medicine Fellow, Keynote Speaker, TEDx speaker & Physician Assistant experienced in Integrative Psychiatry and Functional Medicine. 

Follow her on:

To Book Kristel as a speaker for your next event, click here.

Episode Transcript

Jannine (Teaser)

For many of these symptoms, there are effective treatments, both lifestyle, integrative and conventional Western therapies that can make women feel better and they certainly deserve that.

Kristel (Guest Intro)

If you're a woman in your thirties, forties, fifties, sixties, or beyond. Or if you are a man who has a woman in your life that you care about, you're going to learn a ton from today's episode.

I have Jannine Versi here today. Who's one of the founders of Electra health. Electra health is on a mission to smash the menopause taboo by empowering women with evidence-based education, care and community. We're going to be talking about perimenopause about menopause, about hormonal health, lifestyle factors that can impact your hormonal health, diet, nutrition, and a really empowering information so that you feel like you can navigate whatever comes your way because perimenopause and menopause is something that all women are going to go through. 

And it really is not talked about enough, super pumped about this episode. Let's jump right into it and welcome Jannine to the show.
Jannine:

Thank you, Kristel. It's a pleasure to be here.

Kristel:

So to start, I would love for you to share a little bit about your background and why you ended up starting Electra health and why, I guess menopause awareness and education is so important.

Jannine:

Absolutely. Well, I'm one of the co-founders of Electra health along with Alisandra Henderson and our founding physician. And the reason that we came together around this really important topic within women's health. Both through personal health journeys of our own involving the importance of hormones, um, and women's health and wellness.

And yet how infrequently we talk about it or educated around it. And of course, you know, largest hormonal transition in a woman's life besides puberty is menopause and while recent years have seen increased interest in topics like pregnancy and fertility and post-partum and we need more of that. We're just getting started.

It meant that there was still a massive gap left in perimenopause and menopause, both in terms of trusted solutions, access to care and community because there is such a stigma around this topic. And so that's what really drove us to build Electra. And since day one, we've bought in on a mission to smash the menopause taboo.

Kristel:

So, so incredibly important. And when I was getting my fellowship in integrative medicine, we had our OB GYN section and I remember learning about perimenopause and I was really surprised that it actually, for some people. It seems to be, has potential to happen earlier than what I had originally thought.

And then I was talking with an OB GYN who was part of the fellowship, and we were just having this conversation about. That she sees women who don't really know what's happening, but after you know, doing a little digging it's perimenopause so do you have any insight or data about like the ages, typical ranges where women can start having some of these changes?

Jannine:

Absolutely. So you're right. The perimenopause is a term that most women are unfamiliar with. Indeed many doctors are actually not trained on menopause medicine. And so we have many menopause specialists who do see patients and undertake specific education, but in residency programs, one research study out of Johns Hopkins showed that less than 20% of OB GYN residencies include menopause training.

So when you start with that low base and we think of OB GYN as the Vanguard of women's health providers, you can imagine why perimenopause doesn't come up that much. But in terms of when it starts, it tends to be in the early to mid forties. Although there is some research being done to suggest that symptoms can set in even earlier than that in the late thirties and the early forties, but it can be hard to disentangle because the symptoms there are up to 34 symptoms of menopause.

And they don't necessarily present themselves in this really sort of distinct way. So if you're starting to experience irregular periods or brain fog, sort of forgetfulness or mood changes, you might not necessarily attribute that to perimenopause and it may not be perimenopause, but oftentimes it takes a few years to start to recognize those patterns for folks as well as a lot of searching online and perhaps trying providers and stops and starts along the way, which is part of the issue and part of why we built Electra. 

Kristel:

That's incredible. So a lecture you're basically educating people about perimenopause and menopause. And then do you have providers as well that people can talk to if they want more support.

Jannine:

Exactly. So we offer basically around three pillars. Um, we offer education, which is evidence-based, it's vetted by our own medical experts who are board certified, including certified in integrative medicine, because we really believe in holistic health, menopause affects every symptom of the body there's estrogen and every single part of our bodies.

So, in menopause, it's a mind, body and spirit experience for many people. So the education that is both science-based, but also accessible is really important community. So we hear time and again, women say no one ever spoke to me about this. I don't know whom to turn to. Even perhaps in pregnancy, they return to friends or have a much more open conversation.

They're more reticent sometimes to do so when it comes to menopause. So creating a safe space for peer support is really important and the access to experts. So both what we call an electric guide led by RN. So registered nurse, a menopause expert for coaching and counseling and help in building tailored plan for how to really live well through these years and beyond.

And telemedicine visits with access to labs and prescriptions and full treatment for various symptoms. And so those are board certified physicians and providers. 

Kristel:

Gotcha. Okay. So talking about symptoms, obviously, irregular periods, and then, you know, your periods stopping is a big one, but there's a lot of other symptoms as well, and what come to mind or, you know, hot flashes and, you know, anxiety and different things. 

So what do you see as the most prevalent symptoms for menopause? 

Jannine:

Well, you named a couple of them. And of course, hot flashes are often paired with their evil nocturnal twin night sweats and insomnia, very close behind.

And of course, if you have nights legs and insomnia, and you're not getting a good night of sleep, I think we all know how hard it is to feel well rested, to regulate stress, to manage your anxiety. So that can be an offshoot of a symptom, or it could be an independent symptom in and of itself, but we do see mood, anxiety and depression are actually pretty prevalent in this population. 

So 40% of women and above report symptoms of anxiety, depression, and may not know necessarily what to attribute it to, and it may be tied to what's happening to their hormones. Um, another major area is vaginal dryness and changes to libido.

So that is one area where, you know, women often say just going to grit my teeth and Barrett, this is what I've been socialized to do. I mean, maybe not in those words, but that's sort of the societal expectations. But vaginal dryness is one of those things that will not get better without treatment. And it is totally treatable.

So for many of these symptoms, there are effective treatments, both lifestyle, integrative and conventional Western therapies that can really make women feel better. And they certainly deserve that.

Kristel:

Right. Yeah. That's so important. And they know also like skin changes, right? Like dry skin and hair, hair, thinning, hair loss, like that also can be attributed to menopause.

So I want to get into some lifestyle factors and things that people can do to support themselves and support their hormones. And this was some, I talked a little bit about this when I was in practice, but before I do that, I do want to just ping our sponsor for the show, which is Vegamour. And one of the reasons I love them so much is they help support hair growth.

And so I feel like that's a really potentially valuable thing for women going through menopause, like pay attention to what products you're using and use things that are going to help support healthy hair. 

So now I would love to just kind of segue a little bit into the lifestyle pieces. And if you have any suggestions, thoughts. What have you learned about what women can do to kind of take control over their health and their hormones? 

Jannine:

This is a huge part of, of what we offer at Electra. And what we find is that most women really want to start with the most effective lifestyle changes they can make, because you know, to be honest and you know, you've had amazing guests on this podcast talk about stress management and breathing and nutrition. 

It can be really hard to do all of those things. We sometimes say, you know, telling someone to just be a better human to eat well, sleep well, drink more water and exercise is a really challenging mandate, particularly at this time of life when the changes that one might be experiencing in perimenopause menopause.

And the fact is that we live in a post-menopausal phase for the rest of our lives. Coincide with being part of a caregiver generation, dealing with work, potentially children, caring for everybody else now, a pandemic. So being really sensitive to the fact that there are a lot of stressors internally and externally at this time.

And so what matters most is figuring out what are the, of the micro steps, the individual plan that is tailored towards what each and every person needs and what they would like to prioritize in their, in their own lives. 

So in terms of how we think about lifestyle change, we tend to first want to understand what matters most and what the biggest challenges are, and then break it down from there.

So let's say it's sleep and insomnia. It's really about examining habits and identifying micro steps that can be undertaken. Pattern recognition really matters. So that aspect of tracking your data and looking for what are the things that you could tweak, a small example would be if you really hard to drink less coffee, if you're, you know, an avid coffee drinker, but could you try for a week doing half regular, half decaf or shifting the time schedule and then seeing how it goes and being able to connect with your guide so that you're getting that reinforcement and encouragement and sometimes the accountability of, Hey, just checking in, you know, how did that go this week? What would you like to try next week?

So that's a small example, but lifestyle is really the cornerstone of how we approach health and wellness in this.

Kristel:

So I would love to talk a little bit about nutrition because that's something that impacts our hormones. And I'm curious if you have any thoughts on soy, cause that's something that. I've learned, you know, can have some benefits if you are having the right kind of soy and like whole soy products, like tofu at a mommy, soy, Malcolm at the like processed soy protein isolate stuff.

So do you have any insights into that? Is that something that you guys educate at all?

Jannine:

Absolutely. So we do spend a lot of time talking about nutrition and what you know, where you can kind of get the most effective return on your nutrition changes. Let's say soy for the most part is really an excellent, uh, dietary change that people can incorporate more of.

And it is found for most people to help their symptoms. It's an ISO flavor. Has some, we call it like estrogenic effects. There was some concern that perhaps it is so estrogenic, it could be problematic for those who have a particular type of breast cancer that is estrogen sensitive, but that's been found to be pretty unlikely.

So by and large, we recommend soy. And I think what you said is really important about looking for high quality ingredients. So even more than the you know, soy or other specific vegetables and proteins, it's really making sure that you're circling the perimeter of the grocery store and trying to find high quality nutrient rich foods.

That soy is a good one and comes in so many different forms. 

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Kristel:

So true. And I think just the coming back to the basics to limiting the inflammatory foods and the sugars. And cranking up the plant-based colorful veggies and fruits and just making, eating more whole foods. I think that that is not just specific to menopause, but that helps with your hormones. One other thing too, I'm curious if you have any insights into this.

This is kind of coming from personal experience, is that when I was very like, kind of strict with my diet for a while, where I really avoided a lot of carbs in the sense of like, I wouldn't really eat many like sweet potatoes or grains. And when I was practicing and functional medicine, we had a nutritionist there and she said, for me, she's like, you're not getting a nap.

You need that for your healthy hormone production. She's like, you need to add more of the sweet potatoes in, and like those healthy carbs for your hormones. So I'm wondering if you have any insights into the people who are following like low carb diets and how that might impact menopause and if you don't that's okay. I just thought I would thought I'd ask. 

Jannine:

No, I think that we often talk about nutrition as tied in with, with weight management and weight gain, because this does happen during the midlife years. We find that there are metabolic effects and oftentimes the way that women's bodies carry weight shifts. So. 

We hear time and again, from one of the more like I'm exercising, I'm trying to eat well. And yet I'm experiencing this visceral fat in the abdomen area, which is new and different and troubling. So it depends on what the goals are. We tend to recommend that women are exercising and they're really incorporating strength training and to their exercise regimen, but in terms of what they're eating enough, to be able to have energy, to be able to work out, just sustain them through the day. 

But we don't sort of prescribe one diet over another because, you know, as with that nutritionist, each person's needs are really different.

And so we encourage folks to sort of consider different things. Try it and test it and track it. 

And there are a whole host of, we have some guides on nutrition and food and nutrients that can support you in this time of hormonal change. So for example, a Mediterranean diet, so we've been shown time and again, to be really effective and there are carbs and the Metreon diet.

On the other hand, if losing some weight is important to you, we find that intermittent fasting can be really helpful and powerful for people. Prior to say, whether that's because they're changing the composition of what they eat or their style of eating and their sort of style over substance. So really, you know, individualized based on their particular goals, but sweet potatoes are healthy and nutritious.

And, you know, we are a thumbs up if it works for you and things like using an air fryer or, you know, considering alternatives to making something both delicious and a little bit less. No saddening, or we need some fats, but some of the others. 

Kristel:

Right. So true. So I would love to chat a little bit about how you are navigating being a founder.

So are you doing any certain self-care practices to kind of navigate the stress of the starting up this company and all the different stuff that comes with it? Like what are your personal practices for that? 

Jannine:

I would love to hear your answer to the same question and say, I do think that. Working in this space has made me so much more aware of what we can and should be doing day to day.

And we spend a lot of time considering, you know, how do we put into practice what we preach? I'm an insomniac. I've always been a terrible sleeper, but in part of the standard journey, sort of recognizing how boundaries around work, particularly when we're all working from home is really important. And using our team actually to keep us accountable.

So we oftentimes sort of set goals together and it might just be a walk every day and kind of checking it on your other teammate, who was also trying to take a walk every day, helps me sleep better, winding down, and really trying to protect that time, not looking at email unless it's urgent, you know, once in a while that happens.

But for the most part, I think it's really broadened awareness to the way that I live and the way that I manage my stress and sort of try to do the things that bring me more energy.

So certainly we're all always a work in progress, but has opened my eyes to kind of new tactics and tools and also learning from this podcast and others, things like breathing, which sounds so simple, but can actually be hard to practice the once you get into it, you can really find that it can have a real powerful, calming effect.

Kristel:

That's amazing. I think for me, It's not having my phone with me. If I'm taking a break, that's been a big thing. And that's always tricky because I'm always thinking to myself, well, what if there's a call from my kid's school? Like, no, there are a million reasons, but that I'm like, okay, I think I can leave my phone here safely for like 15 minutes and go for a walk and it'll be okay.

You know? So it's really like not having my phone on me. So I don't feel like I need to do this, or I want to check this. That's a big help. And I also am like a huge fan of taking micro self-care breaks because there's always like, if you are a founder and this is like your baby, it's different than if you go to like a nine to five job, you know, there's going to be things that come up that need your attention.

So it's more for me, at least as like, Integrating work-life integration of like, how can I have healthy boundaries and also make sure I'm like adding all that life and the family and the fun and the self-care into my Workday so that it's not like just before or just before bed, but it's like little pieces scattered throughout.

Jannine:
I love that. And I think, you know, obviously it changes as this pandemic wears on, but chair massages, I think are life-changing, I really feel like a new woman after, um, you know, getting a 20 minute chair massage. So that's one of my self care. 

Kristel:

I love it. And you know what I'm remembering. We have like, uh, I haven't used it in a while, but we have a foot massager.

I like it. I could be sitting here doing some work. I could have that plugged in. I could be getting a foot massage. Right? Like it's the little, kind of more fun it's fun to do in an office. Usually. I know.

I want to talk briefly about supplements and this is obviously so personalized and you always want to talk to your healthcare provider before starting supplements about things specific to you.

But I do know that there are certain supplements used to help with hormonal health and help with menopause and hot flashes and all of that stuff. Is that something that you have any insights into and I'm guessing, especially the integrative providers probably can help people navigate that. 

Jannine:

Yeah, absolutely.

I think your point about checking with a healthcare provider is important because of potential interactions, which people sometimes don't think of, but it, you know, supplements have biochemical effects so they can really create changes or interactions. And there are supplements that have been studied.

The gold standard in research, as you know, everyone sort of knows is the randomized control trial, not all supplements have been studied with that level of rigor, but many of them do have some research behind them. And so what a lecture makes an effort to do, and a lot of this is on our website available for free under, you know, our 21st century guide to menopause.

But what are the supplements that have been shown to have beneficial effects? What has been studied, what hasn't been studied? So we try to be very upfront about a lot of women report that this supplement is helpful. So for example, black cohosh, and if we find that there is mixed evidence, we will also say that so people should be aware of what the science is, and maybe that hasn't been researched yet or not effectively, or the sample sizes are too small.

Or that it's a placebo effect, which if there's no harm can be powerful for many people, but we do have a couple of tips that we give to everyone in terms of how to select supplements and those include making sure you can sort of see what the ingredients are and where it was manufactured. And assess the quality of the manufacturer.

There are some not necessarily required by the FDA, but there are what are called manufacturing processes or GMP that demonstrate a standard of quality and excellence. 

So if you're a supplement maker, that’s undertaking that then you can feel good about it. Um, but it does require a little bit homework for sure of homework on the part of the consumer.

So I'm happy to talk about what we think are high quality brands. We don’t sell them. We don't make money off of them. It's simply what we trust and recommend as well as what specific, you know, what a daily regimen might look like symptom specific. So can get into all of that too, but, um, that's kind of our top line on supplements.

Kristel:

Yeah, that's perfect. I think it's just important. I think for you listening to know that there are options out there. The way that I kind of view it as lifestyle is something that we have control over. So you can do things with your diet and exercise and try and manage your stress and have healthy sleep habits to support yourself during these hormonal changes.

And then there's also supplements, which also could have potential to support you. And then there's other methods as well. So it's just kind of having the awareness that you don't have to just like just deal with it and be miserable. You know, you can take action and have positive change. 

So at this point, we are coming towards the end and I want to do a quick wellness lightning round.

Before we do that. Anything else that you would like to share? 

Jannine:

Well, I think to let your audience know that menopause has been a really taboo and stigmatized topic, but we are seeing that change and we are excited to be a part of that movement, what we call smashing the menopause taboo, and it really has to do with speaking up and speaking out.

Because women deserve great care and they deserve high quality information. And so visit Electra health.com. There's plenty of resources there. We're here to support you and we appreciate having the chance to talk about this important topic.

Kristel:

Amazing. Okay. So we're going to do. Wellness lightning ground.

Are you ready for it? 

Jannine:

Yep. 

Kristel:

All right, so let's go. Okay. So first question is if you were on a deserted desert island, what are three foods that you would have to bring with you?

Jannine:

I would say almonds, I would love to have these like fire hook crackers that I've lately been really addicted to. And I'm a sucker for, um, cheddar cheese.So what goes with the crackers. 

Kristel:

There you go. Perfect snack. Okay. Second question is what is a book that you've read recently that you would recommend. 

Jannine:

Great question. I just read the right to sex. It's new. It was published in early this year or last year, and is a really interesting take on our relationship as a society and especially in feminist take and the intersectional feminist take on sex, porn consent, a lot of really thorny and relevant topics today.

Kristel:

All right. So last one. Last question is knowing what you knows today. What advice you would give to yourself from 10 years ago?

Jannine:

Oh, that's a good one. You know, I think I've had a pretty varied career. I started out in finance and then technology and here I am in the healthcare space and I think it's just okay to veer off of the plan and veer off of the path and sort of take the opportunities that are exciting and kind of stir something in you or get to work with interesting people. It'll all be fine. It'll work out. And if you follow your passion, I tend to believe that, you know, you'll do just fine. There's no one path for anybody.

Kristel:

That's amazing. Well, Janine, this has been really educational. It's been awesome to chat. So thank you so much for taking some time today to talk with me and share all these insights with the audience.

Jannine:

Thank you Kristel. Thanks for having us.

Kristel Bauer
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