“What if your bloating, fatigue, brain fog, anxiety, stubborn weight gain, and hormone symptoms are actually starting in your gut?”
In this episode, Dr. Mariza sits down with Dr. Cassie Smith — dual board-certified endocrinologist, founder of Modern Endocrine, and author of Fix Your Gut, Fix Your Hormones — to unpack the powerful connection between gut health, hormone balance, stress, metabolism, inflammation, and reproductive health.
Together, they dive into how chronic stress, poor gut health, blood sugar dysregulation, inflammation, and lifestyle overload silently impact everything from cortisol and insulin to estrogen, progesterone, thyroid function, and fertility.
Dr. Cassie explains why so many women are told their labs are “normal” while still feeling exhausted, bloated, anxious, inflamed, and disconnected from their bodies — and why gut dysfunction is often the missing piece conventional medicine overlooks.
They also explore the growing metabolic and hormonal crisis happening in younger women, the connection between PCOS, insulin resistance, gut dysfunction, and birth control, and why many women are struggling to restore healthy cycles and fertility later in life.
This conversation is a powerful reminder that hormones do not work in isolation. Your gut, nervous system, metabolism, sleep, stress resilience, and hormones are all deeply interconnected.
If you’ve been feeling like your body is trying to tell you something but nobody has connected the dots yet, this episode will help you understand where healing truly begins.
DR. CASSIE SMITH
Dr. Cassie Smith is a dual board-certified endocrinologist and the founder of Modern Endocrine. After becoming frustrated with the limitations of conventional medicine, she built a practice focused on uncovering the root causes behind hormone dysfunction, metabolic issues, fertility struggles, and gut-related symptoms. She is also the author of the book Fix Your Gut, Fix Your Hormones.
IN THIS EPISODE
Why chronic stress has such a powerful impact on gut health and hormones
How gut dysfunction contributes to fatigue, brain fog, bloating, anxiety, and weight resistance
The connection between estrogen decline, microbiome diversity, and inflammation
Why insulin resistance and metabolic dysfunction are rising in younger women
The hidden relationship between PCOS, gut health, cortisol, and fertility
Why birth control is often used as a Band-Aid instead of addressing root causes
The foundational lifestyle habits that support gut and hormone healing
Why slowing down, resting, and reducing nervous system overload matters for recovery
QUOTES
“Your hormones are doing the best they can in the environment you give them.”
“It doesn’t matter how many supplements or hormones we throw at you if the foundations aren’t in place.”
“Your gut is where all healing begins.”
“Your body cannot heal in survival mode.”
RESOURCES MENTIONED
Get your “Fix Your Gut, Fix Your Hormones” Book by Dr. Cassie Smith
https://guthormonefix.com/
Order my newest book: The Perimenopause Revolution
https://peri-revolution.com/
Modern Endocrine Website
Modern Endocrine Instagram
Modern Endocrine Facebook
Modern Endocrine Tiktok
Modern Endocrine Youtube
Hormones, Metabolism and You PodcastThe Menopause Gut Book by Cynthia Thurlow
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