Perimenopause is usually expected to begin in the 40s. But more and more women are starting to see signs of it much earlier than that. Night sweats in the late 30s. Hot flashes that feel way too soon. Cycles changing earlier than expected. Trouble conceiving under 30. And most of the time, these symptoms are brushed off as stress, bad luck, or just part of being a woman.

What most women do not know is that those symptoms are not just a normal part of aging, or being a 'woman'. They are a sign that the body is aging hormonally faster than it should be. And brand new research has just revealed why. Scientists have discovered that the ovary is not just a storage facility for eggs. It is an incredibly sensitive organ that is picking up signals from everything you eat, every chemical you are exposed to, and every stressful season of your life. And it is using all of that information to decide how fast to age. So you may be only 30 chronologically, while your hormones are already behaving like those of someone much older.

In this first episode of The Ovary Club, I get into what this research actually means for you, why your hormonal age and your actual age can be two very different numbers, and what you can start doing right now to slow this down, no matter what decade you are in, and feel like yourself again.

Want to go deeper with this episode? Ovary Club Insiders get a special download: Your Ovarian Scorecard — find out exactly where your hormones need the most support and get a 30-day plan to fix it

Become an Insider here: https://alisavitti.kit.com/products/the-ovary-club

What's Discussed:

• (00:00) Why hormonal symptoms are not a normal part of aging and what they are actually signaling.

• (02:17) The alarming statistics showing women are aging hormonally faster than ever before.

• (05:30) The groundbreaking new research on the ovarian ecosystem that changes everything.

• (07:21) The newly discovered structures in the ovary that are literally keeping score of your lifestyle.

• (10:21) Why the ovary is the first organ in the female body to age and what that means for your longevity.

• (13:00) What to focus on decade by decade to protect your hormonal health.

• (17:22) Why synthetic birth control interrupts a critical conversation in the brain and the ovary.

• (24:07) The key lifestyle levers that slow hormonal aging at any stage of life

• (31:00) The cycle syncing clinical trial results and what they mean for your hormonal health

If you have been wondering why your body feels off and nobody has been able to give you a real answer, this episode is where that changes.

Listen on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

Thank you to our sponsors:

FLO Living (supplement): Get 25% off with the code podcast25 at floliving.com

Ovary Club Insiders: Ovary Club: Join us at https://alisavitti.kit.com/products/the-ovary-club

MyFLO App: Download the My FLO App and use the code FREEMONTH

Learn more about Alisa Vitti:

Instagram: @alisa.vitti

Website: www.alisavitti.kit.com

Every time a woman is told her labs are normal while she feels anything but, the problem is rarely that nothing is wrong; it is that she was given the incorrect tests, checked at the wrong time in her cycle, and compared against reference ranges that were never built for her biology in the first place. The healthcare system was not designed around the female hormonal cycle, and that gap is costing women answers, years, and their health.

We dive deeper into this in The Ovary Club with Dr. Carrie Jones. We also chat about why fasting insulin is the most important test nobody is ordering, how perimenopause rewires every system in the body and what that looks like in lab work, and how to use testing to advocate for yourself when your doctor is not asking the right questions.

If you have ever walked out of a doctor's office feeling dismissed, this is the episode you need to hear, and Dr. Carrie Jones is exactly the person you need to hear it from. She served as the first Medical Director of the DUTCH Test, has spent over two decades in clinical practice specializing in women's hormonal health, and is one of the most trusted voices in the field when it comes to understanding what your labs actually mean.

Want all the lab details written out for you so you don't have to worry about jotting it down? Ovary Club Insiders get a special download that includes everything we discussed and more: Your Hormone Lab Cheat Sheet — walk into your next doctor's appointment knowing exactly what to ask for and how to read your results.

Become an Insider here: https://alisavitti.kit.com/products/the-ovary-club

What's Discussed:

(00:48) Why women can feel awful while being told their labs are "normal".

(04:13) How male-based lab reference ranges can miss what female biology is actually doing.

(11:05) Why testing on the wrong day of your cycle can make hormone results misleading.

(16:27) Why a single blood draw can miss what your hormones are actually doing across the day and cycle.

(19:26) The core labs Dr. Carrie checks first, including thyroid, iron, vitamin D, fasting insulin, and lipids.

(40:19) What urine testing can show that blood work alone cannot, especially when it comes to hormone metabolites.

(50:30) Why women should start testing in their 20s instead of waiting for a crisis.

(01:02:23) Why FSH becomes especially important after 40 and how it can help track the perimenopause transition.

If you have been told your labs are normal but your body is clearly saying otherwise, this episode will help you understand exactly where the testing is falling short.

Thank you to our sponsors:

FLO Living (supplement): Get 25% off with the code podcast25 at floliving.com

Ovary Club Insiders: Ovary Club: Join us at https://alisavitti.kit.com/products/the-ovary-club

MyFLO App: Download the My FLO App and use the code FREEMOTNH

Learn more about Alisa Vitti:

• Instagram: @alisa.vitti

• Website: alisavitti.kit.com

Learn more about Dr. Carrie Jones:

• Website: drcarriejones.com

• Instagram: @dr.carriejones

• Podcast: Hello Hormones with Dr. Carrie Jones

Welcome to The Ovary Club with me, Alisa Vitti, your source for women's hormone truth from someone who's been pioneering this conversation for over 20 years.

If you want to join the club, here's what you need to know: your ovaries are a key driver of how you feel, function and age. They track everything and it's time you start working with them.

And no, your body doesn't operate like a man's, so your health strategy shouldn't either.

That's why I'm here to help you deal with hormone symptoms naturally, slow hormonal aging, and biohack like a woman.

Inside The Ovary Club, we do things differently. This is gender-specific science designed to help optimize your health through every decade of life.

Why listen to me? I'm a women's hormone and functional nutrition expert, bestselling author of WomanCode and In the Flo, and the creator of the Cycle Syncing® Method and Flo Living.

So if you're ready to join the club, consider this your invitation to fall in love with your amazing female body and start living in sync with your hormones.

Find more from me:

Join the Ovary Club: https://alisavitti.kit.com/products/the-ovary-club

Website: https://floliving.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/alisa.vitti/