Dr. Kirsten Smith, ND

11/15/2025

Midlife isn’t a test of endurance — it’s an invitation to participate. 🤝

To stop white-knuckling your way through change and start living in it.

This stage isn’t about “getting back to who you were.” It’s about becoming someone even more anchored, wise, and unapologetically alive.

Yes, your hormones are shifting. Yes, your sleep might be questionable and your patience… also questionable. But this isn’t decline, your body is communicating, not betraying you.

Joan Didion said it best: live in it. Take chances. Take pride. Be in the moment. Because this season of life? It’s not meant to be endured — it’s meant to be lived.

Dr. Kirsten ✌️🦋

11/12/2025

Menopause misinformation is everywhere — and it’s costing women clarity, time, and trust.

In a recent BMJ article, it calls out a growing problem: a sharp rise in commercial menopause services offering hormone panels and “personalised” tests — often costing hundreds — marketed as precision care.

But here’s what the evidence actually shows:

💫 There’s no defined therapeutic window for menopausal hormone therapy.

💫 Hormone testing can’t predict who will benefit from treatment, when the final menstrual period will occur, or when it’s safe to stop contraception.

💫For women over 45 with clear symptoms, major clinical bodies — including the British Menopause Society, ACOG, and NICE — all agree that menopause is a clinical diagnosis, based on symptoms and menstrual history, not numbers on a lab report.

The authors warn that this surge in unnecessary testing reflects a deeper issue — the commercialisation of women’s health.

More panels. More marketing. More promises of “customised” solutions that sound scientific but lack meaningful evidence.

As noted in the article; “For midlife women, effective treatment begins not with numbers, but with listening.”
And I couldn’t agree more.

In my practice, I use labs when they change the plan.

But in menopause care, chasing numbers can distract from the real work: understanding how a woman feels, what she’s experiencing day to day, and what her goals actually are.

Let’s bring menopause care back to where it belongs — in real conversations, grounded in science and compassion, not marketing. 🌿

BMJ 2025; 390 :r1695 doi:10.1136/bmj.r1695

11/08/2025

Yes indeed BMS is common in perimenopause 🤯… but usually we can get rid of it by treating root cause. ✅

11/07/2025

I’m seeing more girls growing up tired, anxious, and disconnected from their own bodies.

Not because they’re doing anything wrong — but because the world around them has changed faster than their biology can keep up.

Hormonal health isn’t just about estrogen and progesterone.

It’s about the ecosystem those hormones live in — the food, sleep, screens, stress, and chemicals that shape their day-to-day balance.

In my latest blog post, I share what I’m seeing in the clinic and what every parent should know about hormones, habits, and hope.

🌿 Read “Our Daughters, Ourselves” — link in bio.

If you have questions about pediatric care under my wing, feel free to email me at info@drsmithnd.com or to book an appointment, use the link in my bio and scroll down to the Pediatric Intake section.

Dr. Kirsten 🦋💙✌️

11/05/2025

So many women come to me thinking they’ve failed because the complex plans didn’t work.

But it’s not failure — it’s fatigue.

Your body doesn’t need more to-dos.
It needs rhythm and rest.

The most powerful health shifts don’t come from complexity — they come from consistency.

When meals, sleep, and movement become rhythm instead of reaction, the whole system stabilizes.

That’s when hormones, mood, and metabolism finally have a chance to recalibrate. 🌿

If you’re looking for support, use the link in my bio to book your 1:1 consultation.

11/02/2025

I shot this late on Halloween, and I’m just gonna say it: the better team didn’t win last night 🧢⚾️💔.This however, is a worthy listen if you feel dispair about how hard, disorienting and long perimenopause truly is, and you even wonder some days who you’ll be on the other side. My experience professionally helping women to the other side for 17 years and my personal experience tells a positive, interesting and even uplifting story. What if the more youer you, awaits? ✌️🦋🫶

11/01/2025

💫 We live in a culture that tells women they are less as they age.

Less beautiful.
Less relevant.
Less worthy.

But what if the real rebellion is simply choosing to feel good in your body — exactly as you are, in this season of life?

So often in visits, women share the grief and frustration of feeling disconnected from themselves. I understand it deeply — because I’m in it too.

When we get out of our heads and into our bodies, we start to shift from self-criticism to self-connection.

We move → we feel better → we think better → we live better. 🦋

Aging isn’t the end of beauty, confidence, or strength — it’s an evolution. And embodiment is where that shift begins. 💙

If you’re looking for support - book your 1:1 consult with me using the link in my bio. 🔗

Dr. Kirsten ✌️

10/31/2025

This is important if in peri ⚡️⚡️⚡️Also includes an important research update. 📉

10/30/2025

No one told me my body would feel this different after 40 😳

And for some women, it can feel like they’re sexually dying inside.

If that resonates, you’re not alone — and you’re not broken.

As estrogen levels decline in perimenopause and menopause, the vaginal tissue becomes thinner, drier, and less elastic.

These physical changes can cause pain, burning, or discomfort with intimacy — and it’s not because you’ve “lost interest.”

It’s because your hormones have changed.
This cluster of symptoms has a name: Genitourinary Syndrome of Menopause (GSM), and it’s common, under-discussed, and can be managed with the right tools. ⬇️

The good news:
There are many ways to restore comfort including:

Hydration (internal + topical)
Local estrogen or DHEA therapies
Vaginal moisturizers
Lifestyle and nutrition support

HINT: I have a full blog post on vaginal changes over 40 - use the link in my bio to check it out!

You deserve a body that feels like yours again — one that can experience pleasure, connection, and confidence without pain. 💙

Book a consultation with me for more support - link in my bio. 🔗🦋

10/29/2025

My carpool clan goes nuts when I show up at the end of a long jungly school day with these tummy love bombs in tow: My oh-so-delicious high fiber, gluten & dairy free pumpkin muffins. I make them all the time but right now it’s go time.👻

1 bowl easy mix:

1. Mix together: 2 eggs, 1/2c maple syrup, 1/4 any type of milk, 1/3c coconut oil, 1 c tinned pumpkin, 2 tbsp pumpkin spice, 1/2 tsp salt, 1 tsp baking soda, 1 tsp vanilla, 2 heaping tbsp chia seeds, 2 heaping tbsp flax seeds.

2. Then add in: 1 c 1:1 GF flour and then 1 c GF oats. I sprinkle pumpkin seeds and cinnamon on top, pop in the oven for 22 min at 325 F.

Fast & easy 🎃

10/27/2025

10/26/2025

I think we’ve lost sight of what wellness really means in midlife. It’s not about fighting age — it’s about finally learning how to live in alignment with it. Midlife isn’t a crisis. It’s an awakening. ⭐️

Somewhere along the way, “wellness” became another word for anti-aging. 😒

We’ve been told that to be well, we must stay young — smooth skin, stable energy, perfect hormones, endless productivity.

But midlife has a way of calling that out. 📣

Your body starts whispering (or yelling): enough.

Enough pushing. Enough over-extending. Enough trying to meet an impossible standard of balance.

True health in this stage isn’t about resistance — it’s about relationship. 🤝

With your body, your limits, your boundaries, your joy.

It’s the shift from control to connection. From perfection to presence.

Because real wellness in midlife looks different:
It’s choosing rest over guilt.
It’s strength training for bone health, not aesthetics.
It’s nourishing yourself because you deserve energy, not because you “should.”
It’s honoring the wisdom in slowing down — and realizing that doesn’t mean giving up.

We’ve been conditioned to fear change. But aging brings clarity — what drains you, what fuels you, what peace actually feels like. ✌️

Maybe this stage isn’t about doing more.

Maybe it’s about doing what matters — on your own terms.

Dr. Kirsten 🦋💙💫