EP 212: Hormones to an Evolutionary Biologist - Menopause, Endometriosis, and Grandmothering with Natalie Dinsdale

Jul 15, 2024

In this episode, Natalie and Kimberly dive deep into the choose your own hormone phenomenon. They discuss an evolutionary biologist's perspective of individual vs. group think when it comes to women’s health, the connections between hormones and reproductive health issues like endometriosis and PCOS, as well as the evolutionary case for grandmothering.

Bio

Natalie Dinsdale, PhD is an evolutionary biologist, a researcher, an astrologer, a dancer, and a mother. She investigates how evolutionary dynamics shape features of sexuality, reproduction, and health & disease in humans.

 

What you will hear:

• Carl Jung as inspiration for ideas on individual experience vs. groupthink - mass psychology
• The true person vs. The statistical person
• While individuals matter, her research is on patterns of populations changing over time
• Pregnancy screening for women in late 30s
• Trusting intuition around medical choices
• Endometriosis - is menstrual fluid the cause of legions?
• Bi-polar disorder’s connections to oxytocin
• Do people with PCOS have a uterine that contracts less?
• How does Natalie’s research relate to connective tissue, collagen, and parasympathetic responses?
• Oxytocin doesn’t only mean good
• Trade-offs in evolutionary biology - activities and functions that have to happen for evolution to occur.
• What is the effect of high testosterone in women and PCOS?
• How do females of a species obtain the resources they need to reproduce?
• Choose your own hormone phenomenon in menopause treatment
• There is good evidence that grandmothering has benefits to mothers and daughters

 

Resources

website: https://www.nataliedinsdale.com/

substack: https://natalield.substack.com/