unPAUSED with Dr. Mary Claire Haver

In this episode of unPAUSED, Dr. Mary Claire Haver sits down with Dr. Gabrielle Lyon, board-certified family physician, founder of the Institute for Muscle-Centric Medicine, and bestselling author of Forever Strong, to explain why skeletal muscle — not body fat — determines how well women age. Dr. Lyon shares the case that changed her career: a patient in her mid-fifties who had done everything she was told — dieting, cardio, the food pyramid — yet showed signs of accelerated brain aging. The problem wasn't her fat. It was her muscle.
Dr. Lyon explains why muscle is the body's largest site for glucose disposal — meaning low muscle mass can cause insulin resistance and prediabetes even in lean women — and why muscle quality, not just quantity, drives the metabolic dysfunction usually blamed on obesity, yet still isn't measured in routine care. She and Dr. Haver dig into why 60–70 grams of protein a day isn't enough to protect muscle through perimenopause and menopause and why women should aim for closer to 100 grams alongside resistance training, how sedentary muscle lowers your carbohydrate tolerance before blood sugar and insulin become dysregulated, and the myokines — including BDNF — released when muscle contracts that support brain health, metabolism, and long-term independence. Dr. Lyon's takeaway: resistance training and adequate protein are the two things women actually control as they age, and no hormone therapy can make up for them if they're missing.
Guest links:
Dr. Gabrielle Lyon (Website) https://drgabriellelyon.com/
Dr. Gabrielle Lyon (Instagram) https://www.instagram.com/drgabriellelyon/
Dr. Gabrielle Lyon (Facebook) https://www.facebook.com/doctorgabriellelyon/
Dr. Gabrielle Lyon (LinkedIn) https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-gabrielle-lyon-00175a1a8/
Dr. Gabrielle Lyon (YouTube) https://www.youtube.com/drgabriellelyon
The Dr. Gabrielle Lyon Show (Apple Podcasts) https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-dr-gabrielle-lyon-show/id1622316426
Books:
"Forever Strong: A New, Science-Based Strategy for Aging Well," by Dr. Gabrielle Lyon https://www.amazon.com/Forever-Strong-Science-Based-Strategy-Aging/dp/B0C4VSDWQ2
"The Forever Strong PLAYBOOK: A Six-Week, Science-Based Plan to Sharpen Your Mind, Strengthen Your Body, and Get Healthy at Any Age," by Dr. Gabrielle Lyon https://www.amazon.com/Forever-StrongTM-PLAYBOOK-Science-Based-Strengthen/dp/B0FL32CJ81
"The New Perimenopause," by Dr. Mary Claire Haver https://thepauselife.com/pages/the-new-perimenopause-book
"The New Menopause," by Dr. Mary Claire Haver https://www.amazon.com/New-Menopause-Navigating-Through-Hormonal/dp/B0CKBZ4K1Z

In this solo episode of unPAUSED, Dr. Mary Claire Haver tells the truth about hair loss in women over 40 — a medical condition with real, identifiable causes, not a vanity complaint to be dismissed as stress or aging. She breaks down the biology of the hair growth cycle and the hormonal mechanism driving midlife thinning: as estrogen declines, androgens like DHT take over at the follicle, shrinking it with every cycle. She walks through the five most common causes of hair loss in midlife women — female pattern hair loss, telogen effluvium (including the dramatic shedding triggered by illness, surgery, stress, and rapid weight loss on GLP-1 medications), iron deficiency, thyroid dysfunction, and nutrient deficiencies and medications — plus the red flags, like bald patches, a receding hairline, or scalp scarring, that need a dermatologist immediately.
Dr. Haver then details exactly how to advocate for yourself: the full lab workup to request (and why ferritin must be checked even when standard blood counts look normal), what to bring to your appointment, and the treatment options that actually work — from correcting deficiencies first, to topical and oral minoxidil, finasteride, spironolactone, PRP, microneedling, and laser therapy. She gives the honest answer on whether hormone therapy treats hair loss, which supplements have real evidence behind them, why biotin is unlikely to help without a true deficiency, and shares her own experience with both female pattern hair loss and a post-illness shed. The episode closes with a practical five-step action plan for documenting your hair loss, requesting the right tests, and getting the workup you deserve — because your hair is a vital sign.
Resources:
Download the FREE Midlife Hair Loss Guide https://thepauselife.com/pages/the-midlife-hair-loss-guide
Dr. Mary Claire Haver (Substack) https://drmaryclairehaver.substack.com/
Books:
"The New Perimenopause," by Dr. Mary Claire Haver https://thepauselife.com/pages/the-new-perimenopause-book
"The New Menopause," by Dr. Mary Claire Haver https://www.amazon.com/New-Menopause-Navigating-Through-Hormonal/dp/B0CKBZ4K1Z

In this episode of unPAUSED, Dr. Mary Claire Haver sits down with Melinda French Gates, philanthropist and founder of Pivotal, to talk about her call for a "menopause revolution" — including the $215 million in new funding for women's health she announced in her New York Times essay, bringing her total investment in women's health to more than $600 million in two years. Melinda opens with the numbers driving her urgency: nearly one in three women over forty has menopause symptoms severe enough to disrupt her life, only about one in four gets treated, fewer than a third of OB-GYN training programs teach menopause at all, and just five cents of every dollar spent on medical research goes to women's health.
Melinda shares her own story — how, despite what she calls unbelievable privilege and access to the best health care in the world, it took three doctors to get the right care for her symptoms, and how chronic insomnia and brain fog left her doubting herself walking into meetings with world leaders and CEOs. She and Dr. Haver trace how the Women's Health Initiative halted research, education, and hormone therapy almost overnight, why the health care system was built for men's bodies by default, the racial disparities leaving women of color to suffer most with the least treatment, and the new research she's funding through Wellcome Leap into women-specific heart disease and microvascular diagnostics. The episode closes with Melinda's concrete advice for every woman who wants change: advocate for yourself at the doctor's office, educate your friends with credible information, contact your representatives, and vote — because midlife shouldn't be an off-ramp, but one of the most vibrant chapters of a woman's life.
Guest links:
Melinda French Gates (YouTube) https://www.youtube.com/@melindagates
Melinda French Gates (Instagram) https://www.instagram.com/melindafrenchgates/
Melinda French Gates (Facebook) https://www.facebook.com/melindagates/
Melinda French Gates (LinkedIn) https://www.linkedin.com/in/melindagates/
Melinda French Gates (X) https://x.com/melindagates
Pivotal https://www.pivotal.com/founder
Moment of Lift Books https://www.momentoflift.com/
Melinda French Gates at the Gates Foundation https://www.gatesfoundation.org/about/leadership/melinda-french-gates
Books:
"The Next Day," by Melinda French Gates https://www.melindafrenchgates.com/
"The New Perimenopause," by Dr. Mary Claire Haver https://thepauselife.com/pages/the-new-perimenopause-book
"The New Menopause," by Dr. Mary Claire Haver https://www.amazon.com/New-Menopause-Navigating-Through-Hormonal/dp/B0CKBZ4K1Z

In this episode of unPAUSED, Dr. Mary Claire Haver sits down with Dr. Mohit Khera, board-certified urologist and Professor of Urology at Baylor College of Medicine, where he holds the F. Brantley Scott Chair in Urology, to tell women the truth about testosterone — the hormone women actually make more of than estrogen, yet still cannot access in a single FDA-approved formulation.
Dr. Khera explains why testosterone is one of the most biologically active hormones in the female body, with receptors in the brain, heart, bone, muscle, and genitalia, and why the research to prove its full benefits for women has simply never been funded. He walks through what low testosterone really looks like, how to get tested properly, why women with low libido are so often handed an SSRI that makes things worse, the truth about pellets, creams, and injections, which side effects are reversible and which are not, and the red flags to watch for when looking for a prescriber. He also shares why sexual dysfunction is a couple's disease, what he calls the "hormonally dangerous decade," and the one intervention he's found that makes women feel even better than hormones.
Guest links:
Dr. Mohit Khera (Instagram) https://www.instagram.com/drmohitkhera/
Dr. Mohit Khera (X) https://twitter.com/DrMohitKhera
Dr. Mohit Khera (LinkedIn) https://www.linkedin.com/in/drmohitkhera/
Dr. Mohit Khera (Website) https://drmohitkhera.com/
Dr. Mohit Khera at Baylor College of Medicine https://www.bcm.edu/people-search/mohit-khera-24469
Books:
"The New Perimenopause," by Dr. Mary Claire Haver https://thepauselife.com/pages/the-new-perimenopause-book
"The New Menopause," by Dr. Mary Claire Haver https://www.amazon.com/New-Menopause-Navigating-Through-Hormonal/dp/B0CKBZ4K1Z

This episode of unPAUSED was recorded live at the Wiltern Theater in Los Angeles in front of an audience gathered to talk about perimenopause, menopause, hormones, sex, brain health, and bone health. Dr. Mary Claire Haver is joined on stage by Dr. Rena Malik, a board certified urologist, pelvic medicine specialist, and sexual health expert, for a wide ranging conversation about what is actually happening in women's bodies during the menopause transition, and what every woman navigating midlife health should know.
The conversation moves through the zone of chaos that is perimenopause, the hormonal unpredictability behind mood changes, sleep disruption, brain fog, and rising inflammation. Dr. Haver traces how estrogen loss drives increases in cholesterol, insulin resistance, and cardiovascular risk, and explains why the fastest rate of bone loss happens in perimenopause, two years before a woman's final period, making a bone density baseline in your forties, not your sixties, the smarter move against osteoporosis later in life.
Guest links:
The ‘Pause Life
Dr. Mary Claire Haver (Instagram)
Dr. Mary Claire Haver (Facebook)
Dr. Mary Claire Haver (YouTube)
Dr. Mary Claire Haver (Substack)
unPAUSED (Apple Podcasts)
Books
“The New Perimenopause,” by Dr. Mary Claire Haver
“The New Menopause"⁠ by Dr. Mary Claire Haver
“Estrogen Matters: Why Taking Hormones in Menopause Can Improve Women's Well-Being and Lengthen Their Lives -- Without Raising the Risk of Breast Cancer,” by Dr. Avrum Bluming
For full show notes, please click here.