Fasting Expert Claims Birth Control Decimates Women's Microbiome and Hormones
"It's horrible for the microbiome. It decimates the microbiome. And you need your microbiome to make serotonin. You need it for immune system. You need your microbiome to break down estrogen."
About this episode
On this episode of the School of Greatness, host Lewis Howes sat down with Dr. Mindy Pelz, a fasting expert and author of the bestseller Fast Like a Girl, which sold over 400,000 copies in its first year. The conversation centered on why traditional fasting protocols fail women and how aligning fasting with the menstrual cycle can restore hormonal balance, fertility, and metabolic health. Dr. Pelz revealed her own health crisis at age 45 when aggressive fasting caused her hormones to crash and her period to stop for months, sparking anxiety for the first time in her life. She reversed the damage within 90 days by cycling fasting intensity with her hormonal phases. The discussion covered the two energy systems humans rely on, the critical differences between male and female hormonal rhythms, and why women need different fasting, exercise, and recovery protocols than men. Dr. Pelz made controversial claims about birth control pills decimating the microbiome and preventing natural hormonal development. She explained the science behind menstrual synchrony through pheromones, the importance of oxytocin for cortisol regulation, and why progesterone requires women to nurture rather than push during the final week of their cycle. She also shared a dramatic patient case study of a 300-pound man who lost 175 pounds by changing when he ate rather than what he ate. Throughout, Dr. Pelz emphasized that women have been forced to live like men hormonally and that reclaiming cyclical living is the key to unlocking female health and power.
Key takeaways
- Dr. Pelz's own hormones crashed at 45 after a year of extreme fasting, causing her period to stop for months and triggering severe anxiety.
- Birth control pills decimate the gut microbiome and prevent the brain-ovary hormonal pattern from ever establishing naturally in women.
- Women should fast and exercise intensely during days 1-10 of their cycle but shift to nurturing and recovery during the progesterone-dominant final week.
- Menstrual cycles sync among women living together due to pheromones, demonstrating how adaptable female hormones are to environmental factors.
- A 300-pound patient lost 175 pounds by compressing eating windows while initially still consuming 12 sodas and buffalo wings daily.
- Women's bodies prevent pregnancy when they don't feel emotionally or physically safe, responding to stress and unresolved trauma.
- Fasting improves insulin sensitivity which is required for balanced sex hormones, but cortisol from stress undermines the entire hormonal hierarchy.