Why Menopause Accelerates Wrinkles and Tips to Keep Your Skin Healthy & Vibrant | Felice Gersh, MD
Dr. Felice Gersh explains that menopause accelerates skin aging because declining estradiol and progesterone disrupt the hormonal signaling that maintains collagen, elastin, hyaluronic acid, ceramides, and sub‑cutaneous fat. Within the five‑year window before the final menstrual period, women can lose up to 30% of skin collagen, leading to deeper wrinkles, loss of elasticity, and fragile, translucent skin. The physician highlights that every skin layer—epidermis, fibroblasts, barrier cells—carries estrogen receptors, so hormone loss also reduces blood flow, growth‑factor delivery, and mitochondrial function, slowing skin turnover and fostering immunosenescence. She warns that untreated hormonal decline not only worsens cosmetic appearance but also compromises the skin’s barrier, raising the risk of skin cancers. Gersh recommends proactive hormone replacement therapy (HRT) during the menopausal transition, aiming for estradiol levels comparable to those of women in their twenties, unless contraindicated. She also stresses the skin‑gut axis: a diverse, fiber‑rich, fermented‑food diet restores gut microbiome balance, curbs systemic inflammation, and supports mitochondrial health, all of which are essential for skin regeneration. The combined strategy—early HRT and gut‑friendly nutrition—offers a preventive roadmap to maintain youthful, resilient skin, reduce wrinkle formation, and protect overall organ health, underscoring that skin health reflects systemic aging processes.
Unexpected Bleeding? Get Seen. But Don't Panic. | Felice Gersh, MD
Dr. Felice Gersh explains the distinction between simple and atypical uterine hyperplasia, emphasizing how each condition relates to future cancer risk. Simple hyperplasia is characterized by an overgrowth of normal‑appearing cells and carries a very low probability—less than five percent...
I Take Uterine Cancer Seriously and You Should Too! Even Though the Risk Is Small | Felice Gersh, MD
Dr. Felice Gersh, MD, uses this brief video to highlight uterine (endometrial) cancer as a disease that overwhelmingly targets postmenopausal women, especially those over 40. She notes that more than 95% of cases arise in women who are not on...
Progesterone Is Neuroprotective: One More Reason All Women in Menopause Benefit | Felice Gersh, MD
The video explains how progesterone, beyond its reproductive role, acts as a neuroprotective agent—an insight especially relevant for women navigating menopause. By crossing the lipophilic blood‑brain barrier, the hormone can directly influence central nervous system processes. Key mechanisms highlighted include reduction...
Your Brain Prefers Vaginal Progesterone Because... | Felice Gersh, MD
Dr. Felice Gersh, MD explains that delivering progesterone via the vagina more closely mimics the hormone’s natural surge during the luteal phase of a healthy 23‑year‑old woman’s menstrual cycle. She notes that oral progesterone fails to achieve comparable serum concentrations, while...
Nightly Progesterone Raises Allopregnanolone, Which May Harm Brain Health | Felice Gersh, MD
The video examines how nightly progesterone supplementation elevates the neurosteroid allopregnanolone, a metabolite that strongly modulates the brain’s GABA‑A receptors. Dr. Felice Gersh explains that while GABA activation is essential for sleep, excessive allopregnanolone can produce pronounced sedation, brain‑fog, and...
Hormone Therapy Dosing in Menopause: Why the “Lowest Dose” Approach Is Wrong | Felice Gersh, MD
Dr. Felice Gersh argues that the prevailing "lowest dose" mantra for menopausal hormone therapy is outdated and potentially harmful, especially when the goal extends beyond merely quelling hot flashes. She traces the origin of this approach to the fallout from...
The Gut–Bone Connection that Can Lower Osteoporosis Risk | Felice Gersh, MD & Mark Charbonneau, PhD
Dr. Felice Gersh, an integrative OB/GYN, and Mark Charbonneau, a microbiome scientist and VP of R&D at Solaria Bio, opened the session by framing bone health as a dynamic, living process rather than a static scaffold. They highlighted osteoporosis as...
Longevity Medicine: Healthspan or Hype? And What I Recommend to My Patients | Felice Gersh, MD
Dr. Felice Gersh, an integrative OB/GYN, frames longevity medicine as a continuation of centuries‑old public‑health breakthroughs rather than a futuristic quest for immortality. She traces life‑expectancy gains from clean water, sanitation, antibiotics and vaccines, noting that these basic interventions have...