The Luminescence Podcast with Schuyler Grant

Heart disease is the number one killer of women in the US, more than all cancers combined, and yet the cardiovascular changes happening during perimenopause are still widely misunderstood, undertested, and dismissed.

In this episode of the Luminescence Podcast, Schuyler Grant sits down with Dr. Somi Javaid and Dr. Sarah de la Torre to get into what's actually happening to your heart as estrogen declines.

Dr. Somi opens with the call that became her calling: her mother's near-fatal heart attack at 45, dismissed for six weeks as "too much caffeine."

A story that is far too common.

They discuss:


Why perimenopause dramatically shifts cardiovascular risk — how estrogen loss stiffens arteries, raises blood pressure, and changes cholesterol profiles in ways most women aren't being told about


The difference between standard lipid panels and the advanced markers that actually matter — ApoB, LipoA, hs-CRP, and why your doctor might not be ordering them


What "cotton candy vs. gummy bear" LDL means — why particle type and number both count, and how this changes your treatment approach


The direct link between metabolic health and heart disease — how glucose regulation affects everything, and why CGMs are revealing patterns doctors miss


Why women are more likely to die from a heart attack than men — the diagnostic gaps, symptom differences, and systemic issues that have to change

For any woman who wants to understand her cardiovascular risk before something happens.

For information on our upcoming events, retreats, and to connect with specialists and other women in our online community, visit www.luminescence.health. 

Presented by our sponsors:

Stripes:

Visit stripesbeauty.com and use the code COMMUNE20 for 20% off the entire product line.

Genova Connect:

Save 20% on testing with code COMMUNE20 so you can stop guessing and make adjustments to support what matters. Visit connect.gdx.net.

LivOn Labs:

Get 15% off your first order of elite-absorption, foundational supplements that fit into your routine with code COMMUNE15 (valid through 6.30.26) at LivOnLabs.com.

BiOptimizers:

Go to bioptimizers.com/luminescence and use code LUMINESCENCE for 15% off.

Hormone therapy, GLP-1 medications, vitamin D, creatine, vibration plates, cold plunging, butter coffee. The list of things women in midlife are being told to try keeps growing.

This is part three of the conversation on what's happening structurally in your body. Schuyler Grant, Dr. Somi Javaid, and Dr. Sarah de la Torre get into what the science actually supports for metabolic health, muscle preservation, and bone density in perimenopause and menopause and go deep on GLP-1 medications, including why microdosing is quieting food noise and anxiety in ways that go well beyond weight loss.

They discuss:


Why GLP-1 medications are changing the conversation around weight, metabolism, and anxiety in midlife — and what microdosing actually does that full doses don't


What you need to know to protect muscle mass if you're on a GLP-1 — why the medication doesn't distinguish between fat and muscle loss, and how to work with that


The role of vitamin D, calcium, and omega-3s for bones and hormones — what the research supports and what's marketing


What actually moves the needle for metabolic health beyond the basics — from strength training to vibration plates, and why some interventions work better than others


Lightning round verdicts on step tracking, butter coffee, creatine, squats after meals, and cold plunging — what's worth your time and what isn't

For any woman trying to sort through the noise around what actually works for midlife health.

For information on our upcoming events, retreats, and to connect with specialists and other women in our online community, visit www.luminescence.health. 

Presented by our sponsors:

Stripes:

Visit stripesbeauty.com and use the code COMMUNE20 for 20% off the entire product line.

Genova Connect:

Save 20% on testing with code COMMUNE20 so you can stop guessing and make adjustments to support what matters. Visit connect.gdx.net.

LivOn Labs:

Get 15% off your first order of elite-absorption, foundational supplements that fit into your routine with code COMMUNE15 (valid through 6.30.26) at LivOnLabs.com.

BiOptimizers:

Go to bioptimizers.com/luminescence and use code LUMINESCENCE for 15% off.

Think osteoporosis is an old woman's disease? Most women start losing critical bone mass in their thirties and forties, long before menopause, and most won't know it until a fracture happens.

This is part two of the conversation on what's happening structurally in your body. Schuyler Grant, Dr. Somi Javaid, Dr. Sarah de la Torre, and Elena Brower get into the bone health conversation that should have started a decade ago — how estrogen loss, missed screenings, and outdated guidelines are leaving women vulnerable in genuinely preventable ways.

They discuss:


When bone mass peaks and how quickly it's lost in your thirties and forties — and why this timeline means screening should start earlier than most doctors recommend


What estrogen is actually doing for bone strength and structure — beyond just density, why the architecture of bone matters


Why DEXA scans are the gold standard for early detection — when to start them, how to ask for one, and what to do if your numbers look normal but you're high-risk


Why walking isn't enough for bone health — what weight training, jumping, and targeted impact exercise actually do at the cellular level


The risk factors most doctors aren't asking about — eating disorders, family history, chronic steroid use, and why low body weight is more dangerous than most women realize

For any woman who wants to understand what's happening to her bones before something breaks.

For information on our upcoming events, retreats, and to connect with specialists and other women in our online community, visit www.luminescence.health. 

Presented by our sponsors:

Stripes:

Visit stripesbeauty.com and use the code COMMUNE20 for 20% off the entire product line.

Genova Connect:

Save 20% on testing with code COMMUNE20 so you can stop guessing and make adjustments to support what matters. Visit connect.gdx.net.

LivOn Labs:

Get 15% off your first order of elite-absorption, foundational supplements that fit into your routine with code COMMUNE15 (valid through 6.30.26) at LivOnLabs.com.

BiOptimizers:

Go to bioptimizers.com/luminescence and use code LUMINESCENCE for 15% off.

Aches, pains, and that mysterious menopause pooch. Is it just aging, or is something else happening in your body?

In this episode of the Luminescence Podcast, Schuyler Grant sits down with Dr. Somi Javaid, Dr. Sarah de la Torre, and Elena Brower to get into what's actually happening musculoskeletally during perimenopause and menopause — muscle loss, joint pain, shifting metabolism, and why the workouts that used to work have stopped working.

They discuss:


What the musculoskeletal syndrome of menopause actually is — why everything suddenly hurts, and why this collection of symptoms doesn't get talked about enough


Why muscle is your most important glucose sink as hormones shift — and how protecting it changes your entire metabolic picture


The difference between visceral and subcutaneous fat, and why where you gain weight matters more than the number on the scale for heart health


The surprising connections between perimenopause, fibromyalgia, and chronically misdiagnosed pain — including why frozen shoulder peaks in midlife


How modern yoga is adapting to support strength and functional movement — and why flexibility without stability can be problematic

For any woman who's noticed her body changing and wants to understand what's actually happening beneath the surface.

For information on our upcoming events, retreats, and to connect with specialists and other women in our online community, visit www.luminescence.health. 

Presented by our sponsors:

Stripes:

Visit stripesbeauty.com and use the code COMMUNE20 for 20% off the entire product line.

Genova Connect:

Save 20% on testing with code COMMUNE20 so you can stop guessing and make adjustments to support what matters. Visit connect.gdx.net.

LivOn Labs:

Get 15% off your first order of elite-absorption, foundational supplements that fit into your routine with code COMMUNE15 (valid through 6.30.26) at LivOnLabs.com.

BiOptimizers:

Go to bioptimizers.com/luminescence and use code LUMINESCENCE for 15% off.

Perimenopause can arrive as sudden rage, body composition shifts, sleep disruption, brain fog, and emotional swings that don't match the circumstances.

This is part two of the conversation on perimenopause. Schuyler Grant, Dr. Somi Javaid, Dr. Sarah de la Torre, and Elena Brower share personal stories alongside evidence-based lifestyle tools that move the needle whether or not you're on hormone therapy.

They discuss:


Why protein timing and strength training stabilize energy and mood in perimenopause and how to structure both for maximum impact


The difference between bioidentical, natural, and synthetic hormones and what these terms actually mean when you're making treatment decisions


When and how to start HRT. The timing considerations, how to make it affordable, and what safety actually looks like


How sleep, hydration, and fiber influence hormones and metabolism. The mechanisms behind why these basics matter more now


Which telehealth clinics offer nationwide menopausal care worth knowing about and how to navigate this new landscape

For any woman who's in it and trying to figure out what to do next beyond being told to exercise more and sleep better.

For information on our upcoming events, retreats, and to connect with specialists and other women in our online community, visit www.luminescence.health. 

Presented by our sponsors:

Stripes:

Visit stripesbeauty.com and use the code COMMUNE20 for 20% off the entire product line.

Genova Connect:

Save 20% on testing with code COMMUNE20 so you can stop guessing and make adjustments to support what matters. Visit connect.gdx.net.

LivOn Labs:

Get 15% off your first order of elite-absorption, foundational supplements that fit into your routine with code COMMUNE15 (valid through 6.30.26) at LivOnLabs.com.

BiOptimizers:

Go to bioptimizers.com/luminescence and use code LUMINESCENCE for 15% off.