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Ep. 479 The Ultimate Progesterone Masterclass for Women featuring Dr. Lindsey Berkson and Dr. Scott Sherr

  • Team Cynthia
  • 1 day ago
  • 3 min read

We have a mashup episode today with Dr. Lindsey Berkson and Dr. Scott Sherr sharing their insights on the powerful role progesterone plays in overall health and its critical connection to the brain and nervous system.


Dr. Berkson highlights how progesterone supports brain function, immunity, cardiovascular health, nerve repair, and gut integrity and explains how chronic stress and environmental toxins contribute to widespread progesterone deficiency, even in young people. She also challenges outdated hormone practices and stresses the importance of maintaining optimal levels throughout life.


Dr. Sherr clarifies how progesterone enhances the calming neurotransmitter GABA, explaining that as progesterone declines, GABA activity drops, leading to anxiety, sleep issues, and mood changes. He recommends natural ways to support GABA and highlights the benefits of using safe, plant-based modulators instead of alcohol or sedatives that deplete GABA and can cause dependency.


Join us for expert advice on balancing hormones, calming the nervous system, and supporting your body through hormonal transitions.


Hormones have long been misunderstood and vilified, yet they are signaling molecules essential for overall health. Dr. Berkson explains that although outdated medical thinking still limits the value of progesterone to simply protecting the uterus, it plays a crucial role in brain function, immune defense, cardiovascular health, and nerve repair.  

Modern-day stress and environmental toxins are huge contributors to widespread progesterone deficiency, even in young people. Dr. Berkson explains how chronic stress depletes progesterone, while widespread exposure to anti-progestin endocrine disruptors in food, air, and water further disrupts hormonal balance, leading to issues like infertility, anxiety, and early hormonal decline.


Progesterone enhances GABA activity, while estrogen tends to block it, which helps to explain why many women experience insomnia and heightened stress during hormone fluctuations. 

Dr. Scott Sherr explores how declining progesterone during perimenopause disrupts the GABA system in the brain, leading to anxiety, sleep issues, and mood instability. He explains that while GABA supplements are popular, GABA is too large to cross the blood-brain barrier. So, if a supplement does work, it may indicate a “leaky brain,” often linked to gut issues and systemic inflammation. Instead of using alcohol or benzodiazepines, which can rapidly deplete GABA and lead to dependence, he recommends safer, natural GABA modulators and cannabinoids, which bind to allosteric sites on the GABA receptor and enhance its effect without the same risks. 


Progesterone plays a vital role in gut health, immunity, and overall hormone balance, especially during perimenopause. As estrogen and progesterone levels decline, the gut’s ability to regulate permeability is impaired, contributing to leaky gut, autoimmunity, and systemic inflammation. 

Dr. Berkson explains how progesterone and estrogen can improve the gut lining and immune regulation, and that declining hormone levels, in both older adults and younger individuals, are linked to a range of widespread health issues. She highlights how hormonal resistance, particularly to progesterone, is common, and she challenges outdated hormone replacement practices and misconceptions, explaining that progesterone deficiency can compromise lung health, brain function, and immunity, and optimal levels are essential across all stages of life.

“One of the side effects of insufficient hormones is the propensity for leaky gut.”


– Dr. Lindsey Berkson.


Connect with Cynthia Thurlow  


Connect with Dr. Lindsey Berkson


Connect with Dr. Scott Sherr


Transcript:



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