Ashwagandha

Anything But Mid is hosted by Amy Edwards and Whitney Stropp. Neither host is a doctor and nothing here is medical advice. Lightly cleaned for readability.

Amy: I'm Amy.

Whitney: And I'm Whitney, and this is midlife.

Amy: It sure is, but you're anything but mid.

Whitney: Amen, girl. Oh, shit.

Amy: Hello.

Whitney: Hello, Amy.

Amy: Hi, Whitney.

Whitney: I How are you?

Amy: You're complimenting my nail polish.

Whitney: I love your nail polish. It is definitely anything but mid.

Amy: It's like our big energy.

Whitney: It is, with your cat, yeah.

Amy: It's called cat eye, if anybody hasn't done it. I'm trying to show it in the

Whitney: It's super cool. It's like iridescent, and kind of like a balayage, balayage, bla What's that hair thing called?

Amy: Balayage.

Whitney: Yeah, sure.

Amy: Sort of, it's like it's it Yeah, they do it with magnets, and it's really cool to watch.

Whitney: It's very, very cool.

Amy: Yeah. So, I almost didn't do it, and Justin was there getting a pedicure with me, and he was like, "Do it, do it." So, I'm glad I did, cuz I'm getting compliments everywhere I go. It's a holiday look, if anybody is wondering.

Whitney: Yeah, it's super cool. Exactly.

Amy: Yes. So, a little bit of business, speaking of holiday.

Whitney: Yes?

Amy: I have a present for you.

Whitney: You do?

Amy: I sure do.

Whitney: That's so nice.

Amy: I know. Okay, do you wanna close your eyes?

Whitney: I love presents.

Amy: You wanna close your eyes? Since neither of us have socks on, I got you some socks.

Whitney: Okay. Aw.

Amy: Socks are having a moment. I don't know if you know this, but fashion-wise.

Whitney: Well, I know that they're Yes, I see them now, and I try I think about attempting it. Like the little cutesy, girly sock with the ruffle and like a heel.

Amy: Mhm, and a heel.

Whitney: And then I just

Amy: So, I bought you a pair to do it.

Whitney: can't embrace it.

Amy: So, these are laminated socks from I've wanted them I've seen them before, and I've wanted them.

Whitney: They're so cool. How do you open this? Woah.

Amy: She destroys the podcast studio. So, they're from Maria La Rosa. I'll link them in the show notes. I saw them somewhere a long time ago. I didn't buy them, and I've thought about them since, and then I saw them in Every Eve's catalog, and they were sold out. So, I was like, "Well, fucking A." So, I went direct

Whitney: And what is What is it mean? I mean I can feel it. It's plasticky. It's like laminated. What I wonder what that is.

Amy: No, no, they're just shiny.

Whitney: And so you wear them with heels and stuff, like you wear Or do you wear them to bed?

Amy: I guess. We're going to wear them for a podcast record. Uh-oh. We need scissors, fuck.

Whitney: Uh-oh. What?

Amy: I think we need scissors to get them apart, no?

Whitney: No, mine are apart, but I can't actually open it.

Amy: Oh, good.

Whitney: You have to peel it apart, just so

Amy: Oh, wow.

Whitney: I know, I know. I got to figure something out.

Amy: Wow, okay. This is fancy.

Whitney: You got that on. I can't get mine on cuz they're like

Amy: And they're ribbed. There we go. Ooh, la-la-la.

Whitney: I know. Oh, they're cute.

Amy: If you're listening, we do have video. You can go to Spotify or YouTube.

Whitney: Yeah. Ooh, you have to kind of pull them apart. Ooh, yeah. These are very cool.

Amy: They are. They're really cute. Our feet are so shiny right now. So, I thought they'd be cute. I got you the green, the sage green, cuz I thought they were really pretty. And so,

Whitney: Yes, green is one of my colors.

Amy: It is. So, anyway, now we have some fun little socks. They're not that tall, but I think they'd be cute with a like a little heel or something.

Whitney: Well, thank you. That's what you need to help me with is like where What do I

Amy: It's it's hard not to feel

Whitney: I don't want I can wear them to the the Wicked: Part Two.

Amy: Yes. They're perfect for that. Oh, my god.

Whitney: They are perfect for that.

Amy: They're your Wicked socks.

Whitney: So, yeah.

Whitney: Well, you We I wanted to share with you that I took your advice after our sober-curious discussion. I'm still just curious, not totally sober, just FYI. I just got back from Guatemala, and there was a lot of drinking there.

Amy: Right.

Whitney: Yeah, for a wedding. But when I got home from that, I was like, "Okay, I got to reign this in."

Amy: Really? Why? Why?

Whitney: Right? Yeah, just cuz it's it was everyday. And not just at night. It was literally like, "Let's wake up and have mimosas or Bloody Marys, and then let's just keep it going." And then, you know, by 8:00 p.m., we're all in bed, which was the positive side of that.

Amy: That's great. You wake up ready for the next day, anyway.

Whitney: Yeah, and then we were up at 6:00, and it was actually That part was nice, but but when I got back, I was like, "I need to calm down and reset." And I'm getting a bunch of blood work done tomorrow for the Function Health app that I talk about a lot.

Amy: Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Whitney: It's time for my annual

Amy: Oh, it's time for your blood work. You know, that that reminds me. I want to update on my algae journey.

Whitney: Oh, yes. Okay, great, yeah. I can't wait.

Amy: Since I know.

Whitney: So, I was like, "Well, I definitely want to keep it, you know, clean for the next couple of days until this blood work."

Amy: Yeah. Yeah.

Whitney: So, last night, I poured myself a glass in a wine glass of tart cherry juice. And I have to say,

Amy: Tart cherry juice.

Whitney: it tricked me. It It like I was like into it. So much so that I did something that I tend to do when I'm drinking, and I got online, and I bought some stuff.

Amy: Oh, my god, you drunk shopped sober.

Whitney: I drunk shopped sober, and now I'm going to a Machine Gun Kelly concert.

Amy: You really?

Whitney: Yes.

Amy: Here, where?

Whitney: Yeah, in Austin, here. He's coming in May.

Amy: Oh, my god. Oh, my god.

Whitney: And I I wanted to buy tickets sooner, and then I was like, "No, it's out at the Germania Amphitheater, which is just so freaking far."

Amy: Yeah, it is. It's really far, really far.

Whitney: Annoying. And I was like, "I'm not going to do it."

Amy: Well, too far for me, parking. Yeah, and then I was like

Whitney: drinking my cherry tart juice, and I'm like, "Fuck yeah, I'm going to go to Machine Gun Kelly. Who cares how far it is?"

Amy: Good for you.

Whitney: "I'm a young person, and I can drive where I want

Amy: Damn right.

Whitney: and go where I want."

Amy: You wear socks with shoes.

Whitney: I'm going to wear my socks.

Amy: I I think people underestimate the power of the glass.

Whitney: So true, and the color like, you know, it was It was And the color, yeah. The color was right. The taste was pretty on point.

Amy: I was so happy. Did you sleep good?

Whitney: I don't remember, so I guess so.

Amy: That's awesome.

Whitney: So, yeah, so thank you for that. That was

Amy: Oh, my god, I'm so excited.

Whitney: Cuz I did have that moment last night where I sat down and I was like, "Oh." I was about to watch The Voice, which is one of my favorite shows, and I was like, "I need my glass." And then I was like, "No."

Amy: What kind of tart cherry did you buy?

Whitney: It was organic. I don't know. I should've taken a picture of it.

Amy: Is it in a blue container or

Whitney: It was clear.

Amy: Clear, okay.

Whitney: Clear glass.

Amy: Cool. I'm just thrilled. This is thrilling.

Whitney: Yeah. I mean I thought it was pretty hilarious when I found myself online buying Machine Gun Kelly.

Amy: Doing drunk things. You tricked your brain.

Whitney: Yeah, doing drunk things. Yeah, totally.

Amy: This is really cool. This is really, really cool.

Whitney: Yeah. Anyway, so I thought I'd share that little bit.

Amy: Yeah, I have some fancy glasses, too, that I'll pour like Kin Euphorics into with maybe some club soda so I don't have so much sugar, and then like it it is like tricking you, totally.

Whitney: But Kin Euphorics actually has something in it that

Amy: It has like ashwagandha and stuff like that, yeah, or adaptogens.

Whitney: Yeah, I'm so confused.

Amy: We should do adaptogens.

Whitney: I'm confused. I I want to talk about adaptogens, and I want to try multiple things. So like I should before we do that episode, we should do taste test or But it's got to be more than taste, cuz we got to see if it feels different. Yeah, exactly.

Amy: Taste test. Field test.

Whitney: Don't you think? Yes. Put it on the list.

Amy: All right. Cuz I don't know. I I don't know if I'm going to feel any different. I don't really feel any different from any of them, but whatever.

Whitney: I don't know either. I did it one time in the last like 2 months before I went to a concert. Well, I was going to go see Skyrocket with her.

Amy: Oh, yeah.

Whitney: Friends in it. But I don't really I mean I drank that, and then I went to the bar and got something real. So,

Amy: Chased it with some booze.

Whitney: so there we are. But I will I will tell people like if you're wanting to slow down, or, you know, take some nights off, but you enjoy that moment, it was a great little

Amy: That's right, that's right. Yes. A weeknight thing. Boosts your melatonin, I believe, so

Whitney: idea. It's a great hack. And it's got tons of antioxidants in it, so I I feel younger already.

Amy: Yes, you do. That's so amazing.

Whitney: Well, give us a an update real quick on your algae, yeah, cuz so it's been 2 weeks?

Amy: Oh, my algae. It has been almost 4 weeks.

Whitney: 3 Oh, really? Wow, time has flown.

Amy: I'm getting close to 4 weeks. I know it is, and it's going really well. I feel awesome. I wake up in the morning feeling really good.

Whitney: But you said you felt awesome before, so what makes this different?

Amy: I did feel I did feel pretty good, but I'm waking up feeling really good. Like, my body feels good, my I'm I'm awake.

Whitney: Clearheaded, energized.

Amy: Yeah. Yeah. So,

Whitney: What about Justin? Cuz he's also started it, but not for as long.

Amy: I am liking it. Not like I have. No, he's not diligent like me. Mhm, he can't.

Whitney: He's not. No. He's not popping the 15, and then the 30.

Amy: And I have not missed a day, a a anything. I have done it religiously four weeks. And so, ah, my

Whitney: For just for people who haven't they didn't listen to when we were talking about this before, give a quick

Amy: Mhm. I do. I need to link to my algae episode. So, I did an episode with the founder of ENERGYbits, which is it's not a supplement, it is food, it is it is microalgae, spirulina and chlorella, and she says you don't have to take any supplements. She doesn't She's 69, doesn't take any supplements other than that. It's not a supplement, it's a food.

Whitney: Yeah. She doesn't But she eats other foods, this is just for first food.

Amy: Yeah, she does, she does. Yes, uh-huh, and then she doesn't take any medications, so I'm just like, "All right."

Whitney: Which is pretty yeah.

Amy: At 69?

Whitney: Yeah, that's pretty incredible.

Amy: It's pretty great, and she looks good. She doesn't like have Botox, so she says, or anything. So, anyway, so I was like, "Fine, I'll try it." So, we're going to do my blood work at the end of 3 months to see

Whitney: Yeah, oh, I can't wait for the blood work.

Amy: to and see the difference, cuz I was off my supplement.

Whitney: Because right now, you are not What are you taking right now?

Amy: I take my Synthroid in the morning. I take which my dosage has changed very little in 15 years, yeah.

Whitney: That's your thyroid medication? Okay.

Amy: Yeah, so take that every morning. And that's it.

Whitney: But did you get back on your testosterone?

Amy: Oh, thank you. Yes, I did get testosterone, so I'm doing a teeny bit of that every day.

Whitney: But no estrogen or progesterone?

Amy: Nope. We're just We're just going to roll in.

Whitney: Yeah. But I think that's so smart because I did it differently where I just threw in a shit ton all at once.

Amy: Right, so you don't know what's working.

Whitney: And now, I have no idea. I actually ChatGPT and I were having a discussion last night.

Amy: Were you? Chatting over a nice glass of tart cherry.

Whitney: Cuz I was like, "Dude," yes, over my tart cherry juice. I was like, "Should I buy Machine Gun Kelly tickets?" No, I didn't. I said, "Dude, what is going on? I'm off testosterone, and I am breaking out and plucking literally five hairs around my mouth recently."

Amy: Oh, fun.

Whitney: Five black hairs, and I'm like, "What a goatee?" I'm doing one of those Fu Manchu.

Amy: I'm sorry, a Van Dyke.

Whitney: No, this is on the sides, like this. Isn't that Fu Manchu?

Amy: Oh. Yeah, actually, very cute.

Whitney: But I'm not, cuz I'm plucking those suckers, but I'm like, "What the hell?"

Amy: Yeah, I pluck every day.

Whitney: And then So, you're off the testosterone and having that. Yeah, I'm not on Yeah, I've been off of it for a couple months. And then my little chat friend said, "Well, that" And this is the the thing, I think, with all the stuff, it's like the side effects can also be the things that you're trying to get rid of. It's like he's like, "Oh, well, when you get rid of your testosterone, it can create these sorts of issues cuz your your body is trying to rebalance everything. But also, I'm on minoxidil." So, the minoxidil

Amy: Oh, god. Oh, right.

Whitney: might be doing something with the facial hair, but

Amy: Oh, very well could.

Whitney: it's just so frustrating because 3 years ago, wasn't thinking about any of this crap. My hair was beautiful, luxurious, and no facial hair. Smooth as a baby's butt.

Amy: Happens to the best of us. Happens.

Whitney: Anyway,

Amy: Mine's not. I pluck hairs out every single day.

Whitney: Well, I

Amy: I'm glad we have a safe space to talk about it.

Whitney: Yes. Well, I know. It's fine. I I am very vain, but also I do things for comedy, so I'm going to be honest.

Amy: You know, I like that, me too. Me too. Very, very funny.

Whitney: Yeah, I will I'll share anything if I think it's going to get a laugh. Which is very scary. Anyway,

Amy: Do you have a mid moment to share?

Whitney: Girl, so many. I was thinking about it. I have so many, like the one I just talked about, plucking your black hairs. But you know something that's happening, talking about sharing things just for a laugh, I wet my pants in Target.

Amy: Speak

Whitney: And this is so frustrating. So, I had to have an emergency C-section, so then they I had

Amy: What? Not recently.

Whitney: Just yesterday. And with my daughter, who's going to be 23 in a couple weeks, and and so then after that, I had all C-sections, right? So, I was like, "Oh, my vagina is going to be pristine cuz nothing's being pushed through there." And so, all my not all my friends, but several of my friends started commenting like, "Oh, you know, don't make me laugh. Don't make me laugh too hard," or, "Don't make me, you know," and I would be like, "Ha, well, that's not going to be my issue cuz I've had C-sections."

Amy: Ha. Right. Right. Right. Through the darkness.

Whitney: Well, no, it's not true, and I don't understand why this is a thing, but like it happens so fast. You're probably not this isn't happening to you yet.

Amy: I mean I try to do exercises to not.

Whitney: No, I I actually I didn't read the article, but I saw something about how Kegel exercises aren't helping in the way that you think, but anyway, I don't really know.

Amy: Yeah, I've seen that, too. There's been a recent Kegel backlash.

Whitney: Right. It's all about the pelvic floor, which I think Kegels are helping. I don't know, I I That's something we'll have to research.

Amy: Yeah. Well, so we actually we should. I've got plenty to say.

Whitney: I mean I'm doing Kegels right now.

Amy: Me too.

Whitney: But it did not save me in Target. I'm literally standing there,

Amy: Well, seriously? Do you pee in the shower?

Whitney: No, we've talked about this.

Amy: Yeah, that's supposed to, if you do that, that can be detrimental to your muscles because you're training yourself to pee standing up, and that's not good.

Whitney: What? But here's what doesn't make sense with that, dude. You're sitting down, gravity is still pulling things down. And men don't pee in Target, I don't think. I don't know. I literally was standing there looking at the beans, and I had to drop down on my heel. Like all of a sudden, it came out of nowhere. It wasn't like, "Oh, I need to go to the bathroom, and I'm going to hold it." It was like, "You're about to piss your pants."

Amy: What? So scary. What?

Whitney: And I got down on my heel, and I had to sit there for a little bit to get it under control.

Amy: Oh, no.

Whitney: And then I had to like shuffle to the bathroom, and but a little came out.

Amy: Like, holding it?

Whitney: No, I didn't hold myself. That would have been Well, I was at Target.

Amy: Maybe you should have. I mean

Whitney: No, man, I'll I I mean what's more embarrassing, right? I don't know. Nobody It wasn't a full like If If it had happened, I'd be like, "My water broke." Cuz I could push my belly out to make it seem like I I was pregnant. Anyway, but it is something that happens. It happens to my mom all the time.

Amy: She pees herself?

Whitney: No, but she will be like, "I've got to go to the bathroom right now." And I'm like, "But why didn't you go 2 minutes ago?" And she's like, "I didn't have to go 2 minutes ago." You know, and I got it, and I'm like, "Holy shit, this is going to start happening to me now." And by the way, I don't know if you've noticed, but Katherine Heigl, you know that actress?

Amy: Oh, like you peed right here.

Whitney: Have you noticed that I have had an accident? No, I'm seeing these Poise commercials all the time, and it's with Katherine Heigl,

Amy: I saw Poise, for

Whitney: or Heigl, or however. And I'm like, she's younger than me.

Amy: I did see that. Heigl.

Whitney: Yeah, I wondered why she was advertising Poise.

Amy: And she's advertising It's because you start to pee your pants. You lose your bladder control. I wondered.

Whitney: I don't know.

Amy: Wow, I didn't even think about that, yeah.

Whitney: So, for the sake of comedy, I've humiliated myself. You're welcome, listeners. No, you know what, it's the sake of connection cuz there's people that can identify with that. And you know, it's good to know that it's happening to all of us.

Amy: Just get ready. I mean I didn't think I was laughing. I was like, "That's not going to be one of my issues." And then

Whitney: I wonder why. I think everything's getting weaker. And and gravity, it's been pulling down on your bladder for years. And then babies, I mean they are messing around with the insides.

Amy: Yeah, yeah.

Whitney: I don't know.

Amy: I did this episode But I was very sad about it. I did an episode on something called pompoir, which is like Kegels on steroids, essentially. It's like It's an exerciser, or is it something you put up in you and squeeze? It's an exercise. It's an exercise, and it's all about the vaginal wall muscles on all sides. And and then there's three levels of those inside you. There's lower, mid, and then, you know, the highest up. And so she teaches you how to connect with all these muscles.

Whitney: Because right now, I'm squeezing in like a Kegel, but there's got to be more to it.

Amy: It's not like that. It's like way deeper, and it takes

Whitney: How do you get in there?

Amy: I know. It takes a lot of training. It's like 20 minutes a day, which is a pain in the ass.

Whitney: I can't add another minute to my day.

Amy: Ugh, I know that.

Amy: Well, I tried. I was like, I was like, "I'm going to do this."

Whitney: All my online shopping to do.

Amy: It's supposed to like have all these benefits, and better orgasms, and all of these lubrication, all these things, right? Good benefits, but you have to do it for 20 minutes a day. And and really

Whitney: And you have to really focus. It's not like you can do it in your car or like we're doing right now.

Amy: or watching TV, yeah. Yes, right. It's not. You have to really focus. So, I did it one one time. So, I was like, "I'm going to start doing this," cuz my I my interview was great, then I I bought the course, and I was like, "I'm going to do this." It's it's a little complicated. That's daunting. There's a course? There's a course, yes. So, I bought the course, and so I did it once, and I could tell the difference, and then I had sex, and Justin could tell a difference. He goes, "What are you doing?" And I was like, "Holy shit."

Whitney: What? Hold on, hold on, hold on. You were doing it during sex, or just because you did it?

Amy: Mhm.

Whitney: Cuz I'll do a little of that.

Amy: It was kind of easy to do in a whole different way. Like, I felt like my muscles

Whitney: Yeah. Okay, so you were you were teasing with him. You were like you were like squeezing on him intentionally.

Amy: connected. Yeah, but it's not even squeezing. It was almost like I only moved the front muscles in like on this side.

Whitney: Okay, we're going to have to talk about this for sure.

Amy: It's weird, right? And so, I I was only moving those, and he was like, "Wow." And I was like, "Huh." And so, I was like, "I need to keep doing this," and then I've never done it again. And so He was like, "Wow," and I was like, "Huh." And then we were like, "Meh." And then I was like, "It's 20 minutes a day." I don't have that kind of time. I do have that kind of time, but I just don't want to.

Whitney: That's what's funny is we I actually do have that kind of time, but I don't want to.

Amy: It's just like

Whitney: And by the way, what are guys doing for us?

Amy: No shit, right?

Whitney: I mean, I know that that's partly for us. Like, we're you know, I mean we're strengthening those walls and stuff. But I mean like, the amount of time and thought I've put into, how can I make things more fun, or how can I be tighter.

Amy: Guys

Whitney: I know, I know. don't even, you know.

Amy: Not really, they're like, "Here's Here's my boner."

Whitney: They don't even shower. They're just like, yeah.

Amy: Yeah, believe me, I know. And I'm constantly like, "That's not enough." Okay.

Whitney: Oh, girl. I I do have to give a shout out, although I know some of his people listen, but whatever. I do have to give a little shout out to my boyfriend because I was out of town for a really long not a really long time, but for like Yeah.

Amy: Yeah, yeah.

Whitney: 5, 6 days, 5 days. And and he was leaving town yesterday, so we were going to miss each other, you know, cuz I was getting in late on Sunday, he was leaving early Monday. But of course, I get the text like, "Hey, why don't you come by on Monday, and then you can take me to the airport?" And I was like, "Okay," you know, but then on the way over there, I was like, he wanted me to be there at like 11:45, he had to be at the airport at 12:30, and I'm like, I'm not I wasn't in the mental state to like be like

Amy: Have a quickie or something.

Whitney: Yeah, I Well, I kind of wished it I wanted it to be a quickie, like just just bend me over, and boom, bam, boom, and then let's go to the airport. Like, don't make me be all into it.

Amy: Yeah, yeah, yeah. Right.

Whitney: Like, that's what I was thinking in my head. Oh, he's going to be mortified. Anyway,

Amy: Sometimes it's just too strenuous.

Whitney: I just was not I was still like jetlagged and trying to get back on a schedule, and then you know. And so I was really worried about worried's the wrong word, but I was just like,

Amy: Yeah, sure. You're like, "What's going to happen?"

Whitney: you know what I'm saying? Just like thinking about it. And he was so sweet. There was like no pressure at all. He was just like kissing me and like rubbing on me, and and it made me get in the mood. I was like, "All right, what are what are we doing? Like, take your pants off," you know.

Amy: Nice. Right? I've told Justin, I'm like, "That's the key." Don't Don't try for that. Like, don't try Yeah, don't come in like gangbusters. Right, no.

Whitney: But I think he's he is learning, and I need to compliment him on it, yeah.

Amy: Right, yes, you do.

Whitney: Because I was fully prepared

Amy: Positively reinforce that.

Whitney: Yes, exactly.

Amy: Yeah, good job, good job.

Whitney: Speaking of this, this is not quite a mid moment. I don't let's call it I don't know if we call it a useful moment, I don't know. Uh-oh.

Amy: I have a hickey. Can you see What? Stop it. You can see it?

Whitney: Yes, I can see it.

Amy: I don't know, for the zoom.

Whitney: I don't know if they It's right there. Oh, my goodness gracious. Did you want a hickey?

Amy: Yeah, there. I know. No, but it was hot in the moment.

Whitney: Did you notice that it was happening?

Amy: I thought, "I might have a hickey here." And he goes, "I was trying to give you a hickey, because I'm leaving for a month," and and he he just was kissing We were making out and stuff. It so it was so great.

Whitney: Yeah, yeah. He was marking his territory.

Amy: It was so great. Yeah, it was it was pretty hot. So, yeah, I have a hickey. That's hot.

Whitney: I love it.

Amy: I mean, when was the last time you had a hickey?

Whitney: Oh, that's a good question. I don't know. I know that I've had a curling iron burn.

Amy: Me too. Same, same.

Whitney: You used to say that it was a curling iron burn, when really it was a hickey, but now it's really a curling iron burn, sadly. I don't know. I Yeah, I can't think of it. I can't think of the last time.

Amy: Yeah, so that's my not fun mid moment, so.

Whitney: That's so fun. That's anything but mid.

Amy: Anything but mid, it is. Yay. All right, so um

Whitney: All right, now to the topic at hand.

Amy: Is that enough of our of our news today?

Whitney: Me think.

Amy: I think it is. Yeah, I think that's probably. We're Good Lord, we're already like 20-something minutes.

Whitney: Good Lord. Good God, let's get down to business.

Amy: All right. Ashwagandha.

Whitney: Ashwagandha. How do you say it? Ashwagandha.

Amy: Oh, fuck, I have to have the pronunciation down?

Whitney: I Well, I always put an A in, ashwaganda, but it's not. It's ashwagandha. The It's A-S-H-W, right?

Amy: Ash- wag- and- ha. Huh. There's an H in there. Ashwagandha.

Whitney: Tell me about it because my boyfriend puts it in something, puts it in his water in the morning. He's taking it, or I don't know if he puts it in his water. Is that a Can it be a powder?

Amy: Oh, it is a Yes, that's what I've had.

Whitney: Oh, it is a powder. Okay, yeah, he he drinks it in the morning, but I don't really know the benefits.

Amy: Does Does he?

Whitney: He he drinks it.

Amy: But does he know the benefits? Like, why is he doing it?

Whitney: I don't know. He saw he he did this, I don't know, he had like somebody tell him about it.

Amy: I feel like it's one of those things that we get recommended. I had been recommended it somewhere along the way, like, "Drink some in your smoothie or have some at lunch in something or other." And I was like, "Okay," but I I don't even understand what is good for, and I'm just overwhelmed with all the names. Like when we say adaptogens, too, I conflate those in my

Whitney: Right. Is that an adaptogen?

Amy: I don't know.

Whitney: I don't think so. I don't know.

Amy: We're going to find out everything. We're going to find it out.

Whitney: Yeah, please tell me cuz I I I'm not sure.

Amy: You know what, it is an adaptogen. I just saw it in my notes. It is an adaptogen.

Whitney: Okay, we've learned one thing. Okay. One thing so far.

Amy: So when you say it's got adaptogens, you might be saying it's got ashwagandha. Okay, I'm going to tell you if you want to know all this stuff. Give me your book report.

Whitney: Tell me the stuff. Give me your book report.

Amy: An adaptogen an adaptogen So maybe we're doing adaptogens today, sort of. An adaptogen is a natural plant compound that helps your body adapt to stress.

Whitney: Ooh.

Amy: Physical, emotional, or environmental, and restore balance, get back to a baseline, homeostasis.

Whitney: Yes. Stress is terrible for your body.

Amy: It's not great.

Whitney: Releases all that cortisol, and you're always in a fight or flight situation. They said that you know, I know for me, anxiety and stuff like I'm not being chased by a tiger.

Amy: No.

Whitney: Like, why do I have to act like I'm

Amy: I've had a little stress realization, and I'm kind of embarrassed to admit it, so.

Whitney: I said I peed my pants at Target, come on.

Amy: Okay, sometimes I play Candy Crush Saga.

Whitney: Still? Isn't that like 2004?

Amy: It's so

Whitney: 2010 or something.

Amy: And sometimes I'll notice a tension in my body, and I'm like, "Oh, shit." I think we can get stressed like Pay attention to when you're getting stressed. Like, maybe Wordle is making you tense.

Whitney: Oh, yeah. All those reels and stuff that you're watching, even like a baby being, you know, a baby elephant being pulled out of the water or something. You could be like, "Is he going to survive?"

Amy: Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, so we have to watch it, right? So an adaptogen doesn't push you up or down like caffeine or sedatives. Instead, they modulate your system so it's more resilient and stable. So we like that, we like that a lot.

Whitney: Yes, we do. It calms you.

Amy: It's a thermostat for stress. It turns the dial up or down as needed. To qualify scientifically Excuse me.

Whitney: Oh, interesting. So it'll turn up your stress if your body needs that?

Amy: I guess so. It'll bounce it out. To qualify scientifically, an adaptogen must be nontoxic at normal doses, increase the body's resistance to multiple stressors, and help normalize physiological functions, not just stimulate or sedate. Not an upper or downer.

Whitney: Right, it's not masking the symptoms. It's actually going in and solving the problem.

Amy: That's right. Oh yeah, well said.

Whitney: Thank you.

Amy: It influences the HPA axis, which is the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal system. That's big. And stress That's what she said. and stress and stress hormones like cortisol. Over time, this helps regulate energy, mood, focus, and sleep. So common examples include ashwagandha, rhodiola, holy basil, tulsi, eleuthero, Siberian ginseng

Whitney: And another one.

Amy: Siberian ginseng, and something called schisandra, which is spelled really weird, S-C-H-I-S-A-N-D-R-A, supports liver and hormonal balance. They all sound amazing. So that's pretty cool, right?

Whitney: Okay. Yeah.

Amy: So that is what we want, and we're going to find out a little bit more about ashwagandha in particular today, so.

Whitney: Good.

Amy: Yeah, so we have to talk a little bit about the Ayurvedic system.

Whitney: Oh, yeah. That's how he knew. He had an uh Ayurvedic coach or something. Yeah, he did something kind of woo-woo-ish.

Amy: Yeah, that's pretty cool.

Whitney: Ayurvedic, yeah.

Amy: Yeah, I've had Nisha Khanna is one that's local, and I've had her on my show, and she was very interesting. She's a doctor.

Whitney: I'm really kind of confused on what it Is it just meditation and stuff, and

Amy: No, Ayurveda? No, no, not at all, actually.

Whitney: Oh, see, I know nothing.

Amy: Not at all, it's like physical stuff, so So, To remove stress, though. let me let me come back to this little part. Yeah, in Ayurveda Okay, so there's three energetic for- forces in your body called doshas. There's vata

Whitney: Okay. Yes.

Amy: that governs So these govern your body and mind, so vata is one, pitta, and kapha. Pitta is the energy of metabolism and transformation, and it's like the fiery one, I guess. So it governs digestion, ambition, and intellect. Kapha is like earth and water, earth more earthy though, energy of structure and stability, governing lubrication,

Whitney: Ooh.

Amy: immunity, and emotional steadiness. And then, vata is more like an air one. So it's energy of like movement, breath, circulation, nerves, elimination, creativity, like wind. So, I think that it's important to understand that because ashwagandha is a rejuvenator, and it is used to restore strength, resilience, and sleep, and to calm the vata. So to bring more earthiness Okay, so it's targeting one thing, yeah. Balance. Mhm. Grounding. when you're feeling a little a little spacey, a little out of balance. So that's very broad, I know, but that's going to give you just a little bit of information. So, vata increases in fall and early winter because there's cold, windy, dry times, so

Whitney: So you really need to be taking your ashwagandha right now.

Amy: Yeah. So, this is actually timely. We are right on time.

Whitney: Oh, my god, we are on time.

Amy: Many people, especially midlife women, feel vata imbalance during this fall, early winter, winter time. It's anxiety, it's dryness, it's sleep issues, it's scattered energy. So, this adaptogen, ashwagandha, can help us in particular. Get a little less mid. So, how it can help. Well, this is kind of some I wanted to talk about. Let me Let me find just ashwagandha. So let's see. Oh, yeah, here here we go. So you can just take the standardized root extract, which I think we can do like powder, 300 to 600 milligrams. I don't even know how much much that is. Is that a scoop?

Whitney: Got me.

Amy: Right? Who knows? But let's see. Yeah, root powder, so you can take it in plant milk, you can add it to butter, you can Butter? I know, isn't that weird? Or ghee? So weird. But you want to take it in the morning if you're worried about stress,

Whitney: Mhm, like Ryan.

Amy: like Ryan does, yeah, daytime stress, resilience, and focus, but you can also take it in the evening for sleep support, which is pretty cool. I love things that like help you however you need them, and can like tune in with your body. You can do it with or without food.

Whitney: Right, right.

Amy: But with food, you know, you could get an upset stomach. And PS, about my algae, I don't get an upset stomach. Now, I have had gastrointestinal distress, as we've talked about, aka diarrhea. The Hershey squirts. It's getting It's gotten better. It's gotten better, yes, but Yeah, but I never am nauseous.

Whitney: That's good.

Amy: Yeah, hell yeah, that's good. I hate being nauseous. I can take it on an empty stomach. So you can take it at lunchtime, too. That has been recommended to me, lunch to take it at lunchtime. And it was recommended by like an Ayurvedic I What? I don't even know how to say that. Ayurvedic practitioner?

Whitney: Yes, yes.

Amy: No, it was recommended to me by somebody that was a regular health practitioner.

Whitney: Oh, interesting.

Amy: Yeah, it was either my nutritionist or functional nutritionist, or it was my Ways2Well person. I can't remember. So, I mean like that's pretty cool, right?

Whitney: Yeah, yeah.

Amy: So, it's not a stimulant, it's not going to spike your energy or crash you. It's going to give your body what or your dosha your It's going to counteract the vata.

Whitney: Vata, it's going to give your vata what it needs.

Amy: Right. And midday is actually pitta time, when digestion is strongest, so your body can absorb it well with food. Great.

Whitney: Okay. This is different, and I know I'm getting off, but like those doshas or whatever,

Amy: Doshas.

Whitney: doshas, that's different than your chakras.

Amy: It is, yes. Yeah, your chakras are more

Whitney: spiritual energy, nothing to do with physiological.

Amy: Yeah, an energetic system of of and they're more related to like the colors, and you've got your We could do chakras sometime.

Whitney: Right now, we've got so much so much to discuss.

Amy: I like chakras.

Whitney: I love chakras. I love me some chakras.

Amy: I love

Whitney: Yeah. All right, we're going to have to put that on the list, too.

Amy: Well, let me just make a note of that. I don't want to forget.

Whitney: Chakras. I already forgot what else we were going to put on the list. Oh, adaptogens, but

Amy: But I don't know if we need to now. We're like really looking into it today. So, it says that around lunchtime is a good time. So, I think that I know, your socks are so cute. They're comfortable, too. I have to say, they don't they don't scratch, which I was worried about.

Whitney: I know, they're so shiny. Yeah, I love them. Yeah.

Amy: So, around lunchtime is a good time because it's going to steady your energy and focus throughout the afternoon, and it's more grounding than stimulating. So, if you're hopped up on caffeine like I get, then it'll ground you, which I like that a lot. So, let's talk a little bit about some things that it does. It smooths your cortisol levels that can naturally dip and spike in midday, so you feel more balanced, less anxious, and less coffee-crashy. That that me. Okay. It also can curb sugar or stress-eating cravings. Oh, my god, I need to take that.

Whitney: Hmm. Yeah.

Amy: Cool.

Whitney: But you don't do you you do you don't You do salty stuff, you don't do sweet stuff, right?

Amy: I'm more of a salty girl.

Whitney: Yeah, me too.

Amy: Yeah. Yeah. Although, if cookies are around, I do like cookies. So,

Whitney: Uh-oh.

Amy: there's that, but I'm a salty. I'll reach for chips, or whatever. But I've gotten into olives and and olives and pickles, and so

Whitney: Yeah. Dude, last night, I ate an entire jar of pickles.

Amy: Yeah, what was that? I saw that on your story, it was like Wickles pickles?

Whitney: Wickles pickles. Yeah, it's like sweet and spicy.

Amy: My mouth's watering.

Whitney: My mouth is watering, too, and I literally was afraid I was going to go into some sort of stomach issue, because I ate the whole thing. That was my dinner. And my cherry tart juice.

Amy: So, you had your two steak tacos?

Whitney: Yesterday, I did not. I had an old egg taco that left over from before I left.

Amy: And then a jar of an entire jar of pickles?

Whitney: And then, I made myself some spaghetti with beef.

Amy: Oh, okay, that's good.

Whitney: And then then later that night, yeah. My lunch was spaghetti.

Amy: Not eating a lot of vegetables in there, though.

Whitney: Pickles are vegetables. That's a cucumber. I mean, there's probiotics in there, too, I think, you know. Pickled things are good for you.

Amy: Pickled things are good.

Whitney: All right, we digress.

Amy: I want to support that, but I would like to see some more fruits and vegetables.

Whitney: Yes, ma'am.

Amy: So, I stress eating, I do that sometimes. I mean like,

Whitney: I do bored eating.

Amy: I do bored eating. I do bored eating. Yeah. If I go brush my teeth, it'll stave it off, so that's a good trick, so.

Whitney: Oh, interesting. Yeah.

Amy: That's like if I just force myself to walk in there, brush my teeth, and then I'm like, "Okay, now I don't want to eat." So, lunchtime is a good, smart time to do this. That is what we're recommending, but you can do it for sleep. Evening is better if you want it for sleep. So,

Whitney: But okay.

Amy: so quality does matter in your ashwagandha, friends.

Whitney: Don't just get it off the street.

Amy: Your street Don't go to your dealer and say

Whitney: Don't go to your street dealer for ashwagandha.

Amy: Yeah, it could be cut with something, and we don't want that. You want root, you want quality, you want leaves. You don't want leaves instead.

Whitney: So when you're looking for on looking at products, you want to go and see if it's the root and the leaves of the ashwagandha.

Amy: Yeah, you want to look for stuff that doesn't have heavy metals in it, you want to look for it's something called

Whitney: Sure. Reputable companies.

Amy: Yeah, USP verified, on and on, right? Just that's that's Just look for quality. Go somewhere like Order it like from an a reputable source. Don't order from Amazon, stuff like this. I don't like that.

Whitney: Well, here's the truth about Amazon: you think you're getting the product from the company that makes it, and lots of times, people are putting a label on, and it's not the product. Like, it's not the real product.

Amy: Nope, and supplements are fake.

Whitney: Yeah, people are putting

Amy: And it's a bad idea. Like, just go to Whole Foods or whatever, even though that's Amazon, but you know. Fucking hate it, fucking I miss Whole Foods so bad, the real-deal Whole Foods. I grow go into Whole Foods, and I feel gross. Like, it feels like Amazon. There's Amazon packages over there, it's like

Whitney: Oh, good point. Good point. Yeah. I know, but I that is really helpful, though, cuz I return a lot of Amazon packages. It's easy to do that.

Amy: Go to Wheatsville Co-op in Austin, or Sprouts, find your

Whitney: Aw, little Wheatsville. That was what Whole Foods used to be, look like that.

Amy: I know, and I love it. It's so great. So anyway, just get just get quality. I mean, you just can't trust your stuff online, so don't buy any supplements. I just I don't recommend buying any supplements, except if you go online to a supplement person or something like that, yeah.

Whitney: Right. I will go on Amazon to the like the Thrive store

Amy: Yes, that's what I do, too.

Whitney: instead of just picking, "Oh, this one's cheap."

Amy: But I'm still not sure. I ordered something like that the other day, a face product, and like a sunscreen thing, and it's it's different, and I was like, "I don't know."

Whitney: You just don't trust it. Yeah.

Amy: So anyway, I don't know. It's just

Whitney: That's one thing we know: we don't know.

Amy: We know that we don't know, and

Whitney: That's right, and we're not doctors.

Amy: And can I just sidebar something for a second?

Whitney: Yes, I think that's our whole episode is sidebars.

Amy: I want to sidebar that I was online yesterday, and I saw a viral post about a new Harvard It was like this little, you know, meme scroll thing, and they were like a new Harvard study talks about how talking to your body affects your immune system, and has results, and all this. And I was like, "Woah."

Whitney: Dude, we know that.

Amy: I know we know that, so, but still, I was like, "A Harvard study?"

Whitney: Oh, you're like, "Oh, Harvard. Oh, I know where this is going."

Amy: So, I was like, "I've got to look this up." So it was from Kitija, K-I-T-I-J-A dot ozio, sounds sketch already, done it? on Instagram. And so I go to look for this actual Harvard study, cuz I was like, "I want to share this on the show." No such study exists. There is not one. So then I go back to the post, and I check it out. At first, it's got the comments off, and I'm like, "Aha." So then I go to the person's page, and I find the comments are on, and I start scrolling the comments, and all the people are like, "This is" They call it clickbait, but it's like-bait, really. It's it's false. People are just making things up, so I just want to say we can't trust anything.

Whitney: Doesn't sound Yeah, that doesn't sound legit. Yeah. Oh. Mhm. I know, it's scary.

Amy: It is scary.

Whitney: It's very scary. You can't trust anything. If you like something, you need to go do the research. Even like, just keep since we're sidebarring, there's this cute I see all these cute little clothes on this one

Amy: Yeah, so don't trust what you see. Uh-oh.

Whitney: thing, it's called Retrograde, or something like that. And so many cute little things, and like I wanted to there was this really cute gingerbread dress, or whatever, and I was like, "That would be so cute." But I was like, "Mm, let me just go and do some research." And I got out of Instagram,

Amy: So many of them are full of shit. Uh-huh.

Whitney: and I went and just typed in like "retrograde reviews," I don't remember if it was Retrograde, it's Retro-something. And and it the people were like, "Do not buy. Their stuff is fake, I never got it. I ordered it, never got it." Or somebody said, "I ordered it, and I got something. It didn't look anything like it."

Amy: I've done it. I've done it.

Whitney: And it's so it's so sad.

Amy: What sucks, too, is that they will fake reviews on those sites, too.

Whitney: Yeah, I worry about that even on Amazon. I'm like, "Are these legit

Amy: Yeah. I don't think they are.

Whitney: customers?"

Amy: But on some of those clothing websites, like it used to be if it didn't have any reviews or even the option, then you were like, "Uh-uh." But now, they'll fake reviews, and they'll even have pictures, and like I ordered this dress for my daughter for our wedding, and I thought it was going to be so cute, and it was like

Whitney: Yeah. Oh, no.

Amy: It was It was shocking, shocking how bad it was. It I mean, I guess at least it arrived, and so anyway, and there's no customer service, you can't return it, you're fucked.

Whitney: How bad How bad it was. Right. That's the issue, too, yeah, trying to get anybody to re- so you can return it.

Amy: Don't do it. Did you Was there something on Reddit?

Whitney: Yes, that's what I was about to say. You go to Reddit. Honestly, those are the ones, which I'm like, "Who who are these people on Reddit?" Cuz I never post anything on Reddit.

Amy: You got to go to Reddit. Reddit is full of bots, too, actually. It's it's overrun.

Whitney: Well, that's the other thing. It's like, and why am I trusting Daryl_68, you know, that I don't I've never met him, don't know anything about him. How do I know with what he's saying? But I'll be like, "Well, Daryl_68 says, 'No, don't do it.'" Anyway,

Amy: But he just guided your decision. That's right. All right, well let's get back to ashwagandha. Buy your ashwagandha somewhere reputable, please. It helps middle-aged women in particular with perimenopause and menopause symptoms. So, RCTs in women, I don't know what RCTs are. RCTs in women, often perimenopausal, report improvements on menopause symptoms. So that means psychological,

Whitney: All right, back to ashwagandha. Ashwagandha. Mhm.

Amy: somatovegetative, whatever the fuck that is,

Whitney: These words are hurting my brain.

Amy: urogenital, urogenital.

Whitney: Oh, urogenital. That's for European women.

Amy: No, U-R-O as in urology.

Whitney: Oh, a urinary tract.

Amy: Yeah. So, they had better vascular and bone markers after use, and this is 2025 data, you guys. So, benefits appear modest, but meaningful for hot flashes, sleep, mood, and quality of life. I like that.

Whitney: A lot of this I I think some of this is mental, just like my cherry tart wine. Some of it is mental, and a lot of it is personal to your own biology, you know? I I do start I I do feel like I'm I'm buying into this right now with that whole Bryan Johnson bundle. I'm like, how can this be good for everyone across the board?

Amy: Big time.

Whitney: I don't know.

Amy: It can't.

Whitney: I don't know.

Amy: It doesn't. We're all unique.

Whitney: Don't say that, Amy. I'm spending $130 a month.

Amy: It's true. And you're buying it from a man, too, you know. Like

Whitney: But he is a mannequin man. He is a ex-Mormon, so you know he's not lying.

Amy: We're going to do an episode on him, too. I cannot wait. I really I really want to. So,

Whitney: A mannequin, he looks like it.

Amy: He does, so weird.

Whitney: Looks such so waxy, yeah.

Amy: He does look waxy.

Whitney: But then look, when I put on all my creams and everything, when I when I do like my put on my cream foundation, my

Amy: Cuz he has a lot of creams. Your skin looks really good.

Whitney: But don't look at my sore.

Amy: What is Is that from your fluorouracil?

Whitney: No. This is my another mid moment.

Amy: What'd you do?

Whitney: No, I just I was steaming rice. Sorry, guys, we're all over the place today. I was steaming rice, I don't know if you can see, the night before I left for Guatemala, Ryan came over and was making dinner, but he put me in charge of the rice. I have a steamer, and when it was done, I went over to open the lid, and I just set my hand right in front of where all the steam comes up,

Amy: Ow.

Whitney: and I burned it, but because I have mid skin

Amy: Thin skin. Mhm, I'm sorry.

Whitney: It has created a horrendous-looking sore that won't heal cuz it's right on my knuckle, and I can't get a Band-Aid on it.

Amy: Aw.

Whitney: Anyway,

Amy: That sucks. I'm sorry.

Whitney: That's all right. I can't remember what I was talking about before, so let's move on with ashwagandha.

Amy: Me neither. Okay, ashwagandha. So, this is a good one. So, some women, midlife women, took 300 mg of ashwagandha extract twice a day for 8 weeks. They showed improvements in arousal, lubrication, orgasm, and satisfaction. I know. It They say that was because of stress reduction and endocrine effects. I mean, granted, you're going to have better sex if you're not stressed.

Whitney: Mhm. When you're not stressed. Exactly.

Amy: Like, come on. So,

Whitney: But they're taking it twice a day. I didn't know for some reason I thought you only took it once a day.

Amy: Well, I don't know. For this study, they took it twice a day. You can take it more than once, but I I guess, you know, just keep an eye on it on dosage. So, now it does say if you have thyroid disease or take thyroid meds daily, that would be

Whitney: Oh, me too.

Amy: me.

Whitney: I think a lot of non-mid women

Amy: Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Whitney: max max-life women are on thyroid

Amy: medication.

Whitney: There's not much that makes me cringe, but that one I know.

Amy: I coined it, and it makes me cringe. So, yeah, you have to watch out cuz it can shift thyroid stuff. I'm going to talk about that in a second, too. Okay, so what are some side effects? Your tummy could be a little upset. You could get drowsy, you might get a little sleepy, and that's about it.

Whitney: Okay. Oh.

Amy: Not too bad, right? Avoid in pregnancy and breastfeeding, avoid before surgery, so use caution with autoimmune disease, thyroid disorders, existing liver disease, so talk to a doctor. PS, we're not doctors.

Whitney: Oh, interesting. Exactly, let us just reiterate that.

Amy: Yeah, yeah, it can it can make benzos, if you're on Xanax or sleep meds, it can have some interactions with those. So, use caution with diabetes, all that. So, you know, do talk to a doctor, I guess, but

Whitney: But it's funny because you get this stuff online. No one's talking to their doctor beforehand. Go get on ChatGPT, tell them everything you're on, and then be like, "Can I also take this?" Although they're not a doctor.

Amy: No shit. Yeah.

Whitney: And they make mistakes, I mean.

Amy: That's why then you have to go, "Are you sure?"

Whitney: Are you You do. "Are you sure?"

Amy: During midlife, so as we said, the vata rises, right, that's that wind energy, that dryness, skin, joints, digestion, sleep, anxiety, all that stuff. So, the goal is to ground and moisten. So, all of this with like using movement and warming yourself up, ashwagandha is a good addition to all of that. And I I mean I'm not worried about using it on my thyroid medicines, like I'm not going to use so much that

Whitney: Okay. Right.

Amy: I feel like it's going to affect me. I'm not going to use it right now, though, because

Whitney: Right. You got to stay on your allergy your algae your allergy Allergy. your algae,

Amy: my algae. I did, yes.

Whitney: yeah, as experiment, yeah.

Amy: So, yeah. So, let's just dive into a little more about thyroid, though. It doesn't contain thyroid hormone, but it modulates the the HPA-thyroid axis, which is what we talked about, which was the what was it called, something thyroid pituitary?

Whitney: Yeah.

Amy: Yeah, where was it? Anyway, so it controls that controls how your thyroid hormones are produced and converted. So it may boost thyroid hormone output in That's a hard sentence, okay? In sluggish thyroids, there have been clinical trials on this, and it lowered the TSH, raised T3 and T4. Interesting, right?

Whitney: Mhm.

Amy: So, participants also reported improved energy and mood. So there you are. Again, it's lowering your cortisol, so that's a good thing. But it can swing that pendulum into hyperthyroidism, so you don't want to you don't want that to happen. So, anyone with Hashimoto's, Graves', or who's taking Synthroid like me, use caution. Use caution.

Whitney: Mhm. So you're not going to do it.

Amy: If I do, it would be after my algae and my blood work, and I would do it just in the afternoon, but I think that's why it was recommended to me probably. Something was going on with my thyroid, and they ended up increasing my dose just a little, but then I became they gave me something else where I became jittery, and I was like, "I am losing my fucking mind, and I'm getting off of this." So, I went back to just my normal dose, and things felt fine again. So, yeah.

Whitney: Tart cherry. Mhm. Yeah. Okay, good.

Amy: So, 300 mg once daily, root root extract, that's low with ashwagandha, so you can do that. So, that is pretty much it's basically a nervous system reset, and it's Sanskrit name, somnifera, means sleep-inducing, but in practice, it's just more about resetting your nervous system. I love that.

Whitney: Right, that's good. All right. We all need that.

Amy: Right? We feel that. Like when our estrogen drops, it can cause anxiety and sleep disruption, and so resetting your nervous system can be so important, and ashwagandha can help recalibrate that. So, I wonder if he sprinkled some in your like in your in the

Whitney: oats?

Amy: No, in your in your tart cherry juice. Like, that would be cool, right?

Whitney: Oh. I don't know if I want powder floating around. Can I have one drink that doesn't have something in it?

Amy: Some bullshit going on.

Whitney: Can I just have one where I don't have to mix something in it?

Amy: No, you have to do everything to everything you drink.

Whitney: No, I'm not.

Amy: You've got mud water,

Whitney: I do what I want.

Amy: you've got hydrogen water, you've got I don't know what the hell else, right?

Whitney: No shit. So much. My Bryan Johnson powder.

Amy: I know. Your Blueprint.

Whitney: Yeah. Does not taste good.

Amy: No. I know. And then I interviewed this guy who is like swearing by wheatgrass powder, so I was like, he sent me some, so I'm going to have to talk about that. Like I I

Whitney: But you have to just this is and this is what is hard not to do. I want to jump in on every I want to be on every bandwagon, and it's too much. I got to settle it down. I really need to simplify even more. But

Amy: Well, I'm doing it for you, and I'm going to give you the report, not today.

Whitney: Not today. Yes, I cannot wait. Not today, man.

Amy: Not today. No sups. Okay, so here What's our bottom line? It's one of the few herbs herbs that supports mind, mood, metabolism, and hormones, and it is a true ally for midlife women.

Whitney: Mhm. I love it, but you're anything but mid.

Amy: Yeah. And men, and men, and men, I think. So just keep it root-only, verify your quality, and really just check in with how you're feeling all the time, I would say. So it's it's a good We like We likey.

Whitney: All right. Yes, thank you, Amy. That was an excellent book report.

Amy: Yeah! My book report is done!

Whitney: You get an A, A for ashwagandha.

Amy: I got an A. Ah, thank you so much. Yeah, so anything we have to say in closing?

Whitney: I think that's it.

Amy: Ultimately, you do what you want.

Whitney: That's right, we do what we want.

Amy: That is the key. Follow us. We have an Instagram, and we have a YouTube, and we would love it if you followed us, or whatever, interacted.

Whitney: Yep. We've had one listener email us in. Another shout out to Beth. I responded, but didn't hear back, so I guess she's done with us. That's all right. That's okay, but we appreciate it. So yeah, anythingbutmidpodcast@gmail.

Amy: Yeah, send us a mid moment, we want to know.

Whitney: Oh, yeah, I want to know about those.

Amy: Did she send a mid moment? No, she didn't. She just

Whitney: No, she she gave us some topics she'd like us to talk about, imposter syndrome, and then something else that I'll have to go back and look at.

Amy: Oh. Syndrome. Okay. Cool! We will put those on the Even if you have topics that you want us to cover, we're here for it. We would love to know them. So yeah, so do do what you fucking want. Yay!

Whitney: Right. See y'all next time.