The Essential Oil Hormone Solution | Podcast #220

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There are a lot of great practitioners out there who will help navigate that journey for you, but you're making the best decisions and there is ownership of you. You are the “CEO” of your health.

In today’s podcast, be amazed as Dr. J interviews his lovely guest, Dr. Mariza Snyder, a functional practitioner and a renowned author of 7 books, the most recent being about one of her absolute favorite subjects – essential oils! Listen and learn about the importance of self-awareness, self-care, and other important recommendations for one to start implementing. Stay tuned for more and don’t forget to share!

Dr. Mariza Snyder

Dr. Mariza Snyder

In this episode, we cover:

04:53    The Luteal Phase

07:14    Estrogen-Dominance

10:29    Adrenals

13:26    Self-Healing Awareness

14:41    Plant-Based Medicine

18:13    Nutritional Compounds

24:11    Gut

25:49    Essential Oil-Wise to Support Luteal Phase

27:27    Perfume Alternatives

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Dr. Justin Marchegiani: Hey there, it's Dr. Justin Marchegiani. Welcome back to the podcast. We have Dr. Mariza Snyder on the show today. Dr. Snyder is a hormone expert and essential oil expert which is great because essential oils can be really helpful and they can really help with the stress response. So we're gonna dive in to the hormones, we're gonna dive in to some things that you can do right now to help kinda push your hormones back in the balance. Dr. Mariza, welcome to the podcast, how you doin'?

Dr. Mariza Snyder: Thank you so much for having me. I am great. So happy to be here.

Dr. Justin Marchegiani: Excellent. Very cool. So, I'm just curious, I was talking to you kinda pre to show. When I was uh, in doctorate school, you are actually right on the way out just a co- couple of quarters before me, so I actually remember you, we were kinda reminisce in a bit. And I wanted to- to- kinda, how did you make your exit on the doctorate chiropractic side into the functional medicine hormone side? What was that journey like for you?

Dr. Mariza Snyder: Absolutely. Well, there even reason why I pivoted the way that I did. So, 4, 15 years when I was little girl, 7 years old, I uhm- I basically had some pretty crazy head traumas, neck traumas, and that led to chronic migraine pain. And I was told, I can't tell you how many times I was told I was gonna live with this pain, and I believed it for so long.

Dr. Justin Marchegiani: Yeah.

Dr. Mariza Snyder: Well, fast forward, I, you know, growing up, I struggled, I missed- I missed slumber parties, I miss school, I missed all the fun things. I remembered as a kid, just thinking, “Man, I missed out so much on life” because I was in pain all the time like, these migraines would light me up for days on end. Just in a dark room with a cold cloth over my head, just praying to go to sleep. So, 24, I- I am a biochemist at elaborate floors of more national laboratory.

Dr. Justin Marchegiani: Oh, wow, yeah.

Dr. Mariza Snyder: And uhm- there was uh- a- a woman there who was- who- was like, “listen, we…”, uh “…I have a doctor who could probably get you out. And uhm, they get you from your- get well from your migraine”. I'll be honest with you, at that point, it been 15 years, and I did not believe any of it. I was like, “I don't know. This is I'm- this is my lot in life, missed thing, I'm- I'm stuck with this. I got my drive this- I'm gonna beat this sucker every single day or every other day. I'm good”. You know, “I'm gonna go and become medical doctor, I'm gonna go prescribe meds, just like I'm taking right now” [chuckles].

Dr. Justin Marchegiani: Yeah.

Dr. Mariza Snyder: It- it's just- it made no sense whatsoever, but when you don't know that there's a different paradigm, you just kinda follow along in suit. Uhm, because the practitioner was uhm- on the way home, I went and so- sought out care, and it was interesting, it was more of a functional practice of- that uh- and I didn't realized what a functional practice was. I didn't even know anything like this existed. I did have chiropractic growi- growing up and, I- unfortunately they weren't able to clear out those migraines, but this practice had. Acupuncture, upper cervical, nutrition-

Dr. Justin Marchegiani: Yeah.

Dr. Mariza Snyder: -the whole gamut of things, and after 90 days, after care, I was migraine free, and it blow my mind. So, that opened up the idea of- of this idea of healing that I'd never even thought of before. Literally switched past like that [snaps finger].This is over a summer. I was heading out to- to medical school, switched past over to-

Dr. Justin Marchegiani: Yeah.

Dr. Mariza Snyder: -chiropractic school, this was the thing. Uhm, and, throughout that process, I was still educating and learning and thinking myself like how- how does the body have the ability to heal. And nutrition became a really big part of my life. So once I got into practice, most of women I was treating uhm- we're dealing with hormone issues, I was also dealing with hormone issues, 'cause- 'cause why not have another health issue at the-

Dr. Justin Marchegiani: Yes.

Dr. Mariza Snyder: after- after this other one.

Dr. Justin Marchegiani: Yeah.

Dr. Mariza Snyder: And I realized that although, uhm, chiropractic could be supportive to some of the things that it was really nutrition and lifestyle and really getting the core root of what was going on with them that was gonna move the needle. So, that became a big part of the practice.

Dr. Justin Marchegiani: That's cool. I remember- if I remember correctly, you were an upper cervical chiro expert, right?

Dr. Mariza Snyder: I was because of the migraines. Yeah?

Dr. Justin Marchegiani: Yeah. And then I'm just curious, how far, like, if we just kinda quantify as a percentage, how far did the upper cervical get you versus the other half where you were incorporating more natural and- and nutritional and supplemental techniques?

Dr. Mariza Snyder: Absolutely. Well- if, you know, it was definitely case by case. Some people like myself-

Dr. Justin Marchegiani: Yeah.

Dr. Mariza Snyder: -had [crosstalk]. And uhm- and it was uh-

Dr. Justin Marchegiani: [Clears throat]

Dr. Mariza Snyder: -things were wrong. There was  misalignments, there were problems, up at c122. So, but then there were other instances where a lot of of women that I was treating had migraine pain because of the-

Dr. Justin Marchegiani: Hormones?

Dr. Mariza Snyder: Yes. Hormones. Luteal phase-

Dr. Justin Marchegiani: Inflammation…

Dr. Mariza Snyder: -just drop of progesterone-

Dr. Justin Marchegiani: Yeah.

Dr. Mariza Snyder: -and estrogen, and that was more of a lifestyle, nutritional, supplementation aspects. So, I would say the pain on a person, it they was hormone-driven, uhm, maybe 25%, uh 20% chiropractic, but really, I wasn't making the changes until we stepped in to the nutrition and supplements and lifestyle.

Dr. Justin Marchegiani: Okay, got it. So, you're kind of- it- the more on the physical stressor sides, the chiropractic so to help more of the alignment and- and the- the nervous system communication on the hormone side, we gotta make changes above and beyond. That totally makes sense. Now, you kinda went to an area that I love. You talked about the luteal phase. Can we just kinda- walk the average listener through what a typical cycle looks like. Follicular, lutial, and- and can you describe that physiology 101 for the listeners?

Dr. Mariza Snyder: Sure thing. So, if you're still having a menstrual cycle, right? Which happens between like, I don't know, ages 11 to 13 or so, all the way until where, well, until menopause. And menopause is defined as the disease of a menstrual cycle for about a year.

Dr. Justin Marchegiani: Mm-hmm.

Dr. Mariza Snyder: It's usually when- unusually the lle- the- the- the roller coaster where we're really feeling it, is in perimenopause, right? That's when things really began to change. Well, basically- in the follicular phase, we've got the increase of estrogen levels, right? That kind of peaks at ovulation and then-

Dr. Justin Marchegiani: Yeah.

Dr. Mariza Snyder: -starts to dip and go down. At that point in the luteal phase, you step into luteal phase, our progesterone levels begin to go up. Also, in the follicular phase, we got testosterone levels goin' up too-

Dr. Justin Marchegiani: Yeah.

Dr. Mariza Snyder: -naturally, but then everything starts to drop towards the end of luteal phase.

Dr. Justin Marchegiani: Right.

Dr. Mariza Snyder: And the pin on how fast those hormones are plummeting, really, dicta- reay kind of dictates P- PMS, right? The- the- that pre-menstrual cycle-

Dr. Justin Marchegiani: Yeah.

Dr. Mariza Snyder: -is removing out of that. And so what I find that with women, if indeed we have a really sharp decline, or maybe they didn't even necessarily have a big increase in progesterone to begin with, we're gonna see things like migraines, we're gonna see things like bloating, uhm, mood swings, a lot of those symptoms that we see around PMS. So that's basically the physiology. And the only reason why we even get an increase in progesterone is if we actually ovulate. And-

Dr. Justin Marchegiani: Yes.

Dr. Mariza Snyder: -for some women, sometimes that isn't even the case as well. So it's really important to kind of- to look at all those things, to run tests. My favorite tests for looking in hormones is the DUTCH test.

Dr. Justin Marchegiani: Yeah.

Dr. Mariza Snyder: I usually recommend it during the luteal phase.

Dr. Justin Marchegiani: Okay, cool. So, you run 'em like a DUTCH Complete like arr- around day 19 to 22-ish?

Dr. Mariza Snyder: Things that like.

Dr. Justin Marchegiani: Kind of get that peak? And then do you run the- the month-long panels at all?

Dr. Mariza Snyder: I- I have not in the past.

Dr. Justin Marchegiani: Okay.

Dr. Mariza Snyder: But, I know how important those can be. Yes. And I usually- when I was testing, it was ever- I would do- I would test every quarter.

Dr. Justin Marchegiani: Yeah. Okay. Yeah, I mean I'll typically run the month-long one, if there was more of a fertility case, but then, uhm- I'll do a lot of a- you know, the snapshot in that- in that peak of a luteal phase, and I can't tell you, I think uhm, you said it just right. I see so many women these days that are coming in with either mass- massive luteal phase defects where that luteal phase is just shortened or that progesterone's just dropped out significantly, you know? Instead of 15 to 20 or so on that DUTCH test, they're- they're less than 5, even- and that's really concerning. And then, that can approach these women into uh- maybe a- an estrogen-dominant situation. Can you describe what that is?

Dr. Mariza Snyder: Absolutely. So, estrogen- so- the- that's really that you asked. Couple things about estrogen-dominance, we- you know, I get so many questions around this, you- you can actually have low estrogen and still be estrogen-dominant.

Dr. Justin Marchegiani: Yes.

Dr. Mariza Snyder: So it's really the relationship between estrogen and progesterone. And so often, given what we're exposed to every single day, given our stress levels, so, not only lifestyle but also environmental, we still find that women tend to have more estrogen in the system than progesterone. And there are multiple factors, right? Progesterone could be stalling from our cortisol lab- you know, cortisol, the progesterone's still. So we have- there's a multiple facets but what we're finding in a lot of women is that, just- just by the sheer fact of life that we're living, estrogen's gonna be- estradiol is gonna be higher than normal compared to progesterone. And, there's a lot of thing that we can do about that for sure. And we can definitely get into that.

Dr. Justin Marchegiani: Yes. Yeah, very cool. And I'm even seeing a lot of women too that are at low progesterone but also low estrogen. Are you noticing that at all, too?

Dr. Mariza Snyder: Uh, that's been me.

Dr. Justin Marchegiani: Oh.

Dr. Mariza Snyder: [Laughs]

Dr. Justin Marchegiani: And that's just the hormone that just so depleted, right? Just-

Dr. Mariza Snyder: They're so depleted. Yes. They're absolutely depleted. And that has a lot to do with- I mean I- I find so often with women that it's- a l- has a lot to do with the stress that that we're living.

Dr. Justin Marchegiani: Yes.

Dr. Mariza Snyder: You know, that's very much like the key indicator, we just- we start burning out uhm- all of our hormones that we stopped creating the process where making them in a sufficient manner.

Dr. Justin Marchegiani: Very cool. I wanna highlight what mechanism because you know, you are upper cervical chiropractic specialist and we talked about chiropractic on the headaches side, and part of that can happen is, if there's stress and inflammation in the spine by misalignment of poor movement, that's gonna stimulate a lot cortisol to help with the inflammation. And we know, just for the listeners, cortisol pulls from progesterone, you mentioned that. So, when we get rid of the inflammation and we help the- the alignment and brain communicate better with the spine, that can decrease that progesterone still 'cause we're not pulling from the cortisol as much. Is that sound right?

Dr. Mariza Snyder: It does. I mean, you also have to- I always tell people, you can't chiropractic a green smoothie your way out of chronic stress.

Dr. Justin Marchegiani: Yup.

Dr. Mariza Snyder: ‘Cause it's, how you perceive the environment. If you're continuing to create an environment, you know, I was talking about women being Rushy- having Ru- Rushing Woman's Syndrome.

Dr. Justin Marchegiani: Yeah.

Dr. Mariza Snyder: If you are raising from one thing to the next, you're gonna constantly being in a situation, this not- not medical terms, but I call it the Clutch the Pearls syndrome.

Dr. Justin Marchegiani: Yeah.

Dr. Mariza Snyder: Where you're constantly clutching the pearl. [Chuckles]

Dr. Justin Marchegiani: Exactly.

Dr. Mariza Snyder: So, if you're constantly in that state, the- there's gonna be no doctor that I know that there's an- and there's no supplement.

Dr. Justin Marchegiani: Yeah.

Dr. Mariza Snyder: There's no green smoothies, there's no nothing that's really gonna-

Dr. Justin Marchegiani: Yeah.

Dr. Mariza Snyder: -get our body back on track until we change the way that we are behaving at- in accordance to our environment.

Dr. Justin Marchegiani: Totally. That's why a good functional medicine doctor, they're gonna investigate the physical stressors. They're gonna investigate the chemical stressors, that could be like you mentioned, the- the chronic stress state, the sleep, the poor food, the inflammatory food, the infections. The hormones maybe coming from the environment from food and pesticides, a d glyphosate, that totally make sense. And you mentioned the DUTCH testing. And that's interesting because a lot of people I find at least more on the medical side I- I find it, they look at the hormones like the female hormones, the male hormones but, a lot of times they missed the adrenal hormone components. And what's- what- [crosstalk]… yeah- yeah. Can you talk a little bit more about how the adrenals and why they're so important to f- healthy female hormone function?

Dr. Mariza Snyder: Absolutely. So I- you know, I- you know, we necessarily see, you know, I was thinking about the- adrenals being the receivers of information. You know, they- they have a very important job, and that is to ensure, that is to listen to what the brain says, and you always talk about the Hypothalamic–pituitary–[adrenal] axis.

Dr. Justin Marchegiani: Yup.

Dr. Mariza Snyder: Right, that relationship between-

Dr. Justin Marchegiani: Yeah.

Dr. Mariza Snyder: -what we're receiving, the HDA access-

Dr. Justin Marchegiani: Yup.

Dr. Mariza Snyder: And- and that real- that information that's related to the adrenals. And I- you know, I always talk about menopause and perimenopause being more of a stress condition than it is more of a hormone condition.

Dr. Justin Marchegiani: Mm-hmm.

Dr. Mariza Snyder: Uhm because of our- if our- if our adrenals aren't supporting that, if our- if our chronic stressors are under-

Dr. Justin Marchegiani: Yeah.

Dr. Mariza Snyder: -chronic stress under control, we're going to throw those hormones out because it's all interconnected.

Dr. Justin Marchegiani: Yes.

Dr. Mariza Snyder: And at the end of the day, Dr. Justin and you know this more than I do, uhm, is that we are hard wired for survival.

Dr. Justin Marchegiani: Yes.

Dr. Mariza Snyder: That- okay you had 2 jobs biologically that we're supposed to do. 1, survive-

Dr. Justin Marchegiani: Yup.

Dr. Mariza Snyder: -and 2, pass down genes.

Dr. Justin Marchegiani: Yes.

Dr. Mariza Snyder: So, reproduce, right? So kinda new- a new baby coming on the way, right?

Dr. Justin Marchegiani: Yeah.

Dr. Mariza Snyder: And then when they have babies, well then you are an evolutionary success. So, our bodies, that's the purpose. Now, hard-wiring towards survival means that we have to give up a lot of other thing. Our digestive system, our reproductive system takes a hit. You are a great thyroid expert, you know that a thyroid definitely over compensates for what's going on as well.

Dr. Justin Marchegiani: Yes.

Dr. Mariza Snyder: Uhm, but I wouldn't necessarily see- I mean, and yes, you can definitely create adrenal fatigue over time. But you-

Dr. Justin Marchegiani: Mm-hmm.

Dr. Mariza Snyder: -think- take the wild for the adrenals to finally-

Dr. Justin Marchegiani: Yeah.

Dr. Mariza Snyder: -say, “Enough is enough!”.

Dr. Justin Marchegiani: Yes.

Dr. Mariza Snyder: -“…I cannot take this anymore”, but I find that where we really gotta focus our efforts, is right here in the limbic system.

Dr. Justin Marchegiani: Mm-hmm.

Dr. Mariza Snyder: Uhm, that's where we need to change the che- the chemical conversation. Because if that HPA access is continuing to up-regulate every single day-

Dr. Justin Marchegiani: Yeah.

Dr. Mariza Snyder: Well, the adrenals are just like, “Dude, I'm just doing my job”.

Dr. Justin Marchegiani: Right.

Dr. Mariza Snyder: “…I just gotta- I gotta release this adrenal- this adrenaline, I gotta release this cortisol”-

Dr. Justin Marchegiani: Yes.

Dr. Mariza Snyder: -“…that's my job, until one day, I am like, ‘I can't do my job anymore. I can't handle it'”. So, I would say that really, I always wanna work on the HPA access first-

Dr. Justin Marchegiani: Yeah.

Dr. Mariza Snyder: -before I'd even begin to look actually at adrenal health. So, often I see that women have an up point of cortisol, maybe DHA is dysregulated, but the adrenals are still high functioning-

Dr. Justin Marchegiani: Yup.

Dr. Mariza Snyder: -still a while. Uh, so, that I usually wanna get to that root first which is I find right here.

Dr. Justin Marchegiani: Yeah. Very interesting. And it- it- it could be just semantics. I'll look at the HPA access is like the person in the old horse and buggy that- that's- that's whipping a thyroid horse. The thyroid horse-

Dr. Mariza Snyder: Yes.

Dr. Justin Marchegiani: -[crosstalk] the adrenals, or the ovaries, so yeah, make sense-

Dr. Mariza Snyder: [Crosstalk]

Dr. Justin Marchegiani: …yeah, or the thyroid, or you can even go and- and-

Dr. Mariza Snyder: Or your gut, or your poor darn liver.

Dr. Justin Marchegiani: Yeah.

Dr. Mariza Snyder: Our liver is just like, “I can't pour out enough glycogen, like I…”, you know, that's where we get diabetes. We're getting-

Dr. Justin Marchegiani: 100%. So, you're talking about really getting the communication and these feedback loops dialed back in, can we just go into some strategies, what are things that you are doing with the patients so that people are, you know, reading your work, what are the top 3 things and- and- and if you wanna qualify them with certain situations, that'd be helpful too.

Dr. Mariza Snyder: Absolutely. So, you know, we're talking about kind of that- err- I think that first of all we just talk about the unexpected uhm, unexpected solution to health and radical self healing is awareness. You know, if you are not aware that you're putting crap into your body, it's really difficult to make those changes.

Dr. Justin Marchegiani: Yes.

Dr. Mariza Snyder: If you're not aware that you've had a gluten intolerance, you're gonna probably still consume- eat glut- eat-

Dr. Justin Marchegiani: Yes.

Dr. Mariza Snyder: -gluten, right?

Dr. Justin Marchegiani: Yup.

Dr. Mariza Snyder: And if you're not aware that you are running from one thing to the next, and that you're living in a high stress situation, you're just gonna keep doing what you're doing. So, I think the first step really is self-awareness. Recognizing that something is not right. And I know-

Dr. Justin Marchegiani: Right.

Dr. Mariza Snyder: -for me, I thought I could green smoothie my way out of chronic stress-

Dr. Justin Marchegiani: Yeah.

Dr. Mariza Snyder: I also gonna get chiropractic my way out of chronic stress.

Dr. Justin Marchegiani: Yup.

Dr. Mariza Snyder: And it didn't work. I had to figure out that I kept- I had this operating system, this feedback loop that was firing-

Dr. Justin Marchegiani: Yeah.

Dr. Mariza Snyder: -whether or not I knew it or not. So-

Dr. Justin Marchegiani: Yep.

Dr. Mariza Snyder: -I think some of the most important things is 1, we definitely live in a time of isolation. I'm so grateful for this technology that you and I-

Dr. Justin Marchegiani: Yeah.

Dr. Mariza Snyder: -could be talking right here.

Dr. Justin Marchegiani: Mm-hmm.

Dr. Mariza Snyder: What would be even better is if we were right together, right?

Dr. Justin Marchegiani: Yes, totally.

Dr. Mariza Snyder: So, uh, having friends on speed dial, having people and family in your life that you can give hugs to, that you can- you can, you know, connect with, kind of boost that oxytocin level that dose that cuddle hormone-

Dr. Justin Marchegiani: Yeah.

Dr. Mariza Snyder: Just being connected with people is number 1. Number 2, I love the power of plant-based medicine, so-

Dr. Justin Marchegiani: Mm-hmm.

Dr. Mariza Snyder: -I love essential oils-

Dr. Justin Marchegiani: Mm-hmm.

Dr. Mariza Snyder: I think havin' a tool, like a little oil like this-

Dr. Justin Marchegiani: Yeah.

Dr. Mariza Snyder: Uhm, Bergamot and Lavender, we know-

Dr. Justin Marchegiani: Uh-huh.

Dr. Mariza Snyder: -research, time and time again, to lower serum cortisol levels, lower blood pressure and lower pulse point, but most importantly, they disrupt the cycle, from sympathetic to parasympathetic in that HPA access.

Dr. Justin Marchegiani: Okay.

Dr. Mariza Snyder: And I wanna disrupt the cycle.

Dr. Justin Marchegiani: Yeah.

Dr. Mariza Snyder: I wanna get 'em to habit. So not only does the chemistry by breathing the oils in-

Dr. Justin Marchegiani: Yeah.

Dr. Mariza Snyder: -go to the limbic brain- limbic brain to disrupt the cycle. But the intention of you-

Dr. Justin Marchegiani: Yeah.

Dr. Mariza Snyder: Rubbing that oil, makin' a decision like-

Dr. Justin Marchegiani: Yeah.

Dr. Mariza Snyder: -“Hey, I feel…”-

Dr. Justin Marchegiani: Be aware.

Dr. Mariza Snyder: -“…like I'm having a moment”, yes.

Dr. Justin Marchegiani: You're aware.

Dr. Mariza Snyder: And that begins to change the cycle as well.

Dr. Justin Marchegiani: Very cool.

Dr. Mariza Snyder: I'll do thing- Yeah?

Dr. Justin Marchegiani: Go on. Go ahead.

Dr. Mariza Snyder: Oh, I got some other things. Uhm, I do love adaptogenic herbs-

Dr. Justin Marchegiani: Mm-hmm.

Dr. Mariza Snyder: I do love Ashwagandha, I love Rhodiola, I- I love Holy Basil, any of them- all of them, it depends on that- I think you- I think testing is important to kinda understand-

Dr. Justin Marchegiani: Mm-hmm.

Dr. Mariza Snyder: -what's going on. They do love those adaptogenic herbs, 'cause they also work on the limbic brain in the HPA access.

Dr. Justin Marchegiani: Yup.

Dr. Mariza Snyder: I also think food plays a big role. I know I did say that you can't bring some the- you're out of chronic stress, but man, those important nutrients-

Dr. Justin Marchegiani: Yeah.

Dr. Mariza Snyder: -can really help support the body if indeed you're just in scenario right now where you're like, “You know what Dr. Mariza and Dr. Justin, I hear you, but right now I'm- I have to live in this emergency state for a little bit”. You know-

Dr. Justin Marchegiani: Yup.

Dr. Mariza Snyder: -life dictates that for me. So those are some of the big things that I normally recommend for people than breathing, exercise, yoga, just pausing for a moment throughout the day, just that self-awareness, and then, self-care. I think self-care is the game changer. Uhm, so those will be some of the lifestyle techniques that I- I always recommend to women to start implementing. If they're looking to start with that root thing, that HPA access, so that we can start to change the conversation that's happening inside of the body.

Dr. Justin Marchegiani: Interesting. And that, when you're looking at people, and let's say you're giving essential oils that are proven to lower cortisol, right?

Dr. Mariza Snyder: Mm-hmm.

Dr. Justin Marchegiani: Are- are- are you concerned if someone already has lower cortisol, or are you gonna be using other adaptogens that may, you know, have an up and down kind of bump in the direction. So, how are you evaluating that when you're making specific recommendations?

Dr. Mariza Snyder: Absolutely, so yes. Could we have a situation where someone has significantly like at that point they de-regulate cortisol levels to so- such a degree-

Dr. Justin Marchegiani: Yeah.

Dr. Mariza Snyder: -that they have- now they have lower cortisol levels? Yes. And so- and those ins- instances, I'm now looking more at and clearly, there are essential oils you can help boost cortisol, things like Rosemary, peppermint and citrus oils. So, we're looking at a different response, and then yes, looking at different adaptogenic herbs to make those changes, that kinda- to heal the body's- when we get you-

Dr. Justin Marchegiani: Yeah.

Dr. Mariza Snyder: -to the base line, but also making those lifestyle changes as well. I mean, if in-

Dr. Justin Marchegiani: Yeah.

Dr. Mariza Snyder: -deed, just grab in an oil just to have that moment for your-

Dr. Justin Marchegiani: Yeah.

Dr. Mariza Snyder: -self. Uhm, I think- but that's- it's- that is important, it's nice-

Dr. Justin Marchegiani: Yup.

Dr. Mariza Snyder: Uh, especially they having a hard time going to sleep at night, uhm-

Dr. Justin Marchegiani: Mm-hmm.

Dr. Mariza Snyder: -but yeah, I mean, I think that the areas- I mean in- in all instances, everything is case by case.

Dr. Justin Marchegiani: Interesting. Is there any herb that you recommend that you feel just a really good multi-task, or where your cortisol could be low, and may give you a little pick me up, and it could also be a little bit high and you could be stressed that can kind of bring you down. Is there anything in that category?

Dr. Mariza Snyder: I think Rhodiolas would your- your go tea there. I like it the most, I feel like it- it really- and not only have support mitochondrial function, which-

Dr. Justin Marchegiani: Yeah.

Dr. Mariza Snyder: -I love, uhm, but it also can meet you both ways. I think more than Ashwagandha, uh, Rhodiola really is one of those adaptogenic herbs that will kinda give you what you need.

Dr. Justin Marchegiani: Okay, cool. I wanna go a little bit- I'm gonna go a little bit deeper here. Can we talk about some of the nutritional compounds that are in these herbs? Are you aware of some of the- uh you- we talked about the adaptogenic components, other nutritional compounds that we're also getting from some of these essential oils that are helping us, as well? Kinda like vitamins and minerals or polyphenols, what's happening there?

Dr. Mariza Snyder: Yes, essential oils aren't nutrition. Uhm, some of them can definitely have antioxidant benefit especially like citrus oils-

Dr. Justin Marchegiani: ‘Kay.

Dr. Mariza Snyder: -but I don't necessarily consider them nutrition-

Dr. Justin Marchegiani: Okay.

Dr. Mariza Snyder: -I'm so much as like consider them as being- uhm, it's powerful- kind of- uh, organic chemistry, right? Uhm-

Dr. Justin Marchegiani: Yeah.

Dr. Mariza Snyder: -really can work in the body and aid in the body. So, nutritionally, I usually still lend to a p- uh- plant-based nutrition or supplementation. You have someone is-

Dr. Justin Marchegiani: Yeah.

Dr. Mariza Snyder: -deficient in magnesium, well, we gonna get them with some magnesium.

Dr. Justin Marchegiani: Yes.

Dr. Mariza Snyder: And B-Vitamins then activated B-Vitamins are gonna be what I recommend. But usually when I use essential oils for most importantly, is cre- is- is- is to bridge the gap for the lifestyle changes that we know we should be doing, we just aren't doing. So, for instant, if we are going to- if we're having a hard time going to bed every single night-

Dr. Justin Marchegiani: Mm-hmm.

Dr. Mariza Snyder: -because, we cannot shut up brain, or-

Dr. Justin Marchegiani: Totally.

Dr. Mariza Snyder: We- we just- we just prefer to work instead. Whatever that maybe, you're in your, you know, you're in your phone, you're on your iPad, or whatever that maybe, like I was just in the phone with my grandma today, one of my- I go look on both my grandmas for- for different reasons, but-

Dr. Justin Marchegiani: Mm-hmm, mm-hmm.

Dr. Mariza Snyder: – my uhm- my little Mexican grandma, my mother's mother, she- I was- I called her and my grandma is like, “You know, everytime- every night before we go to bed, I just watch you. I watch you before I go to bed”, and I'm just like, “Okay”. I'm like, “Well, do you learn anything from me?”, and she's like, “Yeah, I don't know at all”, you know, she's [laughs]. I think, “Grandma, you shouldn't be on your iPad before bed”. Look [laughs]-

Dr. Justin Marchegiani: Totally, totally.

Dr. Mariza Snyder: Just killing her- anyway, it's just a really funny moment, but I think so many people like my grandma where they're on, YouTube or they're on- I don't-

Dr. Justin Marchegiani: Yeah.

Dr. Mariza Snyder: -even know where she's watching, we have no idea. Uhm, but, having a ritual where you're utilizing the essential oils, like the process of Lavender, Bergamot, Cedar Wood-

Dr. Justin Marchegiani: Yeah.

Dr. Mariza Snyder: -clary sage, whatever those oils are, getting into the habit of creating this behavior, but also knowing that that chemistry is helping to really calm down the brain as well 'cause they're all very common essential oils. So that's kinda how I love to leverage them. How can we use them to set a- set a mo- uh, evening ritual where you're calming down the brain and going to bed. How do you use them to go to the gym every single day? Like, I love peppermint and wild oranges, an instant energizer body. How do you use them for productivity and- and energy and alertness, and working memory. Right, a combination of peppermint-

Dr. Justin Marchegiani: Yeah.

Dr. Mariza Snyder: -Rosemary and Frankincense, that's gonna do that for you. So I think when it comes to these lifestyle changes, the self-care, if we have these oils that can punctuate how we live our life, that's how I love to use them in aiding in the- in the daily decisions that we make, either, hopefully you start your day with great decisions that lead to more great decisions, and you'e leveraging that chemistry to just have a really great experience.

Dr. Justin Marchegiani: Very cool. Is there anything you used synergistically outside of diet and lifestyle? Are there any of nutrients that you will use supplementally synergize with essential oil? Uh- I'm just kinda throw it out there, maybe like magnesium and lavender, or something like that, is there anything you seen clinically?

Dr. Mariza Snyder: Yeah. Uhm- gosh, that's a good question. You know what, I- I- no, and clinic- clinically, yes, I guess maybe case by case for me-

Dr. Justin Marchegiani: Mm-hmm.

Dr. Mariza Snyder:-I don't know if there's a lot of research where we're seeing a lot of the combinations of herb-herbs, and, I mean oils, or s- or vitamins and minerals and oils. Uhm, we- I- what I do know is that yeah, like when you're heading to bed at night, let's say it's lavender, and maybe you're using something like melatonin or maybe-

Dr. Justin Marchegiani: Yes.

Dr. Mariza Snyder: -something like uhm, eating cream rose, I think-

Dr. Justin Marchegiani: Yeah.

Dr. Mariza Snyder: -that those have a really profound impact. UHm, let's say that you are using uhm, like- like, I recommend a lo- I recommend turmeric, I recommend omegas, I recommend uhm, something for cognitive function in particular but I also know that rose mary, the chemical constituent rose mary which is 1/8 ___[22:06]-

Dr. Justin Marchegiani: Yup.

Dr. Mariza Snyder: -actually helps to increase acetylcholine in the brain. And so [crosstalk] as well. Yeah. So, pair as well as, I think important supplements that can help um, boost brain function. But just breathing in rose mary will inc- will literally increase working memory by 75%.

Dr. Justin Marchegiani: Awesome.

Dr. Mariza Snyder: Right there in there, without taking omegas. But you should be taking omegas anyway. DHEA, so- so just- err- uh- DHEA- DH- err- gosh I'm having a- anyway, the point is this, when you're taking-

Dr. Justin Marchegiani: Yeah.

Dr. Mariza Snyder: -those omegas, you're boosting memory and- and brain function. So, I- I guess in a sense, I'm usually telling people to be consistent with them, uhm, so that you're getting the response that you want, but I also- I'm recommending supplements, so it feel like when it's- we're coming to long ___[22:47], and-

Dr. Justin Marchegiani: Yup.

Dr. Mariza Snyder: -really changing those biological processes, then we have that in place as well.

Dr. Justin Marchegiani: Okay, very cool. Alright, I got some rapid fire questions here. I'm putting you on the spot, you ready?

Dr. Mariza Snyder: Alright. Yeah.

Dr. Justin Marchegiani: Alright, you already said 1, I- I'l answer it for you. Memory, your favorite essential oil sounded like it was Rose Mary-

Dr. Mariza Snyder: Rose Mary, yes.

Dr. Justin Marchegiani: Okay. Good. Anxiety, favorite?

Dr. Mariza Snyder: Anxiety. Uhm, lavender, lavender and vetiver.

Dr. Justin Marchegiani: Good. Depression?

Dr. Mariza Snyder: Depression. Oh my goodness. Uhm, frankincense, Meliss- I- I'm giving you another one. Frankincense, Melissa and citrus oils.

Dr. Justin Marchegiani: Excellent. Uh, pain in the joint?

Dr. Mariza Snyder: Wo- I would say well, camphor is really what I'm looking for, but camphor can be found in winter green, uhm-

Dr. Justin Marchegiani: Yup.

Dr. Mariza Snyder: -I also love copaiba, uhm, for-

Dr. Justin Marchegiani: Mm-hmm.

Dr. Mariza Snyder: -it's connection with the uhm- the- oh my gosh, the- kind of work similar to CBD so it connects with the CBD receptors it's CBD-

Dr. Justin Marchegiani: Yes.

Dr. Mariza Snyder: -receptors in the body-

Dr. Justin Marchegiani: I know what you're talking about, the- the- that endocannabinoids system, that-

Dr. Mariza Snyder: Yes.

Dr. Justin Marchegiani: -makes sense.

Dr. Mariza Snyder: Yes. exactly.

Dr. Justin Marchegiani: What about brain fog?

Dr. Mariza Snyder: Uh, brain fog. So, I love Rosemary. Rosemary, peppermint, frankincense, same kind of concept there.

Dr. Justin Marchegiani: Good. How about something like an ear infection?

Dr. Mariza Snyder: Uh, ear infection. So, I love Tea Tree Oil. So, Tea Tree Oil is a great antiseptic, antibacterial, but le- so my go tea for- for an ear infections is Tea Tree, Basil and lavender around the ear, diluted at around 25% dilution.

Dr. Justin Marchegiani: Okay. And is there any other uhm, chronic issues or situations that you get asked a lot, that I didn't mentioned yet?

Dr. Mariza Snyder: Gut-

Dr. Justin Marchegiani: Oh!

Dr. Mariza Snyder: -all day, everyday.

Dr. Justin Marchegiani: Woah.

Dr. Mariza Snyder: [Laughs]

Dr. Justin Marchegiani: [Laughs]

Dr. Mariza Snyder: Right? So- uhm, so in- you know what, gut is- it's a whole nother conversation, and it's- it's- it's- it's actually a hundred different conversations.

Dr. Justin Marchegiani: Totally.

Dr. Mariza Snyder: So, let's say you are having an acute gut issue, maybe you decided to eat pizza on a friday night and you knew better, and you didn't-

Dr. Justin Marchegiani: Yeah.

Dr. Mariza Snyder: -take your enzymes or, you took- you didn't take- you took your enzymes but still it didn't matter-

Dr. Justin Marchegiani: Yes.

Dr. Mariza Snyder: -because you have gluten and- uhm, and dairy sensitivities. Uhm, so I love a blend- it's a blend- it's a combination of phenyl, peppermint and ginger.

Dr. Justin Marchegiani: Oh. Yeah?

Dr. Mariza Snyder: And I'm not saying that those oils are gonna cure what's going on there, but at least it's gonna lessen the acute symptoms.

Dr. Justin Marchegiani: Yup.

Dr. Mariza Snyder: -and that's happening inside of the gut. And so, I just make up a du- a little roller like this, 10 to 15 drops of each.

Dr. Justin Marchegiani: Yeah.

Dr. Mariza Snyder: …over the stomach, and those 3 oils have been researched, particularly because of the herbs, the chemical constituents in those oils have been really, calm down things like bloating, constipation, diarrhea, and- and just in pain in the gut that could be happening in a small-

Dr. Justin Marchegiani: Yeah.

Dr. Mariza Snyder: -and large intestine.

Dr. Justin Marchegiani: Yeah, and a lot of those oils too, stimulate uhm, acid production, enzyme production naturally as well. So, you're- you're kinda get in the body to pinch in help as well?

Dr. Mariza Snyder: Yeah, and peristalsis as well. So removing-

Dr. Justin Marchegiani: Yeah.

Dr. Mariza Snyder: -through, yeah. And, another one, I mean, I traded migraines and headaches for so many years.

Dr. Justin Marchegiani: Yup.

Dr. Mariza Snyder: I do love, uhm, a combination of lavender, peppermint and frankincense, that's kind of my power combo-

Dr. Justin Marchegiani: Mm-hmm.

Dr. Mariza Snyder: Again, in a roller, 10 to 15 drops of each, uh- you know, for me, it's- it's- if you can catch that migraine on time, it's always cervicogenic for so many people.

Dr. Justin Marchegiani: Yup.

Dr. Mariza Snyder: -so always start back here, uhm, and just get those oils on, you know, every 30 minutes, uh, so that you- maybe- so that, that's the option instead of uh- a non -steroidal anti-inflammatory.

Dr. Justin Marchegiani: That's great. And you mentioned earlier, we talked about luteal phase defect and our low progesterone in that last half of the cycle, is there anything essential oil-wise that you do to help support that luteal phase, that low progesterone/ PMS, hormonal environment?

Dr. Mariza Snyder: Absolutely. So, there, my gotu oil I called the “Beyonce” of hormonal oils-

Dr. Justin Marchegiani: [Laughs]

Dr. Mariza Snyder: [Crosstalk]. I have a blend, it's called my superwoman blend, and it's-

Dr. Justin Marchegiani: Mm-hmm.

Dr. Mariza Snyder: -actually what this is right here. This is what I've been holding up all day.

Dr. Justin Marchegiani: Oh, cool.

Dr. Mariza Snyder: And they're designed for- yeah, it's kinds luteal defect, helping to boost progesterone levels. So, the 2 gotu oils for boosting progesterone levels are gonna be, uh, clary sage and thyme. Now, thyme, not the sexiest smell in the world, but you can-

Dr. Justin Marchegiani: Right.

Dr. Mariza Snyder: -definitely make up a blend like that-

Dr. Justin Marchegiani: Yeah.

Dr. Mariza Snyder: -on the bottom of the feet or right over the ovaries. This one doesn't have thyme, but it has geranium which can also do that. What I also love about geranium is- it helps the liver in the de- in the pa- phase 1 and phase 2  of the detoxification-

Dr. Justin Marchegiani: Yeah.

Dr. Mariza Snyder: -pathway, it helps to breakdown uhm estrogen metabolites. So I do love geranium for that. So, this is 12 drops of clary sage, 10 drops of lavender, 5 drops of geranium, 5 drops-

Dr. Justin Marchegiani: Ah.

Dr. Mariza Snyder: -cedar wood, it's a- it's a blend; and 4 drops of lengling, and so, applyin' it over the ovaries or right here, 'cause remember-

Dr. Justin Marchegiani: Yeah.

Dr. Mariza Snyder: -oils definitely goes straight into the bloodstream.

Dr. Justin Marchegiani: Exactly.

Dr. Mariza Snyder: Right here in the wrist, I love it on my neck as well, uhm, and just a couple times a day, uhm, it's also great for mood support and it's great for cravings and energy. So, it's kind of a multi-faceted essential oil, but I have women using it for period, their periods and PMS all the time, all over the country and all over the world, and with great success. So I love this one.

Dr. Justin Marchegiani: Very cool. Very cool.

Dr. Mariza Snyder: Yeah.

Dr. Justin Marchegiani: Now, one of my biggest pet peeves, just 'cause this could be a hormonal stressor as well, and it just drives me crazy, is when people have- when guys either have like a strong, uhm, cologne, or womens have a s- have a strong perfume on, what can be an essential oil alternative, you know, for- for a woman or for man, that can kinda still give 'em that- that smell that they want but it wouldn't be non-toxic and drive people crazy?

Dr. Mariza Snyder: Oh, silly. I have a lot of perfume blends. If I, you know- it depends on the person. The-

Dr. Justin Marchegiani: Yeah.

Dr. Mariza Snyder: -Superwoman blend for women, a lot of women wear as perfume-

Dr. Justin Marchegiani: Great.

Dr. Mariza Snyder: -'cause it smells great, and who doesn't want side-benefits, right?

Dr. Justin Marchegiani: Yes. Yeah.

Dr. Mariza Snyder: That's what I love. But with guys- so, you think about most colognes, but ___[28:04] is vetiver, and-

Dr. Justin Marchegiani: Yup.

Dr. Mariza Snyder: Vetiver is a powerful neurological essential oil.

Dr. Justin Marchegiani: Yes.

Dr. Mariza Snyder: And fortunately, you're getting a synthetic virginning cologne, and so- uh- you know, uh- vetiver, citruses, myrrh's, frankincense, sandalwoods, those are all oils that are used in colognes. I don't have a very specific male cologne recipe  in my ha- in my head right now, but I- there's a lot of them out there.

Dr. Justin Marchegiani: Yeah.

Dr. Mariza Snyder: And a lot of guys use them. My husband made up his own thing-

Dr. Justin Marchegiani: Yeah.

Dr. Mariza Snyder: -I have no idea what's in that blend. But he does his thing, and then for me, I'm obsessed-

Dr. Justin Marchegiani: Yeah.

Dr. Mariza Snyder: -with jasmine and rose. So, I wear a combination of jasmine and rose. Jasmine, what's- what's really interesting, is that jasmine's been researched to help women overcome postmortem depression. Uhm, it's also a libido booster-

Dr. Justin Marchegiani: Okay, cool.

Dr. Mariza Snyder: -and then rose is just a really powerful, beautiful essential oil so, I- that combo is just so beautiful to me, my husband loves it. Jasmine's intoxicating. And so, a lot of women really grabbed a taste towards jasmine, yeah.

Dr. Justin Marchegiani: Very cool. Now-

Dr. Mariza Snyder: Yes.

Dr. Justin Marchegiani: -do you manufacture your own essential oils or do you have certain lines out there that you like or you think are really high quality?

Dr. Mariza Snyder: I think- you know, I think when it comes to the “I do not manufacture”-

Dr. Justin Marchegiani: Mm-hmm.

Dr. Mariza Snyder: -oh my goodness, the- the- the- the amount of effort and time and research that goes-

Dr. Justin Marchegiani: Totally.

Dr. Mariza Snyder: -into the oils is just- just- profound. Uhm, I- when I always is when you're researching the company, and I do have a company that I prefer, but make sure that that company, they- they tell you where they're sourcing their oils. Where are these oils coming from?

Dr. Justin Marchegiani: Hmm.

Dr. Mariza Snyder: Each and everyone of those oils that I mentioned a minute ago, and that superwoman blend, come from a different country-

Dr. Justin Marchegiani: Okay.

Dr. Mariza Snyder: -all over the world. And, different, very small batch growers are growing those in- in a very, you know, in an organi type of setting. Then, once those oils are produced and harvest in a sustainable way, I wanna know how they're tested. Do they use gas chromatography, are they using spectroscopy, are they using chirality testing, are they using microbial testing, how are they testing these oils, and, as third party uh- laboratory should be testing the oils to really guarantee their efficacy, and if it's a really great company, they will be a lot number on that label, where you can pull up the testing of that batch. So-

Dr. Justin Marchegiani: Oh, very cool.

Dr. Mariza Snyder: -that's what I'm looking for when I'm looking for oils. Because if you're trying to use these re- ther- therapy to benefit, well then you just don't wanna put crap on your body.

Dr. Justin Marchegiani: Got it. Is there any s- is there any specific essential oil companies that you know of that- that meet those standards you just mentioned?

Dr. Mariza Snyder: Yes, there are couple. My gotu favorite is Doterra. I'm a big fan of-

Dr. Justin Marchegiani: Okay, Doterra, cool.

Dr. Mariza Snyder: -I'm a Doterra girl.

Dr. Justin Marchegiani: Cool.

Dr. Mariza Snyder: And uhm, I've been using them for years, I've been recommending them millions of people as well with great success, so I feel really confident with the quality control that they implement.

Dr. Justin Marchegiani: Awesome, very cool. And I know, today, we are really getting into a lot of the essential oils and the hormone connection which is great. And this is kind of I think a perfect segway for you to kinda dive in and just keep people a little sneak preview about your book which is gonna be I think a more in depth version of this conversation.

Dr. Mariza Snyder: Absolutely. So, I have a new book comin' out, I don't know when this is airing, but do have a new book coming out, it's called “The Essential Oils Hormone Solution”. And it literally, not only do I go into the “Why”, the- the- the chemical, biochemical “Why” of what's going on in the body-

Dr. Justin Marchegiani: Yeah.

Dr. Mariza Snyder: So often women are like, “Well, what do you have for menopause?”, and I'm just like, “Well, what about menopauses that concern?”, you know? And- and what if- what if it isn't menopause at all, maybe it's something else? And so, understanding the- the chemical implications, what's going on with hormones, then giving women oils, protocols, self care, it's all built in, and then I have a 14-day hormone reset program that contains my hormone trifecta which is a combination of food, oils and self care. And when you put those things together, it really is magic. So, that is what the book entails. 400-pages.

Dr. Justin Marchegiani: Woah!

Dr. Mariza Snyder: It's a very big book, with 40 pages of bibliography. So, I did hundreds of hours of research for this book.

Dr. Justin Marchegiani: That's amazing.

Dr. Mariza Snyder: Yeah.

Dr. Justin Marchegiani: And then, the book's called what, “The Essential…”, can you repeat it again?

Dr. Mariza Snyder: Oh, yeah, “The Essential Oils Hormone Solution”. Here is this what it-

Dr. Justin Marchegiani: Yes.

Dr. Mariza Snyder: -looks like, and it's on-

Dr. Justin Marchegiani: Perfect.

Dr. Mariza Snyder: -it's on Amazon. It's selling like “Hot Cake” which makes me so-

Dr. Justin Marchegiani: It's already out now?

Dr. Mariza Snyder: -happy. Yes. Well, it's- it's right now, it's for pre-order but people were buying it.

Dr. Justin Marchegiani: Great. I'm gonna put the links- the Amazon links down below. So, if anyone's listening to this on the iTunes or YouTube, just click below and you'll be able to get it. That's awesome. Is there any other information at all you wanna share with the listeners here before we wrap up?

Dr. Mariza Snyder: I would just say, I think the biggest message that you and I probably bring to table is that, you really have- you really are the CEO of your health. You know, we have a- there's a lot of great practitioners out there like Dr. Justin and myself who can really guide you on this path, but just know that there is- there's ownership for you. And that, you don't have- you know, you don't need to be told that you're just gonna have to live with this disease or this condition, but there's definitely a way out, it's just a matter of deciding that yes, “It's time for me”, and just reaching out to people like ourselves, be- listening to Dr. Justin's podcasts, because that's exactly what we're here to to do is to really navigate that journey for you, but you're making the best decisions for health.

Dr. Justin Marchegiani: Very cool. And if listeners wanna get more information about you, where is the best place to go?

Dr. Mariza Snyder: So, I have a podcast myself, it's called the Essentially You podcast, and it's a great place to find me, it's everywhere. Uhm, I have other books as well, but then, my website is drmariza.com, I have fun, awesome little chit-chit there, on the top 5 oils for hormone balance, you guys go and grab that, and then if you do pre-order the book, I have $300 worth in bonuses that instantly gets delivered to your inbox, so you can get started right away. So, even if you're like, “Man, I just- the bo- book isn't gonna be here for a couple weeks”, no worries, the bonuses will hook you up, until a book arrives.

Dr. Justin Marchegiani: Very cool. And just for the listeners, there's a silent “Z” in that name here. D-R M-A-R-I-Z-A-[dot].com, and I see a cool little optin' on the top 5 essential oils for hormone balance. So, while you're up there, feel free and get that. Dr. Mariza, anything else you wanna add?

Dr. Mariza Snyder: That- I think that's it, I think we covered a good amount of information. Dr. Justin, thank you so much for the great questions, it was such a pleasure to be here.

Dr. Justin Marchegiani: Thanks to in the part of the podcast. Thanks Dr. Mariza!

Dr. Mariza Snyder: Mm-hmm.


References:

The Essential Oils Hormone Solution

https://justinhealth.com/products/antifungal-tea-tree-oil-body-wash/

https://www.drmariza.com/

https://www.doterra.com/

https://www.justinhealth.com/ 

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