The Truth About PCOS, Periods & Women’s Hormones with Dr. Hazel Wallace

In this episode, Leana sits down with Dr. Hazel Wallace — medical doctor, registered nutritionist, personal trainer, and founder of The Food Medic — for an honest, no-fluff conversation about the parts of women's health that rarely get explained properly. They get into what's actually happening in your body throughout your cycle, when period pain stops being "normal" and starts being a red flag, and why the supplement industry preys on exactly the confusion that leaves so many women without real answers.

This one is for anyone who has ever been told their pain, their fatigue, or their irregular cycle was "just stress," who has quietly wondered if what they're feeling is normal, or who wants to understand their body well enough to actually advocate for themselves in a doctor's office.

Note: this episode was recorded before the announcement of PCOS's new name. Throughout the conversation, the condition is referred to as PCOS (polycystic ovary syndrome) rather than its updated name, PMOS (polyendocrine metabolic ovarian syndrome).

Leana and Dr. Hazel get into:

What's actually happening hormonally in each phase of your menstrual cycle, and why most women were never taught this

How to tell the difference between normal period pain and a sign that something needs medical attention

Whether you should train through your period, and how to actually listen to your body instead of forcing a routine

Iron deficiency and anemia — who's at risk, the symptoms that get missed, and how to actually get tested

The wild-west world of women's health supplements, and how to tell if one is actually worth taking

Inositol for PCOS — what it is, how it works, and why it's becoming a first-line option before medication

The real difference between PCOS and endometriosis, and why both get so often missed or misdiagnosed

Hazel's own PCOS diagnosis story — the dismissive advice she got, and what actually helped her symptoms go into remission