A Pharmacist's Holistic Guide to Hormones, Supplements, and Healing with Ariana Medizade

A Pharmacist's Holistic Guide to Hormones, Supplements, and Healing with Ariana Medizade

Follow us on Instagram! @healthspancollective In this episode of The Healthspan Collective, host Nicole Doran sits down with Ariana Medizade, a licensed pharmacist turned functional wellness educator, to explore what happens when conventional medicine leaves you with more questions than answers. Ariana shares how her own struggles with anxiety, hormonal imbalance, and post-birth control syndrome led her out of the traditional pharmacy world and into a space where medications and holistic remedies are no longer at odds. Ariana brings a rare perspective to the wellness conversation, one rooted in clinical training but driven by lived experience. She breaks down everything from histamine intolerance and chronic inflammation to GLP-1 activation, hair loss solutions, and the supplement industry's most overhyped products, all with the kind of nuance that only comes from someone who has stood on both sides of the prescription counter. What We Cover: 🧪 What post-birth control syndrome actually does to your hormones, cycle, and mental health 🌿 The five foundational supplements for chronic inflammation and how to know if yours are actually absorbing  🫧 Hidden signs of histamine intolerance that most people are mistaking for anxiety, bloating, or poor sleep  💊 How to think about medications and holistic remedies as tools that work together, not against each other  💇 The hair loss duo Ariana swears by and what minoxidil actually does to your follicles 🥒 Natural ways to activate GLP-1 and stabilize blood sugar without a prescription Chapters: 00:00 How One Pharmacist Stopped Trusting Only Prescriptions  08:46 What Birth Control Really Did to Her Hormones  11:17 The Stress-Prolactin Connection Nobody Talks About  17:06 Histamine Intolerance, COVID, and Chronic Inflammation  20:38 How to Know If Histamine Is Behind Your Symptoms  25:22 The Most Overhyped Supplements and What to Look For Instead  28:10 The Five Supplements She Recommends for Inflammation  32:03 Beauty, Lymphatics, and Natural Ways to Reduce Puffiness  41:15 Peptides, Minoxidil, and the Hair Growth Duo Worth Knowing  45:44 GLP-1s, PCOS, Berberine, and the Wellness Industry's Blind Spots #TheHealthspanCollective #Podcast

The Preservative-Free Skincare Revolution with Dr. Rod Garcia, Medical Director of Skin at Peace

Follow us on instagram! @healthspancollective  In this episode of The Healthspan Collective, host Nicole Doran sits down with Dr. Rod Garcia, co-founder, formulator, and medical director of Skin at Peace, to challenge everything you think you know about clean skincare. Rod shares the origin story behind one of the most unconventional skincare brands on the market, a preservative-free, fresh-made subscription line that actually expires, built after watching his esthetician wife's skin react to products that were supposed to be good for her. Dr. Garcia brings a formulator's precision and a clinician's perspective to a conversation that cuts through the noise of the clean beauty world. He breaks down how preservatives disrupt the skin microbiome, why fragrance is one of the biggest red flags hiding in plain sight, and how chronic low-grade inflammation from everyday skincare could be the reason your skin never fully settles. From oil cleansing to vitamin C to barrier repair, this episode reframes what a truly supportive skincare routine actually looks like. What We Cover: 🧴 Why preservative-free skincare and what it means for your skin microbiome  🌿 The four-product routine designed to calm, protect, and repair the barrier  🔍 How to spot greenwashing and read an ingredient label with confidence  🚫 The most common skincare habits silently causing chronic inflammation  🤰 Pregnancy-safe formulations and what makes a product truly non-irritating  ☀️ The truth about mineral SPF and how to layer it into a simplified routine Chapters:  00:00 Why Dr. Rod Garcia Made Skincare That Expires  02:01 The Rosacea Origin Story  07:05 How Chronic Inflammation Starts With Your Products  11:35 The Oil Cleanser and Toner Explained  16:42 Vitamin C, Hyaluronic Acid and the Day Formula  18:41 Retinol Alternatives and the Night Cream  20:16 Preservatives, Microbiome and Clean Beauty Myths  29:46 The Gut, Skin and Inflammation Connection  37:36 How to Transition to an Oil Cleanser  40:16 SPF, Routine Tips and Where to Find Skin at Peace #TheHealthspanCollective #Podcast

How to Heal Acne and Eczema From the Inside Out with Katie Mckersie

Follow us on Instagram! @healthspancollective In this episode of The Healthspan Collective, host Nicole Doran sits down with Katie McKersie, holistic nutritionist and skin health specialist, to explore what is really driving acne and eczema and why the answer almost always starts in the gut. Katie brings a deeply personal perspective to this conversation, having navigated severe acne, hair loss, hormonal disruption, and a lost period after coming off the birth control pill herself, and has since built her practice around helping others find the root cause rather than the quick fix. Katie breaks down the overlooked reality of post-birth control syndrome, explaining how the pill can quietly deplete key nutrients, disrupt gut bacteria, and throw hormones and thyroid function off balance long after discontinuation. She walks through the functional testing she uses with clients, the skincare reset that changed everything, and why healing the skin means healing the whole system first. 🌿 What post-birth control syndrome actually is and how to recognize it 🧪 The functional tests worth doing before any protocol or supplement  🦠 How gut dysbiosis and leaky gut show up on your skin  ⚖️ Why restrictive diets and blind supplementation often make things worse  🧴 The caveman skincare method and how to reset your skin barrier  🩸 How stress, blood sugar, and seed oils are silently driving hormonal acne Chapters:  00:00 What Birth Control Could Be Doing to Your Body  02:13 Katie's Post-Pill Journey  05:04 How the Gut Microbiome Crashes  10:30 Understanding Post-Birth Control Syndrome  16:21 Why Testing Beats Guesswork  29:40 Minerals, PCOS, and Hormonal Acne  37:21 Food, Dairy, Gluten and What Actually Matters  46:35 Seed Oils, Supplements and Skin  52:50 Why Healing Takes Time  55:12 Caveman Skincare and Sun Exposure Connect with Katie McKersie! 🌐 www.holistico.ca [http://www.holistico.ca/] 🛍️ shopholistico.com [http://shopholistico.com/] 📱 @katiemckersie  📱 @shopholistico #TheHealthspanCollective #Podcast

Your Energetic Blueprint: A Beginner's Guide to Human Design with Nicole Laino

Follow us on instagram! @healthspancollective In this episode of The Healthspan Collective, host Nicole Doran sits down with Nicole Laino, human design expert and coach, to explore one of the most powerful tools for self-understanding available today. Nicole Laino breaks down how human design can serve as an energetic blueprint, not a system for fixing yourself, but a framework for finally understanding why you're wired the way you are and how to work with that rather than against it. Nicole Laino brings both depth and accessibility to a system that can feel overwhelming at first glance. She walks through the foundations of human design, sharing how it weaves together ancient wisdom and modern science, from the I Ching and Kabbalah to quantum physics and astrology, and why that synthesis makes it such a uniquely complete map of the self. Whether you're completely new to human design or looking to go deeper, this conversation meets you where you are. What We Cover: 🔮 What human design actually is and why it's not about changing yourself  ⚡ The five energy types and how each one is designed to move through the world  🧭 How to use your strategy and authority to make aligned decisions in life and business  🌿 What burnout, over-giving, and people-pleasing look like through the lens of your type  👨‍👩‍👧 How human design can transform your relationships, parenting style, and team dynamics  📊 Where to start with your chart and how to approach it with curiosity instead of overwhelm Chapters:  00:00 What Is Human Design?  03:04 Origins of the System  11:24 The Five Types Explained  19:36 Living in Alignment  28:32 Human Design in Relationships and Parenting  35:56 Profiles, Astrology, and Gene Keys  43:37 Work Styles, Boundaries, and Teams  56:48 Building Your Dream Team  01:02:10 Rapid Fire Takeaways  01:04:24 Where to Start and Next Steps #TheHealthspanCollective #Podcast

The Truth About Clean Beauty with Catherine Lockhart

Follow us on Instagram! @healthspancollective In this episode of The Healthspan Collective, host Nicole Doran sits down with Catherine Lockhart, clean beauty influencer, biohacker, and founder of Shelter Skin, to unpack why the wellness industry's most comforting labels are often its most misleading ones, and what it actually takes to build a truly low-tox life.  Catherine's journey began not in a lab, but in a Sephora aisle, surrounded by fragrance-heavy products she trusted completely. It wasn't until she came off birth control and began suspecting undiagnosed PCOS that she started questioning everything she was putting on her body. What followed was a deep dive into ingredient literacy, regulatory gaps, and the quiet ways everyday products can disrupt hormones, trigger brain fog, and undermine the very health we're trying to protect. She's since channeled that knowledge into Shelter Skin, a bootstrapped clean beauty brand formulated with naturals and scented with real vanilla bean infusion, built from conviction, not trend. What we cover in this episode: 🏷️ Why "clean," "non-toxic," and "naturally derived fragrance" are largely unregulated marketing terms and how to see through them  🌿 A practical low-tox roadmap: where to start, what to prioritize, and how to maintain an 80/20 balance in the real world  🧴 How to actually read a label, spot greenwashing, and understand the gap between U.S. and EU cosmetic regulation  👗 PFAs in activewear, natural fiber alternatives, and the hidden toxins in everyday textiles  💉 Wedding skin prep without Botox, exploring Sofwave, microneedling, EasyGel, and why Catherine skips injectables entirely  ✨ The story behind Shelter Skin, bootstrapping production, formulating with naturals, and scaling a clean beauty brand from the ground up Chapters:  00:00 The Wake-Up Call Nobody Talks About  00:52 Meet Catherine Lockhart  05:08 The Perfume Detox That Changed Everything  11:21 How to Actually Start a Low-Tox Life  15:07 Decoding Fragrance Claims and Greenwashing  19:09 U.S. vs. EU: The Regulation Gap  21:12 Living Low-Tox in the Real World  26:20 PFAs, Activewear, and What You're Wearing  41:19 Wedding Skin Without Botox  49:31 Building Shelter Skin from the Ground Up #TheHealthspanCollective #Podcast