Happy Smiling People

#101 - Dr Nicky Keay - What Are Women's Hormones Really Doing?

Happy Smiling People

Show Notes

Dr Nicky Keay is a medical doctor who specialise in optimising hormone health. She is also author of “Hormones, Health and Human Potential”.

In this episode, we discuss how you can use your period as a ‘free health check’, what it means if you’re not getting a period, why estrogen is so important, the evolving scientific advice around female performance and nutrition, how the contraceptive pill affects women’s long-term health, puberty and periods, when hormones return to their pre-pregnancy state after giving birth, what stress does to your hormones, why some people can function on much less sleep than others, what GLP-1s are really doing to our bodies, the truth about nature vs. nurture, whether women’s appetites decrease as they age, the key health indicators to track, the biggest myths about women’s hormone health, and much more.

Find me online: ⁠https://linktr.ee/emilyereilly⁠

Find Nicky online: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drnickykeay/?hl=en Website: https://nickykeayfitness.com/

00:00 periods are our ‘free health check’ 3:00 what does it mean if we aren’t getting a period 7:00 why estrogen is important 9:45 is it bad for female athletes to not have a period 16:00 how has scientific advice for female performance and nutrition changed 21:00 how does the contraceptive pill affect women’s health long term 24:00 it takes 3 years for a period to become established after puberty 27:00 when do hormones return to pre-pregnancy state after giving birth 31:00 how does stress impact our hormones 38:00 why can some people function on much less sleep than others 42:00 ozempic and weightless drugs - what is it really doing to our bodies? 45:00 the truth about nature vs nurture (genetic vs environmental) 46:00 do women’s appetites decrease as they age 48:00 key health indicators to track 49:00 the biggest myth about women’s hormone health

keywords

women's health, menstrual cycle, hormones, estrogen, contraception, athletic performance, menopause, perimenopause, nutrition, stress

More from Happy Smiling People

Sep 18, 2026

Dr Gabriela Rosa is a Harvard-trained fertility specialist, and founder of The Rosa Institute.

Sep 10, 2026

Dr. Leslie Newman is a psychologist, speaker, and author.

Aug 27, 2026

Karen Martel is a Certified Hormone Specialist, Transformational Nutrition Coach, and a leading voice in women's hormone health and midlife wellness.

Aug 13, 2026

Dr Katie Hirsch is an Exercise Physiologist & Sport Nutritionist, and Assistant Professor at University of South California

Aug 5, 2026

Rhian Stephenson is a nutritional therapist, naturopath, herbalist and founder of supplement and nutrition brand, Artah.

See all episodes →