They say the body is a temple. They say your body knows best how to heal itself.
Yet, the second it feels off, there’s a pill for that. Stressed, there’s a pill for that. Not working the way you want it to, there’s a pill for that.
Life in this day and age is a marvel. Yet, it’s incredibly commonplace for us to rely on pharmaceutical solutions.
But Dr. Mindy Pelz, a fasting and hormone expert, has another way.
“We, as a culture, need to stop looking for quick fixes,” she tells Megan Pormer, the host of The Mindvalley Podcast. Instead, she believes the body has the power to heal itself.
The trick is learning how to support it, not overwhelm it. In doing so, Dr. Pelz has ignited a movement—empowering thousands of women to reclaim their health on their own terms, naturally.
Watch the full episode:
Who is Dr. Mindy Pelz? Meet the woman on a mission to transform women’s health
“Dr. Mindy Pelz” might be the name on the cover of Fast Like a Girl, but this fast expert is also a trailblazer in the world of women’s health. For over 25 years, she’s been on a mission to guide women to trust their bodies’ ability to heal naturally.
At her clinic, Dr. Pelz and her team focus on teaching a lifestyle approach to health. This includes everything from eating, detoxing, fasting, which supplements to take, reading food labels, and how to truly understand the inner workings of their bodies.
But over time, she noticed a troubling trend. Patients who once came in with just one health complaint began arriving with a laundry list of issues. “People who normally would walk in with one symptom were now walking in with like 10 [or] 20 different symptoms.”
This shift led her to a profound realization: many of these issues stemmed from “interferences”—mental, emotional, physical, or chemical—in the body. They can prevent the body from healing itself, but by removing them, the body can return to its natural state of balance and health.
Dr. Pelz’s breakthrough discovery of autophagy—your body’s way of cleaning out damaged cells to make way for new, healthy ones—became a cornerstone of her work. “If the environment is causing people to not feel well, what parts of the environment can we remove so that their bodies can heal much quicker?” she asks.
This led her to develop a unique approach to women’s health, focusing on eliminating these interferences to unlock the body’s innate healing potential.
The biggest health challenges facing women today—and why they’re on the rise
You might notice that more and more women are dealing with health issues like weight gain, hormonal imbalances, chronic stress, and so on. But why is this happening?
According to Dr. Pelz, it all boils down to one thing: modern life is more toxic than ever before.
“We live in the most toxic time in human history,” she points out. “We are breathing in toxins, we are wearing toxins, we are eating toxins, we’re watching toxic stuff… I mean, we are bombarded with physical, emotional, mental, and chemical stressors.”
One of the main culprits? Hormonal imbalance.
The reality is, as you age, especially after 35, your body starts losing key hormones like progesterone and estrogen. These hormones keep you calm, happy, and energized, but when they drop, everything from your mood to your energy levels can spiral out of control.
What makes things worse is that environmental toxins, processed foods, and even the skincare products you use disrupt these natural hormone levels even further. Dr. Pelz explains that the body’s natural rhythms—its ability to balance hormones—get thrown off by the toxins and chemicals you’re exposed to daily.
“For women, we put on over 200 cancer-causing endocrine-disrupting chemicals on our body every single day, which is destroying our eggs,” she says.
On top of that, insulin resistance becomes a bigger problem for women as they hit their 40s and 50s. This happens when your cells stop responding to insulin, causing your blood sugar levels to rise.
It can lead to weight gain, fatigue, and even chronic diseases. It’s not your fault, though—it’s the environment working against you.
But here’s the good news: Dr. Pelz has solutions to help you fight back.
Dr. Mindy Pelz’s top natural solutions every woman can use for better health and balance
Dr. Pelz believes that by making a few key adjustments to your daily habits, you can give your body the support it needs to heal and thrive. Let’s explore how each of these approaches can make a difference in your health.
1. Navigate hormonal shifts with compassion
By the time you hit 35, something significant starts happening inside your body—your estrogen starts to decline. Dr. Pelz explains that it brings her “girl gang” with her: serotonin, dopamine, acetylcholine, BDNF (brain-derived neurotrophic factor), oxytocin, and glutamate.
This shift marks the beginning of your menopausal journey. This “neurochemical armor” (as Dr. Pelz calls it) begins to shed, and you may notice yourself becoming more reactive to stress. Scattered thoughts, increased irritability, and difficulty meditating as your mind races can all be part of this experience.
“We are hormonally programmed humans with a neurochemical armor that makes us think a certain way, act a certain way, behave a certain way…” Dr. Pelz explains. “And when that armor comes down, there is a different version of you and that’s the version that I’m now focused on highlighting.”
Her solution for cultivating this version?
“We have to come back to compassion for ourselves, understand what our bodies are doing at 35, and create a lifestyle plan that works with this neurochemical shift.”
She believes this phase is an opportunity for deep healing. The unresolved emotional traumas you’ve managed to avoid? This is the moment to face them.
As host, Megan aptly sums it up, “Menopause is a spiritual way to force a woman to awaken.”
2. Heal through the mind-body connection
Self-doubt, feelings of inadequacy, and negative self-talk like “I’m not worthy,” “I’m not good enough,” or “If I’m overweight, something’s wrong with me” can all go down to the cellular level.
“It starts to vibrate a different frequency within the cell,” Dr. Pelz explains, adding that “it creates cellular inflammation.”
But emotional interference doesn’t just stop there. Dr. Pelz points out that many women turn to food to cope with these emotions.
“We start eating and eating, and we just start pushing down this feeling of not enough,” she says. This creates a cycle of emotional eating that gives a dopamine hit but also disconnects you from your body.
However, during fasting, you can begin to break this cycle.
“When you’re in that fasted state, you have the ability to reprogram the belief system,” she explains. Practices like meditation, affirmations, and journaling—especially during fasting—help clear the emotional weight stored in your cells and reset your connection to your body.
3. Support your hormonal balance through fasting and lifestyle changes
If you’ve ever thought fasting was just a trendy diet, think again. While it’s often associated with weight loss, according to Dr. Pelz, it’s much more about giving your body the space to heal.
When you fast, especially for longer periods (like 17 hours or more), this is when autophagy happens. Your body gets rid of damaged cells, repairs them, and even kills off potential cancer cells—this is called apoptosis.
“So at 17 hours of fasting, you are redesigning your cells and you are getting rid of the cells that no longer serve you,” explains Dr. Pelz.
Not only that, fasting also helps balance your hormones, especially estrogen and insulin. As you age, your estrogen levels drop, which can lead to weight gain and fatigue. By fasting, you can reduce insulin resistance, making it easier for your body to maintain a healthy balance of hormones.
Dr. Pelz recommends intermittent fasting as a starting point—aim for 13 to 15 hours without food to see benefits. And when you do it on the regular, your body begins to reconnect with itself.
That said, it’s important to note that fasting isn’t a one-size-fits-all solution. Women go through different hormonal stages—such as the menstrual cycle, premenopause, and menopause—which may require different approaches to fasting.
For example, while it can help balance estrogen, progesterone doesn’t respond well to it. So what can you do? Listen to your body and adjust your fasting practices based on your individual needs and hormonal cycles.
4. Reduce environmental toxins
While fasting allows you to take breaks from toxic foods, what about the toxins you’re exposed to elsewhere?
Because, let’s face it, they really are everywhere—not only in food, but in cosmetics, in the air, in the water… And the scary part is, they’re wrecking your health, especially your hormones.
For women, we put over 200 cancer-causing endocrine-disrupting chemicals on our body every single day, which is destroying our eggs.
— Dr. Mindy Pelz, fasting and hormone expert
Dr. Pelz’s advice is simple: start small. Check for harmful chemicals with apps like Skin Deep or Think Dirty.
“You can just scan all your products and see how toxic it is,” she adds. “It gives you a rating. You want something that’s under a three; anything over a three, throw it out.”
By reducing the number of toxins you expose your body to, you’re giving your hormones a better chance to function properly.
Live vibrantly, naturally
Many of us spend years battling with our bodies—criticizing every flaw instead of understanding what it’s trying to tell us.
But imagine shifting that mindset, learning to listen to your body rather than silencing it. Dr. Mindy Pelz’s approach is all about this—working with your body, not against it, to create lasting health.
If you’re ready to embrace this shift, Mindvalley Membership offers access to powerful programs that can support your journey:
- WILDFIT. Transform your relationship with food and discover how to eat in harmony with your body’s needs.
- The Longevity Blueprint. Learn science-backed strategies to extend your health span and age gracefully.
- Beyond Fasting. Explore deeper fasting techniques to reset your health and boost your vitality.
By signing up for a free account, you’ll get access to the first few lessons of these programs, daily meditations to keep you centered, and a global community to support your growth.
As Megan Pormer says, “The more we reunite with the body, and the more we understand the body, and knowing that it’s on our side, we can use the body as a conduit to our bliss and happiness and joy and not self-judgment.”
This is your invitation to awaken your inherent greatness.
Welcome in.
