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Guest on the show

Dr. Stephen Cabral

Dr. Stephen Cabral is a naturopathic doctor, functional medicine practitioner and host of the Cabral Concept Podcast who works with the WarriorBabe community through Equi.Life's at-home lab testing.

Episodes with Dr. Stephen Cabral

What Stephen talks about

Ep. 209: How Stress Affects Your Hormones, Metabolism and Mood

Dr. Stephen Cabral, a naturopathic doctor and functional medicine practitioner, returns to walk through Nikkiey Stott's retest results from the Equi.Life Stress, Mood and Metabolism test. First they cover why quick-fix programs backfire. Dr. Cabral uses The Biggest Loser as the example: a massive deficit plus hours of exercise can crush your metabolism for years. He explains his view of how chronic stress pushes up cortisol and, over time, drags down thyroid and progesterone, which can show up as fatigue, bloating, poor sleep and low mood.

Then Nikkiey shares her numbers openly. Her estrogen and progesterone came back very low after her second round of egg freezing, her evening cortisol is now high, her morning cortisol is low, DHEA is still on the low side and free T3 is a little low. Dr. Cabral explains why he isn't chasing the sex hormones, why he would fix the evening cortisol first, and how his 3-2-1 bedtime rule and a calmer evening fit into the plan. Her blood sugar and vitamin D look great.

The bigger lesson is about retesting and being consistent rather than perfect. Your body isn't static, so a plan should be checked again after 12 to 16 weeks. Supplements are one tool among eight, not a rescue, and you don't need to get an A in everything. Aim for 80 percent across diet, exercise, stress, sleep and mindset, stack up more good days than not, and you can keep making progress for life.

  • Dr. Cabral explains that a huge calorie deficit combined with very high exercise output, like on The Biggest Loser, can crush your metabolism, with follow-up on contestants showing they could eat about 500 to 700 fewer calories a day years later.
  • In Dr. Cabral's view, chronic stress from inside or outside the body raises cortisol, which over time can lower thyroid output and progesterone and leave you feeling bloated, tired, irritable and stuck.
  • Aim for about 80 percent across diet, exercise, stress reduction, sleep and the rest of the plan instead of perfection, and if you miss a night's sleep, be better on your nutrition the next day.
  • Get enough protein and fiber to avoid the blood sugar roller coaster that leaves you crashing a few hours later and reaching for more sugar.
  • Meet your micronutrients as well as your macros, because B vitamins, vitamin C, zinc and omega-3s all play a role in energy and hormones.

Ep. 117: What Can At-Home Hormone Testing Tell Women Over 40?

Nikkiey Stott sits down with Dr. Stephen Cabral, a board-certified doctor of naturopathy and founder of Equi.life and the Integrative Health Practitioner Institute. He explains how functional medicine differs from conventional medicine. In his view, both study the body the same way, but functional medicine looks for the root cause with diet, exercise, herbs and supplements instead of masking symptoms with pharmaceuticals. He also explains why he thinks conventional care is still essential for emergencies and acute situations.

From there they get into stress. Dr. Cabral describes how sleep loss, fasting, cold plunges, saunas, hard HIIT workouts and eating too little all add up as stressors on a woman's body. He shares his view that long-term keto is detrimental for women and that the goal is the right balance of carbs, protein and fat, plus micronutrients. He breaks down what blood, saliva, hair, urine and stool tests are each best at measuring.

The second half is a live reading of Nikkiey's at-home stress, mood and metabolism lab, covering estrogen, progesterone, testosterone, DHEA and her cortisol curve across the day. Dr. Cabral explains what each marker means, why water retention is not the same as body fat, how his simple 3-2-1 bedtime routine works, and how often he suggests retesting.

  • Dr. Cabral recommends running blood work every six months if possible, or at least every 12 months, while knowing it doesn't show gut health, heavy metals, daily cortisol, food sensitivities or inflammation.
  • Lack of sleep, fasting, cold plunges, saunas, hard HIIT or boot camp workouts and eating too few calories all count as stressors, and stacking them can throw a woman's hormones off.
  • Dr. Cabral believes long-term keto is detrimental for women, and that the goal is the right amount of carbs to protein to fat for you, plus enough micronutrients.
  • Different tests measure different things: hair for minerals and heavy metals, saliva for free hormones and the daily cortisol curve, capillary blood for thyroid, and urine or stool for gut health.
  • If you have a menstrual cycle, Dr. Cabral suggests running a hormone test around day 19 to 21, the peak of the luteal phase, for the most accurate reading.

Questions Stephen helps answer

Ask Nikkiey →

  • Menopause & Perimenopause Weight Loss

    Should I do intermittent fasting during menopause?

    Maybe, but it's individual. On Ep. 130, dietitian Esther Blum says menopausal women in her practice tolerate fasting best, though it may not suit women with hypothyroidism, cortisol or adrenal issues, chronic illness, or disordered eating history. On Ep. 117, Dr. Stephen Cabral warns fasting can become one more stressor on hormones. If you try it, start with 12 hours.

    Read the answer →

  • Diets, Fasting & Diet Culture

    Why don't fad diets work long term?

    Fad diets don't work long term because they are built for fast results through extreme restriction, not for real life. Nikkiey explains that when the program ends, the foods you cut out come back, often more than before, and so does the weight. Nothing teaches you how to keep the results afterward.

    Read the answer →

  • Sleep, Recovery & Lifestyle

    How can I improve my sleep?

    Start with the basics Nikkiey returns to again and again: cut screens and bright light before bed, keep your room cool and pitch black with the phone out, and go to bed and wake at the same times. Then try Dr. Stephen Cabral's 3-2-1 rule: no food three hours before bed, no liquids two hours, no screens one hour.

    Read the answer →

Common questions

Why do crash diets stop working long term?

Dr. Cabral explains that mass deprivation combined with high exercise output is a recipe to crush your metabolism. He points to follow-up on Biggest Loser contestants that found their metabolism never recovered and they could eat roughly 500 to 700 fewer calories a day years later.

How does stress affect thyroid and metabolism?

According to Dr. Cabral, chronic stress raises stress hormones like cortisol and adrenaline, and over time thyroid output goes down, slowing your metabolic rate. He says this is why the body often does fine on a 21 to 28 day crash diet but then starts to slow down.

What does the Equi.Life stress, mood and metabolism test measure?

It uses saliva and a small finger prick at home to look at estrogen, progesterone and their ratio, testosterone, DHEA, cortisol four times a day, thyroid including free T3, vitamin D, hemoglobin A1C and insulin. Results come back in two to three weeks with a personalized plan that the WarriorBabe coach builds into the bigger program.

When in my cycle should I take a hormone saliva test?

Dr. Cabral says that with an average 28-day cycle you test on day 19, 20 or 21, around peak progesterone, or closer to days 21 or 22 with a 30-day cycle. If you don't get a cycle but have monthly symptoms, test during those days, and in perimenopause or menopause you can test any time.

What is the 3-2-1 rule for better sleep?

Dr. Cabral's 3-2-1 rule is no food three hours before bed, no liquids two hours before bed except a few supplements, and no laptop, phone, email or electronics in the last hour. He suggests filling that hour with something calming like an Epsom salt bath, reading, journaling or breathwork.

How often should I retest my hormones?

Dr. Cabral recommends following a plan for 12 to 16 weeks and then retesting, because bodies and stressors aren't static. The retest shows what has improved and what to work on next.

Topics Dr. Stephen Cabral covered