What if the menopause industry isn't failing women but instead it's deliberately targeting them?Michelle MacDonald sits down with scientist, physician, and Selfority founder Dr. Sarah Berg for a conversation that pulls back the curtain on how a $15 trillion industry is built on the gap between what women need and what medicine has historically given them. Together they unpack why midlife women have become the most targeted consumer demographic in wellness, how the "natural" hormone narrative that e...
What if the menopause industry isn't failing women but instead it's deliberately targeting them?
Michelle MacDonald sits down with scientist, physician, and Selfority founder Dr. Sarah Berg for a conversation that pulls back the curtain on how a $15 trillion industry is built on the gap between what women need and what medicine has historically given them.
Together they unpack why midlife women have become the most targeted consumer demographic in wellness, how the "natural" hormone narrative that exploded after the 2002 WHI study opened the door for an entire compounding market, and why so many women are making major health decisions at 3am while sleep deprived and algorithmically cornered.
They also dig into the science of the placebo effect including why supplement companies deliberately build their packaging around the same 4 to 8 week window that research shows produces maximum placebo response and what it means to advocate for yourself in a space designed to exploit your vulnerability.
This is an episode for every woman who has ever wanted to optimize her health and found herself wondering whether she's being helped or just sold to.
Favorite Moments
1:35 Why Women Over 50 Are a $15 Trillion Target
3:21 The Group Text Is the New MLM
7:41 How the 2002 Hormone Scare Built the Compounding Market
9:42 Bioidentical Hormones: What the Word Actually Means
13:34 The Placebo Study That Should Make You Rethink Every Supplement You've Bought
15:27 Why Supplement Packaging Says "Wait 4 to 8 Weeks" and It's Not an Accident
17:38 The 2002 Sham Knee Surgery That Proves the Brain Is the Most Powerful Drug We Have
24:44 The DUTCH Test: What It Is, What It Can't Do, and Why It Often Leads to a Supplement Stack
29:38 Drunk Buying at 3am: Sleep Deprivation, Algorithms, and the Menopause Marketing Machine
35:32 Why Your Jeans Stopped Fitting - The Estrogen & Visceral Fat Connection
41:36 Skinny Check vs. Frailty Check: The Reframe Women Actually Need
46:34 What's Coming: The $24 Billion Menopause Research Bill and Medical School Curriculum Change
"They're taking it because they're getting humbled relentlessly by the story that their bodies are broken. And so they're not even looking at the big levers." ~ Dr. Sarah Berg
GUEST: DR. SARAH BERG
Founder, Selfority | Principal Scientist, Unbiased Science
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/selfority/
Website: https://www.selfority.com/
Dr. Sarah Berg is a physician-scientist and fierce advocate for evidence-based communication in women's health. As a Principal Scientist with the Unbiased Science team, she brings clinical expertise and a sharp eye for predatory marketing to one of the most underserved areas in medicine. Through Selfority - a name she built to say "self priority" out loud - she is on a mission to make sure women have the information they actually need to make informed decisions about their health, not just the information someone is trying to sell them.
About Michelle:
Michelle MacDonald is the creator of the FITNESS MODEL BLUEPRINT™ and host of the Stronger By Design™ podcast. Known globally for her transformation programs, Michelle empowers women to redefine aging through evidence-based strength training, nutrition, and mindset practices. Since 2012, she has coached thousands of women online, leveraging her expertise as a Physique Champion and ISSA Strength and Conditioning Specialist. She co-founded Tulum Strength Club and established The Wonder Women (TWW), inspiring countless transformations including her mother, Joan MacDonald (Train With Joan™). Michelle continues to lead the charge in women's fitness, launching the Stronger by Design™ fitness app in fall 2024.
==========================================================
If this conversation gave you something to think about, subscribe so you never miss an episode. New conversations drop regularly, all built around the same goal: giving you the tools to take your health and performance seriously, for the long term.
==========================================================
Stronger by Design Podcast
🎙️ Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7uljSBX7oSNQWhDVutk29m
🎙️ Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/stronger-by-design-for-women-with-michelle-macdonald/id1677831398
==========================================================
Connect with Michelle:
📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/michellemacdonaldofficial/
📘 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/michelle.macdonald.yhhedonista
▶️ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@michellemacdonaldofficial
🔗 Website: https://www.michellemacdonaldofficial.com/
