GLP-1 medications are everywhere right now—but are they actually the solution women with PCOS have been waiting for… or are we missing something bigger? In this episode of PCOS Unfiltered, Lindsie sits down with Zach Dancel of Nava Health for part 2 of this discussion, to unpack the truth behind GLP-1s—what they do, why they can work, and where they’re being misunderstood. This conversation moves beyond extremes. It’s not about labeling GLP-1s as “good” or “bad,” but instead understanding them as a tool within a much bigger picture. Together, they explore how these medications impact blood sugar, inflammation, and weight—and why none of that matters long-term if the root causes of PCOS aren’t addressed. They also dive into the gaps in traditional healthcare, why so many women feel dismissed, and what it really looks like to take a personalized, root-cause approach to healing. If you’ve been curious about GLP-1s—or wondering why nothing seems to be working—this episode will give you clarity, context, and a much more grounded perspective.
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There is no one-size-fits-all solution—not a medication, not a diet, not a protocol online.
GLP-1s can be incredibly helpful for the right person, in the right context, but lasting healing comes from addressing the root cause and supporting your body as a whole.
Your healing isn’t about finding the quick fix.
It’s about finding what actually works for you.
Get curious. Ask questions. Advocate for yourself.
⚠️ Podcast Disclaimer
This podcast is for informational and educational purposes only and is not intended as medical advice. Always consult with a qualified healthcare professional before making any changes to your health routine.
(0:00) You go to your conventional provider, they're probably going to slap on birth control, (0:04) maybe metformin, right? Which again, these are just band-aids over symptoms. They're not treating (0:11) the root cause of PCOS. So you're never actually healing or you're never actually going to get (0:17) cured.Hey beautiful, welcome back to PCOS Unfiltered. I'm your host, Lindsay, and today's (0:25) is one that I know is going to spark some curiosity and maybe even challenge a few (0:30) things you thought you knew. We're diving into a topic that has been everywhere lately, (0:34) and that's GLP-1 medications.You've probably seen them all over your social media, (0:39) heard about them from friends, or maybe you've even considered them yourself. (0:43) But the real question is, are they actually helpful or are we missing part of the conversation? (0:48) Today, I'm joined by Zach Dancel, the Chief Operating Officer at Nava Health, (0:53) a leader in functional and longevity medicine. What I love about this conversation is that it (0:58) doesn't fall into extremes.It's not GLP-1s are bad or GLP-1s are the answer. Instead, (1:04) we talk about what's actually true. In this episode, we dive into what GLP-1s actually do (1:09) in the body and why they can be effective, where they're being misused or overused, especially (1:14) online, why they should be seen as a tool, not a long-term solution, the importance of addressing (1:19) the root causes like insulin resistance, inflammation, and hormone imbalances, and how (1:25) this all applies specifically to women with PCOS.We also zoom out and talk about something even (1:30) bigger, the gaps in our current healthcare system, why so many women feel dismissed, (1:35) and why a more personalized root cause approach is so necessary. If you've ever felt confused about (1:41) GLP-1s or wondered if they're right for you, this episode is going to give you a much clearer, (1:46) more grounded perspective. As always, the content shared on PCOS Unfiltered is for informational (1:52) and educational purposes only.The views and opinions expressed by the host and guests are (1:58) not intended to serve as medical advice. Always consult with a qualified healthcare professional (2:03) before making any changes to your diet, exercise, or treatment plan. The information shared is based (2:08) on personal experience and expert interviews and is not a substitute for professional medical (2:12) guidance.Now, let's get into it. Here's my conversation with Zach Dancel. Yeah, so what
(2:26) are some things that should be monitored, you know, throughout the process, like maybe lab work, (2:32) you know, eating, that type of thing.Like, what do you guys keep an eye on? Yeah, so, you know, (2:36) for us, we're doing labs every three to four months. You know, we want to make sure that (2:40) we're constantly keeping a baseline. We're not just doing your standard, you know, 10 to 20 (2:43) biomarker.You know, we're doing 70 to 80 biomarkers every single time. You know, we're (2:48) going to constantly look at all sex hormones, constantly look at your thyroid, how that's, (2:51) you know, being impacted while GLPs, look at your blood sugar to make sure that you don't have any, (2:55) you know, hyperglycemic event because, again, it's powerful. It can drop and bottom you out (3:01) and create that, which, again, people aren't realizing that aren't going to places where (3:07) they don't need to do labs, where they don't need to talk to a provider.You know, what happens when (3:11) you're driving a car and you're taking a, you know, a boatload of a GLP and your blood sugar (3:18) bombs out, right? You know, that's dangerous, and it happens. You know, we've heard horror stories.
(3:26) Hasn't happened at Nava because, you know, we're running labs.We're looking at your A1C. You know, (3:30) we're keeping track of that. You're going to work with our nutritionists, right, to, you know, (3:37) report, you know, your meals and your diets and how much your protein intake, you know, the healthy (3:45) fats, again, to help shift the behaviors, but also to make sure that you're doing it properly (3:50) because if people are just coming to us to seek the GLP and they're not going to do it the right (3:55) way where we feel they could potentially do more harm than good, you know, then that might not be (4:01) best fit for somebody.So, you know, we want to, our goal is for you to be as successful as (4:07) possible, right? So we're going to give you all the tools, all the support that we possibly can (4:12) to see you there, but we want to make sure that you're doing the right way. We're going to keep (4:16) you safe and ultimately, you know, in the long term, right, you know, you've been able to change (4:22) the behaviors that you can then eventually come off of it. Yeah.Yeah. Yeah. I mean, there's just (4:30) side effects.Let's talk a little bit, a little bit about that. I mean, there's, you know, (4:37) there's the extreme stuff I've even heard of, you know, with vision changes and even like, (4:41) you know, blindness in some cases. So what are you seeing in that realm of side effects and (4:50) managing and watching all of that? Yeah.I mean, so the scary ones, right, are bottoming out your (4:58) blood sugar, you know, because, you know, no one wants to do that. But the common ones, again, (5:03) when you're not working with someone who knows what they're doing and being able to give you (5:08) the actual guidance, the most common one is going to be your nausea, your vomiting. And most of the (5:13) times it's because they went way too high with the dose.They're, you know, titrating it too fast (5:19) or they, you know, they're going based off the guidance of what's out there on the web versus (5:23) what's best for them. And they're also not eating enough, right? You know, they're not (5:29) prioritizing the right foods that can make sure that your body has enough fuel that it needs to, (5:36) you know, focus, you know, high protein, you know, making sure that you're getting your fibers,
(5:40) because at the end of the day, one of the things that the GLP does is slows gastric emptying, (5:46) right? You know, so we want to make sure that you're still supporting, you know, that (5:53) your gastric emptying and clearing the pipes. But, you know, that nausea and the vomiting is (6:01) going to be your number one that we see.The other big one, right, is that, you know, (6:09) people are saying they're calling those epic faces because people are losing all this muscle, (6:13) right? You know, they're not because it does cause, you know, some muscle wasting. So if (6:17) you're not, again, prioritizing protein, you're not getting movement, you're not doing some (6:22) resistance training, a lot of that's why people have the ozempic face, right? You know, that's a (6:28) huge problem. That's, you know, semaglutide and trizepatide, because those are the ones that we (6:37) work with.But obviously, there's a whole another one, ritatratide, that people are saying doesn't (6:43) have that because it is able to, you know, fend off the muscle loss. But again, it still has to (6:50) with training. Yeah, yeah.What do you typically recommend as far as like movement? Why? I mean, (6:58) it's probably specialized, you know, for each person, I would assume too. But even (7:02) as somebody does maybe just start feeling better, especially if they are, you know, obese, severely (7:07) obese. Is there anybody that you work with, as far as, you know, making sure they're getting (7:13) their movement piece down, the workouts down or anything like that? Or how do you handle that? (7:18) I mean, so at the end of the day, right, where it's all about some sort of movement, right? So (7:25) if and working with you with where you're at in your baseline, right? If you're someone who (7:30) hasn't worked out in decades, right? Let's just start with walking, right? Well, you know, 10,
(7:36) 15 minute walk after each meal, eventually get yourself up to 10, you know, 10,000 steps a day, (7:40) right? Which that's a lot, you know, it takes time, but you have to build up there has to be (7:44) some sort of progression.But as long as you're doing something, you know, it's gonna be better (7:47) than nothing. But then you got to progress into some sort of resistance training, right? (7:51) Contracting muscle, you know, have to become a bodybuilder. You know, it can be lightweight, (7:57) you know, we just need some sort of muscle contraction.So that, you know, you are putting (8:02) on or, you know, preventing, you know, that, that muscle waste and while you're on this medication. (8:09) And then the other thing, right is prioritizing protein. I think, you know, it helps with a lot (8:15) of things.It helps with a lot of the side effects that we're seeing our clients have while (8:23) on these. But, you know, the biggest thing, again, it's when it comes to side effect is that that (8:32) nausea. I mean, it can be, I mean, you get so nauseous that clients are vomiting, right? (8:39) Yeah.Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.I've talked to a few people that have had, (8:45) yeah, severe, severe reactions. And, you know, who knows, maybe they weren't being monitored (8:50) properly. Maybe they did.Maybe the dose is too high. Maybe they're just super sensitive to it. (8:56) For whatever reason, we don't know.But, but yeah, I mean, I've talked to quite a few. (9:02) And I feel like a lot of people that come to me and I mean, it seems kind of like you're doing (9:05) similar kind of to what I do too. You know, I make sure that person is ready because I want it to be (9:11) a long-term solution.And like you said, it's not going to be, you know, even, even like that (9:16) first doctor told, or, you know, told your mom, it's, it's not going to be easy. There's going
(9:22) to be ups and downs. It's, it's a long journey.You know, it's a marathon, not a sprint, that (9:26) typical thing. Right. But I, I do that with my clients too.And I make sure that they're fully, (9:34) fully prepared to, to jump in and do this, but understanding that it's not going to be easy. (9:42) No, it's, it's certainly not going to be easy. Healthcare is not easy.It's very complex. (9:48) And, you know, especially, you know, for women, right, you know, women are much more complex than (9:53) men. You know, the studies and the data has for decades prioritized and focused on the, (10:00) the male biology that, you know, obviously with the complexity of, you know, women's hormones (10:09) it was easy for them back then to kind of just like push it to the side, you know, (10:12) we're not going to worry about that.But now we're seeing a lot more, you know, (10:16) come out for women's health, which is awesome. And we're primarily, you know, 70, 65% of our (10:24) clients are women. Our medical directors are former OBGYN.So that's kind of where it all started. (10:29) My mom, right. You know, we found that because of my mom.So we really put women's health at (10:35) priority, you know, up at the top of the priority, just because, you know, that you guys deserve just (10:40) as much attention, you know, if not more to your guys' health than, than anything. So, you know, (10:48) we wanted to make sure that that was a priority for us so that we can serve everybody. (10:54) Yeah.And there's those different stages of life with women too, you know, maybe the (10:59) childbearing, you know, years, and then you get into the perimenopausal space and (11:03) the postmenopausal space. Oh yeah. I mean, it's right.It's, it's super complex. And what, you (11:09) know, most women don't know, yes, menopause is coming. Perimenopause most likely starting 10, (11:15) 15 years prior to that, that most doctors don't even know, right.They're, they're not even (11:20) thinking about that. So when you go in into your primary care, talking about these symptoms, (11:24) hot flashes, night sweats, you know, they, they are depression, right. They're, they're prescribing (11:30) SSRIs, right.Even though it's a hormone imbalance, you know, because you're in perimenopause that (11:34) happens years before. But, you know, I think with a lot of the things that are coming out with, (11:40) you know, removal of the black box warning on hormone therapy, you know, it's starting to open (11:45) up a lot more eyes to, you know, women who have a hormone imbalance, right. Should be on hormones, (11:53) right.Because the sooner that you start, the more preventative benefits that you get. (11:58) And that's in whatever phase of life that you're in. Not just when you hit menopause, not when (12:03) you're just starting out perimenopause.If you have a hormone imbalance, there's things that can (12:08) be done to, you know, help transition through those different phases a lot more smoothly, (12:16) you know, than just going right into it, having those night sweats, you know, having those side (12:22) effects that, that, that women have to go through in that phase that, that can be supported. (12:27) Yeah. Now you do see a good amount of women with PCOS, right? Is there anything that stands out (12:35) to you maybe, you know, for those women with regards to GLP-1 and how, you know, how it's (12:42) helping? And it's amazing because I talked to, I don't know, a number of women just over these last (12:49) few days, I feel like, and with, with PCOS and they all come with different presentations of it.(12:56) So yeah. Is there anything that just kind of stands out to you in regards to GLP-1s and PCOS? (13:01) Yeah. I mean, for, right, you know, for, for us, you know, PCOS isn't just about
(13:11) a woman's period or about cysts that, you know, the conventional way of thinking, (13:16) right? It's so much more complex than that.It is, yeah. But, you know, my providers are (13:23) so amazing on how they're able to break it down on just what the true issue of PCOS, right? You (13:28) know, you go to your conventional provider, they're probably going to slap on birth control, (13:33) maybe metformin, right? Which again, these are just band-aids over symptoms. They're not treating (13:39) the root cause of PCOS.So you're never actually healing or you're never actually going to get (13:45) cured. And most of the time it's actually doing more harm than good, right? Being on birth control (13:51) is going to bottom out all your hormones, right? That's what it does. That's what it does to help (13:56) control the periods.It's going to deprive you of your B vitamins. It's going to deprive you (14:01) of your magnesium, which a lot of the times you need for energy, you need for detoxing, (14:07) you need to help support the inflammation. Same thing with metformin, right? You know, (14:12) that's also going to, you know, deprive you of your B vitamins.You know, so we take a much more (14:21) comprehensive approach because we understand that it's not a period issue or a cyst issue, right? (14:28) This is a problem with blood sugar regulation, inflammation, detox, and insulin sensitivity, (14:38) right? You know, it's those things that we're really going to focus on. So how do we do that, (14:43) right? How can a GLP help that? So it's not only just helping with weight loss, which a lot of the (14:49) times, you know, women with PCOS are a little bit overweight, but it's also going to help drive down (14:56) the inflammation, right? It's going to help with the insulin sensitivity. So, you know, we're
(15:03) utilizing GLPs, you know, certainly if it makes sense, but you have to, again, (15:09) there's just not one solution.You have to look at the whole body as a whole and how we're treating (15:12) it, right? So how are we supporting your detox pathways? What are other ways that we can help (15:16) support drive down inflammation in the body, right? What are other ways that we can help with the (15:21) blood sugar dysregulation or your adrenal dysfunction? Because that's another, that's one of (15:26) the other pieces that I meant to say, right? Just, you know, you're constantly in a parasympathetic (15:30) state where you're in this high stress, you know, you have to bring that down or your body can't. (15:36) The goal for us and the goal for just healing in general, right? Is to bring you back to homeostasis, (15:42) right? So that your body can do what it is meant to do, right? Drive down inflammation, (15:48) detox your body, right? Control your blood sugar and insulin sensitivity. So GLPs certainly are a (15:55) great tool to help us with that, right? To help regulate blood sugar, drive down inflammation (16:00) while you're working with our team on the inflammation, on the detox pathways and how, (16:06) you know, I think one of the other things that most providers are scared to do is hormone therapy (16:13) with women in PCOS because they think, oh, they already have high androgens, right? You know, (16:19) these are the women who might have additional, you know, extra facial hair or acne because, (16:24) you know, they have those extra androgens.Well, what does testosterone do, right? It helps
(16:31) increase insulin sensitivity, right? It can help with giving, you know, as well as it's a (16:36) massive anti-inflammatory, right? So it can, when done properly, utilized properly, that's another (16:44) thing that we also can incorporate with women that come to Nava who have PCOS as long, you know, (16:50) with the other things, right? But again, it's not just one thing, it's all the things, right? You (16:56) know, we got to take that comprehensive approach because that is what it's going to be to be able (17:01) to treat the root cause. Yeah, yeah. What are you seeing as far as when someone comes off of it, (17:08) how, you know, how do you prevent the rebound effect, you know, the weight gain, (17:13) maybe the worsening insulin resistance again, how do you guys work with that? (17:17) Coming off GLPs? Yeah, so it, you know, again, working with our providers, we have to be very (17:25) personalized to that individual, you know, depending on who they are, just their personality, (17:30) right? You know, have they changed those behaviors, have they changed their nutrition, (17:36) how they're doing that? But, you know, there's a few ways that we can do it.One, we eventually go (17:41) into a maintenance dose, you know, to slowly start fending you off. But hopefully, after the (17:47) three, six, nine months that you're on that program, right, with working with us, you've (17:52) started to change those behaviors to prevent that rebound, right? Ultimately, the rebound happens (17:58) because people just go back to what they were doing, right, that put on all that weight. So (18:02) that's where I go back to the pillars.If you don't correct the pillars, if you don't treat those
(18:07) as foundational, right, you're not going to see the success that you want. You know, so (18:13) when coming off of it, you know, again, slowly introducing some of the things that (18:17) you might have used to eat and introducing them, see how you respond to it. You know, (18:21) does your body like it? You know, do you get stomach issues, bloating? Do you feel more (18:26) achy in your joints? You know, because most people have these food sensitivities that they don't even (18:33) know about, right? So another thing you can do is you can do testing for food sensitivities.(18:38) That was me for the longest time. (18:40) Yeah, because everyone thinks, oh, I'm eating healthy because, you know, I'm eating veggies, (18:45) fruit or protein or whatever they think that is considered healthy because they read something (18:50) online or an influencer said it. But again, you are one of one, right? You have your own biology.(18:58) What's healthy for you is not going to be or might not necessarily be what's healthy for me. (19:02) So, you know, you have to come to a personalization on what's best for you. So, (19:06) again, that's where, you know, someone like Nava Health comes in who has the tools to do those (19:11) kind of tests or just the professionals that can really work side by side with you to help you (19:18) understand what everything means.Yeah, yeah. And as we kind of wrap up, I mean, I think that's, (19:24) you know, that's the point to hit home is that everybody is so, so different. And, (19:30) you know, I mean, I see it like I like I mentioned, I've been talking to just a lot of women (19:36) recently, like more than normal, I feel like that I've had PCOS.And just their presentations are (19:42) so different. And then their experiences with the doctors tend to be similar in a way, though, (19:48) because they get dismissed. They're undiagnosed, you know, for years before they, you know, (19:55) before somebody even throws out, hey, I think this might be PCOS a lot of times.And
(20:02) so just because people are seeing something, you know, like you've mentioned, (20:08) on online, you know, social media influencers, whatever it might be, whatever worked for them, (20:12) that's great. But it does not mean it will work for you. People have to understand that because (20:18) we all have different backgrounds and influences and stressors and all these things play a role.(20:24) And so that's why, you know, working with Nava Health is a great option, (20:30) obviously, because it's personalized to what that what they need. (20:36) Last question is, how can anybody find you and connect with you? (20:41) Yeah, so you can find us at navacenter.com. You could also find us on social media, (20:50) Nava Health. But it's super simple.The process to get started with us (20:56) is the first thing that we're going to do, you know, before we can do anything, (21:00) before we can make any recommendations, we're going to do some comprehensive labs, (21:04) right? It doesn't make sense for us to, again, you know, we can meet with you and go over your (21:10) symptoms and guess, right? But we're in the field of testing and not guessing. You know, before we (21:19) can do anything, before we can make any true personalized recommendations, we're going to do (21:23) comprehensive labs, you'll get an hour long visit with one of our medical providers, and then an
(21:27) hour long visit with one of our nutritionists. Between those two appointments, you're going to (21:31) get a personalized plan on what you can do to, you know, help optimize your health, whether it's (21:37) through GLPs, whether it's through hormones, whether it's through supplements.Again, (21:42) personalized to you, you know, everything should be personalized, your diet, your exercise, (21:47) your supplement stack, your peptide stack, if you're on peptides, where you're going to work (21:53) with some of the top experts in the field for functional and longevity medicine to get to the (22:00) root cause and be proactive and preventative. Well, thank you so, so much for being here, (22:07) for having this conversation, you know, sharing everything. I think so, so many listeners are (22:14) going to, you know, really benefit from this conversation.So thank you again.
(22:18) Thanks for having me. (22:21) If there's one thing I want you to take away from today's episode, it's this, there is no (22:26) one size fits all solution when it comes to your health, not a medication, not a supplement, (22:32) not a protocol you saw online, and that includes GLP-1s.For some people, they can be incredibly (22:38) helpful, a tool that helps break a cycle, reduce inflammation and create momentum. (22:43) But like we talked about today, they are just that, a tool. Because if the underlying patterns (22:48) don't change your nutrition, your stress, your sleep, your relationship with your body, (22:53) then nothing truly changes long-term.And that's the work we focus on here, (22:58) understanding your body, learning how to support it and creating changes that actually last. (23:03) So whether this episode gave you clarity, confirmed something you were already feeling, (23:07) or even just opened your mind to a different perspective, I want you to sit with that. (23:12) Get curious, ask questions, and most importantly, advocate for yourself.Remember, your healing is (23:18) about finding the quick fix. It's about finding what actually works for you. If you loved this (23:23) episode, make sure to subscribe so you don't miss what's coming up next.Share this with someone (23:28) who's been thinking about GLP-1s and leave a review so more women can find these conversations. (23:34) And as always, if you're ready to go deeper and take a more personalized root cause approach to (23:38) your health, you can find all the ways to work with me in the show notes. I'm sending you so (23:43) much love and I'll see you on the next episode of PCOS Unfiltered.Nourish. Heal. Thrive.