Hormonal shifts in perimenopause and menopause can do more than throw off your cycle—they can actually stir up inflammation, spark strange symptoms, and even trigger immune responses that leave you wondering, what is going on with my body? If you've ever felt like your symptoms don’t quite “fit in a box,” this conversation is for you. I sit down with Dr. Tania Dempsey—a brilliant MD and expert in complex, multi-system diseases—to talk about Mast Cell Activation Syndrome (MCAS), why it’s often missed in women, and how hormones can play a huge role in triggering it. This episode connects the dots between your immune system, your hormones, and all those mystery symptoms no one’s been able to explain.

Dr. Tania breaks it down—how mast cells work, what happens when they go rogue, and why midlife women are seeing a rise in things like histamine intolerance, inflammation, and post-viral flare-ups (yes, COVID included). She shares what to look out for, what testing often misses, and how therapies like low-dose naltrexone and even ozone can make a difference.

You’ll also love hearing Dr. Tania’s heart for educating both patients and physicians so women can finally get the answers they deserve. And speaking of support, I’ve been sipping on my new Mighty Maca Mango lately, and it’s a summer fave. Light, zesty, and still packed with all the hormone-balancing goodness of the original, it’s perfect over ice or made into popsicles. Check it out at dranna.com—you’ll be hooked.

Key Timestamps:

[00:00:00] Introduction.

[00:01:28] Mast cell activation syndrome.

[00:06:51] Mast cell activation syndrome prevalence.

[00:08:12] Immune system and estrogen dominance.

[00:09:44] Symptoms of MCAS

[00:12:08] Hormonal impacts on mast cells.

[00:15:42] Long COVID and mast cell activation.

[00:20:51] Perfect storm of infections.

[00:23:41] Plasmapheresis for mast cell activation.

[00:29:04] EMF sensitivity and health effects.

[00:30:11] EMF shielding devices and methods.

[00:34:44] Fatigue in mast cell activation.

Memorable Quotes:

"My mission is really to figure out how can we get it to the point where this could be potentially, quote-unquote, cured. " [00:25:16] – Dr. Tania Dempsey

"I'm going to help the world, one patient at a time, by giving them this information so they can help themselves." [00:37:11] – Dr. Tania Dempsey

Links Mentioned:

Mighty Maca Mango: https://drannacabeca.com/products/mighty-maca

Connect with Dr. Tania Dempsey:

Mast Cell Matters Podcast: https://drtaniadempsey.com/podcast/

Website: https://drtaniadempsey.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drtaniadempseymd/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/taniadempseymd/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/taniadempsey/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@DrTaniaDempsey

Connect with Dr. Anna Cabeca:

Website: https://drannacabeca.com/pages/show

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thegirlfrienddoctor/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@thegirlfrienddoctor

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@drannacabeca

Produced by Evolved Podcasting: www.evolvedpodcasting.com