General
Why this, why now
Why a couple of registered dietitians got tired of the marketing noise and just want to help people make better nutrition and supplement decisions.
Whitney Brooke Isola, MBA, RDN · · 1 min read
Pragma Journal
Blog
Perimenopause
The four lifestyle levers most affecting your weight in your 40s (none of them are berberine)
The "everything I'm doing right stopped working" wall in your 40s is real, and it's not a metabolism that broke. Four levers explain most of it: muscle, protein, sleep and cortisol, and blood sugar. Here's the honest order to pull them.
Whitney Brooke Isola, MBA, RDN · · 6 min read
Perimenopause
Perimenopause: the underdiagnosed years before the diagnosis
Perimenopause can start a decade before menopause, and its early signs get filed under stress, anxiety, or aging. A clear guide to the transition, why it's missed, what to track, and the interventions (medical and nutritional) that actually help.
Samantha Peebles, DCN, RDN · · 6 min read
Labs & testing
How to read your bloodwork like a clinician (without becoming one)
"Normal" is a statistical range, not a personal target. A plain-English guide to reading the labs that matter most for women (ferritin, vitamin D, thyroid, B12, metabolic markers) and the difference between normal and optimal.
Whitney Brooke Isola, MBA, RDN · · 5 min read
GLP-1 & weight
GLP-1 Nutrition: Learn the basics
GLP-1 medications have predictable nutritional consequences: muscle loss, micronutrient gaps, hair shedding. Here's how to handle the nutrition side without fighting the medicine. Doses, protein math, and what's worth supplementing.
Samantha Peebles, DCN, RDN · · 6 min read
Pregnancy & postpartum
What 20 years of birth control actually does to your B vitamins (and what to do about it)
Two decades on the pill leaves a predictable micronutrient signature: B2, B6, B9, B12, plus magnesium, zinc, and selenium. Here's the evidence, the mechanism, and a practical Phase 0 plan. Not a reason to stop; a reason to know.
Whitney Brooke Isola, MBA, RDN · · 6 min read
Labs & testing
Postpartum depletion: Importance of iron
The postpartum visit covers a lot in fifteen minutes. Micronutrient depletion (iron, B12, D, omega-3, choline, iodine) often isn't on the list. What to know.
Samantha Peebles, DCN, RDN · · 2 min read
Choosing supplements
How to read a supplement label in 60 seconds
Four checks: serving size, nutrient form, third-party seal, and the proprietary-blend trap. They tell you most of what you need to know before you buy.
Samantha Peebles, DCN, RDN · · 2 min read
Perimenopause
Perimenopause starts earlier than you think
Perimenopause can begin in your mid-30s, years before periods change. The early signals get misread as stress, sleep, or "just getting older." What to track.
Samantha Peebles, DCN, RDN · · 2 min read
Choosing supplements
Why most women's multivitamins are doing less than you think
Most women's multivitamins fail on three predictable things: the wrong nutrient forms, doses too low to matter, and iron that fights its own formula. How to read one.
Whitney Brooke Isola, MBA, RDN · · 2 min read
Choosing supplements
Creatine for women: cognition and brain function
No, it won't make you bulky. The more interesting story is what creatine does for cognition, sleep deprivation, and recovery. Dose, timing, and the honest caveats.
Whitney Brooke Isola, MBA, RDN · · 2 min read
Choosing supplements
Collagen: the honest take
Modest evidence for skin and joints. Not a protein replacement. Here's what collagen actually does, what it costs, and when it earns a place in your routine.
Whitney Brooke Isola, MBA, RDN · · 2 min read
GLP-1 & weight
GLP-1 and muscle loss
Up to 25-40% of weight lost on GLP-1 medications can be lean mass. Here's the protein and resistance-training math that changes that number.
Samantha Peebles, DCN, RDN · · 2 min read
Choosing supplements
Magnesium glycinate for sleep: the dose, the timing, and why form matters
Magnesium glycinate, 200-400 mg, 30 minutes before bed. What it does for sleep, what it doesn't, and why the form on the label matters more than the brand.
Samantha Peebles, DCN, RDN · · 2 min read
Labs & testing
Vitamin D: why "normal" on your lab report is doing a lot of work
A vitamin D of 31 ng/mL is "normal." So is 75. Those are not the same situation. How to read your result and what the evidence says about where to aim.
Samantha Peebles, DCN, RDN · · 2 min read
Labs & testing
Your iron is "normal" and you're still exhausted: the ferritin story
Ferritin of 15 passes the lab range. It can still come with exhaustion, hair shedding, and brain fog. What ferritin measures and where the functional threshold sits.
Whitney Brooke Isola, MBA, RDN · · 2 min read