Women's Health: Balancing Hormones Part 2

The Symphony Orchestra versus the Measuring Cup Analogy

You can access an audio recording of this post here

So often women come to me complaining that their hormones are “out of whack”. Most of us know the feeling. It’s those physical, mental or emotional symptoms that may be cyclical in nature - headaches, bloating, fluid retention, constipation, insomnia, anxiety, irritability or mood swings. Feeling like you are on an emotional roller coaster. Or perhaps it’s irregular periods, painful periods, heavy periods. Maybe it’s ovarian cysts, infertility or endometriosis. And then there is the much anticipated perimenopause. And as a friendly reminder ☺️ we are all headed towards it at some point in our lives. Which is all the more reason for us to understand what goes on in perimenopause regardless of what stage of life we are in. So much of our experience of perimenopause is in fact a reflection of how we have “lived our hormones” throughout our reproductive years.

For some reason, we have this idea that if we could just get the levels of our hormones measured, we could then add in the missing pieces and we’d be all set. I like to think of it as the measuring cup analogy. Measure what’s there and top up what’s missing.

Don’t get me wrong, there can be great benefit to lab work. The creme de la creme of all hormone tests would be the popularized DUTCH test - a urine test that goes into great detail in so many aspects of this very complex orchestration that is our hormones. Whereas most blood work represents a fleeting glance of an isolated hormone at a specific point of time - forgetting that she is part of an intricate dance moving through us. The DUTCH test can be helpful as it gives us a bit more substance to work with.

Because hormone balance is a complex symphony expressing itself in our bodies, you can’t just top something up and not have it then affect everything else in the mix. The reality is that our hormones function according to a feedback loop and it can be a domino effect. When you add in hormones, it skews the over-riding regulatory functions of the hypothalamus and pituitary glands, also called the HPA axis. There are times when adding hormones in might be necessary, but it is certainly not the starting point. The hypothalamus and pituitary glands are responsible for orchestrating the balance of our hormones in the first place. That’s why I prefer to work with lifestyle, food and herbs first.

There are many herbs that significantly impact the expression of hormones in our bodies. Interpreting their actions as being due to their estrogen or progesterone effect can be misleading. Many of these herb are working on the level of the “orchestration” of our hormones, and not on the direct “topping up” of either estrogen or progesterone. This orchestration is the HPA axis - and she is a complex creature.

Over the coming months, we will be going into more detail in each of the following areas that I see to be foundational to how our hormones are expressing themselves in our bodies. Stay with me. Stay tuned. There are so many fascinating aspects to cover that impact how our hormones are experienced and expressed.

• As discussed last week the interplay of our nervous system with that of our hormones is profound. This is where our autonomic nervous system (ANS) and HPA axis meet. Exploring ways to get our body out of overdrive and into an experience of safety and connection will be an ongoing discussion in these threads that I will be posting and sharing with you. Among them, feeling at home and safe in our bodies and in the natural world are an important foundation. As is cultivating nourishing social connections. Learn to nurture the feminine in your body and in your world and to learn to get out of “Rushing Women’s Syndrome”.

• We will delve into circadian rhythm, which has a significant impact on the expression of our hormones as well. Circadian rhythm relates to sleep cycles, day and night, sunrise and sunset, natural light and blue light exposure and EMF disturbances.

• Stress, calorie restriction, carb restriction and over-exercise interfere with hormonal balance. Be careful with low carb and keto diets as well as fasting. Learn how to “Fast like a Girl”. Women’s sensitivity to calorie and carbohydrate restriction seems to be related to her ancestral biology. Some women are much more sensitive to this than others. And women’s bodies respond differently than men. Evolutionarily speaking, in women, these stressors signal to the sensitive HPA axis, that it is not a safe time to bring babies into the world , so our ovulatory function shuts down. When our ovulatory function shuts down, our progesterone levels tank. Progesterone is vital to our overall wellbeing as women. Our lifetime exposure to progesterone is important for our health over the span of our lives. Healthy ovulatory cycles are the way to ensure optimal progesterone production in the body. Make sure you are ovulating while you are in your reproductive years. This is the function that starts slowing down in perimenopause. The pill and other hormonal forms of birth control block ovulation. Avoid them whenever possible and learn about other options.

• Estrogen mimicking chemicals (xenoestrogens) in our environment are wreaking havoc with our hormones. Become aware of your exposure and find ways to avoid them as much as possible. These are found in your water, plastics, teflon, health and beauty products, household cleaning products, pesticide residues etc. Little by little, find better options and swap them out with what you have been using.

• One of the most important ways we can support our “estrogen balance” is to make sure our liver and gut are able to metabolize and eliminate estrogens well. Support the body’s normal processes of elimination and clean up. We will be going into great detail on how we can best support the organ of eliminations over the coming seasons.

• Blood sugar and insulin balance are also key to healthy estrogen metabolism. Restricting carbs can be problematic for some women. For others, insulin resistance is a key area to address. We will be covering a lot of ground on the topic of blood sugars. Stay tuned.

• If you have signs of inflammation in your body, get some help figuring out what is going on. Poor diet, toxicity, food sensitivities, gut imbalance, autoimmune conditions can all be contributing to this inflammation in your body.

• Address nutrient deficiencies. While I prefer to get our nutrients from food as much as possible, there are certain nutrients that are commonly deficient in our population that warrant supplementing especially for hormonal health. One of the most important being zinc. We will discuss other nutrients that are important.

• Include phytosterol rich foods in the diet especially legumes and flaxseed. These phytonutrients have an important moderating effect in the realm of hormone balance. They provide foundational support to keep the cells in your body happy amidst hormonal and other physiologic stress. They are an excellent source of healthy carbs, they feed the beneficial microbes in the gut, support the elimination of the metabolic breakdown products of our hormones, help keep our blood sugars balanced and contribute to a feeling of satiety. Most legumes are heavily sprayed so choose organic whenever possible. Although soy is popular, it is often GMO, is a common allergen and really is best consumed in a traditional fermented form such as tempeh, miso or tamari.

• Nutritive hormonal herb tonics can be helpful many women. These may include ashwagandha, shatavari or maca. These tonics can be seen as more nutritive than medicinal in effect and can be helpful for a wide range of hormonal and HPA axis issues for women. If someone is tending to dryness, deficiency, depletion or has symptoms of excess heat. moistening nutritive tonics can be particularly indicated. We will go into detail on the most popular of these tonics and when they are best indicated

• There are many medicinal herbs that help regulate hormones. The gift of the plant world is immense in supporting the way hormones express themselves in our lives. Once we have addressed the major pillars outlined above, there may be a need to help support the body on an individual one on one basis. If you feel you have done all you can with nutrition and lifestyle, consider working with me to help find herbal allies that can support and help regulate your nervous system, HPA axis and expression of hormones in your body. The Natural world is here to help. Plants are our allies. Nature heals.