All About Hormones - Part 1
PMS & Embracing Your Cycle
We have a monthly cycle for about 35 – 40 years of our life, and it’s one of the most misunderstood phenomena of the human body. I’m in my early 40s and I’m only beginning to understand mine, and sadly, it’s so misunderstood by the medical community that many women spend their menstruating years in extraordinary pain every month, while being ignored by their doctor.
Our energy ebbs and flows throughout our cycle, this is normal. But, what isn’t “normal” is to feel crampy, pain, moody/irritable, or any of the other PMS symptoms that most women feel.
All PMS symptoms are a sign that our body is out of balance. Usually, they’re early warning signs. The body is asking for some help and balance.
Endometriosis, PCOS, and other more difficult cycle problems are more than just an early warning symptom, and they can be very difficult to balance out. It’s possible, usually, but please be patient.
PMS affects between 30 – 80% of women at some point in their lives, and it’s so understudied and under-researched that it’s unknown if it’s closer 30% or 80%. How is that possible???
Mild to moderate forms of PMS
Bloating, breast tenderness, cramping, headaches, muscle aches, a change in mood, foggy thinking, feeling overwhelmed, and fatigue are all common symptoms of PMS.
There are 2 main underlying causes of PMS and so many minor causes. Many conditions, including low thyroid, high stress, auto-immune conditions, and even digestive issues can cause an imbalance in our cycle.
The two many causes, the ones to focus on first are – liver congestion (causing estrogen/progesterone imbalances) and not embracing the natural fluctuations of our cycle.
Our Liver –
Our liver plays a huge role in managing our hormone balance. Once a hormone has been “used up”, it’s the liver’s job to grab it and flush it out of our system. If our liver is overwhelmed with other jobs (like too much alcohol, stress, or toxins), then it doesn’t do its hormone job very well. This can lead to many PMS symptoms.
Supporting the liver -
This is a general guideline that can be helpful for minor PMS symptoms. If you need more support, follow the Hormone Balancing Pathway.
Step 1 – Drink the juice of ½ a lemon in room temp water first thing every morning. This supports the liver’s natural detox cycle. Continue this throughout each step.
Step 2 – After 4 – 6 weeks of enjoying your morning lemon and water, drink 1 mug of dandelion root tea or Flor*Essence tea each day for 4 weeks. Stop anytime if it causes nausea (a sign your body is done with that).
Step 3 – Stop the tea and add a liver supportive herbal blend that includes milk thistle. Use for 4 – 8 weeks, discontinue if it causes nausea.
Embracing our Cycle –
This has made a HUGE difference in my life. For 30 years I’ve mostly ignored my cycle, and would get annoyed if my cycle caused me to miss out on anything in my life. Like most women, I was taught that we should feel the same energy and enthusiasm for life every single day. That our mood should be balanced, always.
This is because, until surprisingly recently, the medical community saw women simply as slightly more complicated men. And, because of our hormone changes, very little research has been done on us.
A high % all medication, including the first estrogen medication, has only been tested on men. When researchers studied a women-specific condition, like how obesity might affect breast and uterine cancers, they ONLY enrolled men in the study. What could they have possibly found in that study when there wasn’t a single person with a uterus involved???
Check out this article if you want to know more about this absurdity.
But, women have a magical cycle that ebbs and flows throughout the month. If we flow with it, instead of against it, we can have times of great creativity and communication, and other times of quiet contemplation. There are times of the month when we’re full of drive, energy, and momentum. And other times of the month when a hard exercise class seems impossible and the couch looks so lovely. If we move in sync with our body’s needs, we can tap into our cycle’s magic.
It’s more than just our hormones that shift during the month, our neurochemistry also changes! This means that during each phase we have different talents and abilty to focus in different areas. It’s so cool!
Let’s take a look at our cycle –
Phase 1 – Menstrual Phase (3 – 7 days)
What’s going on – Progesterone drops and your period starts.
You might feel more introspective and self-analytic during this week. Plus, annoying things in life might now feel intolerable.
The right and left hemispheres in your brain communicate more than any other time of the month, which helps with evaluating all aspects of life and see any course corrections needed. Your intuition can also be clearer during this time.
Things to do – journaling can help to make any insights clearer and can help find patterns.
Food focus – the body needs extra nutritional support during menstruation. Lots of fruits, veggies, seaweeds, beets, and animal proteins help bring in extra zinc and iron lost during your period. You may gravitate toward comforting foods, and that’s a-okay.
Phase 2 – Follicular Phase (7 – 10 days)
What’s going on – Your ovaries get the signal to get ready to release a new egg, and several follicles swell in preparation. Estrogen increases to thicken your uterine lining.
Energy is high in this phase! You might also feel a bit restless.
What to do - Direct that restless energy toward creativity or start something new. This is a great time for brainstorming, difficult challenges, and problem solving. You may also feel more outgoing, so it’s a great time to get out and socialize! It’s also a great time to try a new sport or exercise class. Embrace this high energy week!
Food focus – Fresh, vibrant, lighter foods. Lots of salads or steamed veggies, lighter proteins, and energy-dense whole grains. Avocados can be helpful for ovulation.
Phase 3 – Ovulatory Phase (3 - 4 days)
What’s going on – Your body is releasing a newly matured egg and estrogen continues to rise. A quick surge of testosterone hits your bloodstream right at ovulation. There can be some lower abdominal pain with ovulation, and you might feel a surge of energy…or feel tired.
Your communication & listening skills are at their peak during ovulation. This is a great time to write, give a talk, or negotiate for a promotion or a raise. This is also a good time to have important conversations with your partner or a family member, as your ability to communicate your feelings is at a high. It’s also a great time for first dates, as your communication skills with make you magnetic.
What to do – get out and talk with people! Your energy is also at its max, so it’s a great time for a difficult hike or hard exercise class. You’re primed for strength training and/or running a marathon.
Food focus – Your energy is high so you don’t need to many starches or sugary foods. Enjoy lots of fibrous fruits, veggies, oats, and chia seeds to help move out all of that estrogen.
Phase 4 – Luteal Phase (10 – 14 days)
What’s going on – Progesterone rises, getting ready to start a pregnancy if the egg was fertilized. Estrogen is also rising and you get a boost of testosterone toward the end of this phase. It’s a full hormone soup going on!
This is also PMS time if your body hasn’t eliminated the extra estrogen, or if stress has created a progesterone deficiency.
Your energy lowers throughout this phase, and it’s a time for comfort and attention. You may feel like a homebody, wanting to reorganize the kitchen instead of going to a party. The hormonal soup you’ve got can make you notice things you didn’t see earlier, and you may have an urge to do all of the detail-oriented tasks you didn’t want to do last week.
What to do – a long bath, a good book, and some Netflix are the medicines of this time of the month. Your energy will be lower and that’s okay. Don’t overbook yourself during this phase and you’ll find that you’ll have more energy.
Food focus – Foods high in B vitamins and magnesium are important in this phase. Nuts, seeds, leafy greens, and dark chocolate are high in magnesium. Beans, fruit, and veggies are high in Bs. Lots of fibre will help your body flush out all of the used hormones, which keeps estrogen in balance. Your body wants some extra sweetness, and roasted root veggies can keep your blood sugar balance while staving off those sugar cravings.
By embracing your cycle you might find many of your PMS symptoms lower too. We have amazing bodies that are intrinsically tied to nature…let’s move with our cyclical flow instead of against it <3
Now it’s time to Head over to Part 2.
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