
Finding Balance

It is not a secret that women are much more prone to hormonal imbalances. Unfortunately, there doesn’t seem to be much understanding in the mainstream world what it exactly means and how we can improve things.
I have worked with quite a few women who came to me (usually as their last resort) after their doctor kept saying they were ‘being hormonal’, ‘it was all in their head’ or ‘there was nothing more that could be done’.
In a healthy body, the two basic female sex hormones, estrogen and progesterone, play a harmonious dance throughout the month.
Estrogen is the hormone responsible for our female curves, but also bone density, lubrication throughout the body and certain clarity of thinking. It gives us an outgoing nature and communication skills. It helps us with map reading, making decisions, setting out and going for our goals. It generally keeps us active. Estrogen protects us from high blood pressure and contributes to better brain and heart health.
On the other hand, progesterone is a hormone of rest and relaxation. It helps us complete projects and tasks, enhances our patience, improves our mood and helps with better sleep. Its main job is to regulate the build-up of the endometrium (the uterine lining). Progesterone balances estrogen.
Right after the bleed, our estrogen levels start rising, creating lubrication for a possible conception. They should reach their peak around ovulation, when progesterone joins in. In a healthy cycle, as soon as ovulation has taken place, any lubrication/ discharge should be dried up quickly. This is the action of progesterone and a sign that estrogen levels dropped. If there is any spotting around the time of ovulation or the middle of the cycle, it is due to the lack of progesterone.
Many teenage girls as well as mature women experience PMS – month after month. Cramping, too a short cycle, mood swings, troubles with sleep, premenstrual headaches and heavy periods or periods with clots – they are all signs of not enough progesterone to balance our estrogen levels. In our society, we are being told all these issues are perfectly natural and there is nothing we can do. Or we should take a pain relief and carry on as usual. Yet, these symptoms are not necessary or natural. They are the body’s way of telling us that we are out of balance – in the body or mind, or both.
I have not met many women with high progesterone levels in my life. These tend to be beautifully nourishing mothers with a brood of children. They never seem to be in a hurry, always taking their time, overflowing with patience, understanding and compassion. They value their sleep above a tidy house, speak and move slowly and their map reading is terrible. Their computing skills or ability to reverse the car into a parking spot are not great. But what they lack in the more technical aspects, they more than compensate for in personal contentment and a relaxed presence.
When we look around, most women are ‘estrogenic’. They are busy, working multiple jobs, keeping it all together, day after day, doing it all and trying to have it all. Sadly, many need to take pain relief around ‘that time of the month’ and may struggle with infertility.
This ‘estrogenic’ way of living seems to be the norm. Yet, because we women are cyclical beings; by living the same way day after day, month after month, we are creating an imbalance.
We are a reflection of nature – we also experience four seasons. Our bleed is our winter – we need more rest and not much is happening on the surface, although our body is working hard, cleansing, rejuvenating, preparing for the spring.
Our spring is the season when our estrogen starts rising.
The four or five days around ovulation are our summer – the height of activity and energy.
Autumn is the time when progesterone takes over, we complete our projects and start slowing down. Trees are shedding their leaves in autumn, letting go of what is no longer needed, so they can focus on the internal work which will come with winter. We should also sift through things in our lives at this point and let go of any clutter (emotional, mental or material).
When we follow our natural hormonal seasons, it is impossible for us to give the same results and achievements consistently throughout the month. There are times when we can achieve a lot and still have plenty of energy left, and there are times in the second half of the cycle, when we need to slow down and start preserving our energy.
From the point of view of biochemistry, we can clearly see that women are not men when it comes to our hormones. It is not only unfair to expect us to function the same every single day – it is absolutely harmful.
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What we really want to avoid is estrogen dominance.
Estrogen is a hormone of growth. It will enhance the growth of the endometrium (thus possible clots and a lot of cramping), but it can also grow other tissues and cells (fibroids, endometriosis and even breast tumours).
What is more, nowadays we have many pollutants in our everyday lives. These estrogen mimicking toxins (‘xeno-estrogens’) can ‘fool’ our body into thinking it has more estrogen than it should. Xeno-estrogens come from agricultural chemicals in food and even clothing, plastics (microplastics from bottles and food containers), cosmetics, fuel emissions, artificial fragrances and household detergents, till receipts and even certain pharmaceuticals. The contraceptive pill and HRT contain synthetic form of estrogen.
While we want to promote natural estrogen for our overall wellbeing, we want to limit synthetic and xeno-estrogens as much as possible.
To top it all, around the age of 40 our progesterone levels start naturally dropping anyway.
How can we restore balance to our hormones?
Ideally, we avoid or minimize our exposure to all environmental xeno-estrogens.
It takes 4 hours of uninterrupted sleep for the body to start producing progesterone. Getting more and better quality sleep is one of the most important steps.
The next step is to respect our cyclical nature by slowing down, doing less and resting more in the second half of the cycle. (That means, less planning, organizing, executing and general ‘doing’.)
Eating more high starch foods like squash, sweet potato and dates will also provide fuel to create more progesterone during this phase. Munching on a raw unpeeled carrot will provide a specific type of fibre that helps break down estrogen faster.
Reducing our stress levels is a must. When the body is constantly making cortisol, it will automatically ‘steal’ from the building material for progesterone. Eliminating stress can be tricky, however taking a supplement of maca or ashwagandha can help us cope with stress better and improve our sleep quality. Stretching or yoga, deep and slow breathing exercises, visualization or journaling can help reduce our stress levels.
Women generally need to consume more fats than men. A low fat diet will not provide sufficient building material (cholesterol) to create the right levels of sex hormones.
When in the dark months of the year we need to supplement our sunshine vitamin (in the form of D3) as it is our pre-hormone from which all the other hormones are created.
Taking magnesium and an omega 3's supplement can also greatly benefit our hormones.
When in our 40’s, taking a wild yam supplement or applying a bio-identical progesterone cream (from wild) in the second half of the cycle can work like magic.
And finally, it is the liver (our precious filter and energy producing ‘engine’ that performs over 500 vital functions) that processes and balances our hormones. Nourishing our liver with sulphur-rich and bitter foods and herbs will have a positive effect to our overall health, not just the hormones.
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