Flowing with the seasons and deepening the connection to your body, mind and soul.
As our bodies move through the seasons – from Menarche to Menopause, I want you to know that these phases are rights of passage that hold incredible wisdom and power, and they do not need to be medicated away or seen as a disturbance to you living your fullest life. You can enjoy the process as your body changes.
To deeply understand that how we look after our body during our infradian rhythm years will influence how we experience peri menopause and menopause.
Supporting your endocrine system is KEY for smooth transitions and it is NEVER TO LATE TO START. This is how you tap into your innate power, this is how you engage with your powerful feminine energy.
How can we support out hormones as we go into perimenopause and menopause?
As your ovaries wind down and ovulate less frequently, there is a decrease in oestrogen production which means your adrenals will now step in to take up some of this role – although not AS much oestrogen is produced.
Therefore, women who are in their menopause years are more likely to die of a heart attack than other disease (therefore BESPOKE hormone replacement therapy CAN be incredibly important and should never be dismissed). Oestrogen has hundreds of functions within the female body and is important as it protects our heart, among many other things.
It is also especially important to know that biologically female women exhibit different heart attack symptoms than biological males do.
If we support our endocrine system now , we can limit the amount of issues we may face as we flow into
the next phase.
What can we do to support our adrenals?
1. Support blood sugar regulation
2. Reduce stress exposure and support the nervous system
3. Support your systems of elimination (eliminating waste oestrogen is critical)
How can we begin to manage blood sugar levels?
• Eat within 90 minutes of waking
• Drink water as soon as you wake
• Consume caffeine after your first meal
• Eat less processed/refined foods
• Reduce/eliminate alcohol
How can we reduce stress?
Some stress is important for the body but chronic stress as we know is detrimental to our physical and
mental health. You can mitigate against external stress factors by reducing caffeine, alcohol, sugar and increasing the quality of your sleep.
Improving your vagal tone is vital for overall health and you can this by spending time outdoors (morning sunlight is best) and introducing daily mediation/ breathing exercises. These simple things have an accumulative effect and will not only decrease chronic stress but will enhance all other areas of your life.
How can we support the organs of elimination?
Doing the first two will go a long way to supporting your digestive system. On top of this choosing foods that contain lots of fibre (so eat lots of cooked and uncooked veg) and whole grains will help with this.
Exercising, especially walking and spending time in nature is greatly beneficial to your digestive system. Supporting your microbiome is also especially important for the effective elimination of waste hormones, supporting your nervous system, immune system and endocrine system.
What type of foods/ macro and micro are supportive for the female body?
Here are my top 10:
• Flaxseeds
• Apple cider vinegar (or other fermented foods)
• Cinnamon
• Turmeric
• Pumpkin seeds
• Sunflower seeds
• Coriander
• Walnuts
• Sesame seeds
• Dark chocolate (no less than 85%)
Phase 1 of Perimenopause can begin anywhere between 35-45
Your Inradian Rhythm is still producing enough hormones to give you a good level of energy, sex drive, skin and
muscle tone but small changes are already occurring inside your ovaries. As your egg supply naturally decreases how
you care for your hormones greatly impacts your fertility if you are still intending on becoming pregnant. You may still be having a regular period at the beginning but later in this phase you begin to skip periods or have longer cycles. By supporting your hormones now you will be set to avoid many of symptoms of hormonal aging and reduce the severity of your symptoms later in perimenopause and then menopause. If you are in phase one of perimenopause eating a diet high in fish and legumes is key, as well as a high intake of B6 and ZINC. Supporting your nervous system and reducing stress/addressing chronic stress is a vital element of supporting your health during this season,
Phase 2 of perimenopause can begin anywhere between 45-55
This is when your infradian Rhythm begins to slow down ( and eventually end permanently) and your hormone levels will begin to change even more dramatically. Over time your body will make increasing amounts of FSH which cause the follicles to mature faster– this will then lead to a shortening of the follicular phase, the luteal progesterone falls, and oestrogen production can remain steady or erratic (this is why we welcome healthy adrenals) and testosterone levels fall. This transition can remain in flow if your hormone levels remain balanced in relation to each other -so this is where supporting your infradian rhythm with functional nutrition and lifestyle choices is going to have a beneficial effect.
Menopause begins in the year after your last period.
Post-Menopause is after the first year of your infradian rhythm ending completely.
You then enter a new and exciting phase of your life – where you have gained incredible wisdom and you can continue to deepen the connection to your body, mind and soul in a different way.
If you are currently moving through perimenopause and would like to support your body, balance your systems, harmonise your hormones and eliminate unwanted symptoms you can find more information here on the BALANCE programme.
