Written by Tasha Stevens, Integrative Clinical Nutritionist, B.S., NASM CPT, STOTT Pilates Instructor, Founder Happy Hormone Health
Photography by Jessica Feely
PART TWO of a six-part series uncovering the root causes of conditions affecting women’s health, and learning how to manage them through lifestyle.
I will never forget sitting in the doctor’s office when I was 23. I gained 30 pounds in a single month, my periods were painful and heavy, I was exhausted no matter how much coffee I drank or how much I slept, and my anxiety was crippling.
I knew this was not normal. But my hope shattered when my doctor said these very words “Well, everything looks fine. This is just normal for women your age.”
I remember thinking, how could these things be normal? It can’t be…and it wasn’t.
Symptoms Are NOT Normal
Feeling constantly dismissed by doctors and western medicine is an experience shared by so many women. This type of gaslighting has been happening for years, but it is time to put an end to it.
Women have been told that it is normal to feel any number of symptoms as a part of their daily life. Symptoms such as chronic fatigue, bloating, PMS and mood swings, spotting and heavy, painful periods, anxiety and depression.
But why is it that women disproportionately struggle with symptoms and are left to
silently suffer?
Hormones. The female hormone cycle has been ignored in health and medicine for the last few decades due to the complexity of our 28-day cycle.
Symptoms are immediate bio-feedback from your body telling you something is wrong. Symptoms happen because hormones are imbalanced and they become disrupted because systems are missing key nutrients and support to function optimally.
Your Hormones Matter
Women have a unique 28-day menstrual cycle that influences everything from your mood, energy level, metabolic rate, nutrient needs, productivity level, social desire, sex drive, and even ability to workout.
When your hormones are balanced, you feel good. Weight loss isn’t so challenging, your energy skyrockets, you no longer struggle with bloating or anxiety, and most importantly—because you feel good, you become the confident, vibrant, best version of yourself.
You take control of your health when you learn to listen and respond to hormones.
The Signs of Hormone Imbalance
Instead of thinking of your symptoms as a burden, think of them as clues to understanding exactly what is happening so you can take action.
Estrogen Dominance
Estrogen is essential and powerful, but too much can lead to horrible period pains and weight loss resistance.
Signs & Symptoms:
• Heavy, dark red or purple periods
• Weight gain or resistant weight loss in the hips, arms, and thighs
• Intense cramping and pain during your period
How to Support:
• Start each day with lemon water and a pinch of salt to stimulate liver function and detoxification pathways
• Eat 1 cup of cruciferous vegetables daily to increase DIM and indole-3-carbinol which helps to bind and filter excess estrogen
• Add heavy strength training two times a week to increase lean mass and decrease storage in the tissues
Low Progesterone
This is not just a fertility hormone! Women need it to increase fat oxidation, reduce anxiety, and help balance estrogen.
Signs & Symptoms:
• Spotting before or after periods that is brown/rust colored
• Breast Swelling, PMS, and Migraines
• Anxiety or Depression
How to Support:
• Incorporate magnesium-rich foods daily such as dark chocolate (70%+), spinach, almonds, or bananas
• Increase Vitamin D intake through morning sunlight exposure and supplementation
• Improve lymphatic drainage with rebounding or exercise to help transport progesterone with daily activity. My favorite way is with five minutes of rebounding daily.
Learning to adapt your lifestyle in response to your symptoms can help you feel good again
High Cortisol
Stress creates a biological halt on all hormone production pathways and in today’s culture, most of us are so overwhelmed you might not recognize it.
Signs & Symptoms:
• Stubborn belly fat and feeling puffy
• Chronic fatigue and sleep disruption
• Bloating and gastric distress daily
How to Support:
• Focus on eating every 3-4 hours to stabilize blood sugar which can spike cortisol
• Increase protein intake to about 3 ounces per meal to provide the amino acids (aka building blocks) for hormones
• Avoid blue light 30 minutes before bed and 10 minutes after waking up
Low Estrogen
Low estrogen is often associated with perimenopause or menopause, but more than ever it is occurring in young women due to chronic stress.
Signs & Symptoms:
• Very light periods that are light pink in color
• Hot flashes and night sweats
• Thinning hair
How to Support:
• Incorporate foods high in phytoestrogens to mimic estrogen activity like edamame, flax seeds, or peaches
• Add vitamin E rich foods to stabilize estrogen levels such as sunflower seeds, almonds, mangos
• Ditch high-intensity training and add more restorative movement like pilates, yoga and breathwork to reduce stress
What Are Your Symptoms Telling You?
Your symptoms do not define you. Learning their meaning and how to support them with hormone balanced nutrition and strength is how you transform your health and live symptom-free.
