Hi friends! How’s it going? Hope you and your loved ones are doing well.

Do any of you deal with frequent mood swings and body aches around the start of your cycle? Or have you noticed major changes in the health and luster of your hair, skin and nails?

These are actually symptoms I have been dealing with for years. I’ve had blood tests and thyroid checks with my primary care physician, yet all has come back normal, time and time again. Yet I just knew that there was something off, and that I should be feeling more emotionally and energetically stable throughout the month. Not to complain, at all, because truly I am so grateful for my health and my overall sense of wellness. Yet I just knew that the fluctuations I was feeling in my mood and energy levels had to be related to something hormonal.

About a month ago I began working with a naturopath and took part in a test that would comprehensively show me how my hormones are doing. And I am so glad that I did, because just as I suspected, I do have a hormonal imbalance. My body is not currently producing enough progesterone and testosterone, leaving me with an overabundance of estrogen that leaves me feeling moody, achey and very fatigued during my luteal and menstrual phases of my cycle. This imbalance also keeps my body from processing cortisol (stress hormones) in a balanced way which leads to me feeling more stressed out and overwhelmed than I need to be feeling.

Now that I know what is going on with my hormones, I can start taking action to support them and rebalance my body in a very natural and cyclical way! On Instagram I asked if others would be interested in me sharing my journey toward hormonal health and was answered with a resounding YES! So here I am to share a bit more about my current journey to balance out my hormones!

For those interested I have linked the resources I am currently using to learn more and balance my hormonal health at the end of this post.

Cyclical Living - Getting “in the flo” of our Infradian Rhythm

In her book “In the Flo” by Alisa Vitti, the author teaches first about the unique Infradian Rhythm that we females possess. An infradian rhythm is a cycle/rhythm that lasts for longer than the 24 hour circadian rhythm. All humans have bodily functions that shift with the daily circadian rhythm, and us females also have bodily functions that shift with a longer infradian rhythm. Our infradian rhythm is the naturally occurring hormonal shifts that females go through four times per month once we reach reproductive age.

Read on to learn about the four stages of our monthly cycle, and changes we can make to our diets and lifestyle to better support the natural shifts of hormones occuring in our bodies.

Menstrual Phase: Days 1-5, Our“winter” cycle

Hormones: estrogen and progesterone are both low

Diet: Limit and avoid salty and fatty foods along with alcohol and caffeine. Eat warming foods like soups, stews and curries and drink warming and relaxing teas like chamomile, lavender and rose.

Fitness: Light movements are best, like yin (restorative) yoga, and walks through Nature.

Lifestyle: Rest and reflect. Take time to review and reflect on what worked for you and what didn’t work for you over the last month.

Follicular Phase: Days 6 -14, Our“spring” cycle

Hormones: Estrogen and progesterone are one the rise.

Diet: Foods that are good at metabolizing estrogen included sprouted and fermented foods, like sprouted seeds and saurkraut.

Fitness: Cardio is best like dance, swim, running, hiking, and flow yoga

Lifestyle: Great time for planning and prepping and coming up with new ideas

Ovulatory Phase: Days 15-17, Our “summer” cycle

Hormones: Estrogen is peaking while progesterone and testosterone are on the rise.

Diet: Great time to eat more raw fruits and veggies and foods that support the liver and are anti-inflammatory. Some examples include fruits, veggies, nuts, oats, fatty fish and more.

Fitness: This is the time to work out hard! Boot camps, circuit training and high intensity workouts are the way to go.

Lifestyle: Open yourself up! Be open and aware of new ideas, new opportunities, new magnetism and new habits.

Luteal Phase: Days 18-28, Your “autumn” cycle

Hormones: Estrogen and progesterone start off high. If there is no pregnancy then these hormone levels start to fall.

Diet: Eat more foods known to produce serotonin like; leafy greens, quinoa and buckwheat. Also eat foods rich in magnesium like; dark chocolate, spinach and pumpkin seeds.

Fitness: Moderate to lighter cardio workouts (similar to follicular phase). Examples include flow yoga, swim, dance, running, hiking etc.

Lifestyle: It’s time to work! This is the longest phase of our monthly cycle, and the best time to get all that work done. Things like administrative tasks, organization, cleaning and the like.

Digestive Support - think plant based!

In general, when attempting to rebalance the hormone system it’s best to start out by cleaning up the diet. According to my research, plant-based whole foods are the best things for us to eat. We should also drink loads of water, because this helps to flush out excess estrogen from our system, and ensures our cells function at their best.

Increase:

Foods with phytoestrogens (plant based estrogen mimicking hormones) like: oats, lentils, barley, apples, sweet potatoes, carrots, sesame seeds, organic soy products and red clover.
Brassica/Cruciferous vegetables like: broccoli, cauliflower, brussel sprouts, cabbage, collard greens, kale, watercress, horseradish and cilantro.
Healthy fats like: avocados, walnuts, olive oil, coconut products, flaxseeds, nuts & seeds.
Increase fiber and probiotics too

Decrease:

Alcohol and caffeine
Animal products like meats and dairy
Highly processed foods
Sugar

I hope you found this post helpful! I am excited to be on this new journey and I hope you all enjoy learning along with me. I am so looking forward to planning out our meals, my time management and exercise routines with this new information. Hopefully I’ll start seeing some shifts in my hormones and also in my stress levels, as I embark on this new lifestyle.

Next up in this series I will be exploring the use of botanical tinctures and infusions as part of our proactive health. Until then friends, wishing you much plant-based wellness.

with love,