400 years ago, I gave birth to my now 16-year-old giant (it feels that long ago). A friend gave me some sage advice. To combat baby feeding exhaustion and overwhelm (inevitable) she told me to pick one or two midwives and just listen to their advice. Tune out the rest she said.

It was overwhelming and her advice was spot on.

When the hormone chaos of perimenopause struck me down in my early 40’s I learned it pays to research and listen to many opinions. I found it hard to get a grip on how my changing hormones were changing things in my body and mind.

I now know I had symptoms of low progesterone such as fluid retention, mood disturbance and tiredness. I can see my estrogen levels where all over the place causing perimenopause symptoms like hot flashes and brain fog.

I wish I knew hormonal changes start long before perimenopause making the menopause transition a confusing situation.

I was constantly doing tests and being told my hormones were normal and I was not in menopause when I nothing felt normal. I didn't realise my hormonal imbalances during perimenopause contributed to iron deficiency which cruelly caused absolute havoc with my cycle. Unfortunately, it's complex and there's a lot to understand around women's hormonal health. So many things affect hormone health such as the stresses of work and life as well as nutritional deficiencies.

Don't let perimenopause menopause sabotage your wellbeing.

Who doesn’t love a punchy informative podcast with a couple of key takeaways? The awesome podcast I listened to recently was not that. It went for 2.5 hours and was a GOLD MINE of information and guidance to support female hormonal health and vitality.

Let me crudely summarise for you an enlightening discussion between Dr. Andrew Huberman and Dr Sara Gottfried who has an unconventional perspective on the intersection of traditional medicine, nutrition, supplementation, and behavioral practices to optimise  hormonal health.

Curious factors impacting women’s hormonal health:

Family History, Heredity & Environment. Trauma and intergenerational trauma can affect the endocrine system. Perimenopause, menopause, endometriosis, fibroids, and polycystic ovarian syndrome can have a genetic component.

Tip: See what you can uncover. Have conversations with family members to understand your background better.

Gut microbiome has a significant impact on hormone balance and metabolism. Women have unique needs when it comes to managing their gut microbiome to optimise estrogen, testosterone, thyroid, and growth hormone levels.

Tip: Probiotics can be beneficial when under significant stress or after taking antibiotics. Eating more vegetables is a great starting place for gut microbiome health.

Digestive issues are more prevalent in women than men. Women tend to have more constipation than men due to diet, stress, and hormonal imbalances. Constipation is defined as having a bowel movement less than once a day and feeling a complete evacuation.

Tip: Constipation whilst common in women can signal other issues so open up about with your health provider.

Perceived stress left unmanaged. We need to proactively manage stress to enhance immunity and well-being to help to reduce the risk of chronic disease. Different stress reduction tools work for different people. In additional to meditation, yoga, breath work other tools include sex, connection, and feeling heard and seen and loved.

Tip: Try 5 minutes of cyclic sighing which is proven to improve in mood and lower resting heart rate. Take a deep breath in through your nose. Then take second breath to breath in any remaining air before sighing it out your mouth. It isn’t intended to be a forceful sigh. Add sound effects!

Psychosocial stress factors unique to women. Health hazards for women include psychological stress and risks. Women experience more trauma than men, which can affect health and perceived stress. Adverse childhood experiences can impact age and severity of menopause. Systemic stress in the body is a consequence of systemic stress of environment. This relates to white privilege and racism and women experience a different experience in this system.

Exercise is critical to hormone health. Exercise regularly with a combination of cardio and resistance training. Consider the impact on your cortisol levels when exercising. For example when I ran long distances during perimenopause, it increased my cortisol, made me more insulin resistant (weight gain) and depleted me.

Tip: Incorporate resistance and strength training into your week using body weight, bands or weights.

Oral Contraceptives. It's important to stay grounded in pro’s and con’s as well as how it impacts each woman. Taking estrogen reduces the risk of ovarian cancer by 50%. Oral contraceptives provide reproductive choice and reduce ovulation. Oral contraceptives deplete micronutrients, affect the microbiome, increase inflammatory tone, and can affect thyroid function.

Tip: Do your homework, listen to your body. Consider Copper IUDs are a non-hormonal form of contraception with a high satisfaction rate.

Menopause and HRT. Hormone replacement therapy can be beneficial for women if started early enough during menopause. Hormones typically replaced are estrogen and progesterone. The Women's Health Initiative study was done with synthetic hormones and had wrong outcomes. Women 50-60 have greatest benefit from hormone replacement therapy. Benefits include decreased subclinical atherosclerosis, improved bone health, and decreased progression to diabetes. Over 60, greater risk of cardiovascular disease and myocardial infarction.

Perimenopause. Perimenopause is the period of time before a woman's final menstrual cycle and can last up to 10 years. Symptoms of perimenopause include sleeping poorly, increased anxiety, and hot flashes. Lisa Moscone's research shows menopause symptoms originate in the brain (not under hjer bikini!).  Hot flashes and night sweats are biomarkers of cardiometabolic disease, bone loss, and changes in the brain which can increase the risk of cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes.

Tip: If you are experiencing night sweats or excessive hot flashes, explore hormonal, non-hormonal, medical and non-medical treatment options.

There is much to understand when it comes to hormone profiling, testing, nutritional testing and supplement dosage because it has to be specific to you and your needs.

Perhaps you realised all women are affected by psychosocial stress but did you appreciate the impact on hormone health? Ken reminds us the patriarchy is not just about horses. Take a note from Barbie's real-world play book, empower yourself with insights and head off to your women's health specialist. In birkenstocks if you choose.

Ref: full podcast here