I was recently on the TV show Nat en Parle to do a quick talk about hormones. One of the comments that the host Nat Kahale made during the super fun conversation struck me like a ton of bricks. The cringe activating comments from the 2 other female guests made me realize that more education and conversations need to happen about hormones and women’s health in general.
All 3 women are incredibly smart, educated, wise and amazing people. What they had to say just reinforced how much we, as women, accept as normal even though it is absolutely NOT OK and absolutely NOT NORMAL.
Here are a few of the comments that lead to awesome conversations that lit my fire to get more facts out there so that we can shift how we help ourselves, as women, to thrive and not just put up with stuff:
FYI, these women are in their 40’s and they said these things as a “matter of fact’ kind of thing. You know, the “it is what it is” kind of thing (I don’t have their EXACT wording but it is really close)
“ Hormones, what a boring topic. Who wants to think of hormones! I am far from menopause. Who wants to think of something so depressing”
“I can’t wait until menopause! I won’t have to deal with the heavy bleeding anymore”
“I freaking cry for over a week before my period. I am usually a mess every month.”
Where do I even start to unpack what needs to be unpacked here?
I will do my best not to go on a rant and make your heads spin with too much information. Here we go…
We get to experience the superpowers of sex hormones, as women, as soon as our bodies can create babies until the day we die! We have a multitude of other hormones such as cortisol, insulin and so many more that are with us from birth to death.
Making sure that our hormones are well balanced, to ensure a healthy vibrant existence, comes from eating clean, avoiding toxins, managing stress, having regular bowel movements, exercising wisely are regularly and, possibly by taking bio-identical hormones. Yes, I said it… taking hormones!
Sadly, women have been misinformed about the power and safety of bioidentical hormone replacement therapy and suffer needlessly. The fear of getting breast cancer because of hormone replacement therapy has led so many women to die of heart attacks! More women die of heart attacks than cancer and the heart attacks could have been avoided if they would have had balanced hormones!
Below is a list of the things that women as early as their 1st periods experience needlessly. These are NOT OK and they are NOT NORMAL. They are, sadly, extremely COMMON though!
I just attended a conference where over 40 gynecologists admitted that they did not get any training during their GP or OBGYN training to help women where hormones are concerned. All of these professionals sought out extensive education on the topic when they became naturopaths or functional medicine doctors. So don’t expect your family doctor to be able to help you. They are amazing people but sadly, they are not equipped to help you.
- Heavy bleeding during your period
- Irregular periods
- Painful periods
- Tender breasts
- Irritability
- Insomnia, restless sleep or many nightmares
- Migraines
- Unexplained weight gain especially around the belly
- Turkey neck or extra flab around the throat
- Fibroids
- Endometriosis
- Ovarian cysts
- Anxiety
- Depression, extreme sadness
- Burnout, exhaustion, lack of energy
- Fog brain, inability to concentrate or remember things
- Recurring urinary tract infections
- Coronary heart disease, high blood pressure
We need to spread the word that these are not ok and that if you do suffer from any of these you should seek the help of a naturopath or functional medicine doctor who specializes in hormones to get the proper care that you deserve.
I am here if you want some insight and guidance on living with vitality without being clobbered by unbalanced hormones.