Category: Uncategorized

PMS really does not feel good.  Moods and reactions can be off.  Being more anxious or depressed, sleep cycles disrupted and having painful cramps are some of the symptoms we can experience.

So, here are some ways to bring back your joy premenstrually and in the peri-menopause stage, or when you are suffering from anxiety and depressive symptoms in general.

First, what exactly is happening in your body?

From the time of ovulation until menses, our ovaries secrete progesterone.  The intention is to prepare the uterus and body for pregnancy.  Our bodies are designed to respond to progesterone.  This actually helps us to stick closer to our partner, to feel more connected and intimate and closer to home by caring for our home and loved ones.

When our bodies are not secreting enough progesterone because it’s blocked or being used up faster and there is more estrogen circulating (including xeno-estrogens and endocrine disruptors from out toxic environment) we become more estrogen dominant.

Being Estrogen Dominant Can Lead To:

• Severe PMS
• Anxiety
• Depression
• Mood swings
• Irregular or heavy menstrual cycles
• Breakthrough bleeding
• Ovarian cyst
• Bloating
• Weight gain
• Decreased libido
• Acne
• The monster within us to emerging!

6 Tips to Balance Your Hormones in PMS and Peri-Menopause

1. Get a good night’s sleep (7 – 9 hours)
   • Create a relaxing nighttime ritual
   • Take an Epsom salt bath
   • Turn electronics off at 9 p.m.
   • Practice meditation, deep belly breathing and stretching before bed
   • Take supplements to support sleep such as melatonin or magnesium
   • Use Serenity Capsules or oil at bedtime.  Use on bottom of feet and/or diffuse – more information here – they can be purchased together or separately
2. Eat alkalizing and detoxifying foods
   • Detoxing excess estrogen is essential to a healthy hormone balance.
   • Enjoy cruciferous vegetables daily.  Increase your intake of broccoli cauliflower, Brussels sprouts and dark greens like kale, collards and chard.
   • Add the Women’s Health Kit to your daily routine.  This combination of products helps to reduce estrogen, helps our bones as well as using the oil on our abdomen helps to relieve symptoms of PMS.  You can find out more about these products here.
   • Use this guide for adding alkaline foods to your diet.  Try adding something new every few days.  Strive to add the foods under the “Highly Alkaline” foods.
3. Indulge with dark chocolate
   • Indulge and soothe the senses during this time.  Dark chocolate is rich in antioxidants.
4. Nourish yourself
   • Eat healthy fats and proteins at each meal and in the evening add complex carbs like sweet potatoes.  Avoid snacks and dairy.  Add probiotic-rich and fermented foods.
5. Schedule in playtime
   • Add in daily activities you love with people you love.  This will help increase the hormone oxytocin and will help you connect with those around you.  Restoring hormones of connections can help balance these feelings of isolation and loneliness and will increase serotonin and dopamine, which will keep you happier and calm.
6. Herbal supplements
   • Chasteberry
   • Dandelion
   • Dong Quai
   • Red Raspberry

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I often hear from women that their cycles have been disrupted from the use of birth control containing synthetic hormones.  If we could educate ourselves and understand what they are doing to our bodies and learn of alternative methods of preventing pregnancy, it may be better for our long-term health.  We could prepare for conception in a healthier way and learn to balance our hormones after using hormonal birth control.

We now have more control than ever to choose when we want to have children.  Perhaps knowing the consequences of using hormonal birth control would be helpful when making decisions about birth control.

Choosing Birth Control Responsibly

Each of us owes it to ourselves and our families to research facts on long-term side effects of hormonal birth control use.  Having the understanding that it may affect our fertility and health later in life is important.  Getting pregnant – not getting pregnant – how will getting pregnant impact my life?  How will preventing a pregnancy impact my health?  Balancing those choices to serve our highest good is the question.  When choosing hormonal birth  control, ask yourself:

• Is this something I am willing to use long-term or is it a short-term goal?
• How will taking this impact my fertility?
• Are there better or safer options?

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