Women's hormones, gut + metabolism

Non-Toxic Green Tea + Your Hormones

There are lots of studies + controversy out there about green tea. Understandably so.

Green tea is a plant after all and what do we know about plants? They are really good at sucking up all the heavy metals and toxins in soil. Green tea is exceptionally good at this. Green tea is known for its high accumulation of fluoride, lead, aluminum, and arsenic. What do all of these things have in common? They are estrogenic, anti-thyroid and anti-metabolism.

Studies show that fluoride in green tea will reduce thyroid function by 50%.

A real bummer since green tea in and of itself can actually be really beneficial.

Before you go grabbing a random green tea off the shelf or ordering your daily matcha latte shop down the road do some research and find a brand you trust because y’all I love green tea and it’s slue of benefits, especially for us women.

Let’s take a look:

+ It’s an aromatase inhibitor! In other words it is anti-estrogen + stops the conversion of other hormones to estrogen.

+ The compound EGCG found in green tea inhibits the growth + proliferation of breast cancer.

+ Loaded with L-thenanine, decreasing serotonin, which is not actually the happy hormone but a stress hormone!

“The amino acid theanine, found in tea, has been reported to decrease the amount of serotonin, probably by decreasing its synthesis and increasing its degradation.” – Peat

+ Research has found it helps to lower the stress hormone cortisol. High cortisol can increase glucose output in the liver, induce fat accumulation and weaken insulin sensitivity in adipose tissues, resulting in an increased risk for the metabolic syndrome.

+ If it helps to reduce stress it will naturally aid in weight loss. It also increases your energy expenditure.

+ It aids in digestion + as we know, good digestion is the cornerstone to balanced hormones. It helps to populate good bacteria in the intestines and heal and seal the gut making it less permeable. It has been shown to suppress food allergies + reduce inflammation due to a particular strain of clostridia it provides.

Keep in mind sourcing is key + avoid brewing in tap water! I love the brand @piquetea they do it right!

*Not sponsored.

Could Your Sluggish Thyroid Be The Reason You Feel like Shit?

I know, I know. You checked the box for every single one of these yet you go to the doctor demanding your thyroid be checked just to have it come back normal every single time 🙄.

Here’s the deal. Blood labs don’t show the whole picture.

You’re probably wondering how all these symptoms can be related to your thyroid. Well girlfriend, your thyroid runs the metabolic show. When we talk about pro-metabolic eating, we are talking about supporting your thyroid, the main metabolic gland.

Your metabolism is the process that your body uses to transform food to energy that your body uses to function. The thyroid creates the hormones T4 and T3 to control your metabolism. These hormones work throughout the body to tell the body’s cells how much energy to use.

But guess what! YOU CAN HEAL YOUR THYROID THROUGH DIET AND LIFESTYLE.

I repeat. You can heal your thyroid through diet and lifestyle. Don’t let anyone tell you differently.

First and foremost figure out what got you to this place. SWIPE RIGHT.

There are all types of thyroid issues and addressing patterns is key. It’s not just hypothyroidism. It’s detective work to figure out if its straight up hypothyroidism, an under-conversion pattern, cellular hypothyroidism, or a brain-based pattern.

What to do about it?

+ Make sure you get a full thyroid panel + have it interpreted by a functional doctor or nutritionist (like myself) to address findings and patterns

+ Markers to request:
Reverse T3
Thyroid Antibodies (Thyroglobulin Antibody + Thyroid Peroxidase (TPO) Antibody)
Thyroid-stimulating Hormone (TSH) Thyroxine (T4)
Thyroxine (T4), Free,
Direct Triiodothyronine (T3) Triiodothyronine (T3), Free

+ Get an HTMA. Thyroid issues will always show up on a cellular level before blood work and 9x out of 10 can be addressed with minerals + diet.

+ Check your basil body temperature. One of the easiest ways to understand your thyroid.

+ Remember everything is connected, it always comes back to your mineral status and gut health!

And most importantly, nourish those cells with an abundance of animal foods, fruits, dairy, and root veggies. And always address stress.

How You Eat Matters More Than What You Eat

Every morning you run out the door eating your breakfast in the car or walking.

You’re stressed at work so you eat lunch at your desk trying to get things done or your face is buried in your phone.

You’re standing over the sink scarfing down your lunch because you’re too busy.

When you were a kid your parents always fought at the kitchen table.

You were always judged by family members or friends for going up for seconds, how much you ate or what you ate.

You always had to fend for yourself as a kid because your parents were never home for dinner.

You second guess everything you put in your mouth, whether it’s good or bad, too much or too little.

What do all these have in common? Stress! Yes, even these experiences from your childhood can create stress and a constant fight or flight state as an adult around food.

Let’s break it down real quick, digestion starts in the brain. The brain sends signals to your organs to start producing digestive juices to break down and assimilate your food.

If your brain is in constant fight or flight or stressed the F out from any of the above along with any other emotional stressor of the day stress hormones will prevent the brain from sending the signal to your organs that it is time eat.

Stress takes away from the digestive process due to your body being more concerned about surviving and running from that “angry bear” aka stress. It will divert blood and nutrients away from your digestive tract to your muscles, heart and lungs because those are priority and take away from resting and digesting.

What happens when this occurs?

Chronic fight + flight = weight gain, poor digestion, poor nutrient absorption + hormonal imbalances

I can assure you 80% of your problems could be solved by creating a stress free environment and mentality around food. If you grew up eating pizza and french fries in a stress free home, I guarantee you will be better off than someone who grew up eating “healthy” in an anxious and stressed out state all the time.

Here’s some tips:
CHEW YOUR FOOD / 10x before swallowing, almost to liquid. Large chunks of food will ferment, rot, feed that bad bacteria and cause extreme stress/ inflammation on your digestive tract. Inflammation = weight gain

ELIMINATE DISTRACTIONS / put away your phone and shut off the tv, step away from your desk and do not eat while driving or standing over the sink.

EXPERIENCE YOUR FOOD / This new food delivery shit is really destroying our relationship with food. There is something to be said about going to a store and picking out your food and preparing it yourself. Smelling, touching, experiencing your food is so important. Go to Farmer’s Markets, find a local farmer, go to a grocery store you enjoy.

WORK THROUGH PAST TRAUMAS/ ANXIETY AROUND FOOD / yes, past traumas, negative thoughts and second guessing your food will reflect your relationship with food today and may be the reason for a lot of your health issues.

TAKE A FEW DEEP BREATHS BEFORE EATING / using your breath is one of the easiest ways to come out of fight or flight and into a rest and digest state.

And lastly, EAT TO SUPPORT YOUR METABOLISM. The whole point of eating pro-metabolic is to bring down stress hormones.

Superior Proteins vs. Inferior Proteins

So what’s the difference between these 2 lists?

Digestibility, absorbability, and bio-available protein.

I have said it before and I will say it again, animal foods are far superior to plant foods especially when it comes to protein! I honestly don’t even know how plants can qualify as proteins.

You see plants, nuts, seeds, soy, beans, lentils, and pea proteins contain defense mechanisms like enzyme inhibitors, toxic proteins, phytates and other anti-nutrients because they don’t want you to eat them.

They also contain PUFAs creating oxidative stress, heavy metals from the soils and tap water they are grown in and glyphosate.

Plant proteins do not supply you with bio-available nutrients but actually interfere with nutrient absorption and irritate your gut lining (where you absorb nutrients) causing major digestive distress and deficiencies.

Who switched to a plant based diet, ate lots of nuts and seed, vegetables and legumes only to be left with crippling digestive issues?

Animal foods supply us with all the nutrients we need without all the bullshit that plants do and their protein is easily digestible and absorbable.

Why did we get so caught up in the plant protein craze? Vegan propaganda.

There is always an agenda.

Never in history have we consumed so many plants, nuts, seeds, soy and legumes. Yet, we are sicker. These foods DO NOT work for our biology. We have been consuming meat, dairy, eggs, and broths since the dawn of time.

Correlation? Perhaps so. Because as we know, our body runs on nutrients. There is no way you are getting all your nutrients from a plant based diet or enough protein. Protein deficiency creates an inflamed and stressed out state. End of story.

I suggest getting at least 80-100 grams of protein a day. Try doing that with all that bird food!

“Recently, most of the (nutritional) problems seem to be caused by badly designed vegetarian diets, or by acceptance of the idea that 40 grams of protein per day is sufficient. The liver and other organs deteriorate rapidly on low-protein diets.” – Peat

Ditch that chickpea, lentil, legume pasta, your beyond meat burgers + pea protein powders + get in some absorbable REAL protein.

It’s Not “Just Hormonal”

So you’ve got all the symptoms of hormonal imbalances:

PMS/ mood swings
cramping
heavy, light or irregular periods
fatigue
bloating
night sweats + sleep probs
breast tenderness
migraines/headaches
infertility
low libido
acne
weight gain
brain fog

How many times have you been to the doctors and hear “don’t worry, it’s just hormonal” and you are told to go on birth control or take HRT and it will fix everything!

Or how many times have you run to the doctor to get your hormones checked through blood work (not the best method FYI) only to be left without any answers or same as above, be told you need to go on birth control and it will magically cure all your symptoms.

Can we please ✋🏻

Well, the next time that happens to you I would politely ask your physician, “why the F are my hormones messed up in the first place.”

If they say all of the above + work with you to address them, you’ve got yourself a winner!

Here’s the kicker tho, once you start having symptoms of hormonal imbalances this means it has been present for awhile. You see our bodies are resilient AF and can handle a lot of the burden we put on them. Once that burden bucket overflows and tips, that is when you start to see hormonal symptoms.

What causes this overflow?

⫸ Too much stress (mental, emotional, and physical)
⫸ Blood sugar imbalances
⫸ Gut + liver + bile health
⫸ Cellular health
⫸ Poor detoxification
⫸ Sleep issues
⫸ Movement (too much or too little)
⫸ Nutrition + following diets that work for your physiology
⫸ Toxins
⫸ Mineral deficiencies + imbalances

You see, your hormones are not the root cause! It’s a matter of figuring out what got your hormones so wrecked in the first place.

For example if you have high estrogen you need to address toxins, detox pathways, stress, mineral deficiencies, copper, iron, estrogenic foods, gut health, liver health, etc… Being put on birth control or HRT is not going to fix this, it is just a bandaid.

Before you want to blame your high estrogen, low progesterone, high T or whatever else you’ve googled or that’s showing on labs. Ask yourself HOW did I get here in the first place.

Focusing on hormones alone simply does not make sense.