Women's hormones, gut + metabolism

What Doctors Tell You About Birth Control vs. What it Actually Does

I remember the day I walked into the doctors office to get my yearly exam before going off to college. She told me I should go on birth control “just incase” Just incase what? Talk about scaring the shit out of a new freshman heading off on her own for the first time.

I know you’ve been there. Whether it was for acne, period pain, PMS, endo, PCOS, heavy periods… You once were told it would solve all your problems.

I was told birth control was safe and effective and came with zero consequences. 🙄

Excuse me?! You’re telling me that taking synthetic hormones comes with zero consequences? 🤔I wish I knew better.

I also wish I knew you can not get pregnant all month long and birth control will not fix symptoms and coming off would be a real bitch.

Here’s the deal:

Birth control is lab made + synthetic, the period you get on birth control is not a real period, it stops ovulation and completely over-rides your natural hormonal rhythm.

It’s a HUGE stressor, your body is working extra hard at trying to detox the synthetic hormones.

It increases your risk of breast cancer and even comes with a warning label. THE ISDA considers synthetic estrogen and progestin a carcinogen.

It depletes you of so many necessary minerals and nutrients. You can probably trace any and all symptoms you are experiencing to mineral deficiencies. Every process in your body especially your thyroid and adrenals need lots and lots of nutrients to do their jobs.

It contains up to 75mg of iron per pill. We only need 1mg iron from food per day due to our amazing recycling system. Talk about iron overload.

It contributes to copper “toxicity” which depletes you even further of necessary minerals. Copper dysregulation is a huge contributor to female related health issues.

One of the biggest offenders that alters your gut microbiome is medications. They directly disrupt our normal gut flora and make us more susceptible to bacterial over growth and yeast and contributes to further nutrient deficiencies.
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Birth control starts a symptomatic cascade shit storm. There are other ways to prevent pregnancy and get to the root cause of your symptoms rather than using a bandaid.

How To Actually Balance Your Hormones

I get it.

I’ve been told…

“Fasting is good for you + helps with weight loss + hormonal imbalances”

“Cruciferous veggies everyday will help with estrogen”

“Seed cycling is a great tool to regulate hormones”

“Plant based eating is necessary if you want to feel better, ditch red meat and dairy, it’s inflammatory”

“Low carb will help with your insulin resistance and weight loss goals”

“Work out as much as possible! Oh and make sure it’s fasted in the morning to burn what you ate the night prior”

“Maybe you should try eating 1200 calories a day, you will def lose weight and feel great”

WHAT DA FUCK.

After many trials + errors I realized none of this shit was working and if anything I felt worse. Who’s been there?

Animal foods are far superior to plant foods when it comes to nutrient density. Most plants are estrogenic, depleted of nutrients, heavy metal ridden and contain anti-nutrients. When it comes to hormonal health, it’s all about minerals and nutrients.

Low carb diets only make you more insulin resistant and does not fix the problem of why glucose can’t get into your cells in the first place. And nobody tells you after you are fed up with your unsustainable low carb diet and try to come out of it you will continue to be insulin resistant until you figure out WHY.

Seeds used in seed cycling (sunflower, flax, pumpkin) are PUFAs, they are already denatured by the time they get to store shelves, create oxidative stress + a toxic storm in your 98 degree body. Why in the F are we adding more fuel to the already estrogen dominant fire? Add some toxic makeup, skincare, cleaning products, etc.. and BOOM.

Fasting in the morning? Fasted workouts? Sure why not continue kindling that hormonal shit storm fire. Fasting as a woman + especially fasted workouts are extremely stressful on the body. What is the root cause to almost all hormonal woes? STRESS.

Cruciferous veggies! PILE THEM UP! 3x per day, docs orders! I’m totally down for thyroid induced coma!

1200 calories, sure I’l try it! Let’s see if I can get my already sluggish metabolism just a little bit more sluggish. I think that will solve my problems, but hey I’l be skinny!

Okay, you get the gist. ✌🏼

Are You Estrogen Dominant?

I used to be that girl.

I went to the tanning salon, I was on birth control for 12 years, loved my MAC makeup + perfume, burned those candles, loved the smell of a clean house, drank out of plastic water bottles or tap, cooked on non stick pans, heated up my perfectly counted pre-prepped macro meal in plastic in the microwave (but I was being healthy right guys?), ate all the PUFAs + conventional foods.

No wonder why I ended up with every estrogen dominant symptom in the book! I was not only getting estrogen endogenously but also exogenously with all these external sources.

I also had gut issues galore preventing me from not being able to eliminate estrogen appropriately.

I was stressed to the max depleting my body of progesterone, the most important hormone of them all and the only thing that could keep my estrogen in check.

There are 2 types of estrogen dominance. Straight up estrogen dominance- an excess of estrogen but other sex hormones like progesterone are in normal range and relative estrogen dominance- when estrogen is high in relation to low progesterone levels.

Symptoms:
Allergies/ histamine intolerance
PMS
Dry skin
Infertility
Fibroids, cysts, cancers
Sore breasts
Low sex drive
Difficulty losing weight
Varicose veins/ cellulite
Blood sugar swings
Osteoporosis
Heavy periods
Cramps
Cyclical headaches, migraines + acne
Fatigue
Water retention
Gut issues – SIBO, IBS, Bloating
Anxiety/ depression
Thyroid dysfunction

But Laura, I got my labs and it shows i’m low in estrogen but I have all the symptoms of estrogen dominance.

Welp, girlfriend that lab doesn’t account for all that excess estrogen being stored in your tissues. If your body is stressed the F out cortisol will be high and estrogen builds up in your tissues.

If you feel estrogen dominate but your labs are normal or low, chances are that you probably are.

One thing that grinds my gears, women that are told to take DIM but never address why they are estrogen dominant in the first place or if their detox pathways are open. This is harmful.

The first thing you can do is avoid endocrine disruptors + toxins that are mimicking estrogen in your body then address elimination.

Could Masculine Energy Be Wrecking Your Cycle?

Every morning you review all your goals for the day and plan out how you’re going to accomplish all of them.

Throughout the day you are laser focused on your to-do list accomplishing one task after another, pushing yourself and others to get shit done.

When you are out with friends you don’t share your problems, you keep them internalized because you don’t want opinions.

You’re so busy during the day that you forget to eat or you’re rigidly following a diet plan that is not satisfying.

You pick your workouts based on your fitness goals for the month, you push to do them regardless of how you feel.

After work you just want to talk about what you accomplished that day, multi-task and make your next to-do list.

Does this sound like you? This is all too familiar to me, they don’t call me the queen of productivity for no reason. If you answered yes to most of these you are radiating masculine energy. For many women this masculine energy can lead to hormonal imbalance.

The constant need to get shit done can lead to pushing ourselves too hard at the gym and work, skipping meals, creating poor sleep habits, and making poor food choices. This can lead to blood sugar dysregulation and adrenal fatigue and a cascade of hormonal imbalances. Unfortunately, in some cases this masculine energy can make you start to ignore your menstrual cycle or want to eliminate it completely with the use of birth control so you can keep on keeping on without discomfort or feelings.

THIS IS NOT HOW OUR PHYSIOLOGY WORKS AS WOMEN.

It is creating a disconnection to your female body.

Masculine energy makes you feel disconnected from emotions, base your worth on material success, tend to have low verbal skills to build deep relationships and makes you feel isolated and unsupported. Whereas with feminine energy you let projects develop at a natural pace while enjoying the creative process, you love to create community and work with others, you connect to your emotions and you relate with others by listening and sharing.

A good way to step into your feminine energy is to chill the F out… Okay, easier said than done but check in with yourself. When you wake up in the morning do a workout based on how you feel and don’t go running to create a to-do list, maybe read, journal and do some stretching. Slow down and feel all the feels. And for god’s sake eat when you are hungry, don’t let a busy day keep you from having a nourishing NECESSARY meal.

The goal is to keep a balance between the two energies, I’m not asking you to constantly stop and smell the roses ALL THE TIME but more so be aware of your masculine energy and work on ways to incorporate feminine energy into the day.

Are You Running on Stress Hormones?

I saw a quote a while ago that I strongly resonated with and I think most of you will too:

“If you listen to your body when it whispers you won’t have to hear it scream”

Society makes women feel like they need to do it all. We are seen as weak if we don’t.

We are expected to work hard and have thriving careers, take care of everything at home, take care of the kids, cook healthy meals, get a hard workout in everyday, you can’t say no or your are seen as a bitch, and on top of that we are expected to look a certain way. The pressure we put on ourselves is wild.

This pressure, these expectations, are what is causing our health to spiral.

We are stressed the F out. We spread ourselves too thin. We are stuck in a constant state of stress and honestly it’s hard to remember to eat and on top of that a nourishing meal. In some cases we even praise ourselves for being able to run on fumes (or stress hormones) all day not eating a crumb all day.

One of the only ways we can come out of this stressed out state and feel better is by nourishing ourselves. Eating every 3-4 hours, eating protein, carb and fat at every meal, getting in a bedtime snack, eat the damn carbs and fruit, focusing on eating superior foods from animal sources, and start taking care of yourself, stop over committing and just say no.

Symptoms are our bodies cries for help and most of the time we are too wound up in “life” that we don’t listen and we end up depleting ourselves even further. Listen to your body she is trying to keep you alive.