Dr. Whitney chats with Dr. Heather Rhodes about all things hormones. They talk about how diet culture has forced us into extremely damaging habits, how to track your cycle in a way that tells you about your hormone picture, and why lowering your stress hormones are the first step to hormone (and overall) health.
Key takeaways:
We want to learn about our bodies and we have so much information at our fingertips right now. But hormones are something that just gets swept under the rug and women really aren’t ever given an opportunity to learn about this topic that affects every single part of their lives. Things that we’ve always traditionally been taught were “healthy” usually fly in the face of what our bodies need to function from a place of balanced hormones.
Hormones are made of fats, but you need specific types of fats in order to make them. Lots of people are really low on fat that they need to make healthy hormone production, but really high in the fats that cause inflammation. A typical medical approach would be to put them on meds to decrease fats overall rather than looking at the body as a whole and how it’s functioning. People need the information to understand how their body functions, which then turns into the skill of knowing how to maintain healthy hormones.
There’s definitely a time and a place for medication, but what are some things we can do as prevention so that our body isn’t depleted and starts to shut down our hormones?
For women specifically, they need to know how and why their body cycles. Things like, when are you ovulating? All of this is helpful when we start to look at symptoms like PMS, fatigue, and migraines because they point to our bodies struggling while our hormones are transitioning at different points in our cycles.
Track your cycle and your symptoms for 30 days so you can connect the dots. We can track our Basal Body Temperatures (BBT) and they can give us insight on how our metabolism is working. It shows us whether or not our bodies are running on reserves or if it’s functioning at an optimal level. It also points to thyroid health and stress levels.
If we’re tracking our cycle, symptoms, and body temps–what do we do with that?
You’ve got to find resources that will teach you what those signs are pointing to, because those are all signals that our body is trying to give us. When you can understand what those signals are, it unlocks everything. A simple google search will give you a graph for what your hormone cycle will look like (although a professional set of eyes on your info is always a great idea!)
For instance, right before you start your period, progesterone levels are supposed to take a pretty big dip. Progesterone is supposed to turn off our fight or flight and lower our cortisol levels, which is why it’s called natural Xanax. If your levels aren’t balanced with super low progesterone, when the dip starts to happen you feel like a crazy person! Those transitions are supposed to be a soft wave, not like jumping off the end of a cliff.
Taking hormone-specific supplements isn't the answer either, because it tells our brain to stop producing it because it’s getting it from an outside source. Even the most natural forms of it don’t operate the same way as the ones your body will make.
So then you’d look at why those progesterone levels were lower and what can decrease it in your body. Nine times out of ten it’s caused by high stress signaling in your body–some part of your body is super stressed out, which tells your brain to stop producing progesterone and start producing higher stress hormones because it thinks you aren’t “safe” and need to be on high alert.
It comes down to the signals your body is receiving (no sleep, poor nutrients, crazy workouts) and the nutrients that it takes in in order to make the hormones.
So the answer is really about finding ways to lower our stress holistically, so that when there are things that come along that shouldn’t stress us out, our levels don’t go crazy.
Yep! Because it’s not just about telling yourself to be “less stressed.” Think of how we take care of our kids. We’d never let them not eat until 2pm. We’d never let them consistently get hours less sleep than they need to. It would turn them into crazy people and that’s what we’re essentially doing to our bodies. And over time, our body sees that as normal, so it stops sending you the healthy signals (like hunger!) that it would otherwise in order to keep things safe.
Two questions to ask yourself: how do I structure my life so that it’s not continually stressed out from a physiological standpoint and how can I give my body more of what it needs to function well? That way, when it gets the signal that things aren’t going well, your body already knows what to do and can keep it balanced.
For those women that are feeling like they can’t slow down because they feel like everything will fall apart if they stop “producing,” or assume that there’s NO way they can do it. That their value is found in their ability to never stop. What can you say to them?
First, they’ve got to find a new rhythm that is restorative to their body. Second, in order to make changes to your hormones, you don’t have to do ALL the things. It’s not necessary to do yoga 7 days a week, quit your job, make your husband watch the kids all day, and eat clean 100% of the time. Instead, look at the habits and routines you’re already doing every single day and how you can add in pieces of support.
You’re already waking up every morning. Can you add in 5 minutes of breathwork before you pick up your phone? You take the kids to school every day. Could you turn the radio off and sit in silence for 5 minutes? Can we take the foods that you’re already eating and add in things that will replenish the nutrients that get depleted when you’re highly stressed? Work on the timing of meals so your blood sugar is stabilized? Pick one new habit and start with a small and intentional decision. We’re not overhauling your life. We’re just taking what you’re already doing and what you love and making it 10% better. And over time, you CAN see 100% of your symptoms resolve.
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