Week 5
Welcome to the Module 2 Week 5 of the Fertile Ground Holistic Fertility Program!
Module 2
Week 5
Module 2 - Weeks 5-8 will be focusing on the role blood sugar plays in working with our hormones; toxins and their effects on hormones, sleep and stress roles; and functional labs for hormones.
Causes of Blood Sugar Dysregulation and Insulin Resistance
We know that sugar and simple carbohydrate consumption is the main culprit behind insulin resistance, but there are other factors that can contribute to this condition that shouldn’t be ignored. So, we’re going to go over the main contributors to blood sugar dysregulation. These contributors are:
As you’ll notice, many of these are interconnected, like stress and sleep, and obesity and inflammation. This is what makes blood sugar imbalance and insulin resistance such a vicious cycle. It feeds off itself, leading to more conditions that in turn exacerbate the imbalance. This is why I call these conditions “contributors” as they contribute to the blood sugar issue while not necessarily being the underlying cause of the issue in the first place.
The good news is, the interconnectedness of all of these conditions makes it possible to remedy multiple problems with effective and targeted changes to your client’s lifestyle and diet.
Let’s start with gut health and inflammation. The health of our gut strongly affects insulin and blood sugar management.
Inflammation is a signal to the immune system that there is something wrong, which causes our immune system to kick into gear, producing inflammatory markers like cytokines to investigate the problem. These cytokines have been found to decrease insulin sensitivity in our cells while they work towards addressing the inflammation. Basically, our cells are on “lock down” while our immune system searches for a foreign invader. So, in a nutshell, the thing to remember here is inflammation causes an increase in insulin resistance.
Let’s move on to our next contributor to blood sugar imbalance, STRESS.
Our body's stress response is designed to give us a boost in energy to overcome a life threatening situation. To do this, our adrenal glands flood our system with cortisol, epinephrine and other stress hormones, which go about securing the energy needed to deal with whatever we’re confronting.
Cortisol raises our blood pressure, shuts down non-essential systems like our digestive and reproductive systems, and goes about gathering up all the energy it can find to help us fight or run away.
To make sure we can access all the energy we need, cortisol signals our cells to disregard any insulin messages. Basically, it says, “Hey Cells, I need that glucose so don’t remove it from the blood!” This, of course, leads to a temporary state of insulin resistance.
Another way cortisol secures energy for the fight or flight response is through a process called gluconeogenesis, which is the conversion of amino acids to glucose in the liver.
Once the stressful event is over and the cortisol levels come down, our cells regain their insulin sensitivity. But, as we all know, for many of us, the stressful event never ends! This can cause cortisol levels to remain elevated for prolonged periods of time, leading to a chronic state of dysregulated blood sugar and insulin resistance.
Now let’s move on to our next contributor, SLEEP.
As the Dalai Lama once said, “sleep is the best meditation!”
Especially in the fast paced world we live in today, sleep is an invaluable part of restoring our bodies systems, and preparing them for another day of non-stop activity. When you think of sleep, think of the maintenance crew that comes out after a rock concert at an arena to clean up all the garbage, and get the place nice and tidy for tomorrow’s show. These crews aren’t as sexy as the rock bands that play on stage but without them, the show, quite literally, could not go on.
When we sleep our heart rate lowers, our breathing slows, our brain gets a much needed rest and our blood flow gets directed to muscles so damaged tissue can be repaired. Adequate sleep literally prevents inflammation, obesity, and cardiovascular disease. If we’re sleep deprived, these important tasks cannot get done, which will affect the way the body performs its normal tasks when we’re awake.
This is why poor sleep has been shown to increase appetite, oftentimes for those sugars and refined carbohydrates that will bump up our blood sugar and our energy. Studies have shown that when we get too little sleep, the hormone ghrelin that makes us hungry is increased, while leptin, the hormone that makes us feel full, is reduced causing us to want to eat more.
It’s believed that the reason for this is because the brain, which requires a significant amount of glucose to function optimally, if not well rested, will demand more food. Basically, if we don’t adequately rest our muscles and give them time to restore their energy levels, when we wake up they will ask us to get that energy by eating.
In addition, just one week of sleep deprivation makes us more insulin resistant. If our bodies are not well rested and allowed the time to restore their energy, they will want to use the energy available in our blood as efficiently as possible. This means that they will reduce the insulin sensitivity in our cells to prevent them from grabbing up all the glucose in our blood, so that it can be used by our brain and muscles. This is why, when we’re sleep deprived, our cortisol levels rise, putting our body in a state of stress to optimize the use of available energy.
Onto the next contributor, ENVIRONMENTAL TOXINS.
Also known as endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs), these toxins include plastic derivatives such as bisphenol A phthalates, as well as pesticides, mercury, cadmium, flame retardants, and polychlorinated biphenyls. 15 There are a lot more but these are some of the main ones.
In addition to being incredibly disruptive to the endocrine system, many of these also have a direct impact on the beta cells in the pancreas, which are responsible for producing insulin. While some of these are now banned, they’re still very present in our environment. It’s best to avoid these toxins as much as possible, but unfortunately, for most people it isn’t possible to avoid them completely.
Ways to avoid or reduce environmental toxins include:
Are you all seeing a theme here? The culprits are basically all the same! In every case, they upset the delicate balance of stress hormones and blood sugar regulating hormones.
- Gut health and inflammation
- Obesity
- Stress
- Lack of sleep
- Environmental toxins
As you’ll notice, many of these are interconnected, like stress and sleep, and obesity and inflammation. This is what makes blood sugar imbalance and insulin resistance such a vicious cycle. It feeds off itself, leading to more conditions that in turn exacerbate the imbalance. This is why I call these conditions “contributors” as they contribute to the blood sugar issue while not necessarily being the underlying cause of the issue in the first place.
The good news is, the interconnectedness of all of these conditions makes it possible to remedy multiple problems with effective and targeted changes to your client’s lifestyle and diet.
Let’s start with gut health and inflammation. The health of our gut strongly affects insulin and blood sugar management.
- Diets high in sugar, refined carbohydrates and industrial seed oils, and low in fiber, cause an imbalance in the microbiome over time. It often looks like an overgrowth of pathogenic bacteria and a reduction in the commensal or beneficial bacteria.
- This bacterial imbalance slowly breaks down the intestinal epithelial cells, which increases gut permeability and leads to leaky gut.
- The pathogenic bacteria produce a substance called lipopolysaccharide, which is an endotoxin. When the lipopolysaccharide leaks out of a leaky gut, all hell breaks loose.
- The lipopolysaccharide initiates an inflammatory response, which disrupts the function of the insulin receptors causing higher and higher insulin to circulate in the bloodstream.
Inflammation is a signal to the immune system that there is something wrong, which causes our immune system to kick into gear, producing inflammatory markers like cytokines to investigate the problem. These cytokines have been found to decrease insulin sensitivity in our cells while they work towards addressing the inflammation. Basically, our cells are on “lock down” while our immune system searches for a foreign invader. So, in a nutshell, the thing to remember here is inflammation causes an increase in insulin resistance.
Let’s move on to our next contributor to blood sugar imbalance, STRESS.
Our body's stress response is designed to give us a boost in energy to overcome a life threatening situation. To do this, our adrenal glands flood our system with cortisol, epinephrine and other stress hormones, which go about securing the energy needed to deal with whatever we’re confronting.
Cortisol raises our blood pressure, shuts down non-essential systems like our digestive and reproductive systems, and goes about gathering up all the energy it can find to help us fight or run away.
To make sure we can access all the energy we need, cortisol signals our cells to disregard any insulin messages. Basically, it says, “Hey Cells, I need that glucose so don’t remove it from the blood!” This, of course, leads to a temporary state of insulin resistance.
Another way cortisol secures energy for the fight or flight response is through a process called gluconeogenesis, which is the conversion of amino acids to glucose in the liver.
Once the stressful event is over and the cortisol levels come down, our cells regain their insulin sensitivity. But, as we all know, for many of us, the stressful event never ends! This can cause cortisol levels to remain elevated for prolonged periods of time, leading to a chronic state of dysregulated blood sugar and insulin resistance.
Now let’s move on to our next contributor, SLEEP.
As the Dalai Lama once said, “sleep is the best meditation!”
Especially in the fast paced world we live in today, sleep is an invaluable part of restoring our bodies systems, and preparing them for another day of non-stop activity. When you think of sleep, think of the maintenance crew that comes out after a rock concert at an arena to clean up all the garbage, and get the place nice and tidy for tomorrow’s show. These crews aren’t as sexy as the rock bands that play on stage but without them, the show, quite literally, could not go on.
When we sleep our heart rate lowers, our breathing slows, our brain gets a much needed rest and our blood flow gets directed to muscles so damaged tissue can be repaired. Adequate sleep literally prevents inflammation, obesity, and cardiovascular disease. If we’re sleep deprived, these important tasks cannot get done, which will affect the way the body performs its normal tasks when we’re awake.
This is why poor sleep has been shown to increase appetite, oftentimes for those sugars and refined carbohydrates that will bump up our blood sugar and our energy. Studies have shown that when we get too little sleep, the hormone ghrelin that makes us hungry is increased, while leptin, the hormone that makes us feel full, is reduced causing us to want to eat more.
It’s believed that the reason for this is because the brain, which requires a significant amount of glucose to function optimally, if not well rested, will demand more food. Basically, if we don’t adequately rest our muscles and give them time to restore their energy levels, when we wake up they will ask us to get that energy by eating.
In addition, just one week of sleep deprivation makes us more insulin resistant. If our bodies are not well rested and allowed the time to restore their energy, they will want to use the energy available in our blood as efficiently as possible. This means that they will reduce the insulin sensitivity in our cells to prevent them from grabbing up all the glucose in our blood, so that it can be used by our brain and muscles. This is why, when we’re sleep deprived, our cortisol levels rise, putting our body in a state of stress to optimize the use of available energy.
Onto the next contributor, ENVIRONMENTAL TOXINS.
Also known as endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs), these toxins include plastic derivatives such as bisphenol A phthalates, as well as pesticides, mercury, cadmium, flame retardants, and polychlorinated biphenyls. 15 There are a lot more but these are some of the main ones.
In addition to being incredibly disruptive to the endocrine system, many of these also have a direct impact on the beta cells in the pancreas, which are responsible for producing insulin. While some of these are now banned, they’re still very present in our environment. It’s best to avoid these toxins as much as possible, but unfortunately, for most people it isn’t possible to avoid them completely.
Ways to avoid or reduce environmental toxins include:
- Eating an organic diet or at least following the clean 15 and dirty dozen food rules
- Eliminating larger fish that are known for their toxic load, like swordfish and tuna and focusing on smaller fish like sardines
- Switching to “green” cleaning products or making your own
- Installing a whole house water filter or using shower and drinking water filters
- Not consuming anything in plastic-lined cans or plastic containers
- Using reusable bags instead of plastic bags and avoiding BPA-coated receipts
- Avoiding clothing, furniture, and rugs that have been treated with flame retardant or any other chemicals
- Using organic cotton or bamboo sheets, towels, and other textiles
Are you all seeing a theme here? The culprits are basically all the same! In every case, they upset the delicate balance of stress hormones and blood sugar regulating hormones.
The Effect of Sugar & Carbs on Your Menstrual Cycle and How to Balance Your Blood Sugar
What we will cover:
I see women who are trying to conquer their sugar and carb issues constantly. It seems to be the hardest issue to manage for many of us. In this session we’re going to learn how and why sugar (even a little bit) can seriously impact your endocrine system and wreak hormonal havoc.
Sugar the Legal Drug
Here are some scary sugar facts to get us started:
And yes, consumption of refined carbohydrates and sugar is directly connected to PMS, PCOS, estrogen dominance and cortisol dysregulation in many women.
Average American adults consume 22 teaspoons of added sugar on a daily basis. And what’s even worse is kids consume about 32 teaspoons a day! And the consumption of sugar is growing faster than the world’s population it’s basically increasing by about 1% every year.
The truth is we live in a society that constantly feels the “need” to reward every single good job with sweet treats. After a few years of “rewarding” the outcome is obvious, both psychologically and physically. We start to associate sweet things with feeling good, physically and emotionally and it leads to a dependency that is akin to a drug dependency.
Sugar makes us feel better because it stimulates the release of dopamine in the brain. It is a well documented fact that cravings, withdrawal and relapse symptoms of sugar addicts are similar to those of cocaine and heroin users. And in fact, studies show that sugar is more addicting than cocaine. In one study cocaine addicted rats were offered a choice between sugar and cocaine and they chose sugar a massive 94% of the time!!
Excessive consumption of highly refined sugar can deplete valuable reserves of chromium, magnesium, zinc, manganese and B vitamins. These nutrients are necessary a physically and emotionally healthy menstrual cycle. In fact, researchers have found a strong correlation between high sugar consumption and PMS.
What does sugar do in your body?
Insulin is the hormone that regulates blood sugar (glucose) and it is released from the pancreas in response to sugar in the bloodstream. Its purpose is to take this sugar from your blood and get it into your cells so that it can be burned for energy. Glucose must be made available in just the right amounts, meaning that if you eat too much sugar you flood your system, causing a huge spike in blood sugar levels, which requires the pancreas to make excess insulin to move the sugar to your cells.
If your cells do not need this glucose right away, insulin carries the excess glucose to the liver where it is stored as glycogen. Just as a car burns gasoline, your body burns this glycogen in your liver for fuel between meals and during exercise. Unfortunately, if you consistently eat too much sugar and refined carbs, the liver fills up and the excess glucose is converted to fatty acids (triglycerides). These fatty acids enter your bloodstream and get stored in your tissues.
Keep in mind when you eat healthy complex carbohydrates, they break down gradually keeping your insulin and sugar levels balanced with only slight increases after meals. But when you eat unhealthy, refined or simple carbohydrates these break down much more quickly causing a dramatic spike in your blood sugar and insulin levels.
Remember, the purpose of insulin is to escort sugar from your blood to your cells. So this huge spike that occurs when you eat refined sugar causes it to get moved out of the blood a lot faster than normal because the pancreas is making tons of insulin to clean up the mess!
This in turn causes a similar dramatic drop in your blood sugar levels, also known as a reactive hypoglycemia. This is why when you eat too much sugar and refined carbohydrates that you have a spike and then a huge drop in your blood sugar levels.
This drop in blood sugar levels leaves you irritable, anxious, foggy-brained, and leads you to intensely crave more carbohydrates (usually in the form of refined sugars) to bring your blood sugar levels back up to normal. And around and around you go.
Insulin resistance
Eventually, if you continue with this vicious cycle, your body will begin to build up an insulin resistance. What this basically means is that the insulin in your system no longer does what it used to do, which is taking sugar out of the bloodstream to your cells. But your body doesn’t know this so the pancreas continues to release more insulin into your blood to bring down sugar levels after meals. If the insulin no longer works properly then this eventually leads to high levels of both glucose and insulin in your blood. Meanwhile the cells in your body and your brain are starved for glucose to make energy and you feel tired, hungry, foggy, depressed and you crave more sugar ALL THE TIME even though there is plenty in your bloodstream.
It is sooo crucial to keep your blood sugar balanced at all times. This is because insulin is a hormone, and as you now know, everything in your body is interconnected and all the hormones talk to each other. Insulin is one of those powerful hormones that is not to be messed with because:
NOW LET’S LOOK AT THE SUGAR/HORMONE CONNECTION IN WOMEN:
I am going to discuss the connection between blood sugar and symptoms associated with PCOS, PMS along with other hormonal imbalances like high cortisol, high estrogen, low estrogen and progesterone.
I also want to mention the birth control pill raises SHBG, causing it to bind up testosterone and make it less available. This is why so many women have low testosterone and low sex drive after being on the pill.
Once we have higher androgens, we may start to develop many of the symptoms of PCOS.
Keep in mind that not everyone experiences the typical symptoms of PCOS. Some women have high androgens and they don’t experience any of the outward symptoms. But they are still having trouble with ovulation and getting pregnant. All this to say that it is possible to be a regular weight with no hair growth and still have PCOS if you have a predisposition to insulin dysregulation.
Now let’s look at how insulin is connected to estrogen dominance which is linked to PMS, painful, heavy and long periods, breakthrough bleeding, long cycles, PCOS, endometriosis and fibroids.
Insulin resistance raises the activity of an enzyme called aromatase, which is responsible for estrogen production. This means that high levels of insulin can raise estrogen and set the stage for estrogen dominance.
Review of carbs
Let’s do a quick review of carbohydrates since we’re on the topic of insulin. Eating too many refined carbohydrates is, as far as I’m concerned, the main cause of most of the chronic diseases that exist today.
I recommend slowly crowding those out of your diet with more complex carbohydrates like all the different veggies along with these sweet veggies and grains:
Gluten
Let’s talk a little about gluten. It’s the sticky stuff in wheat that helps make nice fluffy breads pastries and cakes. It has been totally demonized in the last couple of years and unfortunately there is some very good evidence behind this. First of all, we just aren’t eating the same wheat that people were eating 100 years ago. Through a process called Hybridization, modern wheat has been bred to have more gluten in it than ever before which combined with the epidemic of gut problems, might explain our increasing intolerance to this substance.
Second, wheat is sprayed heavily with pesticides that do a number on our gut health and immune systems.
The thing is, I am not anti any food in particular, in fact one of the top experts on digestive health that I know still eats gluten in the form of sourdough bread while there are others who describe gluten as the devil! To me it’s more nuanced and is really a matter of each person and their unique situation. I believe the important pieces of this puzzle are optimal gut health which includes stomach acid, digestive enzymes and gut bacteria and that a person doesn’t have any signs of autoimmunity or constipation.
The thing is, there are very few people who have all their gut health ducks in a row so conditions like gluten sensitivity, celiac disease, IBS, IBD, crohns, ulcerative colitis and many other digestive problems are on the rise big time because of these various factors. I recommend eliminating gluten from your diet for 60 days and then reintroducing it to see how you feel. If you felt better off gluten and/or feel worse when you reintroduce it then you are likely gluten intolerant.
In the meantime, I just want to briefly talk about Celiac disease. Essentially it is an allergy to gluten, and it can be very serious and even life-threatening. If you suspect you have it you should be tested for it.
Research shows that -
However, you could be non-celiac gluten intolerant and have many of the issues I just described so please keep this in mind. A gluten-free diet has been shown to reduce inflammation, weight gain in the abdomen, insulin resistance and blood pressure which are major factors in the onset of all kinds of diseases.
And PS, digestive problems are not the only sign of celiac or a gluten intolerance if you have mouth sores or ulcers, joint and back pain, low iron, B12 and vitamin D, hypothyroidism and/or acne to name a few, you could have a problem with gluten.
Inflammation and pain related to your menstrual cycle
Let’s talk ovulatory pain, menstrual cramps and migraines. The research is changing rapidly in this area and it’s quite fascinating. The common conclusion is that underlying inflammation in our brains, guts and cardiovascular systems the kind of inflammation that you cannot see is the root cause for much of the pain we experience related to our cycles.
The three biggest causes of inflammation are:
The major problem is that these three things along with dairy and alcohol make up 70% of the total calories that Americans consume each day.
The significant rise in chronic health conditions in the last 50 years correlates to the rise in availability and consumption of these foods and the link simply cannot be ignored.
For women this is especially important because of our hormonal makeup and menstrual cycle.
Inflammation and pain related to your menstrual cycle
So let’s talk about migraines and menstrual pain.
Migraine headaches are a health issue affecting women three times more than men. Of the 26 million Americans suffering from migraines, 20 million of them are women and of these 20 million women, 60% of them associate their migraines with their menstrual cycles. This is no coincidence ladies!
So, what causes menstrual migraines and cramps?
There are two leading theories on what might be causing these in some women:
Hormone Withdrawal:
The dramatic decline in estrogen in the run up to your period is completely normal and is less of a cause for these migraines as it is a trigger. Studies have found that the levels of sex hormones in women who have migraines are the same as the levels found in those who don’t. So the issue is not a hormonal imbalance but rather how the fluctuations in these hormones during our cycles impact other systems within the body.
But while this reduction of estrogen is not the main culprit in these migraines, it certainly helps to set the stage. When our estrogen levels are high, this hormone has been shown to strengthen our brains, assist in neurotransmission and act as a buffer for pain. So while a decrease in estrogen levels, in itself, won’t cause us discomfort, it does leave our brains much more sensitive to pain.
Prostaglandins:
Prostaglandins are lipids that have hormonelike effects. They are found in every organ in the body and their main job is to deal with infections and injuries. When they are activated they trigger inflammation, pain and fever in the injured part of the body in an attempt to heal the damaged area.
When there is bleeding involved, prostaglandins stimulate the formation of blood clots and also contract the muscles around the damaged area to prevent blood loss. As you can see, this is a good thing for when we have random infections or injuries like a cold or a sprained ankle.
When a woman begins to shed her endometrial lining this triggers the release of a large amount of prostaglandins. In a way our bodies perceive our menstrual bleeding as a kind of “injury” and take steps to heal it. The prostaglandins released at the source of the bleeding, in the uterus, will often stimulate muscle contractions which are the cause of the painful cramps many women experience at this time in their cycle.
Since prostaglandins are located throughout our entire bodies, their impact during this time is not restricted to our abdomens. Their levels are surging throughout our entire bodies and if there are weaknesses in our defenses they can cause inflammation in other areas, specifically our brains, which will lead to migraines.
Additionally, if a person’s body is already experiencing inflammation in the gut or other areas, then the prostaglandins released in the runup to their period will exacerbate these issues.
Inflammation and pain related to your menstrual cycle
So, in a nutshell, equipping your body with the necessary defences to counter the rise in prostaglandins will lead to cramp-free and headache-free periods!
This of course begins with three things: Omega3 fatty acids are good anti-inflammatory agents. But like all good secret agents, they have a nemesis, and their Dr. Evil goes by the codename Omega6. Omega6 fatty acids counteract the positive anti-inflammatory effects of the omega3 acids so to get the most out of your omega3s you need to also reduce your omega6s.
Humans evolved eating a diet that had a 1:1 ratio of omega6 to omega3 essential fatty acids. Our modern western diet now has a ratio of between 10:1 and 20:1! Our diet is deficient in good omega3s and heavy on the bad omega6s. So what does this have to do with inflammation?
Prostaglandins are derived from omega6 phospholipids so the more omega6 in your system, the more prostaglandins you release. More prostaglandins, more inflammation!
So, while you add omega3 rich foods to your diet, it’s imperative that you also try and reduce your intake of foods heavy in omega6 fatty acids. A good start would begin avoiding all vegetable oils (corn, canola, sunflower, safflower), as these have the highest concentration of omega6s, and switch to coconut oil when cooking. Coconut has good omega6’s.
BLOOD SUGAR BALANCING BASICS: BALANCE YOUR BLOOD SUGAR PROTOCOL
Okay number 2 for reducing inflammation is balancing your blood sugar. Also, keep in mind that some studies indicate that sugar can interfere with the normal hormone signaling from ghrelin and leptin, both of which help control appetite and satiety.
PROTEIN + CARBOHYDRATES + HEALTHY FATS + FIBER = FOUNDATION FOR OPTIMAL HORMONAL HEALTH
BREAKFAST! THE SUPERHUMAN BREAKFAST
This perfectly describes how this breakfast makes you feel.
For Protein think…
For Fiber + carbohydrates think…
For Healthy Fat think…
Extra tip for migraines and cramps-
Additionally, for migraine sufferers:
Now that you’re taking steps to combat the rise in prostaglandins, the next step is to counter the effects that the drop in estrogen is having on your brain. Remember, estrogen acts as a reinforcement and protector of the brain. When its levels go down during the luteal phase of your cycle, this leaves your brain vulnerable to the painful effects of the rise in prostaglandins.
To mitigate these effects it's important to give your brain additional protectors that can step in for the estrogen that's vacating the premises. For this, increase the amount of magnesium in your diet. Magnesium is a great brain-booster and, in fact, studies have discovered that 45% of women suffering from menstrual migraines were found to have magnesium deficiences.
And for women who have menstrual cramps, magnesium is especially helpful. 350mg of magnesium a day in the week leading up to your period and during your period works well. Additionally, epsom salt baths are an excellent addition and so is magnesium foot cream or magnesium spray.
Here are some examples of magnesium-packed foods that you should add to your daily diet:
Note: You should aim for about 350mg of magnesium a day. Technically, you just need 2 cups of spinach or swiss chard, ½ a cup of black beans and half an avocado to get your daily magnesium needs met. So easy!
Let’s talk about why cravings happen
The body naturally wants to maintain balance at all times and it will work very hard to stay in this middle ground at all times. Cravings may be the result of consuming too many foods that are on opposite ends of the food spectrum as in too sweet or too salty.
There are other reasons we might crave sugar and carbs, like poor gut and liver health. For now we’ll talk about the hormonal reasons.
Why are you craving refined carbohydrates chocolate and sugar before your period? estrogen builds in the first half of your cycle and peaks at ovulation. Then right after ovulation occurs, it dramatically drops. Interestingly, estrogen directly influences brain function through estrogen receptors located in numerous areas of the brain.
So in women of reproductive age, estradiol levels basically correlate positively with blood levels of neurotransmitters such as serotonin, dopamine, and norepinephrine. Estrogen increases the concentration of these vital neurotransmitters by affecting their release and reuptake. What happens for many women is their levels of these happy neurotransmitters dip after ovulation as well, because of their link to estrogen. Basically when estrogen goes down it takes down your happy brain chemicals with it.
This can cause significant cognitive and mood disorders in some women like feelings of depression, anxiety, disrupted sleep and low energy, which all cause cravings for carbohydrates to boost neurotransmitter levels and energy. Refined carbohydrates/high sugar foods boost them quickly but cause an inevitable crash, which ultimately leads to more cravings.
These cyclical hormonal and neurotransmitter fluctuations help explain PMS cravings for many women. Eating more blood stabilizing carbohydrates along with higher fat and protein will allow you to step off of this roller coaster!
And something else that plays into this is that many women tend to become more sensitive to drops in blood sugar during the second half of their cycle. What this means is that before ovulation, we might be more able to tolerate a skipped meal and a drop in blood sugar whereas in the second half of our cycle, we need to be much more diligent about not letting this happen. Also, do you know that symptoms of hypoglycemia or low blood sugar are almost the exact same as emotional PMS symptoms like anxiety, fatigue, irritability and snappiness!
Look through the Conquer your Sugar Addiction handout for ways to handle your cravings and check out my all natural sweet treats.
STEP-BY-STEP “SUGARBUSTING” PLAN for anyone who struggles with sugar, carbs, pizza, and refined foods of any kind.
Understand How to Balance Blood SugarAlways make an effort to include in each meal and snack:
Pay attention to how you feel before & after you eat
Start to remove all instances of processed sugar from your diet
Consider choosing from the healthier alternatives provided by Mother Nature. Remind yourself that processed sugar is incredibly harmful to your body and you.
If you are having cravings, follow these steps immediately:
Deconstruct your cravings. Use the handout provided to start understanding the root causes of your cravings. There are physical and emotional cravings and being able to differentiate between them is very important to your longterm health.
Be gentle and forgiving of yourself
Don’t beat yourself up if you have a slice of pizza or a piece of cake. In the grand scheme of things it's nothing to sweat about. Just keep coming back to your vision for your best health and life that you created in the introductory session.
One of the most important first steps to take on this hormone balancing journey is to test your blood sugar using a glucose testing meter. This is a great way to know for sure what your fasting blood sugar is and whether you are keeping your blood sugar balanced after meals.
Please take a look at the Blood Glucose Testing Guidelines handout, then purchase a glucose testing meter based on my recommendations. Or borrow one if you know someone who owns one.
Directions:
What to look for:
You want your fasting blood glucose levels to be around 70-85mg/dL. If your fasting glucose is consistently between 100-125, you might be prediabetic. Please make an appointment with your doctor immediately if this is the case.
Handouts for this session:
I see women who are trying to conquer their sugar and carb issues constantly. It seems to be the hardest issue to manage for many of us. In this session we’re going to learn how and why sugar (even a little bit) can seriously impact your endocrine system and wreak hormonal havoc.
- Learn how and why sugar (even a little bit) can wreak hormonal havoc
- Learn the relationship between insulin, your hormonal imbalances, PMS & PCOS and how to begin the healing process.
- What is inflammation and how it contributes to migraines and menstrual cramps + the top three food contributors to inflammation.
- I’ll show you why “bad cravings” happen and how to crave healthy foods
- I’ll give you a proven plan to begin reducing and eliminating sugar from your diet and finally balance your blood sugar. This includes something called the Superhuman breakfast, very exciting!
- Learn how to test your blood sugar so you can figure out if you are eating the right foods for your body
- We’re going to continue the discussion on some of the major hormonal imbalances I discussed in the first session. We’ll talk about high androgens and their relation to high insulin and ultimately PCOS for many women. We’ll cover high estrogen and it’s connection to high testosterone and the connection between high insulin and high cortisol.
- There are a number of handouts that you all should have looked at. We have the Sugar handout, the handout on How to conquer sugar addiction, the Balance your blood sugar protocol and the take home practices handouts. Along with the Blood Sugar testing guidelines and the blood sugar results chart. Additionally, I’ve included the Insulin Dysregulation/PCOS protocol for anyone who has significant insulin issues and/or has been diagnosed with PCOS.
Sugar the Legal Drug
Here are some scary sugar facts to get us started:
- Research suggests that your immune system is depressed for a full 5 hours after consumption of refined sugar. I used to wonder why I was sick all the time – eventually I figured out my diet had something to do with it!
- High fructose corn syrup contains mercury (yikes) which can hijack your thyroid and adrenals
- A high glycemic diet is linked to a higher chance of developing bacterial vaginosis and of it becoming chronic. And women with impaired glucose metabolism are more susceptible to recurrent yeast infections.
- Sugar attaches to collagen the complexion protecting protein and breaks it down, which leads to wrinkles and sagging.
- Sugar depletes B vitamins in the body. B vitamin deficiency can cause anxiety, insomnia, depression, chronic fatigue, mood swings, hormonal and fertility issues like difficulty getting and staying pregnant, and a whole host of other issues. For everyone, not just people with the gene mutation.
And yes, consumption of refined carbohydrates and sugar is directly connected to PMS, PCOS, estrogen dominance and cortisol dysregulation in many women.
Average American adults consume 22 teaspoons of added sugar on a daily basis. And what’s even worse is kids consume about 32 teaspoons a day! And the consumption of sugar is growing faster than the world’s population it’s basically increasing by about 1% every year.
The truth is we live in a society that constantly feels the “need” to reward every single good job with sweet treats. After a few years of “rewarding” the outcome is obvious, both psychologically and physically. We start to associate sweet things with feeling good, physically and emotionally and it leads to a dependency that is akin to a drug dependency.
Sugar makes us feel better because it stimulates the release of dopamine in the brain. It is a well documented fact that cravings, withdrawal and relapse symptoms of sugar addicts are similar to those of cocaine and heroin users. And in fact, studies show that sugar is more addicting than cocaine. In one study cocaine addicted rats were offered a choice between sugar and cocaine and they chose sugar a massive 94% of the time!!
Excessive consumption of highly refined sugar can deplete valuable reserves of chromium, magnesium, zinc, manganese and B vitamins. These nutrients are necessary a physically and emotionally healthy menstrual cycle. In fact, researchers have found a strong correlation between high sugar consumption and PMS.
What does sugar do in your body?
Insulin is the hormone that regulates blood sugar (glucose) and it is released from the pancreas in response to sugar in the bloodstream. Its purpose is to take this sugar from your blood and get it into your cells so that it can be burned for energy. Glucose must be made available in just the right amounts, meaning that if you eat too much sugar you flood your system, causing a huge spike in blood sugar levels, which requires the pancreas to make excess insulin to move the sugar to your cells.
If your cells do not need this glucose right away, insulin carries the excess glucose to the liver where it is stored as glycogen. Just as a car burns gasoline, your body burns this glycogen in your liver for fuel between meals and during exercise. Unfortunately, if you consistently eat too much sugar and refined carbs, the liver fills up and the excess glucose is converted to fatty acids (triglycerides). These fatty acids enter your bloodstream and get stored in your tissues.
Keep in mind when you eat healthy complex carbohydrates, they break down gradually keeping your insulin and sugar levels balanced with only slight increases after meals. But when you eat unhealthy, refined or simple carbohydrates these break down much more quickly causing a dramatic spike in your blood sugar and insulin levels.
Remember, the purpose of insulin is to escort sugar from your blood to your cells. So this huge spike that occurs when you eat refined sugar causes it to get moved out of the blood a lot faster than normal because the pancreas is making tons of insulin to clean up the mess!
This in turn causes a similar dramatic drop in your blood sugar levels, also known as a reactive hypoglycemia. This is why when you eat too much sugar and refined carbohydrates that you have a spike and then a huge drop in your blood sugar levels.
This drop in blood sugar levels leaves you irritable, anxious, foggy-brained, and leads you to intensely crave more carbohydrates (usually in the form of refined sugars) to bring your blood sugar levels back up to normal. And around and around you go.
Insulin resistance
Eventually, if you continue with this vicious cycle, your body will begin to build up an insulin resistance. What this basically means is that the insulin in your system no longer does what it used to do, which is taking sugar out of the bloodstream to your cells. But your body doesn’t know this so the pancreas continues to release more insulin into your blood to bring down sugar levels after meals. If the insulin no longer works properly then this eventually leads to high levels of both glucose and insulin in your blood. Meanwhile the cells in your body and your brain are starved for glucose to make energy and you feel tired, hungry, foggy, depressed and you crave more sugar ALL THE TIME even though there is plenty in your bloodstream.
It is sooo crucial to keep your blood sugar balanced at all times. This is because insulin is a hormone, and as you now know, everything in your body is interconnected and all the hormones talk to each other. Insulin is one of those powerful hormones that is not to be messed with because:
- It is a potent promoter of fat storage and a potent inhibitor of fat breakdown.
- It impairs your immune function making you more prone to all kinds of illnesses
- It increases plaque build up and narrows blood flow through arteries putting us at risk for heart disease and early heart attacks.
NOW LET’S LOOK AT THE SUGAR/HORMONE CONNECTION IN WOMEN:
I am going to discuss the connection between blood sugar and symptoms associated with PCOS, PMS along with other hormonal imbalances like high cortisol, high estrogen, low estrogen and progesterone.
- It all starts with a consistent excess of insulin in your body. Remember insulin is a powerful hormone and if it is out of whack, other hormones will be out of whack too.
- When insulin levels go up, so do cortisol levels. Cortisol is the stress hormone and it competes with progesterone for the same receptors. Unfortunately, cortisol always wins this fight.
- Here’s the big one: There are insulin receptors on the ovaries so excess insulin causes the ovaries to produce more androgens rather than the normal estradiol and estrone they usually make.
- This excess testosterone can cause your ovaries to malfunction, which can lead to sporadic ovulation or lack of ovulation.
- High insulin also lowers Sex Hormone Binding Globulin. SHBG basically binds up testosterone so that it’s not all available at once. When SHBG goes down, it allows more free testosterone into the bloodstream and this can trigger more issues.
I also want to mention the birth control pill raises SHBG, causing it to bind up testosterone and make it less available. This is why so many women have low testosterone and low sex drive after being on the pill.
Once we have higher androgens, we may start to develop many of the symptoms of PCOS.
Keep in mind that not everyone experiences the typical symptoms of PCOS. Some women have high androgens and they don’t experience any of the outward symptoms. But they are still having trouble with ovulation and getting pregnant. All this to say that it is possible to be a regular weight with no hair growth and still have PCOS if you have a predisposition to insulin dysregulation.
Now let’s look at how insulin is connected to estrogen dominance which is linked to PMS, painful, heavy and long periods, breakthrough bleeding, long cycles, PCOS, endometriosis and fibroids.
Insulin resistance raises the activity of an enzyme called aromatase, which is responsible for estrogen production. This means that high levels of insulin can raise estrogen and set the stage for estrogen dominance.
- This excess estrogen can suppress follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) production. I want you to also keep in mind that excess weight raises estrogen too. That is why women who are overweight are more prone to conditions related to estrogen dominance.
- When FSH is suppressed, this causes luteinizing hormone (LH), to dominate over FSH. Remember FSH is responsible for maturing your follicles.
- When LH dominates over FSH, ovulation generally begins to sputter and may stop occurring completely. This is because FSH isn’t able to complete it’s job.
- This leads to lower progesterone. Without enough progesterone, the body can’t fully support normal menstrual cycles or pregnancy.
Review of carbs
Let’s do a quick review of carbohydrates since we’re on the topic of insulin. Eating too many refined carbohydrates is, as far as I’m concerned, the main cause of most of the chronic diseases that exist today.
I recommend slowly crowding those out of your diet with more complex carbohydrates like all the different veggies along with these sweet veggies and grains:
- Sweet potatoes and yams
- Pumpkin
- Winter squashes – think butternut, acorn, spaghetti squash
- Carrots
- Onions
- Beets
- Plantains
- Quinoa
- Millet
- Amaranth
- Kasha (toasted Buckwheat)
- Brown Rice
- Black Rice
- White rice (not a complex carbohydrate but some people use it in place of brown or black rice)
Gluten
Let’s talk a little about gluten. It’s the sticky stuff in wheat that helps make nice fluffy breads pastries and cakes. It has been totally demonized in the last couple of years and unfortunately there is some very good evidence behind this. First of all, we just aren’t eating the same wheat that people were eating 100 years ago. Through a process called Hybridization, modern wheat has been bred to have more gluten in it than ever before which combined with the epidemic of gut problems, might explain our increasing intolerance to this substance.
Second, wheat is sprayed heavily with pesticides that do a number on our gut health and immune systems.
The thing is, I am not anti any food in particular, in fact one of the top experts on digestive health that I know still eats gluten in the form of sourdough bread while there are others who describe gluten as the devil! To me it’s more nuanced and is really a matter of each person and their unique situation. I believe the important pieces of this puzzle are optimal gut health which includes stomach acid, digestive enzymes and gut bacteria and that a person doesn’t have any signs of autoimmunity or constipation.
The thing is, there are very few people who have all their gut health ducks in a row so conditions like gluten sensitivity, celiac disease, IBS, IBD, crohns, ulcerative colitis and many other digestive problems are on the rise big time because of these various factors. I recommend eliminating gluten from your diet for 60 days and then reintroducing it to see how you feel. If you felt better off gluten and/or feel worse when you reintroduce it then you are likely gluten intolerant.
In the meantime, I just want to briefly talk about Celiac disease. Essentially it is an allergy to gluten, and it can be very serious and even life-threatening. If you suspect you have it you should be tested for it.
Research shows that -
- Celiacs are much more likely to have antibodies that work against the thyroid
- Removing gluten from your diet normalizes thyroid function even if you’re not celiac, and maybe just have a gluten intolerance.
- Gluten could be behind conditions that cause pelvic pain, like endometriosis.
However, you could be non-celiac gluten intolerant and have many of the issues I just described so please keep this in mind. A gluten-free diet has been shown to reduce inflammation, weight gain in the abdomen, insulin resistance and blood pressure which are major factors in the onset of all kinds of diseases.
And PS, digestive problems are not the only sign of celiac or a gluten intolerance if you have mouth sores or ulcers, joint and back pain, low iron, B12 and vitamin D, hypothyroidism and/or acne to name a few, you could have a problem with gluten.
Inflammation and pain related to your menstrual cycle
Let’s talk ovulatory pain, menstrual cramps and migraines. The research is changing rapidly in this area and it’s quite fascinating. The common conclusion is that underlying inflammation in our brains, guts and cardiovascular systems the kind of inflammation that you cannot see is the root cause for much of the pain we experience related to our cycles.
The three biggest causes of inflammation are:
- Refined Sugar
- Refined carbohydrates that contain gluten these include wheat, barley and oats Industrial seed oils canola, corn, cottonseed, sunflower etc.
The major problem is that these three things along with dairy and alcohol make up 70% of the total calories that Americans consume each day.
The significant rise in chronic health conditions in the last 50 years correlates to the rise in availability and consumption of these foods and the link simply cannot be ignored.
For women this is especially important because of our hormonal makeup and menstrual cycle.
Inflammation and pain related to your menstrual cycle
So let’s talk about migraines and menstrual pain.
Migraine headaches are a health issue affecting women three times more than men. Of the 26 million Americans suffering from migraines, 20 million of them are women and of these 20 million women, 60% of them associate their migraines with their menstrual cycles. This is no coincidence ladies!
So, what causes menstrual migraines and cramps?
There are two leading theories on what might be causing these in some women:
- Hormone Withdrawal: the normal reduction of estrogen as part of your menstrual cycle.
- Prostaglandin Release: hormonelike substances that get released into your body prior to your period, which stimulate inflammation and subsequent pain.
Hormone Withdrawal:
The dramatic decline in estrogen in the run up to your period is completely normal and is less of a cause for these migraines as it is a trigger. Studies have found that the levels of sex hormones in women who have migraines are the same as the levels found in those who don’t. So the issue is not a hormonal imbalance but rather how the fluctuations in these hormones during our cycles impact other systems within the body.
But while this reduction of estrogen is not the main culprit in these migraines, it certainly helps to set the stage. When our estrogen levels are high, this hormone has been shown to strengthen our brains, assist in neurotransmission and act as a buffer for pain. So while a decrease in estrogen levels, in itself, won’t cause us discomfort, it does leave our brains much more sensitive to pain.
Prostaglandins:
Prostaglandins are lipids that have hormonelike effects. They are found in every organ in the body and their main job is to deal with infections and injuries. When they are activated they trigger inflammation, pain and fever in the injured part of the body in an attempt to heal the damaged area.
When there is bleeding involved, prostaglandins stimulate the formation of blood clots and also contract the muscles around the damaged area to prevent blood loss. As you can see, this is a good thing for when we have random infections or injuries like a cold or a sprained ankle.
When a woman begins to shed her endometrial lining this triggers the release of a large amount of prostaglandins. In a way our bodies perceive our menstrual bleeding as a kind of “injury” and take steps to heal it. The prostaglandins released at the source of the bleeding, in the uterus, will often stimulate muscle contractions which are the cause of the painful cramps many women experience at this time in their cycle.
Since prostaglandins are located throughout our entire bodies, their impact during this time is not restricted to our abdomens. Their levels are surging throughout our entire bodies and if there are weaknesses in our defenses they can cause inflammation in other areas, specifically our brains, which will lead to migraines.
Additionally, if a person’s body is already experiencing inflammation in the gut or other areas, then the prostaglandins released in the runup to their period will exacerbate these issues.
Inflammation and pain related to your menstrual cycle
So, in a nutshell, equipping your body with the necessary defences to counter the rise in prostaglandins will lead to cramp-free and headache-free periods!
This of course begins with three things:
- Limiting or removing the bad oils
- Blood sugar balancing
- And taking gluten out of your diet if you are experiencing any of the signs and symptoms I discussed earlier in the session.
Humans evolved eating a diet that had a 1:1 ratio of omega6 to omega3 essential fatty acids. Our modern western diet now has a ratio of between 10:1 and 20:1! Our diet is deficient in good omega3s and heavy on the bad omega6s. So what does this have to do with inflammation?
Prostaglandins are derived from omega6 phospholipids so the more omega6 in your system, the more prostaglandins you release. More prostaglandins, more inflammation!
So, while you add omega3 rich foods to your diet, it’s imperative that you also try and reduce your intake of foods heavy in omega6 fatty acids. A good start would begin avoiding all vegetable oils (corn, canola, sunflower, safflower), as these have the highest concentration of omega6s, and switch to coconut oil when cooking. Coconut has good omega6’s.
BLOOD SUGAR BALANCING BASICS: BALANCE YOUR BLOOD SUGAR PROTOCOL
Okay number 2 for reducing inflammation is balancing your blood sugar. Also, keep in mind that some studies indicate that sugar can interfere with the normal hormone signaling from ghrelin and leptin, both of which help control appetite and satiety.
PROTEIN + CARBOHYDRATES + HEALTHY FATS + FIBER = FOUNDATION FOR OPTIMAL HORMONAL HEALTH
- Make sure you include protein, complex carbs, healthy fats and fiber in each meal you consume
- Eat in a calm environment – sit down and chew your food well
- You should feel full and satisfied for about 46 hours after you’ve eaten
- If you feel hungry sooner, then have a small snack immediately to avoid any blood sugar crashes
- You should not crave sweets or sugar after you have eaten and you should feel energized, not tired
BREAKFAST! THE SUPERHUMAN BREAKFAST
This perfectly describes how this breakfast makes you feel.
For Protein think…
- High Quality Meat or Fish Grass Fed Beef and Bison, Wild Salmon, Sardines Organic Chicken, Turkey, and Duck
- Pastured pork (without added nitrates)
- Pasture raised eggs (find them from a local farm, or neighbor with chickens) Fresh (or frozen) Wild Game
- Beans (Eden brand are my favorite in a can, or soak dried beans)
- Nuts & Seeds (ideally soaked and sprouted) – walnuts, brazil nuts, almonds, pumpkin seeds, sesame seeds, sunflower seeds etc.
- Collagen hydrosylate basically a somewhat tasteless form of gelatin that can be mixed into warm or cold beverages.
For Fiber + carbohydrates think…
- All kinds of veggies! Especially leafy greens.
- Sweet veggies sweet potatoes, squashes, plantains, beets, pumpkin and other root vegetables
- Whole, gluten free grains (millet, quinoa, amaranth, buckwheat, rice)
- Low glycemic fruits (berries, apples, pears, cantaloupe, lemons, limes,)
- Flax seeds, Chia seeds, or Hemp seeds
- Gluten free or Paleo grain free bread – obviously you want to keep your bread intake to a minimum but sometimes we want bread. And that’s okay!
For Healthy Fat think…
- Coconut oil (best for high heat), Coconut butter, Coconut Milk
- Olive oil (cold is best)
- Organic, grassfed butter or ghee (best for high heat)
- Avocados
- Nuts and Seeds
- Fatty fish like salmon and sardines
- Fish oils or Fish oil blends
Extra tip for migraines and cramps-
Additionally, for migraine sufferers:
Now that you’re taking steps to combat the rise in prostaglandins, the next step is to counter the effects that the drop in estrogen is having on your brain. Remember, estrogen acts as a reinforcement and protector of the brain. When its levels go down during the luteal phase of your cycle, this leaves your brain vulnerable to the painful effects of the rise in prostaglandins.
To mitigate these effects it's important to give your brain additional protectors that can step in for the estrogen that's vacating the premises. For this, increase the amount of magnesium in your diet. Magnesium is a great brain-booster and, in fact, studies have discovered that 45% of women suffering from menstrual migraines were found to have magnesium deficiences.
And for women who have menstrual cramps, magnesium is especially helpful. 350mg of magnesium a day in the week leading up to your period and during your period works well. Additionally, epsom salt baths are an excellent addition and so is magnesium foot cream or magnesium spray.
Here are some examples of magnesium-packed foods that you should add to your daily diet:
- Dark leafy greens spinach and swiss chard especially
- Pumpkin and sunflower seeds
- Sea vegetables like kelp and dulse
- Black beans
- Almonds, Cashews, Brazil nuts and pecans
- Cacao or high cacao content dark chocolate just one square has nearly 25% of your daily needs!
- Avocado
- Bananas
Note: You should aim for about 350mg of magnesium a day. Technically, you just need 2 cups of spinach or swiss chard, ½ a cup of black beans and half an avocado to get your daily magnesium needs met. So easy!
Let’s talk about why cravings happen
The body naturally wants to maintain balance at all times and it will work very hard to stay in this middle ground at all times. Cravings may be the result of consuming too many foods that are on opposite ends of the food spectrum as in too sweet or too salty.
There are other reasons we might crave sugar and carbs, like poor gut and liver health. For now we’ll talk about the hormonal reasons.
Why are you craving refined carbohydrates chocolate and sugar before your period? estrogen builds in the first half of your cycle and peaks at ovulation. Then right after ovulation occurs, it dramatically drops. Interestingly, estrogen directly influences brain function through estrogen receptors located in numerous areas of the brain.
So in women of reproductive age, estradiol levels basically correlate positively with blood levels of neurotransmitters such as serotonin, dopamine, and norepinephrine. Estrogen increases the concentration of these vital neurotransmitters by affecting their release and reuptake. What happens for many women is their levels of these happy neurotransmitters dip after ovulation as well, because of their link to estrogen. Basically when estrogen goes down it takes down your happy brain chemicals with it.
This can cause significant cognitive and mood disorders in some women like feelings of depression, anxiety, disrupted sleep and low energy, which all cause cravings for carbohydrates to boost neurotransmitter levels and energy. Refined carbohydrates/high sugar foods boost them quickly but cause an inevitable crash, which ultimately leads to more cravings.
These cyclical hormonal and neurotransmitter fluctuations help explain PMS cravings for many women. Eating more blood stabilizing carbohydrates along with higher fat and protein will allow you to step off of this roller coaster!
And something else that plays into this is that many women tend to become more sensitive to drops in blood sugar during the second half of their cycle. What this means is that before ovulation, we might be more able to tolerate a skipped meal and a drop in blood sugar whereas in the second half of our cycle, we need to be much more diligent about not letting this happen. Also, do you know that symptoms of hypoglycemia or low blood sugar are almost the exact same as emotional PMS symptoms like anxiety, fatigue, irritability and snappiness!
Look through the Conquer your Sugar Addiction handout for ways to handle your cravings and check out my all natural sweet treats.
STEP-BY-STEP “SUGARBUSTING” PLAN for anyone who struggles with sugar, carbs, pizza, and refined foods of any kind.
Understand How to Balance Blood SugarAlways make an effort to include in each meal and snack:
- High quality Protein
- Complex Carbohydrates
- Good sources of Fat
- Fiber – aim for a total of 35 grams a day
Pay attention to how you feel before & after you eat
- Start your day with a whole foods breakfast that will fuel you through the morning
- Pay attention to midmorning and midafternoon slumps and what foods may have caused them
Start to remove all instances of processed sugar from your diet
Consider choosing from the healthier alternatives provided by Mother Nature. Remind yourself that processed sugar is incredibly harmful to your body and you.
If you are having cravings, follow these steps immediately:
- Drink a big glass of lemon water. Or flavor it with raspberries, blueberries or strawberries.
- Do the rubber band trick – put a rubber band on your wrist. When cravings come up for sugar or anything else, just snap the rubber band to interrupt your thought process. The sharp sting is usually highly effective at distracting attention away from cravings!
Deconstruct your cravings.
Be gentle and forgiving of yourself
Don’t beat yourself up if you have a slice of pizza or a piece of cake. In the grand scheme of things it's nothing to sweat about. Just keep coming back to your vision for your best health and life that you created in the introductory session.
One of the most important first steps to take on this hormone balancing journey is to test your blood sugar using a glucose testing meter. This is a great way to know for sure what your fasting blood sugar is and whether you are keeping your blood sugar balanced after meals.
Please take a look at the Blood Glucose Testing Guidelines handout, then purchase a glucose testing meter based on my recommendations. Or borrow one if you know someone who owns one.
Directions:
- Test your glucose for 7 consecutive days.
- Test your fasting glucose before a meal and then test after a meal to determine how it has affected your blood sugar.
- The best way to test your fasting glucose is first thing in the morning, after 8 hours of not eating.
- Then immediately after you eat, test again to determine how it has affected your blood sugar.
- Then test every 15 MINUTES until an hour has passed. (You’ll test four times in that hour after you eat). Always test after breakfast and alternate between lunch and dinner to get a good idea of what’s happening at different times in the day.
- Ideally you don’t want your food to raise your glucose levels more than 2025 points. Also, you want the spike in blood sugar to be below 110. NOTE: Most people will see the spike between 30-45 min after they eat (this is why you test every 15 minutes up to 1 hour after eating to catch the spike). Ideally, you want your blood sugar levels to go back to your previous fasting number (or close to that) 1 hour after eating. Research suggests that blood sugar levels over 120 can cause retinal damage and levels over 140 can cause peripheral nerve damage. One night of poor sleep can make you insulin resistant the following day so if you did not sleep well the night before, don't have any sugar or lots of fruit the next day.
- Mark down the numbers on the spreadsheet so you have a record of the results.
- In addition, you can test after eating certain foods to isolate their effect on your blood sugar. If any food raises your levels over 2025 points, it is not a good food for you and should be reduced or avoided. For some people just 1/2 a grapefruit can raise levels into the 150s, so the glycemic index is not always the best indicator.
What to look for:
You want your fasting blood glucose levels to be around 70-85mg/dL. If your fasting glucose is consistently between 100-125, you might be prediabetic. Please make an appointment with your doctor immediately if this is the case.
Handouts for this session:
- Healthy, Easy, Fast Recipe Book
- Nutrition Handout-Create a Balanced Breakfast
- Healthy Snack Ideas
- Sugar - The Legal Drug
- Conquer Your Sugar Addictions
- Experiment With Your Cravings
- Insulin-PCOS Protocol
- Sugar Balancing - What to Add - What to Remove
- Balance Your Blood Sugar Protocol
- Blood Sugar Testing
- Guidelines and Practices
Seed Cycling
Seed Cycling - What?
What is Seed Cycling and why do I recommend it?
I know it sounds a little weird, and the potential effects that it can have on your hormones are pretty amazing! Let's take a look at what Seed Cycling is, how it's done and what it's supposed to do for you.
What is Seed Cycling?
Seed cycling is the simple practice of eating a combination of flax and pumpkin seeds or sesame and sunflower seeds each day during certain times of your cycle. The purpose of this is to help encourage your body to decrease estrogen or increase progesterone at just the right time.
How Does Seed Cycling Work?
The lignans found in the hulls of the seeds are helpful in aiding your body's natural removal of excess hormones. The oils in the seeds also help to produce the right hormones providing your body with the right kind of nutrients it needs to create them. Omega-3s help cellular receptor sites to remain in good condition, which in turn keeps hormones in balance. Two important minerals, zinc and selenium, which are important in hormone release, are found in these seeds as well.
A study found that women taking one tablespoon of flax powder daily lengthened the luteal phase and resulted in fewer anovulatory cycles (cycles with no ovulation).
How Do I Seed Cycle?
It's pretty simple, even if you don't have a regular cycle right now. It's thought that our cycle is very strongly connected to the moon's cycle (see previous information), therefore if you don't have a regular menstrual cycle, you can use the moon's cycle to determine which seeds to add in and when.
Here's how:
Day 1-14, The Follicular Phase
The start of menstruation until you ovulate - each day consume 1 tablespoon each of raw, freshly ground flax and pumpkin seeds.
Days 15-28, The Luteal Phase
From the time of ovulation until the day before menstruation begins - each day consume 1 tablespoon each of raw, freshly ground sesame and sunflower seeds.
Grind these seeds fresh every day in a clean coffee or spice grinder, etc. or using a mortar and pestle if you have one. You can either sprinkle the ground seeds on a salad, over your veggies, in a soup or put them in your morning smoothie.
Another option for obtaining the seeds and eliminating the daily prep of them, is to order them here. Agni has a few options for ordering - you can simply order the two packs of seeds or combine them in one of the kits they provide for fertility. If you use this option, use the discount code Lisa20 at checkout to receive a discount. This is a convenient way to access the seeds daily without any prep. I love their products and use them in my programs. Choose from the Seed Cycling Box, The Deluxe Fertility Box or the Fertility Box.
A quick note about seed cycling, it typically takes 3 - 4 cycles to see the effects. If your cycles are not "normal" you will still get the good effects of seed cycling. Following the moon cycles to determine which seeds to consume and when will ultimately help your cycle follow along. Here's how you follow the moon's cycle:
Day 1 of your cycle (menstruation) will be on the New Moon.
Day 14 of your cycle (ovulation) will be on the Full Moon.
If you have a calendar that shows the phases of the moon, it will be easy to follow.
What are the benefits of seed cycling?
It works by giving your body certain nutrients during certain times in your cycle to make or detox hormones.
Seed cycling works by giving your body certain nutrients during certain times in your cycle to make or detox hormones.
As you can see seeds are a great benefit to any hormonal issue whether that is infertility, period problems or perimenopause or menopause not to mention they are delicious and nutritious for overall health.
Here are some handouts to help with this. Read through the Seed Cycling Guide and start to implement the seeds wherever you are in your cycle. I've include a recipe book for using the seeds to help with how you can incorporate the seeds into your daily meals.
If you are an essential oil enthusiast, you can also use my handout - Essential Oil Cycling Protocol. To order any of the oils, go to my.doterra.com/womenshealth.
Handouts:
What is Seed Cycling and why do I recommend it?
I know it sounds a little weird, and the potential effects that it can have on your hormones are pretty amazing! Let's take a look at what Seed Cycling is, how it's done and what it's supposed to do for you.
What is Seed Cycling?
Seed cycling is the simple practice of eating a combination of flax and pumpkin seeds or sesame and sunflower seeds each day during certain times of your cycle. The purpose of this is to help encourage your body to decrease estrogen or increase progesterone at just the right time.
How Does Seed Cycling Work?
The lignans found in the hulls of the seeds are helpful in aiding your body's natural removal of excess hormones. The oils in the seeds also help to produce the right hormones providing your body with the right kind of nutrients it needs to create them. Omega-3s help cellular receptor sites to remain in good condition, which in turn keeps hormones in balance. Two important minerals, zinc and selenium, which are important in hormone release, are found in these seeds as well.
A study found that women taking one tablespoon of flax powder daily lengthened the luteal phase and resulted in fewer anovulatory cycles (cycles with no ovulation).
How Do I Seed Cycle?
It's pretty simple, even if you don't have a regular cycle right now. It's thought that our cycle is very strongly connected to the moon's cycle (see previous information), therefore if you don't have a regular menstrual cycle, you can use the moon's cycle to determine which seeds to add in and when.
Here's how:
Day 1-14, The Follicular Phase
The start of menstruation until you ovulate - each day consume 1 tablespoon each of raw, freshly ground flax and pumpkin seeds.
Days 15-28, The Luteal Phase
From the time of ovulation until the day before menstruation begins - each day consume 1 tablespoon each of raw, freshly ground sesame and sunflower seeds.
Grind these seeds fresh every day in a clean coffee or spice grinder, etc. or using a mortar and pestle if you have one. You can either sprinkle the ground seeds on a salad, over your veggies, in a soup or put them in your morning smoothie.
Another option for obtaining the seeds and eliminating the daily prep of them, is to order them here. Agni has a few options for ordering - you can simply order the two packs of seeds or combine them in one of the kits they provide for fertility. If you use this option, use the discount code Lisa20 at checkout to receive a discount. This is a convenient way to access the seeds daily without any prep. I love their products and use them in my programs. Choose from the Seed Cycling Box, The Deluxe Fertility Box or the Fertility Box.
A quick note about seed cycling, it typically takes 3 - 4 cycles to see the effects. If your cycles are not "normal" you will still get the good effects of seed cycling. Following the moon cycles to determine which seeds to consume and when will ultimately help your cycle follow along. Here's how you follow the moon's cycle:
Day 1 of your cycle (menstruation) will be on the New Moon.
Day 14 of your cycle (ovulation) will be on the Full Moon.
If you have a calendar that shows the phases of the moon, it will be easy to follow.
What are the benefits of seed cycling?
- One of the biggest ones is opens the “fertile mucus” flood gates
- Balances hormones
- Detoxes hormones
- Boost fertility, naturally
- Gives the body vitamins it might be missing, selenium and zinc
- Helps to eliminate PMS and painful periods
- Increases sex drive
- Bring back irregular, absent or scant periods
- Heavy periods
- Perimenopause/menopause symptom relief
It works by giving your body certain nutrients during certain times in your cycle to make or detox hormones.
Seed cycling works by giving your body certain nutrients during certain times in your cycle to make or detox hormones.
As you can see seeds are a great benefit to any hormonal issue whether that is infertility, period problems or perimenopause or menopause not to mention they are delicious and nutritious for overall health.
Here are some handouts to help with this. Read through the Seed Cycling Guide and start to implement the seeds wherever you are in your cycle. I've include a recipe book for using the seeds to help with how you can incorporate the seeds into your daily meals.
If you are an essential oil enthusiast, you can also use my handout - Essential Oil Cycling Protocol. To order any of the oils, go to my.doterra.com/womenshealth.
Handouts:
Seed Cycling Guide
Seed Rotation Recipe Book
Essential Oil Cycling Protocol
Egg Health
Egg quality is a common concern when trying to conceive. AMH is a marker for low ovarian reserve and a low level suggests low egg count but it doesn't tell the whole story. It's important to know this, especially if you have been told you have low fertility solely based on your AMH.
Think of your egg reserve as a basket of eggs. You're typically born with a full basket and they get used up over your lifetime. If you have diminished ovarian reserve, your basket is starting to empty. However, it's not definite and it doesn't tell you anything about the quality of the eggs in your basket. Therefore, AMH does not accurately predict natural fertility, it just gives an indication of whether you have the expected number of eggs in your basket for your age. Age remains the best measure of egg quality because both quantity and quality decline with age.
Egg quality refers to the capability of an egg to be fertilized and go through the developmental stages to form a viable embryo. This is determined by two factors - chromosomes and the energy supply of the egg. Your egg cells exist in a 'resting' state for most of your life. The process of follicle growth starts with the recruitment of primordial follicles into a 'growing pool' around one year before ovulation. Approximately three months before ovulation, follicular growth and development accelerate. A dominant follicle is selected 15-20 days prior to ovulation. These months before ovulation represent a window of opportunity where you can influence your egg quality by optimizing the environment in which your follicles grow and develop.
Low androgens (male sex hormones) such as testosterone play a key role in the maturation of ovarian follicles. Androgens naturally decline with age. Testosterone declines by 50% in women between the ages of 20 and 40. Low androgen levels have been associated with poor follicular growth, diminished ovarian reserve and primary ovarian insufficiency.
DHEA is a primary adrenal hormone that converts into androgen hormones so it plans an important role in follicular development as a precursor hormone. DHEA levels naturally decline with age. Other factors that may reduce DHEA include stress, medications and autoimmunity.
Symptoms of low androgens
These symptoms are associated with low testosterone:
Oxidative stress is caused by an imbalance between the production and accumulation of free radicals in your cells and tissues and the ability of your body to detoxify them. Free radicals are unstable molecules that can harm your cells and have been shown to affect egg cell maturation and fertilization, embryo development and pregnancy and is thought that oxidative stress plays a role in the age-related decline in fertility. Free radicals damage cells and deplete ATP - energy vital to egg development and embryo viability.
Oxidative stress has been associated with endometriosis, PCOS and unexplained infertility. Pregnancy complications such as miscarriage, recurrent pregnancy loss and preeclampsia may also develop in response to oxidative stress.
Symptoms of oxidative stress
These symptoms are associated with the ageing process:
Impaired mitochondrial function
Mitochondria are your cells' powerhouse. Each egg cell contains over 100,000 mitochondria because significant energy is required for rapid cell division in the embryo. The cells divide but the mitochondria do not. This can expose defective mitochondria which will be removed. When enough mitochondria are defective in enough cells, the pregnancy won't be viable.
Coenzyme Q10 is the primary antioxidant your cells make to protect and support mitochondria. Cells need an amino acid called tyrosine, several vitamins and trace minerals. A deficiency in any of these impairs your cells' ability to product Coenzyme Q10. Coenzyme Q10 deficiency is thought to contribute to age related infertility because production naturally declines with age - as early as your 30's.
Optimizing egg quality
These recommendations are focused on supporting androgens (to help promote the growth of very early-stage follicles), reducing oxidative stress and optimizing mitochondrial health.
Optimize liver detoxification and gut health to promote elimination of toxins and manage inflammation.
Manage blood sugar to avoid blood-sugar and insulin spikes and manage inflammation.
Eat an abundance of antioxidant nutrients. Antioxidants are molecules that fight free radicals in your body. Your body makes its own antioxidants, but they are also found in food, especially fruit and vegetables. Eat as many colors as possible. Include herbs and spices. Focus on monounsaturated fats, especially olive oil for oleic acid which is found in developing egg cells. Eat oily fish two to three times a week for omega-3 fats. Include orange-colored vegetables and fruits such as carrots, orange peppers, pumpkin, sweet potatoes, turmeric, apricots, blood oranges, cantaloupe, mandarins, passion fruit and papaya. These contain carotenoid compounds - antioxidants that are particularly concentrated in the ovaries.
Maca is thought to support healthy testosterone and estrogen levels. It can be taken as a supplement or a powder you can add to smoothies, etc.
Avoid foods that increase free radicals - barbecued foods, processed meats, high temperature cooking such as frying vegetable oils, margarine, shortening and anything made with these - such as processed foods.
Manage stress - 90% of your DHEA is made by your adrenal glands. Chronic stress can affect DHEA and your androgens.
Optimize sleep.
Exercise - especially strength training which helps build muscle and support testosterone production. Moderate exercise has been shown to decrease oxidative stress and improve mitochondrial function whereas strenuous exercise increases oxidative stress.
Minimize exposure to toxins from pollution, household and personal care products.
Download these two resources on Poor Egg Health and How to Increase Your Egg Health in 90 Days.
Poor Egg Health
How to Increase Your Egg Health in 90 Days
Think of your egg reserve as a basket of eggs. You're typically born with a full basket and they get used up over your lifetime. If you have diminished ovarian reserve, your basket is starting to empty. However, it's not definite and it doesn't tell you anything about the quality of the eggs in your basket. Therefore, AMH does not accurately predict natural fertility, it just gives an indication of whether you have the expected number of eggs in your basket for your age. Age remains the best measure of egg quality because both quantity and quality decline with age.
Egg quality refers to the capability of an egg to be fertilized and go through the developmental stages to form a viable embryo. This is determined by two factors - chromosomes and the energy supply of the egg. Your egg cells exist in a 'resting' state for most of your life. The process of follicle growth starts with the recruitment of primordial follicles into a 'growing pool' around one year before ovulation. Approximately three months before ovulation, follicular growth and development accelerate. A dominant follicle is selected 15-20 days prior to ovulation. These months before ovulation represent a window of opportunity where you can influence your egg quality by optimizing the environment in which your follicles grow and develop.
Low androgens (male sex hormones) such as testosterone play a key role in the maturation of ovarian follicles. Androgens naturally decline with age. Testosterone declines by 50% in women between the ages of 20 and 40. Low androgen levels have been associated with poor follicular growth, diminished ovarian reserve and primary ovarian insufficiency.
DHEA is a primary adrenal hormone that converts into androgen hormones so it plans an important role in follicular development as a precursor hormone. DHEA levels naturally decline with age. Other factors that may reduce DHEA include stress, medications and autoimmunity.
Symptoms of low androgens
These symptoms are associated with low testosterone:
- Low libido
- Difficulty reaching orgasm
- Fatigue and lack of motivation
- Depression or mood swings
- Loss of muscle tone or trouble gaining muscle
Oxidative stress is caused by an imbalance between the production and accumulation of free radicals in your cells and tissues and the ability of your body to detoxify them. Free radicals are unstable molecules that can harm your cells and have been shown to affect egg cell maturation and fertilization, embryo development and pregnancy and is thought that oxidative stress plays a role in the age-related decline in fertility. Free radicals damage cells and deplete ATP - energy vital to egg development and embryo viability.
Oxidative stress has been associated with endometriosis, PCOS and unexplained infertility. Pregnancy complications such as miscarriage, recurrent pregnancy loss and preeclampsia may also develop in response to oxidative stress.
Symptoms of oxidative stress
These symptoms are associated with the ageing process:
- Unexplained tiredness
- Brain fog or poor memory
- Frequent headaches and susceptibility to noise
- Inflammatory conditions
- Decreased eyesight
- Wrinkles and grey hair
Impaired mitochondrial function
Mitochondria are your cells' powerhouse. Each egg cell contains over 100,000 mitochondria because significant energy is required for rapid cell division in the embryo. The cells divide but the mitochondria do not. This can expose defective mitochondria which will be removed. When enough mitochondria are defective in enough cells, the pregnancy won't be viable.
Coenzyme Q10 is the primary antioxidant your cells make to protect and support mitochondria. Cells need an amino acid called tyrosine, several vitamins and trace minerals. A deficiency in any of these impairs your cells' ability to product Coenzyme Q10. Coenzyme Q10 deficiency is thought to contribute to age related infertility because production naturally declines with age - as early as your 30's.
Optimizing egg quality
These recommendations are focused on supporting androgens (to help promote the growth of very early-stage follicles), reducing oxidative stress and optimizing mitochondrial health.
Optimize liver detoxification and gut health to promote elimination of toxins and manage inflammation.
Manage blood sugar to avoid blood-sugar and insulin spikes and manage inflammation.
Eat an abundance of antioxidant nutrients. Antioxidants are molecules that fight free radicals in your body. Your body makes its own antioxidants, but they are also found in food, especially fruit and vegetables. Eat as many colors as possible. Include herbs and spices. Focus on monounsaturated fats, especially olive oil for oleic acid which is found in developing egg cells. Eat oily fish two to three times a week for omega-3 fats. Include orange-colored vegetables and fruits such as carrots, orange peppers, pumpkin, sweet potatoes, turmeric, apricots, blood oranges, cantaloupe, mandarins, passion fruit and papaya. These contain carotenoid compounds - antioxidants that are particularly concentrated in the ovaries.
Maca is thought to support healthy testosterone and estrogen levels. It can be taken as a supplement or a powder you can add to smoothies, etc.
Avoid foods that increase free radicals - barbecued foods, processed meats, high temperature cooking such as frying vegetable oils, margarine, shortening and anything made with these - such as processed foods.
Manage stress - 90% of your DHEA is made by your adrenal glands. Chronic stress can affect DHEA and your androgens.
Optimize sleep.
Exercise - especially strength training which helps build muscle and support testosterone production. Moderate exercise has been shown to decrease oxidative stress and improve mitochondrial function whereas strenuous exercise increases oxidative stress.
Minimize exposure to toxins from pollution, household and personal care products.
Download these two resources on Poor Egg Health and How to Increase Your Egg Health in 90 Days.
Poor Egg Health
How to Increase Your Egg Health in 90 Days
For More Help with Blood Sugar Regulation, Stress Relief and Sleep -
If you would like more information on products that are helpful for blood sugar regulation, stress and sleep, you can contact me or simply log into your account and order any that you would like to try. If you do not have an account, you can go to or click here - my.doterra.com/womenshealth and you can set up an account and order.
For sleep I would suggest the Serenity Soft Gels or the Sleep Wellness Program
For stress I would suggest the Adaptive System
For blood sugar stabilization I would suggest the Metapwr system
For sleep I would suggest the Serenity Soft Gels or the Sleep Wellness Program
For stress I would suggest the Adaptive System
For blood sugar stabilization I would suggest the Metapwr system
Fertility Bodywork
Fertility Bodywork is a complete guide and practice that can enhance your fertility and increase your chances for conception. It can be used daily or at a minimum, 3-4 times a week. The program consists of:
- Fertility Yoga
- Fertility Pelvic Massage
- Acupressure and Reflexology
- Daily Routines
For Weeks 5 - 8 concentrate on the Fertility Pelvic Massage information. Start incorporating this into your daily routines for up to three times a week.
Download your Fertility Bodywork booklet here!
Download your Fertility Bodywork booklet here!
Action Items:
- Download each of the handouts and resources above
- Continue to fill out the information in the 4 Phase Symptom Tracker - and tracking your cycle
- Start to implement the information in the downloads
- Continue to do affirmations, gratitudes, journal entries and food diary
- Do the Honoring Your Pelvic Bowl exercise - you can use the MP3 or print the handout to use
- Do the Yoga Nidra Fertility Meditation at least a couple of times this week or more-use this meditation for weeks 5 - 8
- Start to do the Fertility Pelvic Massage routine two - three times this week
Please complete this form so we can talk about info at next appointment
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Join our Women's Health Facebook group and get extra support, ask questions and join in on the live Q&A sessions each month! We hold classes frequently on women's health where you can gather information on many topics.
