As my daughters and I prepare to celebrate Mother’s Day this weekend I've been thinking about all the amazing things the female body can do.
Last year I ran an Essential Health and Wellness Seminar for women and during the seminar, we covered various ways women can achieve optimal health, wellbeing and vitality.
I thought this was an appropriate time to revisit some of the content we covered – specifically the difference between men and women bodies and what we can all do to help our mother's, wives, friends, daughters and (if you're a female) yourself, to flourish.
Women have incredibly complex hormone structures
Men and women are vastly different and this becomes very apparent when looking at each of their hormonal systems. The key difference being that a women's body is capable of growing and nourishing another human! This fact still boggles me!
I like to say that mens bodies are like a Toyota Hilux. They are simple, predictable and never break down. But when they do, it is a massive event with little to no warning. Basically, the engine blows up! Think of a heart attack, stroke or type two diabetes.
When we look back through evolution this makes sense. While bearing and raising children females relied on the males to gather and catch food. To perform this physical task a male's body needed to be straightforward to run.
I hope you all don't mind this analogy – on the other hand, women's bodies are like formula one race cars. They have incredibly complex hormonal structures - or engines - as they need to complete the incredible feat of reproduction.
A women's body needs the right environment and nutrients for optimal hormone production. These optimal and balanced hormones are needed to stay healthy and a healthy female is more likely to be able to reproduce. However, it doesn’t take very much to throw these complicated engines - or hormone systems - out of kilter.
So what does this mean?
Due to environmental toxins, increased stresses, the oral contraceptive pill, menopause and numerous other lifestyle factors, many women today are experiencing hormone imbalances. I always say this and it's very important to remember, “Just because something is common, doesn’t mean it is normal!
I always say this and it's very important to remember, “Just because something is common, doesn’t mean it is normal!”
The female body is comprised of very intricate hormone systems which work in sync to control many bodily functions. From body temperature, metabolism, reproductive organs, your stress response, muscle mass and even your sleep patterns.
As you can see there are many areas that can cause a hormone imbalance, resulting in many different symptoms and conditions.
At the Auckland and Havelock North BePure Clinics we are seeing many teenagers with crippling pain and premenstrual syndrome (PMS)* and women experiencing early menopause. We're also seeing rising numbers of women, aged 28-35, who come off the contraceptive pill in the hopes of starting a family – only to find themselves with irregular cycles, polycystic ovary syndrome*, infertility or endometriosis.*
*You can find the definition for these conditions in the footnotes.
What can you do to help balance your hormones?
When it comes to hormonal imbalances there are three key areas to consider that will help support hormonal balance.
1. Lifestyle factors
There are several lifestyle factors that you can change
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Getting enough sleep to help your body recover and repair. Aim for 8 hours per night.
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Avoid all plastic bottles and containers used for food and water. Plastics contain petrochemical molecules such as BPA's, PCB’s and dioxins. Removing these from your life will drastically reduce your exposure to xenoestrogens which are a huge cause of oestrogen dominance.
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Avoiding plastics can be harder than you think. Here are several sources of plastic you might not have thought about
- Tinned food - Most tins these days are lined with plastic.
- Teflon - This is a plastic, so think about your non-stick frying pans.- Wine boxes - The plastic bladder breaks down from the acidity of wine.
- Kettles - When the hot water boils plastic particles seep into your water
... and the list could go on
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Use natural skincare and makeup, we really like The Herb Farm which has products for both men and women. If using sunscreen opt for a paraben free variety like Soleo Organics.
2. Dietary factors
You can also eat foods and avoid certain foods to help support hormonal balance.
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Eat plenty of cruciferous vegetables. This includes broccoli sprouts, broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, kale, collard greens, radish, bok choy, brussel sprouts and watercress. Cruciferous vegetables are especially rich in di-indolylmethane (DIM). DIM helps mop up excess oestrogens, supporting the liver. Try and eat some of these foods at least once a day.
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Eat spray free produce – many pesticides and herbicides are oestrogenic. Again meaning they mimic oestrogen in the body. This is why they are so highly associated with increases in breast cancer – as the breast tissue is highly sensitive to hormone levels. Grow your own where possible.
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Reduce or eliminate soy from your diet as they are also oestrogenic. If you still want to consume soy products, choose fermented soy such as miso, tamari sauce or natto.
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Reduce liver-loaders such as caffeine and alcohol to help clear excess oestrogen through your liver.
3. Extra nutritional support
Because of the extra toxic load from environmental toxins and processed or non-organic foods, plus the stressors of modern day life, it's important to give our bodies extra nutritional support to keep our hormones in balance.
As well as nourishing your hormonal systems with missing nutrients, the BePure One multi-vitamin also has an incredibly powerful base of greens. Adding in this green formula supports clearing our hormonal pathways and reduces oestrogen dominance for healthy, balanced hormones.
Adding in this green formula supports clearing our hormonal pathways and reduces oestrogen dominance for healthy, balanced hormones.
The BePure One formula is comprised of chlorella, barley grass, wheatgrass, spirulina and other potent ‘greens’. These superfoods help support your body's natural detoxification pathways in your liver and kidneys.
On top of this BePure One also has lipoic acid to support the liver and Broccoli Sprout extract which specifically helps detoxify excess oestrogen.
I always recommend taking BePure One in conjunction with a high quality, omega 3 rich fish oil, such as BePure Three. Among other things omega 3 fish oils keep your cell membranes flexible and allow good nutrients into the cell, while allowing unwanted toxins to be expelled from your cells.
See the BePure Everyday Health Pack to grab both BePure One and BePure Three at the discounted Autoship price. See below for our special Mother's Day offer too.
If you have any questions about female hormones please get in touch at info@bepure.co.nz and be sure to share this article with the women in your life.
Footnotes
Premenstrual Syndrome (PMS) – Symptoms leading up to a women's period which are not present at other times of the month.
Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS) – A condition causing enlarged ovaries with small cysts.
Endometriosis - A painful condition whereby tissue of the uterus grows outside of these perimeters.
Ben Warren presents
'The Hormone Secret'
Have stubborn weight that just won't budge, energy slumps, painful PMS or menopause issues? Join Ben Warren as he shares the secret role hormones play in your health, why our modern world is working against healthy female hormones and how to naturally heal your hormones and bring them back to balance. This is information every woman needs to know. Learn more and register here.
