HORMONAL UPS AND DOWNS

wise words

Hormonal Ups and Downs Take Control and Feel Better Now

by Patricia Staino

Hormonal things—everything imbalance from PMS issues, adcan wreak renal fatigue, PCOS, havoc on your health diabetes, thyroid affecting everything issues, and more. from digestion to Typically, weight, brain health, hormonal imbalenergy, mood, ances are caused by a memory, sex drive, variety of things—it sleep and fertility. could be environSamantha Gladish, mental toxins, una registered holistic healthy eating habits, nutritionist and metadealing with a lot of bolic balance weight stress. Then there’s loss coach, wanted to Samantha Gladish a cascade effect: If help women realize we’re suffering from there were simple, foundational steps they poor-quality sleep, for example, it will could take to get back in balance, without drive up cortisol, imbalance our insulin, depriving themselves. In her book, The 30- then lead to food cravings and poor eating Day Hormone Solution, she helps women choices, which will further imbalance our learn more about regaining control of insulin, and that cycle will spiral out of their hormones to optimize health. Natucontrol. ral Awakenings’ managing editor Patricia Staino sat down with Gladish to learn What are some common more about how hormones work and the misconceptions about hormones habits we can change to bring them back in women? in balance. For women who still have a regular menstrual cycle, there’s a misperception that if The book is so informative and helpthey’re taking birth control pills, that’s goful. What motivated you to write it? ing to end PMS symptoms and “regulate” I thought to myself, if I had 30 days to their cycle. That couldn’t be further from spend with a woman, what would I teach the truth. Ingesting any kind of synthetic her about her health? What does she need hormone will cause a lot of hormonal to know to really move the needle and chaos in our bodies. optimize her health? Synthetic hormones shut down our

Hormonal imbalances are very ovaries from producing our own natural common, and they mean a lot of different estrogen and progesterone. Essentially,

it’s like the ovaries are getting lazy, and our own natural rhythms are no longer functioning like they should. Instead of taking synthetic hormones, we need to look at the root causes of PMS symptoms: Why are you experiencing an irregular cycle in the first place? Why do you have cramping, bloating, breast tenderness, or migraines during your cycle? The pill isn’t addressing the cause, it’s just masking it.

Another misconception is “adrenal fatigue.” That’s a term that gets thrown around quite frequently. What “adrenal fatigue” really indicates is a miscommunication between the brain and the adrenal gland; you’re not going to fix that by taking a supplement. We need to look at our lifestyle, how we react to and manage stress, how we’re sleeping, how we’re eating, how we’re integrating self-care, and that all plays a big role in our adrenal health.

One other thought: Post-menopausal women often ask if they can get anything out of reading my book. Absolutely. The chapter on the menstrual cycle may not relate to them, but the rest of it—adrenal health, sleep, detoxification—is all still relevant and will affect the symptoms they experience post-menopause.

Is hormonal imbalance more of a female issue, or do men have issues with hormones as well?

There are definitely a lot more issues with females, primarily because we have cycles and we give birth. Our hormonal issues are a little more complex than those of men. Women are functioning on a 30-day cycle, and men are going through a 24-hour cycle. That’s not to say that men won’t have issues, though. They can experience problems with sleep, cravings, moodiness and weight gain as well.

You offer a diet plan and 60 recipes in the book to help readers get started, but the first half of the book lays out how hormones work, how they are impacted by lifestyle, and how they can be returned to balance. Besides dietary changes, what other adjustments

can women make to optimize hormonal health?

Number one, sleep. That’s an important area that so many women need to focus on. That’s when our body detoxes and rejuvenates, so I recommend all women start to implement healthier boundaries around their sleep routine. Don’t go to bed after 11—10pm should be the cutoff point—and follow this rule every day of the week so you can set your internal clock; your body and your hormones crave that routine. Don’t use bright lights, phone and iPad screens late at night; you want to signal to your brain that it’s time to wind down, which supports melatonin production.

Number two is something I think so many women forget about: hydration. Drink more water! Water is essential to detoxing our bodies, supporting our bowel movements and digestion, and lubricating our joints to protect against inflammation. I recommend women drink at least three liters of water every day; if you’re very active and you’re sweating a lot, you may need to drink a bit more. Another little tip is to add a very small pinch of really good quality sea salt to the water, because it is those electrolytes that help hydrate the cells, not just the water alone.

Finally, be conscious of your snacking habits. If you’re a snacker or a grazer, try to focus on eating meals instead. That’s what going to keep you satiated and curb your cravings. The more frequently we eat throughout the day, the more we spike our insulin levels. Insulin is a fat-storing hormone, and it can lead to inflammation in the body, so it’s important to manage how many times we spike our insulin during the day. The less frequently we eat, the better.

So, you don’t agree with the often-recommended idea of eating five or six small meals throughout the day?

When I was in school, we were taught to tell our clients to eat small meals every two to three hours. Now we realize that if you are an elite athlete training at a high level, and your body efficiently handles insulin, it makes sense to eat many times a day to stay fueled. But the average woman who’s work ing a desk job and isn’t very active, even if she is going to the gym three or four times a week, doesn’t need to snack and graze. Every time she eats, she’s spiking her insulin, which communicates with the adrenals, so cortisol levels go up as well. Both insulin and cortisol are fat-storing hormones and stressors on the body. Those spikes are going to take a toll on fat storage and weight.

And it’s not just about fat loss; if insulin and cortisol levels increase, that’s communicated to the ovaries and causes issues with your sex hormones—estrogen and progesterone. Continuously spiking insulin can stimulate the ovaries to overproduce testosterone, which can cause PCOS, cystic acne, and facial hair growth.

So, I recommend just three meals a day, focusing on getting protein, fat and fiber in each meal, which satiates your appetite and balances your blood sugar. Doing that and getting in your three liters of water a day will curb your cravings, so you don’t feel the need to snack and graze.

What’s the most important thing for women to remember about hormonal health?

At the end of the day, I just want women to know that it doesn’t have to be hard. Being healthy doesn’t have to be about deprivation. It’s important they take the time to educate themselves so they can become the master of their own health. Focus on sleep, good quality food, simple movement, and simple protocols. It’s really not that hard and it really can be quite delicious.

For more information on Samantha Gladish, as well as access to recipes, her podcast, and special deals on her book, visit HolisticWellness.ca.

Patricia Staino is the managing editor of Natural Awakenings’ Hartford and Fairfield County editions. Connect at PatriciaStaino@gmail.com.

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