What can your monthly cycle tell you about your health?

Having the monthly cycle is such an incredible tool that women possess. 

It can actually be considered the fifth vital sign and give us an enormous insight into what is going on in our health. A report card, if you will, for your health.

If you’re struggling with PMS and all those annoying symptoms before your period, I provide some simple solutions below so you can correct them. Because no matter what you’ve heard, they are not normal, even if they are very common.

PMS, painful cramps and breast tenderness are usually symptoms of having too much estrogen in your body. 

If you’re not able to detox estrogen, either because your liver function or digestive systems are impaired, you will accumulate it in your tissues (fat cells and organs).

How can you possibly know if you have excess estrogen? 

Checking serum levels of our hormones is the first option most ladies will consider, but they can still show “low estrogen” while you can have symptoms that point heavily towards estrogen dominance.

Well you can very easily assess this imbalance in the comfort of your own home. Check your basal body temperature (BBT) so you can see a clear picture of your hormone balance. 

If you find that your BBT is below 97.6 in the follicular phase or 98.4 in the luteal phase, you are very likely to have low progesterone and therefore high estrogen levels. The balance between those two can combat your annoying PMS.

Progesterone production and estrogen detox are key in this situation. You need adequate levels of progesterone and good thyroid function to detox estrogen as well as to get it out of the tissues and into the bloodstream to be broken down by the liver.

Some simple ways to support this balance:

-Eating a raw carrot salad DAILY - consistency is key here

-Make sure you’re getting enough bioavailable protein (100g minimum)

-Vitamin E

Keep in mind that stress hormones like cortisol and other hormones like prolactin can increase the amount of estrogen manufactured and stored in your tissues. 

So manage your stress so that this is not the driving factor of estrogen dominance for you.

I hope these suggestions help you so you can go through your period without debilitating symptoms.

Stay healthy and nourished,

Kate Zapata