'Ask Alisha' about Periods and Giving Yourself a Break....

Welcome to the very first 'Ask Alisha' column!

The reason for the 'Ask Alisha' blog series is because I receive so many questions via e-mail and through my page that are quite similar and I want to share my 'group answer' for the many other people that might be wondering the same things but never ask. I've decided not to get into anything too technical and want to answer these questions in the way I would if we were sitting down and having a chat over a wine or a cuppa.

So without further ado....

Q. Why do I feel and act like a crazy woman around my period and what can I do to help with this?

Short Answer: Because you are a woman and yes there are some things we can put in place to help alleviate your crazy but please know you will always fluctuate. You will always go up and down but this can even be helpful and soul clearing!

Long Answer: First off all.....Please know we all get like this.... and I want to tell you:

It's normal to yell at your kids and then cry and ask for forgiveness.

It's normal to eat food that isn't so good for you when you are tired and emotional.

It's normal to want to run away from life when life keeps running at you.

It's normal to cry at anything even remotely sad, beautiful or poignant.

It's normal to feel rage climb up inside of you until it sometimes spills out your mouth.

It's normal to think your relationships are in trouble when you are in this place (and guess what? It's 98% about you, not them)

It's normal to feel guilt, doubt, shame, hopeless, helpless, emotionally hungry, jealous, bitter, cranky, overwhelmed....

It means you are fully female, fully loaded and fully ready to always be the 'feeling flagship' of your family.

You are woman, you get it done.

So you are allowed to collapse and fall along the way because you keep getting back up again and that's all that really matters. You are absolutely and positively beautiful in your human-ness and if you kept your sh!t together all of the time then, I'm sorry, but we can't be friends....

I don't want you to feel alone and wonder 'what the hell is wrong with me?' And I want you to know that it's just the way you are made.

Physiologically you constantly fluctuate thanks to your reproductive hormones.

This just means the universe keeps tapping you on the shoulder to shake things up a bit. Because you were chosen to be a woman and you are magnificent in your messiness. Just take a look at all you do.

So what's fluctuating?

Answer - Oh so much darling that it's almost funny! We have the reproductive hormones, progesterone and oestrogen, playing the big roles but we have many other reproductive hormones fluctuating at the same time like GnRH (Gonadotropin-releasing hormone) FSH (follicle stimulating hormone) and LH (luteinising hormone)!

Our body is run by these chemicals we call hormones and they are all in this dance together. So when one goes up, one goes down and one might twirl all around. And besides the reproductive hormones, other hormones are affected too! Insulin is effected, serotonin is effected, melatonin is effected, your thyroid hormones can be effected....

I just wanted to outline all this in case you wondered why your sleep patterns, energy, libido, food cravings and general mood can change so much on a day to day basis. There is a lot going on every month! First you produce hormones to stimulate and grow an egg to maturity, then you release it and then you prepare for fertilisation...then you have to clean up and do it all over again if you aren't already busy growing a human being!

We do this for many years of our life and between puberty and menopause, a woman is estimated to have 450 of these cycles!

So please go easy on yourself if some months it all gets a bit too much...

But there are actions you can take if your hormones feel out of control. I'm not going to address all the specific different issues that crop up for women in this area as they all need a blog of their own (PCOS, endometriosis, oestrogen dominance just to name a few!) but these are general guidelines to help hormones be more balanced and doing their dance without too many extreme moves ;)

Eat Clean
Eating a diet that improves inflammation in your body is a definite help. This means aiming for a very low or no sugar diet, hormone free, pasture raised and grass fed meats and wild caught seafood. Eating mostly plant foods (so heaps of fruit and veggies - spray free and organic is definitely best) and being very careful of gluten and dairy as these foods are often very inflammatory for most people. Please check this blog out for simple clean eating ideas.

HOT TIP: Eat a raw carrot every day as there are special undigestible fibres in raw carrot that help detox excess oestrogen from the body and also help prevent reabsorption of oestrogen from the small intestines. This can really help the liver and any oestrogen dominance issues.

Chaste Tree

A herb also known as Vitex Agnus Castus or Vitex which is wonderful balancing out the oestrogen/progesterone ratio in the body. Available in tablets or liquid and taken daily can really help with symptoms of PMS

Evening Primrose Oil

Taken as capsules or liquid and brilliant for helping with breast tenderness and other PMS symptoms. And being an essential fatty acid, it can also help with skin and hair health

Magnesium

Best form is in powder but also available in tablets and capsules. Look for glycinate and citrate forms of Magnesium. Taken daily can help with sleep, stress levels and cramping

Vitamin B6

Often this vitamin is deficient in people with PMS, low mood, anxiety and fatigue. The best source is definitely via foods like chicken, turkey, tuna, grass fed beef, nuts and seeds, avocado and chickpeas. If you do take it in supplement form, try to also take a B complex alongside it so your other B vitamins aren't depleted by just taking B6.

Relax

I know I say this all the time but seriously! We all need to do whatever it is that helps manage our stress levels on a daily basis. Get to bed earlier, exercise, meditate, slow down your breathing once in a while and just be still for a moment, say no to the unnecessary stuff you really don't want to do, clear schedules from time to time and let life unfold. You do NOT need to be in control all the time. I promise the world will not fall down around your ears. Stress plays a major part in inflammation and throwing our hormones out of whack so do everything you can here.

Flower Essences

Female blend, Let it Go and Help blends are your three best friends when managing emotions and hormonal imbalance.

Female blend: This blend assists females dealing with changes in their cycle and reproductive hormones at any stage in their life. It will help you to feel more at ease, less moody and provides an uplifting and restorative energy. An excellent blend for shifting energy and emotions if your hormones are still all over the place from pregnancy or for pre-menstrual and menopausal changes.

Let it Go Fantastic for any times of confusion, turmoil and disharmony in your life and relationships. Good for parent-child bonding issues or problems with your partner, family members or social circle. This blend is all about helping you let go of issues that are harming your relationship with yourself and others.

Help: This blend can help centre and bring you back to your body when your energy is scattered due to shock, panic, fear, distress and feeling stressed. This blend is also the one to take to support you during times of grief and sadness.

I've created a Female Support Pack especially for this time of month containing these three blends!

And remember to put any of these changes in place for at least 2 menstrual cycles before determining whether they have helped you with your PMS as hormones take time to balance. But the longer you keep these new habits going, the better each cycle can be.

When looking at adding supplements into your regime, please see a naturopath in consultation or get advice from an in-store naturopath for the best brands and dosage for you.

But most of all please be kind to yourself, you are a woman which means you deal with so much on a daily basis and some of those days, you might need to forgive yourself a little harder and love yourself a little more.

Yours in Health,

Alisha x