Do You Understand Your Cycle?

Most of the time, I generally enjoy being a woman. I think it’s amazing we have the ability to create new life, we can wear a dress or a pair of pants, and for the most part live our lives how we see fit. The one time of the month I don’t particularly enjoy being a woman though is my period. Granted, I’ve learned how to make my period much more manageable than it used to be in my teens. However, it still can cause me some discomfort and anguish, and does that and more for the women who come to see me in my office.

So many women believe that however our cycles/periods progress is how it is. There’s nothing much we can do about it besides taking painkillers and other medications and just waiting for it all to be over. I want you to do better than that. I want you to know you have options! If you’d rather control your cycle than let it control you, then this is what you want to understand.
 
First of all, most women don’t have a very good understanding of what exactly is going on in their body. We’ll go over that first, then speak to some of the natural options that can help improve your overall hormonal experience. Most women know the average cycle is 28 days, but there can be some normal variation in that, where your cycle is a little longer or shorter. This is only a ‘problem’ if it creates a problem. If your cycle is regular/consistent then whether it is 28, 30 or 25 days doesn’t matter too much.

Review of the Stages

Your cycle goes three main stages:
 
The Follicular Phase:

• This is generally days 1-14 (depending on when you ovulate)
• The follicle that carries the egg is growing and getting ready for release
• Estrogen levels are increasing
• The uterine lining is preparing/starting to build in preparation for the possibility of an embryo to implant
  

Ovulation:

• Day 13 or 14 usually
• When the egg is released from the mature follicle
• Corresponds with the LH (luteinizing hormone) surge and estrogen levels reaching a peak
• This can in some mean correspond with mild discomfort or pain (often referred to as mittelschmerz) and possible some light mid cycle flow
  

Luteal Phase:

• In the event that the egg is not fertilized then the egg begins to disintegrate indicating the beginning of the luteal phase (Days 15-28)
  
• The follicle has transformed into the corpus luteum which will secrete progesterone until it also atrophies triggering menstruation, or a growing embryo signals the continued production of progesterone to maintain the uterine lining/pregnancy

If there isn’t a growing fetus to support, the uterine lining is preparing to shed and start the cycle over again

Obviously this is a very short overview of the cycle, but it highlights the main transition points and key items occurring at each time period. The reason for this, is I talk to women all the time who have very little understanding of what is happening when during their menstrual cycle. Unless you’ve begun researching the female reproductive cycle because you’re concerned about your fertility, most women fall in the category of knowing very little about what’s happening inside their own bodies. The more you know, the more you can understand what’s going on, and how you can address issues that come up surrounding your cycle.
 
Clearly I won’t be able to address every single issue in this post that can happen or ‘go wrong’ with the cycle, but I will make some suggestions about possible natural things you can do to help minimize problems from occurring. The following are just 3 recommendations I often make to my patients:

Avoid Excess Estrogen
Our world has become over run with estrogens from all manner of sources. The biggest issue being the exogenous estrogens, the ones that are produced outside of our bodies, xenoestrogens (artificial estrogen) in particular. Being mindful of our exposure sources can help minimize the estrogens we come into contact with. Certain plastics, cosmetics, and medications (particularly the pill) can all contribute to our overall estrogen load or overload.

Eat Well/Organic
Eating a healthy diet of fruits and vegetables is almost always a good idea! The potential impact for your reproductive health is no exception for this sage old advice. Specific nutrients aside (eg. Omega 3s from nuts and seeds for balancing follicular phase), simply the presence of enough fiber helps to keep estrogen levels under control by binding up excess estrogen and ensuring it's excreted from the body.

Exercise
As with eating healthy, we know getting enough exercise has many benefits for our overall health. There are also specific benefits that exercise contributes to helping to maintain a healthy cycle. Aside from the obvious benefit of encouraging blood flow to the reproductive organs, women who exercise regularly usually have less issues with dysmenorrhea (painful cramping), fewer clots/problems with clotting, and often less mood irregularity.

Natural Treatment Options:
Then of course there's also the additional therapies we can add to help correct the body's imbalances should it need that extra support.

Herbs
There are many herbs in the world that’s main purpose is for women’s health! For example Black Cohosh is almost exclusively used for women’s reproductive issues. From helping with PMS, to starting labour to minimizing troublesome symptoms of menopause, Black Cohosh is an herb that can help throughout the entire reproductive cycle. Many of the herbs we use for reproductive health purposes are gentle with minimal to no side effects, but not all of them are. Therefore, it is always a good idea to use herbs under the supervision of someone who knows how to use them properly, such as a Naturopathic Doctor or herbalist.

Acupuncture
I use acupuncture in my practice a lot, and especially for reproductive health concerns. From an Asian Medicine perspective, a lot of hormonal and reproductive issues have to do with dysregulation of the Liver, Spleen and Kidneys. Acupuncture helps to correct the imbalance of Qi (energy) between these organ systems to re-establish health.

Nutritional Supplements
To a certain extent I spoke to this previously when I mentioned eating a healthy diet. However, since our food is not as nutrient dense as it used to be sometimes we need to supply our body with additional support in the way of supplements. For example, sometimes being low in iron can cause a number of issues with your cycle such as menstrual cramping or irregularity. If you want to become pregnant in the near future, waiting to get your levels up through diet alone is often not enough. Therefore, supplementing with a good quality iron supplement can be necessary for a period of time.

I hope that you find this information helpful. If you have more questions about your own cycle, how you can regulate it better or any other women's health related concerns please get in touch with me through my clinic or email me through my contact me page. I am here to help!




Note: Talk to your Naturopathic Doctor today about getting assessed and treated if needed, and as always talk to your health care provider before beginning any new medication or supplement. This information is not meant to replace the advice/guidance of a medical professional, nor should it be acted upon by individuals unsupervised by the appropriate healthcare provider.