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.

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
  

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

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.

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 work with a lot of women in my practice, and many of them are at or approaching the time in their lives when they would like to start having a family. As a result, they inevitably end up asking me about pregnancy and birth and when they should start ‘preparing’ for a healthy baby. Well, the simple answer to that is technically two answers: as soon as possible and you can always be working to be at your healthiest to become pregnant.

Why Does this matter?
Half of all pregnancies in the US/Canada are not intended or planned. Therefore, if you’re always in a state of health it doesn’t matter as much when you become pregnant. Also, there’s the myriad of health conditions you can protect your unborn baby from by being healthy/healthier long before you become pregnant. You can actually help prevent illnesses like: allergies, eczema, asthma, depression, gut problems, autoimmune disease, heart disease and autism by being healthy before pregnancy. Remember, the choices that you make today, help to create the world our children will inherit tomorrow. If we make better choices now, we make our world better for them later.

Are you Sexually Active? Take your Vitamins
If you are presently sexually active, I recommend taking some vitamins in preparation for pregnancy. If you are actively trying to become pregnant, then a good quality prenatal vitamin with methyfolate can be started in advance of a positive test or having sex with the intention of having a baby. Methylfolate is absorbed better than folate and helps to reduce the risk of neural tube defects. If you’re thinking you're still a ways away from trying to become pregnant, I still recommend having methylfolate, but you can get it on it’s own or as part of a B complex. Remember how I said about ½ of pregnancies aren’t planned? Take your vitamins. You can certainly take other nutrients, like Fish oil and Vitamin D3. Talk to your Naturopathic Doctor or other health care provider to help you put together a plan that addresses your individual needs. 

Avoid High Mercury Fish
Mercury and other heavy metals are a problem for all of us, but especially for a newly developing and growing human being. At present, children born into today’s world have about 300 chemicals in their system, identified from their umbilical cord blood. Mercury and other heavy metals can transfer to the baby in utero. We also know that mercury can cause neurological and hormonal issues. If you’re consuming seafood during pregnancy or even before, check to make sure that it’s clean as far as heavy metals. The Environmental Working Group website keeps a fairly up to date database of safe and unsafe fish.

Clean up your Cosmetics
Did you know most women apply 10 products before leaving the house in the morning? We often forget that our skin is our largest organ. What goes on the skin, also goes in! Many of these toxins will stay in our body for long periods of time, months to years, and can then be passed onto your baby. Another good resource for checking your cosmetics and hygiene products is the Skin Deep database maintained by the Environmental Working Group.

Go Organic!
I know this is a tough and controversial one, but even switching over some of your foods to organic can have a big impact.  Minimizing our exposure to pesticides wherever possible is important because they can remain in your body and be passed onto your growing baby. Studies have also shown that kids exposed to pesticides have lower IQs. If you’re not ready or able to go completely organic, at least following the Clean 15 and Dirty 12 list can be helpful. Eliminating just these highly sprayed products from your diet can reduce your pesticide exposure by 70% or more.

Aim for Your Optimal Weight
I know you’re thinking, “I’m just going to gain weight in pregnancy, why try to lose it now?”. Unfortunately, being significantly overweight increases the risk of certain complications such as gestational diabetes and cesearan section. Being overweight can also increase the risk of your baby developing health issues like eczema, asthma, allergies and obesity. Also, having the body you love now, can help you be your healthiest self physically, mentally and emotionally later on.

Chill Out! De-stress!
Stress affects pretty well every system in the body. In particular stress messes with hormones and creates fertility problems. At present, it’s estimated that 80% of all health issues stem from stress! Stress pregnancy can lead to depression, anxiety, and obesity in you and your baby. Do your best to make time for your favourite de-stressing activity on a regular basis so you do not become overwhelmed by stress.

Fix Your Gut, Fixes Theirs Too!
Having a healthy gut or ‘microbiome’ means that your baby will too. A baby’s first exposure to healthy microbes is from their mother. Ideally from a natural birth where passing through the vaginal canal gives them good bacteria as well as breastfeeding. With a few exceptions, a person’s gut flora is mainly set by age 3. Therefore, giving babies a good start can literally set them up for a healthy gut for life.

To Supplement or Not to Supplement?
Ultimately this is going to be different for each person. There are a few that I generally look at/recommend to most of my patients at one time or another.
Supplements to consider for most people:

• Vitamin D3
• Magnesium
• Probiotics
• Fish oil
• Multivitamin/Greens*

The reason for most of these is that it’s difficult or almost impossible for us to get enough for our optimal health from diet alone. There are very few naturally occurring dietary sources of Vitamin D3, and most of us don’t get enough of the right kinds of sunrays to produce our own Vitamin D. Recent studies have shown that most people are moderately to severely deficient in Magnesium. In North America we don’t eat much fish or sufficient plant sources of Omega 3s so again we are generally deficient in these essential fatty acids.  Probiotics I’ve already mentioned, and the multivitamin and/or greens I would say is the most optional because if you’re generally eating well and don’t have absorption issues then you’re likely doing ok with your nutrient intake. However, if you’re not eating well or are picky then a multi or greens supplement may be beneficial for you.

Prenatal Vitamins
The ‘best’ of anything is not easy to define. The ‘best’ can change based on the criteria your using. Is it best for price? Best for quality? Best combination of the two? I am really not a fan of ‘which one is the best one?’, I almost always answer ‘it depends’. As far as the prenatal vitamin goes, there are a few things to look for in a good quality one:

• Methylfolate
• Iron
• Methylcobalamin (Vitamin B 12)
• As many active forms of vitamins as possible
  

In my practice I work with a lot of women, and many of them are Moms or will soon be Moms. Whether or not this is currently your situation, giving yourself the space and permission to care for yourself is important. There are so many women out there who are running themselves into the ground from exhaustion trying to be ‘superhuman’ or ‘super mom’. Is it any wonder that there are so many Canadians complaining of exhaustion, stress and burn out?

That’s not even including their potential sources of stress outside of work. Ask yourself or just try to imagine it: running a busy household with two or more kids, a husband/partner, and then your work demands on top of that. Is anyone else feel exhausted yet? I know I am and I don’t have a family of my own to care for yet! So why do so many women feel that they have to do it all? That nothing will get done if they don’t do it. That if they take a moment for themselves, they’re being selfish or self-indulgent.

I have these women come into my office with all manner of concerns: anxiety, depression, chronic stress, low energy, fatigue you name it. I can guarantee you all of them have been giving and giving of themselves with absolutely no effort or time being put aside for their own self healing and care. They’re giving everything they have to their various jobs: Mom, working woman, maid, cook, chaufeur, professional hugger, bedtime storyteller, the list goes on!

There is so much more discussion about probiotics and the microbiome now than ever before. There is research about the benefits for infants, for mood, for digestion, for re-establishing a healthy gut after antibiotics, and so on.  Even though there’s plenty of evidence to show that probiotics or good bacteria are good for us, a lot of people still ask me ‘does taking probiotics actually make a difference?’ Obviously, my quick answer would be yes they generally do. However, perhaps it’s easier for you to decide for yourself, with a little more information.

The Gut:
Generally when we refer to the ‘gut’ as a collective we tend to think of our abdominal area only. However, the gastro-intestinal tract or GI tract actually begins in the mouth and ends at the exit point, the anus. For our purposes let’s focus on the small intestine and large intestine since that’s where the majority of probiotics have their most beneficial effects.
In the whole GI tract there are over 100 000 billion bacteria. Different species in different numbers populate the gut. This is why it is actually important to change your probiotic on occasion because there are so many different species to be supported. If there are so many bacteria present, how could a few billion make a difference? 

Gut/Brain connection:
One of the newer areas of study that’s been getting a good deal of attention is the impact that a healthy gut can have on our mood. More and more studies are coming out showing a positive impact of probiotics and healing the gut on issues such as depression, and anxiety. This work is still early, but promising. Promising enough that some companies are actually beginning to make probiotic products specially geared at mood.

Finally Spring is here!

The weather is gradually getting warmer, birds are returning, and pretty soon the winter jackets can be put away for another year. The downside for some of us, with these seasonal changes comes allergies! Yes, all the fun you can have sneezing, congested, blurry eyed and unable to breath. However, what if you could do things differently and get them under control naturally?

Common Symptoms:
 

• Postnasal drip
• Sniffling
• Dark circles under eyes (allergic shiners)
• Puffiness beneath the eyes
• Restlessness
• Fatigue
• Poor sleep
• Headaches
• Behavioural problems such as irritability, hyperactivity, poor concentration, whining, and pickiness about food
  

Why are they more common?
There is no one theory that currently accounts for the rise in allergies/sensitivities. Some of the proposed causes are as follows:
 
Hygiene Hypothesis: Many children do not get sufficient exposure to a wide variety of microbes, and as result of growing up in an extremely clean environment the body does not learn how to modulate the immune response effectively. There seems to be some credibility for this theory since the significant increase in individuals suffering from allergies has been in the western hemisphere, and we have not seen a corresponding increase in other parts of the globe at the same rate.

Inflammation/Leaky Gut: Chronic inflammation in the body and the gut lining is unable to heal and permits certain food particles to pass through and interact with the immune system. These particles are tagged as ‘non-self’ by the immune system, and it will react to the presence of these particles every time they are re-introduced to the system. Leading to a cycle of continuous inflammation and slow/no healing of the gut lining.

Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs)/packaged foods: We have altered certain foods in our food supply so much that our bodies have difficulty recognizing it and breaking it down as ‘food’.  There is also a corresponding increase in exposure to preservatives and pesticides that are mixed in or put on these foods.

Supplemental recommendations:
The following nutritional supplements can improve allergy problems in several ways: boost immunity, reduce inflammation, and enhance intestinal health.

• Zinc
• Vitamin C
• Vitamin B complex
  

Asian Medicine and Acupuncture
 

• Chinese medicine considers an allergic reaction to be a manifestation of the body's failure to adjust to its environment.
• According to the concept of the organs and their functions, weaknesses of the "Lung” or "Liver” could explain these allergic reactions.
• By stimulating the energy of the "Lung" and by regulating the "Liver" the acupuncture treatment aims to calm the exaggerated response. This can be done both preventatively as well as acutely.