PSA: your symptoms are all connected!
If you experience symptoms from mood swings, cramps, acne, fatigue, heavy periods to sore, swollen breasts they are stemming from the same root causes.
If you’re treating your symptoms with hormonal contraception, a cream or any other pill this doesn’t mean your symptoms are fixed, your hormones are balanced and your periods are healthy. NOPE!
The problem with being prescribed “solutions” like hormonal contraception is that they treat the symptoms & ignore the underlying imbalances that perpetuates the symptoms.
This is like taking the batteries out of a smoke detector instead of trying to find the fire.
Your symptoms are clues to deeper imbalances - and once you find those imbalances & correct them, then your symptoms go away. This approach considers ALL parts of the body as connected, not just one organ.
Conventional medicine doesn’t work this way.
If someone experiences acne they are sent to a dermatologist, if they have IBS they are sent to a gastroenterologist, if they are depressed or anxious they are sent to the psychiatrist & from each doctor that person gets the “perfect” medicine for each problem, with no one taking into consideration how all of the symptoms may be related, or how addressing the underlying causes of these symptoms can fix everything at once. So the person ends up being treated with the best of conventional medicine - but is still not well.
The answer is always drugs when the answer should be BALANCE and addressing the core systems within the body that are out of balance - digestive system, hormonal system, liver function, nutritional status etc.
Now, I know so many women who are frustrated by their doctors only prescribing hormonal birth control to treat symptoms HOWEVER this isn’t really the doctors fault (there is a flaw in the system)- The issue is people are asking conventional medicine doctors for a functional or integrative medicine solution. SO if you want a holistic root cause approach - you need to find someone that approaches health in THIS way.
At My Moonbox we don’t chase symptoms.
We take a root cause approach to hormonal imbalances - meaning we look at WHY the symptoms exist, WHAT got you here and how we can rebalance the body from the inside out.
Cause the thing is, you “CAN” heal naturally.
And it also doesn’t have to suck.
That’s the difference between modern medicine and functional nutrition.
We aren’t told this stuff in the 10 minute appointment we get with our doctor.
We aren’t taught that we have the power to heal naturally - but we can.
Instead we are given the, “take a drug and brush the problems under the rug” approach…
It took me 3 unnecessary and long years to recover my periods and health post hormonal birth control..
Modern medicine told me that period problems “just happen” & are “normal” without questioning things such as..
- What I was eating & how much I was eating
- How much I was exercising
- How much stress I was under
- How little sleep I was getting
- How many bowel movements I was doing a day (yep - your poop tells you a lot about your periods)
...Instead I was offered hormonal birth control time & time again to “fix me”.
Hormonal birth control is the perfect example of a “quick-fix” - where a pharmaceutical is preferable over real behavioral change and where treatments are valued over prevention.
If you want to eliminate your symptoms it involves making behavioral changes & having a “preventative” mindset.
Now, I have two main problems with quick-fixes…
ONE - is that quick-fixes are just that: quick. They are temporary, band aid solutions that are neither lasting nor sustainable. (I think you’re here for lasting health, right?!)
TWO - is the abandonment of personal responsibility where we are relying on something outside of ourselves to “fix us”. Real healing begins when WE take responsibility!
So how can we take responsibility?
We need to empower ourselves with the essential knowledge of how our hormones work, what impacts our hormone balance & what we can do daily to support our hormones so that we can thrive.
So, let’s look at what’s *really* causing hormonal imbalances & crappy, painful, unpredictable periods…
And - it isn’t what you think..
Because your hormones are never *really* the problem.
Painful periods, PCOS, irregular cycles, heavy, long or short periods, fatigue, hormonal acne…
All of these have deeper roots than just hormones.
This is what’s really going on …
Nutrient deficiencies
Our body needs adequate levels of nutrients to make and metabolize hormones. Where do we get nutrients from? The food we eat daily! Nutrient deficiencies are at the core of all period problems from PMS to cramps to irregular or heavy periods, fatigue, PCOS, you name it. Why are period problems so common? Because nutrient deficiencies are so common!
So, what’s causing nutrient deficiencies?
Some examples include..
- Western diet high in processed, packaged, fatty foods lacking in nutrients
- Poor quality or incorrect supplementation
- Agricultural farming practices depleting the nutrients in which our food grows
- Hormonal birth control depletes nutrients such as B vitamins, zinc an magnesium
- Poor gut function
- High stress levels deplete nutrients
- High caffeine, sugar and alcohol consumption
So not only do you need to start paying attention to what’s on the end of your fork, but there are lifestyle and environmental factors at play too.
One important nutrient that over 80% of us are deficient in is magnesium! Magnesium is a vital mineral involved in all hormonal processes within the body and is hugely effective for supporting ALL period problems, plus its amazing for stress, sleep and moods! You can actively replenish your magnesium levels with just a few sprays of Moon Boost every day.
I cover causes of nutrient deficiencies & strategies to effectively replenish nutrients in a lot more depth in my Masterclass
Dysregulated metabolism
It’s your metabolism that runs the hormone show my friend. How efficiently we are using nutrients from the food we eat determines our hormonal functioning. Poor metabolism? Poor menstrual health. You must improve your metabolic function before sustainable health can become reality.
Want to revv up your metabolism?
The antioxidants including EGCG (epigallocatechin gallate) in ceremonial grade matcha such as in Luna’s Matcha is a unique plant catechin that is hugely beneficial for a thriving metabolism and supports detoxification pathways.
Liver dysfunction
One of the most important roles of the liver is to detox estrogen. Put it this way - if the liver is burdened, your hormones are going to be hearing about it and estrogen will become dominant! Hormonal imbalances ALWAYS need liver support.
Symptoms of estrogen dominance include bloating, painful periods, PMS, PMDD, migraines before your period, swollen/tender breasts, irregular periods, endometriosis, fibrosis & heavy periods.
Tips to support your liver:
- Decrease your alcohol consumption
- Eat more dark leafy greens: these are liver SUPERFOODS as they stimulate the secretion of digestive juices. Kale, dandelion greens, swiss chard & broccoli or broccoli sprouts. The more bitter the veggie, the better for your liver. Dandelion root is the herb of all herbs for your liver. Drink it as a tea daily. It stars in our Half Moon Tea!
Poor Adrenal Function
Stress is the mother of all hormonal imbalances because it impacts your adrenal health. Running on cortisol down-regulates EVERYTHING in the body, including progesterone. Missing, late or irregular periods? PMS? Fatigue? Get your stress in check & build your body’s resilience to stress with powerful adaptogenic herbs such as ashwagandha which features in our delicious chocolate Luna’s Lover latte! This is the blend of all blends for easing stress & calming the mind.
Poor gut health
Gut health isn't talked about enough when it comes to hormone balancing. But it’s critical we support it. Our microbiome regulates our immune system, serotonin (your happy hormones) and the elimination of excess hormones. Inflammation in your gut causes hormonal issues. Experience IBS? Chronic constipation? Leaky gut? Gut issues cause period problems. Period. To be efficiently moving excess hormones and toxins out of the body you need to be doing a minimum of 1-3 HEALTHY bowel movements daily.
This doesn’t have to be complex.
Balance is possible. Your body WANTS to heal.
You just require the right guidance and your body requires the right support to do so.
If you want to learn exactly how to turn this knowledge into action and NATURALLY fix your period problems I invite you to join my Masterclass to help fix your periods naturally and for good.
Are you ready to stop chasing symptoms, and finally get to the core of your symptoms? Let’s do this!
