Calling all my Perimenopausal Ladies

What worked in our 20s and 30s isn't going to cut it in our 40s and 50s. It's time to get serious about supporting our hormones estrogen and progesterone. We don't appreciate them until they go missing.

Estrogen is your exciting, creative best friend that is fun-loving, outgoing and the life of the party. She builds bones, she hydrates skin, she is silky, sensual, witty and whipper-snapper smart.

Progesterone, is your calm and nurturing grandmother who feeds you nourishing soup, reassures you that all is right in the world and then rocks you to a sound sleep. Without them we become hot and bothered insomniacs with brain fog and nervous energy. We grow hair where we don’t want it and lose it where we do. Ugh. 

Our sex hormones are greatly influenced by other key hormones in the body such as cortisol and insulin. Progesterone thrives when cortisol is low but when cortisol soars due to stress, progesterone retreats. 

Estrogen, on the other hand, thrives when insulin is low but insulin rises when we eat sugar and simple carbs. 

There you have it. Even though sugar may provide a quick release from a stressful situation, the truth is that sugar paired with stress is precisely what drives our sex hormones away. 

It isn’t enough to take hormone replacement therapy and be done with it. In fact, HRT won’t help much unless you have your health foundations dialed in. More importantly, your digestive system and liver need to be at optimal function in order to metabolize sex hormones. Un-metabolized estrogen can lead to hormonal cancers like breast, ovarian and endometrial cancers.

Gentlemen, you are not off the hook when it comes to balancing hormones. Insulin resistance is one driver of declining testosterone. Unregulated blood glucose levels will increase aromatase activity which converts testosterone to estrogen. Too much estrogen will cause you to gain more belly fat, breast tissue, and to lose your libido among other things.

Ladies, back to you. Know that one of our lesser acknowledged hormones, oxytocin turns off cortisol and it’s a precursor for our sex hormones. We know her as the breastfeeding hormone because she saturates a mother and baby when breastfeeding to heighten the maternal bond. But this love hormone can also be activated with simple acts like hugging a loved one, laughing, yoga, meditation, petting your dog, snuggling and deep, meaningful conversations.

All of this may feel overwhelming but there are simple solutions and lifestyle changes that can help to rebalance our sex hormones. I would love to share more about this with you.