The trick is in quieting down your hormones.

And the magic is in combination of addressing what’s on the end of your fork, your gut microbiome, and more.

Included in the more is also addressing the things in your life that are stressing you out. Surprise. Surprise.

SImply said, it’s not one thing because it’s not caused by just one thing.

In working with clients (and back when I was making my own personal changes as well), I’ve found that addressing those 3 issues, food, the gut microbiome and controllable  stresses are the keys for most women.

Working with these issues together, a woman can often see some change in a matter of just a few weeks. Though it does take longer to relearn the patterns of eating, behavior, and response that will bring about a long term permanent change.

And for some, we do need to go deeper. For others, it can take longer because other health issues can complicate matters.

But this is just to let you know that there is a natural approach that doesn’t involve just waiting for it to go away. There is a natural approach that doesn’t involve slathering hormone creams over your body or taking a handful of pills. 

It’s an approach that’s about being intentional with how you eat, how you take care of yourself and how you deal with stress.

You can read a little tongue-in-cheek of my own experience here https://www.drlesliek.com/2020/12/30/resolve-menopause-madness/

And set up a time to talk: http://callDrLeslie.com 

The post Menopause & Mental Health: A Natural Approach appeared first on Dr Leslie K. Empowered Wellness.

I wish I had found them sooner than I did. It would’ve saved a ton of aggravation. 

As women in our society, we tend to think we have no control over it. Nothing could be further from the truth.

I hope you’re not one of THOSE women:

You know, the ones with all the symptoms, including threatening to string up their kids for insignificant things.

Can’t blame them. They’re at their wit’s end.

But too many of them are convinced they have no power over it.

They think they just have to suffer through in silence (or with screaming) until they get through it. And that’s just not true.

So today, let’s move beyond the complaining and suffering to some solutions.

I’m going to start with the solutions on the end of your fork.

Because it turns out that there are many foods that have phytoestrogens that will help us regulate hormones.

But there’s a big difference between the phytoestrogens in plants and the estrogens in animal-based foods.

The estrogens in animal-based foods (dairy, chicken, eggs, and more) behave like our own estrogen, only stronger. So they can have adverse effects.

As we move into perimenopause, we need compounds that gently bind to our estrogen receptors but have less estrogenic activity.
This decreases our perimenopause symptoms and also has a positive effect on other systems throughout the body. Phytoestrogens have a variety of positive effects systemically.  They even decrease the likelihood of hormone-related cancers.

So here are 5 foods that are high in phytoestrogens:

1. Legumes: Basically all beans but soy and whole soy products like tempeh and tofu are probably the most concentrated. Organic unsweetened soy milk is also a great source.
2. Nuts: Again, almost any kind of nuts
3. Seeds: especially flax seeds
4. Wheat berries: You can prepare wheat berries similarly to how you would prepare rice. They are nutty chewy alternative.
5. Pomegranates: Many fruits also have varying amounts of phytoestrogens. Pomegranates are one such fruit.

A couple of things to note here:

These products are great for everyone, even guys.

Men have estrogen and estrogen binding sites as well. Because of the way phytoestrogens bind to those sights, phytoestrogens are thought to be advantageous for men too.

This brings up another point: phytoestrogens are typically much better at helping us achieve balance. Prescription hormones, the alternative, may be too concentrated.

And there is very little concern that you can overdo any of the food-source phytoestrogens.

Getting 1-3 servings of these foods into your body on a daily basis can start to make a difference.

In my next blog article, I’ll address Xenoestrogens. They are chemicals in our environment that mimic estrogen and can have horrendous effects on our metabolism.

In the meantime, get in touch if I can help.

The post Take Control of Your Perimenopause Woes appeared first on Dr Leslie K. Empowered Wellness.