#18 - The Hormone Map: Reclaiming Your Body, Power & Joy in Midlife - Midlife Butterfly: Healing, Empowerment & Self-Discovery

Episode Transcript
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Kena Siu (00:00):
What if your hormones are the CEOs of your body,
trying to guide you so you canexperience more flow and
well-being?
Midlife butterfly a woman inthe sacred in between.
She's not who she once was andnot quite who she's becoming.
Yet she's unraveling, awakening, remembering.

(00:20):
She's navigating lifetransitions, divorce, loss,
reinvasion moves with a burningdesire for freedom, joy and
solid living.
She feels the pull to rise, tofly.
She's no longer afraid of herown wings.
In this episode and MidlifeButterfly, we have Ashley Rocha,

(00:42):
the founder and CEO of LadyWell, a hormonal health
supplement company for women.
She's a hormonal health expert,entrepreneur and a mother of
two.
This is a jammy topic, so let'sdive in.
You are here and also if youcan tell me a bit about your

(01:09):
story, of what brought you tothis path of talking about
hormones for women, for theirhealth and well-being.

Ashley Rocha (01:13):
Yes, so I began Ladywell.
It's really a mission-drivencompany.
Based on my own lifeexperiences, I struggled with
hormones for decades.
Ever since puberty, I wasthrown into this cycle of
monthly just gigantic moodswings, really quick to anger,
so much period pain I was taking20 Advil a day.

(01:34):
This went on for two decades.
Whenever I went to my doctor, Iwas always told hormonal birth
control was the solution, orSSRIs, which are antidepressants
.
I knew I wasn't depressedbecause it went away after I got
my period and I was also justled to believe PMS was normal
and it was part of being a woman.
I just need to put up with it.
And though I felt like I wasabnormal in my experience of

(01:58):
being so moody, I just felt like, oh, this is just me and my
personality and I'm sure youjust like start to make up
stories about yourself.
And then, as my mid thirties,when I tried to get pregnant and
I was a little bit slow to getpregnant, I was like, okay, I
really want to have babies.
What's going on here?
And so I really started focusingon my health and looking at my
hormones because I knewfertility and hormones are

(02:19):
related and so I am a herbalist.
I studied herbalism and Istarted I knew the power of the
plant world and plant medicine.
So I started looking into theplant world to solve my issues
because my doctors for balancingmy hormones.
So I started working with anaturopathic doctor, which was
extremely helpful and I startedfinding herbs and functional

(02:41):
mushrooms and eating right andjust changing my diet and
finding these herbs put together.
I put together formulas thatreally changed my life.
I was able to get rid of myPMDD within about six months,
something I'd had for so manydecades.
That affected my relationships,my productivity at work, just
my overall happiness, and sothat was just a game changer for

(03:02):
my quality of life in general.
And then I was able to getpregnant.
I have two baby boys now, andwithout having to do IVF or
anything like that, justnaturally, and I began Ladywell.
Because it took me so long tofind these solutions and these
solutions are so important, Iwant to make them accessible,
easy to find for women.
Accessible, easy to find forwomen.

(03:26):
Hormonal health is reallymisunderstood.
It's not, it's barely talkedabout.
We're talking about a lot morenow, which is amazing.
When I was growing up like wedidn't talk about our hormones,
we didn't know what they were.
So I want to just continueeducating women about their
hormonal health how, whatsymptoms to look for, how to fix
them through plant-basedmedicine, diet, exercise and all
that and just improve women'slives through their health.

Kena Siu (03:50):
Wow.

And Ladywell is really about targeted life
stages, because we're all on amental health journey from
puberty to menopause.
Yeah, whether we like it or not, our hormones dictate a lot
about our health and who we areas women.
They control everything.
I like to describe hormones asthe CEOs of your body.
They're in charge, like theinternet connection.
So if your internet's likewonky and going in and out,

(04:12):
these messengers aren't going tobe sent through your
bloodstream and things are justgoing to go awry and not work
properly and you're going tofeel a variety of symptoms, it's
not just necessarily going tobe about your period.
It's going to feel fatigued,you're going to have all these
things that could fall out ofplace.
And so if your internetconnection, your hormones is not

(04:37):
working properly, things aregonna go awry in your body, so
it's important that yourhormones are online and
functioning.

Kena Siu (04:41):
Yeah, oh wow.
Thank you so much for that, forsharing your experience.
I can't believe that it tookyou like six months to override
like your experience of 20 years.
That's quite like insane.

I mean I also.
I changed.
I started eating more proteinand stabilized my blood sugar.
You know, drinking lesscaffeine.
So lifestyle changes too.

Kena Siu (05:04):
Other changes?
Okay, yeah, to tell you thetruth, I don't know much about
hormones.
As you said, it's yeah, it'skind of.
I think I'm getting moreinterested now that I'm 47.
Eventually I'm going to getinto perimenopause, so I'm kind
of like, okay, so eventually Ineed to know more about this.

(05:26):
But, as you said, yeah, we'llbe living through it through our
whole lives as women, and it'simportant knowledge because it's
something that you said is ourCEO of our bodies, and so I
would like you to share kind oflike the hormones 101 for us.

(05:47):
Can you give us like a simplebreakdown of the key hormones
that shapes a woman's life andhow they influence our different
stages, as you say, like whenwe are teenagers and how we are
growing, and then up tomenopause or post-menopause?

Yeah, so we have a lot of hormones in our body,
the sex hormones.
The important ones that we cantalk about are estrogen Estrogen
regulates mood, your menstrualcycle, your reproductive health,
and this peaks in the firsthalf of your cycle and it really
helps maintain bone density andskin health.
And then progesterone is knownas the calming hormone and this

(06:27):
supports pregnancy and helpsbalance estrogen, and this peaks
after ovulation.
So if you ovulate and you umhave sex then and potentially
get pregnant, the progesteronewill help support the pregnancy
and carry that through.
Testosterone we hear this a lotabout men and their
testosterone, but we also havetestosterone and this supports

(06:48):
libido, muscle mass, energylevels.
We have cortisol, which youmight hear about, which is the
stress hormone.
It helps the body respond tostress, but can also cause
issues if consistently elevated.
So you know it's a.
It's an important hormonebecause it's the stress response

(07:09):
, the fight or flight.
We need that to survive in theworld.
But if it's constantly elevated, then we're going to be in a
state of just like chronicstress and that's going to
really wreak havoc on our otherhormones and fertility as well.
If you're trying to getpregnant, stress is horrible for
that, so cortisol is bad forthat?
Um, there's things that spikeyour cortisol too, like if you
drink coffee on an empty stomachin the morning, your cortisol

(07:32):
will spike.
If you do too much cardio, thatspikes your cortisol.
So there's other ways, otherthan just stress, that can spike
your cortisol uh.
Insulins one another uh hormonethat regulates your blood sugar
and your energy.
Insulin resistance can impactyour weight and overall health.
So there's a lot of times inwoman's life where they,

(07:53):
especially during perimenopause,like we gain weight around our
hips and thighs.
Hormonal weight is usuallyaround your hips and thighs or
your stomach, like that sparetire.
So if you have a hard timelosing weight, even though if
you're working out and eatingright, you just can't lose that
extra, those extra pounds, thatcan be hormonal weight and that
can be a sign of a hormonalimbalance.

(08:13):
And then we have thyroidhormones that regulate your
metabolism, your energy and atdifferent points in your life
these different hormones areimportant.
During your puberty andmenstrual years, estrogen and
progesterone and testosteroneare all going to be really
important.
Um, during perimenopause, like,those hormones are going to
start to wane and they're goingto kind of go crazy, and that's

(08:36):
what causes the chaos in yourlife, cause your hormones are in
a state of chaos becausethey're going through reverse
puberty, basically, and theydecline unevenly, sometimes
leading to irregular cycles, PMStype of intensification and
mood changes.
So yeah, they're, they're.
Your hormones come intodifferent, different importance

(08:59):
at different time.
You know, when you're pregnant,trying to get pregnant or
pregnant, you're going to havedifferent hormones going to play
.
There, like oxytocin is thelove hormone that bonds the mom
and the baby, so that's gonna bereleased during or after
pregnancy and duringbreastfeeding and then that kind
of time, yeah, okay, youmentioned that, uh, during

(09:19):
perimenopause, like we get a bitmore of, you know, fat in in
our bellies and and hips.

Kena Siu (09:25):
How can we know if we have, if it's the kind of like
normal in a way you know forbecause we're going through that
period, or if it's actually anhormonal unbalance in there?
How can we know during?

perimenopause.
Yes, yeah, I think you canexpect it's something like 80%
of women will have menopausesymptoms.
So I think it's.
I think it's.
You can't expect not to feeldifferent during perimenopause
and into menopause.
Um, but yeah, if you and it'shard because you're becoming a

(10:06):
different person and you lookback at the person you were and
you're like I want to be that, Iwant to gain the body that I
used to have, so supplements canhelp you with your hormonal
balance and managing yourhormones.
And there's HRT hormonereplacement therapy that can
also help you, and so that canhelp with that, um, the weight

(10:26):
gain and, you know, reducingthat and managing that.

Kena Siu (10:31):
Okay, okay, thank you for that.
Um, there's still a lot of like, shame and misinformation about
the hormonal changes, and morein women, right, like if you're
in oh you're in PMS, like theypull you like a big X, you know,
because if your mood changes alot and then when we get to
explode of this like that orthis like this, what are some of

(10:53):
the biggest myths about awoman's hormones and how can we
rewrite that narrative of thosemyths because of our hormonal
changes?

Yeah, we're just told to push through.
In life in general, women areexpected to be resilient, you
know, not show any weakness.
Hormonal shifts might be seenas weakness, but what I want to
say is pms and pmdd hormonalimbalances such as that normal
if you're having like really badperimenopause symptoms, you can

(11:30):
fix these things.
We're told that it's just partof our journey and that we need
to put up with the uncomfortablesymptoms or the pain, and
that's just not true.
You know PMS and mood swingsare dismissed as being emotional
.
Like there's so many jokes aboutPMS.
Right, like PMS.
It's been turned into a joke,yes, but our fluctuating hormone

(11:50):
levels really directly in brainchemistry.
It's biology, it's not drama.
And so we just kind of justminimize that as a society
because women's health is notprioritized.
Men's health has always beenprioritized.
There's a lack of educationabout women's health is not
prioritized.
Men's health has always beenprioritized.
There's a lack of educationabout women's health and, like
during studies when they testedit on women and men, they found

(12:13):
women's hormones toovercomplicate the tests and
skew results.
So they focus on men during perstudies, research studies.
And that just shows you how muchthey just minimize women's
hormones or just didn't care.
Of course our hormones are morecomplicated, so that makes
things more complicated andworthy of paying attention to,

(12:34):
because women are half thepopulation, so we should have
the same support that men do, ofcourse.

Kena Siu (12:40):
Yeah, you mentioned about PDD.
What is that?
I haven't heard about that.

There's PMS, PMDD and PM and PME.
Actually, there's three things,but.
PMDD.
Is PMS like really hyped up onsteroids, like so.
If you have, the really intenseemotional symptoms of PMS are
heightened, so really easy toanger, intense mood swings.
You can have depression,anxiety, like those emotional

(13:09):
symptoms.
You can still have PMS symptomslike breast tenderness,
bloating, painful periods, butit's just like really bad PMS.
I mean, it's not PMS, it'sdifferent than PMS, it's more of
a mood disorder.
Um, but if you feel like youhave PMS, that's getting in the
way of you living your life, ifit's turning into a different

(13:31):
person and you have regret afteryour period came you're like
who was that person?
That's definitely a sign ofPMDD.
And there's no blood test forPMDD or anything like that.
But how you can diagnose PMDDis tracking your cycle and
symptom-based, so seeing wheresymptoms land during your cycle.
And so, yes, if you suffer fromPMS, you think it's PMS and

(13:52):
it's just really intenseemotionally it's probably PMDD.
And then PME is about.
If you have.
We can be confused.
If we're depressed and it'sonly around our period, that's
related to your hormones.
But if you have depression ingeneral, that's where PME comes

(14:13):
in and it's just exasperatesexisting conditions, like you
could become even more depressedduring your cycle during the
second part of your cycle, oryou might have even more anxiety
.
So it just takes existingpsychological symptoms you might
have and more anxiety.
So it just takes existingpsychological symptoms you might
have and exasperates them okay,how important it is for women

(14:34):
to track our cycles oh my gosh,it's the most important thing, I
think, for us to do, because itgives you so much data about
yourself.
It gives you really insightfulinformation that you can use to
plan your schedule.
Uh, our, we, our energyfluctuates throughout our cycle
dramatically.

(14:54):
Um, our creativity peaks atcertain points, though you want
to socialize during ovulationtime.

Kena Siu (15:02):
Right, yeah, they're more creative yeah, yeah.

And then the beginning of your cycle, you're
more, you want to socialize, youwant to get out there, you have
more energy.
And then the last part of yourcycle, you're a little bit more
introverted.
You should adjust your workoutsum, like to be more calming
workouts, um, it's probably nota time like you want to plan a
big like if you're doing apresentation, like like you
might not have that you knowcharisma as you would in the

(15:26):
beginning of your cycle.
And then also it gives you datafor yourself.
If you ever want to go see adoctor like, you'll have the
data of, like your symptoms thatyou've been tracking and you'll
know you can start relatingthings to your cycle.
Like, for example, I was everymonth my period snuck up on me
and I was always like, oh my god, what just happened?

(15:46):
I never tracked my cycle fortwo decades and I was always
surprised whenever my periodcame.
But if I had been tracking mycycle, I would have started to
see these, like these, um, likethis, my symptoms were coming up
at the same time every monthand these trends, and I I think
I would have gotten to the pointquicker with fixing my hormones
if I really kind of saw thesetrends happening, whereas I was

(16:10):
just like totally in the darkand ignored it.
And then, when you try to getpregnant, you of course need to
know when you're ovulating.
In high school, I think we'reled to believe that you can get
pregnant anytime in the month,but that's just so untrue.
Like you have a fertile windowand it gets smaller and smaller
as you age.
So when you're tracking yourcycle, like you'll have so much
historical data to go off of andyou'll be able to better

(16:33):
anticipate your ovulation window, your fertility window.

Kena Siu (16:36):
And if you don't want to get pregnant.

That's also equally as important, because
then you'll know when.
You know when to have sex andwhen not to have sex to avoid
pregnancy.
So all this data about yourbody is really important your
periods, your fifth vital sign.
If you're having skippingperiods or periods are irregular
, you will know.
If you're tracking your cycleand that's a red flag that
there's something off in yourbody and you shouldn't really

(16:59):
ignore it.
I know it's like I didn't getmy period.
That's kind of a nice thing forfor some women, but it's also
like your body telling you thatsomething's not functioning
correctly.
So you should listen to thoseand fix those before your
symptoms just snowball and maybeyou won't eventually want to
get pregnant.
And like you didn't fix yourhormones like when you're in
your 20s and so you're in ayou're in a harder place yeah, I

(17:22):
actually started like trackingmy cycle.

Kena Siu (17:27):
It's been like four or five years ago when I learned
to do this program that I wastaking and it was great for me
to really understand how thesedifferent phases we go through
and then, as you said, tounderstand my body but at the
same time, to understand myfluidity well, like with mood,
with productivity and all that.

(17:48):
And I believe that when we getto understand that, we get to be
more compassion to ourselvesbecause, as you said before,
like like everything is focusedor well, yeah, in more in men
because of the studies andeverything, but, as you said, we
are half of the population, orprobably more, in this world and
getting to know that I considernow that it has to be like at

(18:13):
school.
We need to learn this, since weget our period, like on my case
, like talking about sex andperiods and stuff.
The menstruation at home waskind of like a taboo.
I only have one conversationwith my mom.
I don't know how it was for you.
So unfortunately, it is a lotlike that for women, that we

(18:35):
don't have the information, butbecause it's not given to us, we
don't have that kind of culturetowards knowing our hormones
and our bodies better yes, weare not empowered with that
knowledge at all and at all, orlike all right, you know, to be
fair, my mom doesn't know thisinformation either, so it's it's

(18:56):
just been.

they can't pass it down if they don't know it, and
that's why I want to change thedialogue now, so our next
generation of daughters haveaccess to this information.

Kena Siu (19:07):
Oh, yes, yeah, I love that, and it's interesting that
well, you have two little boys,but still, eventually, I was
really hoping for that daughter,but you know, the universe
gives you what you need Exactly.
I mean, eventually you mighthave you know.

Yes, I'm hoping for a daughter one day.
So you know.
So that's how it goes, yeah.

Kena Siu (19:28):
So can you tell us what actually happens hormonally
in our 40s and 50s and how canwe transition through
perimenopause and menopause withease and grace?

Yeah, grace, yeah, so, um, perimenopause can begin
as early as 35, which feelsreally young to a lot of women.
People are like no, but yeah so, but generally in your forties
is when you go intoperimenopause and your fifties.
Menopause or perimenopause canlast as long as 10 years, and

(20:04):
usually does, and it's can be atime of chaos with your hormones
and you're going to feeldifferent throughout that whole
time.
As I said, estrogen andprogesterone fluctuate and
decline unevenly and this iswhat leads to all these symptoms
.
Your cortisol levels willincrease, which is the stress
hormone, and this can rise andlead to fatigue and weight gain

(20:26):
around the belly.
The difficulty managing stressPerimenopause symptoms are hot
flashes, night sweats, moodswings, brain fog, sleep
disturbances super common andthese begin to appear as your
body transitions towardsmenopause.
And there's like there's waymore symptoms than that.
There's like 50, a hundred, youknow, like it depends on what

(20:46):
woman you are Like.
It's so unique to women eachperson.
But your testosterone willdecline, so your libido will be
affected, which will affect yourenergy as well and your muscle
tone.
That's why, as you go intoperimenopause, you should start
lifting weights as a form ofexercise and focus on that more
so than focusing on um doingcardio, which will peak your

(21:09):
cortisol, but also, like you,just need to be gaining that
muscle mass.
Yes, and then what menopause isis menopause is marked by a
year without your period.
So once you don't have a periodfor a year, then you'll know
you're.

Kena Siu (21:30):
Okay, thank you for sharing that.
To know, what can we kind oflike expect in that?
How does do hormonalfluctuations here and there?
But, yeah, like about ourconfidence and, and you know,

(21:57):
our mental wellbeing, what other, yeah, what?

impact.
I mean, I think it completelyaffects your mood, and well, I
mean talk about confidence.
First, we're talking about howhormones affect your body and
how you physically look.
There's something calledcortisol phase, where, if you
have too much cortisol like,you'll have this like kind of
moon phase and it's just lesspretty than your normal phase.

(22:25):
So, there can be physicalsymptoms that show about
hormonal imbalance, like acne,cortisol phase, weight gain
imbalance like acne, cortisolphase, weight gain.
So dry skin, oily skin, likethere.
It affects your beauty as welland I think people like respond
to things that, like you know,we're all vain on some level.

(22:46):
We don't want to look, we don'twant to age quicker, like if
you're it also can like thewrinkles right, so your hormones
are out of balance.
It can cause things like thatand that's not something anybody
is going for.
So, yes, I think it definitelyaffects confidence in that way.
And then your emotions areheavily affected by your

(23:08):
hormones, like, as I was saying,with the PMDD and perimenopause
.
Like your emotional state isjust so linked to your hormones.
It's almost just one.
I had such an emotionalrollercoaster my whole life
because of my hormones and it'struly affects you.
And with women, we're we're inthis cycle and our hormones are

(23:28):
going to fluctuate through themonth.
And so it was was our mood, andI think we should embrace that
and celebrate that.
We're not men, men's hormonesset every 24 hours so they don't
have the same like range ofmoods as we do.

Kena Siu (24:10):
.

.

Kena Siu (24:27):
.

.

Kena Siu (24:36):
.

Low estrogen or progesterone can lead to
irritability and mood swings andemotional instability,
affecting how confident andcapable a person might feel.
High cortisol will createchronic stress and lead to
feelings of overwhelm andinsecurity, making it hard to
feel emotionally balanced orconfident.
And then low testosterone willlead to fatigue and lack of

(25:01):
motivation and reduce sex drive,which can really affect your
confidence and relationship andyour self-image.
So all these hormones are doingdifferent things for a body and
imbalances in them or a lack ofthem will lead to different
things.

Kena Siu (25:15):
Overall will just affect your well-being is it
normal to be like uh hormoneunbalanced, like in general, or?

I think it.
Yeah.
Well, hormonal imbalances arecommon.

Kena Siu (25:33):
Okay.

Uh, it's about 80% of women experience hormonal
imbalances at some point in ourlife.
Um, so if you're experiencingPMS and perimenopause, I would
say it's.
I would say it's impossible notto experience some kind of
hormonal issues throughout yourlife.
We have a long, long life,hopefully.
Yeah, Things will change.
You go through different lifestages.

(25:54):
You'll have you might havetimes of having PMS.
You might have times of no PMS.
You know you're going to be inyour fertile years.
Maybe you're trying to getpregnant.
You're going to have differentlife stages and different
struggles.
There'll be times you're eatingbetter, exercising.
Sometimes you're going to beeating poorly.
So you know you might havehormonal imbalances come into
play there.

(26:14):
You might have times of stresswhere you're feeling really
burnt out from work and that'sreally bad for your hormones.
So you're gonna have differentjourneys in your life.
Um, but hormonal imbalances arereally common.
Our food system in america isreally not set up that well.
Our food's nutritionallydepleted, so we don't get enough
of the things we need throughour foods a lot of the time,

(26:35):
which is really unfortunate, andwe're all like overworked and
stressed out and so that stressis leading to, you know, spiking
cortisol, not getting enoughsleep.
So our lifestyle habits reallyput us at a disadvantage to
having balanced hormones, andthat's where these symptoms
begin to sneak in okay, okay,thank you for clarifying that,

(26:57):
yeah I was just gonna say, andwe also are, just like,
surrounded by endocrinedisruptors and I think it's
important to understand thatendocrine disruptors are so bad
for your hormones.
And what endocrine disruptorsare like, for example, um,
artificial fragrances, plastics,things like that.
Those are things that willaffect your hormone health and

(27:19):
your endocrine system and thatwill lead to hormonal imbalances
, fertility issues.
It's really common.
So you want to, you know, cookwith.
You want to get rid of yournon-stick pans.
You want to avoid as muchplastic as possible, even though
I know it's really hard to do,but like you don't want to eat
out of plastic containers thathave been heated up, like water
bottles that like thetemperature fluctuates in

(27:40):
receipt paper, like we're handedreceipts a lot of time but the
coating on that paper is reallytoxic.
Scented stuff Like you'rescented laundry detergent or
skincare products.
You want to use clean skincarebecause your skin is your
largest organ.
That stuff will sink into yourbody.
I had to stop burning candlesLike that was like my kind of

(28:00):
like my little Haven at nightfor so long before I realized
all the toxins that are in those, with a sense.
So once you start realizingthese things and kind of think
that life you're going to be ina better position.
We can't all't all doeverything like we can't avoid
endocrine disruptors completely,but you can control as much as
you can yeah, oh, thank you forsharing that.

Kena Siu (28:22):
That's, yeah, it makes me think a lot of different.
You know, like, which habits doI have that I might actually
shift so I can avoid them?
Yeah, and I, yeah, and I, yeah,I them, yeah, and I totally
agree.
As you said, our skin is ourbiggest organ and taking care of
it at a core level it's veryimportant.

(29:07):
What are some practical waysthat we can do?

practical ways that we can do, can use.
Yes, I think it's hard to say.
Well, first of all, reduce asmuch stress you can in your life
, but a lot of us have a reallyhard time doing that.
Life is stressful.
You really just can't avoid it.
I that's why I incorporateadaptogens into all my products,
and so I recommend all peopletake adaptogens.
They're so great for managingstress and helping your body
build resilience to stress,because stress is going to

(29:38):
happen.
But it's how we react to thatwhich is the important piece.
So if something stressful comesinto, if you get laid off at
work, for example, if you'retaking adaptogens, your body's
going to have a better reactionthan if you're just like
unhealthy and like in a state ofdisarray.
Your body's going to have abetter reaction than if you're
just like unhealthy and like inthe state of disarray.
Uh, your body's going to have,instead of like having a
clenching, like negative feeling.

(29:58):
It will help build reasons andhave a better effect.
So it won't be as unhealthy onyour body.
And adaptions help you adapt tosomething like, say, your
cortisol is too high, it'll helpbring the cortisol down.
If your cortisol is too low,it'll raise the cortisol.
It's kind of like this magicalthing in the world that helps
you to stay in balance.

Kena Siu (30:19):
Okay, that's a chance.
Okay, make a note on that one.

So we use ashwagandha and our daily
hormone balance and that's anadaptogen and it really helps
you build this resilience tostress and also help you sleep.
Adaptions are good at that aswell.
Shatavari is also a great onethe female ginseng.
So, yeah, I recommend that okay, thank you.

Kena Siu (30:43):
Thank you.
Um many women like feel more intune with their intuition at
different times in their cycle,or probably in midlife
transition or something, and doyou think, like hormones also
play a role in there, for us tobe more connected to our

(31:04):
intuition during certain periodsin our menstruation cycle or, I
don't know, like in our midlife, or how do you see that?

Yeah, I think hormones can significantly
influence how in tune we feelwith our intuition throughout
our life stages, particularlyduring different phases of our
menstrual cycle or in midlifetransitions like perimenopause
and menopause.
Hormones can affect ouremotions or energy level, and
even our ability to connect withour inner selves.
So, yeah, I definitely think soOkay, yeah, good.

Kena Siu (31:41):
So what?
Well, I don't know like how Ifeel personally.
Like I feel, like I told youbefore, like more creative or
more uh tuned in, sometimes likewhen I am uh in my ovulation,
uh period, but then also, likewhen I'm just just before that,

(32:01):
like I have more energy andsometimes I have more kind of
like downloads or information,like to connect through my,
through my intuition.
What's your, what's yourexperience with that?

Yeah, in your follicular phase, which is days
one through 14 of your cycle thefirst half of your cycle, when
estrogen is rising many womenwill feel more social, energized
, optimistic.
This may lead to greaterclarity and decision-making and
a stronger connection tointuition.
Estrogen can help enhancemental clarity and creativity,

(32:35):
which can make more women feelconnected to their inner voice.
To me that's a good time to makea big decision in your life.
And then ovulation is peakestrogen and testosterone levels
during ovulation and these canfeel like increased confidence
and assertiveness and energy, soyou might feel more empowered
and aligned with your instincts.

(32:56):
So maybe also a great time tomake a decision, um, so trusting
your gut feeling during thattime.
And then your luteal phase,which is the second half of your
cycle, like day uh four, sorry,like 15 through.
This happens after ovulation,when progesterone is rising and
estrogen starts to decline.
This phase can bring feelings ofcalmness and nurturing, but

(33:19):
also may lead to emotionalsensitivity, as we talked about
but, also intuition, so youmight feel your intuition here
might be more introspective anda deeper wisdom during this
phase, though you might havesome mood swings going on as
well, but you'll feel morereflective of your inner world.

Kena Siu (33:38):
Okay, well, you mentioned something about this
before, but I want you to givemore clearer, as we are in
midlife and then we want to havestill our sex drive and
pleasure.
So what role hormones play inthis?

Yeah, so I mean, of course, our sex drive is
really linked to our hormones.
It's you know how we makebabies.
It's genetic, it's DNA, it'sscience.
For young women and those intheir 20s and 30s, hormone
balance is really important forsupporting your estrogen and
testosterone levels withnutritious foods and healthy

(34:17):
fats and regular exercise.
Levito is really important atevery stage, but I was just
going through the different lifestages.
So that will help you in your20s and 30s in your 20s and 30s
and then for women approachingmenopause, supporting your
estrogen progesterone likeincorporating phytoestrogens
like flax seeds, soy and legumesto support estrogen and

(34:39):
magnesium rich foods.
Magnesium is really important.
I think women everybody shouldtake magnesium supplement but
this can help balanceprogesterone and reduce symptoms
like anxiety, which can dampenlibido.
Adaptogens I bring those upagain and are great to help

(35:00):
balance cortisol, reduce stressand then also support a healthy
libido.
Libido is really important,especially if you're trying to
conceive, right, you need towant to have sex and usually,
like the, the trying to getpregnant can really put a damper
on your libido.
It's turned something that'sshould be fun into a job and
it's really stressful.
So hormonal balance can makejust making sure hormonal

(35:22):
balance can make sure that yourlibido is in a healthy place,
and there are libido enhancingsupplements too, um, but if you
just feel like you have no sexdrive, that's a sign of hormonal
imbalance in general, becausewe should have a healthy sex
drive, even as women, like we're.
Even as a woman, we can want tohave sex and you should.
So, yeah, so libido isimportant and it's a sign of

(35:47):
hormones Like it's a sign ofthings are working or not
working in your body okay, andduring perimenopause.
Like you, you also have libidoproblems, so these can happen
throughout your whole life, andsupplements are definitely a
solid way of dealing with thiskind of stuff okay, and what are

(36:08):
some in the case, likepractices that will be besides
the, as you said, like takingsupplements and all this?

Kena Siu (36:17):
Are there some practices that we can do?
I don't know if it's, I guess,exercise help or what else can
we do besides taking supplementsto support our, to support our
hormonal balance?

Oh yeah, so you can't just take a supplement and
like you can't take a pill andexpect it to fix your whole life
.
Yeah definitely not.
I mean especially with naturalsolutions, which are better on
the body.
Anyway.
We're not pharmaceuticals, soit's not like an Advil it's
going to immediately alleviateyour headache.
First of all, supplements dotake time to begin to work like.

(36:55):
You should dedicate threemonths to gain the full effects
of adaptogens and herbs in youryour body to judge whether
they're working.
But you also have to have anice lifestyle around it and be
eating right, like eating enoughprotein.
Stable blood sugar is important.
You don't want to be abusingcaffeine and alcohol.
Caffeine is bad for yourcortisol, sugar, caffeine,

(37:19):
alcohol all bad for yourhormones.
So you know, try to minimizethe use of that.
Exercise is really good foryour hormones, good for your
health.
Like I know, sometimes we don'twant to exercise.
I hate exercising personally,but I do it.
I force myself to as much as Ican.
And then sleep is reallyimportant.
So good sleep hygiene, getenough sleep.
And if you had to prioritizeexercise or sleep, like waking

(37:42):
up really early to go to the gym, like, you should prioritize
your sleep.
Sleep is so crucial to healthand we have a hard time getting
enough of it.
I think like we don't.
You should be going to bed atthe same time every night.
You should be practicing goodhygiene, like not looking at
your phone right before you goto bed.
I have sleep supplements thathelp you sleep better, not wake

(38:03):
up during the night.
Magnesium is amazing to helpyou improve your sleep quality
in general, because we all Ithink a lot of women struggle
with sleep, especially inperimenopause years.
But my point is we need to lookat our whole lifestyle
holistically and practicenutrition, stress reduction,
exercise, more sleep right.

(38:25):
And the reality is we're notgoing to be able to do all those
things Perfect all the time.
So they're going to ebb andflow, sometimes when our diet is
going to be great, andsometimes when we work it out
and sometimes it's not.
And that's where supplementsreally come in, because they can
kind of hack your way to betterhealth, also fill the gaps that
you you're slacking on.
Like we can all do everythingperfectly.
We're not going to all getexactly the diet, the nutrients

(38:48):
we want from our diet at alltimes.
So supplementing it's calledsupplementing for a reason.
It helps you fill in those gapsand supports you and, yeah,
just really supports you on thatjourney of better health yeah,
yeah, I love that you said it.

Kena Siu (39:04):
It has to be the, the care that we have for ourselves.
It definitely has to beholistic body, mind and spirit
or soul, you know.
Otherwise, I mean, we then areunbalanced in those places,
because, as human beings, thoseare our main elements.
So it's key to really look atall of them, like what are we
eating?
How are we moving?
As you said before, like kindof products are we consuming?

(39:29):
But not also that like whatkind of products are we
consuming?
But not also that like whatkind of media are we consuming?
Because that also affects ourmental health and everything
else.
So, seeing it as an approachlike that, I consider it's key
for us to have a better healthand well-being definitely.

Yeah, I know it can feel overwhelming all the
things I just listed that's likechanging everything, but just
like small changes can make adifference and over time you
just want to try to become, havebetter habits and better
rituals yeah, exactly no, and ittakes time, right, as you're
saying.

Kena Siu (40:06):
It's overwhelming.
You see it that way, but thenit's like okay, so what can you
implement today that you reallyreally like, like attracts you
to say, okay, I'm curious aboutthis, and then implemented it
into your heart, into your life,until it becomes a habit, and
then keep shifting more thingsuntil you get yeah, exactly yeah
.

That's why I created Ladywell is because
hormonal health is socomplicated and taking care of
our hormones like feelsoverwhelming and I really wanted
to simplify the process becausewhen I was getting rid of my
PMDD and fixing myself, I wastaking like 20 tinctures a day.
I was piecing together allthese different formulas and it
was overwhelming and I think forany, any woman it wouldn't be.
You wouldn't be able tocontinue that forever, you know.

(40:48):
And I wanted to simplify thatprocess and create a formula
which is our daily home balance,which just takes so many
different aspects of what awoman needs into one formula so
you only have to take one thingin the morning instead of like
having to even think about, likepiecing together like these
different things.
It has herbs, adaptogens,vitamins, amino acids, so just

(41:09):
like taking it, simplifying itinto one thing, one-stop shop,
like bada bing, bada boom.

Kena Siu (41:16):
Oh, I love that because I mean just to hear
about all these names of thedifferent hormones and stuff and
then, okay, like what is thisfor?
What is that for?
Yeah, it's kind of yeah, it'salso overwhelming.

So I love yeah, it's complicated.

Kena Siu (41:37):
Like I'm trying to make it easy yeah, I love that
you get to do that in yourbusiness and then for us to, for
you to yeah the kind ofproducts that you offer.
And before you share more aboutyour business, about Lady.
Well, I would like to know whathappens to our hormones
post-menopause and how can westay vibrantize and balance in
our later years yeah, aftermenopause typically around age
50, though it varies a woman'sbody undergoes significant

(42:01):
hormonal changes.

The ovaries stop producing eggs and levels of key
hormones which estrogen,progesterone and testosterone
these decline dramatically andso your estrogen decreases.
The most significant hormonalchange during menopause is a
drop in estrogen, and this canlead to hot flashes, night
sweats, functional dryness,discomfort during sex, mood

(42:22):
swings, bone density loss,increased risk of heart disease.
Over time, your progesteronedecreases and the drops will
cause things like irregularsleep patterns, insomnia,
increased anxiety and moodswings.
Your testosterone will decrease, so your reduced libido and
just sexual satisfaction ingeneral.

(42:44):
So, even though these changesare inevitable, there are many
ways to stay vibrant andenergetic during these times,
and the focus on maintainingoverall health and boosting
energy and promoting youroverall wellbeing should be like
your number one focus.
So you want to focus onnutrition.
Eat nutrient dense foods, sowhole foods like fruit,

(43:06):
vegetables, lean proteins,healthy fats.
That supports hormone health andoverall vitality.
So, yeah, good diet, I knowthat, but bringing in things
like calcium and vitamin D aregoing to be crucial because your
bone health is going tostruggle and your as your
estrogen declines.
And then foods like leafygreens and fortified plant milks

(43:28):
and things like salmon, fattyfish can really help support
bone density as well.
So you can get it through yourfood and through supplements.
And then healthy fats omega-3fatty acid you can take that
supplement or you can get itfrom salmon, chia seeds and
walnuts and that will supportyour heart health.
You're really trying tomaintain your vitality during

(43:51):
this time and just extend thatvitality.
So it's just going to be aboutnurturing yourself with the
right foods and supplements andmaking sure your strength
training, as I said, exerciseexercising regularly like
aerobic exercise, is good andenhancing your mobility, so your
balance and mobility will startto decline.

(44:11):
So just focusing on that.
And then I'm also going to saysleep well, because sleep
matters at all points in yourlife.
And then, yeah, herbal supportis great during this time as
well.
It'll help you manage yoursymptoms of menopause like black
cohosh is a great herbashwagandha of menopause like

(44:34):
black cohosh is a great herbashwagandha vitex.
So bringing in supplements isgreat too.
And then if you feel like youlike during perimenopause, years
to menopause, if you just feellike you can't get ahold of your
, get ahold of these symptomsthey're just so overwhelming,
even after you take supplementsthere's always hormone
replacement therapy.
Hrt and using bioidenticalhormones is a great option for
you.
You'll go to your doctor to getthose and I've heard that they

(44:58):
work pretty quickly.
I'm not on them, but they workpretty quickly and so it's a
great option if you feel likethat's right for you and it's
becoming more popular.
There's definitely a point intime where there was really bad
press around HRrt, but I thinkthat's changing okay, yeah, well
.

Kena Siu (45:16):
Well, thank you for letting us know that, and yeah,
so then talking about thesupplements is where you come in
, since you are the expert inhere.
Can you share more about yourbusiness and how you help women,
and what kind of products doyou offer?

Yeah, so we're really focused on helping women
wherever they're at in theirhormonal health journey.
We have products that help youin midlife.
We have PMS, pmdd, pcos, likethose type of struggles.
We have fertility supplements.
So our fertility and egg healthis really great for boosting
your fertility, improving youregg health.

(45:57):
So you want to take that 90days, at least 90 days in
advance, to affect the geneticmaterial that's going to make up
the eggs, because the eggs and90 day maturation process.
We have prenatals that you'lltake before, during and after
pregnancy and those postpartumyears.
And then we have perimenopausesupplements.
So we're coming out with aperimenosupplement.
Our daily hormone balance isgreat for women in perimenopause

(46:18):
and that's the foundational one, and then we're going to layer
on another one to help with moresymptoms of peri, because peri
is, like, really complex andthere's a lot of symptoms.
So you'll be taking a dailyhormone balance and a peri
support as well to help youduring that time.
So, meeting women where they'reat different life stages, our
formulas are super comprehensive.
As I said, I want to make itreally easy.
It's like you shouldn't have tobe.

(46:39):
There shouldn't be a lot ofguesswork, you shouldn't have to
be stacking a lot ofsupplements.
A lot of brands out there wantyou to buy, like, several
supplements and have to take alot of different things, because
they make more money that wayand you'll buy one of them
because it's the first one willbe cheaper and stuff like that.
But I'm trying to put a lot inmy supplements so it's easier
for you and I really want tomake it excessively priced too.

(47:01):
That's really important and Iwould say, when you're shopping
for supplements, it's reallyimportant to find brands that
are tested and clean, especiallywhen we're talking about our
hormones and endocrinedisruptors.
As I was saying, you don't wantto introduce those into your
body.
So I always our supplements arealways very tested and we use

(47:22):
glass jars, so not plastic.
Um, a lot of.
We don't cut corners where itmatters and our formulas are all
holistically formulated by ateam of diverse doctors.
So we really bridge the gap ofEastern and Western medicine,
and that's really adifferentiator and really
important to me, because there'ssuch wisdom in traditional
Chinese medicine and Ayurveda.

(47:43):
And then we bring that into ourformulations and just look at
formulating from a lot ofdifferent perspectives Bringing
in fertility experts when we'recreating fertility formulas and
perimenopause experts whenthey're creating peri formulas,
so our formulas are very smartand well put together.

Kena Siu (48:00):
Yeah, it looks like.
Yeah, I love that Awesome.
And I know you said you want tooffer a discount code for our
audience.
Yes, and you can find usdiscount code for our audience.

Yes, and you can find us.
Our website is getladywellcomand I made a discount code for
20% off all supplements for youraudience Butterfly20.
So you can go to our websiteand type that in.
You'll get 20% off.
And then, as I was saying,we're all about education.
We need to know more about ourhormones, our bodies, our cycles

(48:33):
, how to take care of them, whatto do.
So you can follow us on socialmedia.
Our handle is GetLadyWell.
We're on Instagram, tiktok,facebook, all the places and
follow us there to get tips andjust educational content around
your hormones.

Kena Siu (48:48):
Yeah, thank you, I'm going to share all the links in
the note shows.
Yeah, thank you, I'm gonna.
I'm gonna share all the linksin the in the note shows.
And just before we close, Ialways ask these questions to
all my guests.
I would like to know, which isa pleasure that you enjoy a lot
in your life.

Yeah, I'm a busy mom.
I have two, an 18 month old anda four month old.
So I would say my pleasure isbeing my kids.
But you know, if I was going tosay something more selfish, um,
it's just like that momentbefore bed.
I lay in bed, I put mymagnesium spray on my feet and
it's like that moment ofself-care.
Sometimes I'll be eating somedark chocolate during that
moment before.

(49:25):
I go to bed, but there's like Iget like five minutes in the
evening to myself after I put mykids to bed.
It's like very brief, but Ihave my ritual and I love it.
So magnesium helps me sleep andI just it just feels like
nurturing.

Kena Siu (49:39):
I love it yeah, what a beautiful practice.
Yeah, and a good, yeah, good tofinish, to end the day like
taking care of yourself, whichis the main thing that we got to
do, and then more.
You know you have little kids.
I don't have kids, but I knowhow moms can get like crazy the
whole day, so it's good that youtake that little pleasure pause

(50:01):
for yourself before going tosleep.
Yes, yes.

That means for a good morning and the next day.

Kena Siu (50:07):
Yeah, exactly.
Well, thank you so much forbeing here, Ashley.
I really appreciate your time,your knowledge, your wisdom and
I really hope that thisinterview can help and inspire a
lot of women to know more aboutthemselves, about their cycles,
about their hormones, to livebetter lives.

(50:28):
Would you like to add somethingelse?

Yeah, I think it's just.
The more we know about ourbodies, the more empowered we'll
be.
And, yeah, knowledge is power.
So if you understand your cycle, you'll be better equipped to
avoid disease later in life.
And avoid these hormonalimbalances will just will bring
you down and get in the way ofliving your best life.
And there are solutions outthere that are natural solutions

(50:55):
, and, while it might be hard tofind, they're there.
So I'm here for you.

Kena Siu (51:00):
Thank you.
Thank you for tuning intoMidlife Butterfly.
If this episode lead a spark inyou, hit that subscribe or
follow button on Apple Podcasts,spotify or wherever you love to
listen, so you'll never missthe magic.
If you're feeling generous,drop a review on Apple Podcasts.
It helps this empoweringcontent reach more souls ready

(51:21):
to transform their lives.
And don't forget to take aphoto of you while listening and
share it on your socials.
You can tag me at KenAsU so Ican celebrate you and your
expansion.
Until next time, keep spreadingthose wings and living in joy,
growth and pleasure.

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#18 - The Hormone Map: Reclaiming Your Body, Power & Joy in Midlife

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.css-14f5ked{margin:0;word-break:break-word;display:-webkit-box;-webkit-box-orient:vertical;box-orient:vertical;-webkit-line-clamp:2;overflow:hidden;}#18 - The Hormone Map: Reclaiming Your Body, Power & Joy in Midlife