June 10, 2025 • 31 mins
We explore why addressing hormone imbalances requires focusing on the underlying root cause rather than applying symptom-focused band-aids. Taking a foundational approach saves time, money, and frustration while creating lasting results for issues like PMS, irregular periods, and bloating.
• Root cause approach means fixing the actual problem (like repairing a roof leak) rather than managing symptoms
• Functional lab testing helps identify which specific body systems need support
• The same symptom (PMS, irregular periods, bloating) can have completely different causes in different people
• Track patterns and symptoms to gather data about your unique situation
• Addressing root causes isn't about willpower but about targeting the right issue
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:01):
My friend, if you are still battling unpredictable
periods, acne or bloating, nomatter what you try, then let me
ask you this Are you justputting out fires instead of
actually fixing the faultywiring?
In this episode, I'm going toshow you why you need to start
with the root cause, not withband-aids.
Right, let's get to what'sactually causing your hormone
(00:21):
imbalance and stop wasting time,money and energy causing your
hormone imbalance, and stopwasting time, money and energy.
Welcome to I'm Hormonal, yoursource of information about
women's hormone health and howto support your body.
Naturally, I'm your host,bridget Walton, and I'm a
certified functional hormonespecialist and menstrual cycle
coach.
I am on a mission to hold thesehormone conversations with as
(00:41):
many menstruators as possible,because you deserve easier
access to accurate informationabout what's up with your unruly
menstrual cycle and with yourfertility mysteries.
Don't you think it's time thatwe figure this out once and for
all?
Hello, hello.
Welcome to episode 110 of I'mHormonal.
(01:03):
I'm your host, bridget Walton.
I'm so excited that you arehere to join me today for this
conversation on root causes,because, well, I guess I'm
biased, since I put the podcastcontent together, but this is so
important.
This is something that, for me,when I was trying to get my gut
health sorted all those yearsago, I wish that I had been
(01:26):
informed like, hey, girl, findout what the root cause is.
You need to dig deeper.
You need to actually befocusing on what this core,
baseline problem is and not justputting band-aids on your
bloating, on your PMS.
That's what I was going through.
(01:47):
So if you are somebody who youare like, okay, hey, I'm trying
the supplements, I'm trying thethings, I'm making changes, but
I'm not actually seeing anydifference, any improvement in
the quality of my period in myacne, in my digestive health,
then this is going to be a greatepisode for you and I'm really
excited to walk through all ofthis with you because, again, I
(02:09):
just can't punctuate enough howimpactful this can be.
And when you finally realize,you finally learn that you need
to reorient your focus fromthese band-aids, from these
quick fixes, from these hacks,to actually going after the root
cause.
What's the big block that'sgoing to push down all these
(02:32):
other blocks?
Or you guys know what I meanwith, like, this small domino
that's pushed us over.
The bigger domino, the biggerdomino.
You feel me?
Okay, I just really went in bigwith that intro, but if you are
listening for the first timefor today, I want to say a
special welcome to you.
On these Tuesday episodes, I goin a little bit deeper, into
(02:55):
more detail.
Sometimes I have guests on,sometimes it's just me, and then
on Thursdays, you can expect ashorter mini episode where we
just boom, jump right instraight to the point and have
some actionable takeaways foryou there.
So that's what we're doing hereon the show.
I want to say thank you tothose of you who have listened
(03:16):
before, those of you who havesubscribed to the podcast, those
of you who have shared anepisode that really resonated
with a friend or the sister,somebody else in your life.
So thank you so much.
I think I just have one adminnote for you all, because last
week I said, hey, connect withme on Instagram at I'm hormonal,
(03:38):
but actually I gave you thewrong handle.
I just updated my Instagramhandle and so you can find me at
I'm underscore hormonal.
So at I am underscoreH-O-R-M-O-N-A-L, and that's
where you got me All right.
Now let's come back to thisconversation, this topic of
(04:01):
finding out the root cause ofyour hormone imbalance, your
digestive imbalance, and reallyfocusing on that.
As a quick overview.
What I'm going to go through inthe episode with you today is
just a bit more of anexplanation of what the heck am
I actually talking about.
If root cause is a new term foryou, don't worry, I got you.
Give me just 30 seconds herewe're going to walk through a
(04:23):
couple of examples of differentcommon experiences, like PMS,
unpredictable periods, bloating,and what are the different, or
potential different, root causesfor each of those, just so you
can understand like, oh okay, Iget it.
I get why maybe I'm dealingwith PMS, but the solution for
me is different from thesolution for my best friend who
(04:45):
has PMS.
We'll also talk a bit aboutwhat information you might want
to start collecting now to helpyou get to the root cause.
And, overall, what I want tocommunicate to you is just why,
if you are serious aboutbalancing your hormones,
balancing your gut, using a rootcause approach will save you
(05:07):
time, will save you money, willsave you energy, like this is.
I wish I could shout this fromthe rooftops, right, but in the
meantime, I will shout it herein my office into this
microphone.
So thanks for participatingwith that.
So let me take a step back whenwe think about what the root
(05:29):
cause is.
What does that mean?
Think of it like this.
It's kind of like if you have aleak in your ceiling, it's
rainy, there's water coming inthrough your ceiling, through
the roof, you're not going tojust go try to waterproof your
furniture, right.
You're not going to try to justmake the house smell better
(05:50):
because maybe it's smelling alittle bit musty, no, no, you're
going to fix the leak right.
You're going to go to that rootcause, the most basic,
high-level component that iscausing the problem, in this
case your soggy, musty livingroom, and that's what is going
(06:12):
to be the most impactful.
That is what is going to movethe needle the most for you.
Let me give you another exampleto to really bring this point
home.
But if you're having cartroubles, let's say your car is
making some like weird sketchnoise, and you're not probably
going to just say, okay, well,let me get my oil changed, let
(06:33):
me make sure my tires areproperly inflated, let me make
sure that I have enoughwindshield wiper fluid right Now
.
Maybe some of those thingscould help the performance of
your car.
But those are just kind ofrandom guesses, stabbing in the
dark, saying, okay, well, whatcould it be Now, instead of just
stabbing in the dark, tryingsome different things to help
(06:56):
out your car, what you will dois take it to the shop, where
they will open up the hood.
They will look all around.
They will understand, okay,what happened in the lead up to
you coming to the shop today,what's the history here.
They will inspect what's goingon underneath the hood and,
using all of that information,they'll be able to figure out
(07:18):
what the actual problem is,right.
So I hope you're not like allright, bridget, move on, you've
oversimplified it enough.
But I think it's reallyimportant to emphasize,
especially in this world where,I mean, I don't know about you,
but when I'm looking onInstagram I'm getting.
My feed is plagued with quickfixes and recommendations and,
(07:41):
don't get me wrong, I'veabsolutely tried some of them,
many of them right.
I've been very enticed by aprobiotic that's perfect for
your vaginal microbiome.
I've been really tempted bycastor oil packs and, you know,
getting into a good habit ofusing those.
Now, neither of those thingsare inherently bad, inherently
(08:03):
wrong.
They can be helpful, don't getme wrong.
But the question is are theyaddressing the root cause?
Are they helping to fix thatleak in the roof or fix your
transmission, whatever it isthat's going on in your body.
So hopefully that makes sense,because once you can get to the
(08:26):
root cause, you're saving yourtime, energy, money, you're
focusing on the right area ofyour health, the right system or
function in your body thatneeds support, and you're not
just You're not justincorporating band-aids or
cover-ups that are going to beshort-term pacifiers of your
symptom, maybe, but the problemis still there.
Okay, hopefully I didn't beat adead horse with this one, but
(08:50):
you feel me.
Next, I want to share with yousome context about how, when I'm
working with my one-on-onecoaching clients, how we get to
the root cause of their hormoneimbalance or their digestive
imbalance, and so the way thatwe start doing this is by taking
a look at information data thatshe has already collected.
So maybe you track informationabout your cycle in an app.
(09:13):
Maybe, if you have somebloating, you have a digestive
concern.
You've got just a note on yourphone or a page in your journal
that you've been collectinginformation patterns about your
experience.
So those are just a couple ofexamples, but we would be taking
a look at.
Okay, how did we get here?
(09:34):
How did we get to where we arenow and understanding, with that
data that you've collectedabout your cycle length, about
your stress levels, about howheavy your flow was, maybe
information about traveling, ordid you have a big change in
your diet?
Did you change your supplement?
Just a couple of ideas forwhere we're going to start
(09:58):
looking so that we can, you know, connect these dots for what's
going on Now.
The second and incrediblyhelpful component to identifying
the root cause is usingfunctional lab testing.
So using either a gut panel ora hormone panel in most cases to
say, okay, what are thequantifiables on this?
(10:20):
What can we glean from thesuggestions in this lab result
to help us confirm which systemof the body we need to provide
the most support to.
When I'm like, you hear me saysystem of the body, what does
that mean, bridget?
When I'm talking about systemsin our bodies, I'm talking about
(10:40):
blood sugar regulation, I'mtalking about adrenal function.
We're thinking of sleep, stress, eating a nutrient-dense diet.
We're thinking of detoxifyinghormones right and making sure
that those pathways aresupported with the nutrients
(11:02):
that you need, that your bodyneeds, maybe that your liver
needs in order to functionproperly.
So just to say that in adifferent way we use these tests
, we use these hormone panelsand gut panels to help say, okay
, now that we've got thesequantifiables, we know that,
okay, your liver needs a littlebit more support.
(11:24):
So we're going to incorporatethe foods, maybe the tea, maybe
the supplement that's going tohelp support that liver function
, because when your liver isfunctioning properly, that's
going to support yourelimination of hormones which
can impact your PMS, etc.
Etc.
So just one example to helpmake that make a little bit more
(11:47):
sense.
And from there I want to justreiterate that we're not
focusing on your acne, forexample.
I mean, of course, we'rekeeping that in mind.
Whatever your goal is, whateverthe areas that you want to
(12:07):
change, improve, focus on thatis important.
But when we are making changesto your diet, maybe with
supplementation or otheradjustments, we're focusing on
that root cause and what are thesystems and functions in your
body that need support in orderto perform better.
Before I move on, I want toalso mention these foundations,
(12:28):
these systems that includedigestion, lymphatic drainage,
as well as methylation.
So these are just three otherexamples, because earlier when I
mentioned, like blood sugar,adrenal function, those were
just kind of coming off the topof my dome.
But I say these to say that wewould help to support your
(12:51):
digestion through things likeeating slowly, chewing
thoroughly, increasing yourhydration, maybe increasing your
fiber, some of these thingsthat all come back to diet and
lifestyle changes.
Now, when it comes tomethylation and this is one of
the steps involved, or one ofthe functions involved with
(13:14):
detoxifying and eliminating yourhormones some people, though,
have the MTHFR gene mutationMaybe you've heard of that
before and people who have thatgoing on, they generally need to
support their body withadditional methylated B vitamins
.
So I don't want to get toospecific here, but this is just
(13:35):
to say too like okay, does aDutch test reveal to us that
your methylation is not on parwith where you want to see it?
Great, we know that.
That's one of the foundationalareas, one of the root causes
that we need to focus on.
Next, I want to go through andgive you a couple of examples.
(13:56):
I mentioned this earlier, butI'm going to walk through first
PMS, next unpredictable periods,and then bloating, and talk
about a couple of examples ofroot causes specific to those
patterns, so that you canunderstand how.
Oh, shoot, okay, I thought thatall PMS was the same, but
actually there are differentapproaches that might need to be
(14:19):
taken.
So, when it comes to PMS,premenstrual symptoms these are
some of those unsavory symptomsthat you might experience in
that week to 10 days before yourperiod.
Now, they're often causedbecause estrogen can be in
excess relative to progesterone,but there are still a couple of
(14:40):
different things that couldcause this.
So it could be, you know, is theroot cause of someone's PMS
kind of a sluggish or boggeddown liver function?
As I mentioned before, yourliver does a lot of good work
for you, especially when itcomes to eliminating estrogen.
So is it a factor of?
Okay, we need to support yourliver more.
(15:01):
On the other hand, could it bea question of your digestion and
constipation?
Because if you are not havingbowel movements regularly, if it
is more than 24 hours, ifyou're not having a bowel
movement every day, then some ofyour estrogen that would have
(15:21):
otherwise been excreted throughyour stool, it can be recycled
back into your system, whichmakes your body say, oh,
estrogen levels are a bit high,huh.
Now the third example that Ihave here is relating to
endocrine disrupting chemicals.
Right, because if you areinteracting or exposed to these
(15:42):
chemicals and this could bethrough plastics, through air
pollution, from combustion orother sources, through paints,
through many of the productsthat we put on our skin that
have these what's the word I'mlooking for?
Oh, preservatives in them.
Whatever, it is right.
(16:02):
Those products in some casescan send signals to your body
that hey, girl, estrogen is up,higher, because we're filling up
all of these estrogen receptors.
So this is to say again thatthere are these three distinct
and different root causes orfocus areas the liver
(16:24):
constipation, endocrinedisrupting chemicals.
That could all impact your bodyin a similar way by giving you
the gift of PMS.
Just some food for thought too,if you have PMS there.
And let me mention, if you everhave any questions, as you're
listening to an episode and youwant to send me a message, you
can do that through Instagram.
(16:45):
Again, it's at I'm underscorehormonal.
I would love to hear whatquestions you have, and so don't
be afraid to reach out to methere.
Now, the next example that Iwant to move on to would be
unpredictable periods.
So if you've been listening fora minute, you've probably heard
me talk about PCOS, which ispolycystic ovary syndrome, and
(17:07):
Even if you are somebody whoknows that you have a PCOS
diagnosis from there, therecould be one of any four drivers
behind PCOS, and PCOS is well,a syndrome that oftentimes
results in irregular ovulation.
And that's because, for mostfolks, although there are some
(17:31):
nuances androgens, which areyour hormones, like testosterone
, androgen levels are elevated,you're not having regular
ovulation and you have cysts onyour ovaries.
Could inflammation in your bodybe worsening it?
Could blood sugar dysregulationbe worsening it?
(17:54):
Could your adrenal function becausing?
I guess when I say worsening, Imean again, is that like the
root cause?
Is that the basic, most basicthing that you want to be
focusing on?
And then, fourth and final, forPCOS.
Could it just be a side effectof sorts, after getting off of
hormonal birth control, beforeyour body gets back into the
(18:16):
normal swing of things?
So, if your periods areunpredictable, there's this PCOS
potential.
On one hand, I'm not sayingthat that's what you have by any
means, but this is an optionfor some folks.
Now, on another hand, though,for someone who's experiencing a
lot of stress, that can alsocause irregular periods.
(18:38):
Right, and this happens to metoo.
I mean this could happen toanybody where I've noticed that.
You know, if I'm traveling alot, or especially when I used
to work in sales and I would betraveling a lot for work.
I would be on the move.
Sometimes.
If I was supposed to ovulateduring the week that I was on
the road, having a lot of stress, then my period would be late
(19:02):
that month because I wouldovulate late.
Stress when cortisol levels arehigh in your body.
That just sends this signal toyour brain.
Like, okay, looks like thingsare a bit chaotic out there, so
we're going to delay or foregoovulation altogether until this
war is over.
(19:22):
Right, your body doesn't knowthat.
It's just your manager or Susanin HR who's pissing you off.
So, again, when it comes toirregular periods, unpredictable
periods, you have PCOS here.
Stress here.
What's another option?
Well, could it be that yourestrogen levels are really low
(19:44):
and maybe that's because youhave a really low amount of body
fat?
Right, Because in our adiposetissue, that's in part where
estrogen is converted.
Well, where testosterone isconverted into estrogen, it's
also made in your ovaries.
Yes, but their body weight orbody fat percentage is still a
(20:06):
factor.
So, without diving too deepinto that one again, this is
just to say you can have thesame exact experience as your
friend or as somebody on theinternet, or even as me, right.
Maybe you're like, oh yeah, Ihad a regular period so when I
was stressed too, but it also isindividualized to you and
(20:31):
there's some more digging thatneeds to be done to understand
what is it for you that's goingto move the needle the most and
what is going to get you to yourgoal the fastest.
Now, third and final, let's takea look at bloating, right,
because for some people,bloating can be exacerbated by
(20:54):
having low stomach acid levels.
Now, we all have stomach acid,but depending on your stress
level, depending on what you'reeating, depending on I don't
know how many different types ofprescriptions or what type of
prescription you might be takingAre you eating on the go or are
(21:15):
you sitting down and eating Allof these things to some degree
can influence your level ofstomach acid.
And this is important becauseyour level of stomach acid, if
it has the adequate level ofacidity, then that's setting up
the rest of your digestion forsuccess, whereas, on the other
(21:35):
hand, if you're not producingadequate levels, then that can
also slow down the rest of theprocess or otherwise prevent the
enzymes that you need and wantto.
You know it'll prevent thempotentially from being excreted,
or at least in the amounts thatyou want, which can just
(21:55):
inhibit the digestive process.
So, coming back to the baseline, is it low stomach acid and is
that even further tied to stressor something else that's going
on?
Or something else that's goingon Now, bloating could also be a
factor that's related todysbiosis, so an imbalance in
(22:21):
the bacteria that are in yourgut, and this can happen for a
number of reasons.
It could be because of somethingthat you ate, right, maybe
there's some opportunisticbacteria, but it also could be.
I don't know if you're like me,I can't believe how much sugar
I have consumed in my life, andespecially just like a quick
story on me, right, because Imentioned earlier, like bloating
(22:44):
, I spent, I mean, probably mostof my 20s being bloated and not
even realizing that it was athing, that it was an issue,
because I just was like I don'tknow, I guess I'm fat, okay, I'm
getting a little bit, I'mgetting off track, but what I
was starting to say was thateating a lot of sugar or other
(23:09):
kind of inflammatory foods,those can also, you know, feed
some of that opportunisticbacteria that overgrows.
You've probably maybe heard ofsomebody who has a candida or
yeast overgrowth.
So the options here fordysbiosis.
There's a plethora of them, butthis is all to say.
(23:32):
On one hand, could low stomachacid be contributing to bloating
.
On the other hand, could it bedysbiosis?
On a third hand, over here, doyou have sensitivities to some
food and when you're eating it,that's what's causing this
inflammation and causing thebloat, because your tissues are,
you know, reacting and gettingpuffed up, inflamed.
(23:55):
For lack of a more thoroughexplanation.
Now, all of these things beingsaid, hopefully you're like oh
okay, I get it.
Now I get that, even though Ihave the same experience as
somebody else, there's stillmore information to gather to
understand.
What do I need to do?
Because maybe that bloatsupplement works for person A,
(24:20):
but maybe it doesn't work foryou because, again, you have a
different root cause that'sinfluencing or exacerbating the
patterns that you're seeing.
Now, this is where I'll justreiterate that if this is you,
and if you're serious aboutgetting to the bottom of what's
going on, then I would reallyencourage you to start by
(24:43):
tracking what's going on,tracking it in an app, making a
note on your phone, using ajournal, whatever it is that
best suits you that you can beconsistent on, so you can start
to identify those trends.
Now, do you have PMS everysingle month?
Which days of your cycle doesit normally fall on?
Do you know if you're ovulatingor not?
(25:05):
I'm just going to blurt out acouple of questions for you to
noodle on.
Do you have PMS depending on?
I don't know?
Were you drinking alcohol orconsuming caffeine and did that
exacerbate your PMS?
So that's relevant.
When it comes to irregularperiods, you want to be thinking
about stress.
You want to be thinking aboutmaybe even sleep, because that
(25:30):
kind of ties into stress.
You want to be thinking abouthow much you're eating.
Are you eating enough?
How much protein are you eating?
And then, when it comes tobloating, just thinking of okay,
well, am I bloated, basicallyafter I drink water in the
morning?
Am I bloated by 3 pm each day,by the time I go to bed each day
(25:52):
?
Is there a certain food thatworsens it?
Is there anything that helps torelieve it?
Am I normally on the go whenI'm eating?
Am I normally chill when I'meating?
A couple of things for you tonoodle on, and we're going to be
wrapping up here in just aminute with this conversation,
but I just want to reiterate toyou because, again, this is
(26:14):
something I so wish that I hadhad access to back in I don't
know 2019, 2018, and beyond,just understanding that if you
are able to get to the bottom ofthe root cause for whatever is
going on with you, it's going tosave you so much time and
(26:35):
energy and money.
Right, because instead of ifyou're experiencing acne,
instead of just trying anotherskin line and another skin line,
or getting these facials whichyour girl, your girl loves a
facial don't get me wrong, butthose things are not necessarily
impacting what's going on inyour gut, because, actually, gut
(26:59):
imbalance, that can be a big,big root cause behind acne for
some people that's how it wasfor me.
Or if it is a hormonalimbalance, then those facials
still aren't, you know,addressing what's going on
hormonally.
So it's just get facials if youlove facials.
But in some cases, right, afacial might not be what you
(27:22):
need to get to the bottom ofyour acne, and I'm sure you know
where I'm going or you all havea different experience as it
relates to the time that you'respending trying to resolve these
things.
For me, too, what was actuallyeven worse than just the time
spent was, you know, justfeeling like kind of hopeless
(27:44):
Like damn.
No matter what I try, I'm stillin the same situation, despite
feeling like I'm a healthyperson, being active, trying to
eat my best, like going to youknow share my bloating, my PMS
experience with my physician,but not really getting any
(28:04):
support from them.
I was just like man.
I guess it's, I guess it's a mething.
So let me actually wrap up thisepisode by really emphasizing
for you that this isn't a youthing, it's not about willpower,
it's not about discipline, it'snot about oh, I just need to be
(28:25):
a little bit more consistent, Ijust need to try it a little
bit longer, right?
It's about getting to the rootcause and then addressing that
root cause so you can seechanges, so you can feel better,
so you can feel more energetic,so you can have clearer skin,
so you can be confident in yourreproductive health and in your
(28:47):
fertility that much sooner,because that's what you deserve
fertility that much sooner,because that's what you deserve,
and you deserve access to theinformation that will help you
to get there sooner as well.
So that's what I've got for youtoday.
I hope that this was helpfulfor you in understanding why
it's so important to get to theroot cause why that's so
(29:09):
critical.
If you're feeling reallyinspired to get to the root
cause why that's so critical, ifyou're feeling really inspired
to get to the root cause of youracne or energy or unpredictable
periods, then I would love foryou to apply for one-on-one
coaching with me.
You can check out the link inthe show notes or you can go to
wwwimhormonalcom and there'll bea link there for you to apply.
(29:32):
So that's it.
I will see you on Thursday fora mini episode.
Thanks so much for listeningand I'll see you on the next one
.
If you loved today's episode andgot something good out of it,
make sure you subscribe so thatthese episodes show up
automatically in your feed, nowork needed on your side.
Let's put it on autopilot.
(29:52):
As always, I need to give youmy reminder that the information
I share with you here is foreducational purposes only, and
it should not be used as areplacement for medical advice
or diagnosis.
Now, if you are, on the otherhand, in the market for some
one-on-one support, then I wouldlove for you to take me up on
my offer for a free strategycall.
You can find these links andmore in the show notes.
My friend, if you are still battling unpredictable
periods, acne or bloating, nomatter what you try, then let me
ask you this Are you justputting out fires instead of
actually fixing the faultywiring?
In this episode, I'm going toshow you why you need to start
with the root cause, not withband-aids.
Right, let's get to what'sactually causing your hormone
(00:21):
imbalance and stop wasting time,money and energy causing your
hormone imbalance, and stopwasting time, money and energy.
Welcome to I'm Hormonal, yoursource of information about
women's hormone health and howto support your body.
Naturally, I'm your host,bridget Walton, and I'm a
certified functional hormonespecialist and menstrual cycle
coach.
I am on a mission to hold thesehormone conversations with as
(00:41):
many menstruators as possible,because you deserve easier
access to accurate informationabout what's up with your unruly
menstrual cycle and with yourfertility mysteries.
Don't you think it's time thatwe figure this out once and for
all?
Hello, hello.
Welcome to episode 110 of I'mHormonal.
(01:03):
I'm your host, bridget Walton.
I'm so excited that you arehere to join me today for this
conversation on root causes,because, well, I guess I'm
biased, since I put the podcastcontent together, but this is so
important.
This is something that, for me,when I was trying to get my gut
health sorted all those yearsago, I wish that I had been
(01:26):
informed like, hey, girl, findout what the root cause is.
You need to dig deeper.
You need to actually befocusing on what this core,
baseline problem is and not justputting band-aids on your
bloating, on your PMS.
That's what I was going through.
(01:47):
So if you are somebody who youare like, okay, hey, I'm trying
the supplements, I'm trying thethings, I'm making changes, but
I'm not actually seeing anydifference, any improvement in
the quality of my period in myacne, in my digestive health,
then this is going to be a greatepisode for you and I'm really
excited to walk through all ofthis with you because, again, I
(02:09):
just can't punctuate enough howimpactful this can be.
And when you finally realize,you finally learn that you need
to reorient your focus fromthese band-aids, from these
quick fixes, from these hacks,to actually going after the root
cause.
What's the big block that'sgoing to push down all these
(02:32):
other blocks?
Or you guys know what I meanwith, like, this small domino
that's pushed us over.
The bigger domino, the biggerdomino.
You feel me?
Okay, I just really went in bigwith that intro, but if you are
listening for the first timefor today, I want to say a
special welcome to you.
On these Tuesday episodes, I goin a little bit deeper, into
(02:55):
more detail.
Sometimes I have guests on,sometimes it's just me, and then
on Thursdays, you can expect ashorter mini episode where we
just boom, jump right instraight to the point and have
some actionable takeaways foryou there.
So that's what we're doing hereon the show.
I want to say thank you tothose of you who have listened
(03:16):
before, those of you who havesubscribed to the podcast, those
of you who have shared anepisode that really resonated
with a friend or the sister,somebody else in your life.
So thank you so much.
I think I just have one adminnote for you all, because last
week I said, hey, connect withme on Instagram at I'm hormonal,
(03:38):
but actually I gave you thewrong handle.
I just updated my Instagramhandle and so you can find me at
I'm underscore hormonal.
So at I am underscoreH-O-R-M-O-N-A-L, and that's
where you got me All right.
Now let's come back to thisconversation, this topic of
(04:01):
finding out the root cause ofyour hormone imbalance, your
digestive imbalance, and reallyfocusing on that.
As a quick overview.
What I'm going to go through inthe episode with you today is
just a bit more of anexplanation of what the heck am
I actually talking about.
If root cause is a new term foryou, don't worry, I got you.
Give me just 30 seconds herewe're going to walk through a
(04:23):
couple of examples of differentcommon experiences, like PMS,
unpredictable periods, bloating,and what are the different, or
potential different, root causesfor each of those, just so you
can understand like, oh okay, Iget it.
I get why maybe I'm dealingwith PMS, but the solution for
me is different from thesolution for my best friend who
(04:45):
has PMS.
We'll also talk a bit aboutwhat information you might want
to start collecting now to helpyou get to the root cause.
And, overall, what I want tocommunicate to you is just why,
if you are serious aboutbalancing your hormones,
balancing your gut, using a rootcause approach will save you
(05:07):
time, will save you money, willsave you energy, like this is.
I wish I could shout this fromthe rooftops, right, but in the
meantime, I will shout it herein my office into this
microphone.
So thanks for participatingwith that.
So let me take a step back whenwe think about what the root
(05:29):
cause is.
What does that mean?
Think of it like this.
It's kind of like if you have aleak in your ceiling, it's
rainy, there's water coming inthrough your ceiling, through
the roof, you're not going tojust go try to waterproof your
furniture, right.
You're not going to try to justmake the house smell better
(05:50):
because maybe it's smelling alittle bit musty, no, no, you're
going to fix the leak right.
You're going to go to that rootcause, the most basic,
high-level component that iscausing the problem, in this
case your soggy, musty livingroom, and that's what is going
(06:12):
to be the most impactful.
That is what is going to movethe needle the most for you.
Let me give you another exampleto to really bring this point
home.
But if you're having cartroubles, let's say your car is
making some like weird sketchnoise, and you're not probably
going to just say, okay, well,let me get my oil changed, let
(06:33):
me make sure my tires areproperly inflated, let me make
sure that I have enoughwindshield wiper fluid right Now
.
Maybe some of those thingscould help the performance of
your car.
But those are just kind ofrandom guesses, stabbing in the
dark, saying, okay, well, whatcould it be Now, instead of just
stabbing in the dark, tryingsome different things to help
(06:56):
out your car, what you will dois take it to the shop, where
they will open up the hood.
They will look all around.
They will understand, okay,what happened in the lead up to
you coming to the shop today,what's the history here.
They will inspect what's goingon underneath the hood and,
using all of that information,they'll be able to figure out
(07:18):
what the actual problem is,right.
So I hope you're not like allright, bridget, move on, you've
oversimplified it enough.
But I think it's reallyimportant to emphasize,
especially in this world where,I mean, I don't know about you,
but when I'm looking onInstagram I'm getting.
My feed is plagued with quickfixes and recommendations and,
(07:41):
don't get me wrong, I'veabsolutely tried some of them,
many of them right.
I've been very enticed by aprobiotic that's perfect for
your vaginal microbiome.
I've been really tempted bycastor oil packs and, you know,
getting into a good habit ofusing those.
Now, neither of those thingsare inherently bad, inherently
(08:03):
wrong.
They can be helpful, don't getme wrong.
But the question is are theyaddressing the root cause?
Are they helping to fix thatleak in the roof or fix your
transmission, whatever it isthat's going on in your body.
So hopefully that makes sense,because once you can get to the
(08:26):
root cause, you're saving yourtime, energy, money, you're
focusing on the right area ofyour health, the right system or
function in your body thatneeds support, and you're not
just You're not justincorporating band-aids or
cover-ups that are going to beshort-term pacifiers of your
symptom, maybe, but the problemis still there.
Okay, hopefully I didn't beat adead horse with this one, but
(08:50):
you feel me.
Next, I want to share with yousome context about how, when I'm
working with my one-on-onecoaching clients, how we get to
the root cause of their hormoneimbalance or their digestive
imbalance, and so the way thatwe start doing this is by taking
a look at information data thatshe has already collected.
So maybe you track informationabout your cycle in an app.
(09:13):
Maybe, if you have somebloating, you have a digestive
concern.
You've got just a note on yourphone or a page in your journal
that you've been collectinginformation patterns about your
experience.
So those are just a couple ofexamples, but we would be taking
a look at.
Okay, how did we get here?
(09:34):
How did we get to where we arenow and understanding, with that
data that you've collectedabout your cycle length, about
your stress levels, about howheavy your flow was, maybe
information about traveling, ordid you have a big change in
your diet?
Did you change your supplement?
Just a couple of ideas forwhere we're going to start
(09:58):
looking so that we can, you know, connect these dots for what's
going on Now.
The second and incrediblyhelpful component to identifying
the root cause is usingfunctional lab testing.
So using either a gut panel ora hormone panel in most cases to
say, okay, what are thequantifiables on this?
(10:20):
What can we glean from thesuggestions in this lab result
to help us confirm which systemof the body we need to provide
the most support to.
When I'm like, you hear me saysystem of the body, what does
that mean, bridget?
When I'm talking about systemsin our bodies, I'm talking about
(10:40):
blood sugar regulation, I'mtalking about adrenal function.
We're thinking of sleep, stress, eating a nutrient-dense diet.
We're thinking of detoxifyinghormones right and making sure
that those pathways aresupported with the nutrients
(11:02):
that you need, that your bodyneeds, maybe that your liver
needs in order to functionproperly.
So just to say that in adifferent way we use these tests
, we use these hormone panelsand gut panels to help say, okay
, now that we've got thesequantifiables, we know that,
okay, your liver needs a littlebit more support.
(11:24):
So we're going to incorporatethe foods, maybe the tea, maybe
the supplement that's going tohelp support that liver function
, because when your liver isfunctioning properly, that's
going to support yourelimination of hormones which
can impact your PMS, etc.
Etc.
So just one example to helpmake that make a little bit more
(11:47):
sense.
And from there I want to justreiterate that we're not
focusing on your acne, forexample.
I mean, of course, we'rekeeping that in mind.
Whatever your goal is, whateverthe areas that you want to
(12:07):
change, improve, focus on thatis important.
But when we are making changesto your diet, maybe with
supplementation or otheradjustments, we're focusing on
that root cause and what are thesystems and functions in your
body that need support in orderto perform better.
Before I move on, I want toalso mention these foundations,
(12:28):
these systems that includedigestion, lymphatic drainage,
as well as methylation.
So these are just three otherexamples, because earlier when I
mentioned, like blood sugar,adrenal function, those were
just kind of coming off the topof my dome.
But I say these to say that wewould help to support your
(12:51):
digestion through things likeeating slowly, chewing
thoroughly, increasing yourhydration, maybe increasing your
fiber, some of these thingsthat all come back to diet and
lifestyle changes.
Now, when it comes tomethylation and this is one of
the steps involved, or one ofthe functions involved with
(13:14):
detoxifying and eliminating yourhormones some people, though,
have the MTHFR gene mutationMaybe you've heard of that
before and people who have thatgoing on, they generally need to
support their body withadditional methylated B vitamins
.
So I don't want to get toospecific here, but this is just
(13:35):
to say too like okay, does aDutch test reveal to us that
your methylation is not on parwith where you want to see it?
Great, we know that.
That's one of the foundationalareas, one of the root causes
that we need to focus on.
Next, I want to go through andgive you a couple of examples.
(13:56):
I mentioned this earlier, butI'm going to walk through first
PMS, next unpredictable periods,and then bloating, and talk
about a couple of examples ofroot causes specific to those
patterns, so that you canunderstand how.
Oh, shoot, okay, I thought thatall PMS was the same, but
actually there are differentapproaches that might need to be
(14:19):
taken.
So, when it comes to PMS,premenstrual symptoms these are
some of those unsavory symptomsthat you might experience in
that week to 10 days before yourperiod.
Now, they're often causedbecause estrogen can be in
excess relative to progesterone,but there are still a couple of
(14:40):
different things that couldcause this.
So it could be, you know, is theroot cause of someone's PMS
kind of a sluggish or boggeddown liver function?
As I mentioned before, yourliver does a lot of good work
for you, especially when itcomes to eliminating estrogen.
So is it a factor of?
Okay, we need to support yourliver more.
(15:01):
On the other hand, could it bea question of your digestion and
constipation?
Because if you are not havingbowel movements regularly, if it
is more than 24 hours, ifyou're not having a bowel
movement every day, then some ofyour estrogen that would have
(15:21):
otherwise been excreted throughyour stool, it can be recycled
back into your system, whichmakes your body say, oh,
estrogen levels are a bit high,huh.
Now the third example that Ihave here is relating to
endocrine disrupting chemicals.
Right, because if you areinteracting or exposed to these
(15:42):
chemicals and this could bethrough plastics, through air
pollution, from combustion orother sources, through paints,
through many of the productsthat we put on our skin that
have these what's the word I'mlooking for?
Oh, preservatives in them.
Whatever, it is right.
(16:02):
Those products in some casescan send signals to your body
that hey, girl, estrogen is up,higher, because we're filling up
all of these estrogen receptors.
So this is to say again thatthere are these three distinct
and different root causes orfocus areas the liver
(16:24):
constipation, endocrinedisrupting chemicals.
That could all impact your bodyin a similar way by giving you
the gift of PMS.
Just some food for thought too,if you have PMS there.
And let me mention, if you everhave any questions, as you're
listening to an episode and youwant to send me a message, you
can do that through Instagram.
(16:45):
Again, it's at I'm underscorehormonal.
I would love to hear whatquestions you have, and so don't
be afraid to reach out to methere.
Now, the next example that Iwant to move on to would be
unpredictable periods.
So if you've been listening fora minute, you've probably heard
me talk about PCOS, which ispolycystic ovary syndrome, and
(17:07):
Even if you are somebody whoknows that you have a PCOS
diagnosis from there, therecould be one of any four drivers
behind PCOS, and PCOS is well,a syndrome that oftentimes
results in irregular ovulation.
And that's because, for mostfolks, although there are some
(17:31):
nuances androgens, which areyour hormones, like testosterone
, androgen levels are elevated,you're not having regular
ovulation and you have cysts onyour ovaries.
Could inflammation in your bodybe worsening it?
Could blood sugar dysregulationbe worsening it?
(17:54):
Could your adrenal function becausing?
I guess when I say worsening, Imean again, is that like the
root cause?
Is that the basic, most basicthing that you want to be
focusing on?
And then, fourth and final, forPCOS.
Could it just be a side effectof sorts, after getting off of
hormonal birth control, beforeyour body gets back into the
(18:16):
normal swing of things?
So, if your periods areunpredictable, there's this PCOS
potential.
On one hand, I'm not sayingthat that's what you have by any
means, but this is an optionfor some folks.
Now, on another hand, though,for someone who's experiencing a
lot of stress, that can alsocause irregular periods.
(18:38):
Right, and this happens to metoo.
I mean this could happen toanybody where I've noticed that.
You know, if I'm traveling alot, or especially when I used
to work in sales and I would betraveling a lot for work.
I would be on the move.
Sometimes.
If I was supposed to ovulateduring the week that I was on
the road, having a lot of stress, then my period would be late
(19:02):
that month because I wouldovulate late.
Stress when cortisol levels arehigh in your body.
That just sends this signal toyour brain.
Like, okay, looks like thingsare a bit chaotic out there, so
we're going to delay or foregoovulation altogether until this
war is over.
(19:22):
Right, your body doesn't knowthat.
It's just your manager or Susanin HR who's pissing you off.
So, again, when it comes toirregular periods, unpredictable
periods, you have PCOS here.
Stress here.
What's another option?
Well, could it be that yourestrogen levels are really low
(19:44):
and maybe that's because youhave a really low amount of body
fat?
Right, Because in our adiposetissue, that's in part where
estrogen is converted.
Well, where testosterone isconverted into estrogen, it's
also made in your ovaries.
Yes, but their body weight orbody fat percentage is still a
(20:06):
factor.
So, without diving too deepinto that one again, this is
just to say you can have thesame exact experience as your
friend or as somebody on theinternet, or even as me, right.
Maybe you're like, oh yeah, Ihad a regular period so when I
was stressed too, but it also isindividualized to you and
(20:31):
there's some more digging thatneeds to be done to understand
what is it for you that's goingto move the needle the most and
what is going to get you to yourgoal the fastest.
Now, third and final, let's takea look at bloating, right,
because for some people,bloating can be exacerbated by
(20:54):
having low stomach acid levels.
Now, we all have stomach acid,but depending on your stress
level, depending on what you'reeating, depending on I don't
know how many different types ofprescriptions or what type of
prescription you might be takingAre you eating on the go or are
(21:15):
you sitting down and eating Allof these things to some degree
can influence your level ofstomach acid.
And this is important becauseyour level of stomach acid, if
it has the adequate level ofacidity, then that's setting up
the rest of your digestion forsuccess, whereas, on the other
(21:35):
hand, if you're not producingadequate levels, then that can
also slow down the rest of theprocess or otherwise prevent the
enzymes that you need and wantto.
You know it'll prevent thempotentially from being excreted,
or at least in the amounts thatyou want, which can just
(21:55):
inhibit the digestive process.
So, coming back to the baseline, is it low stomach acid and is
that even further tied to stressor something else that's going
on?
Or something else that's goingon Now, bloating could also be a
factor that's related todysbiosis, so an imbalance in
(22:21):
the bacteria that are in yourgut, and this can happen for a
number of reasons.
It could be because of somethingthat you ate, right, maybe
there's some opportunisticbacteria, but it also could be.
I don't know if you're like me,I can't believe how much sugar
I have consumed in my life, andespecially just like a quick
story on me, right, because Imentioned earlier, like bloating
(22:44):
, I spent, I mean, probably mostof my 20s being bloated and not
even realizing that it was athing, that it was an issue,
because I just was like I don'tknow, I guess I'm fat, okay, I'm
getting a little bit, I'mgetting off track, but what I
was starting to say was thateating a lot of sugar or other
(23:09):
kind of inflammatory foods,those can also, you know, feed
some of that opportunisticbacteria that overgrows.
You've probably maybe heard ofsomebody who has a candida or
yeast overgrowth.
So the options here fordysbiosis.
There's a plethora of them, butthis is all to say.
(23:32):
On one hand, could low stomachacid be contributing to bloating
.
On the other hand, could it bedysbiosis?
On a third hand, over here, doyou have sensitivities to some
food and when you're eating it,that's what's causing this
inflammation and causing thebloat, because your tissues are,
you know, reacting and gettingpuffed up, inflamed.
(23:55):
For lack of a more thoroughexplanation.
Now, all of these things beingsaid, hopefully you're like oh
okay, I get it.
Now I get that, even though Ihave the same experience as
somebody else, there's stillmore information to gather to
understand.
What do I need to do?
Because maybe that bloatsupplement works for person A,
(24:20):
but maybe it doesn't work foryou because, again, you have a
different root cause that'sinfluencing or exacerbating the
patterns that you're seeing.
Now, this is where I'll justreiterate that if this is you,
and if you're serious aboutgetting to the bottom of what's
going on, then I would reallyencourage you to start by
(24:43):
tracking what's going on,tracking it in an app, making a
note on your phone, using ajournal, whatever it is that
best suits you that you can beconsistent on, so you can start
to identify those trends.
Now, do you have PMS everysingle month?
Which days of your cycle doesit normally fall on?
Do you know if you're ovulatingor not?
(25:05):
I'm just going to blurt out acouple of questions for you to
noodle on.
Do you have PMS depending on?
I don't know?
Were you drinking alcohol orconsuming caffeine and did that
exacerbate your PMS?
So that's relevant.
When it comes to irregularperiods, you want to be thinking
about stress.
You want to be thinking aboutmaybe even sleep, because that
(25:30):
kind of ties into stress.
You want to be thinking abouthow much you're eating.
Are you eating enough?
How much protein are you eating?
And then, when it comes tobloating, just thinking of okay,
well, am I bloated, basicallyafter I drink water in the
morning?
Am I bloated by 3 pm each day,by the time I go to bed each day
(25:52):
?
Is there a certain food thatworsens it?
Is there anything that helps torelieve it?
Am I normally on the go whenI'm eating?
Am I normally chill when I'meating?
A couple of things for you tonoodle on, and we're going to be
wrapping up here in just aminute with this conversation,
but I just want to reiterate toyou because, again, this is
(26:14):
something I so wish that I hadhad access to back in I don't
know 2019, 2018, and beyond,just understanding that if you
are able to get to the bottom ofthe root cause for whatever is
going on with you, it's going tosave you so much time and
(26:35):
energy and money.
Right, because instead of ifyou're experiencing acne,
instead of just trying anotherskin line and another skin line,
or getting these facials whichyour girl, your girl loves a
facial don't get me wrong, butthose things are not necessarily
impacting what's going on inyour gut, because, actually, gut
(26:59):
imbalance, that can be a big,big root cause behind acne for
some people that's how it wasfor me.
Or if it is a hormonalimbalance, then those facials
still aren't, you know,addressing what's going on
hormonally.
So it's just get facials if youlove facials.
But in some cases, right, afacial might not be what you
(27:22):
need to get to the bottom ofyour acne, and I'm sure you know
where I'm going or you all havea different experience as it
relates to the time that you'respending trying to resolve these
things.
For me, too, what was actuallyeven worse than just the time
spent was, you know, justfeeling like kind of hopeless
(27:44):
Like damn.
No matter what I try, I'm stillin the same situation, despite
feeling like I'm a healthyperson, being active, trying to
eat my best, like going to youknow share my bloating, my PMS
experience with my physician,but not really getting any
(28:04):
support from them.
I was just like man.
I guess it's, I guess it's a mething.
So let me actually wrap up thisepisode by really emphasizing
for you that this isn't a youthing, it's not about willpower,
it's not about discipline, it'snot about oh, I just need to be
(28:25):
a little bit more consistent, Ijust need to try it a little
bit longer, right?
It's about getting to the rootcause and then addressing that
root cause so you can seechanges, so you can feel better,
so you can feel more energetic,so you can have clearer skin,
so you can be confident in yourreproductive health and in your
(28:47):
fertility that much sooner,because that's what you deserve
fertility that much sooner,because that's what you deserve,
and you deserve access to theinformation that will help you
to get there sooner as well.
So that's what I've got for youtoday.
I hope that this was helpfulfor you in understanding why
it's so important to get to theroot cause why that's so
(29:09):
critical.
If you're feeling reallyinspired to get to the root
cause why that's so critical, ifyou're feeling really inspired
to get to the root cause of youracne or energy or unpredictable
periods, then I would love foryou to apply for one-on-one
coaching with me.
You can check out the link inthe show notes or you can go to
wwwimhormonalcom and there'll bea link there for you to apply.
(29:32):
So that's it.
I will see you on Thursday fora mini episode.
Thanks so much for listeningand I'll see you on the next one
.
If you loved today's episode andgot something good out of it,
make sure you subscribe so thatthese episodes show up
automatically in your feed, nowork needed on your side.
Let's put it on autopilot.
(29:52):
As always, I need to give youmy reminder that the information
I share with you here is foreducational purposes only, and
it should not be used as areplacement for medical advice
or diagnosis.
Now, if you are, on the otherhand, in the market for some
one-on-one support, then I wouldlove for you to take me up on
my offer for a free strategycall.
You can find these links andmore in the show notes.
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