February 10, 2025 • 22 mins
Can you truly transform your perimenopausal journey by mastering the art of hormone balance? Unlock the secrets hidden in the Ageless and Awesome podcast as I uncover five essential truths about achieving hormonal harmony during perimenopause. From the power of personalised nutrition, liver-supporting foods and phytoestrogens, to the pivotal role of managing chronic stress, this episode is your guide to optimising well-being. Discover how quality sleep and consistent schedules can be your best allies in regulating hormones and enhancing health during this transformative period. By embracing these insights, you can navigate perimenopause with confidence and vitality.
But that's not all - I take a closer look at the intricate link between gut health and hormone balance, looking at how stress and diet can impact digestive health and trigger hormonal imbalances. Learn practical strategies to support a healthy gut, including staying hydrated and incorporating prebiotics. With a holistic approach I empower you to take control of you perimenopause journe. Don't miss your chance to access my free Radiant Reset Hormone Detox guide, and connect with Susie on Instagram @the.perimenopause.path to continue your journey.
Are you a woman feeling stressed, flat and experiencing the challenges of perimenopause?
It’s time to reclaim your youthful energy, radiance and self-assurance (and your ideal weight).
I’m here to help with my proven method.
Here's how I can support you -
1. Hit your health and wellbeing goals this year, balance your hormones and lose weight with your own personalised protocol, based on your body's biochemistry. Sounds awesome right!! Book a free 30 minute Peri Weight Loss Assessment with me so we can discuss your health and wellbeing goals and also see how I might be able to support you. Book your call here.
2. Follow me on Instagram and Facebook - @the.perimenopause.path
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hi, I'm Susie Garden and this is the Ageless and
Awesome podcast.
I'm an age-defying naturopathand clinical nutritionist and
I'm here to bust myths aroundwomen's health and aging so that
you can be ageless and awesomein your 40s, 50s and beyond.
The Ageless and Awesome podcastis dedicated to helping women
(00:24):
through perimenopause andmenopause with great health, a
positive mindset and outrageousconfidence.
Hit, subscribe or follow nowand let's get started.
Hello, gorgeous one, andwelcome to this week's episode
of the Ageless and Awesomepodcast.
This week I'm focusing on, andwe're going to talk about, the
(00:47):
five truths about balancinghormones in perimenopause that
you probably don't know, solet's get straight into it.
So, firstly, let's talk aboutfood, because what you eat every
day, at every meal, plays acrucial role.
But it's not just about eatinghealthy in adverted comments,
(01:14):
and while general healthy eatingguidelines are beneficial,
hormone balances hormonebalances balancing your hormones
often requires a morepersonalized approach in
perimenopause, For example,women in the high estrogen phase
you know that phase where yourestrogen is boosting up and then
(01:34):
it drops, and then it's up andthen it drops.
That's generally when you'regetting symptoms like hot
flushes, for example.
So people in that kind of phasemight need more liver
supporting foods because livergets rid of our older estrogen,
our waste products.
So we want the liver to begetting all of the nutrients
(01:55):
that it needs in order toperform that really important
role.
So liver supporting foods arethings like cabbage, Brussels
sprouts, garlic, onions, kale,cauliflower, broccoli, that kind
of thing, the sulfury kind offoods.
So those kinds of foods aregreat for women in that higher
(02:15):
estrogen phase.
But for those having symptomslike sexual dysfunction, urinary
tract tract issues, such asfrequent UTIs, you might need
more phytoestrogen-like foods.
So legumes, soy, flax seeds andsunflower seeds.
So you know, sometimes I getwomen that come to see me and
(02:36):
they actually have like thispretty what you would think.
On paper it looks like theperfect diet.
But if it's not the perfectdiet for them at that stage in
their life, they're not going toget the benefits that they
would get with personalizednutrition.
And it always amazes me when Isee women come in and they've
got this really amazing healthykind of diet and I think, oh
(02:59):
gosh, I hope what I'm going todo is actually going to work and
it always does and it alwaysreally amazes me.
So, definitely, eating ahealthy diet is great, but
personalized nutrition justabsolutely notches it up so many
levels to get your hormonesbalanced and get you feeling
(03:19):
energized and feeling reallygood.
So number two, stress management.
So stress management is asimportant as diet and exercise
for hormone balance.
Chronic stress and, let's faceit, a lot of us have a lot of
stress going on in our livesChronic stress can severely
(03:39):
disrupt hormone balance and whenyou're looking at the actual
mechanism behind this, it reallymakes sense because stress,
when we're stressed, it triggersthe release of cortisol.
So cortisol interferes withother hormones, like insulin,
like estrogen, progesterone,thyroid hormones.
Cortisol is a really powerfulhormone.
(04:00):
It's got a lot of influence.
And the thing is, when we're inpremenopause or menopause now,
ovaries have really stoppedproducing our progesterone.
We rely on our adrenal glandsto produce some progesterone.
I mean it's not a lot but it'ssomething right and progesterone
is so important.
If I can get a little bit outof my adrenal glands, I want
(04:20):
that.
So when our cortisol productionis ramping up because of the
chronic stress or even acutestress, it reduces that
progesterone production becauseit prioritizes the cortisol.
So effective stress managementtechniques building that stress
(04:41):
resilience is essential forhormone balance and a lot of
people, I think, don't reallyrealize how critical that stress
management part is for us aswomen at this stage of life.
So that's number two.
Number three is sleep.
Sleep and everyone I talk topretty much pretty much everyone
(05:05):
I talk to is having problemssleeping in their 40s, 50s, as
that perimenopause startshitting us and that progesterone
kind of goes through the floorand the quality of our sleep can
actually be more impactful thanthe quantity, even though
quantity is actually important.
Poor sleep quality can disruptthe production of key hormones,
(05:28):
so, like melatonin, cortisolgrowth hormone also can lead to
weight gain.
And so ensuring deep,restorative sleep by maintaining
a consistent sleep schedule,for example, so going to bed at
the same time every night,getting up at the same time
every morning, but also makingsure that window of going to bed
(05:49):
versus getting up is eighthours.
So I often get people say to meand it surprises me a little
that they haven't worked it outbut they go, yeah, I only get
about six hours sleep and I'mlike, oh, what's going on?
And you know, talk a bit aboutthis and that about why they're
not sleeping.
And then I say, well, what timedo you go to bed?
And they go about 11.
And what time do you get up inthe morning.
I'll get up at five, so that'sonly allowing for six hours of
(06:13):
sleep.
So if you're not in physicallyin bed for eight hours because
you've got to allow, it'sprobably going to take 10 to 20
minutes to get to sleep.
You might get up and go to thetoilet in the middle of the
night, you might get woken by anoise or whatever.
So if you're aiming for eighthours, you need to be in bed for
at least eight hours, probablya little more.
And in bed means in bed notreading, necessarily, definitely
(06:38):
not on your screen, notwatching TV.
So sleep schedule is important,but also sleep routine.
So when we train our mind thatsleep is the next step, that's
actually very effective andthat's what sleep hygiene is.
Or having a sleep routine.
So you know, and it can beanything.
(07:00):
It doesn't have to be anythingparticularly special or woo.
Sometimes it's just washingyour face and brushing your
teeth and then the next thingyou do is going to bed.
It doesn't have to be a full onthing, but it's.
It can be really nice to createthat for yourself and it can be
really good for managing stress.
So you might be getting a bitof a twofer there.
(07:22):
So if you're using things likeparticularly lavender essential
oil, there's some good researchin lavender essential oil for
sleep and anxiety reduction.
So having maybe a lavenderdiffuser in the bedroom or maybe
having a shower and poppingsome lavender essential oil in
the bottom of the shower, makesure it's the essential oil and
not just a lavender-scented oil.
(07:45):
The essential oil has veryspecific phytochemicals, so
that's plant chemicals that havethe therapeutic action.
So if you're just havinglavender scented oil, that is
not going to give you the sameresult.
So lavender essential oil justpopping a few drops in the base
of your shower or having a bathand using the lavender oil there
(08:06):
, that can be just reallybeautiful for relaxing.
And we know, you know howpowerful smell is right.
So if you're making thatconnection of that smell of the
lavender means, oh, that's partof my sleep routine, I'm going
to bed soon, I'm going to go tosleep.
That's a really great way totrain your brain to go to sleep.
So with you know, creating yourown sleep routine and, yes, if
(08:26):
you can fit in some beautifulbreath work just not stimulating
breath works and relaxingbreath work like belly breathing
is a really easy one.
Maybe doing something likeprogressive muscle relaxation,
or PMR.
If you don't know what that is,just Google it.
There's plenty of informationon the internet about that.
That's really great for sleep.
You tend to do that whileyou're in bed.
(08:47):
When you first lie down in bed,it can be doing some meditation
.
It can be doing someaffirmations.
There's so many things you cando.
I've recently purchased Ihaven't got it yet one of those
acupressure mats.
I can't remember who wastelling me about it, whether it
was a friend or a client wastelling me about the acupressure
(09:07):
mat, so I purchased one.
Hopefully I'll get it this weekor next week, so I will let you
know how that goes.
But my plan is to lie on that,for I don't think you have to
line it for very long, for maybefive minutes, 10 minutes,
something like that, just beforeI go to bed and see how that
goes.
I think I'm very excited aboutthat actually.
But yeah, just having a fewthings that start to teach your
(09:30):
brain that sleep is coming isreally awesome for helping you
get to sleep, particularly ifyour sleep issue is what we call
sleep onset or initiation.
So if you go to bed and it's anhour before you get to sleep,
that's a sleep onset problem.
If it's more, you can get tosleep, okay, but then you're
(09:51):
waking at one or two or threeand you can't get back to sleep,
or maybe it's an hour beforeyou get back to sleep.
That's a sleep maintenanceissue.
So these are two differentthings and we treat them
differently.
So that's something to be awareof as well.
The sleep has a specificstructure.
I didn't actually mean for thispodcast to go down this track
(10:12):
in quite so much detail aboutsleep, but anyway, here we are.
So much detail about sleep.
But anyway, here we are.
You have quite a complex sleepstructure and we, as a health
professional, we can tell wherethe problems lie, depending on
where your issue with sleep isarising.
Now some people have both sleeponset and sleep maintenance
issues, so we need to addressboth of those and, as I said,
(10:35):
some of that's a different way.
But a couple of the other thingsyou can do with sleep is from a
supplement point of view, ismagnesium glycinate or magnesium
citrate can be really helpful.
You're looking at getting adose of around 300 milligrams
for that.
Again, this is very generaladvice.
I'm not specifically talking toyou with any of your health
(10:57):
issues, any of your sensitivity.
So please make sure you arespeaking to someone that can
help you with supplementselection, that knows a little
bit about you.
But this is just.
I'm just throwing a few littlethings out there that can be
helpful.
The other thing, of course,it's having a dark, quiet room.
Now, if that's not possible foryou in your current situation,
(11:18):
sleep mask is amazing.
I have a fairly dark room, butI often wear my sleep mask
anyway because it just I find itjust relaxes me.
And earphones sorry, notearphones earplugs are also
fantastic If you've got ambientnoise or if you live near a
train, for example, or there'sroadworks going, which I know on
(11:39):
the Gold Coast.
There's a lot of roadworksgoing on at night, and so having
some earplugs can just be agame changer for good sleep.
All right, let's move on fromsleep to number four, which is
gut health, which you know thatI love, love talking about it,
love helping clients get on topof it.
So gut health is in.
(12:01):
It's just completely andtotally linked to hormonal
health, at whatever stage oflife you are in.
If you, I don't think I havetoo many teenage girls that
listen to my podcast, but if youare, you have teenage girls and
they're having issues withhormones.
What's going on with their guthealth?
That is probably one of thefirst things I would look at,
(12:23):
and even if it's thingsparticularly like acne, if
that's a problem the first thingthat most naturopaths will look
at is their gut health, andit's because the gut microbiome
plays a crucial role in themetabolism of hormones and the
regulation of hormones, plus theexcretion of old hormones.
So what I talked about beforewith the liver the liver
(12:45):
detoxifies hormones to get themout of the body.
The route that exits your bodyis through the bowel, so if your
bowel is not moving regularly,you can get a buildup of the
fecal matter.
The body is still going to beabsorbing water and other things
(13:05):
from that fecal matter whileit's sitting in your intestines
and it can actually reabsorb oldestrogen, and that can lead to
a hormone imbalance.
So it's really important thatyou have a good understanding of
what's normal when it comes toyour gut health, so that you
know what is abnormal as well,and also that you know what
impacts your gut health.
(13:26):
Does stress really impact you?
Does it give you diarrhea ordoes it give you constipation?
Do certain foods impact you?
Do you get bloating, forexample, after you have a pizza.
I hear that every week, forsure, every week.
Now that could be the dairy,that could be the gluten, that
could be processed meats Ifyou're having that on your pizza
.
If you are, you might want torethink that.
(13:47):
But, yeah, working out what isit that's causing problems in
your gut.
If you are getting bloating,then there is something going on
that needs to be addressed.
But yeah, an imbalance in gutbacteria can lead to things like
relative estrogen excessbecause of that reabsorption of
old estrogen.
And if you're in perimenopause,you probably already have an
(14:08):
excess of estrogen if you're inthat surge situation, so you
don't want to be contributing tothat.
Also, an imbalance in gutbacteria can lead to thyroid
imbalances.
So you want to support your guthealth.
You want to make sure that yourbowels are moving ideally daily
(14:28):
and that the stool form is onewhere, if you look up Google for
me, the Bristol B-R-I-S-T-O-Lstool chart and it's a picture
of poos Don't be, you know, tooshocked.
They are diagrams, notphotographs, so don't worry.
But what you're aiming for is athree to four on that chart.
(14:51):
So if you're anything else, youprobably need to get that
assessed, and supporting guthealth can be just so easy.
Sometimes all you need is someprebiotic fiber.
It doesn't have to be supercomplicated.
Generally speaking, if you'rehaving a daily probiotic for no
particular reason, I wouldsuggest stopping that because
(15:15):
most of those are not great foryou.
If your gut bacteria are fine,you don't need to take
probiotics, and a lot of thoseprobiotic capsules have got way
too much in them and that canreally disrupt your normal, your
good gut bacteria in particular.
So, yeah, being really wellhydrated again, that can be
(15:36):
something that helps with regardto detoxification.
We use a lot of water in ourbodies and also, obviously, if
we're dehydrated, that willimpact our ability to move
bowels and therefore get toxinsand estrogen out of the body.
So gut health can be supportedwith food very easily.
And, yeah, there's like so muchI could talk about when it
(15:59):
comes to that, but I just wantto keep this fairly simple.
So, supporting gut health withprebiotic fiber, with hydration
and reducing foods that give youproblems like diarrhea, like
constipation, like bloating,like excess flatulence, excess
burping, reflux all of that canhelp improve hormone balance.
(16:23):
The last thing I wanted to sayis that hormone imbalances often
have multiple underlying causes.
Now, obviously, if you are inperimenopause, there is going to
be an imbalance in yourhormones, right, but there's
often other things going on.
So things like genetics,lifestyle, environmental toxins,
(16:48):
what you're eating, your stresslevels, underlying medical
conditions, prescription drugsthat you might be on all
interplay to impact.
It's not enough just to look at, for example, MHT menopause
(17:08):
hormone therapy.
A lot of my clients want MHTand I think that can be really
helpful, but if you're notgetting the other aspects right,
then sure that's going to help.
Having those hormones on boardare definitely going to help,
but you still generally aregoing to need some stress
management and learning how toregulate your nervous system.
Generally.
(17:30):
You're probably going to needsome help to achieve your ideal
weight if you are carrying extraweight.
Certainly, MHT can be great forhelping to shed a bit of weight
, sometimes depending on whatthe cause is of the weight gain
that you've experienced.
Depending on what the cause isof the weight gain that you've
(17:50):
experienced.
But often I find women do somuch better if you put
everything together and youdress everything.
So the MHT and personalizednutrition and regulating nervous
system and I know this isstarting to sound like oh my
gosh, this is just alloverwhelming and too much, and I
totally hear you on that, andthat's why having someone like
myself to support you through itcan make it so much easier,
(18:13):
because I just give youeverything.
All you need to do is cook yourfood and eat it.
Essentially, yeah, and I workwith you on some of those other
aspects that I just mentioned.
But, yeah, it is reallyimportant to understand that
this is complex stuff andeveryone's experience is
different because everyone'slife up until now is a little
(18:36):
different.
So the bottom line balancingyour hormones and feeling good
in perimenopause particularlyinvolves afaceted approach and
you really need to be takinginto account a whole bunch of
different aspects of what'sgoing on in life to really get a
(18:58):
hold on things so that you'refeeling good, your energy is up,
you're sleeping well, you'refeeling good in your body, your
gut health is optimized, yourskin is feeling good and has
that glow, and that gives youthat confidence and that
vitality.
And the other thing, of course,is we still have a lot of
(19:22):
living to do, right For many ofus if we live.
I think the average age of lifein Australia is probably around
86.
So if you're getting intomenopause at the average age of,
say, 51, and you're in peri, inyour 40s.
You still got another maybe 40years to go.
So you want to be healthy.
You want to be able to still dothe things that you love doing
in your life.
You don't want to be scaredabout your body failing you.
(19:44):
And you know, I read a quotethe other day which has really
stuck with me, which is thatthis generation of women that
are in perimenopause at themoment and early menopause, we
are the most highly educated andthe wealthiest generation to
ever have existed, ever haveexisted.
(20:06):
I think that's mind-blowing.
Plus, we're starting to get ahandle on what menopause
actually is and whatperimenopause actually is,
Because even two to three yearsago, we were not getting the
focus put on this part of ourlives that we are now, and it's
so exciting to me.
(20:27):
So you know, don't delay makingthe changes that need to be made
so that you can feel good.
There's no need for you to feelflat, to have no energy, to be
not sleeping, to be feeling likeyou can't control your weight.
There's no need.
The answers are there andgenerally they're not that
(20:47):
complicated.
So, anyway, I hope you'veenjoyed this episode.
I've really enjoyed bringing itto you Enjoy the rest of your
week and I'll see you nextTuesday with actually a very
special guest I'm very excitedabout and, yeah, I will see you
then.
(21:08):
Thanks so much for joining metoday on the Ageless and Awesome
podcast.
If you liked today's episode, Iwould love it if you could
write me a five-star review.
It makes me so happy.
Also, make sure you click thelittle plus button if you're on
Apple Podcasts, or the followbutton if you're on Spotify, so
that you can get each newepisode delivered to you every
(21:30):
week.
If you like free stuff, thenhead to the show notes and click
the link to receive my freeradiant reset hormone detox
guide for perimenopausal women.
Now, this will only beavailable until the end of
January 2025.
So be quick.
End of January 2025.
So be quick.
If you'd like to continue thediscussion we've had today, head
(21:55):
over to Instagram and DM me, orfollow me at the perimenopause
path.
There's a little dot betweeneach word just to make it a
little bit more complicated, butI would love to connect with
you over there.
Hi, I'm Susie Garden and this is the Ageless and
Awesome podcast.
I'm an age-defying naturopathand clinical nutritionist and
I'm here to bust myths aroundwomen's health and aging so that
you can be ageless and awesomein your 40s, 50s and beyond.
The Ageless and Awesome podcastis dedicated to helping women
(00:24):
through perimenopause andmenopause with great health, a
positive mindset and outrageousconfidence.
Hit, subscribe or follow nowand let's get started.
Hello, gorgeous one, andwelcome to this week's episode
of the Ageless and Awesomepodcast.
This week I'm focusing on, andwe're going to talk about, the
(00:47):
five truths about balancinghormones in perimenopause that
you probably don't know, solet's get straight into it.
So, firstly, let's talk aboutfood, because what you eat every
day, at every meal, plays acrucial role.
But it's not just about eatinghealthy in adverted comments,
(01:14):
and while general healthy eatingguidelines are beneficial,
hormone balances hormonebalances balancing your hormones
often requires a morepersonalized approach in
perimenopause, For example,women in the high estrogen phase
you know that phase where yourestrogen is boosting up and then
(01:34):
it drops, and then it's up andthen it drops.
That's generally when you'regetting symptoms like hot
flushes, for example.
So people in that kind of phasemight need more liver
supporting foods because livergets rid of our older estrogen,
our waste products.
So we want the liver to begetting all of the nutrients
(01:55):
that it needs in order toperform that really important
role.
So liver supporting foods arethings like cabbage, Brussels
sprouts, garlic, onions, kale,cauliflower, broccoli, that kind
of thing, the sulfury kind offoods.
So those kinds of foods aregreat for women in that higher
(02:15):
estrogen phase.
But for those having symptomslike sexual dysfunction, urinary
tract tract issues, such asfrequent UTIs, you might need
more phytoestrogen-like foods.
So legumes, soy, flax seeds andsunflower seeds.
So you know, sometimes I getwomen that come to see me and
(02:36):
they actually have like thispretty what you would think.
On paper it looks like theperfect diet.
But if it's not the perfectdiet for them at that stage in
their life, they're not going toget the benefits that they
would get with personalizednutrition.
And it always amazes me when Isee women come in and they've
got this really amazing healthykind of diet and I think, oh
(02:59):
gosh, I hope what I'm going todo is actually going to work and
it always does and it alwaysreally amazes me.
So, definitely, eating ahealthy diet is great, but
personalized nutrition justabsolutely notches it up so many
levels to get your hormonesbalanced and get you feeling
(03:19):
energized and feeling reallygood.
So number two, stress management.
So stress management is asimportant as diet and exercise
for hormone balance.
Chronic stress and, let's faceit, a lot of us have a lot of
stress going on in our livesChronic stress can severely
(03:39):
disrupt hormone balance and whenyou're looking at the actual
mechanism behind this, it reallymakes sense because stress,
when we're stressed, it triggersthe release of cortisol.
So cortisol interferes withother hormones, like insulin,
like estrogen, progesterone,thyroid hormones.
Cortisol is a really powerfulhormone.
(04:00):
It's got a lot of influence.
And the thing is, when we're inpremenopause or menopause now,
ovaries have really stoppedproducing our progesterone.
We rely on our adrenal glandsto produce some progesterone.
I mean it's not a lot but it'ssomething right and progesterone
is so important.
If I can get a little bit outof my adrenal glands, I want
(04:20):
that.
So when our cortisol productionis ramping up because of the
chronic stress or even acutestress, it reduces that
progesterone production becauseit prioritizes the cortisol.
So effective stress managementtechniques building that stress
(04:41):
resilience is essential forhormone balance and a lot of
people, I think, don't reallyrealize how critical that stress
management part is for us aswomen at this stage of life.
So that's number two.
Number three is sleep.
Sleep and everyone I talk topretty much pretty much everyone
(05:05):
I talk to is having problemssleeping in their 40s, 50s, as
that perimenopause startshitting us and that progesterone
kind of goes through the floorand the quality of our sleep can
actually be more impactful thanthe quantity, even though
quantity is actually important.
Poor sleep quality can disruptthe production of key hormones,
(05:28):
so, like melatonin, cortisolgrowth hormone also can lead to
weight gain.
And so ensuring deep,restorative sleep by maintaining
a consistent sleep schedule,for example, so going to bed at
the same time every night,getting up at the same time
every morning, but also makingsure that window of going to bed
(05:49):
versus getting up is eighthours.
So I often get people say to meand it surprises me a little
that they haven't worked it outbut they go, yeah, I only get
about six hours sleep and I'mlike, oh, what's going on?
And you know, talk a bit aboutthis and that about why they're
not sleeping.
And then I say, well, what timedo you go to bed?
And they go about 11.
And what time do you get up inthe morning.
I'll get up at five, so that'sonly allowing for six hours of
(06:13):
sleep.
So if you're not in physicallyin bed for eight hours because
you've got to allow, it'sprobably going to take 10 to 20
minutes to get to sleep.
You might get up and go to thetoilet in the middle of the
night, you might get woken by anoise or whatever.
So if you're aiming for eighthours, you need to be in bed for
at least eight hours, probablya little more.
And in bed means in bed notreading, necessarily, definitely
(06:38):
not on your screen, notwatching TV.
So sleep schedule is important,but also sleep routine.
So when we train our mind thatsleep is the next step, that's
actually very effective andthat's what sleep hygiene is.
Or having a sleep routine.
So you know, and it can beanything.
(07:00):
It doesn't have to be anythingparticularly special or woo.
Sometimes it's just washingyour face and brushing your
teeth and then the next thingyou do is going to bed.
It doesn't have to be a full onthing, but it's.
It can be really nice to createthat for yourself and it can be
really good for managing stress.
So you might be getting a bitof a twofer there.
(07:22):
So if you're using things likeparticularly lavender essential
oil, there's some good researchin lavender essential oil for
sleep and anxiety reduction.
So having maybe a lavenderdiffuser in the bedroom or maybe
having a shower and poppingsome lavender essential oil in
the bottom of the shower, makesure it's the essential oil and
not just a lavender-scented oil.
(07:45):
The essential oil has veryspecific phytochemicals, so
that's plant chemicals that havethe therapeutic action.
So if you're just havinglavender scented oil, that is
not going to give you the sameresult.
So lavender essential oil justpopping a few drops in the base
of your shower or having a bathand using the lavender oil there
(08:06):
, that can be just reallybeautiful for relaxing.
And we know, you know howpowerful smell is right.
So if you're making thatconnection of that smell of the
lavender means, oh, that's partof my sleep routine, I'm going
to bed soon, I'm going to go tosleep.
That's a really great way totrain your brain to go to sleep.
So with you know, creating yourown sleep routine and, yes, if
(08:26):
you can fit in some beautifulbreath work just not stimulating
breath works and relaxingbreath work like belly breathing
is a really easy one.
Maybe doing something likeprogressive muscle relaxation,
or PMR.
If you don't know what that is,just Google it.
There's plenty of informationon the internet about that.
That's really great for sleep.
You tend to do that whileyou're in bed.
(08:47):
When you first lie down in bed,it can be doing some meditation
.
It can be doing someaffirmations.
There's so many things you cando.
I've recently purchased Ihaven't got it yet one of those
acupressure mats.
I can't remember who wastelling me about it, whether it
was a friend or a client wastelling me about the acupressure
(09:07):
mat, so I purchased one.
Hopefully I'll get it this weekor next week, so I will let you
know how that goes.
But my plan is to lie on that,for I don't think you have to
line it for very long, for maybefive minutes, 10 minutes,
something like that, just beforeI go to bed and see how that
goes.
I think I'm very excited aboutthat actually.
But yeah, just having a fewthings that start to teach your
(09:30):
brain that sleep is coming isreally awesome for helping you
get to sleep, particularly ifyour sleep issue is what we call
sleep onset or initiation.
So if you go to bed and it's anhour before you get to sleep,
that's a sleep onset problem.
If it's more, you can get tosleep, okay, but then you're
(09:51):
waking at one or two or threeand you can't get back to sleep,
or maybe it's an hour beforeyou get back to sleep.
That's a sleep maintenanceissue.
So these are two differentthings and we treat them
differently.
So that's something to be awareof as well.
The sleep has a specificstructure.
I didn't actually mean for thispodcast to go down this track
(10:12):
in quite so much detail aboutsleep, but anyway, here we are.
So much detail about sleep.
But anyway, here we are.
You have quite a complex sleepstructure and we, as a health
professional, we can tell wherethe problems lie, depending on
where your issue with sleep isarising.
Now some people have both sleeponset and sleep maintenance
issues, so we need to addressboth of those and, as I said,
(10:35):
some of that's a different way.
But a couple of the other thingsyou can do with sleep is from a
supplement point of view, ismagnesium glycinate or magnesium
citrate can be really helpful.
You're looking at getting adose of around 300 milligrams
for that.
Again, this is very generaladvice.
I'm not specifically talking toyou with any of your health
(10:57):
issues, any of your sensitivity.
So please make sure you arespeaking to someone that can
help you with supplementselection, that knows a little
bit about you.
But this is just.
I'm just throwing a few littlethings out there that can be
helpful.
The other thing, of course,it's having a dark, quiet room.
Now, if that's not possible foryou in your current situation,
(11:18):
sleep mask is amazing.
I have a fairly dark room, butI often wear my sleep mask
anyway because it just I find itjust relaxes me.
And earphones sorry, notearphones earplugs are also
fantastic If you've got ambientnoise or if you live near a
train, for example, or there'sroadworks going, which I know on
(11:39):
the Gold Coast.
There's a lot of roadworksgoing on at night, and so having
some earplugs can just be agame changer for good sleep.
All right, let's move on fromsleep to number four, which is
gut health, which you know thatI love, love talking about it,
love helping clients get on topof it.
So gut health is in.
(12:01):
It's just completely andtotally linked to hormonal
health, at whatever stage oflife you are in.
If you, I don't think I havetoo many teenage girls that
listen to my podcast, but if youare, you have teenage girls and
they're having issues withhormones.
What's going on with their guthealth?
That is probably one of thefirst things I would look at,
(12:23):
and even if it's thingsparticularly like acne, if
that's a problem the first thingthat most naturopaths will look
at is their gut health, andit's because the gut microbiome
plays a crucial role in themetabolism of hormones and the
regulation of hormones, plus theexcretion of old hormones.
So what I talked about beforewith the liver the liver
(12:45):
detoxifies hormones to get themout of the body.
The route that exits your bodyis through the bowel, so if your
bowel is not moving regularly,you can get a buildup of the
fecal matter.
The body is still going to beabsorbing water and other things
(13:05):
from that fecal matter whileit's sitting in your intestines
and it can actually reabsorb oldestrogen, and that can lead to
a hormone imbalance.
So it's really important thatyou have a good understanding of
what's normal when it comes toyour gut health, so that you
know what is abnormal as well,and also that you know what
impacts your gut health.
(13:26):
Does stress really impact you?
Does it give you diarrhea ordoes it give you constipation?
Do certain foods impact you?
Do you get bloating, forexample, after you have a pizza.
I hear that every week, forsure, every week.
Now that could be the dairy,that could be the gluten, that
could be processed meats Ifyou're having that on your pizza
.
If you are, you might want torethink that.
(13:47):
But, yeah, working out what isit that's causing problems in
your gut.
If you are getting bloating,then there is something going on
that needs to be addressed.
But yeah, an imbalance in gutbacteria can lead to things like
relative estrogen excessbecause of that reabsorption of
old estrogen.
And if you're in perimenopause,you probably already have an
(14:08):
excess of estrogen if you're inthat surge situation, so you
don't want to be contributing tothat.
Also, an imbalance in gutbacteria can lead to thyroid
imbalances.
So you want to support your guthealth.
You want to make sure that yourbowels are moving ideally daily
(14:28):
and that the stool form is onewhere, if you look up Google for
me, the Bristol B-R-I-S-T-O-Lstool chart and it's a picture
of poos Don't be, you know, tooshocked.
They are diagrams, notphotographs, so don't worry.
But what you're aiming for is athree to four on that chart.
(14:51):
So if you're anything else, youprobably need to get that
assessed, and supporting guthealth can be just so easy.
Sometimes all you need is someprebiotic fiber.
It doesn't have to be supercomplicated.
Generally speaking, if you'rehaving a daily probiotic for no
particular reason, I wouldsuggest stopping that because
(15:15):
most of those are not great foryou.
If your gut bacteria are fine,you don't need to take
probiotics, and a lot of thoseprobiotic capsules have got way
too much in them and that canreally disrupt your normal, your
good gut bacteria in particular.
So, yeah, being really wellhydrated again, that can be
(15:36):
something that helps with regardto detoxification.
We use a lot of water in ourbodies and also, obviously, if
we're dehydrated, that willimpact our ability to move
bowels and therefore get toxinsand estrogen out of the body.
So gut health can be supportedwith food very easily.
And, yeah, there's like so muchI could talk about when it
(15:59):
comes to that, but I just wantto keep this fairly simple.
So, supporting gut health withprebiotic fiber, with hydration
and reducing foods that give youproblems like diarrhea, like
constipation, like bloating,like excess flatulence, excess
burping, reflux all of that canhelp improve hormone balance.
(16:23):
The last thing I wanted to sayis that hormone imbalances often
have multiple underlying causes.
Now, obviously, if you are inperimenopause, there is going to
be an imbalance in yourhormones, right, but there's
often other things going on.
So things like genetics,lifestyle, environmental toxins,
(16:48):
what you're eating, your stresslevels, underlying medical
conditions, prescription drugsthat you might be on all
interplay to impact.
It's not enough just to look at, for example, MHT menopause
(17:08):
hormone therapy.
A lot of my clients want MHTand I think that can be really
helpful, but if you're notgetting the other aspects right,
then sure that's going to help.
Having those hormones on boardare definitely going to help,
but you still generally aregoing to need some stress
management and learning how toregulate your nervous system.
Generally.
(17:30):
You're probably going to needsome help to achieve your ideal
weight if you are carrying extraweight.
Certainly, MHT can be great forhelping to shed a bit of weight
, sometimes depending on whatthe cause is of the weight gain
that you've experienced.
Depending on what the cause isof the weight gain that you've
(17:50):
experienced.
But often I find women do somuch better if you put
everything together and youdress everything.
So the MHT and personalizednutrition and regulating nervous
system and I know this isstarting to sound like oh my
gosh, this is just alloverwhelming and too much, and I
totally hear you on that, andthat's why having someone like
myself to support you through itcan make it so much easier,
(18:13):
because I just give youeverything.
All you need to do is cook yourfood and eat it.
Essentially, yeah, and I workwith you on some of those other
aspects that I just mentioned.
But, yeah, it is reallyimportant to understand that
this is complex stuff andeveryone's experience is
different because everyone'slife up until now is a little
(18:36):
different.
So the bottom line balancingyour hormones and feeling good
in perimenopause particularlyinvolves afaceted approach and
you really need to be takinginto account a whole bunch of
different aspects of what'sgoing on in life to really get a
(18:58):
hold on things so that you'refeeling good, your energy is up,
you're sleeping well, you'refeeling good in your body, your
gut health is optimized, yourskin is feeling good and has
that glow, and that gives youthat confidence and that
vitality.
And the other thing, of course,is we still have a lot of
(19:22):
living to do, right For many ofus if we live.
I think the average age of lifein Australia is probably around
86.
So if you're getting intomenopause at the average age of,
say, 51, and you're in peri, inyour 40s.
You still got another maybe 40years to go.
So you want to be healthy.
You want to be able to still dothe things that you love doing
in your life.
You don't want to be scaredabout your body failing you.
(19:44):
And you know, I read a quotethe other day which has really
stuck with me, which is thatthis generation of women that
are in perimenopause at themoment and early menopause, we
are the most highly educated andthe wealthiest generation to
ever have existed, ever haveexisted.
(20:06):
I think that's mind-blowing.
Plus, we're starting to get ahandle on what menopause
actually is and whatperimenopause actually is,
Because even two to three yearsago, we were not getting the
focus put on this part of ourlives that we are now, and it's
so exciting to me.
(20:27):
So you know, don't delay makingthe changes that need to be made
so that you can feel good.
There's no need for you to feelflat, to have no energy, to be
not sleeping, to be feeling likeyou can't control your weight.
There's no need.
The answers are there andgenerally they're not that
(20:47):
complicated.
So, anyway, I hope you'veenjoyed this episode.
I've really enjoyed bringing itto you Enjoy the rest of your
week and I'll see you nextTuesday with actually a very
special guest I'm very excitedabout and, yeah, I will see you
then.
(21:08):
Thanks so much for joining metoday on the Ageless and Awesome
podcast.
If you liked today's episode, Iwould love it if you could
write me a five-star review.
It makes me so happy.
Also, make sure you click thelittle plus button if you're on
Apple Podcasts, or the followbutton if you're on Spotify, so
that you can get each newepisode delivered to you every
(21:30):
week.
If you like free stuff, thenhead to the show notes and click
the link to receive my freeradiant reset hormone detox
guide for perimenopausal women.
Now, this will only beavailable until the end of
January 2025.
So be quick.
End of January 2025.
So be quick.
If you'd like to continue thediscussion we've had today, head
(21:55):
over to Instagram and DM me, orfollow me at the perimenopause
path.
There's a little dot betweeneach word just to make it a
little bit more complicated, butI would love to connect with
you over there.
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