Hormones & Periods

Once you’ve tracked your symptoms - the tiredness, the lack of sex drive, the acne, the weight gain - back to your hormones, you’re already on the right path, headed towards good health. But, what’s next? However you choose to pursue treatment, you will need to get your hormones tested. The results can provide the confirmation you and your healthcare provider need to move forward and make important decisions.

Getting your hormones tested is a perfectly logical next step in this process and it can be eye-opening. There’s just one hormone test all women should get when they start to suspect their hormones are not in balance. This one hormone test will provide you with the overview that you’re looking for and give you the essentials on what’s happening with your hormones.

That said, there are other ways you can get to grips with the root cause of your symptoms and come to understand what your body needs to feel good and healthy. Let’s take a look at the hormone test, and then come back to how you can, at home, figure out the hormonal fix you’re in.

The one hormone test all women need

When you visit your OBGYN you will want to ask for the Female Hormone Panel. This hormone test measures your estrogen, progesterone and FSH (follicle stimulating hormone) levels. Make your appointment so that you’ll be getting the test during your follicular phase (in the next few days after your period has ended) - this is the best time to test these hormone levels.

• Your FSH level indicates your ovulation status - whether you’re ovulating regularly and therefore fertile (this is particularly important if you are trying to get pregnant)
• Your estrogen and progesterone levels will reveal why you are symptomatic by indicating estrogen dominance or progesterone deficiency

When you get your results you’ll be looking to see if:

• FSH is higher than 15, as this can indicate irregular ovulation, fertility issues, and perimenopause.
• Estradiol levels are between 27 and 123 pg/mL, the normal range. It’s better to know what’s normal for you, preferably by looking at previous hormone tests you’ve had taken since you were a teenager. If this has not been a norm for you, then know that the most common imbalance issue is high estrogen levels, on the higher end of this normal scale or above.
• Progesterone levels are 5 to 20 ng/mL, the normal range. Again it’s better to compare your previous normal from prior hormone tests, but otherwise know that the most common imbalance issue is low progesterone, or progesterone deficiency with a number on the low end of this normal scale or below.

If you find yourself in the situation in which your numbers are within the normal ranges, but you still feel that your symptoms are down to a hormonal imbalance you can choose to test yourself instead with a 30 day saliva-based protocol. Hormone levels can range quite widely through a day and a week, so this will give you another level of accuracy and detail. From this point you can start a new tradition of getting your hormones tested every 2 years. This file of data will be really helpful to you throughout your life - and it should aid in you in getting to know your own normal range, unique to you, as well as the numbers that make you feel bad or cause you symptoms.

The hormone test all women can do at home

While lab work like the Female Hormone Panel is super valuable information - especially once you have a personal database of tests that track your body’s progress - there are ways you can check in on your hormones, at home, without the assistance of your OBGYN. If you’re experiencing symptoms - like PMS, acne, low sex drive, mood swings - the next time you get your period, look at what color it is! Like really look. Look at the color of the bleed, the consistency, note how long your period is, how it starts and how it ends...numbers on a page (like your hormone test results) can be hard to connect back to how you feel, but your period is right there in front of you. It’s a part of you and it’s a visual indicator of what’s going on with your hormones. You can tell what kind of hormone imbalance you are dealing with by observing:

• The color of your period blood (bright red, dark red, brown, pink)
• The way it starts (with spotting, in the morning, intermittently) and the way it ends
• The consistency of the period blood (is it thin, watery, clotty and thick, heavy or light)
• The length of time you have your period
• How much you bleed (how many tampons or pads are you using each day)

This easily observable, immediately accessible information is right there for your understanding. Notice it, note it, actually write it down if you like in a period diary and it can give you so much important information.

But, how to know what it all means?

Well, you’re in luck, because I recently created the V-Sign Type™ Quiz. It’s a simple questionnaire that asks you the right questions to get the necessary information about your period in order to pinpoint and diagnose your specific hormonal situation. You will receive your results immediately in an email (including whether you’re likely to be estrogen dominant, progesterone deficient, or have problematic FSH levels) and be able to download, again immediately, basic information on how to move forward with treating the hormonal imbalance. Just like a hormone panel, these results can set you on the right path to good health.

If you are experiencing low sex drive, I know it can be frustrating - perhaps you feel that everything is great in your relationship, you love your partner, you have romantic date nights and adventures, you feel passion in your life, and yet, your body is just not feeling it. In relationships we tend to take a low sex drive personally and blame lack of time, kids, stress, and all of this might be true for you, but fundamentally low sex drive is a hormonal issue. Your body is primed to have a peak of sex drive around ovulation and again before your period. If this sounds really foreign to you, then you are probably dealing with a hormonal imbalance. Poor nutrition is definitely a source of hormonal imbalance, but there are other surprising lifestyle choices that can squash your sex drive that you may have never even considered could have an impact. And these are things you might be doing every week, even every day!

3 reasons for your low sex drive

• Sitting all day - if you have an office or desk job and find yourself sitting for some 8 hours a day, at least, this can be causing your low sex drive. Sitting compresses your entire pelvic area and prevents proper blood flow. Micronutrients and hormones are prevented from circulating where they’re needed. Your lady parts just aren’t getting what they need to function at an optimal level. Incorporating movement into your daily routine that will open up your pelvic area and that increased blood flow will help you to feel aroused and give you better orgasms. Stretch, stand up, rotate your body, climb the stairs and schedule walking meetings to move as much as you can during the working day.

• Too much technology - Using technology (laptop, tablet, smartphone) all day and all evening affects your stress hormone levels and your levels of DHEA, both of which are produced by your adrenal glands. We all know bringing our technology to bed is a quick way to remove all romance, but aside from the lack of attention to your partner, the light your technology emits actually messes with your hormones. The stress hormone cortisol increases, you can’t sleep as well, and over time this can cause chronically low sex drive. Keep tech out of the bedroom, try to turn all screens off early in the evening, and use a blue light filter if you just have to check your texts in the middle of the night. The same goes for your partner - he will experience low sex drive as the result of low testosterone if he over-uses technology.

• Your vibrator - if you turn to your vibrator every time you’re going solo, and even during sex with your partner, then you might be sabotaging your sex drive. Vibrators cause your body to bypass the plateau phase of orgasm. I know this is kind of the point - we use vibrators to get the job done fast! But that plateau phase is super important for all sorts of reasons. The longer the plateau before climax, the more nitric oxide and oxytocin your body produces. This has healing benefits for the whole endocrine system. It also increases blood flow to the whole pelvic area, setting you up for future orgasms and higher sex drive. When solo, go manual. Try out my tips for self-pleasure - you can incorporate these into sex with your partner too.

Always remember, that once you have the right information about how your body really works, you can start making health choices that finally start to work for you! You can do this - the science of your body is on your side!to your FLO,AlisaGood things come in threes:

I want to hear from you!

First, do you have no sex drive? Second, do you have other hormonal symptoms? Third, everyone you know is hormonal – spread a little good ovary karma and share this article on social ;)

Is Your Period Healthy?

How do you know if your hormones are healthy? The answer is in your 5th vital sign - your period. The color of your flow, frequency of your period, and symptoms you have each month can tell you a lot about your health. There are 5 different V-SIGN TYPES, and knowing which one you have will help you get healthy now and prevent disease in the future. Click here to take The V-SIGN TYPE™ Quiz NOW

The question I hear most often from women is, “What is the best diet for my PCOS?” It’s usually followed up with a run through of all the popular diets, “Is Paleo the best diet for PCOS? How about Low Carb? How about Macrobiotic? Vegan? Weight Watchers? Raw?” The great news is that when you’re looking for the best diet for your PCOS, usually you’ve already come to realize that you need to treat the root cause of this health issue with the right foods. That realization, in itself, is a huge step. Perhaps you’ve tried Metformin and it just didn’t work for you, or you only ever wanted to use this medication short-term. Now, every body is different, and your PCOS may be different from your sister’s PCOS or your friend’s PCOS, but there are certain guidelines, diet-wise, that all women will benefit from following. I have helped many, many women with all kinds of PCOS (different symptoms, different life stages, different experiences) to manage their symptoms long term and feel better within weeks with the FLO Living diet. But first, let’s look at these guidelines and what the best diet for PCOS must include if it’s going to work. Here are some of the problems with popular diets if you have PCOS:

• Eating too much animal protein (I’m looking at you Paleo, Atkins!) can prevent ovulation. It increases the amount of estrogen in the body, creating hormonal imbalance. A Harvard School of Public Health study showed women who eat more animal protein than plant protein ovulate less frequently. We need protein, yes, but we actually don’t need all that much - excess consumption of protein actually converts to sugars. It’s hard for the female body to breakdown all that meat, especially when your cycle is at peak estrogen levels already.
• Most women with PCOS struggle on a Low Carb diet (hi, Atkins, Paleo, South Beach, etc!). While it’s important to recognize that there are bad carbs (white bread, pasta, potatoes) and good carbs (whole grains), and while it’s important to avoid gluten on the whole, cutting back carbs can make a PCOS sufferer feel even worse, because it kicks in blood sugar instability. I suggest brown rice, quinoa, buckwheat on a daily basis, and when you get to your pre-menstrual phase you’ll be thankful for the option of sweet potatoes! It can feel easier to stop eating carbs in the first half of your hormone cycle (the follicular phase), but the shift that happens in the second half makes low carb diets unnecessarily punishing.
• A diet that is too reliant on grains for protein and for feeling full and satisfied - like a Vegan or Macrobiotic diet - can create gut dysbiosis and decrease absorption of all the key nutrients that are required for hormonal balance, especially if your grains are not processed properly - ie soaked. If you have PCOS, this will make your symptoms worse. Whole Grains are great, but not in large amounts. Grains can stop you from carb-loading or feeling the craving for bad carbs like white bread and pasta, but you need to be careful for to go crazy with grains either! You only need a half cup serving at one time.
• Any diet that encourages calorie-restriction (Weight Watchers, Raw, etc) will cause spikes and crashes in your blood sugar, making your PCOS symptoms much worse. Processed foods increase inflammation and often contain foods that are toxic for your hormones like pesticide-laden vegetables, dairy, gluten, and non-organic, GMO, processed soy. Many fresh juices contain as much sugar as a glass of Coca Cola and are treated by your body exactly the same way. Whole foods are a much better choice for women with PCOS and any woman who is hormonally-sensitive. The stress that calorie restriction puts on your body provokes an internal inflammatory response. For the most part, these diets can only be followed short term, and then you will be primed to over-eat, even binge, when you have the chance. Many studies have shown calorie-restriction diets simply do not work longterm.

When I first developed the FLO Living protocol I was experimenting on myself. Believe me, I tried all of the diets I’ve mentioned here, first. I found what worked for me and my PCOS - the foods that manage my symptoms of weight gain, acne, and depression. Over the years, I’ve worked with thousands of women with PCOS of different kinds and I’ve honed and refined and perfected my diet protocol to support them all in overcoming their own symptoms to move forward, feeling better. I have followed up with my clients over the years and seen them continue with the FLO Living diet long term without a problem. They’ve carried it through their lives and never feel restricted or deprived or, importantly I think, hungry! These other diets - Paleo, Macrobiotic, Calorie-restriction, Fasting - are not based on your unique female biochemistry, they’re based on research that doesn’t take into account the effects on mood, energy, and appetite throughout the menstrual cycle. Essentially, they were created for men and male biochemistry, male hormone patterns. No wonder they don’t work for women with PCOS!Always remember, that once you have the right information about how your body really works, you can start making health choices that finally start to work for you! You can do this - the science of your body is on your side!to your FLO,AlisaGood things come in threes:

I want to hear from you!

First, do you have PCOS? Second, which diets have you tried already? Third, everyone you know is hormonal – spread a little good ovary karma and share this article on social ;)

Is Your Period Healthy?

How do you know if your hormones are healthy? The answer is in your 5th vital sign - your period. The color of your flow, frequency of your period, and symptoms you have each month can tell you a lot about your health. There are 5 different V-SIGN TYPES, and knowing which one you have will help you get healthy now and prevent disease in the future. Click here to take The V-SIGN TYPE™ Quiz NOW

Did you wake up one day and realize you no longer had a sex drive? Everything else in your life might be on fire - your career ambitions, your fully ticked to-do list, your cash flow, your kids’ school reports, your gym goals - but when it comes to your relationship and your sex drive, there’s no fire, no passion there. Somewhere along the line, having a healthy, fun sex life slipped way down to the bottom of your priorities. You stopped having sex as much, and then you stopped wanting sex as much. Your libido is flat-lining. You need a recipe that will jumpstart your sex drive. At the end of the day you feel worn out, ready for the couch and Netflix (with no chill). In the mornings you’re rushing out the door. On the weekends - well, what weekends, right? They buzz by in a flurry of socializing, kids, cooking, and errands. A lack of sex drive can be a real strain on a relationship and a source of much personal anxiety and worry. Sex is not only fun, it’s also excellent for your hormonal health and hormonal balance. I’m here to tell you that you can boost your sex drive quite simply - just by choosing to eat the right foods that will support your sex drive-supportive hormones and give nutrient-rich fuel to your libido. Use food as your foreplay and you’ll want sex more and enjoy sex more!

A salad recipe to boost your sex drive

I know one of the reasons you have no sex drive is because you’re tired. You have no time and scheduling in sex seems so...unsexy. That’s why I’ve created a super simple, easy salad recipe that is packed full of sex drive-boosting nutrients and minerals. It’s quick to whip up as many nights of the week you like and it will jumpstart both you and your partner’s libido. All good changes start with one small step, and here is that small step. Make this salad part of a romantic evening dinner (swap out the takeout and sofa for nourishing food and candlelight) with your man. Make it for date night. Make it for your work lunches so you get back from the office with a more spring in your step! The FLO Living protocol is full of simple recipes - I’m not one for fancy, time-consuming kitchen moves - and this salad showcases how easy it can be for you to move beyond all your symptoms of hormonal imbalance, not only low sex drive. If you’re interested in more recipe ideas for your sex drive check out my recommended food suggestions. Also - consider Cycle-Syncing ™ your relationship; stop letting your period ruin your romantic plans; and you might want to hear why I think you need to put that vibrator down!The walnuts in this special, seductive salad recipe contain omega-3 fatty acids that increase production of Viagra-like chemicals that promote arousal and blood flow. Watermelon has a Viagra-like effect increasing blood vessels and blood flow. Pumpkin seeds contain Zinc – the ultimate sex mineral for boosting testosterone - the sex hormone both you and your partner need in good amounts to feel the love. Asparagus is rich in folate and that is the chemical released during an orgasm – priming you to be ready for more orgasms. Celery helps your body produce more pheromones - hormones that makes you desirable to your partner. This is a sexy, science-based salad!

My salad recipe to jumpstart your sex drive - the Super Sex Drive Salad

6 slices of watermelon1 bunch asparagus¼ cup raw pumpkin seeds¼ cup raw walnuts2 stalks celery2 T olive oil2 T lemon juiceSea salt or pink saltCut asparagus into two inch pieces and steam lightly so still crunchy. Cut watermelon into match sticks the size of asparagus. Use spice grinder to grind pumpkin seeds and walnuts. Toss into salad. Break out your mandolin and shred some celery paper-thin and top the salad. Drizzle with a little extra virgin olive oil and a pinch of sea salt and lemon juice. So delicious, sexy, and sex drive boosting - definitely one of my FLO-food fav’s. Post a photo of yourself and your partner enjoying your salad on Twitter and Facebook and we’ll share the best ones! Tag with #sexysalad and #FLOfoodAlways remember, that once you have the right information about how your body really works, you can start making health choices that finally start to work for you! You can do this - the science of your body is on your side!to your FLO,AlisaGood things come in threes:

I want to hear from you!

First, do you have a low sex drive?Second, does your partner have a low sex drive? Third, everyone you know is hormonal – spread a little good period karma and share this article on social ;)

Is Your Period Healthy?

How do you know if your hormones are healthy? The answer is in your 5th vital sign - your period. The color of your flow, frequency of your period, and symptoms you have each month can tell you a lot about your health. There are 5 different V-SIGN TYPES, and knowing which one you have will help you get healthy now and prevent disease in the future. Click here to take The V-SIGN TYPE™ Quiz NOW

Do you experience mood swings? One moment you’re good, the next you’re anxious or angry or depressed. You have a great productive morning and then a low, moody afternoon. Your partner, your family, your friends might have started tip-toeing around you, not sure which “you” they’re with at any one time - the happy, calm one or the sad, on-edge one. Does any of this sound familiar? Mood swings can be tough on you and those around you. You have heard me say before that PMS, including mood swings, is not “normal” - it’s the sign of a hormonal imbalance. Whether your mood swings are monthly or daily, it’s not just part of being female and you don’t have to live with it. Getting down to the root cause of your mood swings can help you to get passed them and prevent them happening in the future. Calm, collected, happy days here we come!If your mood swings only happen during your pre-menstrual or luteal phase as a part of your PMS symptoms then I have a wealth of information ready for you on sleep hygiene, morning routines,and PMS-fighting foods. If you think you suffer with depression or PMDD, I have previously shared my thoughts on alternative strategies to antidepressant medications. If your mood swings are anxiety-specific with spikes of nerves, I’ve laid out my favorite natural remedies for you.

The 3 causes of your mood swings

There are 3 main root causes of mood swings - and, thankfully, 3 natural remedies that will deeply treat these problems. With the FLO Living protocol as a foundation these solutions will have more of an effect and be more powerful in their treatment of your specific issue. Just using these suggestions alone and trying to spot treat your mood swings won’t have the results you’re looking for - especially if you are otherwise self-medicating with hormone-toxic alcohol, coffee, and sugar. Root Cause #1: Bouncing blood sugar If you feel cranky, agitated, easily annoyed, irritated or find yourself getting into arguments without really knowing why, you could be coping with bouncing blood sugar. This is most likely if you skip meals, don’t eat breakfast, don’t eat enough (I’m talking just a green juice and salad until 6pm), or subsist almost entirely on coffee and sugary treats or white carbs when at the office. Your blood sugar should stay at a stasis point for the majority of the day, because if it soars and then crashes you will feel it as a mood swing. When your liver is spending all its time and energy coping with crazy blood sugar shifts, it doesn’t have time to detoxify your body and process and eliminate excess hormones - leading to hormonal imbalance including bad PMS symptoms. Natural remedy #1: Sweet potatoesThese are the good kind of carb and so satisfying - they give you that sweetness you might crave, but also that carb density. They are also nutritionally packed with everything your hormones love. A sweet potato for lunch, as a late afternoon snack, or even for breakfast (this amazing sweet potato toast trend took over Instagram last month)will help to stabilize your blood sugar. Root Cause #2: Sleep deprivationA lack of sleep, especially chronically night-in-night-out, will cause your stress hormone levels (cortisol) to go haywire. Recent research showed that sleep-deprivation has a profound affect on women, more so than men, and can lead to mood destabilization or mood swings. A lack of good quality sleep leads to suppressed adrenals, which brings about lowered serotonin (the happy hormone). You think less clearly, can’t concentrate as well, and can’t focus - a recipe for snappiness and irritation if ever there was one!Natural Remedy #2Holy Basil tea is adaptogenic, which means this herb helps your body adapt to stressors. A cup of this tea daily will sooth your adrenals and bring down your cortisol levels (it also helps to regulate your blood sugar). Holy Basil is highly researched and an ancient remedy with proven health benefits. Root Cause #3: Not enough good fats We need good fats in our diet to help our hormones move around the bloodstream (they are stabilized by and travel in lipid fat rings). We also need them for the production of serotonin (that happy hormone). Omega 3 fatty acids act as mood stabilizers. Although more people are coming to understand that low-fat diets can be damaging to your health, there still lingers this suspicion of fats- but I’m here to tell you, we need them! At least the good kind that contain omega 3 fatty acids and medium-chain triglycerides (like coconut oil, avocados and oily fish). Your brain is almost 50% fat and it needs that fat store to produce neurotransmitters and serotonin. Omega 3 fatty acids are amazing in that they also actually block harmful chemicals that can distort and disturb your mood. Natural remedy #3Fermented cod liver oil (I like the “cinnamon tingle” variety, it tastes really good) is an excellent source of omega 3 fatty acids. I am very specific about the brand I buy, because not all fish oils are processed in a way that avoids the transference of toxins and prevents the destruction of their nutritional value. Fermented cod liver oil has been shown in research studies to improve mood in those with depression and to improve overall brain function.Always remember, that once you have the right information about how your body really works, you can start making health choices that finally start to work for you! You can do this - the science of your body is on your side!to your FLO,AlisaGood things come in threes:

I want to hear from you!

First, do you get mood swings? Second, do you think you have PMDD? Third, everyone you know is hormonal – spread a little good period karma and share this article on social ;)

Is Your Period Normal?

How do you know if your hormones are healthy? The answer is in your 5th vital sign - your period. The color of your flow, frequency of your period, and symptoms you have each month can tell you a lot about your health. There are 5 different V-SIGN TYPES, and knowing which one you have will help you get healthy now and prevent disease in the future. Click here to take The V-SIGN TYPE™ Quiz NOW

I have helped so many women to get pregnant - women that have been told they are infertile, who have been told IVF is their only option, who are in their 40s and think a baby would be more than a miracle for them - simply by advising on how to eat the right foods at the right times to boost fertility and increase the chance of conceiving. I have done this by sharing my fertility recipes, utilizing the foods I know provide the nutrients your body needs to make hormones, process hormones and eliminate excess hormones - leading you to healthy consistent ovulation and strong fertility. I myself conceived at the age of 37, despite being told in my 20s that, because of PCOS, I was unlikely to conceive naturally. The FLO Living protocol I created fixes the hormonal imbalances behind many issues of infertility. When a woman comes to me wanting to get pregnant I get her started on the protocol, and I recommend she adds in specific fertility-boosting superfoods.

A recipe to increase your fertility

I want to share with you here one of the fertility recipes I always pass along to my clients. As you know, I like to keep cooking super simple and easy and this recipe is no different. Without a whole lot of effort, you can make yourself a fertility recipe that works for lunch, a snack, or even as a fancy dinner party appetizer. The endive in this recipe contains a compound that improves cervical health. The kale and bok choy contain calcium and magnesium, which help your body to manufacture and utilize estrogen and progesterone - creating hormonal balance. Turmeric helps improve blood flow to your ovaries. Smoked salmon contains omega 3 fatty acids that help with conception. It’s the perfect recipe for a belly ready to conceive. Of course, you can also eat each ingredient on its own to increase fertility.If you’re interested in more fertility recipes and fertility foods check out my recommended top 3; be sure to make yourself a big breakfast every day; and check out my other essential tips to optimize your fertility.

A fertility recipe for baby-making

Baby Making Bites6 oz smoked salmon2 stalks kale and 1 baby bok choy sliced into ribbons1 bunch endive, leaves separated1 tsp turmeric powder1 T olive oillemon juice (to taste)sea salt (to taste)Toss kale ribbons and bok choy ribbons in a bowl with juice from 1 lemon and sprinkle with 1 tsp turmeric and ½ tsp sea salt. Allow this mixture to sit for a few hours, or even overnight to allow the lemon and salt to soften the greens. Before serving, toss with a drizzle of olive oil.In each leaf of endive, place a scoop of greens and top with a strip of smoked salmon.This is a bite. Good enough to serve at parties even if you are not trying to get pregnant!Show us your photos of you enjoying your baby making bites on Facebook and Twitter and we’ll share the best ones - tag with #babymakingbitesAlways remember, that once you have the right information about how your body really works, you can start making health choices that finally start to work for you! You can do this - the science of your body is on your side!to your FLO,AlisaGood things come in threes:

I want to hear from you!

First, are you trying to conceive? Second, have you tried IVF? Third, everyone you know is hormonal – spread a little good period karma and share this article on social ;)

Is Your Period Healthy?

How do you know if your hormones are healthy? The answer is in your 5th vital sign - your period. The color of your flow, frequency of your period, and symptoms you have each month can tell you a lot about your health. There are 5 different V-SIGN TYPES, and knowing which one you have will help you get healthy now and prevent disease in the future. Click here to take The V-SIGN TYPE™ Quiz NOW

Do you experience sore, tender, painful breasts during your pre-menstrual phase? This is one of the most common PMS symptoms and it can be very uncomfortable. In fact, the creator of the period panties Thinx, Miki Agrawal, recently shared that she too experiences this PMS issue. If the discomfort and pain you experience is cyclical and has become an indicator that your period is coming any day soon, then it is caused by your hormonal shifts (it’s also called cyclical mastalgia). Breast pain and tenderness is usually rooted in excess estrogen or estrogen dominance. A surge of estrogen at a higher level than is healthy produces the swelling and soreness. Inflammation in the body caused by inflammatory foods (like dairy) has a negative impact on your estrogen receptors, making them more sensitive to excess estrogen and increasing the likelihood you’ll experience breast tenderness. The glands in your breast swell before your period (this is why you may have noticed your breasts look bigger when you’re expecting your period) and they trap fluid in the breasts. Breast soreness is basically like menstrual cramps, but in your breasts, instead of your uterus! Breast pain is “normal” in that many women do experience this, however having breast soreness every cycle suggests your body is estrogen dominant. The BioCycle study concluded that women who experience premenstrual symptoms like breast tenderness (and have estrogen excess) are at a higher risk of serious health issues in later life, like heart disease and cancer.The very good news is that these symptoms have natural remedies and treatments that really work, founded in your diet and specific supplements. I have helped many women overcome breast tenderness within just a couple of cycles, along with all other PMS symptoms.

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The best natural remedies for breast tenderness

• Vitamin E - this vitamin is an antioxidant that reduces inflammation in the breast tissue. It also helps your body to release cytokines, which repair the damaged tissues. You can take vitamin E as a daily supplement, but you can also increase the number of vitamin E-rich foods in your diet, including almonds, sunflower seeds, spinach, chard, kale, avocado, mango, and kiwis.
• Evening Primrose Oil - this essential fatty acid acts as an anti-inflammatory aid by preventing the release of prostaglandins, which cause breast pain and menstrual cramps. Pick a good quality supplement to take every day. If you also experience other PMS symptoms you can also choose from my recommended supplements for treating everything from insomina to mood swings.
• Quit coffee - caffeine (from coffee, black tea, green tea) increases cyst formation in the breasts (as well as the ovaries, creating PCOS). It’s also inflammatory, depletes vitamin reserves, and causes hormonal imbalance. I recommend giving up coffee if you want to move past all PMS symptoms from bloating to anxiety.
• Eat to prevent estrogen excess - you can resolve estrogen dominance with your diet choices. My three-point plan for eliminating excess estrogen includes eating more fiber-rich foods, supporting your microbiome health, and loving your liver with detoxifying foods. The FLO Living protocol is shaped to prevent estrogen excess and treat progesterone deficiency.

Always remember, that once you have the right information about how your body really works, you can start making health choices that finally start to work for you! You can do this - the science of your body is on your side!

To your FLO,

Alisa

PMS is not normal. I mean - statistically speaking, a lot of women do suffer with PMS - but you as a FLO insider, don’t have to! PMS is not necessary or unavoidable or a given when you’re female. You don’t have to suffer with PMS symptoms - the bloating, acne, mood swings, fatigue, anxiety, cravings. I used to and now I don’t, and it was as simple as changing my diet habits. I figured out what foods and recipes would prevent PMS.

Once I recognized I had PMS, that I experienced these symptoms during my pre-menstrual or luteal phase, and once I recognized that the root cause was a hormonal imbalance, I could make active, educated decisions that eventually lead me to a PMS-free life. Yes, a PMS-free life, it’s possible, for every single woman. All it takes is selecting the foods and recipes that prevent PMS. I’m not special or particularly blessed to not experience PMS - I just eat the right foods at the right time to prevent the hormonal imbalance that causes all PMS symptoms. You can do it too!

A juice recipe to prevent PMS

Because I know we’re all so busy and we’re all time-strapped, ambitious, hustling women and mothers with a lot on our hands, I’ve created the perfect juice recipe that tackles all of your PMS symptoms. This juice gives your body what it needs to prevent hormonal imbalance, provides a nutrient-dense variety of PMS-fighting foods in concentrated form, and is so, so, so easy to make up every day during your pre-menstrual phase to make sure you feel great the whole time. Juicing is such an easy, effective way to get the vitamins and minerals your body needs during this phase of your cycle. It doesn’t add to your schedule, it doesn’t take much effort, it doesn’t even take much planning ahead. Just grab the ingredients on your grocery shop and whizz one up every morning.

This delicious concoction will:

• Reduce water retention
• Help your liver break down excess estrogen
• Increase mood-stabilizing hormones

PMS is caused by higher levels of estrogen that go unopposed by enough progesterone – the kale, cilantro will help with this and the beet will provide healthy carbohydrates to prevent moodiness and fatigue. Drink it every day the week before your period.  Something to look forward to in what used to be a dreaded week!

For fun - something we all need more of when we’re pre-menstrual - I like to serve this up for myself and my girlfriends in a martini glass! I call it the Anti Bloat-ini. Make it feel like a treat, because it is - it’s bliss not to experience PMS!

If you’re looking for other PMS-fighting recipes check out my recommended foods;  read up on my PMS-suffering clients’ success with eating the FLO Living way; and take a look at my suggested swaps for common PMS cravings.

My fresh juice recipe to prevent PMS - the Anti-Bloatini

1 beet

1 carrot

1 green apple

4 celery stalks

½ cucumber

2 stalks kale

½ bunch cilantro

Juice of 1 lemon

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Always remember, that once you have the right information about how your body really works, you can start making health choices that finally start to work for you! You can do this - the science of your body is on your side!

To your FLO,

Alisa

One of the things I hear most from the women who come to work with me through FLO Living is that they are tired. Tired, worn out, fatigued, with low energy levels - finding it hard to sleep, to work out, to do it all, while still feeling happy, enthusiastic and at their best. So many women are looking to boost their energy levels. Low energy often comes down to poor nutrition, not eating enough or enough of the right foods, and poor quality sleep - thankfully, the FLO Living protocol addresses all of these issues and I’ve seen many women transformed into go-getter, turbo-charged, super women within weeks. However, there are some extra additional life hacks you can layer on top to really access all your energy reserves. Now, you know that I think coffee is a bad idea for all women, and that I don’t recommend sugar or most sweeteners, so both of those popular remedies for low energy are off the table. Not only is caffeine and sugar toxic for your hormones, it’s only going to make your more tired in the long run, by overloading your adrenals and burning you out. In fact, if you find yourself chronically fatigued, even after trying my suggestions and getting a decent night’s sleep, you may be suffering with Adrenal Fatigue.I believe in deep, extreme self-care and excellent sleep. But as a relatively new mom, I can totally sympathize with those of you who find this difficult! As someone who has in the past couple of years frequently felt a little sleep-deprived, I have become the master of boosting my own energy levels so I can keep going throughout the day - manage my business, take care of my daughter, support my husband, and take time to myself.

My 5 favorite ways to boost your energy

1. Fall asleep faster and wake up less groggy: Mix organic, concentrated tart cherry juice and Gaia golden milk powder for a warm drink before bed. Tart cherry juice has been shown to help you fall asleep faster and the turmeric helps your body with all the detoxing and regenerating it does overnight in the early hours of the morning. You will wake up feeling more rested and more refreshed. A good night’s sleep is foundational if you’re looking to boost your energy.
2. Daily cardio to flush cortisol: Cardiovascular exercise every day will help you to have more energy. It seems counterintuitive, but it actually really works. There’s plenty of research to show regular exercise reduces fatigue. You don’t need a lot of time for this - I recommend taking the opportunity once every hour or so to simply run in place for 60 seconds, followed by 60 seconds of jumping jacks, 60 seconds of windmills, and 60 seconds burpees - repeat the same circuit twice. Even a small amount of high intensity exercise will help increase your energy levels and overall fitness as well as give you an instant stress reducing, cortisol flush.
3. Eat every 2 hours: If you are prone to low energy slumps, one key is to not let your blood sugar levels drop below stasis. You can do this by snacking on energy boosting foods, and making sure that you eat every two hours. In one day this can look like - a small breakfast when you wake up, followed by a protein smoothie, then lunch, then a high protein snack, and then dinner.
4. Take a B-100 Complex: A deficiency in B vitamins is a common cause of low energy and fatigue. B vitamins are crucial for so many metabolic functions that when you’re deficient you really feel it. As well as taking a good B vitamin complex daily, you may also need extra B12. Sardines, grass-fed beef, eggs, and salmon all have high levels of B12.
5. Swap coffee for an energy boosting smoothie: I know that going without coffee when you’ve been dependent on it for so long can be a struggle. But the constant exposure to caffeine actually depletes your adrenals over time making your fatigue much worse. I created a “No-Coffee Coffee Energy Elixir” with former coffee-addicts in mind! This smoothie will give you sustained, slow-releasing energy all morning. Whiz up a banana, raw cacao, blackberries, raw oats soaked overnight, and cashew milk. You can add in a small spoonful of maca for an additional boost.

Always remember, that once you have the right information about how your body really works, you can start making health choices that finally start to work for you! You can do this - the science of your body is on your side!to your FLO,AlisaGood things come in threes:

I want to hear from you!

First, do you feel tired all the time? Second, do you have trouble sleeping? Third, everyone you know is hormonal – spread a little good period karma and share this article on social ;)

Is Your Period Healthy?

How do you know if your hormones are healthy? The answer is in your 5th vital sign - your period. The color of your flow, frequency of your period, and symptoms you have each month can tell you a lot about your health. There are 5 different V-SIGN TYPES, and knowing which one you have will help you get healthy now and prevent disease in the future. Click here to take The V-SIGN TYPE™ Quiz NOW

We ladies need protein! It’s funny how protein is most often associated with male health and fitness, when it’s actually essential for female health too. I have created a range of go-to high protein snacks for myself that I keep on hand every day. Protein in our food is used to make the amino acids that then go on to manufacture our hormones. So we need protein to make hormones. We need protein to be hormonally balanced and healthy - avoiding estrogen dominance and progesterone deficiency. I’m a big fan of snacking, as someone with insulin-resistant PCOS I know the importance of keeping my blood sugar levels in check and preventing insulin spikes. Regularly eating, including snacks, is vital for me to feel, and look good, and avoid all the potential symptoms of PCOS from depression to weight gain. Yes, even weight gain. Often when we’re looking to drop some pounds, we stop snacking, and this can have the opposite effect. Nearly every women I work with through FLO Living has blood sugar issues that need addressing. High protein snacks are a super easy, simple way to make sure you’re getting enough protein for your hormones, and for keeping those hormones happy.We all need to use our food to stabilize our blood sugar throughout the day. Doing this will give you boosted energy, even moods, better focus and concentration, improved sleep, and bring down your stress levels! Importantly, eating the right kind of high protein snacks between your meals supports your body in making, processing and eliminating excess hormones - this biological effort and energy that might otherwise be routed to dealing with blood sugar mayhem.

The best high protein snacks

• I recently came up with a fantastic protein smoothie recipe. I love this smoothie for after my workouts. It includes: sacha inchi powder, moringa powder, spirulina, ginger, mangosteen, cinnamon, flax seed, a splash of almond milk, frozen blueberries and a drop of maple syrup or a date for sweetness. Give it a try and let me know what you think!
• Nut-based, raw, vegan desserts are so popular these days and there are some great recipes out there. My favorite is a raw, vegan, lemon tartlet - you can make smaller versions of this recipe for a snack. With desserts, always use the kind of sweetener that won’t spike your blood sugar, like coconut nectar or honey or a tiny amount of maple syrup. You never need as much sweetener as the recipe suggests either, I find.
• My new favorite protein bars are Amrita Health Bars which comes in flavors from chocolate maca to apple cinnamon. They are free of soy and gluten, non-GMO, and organic. The protein comes from brown rice, sunflower and sesame seeds - and added ingredients to the base, like maca.
• Eggs are the perfect protein for women. Despite the myths we’ve all heard, eggs do not cause high cholesterol - sugar does that. The high quality fat (you must eat both the yolk and the whites) in an egg actually protects you from heart health problems and makes it the most bio-available, easily convertible source of protein around. I love to make hard boiled eggs for an on-the-go snack.
• Sunflower butter is packed full of protein. Spread sunflower butter on apple slices or gluten free bread or crackers. I’ll often have sunflower seed butter on gluten free toast with my afternoon tea.
• If you’re working out at a gym or taking classes and on the run, you can always fill a water bottle half with almond milk and half with water, then add a good protein powder like sacha inchi to the mix. This will give you a quick source of easy protein.  

Always remember, that once you have the right information about how your body really works, you can start making health choices that finally start to work for you! You can do this - the science of your body is on your side!to your FLO,AlisaGood things come in threes:

I want to hear from you!

First, are you trying to lose weight?  Second, do you suffer from mood swings? Third, everyone you know is hormonal – spread a little good period karma and share this article on social ;)

Is Your Period Healthy?

How do you know if your hormones are healthy? The answer is in your 5th vital sign - your period. The color of your flow, frequency of your period, and symptoms you have each month can tell you a lot about your health. There are 5 different V-SIGN TYPES, and knowing which one you have will help you get healthy now and prevent disease in the future. Click here to take The V-SIGN TYPE™ Quiz NOW

Apple cider vinegar has some very specific, very important benefits for your hormones. I like to take a small dose of apple cider vinegar regularly, often as a shot, particularly before carb-heavy meals or when I'm in my luteal phase.

• Apple cider vinegar helps your body to convert the proteins found in food into usable amino acids. Amino acids are the building blocks for many different bodily processes, including the creation of your hormones. So, in drinking a shot of apple cider vinegar you’re actually giving your body what it needs to make hormones and addressing any imbalances between estrogen, progesterone and testosterone.
• Apple cider vinegar balances your blood sugar, preventing blood sugar soars and crashes and supporting healthy, consistent ovulation. It improves overall insulin sensitivity, especially if you’re eating a high-carb meal that day. This is especially important for women with insulin-resistant PCOS.
• Apple cider vinegar contains acetic acid which helps your body to draw nutrients out of the foods you eat. That same acid can help block the absorption of starchy, processed carbs, too.
• Apple cider vinegar balances acid/alkaline levels in the body, allowing good bacteria to flourish in your microbiome. Your microbiome houses the estrobolome, where excess estrogen is processed and eliminated from your body, preventing estrogen dominance.

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How I also use Apple Cider Vinegar

• In cooking - I rarely use balsamic vinegars when making salads - instead I use apple cider vinegar with lemon juice to make dressings. I also drizzle it over sardines and sometimes even add it to a smoothie.
• In my beauty routine - I even use apple cider vinegar as a rinse for my hair to combat dry scalp and dandruff, usually after a coconut oil mask! I do the same after I use a face mask, applying apple cider vinegar as an astringent to tighten my pores.
• When cleaning my house - I use apple cider vinegar as a household cleaning agent to get my kitchen and bathroom sparkling.

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The best kind of apple cider vinegar

I use Bragg Apple Cider Vinegar - it’s raw and organic, the highest-quality apple cider vinegar. And because it’s never heated or filtered, it retains all its goodness so it can successfully bring you all the benefits I mentioned above.

It's important to make sure that the Apple Cider Vinegar has “the mother” - that's the live fermentation sediment that contains all the good stuff that creates the health benefits. Bragg is always made from fresh, organic apples. It’s a versatile vinegar with a crisp, tangy taste. The difference between any other vinegar and apple cider vinegar is the “mother.” This cloudy sediment (you can see it in the bottle) includes small amounts of proteins, enzymes, amino acids, and fiber, as well as plenty of good bacteria for extra probiotic power. That’s where the acetic acid comes from.

Because Bragg Apple Cider Vinegar is unfiltered and unpasteurized, it’s far more effective than other kinds of apple cider vinegar.

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Vitamin B6 is absolutely essential for the development of the corpus luteum. The corpus luteum is a vital yet temporary mass produced in the ovary after the egg has been released, and it is what makes the hormone progesterone. Therefore, B6 is necessary for balanced hormones and preventing progesterone deficiency. Progesterone deficiency can provoke symptoms during the luteal/premenstrual phase and cause miscarriages. If you have signs of progesterone deficiency, you can supplement with B6 and increase the amount of B6-rich foods in your diet. All B vitamins help your body to metabolize the nutrients in the food you eat, as well as break down fats and proteins. However, B6 is particular important for hormonal health.

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Signs of B6 and progesterone deficiency

So, how do you know if you are progesterone deficient? Below are some of the obvious signs. If you have more than one of these symptoms, this could point to progesterone deficiency.

• Brown spotting before or after your period
• A short luteal phase - a normal luteal phase is between 12-15 days long; shorter than that and you may have progesterone deficiency - this could look like having too frequent periods
• PMS symptoms like moodiness, tender breasts, bloating and acne
• Infertility issues - achieving and maintaining a pregnancy - especially experiencing miscarriage
• If you take your basal body temperature each day you’ll see a very low temp rise post-ovulation and then a very fast fall before your period
• If you check your cervical fluid, you might see a lot of cervical fluid continuing through your luteal phase after ovulation

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There are many reasons the modern woman might be low on B6 and therefore progesterone deficient. The opposite side of this hormonal imbalance is, of course, estrogen excess or estrogen dominance. It’s not always about not getting enough B6 in your daily diet, it can be about how prepared your body is to use B6 effectively. It is very easy to become deficient in B vitamins, and that deficiency has the most profound impact on reproductive health.

Causes of B6 and progesterone deficiency

• Stress - when we’re stressed our bodies use up lots of progesterone hormone to make more cortisol, the stress hormone. So you might have enough B6 to make progesterone, enough progesterone, but then you’re so stressed you still become deficient. Lack of sleep can have the same impact.
• Over-exercising - working out too much, especially tackling hardcore cardio during the second half of your cycle can cause internal stress that has the same impact on your cortisol and progesterone levels.
• Alcohol - B vitamins are destroyed by frequent alcohol intake. Even if you supplement and eat B6-rich foods, alcohol will cause you to lose most of it.
• The birth control pill - oral contraceptives are known to deplete many vitamins, including B6. This is because the Pill prevents proper absorption of vitamins by impairing gut health.

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Good sources of B6 from food

You can take a B vitamin complex as a supplement and take additional B6 on top, but the best way to get B6 is from foods rich in this vitamin.

• Wild-caught tuna fish
• Bananas
• Grass-fed beef
• Chicken
• Spinach
• Sweet potato
• Garlic
• Salmon

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As you can see, many of the main sources of B6 are from animal proteins, which makes vegetarians particularly vulnerable to B6 and progesterone deficiency. As well as B6 supplements, if you are facing progesterone deficiency you can also consider using Vitex or progesterone cream to increase progesterone and decrease estrogen excess, and therefore rebalance your hormones.

Right now, turmeric is the hottest spice around, and I’m not talking about spicy-hot! Turmeric lattes, golden milk, golden lattes have hit the headlines, becoming the most sought-after, talked-about drink, since, well, activated charcoal lemonade?! But turmeric-infused hot beverages is a trend I can really support. I’ve been drinking golden milk for years myself to benefit from its hormone-balancing, hormone-supportive qualities. The most popular recipes you’ve probably seen include turmeric, coconut oil, and a non-dairy milk like almond. I have my own personal spin on this recipe that I particularly like and will share below. The turmeric turns the milk a delicious deep golden color, hence the name, and now this is popping up on menus at health-conscious restaurants and cafes all over the country. Celebrities like Gwyneth Paltrow are singing its praises, and hip eateries like Cafe Gratitude have made it a staple of their menus.

How turmeric is hormone-balancing and fertility boosting

There are many ways you can give the basic golden latte recipe a twist, including adding in other spices that would be in my personal top 10 of the most hormonally-supportive - like cinnamon, cumin, ginger, cayenne, cardamom. All these spices are known in Traditional Chinese Medicine as “warming” and “drying” spices. Warming foods are viewed as specifically beneficial to boosting fertility. A deficiency in “yang” is believed to be bad for the reproductive organs, uterus and ovaries, which as a result become “cold” and “dampened.” Essentially this is about circulation of life-giving blood flow. Certain spices, like turmeric, improve circulation to all organs - including the uterus and ovaries. The better the blood is flowing, the more oxygen is present, the better their health - boosting fertility. The FLO Living protocol is partly based on this ancient TCM understanding of the energies of foods - it is why I recommend raw foods for the follicular phase, but warm, roasted, and warmly spiced foods for the luteal phase.

The health benefits of turmeric

Turmeric (specifically the curcumin in turmeric - which is what makes the spice yellow/golden) is lauded as superior in its healing properties to common medications. Looking at the research, you can see why.

• Curcumin is a powerful anti-inflammatory, which has benefits for treating gastro-intestinal issues and period pain.
• It is also blood sugar stabilizing, which is important for all women who are hormonally-sensitive and suffering with everything from PMS to PCOS.
• Because turmeric increases blood flow to the uterus it can also help with regulation of periods and supporting the development of healthy periods.
• Curcumin has been shown to decrease and slow the growth of uterine fibroids as a result of its anti-inflammatory properties.
• Studies show it can be protective against the development of breast cancer and ovarian cancers.
• Curcumin may also be beneficial to those women suffering with endometriosis.

How I use turmeric - and my turmeric/golden milk latte recipe

I drink my golden latte every day in the late afternoon, however there are a few other ways I like to incorporate turmeric into my diet.

• “Red eggs” - I sprinkle turmeric on my poached eggs or mix the spice into a scramble for breakfast using coconut oil
• When I cook beans I always add a teaspoon of turmeric to the saucepan
• I saute my collard greens and kale in coconut oil with turmeric on top

My golden latte recipe  - I keep a batch of homemade “golden paste” in my fridge at all times to make this simple and easy for a daily drink. I like to incorporate making a golden latte as part of my relaxing, grounding period rituals too. “Golden paste” ingredients1/2 cup organic turmeric powder1 cup water1.5 teaspoons black pepper5 tablespoons virgin coconut oilDirections

1. In a stainless steel pot, cook the water, turmeric, and black pepper until it  forms a thick paste, stirring and cooking for about 7 to 10 minutes.
2. Remove from heat and add virgin coconut oil, using a whisk to fully mix in the coconut oil.
3. Transfer the Golden Paste into a glass jar with a lid, and store in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.
4. You will use this paste to make your Golden Milk below.

Golden milk ingredients1 teaspoon golden paste2 cups coconut milk1/8 teaspoon vanilla (optional)Raw honey [or stevia] to taste (optional)Pinch cinnamon (optional)Directions

1. In a stainless steel pot, gently heat, but do not boil, 2 cups of milk with 1 teaspoon of golden paste.
2. A whisk is helpful to fully mix the paste into the milk.
3. Add optional vanilla, honey [or stevia], and/or cinnamon.

If this seems like too much work for you and you’d like a shortcut (I’m all for making more time for yourself), Gaia has created a ready-made golden milk powder - all you need to do is add the milk! Always remember, that once you have the right information about how your body really works, you can start making health choices that finally start to work for you! You can do this - the science of your body is on your side!to your FLO,AlisaGood things come in threes:

I want to hear from you!

First, do you have period cramps? Second, are you suffering with endometriosis? Third, everyone you know is hormonal – spread a little good period karma and share this article on social ;)

Need more Hormone Help?

If you’re needing some health upgrading, it’s time you started you looking into what’s going on with your hormones.I’ve designed a 4 day hormone detox and evaluation to help you understand exactly what’s out of whack and how you can start getting back to balance so that your hormones no longer have to suffer.Click here to get your FREE detox and evaluation!

If you’ve been reading my blog posts for a while, you’ll know very well that I love avocados. I see them as a perfect food for your hormones. In the past I’ve shared my thoughts on their many benefits - including the fascinating study that shows eating avocados improves the outcome and success rate of IVF treatments. I’ve recommended avocados not only to boost your fertility, but also to boost your own and your partner’s sex drive, as well as to combat the moodiness and fatigue that can come along with PMS. Perfectly packaged, so very versatile, and delicious - avocados really are a superfood, in my book. But what about avocado oil? Google recently marked this vegetable oil out as one of the hottest food trends of 2016. Now, we know that if it comes from avocados, it must be good, but what are some of the benefits of using avocado oil every day, over just eating avocados?As I never recommend many cooking oils like canola, sunflower, safflower, general vegetable oil, because these kinds of oils have far more omega-6 than omega-3 and this produces inflammation in the body, I’m always on the lookout for a new oil to add to my cooking and salad-making repertoire. I already use coconut oil daily for its myriad benefits for hormonal health. But coconut is not always the flavor profile you want. Avocado oil has a similar nutritional makeup to olive oil, with the added benefits of being a source of bioavailable phyto-testosterone, having anti-estrogenic properties to prevent estrogen excess, and containing fats your hormones need to be transported around your bloodstream. Avocado oil is actually a common ingredient in natural progesterone creams - that’s how powerful it is for balancing hormones! In the past I’ve shared recipes for avocado toast and avocado-based smoothies. I also love avocado and fruit salads in the summer (peaches or watermelon work really well), plus a sprig of mint. But avocado oil can be added to almost anything, and used as a cooking oil. It makes getting the benefits of avocado into every meal so much easier - and I’m all for that! Avocado oil has a smoke point of over 400F so it’s perfect for roasting veggies, stir fries, and sauteing greens. And what does it taste like? Well, avocados of course! In a really good way - creamy, nutty, smooth - it’s delicious.

The best kind of avocado oil

These days you can pretty much grab a jar of coconut oil at most grocery stores, but avocado oil is still much harder to come by. Especially the good kind that has no chemical additives. I rarely see it on the shelves of my favorite grocery stores, even natural food markets. That’s why I turn to Thrive Market to get my favorite brand of avocado oil. Non-GMO and full of healthy fats, Primal Kitchen Avocado Oil is also expeller-pressed and lightly refined, leaving the delicate flavor, and all the nutritional goodness, of the avocado intact. Ready to give avocado oil a try? For a limited time, Thrive Market is offering all of my readers and followers a FREE bottle of Primal Kitchen Avocado Oil! Which is a fantastic deal, considering it’s still pretty hard to source, even from your local Wholefoods. All you have to do is click here and ask for your free bottle of avocado oil to be delivered to your doorstep (they’ll also give you 15% off your next order). Let me know how you like it and share your recipes with me! Always remember, that once you have the right information about how your body really works, you can start making health choices that finally start to work for you! You can do this - the science of your body is on your side!to your FLO,AlisaGood things come in threes:

I want to hear from you!

First, how do you eat your avocados? Second, are you struggling with infertility? Third, everyone you know is hormonal – spread a little good period karma and share this article on social ;)

Are you trying to conceive?

If you want to do everything in your power to improve your chances of becoming a mom, I want to help you optimize your fertility. Whether you are just starting to think about having a baby, or have already tried naturally or have been trying with IVF, my Fertile FLO Program will help improve your chances of conception. Click here to download my FREE guide, The 5 Health Foods to Avoid to Get and Stay Pregnant.

Don’t you just hate UTIs? It’s one of the most common bacterial infections around and so many women have to deal with the discomfort, pain, and irritation on a regular basis. That’s because UTIs are often recurrent and it’s not simple to be rid of them completely. The bladder is the perfect closed environment for bacteria to thrive, unfortunately. You may be susceptible to getting a UTI after sex or maybe you can’t get away with wearing anything but plain cotton panties - either way, a persistent, recurring urinary tract infection is utterly unpleasant. You’re always worried when it might hit, and when it does you miss work, can’t go far from a bathroom, and generally feel miserable. So, what’s a woman to do?

What is a recurrent UTI?

There’s a difference between getting a UTI every once in awhile when you’ve been dehydrated or wearing your yoga pants too many days in a row, and experiencing a recurrent UTI situation. A chronic UTI condition can be seriously debilitating and unfortunately about one in five women are thought to experience this health issue. When you have a UTI more than twice in six months, it is called recurrent. If you experience three UTIs over time you are more likely to continue to have more UTIs in the future and get into a recurrent UTI situation. The placement of a woman’s urethra and rectum sets us up for being much more likely candidates for recurrent UTIs than men, which is why it has perhaps come to be seen as a predominantly female health issue. The bacteria E.coli is usually the cause of this infection. A UTI can come about in any part of your urinary system - but when the infection is only in the bladder it remains relatively mild and treatable via natural means. The symptoms of a mild infection are probably known to us all - that burning sensation when you urinate and pain in the bladder region and lower back. If and when the UTI spreads to the kidneys it can cause serious health problems. At this point the infection will require antibiotics for treatment. When this happens the symptoms then transition to nausea, vomiting, and a high fever. However, if you can catch a UTI early, by being vigilant of symptoms, and fastidious about utilizing effective natural treatments, then you will be in a much better position to both avoid stop a UTI in its tracks and prevent a recurrent UTI situation.

How overuse of antibiotics can cause recurring UTIs

As you may already know, I am no fan of antibiotics. They destroy the super important microbiome, which plays such a crucial part in keeping your body - including your vagina and bladder - populated with good bacteria versus bad bacteria. They suppress the immune system which makes you more susceptible to infections too. Antibiotics become essential when a UTI spreads to the kidneys. At that time it’s necessary treatment. But my goal would be to avoid getting to that situation and to prevent a recurrent UTI situation. When we take antibiotics at the first sign of a UTI or use them as a preventative measure, we set ourselves up for a disrupted and dysfunctional microbiome. More and more research is showing us that the microbiome is crucial for long term endocrine health. The reason UTIs can be reoccurring is that many women take antibiotics early as the treatment for a mild bout, which is a band-aid solution at best, and this creates a vicious cycle of a disrupted microbiome, increases your risk of developing yeast infections, and then your internal ecosystem is vulnerable to reoccurrence. So you don’t get rid of the UTI completely, and it comes back with a vengeance! Again and again. There are some causes of recurrent UTIs that you probably are aware of already - underwear made of synthetic material, tight clothing like leggings or jeggings, not urinating immediately after sex (how romantic, right?!), sitting in chemical-laden bath bubbles, soaps, bath bombs, using scented wipes, and especially douches, which are the absolute worst and completely unnecessary. Your vagina is designed to clean itself, thank you very much! Although I wouldn’t recommend any of these things - you ought not be so very sensitive to them, and the reason your body is and reacts with a UTI is because of subpar microbiome health and poor immunity.

The early signs of a UTI

If you know the early symptoms of a UTI, especially if you’ve experienced them several times previously, then you can take action quickly and avoid antibiotic treatment. The early signs are bladder twinges before or after urinating, a more frequent urge to urinate, pressure in the bladder, slight burning in the urethra, and a slight dull ache in the lower back. If you experience these signs then you need to jump to it with the protocol I outline below. The thing NOT to do, is to brush off these little symptoms, but jump on them right away, so that you reduce the risk of it developing into full blown kidney infection, for which you will absolutely need antibiotics.

Pregnancy, postpartum, breastfeeding and UTIs

If you are susceptible to UTIs or have experienced a recurrent UTI situation and you’re now pregnant, or planning to get pregnant, you have to let your OB know that you want to avoid antibiotics. - and for good reason, as there is research that links pre-natal antibiotic exposure to childhood obesity. You can get the AZO UTI testing strips for at home daily monitoring so you can be sure to get an early start on natural treatment. Follow the same protocol outlined below. The reason you need to be this vigilant is that the risk of preterm labor increases when a UTI progresses to a kidney infection. Since giving birth, I too have experienced recurrent UTIs. I've been nursing now, no bottles, on demand, for almost two years. This means I have the hormone levels of a postmenopausal woman essentially (very low estrogen). These hormone levels make you more susceptible to chronic infections of the bladder and the vagina, due to lower levels of bacterial-balancing estrogen. Avoiding antibiotics is a top priority of mine because I don't want them ending up in my breast milk and disrupting my daughter's microbiome. Study after study is coming out about how critical the microbiome is for long term endocrine health. I see it as my job to take care of myself and my child in a way that doesn't cause future health issues. That’s why I practice the protocol outlined below, and why I’m vigilant about avoiding infection and watching for the signs of an early infection. Other hormonal issues like PCOS, amenorrhea, and perimenopause, which present with estrogen levels on the low side, can also increase your vulnerability to experiencing chronic UTI’s.

My effective, natural treatment strategy for recurring UTIs

I suggest a four stage strategy for getting immediate relief and effectively preventing a recurring, chronic UTI. To note: For my strategies to treat yeast infections and bacterial vaginosis visit this previous post.

1. Cranactin - take an activated cranberry compound every day alongside your regular favorite supplements. Double dose every time you have sex that day and for a few days after, if this is something that triggers your UTIs (usually more common with new partners rather than long term partners, or when you stop using condoms).
2. Jarrow’s Fem-Dophilus probiotic - take a daily, good quality probiotic designed for vaginal and urinary tract health. Again, double dose as above if needed.
3. D-Mannose - this supplement supports a healthy urinary tract. Take daily and double up as needed. You can take this every 3 hours. You can also have your partner take this to protect you from any E.coli bacterias he may be carrying.
4. Baking soda - drink one teaspoon of regular baking soda in a glass of water each morning. This will help to balance your internal pH.

In the background to this strategy you need to be addressing your microbiome health and immunity levels. You can boost your immunity and support your microbiome to give your body the helping hand it needs in combatting UTIs. The Flo Living protocol has, baked in, microbiome and immunity consciousness and when taken up by those with recurrent UTIs it speeds up their recovery and stops the infection (as well as yeast infections and bacterial vaginosis) in its tracks. All I can say is: Ahhhhhh! Relief at last!Always remember, that once you have the right information about how your body really works, you can start making health choices that finally start to work for you! You can do this - the science of your body is on your side!to your FLO,AlisaGood things come in threes:

I want to hear from you!

First, do you get UTIs? Second, have you previously used antibiotics? Third, everyone you know is hormonal – spread a little good ovary karma and share this article on social ;)

Need more Hormone Help?

If you’re needing some health upgrading, it’s time you started you looking into what’s going on with your hormones.I’ve designed a 4 day hormone detox and evaluation to help you understand exactly what’s out of whack and how you can start getting back to balance so that your hormones no longer have to suffer.Click here to get your FREE detox and evaluation!

In previous posts I’ve covered the many sides of acne prevention from a natural, pharmaceutical-free perspective, including the foods you need to avoid, the supplements that will help, and exactly why I never recommend the birth control pill as an acne treatment. But in this post I want to talk about the right skincare routine and products for women suffering with hormonal acne. I used to be a woman suffering with acne - as you know, I had terrible, painful cystic acne all over my face, chest and back as the result of my PCOS and hormonal imbalances. I’ve tried everything. And while I know that preventing acne is a task that must go more than skin-deep - you have to address your diet and lifestyle habits too - I also now know the absolute best products that prevent acne. These products are also hormone-safe, of course. Your skin is your largest eliminative organ, so you have to be very picky and choosy about what you put on it. Whatever goes on your skin, seeps into your pores and your bloodstream. You skin needs to function at its optimal level to help you eliminate excess hormones and other toxins too, and the right skincare products will support that. If you would like more information on the root causes of hormonal acne and adult acne as well as extra support from me on how to prevent acne based on specifics like your age, where on your face or body acne appears, and when you get the most acne, listen to my “Get Gorgeous Skin - Clear Acne Naturally” webinar.

My favorite skincare products for preventing acne

Topical, rapid treatment - use a product that contains sulfur, but won’t dry out the area, if you have lumps, bumps, cystic acne, or a zit emergency! The Naturopathica's Moss Treatment Mask can be used as a monthly mask or just dab a small amount on the acne area and leave overnight. Sulfur, is also found in veggies like kale, and is safe for your skin and safe for your hormones. Everyday facial wash - a gentle moisturizing scrub is the way to go, and it’s much better for you than benzoyl peroxide-based cleansers that go straight through your liver and add to your body’s toxic load. Alba Botanica’s Daily Detox Cleanser is a great choice. Moisturizer - dry, parched skin is actually more prone to acne than well-moisturized skin, which is why moisture zapping products like Proactiv don’t work for long, if at all. I use 100% pure, organic Aloe Vera gel (which is also anti-inflammatory) - Desert Essence has a hormone-safe product. If you live in a very dry climate or have naturally dryer skin then pick a heavier moisturizer that’s super creamy and calendula-based like Naturopathica’s Calendula Hydrating Cream. Face mask - fruit acids used during the luteal phase can help with skin renewal and regeneration. I use the Naturopathica's Pumpkin Enzyme mask in my pre-menstrual phase to support my skin during that commonly acne-prone time.Sunscreen - most of us are not outside in direct suns much of the time and we need that sunshine for essential vitamin D absorption, which is vital for our hormonal health and fertility. I use a zinc-based, physical block sunscreen on my face if I’m at the beach or on a day hike and will be out in the sunshine for a long time. Because of the endocrine disruptive chemicals in regular sunscreens, I prefer to rely on a UV-protective sunhat, sunglasses, and a mineral pressed powder that contains zinc oxide on my vulnerable areas - my nose and chin (like those products made by Jane Iredale) if I’m just out and about on a normal day in New York City.Scalp treatment - if you experience acne, it’s very likely you also have dandruff issues. For this I recommend using regular baking soda on your scalp when your hair is wet, before you shampoo. Scrub baking soda into the scalp, then rinse with water, then shampoo your hair, and then rinse again with Apple Cider Vinegar. Other than that, a gentle, everyday shampoo that is aloe vera based is great - try Shikai Everyday. You can also use the essential oil Neem on your scalp, which is full of moisturizing fatty acids and very soothing. Finally, try a deep scalp treatment once a month with antimicrobial and antifungal, organic coconut oil. Always remember, that once you have the right information about how your body really works, you can start making health choices that finally start to work for you! You can do this - the science of your body is on your side!to your FLO,AlisaGood things come in threes:

I want to hear from you!

First, do you have hair loss or an overgrowth of hair? Second, do you have acne? Third, everyone you know is hormonal – spread a little good ovary karma and share this article on social ;)

Need more Hormone Help?

If you’re needing some health upgrading, it’s time you started you looking into what’s going on with your hormones.I’ve designed a 4 day hormone detox and evaluation to help you understand exactly what’s out of whack and how you can start getting back to balance so that your hormones no longer have to suffer.Click here to get your FREE detox and evaluation!

Anxiety impacts at least 20% of Americans, with women being 60% more likely to suffer with anxiety - and the resulting panic attacks, insomnia, and stress - than men. The reason for this is that anxiety is often hormonally-derived. Anxiety can be the result of a hormonal imbalance in a woman’s body. This means that commonly prescribed anti-anxiety medications may not work for everyone because they do not address the root causes of the anxiety. Unfortunately common anti-anxiety medications also come along with a whole host of side effects, so they can be both ineffective and cause other health issues. The good news is that hormonally-derived anxiety is often very treatable with natural remedies. Preventing anxiety can be a matter of choosing the right anti-anxiety foods, strategies, and supplements. There are three root causes of hormonally-derived anxiety, or the anxiety symptoms that result from a hormonal imbalance. And they are, of course, connected.

1. Insulin based anxiety - when your blood sugar soars from eating the wrong kind of or too many carbohydrates (I’m talking white bread, pasta, white potatoes etc.), then insulin is secreted in high doses by your body to bring that blood sugar level down. This is done so that your brain is protected from the dangerous effects of excess sugar. That is, of course, a good backup feature when you don't get it quite right with eating once in a long while and have a carb slip, but when it is chronic, as in you’re eating like this frequently, then you will experience the secondary effect of this elevated insulin forcing the blood sugar to drop to safer, low levels. When this happens you’re creating a state of hypoglycemia - that’s low blood sugar - which has a whole host of symptoms like the shakes, fatigue, irritability, that “hangry” feeling, and anxiety. Why does hypoglycemia include anxiety as a symptom? When hypoglycemia becomes a chronic pattern, then your body has another safeguard mechanism that kicks in to protect your brain and heart from too LOW blood sugar levels (rather than too high blood sugar levels) and that safeguard is the stress hormone cortisol. So, when you’re getting elevated cortisol levels at the wrong times, it’s then that you’ll experience the anxiety.
2. Cortisol based anxiety - when your stress hormone, cortisol, levels are elevated at times when they should not be, as I discussed above as a cause of anxiety, and this happens frequently enough to become a pattern, then it can start to affect your body’s normal secretion patterns of this hormone. Instead of waking up with your biggest boost of cortisol in the morning (which is the right time to have a cortisol boost), you won't get any cortisol until much later in the day (this experience, in its many varied versions is called Adrenal Fatigue). As a result of these disrupted cortisol secretion patterns you will feel anxious, fatigued and depressed.
3. Estrogen based anxiety - estrogen has a calming effect on the brain, but too little or too much can have the opposite effects. Anxiety can occur specifically during your pre-menstrual phase, during perimenopause, or as you are entering menopause, as a result of shifts in your body’s production of estrogen. This also relates to low progesterone levels. An imbalance of estrogen to progesterone can bring about PMT (premenstrual tension), which has anxiety as a symptom. As your body is producing less hormones during perimenopause and towards menopause this imbalance can be experienced in more pronounced symptoms.

The best anti-anxiety supplements

Commonly prescribed anti-anxiety medications address serotonin (Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors or SSRIs) and/or norepinephrine (Norepinephrine Reuptake Inhibitors) or they are tranquilizers that work by slowing the nervous system. They are designed to block or manage symptoms, but they do not work for everyone and have a long list of side effects. They do not get down to the root cause of the anxiety and actually treat the biological problem leading to the symptoms - which are hormonal imbalances caused by improper diet. Managing serotonin and norepinephrine levels doesn’t address this at all. It’s always better to try addressing symptoms like fatigue, depression and anxiety with food and natural supplements before turning to pharmaceuticals in order to avoid consequential and connected health issues from the immediate side effects and whole body impact of prolonged use. The supplements get down to the root cause of your anxiety and calm your nerves from the inside out.

• Cinnamon - have it as tea, or sprinkle it on your oatmeal in the morning or take it as a supplement. Cinnamon is an excellent blood sugar regulator as it slows down the speed at which your stomach empties after you’ve eaten a meal.
• Holy Basil - you can take the adrenally-supportive Holy Basil as a nourishing, soothing tea. Holy Basil actually functions as an adaptogen, which means it enhances the body's natural response to physical and emotional stress.
• Oatstraw - take this supplement as a liquid tincture in your tea. Oatstraw is cortisol-calming and adrenally-supportive.
• Ashwagandha - another adaptogen, Ashwagandha is the perfect herbal supplement if you suffer with anxiety. It is well-researched and respected for its ability to lower cortisol levels and prevent stress.

These supplements will, however, only work effectively to reduce your anxiety as part of a wider effort to support your adrenals and balance out your blood sugar. These tasks are best addressed with food first, then the supplements. Getting plenty of B vitamins, magnesium and omega 3 fatty acids from your food is vital. These vitamins and minerals prevent the hyper-production of cortisol by your adrenals. You also need to practice what I call “extreme self-care” measures like getting a full 8 hours sleep every night, taking time out of each day to relax with a walk, yoga, or other pleasurable activity, having plenty of orgasms, and preparing yourself nutritious, satisfying meals 3 times a day. The Flo Living protocol supports this way of organizing your life and provides an eating plan that is inherently de-stressing, calming, and mood-elevating. Always remember, that once you have the right information about how your body really works, you can start making health choices that finally start to work for you! You can do this - the science of your body is on your side!to your FLO,AlisaGood things come in threes:

I want to hear from you!

First, do you have anxiety?Second, do you get PMS mood symptoms? Third, everyone you know is hormonal – spread a little good ovary karma and share this article on social ;)

Need more Hormone Help?

If you’re needing some health upgrading, it’s time you started you looking into what’s going on with your hormones.I’ve designed a 4 day hormone detox and evaluation to help you understand exactly what’s out of whack and how you can start getting back to balance so that your hormones no longer have to suffer.Click here to get your FREE detox and evaluation!

Here at Flo Living headquarters I speak with many women suffering with PCOS who have either been offered Metformin and decided against it or have tried Metformin and it’s not worked for them. If you have a diagnosis of PCOS it’s very likely that at some point your doctor has suggested Metformin. I personally was what would be considered the “perfect” candidate for this treatment when I was in my 20s and suffering with PCOS - overweight, struggling with acne and a complete lack of periods. However, I never tried it myself - instead I created a protocol for myself that became Flo Living. I’ve since helped many women manage their PCOS successfully with this protocol, just as I did my own diagnosis. That said, I speak with women so often about the Metformin option that I want to share my perspective with you. Although I do not dismiss the option completely, I do have some caveats and concerns.

What is Metformin?

Metformin is a first-line medication for those suffering with type 2 diabetes. It is also presented as a treatment for PCOS sufferers who are also overweight or obese. Not all PCOS sufferers have weight gain as a symptom, it depends on the kind of PCOS. Women with the kind of PCOS that causes weight gain are usually insulin resistant. Metformin reduces overall insulin levels. Insulin resistance is when the cells of your body become resistant to the hormone insulin, preventing glucose from entering your cells to be used for energy, and instead causing soaring levels of sugar blood stream bringing about diabetes, pre-diabetes or insulin-resistant PCOS. The connection between insulin and PCOS is blood sugar regulation. We hear about this most commonly with diabetes, but it’s also very important with PCOS. An unstable, constantly spiking and crashing, blood sugar prevents ovulation - this causes symptoms and conditions like infertility, depression, anxiety, acne, and weight gain. For PCOS suffers, Metformin is often prescribed alongside the birth control pill to manage symptoms. Both only mask symptoms as band-aid solutions and do not address the root cause.Should I take Metformin? Most of the research studies that have examined Metformin as a treatment for PCOS show differing and conflicting results. This is probably because Metformin is given to women with a PCOS diagnosis regardless of the kind of PCOS they have and regardless of whether they’ve been properly diagnosed (some women are diagnosed with PCOS when they actually have a different condition - you need both a blood test and ultrasound to confirm). Insulin resistant PCOS is very, very common, but it’s not what every woman has. Women with insulin resistant PCOS will also have been told they are pre-diabetic or borderline diabetic and be overweight or obese.

What can you expect if you take Metformin?

Metformin is not a miracle medication (unfortunately there are NO miracle drugs). If you take it you will not instantly see an end to your symptoms and drop all the weight you have gained. If you have been diagnosed as pre-diabetic and you want to move away from this diagnosis as quickly as possible, then you could decide to take Metformin. This might be the case if you are hoping to get pregnant. Entering pregnancy with insulin resistant PCOS and pre-diabetes will unfortunately set you up for increased risk for gestational diabetes, increased pregnancy weight gain and the worsened health risks that go along with that, having a bigger baby, and therefore higher likelihood of needing a C-section to deliver your baby. Guidelines if you choose to take MetforminI only recommend you take Metformin within these guidelines -

• Take Metformin as a short term triage for a pre-diabetes diagnosis.
• Start taking Metformin already knowing your exit plan from this treatment.
• Simultaneously change your diet and lifestyle to improve insulin resistance (including strictly managing your blood sugar levels and sugar intake, and increasing exercise to lose weight). You may lose some weight if you do both, and you should lose your pre-diabetic status within this timeframe.
• Start the Flo Living protocol so that when you go off Metformin you do not slide back to your previous lifestyle habits, regain the weight, and go back to the pre-diabetic state. The Flo Living protocol will alleviate symptoms of PCOS long term and support regular ovulation and regular periods. It will also prevent sugar cravings, manage your blood sugar levels, and help you to lose the weight.

It’s important to note that I have worked with many women for whom Metformin has not worked at all. They’ve taken it, experienced the side effects, and seen no improvement in their condition - the PCOS or the symptoms of PCOS. I would highly recommend regulating your blood sugar levels with the Flo Living protocol and prepping your body for a healthy, happy pregnancy ahead of time, instead of taking the Metformin route.The side effects of MetforminEven if Metformin does not work for you, it can still cause side effects. The most common side effects are stomach pain, nausea, vomiting and diarrhea. Metformin is not recommended for women with liver disease which is a real problem as many PCOS sufferers have what is known as “fatty liver” - not liver disease, but has similar aspects. Research has also connected Metformin with brain and cognitive impairment.

Women’s success stories post-Metformin with the Flo Living protocol

As I said, I’ve helped many women who have tried Metformin and found it did not help them as they hoped to then come off, manage their PCOS, lose weight, reverse their pre-diabetes, and get pregnant. “Both doctors immediately recommended prescription drugs as an antidote to resolve this issue and prescribed Metformin. Within two days of taking it, I developed severe symptoms and side effects that impacted my GI tract and well being. I knew I needed a change and was willing to seek alternate therapies. I attended a Flo Living seminar. After applying the principles that I learned, I have had my period ever since AND…drum roll...my hormonal level are completely balanced and my diagnosis of PCOS was reversed!” - Judith“I’ve had acid reflux, heal pain, irregular periods, and basically I’m a sugar addict. I have also had a hard time dealing with stress, anxiety, and depression. This program has taught me how to eat and helped me get off medication. I was on Metformin for PCOS, which I’ve stopped taking since starting my program, and I got my period this morning for the second month in a row! Sometimes I’d gone for years without getting my period, so this is incredible. I’ve lost almost 2 sizes – my old size 22s don’t fit at all. I’m now wearing a 20 and soon it will be an 18, since the 20s are a bit big. I signed up for the 3 month program and just decided to extend it for another 2 months since I really want to stay on track and learn more.” - MickiAlways remember, that once you have the right information about how your body really works, you can start making health choices that finally start to work for you! You can do this - the science of your body is on your side!to your FLO,AlisaGood things come in threes:

I want to hear from you!

First, have you tried Metformin? Second, have you recently been diagnosed as pre-diabetic? Third, everyone you know is hormonal – spread a little good ovary karma and share this article on social ;)

Need more Hormone Help?

If you’re needing some health upgrading, it’s time you started you looking into what’s going on with your hormones.I’ve designed a 4 day hormone detox and evaluation to help you understand exactly what’s out of whack and how you can start getting back to balance so that your hormones no longer have to suffer.Click here to get your FREE detox and evaluation!

There is one common hormonal imbalance I see again and again in my Flo Living practice. Women come in with the symptoms, signs, and health conditions that are rooted in a specific instability in their hormonal ecosystem. These signs include common symptoms like PMS, hormonal acne, ovarian cysts, fibroids as well as conditions like PCOS and Endometriosis. That hormonal imbalance is estrogen dominance. Estrogen dominance is the root cause of so many hormonal health issues. If you’re a longtime reader of this blog you will have heard me use the term “estrogen dominance” many times. I want to dig a little deeper in this post into what estrogen dominance means, how you can know if you have estrogen dominance, and what you can do to address the imbalance and get your hormones working in harmony.

What is estrogen dominance?

Estrogen dominance happens in the body when there is estrogen overload or too much estrogen in relation to progesterone. This happens as the result of the foods we eat, the products we use, stress, poor sleep, and other environmental factors. It can be very hard to completely avoid estrogen excess, because we are surrounded by endocrine disruptors - in everything from our furniture to our nail polish.

When your body’s elimination system is working at a subpar level - the result of a lack of micronutrients, a disrupted microbiome, and inability to deal with an unnatural level of toxins - it cannot process and eliminate this excess estrogen efficiently. A body nourished with nutrient dense and hormonally-supportive foods has a better chance of coping with and managing the synthetic estrogens we’re surrounded by, but many of us are not eating in a way that supports and bolsters our elimination system. This leads to a toxic build up and hormonal soup swimming around your body - throwing your delicate hormonal balance out of whack and triggering symptoms.

The other side of this coin here is progesterone deficiency - if you have too much estrogen in your bloodstream, your progesterone levels will be low in comparison.

What are the signs of estrogen dominance?

Once you discover the symptoms of estrogen dominance it’s hard not to see the signs all around you - in your own cycle experience and the difficult, uncomfortable PMS and period symptoms of your friends. That’s because many, many women are experiencing estrogen dominance, because their bodies are not equipped to cope with the incoming estrogen overload. Here are some of the signs of estrogen dominance:

• PMS - pre-menstrual symptoms from moodiness to bloating
• Fibroids
• Ovarian cysts
• PCOS
• Endometriosis
• Weight gain
• Infertility
• Heavy periods
• Irregular periods
• Early onset puberty (before 12 years of age) in yourself and/or your daughter(s)

The long-term health impact of estrogen dominance

As well as the symptoms you will currently be experiencing if you have estrogen dominance, there are long-term health effects for those struggling with this hormonal imbalance. Over the years and decades, a persistent estrogen overload increases the risk of many diseases and health issues including:

• Female cancers, particularly breast cancer
• Hypertension
• Diabetes
• Dementia

Treatments for estrogen dominance

The reason you have not heard about this from your doctor and she has probably never diagnosed you with “estrogen dominance,” despite your symptoms, is that there’s really only one treatment provided by an OB/GYN for all of the health issues I mentioned above and that’s the birth control pill. When you visit an OB/GYN they tend to only be able to tell you what you already know - that you have certain symptoms and you don’t feel good as a result. They don’t often tell you exactly why you’re experiencing these symptoms. And the how to deal with the symptoms is always the birth control pill.

Of course, the path to you getting better begins with understanding why this is happening in your body. Even if you now know (or you’ve long known) that you have estrogen dominance, the most helpful part of naming the problem is knowing that you now need to take immediate action to address the root causes. Addressing the root causes is the key to moving past symptoms and feeling better. And the birth control pill does not address the root causes. It is only a band-aid for those symptoms - it may help to stop some symptoms or manage them some of the time, but when you eventually come off it will leave you even more sensitive to excess estrogen, setting you up to experience the same problems and potentially at worsened levels.

‍Estrogen dominance: Not just a women’s problem

‍These days we also see a lot of men dealing with the symptoms of estrogen dominance. They’re exposed to the same environmental factors as us and their bodies are often no better equipped to deal with the excess estrogen and eliminate it efficiently. For men, this brings about low testosterone levels (instead of low progesterone levels). You may have seen ads on TV for “Low-T” treatments for men. Men dealing with high estrogen and low testosterone will also gain weight, experience moodiness and irritability, get bloated...all of those issues we usually associated as only “female” in nature! Men also need to nourish their bodies so that their elimination system works at an optimum level and to increase their testosterone levels (especially as they age).

‍How to treat estrogen dominance naturally and effectively

‍The natural treatment for estrogen dominance is also the most effective and the longest lasting. This is because it gets down to the root cause, changes your hormonal ecosystem, and supports your elimination pathways. Following the Flo Living protocol sets your body up to combat all that incoming estrogen and helps it to deal with some of the unavoidable sources that inevitably come your way.

• Eat more fiber - there are 3 foods that contain a good amount of fiber as well as the other vital vitamins and minerals – such as glutathione, B vitamins, and C vitamins – that you need to help your liver process the excess estrogen so that it can be transported to the large intestine and then eliminated quickly - broccoli, flax seeds and pears.
• Support your microbiome - a set of good gut bacteria and certain bacterial genes, called the estrobolome, produce an essential enzyme that helps metabolize estrogen. Your microbiome is part of the elimination system that is vital in ushering hormones out of the body. Eat fermented foods daily like kimchi and sauerkraut and take a probiotic.
• Love your liver - Eggs, Glutathione-heavy vegetables like carrots, spinach and asparagus, plus cilantro are all great liver detoxifiers and boost the whole elimination system’s function. Try my special cilantro-based juice once a week.

Always remember, that once you have the right information about how your body really works, you can start making health choices that finally start to work for you! You can do this - the science of your body is on your side!

To your FLO,

Alisa

Although the FLO Living protocol - the way I eat, and the way I advise my clients to eat - is focused on all the delicious and satisfying foods you can fill up on that will do wonders for your hormones; I must admit there are certainly some foods that are toxic to your hormones and that I do advise to stay away from completely. I practice and teach the 80% rule of meal planning - 80% of the time eat those foods that best support your current hormonal phase (follicular, ovulatory, luteal, menstrual). That leaves 20% for the foods that are suggested for your other hormonal phases and the foods not prescribed by the protocol.

However, women discover once they start eating the FLO Living way they realize what an obvious, tangible impact some foods have on your body - on how you look, how you feel, and your health for the rest of that month, including the state of your period. You don’t want to eat those foods that give you acne, make you bloated, cause you to feel anxious or depressed, give you mood swings and PMS, make your periods irregular, or give you cramps. You do want to eat all those amazing foods that make you look and feel great that day and for the rest of your cycle!

The FLO Living food philosophy is not about deprivation, dieting, or guilt. I encourage you to get excited about all the hormonally-supportive tasty foods you can have in your fridge and pantry. It’s all about working with your body, with your hormones, side-by-side, as friends. So when you do eat something you know might make you feel bad (and we all do, sometimes!) - monitor the impact it has, take that new information on board, and recalibrate your goals. It’s a whole body and whole mind approach that is gentle, kind, and compassionate - after all, we’re all human, trying our best to do right for ourselves and our loved ones. It serves no one to beat yourself up over one piece of white bread! Just listen to your body.

That said, I do want you to be aware of those foods that are particularly disruptive to your hormonal balance and that are most likely to trigger hormonal symptoms like acne, missing periods, irregular cycles, PMS, cramps and heavy bleeding. These are also the foods that can worsen the symptoms of PCOS and Endometriosis. I call these the “worst” foods because they are capable of causing you to feel bad today, to have a difficult cycle and period this very month, and to experience symptoms almost immediately.

For those of us who are hormonally-sensitive (like me, and probably like you) these foods are a threat to our hormones. Even a small amount can have a negative impact. It’s best to be aware of this so you can make the right every meal, every day-based decisions for you.

The worst foods for your hormones

• Caffeine - coffee (and those teas that contain caffeine) are not tolerated well by women. Just as with alcohol, caffeine has a harder and more sustained impact on women than it does men. Caffeine can actually exacerbate the body’s propensity to produce cysts so it’s especially bad news for women with PCOS, functional ovarian cysts, Endometriosis, fibroids and fibrocystic breasts. Not only that but just one coffee in the morning throws off your whole endocrine system for an entire 24 hours, messing with your blood sugar and cortisol levels. Your body cannot reset until you sleep and wake up the next morning (when you likely reach for another coffee!). Caffeine also depletes essential micronutrients and minerals that we need for happy hormones. Giving up coffee will have a rapid, positive impact on your hormonal health - if you stop today you will have a better period experience and better overall cycle experience within weeks.  
• Soy - soy is highly debated by the health conscious, but the truth of it is that processed soy is bad for all women, whereas unprocessed, organic, fermented soy in small amounts can be helpful. Women with estrogen-dominance hormonal imbalance conditions are particularly sensitive to the phytoestrogens in processed soy (this includes Endometriosis, PCOS, fibroid sufferers and those with ovarian cysts). Processed soy is anything that substitutes like soy milk, soy meat, soy cheese, soy yogurt. Fermented, organic, unprocessed soy is tempeh, miso, and tamari. 
• White potatoes - eating white potatoes on even a weekly basis (in any form, including fries!) causes blood sugar levels to spike and crash quickly, and research shows this has an impact on blood pressure and long term health. This will affect your fertility and whether your body is able to ovulate regularly. Starchy foods act like sugar in women’s bodies. I am a HUGE fan of sweet potatoes however, which are just as satisfying and get rid of sugar cravings.
• Pesticide-laden and GMO foods - when the produce you eat is covered in pesticides this adds additional synthetic hormones to your body, while also hampering your liver’s ability to detoxify. This is a bad equation for all hormonal health issues from PMS to PCOS and everything in between. If you’re hormonally sensitive, like me and so many women these days, make your whole grocery list organic and pesticide-free. Research shows going organic has a positive impact on your body within weeks.
• Artificial sweeteners - although not strictly a “food,” artificial sweeteners are so ubiquitous, on so many ingredients lists, and used by so many health conscious women that I felt it was important to include this category here. Many more of us are coming to be aware of the dangers of sugar, and that’s great, but fewer of us are aware that artificial sweeteners are no better and even hold a host of other potential problems. First of all most sweeteners (even agave syrup, maple syrup and so on) still act like regular white or brown sugar in terms of how they disrupt our blood sugar. Spiking and crashing blood sugar levels is a root cause of hormonal health issues. Secondly, the commonly used sweetener stevia can be ovulation-inhibiting so it is best avoided in large amounts if you’re trying to get pregnant and/or hormonally-sensitive. The glycosides in stevia have a structural similarity to plant (phyto) hormones. When I’m looking for a sweetener for baking or to go in my tea I turn to honey and coconut nectar as they have the least impact on my blood sugar stasis.

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Always remember, that once you have the right information about how your body really works, you can start making health choices that finally start to work for you! You can do this - the science of your body is on your side!

To your FLO,

Alisa

Do you find you get a huge zit on your chin in the middle of your cycle? Or maybe it’s right before your period that you notice you really breakout? So many women suffer with hormonal adult acne well beyond their teenage years. I had terrible hormonal acne in my 20s, it was the painful cystic kind that spread all over my face, chest and back. I was desperate to improve the appearance of my skin and I tried everything - antibiotics, Retinol-A cream, Benzoyl Peroxide, Salicylic Acid - and not only did these common treatments do nothing to help my skin, they actually made the acne worse. As you’re here reading this post, I suspect you already know this and you’ve probably even tried a few of those hormonal acne treatments. You have the instinct that your hormonal acne needs to a more holistic approach that really gets down to the root cause of exactly why it's happening, and you’re absolutely right!

What is hormonal acne?

Hormonal acne is related to specific hormonal imbalances that are heightened at the time that you see those breakouts. Most women get their hormonal acne around the time that they ovulate (mid-cycle) and/or right before their period. These are the two points in the hormonal cycle when estrogen and testosterone are peaking. If your body is not processing your hormones correctly, eliminating the excess and detoxifying, then that extra estrogen and testosterone will cause acne. The excess estrogen will cause estrogen dominance and inflame your skin. The testosterone will play on your sebaceous glands to produce more oil. It’s interesting to note that right before your period your blood comes closer to the surface of the skin and this has many effects, including increased redness and acne. Dentists are well-aware of this phenomenon, because if you have a dental appointment when you’re premenstrual or menstruating your gums will be more likely to overly bleed! You may also notice that pre-menstrually you are more prone to unwanted hair growth or even hair loss due on the extra testosterone playing on your hair follicles.

The root cause of hormonal acne

Hormonal acne is caused by an imbalance in our hormones, but it goes deeper than that. Your skin is your biggest organ of elimination - but it works within a system that includes the liver, lymphatic system, and large intestine. These organs all act as one unit and they can’t be separated when it comes to treating the root cause of hormonal acne. What you put into your body - the food you eat, the products you use on your skin and hair, the cleaning substances you handle - must be eliminated properly, if not, then these chemicals that mimic estrogen will stay in your body circulating around. If all of your elimination organs are not working optimally, then your skin will suffer. The leftover, circulating toxins will show up on your face as acne. A buildup of toxins will cause hormonal imbalance. The excess hormones (estrogen and testosterone) will also be prevented from leaving the body properly and cause you to have all the hormonal symptoms - from acne to PMS.

How to prevent hormonal acne

The best way to prevent hormonal acne is to support the function of your elimination organs with the right foods. Your liver needs enough micronutrients to work to detoxify your body. Foods that are inflammatory cause leaky gut syndrome where microscopic holes develop in the wall of your intestine. These holes let food molecules through which then cause an inflammatory response in the body, which reads them as harmful. This is when the other elimination organ - your skin - tries to take on the workload. When your liver and large intestine are working at a subpar level, your skin steps up and tries to eliminate the toxins - resulting in skin inflammation and acne. The Flo Living protocol effectively supports your body’s elimination system, balances estrogen and testosterone, and will treat and prevent your hormonal acne. A combination of the right foods and the right supplements can help you move past hormonal acne, finally, and get the clear skin you want. It worked for me and it will work for you too. As part of the Flo Living protocol you do avoid certain types of foods that trigger hormonal imbalance issues, including hormonal acne. Although my protocol is much more about what you can eat and hormonally-supportive good foods, there are some foods that are particularly bad for women with problems like hormonal acne that I advise my clients to cleanse from their diet.

The foods to avoid if you have hormonal acne

• Dairy - aside from the fact that a lot of our dairy options include synthetic hormones that add to your body’s hormone excess, dairy is also a primary cause of leaky gut syndrome as it is an inflammatory agent.
• Peanuts - the allergens in peanuts that cause some people to react adversely in serious ways, can cause many more of us to see inflammation on our skin.
• Soy - the phytoestrogens in soy can create estrogen overload in the already hormonally-sensitive individual and this can contribute to hormonal acne. Watch out for soy in many products where you wouldn’t expect to see it - including some supplements.
• Canola, sunflower, safflower, vegetable oil - these kinds of cooking oils have more omega-6 than omega-3 and this produces inflammation on the skin during peak estrogen time.
• Caffeine - coffee and black and green teas will strip your body of essential B vitamins, magnesium, and zinc, which disrupts the skin’s immune response.
• Gluten - like dairy, gluten contributes to inflammation of the gut and leaky gut syndrome.

Always remember, that once you have the right information about how your body really works, you can start making health choices that finally start to work for you! You can do this - the science of your body is on your side!to your FLO,AlisaGood things come in threes:

I want to hear from you!

First, do you have hormonal acne? Second, do you have any other hormonal symptoms? Third, everyone you know is hormonal – spread a little good ovary karma and share this article on social ;)

Need more Hormone Help?

If you’re needing some health upgrading, it’s time you started you looking into what’s going on with your hormones.I’ve designed a 4 day hormone detox and evaluation to help you understand exactly what’s out of whack and how you can start getting back to balance so that your hormones no longer have to suffer.Click here to get your FREE detox and evaluation!

What is Vitex?

The herb Vitex is also known as Chaste Tree or Chasteberry, and it originates from a small shrub that grows in the Mediterranean. The fruits of this shrub have been used for more than 2500 years as a natural treatment for female fertility and hormonal health. Vitex is a popular herbal supplement commonly used by women to regulate their menstrual cycle and alleviate symptoms of premenstrual syndrome (PMS).

As a result of the many studies that have proven its effectiveness, Vitex has now become one of the most popular herbal remedies for hormonal imbalance. If you’re seeking natural treatment for PMS, infertility, PCOS, or Endometriosis - it’s likely that you’ve come across Vitex. It is most readily available to us in an herbal supplement tablet or tincture form.

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Does Vitex resolve hormonal imbalance or help infertility?

Vitex supports your pituitary gland to produce progesterone and luteinizing hormone - both of which are necessary for your body to ovulate, for regular menstrual cycles, and for you to avoid symptoms of hormonal imbalance like PMS.

When a woman is progesterone deficient (or estrogen dominant, to put it another way) and has what is known as a luteal phase defect, Vitex can support her endocrine system to create more progesterone, encourage regular ovulation, and help develop a healthy cycle. This will help balance out the estrogen dominance that is at the root of many of cycle issues.

The pituitary gland is also called the “master” gland and it talks to the ovaries, letting them know how much hormones to make. Vitex works on the pituitary gland's functioning, enhancing its ability to do this work. So, Vitex can be an effective and often successful natural treatment to have at your disposal when facing cycle problems. However, Vitex is a short-term solution to some hormonal imbalance issues. It can act like jumper cables to the pituitary gland and stimulate it to make the right level of hormones again.

However, Vitex alone will not fix a hormone imbalance or issues like infertility, PMS, PCOS, or Endometriosis long-term, if you do not also change your internal hormonal ecosystem with nutrition, which includes micro and macronutrient therapy. If you don’t address your hormonal ecosystem as a whole, you may see changes within the prescribed timeframe (although Vitex is less likely to be successful), but when you come off of it (which you will eventually want to), your symptoms and problems will return.

Supporting your whole system by eating the right foods at the right times (aka The Cycle Syncing® Method), and taking the right nutrients to address the root causes of your unique hormone imbalances in the first place, will provide your body with the building blocks it needs. Take our free hormone health assessment to get a report of your current hormonal health along with a personalize care plan.

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When should you use Vitex?

There are certain times in a woman’s life when Vitex can be very helpful as part of a hormonally-supportive diet and lifestyle.  

‍1. After using the birth control pill, Vitex is effective at supporting the body’s return to natural hormone production and cycling. If you come off the birth control pill and find your periods do not return within a few months, Vitex is an effective natural treatment option.

‍2. When you are entering the second stage of perimenopause and find that your cycles are becoming more irregular, Vitex can help to regulate your cycles and  decrease the symptoms associated with perimenopause in your 40s. When you have PMS symptoms like acne and breast tenderness as the result of a progesterone deficiency and estrogen dominance, Vitex can boost the body’s production of progesterone and ease these issues.

3. When you’re trying to get pregnant, Vitex supports regular ovulation. If you’re experiencing frequent annovulatory cycles, you can take this natural treatment to support the return of your fertility.

‍4. When you’re suffering with the symptoms of mild Endometriosis. In some European countries, Vitex is commonly prescribed for this hormonal health issue.

5. When you want to breastfeed. For many years, Vitex has been used to increase the production of breastmilk post-partum, although you would only use it short term.

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How should you use Vitex?

How long does it take for Vitex to start working? Vitex is a relatively slow-acting herb, therefore you need to commit to taking it for up to 6 months to see any change in your cycles or improvement of symptoms. This is also a reason why Vitex is not an easy treatment option compared to food therapy, as you have to take this herb every day for such a long time and that can be tough to remember to do. If you do want to try this route, we advise taking Vitex for up to 6 months and then see how you feel without the Vitex. FYI, It is normal to take Vitex even when on your period.

You should not use Vitex if you are currently on hormonal birth control (it won’t have any impact on your hormones, as the synthetic hormones from birth control replaces your body’s natural hormone production and suppresses the endocrine system).

You should also not take Vitex if you’re using IVF drugs already as this can cause over-stimulation to the ovaries. It is less commonly known and important to understand that using Vitex when you have a history of depression can cause your depression symptoms to worsen. So, be cautious if your PMS commonly includes feeling really low and depressed, rather than anxiety, irritation or fatigue.

Be sure to buy Vitex from a reputable, long-standing supplement company like Gaia so you know you are getting a potent formulation, without fillers. Vitex will not be a successful natural treatment for you if it is the only thing you change about your daily habits. If you do not feed your body with hormonally-supportive foods and avoid processed products, alcohol, caffeine, sugar, dairy and gluten, then Vitex cannot work miracles! As far as how much Vitex to take, follow the instructions and guidance on the bottle and from your healthcare provider.

We recommend that you have the Flo Living protocol already in play when you start using Vitex as an additional booster. Always remember, that once you have the right information about how your body really works, you can start making health choices that finally start to work for you! You can do this - the science of your body is on your side.

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How to Know if Vitex is Working 

If a woman is taking Vitex, she can tell if it is working by monitoring her menstrual cycle and PMS symptoms. Vitex typically takes a few menstrual cycles to start having an effect, so it is important to be patient and consistent with taking the supplement. If a woman notices a decrease in PMS symptoms such as bloating, breast tenderness, and mood swings, and an improvement in the regularity and length of her menstrual cycle, these may be signs that Vitex is working for her. It is always recommended to consult with a healthcare provider before starting any new supplement regimen.

When you’re a new mom, even though you have so much to think about, to do, and to learn, at some point you starting wondering when your period will come back.

You’ve had 9 months without it, but as the postpartum weeks and months pass you might start to wonder what’s going on with your cycle. The first thing to know is the return of your period after baby is different for every woman and even different with every pregnancy. There are a few factors involved in getting your period back after baby, including whether you breastfeed or formula feed your newborn, your hormonal baseline from before you were pregnant, and your age. Your menstrual cycle will respond to all of these elements and respond with when it returns, how it changes, and how it makes you feel.

Ovulating after baby

Important note! Before we move forward I know one of the reasons you might be worrying about the return of your period is because you’re keen to not get pregnant again too soon! Be aware that you will ovulate BEFORE you have your first postpartum period. Whether you’re breastfeeding or not, you will ovulate earlier than you start menstruating again. There are ways you can keep track and pinpoint when you start ovulating again, but it’s important to use contraception like condoms during this time to protect yourself from another pregnancy, especially if you’ve had a caesarian section as it’s not recommended to have too-close together pregnancies after such surgery.

Your period post-birth

You can expect your experience of your cycle to be somewhat different to what you were used to before your pregnancy. You shouldn’t have very heavy or clotty periods for more than 3 cycles postpartum. Then, your period may be lighter, a little irregular at first. Once this transition time is over, you should be having a more even, less problematic period experience - normal bleeds, less cramps, shorter periods...this is the result of your uterus strengthening as a part of pregnancy and labor.

Getting my period back postpartum

So, what is normal? There isn’t really a normal here, it varies from woman to woman. I personally did not get my period back until about 7-9 months after I gave birth. I was breastfeeding and I still plan to until my daughter is 2 years old, so this delayed the return of my period somewhat. For women who don’t breastfeed, your period will usually show up about 4 months after you’ve had your baby.I’m sure you’re wondering how I did cycle syncing™ when I didn’t have a menstrual cycle during this time. Post-pregnancy I didn’t start cycle syncing™ my meals until I got my period back. I did, however, eat a special postpartum diet, which I’ll be sharing more about in the future. You want to be “performance eating” almost like an athlete to rebuild your micronutrient resources and rebuild your hormones, not to mention making good quantity and quality breastmilk.I was 210 pounds after I gave birth to my daughter, but within 6 months I had lost all the weight without depriving or starving myself and without causing any hormonal symptoms. I ate lots of super nourishing, nutrient dense foods. I actually ate a whole lot and filled up on good fats. ‍

Take a look at my post-pregnancy meal plan. I did this with my health in mind, as well as knowing this would help me to breastfeed as long as I wanted to. Luteal phase foods will boost your progesterone levels and protect you from the pitfalls of progesterone deficiency that can happen post-pregnancy (read on for more on this).

‍Breastfeeding moms - getting your period back and your hormones

‍If you decide to breastfeed, you may not see your period for some time. This is normal and nothing to worry about. However, you might want to focus more on how you FEEL during this time. Breastfeeding suppresses estrogen levels and increases progesterone levels. The longer you breastfeed, the more you may start to feel the effects of low estrogen over time. I’m in the second year of breastfeeding now, and I personally feel a little less juicy, youthful, more tired, while I’m breastfeeding, because of my low estrogen levels. This is definitely normal and low estrogen during this short time even has protective properties against breast cancer and other health benefits. However, if you find you have signs of low progesterone too - like brown staining before your period, spotting before and after your period, PMS, low moods, anxiety - then you will want to make choices to support your body to make more progesterone. You can double up on eating progesterone supportive foods - like those from the luteal phase of the Flo Living protocol.

‍Formula-feeding moms - getting your period back and your hormones

‍If you’re not breastfeeding and using formula instead, or even supplementing with formula, you will likely get your period back sooner than I did. The main factor in when you’ll get your period and how you will feel in this situation is your age.

If you’re under 35 you need to make sure you’re taking care to avoid stress and implement self-care strategies. You also want to have great sleep hygiene habits. This will help your hormones to bounce back to healthy levels and keep you feeling happy, calm, and energetic. If your period seems to be taking a little too long to make its appearance, examine your stress levels and sleep issues as these two areas are usually the source of a delayed, irregular menstrual cycle after pregnancy.

If you’re over 35 and your period hasn’t come back as quickly as you expected, then you may need to take further steps to ensure you regain your menstrual cycle and fertility. Technically you are in your life stage of perimenopause (happens to us all post-35) and your body is naturally producing less hormones on its own. Your body might struggle to make enough hormones to create a cycle and support ovulation.

You can follow my specific recommendations for women over 35 and consider supplementing with maca root powder. In both cases, it’s also a good idea to get your thyroid evaluated as this commonly gets stressed postpartum and can disrupt your cycle.

PMS is not normal. I can’t say it enough. PMS is not normal. PMS is not something you have to just live with, put up with, or get through on a monthly basis. You can live a PMS-free life! All that crabbiness, agitation, anxiety, irritability, and moodiness can be put in the past. Women have come to accept PMS as part of our lot, but that’s just not true. PMS is a symptom. It’s a symptom of a hormonal imbalance that is perfectly treatable. Better yet, it’s perfectly treatable with the right kinds of food at the right times, and the right supplements.If you’re here I’m guessing you already know that the most common “treatments” for PMS either don’t work or make the root causes so much worse and come with lots of unwanted side effects. You’re looking for natural treatments that really work.Now, I’m not a big fan of supplements in themselves, just because I think you need a foundation of micronutrient dense and hormonally supportive foods first. Food is always first. No one supplement is going to solve your PMS alone. That’s just not the way our bodies work. But, there are some supplements that will, when used in conjunction with the FLO protocol, particularly the specific foods that support your body during the luteal phase, that can speed up the process of alleviating PMS symptoms and preventing future PMS.So, once you have your PMS-fighting foods sorted out, as well as your PMS-preventing nighttime routine and PMS-banishing morning routine, you can start with the natural supplements.

The Best Natural Supplements to Prevent PMS

• Dong Quai - this adaptogen is known as a general tonic for all women and called the female ginseng. Dong quai has muscle relaxing effects and is pain relieving for all those pre-period cramps and aches. Please note though that this powerful supplement should not be used during pregnancy, breastfeeding or if you have a family history of female cancers.
• Calcium - this nutrient will help with the mood swings, fatigue, headaches and acne that can come pre-menstrually.
• Magnesium - many women are deficient in magnesium because of our on-the-go busy and stressful lifestyles. Magnesium balances the cycle, eases bloating, encourages good sleep, and alleviates anxiety.
• B6 - B6 helps your body produce more progesterone. Progesterone deficiency can cause a lot of PMS-related symptoms. A low level of B6 can make estrogen dominance more pronounced, when you have too much estrogen in your blood stream and not enough progesterone.
• Evening Primrose Oil - this supplement has been extensively researched as an aid for hormone balance. Evening primrose oil can help with cramps, aches and pains, and headaches in the luteal phase.
• Vitamin E - this vitamin specifically helps with premenstrual breast soreness. As an antioxidant it protects breast tissue from inflammation.
• Vitex - this powerful supplement has been in use by women for a long time. Vitex increases production of hormones in the luteal phase and offsets estrogen dominance. Vitex helps your pituitary gland make more progesterone on its own.

Always remember, that once you have the right information about how your body really works, you can start making health choices that finally start to work for you! You can do this - the science of your body is on your side!to your FLO,AlisaGood things come in threes:

I want to hear from you!

First, do you suffer with PMS?Second, have you tried Vitex? Third, everyone you know is hormonal – spread a little good ovary karma and share this article on social ;)

Need more Hormone Help?

If you’re needing some health upgrading, it’s time you started you looking into what’s going on with your hormones.I’ve designed a 4 day hormone detox and evaluation to help you understand exactly what’s out of whack and how you can start getting back to balance so that your hormones no longer have to suffer.Click here to get your FREE detox and evaluation!

How do you know when you’re ovulating? You were probably taught that ovulation occurs on the 14th day of your cycle - at the presumed mid-point - but for many women it’s not as simple or straight-forward as that. Although commonly we start tracking ovulation signs when we’re hoping to get pregnant, knowing if and when you’re ovulating is also useful for understanding the source of any cycle issues or symptoms you might be experiencing like missing periods, irregular cycles, or pre-menstrual problems like mood swings and depression. A lack of ovulation is a cause of infertility, of course, but it’s also a cause of many common period problems and hormonal imbalance issues. With no ovulation signs, with no ovulation, your body won’t be producing enough progesterone. Low progesterone (and the resulting estrogen dominance) is a root cause of many hormone-based health issues, from PCOS to fibroids to ovarian cysts.

The benefits of ovulation

Ovulation is essential if you want to conceive, but you also want to be ovulating regularly even if you don’t want to get pregnant anytime soon. Consistent ovulation has many benefits including:

• Regular cycles
• Lighter periods
• Less PMS symptoms like mood swings, acne, bloating
• Boosted libido
• Less anxiety or depression
• Long term good health and longevity - avoidance of cancers, heart disease, osteoporosis

The signs your body gives you when you’re ovulating should be obvious and clear. You should know and feel your ovulation signs with every cycle. If you’re currently struggling to figure out when to time sex to conceive or whether you’re ovulating at all, then getting your cycle back on track might be the first step to understanding and getting in touch with your ovulation signs.If you’re trying to get pregnant tracking your ovulation signs should not be stressful or difficult. It shouldn’t require ovulation predictor kits, tester strips, frantic sex scheduling or months of missed opportunities due to lack of ovulation from that same stress and anxiety. Ovulation ought to be something you can really feel as a change in your body, a change in your sex drive, and a change in your energy. Once you learn to listen and observe your Flo and how your hormones move melodiously from phase to phase then trusting in this process will become much easier. If you have menstrual irregularities however, it can be difficult to figure out when you’re ovulating. Until you get back in your FLO, checking your basal body temperature is an excellent way to know when you’re ovulating - whether you want to know so you can get pregnant or so you can ensure you don’t get pregnant - while you’re building an improved relationship to your cycle.If you’re finding it really hard to know if you’re ovulating and discern your ovulation signs, then you might have trouble getting pregnant. If you are not experiencing the signs outlined below, then you’re not at your most vibrant, fertile self - primed for pregnancy.

What are the signs of ovulation?

1. Cervical fluid - your cervical mucus or cervical fluid changes throughout your cycle. Look in your panties or after you wipe! When you’re fertile cervical fluid is referred to as “egg white” in consistency - stretchy and clear. You need this for fertility - it helps the sperm to travel to meet your egg. You can see and feel cervical fluid around ovulation time. It’s a very clear indicator to me that I am fertile and that my hormones are in balance and working in harmony.
2. Basal body temperature - your resting temperature or the temperature you have when you wake up first thing in the morning can be tracked and charted so you know when you have ovulated. You can use a regular thermometer and paper charts or an app. Note - if you use anti-histamines or don’t produce much cervical fluid this is a good option.
3. Sex drive - your testosterone levels peak around ovulation, boosting your sex drive. When you’re fertile you should feel an increased interest in sex and possibly enjoy sex more than other times of the month. You may feel more attracted to your partner or generally more amourous. Your body knows this is the best time to make a baby and it just giving you a gentle reminder of your fertility.
4. Energy - when I enter my ovulation phase my energy shifts - I feel buoyant, energetic, sociable, communicative, and I have increased stamina for exercise. It’s a really fun week of my cycle for me! I look forward to my ovulation phase and see this energy shift as a sign of my vibrant fertility. I live in my Flo, so I shift how I approach my work, my social life, my workouts, my relationship, and of course my diet with my hormonal changes.
5. Symptoms - some women experience symptoms around their ovulation which are a lot like period problems, including spotting, bloating, acne, and pain (known as mittelschmerz). These are the kind of ovulation signs you really don’t want! There are ways to fix this naturally though and it’s all to do with making sure you’re producing enough progesterone and estrogen in balance.

When you don’t have the signs of ovulation

It’s possible to experience an anovulatory cycle (a cycle with no ovulation) on occasion as the result of short term illness, chronic stress, medications, traveling - your body can “read” when you probably shouldn’t be getting pregnant, or potentially getting pregnant, and it will delay or prevent ovulation accordingly. It’s pretty cool like that! Although a one-off anovulatory cycle is not ideal as you’ll likely experience the resulting symptoms from low progesterone of PMS, heavier bleeding, and cramps, it does occasionally occur.However, if you’re experiencing multiple cycles without ovulation signs you need to take a really good look at your diet and lifestyle and consider making some changes to support your body. Your body wants to ovulate, it needs to ovulate, and consistent ovulation every cycle is going to ensure you feel at your best and avoid hormonal symptoms.

Why you’re not ovulating

A lack of ovulation signs can indicate a number of root causes that can be addressed naturally and effectively with the Flo Living protocol:

• Blood sugar irregularity - your endocrine system relies on your blood sugar staying in stable stasis without any crashes or too many peaks. Your body will read mismanaged blood sugar as an internal stressor and the first thing to go when your body is under perceived pressure is ovulation.
• Sleep deprivation - sleep deprivation over even just a few days blocks the hormone melatonin and increases the production of the stress hormone, cortisol. Of course, a lack of sleep can be linked to stress or anxiety and become something of a loop of ovulation-suppressing issues.
• Adrenal fatigue - overexerted adrenal glands create cortisol and this can disrupt progesterone (your body starts to use progesterone up as a cortisol substitute when stressed). Low progesterone levels prevents ovulation and makes miscarriage more likely.
• Thyroid problems - a sluggish thyroid is a root cause of anovulatory cycles.
• PCOS - the central symptoms of polycystic ovarian syndrome is lack of ovulation, irregular cycles and missing periods.
• Low BMI - Having low enough body fat can not only suppress ovulation, but can also stop your period. Maintaining a healthy weight, and eating the right quantity of calories and fats is key to a healthy cycle.

If you’re not experiencing the signs of ovulation, I advise you not to wait until you want to get pregnant to figure out how to get your body to ovulate. I would recommend you start to support your body in ovulating regularly and consistently - every single cycle - from TODAY. You will see and feel immediate benefits if you do this. Ovulation is about so much more than making babies. I want you to FEEL how you shift into your verbal, social, and sexual self during your ovulation phase! Not only that, but consistent ovulation ensures a symptom-free, healthy, happy whole menstrual cycle and a perfect period. Always remember, that once you have the right information about how your body really works, you can start making health choices that finally start to work for you! You can do this - the science of your body is on your side!to your FLO,AlisaGood things come in threes:

I want to hear from you!

First, do you track your ovulation?Second, are you trying to get pregnant? Third, everyone you know is hormonal – spread a little good ovary karma and share this article on social ;)

Are you trying to conceive?

If you want to do everything in your power to improve your chances of becoming a mom, I want to help you optimize your fertility. Whether you are just starting to think about having a baby, or have already tried naturally or have been trying with IVF, my Fertile FLO Program will help improve your chances of conception. Click here to download my FREE guide, The 5 Health Foods to Avoid to Get and Stay Pregnant.