FLO Living Blog

One of the essential components of the FLO Living protocol is management of blood sugar. Not one woman who works with me to resolve her PMS, cramps, low libido, PCOS, or infertility starts out with stabilized blood sugar. You’ve probably heard a lot more lately about how sugar is the source of many health issues.

• There has been a campaign, backed by the World Health Organization, to tax sugar like tobacco and other dangerous substances.
• New research has shown the sugar lobby deliberately hid the science from the American public and paid scientists to shift the blame for obesity onto fat.
• New studies have revealed that sugar is making us fat and making us sick, with a link between sugar consumption and many chronic diseases.

All signs are pointing towards the need for us to move on from sugar and get to grips with our consumption, as well as learn how to manage our blood sugar levels.

Of course, sugar is not just sugar - it’s white sugar, and brown sugar, white carbs (ie. bread, pasta, potatoes), agave, maple syrup, cane sugar. There are so many ways in which sugar is now packaged, but also so many alternative sweeteners out there, that while marginally better than refined sugar, still have the same negative impact on our blood sugar levels and therefore our overall health. It’s not that I avoid, or expect you to avoid, sweeteners entirely - but we do need to choose the right kind of sweeteners and use them in controlled, small amounts.

Sugar and your hormones

So, how does this relate back to your hormones? As I said, an essential component of the FLO Living protocol is stabilizing blood sugar and the first step is cutting back on sugar. Our bodies and brains need glucose as fuel - so we do need some sugar, just not as much as you’re probably eating at this time. It takes a concerted effort to avoid over-consuming sugar and to keep your blood sugar in check. Your endocrine system perceives mismanaged blood sugar as a stressor. Your adrenals glands respond by sending out a lot of cortisol (the stress hormone) and adrenaline. This begins the hormonal havoc.

‍Here’s a breakdown:  

• When you eat sugar or carb-based food it stimulates your insulin response. Your metabolism is designed to preserve the glucose you receive from carbs or sugar, because your body and brain needs it for fuel.
• Sucrose and other kinds of sugars have to be converted into glucose for your body. The only way the glucose can get into the cells in your body that need it is with insulin. When you eat a lot of sugar or carbs, and there’s a ton of glucose in your system, your body sends out lots of insulin to deal with this.
• Your body is saying - “I want to save this glucose for the brain and body now as we don’t know if we’ll get it again” (consider this evolutionarily - early woman only got glucose via fruits and berries very occasionally). Our bodies are actually better designed to get fuel from fat than from sugar.
• The glucose in your body enters the cells, but there’s excess insulin and glucose. Your body doesn’t need all that much glucose and cannot use it all. It is then packaged up as glycogen. This is why sugar-holics, like alcoholics, can have fatty liver disease.
• This glucose over-exposure saturates your cells and sends your blood sugar levels soaring and then crashing. A glucose and insulin spike disrupts ovulation - preventing your hormones from triggering ovulation and the creation of progesterone as a result of ovulation. Disrupted ovulation causes hormonal imbalance - without ovulation you cannot produce progesterone, which leads to estrogen dominance.
• Your fat cells in your body secrete estrogen. The more sugar you eat, the more fat cells you create, the more estrogen they secrete. This estrogen adds to the estrogen your endocrine system produces. Add in xenoestrogens in our environment. You’re set up for estrogen dominance, progesterone deficiency, and hormonal imbalance. This hormonal imbalance is a root cause of common issues like PMS, cramps, irregular cycles, acne, along with PCOS and infertility issues.
• If you have insulin-resistant PCOS then having excess glucose in your bloodstream will cause inflammation, which leads to many chronic health issues.

How to quit sugar

Now you understand the science of why sugar messes with your hormones, let’s look at how to can cut back on sugar and detox it from your diet. Giving up sugar can seem really hard, but know that it doesn’t mean you can’t have anything sweet ever, far from it. You can still have treats and desserts, even, you just need to be conscious about the kind of sweetener and the amount you are consuming so you always have an eye on maintaining that blood sugar stasis.

1. Eat a good breakfast within 90 minutes of waking up for the day. It’s a great way to safeguard your blood sugar stasis. Make lunch your biggest meal of the day and include complex carbs (like black beans) and good fats (like avocado).
2. When you do have a sugar craving - reach for the kind of sweeteners that don’t cause as much disruption. I find honey and coconut nectar are good substitutes, but date sugar and molasses can also work well.  
3. Make homemade sweet treats so you can satisfy those cravings and not feel the need to reach for a candy or cupcake, using honey or coconut nectar in small amounts. Aim to use only ¼ of cup or 4 tablespoons of sweetener for any recipe.
4. Eat lots of fiber-rich foods to detoxify the liver - this will help you create more of the FGF21 hormone that prevents sugar cravings and will detoxify your body of excess estrogen.
5. Watch out for hidden sugars in everything from pasta sauces to bread when you are grocery shopping. Remember that fruit-based juices and smoothies that don’t contain much fiber can have as negative an impact on your health as a can of soda.

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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

A new study on a male hormonal contraceptive injection sparked a discussion this week that drew focus to the kinds of side effects women experience from their birth control methods. The male study participants suffered mood changes, acne, and suppressed fertility post-trial. These side effects were viewed by the researchers, and experts, as reason enough to halt the study completely. Women, unsurprisingly, took to social media to vent their outrage - these are the exact same side effects women experience on the currently available female hormonal contraceptives. They’re also the kind of side effects unfortunately frequently dismissed or played down by doctors. Many of you commented on our FLO Living Facebook page with your own stories and shared concerns about the burden placed on women to prevent pregnancy. Multiple studies on female hormonal contraceptives have concluded that women do experience unwanted side effects. I was glad to see the reaction this week - women being honest about their experiences, demanding to be taken seriously, and saying “enough is enough.” Women do not deserve these side effects any more than men do. Every year new brands, types, and formulations of hormone-based birth control are released and women are pressured to use them. We are conditioned to believe that suffering is part of being a woman and so we tolerate more than we should, and instead we should have a zero tolerance policy on feeling bad in our bodies. As I watched this conversation unroll, I wondered how many women know that these side effects - mood changes, acne, suppressed fertility post-pill - are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the negative impact hormonal birth control has on the female body. We are quite familiar with the short term, sometimes near-immediate, negative effects - like bloating, weight gain, mood swings and nausea - but fewer of us are aware of the long term impact of hormonal birth control, the kinds of issues it can be difficult to reverse even when you come off the pill, and can impact your long term health.

The long term side effects of hormonal birth control for women

1. Damaged microbiome - hormonal birth control acts just like an antibiotic in your gut, destroying the essential microbiome balance. If your doctor prescribes the pill for PCOS specifically, you will find it will only worsen the problems of weight gain and insulin sensitivity, because of the impact on gut flora. Just recently research revealed the pill can trigger Crohn’s, a symptomatic disease of imbalance in the microbiome. The microbiome is a new frontier for medicine, and more and more research is getting published that shows a healthy microbiome is necessary for good physical and psychological health. Repairing a damaged microbiome, while not impossible, takes time. The impact of the pill on the microbiome will last long after you stop taking it without concentrated, focused actions to replenish good gut bacteria.
2. Increased inflammation - if you are prescribed the pill for cramps, PMS, or other common period problems (as many women are), you should know that those issues result from hormonal imbalance and inflammation in the body. The pill does not treat these root causes, but can mask the symptoms you experience. This puts you at higher risk of the big diseases of inflammation - heart disease, cancer and dementia - later in life. You need to tackle cramps and PMS as soon as possible, from a functional medicine standpoint, with the right food and supplements.
3. Micronutrient deficiency - hormonal birth control prevents the absorption of micronutrients, vitamins and minerals. It robs your body of B vitamins, magnesium, and vitamin C in particular, which has short and long term impacts on your health. These are essential for hormonal health and can lead to infertility issues post-pill. Once you’re micronutrient deficient, and prevented from absorbing what you need even from additional supplementation, you are set up for poor physical and mental health. It takes a nutrient dense, targeted diet after stopping using hormonal birth control to replenish your body’s reserves and repair the avenues of absorption.
4. Suppressed ovulation - research has shown that consistent ovulation protects women’s long term health, especially when it comes to avoiding issues like osteoporosis, heart disease, heart attacks, and breast cancer (all top killers of women). Hormonal birth control (except, sometimes, the hormonal IUD) suppresses ovulation. Suppressing ovulation for years, decades even, has long term consequences, even if ovulation returns shortly after you come off the medication. Exposure to synthetic hormones plus a lack of exposure to the body’s own hormone cycles is the root cause. Ovulation is important, not just for when you want to conceive.
5. Masked reproductive health issues - the pill is not a real treatment for reproductive health issues - from PMS to PCOS. Hormonal birth control can help manage symptoms for some women, but it is only a band-aid solution. This can be dangerous, because it can mask issues long term, if women are not diagnosed prior to being prescribed hormonal birth control. Once you come off the method, the problems will return and potentially have worse symptoms than before, as well as becoming harder to treat and resolve. It’s better to tackle these problems head-on and not wait until you’d like to conceive or suffer the long-term health consequences.

I know that many women depend on hormonal birth control to avoid unplanned pregnancy, which is why I have already outlined the best non-hormonal contraceptive options. If you are currently taking the pill or using another form of hormonal birth control, please follow my steps to transition off, as this will help you avoid the negative fall out for your health and a return of any symptoms you may have experienced before.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 use the pill? Second, have you experienced side effects? 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

With many women waking up to the health issues inherent to synthetic hormone-based contraceptives like the birth control pill, ring, patch, implant etc, more of us are looking for hormone-free alternatives for preventing pregnancy. This is understandable and should, I believe, be a welcomed shift in thinking.

‍Synthetic hormones cause all kinds of short term and long term side effects. They prevent your body from producing its own natural hormones, suppress ovulation and stop your periods - as a hormone expert and champion of the wisdom of women’s bodies, I know this to be real problem. Many of the women who work with me here at FLO Living are dealing with the fallout from using hormonal contraceptives for years on end.

However, we still need effective contraception and one of the hormone-free options available is the hormone-free copper IUD. In this post I want to look at the pros and cons of the hormone-free, copper IUD and support you in making the decision to switch from hormonal contraceptives to an option that allows your body to make its own hormones and experience its own cycles.

There are hormone-based IUDs available, and their effectiveness is no different to that of the one hormone-free kind. If you want an IUD, it’s better to avoid the synthetic hormones - especially as synthetic progestin (which is not the same as the progesterone your own body produces) can cause as many side effects as the pill. A recent study revealed that the hormonal IUD actually holds a higher risk of depression than the pill.

The benefits of the copper IUD

• It’s over 99% effective for preventing pregnancy.
• It lasts 12 years, so if you’re done have kids or don’t want kids you can have effective contraception for over a decade.
• No synthetic hormones.
• It doesn’t suppress ovulation and you experience real periods.
• It is compatible with cycle awareness and the Cycle Synced FLO Living lifestyle - you can track your hormonal phases and monitor your period.
• You can truly address, treat, and resolve period and cycle problems with diet and lifestyle changes.

The drawbacks of the copper IUD

• It is not side effect free - side effects including heavier periods, cramping, pain during insertion, discomfort during sex, spotting between periods, ectopic pregnancy, possible migration or expulsion of the IUD, perforation of the uterus, pelvic inflammatory disease, infection, scar tissue buildup complicating later conception.
• It does not prevent STDs or STIs - you would need condoms for this.
• It’s possible that the copper IUD, like the birth control pill and other hormone-based contraceptives, can cause zinc deficiency by off-balancing copper and zinc levels in your body. If you choose the copper IUD, I recommend supplementing with zinc and eating zinc-rich foods. Zinc deficiency can be a source of acne, low sex drive and poor immunity. You’ll know if you have zinc deficiency - frequent colds and coughs are a common symptom.
• For those that have pre-existing health issues like Wilson’s Disease, which prevents proper copper metabolism, the copper IUD would not be a good option. You could develop copper toxicity.

If you’ve looked over this list and decided, for you, that the drawbacks of the copper IUD outweigh its benefits, you do have other hormone-free options.

I personally use a combination of the fertility awareness method and condoms. I track my fertility signs to pinpoint when I am in my fertile window and use condoms to avoid pregnancy. I’m a huge fan of condoms for many reasons - including the ways in which they protect your fertility.

These days there are so many great, chemical-free, sustainable, body-friendly brands too.If you’ve decided to ditch the synthetic hormones, congratulations! You’ve taken an important step towards vital hormonal health and living in your FLO. Let me know in the comments how you feel about the copper IUD - your experiences, the good and the bad.

In previous posts I’ve explained the real dangers of coffee (and all caffeinated drinks) for women and told you exactly how to detox from your coffee habit. There’s no way around it - coffee is toxic for women. All those studies that hit the headlines about the positive benefits of coffee, seem to pale in comparison to the latest findings. When it comes to one important issue, both men and women need to listen up - and that’s how coffee impacts fertility.If you’re trying to conceive, and especially if you’re dealing with the kind of issues that impair your fertility like irregular periods or PCOS, then you need to put down that Starbucks cup. Whether you want to get pregnant this month or next year, this is too important to ignore. If healthy regular ovulation, hormone balance, perfect periods, and having a baby one day are essential to you, then research says you need to ditch the coffee.Look, I know how hard that sounds. I used to love my coffee. But I realized it was not worth it and that, in the end, I didn’t need it like I had been told. I stepped out of the coffee culture and felt so much better for it - better sleep, better periods, less PMS. It was vital, because as a PCOS sufferer I knew that any external hormone-hampering was only going to cause me health issues, both short and long term. For some women, coffee is the only endocrine disruptor they haven’t yet expelled from their lives - the chemical-laden shampoos are gone, the cleaning products are all-natural, they say no to plastics - but coffee is hard to give up, it’s become as all-American a ritual as baseball and Thanksgiving.

How coffee increases infertility

• 3 cups of coffee a day consumed by women or men increases the risk of miscarriage dramatically - by 74%
• Caffeine is associated with sub-optimal or suppressed fertility and, therefore, difficulties conceiving
• Drinking caffeinated beverages during early pregnancy (before you may know that you’re pregnant) increases the risk of early pregnancy loss
• Caffeine is considered an impairment to fertility alongside alcohol and smoking
• Men who drink 2 of more cups of coffee a day had a lower chance of conception via IVF
• Coffee disrupts ovulation by increasing cortisol levels and stressing the adrenals
• Coffee depletes vital vitamins and minerals needed for ovulation and healthy fertility (including absolutely necessary B vitamins and folate) and coffee’s acidity causes gut health problems

Rather than waiting until you want to conceive, you might as well detox from coffee starting today. You’ll see a rapid improvement in your whole cycle experience - including less PMS symptoms, less cramping, easier periods, more regular cycles, and better moods, all as a positive consequence of leaving your hormones and ovulation undisrupted and unharmed by caffeine. 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

Good things come in threes:

I want to hear from you!

First, are you a coffee addict? Second, are you struggling to conceive? Third, everyone you know is hormonal – spread a little good ovary karma and share this article on social ;)

How to get pregnant over 35

In my special report, Getting Pregnant Over 35, you’ll learn:

• The 7 most common things that compromise your fertility and why they block pregnancy.
• Why IVF and egg freezing do not guarantee success and how to improve your conception chances with both.
• Which tests, beyond the hormone levels, you need to take to know if you’re ready to conceive.

Click here to download Getting Pregnant Over 35

Have you been hearing about the wonders of collagen for your skin and hair? Collagen is suggested as a beautifying aid everywhere these days. But what exactly is it and do you really need it? We're going to take a deep dive into this topic - the benefits of collagen, the best kind of collagen, and how it connects with your hormonal health. Collagen does have many benefits, but we don’t often hear how it can benefit our insides as much as our outsides.

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Collagen as an anti-aging supplement

Collagen is a protein that is found in our bodies - our muscles, bones, skin and tendons. As we get older collagen depletes, and this leads to sagging, aging skin and aches and pains in our joints and muscles. We need collagen to look and feel youthful.

The inside game is feeding our body what it needs to stay youthful, supple, and healthy - which includes collagen supplements. Collagen is a much better choice than toxin-laden anti-aging creams that are endocrine-disrupting or adding toxins to your body like Botox, which compromise your liver function.

The benefits of collagen for your hormones  

Does collagen affect the menstrual cycle? Bodies are complex and many of our internal chemistries are related. In addition to the widely known collagen benefits to skin and joints, collagen also has other interactions that are not as well publicized, including benefits to your hormonal health. If you notice changes when you begin taking collagen, this list may help you understand the deeper connections between your body and taking a collagen supplement:

• Collagen is a great source of amino acids (arginine, glutamine, glycine and proline). We need amino acids to produce healthy levels of hormones.
• Collagen can help with gut health issues like leaky gut syndrome, repairing holes in the gut and preventing the inflammatory response (and subsequent hormonal havoc) that can come from food passing through these gaps, undigested.
• The amino acid glycine is liver-supportive, helping your liver function to process and eliminate pesticides, xenoestrogens, and other avoidable and unavoidable toxins from the environment, food, and products we use.
• Collagen supports healthy thyroid function and offsets cortisol (stress hormone) imbalance.

Collagen vs. gelatin

You may have heard the terms collagen and gelatin used interchangeably. That’s because gelatin is actually a part of collagen. When collagen is heated up - say, when you’re making chicken soup, or bone broth - it breaks down to become gelatin. They have very similar nutritional profiles and benefits, because they come from the same source. However, gelatin is a way we can most easily get the benefits of collagen. Unless taken in raw supplement form, cooking collagen is the easiest way to eat it and absorb its benefits.

Making bone broth is a great way to do this (see below), but you could roast a whole chicken, turkey, duck or a beef or lamb joint. This will also give you the benefits of gelatin, from including the bones, tendons and ligaments which contain the collagen. Another option is to buy gelatin powder and add this to smoothies.

The best way to get the benefits of collagen and gelatin

There are so many supplements available on the market to choose from. Look for a product that blends collagen, MSM, and Vitamin C for the best results. Be prepared to take it for up to 3 months before you see results.  We also recommend drinking bone broth. It is hormone-balancing and super nourishing. Here is a simple recipe, or you can buy fresh bone broth online for delivery or purchase it from your local Whole Foods or natural foods store. Finally, you can purchase a gelatin powder and add it to smoothies - it's a great protein source and gives you bioavailable building blocks to make collagen.

Do you feel overworked, over-scheduled, overstretched - but when it comes to sex, you’re over it? Once you start seeing a hot bath and a good book as preferable to sex not just sometimes, but all the time, you know you’re losing your libido. Once your sex drive dips out of sight, lack of practice can make it disappear entirely. Stress is often the common denominator here - stress leads to imbalanced hormones, which prevents ovulation, which stops the natural libido spike, which leads to low libido, which can stress you out and rob you of important relaxation and health-boosting hormone release. Usually if you want to have sex, you’ll make time to have it - if you don’t want to have sex, then everything in your life that could be an obstacle becomes insurmountable. If only there was a simple, quick-fix aphrodisiac to turn you on, right? Although the so-called “female Viagra” was released earlier this year, women have decided not to take it - with prescription numbers staying low. That’s because we know it’s not as simple as taking a pill and that any kind of pill that wants to mess with our libido is going to have a lot of unwanted side effects. Women’s sexuality is complex, but that doesn’t mean a lost libido is gone forever. It just takes a little more time and care to bring back. You need to nourish your body for hormonal balance and juicy ovulation (when your body will be revved to reproduce, or at least go through the motions!). But you also need to nourish your soul so you feel more, not just sexually, but in every way.

The 3 best aphrodisiacs for women

1. Spicy foods - we usually hear about the benefits of spicy foods to women who are impatiently awaiting the birth of their baby, but spicy foods are also great for the sex drive. That’s because they are vasodilators (they open up the veins and get the circulation going in your body). Anything with chilis in it will give you a natural high due on its capsaicin, which makes your heart beat a little faster. Also, research has shown that spicy foods increase testosterone levels in men and testosterone is just as important for a woman’s sex drive.
2. Gingko Biloba - this supplement also increases circulation and the more blood that gets to your pelvic area, the more you’ll get aroused and the better orgasms you’ll have. We spend a lot of time sat at desks, in cars, on sofas these days and all that sitting can lead to stagnant sex drive, partly because we lose circulation in the places that most need it. It has been clinically tested on women suffering with low libido and proven to show increase in desire and enjoyment of sex.
3. Prioritizing pleasure - I know you know that there’s no way you’re going from a super stressful day to wanting an orgasm that evening. Women just aren’t wired that way. If you’ve spent all day driving yourself to complete your to-do list, it’s going to be hard to shift gears to receive pleasure. The best way to prevent this part of your brain switching off completely is to incorporate non-sexual sources of pleasure into your everyday life, so that your pleasure receptors are boosted and primed rather than flagging or non-existent. It doesn’t take much, just a few small lifestyle hacks can make sure that when you want to be in the mood, you will be. Have fresh flowers on your desk; call your friend during your lunchbreak; put on a really great outfit that you love even if you’ll just be home all day...select little actions that put you in a good mood. These small victories for your enjoyment over the demands of the day will help boost your sex drive. For more ideas check out my inspiration Mama Gena and her new book "Pussy: A Reclamation".

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 low libido?Second, do you know if you’re ovulating? 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

If you have PCOS you are probably more than aware of all of the possible diets there are out there that are promoted for weight loss, and in a previous post I have looked at each of these diets in detail to examine their pros and cons. Most diets that you hear about, from Paleo to Macrobiotic, are not actually researched and designed for women’s bodies. They do not take into account women’s biology, our menstrual cycles, our changing pattern of hormones - instead they are modeled on male biology and that’s why they are far more effective for men.

Why women need a different kind of diet

Precisely because many of these diet protocols are not made for women, they often fail women - although some may have initial weight loss, usually this is not sustained. A study from 2012 revealed that during the luteal phase of a woman’s menstrual cycle (that’s the week pre-menstruation) women purchase much more food than they do during their follicular phase (the week after your period). To many of you, this research will come as no surprise - we know we feel more hungry during our pre-menstrual days, and that we may eat more, and may therefore buy more food. This makes sense because we need more B vitamins to help us support the corpus luteum and progesterone production.  Perhaps you also have specific cravings during this time in your cycle. You might have noticed you don’t feel the need to eat that much during the first half of your cycle, but heading towards your period your hunger seems to increase and your need for food as fuel, to sustain your energy, to prevent you from feeling “hangry,” is increased.

The reason most diets for PCOS don’t work

Most of the diet protocols out there do not take this information into account. Most diets proposed for those with PCOS are low-glycemic and this kind of eating plan is hard to maintain. It feels easy to do during the first half of the cycle, but once you’re pre-menstrual it’s impossible to sustain and adhere to. During the luteal or pre-menstrual phase you need more nourishing, filling, satisfying foods to prevent cravings and the desire to reach for unhealthy carbs or sugar. This is why the FLO Living protocol of Cycle Syncing your eating habits has helped so many women to lose weight and keep it off - it takes into account that you will want and need to eat different foods during your pre-menstrual phase and need foods that provide enough of the nutrients your body requires. Building this information into a diet designed for women specifically allows you to avoid the usual drawbacks of other diets and the usual obstacles and difficulties that can arise - like feeling super hungry, binge-eating, distracting cravings, and feeling deprived. When you feel hungry and do not nourish your body in the second half of your cycle, you throw your hormones off-balance and create erratic blood sugar levels. Most diets don’t supply your body and brain enough of the micronutrients that they need to create balanced appetite control-neurotransmitters and balanced metabolism-boosting hormone levels. The FLO Living protocol supports appetite control and boosts your metabolism, because it increases essential micronutrients and balances your hormones.Cycle Syncing your diet means eating different foods in different phases of your menstrual cycle - your menstrual phase, follicular phase, ovulatory phase, and luteal or pre-menstrual phase - as well as cooking foods in different ways (roasting, baking, sauteing, raw) according to those hormone patterns.

How to start Cycle Syncing your diet

If you’re interested in Cycle-Syncing your diet here’s how to get started:

1. Know where you are in your cycle - if you have irregular cycles due to PCOS it can be hard to know exactly where you’re at in your cycle one week to the next. But, even if you currently haven’t had a period for months, you can still start Cycle Syncing by starting with the foods I recommend for the follicular phase and following the moon phases.
2. Start by focusing on a few of the foods I recommend for each cycle phase and build from there, adding in more and more foods as you get used to this way of eating and planning meals. You don’t need to do everything all at once, it may take a few months to get into the habit of Cycle Syncing your eating. All of the foods I recommend are outlined in my book “WomanCode” in an easy-to-understand chart. They are broken down into food types like vegetables, protein, and grains, with plenty of possible variety.
3. Get to grips with stocking your fridge weekly with the foods you need for each upcoming cycle phase. Cooking by the FLO Living protocol is not complicated. I personally keep it super simple and cook on just two days per week, parsing out the ingredients for different meals on the other days.
4. Once you have begun Cycle Syncing your diet, you can start Cycle Syncing other elements of your life to increase your success with weight loss - especially how you work out from one cycle phase to another. Women need to eat and exercise differently in pre-menstrual phase. Over-exercising during the premenstrual phase can actually prevent you from losing weight.

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, do you have irregular cycles? 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

If you’re planning to get pregnant in the near future or even just in a few years time, it’s helpful to know your current fertility status. Many of most common reasons women have trouble conceiving are reversible, treatable health issues. Spotting the signs early that you might be dealing with infertility issues will help you to conceive when you want to and avoid some of the stress that can come when it isn’t happening how you expected it to. Our bodies give us signals that we might come up against problems when we want to get pregnant. Knowing what these signals and signs are puts you on the path to resolving the problem and boosting your fertility. Start early on the process of treating and resolving an infertility sign and you can then feel more confident that when you want to have a baby, you’ll have a much higher chance of success.

I always advise that women take at least a year to prepare themselves and their bodies for conception and pregnancy. If you have a hormonal imbalance like irregular periods or PCOS that you know could be an obstacle to pregnancy, then this prep time is essential. I have a protocol created for women looking to conceive for this very reason - it’s a holistic protocol that ensures you’re feeding your body what it needs for ovulation and healthy fertility, to sustain a pregnancy, as well as getting you in the right mindset to create a new life.

But if you’re reading this right now and thinking, “I haven’t tried to get pregnant yet, but I’m worried I could be infertile” then believe me, I get you. Women spend years trying to avoid getting pregnant, but we also worry that we won’t be able to get pregnant and have children when that time does come. It can be a real source of anxiety and worry. Knowing the early signs of infertility issues is key to allaying these fears. These signs are not life-sentences, they can be turned around and you can return to healthy fertility and have no fertility issues. It’s just the first step to  knowing exactly what you’re dealing with.

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The 5 early warning signs of infertility

1. Early warning sign: Brown spotting before your period starts - your period is a fantastic indicator of your fertility status. Its color, consistency, length and the spacing between your periods can help you to understand many underlying health issues. If you have brown spotting in the days before your period really starts, this can indicate low progesterone levels. Low progesterone levels can be a risk factor for infertility and miscarriages. You may be able to get pregnant, but have trouble sustaining a pregnancy.

‍FLO-fix: B6 supplementation and eating a lot of B6-rich foods is a very well-researched way to increase your progesterone levels.

2. Early warning sign: Irregular cycles - again, your period is a great indicator of your fertility status. If you have irregular cycles, then you may not be ovulating and are probably experiencing cycles when you don’t ovulate at all. This is vital information - to get pregnant you need to ovulate, and you need to have sex during that fertile window of your cycle. If every other cycle is an anovulatory one, this can be a real infertility issue. Just because you have a period, it does not mean you are ovulating.

‍FLO-fix: Learn how to track your ovulation signs so you can really get to the bottom of if and when you are ovulating. The two most common causes of irregular cycles (without a PCOS diagnosis) are sugar and stress. If you have irregular cycles as part of a PCOS diagnosis, the FLO Living protocol is going to help you manage this issue. I’m a PCOS sufferer myself and Cycle Syncing® my diet allowed me to conceive my daughter at 37 years-old, on my third try.

3. Early warning sign: Chronic yeast infections, Bacterial Vaginosis, undiagnosed Chlamydia - it’s always a good idea, prior to conceiving, to get a full check up on STDs and STIs to make sure you do not have undiagnosed, symptomless chlamydia or anything else. The low-level inflammation caused by Bacterial Vaginosis is linked to the prevention of fertilization of the egg, spontaneous miscarriage, and a higher risk of preterm birth. Chronic yeast infections and urinary tract infections suggest your vaginal and gut microbiome is off-balance, which can trigger more inflammatory response.

‍FLO-fix: Aside from a full STD check up with your doctor, I recommend natural treatment protocols for yeast infections and urinary tract infections, no antibiotics. You can also reverse Bacterial Vaginosis with supplements and the support of the FLO Living protocol.

4. Early warning sign: Poor gut health - by this I mean Irritable Bowel Syndrome, gut dysbiosis, frequent bloating and discomfort, and leaky gut syndrome. Your gut health is of vital importance to your fertility. If you have any of these issues right now then you will likely have problems conceiving. The health of your estrobolome (which is part of your gut health/microbiome) is key to your hormonal balance. A poorly functioning estrobolome can cause estrogen dominance that will set off the “stress axis” in your body and cause infertility at an early age.

‍FLO-fix: I recommend cutting some foods completely out of your diet - including “the white stuff” - aka sugar, dairy, and gluten. You need to eat fermented foods daily and take a really good quality probiotic.

5. Early warning sign: Premature aging - are you in your 30s and experiencing premature signs of biological aging like vaginal dryness, sagging skin, brittle nails, hair loss? These can be indicators that you will struggle to get pregnant. When we age too quickly, it's because we are not supporting our body’s production of healthy hormone levels. This can set us up for infertility at an earlier point than we expect. It can also be an indicator that egg quality may be suffering. You can enter perimenopause and have the process speed up in your mid-thirties, leaving you less time in which to choose to conceive. This is especially important when many of us are delaying getting pregnant until our mid to late 30s.

‍FLO-fix: Get your hormones tested so you can see the data on what you might be dealing with. Start taking my 5 favorite anti-aging supplements. Then feed your body the nutrients it needs to continue making a good supply of hormones well into your late 30s, delaying these symptoms of premature aging.

Many women are prescribed the birth control pill for their depression, mood swings, anxiety or PMS symptoms. Now new research from the University of Copenhagen has revealed that the birth control pill and other hormonal contraceptives (including the hormonal IUD, patch, and ring) could actually be causing depression for some women.The new study tracked over 1 million Danish women between the ages of 15 to 34 over the course of 13 years. None of the women had a history of depression, but upon starting with the birth control pill, hormonal IUD, patch or ring, developed depression at significant rates. The researchers found that women taking the combined (estrogen and progestin) pill were 23% more likely to be diagnosed with depression and those using progestin-only pills were 34% more likely. Teen girls were at the greatest risk, with an 80% increase when taking the combined pill, and a two-fold risk with the progestin-only pill. The other synthetic hormone-based methods were shown to increase depression at a rate that was even higher than either kind of pill, for all women. This is the largest scale, highest quality research study of its kind. These women were diagnosed with depression and/or prescribed antidepressants. I have seen countless times, women getting off of synthetic birth control find that they no longer need antidepressants. Often, for women, depression is related to our hormonal balance - as this new study only confirms. Adding synthetic hormones that block our body’s own production of hormones and replace the hormone cycle - it’s not all that surprising that taking hormonal birth control can cause depression. Perhaps you’ve experienced it for yourself. Antidepressants have, in themselves, been linked to infertility issues, which makes this protocol doubly problematic.What can we take away from this new research? I recommend avoiding hormonal birth control and instead using other methods of contraception. My personal favorite is condoms, but there’s also the diaphragm, cervical cap, and fertility awareness. If reading this new research has made you realize you do suffer with depression as a side effect of the hormonal birth control you are using, then you need to transition off this medication in a way that will help you to avoid any withdrawal symptoms. If you have depression and you realize that hormonal birth control is not a good treatment option (or you have depression and you’re not on hormonal birth control), I have some suggestions for natural remedies. Many women suffer from depression as the result of a hormonal imbalance, micronutrient deficiency, or a gut health issue (or a combination of all three).

Natural remedies for depression

• B vitamins - the birth control pill depletes B vitamins and this is one of the mechanism by which it likely causes depression. There are plenty of studies to show the positive affect B vitamins can have on mood. You’ll need to take a daily B vitamin complex and additional B12 and B6.
• Probiotics - the birth control pill disrupts the microbiome and destroys gut health. Most of the serotonin (the happy hormone) our bodies make is created in the gut. When your gut flora is off-balance, you cannot absorb the necessary nutrients you need (including those B vitamins). More research is mounting to explain the gut-brain health connection. This is cutting edge information that will soon become common knowledge. Eat fermented foods like kimchi or sauerkraut daily.
• Omega 3 fatty acids - you can get your omega 3s from Evening Primrose Oil or Cod Liver Oil. Again, many studies show that increasing intake of omega 3s helps with depression and anxiety. There is an established link between depression and inflammation, and omega 3s are anti-inflammatory in action. You can supplement and increase foods like flax seeds, chia seeds, walnuts, salmon and oily fish like mackerel and sardines.
• Magnesium - the majority of us are deficient in magnesium. We need magnesium to produce healthy hormone levels. Magnesium is cortisol-regulating, meaning it’s actually physically calming to our stress-wired systems. It’s well-evidenced that magnesium can alleviate depressive symptoms.
• Exercise/movement - when you’re feeling depressed, working out might seem near-impossible. That’s why I suggest bodywork as an alternative - a good massage of any kind can be just as helpful. Many studies point to movement helping to alleviate depression. This doesn’t have to mean a spin class, it can mean a massage, or yoga, or stretches, or a simple dance break during your work day. Your body will still release those mood-boosting endorphins.

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 depression?Second, do you get PMS symptoms? 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

The FLO Living protocol includes a gluten-free diet plan, and I personally have been gluten-free for many years. If you have irregular periods, PCOS, acne, mood swings, bloating, infertility issues, then you will benefit from going gluten-free. This does not mean you have Celiac disease - it is far more likely that you have a common gluten sensitivity. Gluten is not good for your hormonal health, which is why I recommend removing it from your diet when you follow the FLO Living protocol. From my experience, women who commit to this overcome their health issues much quicker and with more success.

How gluten affects your hormones and your health

From a hormonal standpoint, a gluten sensitivity means that gluten causes inflammation in your intestines. That inflammation causes cell connections in the lining of the gut to break down. These tiny gaps allow microscopic food particles to pass through into the bloodstream undigested.The body reacts to this with an immune response. This increases inflammatory markers in your system as a whole. That inflammation signals to the adrenals that there is now an increased element of internal stress. Over time, that creates an increase in cortisol secretion and disrupts thyroid hormones, insulin secretion, and ovulation. This is when the hormonal dysregulation happens and symptoms from increased PMS to infertility can present.

Gluten vs. Glyphosate - why you should avoid gluten

Even if you don’t think gluten has an affect on you - perhaps you’ve gone through an elimination trial or observed your body’s response - you need to consider the impact of glyphosate. Wheat is sprayed with glyphosate-based pesticides (or RoundUp) here in the US (and some of Europe where there is a movement to ban this pesticide, with some countries already implementing the ban). Exposure to pesticides in wheat, in addition to the gluten, elevates estrogen levels and can worsen pre-existing hormonal conditions or create new ones. This pesticide(like all pesticides) is xenoestrogenic (meaning it contains synthetic estrogens). It will disrupt your hormones and cause hormonal health issues like irregular cycles, PCOS, and infertility. Stephanie Seneff, a senior research scientist at the MIT Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory, has evidence to show that Americans have been shown to have 10 times this chemical in their urine as Europeans.

How to give up gluten

If the idea of giving up gluten is horrifying to you then, take it from someone who’s been gluten-free before it was “cool” - it’s a great time to go gluten-free! These days you have so many options - I love that my local Le Pain Quotidien serves amazing gluten-free loaves and that Food for Life makes tasty black rice-based gluten-free bread. That said, I prefer not to rely on gluten-free packaged foods (which can come along with lots of unwanted, unhealthy additives) and stick to good quality gluten-free bread plus whole grains. Here’s how I make gluten-free work for me:

• I keep a good loaf of gluten-free bread on hand for tartines for breakfast (this is how I get over my sandwich-envy, really the only thing I miss).
• If I do eat a bite of gluten - which is very rarely - or if my husband insists on having it occasionally for himself, we only choose organic sourdough bread. The fermentation process makes the grains more digestible and less reactive in your intestine. The organic flour ensures it is pesticide free.
• I eat wholegrains every day, Cycle Synced to the FLO Living protocol (brown rice, quinoa, amaranth, buckwheat, oats, millet). This combats those carb-cravings. I also eat lots of sweet potatoes, carrots, and lentils.
• I soak all my grains overnight in apple cider vinegar to break down the phytic acid they contain, which can block nutrient absorption. This makes the micronutritients more bioavailable.
• I use coconut flour to make all my baked goods - pancakes, brownies, banana bread - so I don’t miss out on the desserts and treats I love, but also so I can fill myself with gut soothing lauric acid from the coconut flour and oil.
• If I find eating gluten is unavoidable for some reason (a restaurant meal, or a friend’s dinner party, or you eat it by mistake) then be sure to make yourself my gut-healing smoothie recipe to have every day for a few days after. Take a teaspoon of mangosteen powder, the same of chlorella, the same of spirulina, a tablespoon of flax, ¼ tsp each of ginger and turmeric, a handful of blueberries and some banana, and a splash of almond milk, 1 tsp coconut oil and whizz up in your smoothie maker. This will offset the impact of the gluten on your gut health and help your liver to process the glyphosate.

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

Good things come in threes:

I want to hear from you!First, do you think you’re gluten sensitive? Second, do you have infertility issues? 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

Coffee is toxic for women with hormonal issues. We live in a culture that not only encourages coffee consumption, but celebrates it, with a whole industry built around emphasizing the necessity and purpose of coffee as something like a lifestyle choice for women (ever seen those “but first coffee” tees, mugs, and memes, for a start?), so this might come as a shock. The information we receive about the healthiness of coffee is confused by the fact that the majority of scientific research focuses entirely on men alone. Men can drink coffee, that’s true. But, women should avoid caffeine entirely. We are not biological compatible with caffeine and caffeine is a root cause of many common women’s health problems. However, coffee addiction is real. As someone who used to love coffee - the morning ritual, the taste, everything - I know it’s not as simple as turning off a switch to stop drinking coffee. There’s the psychological dependence, and then there’s the physical dependence that makes caffeine addiction a situation that requires a detox strategy.

Why coffee is bad for women

If you’re skeptical about my assertion that coffee is toxic for women, let me give you a quick rundown of the reasons here. I have written more extensively about this in a previous post.

• Coffee promotes the creation of cysts in the breasts and ovaries
• Coffee, like alcohol, stays in a woman’s system for longer
• 1 cup of coffee disrupts your hormones for 24 hours
• Coffee depletes your body of essential nutrients and minerals
• Coffee is acidic and this negatively impacts your gut health
• 3 cups a day increases infertility rates in men and women!

So, coffee, it’s just not worth it I’m afraid when you are already struggling to regain your optimal endocrine function. We women need to start a backlash against coffee to regain our hormonal health and vitality.

How to detox from coffee

Here’s how to detox from coffee without getting any withdrawal symptoms and without feeling you’re losing out on energy reserves. If you follow these steps you won’t find you feel bad coming off caffeine and you will feel much less inclined to go back to it.

1. Decide to detox at the right time in your hormone cycle - and that’s your ovulation phase when you have the most natural energy reserves and feel buoyant.
2. Nourish your adrenals with adaptogens that help combat stress like rhodiola, ashwagandha and maca root powder. I like maca root powder from The Maca Team. Jarrow’s Adrenal Optimizer is also a good option for a range of adaptogens in one supplement.
3. Use magnesium to replenish your mineral reserves, balance your mood, and combat any headaches you might experience. I recommend Epsom salt baths or topical magnesium.
4. As well as your usual B-complex, take added B5 and B12.
5. Rehydrate with coconut water that is rich in electrolytes.
6. DO gentle exercise like walks and yoga, but avoid heavy cardio in the week or two after stopping coffee.
7. Eat a really good, big breakfast every morning, which will give you fuel for the whole day.

The best alternatives to coffee

So now you’re off the coffee, what can you drink instead? At home in the morning to replace that great taste, and also when you’re out meeting friends, and all those other times when everyone else seems to have a coffee cup in hand.

• Kukicha or “twig” tea doesn’t taste like most herbal teas and in fact has a very similar taste to coffee that’s kind of nutty.
• Maca root powder in warm non-dairy milk with a little raw honey as a sweetener - it tastes coffee-like and helps with your detox
• A herbal tea with dandelion root
• Burdock root tea

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 a coffee addiction? Second, do you have low energy? 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

Maca root is an adaptogen, which means it can help your body to “adapt” to stress. Maca can also help balance hormones, as it supports your endocrine system. One of the key benefits of maca is its ability to boost fertility or support infertility problems. Natives of the Andes mountains (where maca is grown) have long used maca as a fertility aid. Now maca is a well-known superfood worldwide. We’re hearing a lot more about how it can help women who are having trouble conceiving. There are a few ways in which maca can boost fertility and there are also particular times in a woman’s life when she will most need maca as a supplement.

How maca treats infertility

1. Maca increases sex drive and can be used as a natural aphrodisiac for men and women. It does this by boosting testosterone levels and supporting healthy ovulation.
2. Maca gives you energy - and we all know that any journey to conceive requires a whole lot of energy! Coffee can cause fertility problems, so maca provides an alternative source of long-lasting energy. Maca stabilizes blood sugar levels and supports your adrenals.
3. Maca is very rich in many of the vitamins and minerals you need to conceive. This nutritional profile contains amino acids, fatty acids, B vitamins, calcium, magnesium, zinc, selenium, iron and phytonutrients. While you also need to eat an overall nutritionally-dense diet, maca is a great way of increasing your intake of essential fuel for ovulation and conception. It’s a one-stop shop for so much that your body needs.
4. Maca is shown to increase sperm production, motility and volume, as well as prevent erectile dysfunction.

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The best time to use maca‍

The best time to use maca is when your body is not producing the hormone levels it should. Anyone who is experiencing infertility issues can use maca, but these times in a woman’s life are when her body may need the most support.

• If you've recently come off the birth control pill or other hormonal birth control
• If you're over 35
• When you’re planning your second child (maca should not be used by pregnant or breastfeeding women - but if you have had a baby and are experiencing secondary infertility, maca is a good choice)

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Important to note: You should NOT take maca if you have an allergy to iodine, Hashimoto’s, or experience thyroid nodules or growths, as it contains significant amounts of iodine.  You should also be cautious with maca if you are androgen sensitive, in the case of some expressions of PCOS.

Of course, using maca alone without also eating a nutritionally-dense diet and avoiding fertility-harming dairy, gluten, alcohol, coffee and sugar will not have much of an impact on your body. You need to view maca as a great supplement that heightens the impact of a wider fertility-boosting diet.

Here at FLO Living I have a specific protocol for women trying to conceive and I have previously shared some of my fertility-specific advice on the blog. Maca is not a miracle cure (I’m afraid, nothing is!), but it can help you with infertility. It just won’t do this if everything else in your diet and lifestyle is working against your goal.

Just check out FLO grad Diane’s story to experience why you need more than maca to conceive.

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The right kind of maca to use

If you’re experiencing infertility issues, try taking maca with your partner! Women should look to take “red” maca and men should be taking “black” maca. You want to select a brand of maca that contains the level of glucosinolates you require to get the beneficial effects on your fertility. Watch out for the many other products that will come on the market as maca becomes more popular, not all of them will be good quality. Quality is key.

I wanted to take a minute to say thank you to you! Thank you for reading the FLO blog, for participating in the discussions, and sharing our articles and information with your friends. I hope you find information that has helped to change your health and your life. There is more and more research mounting that supports the fundamental tenants of the FLO lifestyle. As well as the mounting scientific studies that back up the FLO protocol as the right method for preventing and treating PCOS, PMS, infertility, fibroids, and other hormone-centric health issues. But this is not news and we’ve been breaking this news to you for years.I’m also proud to have been able to bring you groundbreaking research in the fields of nutrition and functional medicine, often long before that information has hit the headlines in the mainstream. As a graduate of John Hopkins University and a health advocate for many women, I see it as my privilege to keep on top of the latest game-changing investigations and studies and bring them to you. And I am always very happy when I see research that we’ve shared with you eventually become viral stories from the New York Times. It is my pleasure to make sure FLO Living followers are kept not just up-to-date, but ahead of the curve when it comes to what’s happening in women’s health because I want you to be healthy. I want you to enjoy feeling good all month long which is how your body is designed to function. Knowing what to avoid when making choices is just as important as knowing what to eat to balance your hormones and avoid major health risks.I wanted to put together a must-know list of findings from the most major groundbreaking research that we at FLO Living have shared regarding women’s health.

1. Menstruation is now a 5th Vital Sign of Health - In December 2015 ACOG announced its recommendation that menstruation be viewed as the 5th vital sign (alongside blood pressure et al.) and be charted and tracked for information on a woman’s health. Back in 2013 I went on the Dr. Oz show to tell the nation to look at their period’s color, consistency, and flow in order to find out more about their hormonal health, fertility and the health of their cycles. I have long advocated an active and observant relationship with the female cycle as an entry point to treating many health issues from PMS to PCOS. I recently developed the V-Sign Quiz, which provides immediate health advice and information based on easily observable indicators provided by your period.
2. Sugar is Killing You - Just this month, September 2016, we’ve seen mainstream acceptance of knowledge I have worked with for many years - that good fats are healthy and an important part of any diet, and sugars are the real cause of weight gain and health problems. The FLO living protocol contains a lot of good fats from nuts, seeds, avocados, coconut oil and fish oil, but I recommend zero sugar, including most sweeteners aside from a small amount of coconut nectar or honey or a date or two!
3. Toxic Chemicals in Everyday Products Disrupts Hormones - This year has seen an explosion of media coverage on toxic chemicals in everyday products like nail varnish, furniture, household cleaners, cosmetics and their harmfulness has consistently been connected back to hormonal disruption. In my book WomanCode, which came out in Spring 2014 I encouraged women to cleanse their bathroom cabinets and cleaning closets of non-natural products in order to gain hormonal balance and good health. I’ve written about it on my blog many times too in the last few years.
4. Tampon Chemicals Increase Health Issues - Chemicals in tampons and pads are increasingly being scrutinized for their health risks. I have discussed the potential for regular tampons to cause problems with your vaginal and hormonal health.More and more women are choosing either menstrual cups, organic, 100% cotton pads and tampons,  or period panties, over regular femcare products with increased focus in the media on the potentially harmful chemicals in those dominant brands. I wrote a post on my Diva cup back in 2012 and it’s great to see such widespread and vocal period-centric campaigns get answers in the form of innovation and education.
5. Low Fiber Intake Increases Cancer Risk - Early in 2016 a new study revealing a diet high in fiber could combat the risk of breast cancer was widely reported. One of the pillars of the FLO Living protocol is increasing the healthy function of the liver via fiber intake, in order to help the body process excess estrogen that can build up if not eliminated (due on the xenoestrogens in so many products). Excess estrogen is a root cause of reproductive cancers in women.
6. Metformin Increases Dementia Risk    - The research is piling up that connects use of the common PCOS medication Metformin and cognitive decline (a precursor to dementia). I have long advocated for the exhaustion of all natural treatments for PCOS for women, prior to choosing to try this medication. PCOS is often very treatable without turning to drugs. And I always encourage those who do choose to use this medication to plan on taking it short term only, to be sure to avoid these side effects.
7. Triclosan is Dangerous for Fertility - The FDA recently banned the use of chemical triclosan (commonly found in antibacterial soaps but also toothpaste). This story went viral with many shocked by the decision. I personally was not shocked, in fact, I have been talking about the dangers of triclosan for many, many years and have flagged up it’s endocrine disruptive properties and the link to increasing infertility rates. But be careful, they just said it would still be ok to use it in toothpaste, but you are in the FLO community, so you will be better prepared to shop safely.

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 surprised by any of this research mentioned here? Second, have you used Metformin? 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

I used to deal with both depression and anxiety as a symptom of hormonal imbalance rooted in my PCOS. Cycle Syncing my diet and my lifestyle and getting in touch with the rhythms of my hormones was groundbreaking when it came to my emotional health and well-being. Not only did paying attention to my hormonal cycle help me to understand why I was experiencing anxiety, it also helped me to learn how to prevent my anxiety from continuing.

Choosing natural remedies like anxiety-fighting foods and supplements was a big part of this process, but Cycle Syncing was the foundation. It’s a practice I come back to again and again to recalibrate my emotions, refine my self-care, and listen to the feedback my body gives me every day.

As I have said in a previous post on anxiety women are 60% more likely to experience anxiety than men. There are obviously many possible real-life reasons for this, however there’s also a biological core - our hormone cycles. This is why women can experience different kinds of anxiety at different times during their menstrual cycle, triggered and perpetuated by hormonal imbalances.

As we’ve already looked at supplements to prevent anxiety and lifestyle hacks for treating anxiety, in this new post I want to focus on how your anxiety fits into your cycle and what that can tell you about what’s going on with your body and what it needs to stop you feeling anxious.

The 2 kinds of hormonal anxiety

Once you begin to Cycle Sync your life you will be able to know where you are in your hormonal cycle week to week. The follicular phase (the week after your period ends will feel different to the ovulation phase or the luteal phase (your premenstrual week) or the menstruation phase. Higher awareness and attention will give you the opportunity to understand your anxiety issues more deeply and from there know how it needs to be treated and prevented. To discuss anxiety I separate the cycle into 2 parts - the first half and the second half. The first half would include the follicular and ovulatory phases; the second half would include the luteal and menstruation phases. It is uncommon to experience anxiety during ovulation (if and as long as you’re ovulating) or during menstruation (which usually provides relief from negative emotions). Hence, here I refer to the follicular and luteal phases only.

‍Follicular phase anxiety - if you experience anxiety during your follicular phase, that is the week after your period has come to an end, then you are experiencing low estrogen levels or estrogen deficiency.

‍Natural remedy - Pomegranate seed extract is a great source of phytoestrogens that will help increase your natural levels of estrogen. I do not like to recommend well-known phytoestrogens like soy, because of the potential harmful effects caused by their processing. However pomegranate seeds are a great alternative to boost overall estrogen levels.

‍Luteal phase anxiety - if you experience anxiety mostly during your luteal phase, this is the week before your period, then you have low levels of progesterone or a progesterone deficiency. Anxiety may be part of what you see as PMS or premenstrual symptoms, along with other issues like depression or acne.

‍Natural remedy - B6 will help to increase your progesterone levels. B6 is vital for your body to create the corpus luteum that makes and releases all of your progesterone. There are B6 supplements, and I encourage all women to take a B vitamin complex daily, however you can also increase the amount of B6-rich foods that you eat, like wild-caught tuna fish, bananas, grass-fed beef, chicken, spinach, sweet potato, garlic and salmon.Throughout your cycle focus on increasing good fats and proteins in your diet - these will help your body to stabilize your hormones and keep your brain chemistry balanced. Gut health can be a root cause of many mental health problems, so it’s important to support the microbiota that manufacture happy hormones like serotonin and dopamine by eating fermented foods like kimchi, sauerkraut and pickles every day. Without a foundation of Cycle Syncing your eating, sourcing from a protocol of proteins and fats and hormone-balancing ingredients, your anxiety will struggle to respond to any one kind of natural remedy. But adding these super-effective natural remedies into your routine, layered on top of a holistic and hormonally-supportive diet, will do wonders for your well-being.

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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

The secret to increasing your metabolism is helping your hormones to help you! It’s perfectly possible to naturally boost your own metabolism with the right foods, supplements and lifestyle hacks. There’s no need to turn to pills or potions - in fact, long term, these will only do damage to your ability to lose weight and keep it off. Your need to be in hormonal balance and not have a hormone deficit to allow your metabolism to be speedy - it needs fuel, but the right kind of fuel! Doing the kinds of things we have come to assume will help us to lose weight - like eating very little and exercising a whole lot - actually works against the female fat-burning system. It’s why when you and your partner go on a diet together, doing the same things, your partner always seems to drop the pounds like crazy and you’re left with depressingly little to show for your efforts! You need to stabilize your blood sugar and calm your adrenals to rev your metabolism, and the path to this for women is hormonal harmony.The FLO Living protocol has a built-in appetite control system that prevents you from ever feeling hungry enough to binge or crave unhealthy foods. It provides the nutrients your body needs to have a speedy metabolism. Of course, weight loss here at FLO Living is never our end goal, it’s only one part of how hormonal imbalance can support your health and well-being. Eating and living in a way that increases your metabolism, has the amazing side effects of making you feel great and managing any cycle-related issues you may have - from PCOS to PMS.

4 ways to increase your metabolism naturally

These are my favorite core ways to increase your metabolism that are easy and simple to incorporate into your life today and every day. This combination of food focus, supplements, and lifestyle fixes will increase your metabolism naturally and for the long term.

• The best metabolism-boosting supplement:  Iodine

Your thyroid is what gives your metabolism its fire. Love and care for your thyroid and it will work wonders for you. Take Gaia Thyroid Support daily. It is a seaweed-based iodine source that supports whole thyroid function (don’t use this if you have an iodine allergy or have Hashimoto’s). Many of us are actually iodine deficient, mainly because we are using additive-free salt and the most common hormonal imbalances (as well as leaky gut issues, SIBO, and pregnancy) can all impair thyroid function. The ovaries contain a lot of iodine in themselves and they need it to function healthily and bring about ovulation. Anovulation can cause many hormonal symptoms, including weight gain. Seaweed is an excellent source of iodine. Underactive thyroid conditions are very common for women and often go undiagnosed, despite really difficult symptoms.

• The best metabolism-boosting food: Greens

Estrogen dominance can cause your body to store more fat. This is when your estrogen levels are high and your progesterone levels comparatively low - you have, essentially, a hormonal imbalance, and one of the most common kinds. Eating more cruciferous vegetables like kale, collard greens, broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, and brussel sprouts will raise your level of DIM (Di-Indolyl-Methane), which is the perfect estrogen dominance regulator. Try to have a small serving with every meal - I like to saute greens in coconut oil and have as a side to my breakfast, lunch and dinner.

• The best metabolism-boosting fat: Coconut Oil

Good fats are your friend. Fat sources that contain MCT’s – medium chain triglycerides - are necessary fuel for your metabolism. They heal the underlying hormonal issues that slow your metabolism down and make it sluggish. I call coconut oil my secret weight loss weapon. Just 1 tablespoon a day keeps me slim. It is thyroid supportive, essential for the transportation and processing of your hormones, and heals gut inflammation and leaky gut issues. A 2002 study published in the Journal of Nutrition revealed that coconut oil can increase energy, help with weight control and keep you feeling fuller and more satisfied for longer.

• The best metabolism-boosting lifestyle hack: Flush Cortisol

De-stress! Stress suppresses your metabolism function. Feeling stressed, and getting little sleep as a result, increases the hunger hormone ghrelin and decreased levels of satiety hormone leptin. Getting up and moving, even if just for a quick dance break between work projects, will lower your cortisol levels (the stress hormone) and help to prevent adrenal burnout. Prioritize a good night’s sleep with a sleep routine of the kind you’d establish for your own child - read a book, turn off all screens, take a calming bath with epsom salts and truly rest. You have to take small actions throughout the day, every day, to flush out excess cortisol - moving, sleeping, and orgasms are the best methods for this. If it gives you pleasure, it’s good for your stress levels. 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

Magnesium is critically necessary to treat all hormonal imbalance issues - including PMS, PCOS, thyroid conditions, perimenopause, anxiety, and adrenal fatigue. It is the one sure-fire supplemenst we always recommend. In our experience, there is not one woman we have met who has not needed a boost to her magnesium levels.

Magnesium is magic for your hormones. It is a foundational support to all hormone functions in the body - without it you will not produce hormones at levels you need, and ovulation will become irregular. If you’ve just arrived at this website and you know you have a hormonal imbalance (even if you don’t yet know), and you want someplace to start, start with magnesium!

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How to know if you are magnesium deficient ‍

Our bodies literally get rid of magnesium when we are stressed because magnesium is a stress-preventer (evolutionarily, this makes sense - in generations past, if you were stressed it was usually because of an immediate threat to your life. Your body doesn’t want you to feel relaxed in those moments, so it gets rid of this chilled-out, sleep-aiding mineral).

The reality is that we are all too stressed, too much of the time these days. With busy schedules, nonstop demands, as well as both perceived and real concerns coming at us, we live in a state of chronic stress. If you lead a pretty regular life - that is, you work, you juggle jobs, you worry about your finances, you worry about your kids, and you have trouble sleeping - then you do not have enough magnesium, plain and simple. There are other reasons you’re likely magnesium deficient - aside from stress - including your intake of sugar (sugar requires magnesium to be processed in the body, so every time you eat sugar, your body is wasting magnesium), and how much coffee you drink (studies have shown that caffeinated drinks force your body to excrete magnesium).

Basically a lot of the things many of us do every single day - get stressed out, drink coffee, eat sugar, stress some more, sleep little - cause us to have a deficiency in magnesium.

The benefits of magnesium

These are some of the ways in which magnesium is vital for your hormonal balance and overall health, and why it is critical to supplement when dealing with PMS, PCOS, adrenal fatigue, anxiety, a thyroid disorder, perimenopause symptoms, and really any issue relating to your hormone cycle.

1. Cortisol regulation – magnesium calms your nervous system and prevents the creation of excess cortisol, the stress hormone. When your stress hormonal system is in balance, your levels of progesterone, estrogen, testosterone, FSH and LH will be too.
2. Blood sugar balance – magnesium helps to control insulin production and reduces sugar cravings, and as such, prevents blood sugar spikes. This is vital when it comes to healing hormonal issues like PCOS.
3. Thyroid support – magnesium helps the production of the thyroid hormone and, as an anti-inflammatory, prevents thyroid disease.
4. Sleep aid – magnesium will make sure you get to sleep and stay asleep through the night. It also prevents chronic urination, which can be a sleep interruptor.
5. Hormone creation – magnesium actually makes your hormones progesterone, estrogen and testosterone, so if you’re getting into perimenopause or are just coming off the Pill and your levels are low, it’s a great help to your body.

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How to boost your magnesium levels

There are many foods that contain magnesium, including good quality dark chocolate and sunflower seeds (which is why I have a bit of both every single day), but I do suggest supplementing with a more direct approach to make sure you’re getting the levels of magnesium you need. You can do this by using either:

• Epsom salts - add two cups of epsom salts to a bath a couple of times a week and you will receive sufficient magnesium (and a nice relaxing bath, preventing magnesium-zapping stress!).
• Topical oil - I recommend Ancient Minerals that you apply directly to your skin. Applying magnesium to the skin helps with absorption as you avoid the gut, which can compromise absorption if your gut health isn’t great.

Royal jelly...if you’ve not heard of it before, the name might sound strange - is a food or a foot cream? Actually, royal jelly is the substance that is fed to the Queen Bee of a beehive to sustain her throughout her life, helping her to give birth to millions of baby bees. Royal Jelly creates the Queen Bee ovaries and sets her up to reach maturation in a rapid 5 days, when she is ready to start laying those millions of future generations, up to 2,000 eggs per day! This is why Royal Jelly has been investigated as a fertility-boosting supplement.

A Queen Bee is double the size and weight of your regular worker bee and lives for 5 to 6 years, rather than just one month like the rest of her hive. So, if you are what you eat - royal jelly is clearly some seriously nutritionally-dense stuff! If it can do that for a Queen Bee, then what might it do for a woman?

Royal jelly as a fertility-booster

A study conducted in 2007 out of Japan discovered the royal jelly is similar to a phyto-estrogen and that it contains properties that might support healthy uterine muscles and uterus lining. There have been multiple studies with royal jelly on fertility in animals that suggest it has the potential to increase rates of pregnancy and support fertility overall.

Royal jelly is rich in amino acids, medium chain fatty acids (like those found in coconut oil), proteins, along with vitamin D, E, all of the vitamin Bs, plus iron and calcium. It also contains a range of probiotics.

Our bodies need nutrients and minerals to have healthy hormones, healthy cycles and regular, healthy ovulation if we are to be fertile and able to get pregnant. Royal jelly packs a hugely powerful nutritional punch, containing nearly all of the vitamins and minerals a woman’s body needs to conceive successfully. Royal jelly as a supplement is incredibly potent - in taking a small amount daily you are getting a good dose of all the necessary nutrients. I have long preached the gospel of feeding your body the right foods for strong fertility, and royal jelly fits right in as containing high levels of many key nutrients.

(It’s important to note here that if you are allergic to bees/bee venom or if you have estrogen-sensitive reproductive cancers in your family history, you should avoid royal jelly.)

The benefits of royal jelly

The benefits of royal jelly make sense to me, from the perspective of someone who has helped many women conceive naturally partly through dietary changes. In order to be fertile and conceive women need:

• Vitamin D for strong immunity
• A healthy gut and absence of harmful bacteria anywhere in the body (maintained by probiotic foods)
• Vitamin B6 for boosted progesterone levels
• Amino acids for hormone production
• Fatty acids for egg growth
• Proteins for hormonal balance

...and royal jelly contains all of these elements in high doses. That’s not to say that royal jelly is the only place you can find these nutrients, definitely not, but it is a simple and easy way to boost your vitamin and mineral levels, along with your intake of probiotics, fatty acids and protein, when you’re trying to conceive.

Royal jelly vs. honey

Although both royal jelly and honey are strengthening to the immune system, good for your skin, and anti-inflammatory - honey does not have the fertility boosting properties of royal jelly. Honey is an ancient remedy for low libido, because it contains boron, which is certainly handy when it comes to getting pregnant, however if you’re looking for those fertility benefits, royal jelly is for you.

My royal jelly smoothie recipe to boost your fertility

So, how to take royal jelly? I find the best way to incorporate this into your diet is via a weekly smoothie. Alone it can taste kind of bitter. Try my “Queen Bee Smoothie.” Just add these ingredients to a food blender or smoothie maker, whizz, and you’re ready for a fertility boosting, tasty treat. You’ll also be getting a big boost of folic acid from the spinach, a whole host of vitamins and minerals from the fruit, plus zinc from the sesame seeds.

1 cup fresh Spinach

1/3 cup fresh or frozen Mango

1/4 cup fresh or frozen Blueberries

1 Teaspoon Royal Jelly

3 Tablespoons Coconut Yogurt

Pinch of Cardamom and Ginger

¼ cup of Coconut water

1 Teaspoon white or black Sesame seeds (bonus points for grinding them in a spice grinder first!)

½ Teaspoon Honey

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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

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Coconut oil is the ultimate “good fat” as it contains medium chain triglycerides or fatty acids that are hormonal health warriors. Over the years, we’ve all been educated to fear oils and see them as fattening and unhealthy. Well, some are - like vegetable oils, canola, safflower - but coconut oil is actually completely unique and has many health benefits, including supporting weight loss. It’s very likely that you’ve heard some about the benefits of coconut oil - it’s been a foodie darling for a while now - and it’s got staying power due on the bounty of research and evidence to back up such enthusiastic claims.

The health benefits of coconut oil

Coconut oil is:

• Hormone balancing - the fatty acids in coconut oil actually help the hormones get to where they want and need to go in the body, and so support the creation, processing and elimination of estrogen and progesterone, leading to hormonal balance.
• Weight loss-promoting - studies show that coconut oil increases the metabolism and prevents hunger, allowing for successful weight loss.
• Thyroid-supportive - coconut oil has the ability to transform cholesterol into pregnenolone, which is one of the essential building blocks for thyroid hormone-making.
• Gut-healing - coconut oil repairs gut tissue and promotes the growth of good bacteria in the gut. Like breast milk, coconut oil is powerfully antimicrobial and antibacterial. The high levels of lauric acid in coconut oil protects against infection from viruses, bacteria, yeast, parasites and fungi. Lauric acid therefore inactivates the harmful microbes in your gut that can lead to hormonal imbalance.

However you may still be confused about exactly how to get coconut oil into your daily diet. You don’t need a lot - between 2 and 4 tablespoons a day should do it. But I know it can be hard to understand how something you associate with a tropical taste can be used regularly. I personally ensure I get a little coconut oil every day, and once you get into the habit you will find it easy.

5 ways to eat more coconut oil every day

1. I am a big tea drinker and one of my favorite ways to get more coconut oil every day is to stir a spoonful into a hot drink. This works great with herbal teas, but also turmeric lattes - making them taste almost creamy and adding to the comforting factor. If you get to the end of the day and realize you forgot your dose of coconut oil - make up a golden turmeric latte.
2. If you have a protein smoothie a few days a week (try my recipe) you can pour in a little coconut oil to give you an extra-added energy boost. It also works really well with smoothies that are kale or date-based.
3. For breakfast I love to use coconut oil to cook  my eggs and a side of greens (collard, kale, chard). It removes the slight bitter taste that can come with greens, I find, and it’s really good for all high heat cooking - including stir fries and roasting veggies.
4. When you’re tackling a baking recipe, replace butter with coconut oil every time. It works just as well and it means you can get your daily dose in a slice of something yummy. I especially like to do this with my chocolate sweet potato brownie recipe and my fruit cobbler recipe.
5. There’s absolutely no reason you can’t just dip a spoon in your jar and enjoy, like you might with an almond or sunflower butter, or even on a quick piece of GF toast. If you’re feeling low on energy and need a boost, or you’re getting cravings for unhealthy foods, a spoonful of coconut oil will put you back on track. If you’re low on time and you like things super-simple, go for it.

The best coconut oil to use

Coconut oil can be expensive, especially if you want it to be organic, ethically-sourced and of the virgin variety (this is important for the quality and taste, but it also means it will definitely have all the health benefits promised). Thrive Market is an online grocery shopping site that has all my favorite natural, healthy products at super reasonable prices (think CostCo, without any of the junk). I’ve teamed up with Thrive to get new members to the market a FREE jar of their own-brand coconut oil goodness. It’s the one I use, and it is great. I have 3 jars on the go in my home right now. Click here to grab your’s.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!

Now I’m in my late 30s, the topic of sex drive post-35 is my lived experience! I know that once we women reach our mid-30s, our careers are often in full swing, we might be juggling one or two young children, we’re maybe renovating our dream home, or trying to tackle an additional passion project outside of work - all in all, we are busy and we are tired! It’s no surprise we’re lacking in energy. The thing is - none of these factors that are making us busy and tired are going anywhere, they’re all here to stay, and will possibly even amplify and grow and intensify in our 30s and 40’s. And we don’t want any of these factors to go away - this is living life to the fullest - it’s just a shame our sex drive seems to slip out of the picture so easily. So, when it comes to your sex drive after 35, what’s a woman to do? How can you turn the clock back to make sure you’re still having a healthy sex life? I’m going to super simplify this right down - I know you’re pressed for time. If you follow my suggestions you should have your juicy sex drive back.

How your sex drive changes after 35

It’s important to note that the nature of your sexual desire, from a biological standpoint, once you’re 35 and up shifts and changes.

• Before 35 your desire is driven primarily by the biological impetus to reproduce. You should be experiencing libido peaks around ovulation, when your body is tipping you to have sex at the optimal time to get pregnant. The desire should feel physical, and unavoidable. Testosterone and estrogen peaks around ovulation to create the ultimate love potion.
• After 35, your body is not as strongly driven in this direction. Instead of your body keying you to want sex, you may find you need to key your body to want sex and that kind of desire comes from your relationship with your partner and creating a sexy situation for your desire to grow. Your need to set the scene will take precedent, as will the need for foreplay. If your hormones (estrogen, progesterone and testosterone) are in balance then you will still have that physically-sourced desire, but if those hormones are out of balance, this can lead to a steep drop in your sex drive.

There are two ways you can keep your desire at a healthy level, regardless of how that desire changes. Your sex drive should still be present and accessible to you after 35, and you should feel interested in and open to the possibility. The way to keep that interest alive is to give your body what it needs to boost the hormones that power your libido. It’s also about making sure you have the energy. If you’re just plain tired all of the time and have no energy then it won’t matter to you how much you feel you are interested - you’d rather be in the bath with a good book or asleep than having sex.

How to boost your sex drive after 35

There are two focus points for keeping your energy levels up and maintaining a healthy sex drive after 35. By honing in on these elements each day with the right foods, supplements and routines, you will really help yourself to have a great sex life far beyond 35.

1. Stabilize your blood sugar - keeping your blood sugar stable throughout the day will keep your energy up into the evening and prevent that 7pm couch crash. Eat every two hours, avoid sugars and most sugar substitutes, and detox from coffee and try a maca root-infused smoothie instead. Imagine your blood sugar level as a calm horizon line - you want to avoid as many waves and spikes in that line as possible. Waves and spikes mean dips and crashes and these pummel your energy levels, leaving you falling asleep 20 minutes into that romantic comedy you really wanted to watch for date night. Stable insulin levels also lead to balanced cortisol and DHEA ratios that increase testosterone production, and make you feel sexier.
2. Prioritize good sleep - I can’t say it enough, you need good sleep, and especially when you have so much to handle (what’s that old adage? If you have time to meditate - meditate for 10 minutes. If you have no time to meditate - meditate for an hour). The only way you can be at your optimal best, for your family, your friends, and your boss, is if you are well-rested. Follow my tried-and-tested sleep hygiene protocol. As someone who’s mom to a 2 year-old and living in the middle of Manhattan (the city that never sleeps!) - believe me, my advice on this really works! Good sleep improves your insulin response (see my point above re: blood sugar!), keeps your cortisol levels in check, and stimulates your body to produce good levels of testosterone, estrogen, and progesterone. The better your levels of these hormones, the more you will experience your natural libido.

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 low sex drive? Second, do you think you might be in perimenopause? 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

Hot flashes might be more commonly known as a symptom of menopause, but you can actually start experiencing hot flashes during perimenopause. Perimenopause begins at 35 for all women. There is quite a long build up and slow shift in your hormonal patterns before you enter menopause and your period stops entirely. Your body stops making as much of estrogen, progesterone and testosterone and it can be more sensitive to imbalance. How much you feel this shift in terms of symptoms will depend on your diet and lifestyle. Hot flashes are not inevitable or a necessary part of this stage of your life. When my clients are entering their perimenopause years I encourage them to eat and live in a way that supports healthy, optimal hormone production. This is why I’ve developed some special recipes specifically for hot flash relief. Even though perimenopause begins at 35, you can delay the aging process that would otherwise come part and parcel with declining hormone production. You can keep your energy, your sex drive, your youthful skin and figure for many more years, just by eating the right hormone-friendly foods. You can avoid common perimenopause symptoms like hot flashes, weight gain, acne, low energy, low libido, moodiness and missing periods by eating with hormonal consciousness. Once you know what’s happening inside your body, you can know what to do to make yourself feel and look good. Your hormones help to regulate your body temperature, so when you have a hormonal imbalance this can go haywire - causing hot flashes. Low estrogen can cause your hypothalamus (your internal thermostat) to stop working effectively. When estrogen is low, the body produces more FSH (follicle stimulating hormone) and LH (luteinizing hormone) - these increase blood circulation by dilating your blood vessels, and so produce the feeling of hot flashes. The best way to prevent hot flashes is to address this root cause - the hormonal imbalance - and support your body in producing higher levels of estrogen and progesterone.

Hot flash relief recipe

I have several special recipes I pass along to my clients who are experiencing hot flashes as a part of perimenopause. If you’re interested in discovering more meal ideas to prevent hot flashes and want further tips on avoiding other potential symptoms of this phase - like weight gain, acne, moodiness - check out my previous articles on the topic for lots more information. The tofu, soy and flax in the hot flash relief recipe I share below will increase your natural levels of plant-based estrogen to help increase your overall levels. The black sesame seeds contain high amounts of calcium (more than a serving of milk) and can also relieve symptoms of hot flashes and insomnia. Flax is a fiber-rich food source and will help your body process and eliminate unneeded hormones - balancing out the added phyto-estrogens from tofu and soy.

Hot Flash Healing Tofu Nibbles recipe

This recipe is perfect for an appetizer, a part of your lunch, a snack or even for a dinner party with your perimenopausal friends! To make these nibbles you’ll need: 1 block organic GMO-free tofu1 T soy sauce1 T unrefined sesame oil or coconut oil1 T coconut nectar or honey2 tsp black sesame seeds2 tsp flax seedsTake a block of Organic GMO Free Tofu. Cut in half inch cubes. Make the “glue” by mixing the soy sauce, sesame oil and blackstrap molasses. Coat the cubes in the sticky dressing. Grind in spice grinder the sesame and flax seeds. Toss the cubes through the seed mixture while still moist and coat thoroughly. Bake at 350 for 15 minutes. They will come out nice and chewy and delicious. Snap a picture of your nibbles for our Twitter or Facebook and we’ll share the best. Tag with #hotflashrelief 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 hot flashes Second, do you think you might be in perimenopause? 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

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