Pregnancy loss is a common concern I see in practice. And there are a number of factors that a Naturopathic Doctor will want to consider when working with individuals who are struggling with recurring pregnancy loss.
Addressing Melatonin Through Your Lifestyle
Melatonin is a ‘neurohormone’ which can be used to regulate sleep-wake cycles. Endogenous (what’s made in your body) melatonin is released by the pineal gland, found within the brain. Production and release of endogenous melatonin is activated by darkness and depressed by external/environmental light sources.
Book Recommendation: Taking Charge of Your Fertility
Should You Exercise While You Have Your Period?
Pain During Ovulation - Is It Normal?
Mittelschmerz – the lovely, weird name for the physical sensation experienced during or directly after the release of an egg from an ovary (ovulation). This pain is felt in the lower part of your abdomen and is often one-sided (but can alternate between sides, month-to-month). Some women will experience this ovulatory pain as a mild, dull, aching sensation and some women may even experience even greater discomfort. Some won’t experience it at all.
Androgen Excess - Acne, Hair Growth & Hair Loss?
Your Questions: Natural Approaches to Period Cramps?
Birth control is NOT the only option for painful (dysmenorrhea) and/or heavy periods (menorrhagia). And before jumping on a medication or supplement your HCP should always look into potential causes of extreme cramping – ie. endometriosis, fibroids, etc.
Prostaglandins are a major factor in menstrual cramps – once a month (when Aunt Flow comes to town) they cause uterine muscles to contract in order to release the uterine lining (endometrium). Prostaglandins aren’t bad (they are important for blood clots, inducing labour, etc.), but if certain prostaglandins are high in your cycle – this can predispose to more painful menstrual cramping.
Your Questions: The Return of Your Period in the Postpartum Phase
Functional Hypothalamic Amenorrhea - Where's My Period?
Amenorrhea: the absence of your period.
And then amenorrhea is divided into 2 categories: primary and secondary.
We’re going to talk about secondary amenorrhea, which can be observed as: the absence of a period for 3 months in women who had previously had REGULAR cycles, or the absence of a period for 6 months in women who had already been experiencing IRREGULAR cycles.
The Hypothalamus-Pituitary-Adrenal-Thyroid (HPAT) Axis - Hormone Connections
I talk a lot about cortisol, but it doesn’t exist as a lonely hormone. If you look closely, you can see that the thyroid (see TSH, T4, T3 and rT3) and adrenal glands (ACTH, cortisol) are tightly connected. The (+) and (-) icons indicate positive and negative feedback throughout this entire axis – how fascinating.
How Alcohol Affects Your Hormones
So - the liver is responsible for detoxing alcohol. But it’s also important for metabolizing estrogen. In women, more than one alcoholic drink per day has been shown to increase circulation of androgens (ie. testosterone) and estrogens (1, 2) – this predisposes you to symptoms of estrogen dominance.
Sleep and the Connection to Cortisol and Weight Gain
The Burn-Out is Real
Postpartum - The Fourth Trimester
How is Your Sleep?
Telemedicine: Virtual Consults in Manitoba
Perimenopause: The Shift into Menopause
Using Food as Medicine to Address Stress
We’re stressed out, right? Well, the increased cortisol produced by stress makes us hungry - hungry for carbs, sugar and fat (and not the good kinds, okay?). If we follow suit and eat like this all the time we start to feel fatigued (and in desperately hoping for a caffeine boost), moody and may even start to find that we don’t think as clearly (some will call this ‘brain fog’). And stress forces our body to utilize a significant amount of nutrients to produce the energy we need to respond - even if our stress is created by sitting in front of a computer all day.
Functional Testing with the Dutch Test
Chilling Out Cortisol
Chronically stressed out? I won’t lie, me too.
But yikes, that eventually catches up to you. Cortisol (aka our stress hormone) is important for our functioning (and our ability to adapt to stress) – but too much or too little can be problematic.
Do you know how to deal with chronically elevated cortisol?