Supplements

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

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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What is Vitex?

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

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

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Does Vitex resolve hormonal imbalance or help infertility?

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

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

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

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

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

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When should you use Vitex?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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How should you use Vitex?

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

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

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

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

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

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How to Know if Vitex is Working 

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

The Birth Control & Libido Connection

An important scientific study published in 2006 in The Journal of Sexual Medicine revealed that:

Women who have taken the birth control pill may find that, as well as having had low sex drive when on the pill, that this side effect persists even when they stop taking it.

The researchers discovered that the impact the birth control pill has on women’s testosterone levels can cause them to have a permanently suppressed sex drive when compared to women who have never used the birth control pill.

While many of us are well-aware of the fact that the Pill can have the highly ironic side effect of making you less interested in sex, it’s not as widely known that, despite stopping the Pill, some women will not see their sex drive bounce back to what it was prior to the Pill, or to levels comparative to other women.

Now, this might sound pretty scary at first if you are on the Pill or have decided to come off the Pill, but this study is showing what some women will experience if they just go off the birth control pill (as many do in the hope of losing the side effects) and do nothing aside from this to support and boost their sex drive. Although that situation is completely understandable - we assume the impact of any medication will stop once we no longer take it - there are definitely things you can do to make sure you are not one of these women who never see a return of their pre-Pill sex drive. Perhaps you’ve been off the Pill a while even, and you feel like your sex drive isn’t what it was, or what you know it could be. It’s absolutely not too late to turn that situation around and get back the sex drive you want.

We’ve previously looked at the different ways the Pill can impact you sex life (including decreased orgasms and increased UTIs) and your relationships (including the type of men you’re attracted to), as well as the best way to approach transitioning off the Pill,  but here let's look at how to tackle this common Pill-related problem of low sexual desire.

First, let’s look at why it happens so we can understand fully how to fix it.

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How birth control stops your sex drive

The birth control pill suppresses ovulation and replaces your body’s own natural hormone production with a consistent stream of synthetic hormones. As a part of this function, the Pill suppresses your testosterone production. It also increases the production of SHBG (sex hormone binding globulin).

When you go off the Pill, your body can start producing its own (and more) testosterone again, however the research study mentioned above found that women are left with 4 times the amount of SHBG they would normally have. SHBG binds with your “free testosterone” in your bloodstream and lowers the levels of available, free, accessible testosterone overall. Free, unbound testosterone is essential for a healthy sex drive, as well as sexual enjoyment. When you experience your natural cycle, your sex drive will peak around ovulation (and sometimes also pre-menstrually). On the Pill you experience none of these natural hormonal shifts.

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How to bring your sex drive back post-Pill

We recommend a three-part approach to regain your sex drive after the Pill, whether you’ve only recently come off, plan to soon, or have been off the Pill for a a few months already.

This strategy has been effective with many women we have supported in coming off the Pill through the Flo Living protocol.

The first part of this strategy focuses on sex drive-boosting foods, the second part centers around sex drive-supportive supplements, and the third looks at adjusting exactly how you approach sex.

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3 things you can do to revive your sex drive after stopping the pill:‍‍

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1. Let food be your foreplay

‍You can support your endocrine system with the right foods that will help your body produce enough testosterone to give your sex drive the boost it needs. After coming off the Pill, you will be depleted of some key nutrients that will also contribute to connecting issues like low moods and poor sleep. Eating a diet rich in hormonally supportive foods will be key in avoiding all the withdrawal effects of the Pill - including rebound hormonal acne, weight issues, and infertility issues.

‍Focus on well-researched aphrodisiacs like avocados (full of bio-identical testosterone), honey (packed with hormone regulating boron), strawberries (an ancient remedy), and dark chocolate (for feeling energized and content).

You’ll also need to nourish your tired post-Pill adrenals & stabilize your mood - you can do this by avoiding caffeine, eating regularly, and upping essential fatty acids in your diet. Try mixing up Alisa Vitti's signature sex drive-boosting smoothie a couple of times per week - the Passion Pour.

‍2. Get sexy with supplements

‍No supplement will change your sex drive on its own, but as part of a wider hormonally supportive diet, they can work wonders.

‍Try maca powder in your smoothies - a well-researched root extract that will help increase testosterone levels.

Try adding Zinc, Magnesium, Evening Primrose and Rhodiola to your daily routine to improve your energy and mood, as well as increase your desire for and enjoyment of sex. These supplements will support your adrenals, up testosterone levels, and give you bigger and better orgasms. Zinc and Magnesium are especially important for preventing the binding of free testosterone and keeping free testosterone available - the importance of which is shown in the aforementioned research.

‍3. Take it slow

The third part of this strategy is to shift your approach to sex. Taking the birth control pill, especially long-term, can change how we think and feel about sex. When you come off the Pill, you will need to work with your new desire level in ways that will let you have the time you need to feel turned on and ready. The effects of the sex drive-boosting foods and supplements won’t be immediate, and while you’re waiting for your testosterone levels to bounce back, you can start with this. It’s all about building a new pathway towards becoming aroused.

Focusing more on actual foreplay (not just food as foreplay!) including long make-out sessions or indulging in some literotica to get in the mood can help. If you’ve gotten used to not having a lot of sex because you just didn’t feel like it, start practicing being sexual regularly in different ways - partnered or solo. Our sex drive is something that can disappear purely through lack of practice!

You might need to start out small and slow with sexual explorations - the more you do, the more you’ll want! Just start exploring! Self-pleasure can certainly be a part of this. Know that as your natural cycle phases return you may also want to practice Cycle Syncing® your sex life to make the most of your shifting sexuality.

Once you are fully living in your FLO, you will notice that how you feel about your partner (if in a relationship) and your interest in sex changes depending what phase you are in at that time.

What is Maca?

‍Maca root powder might seem like just another "trending" superfood, but the benefits of maca root have been long known. This ancient natural remedy happens to be very well researched, and that research has revealed its hormone-balancing, hormonal symptom-soothing properties.

Maca root (most usually found as maca powder) is an adaptogen, which means it supports your whole endocrine system to produce the right amounts of hormones you need. Maca can help your body “adapt” to stressful life situations that might otherwise deplete your body’s hormone production and cause symptoms.

Maca root powder is a wonderful resource to have at hand, especially at certain critical times in your life when its properties can be the most beneficial. That said, maca is not for everyone and anyone, all of the time. Digging deeper and knowing more about this powerful supplement will help you to get the most out of it.‍

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Does Maca “cure” hormone imbalance?

While Maca can certainly be beneficial, we don't recommend seeing it as a miracle cure for all hormonal ills. There is no one product that can or will resolve a woman’s PMS, PCOS, cramps, acne, irrregular cycles or infertility issues on its own. Just adding in a supplement or one food, however “super,” unfortunately rarely works to help a woman overcome hormonal symptoms alone. Resolving hormonal imbalances requires a whole-systems approach - macro and micronutrient support, along with lifestyle changes.

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‍When To Take Maca

There are 3 times in a woman’s life when she could really benefit from using maca root powder on a regular basis as part of a wider hormonally-supportive diet. Those times are:

• After you hit 35, enter perimenopause and then post-menopause
• After you come off the birth control pill
• After you have a baby (and have stopped breastfeeding)

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During these windows, maca root powder could help your body produce more hormones, at a time when your own endocrine system may be flagging due to the effects of perimenopause, hormone suppression from the Pill, or lack of sleep after baby. As an adaptogen, maca root powder helps your endocrine system do its job in sub-optimal conditions. These three life stages can be a stress on your endocrine system.

Remember: maca has some wonderful benefits, but it is not a cure-all. However, using it alongside food can make maca a very effective supplement. After you reach 35, after using the Pill, after baby, you may be experiencing several hormone-based issues that maca can treat, including:

• Low energy levels
• Low sex drive
• Brain fog and poor focus or concentration
• Mood swings and depression
• PMS symptoms

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Who shouldn’t take Maca?

‍Maca root powder is a great tool for these critical moments when our bodies need the additional support to get back on track. However, when you’re between 15 and 35, eating a hormonally-supportive diet should be enough to balance your hormones, resolve your period problems and regulate your cycles. You should NOT take maca if you have an allergy to iodine, Hashimoto’s, or experience any kind of thyroid nodules or growths, as it contains significant amounts of iodine. Lastly, any time you are trying out new changes to your wellness regimen, remember to note any side effects you experience and keep in touch with your providers about what you experience.

‍What’s the best kind of Maca root to take?

‍The most important thing to know about maca root powder is that there are different kinds you can buy. Keep in mind that it’s the glucosinolate component that you need, to experience maca’s hormone-balancing properties.

Look for brands containing over 1% of glucosinolate  as a standardized extract. Our favorite way to take maca is in a smoothie. Just a spoonful is enough at first, but you can build up to more if you feel it’s working well for you.

There are red, black and yellow maca powders - yellow is the most commonly available and usually the least expensive - it packs a similar nutritional punch of minerals, fatty acids, amino acids and micronutrients as the other two kinds. However, red and black maca powders have some specific researched properties that make them stand out - red has shown to be most helpful for treating acne, infertility and low energy, for example.

Raw maca powder is better than gelatinized or cooked because the enzymes and nutrients remain at their peak levels in the raw state (although if you have a sensitive digestive system, cooked may be easier on your stomach). You may also find maca powders that blend of all 3 kinds of maca, which allow you to get their individual and combined benefits.

Recently a new research study from Loughborough University’s Sleep Research Center in England made waves by revealing that women need more sleep than men. The director of the Sleep Research Center Jim Horne explained, “Women's brains are wired differently ... so their sleep need will be slightly greater...Women tend to multitask - they do lots at once and are flexible - and so they use more of their actual brain than men do." The research also outlined that women are more strongly affected by poor sleep or lack of sleep than men, with a higher likelihood of mood instability and psychological distress as a result. Horne went on to explain that women need an extra 20 minutes of sleep, minimum, in comparison to men, because they use more of their brains throughout the day, meaning they need longer in the “recovery mode” provided by sleep.Firstly, any research that highlights the complexity of women’s brains should be celebrated! We are all too often made to feel like we are lacking in comparison to men - that our femaleness makes us inherently “less”. Here is further proof that there is nothing to support this cultural view. Thank you! Secondly, it’s hardly surprising that women use their brains more and therefore need more time to rest. As the researcher states, we women simply do more with our brains on a daily basis - we multitask, we switch roles, we take care of our children, our homes, and our businesses all at once. We often take on paid work, plus the unpaid work of homemaking and childcare, and the emotional labor of looking after loved ones, simultaneously. It’s no wonder we need to rest more than our male partners! Research has shown that sleep deprivation has a depressive effect - it suppresses adrenal function, slows serotonin production, and produces more mental chatter. A study published in 2014 detailed that chronic sleep deprivation - that is, getting less than the 7-8 hours you need per night on a consistent basis - significantly stalls learning abilities and memory. Lack of sleep prevents your brain synapses from communicating with each other effectively. A protein-based plaque actually builds up between the synapses when we don’t allow the brain to rest, repair, and “decongest” itself at night. Like a computer operating system, your brain needs to defragment and process all the information you took in during the day. A 2015 study showed the dangers of allowing this plaque to build up, as can happen through lack of sleep, in those susceptible to dementia or Alzheimer’s Disease.

The real reason women need more sleep

Most importantly, women are doing all this extra brain work in an environment that organizes our time, energy, and workload by masculine or linear guidelines. It’s amazing we need only an extra 20 minutes of sleep! Women work on a different operating system to men and that’s fundamentally down to our hormone patterns. Men have daily hormone cycles, women have monthly 4-phase hormone cycles. For men and women, our hormones impact how our brains function. The Flo Living protocol, that I live by and teach, supports women in reorganizing their lives to work with their original operating system, to match their hormonal patterns. It overrides the male-centric system we are expected to work within and replaces it with something that is more female-friendly and allows us to not just survive, but thrive. Giving ourselves extra time in bed is really the bare minimum we can do for ourselves in terms of self-care.

Coping with sleep deprivation as a mom

In the last year I have come to know what it really means to live sleep-deprived. My newborn daughter has show me how lack of sleep can impact my mental health! Sometimes it’s just that I find myself struggling to remember the right word or the right name. My thinking feels slowed and foggy. Sometimes I feel truly exhausted. This has made me focus on the best way my daughter, and therefore I, can get great quality sleep every night. I already had a sleep-supportive nighttime routine in place and encouraged my body to allow for deep, restorative sleep through my dietary choices. But in this last year, I’ve really had to up my sleep-game to ensure I get the real rest I need. I had to create an environment for myself and my daughter that prioritizes our sleep. I’m a woman so I’m using more of my brain, I’m a mom of a one year-old, and I’m an entrepreneur! I’ve just had to create the perfect night’s sleep for myself.

What I need for a good night’s sleep

1. Blackout shades for the bedroom. I live in Manhattan, which is wonderful, but also very bright, even at night. Black out shades mean I can go to bed when my daughter does without worrying about sundown and I can block out the street lights, car lights and apartment lights that would otherwise disturb my sleep.
2. A white noise machine. Again, I live in Manhattan! It’s fantastic, but it’s also really noisy. It’s the city that NEVER sleeps, right? A white noise machine has been a great investment. This blocks out all extraneous noise - car alarms, horns, trucks - all times of the day. We can both get sleep whenever we need to without worrying about the city’s schedule.
3. Bone broth before bed. Bone broth is fantastically healing for many reasons. Consuming the gelatin in bone broth before bed helps induce sleep as a result of the amino acid, glycine, that it contains. Glycine has a calming affect on the neurotransmitters within the brain. Research has shown that bone broth will improve the quality of your sleep, help reduce daytime sleepiness, and stop the effects of sleep deprivation like learning and memory issues.

My takeaway is - know this: you’re a woman and your brain is amazing! You didn’t need this research to know that, but isn’t it nice to have it on paper?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 trouble sleeping? Second, does your sleeping get worse at certain times in your cycle? Third, everyone you know is hormonal – spread a little good ovary karma and share this article on social ;)

Need more Hormone Help?

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

If you have been diagnosed with fibroids, you may already be aware of what to avoid (dairy, red meat, all the white starchy stuff). You may also know that the birth control pill can only manage your symptoms and might make them worse when you come off of it. You'll want to get a handle on the pain, discomfort, and heavy bleeding long-term, and you'll want to see some positive change soon. Maybe you also want to try for a baby or you’re just looking to get your old self back again.

We're here to help you reach those goals with a diet for fibroids.

If you know what to avoid as a fibroid sufferer, then you’re already tapped into the idea of food as potential medicine. Some foods make hormonally-sourced conditions worse, and some make them better. Food can alleviate symptoms and even shrink fibroids back to a manageable size.

According to Western medicine, no one knows for sure what causes fibroids, and you may have heard this from your doctor. However, we do know this one very important fact: they are affected by excess estrogen in the body, which makes them grow. This means they will often decrease in size after menopause (when overall body estrogen is lower). So, you need an approach to your diet which allows you to process and eliminate this excess estrogen as efficiently and rapidly as possible, and to create a low estrogen environment in your body.

This is why you may have heard that women with fibroids should specifically avoid certain products from animals treated with synthetic hormones—these are unnecessary and powerful estrogens that can create estrogen dominance and make fibroids grow.  If you think of dairy, red meat, and all the white stuff as stimulating and inflaming the fibroids, then the foods and supplements we'll list here do the opposite: they will calm your internal eco-system and create the right environment for your body to balance itself.

The 5 foods you should eat if you have fibroids

1. Flax seeds

Flax seeds are part of a food group called “selective estrogen receptor modulators.” This means they impact the effect estrogen has on different parts of the body. Flax seeds inhibit estrogen sensitivity in the uterus, which is beneficial when you have fibroids. They are also a fantastic source of fiber, which is needed to move excess estrogen out of your bowel as quickly as possible and to eliminate it from your body. Finally, flax seeds are a great source of omega-3 fatty acids (which reduce the insulin resistance that can suppress liver function) and lignans (which bind to estrogen receptors and prevent absorption of excess estrogen).

2. Soy

In general, we do not recommend soy for women in their reproductive years. But in the case of fibroids, certain forms of soy can be beneficial. Specifically seek out non-processed, organic soy in the form of tempeh and miso to add to your diet. This kind of soy has an anti-estrogenic affect on the uterus. Avoid all processed soy like soy cheese, soy meat, and other meat and dairy replacements. Moderation is key here and we don't recommend having soy every day, but unprocessed and organic soy is a useful dietary tool for managing fibroids.

3. Beans

Legumes are an excellent source of fiber and protein, plus they have a low glycemic impact, which reduces the kind inflammation that can increase fibroid growth. Focus on kidney beans, lentils, and mung beans. As you reduce your intake of meat, beans and legumes can be a healthy protein replacement.

4. Whole grains

As you stay away from white processed stuff like bread, pasta, and noodles, you’ll want to look for a healthy replacement in your diet. Whole grains help with insulin stabilization. High insulin levels from white starchy stuff (which acts like sugar in the body) are a factor in making fibroids grow. Whole grains are also a great source of fiber and will help to speed up the process and elimination of excess estrogen.

5. Pears and apples

These are liver-supporting foods. A well-functioning liver is key to preventing estrogen dominance from developing in your body, and its symptoms like fibroids. Pears and apples contain a flavonoid named phloretin which impairs tumor growth, along with lots of fiber. This flavonoid actual blocks the production of estrogen.

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The best supplements for fibroids

In addition to dietary tweaks, we've created a supplement kit specifically for fibroids. You don’t have to keep suffering through super-heavy periods or excessive pain. The FLO Living RELEASE Kit offers targeted nutrients that help support healthy estrogen and metabolism for easier, healthier periods. RELEASE includes:

• Sulforaphane - detoxifies and clears out excess estrogen from the body to shrink fibroids. It also provides protection against fibroid growth, as well as supporting a healthy inflammatory response.
• NAC - supports detoxification in the liver. NAC can reduce the size of ovarian cysts as well as provide antioxidant support against inflammation.
• DIM - assists the body in removing excess estrogen. DIM also helps balance hormones and weight, and may reduce long periods.
• Calcium-D-Glucarate - detoxifies excess hormones and supports the liver in breaking down and removing xenoestrogens.

The start of a new year has got me thinking...perhaps we love the ritual of a new year with its resolutions, hopes and plans because it’s the one time of year that feminine energy universally takes center stage. Everyone’s energy shifts into their feminine center as we each tap into our desires to create something out of “the void,” so to speak, to set intentions and create something from nothing. We get to plant seeds into the wombs of our consciousness and connect in hope and faith with each other for the expectation of new life, new births, and new opportunities.If you’re balanced in your feminine and masculine energies then after the feminine dances with her desires for the year ahead, her call being crystal clear and strong is then able to draw out the masculine to come and see what can be done to hold her dance all year long. It’s that blending of feminine and masculine energies that allows us to see and feel what we want out of our lives and then manifest those desires into reality. We connect with what we truly want and need and then we choose to develop towards those goals If you’re not balanced with this aspect of your energy, and you overly rely on masculine energy to push through your to do list, then you may find that not only do you give up on your resolutions and intentions and plans more easily, but that you get really fried in the process of trying to achieve them.There is a better way, and it doesn’t involve giving up your beloved list making self ;) It is about learning how to engage both energies to work smarter.

How to have it all without burning out

As I’ve previously written, meeting our goals for the day, week, year, or the next five years, is so much easier if we allow our feminine energy to take its turn. A purely masculine approach is to write long to-do lists and push ourselves to acheive each item one by one without listening to our body or heart. I’ve already shown you how you can use your feminine energy to rid your life of stress and to improve your relationship, but you can also use this to reach and succeed in your career goals. Men in fact are totally on to this. In The Athena Doctrine - a brilliant book with evidence based research on why countries that engage more feminine energy traits are healthier, happier, and wealthier countries. A great example of this - Sweden just made the news by recently making universal the six-hour work day - with the express intent that people will be better able to care for themselves and therefore be more effective while at work - a concept born out of feminine energy if ever there was one! When it comes to work, a purely masculine approach is powering through every day all day to work long hours, sleep less, stay at your desk more and cut back on free time. Sweden is trying to achieve a feminine/masculine balance by allowing people more time to maintain their well-being outside of work. We all know that sitting at our desks all day is not good for our health, but it seems Sweden really listened and decided to take action!

4 daily practices to engage your feminine energy for career success

I want you to have a feel for what it means to engage your feminine energy during every work day. This powerful shift in your approach can reshape your working life in such a way that you will be fully supported by every fiber of your being to succeed in achieving your dreams.

1. Remember You Have a Body. Don’t sit down all day and push through what you need to do. Remember your amazing body trying to take care of you and give her a helping hand. Get up and stretch, take 15 minutes for a walk, eat a good breakfast and lunch, don’t sit in front of your computer and don’t stave off hunger with coffee. Channel your feminine energy to nurture the body you have so you can continue to pursue the work you want to do. It’s also about deciding how you want to feel when you’re pursuing those goals. Do you want to feel energized and happy? I hope so! The process can be about enjoying the serendipity and opportunity that comes your way or it can feel like pushing a big boulder up a hill. Engaging your feminine energy is about looking at the quality of the experience you’re having on the way to your goals as well as examining the end goals in themselves.
2. Limit Your List. All of the research into concentration and productivity at work suggest we really ought to only focus on one big project a day, but I know that’s not realistic, so let’s settle on two. Take your task list to task and use your masculine energy to project manage in an optimal way what needs to get done. Then use your mama bear feminine energy to hold the boundaries, by saying no to things that distract you and to protect the time and headspace you need to complete those tasks well.
3. Take a Daily Social Pleasure Break. Always build time into your day to connect with your community and in a way that feels good. If you just got one of those two big projects done, then go ahead and celebrate that with someone. You could call a friend or your partner, talk them through something you just achieved and why you’re excited about it. Engage your feminine energy of communication and connection to celebrate and even help bring things into fruition faster!
4. Connect with Your Heart. This can be done through meditation, a simple self-care ritual, a quick walk outside, a cuddle with your child...The more quiet, reflective time you allow yourself, the more your creative juices will flow and the more productive you’ll be when you sit back down to work. You can’t have your best ideas if you stay in your office and in your head all day long. Engaging your feminine energy this way will allow your intuition and inspiration to guide you more and more.

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

I want to hear from you!

First, do you feel like you overly rely on your masculine to succeed? Second, how do you engage your feminine energy and how do you plan to engage it more? Third, everyone you know is hormonal – spread a little good ovary karma and share this article on social ;)

Need more Hormone Help?

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

Winter is coming and that means cold, cough and flu season is heading our way fast like a building storm. Balanced hormones will provide you with a healthy, active immune system that’s ready to take on pretty much anything. So eating in your Flo already (or starting today!) will make a big difference to how the next season works out for you and your health. However, there are some other (surprising!) ways to build on this foundation that will gear up your immunity to superhero status. Hormonal balance is a big part of the immunity-protection process, but also - - your adrenal and thyroid glands need to be in their prime- getting stressed out and producing too much cortisol is going to leave your immune system more vulnerable to overwhelm- your gut microbiome is critical in the strength of your immune system so you need to nourish itI live in Manhattan and germs are everywhere (ever read those studies about the bacteria on New York subway seats or hand rails? Ewww...). Getting sick isn’t always about germs, it’s more about your ability to manage exposure to germs and how your body responds. You need to support your immune system as an integrated part of your overall health in order to help it handle anything you might end up being exposed to.

The 5 surprising, natural ways to boost your immunity

1. Orgasm! Yes, yes, yes! It’s super important that you have regular orgasms (maybe you should print this out and put it on the fridge for your partner to see?). The blend of nitric oxide and boosted oxytocin that comes about when you orgasm increases the efficiency and power of your immune system response. More sex = less colds. Follow my FLO formula to orgasm every time - partner not necessary.
2. Take time off. Ten years ago or so it was common practice to stay home from work or school when sick to get better and not spread the virus around. These days it seems like we all think we have to power through and turn up at our desk no matter what. One sick day at home in bed or on the sofa is going to help you recover faster, let your immune system truly bounce back, and stop you getting sick again soon. It will also save your colleagues from the same illness. With kids - keep them home! One day off from school can allow them to recover faster.
3. Go organic for Winter. If you’ve not gone organic already, then the start of Fall/Winter is the best time to do so. I know eating organic can be expensive - but so is time off work, medications, doctor’s visits and so on! Avoiding pesticides will support your immune system. Your immunity is created in your gut - pesticides make the wrong kinds of bacteria thrive and kill off the healthy bacteria you badly need. This one-two punch beats down your immune system.
4. Stop binge drinking. Even one night a week or a month of drinking heavily is going to increase gut inflammation. Yes - that becomes your new normal and makes you way more likely to get every cough, cold, and flu going around. You can fix it and regain your immunity, but first you have to stop the binge drinking so your body can actually absorb the nutrients and minerals it needs to heal itself and then protect you.
5. Listen to Old Wive’s Tales. Ever heard “feed a cold, starve a fever”? Well, it’s exactly right. Funny how some of the old sayings and wisdoms that have stuck around are still here because they speak the truth. If you do get sick, feed your cold an antioxidant-rich diet that’s very plant based. I’m talking juices, salads, cooked veggies, fresh fruit. For a fever - lots of bone broth with nothing else in it as well as warm water with lemon juice. Also - pack your medicine cabinet with hormone-friendly natural remedies to reach for.

Try my favorite cold-busting, immune-boosting juice recipe:

½ a carrot¼ a beet Juice of ½ a lemon¼ cup of chopped ginger½ cup of pineappleJuice of ½ an orange 1 tablespoon of manuka honeyAlways 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 find that you get sick a lot? Second, what’s your favorite cold/flu natural remedy? Share with us! Third, everyone you know is hormonal – spread a little good ovary karma and share this article on social ;)

Need more Hormone Help?

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

Last week, I told you about Thrive Market, a new online shopping club I’ve totally fallen in love with.If you’re like me, you also care deeply about the quality of the food you eat and the products you use in your home every day. That means organic, non-GMO food and non-toxic cleaning products that are earth-friendly, which unfortunately usually mean high price tags and giant weekly grocery bills.That’s why I can’t stop sharing Thrive Market - an online site that makes healthy living a whole lot easier and more affordable than ever (becoming a member is FREE for the first 2 months!).Unlike overpriced markets, atThrive Market, you can get the world’s top 4,000 healthy foods, cleaning products, supplements, vitamins, probiotics in everyday sizes (no bulk here!) all delivered directly to your front door at 30 - 50% below retail prices. Think Whole Foods products at Costco prices, with the convenience of Amazon.Shopping at Thrive Market is not only cheaper than upscale markets like Whole Foods, but it often matches or even beats prices at discount online retailers like Amazon and Vitacost. I’ve even put together a fun price comparison to share with you:

Plus, Thrive Market also offers free shipping on orders over $49 to anywhere in the continental US. I try to order one big order a month and my shipping has always been free by doing this since I always have a bigger order (haha!).And because I want you to save even more, I’ve partnered with Thrive Market to put together a special deal just for our Flo community! Register with Thrive Market today and receive:

• a FREE 2-Month Trial Membership
• 25% off your next order

Click here to join now!As you can see, I love being a Thrive member, but I don’t want you to take my word for it. I want you to try Thrive Market for yourself to help you save thousands of dollars on your groceries and hours of your precious time.And, on top of all this, Thrive maintains the highest integrity with outstanding social missions. For every paid membership, they give a free membership for a low-income American so thousands of people who wouldn’t be able to afford healthy foods can now access them! Thrive is also committed to the environment by using recycled packaging and making sure that all of their own packaging is recyclable as well. They also purchase carbon offsets and are completely carbon neutral.That’s why I’ve partnered with Thrive Market to put together this special offer our FLO community:

• a FREE 2-Month Trial Membership
• 25% off your next order

Click hereto claim your FREE 2-month membership now.Here’s to your health (and the health of your bank account, too)!to your FLO,Alisa

We can be exposed to endocrine disruptors from many directions - from our cosmetics, our shampoos and shower gels, our stressful lifestyles, our food, packagings, and from our home cleaning products. That last one we often dismiss, as we assume that to get our homes properly disinfected we need to use harsh bleach and chemical laden cleaners. We can sometimes assume that anything else just won’t do the job right. But using these products several times a week and living with their residue around your home over a lifetime can cause hormonal health issues that negatively impact your periods, fertility, mood and more.Research shows that many of the chemicals found in everyday house-cleaning products are bio-accumulative and very toxic, which means that once in your system, they actually stay in your system and allow for increased free radical damage, which makes you more vulnerable to autoimmune diseases and cancers.

Hidden harm in your so-called “green” cleaning products

That said, so-call “green” household cleaners are much popular now than they used to be, with many women making the swap to avoid using potentially hazardous and poisonous chemicals that harm the environment and their families. However, it might surprise you to know that not all “green” cleaners you might find at big box stores are all that they claim to be and some can even be just as bad as conventional cleaners. That’s because unfortunately there are no laws in place that demand companies are transparent about all of the ingredients in products. This means they can make false claims about how environmentally and health-friendly they are.I know this sounds a little confusing, which is why I want to share with you how I personally clean my home andwhere I purchase all the natural, hormone-safe products I choose to use around my family.On Day 3 of my free 4-Day Hormone Detox plan I ask women to do a “clean sweep” of all of the health stressors you will find in your laundry room, cleaning product store cupboards, under the sink, and elsewhere. It’s important to understand that it’s not just about detoxing your diet, you also need to take a long, hard look at many of the other things you do each day that might need some reexamination for the sake of your hormones.

Replace/Reset your conventional home cleaning products with hormone safe alternatives

Before I dive into what I use to clean, I’ll first share where I buy all my favorite products.I’ve recently become obsessed with an amazing new company called Thrive Market. Thrive is a cross between Costco meets Whole Foods online - think Costco wholesale pricing on Whole Foods quality foods and brands with the convenience of purchasing through Amazon. They have the BEST prices on a lot of our non-perishable staples and household items. In particular, I’ve bought all of the natural, hormone-safe cleaning products I share below on Thrive Market.Thrive is the first socially conscious online marketplace offering the world’s best-selling natural and organic products at wholesale prices. For less than $5 a month ($59.95 annually), members can shop 2,500 of the highest quality food, supplements, home, personal care, and beauty products from more than 400 of the best brands on the market, all delivered straight to their doors at 25-50% below retail prices.

I’m not a fan for signing up for things without trying them first and I’m guessing you aren’t either. That’s why Thrive has offered our FLO community:

• a FREE 2-Month Trial to Thrive Market
• 25% off your first order

(I’m totally serious!)I did a side by side comparison of many of the products I share below, and not only are they less expensive than the same organic and natural products on Amazon or at my local stores, but they are often cheaper than the conventional alternative.So take a look below, make your shopping list, andorder on Thrive today! Instead of this: Conventional brand or big box kitchen and bathroom cleaners Use this: Seventh Generation cleaning products. I use these on everything from the toilet to the kitchen sink. With concentrated thyme oil as a central ingredient they make a good degreaser too, plus they smell great! Instead of this: Tide-style laundry detergent.Use this: Orange Oil multi-use cleaner, which can also help you with cleaning the dishes, mirrors, and the toilet bowl. Or try out the Seventh Generation Free & Clear detergent. Instead of this: Tide or other harsh spot stain removers. Use this: Hydrogen peroxide will get any stain out, even from a pure white shirt. Pour some of the stain and then wash in the washer as normal. Instead of this: Bleach products like Ajax and Comet.Use this: Arm and Hammer baking soda. I use baking soda in my laundry loads to keep my clothes crisp, clean, and fresh - I add one cup on top of the clothes themselves and then wash as normal with the above detergents. I also use it to disinfect the floors - a mix of baking soda and water will kill bacteria because it neutralizes the acid they produce. It’s completely non-toxic - in fact I even suggest using it to treat greasy hair!Instead of this: Swiffer WetJet and all similar products. Use this: Steam vacuum! We fill our Hoover Power Scrub with a mix of water and baking soda and use it to deep clean our wood and tile flooring. It can also be used on rugs and carpets. It keeps all my house floors squeaky clean with hot hot steam, which is so important to me now my daughter is crawling. Instead of this: Glade Plug-Ins.Use this: Electronic essential oil diffusers provide a beautiful house-wide scent, plus you’re getting all the health benefits of the oils, which you can tailor to your specific needs whether that’s for concentration in your home office or to relax in the evening. 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, what cleaning products do you use?Second, will you follow any of these replace/reset suggestions? Third, everyone you know is hormonal – spread a little good ovary karma and share this article using the social buttons below :)

Want to get your cleaning products at wholesale prices?

Register at Thrive Market as a new member before and receive:

• a FREE 2-Month Trial to Thrive Market
• 25% off your next order

Click here to start saving now!

So many women are given hormonal birth control in their teens to put a stop to their acne. Although it may appear to do the trick of clearing up your skin for some, it’s doing this by suppressing your endocrine system and the natural flow of your body’s own hormones. This leads to all those side effects we know and hate - from depression, anxiety and low libido to blood clots. And when you come off - which most women do as a result of their experience of these negative side effects - the acne almost always comes back and often it is much worse than it was before, due to a drop in estrogen. This is a dirty trick, to my mind. It puts many women in this horrible bind that causes them to feel forced to return to the medication just to get their clear skin back. I hate it - it’s like these drugs have a built in insurance that you will continue to use them. However, that isn’t the only answer. Here at Flo Living I’ve helped hundreds of women successfully transition off hormonal birth control and maintain beautiful clear skin. In fact, off the hormonal birth control, their skin has never been better! First thing of course, is talk to your doctor. Let him or her know that you want to come off the drug or device. Then before you actually stop using it, start following the Flo Living protocol. Cycle-syncing your eating and exercise while you’re actually still taking the Pill can make this transition so much gentler on your endocrine system and save you a lot of the side effects women report including acne, but also - insomnia, mood swings and irregular cycles.Here’s my 3 step guide to coming off the Pill without your acne returning.Plus here’s my breakdown of the 3 most important things you need to know to heal your acne, and fast.

Shawna’s story

Shawna is one of the many women who I have helped to come off hormonal birth control and regain clear (in fact, her clearest yet!) skin. Read her story below or watch the video. “I was hooked on birth control. I was on it from 17 to 24, and it was giving me emotional ups and downs and making me crazy. I didn’t know myself. I tried to go off and my face exploded. Everyone told me it was because I went off the birth control. So I figured a quick fix to that would be to go right back on it. So, I went right back on it. I got married soon after that. We were married in ‘08 and we’ve been married for 7 years. We were thinking about starting a family, but I also just didn’t want to be on birth control anymore. So, I came to Flo Living looking to come off birth control without my face breaking out. On birth control I just felt like I couldn’t control my emotions. It made me feel like I wasn’t in touch with me. I felt victim to feelings I couldn’t control. I had a lot of real highs and real lows and there was never a good place to live in-between. It was like that almost the whole time I was on it. Flo Living was my birth control rehab. My mom heard you (Alisa) talking to Abel James on a podcast. She said she could tell you knew what you were talking about. I looked you up and bought your book. I read it, but I needed more of a step-by-step, hold-my-hand, and give me feedback experience and that’s why I signed up for the Flo Living protocol.

You have seriously changed my life. I can’t even say it without getting emotional.

The functional nutrition is awesome. The food is amazing. But, it was all the emotional changes and all the “you don’t have to be perfect” and “you just do it because that’s what you want to do” stuff that was so good for me. I feel like I like myself the most for the first time ever. I didn’t expect that. I expected it to be like the South Beach Diet, Paleo, all the stuff I tried to do and hoped to stop when my skin when back to normal. It wasn’t that way at all. I learned how to do it and I liked it. I feel like somebody taught me how to eat. Like when you grow up you think you have cereal for breakfast and a sandwich for lunch...but now I know what to do. It worked completely. I dropped the NuvaRing. I quit and my skin stayed completely clear. More people said my face looked good then than did during the whole 14 years I was on birth control. Then we decided we did want to start a family and I’m pregnant! I’m 16 weeks! I think if I could go back and tell myself anything it would be to do this program 7 years ago instead of hiding and medicating the problem using birth control. I would have done it earlier. I would have rather learned this in high school. I could have gone through college more comfortable with myself and more in touch with myself. You can treat yourself with food. Food can heal and food can hurt and it depends on what food it is. You need the guidance for what food to use as your medicine. Food has much more potential than people give it credit for.”

If you’re struggling with acne and you’re ready to make a change - take action now. It will change your hormones and your life. You deserve that.

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

I want to hear from you!

First, do you suffer with acne?Second, do you want to come off hormonal birth control? Third: You know every one you know is hormonal – spread a little good ovary karma and share this article on social by clicking the buttons below

Need more Hormone Help?

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

In my years of helping women get pregnant, one thing I’ve noticed is how addressing a few key emotions makes all the difference when trying to conceive. I remember how I struggled with not trusting my body, feared that my body would always fail me, how I overly relied on masculine energy to battle my PCOS and applied type A/perfectionist behaviors to hopefully control for a more positive outcome. Sound familiar?I spend a lot of time talking to you about facts because I know that’s where we all start - we want to know what is wrong. An equal part of the FLO protocol, however, moves beyond nutrition, to the integration of your feminine energy and a healed relationship with your body from an emotional point of view.

This to me, in my own health journey, and for the thousands of women I have taken on that same journey to hormonal balance, is as essential as the food and supplements you take.This is especially true of improving your fertility. I’m now 9 months in to this motherhood gig, and let me tell you, it is a meditation on feminine energy and balanced masculine energy every moment! The energy I hold now is what I used to open me up to conceive. The emotions I had to work through to open that conception energy were a huge part of my journey to motherhood and I suspect they might be ones you might want to incorporate on your journey too.

Read on to learn more about how Nicole undid these emotional blocks using the FLO Protocol and is now 7 months pregnant after 1 year of trying.

“My body had everything it needed from years of healthy eating, I just needed to recognize the emotional blocks that were holding me back.”

Nicole thought she was doing everything right to get pregnant. She was following the WomanCode protocol independently for months in the hope that just eating in her Flo was all she needed to do to finally conceive. Then she had a breakthrough. She realized that good nutrition was just one aspect of her health and she needed to turn her attentions to her emotional well-being to start a family.Here she shares her transformative story with us...

My lifestyle was making conceiving difficult

Two years ago, I defined fertility as whether or not I was able to become pregnant. Like for many women, the journey seemed black or white: fertile or infertile, pregnant or not pregnant.When my husband and I first started trying, I experienced what many women do: stress and anxiety, partially brought on by a demanding job. I had also been commuting two hours a day for more than a year, and the chronic stress was starting to take a toll on my body, manifesting in physical symptoms like difficulty sleeping, night sweats, and irregular cycles. My colleagues and I were four months away from planning a large conference on the other side of the country, and the closer the event moved on the calendar, the longer my cycles became.

My body was so depleted that the month our event took place, I didn’t get my period. That was my first wake up call.I discovered WomanCode through the Facebook page and I had been eating in the FLO ever since just after the book was released in March 2013. Although my monthly symptoms gradually decreased and I had more energy, my cycles were still longer than average (32-34 days), and I wasn’t ovulating anywhere close to Day 14. It felt like my body knew what it needed to do, but just couldn’t get there every month.

The following month, I got pregnant, except I was only pregnant for five weeks before having an early miscarriage on Christmas Eve 2013.Over the holidays we decided to take a break from trying, but I spent the next year preparing my mind and body for conception, reshaping our lives to make space for the future family we wanted. I started weekly acupuncture treatments, found a new job, and we moved to a condo by the beach in a more relaxing neighborhood where both of us would have short commutes.

I wanted the magic supplement to get pregnant asap

Still convinced my hormonal issues were purely physical, I dove into supplements. There was a three month period I drank dong quai tea daily, but it didn’t reduce the length of my cycle. Then I ordered maca powder, assuming this would be the golden ticket to conception. I refer to what happened next as “the maca powder incident,” as it was the catalyst for my journey toward inner reflection and ultimately, getting pregnant.

It was September 2014, and I had been adding a small amount of maca powder to my morning protein smoothie for approximately three weeks. I usually experienced light cramping during my cycle, but nothing debilitating, so I was surprised to find myself unable to get out of bed the morning I got my period.

I thought back to my diet in the previous month. The only variable I could identify was the maca powder, but I couldn’t fathom that several weeks of mild use could have such a negative reaction in my body.

I realized I was using a masculine approach to access my feminine conception energy

I took the day off work, and decided to walk to the beach that afternoon while listening to a Fertility Revolution podcast interviewing Randine Lewis, author of The Infertility Cure.“People treat fertility as a problem to be rectified, but it needs a deeper pursuit of what’s going on internally,” she said. “We can’t be in a fear-based relationship with fertility, because fear contracts reproductive energy. You can’t bring life into the world when you’re fighting fear.”I learned approaching fertility like another thing on the to-do list (a habit of many women, particularly Type-A personalities), can actually block conception, because we’re not addressing the root cause of emotional resistance keeping us from unlocking our full fertility, body, mind, and spirit.The following day, I signed up for the FLO Living program. This was October, 2014.

‍The Flo Living program dives much deeper into the science and emotional side of hormone balance, which I hadn't been addressing up to that point. Within the first month of coaching I’d made efforts to nurture my feminine side through self-care practices that felt good to me. Until I read the materials Alisa suggested, I didn't realize how much my masculine side dominated a lot of my day-to-day.Through the personal reflection that is part of the FLO Living program, I experienced several emotional breakthroughs, the most enlightening being how a medical issue I had in high school informed my relationship with my body for more than a decade.

I forgot that I had stopped trusting my body in high school

In my senior year cross-country season, I started experiencing a strong, dull pain across my abdomen during daily runs. Even after myriad tests, including ultrasounds and painful physical therapy to loosen my tight hip flexor muscles, no one was able to identify the cause.Then, my mom took me to a physical therapist who incorporated eastern medicine into his practice and uncovered a severe vitamin deficiency. Finally armed with a diagnosis, I gradually began to heal, transform my diet, and embrace nutrition and wellness beginning with cooking for myself during college.

But although I was physically healthy again, I had stopped running out of fear of feeling the same pain. A mistrust had settled in my body that was so deeply rooted, I wasn’t even conscious of it until I walked on the beach 10 years later, ready to become pregnant. I realized that day, with sea salt blowing my hair, until I trusted my own body again, I’d never be able to carry a pregnancy to term.

I got pregnant finally after doing the emotional work in the FLO program

The following month, after starting the FLO program, reading Northrup’s book, and spending time in reflection, I ovulated on time and had a 28-day cycle (which hadn’t happened in at least a year).Three months later, I was pregnant. We’re expecting a baby boy this October (one year since I signed up to the Flo Living program).My body rejected the maca powder to offer an important lesson: nutrition wasn’t my obstacle. As it turned out, my body had everything it needed thanks to years of healthy eating, I just needed to recognize the emotional blocks that were holding me back.

Exploring this aspect of fertility can be harder than simply eating well and incorporating fertility-friendly ingredients into our diet, because it requires an intense vulnerability and openness to make connections between our early experiences, the messages we’ve received about our health, and our current circumstances.If I’ve learned anything on my journey to motherhood, it’s that fertility is more than our ability to physically become pregnant.

True fertility is the convergence of physical, emotional, and spiritual health, not only for conception and birth, but for our entire creative lives as women, and I’m finally ready to embrace it all.(To read more about Alisa’s “conscious conception” approach to achieving pregnancy naturally check out our two posts on prepping your body for pregnancy and the non diet-based secret to conceiving.)

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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

I don’t know about you, but I love my food porn. I love looking at pretty pictures of artfully arranged dishes. Just this week I’ve been salivating over the Breakfast Criminals colorful and creative ideas for the first meal of the day. I love that they sell an Instagram-friendly heart shaped bowl too, which will make you smile over breakfast every day.However, I’m also a super busy lady. I have a baby to take care of and a business to run. So I don’t always have a whole lot of time to put into creating a beautiful breakfast for myself and my family. Sometimes I just need it to tick my top boxes - to be healthy, tasty, and sustain me until lunch. I’m a big fan of keeping it basic if it means that it’s easier and more efficient for you to make better choices. Simplicity is sometimes the key to getting what you need.

The benefits of a big breakfast

Research shows that starting your day with a big breakfast will improve your fertility and decrease hormonal imbalance symptoms. This study by Professor Daniela Jakubowicz in Tel Aviv proved that having a larger meal at breakfast was related to a reduction of insulin resistance in women with PCOS. Not only does this help with fertility, but it also can help manage other symptoms associated with the disorder, such as unwanted body hair, hair loss, and acne, as well as protect against developing type-2 diabetes.With this in mind, I want to share with you my personal favorite breakfast and brunch ideas. I tend to rotate through these throughout the week. On the weekends I get a bit more time to indulge. I teach my Flo Living ladies that breakfast time is when you want to go all out and eat as much as you want - really filling up will set you up for stable blood sugar and hormone levels the rest of the day. And, as studies show, it will also help you to lose weight.

Weekday ideas

• Avocado smashed on toast - I love to spice up this filling and tasty bite with chia seeds, turmeric, sesame seeds and Himalayan salt. I always use gluten-free black rice Food for Life brand bread.
• Tartines - I so enjoy a nice French-inspired savory open-faced sandwich for breakfast with wild salmon and hummus or egg and dairy free pesto.
• Fruit toast - My favorite nut butter is sunbutter which I love to spread on gluten free toast and top with fresh peach or strawberry slices when they’re in season.
• Eggs - I love eggs all ways for all meals of the day. Scrambled, poached, hard boiled. Check out the viral hashtag #putaneggonit for some scrumptious ideas. Everything can be improved by an egg, I say! One of my new favorites has to be an egg baked inside half an avocado - that’s just genius!
• Smoothie - I’m not a smoothie-only breakfast kind of girl, but if I do have a smoothie I whizz up ½ banana, ½ avocado, frozen blueberries, spinach, almond milk, flaxseed meal, and cinnamon.
• 3 Power Grains - I’ll have oatmeal, quinoa or buckwheat. I’ll either make it sweet with sunflower seeds, coconut oil, and fresh blueberries or I’ll have it savory with olive oil, Himalayan salt, steamed baby kale - and I’ll absolutely put an egg on it!

Weekend indulgences

Any of the above breakfast options are great for brunch for a relaxed, leisurely weekend breakfast time with my husband and baby girl. When I want to indulge though, I pull out a few other recipes which happen to work well as desserts too!I also just discovered and love the easy and healthful Zemas Foods sweet potato pancake mix.Check out my take on sugar, the best sweeteners, and get some healthy baking tips here.Chocolate Avocado Pudding on Toast (this beats Nutella!)Ingredients: 3 ripe avocados, 4 soaked dates, 1/4 cup coconut nectar plus 2T maple syrup, 1/2 cup raw cacao powder, 1/2 cup almond milk, 1 tsp cinnamon, 1 tsp vanilla extract, 1/2 tsp pink Himalayan salt and then some good millet bread.Instructions: Add all to Vitamix or food processor and puree until smoothTaste and adjust for sweetness and texture with more sweetener and milk.Serve on millet toast for breakfast. Add sliced fresh strawberries as desired.Banana BreadIngredients: 3 bananas, 1/3 cup coconut oil, 1 egg, 1 tsp vanilla, 1/4 cup coconut nectar, 1.5 cups oat flour, 1 tsp cinnamon, 1 tsp baking powder, 1/2 tsp baking soda, 1/4 tsp saltInstructions: Mix wet into dry, pour mixture into a parchment lined loaf pan, bake at 350 degrees for 45-50 min and then let cool completely.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, what are your favorite breakfast dishes? Which ones hold you the longest until lunch?Second, try some of my ideas and share your photos on Facebook and Twitter with me!Third, You know every one you know is hormonal – spread a little good ovary karma and share this article on social! ?

Need more Hormone Help?

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

When Jocelyn Ranne discovered the WomanCode book she was inspired, but found it really hard to make such a big change without support. She decided to sign up for the Flo Living program to get some coaching and personalized advice.Within weeks she had transformed her life.No more painful, heavy, irregular periods.No more debilitating PMS.Her relationships improved, her work improved, her whole life improved dramatically.Here she tells us about her journey to Flo-fabulousness (you can watch her video here or read the transcript).“Prior to finding WomanCode I was in a really, rough, sad, inert place. I was trying to implement the book in my life, but I wasn’t really sticking with it. I wasn’t giving everything total commitment.I remember listening to a PMS podcast right before my period. I had been having such bad PMS. I’m talking fatigue to the point I couldn’t work, cramping, total despair, breast tenderness, full body bloating. I was experiencing this every month, I was blocking out relationships, I wasn’t communicating. I wasn’t able to love my body and I wasn’t able to look at it with respect and admiration, because I felt like it was failing me. I was having energy for only 7 days of the month and I didn’t feel I could accomplish anything.The result of going through the Flo Living coaching was that I began to re-identify what gave me pleasure. Instead of listening to other people’s insecurities, plans, and feelings, I started listening to my own. It totally turned my life around.I got out of some unhealthy relationships. I started attracting men and friends who were interested in loving the feminine and hearing about my voice and the things I liked doing and found pleasurable and sexy. I have a consistent period and when it’s not consistent I know my body is trying to communicate with me. We’re in this relationship now and it’s all juicy and beautiful.I feel so supported now by my systems, by my body. My life has gotten really rich and full. My relationships with my friends have gotten really rich, because I can talk about our hormone cycles, I can talk about what’s triggering our emotions, so I can guide us to feel into them. We feel more intimate and connected. We feel more available to go out to the world, to our husbands, and our friends.I had been feeling really blocked creatively and now I just feel so clear on the stories I want to write, I feel clear on the people I need to connect with to make the projects happen. I trust my cycle is going to get me there. I just relax into it. I know the energy in my cycle will get me there.The cramps are gone, the clots are gone - the magnesium supplementation has been huge. I have energy all through the month. Even when I’m bleeding, I have energy. I don’t have to stop and check out - I keep riding it. If I chose to, 20% of the time, to do something I know will have an impact on my body like alcohol, I now know what to expect from my body and I know how to nourish my body so I can experience the pleasure of that.Yes, pleasure - in eating my food, feeling the sensations in my body, my orgasm - I was so cut off from my orgasm. Because Flo put such an emphasis on that I figured out ways to cultivate that. It has given me so much power. I am tapping into my power source, and that’s the most important thing on the planet. I let myself take action that led to that pleasure and that power. I started listening to what I need and I want. I can give that to myself and I can give that to my body.I talk about this all the time. I am going to run my business according to the Flo cycle. I am going to teach it to my children and my nephews and nieces. I can trust so much more in my life and it’s made me feel good about going after everything that I desire.I want to tell other women that it takes a little friction and vulnerability at first as there are some things you will have to test on your body, but that struggle upfront can bring you into a space where you can let go and ride it. That’s something I want every woman to have. Women are a power source. When we are in our Flo, we have so much more to give everyone else. It can change the whole dynamic of a room, a community, and, I think, the world!I want everyone to have that ease, that enjoyment, trust, desires met, creativity, laughter, playfulness, sensuality. I’m very grateful. This is something I wish I had known my entire life. Thank you.”Good things come in threes:

I want to hear from you

First, do you feel your symptoms are blocking your creative flow ? Second, have you read WomanCode? Ready to take the next step? Third, you know every one you know is hormonal – spread a little good ovary karma and share this article on social by clicking the buttons below

Need more Hormone Help?

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

Of all the nutrient deficiencies we read about on a regular basis - vitamin D and Omega-3 spring to mind - there’s one we rarely consider that is vitally important for our hormonal health, and that the majority of women reading this post right now will be suffering from - and that’s magnesium deficiency.

That’s right, most women do not take in enough magnesium and that lack is the root of many, many health issues.

Magnesium governs our pituitary health, and without it we produce less of the hormones like FSH (follicular stimulating) LH (luteinizing) and TSH (thyroid stimulating). These hormones signal other glands in your endocrine system to perform at their best. Low levels of those foundational hormones can cause irregular ovulation and thyroid function issues, which can be at the root of your bigger hormonal conditions.‍

Magnesium: the Flo-essential mineral

Boosting your magnesium levels can help heal PMS, PCOS, adrenal fatigue, menopausal symptoms, and all other hormone-cycle related health problems. The great news is that once your magnesium levels are sufficient, the positive changes happen fast. It’s really the wonder mineral for your hormonal health, and maintaining a good daily intake should always be at the forefront of your mind. Without magnesium, even your best efforts in other areas of your diet will fall short.

‍The science of magnesium

‍I want to share with you some of the amazing ways that magnesium supports your hormonal balance and overall health. This mineral really is one of the pillars of living life in your Flo. In fact, it is essential to succeeding in the first two steps of our Flo Living protocol - stabilizing your blood sugar and nurturing your adrenals. Magnesium plays an important role in approximately 300 bodily processes. Here are just a few of the ways it works for you:

1. Cortisol regulation - magnesium calms your nervous system and prevents the creation of excess cortisol, the stress hormone. When your stress hormone system is in balance, your levels of progesterone, estrogen, testosterone, FSH and LH will follow suit.
2. Blood sugar balancing - magnesium helps to control insulin production and as a result reduces sugar cravings, thereby preventing blood sugar spikes. This is absolutely 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 the chronic urination that can be a sleep interruption.
5. Hormone creation - magnesium actually makes your hormones progesterone, estrogen and testosterone, so if you’re getting into perimenopause or are just off the Pill and your levels are low, it can be your best friend.

Signs of Flo-blocking magnesium deficiency

‍Although most of us do have a deficiency, and we should assume that we do, I want to share some of the cycle-related signs that you need to increase your magnesium right away.

1. Very noticeable symptoms of PMS such as depression or anxiety

2. Bloating (See myYahoo Health Article about Bloating here)

3. Fatigue and insomnia (I discuss this health issue in more detail here)

4. Muscle cramps or facial tics

5. Headaches or migraines

6. A lack of magnesium is also one of the culprits behind chronically low sex drive - click here for my tips on how to combat this problem specifically with this mineral and other supplements

‍The 4 best foods for boosting your magnesium levels

‍So, what might be some easy and highly effective ways to start upping your magnesium levels today? Well, I’m here to tell you!

1. Chocolate - good quality organic dark chocolate with low or, even better, no dairy or sugar is a powerful and yummy source of this mineral. Click here for my tips on using  chocolate to combat PMS cravings and to get a great recipe for Chocolate Buckwheat Pancakes!
2. Sunflower seeds - these pack a punch of magnesium in a small serving along with a bunch of other essentials like vitamin B and E. Snack on a handful, add to salads, or add as a soup topping.
3. Fish - make at least one dinner a week fish-based. All of the fish I recommend to eat throughout your cycle on the Flo Living eating plan are high in this mineral, but especially salmon, halibut and cod.
4. Leafy greens - try to fit a portion of collard greens, spinach, kale or swiss chard into every meal. You can keep it very simple - just add to your rice, beans or scrambled eggs or have a steamed plate with olive oil on the side.

The best way to supplement

‍That all said, some people have trouble absorbing enough magnesium through foods alone due to gut health issues and, sadly, many of our foods now lack in this natural mineral because the soil itself in which they are grown has been depleted and drained of nutrients. Therefore, it’s also important to consider a more direct approach to supplementation. Here are a couple of ways you can tackle this:

1. Epsom salt baths - studies have shown that a good soak in a warm bath with epsom salts increases the body’s levels of magnesium safely and effectively. Add two cups worth to a bath taken two to three times a week. This will also decrease your stress levels, which is also important for maintaining magnesium.
2. Transdermal supplement - I recommend Ancient Minerals topical magnesium oil, which can be applied to the skin or added to a bath. How about getting your partner to give you a magnesium oil massage? Relaxing and beneficial to your hormonal health!

Magnesium-depleting lifestyle choices

‍There are also some lifestyle changes that can have an immediate impact on your magnesium levels. The following behaviors actually deplete your resources of magnesium or block absorption of the mineral, so even if you’re actively supplementing, you also need to be conscious of your day to day choices.

1. Drinking carbonated beverages - the phosphoric acid that makes these drinks tangy actually depletes magnesium and blocks your body from absorbing the magnesium you are trying to take in.
2. Eating sugar - sugar requires magnesium to be processed in the body, so every time you eat sugar in something sweet your body is wasting vital magnesium.
3. Caffeine - studies have shown that caffeinated drinks force your body to excrete vital minerals including magnesium.
4. Dehydration - when you’re working out intensely, make sure you are also drinking a lot of water. And of course drinking soda, coffee or alcohol all produce a dehydrating effect along with all the other ways they're bad for your hormones!
5. Stress - both psychological and physical forms of stress, which means anxiety, but also surgery or illness - depletes magnesium. Depleted magnesium causes a heightened stress response. So if you’re under pressure, be sure to take at least ten minutes out of each day to sit still, meditate or just rest.

If you’re dealing with period problems like PMS, PCOS, fibroids, cysts, heavy bleeding, infertility, low sex drive, and more, you’re actually more susceptible to weight issues.While this can sounds like a bummer, there’s also a big opportunity here for changing the game for yourself!When you understand these 2 key aspects behind why your hormonal imbalances are contributing to your weight issues, you’ll shift your mindset and learn how to shift the pattern!

#1 - The Scientific Reason:

At the root of all period problems, there’s an imbalance with estrogen. Most often, estrogen dominance is in play, meaning that your estrogen levels are way too high in comparison to progesterone. In addition to causing the period problems, high estrogen levels are connected to water retention and weight gain.Bottom line: You need to get your estrogen levels balanced in order to really be able to lose weight.

#2 - The Practical Reason:

Aside from all the hormonal implications occurring behind the scenes, let’s be honest -When your hormones are out of whack and your period is suffering, you are practically not able to implement any kind of weight-loss routine. You might start out with noble efforts in the beginning of your cycle, but once that second half of your cycle starts - the luteal, pre-menstrual phase - you are doomed to failure!If your period is symptomatic, you’re going to crave sweets and salty stuff and all the things you don’t want to be eating for weight loss. You’ll also be way too tired to work out, so any exercise efforts will fail.Bottom line: consistency is a big challenge when your hormones are not balanced. Address your period problems first, and the weight loss will come easily.

Need more Hormone Help?

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

Launching into a vigorous exercise routine in January might seem like a good idea. The fresh start of the new year and the pricing specials that many gyms and programs offer make it really enticing to whip your booty back into shape.But if you jump into it that way, you’re not taking into account your hormonal reality!The stress and excess sugar intake you will experience over the holidays are both putting your adrenal glands in a compromised position. This will thwart your weight-loss efforts and do more damage to your adrenals and entire endocrine system.I see this all the time at FLO Living, women decide to train for a marathon or triathalon, or to start doing long 90min workouts at the gym or at home. Their intention is to get in shape and lose weight, but because they don’t understand how to work with their hormones, they end up gaining up to 20 lbs!

What gives? Why do your adrenal glands matter?

When you exercise, after you burn through the glucose in your bloodstream - which takes about 30 minutes - you then start tapping into your adrenal reserve. You force the adrenals to pump out cortisol to get your fat cells to convert into sugar for the blood stream.This seems like a good thing, you want the fat to melt right?The problem is, when you have estrogen overload due to unresolved period and fertility issues, the estrogen tells you to store any circulating sugar as fat. So you have this vicious cycle of trying to burn stored fat with cortisol and then estrogen putting it right back on your butt! And this is assuming your adrenals are performing optimally!As if that weren’t bad enough, there is an additional layer of complexity here: your stress levels and diet and how those affect your adrenal health. When we have too much going on (um, hello holidaze!) and when we eat too much sugar and alcohol (again, holiday madness) we are left perfectly vulnerable for our adrenals to start underperforming.So you produce less cortisol throughout the day and during your workouts you can produce none at all! You know you have this adrenal fatigue going on if you find yourself dragging yourself out of bed in the morning and totally drained after your workout and needing a while to recover your energy.In this scenario, you hormones are programming you to be an excellent storer of fat. And any time you workout too hard, too long, you reinforce that messaging.

Where exercise comes in

If you’re feeling drained after the holidays, the antidote is not to pump up the jams and do a zillion jumping jacks - that will actually wear out your adrenal glands even more!In fact, exercising for more than 30 minutes at a time puts undue stress on your adrenal glands by causing cortisol to rise at first, mixing with your estrogen keeping fat on. And if you start this regime already in a state of adrenal fatigue, you’ll gain weight faster than you did from Halloween to New Years!In addition, during the 2nd half of your cycle this all gets worse if you have any of the conditions we treat! At this point - your luteal phase - estrogen is out of balance with progesterone, making you more fatigued and putting further strain on your adrenals.Trust me, having been 200lbs myself, and having tried for years to lose weight before I cracked my WomanCode, I know how frustrating this can be. And of course this is typically when we give up on our new year’s resolutions.

What’s the solution?

Instead of setting yourself up for failure, ease back into a balanced exercise routine!Try 20-minute sessions of cardio or weight training, and longer sessions of more gentle movement like hatha yoga or walking. Definitely do the right exercise for the phase of the cycle you’re in!Tracking your body throughout the month is also really helpful. You’ll get to know how YOUR body functions at different points in your cycle which can help you choose the right kind of exercise for your hormonal phase.

Need more hormone help?

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

Every year around this time, anxiety builds for people everywhere...How can I avoid overeating and gaining weight? What if there are no healthy options available?What if my mother-in-law cooks something I don’t want to eat?If you find yourself asking these questions, you’re not alone!I spent many years showing up to holiday events with limited options for staying in my FLO. It can feel rude and awkward to not eat the food people have prepared for you, and just as rude or awkward to show up with your own tupperware of greens! Right?While it might feel weird, it doesn’t have to be - IF you handle it the right way.Here’s what I learned and here’s what you can do to combat the Thanksgiving food panic:

1. Find out in advance what the host is cooking. This should come across in a friendly and curious manner. If you don’t hear about options for healthy greens and side dishes, this is where you can offer to help and bring a dish to share!
2. Be sure to eat breakfast and/or a snack before you arrive. The biggest mistake women make before big holiday meals is starving themselves all day to “save up” calories. This will completely make your blood sugar crazy, and you’ll be left with no option but to stuff your face on the carbiest carb lying around.
3. Enlist a food buddy. Before or during the event, gain the support of a close friend or family member by sharing your anxiety around food. Tell them about WomanCode and the work you’re doing to balance your hormones and eat in line with your cycle. Be open and honest and crack a joke or two. Ask that person if he or she will help you speak up if needed.

Let us know how it goes in the comments below!And be sure to sign up to get access to our upcoming webinar: Sex, Turkey, & the Extra 5 Pounds. It’s full of valuable content that can save you from excess stress and weight gain this holiday season.

Sex, Turkey, & the Extra 5 Pounds

How you can use the holidays and your hormones to shrink your waistline and charge up your sex driveWhat would it be like if you got through holidays completely healthy, feeling hot and happy, and still able to fit into your jeans by New Years Eve?As I teach in my premium training program, the WomanCode System, if you know how to harness your hormones, this can all be possible.Join me for this extra special holiday teleclass, where you will learn:

• which holiday foods to eat and which to avoid
• how to overcome common hormone mistakes
• the secret supplements you MUST use during the holiday season and….
• my favorite holiday detox game plan

Sign up here!Callers from outside the US will be able to join for FREE through SKYPE or from a list of international local numbers!

Fertility and Stress

Is stress effecting your fertility? You might know by now that stress raises cortisol levels, increases inflammatory markers in the body, and disrupts adrenal-thyroid performance - all of which push your body to act more infertile. Stress actually makes us age prematurely from a hormonal standpoint.With infertility on the rise, it’s important for you to take your stress seriously in your

20s and 30s and do all that you can from a functional nutrition standpoint to protect your fertility from the real effects of stress.If you’re trying to get pregnant or thinking about it for the future, it’s probably not surprising to hear that stress can affect your fertility. But what about how your relationship to your fertility is affecting your stress levels?Anxiety around getting pregnant - or trying not to get pregnant - can be a big factor in upping your stress response and corresponding cortisol levels, which only will further diminish your fertility and overall reproductive health.In other words, if you’re on high alert trying to get everything perfect in order to boost your fertility, that added stress and pressure could be compromising it!To help you stay balanced, here’s what you need to know about both sides of this relationship:

1. How stress affects your fertility: Experiencing stress and its accompanying insomnia, anxiety, low energy, and sugar addiction are all signs that your adrenal glands are suffering. This unfortunately not only makes you feel lousy, but it indicates a high cortisol and low DHEA ratio that compromises ovulation regularity and diminishes egg quality, both essential factors in your fertility.
2. What to do about it: Eating a diet with the proper micronutrient content, as outlined in the WomanCode System, is essential for supporting your adrenals and reproductive system. Certain supplements may also be required to boost adrenal function and lower stress.
3. How your fertility affects your stress: Constantly worrying about your fertile capacity, monitoring your cycle-tracking like a hawk, and feeling fearful every time you go to the doctor are all examples of how your relationship to your fertility could be causing more stress in your life. When this happens, the added stress has the effects noted above, and continues to compromise your fertility.
4. What to do about it: Feeling confident in what your body needs to be most fertile can be a huge relief. Imagine if you could take deep breaths each day, knowing that you are on track to healthy ovulation and conception! When you’re taking these steps through our program, you’ll breathe easier knowing that you are actually preventing premature hormonal aging.

Ready to balance your stress levels and your fertility?

Join me as I cover how to really deal with stress from a functional medicine standpoint, how to heal and support your adrenal glands, the foods and supplements that help with stress, and exercising with your cyclical patterns to balance stress in my popular audio class, Address Your Stress the WomanCode Way!We will be covering lots of material essential for healthy fertility and I'll be sharing my favorite stress management practices as well ;)

Are You Trying to Conceive?

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

I have a quick personal story today, that I think can help you.

Once I hit age 35, I started to feel noticeably more anxious every month during the second half of my cycle (i.e. the Luteal Phase, as it’s technically called.) Things that weren’t a big deal in the past, all of a sudden got blown out of proportion as I noticed my mood sensitivity was way more sensitive.

Knowing what I know about hormones, I chalked it up to my naturally declining estrogen levels, and took the necessary steps to help rebalance. This theory was proved true once I got pregnant, when my estrogen naturally increased I started feeling so mellow. No more anxiety.

Why am I sharing this with you? Because I don’t think aging and hormones is talked about  enough prior to menopause. There’s an unspoken belief that we should just function the same decade after decade until we hit the big M (menopause), which simply isn’t true.

The fact is, your hormones shift as you age, and so do your moods.

If you’re noticing your body acting differently as you enter into your mid-to-late 30s, what I want you to know is that it’s totally normal. I also want you to know that you actually have more control than you think over how your symptoms show up. It doesn’t have to be a struggle.In my premium training program, the WomanCode System, I take women through the exact steps I took with food and lifestyle to get my hormonal balance in check across my life cycle.Today, I want to give you a bit of a sneak preview of that formula so that you can start taking the right steps, no matter how old you are.

Here are a few key questions to ask yourself if you’re dealing with mood changes at any age:

‍Are you eating quality fats? Did you know that quality fats are the building blocks of many of your hormones and can also help with mood stabilization? Healthy fats include avocado, olive oil, coconut oil, nuts, seeds, fish oil, and animal protein. Beware of fats like canola oil and other hydrogenated vegetable oils that increase your Omega-6’s and decrease your Omega-3 balance.

‍Are you caring for your adrenals? Your adrenal glands which manage your stress response tend to get worn out as you get older, which means they need even more love and attention. One of my favorite supplements for adrenal health is vitamin B5.

‍Are you putting too much pressure on yourself? Keeping up with a killer pace of life is not actually going to get you anywhere faster. It will only burn you out. Where in your life can you set healthy boundaries that allow for more time in your self-care? How can you be more gentle with yourself - i.e. in your exercise routine, work schedule, or social life?!

Heavy period bleeding can be one of the most debilitating symptoms you can experience. The pain, the inconvenience, and the boxes of pads and tampons to go through each month - ahh! Some women suffer from heavy periods all their lives, others get it more intensely after pregnancy or develop it during perimenopause.

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There are a few ways it might show up for you:‍

1. A normal (5-7 day) length bleed with a super heavy flow that causes you to bleed through everything

2. Extended bleeding for 2-3 weeks out of the month or more

3. Frequent bleeding - 4 or more days at a time, twice per month

4. Heavy clotting

Often times these are associated with anemia and fatigue, which can make it feel like a drag to get through the day.

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What’s the underlying cause?

There are 3 main reasons heavy bleeding can develop:

1. Estrogen overload. When your estrogen levels are high, the lining of your uterus can become thicker. Estrogen can also be much higher relative to progesterone, which is the hormone that will keep your uterine lining intact for a longer period of time. Excess estrogen occurs when diet contains estrogen-rich foods, and when your liver is not able to keep up with detoxification.

2. Lack of uterine tone. Both a sedentary lifestyle and pregnancy can cause the uterus to lose its tone. While this is a physical issue, it is also influenced by the quality of nutrients you are getting through your diet.

3. Hypothyroidism. One of the signs that your thyroid might be slow is excess bleeding. If you also notice you have a lack of appetite, are gaining weight, feel cold most of the time, and are fatigued easily, there’s a good chance your thyroid function is below the normal range.

With any of these causes, there is an essential, proactive approach you must take if you want a lasting solution.

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‍What you can do:

To eliminate heavy bleeding for good, you must look at the larger picture of balancing hormones. Your diet and lifestyle are the most essential factors in this picture, since how you eat and how you live have a direct effect on your hormonal balance. In each of the 3 underlying causes listed above, you can see how there is a direct influence from food and daily practices.

Our 5-step protocol is designed to help you create a solid foundation with your diet and lifestyle, so that you can eliminate excess estrogen, restore proper thyroid function, and rebuild uterine health, thereby banishing frustrating symptoms like heavy bleeding.

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Where do supplements come in?

Taking supplements means exactly what the word implies: a supplemental addition to a healthy diet and lifestyle.

If you’re experiencing heavy periods, here are supplements you can start taking that will help heal the issue alongside other dietary changes:

• ‍Vitamin C with Bioflavonoids - 2,000-4,000 mg/day - has an anti-estrogenic effect on the uterus.  A study showed that vitamin C was able to reduce heavy bleeding in 87% of women who participated. Bioflavonoids were also shown to strengthen the vessel walls of the capillaries, further reducing the bleeding. *‍
• Sulforaphane - detoxifies and clears out excess estrogen from the body. It also provides protection against fibroid growth, as well as supporting a healthy inflammatory response. ‍
• NAC - supports detoxification in the liver, and provides antioxidant support against inflammation. ‍
• DIM - assists the body in removing excess estrogen. DIM also helps balance hormones and weight, and may reduce long periods.‍
• Calcium-D-Glucarate - detoxifies excess hormones and supports the liver in breaking down and removing xenoestrogens.

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Our RELEASE Fibroids and Heavy Bleeding Supplement Kit contains all of the essential nutrients needed to help get to the root cause of heavy bleeding to get rid of it for good.

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Of course any supplement is only a part of the bigger picture of diet and lifestyle. To create sustained healing and a balanced period, you need to address several factors including estrogen overload, progesterone levels, cortisol levels, elimination and blood sugar stability.

In our webinar, Troubleshoot Your Period Problems, we'll break it all down for you into easy-to-apply action steps that will get you from feeling weighed down by your period to flo-ing freely all month long! This webinar covers:

• The most common period problems and how to self-diagnose: PMS, heavy bleeding, irregular or missing periods, etc.
• Exactly what signs and symptoms to be aware of – and which ones indicate something more serious
• The steps to take to address them all from the underlying causes

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A new study was recently conducted among patients with type 2 diabetes and glucose intolerance, to determine the factors responsible for cognitive impairment. The results show that those who were taking the drug Metformin were twice as likely to exhibit cognitive impairment and that Metformin and brain impairment were linked. They also discovered that the only way to slow down the damage to the brain was with micronutrient changes - aka food!

The relevance for you, WomanCoders, is that glucose sensitivities and Metformin prescriptions are common occurrences in women with hormonal imbalances, particularly PCOS. But how often are you made aware of the potential side effects?As more studies are revealed that show the chronic, long-term side effects of commonly prescribed drugs, it’s becoming clear that we can’t afford to buy the idea that a pill can fix you. Additionally, the new research makes a stronger case every day that food can correct the imbalances that the medication is trying to manage on the symptom level. The most obvious and effective solution is to use food as your medicine.So this week’s Hormonal Health Challenge is:

Evaluate your reliance on prescription drugs that are supposed to be healing your hormonal imbalances.

Use this set of questions:

• How long have I been taking it?
• Was it prescribed to “fix” a certain symptom, and is that issue still being addressed?
• What side effects do I experience?
• Am I neglecting to look at the role my diet and lifestyle play in what’s happening with my hormones?

We’re not by any means suggesting to go cold turkey with any medication you’ve been prescribed. Rather, we are suggesting that you start a dialogue with your body and your physician to make sure that you’re taking an approach that best suits you.The WomanCode System was designed to facilitate this dialogue by teaching you a specially sequenced food-therapy protocol that will naturally bring your body back into balance. As we’ve seen women’s success stories with it over the years, I’m pretty sure your doctor would be happy to know you’re taking a proactive approach to your hormonal health.Get the details and see if it’s for you by clicking here.

As important as it is to be eating in a way that supports your hormonal balance, you also have to be aware of the other products and potions you put on and into your body.

So for this week, let’s move the focus from the refrigerator to the medicine cabinet - are you ready, ladies?I'll be discussing my top 5 simple swaps to make your beauty & health products FLO-friendly.Did you ever wonder if there was something else you could take for that headache or the sleepless nights?Or maybe you wonder if the products you’ve been using for a long time are in fact healthy for your hormonal balance?

Find out here.

Good things come in threes:

I want to hear from you!

First: What swap are you making TODAY?Second: Share your #Flobeauty experience with us!Third: You know every one you know is hormonal – spread a little good ovary karma and share this article on social by clicking the buttons below

Need more Hormone Help?

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

Click here to get your quiz!