Do you have PMS more days per month than you would like?

Is your menstrual period out of control with pain or excessive bleeding?

Are you counting the days, months and years until all this monthly suffering ends?

Or, are you in perimenopause and feeling like menopause has already started but you still have the period.

Maybe you are in menopause and your hot flashes are making your life miserable or worse…

We women have a complex hormonal life all provided in order to be the carriers and bringers of new life. But do we have to suffer the burden of our hormones all our lives?

Those of you who know me, know that I will say “absolutely not“. Our bodies are not really intended to cause us this pain and suffering. It is merely a sign that somehow our bodies have gotten out of balance.

Of course many of you know that it is my business to help you get back into hormonal balance. But there are also things you can do yourselves to help you have a better quality of life.

What can you do?

Start with an excellent diet.

Eat a largely plant based diet and make sure you limit sugar, caffeine and alcohol intake. Lots of plant based foods contain phytoestrogenic substances to support your hormones. Some of the best ones are beans, nuts and seeds like garbanzo beans, mung beans, black beans, kidney beans, lentils, flax seeds(must be ground up), sesame seeds, almonds, walnuts, pistachios.

Other foods that are excellent sources of phytoestrogens are seaweed, collards, broccoli, garlic, olives and olive oil, dried prunes and dried apricots.

These are just some food sources, there are others as well.

Red clover, an excellent source of phytoestrogen.

What else can you do?

Reduce stress with meditation or acupuncture.

Stress is a hormone disruptor. It can cause you to miss your menstrual period, keep you from getting pregnant, make menopause symptoms worse, make sleep difficult-which leads me to my next topic.

Sleep Enough

Sleep is a vital ingredient for keeping hormone balance. It is during the night that your body resets and balances hormones. Lack of sleep leads to weight gain, and more stress. This can be a catch 22 situation as hormone imbalance can cause sleeplessness creating a cycle of out of control hormonal balance.

Make sure you wind down at night by turning off the TV, computer and and overly lit room. Melatonin the hormone that helps regulate your sleep cycle responds to light and a lack thereof. Too much light at night keeps your body from releasing melatonin which contributes to restless sleep and insomnia.

These are just a few changes you can make to get back in balance. If adding these changes to your lifestyle don’t improve your hormone balance you may need a little extra help and guidance. I am happy to answer your questions about how herbs, acupuncture and other lifestyle guidance may help you improve the quality of your life and get you back in balance.

310-367-1564