The Truth About Birth Control, Cycle Syncing, PMS, And More

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[00:00:00] LM: Lauren, welcome to the podcast. We’re going to get into a lot of period questions today. Let’s do it. If we are having painful cramps, is that a sign that something’s wrong? It definitely can be, yes. Is the length of your cycle indicating anything about your

[00:00:12] LP: hormonal health? It can. We see that with women that have really short cycles or really long cycles, both of those can be due to hormone irregularity.

[00:00:19] No one tells them, oh, this increases your risk of vitamin deficiencies. And then they’re like, well, why am I so fatigued all the time? Why do I feel depressed when

[00:00:24] LM: I’m on birth control? Is there any scientific validity to the idea of syncing your cycle to your workouts, to what you eat, to your lifestyle habits?

[00:00:32] What’s your take on the toxins in tampons situation? I mean, they’re there for sure. It makes sense. Hello, friends, and welcome to the Liz Moody podcast, where every week we are sharing real science, real stories, and realistic tools that actually level up every part of your life. I am your host, Liz Moody, and I’m a bestselling author and longtime journalist.

[00:00:52] Today’s guest is Lauren Papanos, who we first had on back in September. She is a registered dietitian with a master’s in English. [00:01:00] integrative nutrition. She is board certified in functional endocrinology. She’s also the founder of the integrative nutrition practice Functional Fueling. She hosts the podcast Strengthen Hormones and she’s been featured in outlets like Forbes, Shape, Insider, PopSugar, and more.

[00:01:15] She has worked with Tons of clients to get their hormones and especially their reproductive hormones in check. This episode is all about our periods, what we get wrong about them, how to work with them, how to alleviate cramps, Lauren’s thoughts on cycle syncing and hormonal birth control, her pre period plan to alleviate PMS, and so much more.

[00:01:37] Lauren, welcome to the podcast. We’re going to get into a lot of period questions today. Let’s do it. If we are having painful cramps, is that a sign that something’s wrong? It definitely can

[00:01:46] LP: be, yes. So generally with any of your PMS symptoms, cramps included, it’s a sign that there’s high levels of prostaglandins.

[00:01:53] And prostaglandins are like these little inflammatory signaling molecules that are what are released anytime we’re in pain. So you sprain your [00:02:00] ankle, it’s prostaglandins to thank for that. But they’re naturally released in higher quantities before your period to be able to shed the uterine lining so that you have a period.

[00:02:07] So they have to be there. But when there’s already pre existing levels of chronic inflammation going on, generally that’s what’s going to cause people to have worsening issues with cramps. Or, if there’s inadequate levels of progesterone, that can also cause this to happen, because progesterone actually helps to lower that prostaglandin production.

[00:02:24] LM: If we’re regularly having really

[00:02:26] LP: bad

[00:02:27] LM: cramps, what should we do?

[00:02:28] LP: First, I would say, look at, do you have low progesterone levels? And you would know that if you’re not ovulating. And if you’re wearing an Oura ring, you can sync that over with natural cycles, or you can look at the temperature data. You’re not getting a temperature spike about halfway through your cycle, so around like day 14 to 20.

[00:02:43] You’re not ovulating. And if your temperature’s not staying elevated for at least 10 to 14 days, you’re not getting an adequate progesterone response. And one of the big things that impacts progesterone is our friend cortisol, because cortisol will really steal the show when our body wants to make more of those stress hormones, and [00:03:00] it’ll pull it away from progesterone.

[00:03:01] That can sometimes be an issue for people, and I see it really often that women are dealing with low progesterone or anovulatory cycles. What do you do for them? Well, we have to look at, like, why is the body in so much stress? What are areas that we can recalibrate that stress response and get the body out of this fight or flight?

[00:03:16] It could also be that there’s inadequate signaling of luteinizing hormone coming from the brain down to the ovaries, and sometimes we can use herbs to be able to help stimulate that production. Vitamin C and vitamin B6 have been shown in research to help support progesterone production. I haven’t seen them on their own really move the needle very much for women.

[00:03:33] I find that dealing with the stress response is a better way of going about that and that’s where we’re looking at exercise stress, nutritional stress, all those factors that are like in the controllables. Undereating, overexercising.

[00:03:45] LM: Exactly.

[00:03:45] LP: Don’t do those things especially before you’re supposed to ovulate.

[00:03:48] Because that’s the point when you should be getting that LH response. And if your body’s under stress, then you’re not going to get that LH surge. And then that’s why your cycle becomes really long. People always wonder, they’re like, why is my cycle so late when I was really [00:04:00] under stress? It’s because your brain isn’t getting that stimulation to release down to make adequate progesterone.

[00:04:06] LM: Which leads us into one of the biggest questions that people have, which is, is there any scientific validity to the idea of syncing your cycle to your workouts, to what you eat? to your lifestyle habits.

[00:04:16] LP: There can be. The biggest thing to know about all of the cycle syncing information out there is that it’s based off of someone having the right levels of hormones.

[00:04:23] The information you’re going to see is going to say, around ovulation, you have the best energy levels. That’s when you should really push it. Well, yes, if you have adequate levels of progesterone, but if you aren’t having adequate levels of progesterone because your body’s under too much stress, then don’t do that because that

[00:04:39] LM: could actually inhibit your ability to ovulate.

[00:04:41] Oh, that’s so interesting. So if we’re listening and we’re trying to decide whether cycle syncing is something that would benefit us or potentially harm us, what should we look for?

[00:04:48] LP: I would really start to track your own cycle and just make sure your cycle is regular. Even just using basal body temperature tracking where you’re taking your temperature either through your finger on or a ring.

[00:04:59] [00:05:00] Or, under the tongue with a thermometer, and you’re plotting that temperature all throughout the month of your cycle is the best way to understand if you’re having a normal cycle pattern.

[00:05:08] LM: And we’re looking for, you said, an elevated temperature from about halfway through the month onward? Correct. Are there other things that we’re looking for?

[00:05:16] You can track

[00:05:16] LP: cervical mucus production and symptoms and things, but it’s sometimes hard to discern because You could be having cervical mucus because you’re aroused. Might not be because there’s progesterone production happening because you’re ovulating. So sometimes it can be hard for women to discern if that’s what’s causing the change in hormones.

[00:05:32] Body temperature tracking is the most accurate way to really know where you’re at within your cycle.

[00:05:37] LM: I hear from a lot of people who have Different types of hormonal imbalances, though, and they feel like cycle syncing is the thing that helps them feel better from that place of being hormonally imbalanced.

[00:05:47] Is there validity to that? Feeling

[00:05:50] LP: better may be one thing. Whether it’s like actually moving a needle hormonally is a different thing. It really depends, too, on what type of hormonal imbalance are we talking about and what does your individual body [00:06:00] need. Maybe you have a hormonal imbalance like you just have high estrogen levels.

[00:06:03] Then, yeah, cycle syncing is probably going to be beneficial for you. But if you have a hormonal balance like PCOS, where you have low progesterone levels and high testosterone, cycle syncing is probably not going to move the needle very much. The person that I’m thinking of had PMDD. PMDD is where there’s extreme mood changes that happen before your menstrual cycle.

[00:06:21] So I could see where cycle syncing would help with that because you’re basically helping to increase serotonin production, which is like one of the factors that drives PMDD.

[00:06:29] LM: What people are doing during cycle syncing, they’re kind of like, Doing different types of workouts at different phases in their cycle.

[00:06:35] They’re eating differently. Those are enough to actually Change things though and have a noticeable effect Even if it’s not necessarily the effect that every person needs that actually is gonna make a difference. It can but a lot of these

[00:06:46] LP: nutritional exercise interventions They’re not going to have an immediate effect.

[00:06:50] It’s going to take three months for your hypothalamus to really reset to them. When we’re talking About a lot of these cycle syncing things you’re asking your body to make a huge change within a couple of days [00:07:00] And that’s pretty hard for the body to do in that short period of time, right? You’re going to need to do something consistently, like inputs need to be consistent for longer than that.

[00:07:07] I think it creates more stress for women than it does help them. And that so many women are dealing with different types of hormone imbalances that it’s really hard to across the board say, Okay. This is what all women should be doing to achieve balanced hormones.

[00:07:20] LM: Do you think there’s things that we should typically be adding in, though, or avoiding at different parts of our cycle?

[00:07:25] Like, for instance, should we be avoiding doing hard workouts while we are on our periods?

[00:07:30] LP: Actually, you should do your hard workouts when you’re on your period because that’s when you have the lowest hormone levels. I don’t recommend doing it maybe the first day or two because generally you still have high levels of those prostaglandins, that inflammation.

[00:07:42] So then if you add like a hard workout to it, more inflammation, probably going to notice a worsening of PMS symptoms. But really once you get through day two, and a lot of women can probably attest to this, right, your inflammation levels go down. You don’t have the cramps as much. You don’t have the headaches and all those PMS symptoms.

[00:07:56] And at that point, you have a really low hormone output. Your estrogen and progesterone are at the [00:08:00] lowest point of the whole cycle. And that’s when you’re most hormonally similar to like a man’s hormone profile, right? Hmm. That would be a time where you could actually push yourself more. And there’s even been research to show that women who are in athletic events actually hit more PRs during that time because it is a lower hormone output.

[00:08:14] LM: Oh my gosh, that’s so interesting because I was Thinking about the Olympics, and I was like, wait, are these Olympic athletes ever competing on their period? Because that sounds awful to me, but you’re like, as long as they’re not on their first day or two, they might even be better. Although, also, I’m sure a lot of athletes aren’t maybe menstruating regularly, unfortunately.

[00:08:31] A lot aren’t, and a lot are

[00:08:32] LP: on oral contraceptives to shut off the reproductive system. To avoid

[00:08:36] LM: that specific thing.

[00:08:37] LP: That’s

[00:08:37] LM: interesting. But, we can. We can. workout on our periods, just, would you say avoid the first day or two or no?

[00:08:43] LP: Yeah, or just something that’s lower impact that’s not going to create that much inflammation.

[00:08:46] So maybe it’s like a walk or the zone two aerobic exercise or yoga, Pilates, something like that. Not like a heavy high intensity interval training or strength training type workout.

[00:08:54] LM: And for the rest of the month, is strength training or harder workouts cool or is there any other time that you would be avoiding that?

[00:08:59] [00:09:00] For someone that’s having difficulty

[00:09:01] LP: with ovulation, sometimes I like to do what I call like a low stress week the week before. Where we do reduce some of that allostatic load by reducing the high intensity exercise and like the resistance training just so we can bring down that cortisol dysregulation that’s going to block that LH response.

[00:09:16] So for some women that are in that situation, it can be helpful, but really it goes back to what is the dose and how are you dosing it, right? If you’re doing these chronically high cortisol level workouts. every day of the week, then yeah, that’s probably going to be something you need to pull down when you’re trying to ovulate.

[00:09:31] But if it’s not something you’re doing every day, it’s not going to have that detrimental impact.

[00:09:35] LM: If you suspect that you’re not ovulating, take the week before your period and just kind of really do like a low stress input week.

[00:09:43] LP: Yeah, you can use that as like what we call like a deload week, or it’s basically just a week focused on recovery.

[00:09:47] You’re still maybe exercising, you’re getting movement in for your physical and mental well being, but it’s not something that’s adding more inflammation to the mix. Is the length of your cycle indicating anything about your hormonal health? It can. We see that with women that have really short [00:10:00] cycles or really long cycles, both of those can be due to hormone irregularity for different reasons.

[00:10:04] Generally, a normal cycle length is somewhere around like 28 to 35 days. So sometimes I see with women, they’re dealing with 24 to 27 day cycles. Generally, they’re not ovulating because there’s just not enough time in that 24 days for you to have a full follicular phase, an ovulatory phase, and a luteal phase.

[00:10:20] So generally, they’re not ovulating or if they are, they’re not making adequate progesterone and that’s why the cycle length is so short. On the other end of the spectrum, for women that have longer cycles, we typically see that a lot with either like PCOS or amenorrhea type situations and that could be because they’re not getting that ovulatory response as well.

[00:10:37] And then that’s causing like this prolonged cycle to happen.

[00:10:40] LM: Why would we not be making enough progesterone and what can we be doing to fix that?

[00:10:44] LP: There are some issues that can happen with that LH response. So LH is a hormone that comes from your brain that’s what signals down to your ovaries to make progesterone.

[00:10:53] FSH is the hormone that comes from your brain as well that signals down to your ovaries to make estrogen. It’s a lot easier for women to make adequate estrogen, and [00:11:00] we can actually make some estrogen from our body fat as well, but progesterone seems to be much harder for women to make, and progesterone is something that’s only made after that LH surge happens.

[00:11:09] So if there is high cortisol going on, that’s going to block that LH surge, and then you’re not going to see that progesterone response come from the ovaries. There can also be issues with hyperlactin levels or with low thyroid hormone levels that can cause this as well. Your thyroid is progesterone friendly, so it’s going to help support your progesterone levels.

[00:11:31] And so if you have hypothyroidism that’s untreated or there’s causes that are going on that are driving your thyroid hormones to be low, you’re probably not going to be ovulating and you’re probably not going to be making adequate levels

[00:11:41] LM: of progesterone. So in that case, you’re looking to treat the root cause of perhaps a cortisol imbalance or a thyroid problem.

[00:11:47] Exactly. Okay. And then on the other end, the longer cycles you said PCOS, et cetera, what’s causing

[00:11:51] LP: those? It can be PCOS that’s causing it where they’re not getting a, any progesterone response that’s happening. Generally with PCOS, we see like chronically high [00:12:00] luteinizing hormone. So it’s kind of the opposite situation where The LH is just constantly being stimulated and so that’s part of what’s causing the inadequate levels of progesterone and high levels of testosterone that are happening because LH also helps us make testosterone.

[00:12:14] It’s also the stimulatory for that. Generally it’s because there’s a chronically high LH that’s causing the really long cycles for those women. Also with amenorrhea it could be because with amenorrhea we see that GNRH, which is gonadotropin releasing hormone that comes from our brain. But then signals to our brain to make FSH and LH is like shut off.

[00:12:34] So I always think of it as like your brain and your ovaries are like two best friends. And so in that situation, they’re not talking. Usually it’s because there’s high allostatic load, which means that the body’s under a lot of stress. There’s not enough nutrition, too much exercise, too much psychological stress.

[00:12:50] And that’s what’s telling the brain, Hey, this isn’t a safe place to reproduce. And the hormones just get shut off.

[00:12:54] LM: Aren’t all of those things though, contributors to cortisol dysregulation. So. Is it the same at both [00:13:00] ends of the spectrum that we have too much allostatic load? Yeah. So why do some people’s bodies respond by going these really long cycles, and then other people’s bodies respond by doing these really short cycles?

[00:13:09] LP: It really depends on like where it’s starting to impact your hormones. So with people that have just acute levels of cortisol dysregulation, then that’s where we see that it generally blocks that ovulation from happening. And um, Oftentimes with shorter cycles, there isn’t as much chronic cortisol issues that are going on.

[00:13:26] It’s usually more issues with they’re not making adequate progesterone and it’s probably because there’s thyroid hormone insufficiency. That’s usually what we see with that. But cortisol plays a role in a All of it, whether it’s short or long cycles, and cortisol is not my favorite term to use, like it’s more HPA axis dysregulation, right?

[00:13:43] It’s more so the brain is not getting the feedback signals that it needs from the ovaries, and that’s why

[00:13:49] LM: all of this is getting dysregulated. So can you give us a few action steps, and they can include testing, but I would also love one or two things we can do at home if we’re on the longer end and we’re trying to bring that back [00:14:00] down to a more healthy cycle?

[00:14:02] LP: A lot of it’s just going to go back to looking at your total allostatic load. So you’ve got to look at Are you overexercising for what your body can handle? You might not feel like it’s overexercising for you, but it might be for what your body can handle in that moment, especially in conjunction with your other stressors in life alongside of your psychological stress, your work stress, all those other things.

[00:14:21] Nutrition is going to play a big role. Are you in an energy efficient state? Are you meeting your calorie needs every day? Carbohydrates and fat are going to be the two macronutrients that are going to disrupt the ovarian function the most. If you aren’t eating enough carbs and fats, you’re just eating like all protein or you’re in a chronically low calorie state, you’re going to see some suppression to that release from the brain down to the ovaries.

[00:14:45] That can be a big issue that’s going on that can be addressed. Also looking at for women that have PCOS is, is there a way that we can support lowering those androgenic hormones? Maybe it’s working on improving blood sugar balance or maybe it’s working on increasing muscle [00:15:00] mass because the more muscle we have, the more insulin sensitive we are.

[00:15:03] And if we’re more insulin sensitive, we make less of those androgenic hormones. So it really will differ based off each individual person. And sometimes women with PCOS will say, Well, I’m doing all those things. I’m eating a really blood sugar healthy diet and I’m exercising. I’m like, let me take a look at it.

[00:15:16] If somebody

[00:15:17] LM: feels like they’re doing all those things,

[00:15:18] LP: Yeah. What actually

[00:15:19] LM: is happening?

[00:15:19] LP: Sometimes it’s even deeper rooted. Sometimes with PCOS, it’s not the high androgens or it’s not that they are over exercising and things of that sort. It could be that their immune system is totally going disarray from something.

[00:15:31] That can sometimes be the case. I often find, too, that a lot of times people take information that they see on Instagram and then they apply that and then think that they’re like an expert in that area because of it. But there’s so many more nuances that go into it when we actually take a look at how they’re taking that information and then applying it.

[00:15:49] It’s not being interpreted how The information came off, if that makes sense. If we’re on that

[00:15:53] LM: shorter end of the cycle, what’s our next action steps there? A

[00:15:56] LP: lot of times we see short cycles with the thyroid issues. We see it a lot with [00:16:00] perimenopause as well, that the cycles can get shorter because the progesterone levels are low too.

[00:16:04] So with perimenopause, there’s only so much you can do, right? But sometimes hormone replacement therapy can be a helpful option to explore in that area. With the thyroid, I mean, the adrenals, cortisol does play a role with the thyroid, but Really we have to look at is what’s going on in the liver and the gut because those are where mainly thyroid hormone conversion is happening.

[00:16:22] 70 percent of thyroid hormone conversion happens in the liver and about 20 percent through your gut bacteria. Oftentimes when there’s low thyroid hormone levels, there’s something going on that’s causing the liver to not work as efficiently. There’s genetic things that are slowing down liver metabolism, insufficiency of bile production, or minerals that the thyroid needs to be able to make those thyroid hormones.

[00:16:42] So Maybe it’s something as simple as like someone is iron deficient or they’re iodine deficient because those minerals are how we make thyroid hormones and how we sensitize our thyroid cells to actually using those hormones. And we would probably want to

[00:16:54] LM: get our thyroid tested if we are experiencing a short cycle, correct?

[00:16:57] LP: Yes, definitely. And make sure it’s not just TSH [00:17:00] because oftentimes you’re not going to see any issues with TSH unless you have full blown hypothyroidism going on. So we really want to look at is T4 in the free state, free T3, and reverse T3, and then if you don’t know if you have an autoimmune thyroid disease or not, then I would rule that out at least at one point.

[00:17:15] What’s your very favorite thing to do to support the

[00:17:17] LM: liver and what’s your very favorite thing to do to support the gut?

[00:17:20] LP: There’s three phases of liver metabolism. We always start at the back and work forward. When it comes to phase three of liver metabolism, it’s all about pooping. So, supporting just like regular motility, eating more fiber.

[00:17:31] And then if you need support in that area, maybe using things like Olivera, magnesium citrate that are kind of more natural laxatives just to kind of get things going and that third phase can be a helpful starting point. Phase one and phase two require a lot of amino acids, a lot of antioxidants, B vitamins, so we need to make sure that we are getting those in through the diet and that we’re also getting in adequate supplementation if not.

[00:17:55] I would say the one that’s probably the most underlooked is just the role of bile in the liver. Bile [00:18:00] actually helps with thyroid hormone conversion and activation. You can also stimulate bowel flow through bitter foods. So things like arugula, apple cider vinegar, dandelion, beets, those can all be things that you can incorporate.

[00:18:11] Milk thistle, glutathione, those are all like supplemental things you can do too. Oh, cool. And the gut? Really, those bacteria are converted through your beneficial bacteria, what we call your keystone species. So making sure that we’re eating a wide variety of plants. So from the research, we know that over 30 varieties of plants per week is really where we see the healthiest good gut bacteria.

[00:18:30] Trying to diversify the plants you’re eating, you know, not just eating broccoli for dinner every night, but trying to get in maybe like two or three different plant sources and then getting a diversity of those throughout the week so that you have the most robust gut microbiota. Yeah. Yeah.

[00:18:43] LM: If we are on birth control or we have an IUD, are we still experiencing the four phases of our cycle?

[00:18:48] With

[00:18:49] LP: oral

[00:18:49] LM: contraceptives,

[00:18:50] LP: no. One of the ways they work is by shutting off the brain to ovary connection. So those two best friends I talked about earlier, they’ve like got their backs to each other. They’re not talking. That’s kind of what oral contraceptives do. [00:19:00] With the IUDs, they work through a little bit of a different mechanism.

[00:19:02] If you’re on like a hormonal IUD, they do contain progestin, which is like a synthetic form of progesterone. So they do have a hormonal effect, but some of them are really low in progestin, and they work more by actually impacting fertilization. So not as much through the hormonal system. So, some women find that with IUDs they still do ovulate, especially if they either have like just had it placed and the levels of the progestin haven’t built up enough, or if it’s on like its last leg and you need to get it removed or replaced soon, then sometimes women do ovulate with IUDs.

[00:19:34] And if you’re ovulating, you are having the four phases of the cycle, so that is possible. If you’re on a non hormonal IUD, like a copper IUD, then you definitely can still be

[00:19:42] LM: ovulating. If you’re remotely interested in cycle syncing, though, the only way that would apply is if you’re on a last phase of like a Mirena or you’re potentially on a copper.

[00:19:51] Or not on birth control at all. Or not on birth control at all. Or not on any sort of external birth control. Yeah. What’s your vibe on birth control?

[00:19:57] LP: There’s a lot of hearsay around, well, if you use birth control, like [00:20:00] your hormones are just messed up for the rest of your life. There’s no literature to show that that’s really the case, that it’s having a long term detrimental impact.

[00:20:07] And I think that ultimately comes down to is why did you get put on birth control in the first place? And that’s what I always ask women that come to work with us that have been on birth control. And are like, I still haven’t got my period back, or now I’m dealing with cystic acne once I came off of it, or X, Y, or Z symptom.

[00:20:22] I’m like, well, let’s go back to when you went on birth control. Why were you put on it, and what was happening at that point? Because the answer of why there’s post birth control issues always lies in why you were put on birth control in the first place. Because birth control is just a band aid, and then you take the band

[00:20:36] LM: aid off, and nothing’s been healed.

[00:20:37] So for people who are stressed out about not getting their period back post birth control, it’s about figuring out the root cause. Is there anything that you think everybody going off birth control should be doing to quote unquote detox from the pill?

[00:20:49] LP: We do know it’s hard on the liver. It’s hard on the gut.

[00:20:51] It depletes a lot of vitamins, especially minerals and B vitamins. So I would definitely say is yes, Add in some B vitamins, some methylated B vitamins. Make sure you’re [00:21:00] eating enough protein, because that’s going to be where you’re mainly going to get B vitamins. Maybe add in like a mineral complex, or make sure you’re eating enough different nuts and seeds and vegetables that provide all of those natural minerals in them.

[00:21:11] You can do some liver support, absolutely, because any type of pharmaceutical you’re on long term. It’s all going through the liver. So your liver is getting, has more work to do when that’s happening. There’s definitely some ways you can support the livers through a lot of the strategies that we talked about earlier.

[00:21:24] And that could be something that someone looks at exploring. I recommend generally like start it three months prior to when you plan to come off of it. That way, your body has enough time for these things to actually go into effect because really our cells turn over every three months or so. And then that way, by the time you’ve come off of it, okay, now you’re in a position to where at least we know that, yeah, now we’ve got to work on the hormone communication happening, but we don’t also have to work on the liver detoxing, the vitamins restoring.

[00:21:48] All of that’s already been addressed, and we can just focus on putting the body into a place where the brain and ovaries can restore the relationship.

[00:21:54] LM: Would you recommend all of those techniques for somebody who’s choosing to be on hormonal birth control just to mitigate the [00:22:00] negative effects?

[00:22:00] Definitely. That’s really

[00:22:01] LP: underlooked, too, is that a lot of women are on birth control, no one tells them, oh, this increases your risk of vitamin deficiencies. And then they’re like, well, why am I so fatigued all the time? Why do I feel depressed? I’m on birth control. Is there anything else that you’d recommend for somebody who’s taking it to help?

[00:22:14] We know that there can be impacts to the thyroid and to the gut from birth control. So I would definitely make sure like you’re eating enough diversity in your diet to support those good gut bacteria. Maybe even looking at using like a spore based probiotic that has a really high ability to inoculate the gut bacteria with beneficial bacteria that may be beneficial or using something like L glutamine, Olivera.

[00:22:34] that help to be able to prevent things like intestinal permeability that can cause more gut related issues. So those can definitely be things that you do while on it. You can also look at just making sure that you’re having your thyroid checked every so often while you’re on it so you know what’s happening with your thyroid.

[00:22:49] If you start to see that your T4 and T3 are dropping, that they’re getting really low, or your TSH is getting high, really above like 2. 5, The birth control is probably playing an impact on your thyroid, and [00:23:00] we then need to look at how we can support the thyroid to really help with that whole

[00:23:03] LM: equation.

[00:23:04] Going back to cramps, what does the scientific evidence say about actually alleviating cramps in the moment? Is there anything that we can do, like, to help? So it all goes back to

[00:23:14] LP: that whole prostaglandin situation. There are actual prostaglandin inhibitors. That’s actually one of the ways that omega 3 fatty acids work is through prostaglandins.

[00:23:22] I always recommend doing what I call a PMS stack, and that’s one week before you start your period, you take a high dose of omega 3s with curcuminoids, which is the active compound, and turmeric because those also help reduce inflammation and the immune cell sensitivity that happens at that time. You can also use something like magnesium and minerals because those help to be able to reduce the muscle contractions that cause a lot of the cramping as well.

[00:23:44] And then sometimes vitamin E, my favorite form is called annatto, can be a really helpful way to help with that too because it’s helping lower the oxidative stress that’s happening during that time. And I’ve seen substantial outcomes with clients that we’ve started on that where they’re like, I had no issues [00:24:00] this period at all.

[00:24:01] And you had debilitating cramps before. Of course, there can be other cause of cramps like fibroids and polyps and things, and those might require different support options. But if you know that there’s nothing going on in that area, you’re just having really severe cramps and maybe headaches even. Start on some of that anti inflammatory support seven days before, maybe through like day two.

[00:24:21] And you’re probably going to notice a dramatic effect on how you feel. When you say really high

[00:24:25] LM: dose of fish oil, what

[00:24:26] LP: do you mean? I mean, it can depend on what someone’s needs. Like, if they already have high levels of inflammation, they might need more, but usually about 2, 000 milligrams or 2 grams per day.

[00:24:33] Is cold plunging on my period bad? I don’t think it would be bad, but I mean, you are getting an inflammatory response from it. Remember that there’s already high levels of that inflammation.

[00:24:41] LM: Isn’t part of the reason that I’m cold plunging to alleviate inflammation? Yeah. Or is it about

[00:24:45] LP: the acute

[00:24:45] LM: versus

[00:24:46] LP: the long term?

[00:24:46] It’s the acute versus the chronic. I would just see how you feel with it. I personally, like, I feel totally fine strength training when I’m on my period. But some people don’t. So I think it really just comes down to how does your body tolerate

[00:24:56] LM: those things? I feel like I spent a long time trying to kind of like, do [00:25:00] nothing on my period.

[00:25:00] And I always felt so much worse. But then when I added back in working out and hiking and strength training and cold plunging, I felt so much better. And I’m like, Wait, am I doing my body harm, even though I feel better in this moment? No, because like I

[00:25:12] LP: said, maybe you don’t have this high prostaglandin situation.

[00:25:14] So there’s not really high levels of inflammation. And you feel really good when you have low hormone levels. Like I said, you are technically in a better athletic state. When those hormone levels are low, so then if you take the inflammation out of the equation, then you know you could feel really good at that point.

[00:25:28] LM: Is it good for me to eat a

[00:25:29] LP: lot of chocolate

[00:25:30] LM: in like the day or two before my period in the first day of my period? Yeah, so

[00:25:33] LP: chocolate is a big source of magnesium, so that’s one of the reasons why it can help with the PMS symptoms, and they say why people crave it as well, because you crave what your body’s low in, right?

[00:25:42] I’m just very intuitive, so my intuition’s like, go to C’s. Yeah, just make sure it’s

[00:25:47] LM: cadmium free,

[00:25:47] LP: right?

[00:25:50] LM: Are you okay with leaning into this, like, a little bit snackier impulse that we have?

[00:25:55] LP: Scientifically, you do have an increased resting metabolic rate in the week before your period. You [00:26:00] burn about, like, 150 calories more per day.

[00:26:01] Scientifically, there is some merit to that. But I would not go, like, crazy overboard or anything or, like, add in a lot of sugars and things that could cause more inflammation. But yeah, you might have an increase in hunger because you have a higher resting metabolic rate.

[00:26:15] LM: What’s your take on the toxins in tampon situation.

[00:26:20] I mean, they’re there

[00:26:20] LP: for sure. It makes sense. They’re all chlorine and you’ve got all of the fragrances and things, the plastic applicators. So all of those, they contain endocrine disrupting chemicals.

[00:26:30] LM: What do you think is the best way to deal with our menstrual blood in terms of toxicity? Because there’s the recent study about all of these things in tampons, which they were, Very clear in the study.

[00:26:39] They didn’t know if it was enough to impact our endocrine system, but it was even in organic tampons. And then there’s the plastics that have been found in the period underwear. I don’t know if the silicone cups have their own issues. So what’s the best way to actually deal with the blood? I think the best out of all of them is probably

[00:26:54] LP: the menstrual cups that are silicone.

[00:26:55] I mean, I don’t think there probably ever is going to be a perfect option

[00:26:58] LM: in that [00:27:00] category. I like the period underwear. Do you think if I’m looking for brands that have been tested? You know, I’m just interested that I am okay. Yeah, definitely. If you were going to give us a homework assignment to universally help support our menstrual cycle, what’s one thing that you would recommend everybody do?

[00:27:13] Eating more

[00:27:13] LP: antioxidants and anti inflammatories. What are your favorites? The most powerful ones are going to be things that help us make glutathione. It’s like our body’s master antioxidant. So, sulfur rich foods, cruciferous vegetables, broccolis, cauliflowers, onions, garlic. are all great for that.

[00:27:26] They’re fat soluble antioxidants, so things like vitamin E, vitamin A, beef liver, egg yolks, olive oil, extra virgin olive oil can all be really great options. You do have other antioxidants like leafy greens and berries and things, but they’re not quite as potent as some of the other glutathione producing antioxidants are.

[00:27:42] Selenium is so important, especially when we’re talking about the thyroid. It’s what helps with glutathione recycling, and glutathione is actually what combats the inflammation that causes all The thyroid destruction and a lot of the thyroid related symptoms.

[00:27:54] LM: I love it. A lot of food for thought. Thank you so much, Lauren.

[00:27:57] Can you tell us a little bit about where we can find you and all of your [00:28:00] programs? I

[00:28:00] LP: am on Instagram at Functional. Fueling. Our website is FunctionalFueling. com. My podcast is called the Strength and Hormones Podcast and we do a One on one work where we do testing and kind of root cause treatment with individuals.

[00:28:12] And then we also do programs. So we have a program called Inflammation Harmony, and that’s really where we’re addressing the root causes of hormone imbalances.

[00:28:19] LM: Oh, I just realized that’s a pun, isn’t it? Yeah. I like that. I like that. I love a pun title. Well, thank you so much for coming and sharing all your beautiful wisdom.

[00:28:28] That is all for this episode of the Liz Moody podcast. If you are new to the podcast, welcome. I am so glad that you’re here. Make sure that you are following the podcast on whatever platform that you like to listen on. I know that 50 percent of you listening to this episode do not follow the podcast.

[00:28:45] What is up with that? You’re making your life harder by not following. Not only is it the best way to support the podcast, but it also makes sure that episodes show up right in your feed. You don’t have to search for them anywhere. And trust me, you do not want to [00:29:00] miss what we have coming up soon. I will be delivering some incredible science, interviews, and advice every single Monday and every single Wednesday for you.

[00:29:09] Okay, I love you and I will see you for the next episode of the Liz Moody Podcast. If you loved this episode, you will love the episode where Lauren and I dive into everything that social media gets wrong about hormones, including diving into intermittent fasting, cold plunging, a deep dive on cortisol, which I was completely wrong about before talking to Lauren, and so much more.

[00:29:31] I will link that episode for you in the show notes. Oh, just one more thing. It’s the legal language. This podcast is presented solely for educational and entertainment purposes. It is not intended as a substitute for the advice of a physician, a psychotherapist, or any other qualified professional.