Menopause Awareness Month 2024 Tips for Hormone Harmony.
As we recognise Menopause Awareness Month 2024, it’s important to shine a light on how women experience menopause, from psychological symptoms to physical symptoms, how we can improve these symptoms naturally, and how we can make this phase of life a time to reflect on life so far and what we want the rest of our lives to be like.
With Menopause Awareness Day being today, Friday, 18th October, this is the perfect time to raise awareness about the crucial role hormones play in our well-being and how maintaining hormone harmony can make a significant difference in the menopause experience.
Hormone imbalances, particularly estrogen dominance, are common during menopause and can lead to frustrating symptoms like hot flushes, night sweats, mood swings, and tiredness.
However, by focusing on balancing hormones naturally, women can ease these symptoms and embrace a healthier, more vibrant life through and beyond menopause, naturally.
In this blog, I’ll share essential tips for achieving hormone harmony without hormone replacement therapy during menopause, empowering you to take charge of your health and feel your best during this transformative phase.
Understanding Hormone Harmony in Menopause
Hormone harmony is the balance your body strives for every single day.
Just like through puberty as you transition through menopause this delicate hormone balance is often disrupted.
The key reproductive hormones involved are estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone, but their optimal performance is also dependent on other key hormones, such as Insulin, Cortisol, and thyroid-stimulating hormones, to name just a few.
As these hormones fluctuate imbalances can lead to uncomfortable and debilitating symptoms such as hot flushes, night sweats, insomnia, brain fog, weight gain and mood swings.
One of the most common imbalances during menopause is estrogen dominance, where estrogen levels become disproportionately high in relation to progesterone.
This dominance can exacerbate symptoms and increase the risk of long-term health issues, such as fibroids, painful and heavy periods, PCOS, Endometriosis as well as breast cancer and uterine cancer.
Understanding how to bring these hormones into balance is crucial for protecting your well-being during menopause and beyond.
By learning to support estrogen pathways, reducing your exposure to environmental estrogens and making intentional but incremental lifestyle changes you can work towards balancing these hormones.
Hormone harmony doesn’t happen overnight, but with the right approach, it can make a profound difference in your day-to-day life.
The Impact of Lifestyle on Hormone Balance and Natural Support Strategies
The lifestyle choices we make daily can significantly influence our hormone balance, particularly during menopause.
Factors such as nutrition, physical activity, and stress management play pivotal roles in either supporting or disrupting hormone harmony.
By being intentional with your actions, you can create a solid foundation for your hormone health.
What and when you eat is one of the most powerful tools at your disposal.
Incorporating whole, nutrient-dense foods can help balance oestrogen levels and reduce inflammation in the body.
Focus on including:
- Cruciferous vegetables (like broccoli and kale), which contain compounds that help detoxify excess estrogen and provide non-starchy carbohydrates.
- Healthy fats (such as avocados, nuts, and olive oil), which support hormone production.
- At least 30 grams of protein at each meal which provides the building blocks for hormones and cell renewal
In addition to nutrition, engaging in regular physical activity can be transformative.
Exercise supports hormonal balance by protecting against insulin resistance, reducing stress levels and promoting the release of endorphins.
Focusing on strength training and flexibility is important after the age of 40 for long-term health.
Strength training especially helps protect against osteoporosis and sarcopenia whilst walking is a great low-impact form of cardio that doesn’t over stress the body and can help manage mental stress.
This brings me nicely to Stress Management.
Chronic stress can lead to elevated cortisol levels, which may further disrupt hormone balance.
Techniques such as mindfulness meditation, yoga, or simple breathing exercises can help calm your mind and support hormone health.
To naturally support your hormone balance, consider integrating these strategies into your daily routine:
- Eat well-balanced meals and snacks to support optimal blood sugar levels. Insulin and estrogen have a complicated relationship. The fluctuating levels of estrogen during perimenopause can create insulin resistance leading to fat storage, and excess estrogen from the stored fat – a vicious cycle!
- Adequate sleep is essential for hormone regulation. Prioritise good sleep hygiene to ensure restorative rest each night, this might include melatonin-producing foods.
- Stay hydrated to support overall health and facilitate hormone transport within your body.
The good news is that by recognising the significant impact your lifestyle has on hormone balance and taking intentional steps to support it, you can support your body to pursue hormone harmony through the hormonal changes of perimenopause.
Harnessing Menstrual Cycle Awareness for Long-Term Hormone Health
As a woman approaching menopause, understanding and syncing with your menstrual cycles, or for those with irregular cycles, the phases of the moon, can be a powerful tool for achieving hormone harmony.
Even though the cycle may become less predictable in perimenopause, paying attention to its natural fluctuations is listening to the signs your body is giving you and allows you to align your lifestyle with your body’s shifting hormone levels.
Each phase of the menstrual cycle (or moon cycle) offers unique opportunities to support your hormones:
- Follicular Phase (Waxing Moon): A time of rising estrogen, energy, and creativity. Focus on foods and activities that support estrogen detoxification, such as leafy greens and movement.
- Ovulation (Full Moon): Estrogen peaks and energy is at its highest. This is a great time for social activities and adding exercise or strength training to your routine.
- Luteal Phase (Waning Moon): Progesterone rises, promoting relaxation and introspection. However, through perimenopause, you start to experience anovulatory cycles, no egg, no corpus luteum, no progesterone and this is how estrogen dominance arrises.
- Menstrual Phase (New Moon): A time for rest and renewal. Focus on gentle nourishment and stress relief to support your body as hormone levels reset.
Tracking these rhythms with your symptoms can help you anticipate hormonal shifts and manage your menopause symptoms more effectively.
It’s a valuable tool not only for perimenopause but for long-term hormone health as well.
Aligning with these natural rhythms helps the body adapt to changes more easily, reducing the risk of prolonged hormonal imbalances like estrogen dominance.
When we nourish our bodies in tune with our natural rhythms, we give ourselves the best chance to age healthily and vibrantly.
Taking action now to support your hormones—whether through nutrition, stress management, or cycle awareness—can help you navigate menopause with more ease and resilience.
The earlier you begin aligning with your body’s rhythms, the more balanced your hormones will remain in the long run. Even if you are nearing or already in menopause, it’s never too late to benefit from these practices.
In my personal experience, it has been truly transformative. I knew I didn’t want to rely on hormone therapy, as I’ve always embraced a natural, whole-body approach to both my health and my family’s well-being. However, after supporting my stepdaughter through her cancer treatment this year—researching alongside her and helping her adapt her nutrition and lifestyle—I’m more convinced than ever that reconnecting with our bodies and working from the inside out is the most healthy and empowering path forward.
How I Support Women Through Menopause
Navigating the complexities of menopause and hormone balance can feel overwhelming, but you don’t have to do it alone.
My approach is built on a personalised framework that empowers women to understand and address their unique hormonal needs, particularly when it comes to estrogen dominance. Are you estrogen-dominant? Take this 3-minute quiz to find out.
Using my unique SHIFT system, I guide women through a menopause journey of transformation, helping them regain control over their health and well-being.
The SHIFT system addresses five core areas:
- Symptoms: We begin by identifying and understanding the symptoms that are affecting your quality of life, from hot flashes, fatigue, mood swings, and weight gain to, vaginal dryness and sleepless nights.
- Hormones: Next, we focus on which hormones are at play and the natural approaches you can take to restore balance through a personalised pathway.
- Ignite Your Pathway: Follow your personalised 8-step pathway to discover the root cause of hormone imbalance rather than papering over symptoms for only short-term relief.
- Future Health: Menopause is a time to focus not only on immediate relief but also on protecting your long-term health. We prioritise strategies that support bone health and prevent cardiovascular disease and declining cognitive function which should not be a natural part of ageing, to ensure your health span is as long as your life span.
- Transformation Tools: Finally, you will have the knowledge and understanding to create a strategy that you can come back to time and again and your lifestyle ebbs and flows.
I also offer a range of resources to help women achieve hormone harmony during menopause.
Whether you’re looking for personalised guidance through my signature 12-week 1-2-1 program, The Menopause Shift Method, self-paced programs including my 90-minute Menopause Solution Session, or free resources, there’s an option that fits your needs.
Some of the other ways I support women include:
- Moonlight Menopause: Align Your Nutrition with Natural Rhythms – A program designed to help you sync your nutrition and lifestyle with your body’s natural cycles for better hormone health.
- Complimentary Wild Well-being Call – A free consultation where we can discuss your symptoms and create a personalised action plan.
- Estrogen Dominance Quiz – A tool to help you assess whether estrogen dominance may be contributing to your symptoms, with tailored recommendations for balancing your hormones.
My goal is to help you feel empowered, informed, and supported as you navigate this transformative time in your life.
By focusing on hormone balance and natural solutions, you can reduce symptoms, protect your long-term health, and rediscover a vibrant sense of well-being through menopause and beyond.
Conclusion
Menopause is a powerful transition, and while the challenges of hormone imbalances can feel daunting, there is hope and a path forward.
By understanding how your body’s hormones work and taking intentional steps to align with their natural rhythms, you can regain control over your health and well-being, it’s the key to thriving during menopause and beyond.
As we observe Menopause Awareness Month 2024, I encourage you to embrace this time as an opportunity for transformation.
Remember, menopause is not the end of vitality, but the beginning of a new phase where you can feel empowered and in tune with your body’s needs.
If you’re ready to take the next step toward balanced hormones and better health, I’m here to support you.
Explore the resources and programs available, or book a complimentary Wild Well-being Call to start your journey today.
Together, we can create a plan that nurtures your body, supports your hormones, and helps you feel vibrant and strong in this new chapter of life.