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by
Alisa Vitti
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February 25 - March 12, 2021
Hormones affect everything. Have you ever struggled with acne, oily hair, dandruff, dry skin, cramps, headaches, irritability, exhaustion, constipation, irregular cycles, heavy bleeding, clotting, shedding hair, weight gain, anxiety, insomnia, infertility, lowered sex drive, or bizarre food cravings and felt like your body was just irrational? It’s not; it’s hormonal.
Without realizing it at the time, over those past few years, as I’d struggled to understand what was wrong with me, I’d become much more interested in what I would later understand as functional medicine—a holistic approach to addressing the underlying causes of disease instead of treating the symptoms—than I was in traditional medicine.
I spent a lot of time studying endocrinology and the functions of my hormones, but I discovered that other fields had a great deal to teach me, too. These included Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), functional nutrition, and chronobiology.
TCM provided a framework for understanding the interconnectedness of glands and organs in the body in ways endocrinology could not. If there’s a deficiency in one gland or organ, I learned, another will step in and overcompensate. This perspective allowed me to see the domino effect that can occur in the body: consistently poor diet or lifestyle choices can set off a chain reaction, and if you don’t correct those choices, your endocrine system is forced to work in ways it shouldn’t. This inevitably results in hormonal breakdown and causes the variety of symptoms that may have led you to pick
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If poor food choices could lead to a state of hormonal collapse, then well-chosen foods contained the nutrients necessary to support hormonal health.
Under ideal circumstances, there’s a predictable ratio of hormones that happens four times per month, creating four distinct phases of the cycle. Similarly, each of our organs functions according to a chronobiological rhythm. The fact that blood pressure is higher in the morning and lower in the evening is a great example of chronobiology.
After nine months of implementing my protocol, over sixty pounds had melted away, my skin had cleared so exquisitely that strangers commented on its radiance, my depression had lifted, my moods had stabilized, and I had begun to ovulate and menstruate monthly.
Holistic health coaches guide people to make diet and lifestyle changes in a sustainable way—that is, in a way that will still work for them decades down the road.
I realized something very critical—that the underlying causes of hormonal imbalance are very similar, regardless of the symptoms. As a result, my protocol was, and continues to be, effective for most conditions related to the endocrine system.
the only way your hormones can achieve balance is if your body does the job—and only if you safeguard and nurture it, with every meal and habit, every day, to optimize endocrine function.
Think of these steps as the keys to unlocking your WomanCode: Stabilize your blood sugar Nurture your adrenal glands Support your organs of elimination Syncing with your menstrual cycle Engage your feminine energy
How soon can you expect to start seeing results? In my experience, women who truly commit to the first step and stabilize their blood sugar start to feel a dramatic difference in their well-being within the second week. As you begin to deeply improve the way the endocrine system is operating through the protocol, you can expect to see improvements in menstruation, fertility, and libido within two to four months.
Thirteen million Americans have underactive thyroid function, only half of whom have been correctly diagnosed. Women are five times more likely than men to be diagnosed with hypothyroidism.
There’s only so much that Western medicine has to offer besides extreme interventions—such as surgery—when you’re in great distress.
when you’re not properly taught this information, you simply can’t make informed decisions about what ails you when the problem is hormone-related.
Exposure to endocrine disruptors (chemicals that interfere with the production, release, transport, metabolism, or elimination of the body’s natural hormones) can occur through air, water, soil, food, and consumer products. These disruptors can mimic naturally occurring hormones, potentially causing overproduction and underproduction of actual hormones.
Some of the dirtiest culprits include dry-cleaning chemicals, skin-care products, and pesticides.
Chemical compounds known as xenoestrogens—including industrial compounds such as polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB), bisphenol A (BPA), a...
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We’re also inundated by stress, another endocrine disruptor. Chronic low-grade anxiety affects the feedback between your brain’s hypothalamus, pituitary gland, and adrenal glands—a configuration known as the HPA-axis, which regulates digestion, immunity, moods, libido, and energy.
WomanCode Organic Food Essentials • Fruits: blueberries, strawberries, apples, melons, pears, peaches • Miscellaneous: celery, peppers, tomatoes • Root vegetables: potatoes, sweet potatoes, squash • Leafy green vegetables: all lettuces, kale, cabbage, spinach, other greens • Animal protein: beef, poultry, dairy, eggs (especially because these animals, when not organically fed and properly pastured, are fed a diet of antibiotics, growth hormones, and genetically modified foods that will exacerbate your existing hormonal imbalance)
This particularly stinks because a recent study in the United Kingdom found that women who use makeup absorb almost five pounds of chemicals into their bodies each year!
Reconsider your: nail polish, body lotion, and deodorant • Toss if the label lists: chemicals from the phthalate family (DBP, DEHP) • Why endocrine disruptors are used in the first place: to make products soft and malleable
Reconsider your: toothpaste, shampoo, bath salts, and body/shower gel • Toss if the label lists: sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS) or sodium lauryl ether sulfate (SLES) • Why these endocrine disruptors are used in the first place: as agents and emulsifiers
Reconsider your: conditioner, foundation, concealer, facial mask, and skin cream • Toss if the label lists: chemicals known as parabens (including methyl, propyl, butyl, and ethyl) • Why these endocrine disruptors are used in the first place: as germicides and preservatives
Reconsider your: soap, hairspray, eyeliner, talc, shaving cream, and hair spray • Toss if the label lists: chemicals from the anolamine family (DEA, TEA, MEA) • Why these endocrine disruptors are used in the first place: as emulsifiers, pH adjusters, preservatives, foaming agents
Reconsider your: petroleum jelly and skin and lip products • Toss if the label lists: petrolatum • Why this endocrine disruptor is used in the first place: as a moisturizer
Recent findings from studies at Duke University and Groningen University in the Netherlands show that how you eat and live actually gets passed down to at least one successive generation through this epigenetic process. One recent study by scientists in the Netherlands found that the diet of human adults causes changes in all cells—including sperm and egg cells—that can be passed on to offspring and continue for generations.
In addition, scientists have determined that it takes on average seven years for your cells to regenerate, which is great news where you and your well-being are concerned, because it means that what you eat and do today will directly dictate the future quality of your health.
Metabolism and Stress Symptoms
Sugar and chocolate cravings
Reliance on coffee, soda, and energy drinks
Anxiety
Insomnia
Waking up during sleep
Headaches
Facial/body hair
Weight gain
Hypothyroidism
Irritable bowel syndrome
• Oily skin
Bloating and water retention
Acne or cystic acne
Dandruff
Hair loss
Mood swings
PMS
Irregular cycles
Cramps
Missing periods
When even one hormone functions incorrectly, due to these factors, the imbalance creates a symptom, then another, then another.
