WomanCode: Unlocking Women's Health - A Holistic Approach to Hormone Balance, Fertility, and Wellness Through Nutrition and Lifestyle Changes

by Alisa Vitti

When there’s a problem somewhere in your endocrine system, the other parts try to pick up the slack.

To this end, here are the five underlying causes of hormonal problems in women, the way we break the integrity of our WomanCode: Mismanaged blood sugar Overexertion of the adrenal glands Congestion throughout the pathways of elimination A lifestyle that works against the patterns of your menstrual cycle Separation from your feminine energy

From a WomanCode standpoint, “lady parts” are all of the physical structures that support the function of your reproductive system. These include the following: • Hypothalamus • Pituitary gland • Thyroid • Liver • Kidneys • Pancreas • Uterus • Vulva • Vagina • Clitoris • Breasts • Gallbladder • Large intestine • Lymphatic system • Adrenals • Ovaries • Fallopian tubes • Small intestines

Hormones that flow from glands in your brain dictate what organs throughout your entire body—all the way down to your ovaries—do. The hormones that those glands release, in turn, govern every major process your body performs, from setting your internal thermostat, to metabolizing food, to keeping your heart beating, to regulating your mood, to determining your fertility, and so much more.

The hypothalamus constantly receives information from your bloodstream about concentrations of various hormones. Depending on what it finds, it sends one of two hormones—releasing hormone or inhibiting hormone—to the pituitary gland, a garbanzo bean–size structure located just below the hypothalamus. The hypothalamus communicates only with the pituitary gland.

After interpreting the signal from the hypothalamus, the pituitary gland communicates with the remaining glands and organs of your endocrine system—thyroid, parathyroid, pancreas, adrenals, and ovaries—using a different hormone to converse with each.

The blood sugar group—pancreas and liver • The stress group—hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis • The metabolic group—thyroid and parathyroid • The elimination group—liver and large intestine, lymphatic system and skin • The reproductive group—hypothalamic-pituitary-ovarian (HPO) axis

Unstable blood sugar is the most important underlying cause behind hormonal problems.

When you eat refined carbohydrates (such as a candy bar or a bowl of pad thai), your body breaks down those carbs into simple sugars, primarily glucose. Your pancreas reacts to the abundance of glucose in your bloodstream by releasing the hormone insulin. Insulin’s mission is to escort that glucose into your body’s cells, which use the glucose to replicate their DNA, divide, and make new cells. Some glucose also ends up in your liver, where it’s converted into glycogen, a form of energy your muscles rely on.

Your pancreas also responds to low blood sugar levels. When your blood sugar dips, which occurs when you don’t eat enough or you wait too long between meals, your pancreas pumps out the hormone glucagon. This hormone tells the liver to convert stored glycogen back into glucose and releases that glucose into your bloodstream to bring blood sugar levels back up to par.

When estrogen lingers in your bloodstream, it piles up and throws off the balance your endocrine system is trying to maintain. This creates additional hormonal symptoms. Now, if the liver is frequently focused on converting glycogen into glucose because of low blood sugar, it’s going to have less energy to spend on eliminating estrogen and other toxins. In other words, you want to use food to stabilize your blood sugar instead of relying on your liver to do it for you.

When stressed, your hypothalamus sends out releasing hormone, which stimulates your pituitary gland to secrete adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH). This surge in ACTH tells your adrenal glands (there’s one located on top of each of your kidneys) to release a cascade of stress-related hormones, including cortisol and adrenaline.

Adrenaline, for instance, boosts your blood pressure and heart rate, while cortisol blasts glucose to your muscles so you have the energy to outrun lions and tigers and ward off loincloth-draped humans.

When chronic stressors keep your HPA axis permanently on alert, that perpetual state of readiness can wreak havoc on your entire endocrine system and put you at risk of potentially deadly conditions such as heart disease and stroke. It can also cause insomnia, weight gain, fatigue, and challenge fertility and sex drive.

basal metabolic rate is responsible for so much more than simply how many calories your body burns at rest. It also sets your heart rate, blood pressure, breathing rate, temperature, the speed at which your cells consume oxygen, and more. In infancy and childhood, the thyroid even supports bone growth as well as the development of the brain and nervous system.

And yet one out of every two women will suffer a thyroid issue at some point in her life.

your thyroid is incredibly sensitive to what’s going on inside and outside your body, so even seemingly insignificant things like too few hours of shut-eye, too much chlorine in your water, or too many sugary caramel macchiatos can cause it to go haywire.

Because your thyroid is so sensitive to what you put in your body and what you do with your body, you can easily support and maintain its health...

The thyroid and parathyroid work as a team to monitor levels of calcium in your bones and bloodstream. The parathyroid churns out parathyroid hormone, which sweeps calcium out of your bones and into your blood. Your nerves and muscles ...

The liver breaks down hormones and other substances into smaller, more manageable molecules, which travel through your gallbladder and into your large intestine. There they bind with the fiber you consume in your diet and finally exit your body in the form of a bowel movement.

This is why it’s so important to keep the node areas flowing, as they are near key hormone-sensitive areas like breast tissue and ovaries.

The hypothalamus is constantly scanning your blood for levels of different hormones, including estrogen and progesterone, that your ovaries put out. Based on those concentrations, your hypothalamus tells the pituitary to send out two hormones associated with your cycle—follicle-stimulating hormone and luteinizing hormone—at just the right times and in just the right amounts.

While these hormones are directly involved in your fertility and your period, they also dictate how you feel on a daily basis—your mood, water retention, energy, and sex drive.

When you consume more sugar than your body needs, the excess gets stored in your fat cells, including those in your liver, which expand to accommodate the surplus. Excessive fatty deposits in the liver decrease the liver’s ability to break down estrogen from your body, allowing that estrogen to hang around longer than it should.

fat is hormonally active tissue and literally pumps estrogen into your body: the more fat cells you have, the higher your estrogen levels.

The equation is simple: low blood sugar plus chronic stress equals low energy and low desire.

Previous research has found that the more genetically dissimilar two partners are, the lower their rates of miscarriage and the greater their chances are of having a healthy baby as well as happier relationships, more satisfying sex, and a greater likelihood of female orgasm. However, women on the Pill tend to (unconsciously) seek out men with more similar genes, presumably because the Pill mimics pregnancy. As a result, if the body thinks you’re pregnant, then you’re not looking for a mate, you would already have one, and only be building friendships.

But if I put my body to work, a good portion of the glucose in the meal I just ate is immediately used to power my muscles instead of hanging around waiting to be redirected. Exercise is a natural way of reducing the glucose load my body has to deal with so I won’t experience severe spikes and drops after a carb-heavy meal.

Glucose is your brain’s primary source of fuel. Without it, you’ll feel moody and lethargic and will even experience deficits in your ability to concentrate and retain new information. It’s all about eating the right kinds and quantities of carbs in order to balance your blood sugar while feeding your brain. (Not to mention that eliminating or severely restricting complex carbohydrates increases the likelihood that you will have a hypoglycemic episode.)

Since your entire endocrine system relies on your glucose levels hugging that stasis line as closely as possible, your body perceives mismanaged blood sugar as a stressor. This, in turn, sends your adrenals into overdrive and they begin to pump out a cocktail of cortisol and adrenaline—and the cascade of off-kilter hormones continues.

Hypoglycemia is likely to occur through one of two quite different pathways. First, it may happen because you’re on a perma-diet and consider coffee and a Luna bar to be a meal. If your body lacks adequate food intake, let alone sufficient carbs, your blood sugar levels will be chronically low.

The second way you’re bound to be hypoglycemic is a little more intricate. It begins with overindulging in carbs.

In response, your pancreas pumps out a flood of insulin to bring your blood sugar back down by escorting that sugar—in the form of glucose—to the cells that are its end users. What often happens, though, is that your pancreas miscalculates the amount of insulin needed and releases too much; so instead of bringing your blood sugar to baseline, it gobbles up too much glucose and leaves you with extremely low blood sugar—despite the fact that you just stuffed yourself.

It’s not about how much willpower you have. There’s simply no way to win the blood sugar battle once you’re already riding the hypoglycemic roller coaster; your hormones will win every single time. When you’re in a hypoglycemic state, your brain—deprived of the glucose it needs—assumes you’re in starvation mode. Your brain responds to the faux starvation by sending out ghrelin, also known as the hunger hormone, to get you interested in food. In other words, low blood sugar literally makes you hungry even if it’s the result of overeating. Your body can’t tell the difference.

Fast burners’ bodies are able to move glucose into their cells rapidly and then immediately grab that glucose when they need it for energy. Meanwhile, slow burners (like me) have compromised insulin receptor cells, meaning that glucose stays in their bloodstream much longer before making its way into their cells. Furthermore, once it finds a home, it requires much more energy to retrieve that glucose in such people than in someone who’s a natural fast burner.

Fast Burners • Tend to lose weight easily • Feel anxious, dizzy, and headachy when hypoglycemic or hungry • Overheat even with little exertion Slow Burners • Tend to gain weight easily and have a difficult time losing weight • Feel irritable or foggy-headed when hypoglycemic or hungry • Almost always feel cold—especially in the fingers and toes

Upon waking, immediately drink at least 8 ounces of water.

Eat breakfast within ninety minutes of waking.

Don’t consume caffeine of any kind before eating breakfast.

Eat a protein-rich food with breakfast, such as eggs, a vegan protein shake, or smoked salmon.

Minimize carbohydrates to 30 grams in the morning if you’re a slow burner and no more than 50 grams if you’re a fast burner.

Eat lunch within three and a half hours of breakfast.

Consume the majority of your daily calories at lunch.

Try to consume only one complex carbohydrate. For instance, have brown rice or black beans, but not both in the same meal.

Incorporate at least one good-fat food, such as avocado, olive oil, or sunflower seeds. They keep blood sugar more stable and prevent you from craving simple carbs later in the day.

Eat a snack within two and a half to three and a half hours of lunch.

Choose a nutrient-dense snack that will keep you satisfied until dinner. Some suggestions: rice crackers with avocado, hummus, or a slice of turkey breast; apple with natural peanut butter; goji berries and almonds.

Eat dinner within two and a half to three and a half hours of your snack.

Create a meal that consists of vegetarian or animal protein and raw or cooked vegetables.

Avoid grains and sugar of any other kind. If you consume sugar at night when you’re least active, the resulting glucose is more likely to be stored as fat than used for energy.