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

by Alisa Vitti

Food focus. Fresh, vibrant, light foods make you feel more energized during this phase, when all hormone levels are at their lowest. Your body can tolerate foods with a higher phytoestrogen content since, with estrogen just starting to increase, you won’t be piling additional estrogen on top of already-elevated estrogen levels. Think: pressed salads (kimchi and sauerkraut), plenty of veggies, lean proteins, sprouted beans and seeds, and dense, energy-sustaining grains.

Exercise focus. Try something new—take that Zumba or yoga sculpting class you’ve been yearning to try at your gym. Putting your brain and body in a new, stimulating situation feels like an easy, natural thing for you to do at this time of the month.

PHASE 2: Ovulatory Phase Duration: 3–4 Days

Hormone focus. A sharp rise in follicle-stimulating hormone followed by an increase in luteinizing hormone, also from the pituitary, stimulates one follicle to swell further and burst, releasing an egg into one of the fallopian tubes; that egg then travels to the uterus. Estrogen levels continue to increase, further thickening the uterine lining and supporting the growth of immune system cells in the uterus. Testosterone takes a quick surge and drops right around ovulation.

Body focus. Vaginal discharge increases and is clear, wet, slippery, or stretchy on your day of peak fertility. As you move past that peak day, vaginal discharge dries. You may feel pelvic pain with the release of the egg as well as a surge of energy or a sense of depletion, along with cravings or a headache.

Lifestyle focus. Connecting with community is at the heart of this phase.

If possible, hold off on having those conversations until this ovulatory phase, when your heightened communication skills will allow you to convey your thoughts and opinions more clearly, as well as to be more receptive to those of others.

This is also an ideal time to go on first dates, since your increased communication skills will make you that much more magnetic. And since you’re at your most fertile in this phase, chances are (studies tell us) you put extra effort into looking and feeling your best in an unconscious effort to attract a mate when ovulating.

Food focus. You have plenty of natural energy and your mood is stable because of all the estrogen floating around, so go easy on the carbohydrates and stick to lighter grains such as corn and quinoa.

Still, you want to be sure your body is metabolizing and eliminating the surplus of estrogen efficiently, so fill up on veggies (the fiber aids elimination) and fruit (high levels of the antioxidant glutathione support the first phase of detoxification in the liver).

promoting vascular and antioxidative well-being for your ovaries so you can create the healthiest egg possible. These foods will also keep estrogen-driven symptoms, such as acne and bloating, at bay. Continue to focus on lighter preparations o...

Exercise focus. When deciding which activities are best during this phase, keep two things in mind: high-impact workout and group settings.

PHASE 3: Luteal Phase Duration: 10–14 Days

Hormone focus. The corpus luteum (the follicle from which the egg bursts) grows on the surface of the ovary, causing it to produce progesterone. The rise in progesterone signals the body to keep the uterine lining intact. It also signals the pituitary to stop sending out follicle-stimulating hormone and luteinizing hormone, ensuring that only one egg is released into the uterus at a time. Estrogen levels continue to rise. Toward the end of the cycle, if the egg hasn’t been fertilized, the corpus luteum is reabsorbed into the body. Progesterone production will soon halt as a result, triggering your period. Testosterone will increase toward the end of this phase.

Body focus. Physical energy declines, and premenstrual symptoms may develop toward the end of your cycle—symptoms such as bloating, irritability, headache, mood swings, and cravings.

Lifestyle focus. Awareness, attention, and comfort are key now. As the corpus luteum is reabsorbed, your energy begins to soften and turn

inward. You’ll notice that you have the desire to nest, making the luteal phase an ideal time to take care of domestic chores, whether your list includes reorganizing your shoe closet, doing a month’s worth of laundry, or making a big grocery-shopping trip.

Food focus. The foods you see listed for the luteal phase in the “Foods for Your Cycle” chart are rich in B vitamins, calcium, magnesium, and fiber.

First, these foods stave off sugar cravings caused by the heavy use of B vitamins in promoting progesterone production. Second, the calcium-magnesium combination in leafy greens is essential in mitigating the effects of fluid retention that are so problematic for women during this phase. Finally, the fiber concentration will help your liver and large intestine flush estrogen more efficiently through the bowel, ameliorating the effects of estrogen dominance. In addition, healthy, natural sugars help with the dip in estrogen that occurs in the second half of the luteal phase and that can make you feel irritable.

make sure you have an adequate intake of complex carbohydrates to stabilize serotonin and dopamine levels in the brain and help prevent mood swings.

Exercise focus. During the first half of the luteal phase your energy may still be high, so continue with the more strenuous activities you took on during ovulation. Then scale back on your intensity during the final five days with activities such as walking, Pilates, gyrotonic training, and vinyasa yoga. You may feel a little more sluggish and experience more water retention toward the end of this phase, so choose exercise with lower resistance (such as using the elliptical trainer)—you’ll still be working your muscles, but it won’t be as jarring for your body.

PHASE 4: Menstrual Phase Duration: 3–7 Days

Hormone focus. Progesterone production drops off as the corpus luteum disappears, triggering the shedding of your uterine lining in your menstrual phase, a.k.a your period/bleeding phase. Estrogen peaks and then drops, stimulating your hypothalamus to prepare for another cycle of ovulation.

Body focus. A combination of brown spotting and red bleeding characterizes this phase. You may also experience pelvic cramping, low backache, fatigue, and cravings. Sometimes you may feel a sense of relaxation and relief as your estrogen peak passes.

Food focus. During your menstrual phase your body is involved in an intense process—eliminating the lining of your uterus—so focus your diet on foods that add nutrients.

Seafood and sea-based veggies will also help remineralize your body with iron and zinc, which you lose during menstruation. The foods for the menstrual phase are all deeply restorative to the blood and kidneys—perfect for while you are bleeding. Choose whatever preparations feel most comforting to you.

Exercise focus. Rest and recovery are important parts of any exercise program so that your body can repair. Schedule rest or yoga during the early part of the menstrual phase, especially the first day or two, when your flow may be heaviest. Take time to stretch and walk on these days. As you move into the end of bleeding and toward the follicular phase again, begin to amp up your activity according to how you feel.

Brown stains: If you period begins with a day or a few of this, it’s an indication of some blood stagnation due to lower progesterone levels. When progesterone is low, you may also be noticing that your cycle doesn’t start on time and though you may ovulate on time, your luteal phase is much longer than it should be. Vitex supplementation is excellent for this symptom.

Dark red or black clots: Large or small, this is another indication of lower progesterone, elevated estrogen, and congestion in the uterus. Dong quai is an excellent herbal support to reduce clotting, as well as uterine massage or acupuncture to help break up any adhesions that may be impeding blood flow.

Short bleeding: Have you been feeling good about your period only lasting a day or two? It can indicate both extremely low estrogen and progesterone, which could be coming from key nutrient deficiencies and adrenal burnout. Get on a multivitamin and supplement with Omega-3 oil to supply your body with the key building blocks for hormonal output.

the foods in each phase are designed to keep estrogen moving through your organs of elimination and ensure that your liver has the support it needs to metabolize estrogen as efficiently as possible, detoxify it, and remove it from your body.

In my experience, women with estrogen-dominant conditions, like PCOS, fibroids, ovarian cysts, infertility, and low libido, have a harder time including this as a significant part of their diet. So often we tend to overconsume foods that are touted as health foods. Traditionally, Asian cultures consume no more than two teaspoons of fermented soy a day, which has been shown to be health promoting, while more than that quantity becomes problematic. Soy products contain high levels of phytoestrogens that mimic the body’s

natural estrogen hormones and if you’re struggling to break down what you’re already producing, adding more to your taxed system can make your symptoms worse.

First, if they are GMO-based, research shows that this can be endocrine disruptive and can interfere with fertility in women and men. Second, they can inhibit thyroid function due to their high levels of goitrogens and the isoflavone genistein, which can be antagonistic to thyroid hormone.

During the first half of your cycle—the follicular and ovulatory phases—your energy is high. This is when the high-impact, challenging activities feel easiest—things like running, kickboxing, weight lifting, and spinning. But during the second half of your cycle—the luteal and menstrual phases—your energy ever so slightly shifts and turns slightly inward. This is the time to sign up for yoga and Pilates classes, spend a while at a consistent clip on the elliptical, or do other kinds of light cardio exercise, such as walking or riding your bike. You may find that you’re too restless to make it through a vinyasa class during the first half of your cycle, but it’s exactly what your body craves during the second half.

Women’s brains, I learned, function more holistically than men’s brains—that is, with a richer conversation between the left and right hemispheres. As a result, we synthesize multiple pieces of data simultaneously and feel better when we’re integrating many different aspects of our lives at once.

Men’s brains, on the other hand, function in a more binary fashion—each man is more dominantly right brain or left brain. That’s why it seems easier for men to live their lives in a rather linear fashion, while women require a life in which we’re constantly synthesizing and integrating pieces of information.

What’s more, our endocrine systems are so adaptable to ultimately safeguard our reproductive capacity and thus safeguard the survival of our species.

Blood Sugar • High blood sugar. Hyperactivity, jitters, dizziness, anxiety • Low blood sugar. Headache, shaking, sweating, irritability, fatigue

Adrenals • Overworked adrenals. Inability to concentrate, low physical stamina and endurance, low blood sugar symptoms, difficulty getting out of bed, hangover-like feelings when you wake up, insomnia, depression, anxiety, low libido, difficulty concentrating, poor memory, low immunity

In other words, if you have signs of congestion at the level of the skin, the final organ listed, then everything before it is also backed up; so make sure you’re taking the right actions to support those pathways to help resolve your skin issues.

Conversely, if you experience symptoms related to the large intestine and leave those symptoms unaddressed, over time you’ll experience a flare-up of symptoms in the liver, then lymph, then skin.

• Large intestine. Constipation, diarrhea, IBS, bloating • Liver. Food sensitivities and allergies, pain (sharp or dull) under the right rib cage after eating a rich meal or drinking alcohol, sweating, foul body odor (especially from the armpits and feet) • Lymph and skin. Acne (cyst...

Reproductive Organs • Signs of imbalance. Physical cues that don’t align with those described in the four phases of the menstrual cycle outlined in chapter 5, indicating that your...

One of the many things you start to notice when living the WomanCode way is that the cleaner you eat and the more you remove FLO Blockers from your life, the more you become aware of what happens in your body when you do encounter those obstacles.

When the prefrontal cortex is activated, it pulls the brakes on the reward system—the part of our brain that tells us to do things that feel good even if they’re not good for us—because the two areas cannot fire simultaneously.

With practice, as with physical exercise for muscles, the more you focus on your health goals in the face of temptation, the quicker your prefrontal cortex jumps into action, and thus the easier it becomes to resist.

What does work: experiencing both the positive and negative results of your behaviors, because it’s so much easier to make positive choices when you’ve fully felt the negative effects.