How To Ease Menopause Symptoms

There are foods you can include in your diet to help naturally boost oestrogen and progesterone and helping to keep them at a healthy level.

Things like pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, flax seeds and sesame seeds are full of nutrients like magnesium, zinc, vitamin E, omega 3 fatty acids, selenium and fibre. Seed cycling is something I highly recommend whether you do not have cycles anymore or do still have periods.

By rotating the seeds and eating them at certain times of your cycle (if you do not have monthly’s anymore you go with a 30 day cycle) the seeds help to balance the hormonal rhythm. This helps with reducing menopause symptoms and PMS.

If you are interested in giving this a go, I would recommend doing it for a few months as there are never any such thing as quick fixes and hormones are a very complex area.

There are two phases, if you have a cycle go with that and if you no longer have a cycle as I said above go with 30 days and try to go with the moon cycle. Starting day 1 with the new moon.

So for 28 day cycles you would have phase 1 which are days 1-14 freshly grind 1 tbsp of either, flax and pumpkin seeds daily.

Phase 2 days 15-18 freshly grind 1tbsp of either, sunflower and sesame seeds daily. I quite often mix 1 dessert spoon of each seed rather than just having one. Experiment and go with what feels right for you.

You can mix the seeds with yoghurt, sprinkle them on fruit, salads, add them to granola or porridge or add them to stir-fry’s, stews and soups.

Phase 1 helps to boost oestrogen levels and phase 2 helps to boost progesterone levels. Seed cycling works best when doing it alongside a healthy lifestyle and eating clean, wholesome foods.

This practice will help to balance a sensitive endocrine system that is affected by an overload of toxins, help with detoxification, stress and sleep.

If you choose not to do the seed cycling, I would recommend eating a variety of seeds daily; purely for the abundance of nutrients they contain.

Taking herbs like Ashwagandha, which is an adaptogen, which means that it helps your body respond to and manage stress in a healthier and calming way, helping to reduce anxiety. It also helps reduce fatigue and brain fog too.

The food choices we make really do impact on how our body performs and responds to the life we choose to lead.

Our gut starts at the mouth and goes all the way down to our anus. This tube is full of bacteria all the way down and the foods we choose feed these bacteria, some of which produce the hormones that impact our health massively and so are a huge part of our immune system, heart health and brain health.

When I begin working with my clients and they tell me they are prone to illnesses like osteoporosis now, I have the question why? These kinds of illnesses take years to develop but quite often appear or are diagnosed in this time of life. This leads me back to the choices that have been made along the way and the lifestyle being lived.

I have been asked a few times if I believe we can control any of these things and the answer is, we have total control, it is our body and we are the decision maker and captain of our ship.

I work with my clients by taking them back to basics and educating them about how their body is meant to function for them to be the healthiest version they can be.

I believe there are seven principles of living a healthy lifestyle:

· Eating clean, real wholesome foods

· Prioritising sleep, 7-9 hours in darkness

· Breathwork and other mindful practices including gratitude

· Movement – finding the exercise that suits their individual body

· Hydration – flushing out those toxins and keeping the body well hydrated

· Play – doing something you love every single day

· Daily bowel movements – keeping the gut healthy

If I could give you some tips here, it would be to accept where you are right now, assess your environment and emotional health. Alongside eating well and sleeping, your environment plays a huge role in the health of your gut and hormone health.

Prioritising sleep is also vitally important, lack of sleep causes so many health issues, your body needs rest and your brain sleeps when you do. The rest of your body is working to take away toxins, repair and regenerate new cells within the body which is why your food choices really do matter and you really are what you eat.

By having a good sleep routine you are also helping to regulate your hormone production. Other ways to aid a good night’s sleep include:

· Regular relaxing baths with oils or salts with relaxing music playing in the background and scented candles

· Switching off phones, tablets and other electronic devices, including TV’s, a minimum of one hour before going to bed

· Practice relaxing yoga Nidra in the evening. This is a practice that can be done in bed or on yoga mat and you will find an abundance of Yoga Nidra sessions on YouTube from 10 mins through to 60 mins to choose from. The insight timer app is also an amazing source for yoga and meditation sessions.

· Read a book you enjoy and can relax with

· Spend time relaxing with friends or loved ones

· Allow any food to digest at least two hours before going to bed

· Journal and get things out of your head, you could also have a note pad at the side of your bed so you can jot down thoughts if your sleep does get interrupted by your brain becoming busy.

· Drink calming tea like chamomile, nettle leaf, ginger or raspberry leaf.

· Have a routine of waking and going to bed at the same time everyday

Everything I recommend and share with my clients is what I do and use myself, so I know it works because this is how I live my life.