Recently I asked my tribe to submit questions and feedback. I’m happy to say I got a fantastic response! I will be using these questions for a new post type here at The Hormone Diva: Ask The Diva! You can feel free to submit your questions to me here.

Question: What can I do about depression and low energy?

Depression and other mood disorders are tricky. They result from a chemical imbalance that keeps us down in the dumps and chronically fatigued or without energy. I suffered with depression for many years, being on and off anti-depressants, and in and out of talk therapy. It wasn’t until I committed to changing my life with the tricks below that I really saw my mood soar.

See below for 3 tricks you can use to help bring some pep + sunshine to your life!

1. Nutrition 

Did you know that the majority of serotonin (our happy chemical) is made in the gut? So what you eat definitely matters when it comes to raising your moods. Make sure to eat regularly throughout the day, at least 3 meals, but up to an additional 3 snacks as well. Your meals should have a good source of protein, some carb and LOTS of fat. Yes- eating lots of fat is a MUST when it comes to mood balancing.

Fat helps your mood for a few reasons. First, it balances your blood sugar by sustaining your energy over many hours. One of the main symptoms of low or imbalanced blood sugar is mood problems. Second, the right types of fats provide you with Vitamin D (egg yolks, butter, meats, etc), an essential nutrient for mood, as well as EPA + DHA (in fish and seeds like flax or chia), essential fatty acids proven in study after study to balance mood.

The other major component to a Mood-Food Diet is probiotic or fermented foods. Fermented foods contain billions of tiny organisms, called probiotics, or “good” bacteria. They help our gut create serotonin, and digest + assimilate mood-boosting nutrients like B Vitamins. It’s important to have some with every meal. You can see examples of these foods in the sample menu below.
What does that look like? Here is a sample day:

Breakfast: Smoothie with whole milk yogurt, coconut oil, a few berries or other fruit, raw egg yolks (from a trusted free-run source, only!) or hemp seeds. 

Lunch: Bowl of mixed greens with salmon, walnuts, raw cheddar or goat cheese, water kefir or kombucha to drink.

Dinner: Roasted chicken or beef, steamed broccoli with butter, brown rice (soaked overnight before cooking) or sourdough bread, raw sauerkraut

Snacks: Raw cheddar, nut butter or hummus with sprouted grain or grain-free crackers, smoothie, boiled eggs, nuts and seeds, fruit, home-baked sprouted or soaked grain muffins

2. Exercise

If you have a mood disorder and aren’t exercising regularly or keeping very active, you need to address this. Even a short workout will do it because exercise improves our levels of serotonin, that feel-good chemical we keep coming back to. Why does this work? When we exercise, our muscles amino acids (components of protein). Our bloodstream provides the amino acids to our muscles- save one- Tryptophan. This amino acid then gets a free ride past the blood-brain barrier so it can be converted to serotonin quickly and easily. Exercise also increases our oxygen supply- another crucial catalyst for serotonin production.

What to try? Get outside for a walk, jog or bike ride. Enjoy the sunshine and fresh air while moving your body. You could also try yoga, a great activity for mood-boosting, de-stressing and NOT draining all of your energy. Start slow, maybe 20 minutes a few times a week, and increase as your moods and energy improve!

3. Stress Management

Stress is a constant in our modern lives, and many of us are depressed and exhausted as a result. Managing stress takes time, as you must discover what activites help YOU feel peaceful and calm. For me, it’s lavender essential oil, getting outside, doing yoga, having some Earl Grey tea and feeling cozy. Try any or all of these activities and more- and don’t forget to schedule it in! Make sure you have time every single day for some relaxation and reflection.

Sources

Erasmus, U. (1993). Fats That Heal, Fats That Kill. Summertown: Alive Books.

Ross, J. (2002). The Mood Cure. New York: Penguin Group.

Big or small, round or droopy– breasts are a part of our lives every day! Whether we wish they were bigger or smaller or perkier, they are here to stay and we should love them with all we’ve got! It’s pretty common knowledge that most women at some point feel PMS symptoms (up to 90%). One of the major symptoms is breast pain or tenderness.

This is something I’ve ALWAYS suffered with. Some cycles, it would be just a little discomfort or swelling, and sometimes I’ve had cycles where I can hardly move or breathe without pain. For me, it was part of my PCOS, a hormonal imbalance that plagues women with severe PMS, among other things. So how can we kick this pain in the boob to the curb?

See the rest of my guest post on Be Prepared. Period.

READ MORE

I was working with a new client recently and her budget is very tight. She wanted to do as much of her healing without supplements as possible to save money. Although I love supplements and value what they can do for healing, I’m never one to turn down a challenge! After all, we should be using food as our pharmacy. So I integrated specific foods in specific amounts for her individual condition.

And part of that is superfoods. While I believe that all foods coming from the earth have some super power for our bodies, superfoods have been a pretty hype term in the media the past couple of years. So I thought I’d share some of the top superfoods for balancing PMS with you. Eating these foods on a regular basis can go a long way to balancing our hormones.

Maca

Maca aka Peruvian Gineseng is a pretty popular superfood that has a wide variety of uses. Specifically for women like yourself, this tuber is helpful for balancing hormones. Maca is very nutrient dense, containing enzymes, minerals like magnesium and iodine, and all the essential amino acids. Maca is so complete and nourishing that it can also be helpful for adrenal fatigue or burnout.

Maca can help restore fertility, reduce thyroid imbalance and balance hormones by stimulating the hypothalamus and pituitary gland of the brain. These regions regulate and signal our other reproductive hormones. If you have bad PMS, menopausal symptoms or low sex drive- this root is for you. NOTE: Maca has some properties that may increase androgens (i.e.: testosterone) in women, so if you have excess androgens or polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) you should avoid this root.

I find that Maca tastes kind of musty, with a hint of caramel to it. Add it to your smoothies, stir it into yogurt or warm up some milk and mix it in.

Flax

Flaxseeds are much more widely known than Maca, but that doesn’t make them any less important for hormone balance. Flaxseeds contain high levels of omega-3 fatty-acids, which help our bodies to decrease inflammation, increase immunity and of course balance hormones. Flaxseeds are tiny and so almost indigestible unless they are ground. So buy pre-ground and keep them in the freezer or buy the whole seeds and grind them yourself.  You can also use flaxseed oil for this purpose, although you won’t be getting the fibre that’s in the seeds.

Flax also contains tons of other nutrients like Vitamin B6 (excellent for PMS + depression!), Magnesium (goodbye cramps!), folate (hello fertility!) and others.

You can also use flaxseeds strategically in combination with other seeds like sesame and sunflower to balance irregular or bothersome cycles. Using the Seed Cycling Protocol you can balance your cycles and decrease your PMS or menopausal symptoms dramatically. See my post about this here.

Chia

Chia seeds aren’t just for Chia Pets anymore! These tiny powerhouse seeds like flax, are very high in omega-3s. They are great for reducing inflammation (and pain!) associated with your menstrual cycle. Plus they’re loaded with iron, which is great for us menstruating women who are losing blood each month. There’s also a whole host of minerals like magnesium, calcium and potassium. And don’t forget about the protein!

These babies will keep your blood sugar stable, inflammation down and hormones flowing along with regular use. These seeds can also be used during seed cycling (in replacement of flaxseeds) or you can use them anytime. They have a gelatinous texture when put in liquid and you can make some yummy tapioca-esque puddings with them. Or throw them on your salad, yogurt, oatmeal or in your smoothie.

Green Tea

This one is a personal favourite. I friggin LOVE green tea. Japanese, Chinese, matcha, hot, cold, on its own or as an ingredient. Green tea has anti-cancer properties, is FULL of antioxidants, and is helpful for weight loss and appetite suppression. And for those PCOS ladies like myself, green tea can actually reduce androgen levels in the body. So don’t worry about not being able to use Maca, just include some green tea in your diet! I particularly like this website for my teas. They are all very high quality, and the varieties are super tasty!

Drink a few cups of this tea a day, or make your Bulletproof Tea with it, as I often do. You can also use it as a base for smoothies, chia pudding and oatmeal or poach some superfood salmon in it. The possibilities are endless! Go on, get some!

Coconut oil

Coconut oil is a wonder for hormones. Besides providing building blocks for reproductive and other hormones, it is FANTASTIC for those with a thyroid issue. Coconut oil also helps with weight loss + metabolism, blood sugar regulation and it reduces inflammation. It’s also great for your teeth if you use it for Oil Pulling. If you do Basal Body Temperature for fertility awareness, contraception or thyroid issues, you’ll notice a rise in your temps the longer your use this oil on a consistent basis. Coconut oil is also anti-bacterial and anti-microbial so if you have candida overgrowth, this is great added to the diet.

For hormone balance, try working up to 1 tbsp a day of this superfood. Use only Organic Virgin Coconut Oil.

Eggs

Do not believe the myth that eating eggs will increase your cholesterol! The cholesterol debate gets me riled up so I won’t get into it here- but perhaps I’ll do a post about it in the future.

Okay- back to business. Eggs provide complete protein and healthy fats, both of which are important for hormone production and balance. These two macronutrients help to slow our digestion so we are fuller longer, and therefore helps to decrease our monthly (daily?) cravings. Eggs also contain lecithin, a nutrient that improves liver function. Our liver filters excess hormones, so we need to have that running smoothly!

Besides all this, free-run eggs provide fat soluble vitamins such as A, D and K. These are ESSENTIAL for balancing hormones, increasing energy, improving immunity and much more. Try to work some eggs into your diet every week- keeping the yolks liquid by poach or frying in butter will keep these nutrients available.

Premenstrual weight gain is an extremely common symptom. I see it all the time with my clients. Generally women experiencing this will gain between 1 and 10 pounds before their period starts. Yuck! Who wants to have a separate PMS wardrobe? Not me, that’s for sure.

We should be able to slide into those skinny jeans or pencil skirt (or sweatpants!!) without struggle.

What causes PMS weight gain?

It’s actually a combination of factors.

Dehydration

This might seem counterintuitive as PMS weight gain is usually just water retention. So why would you want to drink more water if you’re already retaining it?

When our bodies are dehydrated, they hold onto fluids just in case more water isn’t coming anytime soon. This is a very old mechanism back when we were hunters + gatherers and famine was a part of life. Our bodies adapted by storing essentials like water or fat when we weren’t getting enough.

So drink up! 8-10 glasses of water each day through your whole cycle will really help to reduce this. Not a water fan? Flavor it with lemon, lime, mint, berries- whatever! Also- herbal tea totally counts.

Estrogen Dominance

I’ve talked about this before and it will keep coming up. This is really becoming epidemic in our society. Bad diet combined with inactivity, environmental chemicals and stress deplete our body of progesterone, and estrogen takes over. When we have too much estrogen, we tend to gain weight in the hips, thighs and tush.

Progesterone is the hormone that helps to regulate fluid retention throughout our cycle, as well as reduce our stress (see below!) and keep us feeling calm. If we’re not making enough progesterone due to excess estrogens in our body, we may get that nasty weight gain before our period.
 

Blood Sugar Imbalance

I can’t talk enough about balancing blood sugar, or glucose levels in our body. The clarity of mind and ease of weight management you experience is quite amazing.

If your diet is high in carbohydrates- whole grains or the processed white stuff, you’ve probably got a lot of glucose floating around in your blood. This excess glucose puts stress on your body and prevents it from creating hormones in the right amounts at the right time.

This again can lead to estrogen dominance and fluid retention. The key here is to eat a healthy diet with adequate protein and fats.

Stress

We all experience stress in our lives. From little things like the daily commute to big things like kids, marriage and money. How we react to stress is really what saves or hurts us in terms of physical health. When we are chronically stressed our body goes haywire- blood sugar is imbalanced, the “stress hormone” cortisol is too high or too low, and reproductive hormones aren’t on your body’s top priorities list.

Next comes the stress eating- salty chips, processed foods, caffeine and other stimulants. While these foods might be super delicious, they are a crux to fall back on when you’re stressed.

The processed junk foods and haywire hormones cause the weight gain or water retention. A healthy diet and stress-reducing lifestyle will have big effects here.

Magnesium Deficiency

Last but certainly not least is magnesium deficiency. One day I’m going to write a full post about this wonder mineral. It’s used in over 300 body processes and is great for pretty much all PMS symptoms- including weight gain.

A study conducted over two menstrual cycle with participants showed that taking a magnesium supplement daily drastically reduced PMS-related weight gain. Keeping our minerals in balance prevents deficiency in the body and those symptoms of holding onto water that I talked about in the dehydration section. It’s responsible for energy production, muscle health and other mechanisms that can contribute to weight gain and fluid retention.
 

What can you do about it?

Water

Drink, drink, drink! Eight to ten glasses per day, through your whole cycle. Watch as the bags under your eyes disappear, your energy increases and your weight stabilizes.

Vitamin B6

This is a super vitamin for hormone balance. It will lift your mood, balance estrogen and progesterone and help release excess water weight you’re holding on to. Try supplementing 100mg to 200mg per day for a cycle or two and see what happens!

Yoga

Ahhhh, or OM. Either way, yoga is awesome for relaxation. It will help to reduce your stress, circulating blood sugar because you’re being active and certain poses are exceptional for reducing PMS weight gain and bloating.

Try doing yoga several times per week, and focus on forward folds and twists, to wring out your internal organs and allow the body to release excess fluids. Make sure to stay hydrated during this as well!
  

Limit Starches + Dairy

Starchy foods like potatoes, pasta, breads and other grain products spike blood sugar. They are also often hard to digest, and cause our bodies to store fat. Limit your consumption of these foods to a few times a week maximum.

Dairy (especially non-organic) has hormones in it (meant for baby cows) that can increase our estrogen. If estrogen dominance is part of your issue, keep dairy to a minimum. Better to use organic sources and fermented dairy like plain yogurt or kefir than drinking milk itself.

Liver Foods

Learn to love your liver! This is our filter, and if it’s not working properly, excess hormones, blood glucose and fat gets stored in our body- which means nothing good for your PMS weight gain.

Include liver detoxifying foods in your diet to get rid of fat, fluid build-up and excess estrogen. Try beets, brassica family vegetables like cabbage, broccoli and kale, as well as lemon and raw, unpasteurized apple cider vinegar.

Magnesium

Well, we talked about magnesium deficiency being a reason for PMS weight gain, so naturally taking Magnesium will help! Studies have shown that about 200mg per day of the mineral will help to reduce or eliminate symptoms. Try a liquid form if you can find it, or Magnesium in the form of Magnesium Bisglycinate. It’s readily absorbed and won’t cause the loose bowels some other forms can.

Implement a few of these tips and say goodbye to PMS weight gain!