Understanding Your Female Cycle
Hormones are the body's messengers that play a part in many processes in the body—from metabolism and sleep to mood regulation and fertility. However, many women struggle with hormonal imbalances that lead to symptoms like fatigue, anxiety, acne, weight fluctuations, heavy bleeding, PMS, and irregular cycles. If you’ve been navigating any of these issues, it’s important to understand what could be going on behind the scenes with hormones.
In this post, we’ll explore the basics of hormones and the female cycle and explain why a holistic approach is key to supporting balance.
What Are Hormones and Why Are They Important?
Hormones are chemical messengers produced by the endocrine system, which includes things like the thyroid, adrenals, ovaries, and pituitary glands. When our hormones are in balance, our bodies function optimally. But when they’re out of balance, it can lead to a wide range of symptoms that can be disruptive to daily life. Common hormonal imbalance patterns we often see include estrogen dominance, low progesterone, adrenal fatigue, and thyroid dysfunction.
The Female Hormonal Cycle: A Four-Phase Journey
The female cycle, also known as the fifth vital sign, provides a lot of insight into what is going on within the body and can be considered your monthly report card. Understanding each phase of your cycle and how hormones fluctuate throughout is important to help you understand how to support hormonal balance.
Menstruation (Day 1 of bleed)
What Happens: Progesterone levels drop significantly, and other sex hormones decline. The progesterone drop causes the breakdown and shedding of your uterine lining, leading to the actual bleed.
How to support: Support the body during menstruation by focusing on hydration, gentle detoxification, and anti-inflammatory foods. Foods that support the body’s natural detox pathways, such as cruciferous vegetables (broccoli sprouts, broccoli, and kale), minerals (magnesium, potassium, sodium), and herbs like dandelion and milk thistle, help keep hormones in check.
Follicular phase (Begins after menstruation and lasts 7-10 days)
What Happens: The follicular phase starts on the first day of menstruation and lasts until ovulation. During this phase, follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) is released, and estrogen rises. This prepares the body for ovulation by maturing follicles in the ovaries. Estrogen thickens the uterine lining. Excess estrogen or a sluggish estrogen detox can lead to a thicker uterine lining and heavier periods.
How to support: In this phase, focus on supporting estrogen metabolism. Foods like flax and cruciferous vegetables help promote healthy estrogen detoxification.
Ovulation (On average, day 14 of a 28-day cycle)
What Happens: Ovulation marks the release of an egg from the ovary, triggered by a peak in luteinizing hormone (LH) and FSH. Progesterone also begins to rise to prepare the body for potential pregnancy. Common ways to track ovulation include basal body temperature, Cervical mucus, and LH test strips. If the body does not ovulate, estrogen is left unopposed, which can lead to more estrogen-exption symptoms (e.g., breast tenderness, heavy bleeding, PMS).
How to support: To allow the body to feel safe, it’s important to focus on nutrient-dense foods and support the nervous system. The liver also plays a key role in metabolizing and detoxifying excess hormones, so liver-supporting foods like leafy greens, dandelion, and beets can be helpful.
Luteal Phase (Day 15–28, ideally should be 12-14 days long)
What Happens: In the luteal phase, progesterone rises to prepare the body for a possible pregnancy. If pregnancy doesn’t occur, progesterone levels fall, and this leads to the shedding of the uterine lining (your period). Estrogen and testosterone also gradually decline.
How to support: During this phase, managing blood sugar levels and supporting liver detoxification are crucial. Prioritizing nutrients like protein, healthy fats such as omega-3s, and magnesium-rich foods like dark leafy greens, nuts, and seeds. These can all be beneficial in reducing PMS-related symptoms.
Taking a Holistic Approach to Hormones
What’s important to know about hormones is that they are messengers, meaning they send a message in response to something else. These messages are how our body communicates with us. Hormones often change in response to other factors, so when there is hormone imbalance, that’s our clue to dig deeper to understand why. Rather than just focusing on symptom management, it is important to identify and address the root causes of hormonal dysfunction. Root causes can include:
Nutrition: Under-fueling or over-consumption of inflammatory foods can disrupt hormones. A diet high in processed foods, refined sugars, and unhealthy fats can exacerbate estrogen dominance or insulin resistance. A whole-foods-based, nutrient-dense diet that includes plenty of vegetables, healthy fats, and good-quality proteins is essential for hormonal health. If you’re looking for help with your diet, explore our foundational eating program, Eat to Achieve™.
Gut Health: The gut is intimately connected to hormone health, especially estrogen. The liver detoxifies estrogen and sends it to the gut for elimination. If gut health is compromised, this process can be interrupted, leading to sluggish hormone detoxification and estrogen dominance. Supporting gut health with plant diversity, fermented foods, and anti-inflammatory nutrients can improve hormone metabolism.
Blood Sugar Regulation: Insulin resistance and blood sugar imbalances can interfere with hormones, including adrenal, thyroid, and sex hormones. A diet rich in whole foods and low in processed sugars, combined with proper stress management and regular exercise, is essential for blood sugar stability. If you’re looking for deeper support with blood sugar, explore our four-week blood sugar balancing program, the Carb Compatibility Project™.
Stress and Adrenal Health: Chronic stress can disrupt our nervous system and lead to hormonal imbalance. Addressing the root cause of stress while incorporating mindfulness practices, optimizing sleep, and allowing time for rest is essential.
Environmental Toxins: Exposure to endocrine-disrupting chemicals (found in plastics, pesticides, and personal care products) can wreak havoc on hormones. We encourage women to reduce exposure by choosing non-toxic products and avoiding synthetic chemicals when possible.
Understanding the female cycle is essential for women looking to improve their overall health and well-being. After all, it is your monthly report card for your health. By taking a functional approach, which focuses on individualized care, root cause analysis, and holistic support, you can restore hormonal balance naturally. If you’re experiencing hormone imbalances, addressing the foundations of diet, stress, sleep, and environmental factors can make all the difference.
At The Funk’tional Nutritionist, we work with women to identify their root causes to achieve long-term symptom resolution and optimal hormonal health. If you’re ready to dive deeper into supporting your hormones, sign up for our 1:1 Functional C.A.R.E Method™.