We were lucky enough to have Hayley - The Rural naturopath join us for 4 Instagram Lives last month to discuss women's health and weightloss. We covered so much and got so many helpful tips I begged Hayley to put it all into a blog for you and boy did she come through with the goods!

This is seriously valuable stuff, so grab a cuppa, sit down and take it all in. Oh and I'd love for you to share the love for Hayley in the comments below or over on our Intsa post!

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Thanks for joining me last month for our weekly instagram lives. I really enjoyed chatting to you all about hormonal health and female nutrition. This is a topic you can tell I am very passionate about and I love continuing to talk about this topic to ensure that it's a topic women feel more comfortable talking about and normalise talking about our health.

 In this blog, I want to recap the 4 instagram lives and give you some resources that can help your hormones, and WOW we covered ALOT!!

 Understand your hormones

 DID YOU KNOW?

Your period can reflect a lot about your overall health, and your period symptoms can give you enormous insight into your overall well-being

 What is normal

• Comes every 21-35 days
• No excessive pain
• Bleeding last 4-7 days
• Blood colour should be a rich, bright red
• No clots
• Blood flow should be Light – Heavy – Light

If you have a long list of symptoms that aren't normal, you are now probably thinking, where do I go now? I hear time and time again that women seek out support from their GP and they are either told a couple of things one, they are told their symptoms are normal and it's just part of being a woman. Often they are feeling dismissed and not listened to. Then secondly, the options of support that your GP will often give you is the pill or a form of synthetic contraception, which doesn't agree with so many people.

 I want you to really take this message away from this blog, if you’re not feeling listened to or supported, find another health professional. You are not going to connect with everyone and I know there is someone out there that can support you, you just need to find the right person.

Hayleys at home hacks to support healthy hormones

1. Increase your fibre

This is my go to for so many women. Fibre is your friend and has so many benefits to your health. Not only does it feed the beneficial bacteria in your digestive system, but fibre can also help to balance your hormones. How it works is by binding to excess hormones, and removing them through your bowels. It's honestly a winning trick that you can do at home. Consider adding oats, psyllium husks, slippery elm, chia seeds, ect.

2. Remove toxins in your life

Environmental toxins are really having an impact on our homes due to the environmental oestrogen that mimics oestrogen in our body leaving so many with high oestrogen symptoms. Never before in human history have our bodies been exposed to so many chemicals. Our lungs, skin and digestive systems come into contact with a huge amount of toxins every day. Consider switching to natal products where possible as it will not only improve our environment but also our health.

3. Magnesium

Did you know in the lead up to your period (from ovulation to day 1 of your bleed) you utilise more magnesium which can often leave you deficient. If you are experiencing mood changes, period pain, leg cramps or eye twitches

4. Eat adequate protein and healthy fats

Too often I see women under eating for weight loss, which then in turn has an impact on your hormones. I want to tell women that yes eating less will help you lose weight up until a point, but if you aren't eating adequate food to function your body will be put into survival mode which will stop weight loss, stop your period and so much more. So please if you're wanting to lose weight, still make sure you're eating adequate protein and healthy fats. They are going to keep you fuller for longer, stabilise your blood sugar levels, improve brain function and concentration and so much more.

 Exercising with your cycle

This is something that has really changed my life, learning about the different phases throughout your monthly cycle. Yes, there can be small changes in your energy, productivity, your mood and your exercise ability. Sometimes in the lead up to your period, the last thing you want to do is exercise but if you tweaked and changed the way you were exercising it will allow you to still be consistent with your movement as well as reap the benefits you get from exercise. In this graphic below it shows you the 4 phases of your cycle as well as provides you with some information as to what exercise, what intensity and frequency is best in each phase.

I really hope this blog and the instagram lives have been helpful for you. I hope that I have provided you with information that you feel empowered about to make positive changes in your life or to have the confidence to seek out more support about getting to the bottom of your health. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out to me via email at hello@theruralnaturopath.com.