Hormones play a vital role in every woman’s life, influencing everything from mood and energy levels to physical health and well-being. However, hormonal fluctuations can sometimes lead to uncomfortable symptoms, particularly during PMS (premenstrual syndrome) and menopause. Let’s explore the causes behind these symptoms and the natural solutions that can make a difference. 

With modern life’s demands, it’s easy to lose balance, making a holistic approach to women’s health essential. Naturopathic medicine offers valuable tools to support women at every stage of life, from managing stress to enhancing fertility, balancing hormones, and building resilience against chronic conditions.

Vitamin D deficiency is SO common. There’s research showing that approximately 35% of adults in the United States have vitamin D deficiency. Why does this matter? Well, this vitamin (or pro-hormone) plays a role in so many functions in our body. As most of us know, it’s critical for building bone, but it can also reduce inflammation, reduce occurrence of illness and may even reduce cancer cell growth. And although it’s such a simple deficiency to test for, most doctors aren’t doing adequate testing to ensure their patients aren’t deficient.

Most of us have been there. I know I have. I also now know that I was lied to when I was younger because acne does NOT only happen in your teens. It happens in your teens, postpartum, during perimenopause and menopause, and sometimes even just because. Let’s see what we can do to treat it.

Irritability, anxiety, sadness, bloating, headaches, brain fog, food cravings, acne, and more…why do I experience PMS each month and how can I avoid it? PMS is mostly caused by fluctuating hormone levels estrogen and progesterone. Estrogen is our main reproductive hormone. It boosts serotonin levels, gives us energy, builds muscles, and improves insulin sensitivity - it’s the hormone that peaks right before ovulation, and that’s when it should be at its highest. But, too much estrogen during the luteal phase can be overstimulating which results in breast pain, fluid retention, irritability, and headaches, i.e. all the period symptoms we don’t want. 

When planning to start a family, fertility testing may be an important consideration for many women, especially if conception is unsuccessful after several months of trying. Diagnosing fertility status requires a very comprehensive first appointment in which many topics are discussed, such as birth control use, partner’s fertility status, menstrual history, sexual practices, surgical history, medications, lifestyle, diet, work and home environment, stress levels, and so much more.