Women’s Health

Women will naturally experience various physical and emotional changes during their life. During these phases, the body’s requirements for nutrition will change in order to support the body’s needs.

Having good nutrition and lifestyle routines at these times is vital to ensure the female reproductive system functions optimally and remains in balance.

Understanding the Female Reproductive System

The female reproductive system is designed to carry out several important functions. It produces the female egg cells necessary for reproduction, supports conception through fertilisation of the egg, pregnancy and providing the essential nutrients and antibodies to a baby to support their growth and immune health.

The reproductive system includes the mammary glands, uterus, fallopian tubes, cervix, ovaries and vagina. During puberty, the menstrual cycles and ovulation begin which generally lasts 24-35 days with 28 days being average. It has four phases the menstrual phase (menses), pre-ovulatory, ovulation and post-ovulatory phase. The female reproductive system produces several female sex hormones that help maintain the reproductive cycle. For example, ovarian oestrogen reaches a peak just before ovulation then stays stable until a drop just prior to menstruation.

If fertilisation and/or implantation does not occur, then the reproductive system is designed to menstruate (the monthly shedding of the uterine lining).

Signs and Symptoms of Poor Women’s Health

Due to the nature of female sex hormones produced by the reproductive system, when out of balance can they cause a variety of different symptoms.

Typical symptoms a woman can experience if the female reproductive system is out of balance are:

Breast tenderness
Difficulty with memory and concentration
Hot flashes and night sweats
Irritability
Fatigue
Low libido
Mood Swings
Problems with urination
Vaginal dryness

There is also a range of pathologies linked to the female reproductive system, with the common being as follows:

Amenorrhoea (Absence of a period)
Breast Cancer
Endometriosis
Fibroids
Infertility
Ovarian Cysts
PCOS (Polycystic Ovary Syndrome)
PID (Pelvic Inflammatory Disease)
PMS (Pre-menstrual syndrome)

Key Hormones and their Role in Women’s Health

There are several key hormones such as FSH (Follicle Stimulate Hormone), LH (luteinising Hormone), Oestrogen and Progesterone that play a key role in women’s health. One of the most well known and influential hormones is Oestrogen.

Oestrogen’s main role is to increase the growth of cells in places where there are oestrogen receptors (proliferation) in the body. What this means is an increase in oestrogen will support the growth of female reproductive organs. You may not know but there are, three main types of oestrogen – oestradiol, oestrone and oestriol.

Oestradiol is converted into one of three metabolites by the body which is abbreviated as 2-0H, 4-OH and 16-OH. Importantly, 4-OH and 16-OH have been associated with a higher risk of breast cancer due to their toxicity and reactivity (Jones, 2006). The type of diet you consume and your lifestyle activities will greatly influence which metabolites are produced and how well they are eliminated from the body.

Hormone Disruptors and Xenoestrogens

In today’s modern world we are bombarded with toxins, artificial hormones and hormone disruptors. Parabens, Phthalates, PCBs, herbicides and pesticides are to name a few and can be found in our skincare, food and plastics.

Essentially, they can switch off important hormone pathways or conversely can cause the over-production of certain female hormones which causes the body to become out of balance. It is important to understand where they may be introduced into your environment and diet and how to avoid them in order to aid the healing process.

Ensuring Good Detoxification Pathways

The liver plays a really important role in the optimal functioning of a women’s reproductive system. Oestrogen detoxification in particular is a key part of maintaining good female reproductive health. Key detoxification pathways to this involve sulphation and methylation and it is important to be assessed to see if these pathways are working well for you as an individual. Most women tend to have a genetic susceptibility to how well these pathways perform.

Supporting Menopause

Over time ovaries gradually become less responsive to FSH & LH. Little to no oestrogen and progesterone are produced therefore no signalling back to the pituitary leads to high FSH & LH in a blood test. As a result, hormones become ‘out of sync’ causing menopausal symptoms. Typical symptoms include hot flushes, decreased libido, shrinkage of breasts, vaginal dryness, irritability, mood changes, osteoporosis, increase in blood cholesterol.

HRT is a common drug treatment for menopause recommended by your doctor. It has been shown to be beneficial in improving menopause symptoms but suppresses the body’s natural ageing process and only delays menopause. Unfortunately, the symptoms will reappear once the HRT course is stopped.

Using holistic healthcare advice, allows a woman to experience menopause gracefully and comfortably.

Women's Health and the Menstrual Cycle

Up to 85% of women experience a range of physical or emotional symptoms between the time they ovulate and the first days of their menstrual period. It’s common to experience mood changes before your period, including some level of depression and emotional irritability.

Issues that are kept within a person can become more pronounced at this time or they might be a genuine expression of feelings you’re not usually comfortable enough to show. The intensity of these symptoms and frustrations may be completely manageable or feel intolerable.

On a deeper level, PMS is likely to bring issues to do with the relationship to femininity and how a person feels about being a woman to the surface. If a person is pushing aside or ignoring feelings of anger, sadness or simply not giving enough time to switch off and reconnect, hormonal activity can be affected, and premenstrual symptoms are likely to be heightened as these deep-rooted feelings bubble up to the surface.

Females are granted the gift of menstruation each month to not only physically shed through bleeding but to release and express feelings that have been embedded deep within the body.

Techniques such as the Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT) and Matrix Reimprinting are very powerful tools in helping work with deep-rooted emotions or traumatic memories by clearing the energy behind them. Once the energy has been cleared health returns to the body.

Bringing Women’s Health Back into Balance through a Holistic Approach

There are many factors involved when looking at women’s health concerns and why the body may not be functioning optimally. These require investigating holistically and the individual needs to be assessed as a whole to truly determine the root cause(s).

Adjusting your nutritional intake and lifestyle habits, supporting mental well-being as well as assessing your spiritual wellbeing will play a crucial role in getting the female reproductive system back into balance.

Everyone is individual and therefore there is no one size fits all approach when it comes to health. It is important to get a health plan tailored to your needs, symptoms and life circumstances.

At Higher Healing, being qualified in Naturopathy, Nutrition, Emotional Freedom and Matrix Reimprinting we have a truly holistic offering to provide the right support to transform your health. We also are able to offer private functional testing to assess in detail imbalances within the body to give you a clear picture of your health.

Our wish is for you to reach a higher level of healing, so you are able to transform your health. It is possible and you can do it. Start by taking the first step, get in touch to see how Higher Healing can help.