If you’ve ever wondered whether fasting is actually helping your hormones or secretly wrecking them, this episode is for you. Most fasting studies are done on men or postmenopausal women, which means if you’re cycling, you’re playing by a completely different hormonal rulebook.

In this episode I’m sharing:

• Why fasting impacts women’s hormones differently than men’s (and how stress, cortisol, and progesterone all tie in)
• The hidden ways fasting can lower your LH, disrupt ovulation, and tank your progesterone levels
• Symptoms that your fasting routine is backfiring, such as irritability, insomnia, thinning hair, and irregular cycles
• Why extreme fasting is often just a “fancy way of not eating enough” and how that triggers fight-or-flight mode
• How to know if your minerals, adrenals, or calorie intake make fasting unsafe for your body right now
• Circadian fasting and how to do it properly for hormone support
• Why it matters when you eat, not just what you eat, and how nighttime insulin resistance affects fat storage and sleep
• How to break your fast correctly to protect your blood sugar and adrenals
• My favorite way to adapt fasting to your cycle using short “follicular fasts” without stressing your hormones

Remember: fasting isn’t magic and it’s not evil either. It’s about using it with context, wisdom, and nourishment. This episode will help you understand when fasting helps, when it hurts, and how to align it with your body’s natural rhythm so you can finally feel balanced, energized, and in sync again.

🙏Thank you to Eversio Wellness for sponsoring this episode!

👉 Go to https://www.eversiowellness.com/discount/LEAH or enter code LEAH at checkout for 15% off.

—

I’m Leah Brueggemann, a Functional Diagnostic Nutritional® Practitioner and Hormone Health Coach, helping you balance your hormones in effective and realistic ways so you can live a healthier, happier life.

Through the Balance Hormones Naturally podcast, you’ll discover why your cycle is so important to your everyday health and how you can use nutrition to help support the rise and fall of your hormones and finally feel truly amazing. We dig deep to understand and heal the root causes of your symptoms so you can achieve lasting results through manageable and realistic lifestyle changes, allowing you to live a healthy and balanced life without a life-long pharmaceutical prescription.

Let’s connect:

📷 Instagram https://www.instagram.com/balancinghormonesnaturally/

🙋🏻‍♀️ Personal Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/leah_brueg/

🌐 Website: https://www.leahbrueggemann.com/

📧 Email: [email protected]

—

The recommendations presented in this podcast are not a substitute for medical advice from a qualified doctor. Before making any changes to your diet and lifestyle, please consult with your healthcare provider.