This EndoLife

Today is another recording from an Instagram live I did - this time all about endometriosis and chronic fatigue.

In this episode, I discuss -

Why does it happen? Covering the link between endo/chronic pelvic pain/chronic pain conditions and low cortisol, inflammation and mitochondria dysfunction, gut health issues and nutrient malabsorption, hormone imbalances and blood sugar dysregulation.

Whether fatigue will fatigue get worse the longer you live with endo.

Why fatigue might be worse after your period.

Whether fatigue is still common after excision surgery.

What’s the best/quickest way to get iron levels up.

I really hope you find this episode useful!

Let's get social! Come say hello on Instagram or sign up to my newsletter.

Sign up to my free Endo Belly Challenge here.

To become a The Endo Belly Course Founding Member, email me at [email protected] with ‘Yes’ in the subject line.

Sign up to the wait list for my course, Live and Thrive with Endo here.

My cookbook This EndoLife, It Starts with Breakfast is out now! Get 28 anti-inflammatory, hormone friendly recipes for living and thriving with endometriosis. Order your copy here.

If you feel like you need more support with managing endometriosis, you can join Your EndoLife Coaching Programme. A 1-to-1 three month health and life coaching programme to help you thrive with endometriosis. To find out more about the programme and to discuss whether it could be right for you, email me at [email protected] or visit my website.

This episode is sponsored by The Pod Farm. Learn all about how to start your own podcast with the complete course from The Pod Farm. Aimed at beginners, this course takes a simple and straightforward approach to planning, equipment buying, setting up, recording, editing and hosting your own podcast. With hours of audio and video materials, and downloadable guides and useful links, this multimedia approach aims to have something for every kind of learner. From now until April 15, newsletter subscribers get 20% off the course price. Visit www.thepodfarm.com to enroll or find out more

This episode is sponsored by BeYou. Soothe period cramps the natural way with these 100% natural and discreet menthol and eucalyptus oil stick on patches and CBD range. Click here to find out more and to shop: https://beyouonline.co.uk

Show Notes

Ep. 139

Ep. 141

A few weeks ago, I shared an episode on addressing low moods in your luteal phase (that’s your premenstrual phase, which occurs after ovulation and lasts around two weeks), and I started with low blood sugar.

In this episode, I want to talk about the other common issue which can cause low moods at this time of your cycle, and that’s low progesterone. I was originally going to also talk about low neurotransmitters as well, but actually just low progesterone alone has so many parts to it (and I didn’t even touch upon them all!) that I think it would be good to separate this theme into three episodes, so one on blood sugar, one on low progesterone and one on low neurotransmitters. That way, you can work on an area and observe the difference, rather than trying to address all the issues at once, when some of them may not even be relevant to you. 

If you haven’t listened to my previous episode, then I really strongly suggest you start there and begin balancing your blood sugar first, because you may not even need to address these next steps if your symptoms improve with better blood sugar levels! 

And the reason why I am covering this, is because 93% of you said that you suffer with low moods in the week or so before your period, and endometriosis is enough to deal with, let alone with feeling extra teary, anxious, or irritable! I want to make your period and the rest of your cycle as manageable, and even as easy as possible for you, so even though this may not seem directly linked to endo, it will improve your overall experience of your cycle. In fact, addressing these problems will likely help your endo too – and I’ll explain why as we go through the episode. 

So, let’s dive into low progesterone. And to understand this, we need to understand how progesterone is produced. The majority of our progesterone comes from a gland called the corpus luteum. This is a temporary gland that is formed once our chosen mature egg is released from its sack-like follicle during ovulation. When this sack no longer holds the egg, it transforms into our corpus luteum, and this gland releases progesterone during the second half of our cycle.

Progesterone is responsible for various reproductive roles, such as further preparing the uterine lining and supporting a healthy pregnancy, which is why it’s so crucial to have good progesterone levels if you’re trying to conceive or struggling with miscarriages. But it is also a mood soother and without enough of it, we can get cranky, irritable, depressed, or anxious…

Progesterone produces a metabolite, which is essentially a by-product that is made as a result of progesterone being used. This metabolite is called allopregnanolone and it usually has a positive impact on nerve signalling and brain function. Allopregnanolone binds to GABA receptors, and GABA is a neurotransmitter which tends to soothe and calm the nervous system. And just to be clear, a neurotransmitter is essentially a chemical messenger which transfers information from one brain neuron to another, they include other neurotransmitters like serotonin and dopamine. So, this binding to the GABA receptor enhances the calming effects of GABA, creating a sedative like response which can improve sleep, calm anxiety, and generally soothe both body and mind.

However, if we’re low in progesterone, we may not have enough allopregnanolone to reap the benefits of GABA, and the reason why we’ll notice this so dramatically in the second half of the cycle, is because in the first half, oestrogen is supporting serotonin production, our happy hormone. So, when oestrogen lowers in the second half of our cycle, if we don’t have enough progesterone, we may feel a real crash in our mood.

On the flip side of this, research is showing that in those with PMDD, regardless of the levels of progesterone, these people have a negative reaction to the binding of allopregnanolone to GABA receptors. They actually have the opposite reaction; they become anxious, the nervous system over responds, etc. So, if you suspect you have PMDD, just have an awareness of this – healthy hormone levels will help, but you may also need some extra support due to this reaction. I’ve put a link into the show notes where you can read up on this a little more and to two podcast episodes where I cover PMDD and how to manage it. 

But for those of us without PMDD, lower levels of progesterone can cause insomnia, anxiety, depression, and irritability. And also, if you suspect you have oestrogen dominance and you’re wondering why we don’t just keep reaping the benefits of serotonin if our oestrogen levels are higher than they should be in the luteal phase, well in many cases, it’s not that oestrogen is high, but that progesterone is too low, and this creates an imbalance where oestrogen is too high in relation to progesterone. Or you may genuinely have high levels of oestrogen and too low progesterone, or simply just have high levels of oestrogen and normal levels of progesterone, but regardless, that doesn’t mean the effects will be positive! If your hormones are not doing what they’re supposed to be in the second half of the cycle, you’re going to run into problems and oestrogen dominance or excess oestrogen causes PMS, which of course, causes mood swings. So, the best way to have balanced moods in your luteal phase, is to balance our hormones.

So how do our levels of progesterone get too low in the first place?

So, number one is a lack of ovulation. If we don’t ovulate, we don’t have healthy progesterone levels, because the majority of progesterone will come from the corpus luteum, which is only made once we’ve ovulated.  

And many people think if they have a period, they’ve ovulated, but this isn’t the case. You can still have a period without ovulation, it’s just not a true period, it’s sort of like a breakthrough bleed. If you want to know for sure if you’re ovulating, then you need to use the Fertility Awareness Method to track your cycle and this will measure your basal body temperature, cervical fluid and cervix position and will give you the exact date you ovulated on. Understanding the Fertility Awareness Method is really another podcast episode, so I’ve provided a link to where you can learn more about it in the show notes, but I also share how to do it in my course and with my clients, if you want more support on how to do it.

So, what stops up from ovulating? Many things, but the key is usually stress, whether that’s emotional or physical. And that stress can look like work stress, money stress, general life stress, but it can also be physical stressors like chronic inflammation, gut health conditions like SIBO, blood sugar imbalances, too much caffeine (because caffeine turns on the stress response), etc. 

When our body is stressed, it kicks into survival mode and energy is taken away from non-essential functions and directed to essential functions that will help us to survive ovulation is not one of those, so that is put on the backburner. Additionally, having a baby when we’re under threat, from a biological standpoint, is not the best time to bring offspring into the world, so there are several ways the body responds to stop us from conceiving, and most of these result in a lack of ovulation. 

Additionally, when we’re stressed, the body will always prioritise cortisol, our stress hormone. Cortisol and progesterone actually fit into the same cell receptors, so when we have higher levels of cortisol, progesterone is blocked from cells, preventing it from getting to work. So even if we have healthy levels of progesterone, if we’re stressed, we may not be reaping the same benefits. 

Another possible cause of low progesterone is hypothyroidism, which is when the thyroid is producing too little thyroid hormones. Autoimmune hypothyroidism, known as hashimoto's thyroiditis, has actually been linked to endometriosis in several studies, indicating that there could be a greater risk of developing the autoimmune condition in those of us with endo.

Some signs of an underactive thyroid are:

·       Chronic fatigue

·       Low libido

·       Painful joints

·       Cognitive impairment such as brain fog and forgetfulness

·       Feeling cold all the time or particularly sensitive to cold

·       Constipation

·       Dry skin and hair

·       Hair loss or thinning (including eyebrows)

·       Weight gain

·       Low moods or depression

·       Period problems such as heavy, long, or painful periods

·       Infertility or miscarriage

I’ve written an article about the subject, though it is fairly old, and I’d love to update it, but it does have some good guidance on how to check for signs of hypothyroidism and how to correctly test your thyroid too!

However, the bottom line is, if you’re not producing enough thyroid hormones, you won’t be making enough progesterone because a lack of thyroid hormones can stop or delay ovulation and additionally directly affect our ability to make enough progesterone.

Another cause of low progesterone would be nutrient deficiencies. Nutrient deficiencies are a stressor on the body regardless, and so that could interrupt ovulation, but if we don’t have adequate nutrients, we may struggle to develop healthy follicles, meaning that even if an egg does make it to ovulation, the corpus luteum might be too poor quality to produce sufficient levels of progesterone. 

So, what can we do about low moods caused by low progesterone? Well, clearly, there could be a number of causes, so I’m not going to give you a huge to-do list because that’ll be overwhelming. Instead, I’m going o give you some baby steps to try and if they don’t help over the next few cycles, you can turn to the deeper investigations. 

My first suggestion is to manage stress and raise GABA levels with one action. Any stress reduction exercises can help to lower stress and raise GABA levels according to Trudy Scott, in her book, The Anti-Anxiety Food Solution, but particularly, yoga has been shown to be a shining star here. Additionally, you could try deep breathing exercises or slow movement like tai chi or forest bathing (a fancy term for walking in nature)! The more you do of these in your luteal cycle, the better you’ll likely feel and the more you do of them all month long, the less likely you’ll be to feel low in your luteal phase, because hopefully, the stress reduction has supported a healthy ovulation! 

My second suggestion is to eat more fat. Yep, I really said that. And when I say fats, I mean healthy fats, like olive oil, avocados, and nut butter. Our hormones are made of fat and protein, specifically cholesterol and a protein called STAR protein. If we’re not consuming adequate fat, we won’t be developing healthy follicles leading to low levels of progesterone or a lack of ovulation entirely. Additionally, eating enough fat keeps blood sugar levels stable, and we know that imbalanced blood sugar is a major stressor to the body, which of course can lead to delayed or missing ovulation and resulting PMS. When we’re thinking about serving sizes of healthy fats, we want to be eating around two golf ball sized servings of fat with every single meal. So that might look like two tablespoons of nut butter, or maybe a third of a large avocado for example.

 So that’s it. Those are two fairly easy and pleasant actions to get started with – try eating more fat and try out some gentle exercises like yoga, breathing or slow movement, ideally at least one of these once a day if possible.

Now of course, if you have hypothyroidism or you suspect you do, then these exercises aren’t going to be enough to recover your progesterone levels and you’ll need to get that addressed. 

And additionally, if you have gut health issues like SIBO, gut dysbiosis, candida, etc. these are going to be a significant source of inflammation in the body and will be a chronic stressor, which could be having a real effect on your hormones. In fact, gut health issues are a leading cause of hormonal imbalances; the healthier your gut, the better your hormones will be – and the better your endo symptoms will be! Gut health problems will also very much be behind nutrient deficiencies as well, if you have them that is, as they’ll often affect nutrient absorption. And the toxin known as LPS, which comes from gram-negative bacteria and escape through a leaky gut wall, have also been shown to contribute to the development of autoimmune hypothyroidism. LPS levels are very high in SIBO, so healing that will help to prevent the development of hypothyroidism or will improve your symptoms if you already have it. 

Now of course, gut healing is a whole other topic and can often take some time to work on, so I’m not going to dive into that here. What I will say is I have plenty of episodes on leaky gut, SIBO and gut healing in general, and I’m also running a free gut healing challenge at the moment, called the Endo Belly Challenge, so you can sign up to that if you’d like to begin working on this area of healing.

And finally, the standard protocols I always go on about such as eating a nutrient dense anti-inflammatory diet and balancing your blood sugar will have a significantly positive impact on ovulation and progesterone production, so generally trying to keep those in mind is going to help here too. 

In the future, I’ll do another spotlight episode on progesterone and how to boost that but start here and see how you do for a few cycles and then if you’re not experiencing much of a response, begin to investigate some of the other issues I raised today like PMDD, hypothyroidism and SIBO. Additionally, listen out for the final episode in this series to see if that could help you too!

Listen and subscribe on your favourite player or listen directly/download MP3 here or just listen below!

Let's get social! Come say hello on Instagram or sign up to my newsletter.

Sign up to my free Endo Belly Challenge here.

Sign up to the wait list for my course, Live and Thrive with Endo here.

My cookbook This EndoLife, It Starts with Breakfast is out now! Get 28 anti-inflammatory, hormone friendly recipes for living and thriving with endometriosis.

For the next few weeks I’m experimenting with something new - two episodes a week! I’ll be releasing my usual podcast episode and a live Q&A recording, so anyone who doesn’t follow me on Instagram can tune in there. I want to see how you guys like this format and then if it’s something that is working well, we’ll keep to two a week for the most part.

As a result of this new change, this week’s first episode is a recording of my SIBO live Q&A.

Small intestine bacterial overgrowth in our community is a big, big deal. Current research has shown that possibly 80% of us with endo have SIBO, and having SIBO may even be a risk factor for developing endo in the first place... BUT having endo can also cause SIBO so it’s a real chicken or the egg scenario.

In this Q&A I break down:

• The stats behind SIBO and IBS with endo

• The treatments for SIBO: antimicrobials, antibiotics or the elemental diet.

• Why you can’t just treat it with one round of over the counter herbs (there are specific time frames and quantities!).

• Root causes of SIBO and prevention of relapse.

• The current problems with trying to access a diagnosis and treatment though the NHS.

Let's get social! Come say hello on Instagram or sign up to my newsletter.

Sign up to my free Endo Belly Challenge here.

Sign up to the wait list for my course, Live and Thrive with Endo here.

My cookbook This EndoLife, It Starts with Breakfast is out now! Get 28 anti-inflammatory, hormone friendly recipes for living and thriving with endometriosis. Order your copy here.

If you feel like you need more support with managing endometriosis, you can join Your EndoLife Coaching Programme. A 1-to-1 three month health and life coaching programme to help you thrive with endometriosis. To find out more about the programme and to discuss whether it could be right for you, email me at [email protected] or visit my website.

This episode is sponsored by The Pod Farm. Learn all about how to start your own podcast with the complete course from The Pod Farm. Aimed at beginners, this course takes a simple and straightforward approach to planning, equipment buying, setting up, recording, editing and hosting your own podcast. With hours of audio and video materials, and downloadable guides and useful links, this multimedia approach aims to have something for every kind of learner. From now until April 15, newsletter subscribers get 20% off the course price. Visit www.thepodfarm.com to enroll or find out more

This episode is sponsored by BeYou. Soothe period cramps the natural way with these 100% natural and discreet menthol and eucalyptus oil stick on patches and CBD range. Click here to find out more and to shop: https://beyouonline.co.uk

Okay, this is a bold statement but… this is my most favourite This EndoLife episode ever.

You all know I’ve been fascinated with the world of chronic pain science for a long time now. In fact, I did an episode on lowering pain signals through calming the brain and nervous system back in 2019 but I’ve been on a continuously evolving research journey since. And this research has led me to Curable, an app for chronic pain, that works by helping to reprogram the brain and nervous system so we can unlearn pain pathways and reduce chronic pain flare ups. I absolutely love Curable, and use it with my clients to help them to address the ways in which trauma, stress and a heightened nervous system could be contributing to their pain levels. Often I find it’s the missing piece of the puzzle in someone’s endo healing journey.

So I am so excited to introduce you to this week’s guest, social worker and psychotherapist Christie Uipi. Christie is on the Scientific Advisory Team at Curable, and is specialised in chronic pain, depression and anxiety. After enduring years of chronic pain herself, Christie went on to not only cure her chronic pain but also to specialise in treating it!

In today’s episode, we discuss:

• Christie’s personal story with chronic pain.

• How all pain is made in the brain and how that differs from being told endo pain is just “all in our heads”.

• How pain evolves to become chronic and how that changes the brain and nervous system.

• What factors influence chronic pain for better or worse.

• How to identify if pain is from tissue damage vs. an upregulated nervous system.

• How an upregulated nervous system can directly influence endometriosis pain.

• Exercises to begin reprogramming the brain to lower pain signals.

I really hope this episode is useful to you and perhaps it will be the missing link you’ve been looking for in your own healing journey.

Let's get social! Come say hello on Instagram or sign up to my newsletter.

Sign up to my free Endo Belly Challenge here.

Sign up to the wait list for my course, Live and Thrive with Endo here.

My cookbook This EndoLife, It Starts with Breakfast is out now! Get 28 anti-inflammatory, hormone friendly recipes for living and thriving with endometriosis. Order your copy here.

If you feel like you need more support with managing endometriosis, you can join Your EndoLife Coaching Programme. A 1-to-1 three month health and life coaching programme to help you thrive with endometriosis. To find out more about the programme and to discuss whether it could be right for you, email me at [email protected] or visit my website.

This episode is sponsored by The Pod Farm. Learn all about how to start your own podcast with the complete course from The Pod Farm. Aimed at beginners, this course takes a simple and straightforward approach to planning, equipment buying, setting up, recording, editing and hosting your own podcast. With hours of audio and video materials, and downloadable guides and useful links, this multimedia approach aims to have something for every kind of learner. From now until April 15, newsletter subscribers get 20% off the course price. Visit www.thepodfarm.com to enroll or find out more

This episode is sponsored by BeYou. Soothe period cramps the natural way with these 100% natural and discreet menthol and eucalyptus oil stick on patches and CBD range. Click here to find out more and to shop: https://beyouonline.co.uk

Show Notes

Endo Belly Challenge

Episode 73 (pain signals, etc.)

Curable

Christie’s website

This Might Hurt film

This week’s episode is a good one! Today I am talking to Dr. Brianne Grogan. Dr. Bri is a pelvic floor physiotherapist who helps people to recover from pelvic floor dysfunction, pelvic pain, bladder and bowel dysfunction and pelvic floor injuries through her online programmes and free resources (like YouTube)!

She is the author of Lady Bits: Understand Your Body, Elevate Your Health, and Reclaim Your Spark Naturally, the founder of FemFusion and Vibrant Pelvic Health and is the podcast host of Dr.Bri Talks Lady Bits.

I was so excited to have Dr Bri on the show because I get so many questions about how to work out safely with endo - lots of you want to move your bodies, but you're scared of making the pain worse or doing damage! Many of you have also expressed that you have fitness goals and that you’re fed up of just doing yoga or stretching exercises, so I really wanted to talk to someone who actually creates workout videos and who could speak to these issues.

In this episode we discuss:

• Which types of workouts are safe for endo, vaginismus and bladder pain and which ones we may need to tweak and tailor.

• How to exercise safely with endo and pelvic pain conditions - whilst still growing your booty and building abs if that’s what you want to do!

• The correct form to support pelvic health with endo.

• The benefits of movement for people with chronic pelvic pain conditions.

• How and when to adapt our exercise routine if we’re having a bad day pain wise.

Listen and subscribe on your favourite player or listen directly/download MP3 here or just listen below!

Let's get social! Come say hello on Instagram or sign up to my newsletter.

Sign up to the wait list for my course, Live and Thrive with Endo here.

My cookbook This EndoLife, It Starts with Breakfast is out now! Get 28 anti-inflammatory, hormone friendly recipes for living and thriving with endometriosis. Order your copy here.

If you feel like you need more support with managing endometriosis, you can join Your EndoLife Coaching Programme. A 1-to-1 three month health and life coaching programme to help you thrive with endometriosis. To find out more about the programme and to discuss whether it could be right for you, email me at [email protected] or visit my website.

This episode is sponsored by The Pod Farm. Learn all about how to start your own podcast with the complete course from The Pod Farm. Aimed at beginners, this course takes a simple and straightforward approach to planning, equipment buying, setting up, recording, editing and hosting your own podcast. With hours of audio and video materials, and downloadable guides and useful links, this multimedia approach aims to have something for every kind of learner. From now until April 15, newsletter subscribers get 20% off the course price. Visit www.thepodfarm.com to enroll or find out more

This episode is sponsored by BeYou. Soothe period cramps the natural way with these 100% natural and discreet menthol and eucalyptus oil stick on patches and CBD range. Click here to find out more and to shop: https://beyouonline.co.uk

Show Notes

• "Overcome Pelvic Pain for Women" - a fully guided holistic programme that includes stretches, deep relaxation poses, nutrition guidance, trigger point release, mindset work, and more. Get a 7-day free trial: https://www.vibrantpelvichealth.com/free-female-pelvic-pain-7-day-program

• Dr Bri’s YouTube playlists, all in one place: bit.ly/FemPlaylists

• 20 minute core workout for a tight pelvic floor: https://youtu.be/DleC6Hn0_KU

• Exercises and Stretches for Endometriosis | Gentle Pain Relief: https://youtu.be/Y7ZRyBkSLCs

• Period Relief Yoga Stretches: https://youtu.be/bZgBw6mo60c

• @femfusionfitness on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube

• Booty workout example discussed in episode

• Ab workout example discussed in episode

• Pelvic floor release

Okay so a while ago I ran a poll about PMS and endo, and I wanted to know what symptoms you struggle with. Turns out, the majority of you get low moods during your luteal phase. In fact, out of the hundreds of you who entered the poll, 93% of you said you struggle with low moods and mood swings during your luteal phase.

So today’s episode is the first in a two part series. Today I’m going to take you through one of the key causes of PMS mood swings and I’m going to provide you with my go-to strategy for starting to tackle it, and then in the second episode, I’ll be taking you through the secondary causes and strategies.  

So number one, where we’re starting, is to balance your blood sugar, and truly, this is one of the most important things you can do if you want to improve your moods during this time, lower inflammation and balance your hormones. This is really key and this is why I’m starting here. If you’ve got your blood sugar sorted, then clearly this isn’t your main cause and the next two causes in the future episode will be more relevant, and they are low progesterone and low neurostransmitter levels. But we’re starting with blood sugar because this is foundational to hormone health and plays a really big role in PMS, and could be the reason why you have low progesterone anyway!

So let’s look at what blood sugar has to do with moods specifically.

Blood sugar is the measurement of glucose in our blood. Glucose comes from complex carbohydrates like fruit, vegetables, beans, whole grains, etc. and it is our body’s and brain’s primary fuel. For us to feel energised and have stable energy levels all day long, we need to have a steady drip of glucose filtering into our blood. When we’re eating a diet that consists of complex carbohydrates, that also includes healthy fats, proteins and lots of fibre, this ensures good blood sugar levels. 

But glucose also comes from refined carbohydrates, such as sugars like honey, maple syrup and standard white sugar, and baked processed products like bread, cake and pizza. These foods contain a lot of carbohydrate and little fibre, they are made of simple carbohydrates, meaning that they break down very, very quickly in the gut. Complex carbohydrates are called complex carbohydrates because their chemical structure is made of long chains of glucose linked together, which takes the body longer to break down. In contrast, simple carbs are made up of very short chains of glucose that are easy for the body to break down. This creates a huge surge of glucose that’s pumped quickly into your blood stream.

What then happens is that your body panics. It’s a stressor to the body to have this much glucose in the blood at any one time, so it releases a hormone called insulin. Insulin usually delivers glucose to our cells for fuel, but when we have too much glucose, it’s released in really high amounts and pushes it into the liver and fat cells for storage. This equally happens quickly, in fact, a little too quickly and the insulin accidentally takes too much glucose out of the blood in its rush to clean things up, and our blood sugar levels plummet. This leaves us hungry soon afterwards, and we end up on a blood sugar rollercoaster, needing more refined carbs and sugar to fuel us and get our blood sugar levels back up to a healthy level. Of course, eating more sugar or processed carbs won’t take us to healthy levels, but will spike our blood sugar levels once more – so we’ll temporarily feel good, only to crash again, so the cycle continues.

The result is that we spend our days going through highs and lows, and this blood sugar rollercoaster feels like:

·      Hanger

·      Irritability

·      Anger

·      Moodiness

·      Tearfulness

·      Anxiety

·      Shakiness

·      Feeling sleepy after meals

·      Having mid-morning and mid-afternoon energy slumps

·      Cravings for caffeine, sugar or refined carbohydrates

·      Trouble falling asleep, waking up in the night or struggling to wake in the morning

·      Feeling thirsty a lot

You don’t have to have all of these symptoms, but if you have a few of them, it’s likely your blood sugar levels need improving.

So what’s this got to do with PMS? Well, in the first half of our cycle, from menstruation to ovulation, as oestrogen rises, we’re actually more insulin sensitive because oestrogen actually boosts the effectiveness of insulin. This means we respond well to insulin so we’re getting in glucose and making energy effectively, we’re satisfied more easily and we feel satiated for longer. Basically, we’re more responsive to insulin and that in turns helps us to have balanced blood sugar levels and stops us from craving all the sugar.

But in contrast, in the second half of our cycle, when progesterone rises, we actually become less insulin sensitive because progesterone can dampen the effectiveness of insulin. That means the same meal you ate the week before, may no longer satisfy you because your body is not taking in the glucose from insulin in the same way. It also means, as a result, you may be more susceptible to blood sugar highs and lows and you might end up eating more refined carbs, sugar, etc. because you still feel hungry or less energised, so your body is telling you to eat foods with a quick energy fix. This is likely why 84% of you say you get cravings during this time!

This of course can create those blood sugar crashes that leave you feeling anxious, tearful, irritable, or moody. This is one of the key reasons we can feel low during the luteal phase, which is why we start here. In the follow up episode I’m going to take you through the other causes, but by working on your blood sugar levels, you’ll actually be preventing the other causes from happening in the first place in many cases, so this is the foundation we really want to have in place. Once this is in place, we can clearly and accurately see whether there’s any other issues left over affecting your moods in this part of your cycle.

So there are a few key strategies for balancing blood sugar, but let’s start with the main strategy to get you going. Ideally, we want to practice this all month long because it’s going to lower inflammation and regulate your hormones so your PMS will be better and your pain will be better too, but at the minimum, it will be helpful to bring this strategy in from ovulation onwards until your period so we can manage those blood sugar levels.  

So, the strategy is to eat healthy fats, fibre, complex carbohydrates, and protein with every single meal. And so this looks like:

·      50% of your plate (or half your plate) should be covered with low starchy veggies. This is where your complex carbs and fibre will come from. This is important because the carbs give you energy and the fibre slows down the release of glucose, because it takes longer to digest foods with fibre. So think asparagus, broccoli, kale, tomatoes, peppers, cucumber, aubergine, cauliflower, etc.

·      25% of your plate should be protein (or a quarter of your plate). And that should be equal to the size and thickness of your palm. We need about 20g of protein per meal on average, so that’s not 20g of beans or chicken, but how much protein is actually in the food itself. Don’t worry, you don’t need to be weighing things up, just start with the ratios first, the portion sizes. If you’re still getting hungry after meals, check how much protein you’re actually eating and up it if need be. For meat, it works out at about 3-4 oz of animal protein. If you’re eating beans or a protein rich grain like quinoa or brown rice, you’re probably going to need to up your levels with say a dressing made of nut butter, or an egg, or maybe a tablespoon or two of seeds. Also, remember that beans and grains also count as complex carbs, so keep that in mind for when I get to the complex carbs bit! 

·      Next up, we want the final 25% to be split between more starchier complex carbs and healthy fats. For healthy fats, we’re looking at a two golf ball sized serving, or two heaped tablespoons and that could be equal to half an avocado, two tablespoons of olive oil, two tablespoons of nut butter, etc. Fat helps to slow the blood sugar release down, and is actually essential for hormone production by the way! 

The starchier carbs would consist of a small handful of something like root veggies such as sweet potato or parsnips, or maybe some quinoa or beans if you haven’t had them already as your protein source. And so this is where it has to be very individual as if you already have beans or grains, you might not need that extra starch boost and instead, you could just add some extra veggies so your plate is around 60-65% veg. But if you have say beans on your plate for your protein source and you tend to burn a lot of energy during the day because you’re a very active person, you might need a little sweet potato too or some grains. And if you’ve got meat as your protein source and you’re very active, that serving of starchier carbs might need to be a bit bigger than someone who isn’t very active. It has to be tailored to you and what your body needs. 

For example, my blood sugar cannot tolerate beans and grains in the same meal, I crash and burn hard! But I have a job where for the most part, other than using a standing desk a few times throughout the day and my usual exercise routine, I don’t have a physically demanding lifestyle. But if you’re say a nurse in a busy hospital, a dance teacher or an athlete, you’ll probably feel like you do better with that extra fuel. In fact, one of my clients who’s a dance teacher always needs some kind of grain with her meals or her blood sugar would get too low, because she was always burning it off!

Another thing I want to mention here is how our blood sugar responds to grains is very personal too. Some people find that grains give them a steady release of fuel, others find they spike their blood sugar levels quickly and then crash. That’s me! Especially after oatmeal, I can have a big, filling bowl but find myself starving and shaky an hour later, if not sooner. So if you do respond like that to grains but you want to eat them regularly, you might need to up you fat and protein to really slow down that glucose release.

So, this is where we get started. It might sound a little fiddly, but over time, you’ll gradually grow accustomed to it and notice when one of these food groups is missing! In the show notes, I’ve linked to a great diagram of how this looks on a plate, so you can always print that off and have it on your fridge. 

Now there other steps to balancing your blood sugar, but it can take some time to adjust to this one, so this is where I’d suggest for you to start and then you can revisit my past blood sugar episodes to learn more, or I think I’m probably going to release a standalone workshop on this in the future so you can always sign up to that if you’d like a deep dive and a step by step process. 

But start here, give it at least one cycle and see how you’re doing. Of course, if you’re constantly spiking your levels with chocolate and sweets, then balancing your meals won’t cancel that out, so just be mindful of that!

And I just want to leave you with one last tip, to really get off on the right track, make sure your breakfast is fat and protein rich, don’t skip these two! If you’re just having oatmeal, you’re going to need to add a lot of nut butter, some protein powder or have two eggs on the side to balance out the carb content. Keep that in mind when you start the day and you’ll find balancing your blood sugar levels much easier as go through the rest of your day.

Listen and subscribe on your favourite player or listen directly/download MP3 here or just listen below!

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Sign up to the wait list for my course, Live and Thrive with Endo here.

My cookbook This EndoLife, It Starts with Breakfast is out now! Get 28 anti-inflammatory, hormone friendly recipes for living and thriving with endometriosis. Order your copy here.

If you feel like you need more support with managing endometriosis, you can join Your EndoLife Coaching Programme. A 1-to-1 three month health and life coaching programme to help you thrive with endometriosis. To find out more about the programme and to discuss whether it could be right for you, email me at [email protected] or visit my website.

This episode is sponsored by The Pod Farm. Learn all about how to start your own podcast with the complete course from The Pod Farm. Aimed at beginners, this course takes a simple and straightforward approach to planning, equipment buying, setting up, recording, editing and hosting your own podcast. With hours of audio and video materials, and downloadable guides and useful links, this multimedia approach aims to have something for every kind of learner. From now until April 15, newsletter subscribers get 20% off the course price. Visit www.thepodfarm.com to enroll or find out more

This episode is sponsored by BeYou. Soothe period cramps the natural way with these 100% natural and discreet menthol and eucalyptus oil stick on patches and CBD range. Click here to find out more and to shop: https://beyouonline.co.uk

Show Notes

 How to Build a Healthy Plate Diagram by Amelia Freer

Today’s episode is a SIBO update from me… and it’s an exciting one! I FINALLY have a negative test - or is it?

Yes, nothing in my treatment journey has been straight forward so far and apparently, that’s not going to change any time soon!

In today’s episode, I share:

• My experience on the second round of the elemental diet and why I LOVED it!

• My struggles with the low histamine bi-phasic diet and what finally got me on track.

• My experience on antibiotics for SIBO (rifaximin, metronidazole and neomycin) and the not so great response from my immune system.

• The symptoms that got better - and the symptoms that got worse, despite a negative test result.

• The dilemma as to whether my SIBO test results are negative or a hydrogen sulphide flat line.

• Why I think I may have small intestine fungal overgrowth and what my next steps are with testing and treating.

• My prevention of relapse strategies including supplements, hypnotherapy, vagus nerve healing and more!

This is a LONG episode but there was so much to catch up on, and I just hope that by being really honest about my journey, you’ll be able to gain some insight and perspective on your own healing path with SIBO and endometriosis.

Sign up to the wait list for my course, Live and Thrive with Endo here.

My cookbook This EndoLife, It Starts with Breakfast is out now! Get 28 anti-inflammatory, hormone friendly recipes for living and thriving with endometriosis. Order your copy here.

If you feel like you need more support with managing endometriosis, you can join Your EndoLife Coaching Programme. A 1-to-1 three month health and life coaching programme to help you thrive with endometriosis. To find out more about the programme and to discuss whether it could be right for you, email me at [email protected] or visit my website.

This episode is sponsored by The Pod Farm. Learn all about how to start your own podcast with the complete course from The Pod Farm. Aimed at beginners, this course takes a simple and straightforward approach to planning, equipment buying, setting up, recording, editing and hosting your own podcast. With hours of audio and video materials, and downloadable guides and useful links, this multimedia approach aims to have something for every kind of learner. From now until April 15, newsletter subscribers get 20% off the course price. Visit www.thepodfarm.com to enroll or find out more

This episode is sponsored by BeYou. Soothe period cramps the natural way with these 100% natural and discreet menthol and eucalyptus oil stick on patches and CBD range. Click here to find out more and to shop: https://beyouonline.co.uk

Show Notes

Bladder test

Organic acids test

GI Map

As some of you know, I’ve been a bit sick recently with suspected shingles! As a result, I am just in too much pain to sit and record an episode, so today I am sharing another healing story. This time, I’m chatting to Neisha.

I wanted to share Neisha’s experience because I think her story will resonate with many of you because she just discusses so many relevant topics. Neisha started my course Live and Thrive with Endo on the pill (though she didn’t want to be on it and didn’t feel well with it), severe period pain, low moods, fatigue and severe allergy reactions.

Working through the course she now feels well pretty much all of the time, her allergies and hay fever have disappeared, she has tonnes of energy, she has transitioned off the pill and she has better moods and feels empowered about managing endo.

Before we dive in I wanted to just let you know that this chat with Neisha was originally recorded as a testimonial for the course, but the course is closed now and won’t be open again until next year - so this episode I am simply sharing just because I hope it will be helpful.

Secondly, I also wanted to let you know that Neisha and I talk about an elimination diet in this episode, so skip this episode if you think that might be triggering for you. But if not, I wanted to give some context - both in my course and with one to one clients, I first start lowering inflammation by adding foods in for the first few weeks, so lots of colourful veggies and fruit, nuts and seeds, healthy fats, etc. - all tailored to each person and their needs. Then, as we move to gut healing, course students or one on one clients have the option to do a 4 week elimination phase, where they remove the key or common inflammatory triggers such as dairy, gluten, sugar, alcohol, caffeine and soy. There are two versions, a simplified version and the full version, or people can just tailor the elimination phase to what they think is best for them. This elimination phase allows for the immune system to calm down, for inflammation to lower and for the gut to begin healing. After 4 weeks, they reintroduce each food removed one by one, for a period of days, to see whether the body reacts. This is the best way to test for intolerances and food sensitivities, and is considered as such based on research. It’s not a trendy ‘cleanse’ or diet, this is based on research, evidence and is a standard protocol in my training with Dr Jessica Drummond and Nicole Jardim, as well as Dr Alison Siebecker, who refers to this as a first line therapy. You don’t have to do this elimination phase if you don’t want to, but it's an option and an option that Neisha felt was right for her, but of course, everyone is different! So I just wanted to make that clear before you hear this interview and worry that an elimination phase is a must for healing.

Here are some of the key topics we covered in our chat:

• How Neisha didn’t realise that she was suffering with low immunity, blood sugar imbalances and histamine intolerance until she lowered her inflammation levels and balanced her blood sugar. This part is really inspiring for anyone living with allergies as Neisha was!

• Why Neisha wanted to come off the pill, and how she prepared her body with the course to transition off without triggering hormonal chaos and post-pill symptoms.

• Why Neisha chose to try an elimination diet to lower her inflammation and her advice for anyone worried about the restrictions involved.

I really hope this episode is helpful for you and inspires and motivates you on your own healing journey!

Let's get social! Come say hello on Instagram or sign up to my newsletter.

Sign up to the wait list for my course, Live and Thrive with Endo here.

My cookbook This EndoLife, It Starts with Breakfast is out now! Get 28 anti-inflammatory, hormone friendly recipes for living and thriving with endometriosis. Order your copy here.

If you feel like you need more support with managing endometriosis, you can join Your EndoLife Coaching Programme. A 1-to-1 three month health and life coaching programme to help you thrive with endometriosis. To find out more about the programme and to discuss whether it could be right for you, email me at [email protected] or visit my website.

This episode is sponsored by The Pod Farm. Learn all about how to start your own podcast with the complete course from The Pod Farm. Aimed at beginners, this course takes a simple and straightforward approach to planning, equipment buying, setting up, recording, editing and hosting your own podcast. With hours of audio and video materials, and downloadable guides and useful links, this multimedia approach aims to have something for every kind of learner. From now until April 15, newsletter subscribers get 20% off the course price. Visit www.thepodfarm.com to enroll or find out more

This episode is sponsored by BeYou. Soothe period cramps the natural way with these 100% natural and discreet menthol and eucalyptus oil stick on patches and CBD range. Click here to find out more and to shop: https://beyouonline.co.uk

Just a short announcement to say there isn't an episode today as I am taking a break from the podcast this week, to welcome my new course students and spend time settling them in! I'll be back next week with a new episode. 

Before I get started I just want to remind you that my course Live and Thrive with Endo is open for enrolment.

In this 8-week course, you will transform the way you manage endometriosis and learn the tools and strategies for reducing your symptoms naturally so you can thrive with endo and get your life back.

This course is a step-by-step outline of my exact one-to-one coaching programme; a road map for reducing pain, bloating, fatigue and brain fog (not to mention all the other symptoms!). It is the most comprehensive and clear resource I offer, other than working with me directly...

And today I just wanted to let you know that I’ve added my SIBO bonus module to the course and you’ll receive this when you sign up before Tuesday midnight BST. 

Classic signs of SIBO include: 

• Bloating

• Constipation

• Abdominal pain and cramping

• Diarrhea

• Inflammation

• Nause

• Vomiting

And current research is indicating SIBO prevalence in the endo community at 80%, so it’s really worth investigating. 

This module will take you through understanding your test results, the different types of SIBO and the different types of treatment so you can begin to understand the road map to healing with SIBO.

 What you’ll get:

• How to interpret your test results tutorial

• SIBO types and treatment tutorial, with accompanying handout

• Resource guide for SIBO healing

The link to enrol and to learn all about the course and to even watch a course video which shows you the modules, is in the shownotes. 

I would love to see some of you there!

Okay so today’s episode is another inspiring transformation story and this time I’m talking to Miriam. And the reason why I wanted to share Miriam’s story is because it just moved me so much, she experienced such an incredible change in quality of life that I really had to share it. As someone who personally faced a lot of challenges at work in the past with endo, the fact that Miriam was essentially able to save her career and job really resonated with me.

I also love this story because Miriam was literally able to improve her pain, her fatigue, her brain fog and her bloating - all key symptoms many of us with endo suffer with. So, here in her own words is Miriam’s story...

Let's get social! Come say hello on Instagram or sign up to my newsletter.

My course, Live and Thrive with Endo is opening for enrolment again soon. Join the waiting list now to access early bird pricing and special bonuses. Sign up here.

My cookbook This EndoLife, It Starts with Breakfast is out now! Get 28 anti-inflammatory, hormone friendly recipes for living and thriving with endometriosis. Order your copy here.

If you feel like you need more support with managing endometriosis, you can join Your EndoLife Coaching Programme. A 1-to-1 three month health and life coaching programme to help you thrive with endometriosis. To find out more about the programme and to discuss whether it could be right for you, email me at [email protected] or visit my website.

This episode is sponsored by The Pod Farm. Learn all about how to start your own podcast with the complete course from The Pod Farm. Aimed at beginners, this course takes a simple and straightforward approach to planning, equipment buying, setting up, recording, editing and hosting your own podcast. With hours of audio and video materials, and downloadable guides and useful links, this multimedia approach aims to have something for every kind of learner. From now until April 15, newsletter subscribers get 20% off the course price. Visit www.thepodfarm.com to enroll or find out more

This episode is sponsored by BeYou. Soothe period cramps the natural way with these 100% natural and discreet menthol and eucalyptus oil stick on patches and CBD range. Click here to find out more and to shop: https://beyouonline.co.uk

Show Notes

Live and Thrive with Endo course