Ep#88 How To Sleep Better with Perimenopause | Jennifer Woodward FDN-P

Ep#88 How To Sleep Better with Perimenopause | Jennifer Woodward
Jennifer  couldn’t sleep, her hair was falling out, her mood and libido fell apart. She was incredibly malnourished, her digestion was a mess, she wasn’t losing weight. After doing her own lab tests, Jennifer noticed so much internal dysfunction going on in her body, with bacterial and gut infections, food sensitivities, hormone imbalance, and parasites and these imbalances and insufficiencies were manifesting as hormonal chaos. Finding answers from these lab tests where life-changing for Jennifer. She now incorporates her work to help other women who are experiencing the same hormonal chaos to sleep better and live better. 

Jennifer Woodward holds a Master’s of Science in Integrative Nutrition and is a certified Functional Diagnostic Nutrition Practitioner and a Board Certified Functional Wellness Coach.

She is also the Executive Director of the Association of Functional Diagnostic Nutrition Professionals where she is mentored by course creator Reed Davis. Jennifer is also the creator of the acclaimed FDN Business School and she loves getting to help new FDNs thrive professionally.

Jennifer was recently a quarter-long guest lecturer in graduate Endocrinology at Parker University and also completed a three-month-long internship with Dr. Kyrin Dunston, getting hands-on training in women’s hormones.

She loves to be active with her high school sweetheart husband and four kids.

Reed Davis interview mentioned: 

Ep#66 Take Control of Your Health with Functional Diagnostic Nutrition | Reed Davis | Johann Callaghan | Empowering Family Health
https://youtu.be/elx4Hcy_1Ng

Contact Jennifer
https://www.facebook.com/jenniferwoodwardnutritionist
https://www.facebook.com/jenniferwoodwardFDNP/

Chapters

• 5:53 Defining Perimenopause and Menopause
• 12:41 The Impact of Lifestyle on Hormonal Balance
• 13:42 The Three Stressors
• 17:28 Rhythms and Cycles
• 20:15 Regulating Estrogen
• 22:40 Brain Health
• 25:30 Night Sweats
• 26:48 How To Manage Hormone Levels
• 28:26 Hormone Disruptors
• 31:05 Magnesium and Ashwagandha
• 33:19 Wild Yam and Red Clove
• 33:57 The Importance of Rest and Progesterone
• 35:03 Blood Tests and Hormonal Insights
• 38:04 Liver Health and Estrogen Metabolism
• 39:52 Insulin Resistance and Hormonal Interplay
• 42:01 Top Tips for Hormonal Health

Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00)

came across this woman who called herself a functional diagnostic nutrition practitioner. And I remember waking my husband up the next morning saying, babe, I've got to do this. I've got to go back to school because, you know, getting access to these lab tests, whereas, you know, my doctor at the time I'd gone from, you know, my primary care physician to my OB to my chiropractor to all these doctors who weren't able to give me any answers as to why I couldn't sleep and couldn't lose weight and why my hair was falling out and why my digestion was a mess. You know, and

These tests that I was able to look at by this FDN practitioner online almost answered every question I had as to why these things were happening to me and realizing that there was so much dysfunction going on. Bacterial and gut infections and parasites and hormone imbalance and food sensitivities, all of these imbalances and insufficiencies in my body were manifesting as hormonal chaos.

Speaker 2 (01:47)

Welcome back everybody to the Empowering Family Health podcast. I cannot wait for today's topic. I have a very, very special guest on a very, very, very important topic to help empower women. We're to be talking all about perimenopause, perimenopause on menopause and how a perimenopausal woman can get the sleep that she needs. I have the incredible Jennifer Woodward with me today and

This folks, really got to listen up and share this podcast out with anybody that you know who is going to menopause, perimenopause, midlife, even for the men. The men, think, need to understand this as well. It's really important. So let me read out Jennifer's bio. So Jennifer Woodward holds a master's of science in integrative nutrition, and she's a certified functional diagnostic nutrition.

practitioner and a board certified function wellness coach. Oh my God. See we're in for a treat lads. This is going to be incredible. She's also the executive director of the Association of Functional Diagnostic Nutrition Professionals where she is mentored by course creator, Davis. And we had Reid Davis from the FDN on a couple of months ago on the podcast. I will put the link in the show notes of the interview with Reid Davis. That was very, very empowering conversation. Jennifer is.

also the creator of the acclaimed FDN Business School and she loves getting to help new FDNs thrive professionally. Jennifer was recently a quarter-long guest lecturer in graduate endocrinology at Parker University and also completed a three-month-long internship with Dr. Crean and think that's what Crean and Dunstan getting hands-on training in women's hormones and she loves to be active

with our high school sweetheart husband and four kids. Wonderful. So, Jennifer, you are very welcome to the podcast.

Speaker 1 (03:44)

I am so excited to be here, Johann. This topic and your work really is one of the nearest and dearest things to my heart. can't wait to dive in today.

Speaker 2 (03:53)

It really is, you know, it's such an important topic because, you know, when I talk about sleep, you know, it affects every single area of our lives, every single aspect, our relationships, the people that we, you know, in our family, our children and our physical, mental health, emotional health, it affects everything. So this is such an important topic and it is something that I think we really need to be educated on as a whole, you know, about sleep and rhythms and routine and all of that. And it's funny, you know, because

We go through life in these rhythms and we have these life patterns and menopause and perimenopause is one of those. And it's something that for many women, it's misunderstood. It's not understood, you know, and it can be so empowering when we have the information, when we have the knowledge and what we can do and understand that we are all individuals, you know, and, you know, different things work for different people. So we're going to talk about all of that. We're going to really help empower women and maybe some of the men.

We'll be listening to this as well. Maybe the women will tell their men to look at this, you know, this podcast or listen to it. They may be educated as well because we do need support from the men in our lives as well. So, Jennifer, before we dive in, I am really curious why you love this whole area. Give us a bit of background on what got you into the functional medicine and the hormone, the women's hormones.

Speaker 1 (05:09) 

Absolutely. So yeah, as you as you just read my bio, I have four kids, I have them really close together. And so, you know, that that takes a lot out of a woman's body. And at that age, I was young, when I had my kids, I didn't realize the effect that it had having four kids in six years. So my hormones just fell apart. And by hormones, you know, I mean, sleep, I mean, mood and hair and weight and libido and all of the my energy just all just fell apart. And didn't realize that.

strong correlation between being incredibly malnourished, having a history of over dieting and over exercising and under sleeping, coupled with having those four babies in such a short period of time, I felt awful. so scouring the internet like most of us do, when we can't sleep at 3 AM, I came across this woman who called herself a functional diagnostic nutrition practitioner. And I remember waking my husband up the next morning saying, babe,

I've got to do this. I've got to go back to school because getting access to these lab tests, whereas my doctor at the time I'd gone from my primary care physician to my OB to my chiropractor to all these doctors who weren't able to give me any answers as to why I couldn't sleep and couldn't lose weight and why my hair was falling out and why my digestion was a mess. And these tests that I was able to look at by this FDN practitioner online.

almost answered every question I had as to why, you these things were happening to me. So getting to go through the course, getting to run those labs that I learned about that night at 3 a.m. on myself and realizing that there was so much dysfunction going on in my body, not necessarily outward. You you couldn't see it outward, but inside, you know, bacterial and gut infections and parasites and hormone imbalance and food sensitivities. You know, all of these, these imbalances and insufficiencies in my body were manifesting as, you know,

hormonal chaos, right? So finding those answers to running the right lab test was life changing for me. And then getting to, you know, incorporate that into my private practice and help other women who are going through the same issues has just been so much fun. It's been so much fun getting to do what I do.

Speaker 2 (08:07)

your passion and your desire and your drive to really share this with people because this is really important information, you know, and you mentioned a couple of words there, you talked about dysfunction, you know, and, you know, many people think that when we're not feeling well, that we're ill, that we have a disease or there's something wrong or whatever, but you mentioned dysfunction. So this is about, and this is what functional medicine is all about, is the functioning, the optimal functioning of ourselves. And

So through the course of all this learning, you uncovered all these reasons why you weren't sleeping, why you were feeling lethargic, why you were putting on weight. And this is something that a lot of women have to deal with, the mood, the weight, and depression as a result of all of this as well. So it's a huge sacrifice. And I think there's a lot of toll on the women's body.

And so, and then on top of that as well, we're going through midlife, things are changing in our lives. We could be at the top of our career. We could be, you know, the kids could be leaving the nest now, as they say, and we could be lonely, you know, so connection is huge. So bring us through, Jennifer, first of all, what is perimenopause and what is menopause? Just so people have an understanding of what they are.

Speaker 1 (09:21)

Yes, it's always good to define our terms. So perimenopause is the time from about 35 years old to about 50 years old, where your body starts going through a state of hormonal flux, we call it. So estrogen levels start to swing wildly. They can be really high. months it can be really low. Some months and generally perimenopause is characterized.

by lack of ovulation and thus lower progesterone levels in women. So higher, low estrogen and then low progesterone. And that again, it's about a 15 year period, ages 35 through 50, where that manifests as all the things we were just talking about, mood issues, sleep issues, period problems, digestive issues, all of those start cropping up around the time that your hormones start going into this flux.

Now menopause is characterized by 12 months of not having a period. So once a woman starts skipping a period, that's a really clear indication that they're in perimenopause. Let's say you have a period in May and then you don't have another period till August, September, November. That's perimenopause. But then once you lack your period in November and don't have another period at all, 12 months or more, then you're officially in menopause.

Speaker 2 (10:38)

Okay, okay. So that's a fine. That defines it beautifully. 15 years is a long time. Oh my God. I hear a lot of women, you know, with, you know, all sorts of symptoms. There's a lot of symptoms of the weight gain. There's, you know, the food thing, you know, especially weight around the middle, and then the fatigue, and then the PMS, and then we've heavy periods, we've very light periods, migraines. So there's a lot that's going on in the body as a result of all of these.

Speaker 1 (10:42)

Yes. Yes, it is.

Speaker 2 (11:08) 

We don't really, so what's going on like the bigger picture, what's going on in our life, in our lifestyle that, you know, we're experiencing all these symptoms, including, so obviously this is having an impact on how are we sleeping at night time. But what's the big picture, what's going on? Why are we starting to really look at this now that we can, we do have an answer and we can alleviate an awful lot of these symptoms.

Speaker 1 (11:33)

Yeah, I love that. And this so eye opening for so many women as they kind of transition like mid 30s to early 40s. You know, there were so many things that we were able to do as younger women that are that catch up with us in perimenopause. So that's another, you know, another hallmark of perimenopause, you know, when you can't quite do the same things you could do when you're 20. So I will see my practice you probably see in your practice doing, you know,

In our 20s, we can stay up really late. We can eat lots of sugar and drink a lot of coffee and drink a lot of alcohol. We can overstress. We've gone through school. We've gone through maybe starting an early family. There are so many stressors in our young lives that we just kind of push and push and push. So again, the three things that I tell women are you've underslept, you've over-dieted, and you've over-exercised. And those are stressors on the body.

So we start to see those three things specifically really catch up with us, you know, in perimenopause where we think we can do the same things we did in our twenties, but we just can't. And not only can we not do those things, but the repercussions from, you know, living that harder, faster, overstressed lifestyle really start to manifest in, you know, our late thirties and early forties. So, you know, it affects our hormones truly.

And there's a cascade of hormones that happens in the body. So we will create things like estrogen and progesterone and even testosterone. And then one of our stress hormones, cortisol from a sufficient amount of fats and a sufficient amount of proteins, right? Those are their fat soluble hormones. And a lot of our neurotransmitters have an amino acid or protein backbone. So here's where that over dieting component comes in. In our twenties, we think Well, we need to be fit. We need to like look good in our yoga pants. You we want to our baby weight. And so we cut down on our calories. We cut down on our carbohydrates. We cut down on our fat and our protein in the name of, you know, trying to be fit and look good. And so that's the over dieting piece that robs our bodies of those vital fats and vital proteins and really are vital calories. So we move into perimenopause in this under nourished state and really kind of like a malnourished or even starving state. And we can really be eating a sufficient number of calories or even overeating calories while under eating nutrition, right? eating protein and nourishment. So that's one of the things I see. And then that over exercise or over stress piece, you're pushing too hard. You're exercising when you really should be sleeping or taking a nap.

for stressing for things that don't matter. And that's that, you know, that stress piece in the body. And then, you know, right up your alley, the under sleeping, you know, we're up with, with exams in school, we're up with babies, we're up because we just want to stay out and hang out with our friends and party and our twenties. And again, that starts catching up with us again in our thirties, where our bodies just led, you know, for, for decades, we've had this dysfunction and now it's starting to manifest as our bodies just can't keep up with the pressure anymore.

Speaker 2 (14:45)

Yeah, yeah, I love that. And I can really hear all the rhythms that you're talking about. So the life changing rhythms, but also the monthly rhythms as well, because we have these monthly cycles, know, the progesterone and the testosterone and the estrogen and you call it, do you say estrogen or estrogen?

Speaker 1 (15:03)

We say estrogen, you say estrogen.

Speaker 2 (15:05)

Yeah,

yeah, yeah. I mean, it's so funny. so so so that's what we're talking about the same thing. So, yeah, so there's these fluctuations. And I think, you know, when we come into our, you know, from 35 years of age of a gestural and starts to drop and and it's just these different fluctuations. And I think I'm right, Jennifer, if we mind ourselves, if we're educated and we understand and we really look after bodies before and during the transition of perimenopause, that all these symptoms can

can't jump and down, but we need to understand the rhythms as well. And one thing you mentioned was the exercise. I love that you said that because again, we have these cycles and right before we're menstruating, you know, and during our menstruation, this is the time where we're not supposed to do high intensity exercises and women do not understand. I can explain that why that is what's going on.

Speaker 1 (15:57)

Yeah, yeah, I love it. You'll hear me talk about in my practice a lot of ancestral principles, living with, like you just said, the rhythms of what it means to be a human and a human woman. And women truly do have cycles. In ancient times, we'd actually be pushed out of camp while we were on our menstrual cycles, right? Because it was a time of rest. It was a time where inherently, people knew that women needed a little bit of break. And just think about it.

blood, you're, passing bodily fluids and that's a lot of iron. That's a lot of B12. That's a lot of zinc that your body's losing. And so, you know, instead of just continuing to push your period, your, your actual cycle, and even the week before and after needs to be a time of replenishing and re nourishing. so adding those cycles into your month, and really not overdoing it, not over exercising, not robbing yourselves asleep and certainly not robbing yourselves of vital nutrients and calories.

And carbohydrate and fat, you know, and especially protein at that time is going to ensure that those, those cycles stay pretty normal. You know, it's entirely possible. I've seen it. It is entirely possible to transition very easily through perimenopause, even into menopause and beyond without experiencing a lot of the, you know, harmful, and frustrating side effects that, that can be caused by hormones that are completely out of whack during perimenopause and menopause.

So, you know, that nourishment piece is really, and the rest piece is really vital.

Speaker 2 (17:28)

Yeah, yeah, I love it. know, and like even just on a general, know, even throughout the any time I tell people because people are overworked and people are grinding all the time. People there's not enough time in a day and they want to get want to earn more money. And this is what's in their mind, you know, because we're going through tough times at the moment. We need to pay bills and mortgage rates are going up and blah, blah, blah.

So people are really grinding, grinding. But I tell people, need to rest more. You will actually be more productive if you rest more. And then when we bring perimenopause into it and what's going on in the physical body, we now have an understanding and a respect for the body that if we provide the right environment for our body, will really, our body will thrive and our body will support us. And it's, it is a very special time, you know, when we are menstruating, it's a very feminine time. It's like a ritual, like a...

It is a very special time. need to honor that time. We really, really do. Like, like to be able to bear children is it's a miracle. Like, you know, and, know, it's just fascinating how the body can support us through that transition. Like there's a lot going on. Like, you know, it's just incredible. So we really need to respect and honor the body and we can't go against our rhythms. Like if we're in flow with the rhythms and we give our body the environment to thrive.

then everything will work optimally.

Understanding the Importance of Estrogen

 And when we're going through the menopause, am I right in saying that we want to have as many periods as we can, you know, and make them last as long as we can. And when we provide that nourishment that you're talking about, it helps to support our hormones, know, our sexual hormones, estrogen and the gestorone to enable that to happen. And then it will benefit us in the long term when we do eventually reach menopause. Would I be right in saying that?

Speaker 1 (19:09)

You are spot on doing yes, the longer that we can create that healthy pattern of regulated estrogen levels, right? Where you don't want, we can call it E2. So that's estradiol, which is the strongest and most abundant estrogen in the body. There's actually three. have estradiol, estradiol, and estrone. So when we're talking about estrogen or estrogen, and we're really talking about E2, so that estradiol.

And we want that estradiol level to stay very constant as long as possible because that hormone is so protective for our hearts, for our brains. It protects us against neurodegeneration and Parkinson's and Alzheimer's disease. It helps us have, you know, healthy cardiovascular rhythms in the body. It actually helps our skin, you know, it'll help us keep away that turkey neck and like the mouth wrinkles that characterize.

and in menopause, like you don't want that E2, you know, deprived of you in your 30s, right? And your 40s, like you want healthy skin for as long as possible. So the longer you can protect the rhythm, the longer you can protect your cycle, you know, the greater health benefits it's going to have for you as a suit, like a productive woman, like what do we want as women? We're nurturers, we're givers, we're producers, we're caretakers. And so to be able to give yourself and your family and your community that gift,

of feeling healthy and nourished and balanced as you go through like the most powerful time in your life. You know, when you're thirties and your forties and your fifties, you've got family and career and philanthropy. And you are just like, you're in the rhythm. Like you're, you're, you're like thriving, you know, as a woman. So to be able to have those healthy menstrual cycles and healthy hormones to support you during that time will enable you to do all the things that you want to do better and stronger and with more confidence.

Speaker 2 (20:59)

Yeah, I love it. my God. There's so many paths I want to go from here. Like this is just incredible. You mentioned about the Eastern as well. And just I know I'm going off a little bit, but in the brain, you know, lot of women suffer with brain fog and they can't remember and they're forgetting. Then they think they're getting Alzheimer's and all of this. We have all these worries and all the, but the E2 helps, it, in the brain with all that. The women's brain age quicker than men's brain. Am I right in saying that because of this hormone?

Speaker 1 (21:28)

Unfortunately, yes. And again, it doesn't have to, right? We see the pattern that traditionally it does that women do suffer from dementia and Alzheimer's and not Perkinsons necessarily, because that's more of a neurological issue, but specifically from that brain fog and then from Alzheimer's and dementia, because those levels of E2 are degrading in the brain. again, protecting those. And how do we do that? We say we want to, but realistically, let me give you some steps in order to do that.

Remember again that our sex hormones, our steroid hormones have a cholesterol backbone. So they are fat bound steroid hormones, right? So for women, you should be getting between 60 and 85 grams of fat every single day. I encourage my women, you gotta eat animal products. Like those are healthy, of course like pasture raised and well cared for animal products.

Speaker 2 (22:23)

And we're lucky in Ireland we have we have, yeah, the grass fed animals. So we've got grass.

Speaker 1 (22:31)

Yes, I buy my Irish, I buy only by Kerry gold butter. My Irish butter. Yes. but those healthy, you know, fat soluble nutrients are going to be very protective for the brain because our brain is over 60 % fat. So we have to put back in, you know, to our bodies, what we're naturally degrading as we get older. So yes, getting good nutrients, getting healthy amounts of, of good quality fats is going to increase or keep our levels of E2. And then also, you know,

healthy, protective progesterone and healthy, protective cortisol. Those are all, you know, hormones that we need plenty of, and we have to give our bodies the raw materials it needs in order to create those. So between, 16, 85 grams of fat every single day is going to be really protective for a woman, a woman and allow her to keep those healthy levels of hormones as long as possible.

Speaker 2 (23:22)

Yeah,

the facts is a really important one. And years ago we were told, you know, fats is going to make us fat. And it's not true. We need fat. Yeah. And we need it for to make our hormones for our neurotransmitters, for the protective sheets, blah, blah, blah. There's so many reasons why we need, we need good fats. And I believe olive oil. I take a coconut oil, the coconut oil as well. actually make protein balls. make protein balls. Yeah. And I put my flax seeds in there and.

cheese seeds, all that sort of stuff. So I'm getting everything in there and I can use it as a snack or whatever and it's good. It's, you know, it's, it's really good.

Managing Night Sweats and Sleep Issues

 Tell us about the, when it comes to sleep, okay. an awful lot of people are having problems with the night sweats. What is going on there and yeah, what, what, what obviously it's to do with the different fluctuations in the, in the hormones. So tell us all about that muscle. Cause we,

You know, if the body heats up, it's going to wake us up and then the cortisol is raised. blah, blah, blah. So tell us.

Speaker 1 (24:23)

you

man, if you want to make a woman miserable, give her night sweats. Like that is one of the most frustrating things that a woman can do. So what's, what's actually happening there? So first and foremost, it's declining levels of E2 in the body. that is, you know, estradiol, as it declines, it starts to set off the thermo regulation of the brain. And so the body's trying to overcompensate for these fluctuating levels or perceived fluctuating levels of body temperature. And so as estrogen declines,

hot flashes tend to come not only hot flashes, you know, during the day, then as you mentioned those nights, what's like the dreaded night. So I'll see women waking up, you know, every hour on the hour, you know, six, seven, 12 times a night with these like sheet drenching night sweats. Generally again, that's really low levels of estradiol in the body.

Speaker 2 (25:16)

Yeah. Yeah. What do you recommend? What do you tell people to do? Obviously is there, and I'm going to go into the blood tests and the work that you do in the functional medicine, but what, what do you recommend? Like, there, is there supplements or is there particular foods again to help keep those estrogen levels up or what do you recommend? What do say to people?

Speaker 1 (25:33)

Yes, 100%. So you actually hit it spot on. You said you're taking flax in your protein balls. That is one of my favorite foods to recommend to women for this reason. So flax is a phytoestrogen, which means chemically, it looks very similar to estrogen in the body. And so it fits the same estrogen receptor site as estradiol does. This has a two-fold effect on the body. Number one, it blocks the body from being exposed to too much estrogen. And remember, perimenopause is characterized by those

wildly fluctuating levels of estrogen. So in your early thirties or late thirties, early forties, you can have way too much estrogen and that can make you feel terrible like PMS, heavy bleeding, clots, terrible mood fluctuations before your period, really long periods, skip periods, all these period problems. Using something like flax to block the harmful effects of too much estrogen can be really life-changing for that PMS week or even that period week.

And then also flax can have estrogen like properties in the body. So it's almost adaptogenic in the way that it can either block too much estrogen or function as, as estrogen in a body that's deficient in that E2. Yeah. That's one the things I like.

Speaker 2 (26:49)

Brilliant. Yeah, that's brilliant. Yeah. And the Mediterranean diet, talk about all the plant based foods as well. The Mediterranean diet as well. Talk to us about hormone disruptors. So, you know, like the plastics in the bottle, all these, why we need to be mindful of estrogen dominance and how we can get this in the disruptors like chemicals.

Speaker 1 (27:11)

Yeah, yeah. And, you know, as you just said, the best defense is a good offense. So we know that we are going to be exposed to all those estrogen disruptors everywhere we have, you know, in the United States, we've got so many chemicals that luckily your government doesn't, you know, allow into into agriculture over in Ireland and a lot of parts of, you know, the EU. So we have a lot here in the United States and those chemicals like atrazine and glyphosate, they do function as ester as endocrine disruptors, meaning

they look again, they look like estrogen in the body. And so you're going to see as a woman, you know, all those symptoms that we just talked about, you know, crazy PMS symptoms and terrible period problems when we have those endocrine disruptors that look like, you know, too much estrogen in the body. So those are even things like, I think you mentioned plastics and, know, receipts that have, you know, that are really like, right. we, I go to the grocery store two times a week, you know, I'm going to.

You know, my big box store once a week. I will say no to those, you know, receipts. Just send it to me on email, right? A lot of our personal care products like our shampoos and conditioners, our makeup, our lotions, darn it, that we just slather all over our skin. Yeah. all be endocrine disruptors. But like I said, remember, like that's normal. Like we're in society. Like we live in this world and our bodies are resilient. So it's not right to be necessarily fearful of those things. It's good as you said.

to just educate your aud and men on what we can do of those offenses and flax so good, you know, diet is another one, um, g maybe if you need it, you with some bio identical pro the effects of too much then, you know, maybe usin like black co host for w

the late stages of perimenopause and menopause. That's one I love. Vitex or chaseberry is another really, you know, regulating herb for women. Maka, white maca powder for women, black maca for men. My husband loves him some black maca, you know, as a powerful regulator for some of those endocrine disrupting issues.

Speaker 2 (29:23)

And red clover, have written down here, red clover Ashwagandha, would you recommend them as well?

Speaker 1 (29:31)

Yes,

100%. I sure do. Yes.

Speaker 2 (29:33)

Yeah.

And another one I have written that this is something I use for migraine headaches is the magnesium glycinate.

Speaker 1 (29:39)

I love magnesium glycinate for a couple of reasons. So that glycine that magnesium is bound to in the particular form of magnesium glycinate is very calming. So specifically as you, I'm sure you know, and use for sleep, calming amino acid with glycine is a one, two punch with the calming effects of magnesium. Yeah. And I just, you brought up something so

Brilliant. said ashwagandha and you know, I'm not a doctor, so I don't diagnose, treat or prescribe. I'm not going to give specific formulations or recommendations, but I can tell you that in the literature, you know, published study after published study after published study does support that 400 milligrams of ashwagandha is as effective for hot flashes at night than any, any other true medication that's been studied. So I think that's so powerful that we're able to kind of.

Speaker 2 (30:27)

I not know that. Ashwagandha, I use, you know, for the stress element, just to help calm down the nervous system, because that's what's really missing when it comes to sleeping at night time, you know, and I'm going to, talk about the cortisol melatonin cycle that again, that's a rhythm.

and the cortisol can be very high at night time and this can increase the temperature and all that. But Ashwagandha can help to calm the nervous system to enable the onset of sleep. So that's one reason why I would recommend. And obviously it helps to balance out those hormones as well. Just going back very quickly to the hormone disruptors. So yes, if we can eliminate, we can't avoid toxins altogether and chemicals in our environment, but we can do a lot to reduce them and give our bodies a chance. So think that's really important.

I make my own creams. I make my own creams. use raw virgin coconut oil and shea butter and cocoa butter and yeah, all those wonderful things and my vegetable oils and stuff. Yeah. And I put essential oils into them on the drain. I love it. It's all organic. So I make it myself and even I give it to my friends as presents. So, know, for Christmas, they love it. that's what I do. I save a fortune because them creams you buy in the shops are expensive. Oh my God. Anyway.

Speaker 1 (31:42)

Your skin looks amazing.

Speaker 2 (31:45)

thank you. I love it. I have another one. So wild yam. Did I mention that? Wild yam?

Speaker 1 (31:51)

Yeah.

Yep. While they am another phytoestrogen, red clover and wild yam, those look very similar to hormones in the body. So wild yam a little bit more similar to progesterone. In fact, a lot of our over-the-counter bioidentical progesterone, know, creams and tinctures are, they do about wild yam as, the backbone of the formulation because it looks very similar to progesterone in the body. And, you know, as I'm sure you've told your audience time and time again, progesterone is that really necessary hormone for relaxing and calming the body, you know,

acts on our GABA receptors, our serotonin receptors, and so our body kind of falls back into that parasympathetic side of nervous system dominant. So you are able to quote rest, you know, and digest.

Speaker 2 (32:33)

Yeah, and when we're experiencing stress and emotional stress and financial worries and all these things, it really robs the progesterone, doesn't it? It really does. And because that is a very strong dominant hormone in the body. we need to.

really again nurture our bodies when we need to you know especially when we're feeling overwhelmed for the women we really need to and we deserve it and we're not lazy when we take a rest or a or whatever like we're not lazy holy god we do and we've got to acknowledge ourselves for the amazing work that we do like and what we take on and we take on all the burden of all the emotional stuff going on the family and the kids like we are just incredible women.

Speaker 1 (33:12)

Yes, and amen.

Speaker 2 (33:14)

Yeah, absolutely. we really like and even the men like again, the men have their place. The men are brilliant as well. I think the men, I feel men are there to protect our women and support our women to do what we're here to do. You know, we all have our roles and we're all great at what we do. You know, this is no nothing against them or nothing against us or whatever. We all have our roles. So talk to us about, okay, blood tests. So we go to the doctor and we get our blood test done. And what I really want to get is clear to people. So when we get the blood test done,

What we're getting off our GP is what's actually active in the blood, but not what's in the cells. And can you differentiate what functional medicine, how that differs and why this is really, really important that we're getting the right information?

Speaker 1 (33:55)

Oh, I love that you brought that up. Yes. So like you just said, in traditional medicine, there's just a, there's a pretty basic panel of labs that you'll get if you go and complain to your doctor, Hey, I'm not sleeping well. I just don't feel good. My periods off, you know, they'll, run very basic labs. Um, if we're looking specifically at hormones, so you've brought up time and time again, cortisol, Johann, that's like a foundational hormone for, you know, sleep. And then, um, you know, also just, just period health, even for women in period menopause and menopause.

if we're looking at, you know, estradiol or etu, if we're looking at progesterone or, cortisol levels, if you take a blood test, that is a one time snapshot of what's going on in the body first and foremost. And secondly, all of those hormones, specifically estrogen, progesterone, testosterone, cortisol. We already talked about the fact that they have a steroid backbone, a cholesterol backbone. So they're stored up in our fat tissue, right? What's in our blood is not.

indicative of what's actually being stored intracellularly. So I have seen, mean, count hundreds, hundreds of times where women come to me and their blood work shows that their estradiol levels, their E2 levels look either normal or low in the bloodstream when their GP takes a blood test. But when I run something like the Dutch test, which is a urine test, a dried urine test for comprehensive hormones, I see sky high levels.

of estradiol, know, and high levels of estrone and estriol as well, because what's been stored up in those fat tissues for women for so long, you know, is so much higher than what the body is allowed to leak into the blood. And this is just a really quick aside. So interesting, you know, as, as I start working with women, as functional practitioners start working with women,

I will often hear from women who are losing weight, my periods worse. You promised me it'd be better. What's going on? Like, why do I have more PMS? Why is my period heavier? And I tell them, that's a really good sign actually, because that stored up estrogen that you've gotten from, you know, those chemicals and your personal care products and receipts for so long is now being mobilized. It's being pushed out of the cell into the bloodstream, you know? And so now the body's going to have a chance to get rid of that excess estrogen. But before it does that, it's actually going to

increase all the cruddy symptoms that you're feeling from estrogen dominance for a period of time. So I tell women, give it three cycles, three full menstrual cycles, you know, for an ovarian follicle to reach maturity before you can determine whether or not you're doing what, you know, for your cycle is working or not. And spoiler alert, it is working. It's just going to take three months.

Speaker 2 (36:27)

I love it and here's a couple of other questions I want to ask as well in relation to that. So the estrogen breaks down in the body and it goes to the liver to be broken down and for a lot of people what's happening is we're not again we're not providing the right environment or whatever these metabolites the second time around can cause more of a problem. Can you talk a little bit about that?

Speaker 1 (36:46)

Yes. gosh. And I see this all the time too. So what's happening in that first pass liver metabolism is if you have insufficient digestion, if you aren't making enough pancreatic enzymes, or if you don't have enough bile acids. So if your digestion is compromised, if your liver health is compromised, if you don't have a gallbladder or perhaps you have gallstones diagnosed or undiagnosed, because most women do have gallstones.

you lack the sufficient enzymes and bile acids to continue breaking down that estrogen in the second pass liver metabolism, actually conjugate it and essentially poop it out, right? And so what happens is your body's re-uptaking all of those estrogens because you don't have enough bile acids to get rid of it. And it's compounding the effects of that estrogen dominance or the EMS symptoms or the heavy periods. And it's just so confusing for women.

Many of them have, you know, digestive disturbances like constipation or diarrhea or food sensitivities or bloating, you know, on top of all the hormone problems they have, they're like, what's going on? I'm falling apart.

Speaker 2 (37:47)

Yeah, my God, that's a great one because I hear that coming up all the time. Should we be taking something like a bile supplement in that case?

Speaker 1 (37:55)

Yeah.

If you don't have a gallbladder, again, I'm not a doctor, so I don't diagnose, treat or prescribe, I can suggest to you, you look into getting some, some digestive support in the form of bile acids or bile acid support without a gallbladder, you know, and if you do have a gallbladder, then we can test for some of those things, looking for bile acid insufficiency or insufficient pancreatic enzymes. And generally most of my clients will need some digestive support.

Speaker 2 (38:20)

Now talk to us about insulin. the hormones play a role in insulin and we can be less insulin sensitive as a result of these hormones. Talk to us because diabetes is huge and glucose metabolism dysfunction, all that is a big, big thing. So talk us a little bit with that.

Speaker 1 (38:40)

Yes, absolutely.

so insulin is our, you know, it has two roles in the body, right? It's the key that unlocks the cell to allow glucose to get into our muscle and our liver cells. And that's where we utilize glucose. So, you know, that sugar that we're eating and we do need some sugar, our bodies run on it on sugar, you know, to create ATP or cellular energy, we need small amounts of carbohydrates and sugar. So an efficiently working body is going to secrete sufficient amount of insulin from the pancreas.

to go in and unlock the cell so that glucose, so sugars can get into the cell and give you energy and help you sleep and make you feel good, right? But if we are eating a diet that is more aligned with like the standard Western diet where we're eating too many sugars, too many simple carbohydrates, too much saturated fat or just too many calories, then the pancreas is secreting insulin.

at all hours of the day. If you eat six times a day, eight times a day, you 10 times a day, you're secreting insulin that many times. And we start to get to us a place of, of insulin resistance. So our body secretes the insulin, but insulin can't do anything because there's too much of it in the cell. And so we've also got this excess, you know, glucose or sugar. So instead of unlocking, you know, your liver cell or your muscle cells and allowing your body to use that glucose for energy. Now it's shuttling it into the fat cells. You know, you got it stored under your arm and in your booty and in your belly.

And you're like, Hey, what's going on here? Yeah. you've come in essence, insulin resistant. And so, you know, that's a twofold issue. As I, as I just said, you know, that glucose can't get into the cell. you start lacking energy. So you start putting on weight and you start getting more tired and more exhausted. And really the genesis of that is, insulin resistance.

Speaker 2 (40:18)

Yeah. Oh my God. There's so much in this, isn't there? And look, like there's a lot of information here, but it doesn't have to be overwhelming. Like, you know, this is great news for people, you know, that we have this situation. There is something that we can do. Give us your, coming near the end, Jennifer, and I could talk to you for another hour. I think we need to get you back if that's okay. Yeah, I'd love it. So, we didn't get into the microbiome and the gut and that's a big area as well. Give us your tree, maybe tree top tips.

Speaker 1 (40:35)

I'd love to come back.

Speaker 2 (40:46)

of what people can do, because there is a lot, but what would your tree, where would you start with the average person to really help them be on top of their game? you know, and obviously we're individuals and, you know, it's different for everybody, but generally like, what can we do? Give us your tree top tips.

Speaker 1 (41:00)

My top, my number one top tip for women and men is to eat enough protein. So I would love seeing all of, you know, your listeners eat three to four meals, not a ton of snacks every single day with at least 30 to 40 grams of protein per meal. That I promise you will be life-changing. So good, high quality protein three to four times a day, at least 30 grams to 40 grams per meal. My second top tip is to just, to do what you're doing.

but do it outside. know that your kicking rhythm is so important. We didn't get to that, but as you've said, you know, a good night's sleep starts first thing in the morning. You know, you've got to get outside. So if you're doing a meeting, if you're playing with your kids, if you're reading a book, if you're on your computer, do that, just do it outside. You know, challenge yourself to spend more time outside than inside most days of the year. And the third tip I have for you is to push into that rest. And so

You know, I always tell my clients, if you have a baby or a puppy and that baby is like, or puppy is crying or whining and overexcited and overexhausted, you're not going to say, Hey, you know, we're going for a walk now. You know, you're going to let that baby or puppy take a nap and sleep and give it a quiet environment and probably a snack before they take their nap. And I encourage my clients, know,

do the same thing for you care for yourself the same way you'd care for, you know, a baby or a puppy, because it's only through that rest and that stress management that you're going to be able to get a good night's sleep. They are going to be able to make those good food choices. They are going to be able to have energy for exercise. And so properly caring for your stress management really frees you up and allows you to do all the other things, you know, food, exercise, and, even supplement wise that we know that, you know, we want to do.

Speaker 2 (42:41)

I think that everything that you just said, Jerry, Jennifer, you know, and the stress management part, because all of these factors contribute to stress, you know, the hormone destructor is the grind and working late and not looking after ourselves when we need to rest and even eating the wrong foods can be very taxing on the body. And this all relates down to stress. And this is the very thing that stops us from being able to sleep at night time, because we mentioned cortisol and melatonin, melatonin, the sleep hormone, and they work in this rhythm as well. And cortisol

highest in the morning time, this is part of the cycle and we need cortisol. People think cortisol is a stress hormone. Yeah, it is a stress hormone, most people think it's a baddie like, but we need it for our inflammation and, you know, managing all that kind of stuff. But it's supposed to be lower in the evening time to allow the onset of sleep. So all these things that you just mentioned relates to our stress, whether it's physical, mental, chemical. So this is all really, really important to enable.

our nervous system to calm down at night time for the onset of sleep and to balance our hormones and our body knows exactly what to do. again, given it the right environment, taking plenty of rest outdoors is crucial. The daylight, the vitamin D, again, we didn't get into all of that, but this is a crucial part of everything as well. I think vitamin D is a backbone to our health as well, to be honest with you, it's huge. And we've got vitamin D receptors in our brain and everything, in the sleep centers, and it's a huge part. So Jennifer, we're going to...

Give us your website, tell us where people can find you and if they want to do some tests with you or have a chat with you or just give us some details how people can get in touch.

Speaker 1 (44:14)

Thanks, Johann. Yeah, I'd absolutely love to talk with you. I've got questions on hormones. So you can find me on Instagram at jennifer underscore woodward underscore wellness. And that's because I got hacked last year. Everywhere else, I'm Jennifer Woodward nutrition. So my website is jenniferwoodwardnutrition.com. On Facebook, I'm Jennifer Woodward nutrition. You can pretty much find me by just doing a Google search. And like I said, I'd love to chat with you if you have any questions on hormones.

Speaker 2 (44:41)

Fantastic. Great. Jennifer, give us actually before I ask this last question, say a big hello to Reid for us as well. And I really encourage people to watch the interview that we had with Reid. That was jam packed like this interview was. think this was jam packed this interview. I'm sorry I was grinding you with loads and loads of questions. Oh, I love it. Oh, it's great. Tell us if I was to ask you one last question just to read it because it's called the empowering family health. And know, when women are empowered and they're shown about their best.

Speaker 1 (44:57)

Love it.

Speaker 2 (45:09)

they're really nurturing the whole family as well. But obviously they got to look after themselves first, because you have to fill your cup up and your cup has to be overflowing, right? Before you can help anybody else in your family. So what's one empowering thought or, you know, that you can really leave the women with or even the men, whatever, you know, to empower the women to take this on and to be responsible for their health.

Speaker 1 (45:34)

Yeah, yeah, like you said, you can't pour from an empty vessel. It's so true. And so women, think that perimenopausal women are the backbone of society. We are taking care of kids. We are taking care of parents. We are taking care of jobs. And so we really are, you know, making this world go round women. So realize that your role is so much bigger than you think it is. Your job is so much more important than you think it is. And it's up to you. And it's up to us, you know, as your collective women tribe to help support you to do

what you were designed to do and what Johann's after and what I'm after is just giving you the tools and resources and the confidence to go in and live your best life. So again, if I had to give you one tip, it would be tonight. Go take your Epsom salt bath, read an actual book and get lights out by 9.30 PM so you can start managing that stress to show up tomorrow as your best self.

Speaker 2 (46:25)

I love it. What a way to end the show, Jennifer. mean, yeah, like don't deny your role in this world because you've been given a gift, you know, and the gift of being a woman and, you know, everything that goes with it. It is such, it's such a rewarding and, you know, to really stand back and kind of have a look at the gift that we've been given, even though we've all these symptoms and all the rest, there's a lot we can do to overcome it and really live our lives to the best because I think

You know, this is another part to our lives. It's another transition and it's one of the best, I think, I believe, and there's so much that we can do to enable that and to help other people and our family. And yeah, it's just incredible. So Jennifer, listen, we will definitely have you back on again. I think this conversation has been fantastic. I really enjoyed it. enjoyed it. Yeah, yeah, yeah. So listen, Jennifer, thank you. Have a wonderful day. And yeah, we'll have you back on again in a few months, please, God. And I thank you. Have a wonderful day, Jennifer.

Speaker 1 (47:23)

Thank you, Johann. Thanks for having me.