Uncomfortable Truth: Your Perimenopause symptoms will be less severe if you give your body fewer reasons to be inflamed.
Let's unpack this idea: the sex hormone estrogen is highly protective and anti-inflammatory.
As we go through the perimenopause journey, we lose estrogen dramatically. We lose that cushiony protective layer that keeps inflammation at bay and we become more susceptible to inflammation in the body, across the 600+ receptor sites that estrogen influences. Cue joint pain, brain fog, night sweats and hot flashes, palpitations, insomnia, etc. 😩 IYKYK.
Now, I am a *huge* advocate of HRT. I personally take HRT and believe that while it might not be right for every woman, every woman at least deserves to have an informed conversation about HRT with an informed doctor, and not be dismissed or gaslit. I personally noticed that when I cleaned up my diet and gave my body fewer reasons to be inflamed, my body responded significantly, and my perimenopause symptoms disappeared. Any trace of brain fog that HRT didn’t fix…. disappeared. I now walk into a room and know why I'm there and I don't forget my words mid-sentence or lose the point in a conversation.
My joint pain, which fared better with HRT but still ached a but… now don’t hurt as much. My mood dramatically boosted; I wake up every morning happy and rested, with gratitude at the chance to have new adventures and to see what blessings are going to come my way. My heart palpitations vanished. And so on. What did I eliminate?: -highly processed foods
-seed oils
-alcohol
-added sugar -weird ingredients I know
-HFCS (high fructose corn syrup)
-chemical food dyes
-dairy
-gluten
-glyphosate (as much as possible)
In short, to keep my perimenopause symptoms at bay, I switched up my diet to eating organic, real foods. Grassfed beef and meat, and small fatty fish. I upped my fiber and prioritize protein at every meal (minimum 30g). I only use olive oil, avocado oil and/or grass fed butter. I cut back massively on alcohol and on added sugar. I still drink but rarely (for example, it's mid-February and my last drink was early November). If I'm feeling like having something sweet, I'll have some frozen berries or mango, a few dates and then immediately go for a walk. (The walk gets me out of the kitchen aka snacking zone, and also keeps my blood sugar levels steady). And: Anything that comes in a box or bag, I am highly suspect of.
Is it hard? Sure. It is. But what's also hard is having brutal perimenopause symptoms. You always have a choice, ladies. Choose your hard.
I take HRT for the cardiovascular protection & osteoporosis preventative benefits, but cleaning up my diet has been an absolute game changer in dealing with distressing perimenopausal symptoms. Do you agree or disagree? What’s your experience been? Meet me in the comments 👇
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