Hormonise with Smriti

https://www.instagram.com/reel/Czc8ItISheg/?igshid=YjVjNjZkNmFjNg==

Follow my page to know how lifestyle and diet affects our periods and what can be done to have a stress free symptom free period. It takes time. It takes consistent. But it can be done ! Click the follow button! ## #endowarrior #endosisters #endometriosis #birthcontrolpill #endometriosishelp #endometriosisfighter #hormorehealth #endometriosisawareness #endometriosissupport #hormonebalance #hormoneimbalance [endometriosis, endometriosis awareness, endometriosis support, women’s health, women’s health tips, hormone health]

What gives you hope ? Comment below

Do you avoid Fragrance too? comment YES below.


[endometriosis, endometriosis awareness, endometriosis support, women’s health, women’s health tips, hormone health]

Wish you all a very Happy Dussehra! May we find the strength to fight our battle against illness and chronic conditions this Dusherra.

One size doesn't fit all when it comes to managing endometriosis, but small changes in your lifestyle and diet can make a mountain of difference. This is what helped me:

- Changed my diet to incorporate foods that my body needed for better digestion, nutrient absorption and gut health.

- Worked on the raging inflammation with food and lifestyle changes

-Listened to my body and let it rest when it needed to

-Fell in love with yoga, movement and meditation to connect with my body and my heart

- Did the right tests and removed guess work around symptoms and root cause

- Empowered myself with the right information and education to allow my body to heal naturally

Your health journey is unique, and finding the right specialist is a pivotal step. Advocate for yourself, ask questions, and seek care that empowers YOU, instead of leaving you scared or feeling hopeless. 🌼

Comment below/ send me a DM if you have any questions!



[endometriosis, endometriosis awareness, endometriosis support, women's health, women's health tips]

🎀🌷It’s time to be in the drivers seat of your heath journey 🩷

It's time my dear one to be in the driver's seat when it comes to managing endometriosis, taking control of your health, making informed decisions, and actively making lifestyle changes to improve your quality of life!

Here are some things you can do today to take control of your endometriosis:

Educate Yourself: Learn about endometriosis, its symptoms, causes, and treatment options. Understanding your condition is the first step in managing it effectively.

Find your web of support: this could be your friends, family, or friendly neighbors who can get you through your tough days.

Incorporate healthy lifestyle changes to manage your condition. This may include maintaining an endometriosis-friendly diet, movement that feels right to your body, stress reduction techniques, adequate sleep, and targeted supplements.

Most importantly, choose a healthcare provider who is knowledgeable about endometriosis and who listens to your concerns. A specialist in reproductive health, functional medicine expert, or health coach specializing in endometriosis can help you manage your condition.

As a functional medicine practitioner who extensively studied women's hormones in the US, I understand the nuances of the condition, and can help you be in the driver's seat of your health journey.

I have witnessed the pain and the struggle of endometriosis first hand, and I understand your agony and frustration!

Want to know more ? Comment HELP below ⬇️

Endometriosis.Period.Fertility Coach on Instagram: "My infertility journey was long. And scary. But what kept me going was my faith. And that faith and prayers of my family and friends. And if you are treading that journey now, remember you are... Endometriosis.Period.Fertility Coach shared a post on Instagram: "My infertility journey was long. And scary. But what kept me going was my faith. And that faith and prayers of my family and friends. And if you are treading that journey now, remember you are not alone. Keep the faith, dear one.". Fo...

If you have these PMs symptoms, keeping histamine under check can be a game-changer

We need histamine, but we don't want too much of it because it can cause anxiety and insomnia. Many women complain of breast pain and histamine is known to be directly involved in breast pain. Histamine also causes pain and bringing it under control can relieve period pain.

Some steps you can take today to lower histamine and get relief from
PMS:
🎯Reduce your intake of foods rich in histamine like fermented alcoholic drinks, fermented foods, soya sauce, tomato ketchup, pickles, and olives.
🎯Minimize food releasing histamine- cows milk, avocado, banana, strawberries, papaya.
🎯Balance your hormones- increases histamine release AND the histamine stimulates the ovaries to make more estrogen!! There is a chicken and egg scenario where the more histamine you have the more estrogen you have and vice versa.
And since Estrogen peaks at , women with histamine intolerance experience horrible symptoms at ovulation.
🎯Focus on gut health: 80% of our immunity resides in our gut. We need a good gut ecology to support our body’s immune responses and hormones.
🎯Test don't Guess: DUTCH and GI map are both excellent tests to check your hormones and gut health.

Comment below if any of taking alcohol near your periods worsens your .

Comment below/DM to work with me. These tests can be shipped globally at your doorsteps and testing can be a game-changer for you!

During the time I was struggling with endo symptoms, the only remedy offered to me by the medical system was Mirena. No one ever spoke to me about how my poor gut health could be also impacting my debilitating symptoms.

Several studies show that women with endometriosis have higher levels of lipopolysaccharides (LPS) in their pelvic and uterine microbiota. LPS is an endotoxin, basically, it’s the outer layer of certain types of bacteria that moves across a compromised gut lining into the general circulation and may enter the reproductive organs.

The body recognizes them as foreign invaders—just like it would any bacteria, virus, or foreign body—and begins to mount an attack. What follows is an overstimulated immune system resulting in inflammation.

Even worse, when LPS comes into contact with the ovaries, the resultant local inflammation can result in suppressed progesterone production! We need adequate progesterone to counter the effects of estrogen. Check my previous post on estrogen dominance.

LPS is now well recognized as a key driver of endometriosis. And while the medical system works on the hormones to reduce endo growth and symptoms, there is so much more we can do with our functional root-cause approach. This includes working on gut health, knocking off the bad bacteria, reducing LPS, improving gut flora besides working on all other drivers of endometriosis AND sleep AND stress AND exercise AND diet!

We are now taking clients and would be happy to help you discover natural ways of treating endometriosis.

Comment below or DM for more information

One of the key drivers of endometriosis is estrogen dominance. Estrogen dominance doesn’t necessarily mean that the levels of Estrogen are high in the body. It could also mean that the levels are high RELATIVE to progesterone. You see, we need our hormones to be in balance, and estrogen and progesterone are like the two sides of a see-saw.

Our gut health, liver, environmental toxins, stress, and other lifestyle factors can mess with our hormones and result in estrogen dominance presenting with unpleasant symptoms like:

-PMS
-Heavy periods
-Migraines
-Weight gain
-Tender breasts
-Mood swings
-Bloating

If you suspect having estrogen dominance, try making these small changes

-Diet- Focus on getting adequate fiber in your diet by eating plenty of vegetables and fruits. Include cruciferous vegetables like kale, broccoli, and cauliflower in your meals. These vegetables help your liver to get the estrogen ready for elimination.

-Love your Liver: Estrogen is processed through the liver via phase 1 and phase 2 liver detox. Nutrients like B vitamins, magnesium, vitamin C, and targeted supplements and herbs can help support this process.

-Improve Gut health: When there is an imbalance of gut flora, we can end up with high levels of beta-glucuronidase. This is an enzyme that enables the recirculation of estrogen in the body.

-Reduce exposure to endocrine disruptors because they play havoc with our hormones. Dump all plastic from your house. Use steel and glass in the kitchen. Stay away from non-stick cookware. Also, check your personal care products and go natural and organic as far as possible

-Stress: Our body under stress will always choose survival over reproduction. This means less progesterone resulting in an imbalance between progesterone and estrogen. So stress less and stay happy.

-Sleep: Make sleep a priority. All lights off at 10PM! Yes! I know it's easier said than done but not only do we need adequate sleep we also need to follow our circadian rhythms in the sleep-wake cycle.

Do you suspect having estrogen dominance? The good news is it can be modified!!

Comment below or send me a DM and we can work out a plan to help get the levels right!

Are you spotting at different times in the month?
Spotting could be normal or the result of infection, endometriosis, ovarian cysts, fibroids, thyroid disease, missing cycles, and low progesterone levels.

Spotting that lasts 1-3 days after ovulation is considered normal provided it's red or pink. However, if you notice brown spotting then it is advisable to run a full thyroid panel and check estrogen levels.

Spotting for more than 3 days leading up to your period is not considered normal. In fact, it is often a sign that your progesterone is dropping too quickly and could also indicate a condition such as endometriosis, uterine fibroids, or hypothyroidism.

Another common cause of spotting is the presence of bacterial infection or bacterial imbalance in the va**na. Bacterial infection also shows up with pain in the va**na, itching and burning sensation, or even a fish-like odor.

Interestingly, women with Endometriosis or fibroids might spot for days AFTER their period in the lead-up to ovulation. This suggests estrogen dominance, with estrogen dominating over progesterone.

Another common cause of spotting is STRESS! Remember, our body will always choose survival over reproduction. Chronic stress delays or stops ovulation resulting in excess estrogen without enough progesterone to oppose it resulting in a thicker uterine lining and ongoing spotting.

Some things you can do today to address spotting:
Be well nourished with calories, protein, carbohydrate, fat, iodine, and zinc
Reduce inflammation by removing inflammatory foods like gluten and dairy
Reduce exposure to xenoestrogens such as plastics and pesticides.
Maintain a moderate exercise regime.
Go easy on your caffeine consumption.
Manage your stress with a change in mindset, journaling, spending time outdoors or picking up an old hobby.
Get 15-30 minutes of sunlight daily
Sleep Sleep Sleep. Maintain a good sleep routine and target 7-9 hours of sleep.
Get your hormones tested especially estrogen, progesterone, and thyroid
Check and correct any infection, especially bacterial infection.

Are you spotting anytime during the month?

Does this information resonate with you?

Comment below.

Is your body sending you the signals of a leaky gut? Go back to the last to posts to know more about leaky gut and the signs and symptoms

Modern lifestyle and food habits are responsible for the gut lining to be damaged. And when the gut lining is permeable, there are high chances the gut flora is impaired too.

RESULT?

Inflammation far from the digestive system

And this is what we need to manage when fighting the symptoms of endometriosis

And while leaky gut and bad gut flora may manifest as digestive trouble, in many people it does not. Instead it shows up as problems as diverse as depression, brain fog, eczema/psoriasis and other skin conditions, metabolic problems like obesity and diabetes and allergies, asthma and other autoimmune diseases.

SOLUTION:

Rebuild healthy gut flora and restore the integrity of our intestinal barrier.

🔑Eat the rainbow removing inflammatory foods like gluten, grains, dairy, and sugar

🔑Support and maximize your digestive capacity using enzymes and bitter foods

🔑Eat fermented foods like kefir, yogurt, sauerkraut, kimchi, etc. provided you do not have histamine issues

🔑Treat any intestinal pathogens (such as parasites) that may be present

🔑Test for hidden food allergies (My test revealed I am reacting to tomato and avocado and I was having them almost every day! What is healthy for someone else may not be healthy for you)

🔑Take antibiotics only when needed

🔑Add a broad-spectrum probiotic to your daily routine

🔑Most importantly: please manage your stress. I know it’s easier said than done but it could be a game-changer for you. Commit to self-care. Do what your heart desires. Let go off expectations. Ask for help. Take a break from crying kids – that does not mean you are a bad mother. Wear those jeans you have been avoiding because you think you look fat. Have that muffin today if that will make you happy.

Do you think your gut health needs some love? Comment below

Do you think you need some self-care and love? What's on top of your list? tell me.

We often associate leaky gut with digestive issues like gas, bloating etc. after meals.

But that’s not always true. Symptoms completely unrelated to digestive issues could be due to a permeable gut which is why it is so important to address the root cause of your symptoms! Always remember, our body never fails to tell us if something is amiss.

A leaky gut is a common condition for women with endometriosis and healing the gut can be a game-changer for many women, like it was for me!

Do you have any of the symptoms? Do you suspect it could be your gut sending you signs? Comment below.

Check my previous post on how a leaky gut looks like and food recommendations.

What could be causing havoc in your gut? Check my following post

May the lamps of Diwali light up your life with love and happiness. Happy Diwali

May the little lamps of Diwali light up your life with love and happiness. Happy Diwali

Endometriosis is an estrogen-dependent condition and while we tend to focus all our attention on hormones, there are other pieces to the puzzle- the gut and inflammation.

Our gut lining is incredibly thin, just one cell thick and these cells are tightly packed together with only the tiniest gap between them, to let nutrients into the body while protecting us from foreign invaders.

Leaky gut indicates an unhealthy and damaged gut lining (having cracks and holes)allowing substances to cross (or “leak”) into the body that normally wouldn’t. Our gut has 80% of our immune systems, so when these substances bacterial proteins, partially digested food particles, and toxins) cross into the body, the immune system is activated resulting in food sensitivities, allergies, and body-wide inflammation( that is often associated with chronic illnesses including endometriosis).

A big part of my healing came from healing the gut lining. My body was showing signs and symptoms of a permeable gut and functional tests confirmed the same.

Things I did to heal and seal my gut lining and you can do too :

🎯Eat a diversified diet, limiting consumption of processed and refined foods.
🎯Remove inflammatory foods like gluten, grains, dairy, soy, sugar, and alcohol.
🎯Test for hidden food allergies. This will help eliminate potential sources of food based inflammation and persistent gut damage.
🎯Improve digestion by supporting stomach acid production with bitter herbs and digestive enzymes.
🎯Take targeted supplements and herbs that feed the gut flor and repair the gut.
🎯Take medication only when needed- know that NSAID’s, birth control pills etc. can damage the gut flora
🎯Add a broad spectrum probiotic to your daily regime, especially when taking antibiotics
🎯Eat in a relaxed environment and practice mindfulness eating.
🎯Minimise stress
🎯Improve sleep quality and hours

Do you know if you have a leaky gut? Comment below.

The body can tell with signs and symptoms if the lining is compromised. And what’s causing these junctions to break? Let's talk about that in the following posts.

We spoke about how Vitamin B6 could help manage endometriosis and PMS symptoms last week.

Since many women with endometriosis find it difficult to conceive, know that vitamin B6 supports fertility too!

👍It supports optimal levels of progesterone. We need healthy levels of progesterone for preparing and maintaining pregnancy.

👍 It also supports a healthy, regular menstrual cycle, making it easier for couples to track ovulation periods.

👍Low levels compromise s***m quality and are also believed to impact egg

👍This vitamin also supports the luteal phase, making a women’s uterus more receptive to pregnancy.

👍Adequate levels of vitamin B6 have also been shown to restore libido, helping couples increase their s*x drive.

Check for foods rich in vitamin B6 and recommended supplement dose in my previous post!

Are you trying to conceive?Do you think B6 could be one of the factors impacting your fertility? Comment below

Women with endometriosis usually have estrogen dominance(having either excessive estrogen or low progesterone relative to estrogen)
Vitamin B6 supports healthy estrogen metabolism by helping the liver to clear excess estrogen out of the body once it’s been used.

Vitamin B6 has also been found to raise progesterone, thus helping restore the balance between estrogen and progesterone

For anyone having premenstrual symptoms, taking vitamin B6-rich foods can help alleviate the symptoms. Vitamin B6 lowers histamine and prolactin. High prolactin levels may cause missed or irregular menstrual periods and significantly decrease a woman's fertility.

We also need B6 for the production of essential neurotransmitters like GABA, Dopamine, and Serotonin. These help to make us feel happy, relaxed, focused, and fight anxiety!

Bonus tip for fertility:

Since many women with endometriosis find it difficult to conceive, know that vitamin B6 supports fertility too! How? Lets talk about in the next post

Will you check for B6 deficiency?

Is this information useful? Comment below.

Endometriosis comes with its challenges, but I genuinely believe that life comes with challenges for us to learn some lessons.

My biggest lesson from endo has been to LISTEN and TRUST my body.
Before my diagnosis, I could tell something was wrong. My body was giving so many signs, but I was holding so much fear, that I failed to trust it, understand it and listen to it.

I now know that the body has immense power to heal, provided we give it a chance.

Taking inspiration from my yoga practice, I often tell myself to:
🎯OBSERVE, NOTICE, PAY ATTENTION and;

🎯STAY INQUISITIVE and CURIOUS to know what follows and happens next and take proactive steps to handle it.

🎯Stay in the PRESENT moment. Now that I am fairly symptomless, I often remind my mind and body that I am safe and free from the dangers of the past.

When we approach our body with trust and curiosity rather than fear, healing begins.

What has endometriosis taught you? Comment below.

Resveratrol is emerging as a promising therapeutic approach for the treatment of endometriosis. Found in high concentrations in grapes, wine, peanuts, and berries, it is also called a “miracle molecule” because it exhibits many beneficial benefits of being anti-inflammatory, anti-viral, anti-oxidant also helps in balancing hormones.

We know endometriosis as a multi-factorial condition characterized by inflammation and estrogen dominance.

And Resererarol reduces inflammatory cytokines and inhibits the formation of new blood vessels that the endometriotic lesions require for an adequate blood supply to survive.

Resveratrol also effectively metabolises estrogen. In phase one detoxification in the liver, estrogen may be sent down a pathway (4OH) that may further get converted into highly reactive molecules called quinone. Quinone increases the risk of DNA damage and breast cancer. 4OH pathway is not the desired pathway and resveratrol inhibits this pathway. It also reduces the chances of quinone formation and makes for a good therapeutic protocol for endometriosis (and also breast cancer)

Another benefit of Resveratrol is that it downregulates aromatase. This is the enzyme that converts androgens to estrogen. In healthy patients, there is no detectable aromatase enzyme in the normal endometrium BUT endometriosis tissue contains very high levels of the aromatase enzyme, which leads to the production of significant quantities of estrogen resulting in estrogen dominance. Resveratrol inhibits aromatase activity reducing the local production of estrogen.

And since many women with endometriosis also struggle with infertility, here's a bonus tip related to resveratrol. When it comes to making healthy embryo's we need to support the egg cell’s mitochondria. Mitochondria are the energy-producing factories of our cells and resveratrol enhances fertility by supporting the mighty mitochondria!

Now that sounds like a complete win!

How do you plan to incorporate resveratrol in your diet? Comment below.

A very recent habit that has changed my relationship with myself, my emotions, my mind, and my heart is JOURNALING. 📖

I find it very therapeutic.

It’s interesting how many things show up once I pour my heart out on paper. Journaling helps clear my mind and feelings and often gives me a fresh perspective on my challenges.

Journalling allows me to talk in my unaltered voice, with no inhibitions, no fear of being judged, and also gives me a chance to listen to my inner self.

I find it a powerful tool to release stress and shift focus on what’s going right in my life (rather than the bad), and to be thankful and be grateful for the everyday joys and givings.

When going through a phase of low self-worth and self-esteem, I use journaling to structure my conversation with myself and change the narrative. My journals are my psychological mirrors, showing me who I am and what I am capable of doing and becoming.

AND, journaling is good for endometriosis, our hormones, and our overall well-being! You know, when we love and accept ourselves, stop carrying the negative energy of our past and believe that tomorrow will be better than today, learn to trust and thank the universe for its abundance – healing begins because deep down our inner self knows how to heal the body, the challenge is to quiet the mind.

P.S.- With permission, 😊 I am sharing my daughter's journal entry from the night before last. She was having trouble sorting some emotions and I asked her to write down three good things that happened in the day. Turns out she had 10! That’s the advantage of journaling. We always realize we have more things to be thankful for 😊

Do you journal? How has it helped you? Comment below.

A quick guide to menstrual migraines.

Bitter foods have therapeutic compounds that activate the bitter taste receptors in our body and are especially good for endometriosis in so far as it aids in digestion, hormone balance, gut health and amplifies nutrition absorption.

The therapeutic compounds generally come from the roots, leaves, barks, and stems of plants and sometimes from citrus fruits.

While we may think we only have bitter taste receptors in the tongue, they are actually spread in different parts of the body, including the lungs, kidneys, thyroid, white blood cells, heart, and even the ovaries!

Bitters are good for endometriosis as they aid in digestion and regular bowel movement. Many women with endo have constipation which means the toxins and “dirty estrogen” that the body needs to eliminate are recirculated back in the body. Hello! estrogen dominance! Bitters also help in binding to estrogen and facilitating its exit from the body. Good for reducing gut inflammation, bitters also help prevent leaky gut and boost the health of the gut microbiome which is all so essential for endometriosis.

I include bitter (foods) in my day in several ways-

Ask any Indian family if they eat mint /fennel after their meals and most likely the answer will be yes!
Dandelion root tea is a new favorite of mine and I usually take it thrice a week.
Ginger goes into most of our meals and sometimes we just enjoy it in warm water and call it ginger tea.
I also take a bitter infusion/ supplement every day. While choosing the right supplement, I usually look for classical bitter ingredients such as burdock root, gentian root, yellow dock, myrrh, and orange peel.