Our hormones play a huge role in our mood, energy, weight, and reproductive health. We like to think of them as instruments in an orchestra—each plays an important part in creating a harmonious performance. Similarly, if just one instrument is out of tune, the entire melody suffers.
Through puberty, pregnancy and menopause, our hormones go through significant change. Finding hormonal balance is key to making each of these stages as ‘harmonious’ as possible while also supporting our overall wellbeing.
We asked you to share some of your own experiences, to open up the conversation around women’s hormones and hopefully help others in their own journey. Here are a few excerpts—
Bernice’s Cycle Story: Saying Goodbye to Debilitating Periods
Battling with painful periods since a teenager, read how Bernice refused to accept it as status quo and got her hormones back on track.
“I’d been on a bit of a mission the last couple of years to sort out my periods as they were painful, heavy and just downright debilitating. I’m 32 now and I’ve gone to the doctors multiple times since I was a teenager to try to combat my painful periods and was always just told “take a day or two,” and go on the pill but never looking at why and what could be causing it.
It wasn’t until my own research and word of mouth I came across EstroClear and tried CycleCalm (which didn’t work as well as Estroclear for me but still helped).
I’ve even been told by other women it’s just what we go through but I wasn’t happy with that. It wasn’t normal in my eyes to just let this happen every month and not question how to fix it. I’m definitely a lot more confident now that I feel I know my body better and namely my hormones and how to fix them using the BePure range without just being on an oral contraceptive for the rest of my life.”
Sound familiar to your story? So, what next?
Heavy, painful periods are often related to oestrogen dominance. Our body processes excess oestrogen through the liver, but with increased stress, environmental factors, and liver loaders such as coffee and alcohol, things can get a little backed up.
Eating plenty of cruciferous vegetables like broccoli, broccoli sprouts, cauliflower, cabbage and kale which are rich in diindolylmethane (DIM) help to mop up excess oestrogen. Here’s some liver-loving recipe inspo to get you started— Warm, Spiced Cauliflower Bowl, Detoxifying Cauliflower Tabbouleh, Tasty Bacon and Broccoli Salad and Dairy Free Mac’no’Cheese.
BePure EstroClear (for oestrogen dominance) and BePure CycleCalm (for low progesterone), both work to balance your hormones - however figuring out which one you need (or if you need both!) based on symptoms alone can be difficult. This is because oestrogen dominance and low progesterone can often look the same—increased PMS, heavy and/or irregular periods, bloating (to name a few).
Our recommendation is to take an at-home hormone test with our sister company, Eve, to determine exactly what your hormones are doing. With the Eve Test Complete, you will receive tailored diet, lifestyle and nutritional recommendations, to bring balance back to your hormones, body and mind.
Rakapa’s Cycle Story: My Ongoing Journey with Low Progesterone
Struggling through puberty, read how Rakapa had her progesterone levels tested and could finally find comfort in understanding what was going on. This is her story.
“Going through puberty, I struggled mainly with anxiety and depression as well as irregular periods. However, I also struggled with low energy, weight gain and cravings all the time—despite my passion for health.
It wasn’t until recently that I got my progesterone tested. Because of how I’ve felt over the last 3 or so years I was definitely not surprised when I got my levels back. It was so, so good to get something on paper to say, holy shit I’m not crazy. But the week following I felt really down and overwhelmed about my results.
After picking myself up I came up with a plan with my hormone therapist that includes DIM-rich foods, supplements and regular exercise. I’m currently at a point where I’m trying to push through and keep a positive mindset and trying to find out as much as I can to help make my journey a little easier.
My main worry is getting and staying pregnant in the future which is what keeps me going and justifies how much I’m spending on appointments, supplements, and groceries.”
Sound familiar to your story? So, what next?
With so much information out there, figuring out what is right for YOU, can all seem a bit overwhelming.
The nice thing is that it doesn't need to be! When it comes to balancing our hormones, the most important step is looking at our diet and lifestyle.
Stabilising our blood sugar levels is essential to having balanced hormones. Sugar cravings, constantly feeling ravenous, and difficulties losing weight are all signs of unstable blood sugar levels. To support this, eat plenty of leafy greens, high-quality protein and healthy fats.
Mitigating stress is also important if you have low progesterone. We recommend incorporating mindfulness techniques such as breathwork or meditation into your day. Just a few minutes of deep belly breathing sends a message to your parasympathetic nervous system that you are safe and can relax.
There are also lots of nourishing herbs and nutrients that help support healthy, regular ovulation. These include paeonia, passion flower, vitex, zinc and vitamin B6. BePure CycleCalm contains a powerful blend of ovary-loving herbs and nutrients to restore healthy progesterone levels and support regular ovulation.
Shirley’s Fertility Story: My Journey with PCOS
Diagnosed with PCOS at 18, Shirley was told that she would have a very slim chance of getting pregnant. Read how changing her diet and lifestyle helped bring her miracle baby Faye into the world.
“I was diagnosed with PCOS when I was 18. This is quite common now but back then it was mainly people who were overweight and unhealthy and I didn’t fit that picture.
I changed my lifestyle, diet and focused on looking after myself and 3 months later an ultrasound showed most of the cysts were gone but I was told my chance of getting pregnant was very small.
4 years later I moved to New Zealand. With less stress in my life, I noticed my skin started to clear up. This encouraged me to eat even better, take some supplements and overall I felt like my hormones were just happier here.
A year later my partner and I were talking about having a baby. Yes, I wanted a child but was it worth all the stress and sadness if my body didn’t want to do what it was supposed to do? But guess what, I got pregnant! We couldn’t believe it!
The first 20 weeks were scary, I couldn’t really relax. What if something went wrong, what if it wasn’t meant to be? But bubba was healthy and happy and 42 weeks later our beautiful girl was born!
Faye is our happy bundle of joy. She is our miracle baby and it’s like she knows herself that this life is such a gift because she truly enjoys every day so much!
Sound familiar to your story? So, what next?
Whether we are low in progesterone, have an excess of oestrogen, or are faced with a hormonal condition such as PCOS, our diet and lifestyle are key to restoring balance to our hormones.
We can't say it enough, stress has a HUGE impact on our hormones. Excess physical or emotional stress sends a message to our body that it isn’t safe to bring a baby into the world right now and so it will not ovulate. Stress can present itself in all shapes and sizes—acne, thinning hair, stubborn weight, digestive issues, irregular periods...the list goes on.
Managing stress can be very difficult and we're not suggesting you need to get rid of all stress in your life—as if that is even possible! Start with the stressors you can control. While you may not be able to change your stressful job, how about swapping your morning HIIT session for a restorative yin yoga class?
Find relaxation techniques that work for you and make a ritual out of them. Maybe it’s going for a walk outside, unwinding at the end of the day with a bath, or spending a few minutes journaling before bed.
Along with stress management, eating a nutrient-dense diet is essential to supporting our hormones. Nutrients are the fundamental building blocks for hormone production. Making hormones without them would be like making a meal without ingredients! Find out which foods to eat to get more hormone-loving nutrients into your diet.
With some TLC and support, we can bring balance back to our hormones. Not sure what's going on with your hormones? Take the BePure Hormone Health Questionnaire and begin to understand the role that hormones play in your whole body wellness.
Our clinicians will be able to provide you with professional support and guidance with any hormonal and menstrual cycle related concerns. Please feel free to book in for a free clinic discovery call.
