Many women have some anxiety about perimenopause, but knowledge is power.
What’s really happening to your hormones during perimenopause.
The first hormone to start its descent during perimenopause is progesterone, followed by estrogen and others.
But I’m not one to sit back and let symptoms derail me.
I wanted real answers to what’s going on in my body and why.
The perimenopauseblood sugar connection you should probably know about.
Insulin affects many other hormones, including the sex hormones (estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone).
So when it is unbalanced, other hormones go out of kilter too.
In perimenopause, you’re free to become “insulin-resistant.”
This means you have excess insulin in your body and your cells no longer react properly to its instructions.
The role of cortisol in hormone health.
As we get older, cortisol levels tend to stay high due to our increasingly stressful lifestyles.
The chronic elevation of cortisol is another chief culprit in the decline of your sex hormones.
It robs your body of DHEA, progesterone, estrogen, and testosterone and causes blood sugar to rise.
you could put on weight as a result, especially around your belly.
Why oxytocin matters, too.
Finally, there’s oxytocin, my favorite hormone.
It’s the hormone of love, bonding, and connection.
It’s the hormone that floods our brains during childbirth as we cradle our newborn.
It also surges with orgasm, laughter, play, hugging, caressing your pet, and giving.
It’s an anti-aging hormone too.
Oxytocin is the archenemy of cortisol.
Increase oxytocin, and cortisol drops.
The more oxytocin in your body, the calmer, less afraid, and more social you’ll feel.
How to balance insulin, oxytocin, and cortisol for fewer symptoms.
Here’s how to make that happennaturally, without drugs or artificial hormones.
Try fasting for better hormone balance.
I recommend that all my perimenopausal clients adopt “intermittent fasting.”
It’s neither difficult nor draconian.
These long fasting periods can help combat insulin resistance and help you maintain a healthy weight.
Try the herb maca.
This superfood is made from a radish-like tuber that grows above 11,000 feet in Peru’s central highlands.
It is valuable because it drives insulin down and reverses insulin resistance.
There are many ways to trigger the release of oxytocin.
The most fun one is to have orgasms more often.
you’re free to also cuddle with your partner or at least hug more frequently.
Nurture your friendships, practice generosity, and be more self-loving.
By working to balance cortisol, insulin, and oxytocin, we can make perimenopause so much more manageable.
