Support for a Woman’s Body
Women’s Reproductive Health
As women, we are blessed to be the gender that grows, carries, births, and feeds babies all with our very own bodies. While these things can be a whole lot of work, they’re certainly well worth it! Along with those very blessings, however, come many other issues that might not seem or feel very miraculous, such as bleeding, cramps, bloating, and more.
Interestingly though, if you polled a hundred women, you’d likely see that there is a wide variance of if and how women experience these symptoms.
While menstruating and/or ovulating, some women have terrible cramps, some have mild cramps, some have no cramps.
Some women experience acne, mood swings, headaches, bloating, and on and on.
But did you realize that there are ways to support your body and well-being during all of our times of the month that can actually help with reducing and/or eliminating those frustrating symptoms?
Reproductive System Review
Just to be on the same page, let’s review the details of some of our favorite monthly experiences and the details of our reproductive health.
Ovulation is the process where a mature egg is released from the ovary, is pushed down the fallopian tube, and is made available to be fertilized. If fertilized, the egg may travel to the uterus and implant to develop into a pregnancy. If left unfertilized (i.e., conception does not occur), the egg disintegrates and the uterine lining is shed during your period, AKA menstruation. The average duration of a menstrual cycle is 28 days with most cycle lengths falling between 25 to 30 days but there is some variance here as well.
How Women Can Have Different Experiences
As touched on above, women tend to experience both ovulation and menstruation differently.
- Some women can tell exactly when they’re ovulating where others cannot.
- Some experience frustrating symptoms during one and not the other.
- Finally, some women experience obvious and sometimes debilitating symptoms during both.
One commonality for all women, however, is that our bodies work very hard during these times, and as a result, our immune systems actually drop during ovulation and menstruation (and pregnancy too)!
Women struggling with chronic symptoms and illness often notice that their symptoms increase during ovulation and mensuration as well. Also, as women are healing, they may notice their symptoms disappearing, and then see a reoccurrence during this time.
As Anthony William shares during his interview (with Kimberly for her docu-series) for Hope for Healing ,
- 80% of women’s immune systems go to the reproductive system during menstruation,
- 40% of women’s immune systems go to the reproductive system during ovulation,
- and 50% of women’s immune systems go to the reproductive systems during pregnancy.
As evidenced by the largest percentage, our bodies are particularly vulnerable during menstruation.
80% of a woman’s immune system goes to the reproductive system during a cycle, during menstruation, so if they have something going on, if they’re prone to getting UTIs, bladder infections, kidney infections, sore throats, migraines, acne, brain fog, anything like that it’s gonna hit during the cycle, somewhere around that cycle it’s gonna hit. Because only 20% of her immune system is left to cover everything else. To cover the thyroid, the brain, anything, so there’s only 20% left. – Anthony William
“Hormones” Aren’t Necessarily to Blame
Knowing this about our immune system’s functioning and prioritizing, it only makes sense that we are increasingly vulnerable and therefore experience exacerbated symptoms at these times in our cycles.
Sadly, not acknowledging how our bodies work, we are all too often led to believe that women’s health problems are simply due to “hormones” which is not exactly true.
Hormones can certainly go off balance but when they do, Anthony shares that the culprit is often overworked adrenal glands (i.e., adrenal fatigue) and/or under-active thyroid, (all fueled by pathogens, toxic heavy metals, and even deficiency) which can throw reproductive hormones off-kilter at any age. The point, however, is that hormone imbalance may only be one piece of the puzzle. The drop in protection from our body is what causes the most damage.
Bring on the Immune Support!
Each day, our bodies are up against a lot of factors such as radiation, viruses, toxic load, and more. Being that our bodies are working extra hard outside of reproductive functions during the pivotal parts of our cycles, it only makes sense that we’d want to help and support our bodies even more during these times!
Quite simply, the best way to support our bodies is to increase healing foods, herbs, and supplements. Give the following a try during your “times of the month” in order to better support your body. They will provide antioxidants and other nutrients that help fortify vital organs, quench inflammation, and help keep reproductive hormones balanced.
Fruits:
- Wild blueberries
- Other cultivated berries (strawberries, raspberries, blackberries)
- Black grapes
- Avocados
- Apples
Vegetables:
- Onion
- Celery
- Carrots
- Broccoli
- Zucchini
- Cucumbers
- Asparagus
- Spinach
Other Foods:
- Sesame tahini
- Black beans
Herbs:
- Nettle leaf
- Raspberry leaf
- Parsley
- Chaste tree berry
Supplements:
- Zinc
- Vitamin C
- Elderberry
Some Foods to Avoid
It is not only important what you DO put in your body, but also that you avoid foods and ingredients that can be triggers.
As shared in Medical Medium (Revised and Expanded Edition) , foods such as dairy products, eggs, and chicken can feed and strengthen viruses and should therefore be avoided. Anthony specifically states that a diet too high in protein, fat, dairy, and eggs can cause menstruation issues in particular. If looking for overall health improvement, Anthony discusses the Troublemaker Food list in his book and they can be found in this post , as well as discussed in further detail in my Empowered Women course which starts October 25th.
If you’re concerned about your health—if you have any sensitivities or conditions, if you’ve struggled with illness, or if you’re just concerned about prevention—then it’s critical to avoid as many triggers and instigators as possible, and this includes certain foods and ingredients. Your body needs every possible level of support so it can heal and then maintain optimal health. – Anthony William
Additional Women’s Health Topics
If you are looking for more reproductive health care information, check out the following blog posts.
First Birth Story & Tips for Recovering from Birth
This post details my first birth story + 14 tips for physically and emotionally recovering from birth (c-section or vaginal birth).
First Birth Story & Tips for Recovering from Birth Read More
Life-Giving Foods for Giving Life
If you keep up your food intake (and eat the right foods), this can help lessen some of the physical effects of the childbirth. Here are some foods to support labor that I have personally use and recommend.
Life-Giving Foods for Giving Life Read More
Fertility and Miscarriage
This post outlines lifestyle factors and foods that increase fertility for anyone who has struggled with getting pregnant, infertility, or miscarriages.
Fertility and Miscarriage Read More
Fibroids, Cysts, and Women’s Reproductive Health
This is an overview of my reproductive history, including my battle with ovarian cysts and polycystic ovary syndrome, uterine fibroids, and EBV diagnosis, and how Medical Medium’s information changed everything for me. I’ve also had the honor of helping hundreds of women address their diagnoses including PCOS, endometriosis, infertility, and other reproductive health problems.
Fibroids, Cysts, and Women’s Reproductive Health Read More
Preparing for a Natural Birth
With all of the unknowns involving pregnancy and childbirth, most of the pregnant women I work with feel so much better once they have their plan all spelled out. This post reviews some questions and considerations surrounding a natural birth—during, immediately after, and when you return home—so you can develop a plan that works for you.
