Understanding low progesterone

Understanding low progesterone.

Progesterone is the most important hormone in the female body and also not understood by most women. Hopefully this post will help fix that!

Progesterone is one of the female sex hormones, which gets released after ovulation and only if you ovulate. If you don’t ovulate, you will not make progesterone! Women can ovulate and make progesterone but not make enough depending on their personal situation (we will look more at what can interrupt progesterone levels below). I like to explain progesterone to my clients and followers as our most important hormone. It is our sanity and vitality hormone. The hormone that encourages fertility, youthfulness, calmness, motivation, fulfillment and libido (wink wink). Progesterone is involved in so many aspects of being your most healthy and optimal self, yet many women I speak to are unaware of the importance of this essential hormone.

Read more here…

Histamine, migraine and PMS

So what about histamine and MIGRAINE? Specifically migraine that many women experience with PMS or before out menses?

Histamine symptoms are actually more common in women because of our hormones,  and often track with the menstrual cycle, occurring when estrogen is high at ovulation and then again just before the period AKA PMS.

• Estrogen stimulates mast cells to release histamine and down-regulates the DAO enzyme that clears histamine. While, histamine stimulates the ovaries to make more estrogen. The net result can be a vicious cycle of estrogen → histamine → estrogen → histamine.
• Progesterone stabilizes mast cells, up-regulates DAO, and can therefore reduce histamine… but most women have issues with low progesterone due to chronic stress. So of course are not metabolizing and detoxifying histamine efficiently.
• It is proposed that symptoms of estrogen dominance are actually symptoms of high estrogen.

Several symptoms on the symptoms list here are typical symptoms of PMS which makes sense because histamine rises and falls with estrogen. Histamine is highest just before ovulation and then again during the days before the period. Histamine can also cause period pain because of its inflammatory effect.

Read the full article here.

Tricks and tips for a better nights sleep!

Its important to also note;

Getting direct sunlight early in the day (or blue light spectrum), especially after waking is an important player in the circadian rhythms, hormones and sleep. Blood sugars can greatly influence sleep, you should work on balancing them. Some studies also show that grounding can help with sleep and insomnia. Reference. 

Exercise has also been shown to greatly improve sleep quality, deep and Rem. Reference. 

Avoid substance that can effect sleep negatively like;

• Caffeine
• Theobromine and theophylline (cacao and kola nut)
• Alcohol
• Excess sugar
• Tyramine containing foods (bacon, cheese, eggplant, potato, tomato, spinach, sausage).

I hope you found this helpful and please reach out if you have any questions! And will maybe try these before resorting to medications. Good luck on your sleep quest! xo

Bitters and the bitter principle for gut health and bile support.

𝑩𝒊𝒕𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒔 are a tool that can be used to improve gut health, bile and other organ support via the vagus nerve and stimulation of digestive acids, enzymes, bile salts and more. But what are bitters?

Medical definition of bitter principle: any of various neutral substances of strong bitter taste extracted from plants.

Bitters a are varied group of plant constituents or molecules with a pronounced bitter taste – these are the active ingredients of the plant. Bitter herbs are often hepatics & cholagogues (more on this in our biohacking Facebook group), and must be ‘tasted’ to produce these effects.

The bitter principles; The bitter principles work by stimulating the bitter receptors of the tongue and increasing saliva secretion. Thus, it is always advisable to taste and chew the herbs. Sorry your ACV pills and gummies are no good!😉

The taste or sensation of bitterness is directed primarily by the vagus nerve to the central nervous system, leading to various physiological effects – bitter tastes stimulate the vagus nerve in your tongue (although this nerve originates in your brain), which in turn signals the digestive system to start getting ready for digestion with the production of stomach acid, bile acids, digestive enzymes and peristalsis if needed. This vagal stimulation also tells the body (and mind) to rest and digest – relax and slow down. 🙏

Benefits of bitters;
– General stimulation of the flow of digestive juices (acid, mucus, enzymes & bile) from the pancreas, duodenum and liver. Aiding digestion and detoxification.
– Stimulate appetite
– Stimulate peristalsis
– Aid the liver in detoxification
– Regulatory effect upon secretion by the pancreas of the hormones that regulate blood sugar (insulin & glucagon)
– Help the gut wall repair damage by stimulating self-repair mechanisms
– Establish parasympathetic dominance, putting you in that rest and digest state
– Anti microbial
– Ant inflammatory

Some herbal examples include:
– Wormwood
– Gentian
– Yarrow
– Goldenseal
– Chamomile
– Dandelion
– Marigold
– Peppermint

Some other herbs/substances that may be considered ‘bitter’ are;
– Apple cider vinegar
– Lemon and Lime juice
– Chasteberry
– Berberine
– Yerba mate
– Bitter melon
– Cacao
– Coffee
– Green tea
– Bitter or sour berries like cranberries and raspberries.

The more bitter, sour, tart, or astringent a food, the better!

In my practice, it is very noticeable that those that have a palate more geared towards bitter food have healthier guts, better detoxification action, better success with fat loss and better long term success. 🙂

Cholagogues and choleretics, for gallbladder, bile, liver, cholesterol and digestive support.

What are cholagogues and choleretics?
🍃 A cholagogue is a substance (herb or other) that promotes the flow of bile from the gall bladder into the duodenum (the first part of the small intestine) and the liver.
🍃 A choleretic is a substance (herb or other) that stimulates the increased production of bile by the liver. Not the gallbladder but the liver… So if you’re having issues with your gallbladder, you can still promote bile production from the liver. 👍🏻

We know bile is ESSENTIAL for digestion, having healthy bowel movements, emulsifying fats in the diet, detoxifying estrogen, killing bad bacteria, and other pathogens that cause infection. And for clearing out cholesterol and fatty liver.

So here are some examples of cholagogues;
1) Gentian
2) Yellow dock
3) Oregon grape
4) Burdock
5) Aloe Vera
6) Wild yam
7) Black root
8) Globe artichoke

And some examples of choleretics;
1) Barberry
2) Dandelion
3) Yerba mate
4) Mulberry leaf
5) Shizsandra
6) Goldenseal
7) Turmeric
8) Milk thistle

But honestly all off these above herbs will have both cholagogue and choleretic activity. Choleretics and cholagogues are best taken before meals (about 30 minutes prior, but can be taken just before eating). I generally like these in tea or tincture form but they can be take in tablet form too. 

Please speak with your health practitioner for continued use of these substances. 🙂

What your nails can tell you.

I am always saying to my clients that if they stop and listen to their body, it will tell them what it likes and wants. I try to do this myself a lot too, but sometimes life gets so noisy that its hard you know. But recently I saw a white patch under the nail on my index finger and thought “oh I should do something teaching about “what our nails can tell us”… So here we are.

When we pay attention to all this little signals and signs our body gives us, they can direct us towards nutritional deficiencies, underlying health issues and things like that. This is especially important in our current time/environment, where many of us are learning to be our own doctor and are taking more responsibility for our own health.

So today I wanted to give you an over view about nail signs and what they can be telling you about your body, and what may be going on. It’s really very interesting the way the body wants to tell us what’s going on through signs on our nails, tongue, hair, skin and even through our eyes (which is one of the reasons I got certified as an Iridologist or as someone who studies the Iris). Our body wants to survive – it wants to be strong and healthy, that’s why we continually build new cells and get rid of old damaged ones. And as always I am here to show you, and teach you, and encourage you on how to listen and support your amazing body. Don’t give up, don’t lose hope – there is always a way and your body is stronger than you think.

So there are many different natural practices you can us to support you on your healing journey. For some people one works better than another, and that’s ok because we are so bio-individual that its natural to take time, do some trial and error, and see what works for your body. So that all can take some time, but if we actually listen and pay attention to our body, we can move things on a bit faster and narrow things down a lot better.

One of the ways we can do this is by paying attention to our nails. Every chipped, brittle, indented and blackened nail has something to tell us. So healthy nails grow on average of 1 mm per week. This can be useful for seeing where a sign is on our nail and determining how long ago our body was having the issue that caused it. So if we were to calculate how many millimetres say a white spot is from the base of our nail, it will give us an idea of how many weeks ago that spot was relevant or when the issue started.

For the general population, nail health is most often an indicator of poor nutritional intake or poor digestion. Most nail issues usually don’t indicate a serious underlying illness. So lets look at some of those signs or symptoms that we can see in our nails.

The most common I think, and what spurred this conversation is the white spot or white patch we can see on our nails. These usually indicate a zinc deficiency or calcium excess, or you could have hurt your finger. So zinc is a very solid or defined white spot, you can also see a scattering of spots or several spots that relate back to zinc. And then if its more of a vague shape or blotch of a spot, we generally see that’s connected to calcium. If its a calcium excess or you hurt your finger, you will see the white spot grow out with your nail. Whereas, a zinc spot can appear and disappear. Mine was calcium excess for anyone who’s curious.

Now if we see the white spot was say 3 mm away from the base we can think back a see – well 3 weeks ago social isolation and home schooling started so my nutrition was terrible, and mostly just sugar and void of real nutrition. Then we can correlate and connect the dots. You can see how this can be helpful.

Next would be furrowing, ridges or groves in the nail that run horizontally. These lines are also know as “Beaus line” and can be just a natural occurrence with age, but in rare instances can signify something serious, so if you are concerned, be sure to speak to your doctor. So these  ridges indicate where the nail stopped growing due to something that has stressed the nail out. This could be illness, major stress (physical or emotional), a big lifestyle change or a big immune hit. Something like this that has thrown the body through a loop and stopped the nail from growing. Again you can do the calculations and figure out a time frame where your body was under this stress and what happened.

Next is also quiet common and that is brittle nails. This we can connect back to digestion and also the thyroid…a sluggish thyroid can contribute to brittle weak nails due to poor circulation and the inability to utilize nutrients properly. So what’s happening in your digestion that’s causing your body to not get enough nutrients and minerals to make strong healthy nails. So this might be an issue with low stomach acid, poor digestive enzymes, poor vagal nerve activity, gallbladder issues,  IBD (irritable bowel disease) or some sort of other gut issue. All of these will impact the break down and absorption of nutrients. Two nutrients that can be helpful here are calcium and silica. So some examples for calcium, we are looking at almonds, sesame seeds, bone broth, buckwheat and green veg. And for silica we look to oats, melons, cucumbers, artichokes, asparagus, dandelion, and again our green veg. But also constantly wetting and drying your nails/hands can attribute to brittle nails too. Something to be aware of. 🙂

Now when we see ridges that run from the base (where the nail comes out under the skin or cuticle) to the top, so vertical ridges…we are looking at low digestive enzymes. So again something that’s stopping the nail from getting nutrients properly from the gut. Vertical ridges generally appear later in life and as long as they aren’t accompanied by other symptoms such as changes in color, they are usually nothing to be concerned about. We would just go back and look at the gut and nutrition again. These can also be connected to poor circulation and oxygenation into the nail bed – so anemia here and carpel tunnel could be present.

If your nail ‘spoons’ or becomes concave, we can usually connect this to an iron deficiency. You can also compare this to your energy levels, how well wound heel and also your menstruation. Looking to food first to address the issue before supplements is wise, and then remember that iron is best absorbed in the presence of vitamin C.

Then the clubbing or the raised nail, something that looks like a Geckos foot. Where the nail is elevated, round and popping out, this can again show us poor circulation and oxygen to the nail cells. So this could be respiratory conditions, how well oxygen is being carried in the blood and being used in the cells. Here we can use magnesium to support cellular health, mineral water is great and also make sure we are moving a lot daily, especially outdoors and in the sunshine.

And other sign will be beaking or curving of the nail. This is where the fingernail curls over the top like a birds beak. This can show us a potassium deficiency. Also Hyperparathyroidism, Renal failure,  Psoriasis and Systemic sclerosis should be considered.

Next when we look at the color of the nail… A yellow nail may tell us that there is an infection present, or reaction to a product you are using on the hands and nails, or also that the nail has received some sort of trauma. This can go for blacked nails or black spots or ‘splinters’ under the nail too. If you have ever caught your finger in a door and got a blacked or bruised nail, then you know what I am talking about. This black appearance is a result of blood vessel inflammation under your nail and will disappear as the nail and finger heals. The splinter appearance can signify poor circulation and weaker blood vessels or blood vessel damage.

If we see opaque or frosted or ‘pale’ yellow color nails, we may see liver dysfunction or the liver is having issues. Here we would bring in liver support like dandelion, milk thistle and even burdock root. For the kidneys we might see a red tip at the cuticle. This is where the capillaries in the body might be struggling, and you might see a pale ring under the nail/on the skin at the top of the nail.

Lots of pinholes or small indentations in the nail can be connected back to psoriasis and inflammation. Again we look back to the gut first here and of course if you have skin issues you will see an improvement in the nails if you take care of said skin issues. Ridges and lines can also be connected to psoriasis too.

When we look for those half moons or crescents by the cuticle of the nail and there is none visible, this is generally connected to B12 deficiency. This can also be connected to poor circulation and blood flow. We can also check capillary return by pushing down on the nail. The nail bed should be nice and pink and then when you push down on the nail you push the blood away, this makes the nail bed go white and when you take your finger away the nail bed should instantly return pink. If it takes a while to come back, you will have poor capillary return, which means you may have low blood volume, poor circulation and poor blood flow out to the appendages.

If we see regular infections around the nail, like fungal infections, we look towards the gut and the immune system. In this case where there are reoccurring infections… as we look at the gut and immune system, we can also use some topical applications like colloidal silver, coconut oil, essential oils and where the issue is severe, you can use a topical anti fungal or antibiotic.

You can see a lot of these nail signs can be intertwined and be a symbol of many of the same issues or underlying concerns, but this just further reinforces the fact that the body is one system and should be treated and cared for as a ‘whole’.

As always, I hope you found this information helpful and please share with anyone you feel may benefit. Sharing is caring but it also helps this information reach the masses and empower people to be responsible for their own health.

Chemaine xo

‘Self care’ – The HETA guide add on

Because my only program The HETA guide is so large already, I have decided to do some ‘add ons’ that will add to its purpose, support my clients further but also make them accessible to the public for free. There won’t be many as I only like to focus on what I feel will absolutely benefit people and the below is one aspect of health that, doesn’t get overlooked by media per say but, gets forgotten by the individual. Enjoy xo

Self care – so cliché nowadays but such an important aspect of health and well being. There are articles everywhere on self care so I didn’t really need to do this but I wanted to, because my followers know my language, know I will only teach what I feel will support them and I have noticed many still not put DAILY self care into practice.

Making time for yourself……… Most of us are busier than ever and that means less time to take care of ourselves and our needs. The vast majority of moms don’t take time for self care — we wake up early to get kids up and ready for school, or feed and keep small children both alive and entertained. We try to keep our partners, parents and in laws happy. We say yes to the requests and demands from clients, bosses and co workers. We also attend kids activities and birthday parties even when we are exhausted and running on empty. Then free time is spent on house cleaning, meal preparation and if we are lucky – showering and grooming ourselves so that we are presentable for others before collapsing into bed exhausted, just so we can catch some sleep and do it all again tomorrow.

But here’s the thing – weather you are married or single, have kids or not – healing and being your best can not happen if your constantly running on empty. Running on empty will not only effect your health both physically and mentally, but also your ability to care for others!

Subtle signs like feeling overwhelmed, irritable or annoyed when your spouse, children or boss want something are an indication that you are not fully taking care of you. Cravings, fatigue, anxiety, memory loss, weight gain are unfortunately also side effects of neglecting yourself too. These are hormones going out of wack! Insulin taking over and causing inflammation, cortisol increases – driving estrogen up and thyroid down.

REMEMBER that an empty cup can not fill another. You must fill your own cup first!

I encourage you — that when you fill your own cup, you fill it so much that when you do care for others, you will give from your overflow and it will feel effortless. This is is why I encourage my clients to allocate at least 1 hour to themselves each day – they make that hour all about them and something they enjoy doing. It can be a walk, hot bath, listen to a podcast, chat with a friend, take time for their morning and evening routines, whatever they want. But it must be consistent for you to reap the rewards.

Set up routines, avoid doing needless tasks that are just time sucking. Ask for help with the household chores from your partner and kids. Instead of going to the grocery store every day because you forgot something – create one big list and stick to it with one big grocery run. You get the point. Treat yourself as you would your best friend or youngest child — someone you would drop everything for, to take care of them or spend time with them. Prioritize yourself xo

Eating outside your plan ‘hacks’

The perfect diet for each of us is one that considers our goals, current health status, genetics, hormonal blueprint, abilities, preferences, age and gender.

Your diet exists to serve your lifestyle, not the other way around.

Nothing will directly affect how you feel, how you think, how you look and your overall quality of life more than your nutrition.

And for most people, I believe that if you are dialing in your nutrition five days a week, you can have a little more flexibility 1-2 days a week. But if you do plan to eat outside your normal ‘healthy’ eating style or diet (this is just a word), then I recommend;

1. you avoid carbs if you have a meal planned for later in the day or even the following day that may be more carb heavy
2. you add in an extended fast or two if you feel you will be or have been particularly bad
3. you practice awareness and maybe postpone your eating for later in the day —- as overeating is much more likely to take place when we consume ‘bad foods’ earlier in the day. Why? Because it initiates a roller coaster effect, driven by spikes and dips in blood sugar levels that make us even hungrier and crave even more. Here is how it generally works;

• you eat some processed carbohydrates
• blood sugar spikes
• insulin gets released to push sugar into cells to get used or stored
• satiety hormones get silenced so you feel hungrier
• so you eat more
• and its probably not vegetables, its more processed sugar laden foods because they give our brain a quick hit and warm fuzzy shot of feel good neurotransmitters as soon as they hit your tongue
• then the cycle continues until you either eat until you feel nauseous or go to bed for the night

So essentially when you postpone those refeed or cheat meals to later in the day, it shortens the window available to you to make bad decisions in. And thus allows you to start the next day with a clean slate 😉

Always make smart choices where you can!

Fibromyalgia pain

So if its been confirmed, you have fibromyalgia — Basically you have central allodynia pain, which is kind of like this pain that may be in like 11 different random spots of your body, tender spots — shoulders, chest, hips, back. To get a diagnoses, your medical practitioner looked for at least 11 out of the 17 or so spots that care concurrent with Fibromyalgia. And if you have them, well, you have fibromyalgia or central allodynia.

So what is a central allodynia? Allodynia is ancient Greek for ‘other pain’. That means your nervous system is so hypersensitive that it’s detecting you rubbing even simple things off your skin or body – things that shouldn’t cause pain. But they do, you have an increased nervous response. And that’s a big issue because the nervous system is so unregulated, it’s like having an antenna that’s so hypersensitive that it’s picking up stations that it shouldn’t be picking up.  And it’s basically the same thing in your body. Your nervous system is an antenna that’s picking up all these nociception’s or pain sensations where it shouldn’t be. You/we want to get to the root cause of why that is. It could be caused by adrenal fatigue, issues with the HPA axis, leaky gut or an autoimmune issue, even too much stress in your life from either external stressors or mental / internal stressors.

Ok so how did this happen? Well there’s like over a 180 autoimmune conditions. An analogy I like is  —- anytime you have a physical, chemical or emotional stress — imagine having this fancy pearl necklace, every time you pull tight, that’s a physical chemical or emotional stressor in your life. And let’s just say every little spot where that pearl connects to the necklace, they’re not all the same strength. There maybe some part to that chain that are little bit weaker. Think of that as genetic predisposition ….. So you may have certain genetic links in the chain that are going to be a little bit weaker. Now what does that mean to you? Well as that stress comes on, that part of the chain may be more likely to break than another part. Let’s say Pearl 10 is more likely to break or is weaker than Pearl 3 or 4. Now, Pearl 10 may be Fibromyalgia. And that stressor may be Roundup or junk food or alcohol. That could be just enough stress to break that link and activate your genes for Fibromyalgia. So think of every little link in that chain as a different disease that could manifest if that link is broken . And what that link looks like for you, is gonna be based on your genetic predisposition. But we have control over your environment and a choice of not over stressing those weak links. Even when we look at daily stress — Let it go, relax! How do we do that? Self care, walk, exercise, shop for a new dress, meditate, laugh, sing and so on.

What else can we do to support or help turn over fibromyalgia? 

Address all of the diet (nutrition) and lifestyle things. Just cutting down on Roundup and eating organic can be a big help. That takes away some stress. And getting that good quality sleep, having good thoughts, fixing your gut, fixing infections, making sure you can digest and break down all that really good food that you’re eating. So looking at digestive enzymes can help. Get your hormones under control if there’s imbalances there too.

Even if you are predisposed – its like you have a loaded gun but its up to you if you pull the trigger or not. You an control your environment and make things easier on yourself.

In life, sometimes we don’t have the best options always available either, when we’re traveling or we’re going out to eat. But if we can control the 80 to 90% when we’re home and we’re in our house and the foods that we choose in our area, that’s gonna be the most important thing — we are always trying to stack conditions in our favor. Also, when you’re healthy, you get a little bit more wiggle room because your already stronger. But when you’re chronically sick, you don’t. So if you’re chronically sick, then you really got to be careful and make the best decisions possible. And if you’re going to get exposed to toxins and things, activated charcoal is a great option, as is Chlorella and Spirulina for binding to said toxins. Taking some extra liver support may be helpful, too. These are some things to keep in mind if you know you’re going to be getting exposed to ‘not so good’ things.

Also taking in digestive enzymes can be great if your having issues breaking down food, get a good quality methylated B vitamin and make sure your keeping a nice acid pH in your body. This is important for breaking down foods in your stomach and fighting off bad bacteria.

Hopefully all this will help you to start getting a hold on your fibromyalgia condition 🙂