Gut Health, Nervous system and Hormones. Oh my, brief practical tips.

Embark on a holistic journey to vibrant health with 'Gut Health & Graceful Aging: The Perimenopause Connection,' the latest episode from The Happy Hormones Coach™️ Podcast. Your host, Jennifer Gamayo Self, returns with her soothing voice and insightful wisdom to guide you through the complexities of gut health and its profound impact on hormonal balance and nervous system regulation, especially for perimenopausal women.

In this episode, we delve into the symbiotic relationship between our gut and our emotions, uncovering how our digestive system, often referred to as our second brain, influences everything from mood swings to immunity. Jennifer shares her personal experiences and the latest findings on how a balanced gut flora can alleviate common perimenopausal symptoms like hot flashes and anxiety, emphasizing the importance of gut health for aging with grace and vitality.

Discover practical tips and simple lifestyle adjustments to enhance gut health and regulate your nervous system amidst the hustle of professional and family life. Learn about the power of probiotics, the significance of stress-busting techniques, and the role of a personalized morning and evening routine in setting the tone for a balanced day.

Jennifer also tackles frequently asked questions, providing hope and reassurance that positive changes can be noticed within weeks of adopting healthier habits. She reminds us that perimenopause is a journey not to be walked alone and highlights the resources available through her signature program and the HTMA Harmony test.

As a special treat in honor of International Women's Day, Jennifer introduces a collaborative book, 'Business on Purpose,' featuring inspiring stories from professional women, including herself, to uplift and motivate.

Tune in to 'Gut Health & Graceful Aging: The Perimenopause Connection' for an empowering session filled with actionable advice, heartfelt support, and the reassurance that with the right approach, you can face perimenopause like a champ. For more details on Jennifer's programs and the inspiring book, check out the links in the show notes. Here's to simply feeling good, period. Until next time, stay happy and stay healthy with The Happy Hormones Coach™️ Podcast.

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Transcript

Gut Health, Nervous System and Hormones, Oh my,
brief practical tips
Happy Hormones coach podcast dives into everything related to
women's health
Speaker A: Hey, welcome to the Happy Hormones coach, the podcast. I'm, your host,
Jennifer Gomile Self, where I dive into everything related to women's health and
lifestyle. And you know me holistically. So join me, your host, as we explore the
intricacies of female hormones, discuss tips and strategies for managing stress and
anxiety, and discover ways to live a healthier and happier, more fulfilling life. From
nutrition to fitness, mindfulness to relationships, I cover it all. So please grab a cup of
tea, settle in, and let's dive into the world of women's health together.
Happy Hormones coach talk about aging and gut health
This is the happy hormones coach.
Speaker B: Hey, welcome back to the Happy Hormones coach show, dedicated to
women's health and natural approaches to harnessing your symptoms, elevating your
moods, and maintaining your best well being. I'm your host, Jennifer Gamayo Self, and
welcome to another episode for all my perimenopausal women out know those women
who are in perimenopause, middle aged professional still trying to juggle business with
family life. I know it's been a little bit, I have been battling some cold, and then my voice
was going out, and so I'm feeling much better. I don't know what it was that was going
around, but apparently, talking to several of my clients, they've had it, too, and they're in
different states, so interesting. But I am back, and today we're going to be talking about,
what I love to talk about and what I've been geeking out most lately as it relates to, of
course, my own health, but also as it relates to just middle aged women in general, and
actually all women in general, but gut health and how it relates to the nervous system
regulation and of course, our hormones. So let's get into it. Gut health is a second
critical factor of our transformational life. I will also communicate some of the practical
advice that helps you move through this with grace and vitality. And I'm talking about
aging, ladies. We should not be afraid of that word. We should strive to age youthfully
and gracefully. And don't be afraid of it, because it's going to happen. It's inevitable.
We're all going to do it. But we can change how we approach that. And it does tie into
gut health, because whatever our thoughts are generally, whether it's happy, good, sad,
stressful, whatever, it does impact our gut health. Gut health impacts, of course, our
stress, or stress impacts our gut health, and of course, our immunity, and of course,
hormones, so on and so forth. So that's why I thought it was really important to talk
about today.
A healthy gut can directly affect hormonal balance during
perimenopause
And so, first, on the most basic level of gut health, our digestive system might
commonly be called our second brain, and it's for good reasons. It contains a great
network of neurotransmitters and bacteria, for the most part, decide our mood, energy
level health. And, of course, like I just mentioned, immunity. So, therefore, a healthy gut
is of prime importance for a perimenopausal woman, which can directly affect hormonal
balance and the severity of symptoms experienced during this transition period. And I'm
not just talking about your period, your menstrual cycle. I'm talking about, or PMS,
anything like that related. I'm talking about so many other factors. I'm talking about
anxiety, any other mental health, symptoms that we may be struggling with, like mood
swings, anxiety, depression, anything like that as well, that we can experience. So it's
not just physical, but it is also mental as well. And so at just that time, it is balanced gut
flora that specifically supports estrogen metabolism. And this is important, especially as
we age. And it helps counter the two main complaints of, perimenopause, which are
mood swings and hot flashes. You feel like you're sleeping well, or you're in the middle
of the day, you feel really good. It's actually not hot out. And then you just get a sudden
burst of just heat and hot, and it's like, what is going on? Where is the freezer at? Yeah,
it's kind of like that.
A healthy gut contributes to a resilient nervous system through
which emotions and stress can manage
Now, moving on to the nervous system. So, during perimenopause, the hormonal
upsets act somewhat like a stressor, so to say. Like, switch our nervous system into an
almost constant high alert, thereby evoking anxiety, depression, fatigue, like tiredness.
But then there is good news after all. So the symptoms can drop to a great extent if the
nervous system is regulated through specific practices. So, for example, good exercises
like deep belly breaths. And it's not just about just breathing, but it's really good belly
breaths. So, like deep breathing, meditation or prayer, pilates or gentle stretching, all
are very helpful for releasing stress, helping your lymphatic system drain. So we need
good drainage in there and getting our blood circulated, and it also keeps hormones in
balance. And considering perimenopause, one would be tempted to know how the gut
could further affect the nervous system. And this is where the part played by the gut
brain access comes in. So it's like the HPA access comes in a very complex
communication network, and it's between our gut and brain. And this indicates that a
healthy gut contributes to a resilient nervous system through which emotions and stress
can be managed effectively. So through our nervous system and through our guts, with
them communicating, they just talk to one another and that's where emotions, our
stress, that's where everything can have an impact because they speak to each other,
they're in that communication all the time. And so for perimenopausal women, this is
undoubtedly twofold. As an optimally emphasized gut does not only assure better
hormonal balance, but it also is better resilience to improve stress and like our thoughts.
Tips on increasing your gut health and toning down your nervous
system
So now moving forward to the very part you have been waiting for, practical tips on
increasing your gut health and toning down your nervous system amidst a busy life.
Because you know, we are all professionals, we have families and it is hard dealing with
just regular day to day life and having a busy practice or in corporate or whatever you
do, I know you're a busy professional woman out there and just struggling with these
different symptoms, that we're getting as we age and so it's all new to us. We've never
been here before and so having to navigate all that can be very stressful. And that's
what I want to talk about is some practical tips to leave you with that you can just take
slowly and start slowly moving towards that. And of course this is very general. if there's
anything specific for whatever you're dealing with, if there's any diagnosis or anything
that you have, always talk with your practitioner. This is just very basic foundations and
of course there is no one size fits all, but you can start small and see what applies to
you, what you can do practically in your life. So first consider consuming enough
probiotic foods. So like the fermented vegetables, kefir, yogurt, yogurt also does have
non dairy options as well. to keep up with a good level of your gut microbiome. And then
second, work stress. Like you just want to bust the stress that's in your work every day
into your life. So such as five minutes of deep belly breaths or a quick morning
meditation or prayer journaling, ah, whatever works for you. And it can be like five
minutes. it doesn't have to be anything bad. You've heard me talk about this before, but I
always do recommend having a really strict, if there's any habits that you should start
making right now, I highly recommend because it has changed my life as well and my
health for the better. But having a morning routine and then developing a bedtime or
nighttime routine. Having those two in place is going to start your day great, and it's
going to set the tone for the rest of your day and to where you're not rushing, but you're
just in this better. It just sets your nervous system, it sets your mood and sets the tone
for the day of how it's going to be. So you're not stressed or frazzled or rushing out, but
you have a really good balance. And then at night, having a good wind down or
nighttime routine, it really gets your circadian rhythm, going to where it knows when to
wake up, knows when to wind down, knows when to go to bed. And it just sets you up
for good quality sleep, as well as just winding down to, unleash any of those anxious
thoughts, anything of the day that you had, whether it's good or bad or in between, it
just helps you wind down. So having a good morning and evening routine has been so
impactful on not just my own health when I've incorporated it. And it is a habit, and your
body will get used to it, trust me, your body will know. you just have to train it. You have
to just train yourself, build these habits, and then you can start onto another habit. But if
anything, those two are what I highly recommend because it is impactful for a lot of
women that I speak with. just incorporating it and setting the tone for the day. So I do
recommend that. And I do like to say have some, deep belly breaths throughout the day.
I call it reset. So with my clients, I'll say do some resets throughout the day. And
basically it's just resetting your nervous system back to what it was, back to regular and
out of that fight or flight mode. And so even, if it's a quick bathroom break, if it's a quick,
just go outside to get some fresh air. If you're sitting down at a desk, if you could just
stand up and stretch and do some good breathing, it just takes like, you can do it for a
minute and that'll really get things going. If you do that set, sticky notes or your alarm,
that's going to really help to remind you. Or if you start feeling tired or anxious, if you
feel your heart racing, anything like that, then that's just going to tell you, okay, let me
go ahead. Let me just take a minute or two just to stretch and do some belly breaths.
So that's what I like to say. That's what I recommend. And, that's just going to really
help you reset your nervous system, and it goes to gut health and inflammation and so
on and so forth. So, last but not least, rest. Just like I was talking about, rest should be
adequate and exercise should be moderated, to ensure that the hormones are
balanced and the nervous system is kept in a healthy state. What I mean is, exercise is
wonderful. I am also a personal trainer and I do advocate for exercise. And I know with
the women I work with, I like to do, like the cycle. Working with the cycle, right, with your
exercise, fitness, nutrition, any of that. But I also want you to pay attention to your
energy, and how you're feeling. Because if you're having an off day, if you're not feeling
so great, if your energy is pretty low, then why don't you do low to moderate exercise?
But if you have that energy, if you feel really good, you can go ahead and just do
exercise towards working off that energy. And I think that's great, but I don't think that
we should put, going at the gym every day or working out hard, doing all these hit
exercises. too much could be really stressful on the body, and especially it'll impact your
hormones and everything else. So, that being said, although I am an advocate of
fitness, for sure, and exercise, we do need to move our body every day. But just don't go
hard if your body's not used to it, if you are not used to going hard, don't just start
gradually work into it. and if you are used to that, and if you're doing it maybe too much,
that, can cause gut inflammation and just so much, so much other symptoms. because
exercise, although, is a good thing, it is a stressor on our body, so maybe back it up a
little bit. But again, it's just work with your energy level. and so that's what I want to say
about that. And of course, adequate rest. So that goes into your bedtime routine. And
also just good quality sleep. There's ways to track it, or, just see how you feel in the
morning. If you wake up tired, examine, get curious with yourself. What could it be? And
so, before we wrap up, let's address some frequently asked questions.
Can changes in diet really improve perimenopausal symptoms
I know that I get some questions a lot, but I'll just give you two. So, can changes in diet
really improve perimenopausal symptoms and absolutely, it can. nutrition is huge, and
that's what I'm saying. I like to add in and not take away necessarily when I first start
working with women. So a fiber rich diet. And again, fiber rich. I do want to give a caveat
there. So, just depending on your gut, where it's at, if there's so much inflammation, a
lot of fiber could actually work against you. We need fiber, but just start small. This is
where I would say, start small and see where you're at. Because if there is a lot of
imbalance in the gut, then this can just back you up and just make it worse. So we
definitely don't want to do that. healthy fats. Yes, healthy fats. We need that for so many.
It's, ah, for our hormones, for our brain health. So many things we need healthy fats for.
And I can't just say it enough, we need healthy fats. And also antioxidants, they support
gut health and hormonal imbalance. All of these do. So again, eating the rainbow,
getting a lot of colorful foods will help you. and again, this is just to, what works for you
and your body.
How long does it take to notice improvements after making lifestyle
changes
And so the second one is, how long does it take to notice improvements? Now, this one
is, again, it depends. And I feel like I'm a robot when I say that, because I say it often
when there's a lot of questions. And it's so true, though, it depends because everybody
is not the same. everybody is different. And so, while individual experiences, they do
vary, because we're all different. But I can tell you that even personally with the women
that I have worked with, many of the women report feeling better within a few weeks of
making any lifestyle changes. And I'm not talking about fad diets or supplements. These
women have reported feeling so much better, noticing a difference in their gut and
inflammation, and even their mood. So that gut brain, axis that we talked about, and it
really is only within a few weeks. And it's amazing because that's kind of not what we're
working on. And we haven't really gotten any test back, the test results back, but it's just
amazing. Just some small, simple things, especially in your lifestyle and nutrition, can
make a huge impact. And I just love hearing those reports from clients when I talk with
them on the phone, because just hearing that, like, wow, this is just a byproduct. They
have a bigger goal they're working towards, but they couldn't believe how much better
they're feeling and how much natural energy they have and how satisfied they are and
don't need to reach for the 03:00 sugary snack. and how other people have noticed it's
just amazing. And I love that. And so, yes, you can notice improvements and you can
notice even small improvements. But I'll tell you what, any improvement is great, right?
So small progress, small improvements, they will add up to your bigger goals. Just
being consistent is going to help.
Focus on gut, health and nervous system regulation during
perimenopause
And so with that, it wraps up this episode. And remember, ladies, perimenopause,
middle aged, all this in between is a journey and you don't have to walk at it alone. So
focusing on your gut, health and nervous system regulation will go a long way to
smoothing the transition and facing this phase like a champ. I know I'm ready for it. I
know I'm trying to face it like a champ too, with you. So I'm right there with you ladies.
And I wanted to remind you that this is the reason I focus heavily on the gut and
nervous system in my signature program, simply feeling good, period. But I also have
an HTMA harmony test that I run as the basic foundation to check where your minerals
are, which are the spark plugs of life. So it's super important to check those. And I like
to start there as well. And if any of those are imbalanced, then it's a good indication that
other parts of your systems are off, as well as hormones. So check out the link in the
show notes for details on those. And since it is International Women's day, as of the day
of this recording, I also want to include that I am a part of a book full of professional
women like yourselves, who have inspiring stories to share on business on purpose
book and that will be linked in the show notes as well, with the HTMA Harmony Bundle
and I encourage you to check it out and share with any other ladies that can use some
inspiration from multiple beautiful ladies. so yeah, share it and I hope that this episode
has blessed you and I hope that book will bless you and your friends and your family,
any other special ladies in your life. And thank you so much for tuning in and promising
to turn back with more insight and tips to enhance your understanding of fitness,
nutrition and everything in between as it relates to us women. So until then, take care of
your body and it will take care of you. And here's to simply feeling good. Period. Until
next time, thanks for tuning in.
Speaker A: To the Happy Hormones coach today. I hope our discussion was informative
and helpful for your health and well being. If you have any questions or comments
about today's episode or have suggestions for future topics, please don't hesitate to
reach out. You can find me on social media or visit my website and if you enjoy enjoyed
today's episode, please consider leaving a review and sharing it with your friends and
family. Remember, taking care of yourself is essential and I'm here to support you on
your journey toward optimal health and happiness. So until next time, stay happy and
stay healthy. This is the happy Hormones coach.