Hormones and Female Health, Ep 11

C: Today on the Midlife Reset podcast, which is episode 11, by the way, you are going to finally get the answers you need about your hormones.

I am thrilled to welcome Dr. Laura Imola, naturopathic doctor and passionate advocate for women's health.

Getting this essential information out to women is a big focus of our work.

So Laura, can you tell me a little bit about your practice as a naturopathic doctor? Where are you located? How long have you been there?

L: I'm in Niagara Falls at Wynn Health Performance Center. I started practice in 2003, so I'm in practice over 20 years now. I can't believe it. It feels like a blank. The clinic is a multidisciplinary setting. I'm a co-owner with my husband, Ernie. He's a chiropractor. But we've been really on this path to help the community, help improve people's health. And contribute in some way to create a healthier community.

And the majority of my practice, I do see a lot of women. So this has been a passion of mine as I realized that women really thrive when they.have knowledge and they have options and so that they can advocate for their health. So that's really been a foundation to the work that I do.

C: And tell me a little bit about, in case we have listeners from different countries, a naturopathic doctor in Ontario trains basic university and then how many years?

L: We have pretty rigorous training. We're regulated health providers in Ontario. I did complete my Bachelor of Science at the University of Western Ontario, which I'm a scientist by nature, and then dove into naturopathic medicine at the Canadian College of Naturopathic Medicine in Toronto, and it's a four-year program. So four year full time program and there's licensing exams that are written for every graduate to be able to practice in Ontario and so yeah that was many years ago.

I still have students come in the preceptor with me because I do enjoy again the element of health education. And supporting students, because I remember what it was like then. And so, yeah, this is how naturopaths come to be in the health care spectrum.

And that's, you know, the differences is that although we do get a tremendous amount of medical training to understand health conditions, medications, we have to be able to navigate what to recommend to a person based on what their health history might be. Their lifestyle, like all of these different elements of their health, of course, without interfering with what other healthcare providers might be providing for them, like the medical doctor, so very respectful of that, but then still offering, and the difference being that we're going to offer natural support to them using many different types of therapies that we have a very in-depth knowledge on how to use as well in a therapeutic sense.

C: And that's why I'm so excited that you're here, Dr. Laura, because you can hear from her training that when you tell us something, this is science-based, it's evidence-based,and you've been trialing this in your own practice for over 20 years.

So I'm really excited.  Let's dive in.

This is a huge subject, hormones, midlife women. And Dr. Laura, one of the biggest areas I think you can help us understand is the role of hormones in our midlife journey.

We always hear that the changes start in perimenopause, but let's talk about what that actually feels like.

Even though I'm a yoga therapist and I say a million times a day to my students, listen to your body, I didn't even really realize I was in perimenopause. I mean, I can read the calendar. Is that common?

L: It is. And I think that now because there's much more awareness around perimenopause, more women are attuning to their body and understanding that this isn't my typical, I'm noticing this shift and it's been going on for three months, for six months or for a year and something just doesn't feel right.

So although I do have a lot of women still asking me questions like, could this be perimenopause? And coming to differentiate that, there's a lot more information, thankfully. In the last two or three years, it's actually even over the last year, we've seen such a wider, diverse amount of platforms speaking to perimenopause.

Some of the symptoms are sleepless nights, some warmth and some body temperature changes, maybe not full on hot sweats or night flashes, but they can have hot flashes and night sweats. They can happen, but to different degrees. And then also changes in libido. So women often will start talking with me about how they have a decreased desire to have sex. So these are the combination of symptoms that women start to experience.

C: And of all of them, I can speak to the heavy bleeding, you know, having accidents out in public, all that kind of stuff. I did go to my medical doctor and the the solution they offered was the Mirena, which is like an IUD. It's a birth control product. And because I was someone who really tries to handle my health naturally, I was kind of turned off of the birth control options. So what kinds of things can you offer to your patients, Dr. Laura?

L: So There are options that can help increase progesterone levels that are natural. There are options that help to stabilize estrogen and progesterone. So I often will use things like herbs. Sometimes acupuncture depends on what the symptom picture is. We look at nutrition. I've even seen things like supporting a woman's nutrition quality can help stabilize hormone balance.

So it depends. And we can be very specific on what it might be, but it always is individualized to the woman.

C: It would start with blood work and then probably you would talk to her about her lifestyle because I'm sure stress factors into this quite a bit, right?

L: but then also talk about things like what's your health history like, like what's happening with all the different systems in your body, because all of the systems are connected. So even we're going to, I'm sure talk about this, but the connection of stress, the connection of digestion, you know, what's happening in sleep, like all of these different components can start to change hormone levels.

C: One of the things that happens for me, it happened to me in my 30s, and I don't think this is so unusual, is that's when thyroid starts to act up. So the role of thyroid metabolism is so important, isn't it?

L: Is this really a thyroid issue? Because we wouldn't be able to know until that type of test is done. And there are different reasons why thyroid starts to become the flag of things starting to change hormonally in the body.

And usually has a lot to do with stress.

C: Which connects us into the discussion of the action of the adrenal glands, right?

L: Yes. Yes, it's the root of, I feel, many hormone disruptions.

C: So talk about adrenal fatigue.

L: The adrenal glands, they sit on top of the kidneys. They're part of the glandular system. So the thyroid, the pancreas, the ovaries, the pituitary, like this is the glandular system. And we're getting, thankfully, way more awareness in, the last couple of years around cortisol.

And the cortisol comes from our adrenal glands. And cortisol is a necessary hormone, we need cortisol to mobilize us, but persistent cortisol secretion too high and too much overactivity of the adrenals can lead to a dysregulated pattern of adrenal function and secretion of the of the hormone cortisol, among other things to even adrenaline is part of that.

But that's the adrenal fatigue part is that this dysregulation starts to begin if it's been chronic, a chronic stress sort of experience for a person. Very common with women who multitask and are caregivers and very much feel a sense of responsibility in this role of duty.

So the ongoing stress by the time you're in your thirties and oftentimes even early forties, these are the symptoms that we start to feel like this tiredness that can be often linked to the adrenals.

But secondarily, this cortisol is a big disruptor for what's happening in the brain at the pituitary level.

The pituitary is the very first spot that our female hormones start to get the signal to be secreted. It can disrupt the ovaries. The cortisol can disrupt the thyroid.

So it's, and it can cause changes also in inflammation. So this is, I feel the root typically we want to, if we think physiologically, oftentimes in the body, it's the adrenal glands.

And then we think about, well, what is influencing the stress levels in a woman's life? Like that's the deeper root.

C: And let's be honest, it's inherent that you're going to have high stress levels in the 21st century. Right, because this is how our society runs, especially in North America.

L: So this is where it becomes interesting that, you know, I believe that there's more awareness around this, as you probably seem to share with yoga, mindfulness. More understanding about somatic exercise and movement and how that helps to regulate the nervous system,especially like engages the parasympathetic nervous system, which we need to engage to rest and relax.

So thankfully, there's this awareness like this is not sustainable, like our pace is not healthy. So finding little ways to take care of oneself. And this is, again, a message I think is getting to be a bit stronger and understanding that You know, we need to take care of ourselves in the everyday busyness to find moments to do that.

C: I so appreciate your medical opinion, Dr. Laura, about how essential rest is. Because so much of the work that I do, you're right, is around building in that therapeutic rest throughout the day, actually. I call them mindfulness snacks. So three to five minutes. And it just kind of gives the adrenals a chance to like reset.

For me, it was the thirties and forties is when the thyroid started to go out, but I still didn't clue into that, to the adrenal fatigue. Now that's going to play havoc with my hormones. And then perimenopause hits. I have the super heavy breathing, bleeding. I have this sleeplessness. I don't, really clue into what's really going on.

Now I hit menopause a little late in the game. I was in my late fifties. I hit the actual menopause break that helped that came at the beginning of COVID. So it, you know, the isolation of the shutdowns and all that added to my stress. So even though I was doing the yoga and I was doing the mindfulness and I was eating as healthy as I knew how, I needed to have a different prescription.

I needed a nervous system shakeup. So I would encourage our viewers and our listeners to reach out for expert help a little earlier in the game. I waited until the symptoms were just so severe that really I could hardly function. I allowed life to shake me up instead of being in the driver's seat where I should have been.

Do you see that with a lot of women? They have trouble asking for help or reaching out?

L: Yes, yes. Again, it's really part of trying to do as much as possible independently and a bit isolated in that. Very challenging to admit that a woman needs help and men too, like this is very human to feel that maybe they're not really sure who to ask or what to ask, or should they even be putting this focus on themselves?

Because, you know, again, there's so many distractions.

C: And you feel self-centered or, you know, conceited, all these different kinds of things.

But the adrenal fatigue is real and it does set off this cascade of hormones that over the decades gets harder and harder, you know, to kind of schlep around.

So we've heard that the adrenals produce cortisol, but what about their role in serotonin production?

L: So with the serotonin piece, you know, serotonin is created in a few different places. So even like, of course, in the brain. And so if the stress hormones are interfering with the brain, the nervous system function, it can affect serotonin levels there and also in the gut.

So serotonin also is produced in the gut because the gut is our second brain. Like we have as many nerve endings in the gut as we have in the spinal cord.

So there is a connection there And things that we can do to help promote, well, not only serotonin insura, but also, you know, dopamine, endorphins. Like these are, I see them as a complement of feeling good. We do need to protect our ability to create those things.

And that's through these mindfulness snacks can help. with the complement of things like endorphins and serotonin and dopamine together can make a big difference. Movement, walking, you know, anything. There's so many things we can do to help improve the whole complement of those feel-good hormones

C: Because you were mentioning so many nerve endings in the gut rather than the spinal cord, and that's where a lot of our autonomic nervous system that governs the parasympathetic nervous system, that's where a lot of that messaging is coming from, from the gut up to the brain, right?

L: That's right.

C: And we all try to eat healthy. But as stress levels get more and more stubborn to shift, I know that I sought comfort in food. You know, you've had a you've had a long day and maybe it's been a great day. Maybe you've been out shopping with friends or you've been whatever. But at the end of the day, you're feeling that stress load because it is stressful being out shopping with friends, even though it's fun and your system just needs needs some comfort.

So I would reach for, you know, some comfort foods. You know, sometimes it's carbohydrates. Sometimes it's, you know, something salty and fatty. I used to celebrate good times and numb out and tough times.

L: I'm with you, Cheryl. I mean, we're all human. We all have those moments. I love chocolate and I love, you know, having something like that, like a little salty and crunchy. I mean, my goodness, like, like you're, you're definitely on the same wavelength as I would have.

And especially if we are tired, you know, and there's not a lot of time to prepare a meal. And I've talked to so many women. who find themselves in these situations.

And so I just see a lot of, I have a lot of compassion in these moments because I do realize, again, a very human, very like real reality based experience for so many women.

And so I see nutrition as a work in progress, like, you know, just to, if we can do away with some of that judgment or even like, you know, has to be a certain way, but bring more compassion and realize that I always tell everybody I work with, like nutrition is a work in progress.

It's like making these little adjustments over time. You may fall off. I fall off, you know, and then we get back on the path and we try again.

So, and we learn things and sometimes even, in this life path, even with nutrition, you know, maybe something you were ready for now, you weren't ready for before with nutrition.

So it's about alignment too. So I'm very much mindful about that and just keeping the encouragement going and like whatever support people need in their nutrition.

So that's what I would share with you too, Cheryl. You probably are in a different place now than you were two or three years ago, even with your nutrition.

C: I've learned a lot in the last couple of years, but Dr. Laura, it's so nice, so reassuring to hear that if we come to see you, like we're still gonna be able to have maybe some chocolate once in a while. You're not gonna take away all of our comfort at once because you and I both understand that changes are best tackled in these tiny bites.

That glorious nervous system we've been talking about will fight tooth and nail to keep things the same that it already knows. If things stay the same, the nervous system knows what to expect and not too much effort needs to be expended. If we keep things the same, we can be very efficient with our energy.

So really trying to change, like throwing out carbohydrates or trying to be perfect with your diet is actually causing you stress, right?

L: I am really, truly mindful of this. So speaking of a mindfulness practice in my own work, And a humanistic practice because, you know, there's this, which is very much realistic. It's very much about meeting people where they're at. It's acknowledging that this is a work in progress. It's small steps because I find the stepping stones are often a lot more sustainable over time. And it's also identifying that sometimes these extreme changes in diet, they can create a lot of pressure for people.

They can create a lot of stress and there's counter wills. You know, you don't want me to eat that. Well, you know, give it a few weeks and you know, that's going to come on full force.

So it's really that delicate balance. Of course, I work with people who may have food allergies. And these are other contexts that we navigate. Even in those situations, I'm very mindful about like, telling people to completely cut things out. You know, again, it's by person to person relates to what's happening.

But yeah, I'm with you, Cheryl, like, small, small, achievable things, tiny steps and a lot of compassion.

Because we're learning as we're doing things. And even when we fall off track, like we learn something every time.

So we just use that as a source of like moving ourselves forward rather than getting stuck in the judgment or stopping ourselves in our tracks.

Let's just like take a deep breath. It's a bit awkward, kind of like a yoga posture that you're not comfortable in, right?

C: And you don't have to hold a yoga posture if it's genuinely not right for you.

Let's just kind of move on to actual menopause transition. There are natural supports.

Now, full disclosure, I went through a number of options naturally and made the decision with my doctor and after researching carefully to go on pharmaceutical hormone therapy for menopause. But there's a ton of things that you can do before you make that decision just to see if your body reacts well to these different natural approaches, right?

L: Cheryl, there's a place for all of the treatments. You know, every woman is so different. Every person's health history, background, and current health is so different.

So, yeah, although, you know, there are lots of natural options, but we have to always see how does it change quality of life for a given woman?

So it's okay.

C: So the hot flashes were really crazy for me. They were making the sleeplessness from perimenopause even worse. And once you don't sleep, then you really can't function.

So getting support with all of that, talking to somebody who really understands what's happening and giving you permission to do what's right for your body. This has been an amazing conversation.

I know I've learned a lot, Dr. Laura. Thank you

Now, we're going to include the booking address in the show notes in case anybody wants to follow up with you and ask more personalized questions.

Are there any other resources that you would like included in the show notes, Dr. Laura,

L: We have our Win health clinic Instagram, which is a variety of different things we do here at the clinic. And oftentimes between the two, there's some really great health resources. We'll post blog posts on the clinic Instagram page. So that's links back to our website.

And there's a number of different articles that have been written. And many of them are naturopathic based, like either for myself or my colleagues. So we give a lot of resources through our website that are free. So you can find a bunch of stuff there for sure.

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And thank you so much, Dr. Laura, for taking time because I know you're busy and us offering this to our community.

Namaste.