In Menopause…..Address The Stress!
As we age, our body is not as adept at handling stress as it was when we were young. Your body becomes less resilient to stress- and you know what that means
>>>>You either need to address the stress or you find yourself on a slippery slope to disease.
Stress isn’t just the mental or emotional stress that we initially think of in relation to work, relationships or traumatic events. Stress is much more than that.
Stress is anything that places a burden on the body.
Whether it’s inflammatory foods such as gluten, not getting adequate rest or sleep, under exercising or over exercising when your body is already fatigued, toxins in your environment, or physical ailments from misalignments in bones and muscles – it all equates to stress in the body.
When I went through my Functional Diagnostic Nutrition training program, we were taught to identify H.I.D.D.E.N. stressors, or dysfunctions in the…
- Hormone
- Immune
- Digestion
- Detoxification
- Energy Production
- Nervous System
Looking at these different systems of the body and recognizing dysfunction help me to also identify healing opportunities.
But in order to help heal and restore health, I need to know from my clients what the source of the stress might be
To alleviate stress, I guide my clients in “coaching down contributors to stress, and coaching up function of the body” as the FDN Founder, Reed Davis would say.
Having a better understanding of what is contributing to a stress burden on your body leading to dysfunction, and taking action to minimize the stress is the secret to optimal health that we are all looking for.
Our bodies are a miracle in and of themselves and naturally want to be healthy! It was created to work in perfect synchronicity until we pile on additional tasks, toxins and responsibilities that force our body to work harder.
Our body will essentially do anything we ask it to, but that doesn’t mean we should.
It’s rare that your body will tell you ‘no.’
Here are some added stressors WE put on our body….
- The inflammatory or pesticide laden foods in our diet
- Eating foods that are not in alignment with our nutritional needs
- Staying up late at night consistently or not getting enough sleep
- Exercising at a high intensity or for long durations when the body is tired
- Perceived mental or emotional stress from work, relationships and traumatic events
- Lack of nutrients in the body for functions to actually take place
- Toxins in our environment which burden the liver, alter cells and disrupt hormones
- And there are many more
For the longest time, exercise was actually one of my biggest stressors.
I look back now and I can see many points in my life where I pushed way too hard when it came to exercise.
If I go to bed late, get a crappy night of sleep, cheat on my diet, am traveling or doing anything else that might create extra stress on my body, I balance it now by doing things
>like skipping my usual workout for something that is more restorative,
>going to bed early the next day
>taking a full weekend to eat healthy and rest.
Using functional lab testing, I’m able to help clients see where dysfunction exists in the hormone, immune, digestive, detoxification, energy production and nervous system BUT the bigger question is what do you do about it.
The secret to restoring balance and health is working towards eliminating the things that are causing stress on the body and giving it the support it needs to function at a higher level.
Just fixing your diet won’t do it. It’s one aspect of healing but not the catch-all solution most hope it would be.
Coaching up function in the body and achieving optimal health requires a multifaceted approach, one that involves:
- Diet
- Rest
- Exercise
- Stress Reduction (of all kinds)
- Supplementation to support and restore bodily functions while you eliminate the stressors
I also found in my years of doing this work that the mindset and spirituality components are just as critical as any of the physical and science aspects.
You will only be able to reach a limited level of optimal health without incorporating them along with addressing all the burdens of potential stress.
Rebuilding the relationship with your body, taking responsibility and treating it with respect will help you forge forward in optimizing your health.
If you don’t change your mindset and the relationship with your body, you’ll continue to beat it down and run into a wall with your health.
So I’ll leave you with this… think about how much stress is on your body at this moment?
Are there toxins in your environment that you can’t see, hear or feel?
Did you get a crappy night’s sleep?
What was the last thing you ate and was it nutritious or not?
Did your force yourself to work out today or push too hard?
Are you stressed at work or in your relationships?
What else might be contributing to a burden of stress in your life?
Expert Tip: Check in regularly with your body and your stress levels and then you can quickly take action to reduce it before it reduces your health.
If you are looking for support in your menopausal journey, I am here for you. I can help you with the right resources, lab tests and resources and protocol to take the guess work out of it and to get it under control just book your free call here
I would love to support you and help you feel like yourself again !
Xx Jeannine