Lara Briden - The Period Revolutionary
Leading the change to better periods and hormones
The gut microbiome plays a role in many women’s health conditions including endometriosis and premenstrual mood symptoms.
Endometriosis is not like other period problems. It’s not a hormonal condition like PMS and PCOS. It’s affected by hormones, yes, but fundamentally endometriosis is a disease of immune dysfunction.
The medical consensus has not yet caught up with the new research into endometriosis and immune dysfunction so hormonal suppression remains the primary treatment.
There is a better way.
If you came to me for help with irregular periods, I would think very carefully about your thyroid.
It wouldn’t matter if you already had another diagnosis such as PCOS or hypothalamic amenorrhea. It wouldn’t matter if your doctor had vaguely said at some point that your blood test was normal. I would still think about thyroid. Why? Because underactive thyroid (hypothyroidism) is a common reason for irregular periods.
PMS is my favorite thing to treat because it responds so well to natural treatment. I love to hear patients say: “I was surprised when my period just arrived. I didn’t even feel it coming.”
No irritability. No headache. No food cravings. It is possible.
The first step to easy periods is to value female hormones. Both estrogen and progesterone are powerful assets, and not something to be switched off with hormonal birth control.
Sugar is a carb. It is the worst carb. This should be stating the obvious, I know, so apologies if you already understand this. But I really feel it needs to be said because I’ve had some distressing conversations with patients. They’re very careful to avoid a potato with dinner, but think it’s fine to have a little something for dessert. “Potatoes are a bad carb,” they tell me.
How did we get to the point where starch with the evening meal is believed to cause more weight gain than dessert? Why do people fear rice, but are happy to eat natural sweeteners like dates or agave which are almost pure fructose?