Sarah-Violet Bliss chats about her health journey.
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I started to notice changes in my skin when I was 18. I had always been a “blusher” and anytime I was embarrassed or nervous, my whole face flushed red and would stay that way for hours.
My senior year of high school, I started developing little bumps all over my cheeks and forehead. I attributed these skin changes to being young and having raging hormones so, at that time, I treated my skin with topicals and over the counter products. Over the last 20 years, those little bumps and occasional flushes turned into full blown Rosacea. Name a product, and I have tried it! I literally tried everything: prescription topicals and pills, every “clean” product I could find to help tame the redness and lessen the pain. That’s one thing people may not consider about Rosacea; not only do you deal with "red face", but it HURTS! My skin felt like I had just returned from a month long vacation in the middle of the Sahara desert! It felt dry, sun and wind burned, sore. sensitive.
I am excited to present this blog collaboration with my client, Alaina, on fertility and the four stages each month. We had a lot of fun chatting about her journey healing her hormones and how The Bean Protocol supports this impressive monthly feat!
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Beans and the Luteal Phase
In the first half of this phase, estrogen, testosterone, and progesterone are all active. As iterated in past installments, the soluble fiber in beans will continue to help mitigate and eliminate any excess hormones in your system. Assuming estrogen has tapered off, our “hormonal high” fades away into “hormonal silence.” The end of our luteal phase is perhaps the most sensitive time in our cycle; this is when we may feel most prone to symptoms of PMS.
Beans and the Follicular Phase
During this phase, our system is flooded with new hormones: estrogen, testosterone, and FSH. Support healthy production by consuming healthy fats and manage the influx in hormone production by eating beans. Generally, these hormones are energizing, so as we naturally socialize and engage with others, practice mindfulness with the body around potential stress inducers. Just because our bodies support more sociability during this phase does not mean we need to burn ourselves out, especially by doing activities that do not serve our longevity. It is important to note that excess stress hormones, like adrenaline and cortisol, can lead to hyper anxious and flighty sensations in the body. When the body is in a sustained state of stress, the body may not ovulate. Without ovulation, our bodies will wane on progesterone production. If the stress persists, our bodies may even favor cortisol production over that of progesterone. If you feel like you are a high adrenaline maker, consuming beans and their soluble fiber will also mitigate adrenaline and cortisol build up that may couple the natural increase in activity.
Beans and the Ovulatory Phase
During this phase, our system continues to be full of hormones like estrogen, testosterone, FSH, and LH. Continue to practice mindfulness with your body while engaging with your environment. I will re-emphasize: just because our bodies support more sociability during this phase does not mean we need to overextend ourselves, especially while healing. When there is a build up of excess stress hormones or biochemical signalers in the body, our ovulation can be disrupted. When there is too much “hormonal noise” from stress hormones it dilutes the amount of estrogen in our system so our body may never register or reach the threshold needed to initiate ovulation.
About ten years ago now I had some transient tummy troubles that I of course ignored, and after a few twist and turns, they quickly tumbled into full-blown Crohns. Initially, I consulted alternative and natural methods. While they offered insights, they just couldn't get a handle on my rapidly declining health. So I did the adult thing and turned to a Gastroenterologist.
As with most doctors, they sucked a pint of blood in search of answers. Nothing showed up. Per the doctor's advice, I did a few rounds of exploratory antibiotics to see it was an infection or parasite. Although against my upbringing, I was desperate and willing to try anything to relieve the pain.
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