Welcome, Beautiful Woman 🌸
This guide is everything I wish someone had handed me years ago before the pain, the confusion, and the years of just dealing with it.
If you have spent years suffering through painful periods, mood swings, exhaustion before your cycle, bloating, or just feeling completely unlike yourself, this guide is for you. You were handed birth control or ibuprofen and told this is just part of being a woman. You were never taught how your hormones actually work. So let's learn together.
- The four phases of your cycle and what each means for energy, mood, and body
- How estrogen, progesterone, testosterone, and cortisol work in simple, real language
- What healthy periods actually look like (most women have never been told)
- The root causes behind the most common cycle symptoms
- How to eat, move, sleep, and live in harmony with your cycle
- How to protect your hormones from environmental toxins
- A complete 30-day beginner plan to start your healing journey today
We never chase symptoms. We look for what the body is actually asking for.
We want to go from:
Symptom → take a supplement
to
Symptom → what might be driving it?
Women understood their cycles for centuries. We are reclaiming that knowledge.
We feed our hormones. We do not starve them. Food is medicine.
Every small action you take is a seed planted for your future health. Some days will be better than others, and that is completely okay. This is a journey, so keep showing up for yourself with kindness even when it feels extremely hard.
When you give your body the right food, lifestyle, and environment the ones it was actually designed for it will thrive. Health stops being something you work for and becomes something you simply have.
- Read through the full guide at least once before making changes
- Download a cycle tracking app or start a paper journal
- Note the first day of your last period
- Begin observing your energy, mood, physical symptoms, and sleep quality across the month
- Approach this with curiosity, not pressure
Why Understanding Your Cycle Changes Everything
Your cycle is not an inconvenience to be managed. It is one of the most intelligent and intricate systems in your body, and chances are, nobody ever taught you how to understand its language.
Doctors measure blood pressure, heart rate, temperature, and respiratory rate as vital signs. The menstrual cycle is now being recognized as the fifth vital sign. When your cycle is irregular, painful, or symptomatic your body is telling you something deeper is off.
- You stop fighting your body and start working with it
- You understand why you feel amazing some weeks and exhausted others
- You can identify root causes of symptoms instead of just suppressing them
- You feel connected to your body for the first time perhaps ever
- You finally feel healthy, energized and confident!
- Chronic stress and elevated cortisol stealing from progesterone
- Ultra-processed food and seed oils driving inflammation
- Synthetic hormones from birth control suppressing the natural cycle
- Environmental toxins from products and plastics disrupting estrogen
- Disconnection from natural light, seasonal eating, and body rhythms
The Four Phases of Your Menstrual Cycle
Your cycle is not just your period. It is four completely different seasons each with its own hormones, energy, strengths, and needs.
These are averages and will naturally vary from woman to woman
You are not meant to feel exactly the same every single day. Your energy, mood, appetite, and needs naturally shift throughout the month because your hormones are constantly changing. That is your body working exactly as it should.
At the same time, there is a difference between natural fluctuations and unnecessary suffering. While it's normal to experience some shifts throughout your cycle, painful periods, debilitating PMS, extreme fatigue, severe mood swings, and feeling disconnected from your body every month should not be dismissed as "just part of being a woman."
Your cycle is not meant to be a monthly battle. Learn to understand what your body is asking for in each phase so that even in the harder moments, you feel supported, grounded, and at home in yourself.
Estrogen and progesterone fall, and your period begins. This signals the uterus to shed the lining that was built during the previous cycle. At the same time, the brain releases FSH (follicle-stimulating hormone), which begins stimulating a new group of follicles in the ovaries (10–20), each containing an immature egg.
Several follicles continue developing, but one usually becomes dominant and matures an egg fully for ovulation. As it grows, it produces increasing amounts of estrogen, which rebuilds the uterine lining and often supports higher energy, motivation, confidence, and mental clarity.
Estrogen reaches its peak, triggering a surge of LH (luteinizing hormone). This causes the dominant follicle to release a mature egg from the ovary into the fallopian tube, where it can potentially be fertilized. Testosterone also often peaks around this time, contributing to increased drive, sociability, confidence, and libido.
After releasing the egg, the follicle transforms into the corpus luteum, which produces progesterone. Progesterone becomes the dominant hormone, helping prepare and maintain the uterine lining for a potential pregnancy. If pregnancy does not occur, the corpus luteum breaks down, progesterone and estrogen fall, and a new period begins.
Most women blame the luteal phase for everything they feel before their period. But the luteal phase is not the problem. It is simply where everything reveals itself.
From day one of your cycle, every choice you make is either building your body up or drawing it down. If you overtrained during your menstrual phase, if you underate during ovulation, if you ran on stress and poor sleep for weeks, your luteal phase will show you. It holds up a mirror to how you lived the rest of your cycle.
Your cycle is not four separate events. It is one continuous flow. How you nourish yourself in your menstrual phase affects your follicular energy. How you rest during ovulation affects your luteal stability. Every phase feeds the next. When you start caring for your whole cycle, not just the hard days, everything begins to shift.
The luteal phase does not create the problem, it simply reveals how well you have been caring for yourself all along.
Hormones Explained Simply
I am not a medical doctor, but I do believe every woman deserves to understand the basics of how her hormones work. More than any scientific term, what matters most is feeling the connection with your own body, testing what works for you, and trusting yourself, because we are all different.
| Hormone | Produced By | Main Role | Peaks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Estrogen | Ovaries | Builds the uterine lining, supports mood, energy, libido, skin and bone health | Late follicular phase / before ovulation |
| Progesterone | Corpus luteum | Maintains the uterine lining, promotes calmness and sleep, supports pregnancy | Mid-luteal phase |
| Testosterone | Ovaries + adrenals | Supports libido, confidence, mental clarity, motivation and drive | Around ovulation |
| FSH | Pituitary gland | Stimulates follicle growth and egg maturation | Early follicular phase |
| LH | Pituitary gland | Triggers ovulation and egg release | Ovulation surge |
| Cortisol | Adrenal glands | Regulates energy, blood sugar, wakefulness and stress response | Morning / physical or psychological stress |
| Insulin | Pancreas | Helps move glucose and nutrients into cells for energy and storage | After meals |
Hormones don't work alone, they're your body's messengers responding to sleep, stress, nutrition, movement, light exposure, and overall health.
Too much estrogen relative to progesterone = estrogen dominance. This causes heavy periods, PMS, mood swings, bloating. The liver and gut play a crucial role in clearing excess estrogen.
It's important to understand that even a normal amount of estrogen can become a problem if progesterone is low. It's always about the balance between the two. You want healthy and sufficient levels of both estrogen and progesterone.
When your body is chronically stressed it prioritizes cortisol production. This steals from progesterone because both hormones are made from the same precursor in the body called pregnenolone. When the body must choose between survival (cortisol) and reproduction (progesterone), it always chooses survival. The result is low progesterone and everything that comes with it: worse PMS, poor sleep, anxiety, and irregular cycles.
Things That Can Keep You in Sympathetic Mode (Fight-or-Flight / High Cortisol)
- 😰 Emotional stress
- 😴 Poor sleep or sleep deprivation
- 🍽️ Chronic under-eating or undernourishment
- 🏃♀️ Excessive exercise or overtraining
- 🤒 Illness
- 🩹 Injury
- 🦠 Infection
- 💔 Major life changes or emotional upheaval
- 📱 Looking at your phone first thing in the morning
- ⏰ Rushed, chaotic mornings
- 💼 Deadlines and work pressure
- 📺 Constant stimulation while eating (phone, TV, scrolling)
- 🗣️ Negative relationships, gossip, and draining people
- ☕ Too much caffeine, especially on an empty stomach
- ✈️ Travel, jet lag, and disrupted routines
- 🌙 Staying up late consistently
- 🚫 Never slowing down or taking time to recover
Imagine you are in the wild, being chased by a predator. Your body immediately floods with cortisol, shuts down reproduction, and directs every single resource toward getting you out alive. Progesterone becomes completely irrelevant in that moment. Your body is brilliant. It chose survival.
The problem is that your nervous system cannot tell the difference between a physical danger (being chased by a lion) and an emotional danger (a difficult conversation, a work deadline, financial worry). The stress response fires exactly the same way. And because you are stressed not for a few minutes but chronically, all day every day, your body keeps choosing cortisol over progesterone. Over and over again. This is not normal. Your body was never designed to live in constant stress. And yet here we are.
Blood sugar instability drives insulin spikes which disrupt estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone. Blood sugar balance is foundational for cycle health before any other intervention.
How to Track Your Cycle
Tracking your cycle is the single most powerful thing you can do to understand your body. It costs nothing and could truly change a lot.
- Period start and end date
- Flow: light, medium, heavy, clots
- Cervical mucus changes
- Basal body temperature (BBT)
- Bloating or water retention
- Breast tenderness
- Skin: clear, breakouts, oily
- Energy level (1–10) and sleep quality
- Food cravings
- Mood overall
- Anxiety or irritability levels
- Social desire: people or solitude?
- Libido
- Mental clarity or brain fog
- Motivation and creativity
- Emotional sensitivity
A small journal noting date, phase, energy, mood, and symptoms daily. The act of writing builds body awareness faster than any app.
Free, simple, and good for beginners. Log period dates, symptoms, and mood. The app will begin predicting your phases over time.
Take your temperature every morning before getting up with a BBT thermometer. Temperature rises after ovulation this confirms ovulation actually occurred.
Dry after period → creamy → watery → egg-white (ovulation) → dry again. Your most honest hormonal indicator. Covered in Module 15.
This is an investment but one I truly believe in. The Oura Ring tracks your cycle, your body temperature, your readiness, and your sleep quality all in one place. It can detect subtle temperature shifts that signal where you are in your cycle, often before you even feel it. I personally use it and I can already see my temperature rising, my readiness dropping, sometimes my sleep shifting, and I know my period is coming. It connects you to your body in a way that is hard to explain until you experience it. If you can invest in one thing for your cycle health, this would be it.
Signs of a Healthy Cycle
Most women have never been told what a healthy period actually looks like. This is the conversation your doctor should have had with you years ago.
- Cycle length of 24–35 days
- Period lasting 3–7 days
- Bright red blood for most of the bleed (think cranberry juice)
- Minimal to no cramping (mild discomfort is completely normal, but pain that stops your day is not)
- Light to moderate flow
- Minimal clots (some small clots are completely normal, but very large or very frequent clots are worth paying attention to)
- Ovulation occurring consistently (confirmed by a BBT rise, fertile cervical mucus changes)
- Noticeable cervical mucus changes throughout the cycle (dry → creamy → watery → egg-white → drier again)
- A clear temperature shift after ovulation (showing progesterone is being produced)
- Consistent energy and stable moods throughout most of the month
- Feeling hungry at appropriate times and having healthy appetite signals
- Waking up with energy and recovering well from exercise
- Feeling well in your body rather than constantly fighting symptoms
- Your libido naturally fluctuates throughout the cycle, with a noticeable increase in late follicular phase (around ovulation)
- Minimal PMS (some mild mood shifts are normal, but debilitating symptoms are not)
- Your period arrives predictably, around the same time each cycle (and if it is ever late, you can usually trace it back to something, poor sleep, high stress, travel, a big move, or simply a lot going on)
- Your period feels like a transition, not a crisis
❀ The goal is to feel connected to your body's signals.
Your period blood is a monthly message from your body. Learn to read yours.
| Color | What It May Mean |
|---|---|
| Bright red (cherry red, wine red, or cranberry red) | Healthy, fresh blood flowing well. This is what you are aiming for. |
| Dark red | Generally normal, especially on the first day when flow is heavier. If consistently dark red or very dark red throughout your period, it may be a sign of high estrogen or estrogen dominance. It may be worth supporting your liver, gut, and circulation. |
| Brown or dark brown | Older blood that oxidized before leaving the uterus. Very common at the very start or end of your period and not a concern in small amounts. It can be a sign of low progesterone or that you may not be keeping your uterus warm enough. |
| Pink or very light | Could be a sign of low estrogen due to under-eating, over-exercising, or chronic stress. Could also be a sign of low iron. Worth paying attention to if it happens consistently. |
| Orange | Can be normal when period blood mixes with cervical fluid, but could also indicate an infection. Worth watching if accompanied by unusual odor, itching, or discomfort. If those symptoms are present → Speak with a practitioner. |
| Gray | Gray is not a normal color variation and can indicate bacterial vaginosis or another infection, especially if accompanied by odor or discomfort → Speak with a practitioner. |
If you often see brown or dark blood, or experience cramping, one of the simplest and most overlooked things you can do is keep your feet warm. Cold feet mean cold circulation, and poor circulation means your uterus is not receiving the warmth and blood flow it needs. Wearing socks, especially during your period, is a small but genuinely effective way to support uterine warmth.
- Cycles consistently shorter than 21 days or longer than 35 days
- Periods lasting longer than 7 days or shorter than 2 days
- Heavy bleeding that soaks a pad every hour for several hours
- Severe cramping that requires medication every cycle
- Absent periods for 3+ months outside of pregnancy
- Extreme PMS, rage, or mood disorder before your period
- Pain during intercourse
- No obvious signs of ovulation
- Spotting before or between periods
These signs are invitations to explore root causes. This guide gives you tools to support your cycle naturally, but always work with a trusted practitioner for persistent or serious symptoms.
Common Symptoms & What They May Indicate
Your symptoms are not random. They are your body's language and once you learn to read it, everything changes.
Progesterone drops before every period for every woman. So why do some feel completely fine while others feel debilitated? It is not just about the hormones themselves. It is about how well the body can handle those shifts. A woman whose body is well nourished, well rested, with a healthy liver, balanced gut, stable blood sugar, and a regulated nervous system will feel the same hormonal drop very differently from a woman whose body is depleted, inflamed, and running on stress.
- Magnesium deficiency Research shows up to 70% of women with PMS are deficient in magnesium. Without enough magnesium the nervous system cannot buffer the hormonal drop smoothly, making anxiety, cramps, mood swings, and insomnia significantly worse.
- Blood sugar instability When blood sugar is unstable all month the nervous system is already under stress. Adding a progesterone drop on top makes everything feel far more intense. Stable blood sugar alone dramatically reduces PMS severity for many women.
- Sluggish liver When the liver cannot clear estrogen efficiently, estrogen stays elevated relative to falling progesterone. This imbalance amplifies every PMS symptom including bloating, breast tenderness, and mood disruption.
- Poor gut health The estrobolome, the community of gut bacteria responsible for clearing estrogen, plays a direct role. When gut health is compromised, estrogen recirculates instead of being excreted, worsening the hormonal imbalance in the days before your period.
- Chronic stress Cortisol steals from progesterone all month long. By the time the luteal drop happens, progesterone was already low to begin with, so the crash hits from a much lower starting point and feels far harder.
- Inflammation A diet high in seed oils, refined sugar, and processed food amplifies prostaglandin production which directly drives stronger uterine contractions, more cramping, more pain, and more bloating.
- Dysregulated nervous system Women running on chronic stress or living in a constant state of fight or flight feel hormonal shifts much more intensely. Supporting nervous system regulation is one of the most overlooked and most powerful tools for genuine PMS relief.
PMS is not caused by your hormones changing. Every woman's hormones change. It is often caused by a body that is under-supported, undernourished, overstressed, or lacking the resources needed to support healthy hormone function. And that is something you can absolutely work on.
| Symptom | Possible Root Cause | Where to Start |
|---|---|---|
| Painful cramps | High prostaglandins, inflammation, low magnesium | Anti-inflammatory diet (ginger, tart cherries, extra virgin olive oil, fatty fish), magnesium, liver support |
| Heavy bleeding | Estrogen dominance, low progesterone | Liver support, reduce estrogen load, gut health, iron-rich foods like pomegranate and dark leafy greens |
| PMS mood swings | Low magnesium, low serotonin, blood sugar instability, chronically low progesterone from stress, or excess estrogen from poor liver clearance | Blood sugar balance, magnesium, stress reduction, liver support, anti-inflammatory foods like rosemary and wild blueberries |
| Bloating pre-period | High progesterone, water retention, gut dysbiosis | Gut health, hydration, reduce processed food, gut-calming foods like purslane and ginger |
| Breakouts pre-period | Estrogen and progesterone ratio shift, gut-liver axis imbalance | Liver support, gut health, reduce sugar, sea buckthorn for its skin-calming antioxidants |
| Fatigue across cycle | Iron deficiency, thyroid, adrenal fatigue | Nutrient-dense eating, iron-rich foods like dark leafy greens and pomegranate, omega-3s from fatty fish, stress support |
| Irregular cycles | Chronic stress, under-eating, PCOS, thyroid | Nourishment, stress reduction, cycle tracking |
| Low libido | Low testosterone, pill suppression, chronic stress | Adrenal support, reduce stress, assess pill use |
| Sugar cravings pre-period | Low serotonin, low magnesium, blood sugar instability. Some cravings are completely normal as your metabolism increases before your period. | Reach for natural sugar sources, have structured meals, and eat whole foods. Avoid grazing all day and processed snacks. |
The liver clears excess estrogen. When overloaded, estrogen recirculates and drives most cycle symptoms. Support with bitter foods, cruciferous vegetables, adequate protein, and reducing your toxic load (this includes natural cosmetic products, shampoos, fabrics/clothing, cookware and cleaning products free from hormone-disrupting chemicals).
Your gut is your second brain and is connected to everything. Even if you have no obvious cycle problems, a healthy gut is the foundation of good health. The estrobolome, gut bacteria responsible for estrogen metabolism, plays a direct role in your cycle. When gut health is poor, estrogen recirculates instead of being excreted. Support with fermented foods and fiber.
The adrenals produce cortisol which steals from progesterone under chronic stress. Supporting your nervous system is supporting your hormones.
Nutrition for Each Cycle Phase
What you eat is either feeding your hormones or fighting them. Food is the most powerful lever you have and it costs less than your birth control prescription.
- Fresh seasonal fruit
- Grass-fed, ethically raised meat (beef, lamb, bison, venison)
- Raw dairy where available (raw milk, raw cheese, raw butter, kefir) or full-fat organic as an alternative
- Pasture-raised eggs
- Cold pressed oils (extra virgin olive oil, coconut oil, ghee, avocado oil)
- Local root vegetables and vegetables in season
- Coconut water and fresh pressed juices
- Sourdough or fermented bread if eating bread
- Clean filtered or distilled water. Optional: a water vortexer to energize your water.
- Complex carbs such as organic white or jasmine rice, quinoa, and lentils
Food matters deeply, but quality and sourcing matter even more. Always aim to know where your food comes from.
Arrange your food intake around how physically active you are. For example, if you are not very active, you do not need large amounts of carbohydrates. Vegetables and fruit are enough of a carbohydrate source for most people. Aim for a balanced diet of natural, whole foods and listen to your body for what works and what doesn't.
- Seed oils
- Ultra-processed foods
- Refined sugar especially pre-period
- Plastic products
- Tap water
- Conventional beauty, body and hair care products, especially those with synthetic fragrances
- Conventional plastic period products
- Under-eating or over-training
- Alcohol
- Smoking
| Focus | Why | Foods |
|---|---|---|
| Iron-rich foods | Replace iron lost in blood | Grass-fed beef, lamb, liver, dark leafy greens, lentils, pumpkin seeds |
| Magnesium | Reduces cramping and inflammation | Dark chocolate, cacao, coconut water, avocado |
| Warm, cooked foods | Easier on digestion, warming and comforting | Soups (butternut squash soup), stews, roasted root vegetables, bone broth |
| Omega-3 fats | Reduce prostaglandins (cramping chemicals) | Salmon, sardines, walnuts, flaxseeds (soaked or sprouted) |
| Ginger tea | Natural prostaglandin inhibitor | Fresh ginger root tea, 2–3 cups daily |
| Focus | Why | Foods |
|---|---|---|
| Liver-supporting foods | Support estrogen metabolism as it rises | Swiss chard, bitter herbs, lemon water, artichokes, liver-stimulating herbs, olive oil |
| Zinc | Supports follicle development | Pumpkin seeds, red meat, oysters, eggs |
| Fermented foods | Support gut health and estrobolome | Raw yogurt, kefir, sauerkraut, raw cheese |
| Fresh raw fruit | Digestion is at its strongest in this phase. Raw fruit will help you feel even better. | Seasonal fruits (watermelon, berries, citrus fruit), cucumber, fresh herbs, avocado |
| Focus | Why | Foods |
|---|---|---|
| Zinc-rich foods | Critical for healthy ovulation and LH surge | Oysters, pumpkin seeds, red meat, eggs |
| Antioxidants | Protect the egg from oxidative stress | Berries, cranberries, pomegranate, fresh herbs and spices, olive oil |
| Cruciferous vegetables | Help the liver bind and clear excess estrogen through the gut | Broccoli, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, cabbage |
| Hydration | Cervical mucus production needs adequate hydration | Coconut water, fresh juices, mineral water |
| Focus | Why | Foods |
|---|---|---|
| Magnesium | Supports progesterone, reduces PMS, calms nervous system | Dark chocolate 85%+, pumpkin seeds, leafy greens |
| B6 vitamin | Supports progesterone production and mood | Bananas, potatoes, sunflower seeds, beef liver, eggs, wild salmon |
| Complex carbohydrates | Stabilize blood sugar as progesterone affects insulin sensitivity | Seasonal fruit, root vegetables, sweet potato, white rice, quinoa, wild rice, butternut squash |
| Calcium-rich foods | Reduces PMS symptoms | Raw dairy, sardines with bones, leafy greens, sesame |
| Warming soups and stews | Digestion slows in luteal, cooked foods are easier and more nourishing. Sulfur-rich vegetables are especially supportive eaten as soups. | Bone broth, vegetable broth, butternut squash soup, meat stews, roasted root vegetables |
A note on grains: I am personally not a fan of making grains the center of your diet. Seasonal fruit and root vegetables are your best carb sources. White rice is fine occasionally but keep it as a side, not a staple.
Seed cycling is a holistic practice of eating specific seeds during each half of your cycle to gently support hormone balance. It works best as a complementary practice, not a cure. Some women find it very helpful, others notice little difference. Try it for at least 3 cycles before deciding if it works for you.
Important: when eating any nuts or seeds, always soak and or sprout them first, or at minimum rinse them well. This removes phytic acid and makes them far more digestible and nutritious. The same applies to grains. I personally am not a fan of grains and prefer an ancestral approach centered around seasonal fruit, quality animal foods, and root vegetables. Keep it simple.
- Flaxseeds (soaked or ground) ~ support estrogen metabolism
- Pumpkin seeds (soaked) ~ rich in zinc to support ovulation
How to use: add to smoothies, sprinkle on fruit, stir into raw yogurt, or add to soups
- Sesame seeds (soaked or tahini) ~ support progesterone
- Sunflower seeds (soaked) ~ rich in vitamin E and selenium
How to use: tahini in dressings, seeds in soups, stirred into warm broths, or added to roasted vegetables
Pay attention to how your body responds to different foods, and prioritize those that support smooth digestion, satisfaction, full energy, and make you feel your best!
Movement for Each Cycle Phase
Training the same way every day of the month is like planting seeds in winter and wondering why nothing grows.
Here is the truth: you have been taught that you need to stress your body to be healthy. Push harder, train intensely, go to the gym and exhaust yourself. But for women, this often does the opposite. Intense training stresses your body, disrupts your hormones, can suppress ovulation, and drains your energy over time. You are not lazy for needing gentler movement. Your body is asking for it, and it is right.
What I truly believe in is natural, gentle, joyful movement. My favorites are walking, swimming, cycling in nature, gardening, yoga, stretching, strength training, and playing a sport with friends or family. These give you daily sunlight, connect you to the outdoors, and move your body without excessive stress, supporting your hormones far more than a hard gym session ever could.
Move your body in ways that feel good. Connect with nature. Get sunlight. That is your best workout.
1 hour of daily walking in natural light reduces cortisol, improves insulin sensitivity, supports lymphatic drainage, and boosts mood. Aim for 10,000 steps every day. It is the single best movement practice for hormonal health across all phases and most women underestimate it completely.
Sweating is one of your body's natural ways to support detoxification, circulation, and overall hormone health, so do not underestimate it. In the summer, this comes easily. You can sweat just sitting outside in the heat, and moving your body during these months makes the benefits even greater. In the winter, when sweating naturally happens less, you can recreate those benefits through saunas and slightly more intense movement to support efficient detoxification. Hiking, strength training, rebounding, cycling, stair climbing, dancing, or even a long, fast-paced walk can all work up a good sweat and keep this important detox pathway active all year round (movement can absolutely be enjoyable!).
Your lymphatic system has no pump of its own, it relies entirely on movement to flow properly. Starting your morning with a few minutes of lymphatic stimulation helps clear stagnation overnight, reduces puffiness and bloating, supports detoxification, and gets your circulation going before the rest of your day begins.
Try a few of these each morning:
- Jumping in place and rebounding (mini trampoline) ~ two of the best ways to get the lymph moving quickly
- Walking
- Massaging around your lymph nodes (neck, underarms, groin)
- Body and face dry brushing
- Face gua sha
- Training intensely every day regardless of phase: cortisol accumulation suppresses ovulation
- Fasted intense exercise: spikes cortisol and adrenaline, disrupts blood sugar
- Over-exercising while under-eating: signals famine to the body, suppresses reproductive hormones, lowers metabolism, and encourages fat storage
- Ignoring fatigue in the luteal and menstrual phases
One of the most misunderstood topics in women's health is exercise. Many women believe that more intensity always means better results, that you need to push through exhaustion, sweat through every session, and grind with extreme cardio to be healthy. But your body does not work that way. Gentle, consistent movement like gardening, walking, yoga, and stretching can support your hormones, nervous system, and energy levels far more than constant high-intensity training.
Stress, Nervous System & Hormones
You cannot out-supplement a chronically stressed nervous system. Stress is not just a feeling, it is a hormonal event that disrupts your cycle.
When you are chronically stressed, your adrenal glands produce cortisol continuously. Cortisol and progesterone compete for the same precursor pregnenolone. When the body must choose between survival (cortisol) and reproduction (progesterone), it chooses survival every time. Chronic stress literally steals your progesterone.
- Severe PMS: mood swings, anxiety, irritability before period
- Insomnia in the week before your period
- Short luteal phase (less than 10 days)
- Spotting before period starts
- Irregular or absent cycles
10–20 minutes of morning sunlight within one hour of waking regulates cortisol, sets your circadian rhythm, supports serotonin, and improves sleep all directly benefiting your cycle.
Deep intentional breathing activates the parasympathetic nervous system within minutes. You do not need a specific method. Simply breathe deeply 5 to 10 times, slowly and with intention. Do this before meals, before sleep, or any time stress rises.
Walking barefoot on grass, sitting near water, spending time in nature lowers cortisol measurably. Our ancestors lived in constant contact with the earth, and our bodies still respond to it deeply.
Saying no, protecting your time, and creating space for rest is not selfish, it is necessary for your hormones. Chronic people-pleasing is a real stressor with real hormonal consequences.
Certain herbs such as ashwagandha and maca can gently support adrenal function and help the body adapt to stress over time. Always prioritize food first, and if you choose to supplement, research quality brands carefully.
This is one of the simplest and most effective things you can do to quickly calm your nervous system. Place both hands behind your head, interlacing your fingers so your elbows point out to the sides. Take a breath, and then slowly move only your eyes to the left, holding for 10 to 15 seconds. Then move your eyes slowly to the right, holding again for 10 to 15 seconds. Breathe naturally throughout. You may feel a sigh, a swallow, or a wave of calm. That is your vagus nerve activating, shifting your body from fight or flight into rest and digest. The vagus nerve is the main nerve of the parasympathetic nervous system, and this simple eye movement practice is one of the fastest ways to access it.
Spending time in prayer and reading the Bible can bring deep peace, perspective, and a sense of being grounded and cared for. For many women, this practice calms anxious thoughts and provides genuine comfort to the nervous system, supporting overall stress resilience.
Additional practices: journaling, spending time with people you love, laughing, gentle movement, playing an instrument, and meditation (incredible practice). Do not underestimate these.
Sleep & Recovery
Sleep is when your hormones are made, repaired, and balanced. Poor sleep is one of the most underrated drivers of hormonal dysfunction in women.
- Growth hormone is released in the first 2 hours: repairs tissue and supports metabolism
- Cortisol drops to its lowest point between midnight and 4am, allowing the nervous system to repair
- Progesterone supports deep sleep via GABA receptors: this is why progesterone deficiency causes sleep difficulties
- Melatonin protects eggs from oxidative damage, directly supporting fertility and cycle quality
- Leptin and ghrelin (appetite hormones) are regulated during sleep: poor sleep drives sugar and carb cravings
You may need 1–2 extra hours. Honor this, your body is working hard. Most important phase for deep, restorative sleep.
Sleep quality improves as estrogen rises. You naturally need slightly less sleep and wake with more energy.
Sleep is typically best here. Estrogen and testosterone are high, body temperature is stable.
The most disrupted sleep phase. As progesterone drops in late luteal, sleep becomes fragmented and you may wake during the night. This is the phase where sleep deserves the most intention. Prioritize an early bedtime, eat magnesium-rich foods throughout the day (dark chocolate, pumpkin seeds, leafy greens), and take magnesium glycinate before bed. It is transformative.
If you aim for 7–10 hours of quality sleep (in bed from 8–10pm) every day, you will have healthy hormones!
Even small amounts of light suppress melatonin. Blackout curtains or a sleep mask are non-negotiable for hormonal recovery.
Going to bed and waking at the same time every day regulates cortisol, supports circadian rhythm, and improves all downstream hormones.
Try to have your last meal at least 2 to 4 hours before bed. Eating late burdens digestion and raises body temperature, both of which disrupt sleep quality. My personal recommendation is to stop eating around 5pm. It sounds early but the difference in sleep quality is significant.
Getting sunlight in the morning sets your cortisol rhythm and signals your body to wake up. Getting softer light in the evening, ideally from the sunset, signals your body that night is coming and supports natural melatonin production. Both are free and profoundly effective for sleep quality.
Blue light suppresses melatonin and delays sleep onset. Try to avoid screens a few hours before bed, or wear red light glasses if you need to use your phone or computer in the evening. Particularly impactful in the luteal phase when sleep is already fragile.
Your body temperature naturally drops about 1 degree as you fall asleep, and a cooler room makes this transition far easier, supporting deeper, more restorative sleep. For most of human history, there was no thermostat. Our ancestors slept outdoors or in simple shelters, fully exposed to the natural drop in temperature that happens every night after the sun sets. Our bodies evolved around that cooling cycle, it is part of what tells your nervous system it is safe to rest.
- The sun went down → darkness signaled sleep
- The air temperature dropped → helping the body cool down
- People often slept in simple shelters, tents, huts, or outdoors
- There was more airflow and ventilation
- There were no heated mattresses, electronics, or insulated bedrooms trapping heat
Today, overheated bedrooms work against this natural rhythm. Keeping your room cool, cracking a window, or lowering the thermostat in the evening is one of the simplest ways to recreate the environment your body was actually designed to sleep in.
Optional: Magnesium glycinate (200–400mg) before bed is a well-researched natural support for sleep, especially during the luteal phase when progesterone drops. It activates GABA receptors, the same calming pathway progesterone uses.
Blood Sugar & Women's Hormones
Before addressing any specific hormone, every woman should stabilize her blood sugar. It is the foundation everything else is built on.
Every time you eat refined carbohydrates or sugar, your blood sugar spikes rapidly. Your pancreas releases insulin to bring it back down. This insulin spike disrupts the delicate signaling between your brain and your ovaries affecting FSH, LH, estrogen, and progesterone production.
- Worsened PMS and mood swings
- Increased androgens (PCOS-like symptoms, acne, hair loss)
- Irregular cycles insulin affects LH pulsing
- Weight gain around the middle and hips
- Intensified sugar cravings before your period
- Energy crashes and fatigue throughout the cycle
Eat your meals at or around the same time every day. Do not snack constantly or graze in between meals. Give your body proper meals and proper rest between them. This alone significantly improves insulin sensitivity and blood sugar regulation.
Even a short walk after eating has been shown in multiple studies to significantly reduce post-meal blood sugar spikes. Your muscles absorb glucose directly during movement. Do not sit all day. Include gentle movement throughout your day, and especially after meals.
Consuming most of your food in the first half of the day is one of the most powerful things you can do for blood sugar, metabolism, and sleep. My personal recommendation is to stop eating between 4 and 7pm, with your last meal ideally around 5pm. It takes adjustment, but the results are significant.
Refined sugar, processed carbohydrates, fast food, and highly altered foods (low-fat products, protein bars, sweetened drinks, ready-made meals and packaged snacks) spike insulin rapidly and repeatedly, driving hormonal imbalance and destroying gut health over time. The first and most important thing is to start making as much food at home from whole foods. A few simple swaps you can make are switching regular bread for sourdough and white pasta for buckwheat pasta (and if you eat white pasta, make it at home and cook it al dente!).
Under-eating is a blood sugar stressor. Skipping meals spikes cortisol and disrupts insulin sensitivity. Nourish your body enough throughout the day, especially in the luteal phase when your needs genuinely increase.
Instead of refined sugar, reach for natural sources your body actually recognizes: raw honey, maple syrup, seasonal and local fruit, and dates occasionally. These are the only sweeteners your body truly needs.
Most people consume far more carbohydrates than our bodies were ancestrally designed for, often without even realizing it, because vegetables and fruit alone already provide a meaningful amount. Instead of building your plate around carbs, prioritize your other macronutrients: protein, healthy fats, sugar from fruit, and root vegetables. You can absolutely include some white rice, quinoa, or sourdough now and then, just do not make it the staple of every single meal. That said, if you exercise a lot, your carbohydrate needs increase, and that is completely fine. You always have to accommodate your eating to your lifestyle.
Hydration & Mineral Balance
Your hydration needs change across your cycle. Plain water is not always enough and being bloated does not mean you are hydrated.
| Phase | What's Happening | Hydration Strategy |
|---|---|---|
| Menstrual | Blood loss, hormone crash, electrolytes depleted | Filtered water with real salt, filtered water with lemon, coconut water, ginger/raspberry leaf/chamomile teas, bone broth |
| Follicular | Estrogen rising, sodium excretion higher | Increase water intake, mineral-rich water, fresh juices, hydrating fruits |
| Ovulation | Cervical mucus production requires hydration | Increase water + electrolytes, coconut water, hydrating fruits and vegetables |
| Luteal | Progesterone causes water retention, cells still dehydrated | Drink MORE clean water + electrolytes to flush retained fluid. Reduce processed sodium. |
- Magnesium depleted fastest during luteal and menstrual phases. Dark chocolate, pumpkin seeds, leafy greens, magnesium glycinate supplement
- Potassium regulates fluid balance and reduces bloating. Coconut water, bananas, avocado, sweet potato
- Real Sodium ~ Use quality unrefined salts: Himalayan pink salt, Celtic grey sea salt, Kosher crystal salt, Jacobsen salt, Maldon crystal salt. I personally use flower of sea salt from the island of Pag in Croatia. Stay away from bleached, iodized table salt.
Adding a pinch of salt to water became a huge trend, and while electrolytes genuinely matter, this is one of the most misunderstood pieces of health advice out there. A little goes a long way, and honestly, you do not need to be salting your water every single day. It is a bit of a misconception. It is also worth saying clearly: real, unrefined salt is good for you, but bleached, iodized table salt is never a good choice.
For example, I live in Croatia and swim in the sea regularly. Just from that alone, my skin and body absorb plenty of natural minerals and salt. On top of that, most people already salt their food while cooking and at the table. Add salted water on top of all that, and it quickly becomes too much. Real hydration comes from filtered water, electrolyte-rich natural drinks (coconut water), real living food (especially fruit), and water infused with herbs, fruit, or some lemon juice, not from constantly adding sodium to everything you drink.
Historically, salt was actually quite rare and expensive. For most of human history, people ate far less sodium than we do today, salt had to be mined, traded, or evaporated from seawater, and it was treated as a valuable, limited resource. The word "salary" actually comes from the Latin word salarium, linked to salt, a highly valued commodity in ancient Rome. Diets were naturally lower in sodium and far higher in potassium from fresh fruits and vegetables. Our modern food environment has flipped this completely, with sodium hidden in nearly every processed product.
Do not get me wrong, sodium is essential. But like most things, it is about not overdoing it. And again, there is no single intake that fits everyone. It hugely depends on your activity level and how much you sweat throughout the day. Listen to your body, do not overdo sodium, and let real, whole foods do most of the work.
Contains gingerols that inhibit prostaglandins the same mechanism as ibuprofen. Multiple clinical trials show ginger is as effective as mefenamic acid for period pain. 2–3 cups daily during menstruation. Start one day before your period for best results.
The most traditional women's herb. Tones and relaxes uterine muscles, reduces cramping and heavy bleeding over time. Best used consistently throughout the cycle not just during your period.
Reduces period pain, calms the nervous system, supports sleep in the luteal phase. Studies comparing chamomile with NSAIDs found comparable results for period pain relief.
"One tea for your cramps. One for your uterus. One for your nervous system."
Environmental Toxins & Hormonal Health
You cannot out-eat a toxic environment. Endocrine disruptors in everyday products are silently interfering with your hormones and most women have no idea.
Endocrine disruptors are chemicals that mimic, block, or interfere with your hormones particularly estrogen. They enter through skin, food, water, and air. They accumulate over time and contribute to estrogen dominance, thyroid issues, fertility problems, and cycle disruption.
- Plastic food containers and water bottles (BPA, phthalates)
- Conventional beauty and skincare products (parabens, synthetic fragrance)
- Commercial deodorants (aluminum, synthetic fragrance)
- Conventional cleaning products (synthetic fragrances, chlorine)
- Pesticides on non-organic produce (glyphosate especially)
- Conventional laundry detergents and fabric softeners
- Non-stick cookware (PFAS forever chemicals)
Never heat food in plastic. Store food in glass containers. Use a stainless steel or glass water bottle. This single swap reduces daily endocrine disruptor exposure significantly.
Your skin is your largest organ, what goes on it goes in you. Avoid parabens, synthetic fragrance (listed as "parfum"), aluminum, and PEGs. Look for certified organic products for everything you put on your skin, including makeup.
Conventional tampons and pads contain pesticide residues, bleach, and synthetic fragrance in direct contact with highly absorptive tissue. Organic cotton pads or period underwear are a cleaner option. I am personally not a fan of tampons. I believe the natural flow of menstrual blood is exactly that, natural, and interrupting it by holding it inside the body is not something I feel aligned with. This is simply my own perspective, and you are always welcome to do your own research and choose what feels right for you.
White distilled vinegar as fabric softener, baking soda for cleaning power, tea tree oil for antimicrobial properties and for killing dust mites, bed bugs, and bacteria especially important if you have pets. These replace almost every commercial cleaning product effectively and without the hormonal cost. Also look for a natural laundry detergent. I personally buy mine from a small shop in Croatia, made with lavender essential oil, and I love it.
Tap water contains traces of hormones, pharmaceuticals, chlorine, and heavy metals. A quality filter (reverse osmosis or activated carbon) is one of the best investments for long-term hormonal health.
What you cook with matters just as much as what you cook. Swap non-stick or Teflon pans for stainless steel or cast iron, both heat beautifully and will not leach PFAS into your food. Switch out plastic sponges for stainless steel scrubbers, natural wood brushes, or bamboo dish brushes, swap synthetic cleaning rags for linen cleaning cloths, switch the utensils and spoons you eat from for wooden or stainless steel versions, and choose ceramic plates and bowls over plastic ones, or eat straight off a wooden board, honestly one of my favorite ways to eat. These small kitchen upgrades add up to a meaningfully lower toxic load, meal after meal.
Most conventional toilet paper is bleached and treated with chemical processing agents, residues that come into direct contact with extremely sensitive, absorptive tissue. Switching to unbleached bamboo toilet paper, or even better, using a bidet and cleaning with water, is a simple, low-effort upgrade that removes this exposure completely. I cover this in much more depth, along with two other surprising swaps, in my YouTube video "3 Things Sabotaging Your Hormones Before 9AM (What I Use Now)", definitely worth a watch.
For detailed product swaps and brand recommendations, visit my YouTube channel, Anja Gregoran, and watch "I Swapped These 9 Things and My Hormones Finally Balanced." In it, I share the exact products I use and recommend.
You'll also find some of my favorite brands and product recommendations in the final module of this course.
And if you'd like to continue learning alongside a community of like-minded women, join my Skool community, Naturally with Anja. It's a space where we share tips, experiences, and inspiration, learn from one another, and support each other on the journey to better health.
As a member, you'll also receive Modus Vivendi: Timeless Lessons from The Adriatic, where I share simple lessons inspired by the Mediterranean lifestyle, from nourishing foods and healthy habits to a slower, more balanced way of living.
⚬ YouTube: Anja Gregoran
⚬ Skool: Naturally with Anja
Fertility Awareness Basics
Whether or not you want to conceive right now, understanding your fertility signs is the most empowering thing you can do for your body literacy.
🌺 So many women put off or underestimate the impact of swapping their products, eliminating harmful makeup, getting restful sleep, or prioritizing whole foods, until they finally realize that none of this is optional if they want their hormones to actually function. Years of overload on the body, through toxins, stress, and poor nourishment, can genuinely contribute to fertility struggles. A woman's nutrition, health, lifestyle, and overall well-being before and during pregnancy can influence fertility, pregnancy outcomes, and child development (the environment a baby develops in absolutely matters). Here is what I want you to take from this: take care of your body, and most importantly, never think you are cursed or simply unable to have a child. Your body is responding to its environment, and environments can change. I have seen this firsthand. A family member of my boyfriend and his wife struggled for a long time to conceive. After fasting for 30 days together in prayer, they finally got pregnant. This reflects something powerful: the body has an INCREDIBLE capacity to heal and align once we remove what is interfering and give it the right conditions, support, and faith. I share this not to say that prolonged fasting is the only way or to create fear, but to empower you to make healthy decisions every day and to always know that your body is SO SO powerful! I mean, after all, it is GOD'S DESIGN!
| Phase | Mucus Appearance | What It Means |
|---|---|---|
| After period | Dry or nothing | Low estrogen, not fertile |
| Follicular | Sticky, white, crumbly | Estrogen rising, approaching fertility |
| Pre-ovulation | Creamy, lotion-like | Fertile estrogen high |
| Ovulation | Clear, stretchy, egg-white | Peak fertility ovulation imminent |
| Post-ovulation | Dry again | Progesterone dominant, not fertile |
Your resting temperature is lower in the follicular phase and rises by 0.2–0.5 degrees after ovulation due to progesterone. Taking your temperature every morning before getting up and charting it confirms ovulation occurred. Ovulation is not important just for fertility, but also for healthy libido and your natural hormone production. Without ovulation, none of these are fully supported.
If you are on the pill, you are not ovulating and therefore not producing your natural hormones. Your cervical mucus is suppressed. Your BBT is flat.
The pill comes with a range of side effects and health consequences that are deeply underreported, including changes in mood, libido, gut health, nutrient depletion, and long-term hormonal disruption. Many women experience a version of themselves on the pill that feels flat, disconnected, and unlike who they truly are, without ever connecting it to the pill itself.
If you are currently on the pill and it resonates with you to come off it, I would encourage you to do so slowly and with proper support. Give your body time to reawaken. It can take 3 to 6 months or longer for your natural cycle to reestablish. Everything in this guide is here to serve that process. Address the root of your problems and finally let your body work naturally, the way it was always supposed to, without synthetics interfering with it. I assure you, you will feel better than you ever have.
We rarely think of our clothing as part of our health, but the fabrics that sit against our most sensitive, reproductive areas all day deserve real attention. Your underwear and bras are in constant, direct contact with delicate tissue for hours every single day.
Synthetic fabrics like polyester, nylon, and spandex do not breathe. They trap heat and moisture, hold onto chemical dyes and finishes, and generate small electrostatic charges right against your skin. In research by Dr. Ahmed Shafik, animals fitted with polyester showed reduced fertility over time, an effect he connected to exactly these electrostatic fields created by synthetic fibers.
Choose organic cotton, linen, wool, and silk. These breathe, regulate temperature and moisture, and let your body stay in its natural balance. For underwear and bras especially, organic cotton is your best friend.
You do not need to replace your whole wardrobe overnight. But your underwear and bras are non-negotiable, they touch your most sensitive areas all day long. Swap them to natural fibers first, and do it soon. It is one of the simplest, most overlooked swaps for your reproductive health.
Beginner Cycle Syncing Guide
Cycle syncing is the practice of aligning your lifestyle with the natural rhythms of your hormonal cycle food, movement, work, social life, and rest.
| Area | Menstrual ❄ | Follicular 🌿 | Ovulation ☀ | Luteal 🍂 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Energy | Low, inward | Rising, fresh | Peak, magnetic | Declining, earthy |
| Movement | Walking, gentle stretching, yoga, rest | Hiking, dancing, cycling in nature, pilates, swimming, strength training | Hiking, dancing, open water swimming, longer walks, strength training, energetic movement that feels joyful | Walking, gentle yoga, slow cycling, stretching, swimming |
| Food focus | Warm, iron-rich, nourishing | Light, fresh, liver foods | Zinc, antioxidants | Magnesium, complex carbs |
| Social life | Solitude, close people | Small social, curious | Socialize freely, lead | Selective, then withdraw |
| Tasks & energy | Rest, reflect, take things slow | Plan, start new things, brainstorm | Take on challenges, have important conversations, show up fully | Complete tasks, tie up loose ends, focus on details, organize |
| Self-care | Rest, heat, warm baths | Try new things, explore | Connect, celebrate | Nesting, boundaries, quiet |
✦ Story Time ✦
Most of my cycle I just have fruit in the morning, light and hydrating, and I feel great! But this time I felt hungrier earlier in the morning, so I ate more. That is what a healthy relationship with your body looks like, simply listening. I also reached for more dark chocolate, more raw honey, sweeter fruit, and more hydration too, and craved more carb-rich foods, so I had some sweet potatoes and potatoes yesterday. I felt thirstier, had some coconut water, and just followed what my body was asking for.
What I have also noticed is that once your body comes back into true balance, you genuinely do not feel hungry all month in a way that demands five meals a day. I am personally not a fan of that approach, it is not natural or ancestral to eat three large meals plus snacks in between. There is a common message out there telling women to "make your body feel safe" by eating constantly throughout the day. And yes, certain phases of your cycle will genuinely bring more hunger. But a lot of the time, that much snacking and eating simply is not what your body actually wants.
So many days I just have fruit in the morning and one big, nourishing meal, and I feel great. When that meal is nutrient dense, my body gets everything it needs. I do not have to snack five times a day, and I do not have to eat three huge meals either. I think this is a real misconception many women are sharing right now, often shaped by what we are taught in nutrition programs or in school, in a time when we have access to more food than any generation before us ever did. Eating five meals a day with snacks in between is not inherently natural, and it will not make you healthier or more fulfilled.
So the simplest thing you can do is listen to your body. Your hormones shift, your needs shift, and your job is just to eat nutrient-dense meals, enough that you feel satisfied and are not left hungry again soon after.
This alone will change your relationship with your cycle. Cancel the gym class. Go to bed earlier. Make warm food. This is not you being lazy, it is actually you being intelligent. You need to stop pushing through exhaustion and calling it discipline.
Important conversations, new projects, challenges, anything that requires your full energy → schedule these when your estrogen and testosterone are high. You will show up better and it will feel more natural.
When cravings hit before your period, do not feel bad about yourself. Your body genuinely needs more nourishment in this phase. Eat more protein, magnesium-rich foods, and natural carbohydrates from fruit and root vegetables.
A simple habit many women find comforting during their cycle (especially during menstruation) is keeping their body warm, particularly their feet and lower abdomen. Warmth can encourage relaxation, support circulation, and help some women feel more comfortable when experiencing cramps or tension.
Try:
- 🧦 Wearing warm socks
- 🍵 Drinking warm beverages
- 🛁 Taking a warm bath (Epsom salts, magnesium flakes, lavender, or ginger)
- ♨️ Using a heating pad on the lower abdomen
- 🚶♀️ Gentle movement such as walking
- 🥘 Eating regular, nourishing meals
Your 30-Day Cycle Health Action Plan
Small, consistent actions compound into transformation. This is not about being perfect. It is about showing up for yourself, one day at a time.
Small, consistent actions compound into transformation. If you miss a day, simply pick up where you left off.
As I mentioned throughout this guide, the basics genuinely do most of the work: morning sunlight, restful sleep, eating real, natural foods, drinking clean filtered water, eating seasonally, and spending time with people you love. Regulating your stress as much as possible matters more than most people realize too, between social media, comparison, and constant information overload, stress is genuinely one of the biggest challenges we face today. Get those foundations right and healthy hormones will follow.
But some people, on the other hand, just like having it written down on paper, a clear plan with exactly what they should do and when. That is exactly why I created the 30-day plan below. Think of it as your starting point, a simple, guided way to begin swapping, resetting, and building momentum one day at a time.
Frequently Asked Questions
My honest recommendation is to consider coming off the pill if you can. Use the foundational modules of this guide to build your health now so that when you are ready, your body has everything it needs to reawaken. Everything here is designed to help you get to a place where your natural cycle is strong, symptom-free, and something you can actually work with.
| Nutrient | Why It Matters |
|---|---|
| ☀ Vitamin D | Hormone production, immune function, mood regulation |
| 🌿 Magnesium | PMS relief, sleep, nervous system, progesterone support |
| 🏟 Omega-3 fatty acids | Reduces inflammation, lowers prostaglandins, supports mood |
| 🩸 Iron | Lost during menstruation, essential for energy and thyroid |
| 🥚 Vitamin B12 | Energy, nervous system, red blood cell production |
| 🦪 Zinc | Ovulation, follicle development, immune function |
| 🦋 Iodine | Thyroid health, metabolic function, breast tissue health |
| 🌿 Folate (B9) | Cell repair, hormone balance, essential pre-pregnancy |
| 🥜 Selenium | Thyroid function, antioxidant protection, fertility |
| 🍇 Boron | Supports estrogen metabolism, bone health, brain function |
Always prioritize getting these from food first. If supplementing, research quality brands and choose third-party tested options. One brand I personally trust and have found to be excellent quality is Global Healing Institute.
Quick Reference Cheat Sheets
Save or screenshot these. Over time you will not even need a cheat sheet. You will naturally listen to your body and know how to support it best without thinking about it every single day.
❄ Menstrual Phase
- Rest, slow walks, gentle yoga
- Iron-rich foods beef, lamb, liver
- Ginger tea for cramps
- Warm soups and stews
- Magnesium for cramping
- Early bedtime, extra sleep
- Say no to obligations freely
🌿 Follicular Phase
- Increase exercise intensity gradually
- Fresh foods, salads, fermented foods
- Plan and start new projects
- Schedule social events
- Zinc-rich foods for follicle health
- Liver-supporting foods bitter greens
- Try something new energy is fresh
☀ Ovulatory Phase
- Peak performance workouts
- Important meetings and presentations
- Antioxidant-rich foods, zinc
- Connect, socialize, be visible
- Hydrate well for cervical mucus
- Enjoy your natural magnetism
🍂 Luteal Phase
- Moderate exercise, then gentle
- Magnesium food and supplement
- Complex carbs (root vegetables)
- Protect your energy, set limits
- Prioritize sleep; magnesium before bed
- Reduce sugar; worsens PMS dramatically
- Finish and complete tasks detail phase
🍵 Cycle Teas
- Ginger; cramps (prostaglandin inhibitor)
- Red raspberry leaf; uterine toner
- Chamomile; nervous system, sleep
- Nettle; iron, minerals (menstrual)
- Peppermint; bloating, digestion
- Spearmint; androgen support
- Lemon balm; anxiety, sleep (luteal)
☀ Daily Foundations
- Prioritize fresh, raw, natural food
- Morning sunlight within 1 hour of waking
- Walk after meals
- Screens off a few hours before bed
- Watch the sunset before bed
- Warm lemon water on waking
🌿 Liver Support Foods
- Bitter greens arugula, dandelion
- Cruciferous vegetables broccoli, cabbage
- Lemon water daily
- Beets bile production
- Artichokes liver protection
- Garlic and onions sulfur compounds
- Adequate protein liver enzyme production
✓ Healthy Period Checklist
- Cycle 24–35 days long
- Period lasts 3–7 days
- Bright red blood, minimal clots
- Mild discomfort, not debilitating pain
- Light to moderate flow
- Mild PMS, not severe mood disruption
- Ovulation confirmed by BBT or mucus
⚠ Avoid Always
- Seed oils
- Ultra-processed foods
- Refined sugar especially pre-period
- Plastic products
- Tap water
- Conventional beauty, body and hair care products, especially those with synthetic fragrances
- Conventional plastic period products
- Under-eating or over-training
- Excess alcohol. A glass of quality wine or homemade alcohol shared with a meal from time to time can be part of a healthy, balanced lifestyle, especially when enjoyed slowly and in good company. Even in biblical times, wine was commonly shared with meals and often diluted with water.
- Smoking
You Were Always Meant to Feel This Good.
This is the beginning of something real. I genuinely hope this guide helps you feel at home in your body again.
I know I've covered a lot in this course, but don't overcomplicate it. If you eat real, natural food, sleep well, get sunlight, move your body, manage stress, and reduce your exposure to hormone-disrupting chemicals, your body will heal and thrive.
This isn't about doing everything perfectly, obsessing over cycle syncing, or tracking every detail of your life. It's about returning to the foundations.
Focus on the big rocks first, trust your body, and everything else will take care of itself.
These are products I personally use, love, and trust. I only recommend what I genuinely believe in.
Clean skincare and natural deodorant. One of my most trusted brands for hormone-safe body care.
Natural handmade soaps and body care.
→ sapunerija.com
My favourite countertop reverse osmosis water filter. No installation needed and removes the vast majority of contaminants from your water.
A water vortexer that restructures and energizes your water after filtering, bringing back the natural movement that still, piped water loses.
Clean, non-toxic makeup brand I personally love and trust.
→ arazabeauty.com
My personal favourite health tracking device. Tracks your cycle, body temperature, readiness, and sleep in one place. Worth every penny.
UK Blue Light Glasses. Wear these in the evening to protect melatonin production and support better sleep. Essential if you use screens after sunset.
One of the best supplement brands I have found. Clean, high quality, and effective. I particularly love their Chemical and Heavy Metal Cleanse Program.
→ Shop Chemical & Heavy Metal Cleanse
Clean, non-toxic makeup that actually works. Use my link for $20 off your first order over $50.
→ Shop with my link ($20 off)
All my favourite brands in one place.
→ linktr.ee/anjagregoranj
One of my favourite evening rituals. Warm, grounding, and genuinely nourishing.
- 1 mug milk of choice (raw goat, raw cow, coconut, homemade hemp or almond milk)
- Warm gently on the stove
- 1–2 tsp organic raw cacao (low heavy metal tested if possible)
- Pinch of Ceylon cinnamon
- 1 tsp melted ghee and or coconut oil
- Raw honey or maple syrup to taste
If using nuts or seeds for homemade milk, soak overnight and rinse well before blending.
- Melted coconut oil
- Melted cacao butter
- 100% raw organic cacao powder
- Melted ghee
- Raw honey
- Vanilla cinnamon infused maple syrup (Vermont is the best)
- Pinch of sea salt
- Vanilla extract
- Chopped nuts (soaked)
- Coconut flakes
- Cinnamon
- Flaky salt
- Dried berries
- Amber or clear glass spray bottle
- Distilled water
- A few drops of witch hazel or vodka (helps the oil mix)
- 15–20 drops essential oil of choice
- Liquid castile soap
- Warm distilled water
- Essential oil of choice
- Vegetable glycerin
- White vinegar
- Washing soda or baking soda
- Salt to thicken
- Lemon or lemon juice
- 100% pure beeswax with no additives or synthetic fragrance. They purify the air, release negative ions, and burn cleanly without toxins
- Conventional candles are made from paraffin (a petroleum byproduct) and release toxic chemicals when burned
- Synthetic fragrance in candles is one of the most overlooked sources of indoor air pollution, it disrupts your hormones and can cause allergies, sinus issues, skin issues, headaches, and even fertility issues
The most impactful for hormone health are peace lily, snake plant, and English ivy. They target the chemicals most commonly linked to endocrine disruption.
| Plant | What It Does |
|---|---|
| Peace Lily | Removes benzene, formaldehyde, trichloroethylene, ammonia. Great for bedrooms, thrives in low light. |
| Snake Plant | Converts CO2 to oxygen at night. Removes formaldehyde, benzene, xylene. Nearly impossible to kill. |
| Spider Plant | Removes formaldehyde and xylene. Safe for pets. Easy to grow. |
| English Ivy | Highly effective at reducing airborne mold and fecal particles. Great for bathrooms. |
| Aloe Vera | Releases oxygen at night, removes formaldehyde and benzene. Also signals poor air quality through brown spots. Great for skin and gut healing. |
| Boston Fern | One of the best for removing formaldehyde. Acts as a natural humidifier. |
| Rubber Plant | Excellent at removing formaldehyde. Very low maintenance. |
| Areca Palm | One of the best natural humidifiers. Filters xylene and toluene. |
| Chrysanthemum | Removes benzene, formaldehyde, ammonia. Needs bright light. |
| Pothos | Removes benzene, formaldehyde, xylene, toluene. Extremely hard to kill. Perfect for beginners. |
| Flower | What It Does |
|---|---|
| Lavender | Reduces airborne bacteria and mold. The scent alone measurably lowers cortisol. |
| Jasmine | Purifies air and reduces anxiety. Improves sleep quality which directly supports hormones. |
| Geranium | Removes airborne bacteria and repels insects naturally without toxic chemicals. |
| Gerbera Daisy | Releases oxygen at night and filters trichloroethylene and benzene. |
| Roses | Absorb mold spores and some VOCs. Rose essential oil has phytoestrogenic properties. |
| Calendula | Anti-inflammatory, antifungal, edible petals. Particularly supportive for women's cycles. |