Restoring regular periods in young adult women using Functional Medicine

There are many reasons for paying attention to your menstrual health. If you do not experience regular monthly periods and there is no reasonable explanation, seeking the help of a Functional Medicine practitioner can be wise.

What is Amenorrhea?

Amenorrhea is defined as lack of menstruation (no periods) and Secondary Amenorrhea is the absence of periods when you used to have them.

Typically a GP will advise you to take the pill but this only results in “fake” bleeds. It is “real” and regular periods that are essential because:

• Regular monthly periods are equivalent to your monthly report card signalling that all is well with your health and metabolism.
• They are a sign you are ovulating and making healthy levels of oestrogen and progesterone which have key benefits for your MOOD, METABOLISM, HAIR AND BONE HEALTH which will be discussed below.

Temporary Disturbances

There may of course be temporary menstrual disturbances in your monthly cycle following:

• Significant illness
• Stress
• Dieting – (Eating too few calories or even too few carbohydrates can result in a starvation response shutting down ovulation. Your periods should regulate once your body has restored itself.)

Consistent Disturbances

However if you are consistently missing periods then working with a Nutritionist / Functional Medicine Practitioner can help you identify the underlying cause and then develop an appropriate personalised health plan to include:

• Nutritional interventions
• Stress management techniques & Natural Therapies
• Testing and Supplementation

This is essential for you in reclaiming your health and wellbeing for your menstruating years and beyond.

A practitioner like myself will help you by asking some key questions and then potentially dig deeper using testing (such as the Dutch Hormone Test) depending on your answers.

Key Questions

Do you ovulate regularly? If not, why do you not ovulate?

• Do you have PCOS / Insulin Resistance?
• Do you have Primary Ovarian Insufficiency (POI)?
• Do you have Coeliac Disease?
• Do you have Low Thyroid? (which affects 1 in 10 women)
• Are you under-eating or in energy deficit?
• Are you deficient in Zinc, Iodine Selenium or Vitamin D?

Restoring ovulation and the healthy production of Oestrogen and Progesterone

Identifying the underlying cause and restoring ovulation will be key as this signals that you are making healthy levels of oestrogen and progesterone which are key for:

1. Mood – they are like yin and yang with Oestrogen lifting you up and Progesterone calming you down.
2. Healthy Metabolism & Body Weight – Oestrogen and progesterone together support these as Oestrogen increases insulin sensitivity & helps prevent Insulin resistance whilst Progesterone enhances the production of thyroid hormone and thus increase metabolic rate.
3. Healthy Hair – oestrogen and progesterone together support healthy hair and with irregular / absent periods when we are not making enough of it, this can cause hair loss.
4. Bones – amenorrhea can result in loss of bone density, increased risk of bone fracture and osteoporosis in a relatively short time as both oestrogen and progesterone are essential for bone health. This last factor alone should provide a compelling reason to identify and resolve the underlying cause for their loss of periods.

Chronic Inflammation

Another key question is – Do you have chronic inflammation that is interfering with your hormones communicating? (Remember hormones are chemical messengers).

Chronic inflammation can be the result of stress, insulin resistance, environmental toxins and digestive problems.

Recent research has shown that Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals which are now ubiquitous in our environment (think BPA, Dioxins, Phthalates, Fire retardants, Arsenic, Mercury etc.) can contribute to reproductive and period problems.

Gut Microbiome

In addition, if you do not have a healthy gut microbiome then this will impact your hormonal health in a number of ways.

A healthy gut microbiome:

• Regulates your HPA axis
• Activates thyroid hormone
• Reduces inflammation
• Metabolises oestrogen

So… dysbiosis (an unhealthy gut microbiome) can in itself cause period problems.