Fueling Your Hormones & Eating according to your cycle with Nicole Jardim & Morgane Leten

Welcome to beyond the Cycle, the podcast that's here to help you take control of your hormonal health and feel good every day. No matter where you are in life, whether you are thinking about quitting the pill, navigating a regular cycle, have no cycle at all, or transitioning into menopause, this is the perfect place for honest conversations and expert insights.

Just living in harmony with your cycle. And you'll know that, yes, there might be a little bit more bloating. You might not be able to fit into the jeans, but there's a reason for that, and it comes to an end, so.

So get ready for some real talk. This is beyond the Cycle. Today's topic, nutrition and your hormones. Our special guest is Nicole Jardim, a certified women's health coach and author known for expertise in addressing hormonal imbalances through natural and holistic approaches. Hello, Nicole.

Hi.

Thank you. And we're also joined by Morgan Leighton, founder, co founder of Good Woman, who has a strong connection with Nicole because Nicole wrote the foreword for Morgan's latest book on nutrition and the menstrual cycle, making this the perfect opportunity to explore how they both advocate for women's health. Welcome, Morgan.

Hello. Hi.

So how did you two meet? Nicole, you're based in the U.S. morgan, you're from Belgium. How did this come about?

Oh, well, I remember meeting you in person for the first time at the business of birth control.

Yeah.

Yeah. For me, it was an unforgettable night. So I was so happy. It was incredible.

I think they did such a fantastic job of really showing people how detrimental it can be, but also offering a number of perspectives that most people will never see. Yeah, I know.

Yeah, it's great.

So you wrote the foreword for the book. Why did you find it important to do that?

I just feel so strongly about uplifting others in this space. I feel as though we just don't have enough of us doing what we're doing, and we're up against quite a battle, in case you all haven't noticed. And it's so challenging right now for women who are struggling with all manner of hormonal health. And I have a certification program. I teach others to do the work that I do. So I feel like a rising tide lifts all boats. And for your book, I just loved the concept of it so much. And I feel also, too, that we need women in many countries speaking about what we're talking about. And so I was really excited for your book because I don't know, really anyone else in Europe who has written Anything like what you've written. I'm sure there are, but I just feel as though we're at the point where women are demanding more information. They're really sick and tired of being sick and tired. And so I think that the more languages, the more outlets, the more opportunities to discover this information, the better. And I was thrilled to be asked.

Thank you for doing that. And like you said, I think we are still in the beginning and awareness is so important in this stage. The more we can talk about, the better. The more we can find other women being passionate about that topic. It's important to elevate each other instead of protecting.

You're often called the period fixer. Yeah, it's true. You've helped so many women improve their menstrual health. What inspired you to start working in this field?

Oh, girl, do you have all day? Let's see. You know, I was very unlikely, truly. It was not something that I ever had my sights set on. I had really terrible period problems when I was about, I started like about 13, 14. And I just remember my mom saying to me over and over again, well, you know, I was in bed for three days at a time every month. And so this is not so bad. And I think that we view our menstrual cycles and our health issues through the lens of our parents experiences, usually when we're younger. And finally I'd had enough. I'd had really heavy, painful periods. I had very irregular cycles, major mood issues. And finally my mom said, okay, we're going to the gynecologist. And so I went and she put me on the pill after I explained all these problems. And I thought, oh, finally I'm gonna.

Be on the pill.

I'm gonna be like all my cool friends. And then I. Yeah, so that's what end. And so ultimately the pill caused all kinds of issues like joint pain, gut health issues. My hair was falling out. I had developed melasma all over my face. I'll never forget a dermatologist says to me, well, you know, you're cute. So the melasma is not a big deal. Yes, I know.

Really?

Yeah, that's what she said. And so, you know, it was like silly, just condescending attitudes from doctors like that for years. And so finally an acupuncturist mentioned that maybe it might be the pill that was causing all these problems. And that was really what led me to finding alternatives. It was sort of the catalyst for me. And so yeah, I continued to just change my diet and lifestyle while working with this acupuncturist. And then I ended up studying to be a health coach. And the rest is kind of history.

Yes. Yeah. Yes.

Yeah.

In our previous episode, we also discussed how our hormones fluctuate during our cycle. Morgan, you wrote a book about this as well. Can you explain to me in a basic and simple way how that works, that cycle?

So there is four phases in a menstrual cycle, and your cycle starts on the first day that you are bleeding. That's the menstrual phase. After that, you have the follicular phase, then the ovulation phase and the premenstrual phase. And I like to compare them with the four seasons. Just like winter, you prefer maybe to stay inside, cozy. And then after winter, you have spring. Then you feel that you have more energy, and it makes sense because estrogen is on the rise to prep for ovulation. And then ovulation, of course, is summer. And during summer, you feel normally at your best. You feel attractive, self confident. And we never talk about it. Yeah, spring ovulation is amazing. And we never talk about these phases of the cycle. It's often like, oh, you're moody. It's gonna be. Your period is coming. It's never like, wow, you look gorgeous. Are you ovulating? Nobody told me that.

No, nobody ever told me that either.

It's always like, oh, it's almost your period.

It's always in a negative way.

Always in a negative way. So. And I think it's important that we don't normalize the symptoms that we experience, because like you said, your mother said, like, okay, it's only three days. You're lucky if you only three days.

If you're not in bed for the whole three days of your cycle. I know.

So we don't have to normalize the symptoms, but it's not because they are common that they are normal, you know? Yeah.

The messaging is that, well, you know, puberty is going to be terrible. Teenage periods, and all of that's not so fun either. Pregnancy is really challenging. Postpartum sucks, too. And then perimenopause is a nightmare, and then there's menopause, and then you die. And I just think, wow, really? Is that the messaging that women get for their whole lives? I think not. I reject that. And I feel like we all should.

And that's why we are here, I think.

Yes, exactly.

And we should teach younger people, boys and girls about this. But maybe also the men in our life, our partners, why is it important that they also become aware of our cycles, Morgan.

Well, in my case, I have a long term relationship, so we went through ups and downs. And I have the impression that since he has a better understanding of my cycle and I have a better understanding of his cycle, because men have a cycle too. We have less heavy conversations, we understand each other better, communication is better. So, yeah, I think it's important that he also has some understanding of how I feel and how my cycle is.

Yeah, definitely. So the men in our life, but then also ourselves, obviously, to understand our bodies. But if we do want to understand them, do we need to stop using contraception altogether?

In my opinion, yes. I feel like we do. Because when we think about the fact that oral contraception, particularly the birth control pill, but others as well, we've got the vaginal ring, we've got the patch, things like that, the depo shot that ultimately stops ovulation from happening. And ovulation is the entire reason we have a menstrual cycle. So ultimately, yes, I believe we do. So that once we normalize our ovulatory cycles, we can then start to understand our unique bodies and how the hormonal fluctuations affect us. So, yes, I really do fundamentally believe that.

Okay, and food can support our bodies within that context. Right. So how did you first come across that idea? Why do you believe it's so beneficial?

I would say that food, 100% is first and foremost what we should be bringing into our lives as a first foundational step. And when I think about the fact that the nutrients that we consume are building our blood, our bones, our hair, our skin, all of our tissues, our organs, we want to aim for as many nutrients as possible in our diets. And so I think that what is really challenging is that we're not educated about any of this. We're not educated about the nutrients that we should be consuming to support our ovarian health and our overall menstrual cycle, our fertility. And I also think too, I hear a lot from, well, you know, what about stress? Isn't stress the thing that we need to be focused on most? And I always say no, actually it's food. Because if you don't have the nutrients to support the systems in your body, you're never gonna be able to handle the stress in your life. So I think that that is the number one, is really where we start.

And that's how you've helped so many people improve their hormonal health.

How?

Usually I start with questions around what's going on in their lives. So first of all, what Are you eating and how much of it are you eating and how many meals are you having and how are you eating? Are you eating standing up while feeding your children on the subway like I used to do? You know, there's lots of different ways that we can have that conversation and address. Even just as a starting point, maybe you just need to eat breakfast. Maybe breakfast needs to be a high protein breakfast. Maybe you need to not eat while you're driving. Maybe you need to have coffee after you've had breakfast, or maybe you need to not have coffee at all. You know, I just think that it's so dependent on the person and their particular symptoms. And that's how we really start. It's really about looking at your body and yourself and your unique circumstances so that you can begin to address the problems that you're experiencing through a more dialed in diet and lifestyle.

Yeah, so you use building blocks to build healthy meals or plates. Can you explain more about that?

Yeah. So basically I have women start with making their plate is what I suggest. And what that looks like is if you're envisioning a plate, one quarter of it is healthy protein, one quarter is more carbohydrate dense food, and then the other half of it is low carbohydrate vegetables, things like that. So when I'm talking about protein, I'm talking about animal protein, because I consume animal protein. I think it's again different for everyone. We all have our preferences, but that tends to be a higher quality protein. So the amino acid profile of those proteins, which is what that our body utilizes anyways to build our blood and our bones and all the things, tends to be higher in the animal protein. So I would suggest chicken or beef or you know, eggs, something along those lines, fish. And then for the higher carbohydrate other quarter, that's something like sweet potatoes or regular potatoes, squashes, things like that. And then that last half is lower carbohydrate vegetables. So we're talking about the leafy greens or salad or something, you know, something like that, like string beans. Anything that is not like a higher carbohydrate vegetable, more starchy vegetable like the sweet potatoes or the squashes. So that's essentially what I will have people do.

Does it make a difference if you eat them raw or cooked?

No, it doesn't. I think that people can do whatever they want. It just depends though, some people who have gut related issues, so maybe if they have sibo, which is small intestine bacterial overgrowth or some other gut dysfunction the raw vegetables might be a little challenging for, but otherwise, no, it doesn't.

Yeah.

I'm a big fan of the salads, and I find, like, lunch and dinner tend to be interchangeable. They're kind of the same. And I, you know, I find that lunchtime typically would be a salad of some kind, and then dinner is a little bit heavier, but I try to have it earlier in the evening so that I'm not going to bed. Stuffed. Yeah, basically.

Okay, great.

Yeah.

So it's going to really change your entire day and then your week and then your month and then your year and then your whole life.

Is it an immediate effect? So if your hormones are in disbalance and you start eating in this this way, is it, like, straight away?

I mean, it can be some people.

Yeah.

Right.

Yeah. And I love that you talk about proteins because I think a lot of women don't know how important proteins are and are sometimes scared about having too many proteins. But we. Yeah, I don't know any woman who had too many proteins because we don't eat enough of them. Yeah, yeah.

I don't think we eat enough generally is what I feel is happening. So so many of us are undernourished, but we're also underfed. And so, yeah, if you eat, you can't really overflow, overeat protein because it's so satiating. And so I feel like it's an amazing way to start. And so we try to focus on 25 to 30 grams of protein at each meal. So a minimum of 100 grams a day, because then there's snacks included. But oftentimes you don't even need snacks if you're stabilizing your blood sugar through your meals.

Yeah. I have a question for you, Nicole, because I also know that it's important to have a decent breakfast, preferably, like, savory breakfast. I used to have granola and fruit juice for breakfast. Yeah. Which is. Which is not the best for me, but still, I'm curious, what do you eat for breakfast?

Oh, yeah, I'm pretty boring. I try to keep it simple. I usually have some kind of eggs, whether they're scrambled or, you know, boiled, something like that. And then I'll have some breakfast sausage, and I'll have some fruit with that, and avocado, or I'll do, like, greens. But then sometimes it's just leftovers because I don't feel like eating eggs. And so I think that we have to sort of reprogram our brains around what breakfast should look like, because right it's always the corn flakes and orange juice.

I have three pancakes this morning.

That's okay.

I had an avocado.

Yeah, see, I know, right? But again, it's how you feel. And I think that that's the important thing. And so I always have women check in about how they're feeling once they've eaten something, because we're told to try this or to eat that. And there's a million different diets out there, and there's so many diet books, and everyone is claiming they've the answer and the solution. And I've had women say to me, well, you know, I went on this keto diet about three months ago, and now I've lost my period, and I don't know why. And I'm like, well, it might have something to do with your diet.

Exactly.

I'm like, I know why. And so it's really fascinating to see what will happen. So I think it's so important for us to pay attention to how we feel once we've eaten.

And the thing is, also, it's not that you cannot have those pancakes. Just don't have them as breakfast.

Yeah, exactly. Or have them with a lot of eggs. Right? Yeah, exactly.

Yeah.

Because the goal is always to balance out because protein is so satiating, like I was saying. And it also. Protein and fat will slow down that carbohydrate's impact on your blood sugar. So that's really what you should be focused on.

Okay. Yes. The driving force behind this podcast is Good Woman. Good Woman is your trusted source for hormonal health support, offering education, expert guidance, and supplement. From day one, they've been more than just products. They've created a community where women can openly discuss personal and often taboo questions. And in your book, Morgan Decode youe Cycle, you advocate for eating according to your cycle. Are these methods effective? Is this a trend? What is the. How does that work?

Yeah, I'm a huge fan of eating according to my cycle. I also do it. We still need more research. According eating to your cycle. But this is what I know and how I experience it. As we said, we have the phase in your cycle before ovulation and after ovulation and before ovulation, estrogen is on the rise, and estrogen tends to promote insulin sensitivity. So it means that your body can use more efficiently carbs, because when insulin sensitivity is high, your body will need less insulin in your bloodstream to stabilize those blood sugar levels and also during the follicular phase. So the phase before your ovulation your metabolism will slow down. So it means that you feel maybe less hungry than in other phases of your cycle, while your metabolic rate will be higher during the premenstrual phase. And that's why your body needs more calories and that's why you tend maybe to have more cravings. But again there to avoid these cravings, have decent meals, have breakfast, breakfast, have lunch and have dinner. And if you like have just coffee for breakfast, which is not a breakfast, or just like crackers for lunch, then of course you will crave during that week of the month. So it's really important to first be aware of how your hormones fluctuates throughout your cycle and the needs of your body in every week of your cycle. So you don't really need a diet.

You don't like diets, right?

No, I'm not a huge fan of diets. Same because you don't need one. If you really get a better understanding of your body and if you learn to listen to your body, your body will tell you what to do. And that's the thing about diets, it's a lot about restrictions. It's true that in one of my books I have the things that you can add in every phase of your cycle because I prefer to try to add things instead of delete things. You don't have to skip the pancakes, but maybe add the eggs.

I find this so fascinating, what you were saying about the fact that we're more insulin sensitive in that first half of our cycle. And when you dig into the research, it's so cool because you are so much more insulin sensitive in that first half of your cycle because your body is focused on literally producing a follicle that is going to be released during ovulation and that is so energy intensive that we're just shuttling much glucose to that. So your insulin is just hyper focused on that. Whereas in the second half of the cycle, progesterone has a bit of a, I don't want to say negative impact on blood sugar, but it kind of does. And the reason for that is because, you know, not because we can't fit into our bikinis and our bodies just don't want us to do that. But it's more that you're preparing now for a pregnancy potentially. And so you're going to basically put on weight, you're going to basically be preparing for a pregnancy or your body is. And again, if we understand that, and like you said, just living in harm with your cycle and living according to those phases, you'll Know that yes, there might be a little bit more bloating. You might not be able to fit into the genes as well as you did two weeks before, but there's a reason for that and it comes to an end. So I feel like it's one of those things that if you can just get your head around that and you do stabilize your blood sugar and also you're looking at inflammation as well, because that's really the driver of weight gain, then you're going to stabilize your weight. I think that if you have stable blood sugar and insulin levels, you actually can't put on weight if your insulin is within the range that it's supposed to be. In a healthy range, it's virtually impossible to put on weight. So that's something I think everyone should be thinking about too, because your cortisol and insulin, I call them the queen bee hormones, they drive so much of what happens with all your other hormones. And so if you're able to stabilize those two hormones through the diet and lifestyle suggestions that we're going to continue to talk about, your weight really should stabilize. Okay? Yeah, yeah. It naturally happens. So it really becomes more effortless. Wouldn't you agree with that?

Yeah, yeah.

Also with people who are struggling with PMS syndromes, cravings, it could be a real struggle. What is a healthy way for them to manage those without feeling deprived?

I would say take little steps. Take steps that feel okay or feels good for you. Because if you force too many things, it's a long term game and it's better to do those little adjustments that make sense for you and that maybe are easy for you. Like, don't start to change everything at once. Start with your breakfast, see what you can add to your breakfast and do that for one or two weeks and then you can go to something else.

Okay, Yeah, I agree with that. I really feel like if they're, if you're educating yourself about how your body works and how your hormones work and your menstrual cycle, you are much more inclined to make these kinds of changes. And it's so far removed from the idea of going to the doctor and the doctor just saying, well, lose weight or stop doing this or whatever, go on this pill. And I think that when women have this education and understanding of the intricacies of their cycle, they're excited to make changes, in fact. And so in that second half of the cycle, when you understand that your body's goal is to make a baby and that, you know, yes, there might be a little bit of weight Gain, but it's actually just temporary. Then you're, I think you're much again, you're much more at ease in your body and you're not feeling this frantic energy of, oh, I can't fit into this, or I need to lose weight or, you know, whatever. But then when it comes to the cravings again, that's that progesterone that it's is higher in that time of the cycle. And I feel like if you can just again recognize, like this is the time in the cycle that this stuff is going to come up. But when you have stabilized your blood sugar, especially in the first half of the cycle, it sets the stage for the second half. And progesterone generally is that calming hormone. I call it the keep calm and carry on hormone. It really does do that in high amounts. So you need to have a good amount of progesterone in order to feel that way. And so you typically want to. You won't feel those urgent type symptoms if your progesterone is balanced. Yeah, so that's one thing. But there are those cravings that come for sure. And I think so much of it too, comes back to the cyclical living. Because if you're pushing yourself so hard in the second half of your cycle like you were two weeks ago, your body is not really meant to do that. And so if we're working really hard, we've got tons of meetings, events, all kinds of things, and we're not really taking a step back or at least taking our foot off the pedal for just a little bit. Our bodies are screaming for energy. And so we end up just eating way more sugar, drinking more alcohol, whatever it is, when in fact we could just be listening to our bodies, listening to what she says in her book, and really focusing on that piece. And I think it changes dramatically.

Great.

That's very useful for people with natural cycles. How about people who are on hormonal health, health contraception, Is it similar? How would you help those people?

I think similarly, when you think about the oral contraceptive pill, the combined pill, for instance, that has ethanol, estradiol and progestin. So those are synthetic versions of estrogen and progesterone. And so it's kind of meant to mimic your cycle. In that case, I feel very strongly that we should be doubling up our efforts in that. That when you think about the side effects associated with the pill, I'm sure Sarah talked about all of this, right? There's gut health impacts, there's micronutrient deficiencies, there are Mood issues. And so we really wanna be, like I said, doubling down and focusing on those pieces so that we make sure that we're getting adequate nutrients and we're supporting our gut health and our mood and our mental health. And I think that, yeah, it's similar.

It's not because you are or taking hormonal contraception that you cannot prepare yourself or cannot already do something with food.

Yeah, absolutely.

Preparation is key. I think also for women who are going into transition to menopause, prepare yourself. It's never too early, I think, to prepare yourself.

I agree. I know, I was just thinking about that as you said that. Actually I always say this, that the 20s and 30s really are a preparatory time for that 40s decade. Because so much is shifting is often referred to as the second puberty, cause of the amount of fluctuations. I'm sitting here like, whew. Yeah. So it is crazy because so much shifts. And I think that women just really need to know that those years of ovulation, you're really just when you're thinking about making all those hormones, you wanna be making those hormones in your 20s and 30s so that you're a little more prepared for your 40s.

Yeah.

And that transition.

So, yes, and obviously in an ideal world, we'd be getting all our vitamins and nutrients from real foods. But is that achievable?

It should be achievable. And it's important to first look at food to get them all. But also in the perfect world, we would not be sitting the whole day at our laptop and be stressed for work and be inside. For me, the perfect world would be to take some morning light in the morning to have time to have a good breakfast, not to be stressed all the time, not to be on our phones all the time. I think reality is not always like that, even for me. I love to cook, I love to have nutritious meals, I love to move and to go outside, but sometimes I don't do it enough. And then I think it's important to have like high quality supplements, but also there because with Good Woman, we developed supplements. So of course I'm a huge believer of supplements. But I also believe it's important to know what you take. And often I see people that they take stuff, but they don't know what's in it or why they take it. So first, yeah, do know why you take some supplements? Before I started Good Woman, I did one on one coachings with, with, with people. And the first question was always like, okay, what do you eat in The. Yeah, but I eat healthy.

Oh, I love that one.

Yeah. Yeah. Okay. So I hear that often. What is eating healthy? And then when they told me what they had, I was like, oh, God. Yeah, that's not. Yeah, that's not that healthy, actually. But it's also because the industry is pretty misleading. So. Yeah, you need to look at the total package.

Was it a specific gap you were trying to fill when you created Good Woman?

Yeah, different gaps. Yeah. Because before we started, we did, like, a survey, and from that survey we learned a ton of things. First of all, that a lot of women experience PMS and symptoms, like 90% of us. So that's a lot. Also, then the knowledge gap. I think women and men don't know how our body works or hormones or cycle. So the knowledge gap is a big one. And then we also have the product gaps because a lot of products are in the market but are outdated or missing guidelines and so on. So then we have the products. Great.

I'm curious about those knowledge gaps. I feel like we need to circle back to what we were talking about in the very beginning, about us not really knowing our cycles and really understanding any of this information. I'm curious in Europe what it's like in terms of sex education and things like that, because it's quite bad hair.

Yeah. Here it's around 75%, but I think that percentage is higher because. Yeah. Still some women don't know that when you are on hormonal birth control, for example, you don't ovulate. When I explain that, it's like, you really don't ovulate when you take the. No, you don't. And people are so surprised. And then I'm like, but why don't we know these things?

I agree.

And it's the same with so many other things. Like, for example, the menstrual cycle. We learned that it's 28 days and you ovulate on day 14. Well, it would be really nice if this would be like this for every woman and every cycle, and it would be super easy to get pregnant. But in reality, we don't ovulate on day 14. And I think. I think you can know when you ovulate if you have a better understanding of your cycle. I see you also wear the OURA ring.

I do indeed. Yes.

You do it to track your cycle. All of the above. Because I have pcos and I have an irregular cycle. So for me, it's still a bit of a guesswork to know what I will be ovulating. But because I know my body, I track everything. I know when it will happen, that a lot of people don't know when they ovulate. No one teaches and no one teaches it. You're right.

I know. I was recently looking at the stats on this. In the U.S. only 30 states require sex education in schools out of the 50. And then of those, only 22 actually promote accurate, scientifically accurate information in the sex education. And then literally only three states in the US require comprehensive sex ed. So the majority of them push an abstinence only education.

Oh, wow.

I know. So 50% of pregnancies in the US are unplanned. 50%. And we're okay.

I thought we were bad.

No, we're really bad, you guys. Really bad. Yeah, I mean, this is a country of over 300 million people. So you can imagine. Yeah, it's unreal. And so we're. It's. These numbers are so abysmal. And we see the downstream effects of that everywhere. Women not having any idea. Women in their 40s telling me how do I know if ovulation has happened? And I'm like, girl, read my book. Just go to chapter one. It's just crazy. So it is really shocking to see that after being in this work for so long, but it's really still not out there. Not out there. No, I know. So anyway, I know that was a bit of a segue.

No, no.

Yeah.

But I feel like it's so important for women to know that first of all, there's nothing wrong with them if they don't know because there's really no one that's been facilitating this education.

Yeah, concerning education, you just said the word rhythm.

Circadian rhythm is a word I don't know. So can you.

Oh yes.

Oh my gosh, yes, absolutely. So your circadian rhythm is basically your response to natural light and dark. So. Yes. So basically you wake up and your circadian rhythm is driven by cortisol and melatonin. And so cortisol rises to its highest point first thing in the morning when you are exposed to morning light. And then it slowly drops down throughout the day and then goes to its lowest in the middle of the night where melatonin is at its peak.

Okay.

So yeah, so that it has to be natural light or can it be the light?

Oh, it can be. It can be.

Yeah.

You can use like a light device. Try to say not to use your phone. Cuz that blue light of your phone drives it way too high and causes a lot of morning anxiety. So yeah, I Feel like.

Yeah, you have, like, light therapy. Right. Or like special light if you don't have enough sunlight or like. Yeah, yeah.

Apart from vitamin D, are there any other essentials that we should track or that we should be aware of?

Vitamin D is one thing, but you have a lot of other vitamins and minerals that are really beneficial, such as magnesium. I always say magnesium is your best friend. But also omega 3 zinc, vitamin B, the folic acid. And that's a bit the thing. I think as a woman, when you are trying to conceive, receive, then you get, like, full attention. But what with women who just want to feel good, you know. I know.

Shocking, right? You know, we're not a vessel for babies completely.

That's.

That's not our only purpose.

Yeah. And that's a bit the thing that. Well, in my case, I was more aware about my cycle or ovulation because, yeah, I stopped taking the pill. And when you want to have kids, you need to know these things. But I think it's super important also when you don't want to have kids and to. To take good care of your cycle. And a healthy cycle is, of course, a virtual cycle. So.

Yeah, but I agree with all of those nutrients as well, like magnesium, zinc. Those are incredible. I mean, when you think about how much they impact ovarian health, the follicles, the corpus luteum, which is the little tiny spot where your egg was released from and it produces progesterone. To have healthy progesterone, you need those, you need magnesium, you need zinc, you need selenium. They all play crucial roles in the entire ovulatory process. And those are micronutrients, and you get those from antioxidant rich foods. And so, again, like, it's the colorful foods that you have to incorporate into your diet. Yeah, I know. There's just so many amazing things that people should know about. About how it affects their ovaries.

Can you give us some easy to remember basic daily habits or routines that could help with hormonal health? Whether you're focusing on food or movement, stress management, whatever. Something easy to start.

Yes.

You know, we talked about this. Have the pancakes if you want the pancakes, girlfriend. But definitely, you know, bring in the protein and the fat with that, too. And maybe have, like, less than three pancakes, maybe two or one.

Fair enough.

Yeah. I know you don't want the carbs to just totally override everything else, so I would say that breakfast piece within an hour to an hour and a half of waking up, try to eat Something. And then if you're having caffeine, have that after breakfast, because again. And caffeine artificially stimulates your adrenals to produce cortisol, drives it up too high and you run into problems. You're starving in like an hour or two. So I feel like that's a big one. And then also eating enough food. Do you feel like that it's such an issue?

It shouldn't be an obvious one.

Right, I know, but I feel like.

So many of us people are scared to eat.

To eat a plate full of food. Yeah, I think that that's a big one. And so if you're starving within an hour or two of eating, then you probably didn't eat enough or you ate too many carbs or too much sugar or something like that, not enough protein. So I'd say that. And then I feel like some of the other things too are again, like, we talked about getting sunlight in your eyes and then also exposing yourself to the full light spectrum. So going outside as often as you can, experiencing the evening sunlight and as it's setting, things like that, just really basically basic life things that people should be doing and don't.

I think I also want to add, like, the importance of fibers, because, like. Yeah, you told about, like, gut health is also such an important thing. And then often people ask, like, yeah, do you recommend, like, any probiotics? And I'm a huge fan of probiotics too. But first, look, if you have enough fibers in your food, because, yeah, if you don't have these, then it doesn't make sense to, like, add the probiotics. So supplement. Yeah, so the whole foods, the veggies, the. Yeah.

I feel like so many of us want to jump to 20 different supplements. And, you know, it's like step 10 in the process. And they ignore steps one to nine. And so these are. These are the steps one to nine. Yeah.

Start with the food.

I think it's the same a bit with like, the detox trend. Like, you don't need to, like, survive the whole week on juices to detoxify. Just important. I always also say that I'm not against alcohol, I'm not against. Against sugary foods. Just try to avoid them. And certainly after ovulation, because then estrogen needs to leave your body because you have the estrogen peak just before ovulation, and then estrogen needs to leave the body. And how does estrogen leave the body? Well, first through the. It's breaking down to the liver and then through your gut, through your poop, it gets to leave the body. But if your body is too busy to like break down alcohol or caffeine or sugary foods, then estrogen will come on kind of a waiting list. And that's then also the reason why a lot of women are estrogen dominant. When you don't feel well, there are two things that you can look at and it's the two things you do the most during a day, and that's eating and stressing. So first have a look at these two things if you don't feel good in your skin.

That's so true. So true.

Very tangible advice. Thank you so much. Thank you, Nicole. Thank you, Morgan for being here for your expert insight insights. It's been a pleasure talking to you and thanks to our listener as well. You can find any additional information in the show notes or if you have any questions, feel free to reach out to goodwomanoodwoman.com after listening to this episode, I hope you feel fully inspired to start incorporating cyclical eating and supporting your body in the right way. It's essential that we continue to share this knowledge with each other. We'd love for you to share this episode with your friends, family, daughters, but also sons, partners, parents, anyone you can think of. And in case you're wondering, it might be challenging to manage your skin health. We'll tell you more about that in our next episode.

It is so disempowering to feel as.

Though your skin is out of your control. Hear you next week.

Bye Bye.

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