In this studio conversation, host Ashley interviews health and wellness expert Reena Vokoun, founder of Passion Foot, about how women can naturally balance hormones during puberty, pregnancy, postpartum, perimenopause, and menopause. Reena emphasizes that a holistic lifestyle—centered on strength training, balanced nutrition, targeted supplements, quality sleep, and stress management—can help women not only survive hormonal shifts but thrive. She explains why strength training is the cornerstone for metabolism, bone density, and weight management, outlines nutrient‑dense foods and key vitamins/minerals (B6, B12, C, D, magnesium, folate, zinc, omega‑3s) that support hormonal health, stresses the importance of REM and deep sleep through good hygiene, and highlights cortisol’s role in worsening hormonal imbalance, recommending wearable tracking, deep‑breathing, community support, and self‑compassion. The tone is conversational yet instructional, offering practical, doctor‑consulted recommendations for women at any life stage.
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Alright, we're going to talk about everybody's favorite subject now, hormones. They can be a crazy thing and unfortunately sometimes as women we go through different life stages, but Reena, as our favorite health and wellness expert, you have tools and tips to keep us all grounded during seemingly the craziest of times.
Yes, I think women in particular go through so many changes from puberty to prenatal to pregnancy to postpartum, perimenopause, menopause, right? Our Hormones are often out of whack, but there are lots of things that we can do when it comes to our lifestyle factors so that we can not only survive these changes, but hopefully still thrive in them as well.
Well, you and I have had enough conversations over the years that I know fitness is always kind of at the top of your list. So when it comes to staying healthy, feeling well during these changes, fitness is a big factor.
Yes, I honestly think fitness is one of the single most important things that you can really do when you are going through these hormonal changes. You wanna have a safe mix of Cardiovascular activity, strength training, and flexibility work, with honestly strength training being at the top of the list. Strength training can really help with balancing out your hormones when they are going out of whack. They can help with your metabolism, your bone density, and your weight management as well. So I always encourage my clients to make sure that strength training becomes a part of their regimen, especially as they age. And obviously during the pregnancy stages, you want to stay active and maybe do more recovery-type exercises like yoga and Pilates. But, um, I can't stress enough Just make sure to stay active and do those weight-bearing exercises.
Wonderful. What about health when it comes to nutrition and supplements? What do we need to know?
Yeah, so as our bodies are changing through these different stages, having nutrient-dense foods is also really, really critical. So making sure that you are getting the things that we always know, right? The fruits and the vegetables, protein and fiber become ever more important, especially as we age, so that we can build, you know, muscle and maintain that muscle mass through protein. So we can really monitor our digestive health because that often fluctuates in changes and our gut health. But also making sure you're getting things like complex carbohydrates and whole grains, omega-3 fatty acids through, you know, healthy monounsaturated, polysaturated fats, and then looking at vitamins. That's something you definitely wanna talk to your doctor about, but in general during these changes, vitamin B6, B12, C, D, omega-3 fatty acids once again, magnesium, folic acid, folate, zinc, and all of those types of vitamins really help. So talk to your doctor.
You know, let's talk a little bit about sleep too, 'cause when I was younger, I feel like I could run on just a couple hours of sleep, but as I age, I like need that sleep.
Yes, it becomes important because your body is working hard again during the pregnancy stages, postpartum, and then into perimenopause and menopause when your hormones are fluctuating so much that does cause disruptions in your sleep. It causes extra anxiety. You might be up at night kind of stressed about not only the changes happening in your body, but the life changes that come with it. So prioritizing your sleep, maybe again, talking Consulting your doctor if you're having any sort of chronic sleep issues becomes really important, and just making sure you're getting REM sleep and deep sleep through good sleep hygiene practices.
Alright, do you want to share anything about stress or stressors? Because, you know, I mean, as women, as working moms, a lot of us balance a lot and can feel stressed.
Yeah, stress is something that is, you know, something to be not taken lightly because the stress levels in your body increase your cortisol levels, which then increase your inflammation, which then leads to making all of these hormonal changes worse. So looking at, you know, you can track your stress levels on wearable devices. I track mine on my Fitbit. I talk to my clients about that as well. And just making sure that you were taking time for that deep breathing, for that time to yourself, talking to others about it. But I will say, even if you do have a supportive community of other women who are going through changes, try your best not to compare yourself because we all respond to hormonal changes differently and what could be working for someone may not work for for you, and so just make sure to keep that in mind and try to embrace the changes and still love your body, love yourself through all of it, because it's amazing what women can do. Our women's health fascinates me and something I'm very passionate about, so I hope that everyone can continue to really take care of themselves through these changes.
Oh my gosh, it shows in every word you share. I love when you're in studio. I always feel refreshed after talking with you. So Reena Vokoun, again, she is the founder of Passion Foot, uh, author of multiple books and podcasts coming. So just go to our website honestly and type in her name and you'll find all the segments that we've done her over the years. Reena, thank you. Thank you, Ashley, so much. Well, everybody at home, are you hungry?
