So many women struggle with menstrual-related symptoms, and the most common prescription in gynecology is a birth control pill (BCP) or hormonal IUD, which essentially takes over for the ovaries.

However, “the pill” doesn’t address the real underlying cause of the menstrual issues. Not to mention that it can cause women to live in fear with side effects and risk. For instance, the risk of HPV increases after 6 years of BCP use. 

More and more women are finding that they don’t want to rely on synthetic hormones or birth control pills for years (if not decades) of their lives and are looking for help to balance their hormones naturally and optimize their ovary function, whether for pregnancy or for their health in general. Even after a hysterectomy or menopause, there are ways to help women feel their best. 

That’s exactly what Dr. BreAnna Guan and I cover in this episode. She is a Naturopathic Doctor who, like me, graduated from Bastyr University. We talk about balancing women’s hormones naturally, especially something rarely discussed: Coming off the birth control pill and how healing your gut can help you to regulate your menstrual cycle. 

So if you are dealing with menstrual-related health issues (menstrual cramps, heavy bleeding, irregular cycles) and don’t want to be on birth control pills anymore, this episode is for you.

Dr. BreAnna’s Story, and Dr. Doni’s Story with Birth Control Pills

As a teen, Dr. BreAnna had extremely painful periods. She would lie in bed curled up in a ball and soak through menstrual products in an hour. Her mom took her to the doctor, and she was put on birth control pills.

Later, while completing pre-med courses, she went off the pill and her period didn’t come back. It took six years to return. Her lab tests were called “normal,” and she was told to go back on the pill or that it was because she was a runner. So, she started searching for answers. And that is what lead her to naturopathic medicine. Eventually, her period came back.

She’s thankful for the journey, because she got to heal. What if she had stayed on the pill until she was 30 or 40 and then wanted a baby? For young women offered birth control pills for a hormone issue, that moment can be their open door to healing.

I (Dr. Doni) had a similar experience, with severe menstrual cramps for many years and the only suggestion was birth control pills. Then extreme bruising meant I couldn’t take birth control pills anymore. Even in naturopathic medical school, B vitamins and liver herbs made me feel worse. 

Simply taking a single nutrient or herb doesn’t get to the underlying cause. It’s not about replacing birth control pills with an herb. It was through a comprehensive approach that I was able to get the menstrual cramps to stop, and to heal my whole self. Now I use that approach to help my patients heal.

Balancing Ovarian Hormones Requires Us to Look at Your Whole Health

When women see a gynecologist for cramps, irregular cycles, or heavy bleeding, the usual prescription is still birth control pills or an IUD. Blood work is rarely in-depth, and random hormone testing reveals little. 

Many women go years without being diagnosed with endometriosis or PMOS. And ultimately women may find themselves deciding to have a hysterectomy as a way out of pain, without being informed that there are other options to try.

To truly help women heal and resolve these chronic issues, we have to look at her whole health: Her diet, gut microbiome, nervous system, stress, hormone balance, liver detoxification, nutrient status, sunlight, and sleep. Dr. BreAnna compares it to farming. If you pour fertilizer on poor soil, you might get more leaves, but you won’t create a healthy ecosystem.

In the first consultation, women should be asked about sleep, stress, anxiety, mood, skin, migraines, fatigue, libido, and immunity, as well as the details of their cycle: when they bleed, cervical mucus, spotting before their period, PMS, and how they feel at ovulation. 

We need to run testing for hormones, metabolic function, immune system, nutrient levels, and gut microbiome testing, because hormones reflect whatever else is going on in your body. Gynecologists usually won’t offer these tests, so you may need another practitioner who is trained in clinical nutrition and herbal medicine, which is exactly the training we complete as naturopathic doctors.

For example, PMOS could be related to mouth breathing at night, which stresses the system, disrupts blood sugar, and leads to insulin resistance. That’s not likely to be discovered in a standard GYN appointment. It’s worth it to seek care outside of the OBGYN office. 

Where to Begin: Nature, Seasons, and Safety

Humans aren’t meant to living indoors under artificial lights. Taking a morning walks, for example, can connect you to the seasons, activate the parasympathetic nervous system, and get your lymphatics flowing. All of this helps your ovaries get the messages they need in order to ovulate and make balanced hormones. 

Dr. BreAnna mentions she teaches the “seasons of the menstrual cycle:” Winter is bleeding, spring is the follicular phase, summer is ovulation, and fall is the fruiting time.

Women are often so busy caring for everyone else that we end up lowest on the to-do list. Then the ovaries get the signal that we’re too stressed and don’t ovulate. When we don’t ovulate, we don’t make the hormones needed to regulate the menstrual cycle and prevent cramping and heavy bleeding.

Dr. BreAnna suggests asking yourself, “What do I need?” Maybe it’s stillness, water, or an hour on the couch under a soft blanket. Sometimes it’s less, not more. The ovaries don’t need us to push harder; they need to feel safe.

Picture factory-farmed chickens. Ashwagandha in their feed might boost egg-laying, but grass and sunlight change everything. Supplements can be beneficial, but they don’t change the soil. That’s why we start with the foundational steps, such as a connection to nature.

Natural Approaches to Balancing Hormones: Herbs, Nutrients, and Gut Health

There are many herbs and nutrients that have been shown to be beneficial for balancing hormones and optimizing ovarian function. 

We can use curcumin and/or green tea for inflammation and liver detoxification, fish oils, magnesium, adaptogens for adrenal dysregulation, and herbs and probiotics for gut health. However, it is important to have a practitioner who can guide you specifically based on your body and test results. 

Dr. BreAnna mentions how she teaches her patients “dietary cycle syncing” – which is choosing certain foods and natural substances based on the time of the cycle you are in. The first half of the cycle influences ovulation quality and the second half has to do with supporting progesterone production.

It is important to understand and address gut health because the gut affects hormone metabolism, mood, immunity, and pain levels. Related signs include gas, bloating, abdominal or pelvic pain, irregular stools, fatigue, and cravings. Estrogen dominance is often linked to gut imbalances. 

One of Dr. BreAnna’s favorite supplements is in her spice cabinet: cloves, cinnamon, and oregano to feed your microbiome.

A good first step to clean your diet is to start with two and a half cups of leafy greens or non-starchy vegetables twice a day. Then reduce processed foods made from flour.

Understanding PMOS and Pregnancy Preparation

PCOS has been renamed PMOS, polycystic metabolic ovarian syndrome, emphasizing the connection between glucose metabolism and ovarian function. Research on this connection has existed for over 20 years, so we are glad it is being integrated into women’s care. 

Dr. BreAnna mentions she sees PMOS as a genetic strength: Higher androgens and a storage-type metabolism is beneficial for survival, but becomes a weakness when we are not getting time in nature and are eating processed food. 

High insulin prevents testosterone from converting to estrogen, delaying ovulation. The recommendation here is to start moderating blood sugar, especially in the first half of the cycle. And increase more challenging physical activity to build muscle.

When preparing for pregnancy, we need to focus on omega-3s, iron, B vitamins, choline, and iodine, which most women lack. The male partner’s health matters too, affecting risks like gestational diabetes and preeclampsia. The egg develops for three months beforehand, so it’s important to start preparing for pregnancy at least 3 months before you conceive.

Start Small and Don’t Give Up

It’s important to not get overwhelmed with trying to make major changes quickly, because that can lead to more stress, which works against you. It’s also important to understand that small steps can lead to big changes. Your body will start to notice that you are doing things differently and you may be surprised who quickly things change. 

Example starting steps are: 10 minutes of walking after a meal, one glass of water, or 10 minutes of strength training. 

Don’t give up on yourself. And reach out to us for guidance and support. We see women transform their health, completely eliminate menstrual pain and heavy bleeding, as well as mood-related symptoms, and get pregnant (if desired) without needing synthetic hormones. We want you to know it is possible, and we are here to help. 

If you would like to learn more about Dr. BreAnna you can find her on Instagram @drbreannaguan and Facebook @Balanced Natural Health. You can also learn more about her programs Into Hormone Balance here and The Healthy Preconception Plan here.

Beyond the Pill: A Note from Dr. Doni

The topic of balancing women’s hormones naturally, and healing the menstrual cycle, is near and dear to my heart as a women’s health expert. I completely agree with Dr. BreAnna about how important it is to look at your whole health through a root-cause approach combining diet, gut health, herbal medicine, connection to nature, and stress recovery.

I specialize in helping women with a risk of cervical cancer (as well as other HPV-related cancers), and consider it essential to help women balance their hormones naturally, off the BCP, and to address their whole health in order to clear the HPV virus fully.

It is truly amazing what is possible when we give our bodies the chance to do what they are meant to do. It can feel scary at first, but when you are faced with more medications or a surgery, that is sometimes what opens your eyes to what else is possible. 

Many women experience trauma – vaginal and/or pelvic trauma from the symptoms and medical procedures they endure from various women’s health related health issues. I have been researching the impact of trauma and how to help women heal throughout my career. 

That is exactly what inspired my book: Master Your Stress Reset Your Health. 

In the book, I explain how stress, trauma, toxins, and a lack of recovery, can cause us to become stuck in “stress mode” and turn on our genetic susceptibilities. I describe my research and identification of the 5 Stress Types®, which exemplify the most common responses to stress, and the Stress Recovery Protocol I developed that is unique to each Stress Type. 

You can find out your Stress Type by taking the Stress Type® Quiz. It will help you to understand how the stress you’ve been exposed to is impacting your healthy today, and how to use the Stress Recovery Protocol and C.A.R.E. Method to support your body to heal using diet changes, and natural approaches including time in nature. In the prior episode, I talk about the growing research on the use of plant medicine to help women heal as well.

TAKE THE FREE STRESS QUIZ TO FIND OUT YOUR STRESS TYPE:

Take the Quiz

No matter what health issue you are dealing with – whether menstrual cycle issues, painful periods, PMOS, endometriosis, perimenopause, fertility issues, gut-health issues, fatigue, anxiety, depression, autoimmunity, migraines, and/or HPV-related abnormal cells, this approach can help you to improve your day-to-day health and to reverse conditions that others may consider to be irreversible. 

If you would like to learn more how I guide patients from around the world one-on-one, please don’t hesitate to reach out to my office. Click here to set up a call with my team.

Thank you, everyone, for listening in to How Humans Heal® and learning all about how to balance your hormones and regulate your menstrual cycles naturally. If you are new here, I welcome you to subscribe so you don’t miss the next episode. 

I’m so glad to have you as part of this healing community. 

Dr. Doni

Disclaimer: This specific article and all other Content, Products, and Services of this Website are NOT intended as, and must not be understood or construed as, medical care or advice, naturopathic medical care or advice, the practice of medicine, or the practice of counseling care, nor can it be understood or construed as providing any form of medical diagnosis, treatment,  natural HPV cure, or prevention of any disease.