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I can’t wait for you to dive into this episode because it’s super important! There’s more and more talk on intermittent fasting and all of it’s benefits which I’m not denying! BUT there isn’t enough of a conversation about how it can ALSO DISRUPT OUR HORMONES.

To start, it’s crucial to have times when we aren’t eating. When you eat around the clock your body stays in storage mode. If it’s constantly taking in food- it can never burn sugar & fat so we need to make sure we have certain points of fasting.

Extended periods without food tell the body that now isn’t a good time for reproduction.

BUT you need to know that estrogen and progesterone do more in the body than just get us pregnant. Estrogen helps us with metabolism, weight loss, mood,  anxiety and stress, energy, bone density, and cognitive function.

Intermittent fasting can disrupt estrogen balance and mess up these essential physiological processes.

Intermittent fasting has been associated with numerous health benefits (improved insulin sensitivity, reduced body fat, cognitive function, lower risk of chronic health conditions) but it is also linked to hormone disruption. Here’s a close-up look at the cascade of hormone imbalances that can start with intermittent fasting.

First, intermittent fasting can disrupt estrogen balance. Estrogen imbalance may show up as: low energy, poor glucose control, weight gain, impaired cognitive function, decreased bone density, poor muscle tone, reduced skin & hair health, poorer cardiovascular health, infertility.

A disruption in one hormone system in the body can trigger other hormone imbalances. The other major hormone considerations for women when it comes to intermittent fasting are cortisol, the stress hormone, and thyroid hormone. When cortisol is imbalanced, symptoms include:

• Anxiety
• Low energy
• Insomnia
• Feeling wired-but-tired
• sugar cravings

Imbalanced thyroid hormones symptoms include:

• Weight gain
• Brain fog
• Anxiety
• Depression
• Dry skin
• Dry hair
• Irregular periods
• Trouble regulating body temperature

Women’s reproductive function is intricately connected to our metabolic function. So anytime a woman’s body gets a “starvation signal” from the environment (like not eating for a stretch of time), it goes