Do you suffer from PMS, stress, acne, weight gain or cravings? Then read this!
Do you suffer from PMS, stress, acne, weight gain or cravings? Then read this!
Do you know if you have a hormone imbalance?
Do you suffer from PMS, night sweats, stress, acne, weight gain, thyroid issues, cravings, or low libido? There are tons of symptoms that can arise when your body’s hormones are out of whack.
Today I’m here to tell you how incredible simple raw carrots can be for anyone who is suffering from the signs above.
source:imgarcade.com
The root cause of PMS, IBS, hormone imbalance and cysts. A condition that Chinese Medicine calls Liver Qi Stagnation is to blame. In a nutshell, your “Qi”, also known as your energy and hormones, flows through your body a daily basis in a specific cycle. If this “Qi” gets ‘stuck’ or blocked in a stagnant liver, your digestion and blood also get ‘stuck.’ This means a cramp-filled period as your body tries to push that blood out, and ‘stuck’ clots known as cysts (which can go as far as PCOS). Similarly, your emotions and mental state can feel ‘stuck’ as well, along with your weight, energy level, and so much more.
Why hormone imbalance occurs…
In Western terms, your liver plays a vital role in the body’s use of hormones – both those that are produced naturally in our bodies, as well as those hormones that are introduced through our outside environment in the form of birth control pills and toxic xenoestrogens. Our exposure to xenoestrogens, which are chemical estrogen-like compounds, has been increasing at an alarming rate for decades due to BPA, PCBs, phthalates, flame retardants, pesticides, herbicides, and DDT residue — all of which can be found in our food and water supply. Xenoestrogens can be 10 to 100 times more powerful than natural estrogen.
Because the liver is a hormone processor, it has to do the job of manufacturing and regulating hormone levels. It also must direct various hormones to function in other parts of the body. In Chinese Medicine, this ‘direction’ (flow) of hormones would be seen as the flow of Qi.
Here’s where Liver Qi Stagnation comes in: when the body experiences a hormone excess, whether produced by the body (due to stress, poor eating habits, and more) or introduced by xenoestrogens and the birth control pill, the liver will be ‘stuck’ and not process the hormones quickly or efficiently, causing a hormone imbalance. Liver Qi Stagnation in terms of Chinese Medicine = hormone imbalance in terms of Western medicine.
“Anything that impairs liver function or ties up the detoxifying function will result in excess estrogen levels.” – Harvard Physician John R. Lee, M.D.
Estrogen Dominance
As I said, when the liver is not functioning properly, the hormonal system is not either. The uterus itself can become a toxic environment, hostile to implantation (causing infertility) and a source of painful periods and PMS. The excess estrogen that is not metabolized by a ‘stuck’ liver builds up over time causing a condition called estrogen dominance.
According to Dr. David Williams,
Over the last 50 or so years, estrogen dominance has become a major, yet for the most part overlooked, health threat. It is a condition where a woman can have deficient, normal, or excessive estrogen levels—but little or no progesterone to balance its effects in the body. In other words, there is too much estrogen relative to progesterone.
What he said is very important: you can have deficient estrogen levels and still be estrogen dominant if you don’t have enough progesterone!
source: yourhormonebalance.com
Is estrogen dominance only a womens’ issue?
Not at all. Xenoestrogens and stress cause everyone to build up estrogen. Men, particularly pre-pubescent boys, face estrogen dominance in the form of lack of muscle tone, erectile dysfunction, and Gynecomastia, often called “man boobs.”
How raw carrots combat estrogen dominance
In the 1970’s, Dr. Ray Peat performed (and still performs to this day) extensive research on hormones and nutrition. He found that eating raw carrots daily helped detox the bowel and reduced levels of estrogen within only 3 days!
Because of my own experience in finding that eating a raw carrot daily prevented my migraines, I began to suspect that the carrot fiber was having both a bowel-protective and an antiestrogen effect. Several women who suffered from premenstrual symptoms, including migraine, had their serum estrogen measured before and after the “carrot diet,” and they found that the carrot lowered their estrogen within a few days, as it relieved their symptoms.
He goes onto explain in this article that “carrot salad improves the ratio of progesterone to estrogen and cortisol, and so is as appropriate for epilepsy as for premenstrual syndrome, insomnia, or arthritis.” He also noticed that carrots lowered inflammation and helped thyroid function. Dr. Ray Peat recommends a whole, medium sized carrot — not the baby ones!
As Dr. Peat explained, raw carrots contain an indigestible fiber that helps the body perform its natural detoxification process more efficiently. This fiber binds to unused hormones and toxins and helps to safely pull them out of your body. Carrot fiber also prevents estrogen from being reabsorbed in the intestine, which can happen when transit time is slow!
Another important benefit is that unlike other fibers, raw carrot fiber helps to lower the amount of bad bacteria (endotoxins) in the gut. Parasites and pathogens such as bacteria are a major player in liver toxicity (and thus hormone imbalance). The bacteria creates a chronic burden for the liver, keeping it from its regular job of processing and eliminating hormones.
5 more reasons to eat a carrot a day
Ginseng is known as one of the most nourishing tonic herbs in the world. Because it’s astronomically expensive, most people do not get to experience the benefits. Luckily for us, we have the mighty carrot, regarded as a tiny ginseng in Chinese medical texts. Here’s why:
1) Carrots can aid the digestive system through improving peristaltic movement of food, improving both digestion and the absorption of nutrients (while relieving post-meal bloat!)
2) Because of the stomach-strengthening, nutrient-boosting effects, carrots can especially nourish and support those with anemia, growing/pubescent children, pregnant or post-partum women, and diabetics.
3) Anti-carcinogenic: Recent research has shown that carrots have a high content of chlorogenic acid. Chlorogenic acid is able to elevate the body’s natural cancer and immune defense.
4) In TCM, carrots benefit the lungs. They are anti-imflammatory to mucus membranes, which eases whooping cough and reduces all coughs in general.
5) The pectin in carrots lowers serum cholesterol levels.
My final thoughts on estrogen dominance: avoid the birth control pill!
Supplemental estrogen, even in the slightest amounts, in a woman who doesn’t need it, or who has no progesterone to balance it, can lead to many serious side effects.
They add hormones that are out of phase with the body’s normal periodicity. These synthetic hormones adversely affect the Liver’s spreading function and thus the energy of the entire body. This is why birth control pills are implicated in high incidences of pelvic and breast tumors, which according to Traditional Chinese Medicine, always begin as Liver Qi Stagnation. Recently, The World Health Organization’s International Agency for Research on Cancer re-classified hormonal contraceptives as carcinogenic to humans. Dr. Samuel Epstein, world leader in cancer research has warned that the pill is “the largest unregulated human trial that’s ever been conducted.” In The Breast Cancer Prevention Program, Epstein says, “more than 20 well-controlled studies have demonstrated the clear risk of premenopausal breast cancer with the use of oral contraceptives. These estimates indicate that a young woman who uses oral contraceptives has up to ten times the risk for developing breast cancer as does a non-user.
At Herpad we not only want you to have the most stress free periods ever, we want women to be aware of their health as well. We deliver your tampons, pads, and panty liners directly to your door . To get great new period recipes and information on women's health issues subscribe to our blog! Have a beautiful day ladies xoxox
