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Ep.91 Embracing Natural Cycles: Menopause and Perimenopause with Amanda Tracy
76 Plays14 days ago
In this episode, I had a heartfelt and insightful conversation with Dr. Amanda Tracy, a naturopathic doctor specializing in perimenopause and menopause. We delved into the often-overlooked aspects of these transitions, discussing the emotional and physical changes that come with them. We explored the profound impact of embracing natural cycles and how understanding these rhythms can lead to greater ease and purpose in life.
This discussion isn't just for women—there's valuable information for men to understand their partners better and their own natural cycles. Whether you're a woman experiencing these changes or someone wanting to understand them better, this episode offers valuable insights and practical wisdom.
Topics Covered about perimenopause and menopause
➡️ Emotional and physical changes during perimenopause and menopause
➡️ Insights for both women and men on navigating these transitions
➡️ Holistic support and understanding emotional and physical symptoms
➡️ Practical advice on aligning with natural rhythms to navigate these transition
Resources Mentioned
- Free Hormone Supporting Recipe Guide
- Perimenopause Playbook Workshop LIVE Workshop
- Plant Wisdom Book Club
- Embrace the Wisdom of Your Inner Plantness
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Transcript
Introduction to 'Reconnect with Plant Wisdom'
00:00:00
Speaker
Hello, hello, hello, everyone. Welcome back to another episode of Reconnect with Plant Wisdom. It's me, Tigria Cartegna. When I first spoke with this guest, I always do a pre-interview. I don't know what it was, especially because it wasn't a topic I usually talk about, but I knew this was going to be a great conversation and I was not disappointed.
00:00:26
Speaker
Dr. Amanda Tracy is fantastic. And we
Unique Perspectives on Menopause
00:00:31
Speaker
went off on a conversation that was you know not your average conversation when it comes to this topic, which is menopause and perimenopause. Normally, you talk about, especially if you're thinking about plants, you talk about you know what what plants you're going to take and ingest and you know medicines and stuff. like We didn't go through any of that because what we went through was the important part.
00:00:56
Speaker
the part that all of us need to learn how to connect to and to regulate as women, as well even as men. This is not a women only um podcast episode. Honestly, if you're a man, you're going to enjoy this for the things you learn about yourself, the things that you learn about the women around you and how to better interact with your own and natural cycles. So without further ado, I can't wait to share with you Episode 91, embracing natural cycles, menopause and perimenopause with Dr. Amanda Tracy.
00:01:35
Speaker
Welcome to Reconnect with Plant Wisdom. I'm your host, Tigria Gardenia, nature-inspired mentor, certified life coach, and the founder of the Naturally Conscious share their practical wisdom to help you consciously embody the
00:02:04
Speaker
Together, we'll explore how ecosystem thinking helps you overcome limiting beliefs, understand the true nature of relationships and live an authentic, impactful life.
Integrative Medicine for Menopause
00:02:16
Speaker
All right, so ah Amanda, I am so excited to have this episode. It's kind of a little bit out of the norm of the way we do things, but after having a conversation with you, which by the way, folks, I was sitting in the middle of a Barnes and Noble in the United States on the phone with her, like trying to have this sort of pre-interview.
00:02:36
Speaker
And the conversation was still so good that I was putting myself into a little corner because I really wanted to hear everything she had to say. And I'm sure you're going to want to hear everything that Amanda has to say. So let's start with the basics. Dr. Amanda Tracy, tell the audience who you are. Sure. I am a naturopathic doctor that practices integrative and functional medicine, specializing for women in perimenopause and menopause.
00:03:04
Speaker
And I love to help women in their 40s and 50s understand the transition they're going through, feel like they have more control over the transition, and feel their best as they're going through it. I love that. And I love it because we were we were kind of talking before we started about how I am completely horrified as I am entering into these this age demographic. Well, actually, I'm midway through the age demographic, but anyway.
00:03:29
Speaker
As I'm in the age demographic, um I am horrified at how little information I actually have about this period and um how I guess it wasn't until I read an article a friend of mine wrote um several years back that she was talking about her own menopausal journey and how it wreaked havoc in her life. And since my mother went through metatta menopause early, she went in it in the middle in the early 30s, she never talked about it because it's been a part of her life forever.
00:04:04
Speaker
And so only through that story was i was she talking about all the emotional perspectives, the changes to her body, but not just like hot flashes, we're talking about so many more emotional pieces. So what what kind of drew you to specialize in this particular area? Well, through medical school and my early practice, I was always interested in women's health and hormone balancing.
00:04:34
Speaker
outside of fertility. And this was at the time where if you said women's health or you wanted to specialize in helping women, people assumed it meant fertility in midwifery, as if there's no other aspect to our health. And I mean, that's a little bit true. We don't have much research in the other areas and much influence ah medically in the other areas of women's reproductive life. But for myself, I wanted to understand my own hormones and my own cycle. And I found that there was so many uh layers of it and complexities that is just interesting from a naturopathic and integrative perspective because it really does take a holistic view of the body to understand hormones and and what they're doing because they are
00:05:14
Speaker
are communicators in our body. They're communicating from one organ to another. So, I mean, you can't just even look at one one hormone and say it's just doing one thing in one place. So, it's very it's interesting biochemically to me and medically to me. And also, I felt women deserved a fair shake and they should feel healthy and have attention and medical resources outside of just having babies and you know babies are wonderful I'm just you know not really interested in that process and so I really wanted to help women
00:05:45
Speaker
know their cycles, ah feel better through their different phases of their the month and then through their life. And in my practice, the first five to 10 years, I was really seeing women coming into me in their early 40s and mid 40s to talk about these changes of perimenopause and menopause. Like not as many women in their 50s with hot flashes that we kind of classically think of menopause.
00:06:09
Speaker
which actually is sort of the last
Understanding Perimenopause Symptoms
00:06:11
Speaker
phase of it, ah the beginning phases and these women weren't necessarily saying the words perimenopause or things like that. They're coming in for insomnia and mood changes and weight changes and just not digesting as well as they used to and looking for a naturopathic doctor to figure it out. And I just really loved working with these women because there's so many areas to work with. Like I said, there's many layers and we can make real change for these women to feel better and feel confident and like go through this transition feeling their best. And so I just find this area so rewarding to work with. Can you go back a second? You just listed out a whole series of symptoms.
00:06:49
Speaker
that if i was experiencing them with my limited education in this field i would have never put together with menopause and perimenopause symptoms can you just list those symptoms again.
00:07:06
Speaker
Yes, there's over 50 symptoms that are yeah involved and that can happen in perimenopause. but the The ones that most women experience are due to changing levels of progesterone that's happening subtly in our 40s. And this makes us ah lighter sleepers.
00:07:22
Speaker
and more prone to anxiety symptoms. So that can disrupt falling asleep and staying asleep. Uh, mood changes, like more irritability or feeling on edge, even if you, you know, aren't feeling stressed, yeah like normal things are making you feel anxious or irritable. Um, and weight changes, but not necessarily drastic. So this is more a little bit five or 10 pounds, um, or,
00:07:51
Speaker
gaining more weight before your period, having more fluctuations throughout the month than you normally would. um Some women might experience a little bit of bloating and a couple pounds of weight change right around their period. But in Pari-Menopause,
00:08:05
Speaker
This can start happening 10 days before your period and can be a few more pounds and last a little longer. So those are subtle changes, even if your periods are regular and you're not feeling like you're close to menopause. That could be an early sign of perimenopause. See, and I find this fascinating fascinating. I mean, somebody might say, okay, well, okay, fascinating subject, but why are we talking about it on a podcast about plants and plant wisdom and nature?
00:08:28
Speaker
And you've said it already several times, which to me is the natural cycles. The relationship with these types of cycles, which to me is very much about you know the way we think about an ecosystem. right An ecosystem has different ah different phases. There's first session, second, third. There's different levels of an ecosystem based on how mature that ecosystem is. And there's behavioral differences in the way that the plants and all of the other beings in that ecosystem interact depending on where exactly that ecosystem is. Like an old growth forest can resist some major type changes. As a matter of fact, everything sort of is static to a certain extent until there's a big disruption like a an old tree that falls and creates a light gap and that allows all kinds of other things happen, which in some ways is what we're talking about, right? Menopause is causing this massive shift in our bodies and therefore it's kind of like an old stable tree, an anchor of the way that our body processes things that falls and all of a sudden and there's this massive ripple of disruption that happens and until we recreate
00:09:46
Speaker
a balance, it takes a while. And so you have all of these disruptions that are going on that are cascading effects from that tree that just dropped. Some of them are growing. So there's kind of other parts of ourselves that come into being because of this. And other parts are decaying away. And in that decay, of course, the rest of the ecosystem is used to having that there. So in that decay, in that that' ah destruction that happened, there are other beings that are like looking for it. So you're expecting things in certain ways. And so your body is going through this, you almost have to imagine yourself as as that downed tree. And all of these connections being ripped away from you to a certain it's a little bit violent, but you know, wonder I'm just saying like ripped out of you, and you're looking
00:10:40
Speaker
to create a whole new balance, which is something that you probably haven't experienced in the same way since puberty. And if you had children, pregnancy was
Adapting Lifestyles During Menopause
00:10:51
Speaker
probably the two main areas of your life. And for those of us that haven't had children, we don't remember that that even exists. you know Puberty was so long ago. So for me, I can totally see that if my body is part of an ecosystem and is an ecosystem, then this type of change is, yes, very natural but also very disruptive.
00:11:15
Speaker
Yes, it is a little bit of a misnomer with some people call perimenopause puberty in reverse, because we think of menopause as, like you said, a depletion or destruction and like low estrogen, and that's happening. And our body does need to adjust at that point, because we have estrogen receptors in many places in our body, just our ovaries. So our body is just wondering, like, where'd the estrogen go? And it has to re reform and reshape and regrow into a different pattern.
00:11:42
Speaker
But in perimenopause, we're going through our monthly cycles, but they're more dramatic and more drastic and because the brain and the ovaries are having a different conversation than they were when we were in our 30s. And that's why it's like puberty in reverse, because the hormones are generally reducing, but going ah really high and really low on the way to reducing similar to puberty. and And we don't talk, and we're talking about how there's not much talk about perimenopause and menopause, we really don't talk about puberty and beginning periods for women either. It's kind of just like
00:12:16
Speaker
you're taught a little bit of how to manage the actual flow. ah And that's probably about it. We don't talk about the rest of the month. That's about it. Right. So here's how to deal with cramps. And the reason that a lot of ah younger women and teenagers have more cramps and more heavier periods is because of the dramatic changes in hormones along the way. And it can take up to 10 years for our for puberty to really align. And that's why women in their 20s and 30s are more fertile and you know ready for childbirth. But on the way out, we'll say it can take just as long and it's just as much of a dramatic shift for our bodies to get accustomed to.
00:13:02
Speaker
And that's one of the cycles I like to tell my patients about too, is that you are your body is doing a lot of work in perimenopause. You actually need to sleep more than you did in your thirties. You need to maybe eat a little bit more in some ways of fat and protein.
00:13:20
Speaker
And is that you you do need to change things up. you know And that's a lot of the reasons that women come to see me is that what they were doing in their 20s and 30s just isn't working anymore. Like, oh, I started eating salads and I'm not losing the weight or you know the changes that they would fall back to of cutting out alcohol or something like that.
00:13:37
Speaker
And they're not necessarily feeling that great from that change. Not that it's a bad change, it's just that their body needs more support at this time. Right. Do you find that there is, now that you've kind of entered into this more holistic way of looking at it, what would you consider to be some of the permit me for saying the advantages in the sense that i think we have a tendency as with everything to focus on what is lost right okay you lose your fertility you lose some of these you know really important hormones and so an estrogen levels and all these different things
00:14:10
Speaker
At the same time, there's always a gain, right, that comes from everything. That's the balance that happens. Or even just a strength in the way that you experience it and look at it and the new feelings and sensations that maybe you couldn't have before. Are there things that you see that are kind of underrated or that we're not recognizing and that it would be really beneficial to us to focus on some of those?
00:14:38
Speaker
oh That's such a great topic because we do focus on sometimes the negative, the symptoms to be aware of, how it's disrupting a woman's life or that it's a loss of estrogen and she's somehow depleted in some way or deficient in some way. um But it really, it it can be a liberating time for women, especially women that maybe have had PMDD or you know fibroids or heavy flow that's been causing anemia or other medical issues. or um Some of these women are just like, oh they're great, they're happy not having ah periods in a cycle because they felt out of control with having those cycles, they feel more stable. That's one of the benefits is the hormones are more stable. So you're not having those traumatic swings day to day, week to week and food cravings and mood changes and things that go along with that.
00:15:26
Speaker
But also, ah one of the things that Progesterone does is it, I mean, people mostly think of it as the pregnancy hormone, it helps our body get ready to be pregnant every month and it increases when if we do become pregnant. But one of the things it does in our brain, and it makes us want to care for others more, to be around more people and to take care of others, which evolutionarily that makes sense, and it has a benefit.
00:15:52
Speaker
But in perimenopause and menopause, when you're not having that progesterone high um and not having that layer of or having to care or that derived to care for others first.
00:16:04
Speaker
it it helps us care for ourselves more. And I feel like that's why it's a little bit more liberating for women. In generations past, this was good and it coincided with most women's children being adults by this time. Then they had that situation in their household where they could focus on their own wellbeing and their own creativity and what they wanted to do with their lives.
00:16:26
Speaker
Now I'm seeing, even though this hormone change is happening and women are having this turn towards um feeling more liberated and taking care of themselves, because we're starting to have children a little bit later in life, it's a little bit
Motherhood and Menopause
00:16:44
Speaker
of a struggle for some of my patients because they're having these hormonal drives to break ties and you know not take care of others as much, but their children are still you know nine or 12, they're young. So it's causing a little bit of ah a change in our sociology. um i like when you say i think it can be I like that you said sociology. I think that that's a great way of putting it because I wonder,
00:17:09
Speaker
You know me and my alternative kind of you know Neurodivergent sort of thinking out of the box that I wonder if this is Okay, so I say weird things and then I have to like think it through Takes me a minute and I wonder if this is going to lead to a different type of motherhood in other words the The motherhood that we've experienced, or many of us have experienced, um my my mother was a little bit older. She wasn't that old, but she was like, for her generation, she was a little bit older when she had me. I have two brothers. And my brothers and I are very, very, very different. The way that that we were raised was so different, even though
00:17:53
Speaker
We all were raised with my mother. We were all present in the relationship, you know, all these types of things. It's not like, you know, my mother, for whatever reason, had some kind of thing that she wasn't around my brothers. We just, I've asked her multiple times, you know, what what is it that makes us so different? And she usually says something fun like, ah you know, yeah I raised you right. I had already gone through them.
00:18:16
Speaker
But I do wonder if the fact that she was already a little bit older and that she went through menopause around that time, because it was shortly after me and she went through menopause, I wonder if it created a different type of relationship where my mother has always said to me, I am not your friend. I am your mother. She's very clear about that. So she's not like my best girlfriend type of thing. But I do think that she didn't hover around me the way she did maybe around my brothers. She felt much freer. I remember in her in her 40s, for example, I remember my mother going out with her girlfriends and having a good time. And I was always very well taken care of. I was never abandoned. I was sometimes at the parties because they were
00:19:02
Speaker
ah appropriate doing children appropriate things because she didn't care for me in that way. she's not you know She's very proper in so many ways. But at the same time, I did get the vent the advantage, I think, of seeing my mother be a woman, be a woman that got to live her life and experience her life and not and probably in a little bit of a more relaxed way, probably because of that hormonal shift.
00:19:25
Speaker
And so I don't know, now that I'm thinking out loud about it, I wonder if the fact that women are having children, at the beginning, it's going to be a cultural snaf, because, you know, you're a mother, you're supposed to be this way. But as culture starts to kind of break those conditioning bonds, I wonder if this is actually going to lead to a generation, ah to newer generations that are I don't want to just say independent, but that, that see the benefit of a full life because they get to see their parents, especially their mothers live a full life and not a life only of sacrifice. Does that make sense? It does. I mean, that like your experience of seeing your mother outside of the house and like doing things for herself and her friendships and having that different experience and maybe different than other older siblings that may have only seen her.
00:20:19
Speaker
like as a caretaker in that role mostly. I think it'd be interesting to see what happens in the next couple generations because we have this trend of of women having children a little bit later.
00:20:32
Speaker
um
Communication and Support in Menopause
00:20:33
Speaker
And that's going, that may continue, but right now we're having, we're sort of at the beginning wave of that women had that had children later, but their parents didn't necessarily have that pattern. So they're in the middle of caring for those parents now and having young children. And that, I mean, this is the toughest spot, right? I think we're in right now for this generation, but in next generations, that probably is not going to be the case that these things are coinciding.
00:20:59
Speaker
So it's like a struggle a little bit now with we'll say Gen X that is having the hormone shift to wanting to break ties, but they've got these two camps of people that they're relying on them. Right. but I think that would be an interesting sociological study and see what's happened, what happens in the next 40 years. Yeah. and i And I think that these are those kind of subtle pieces that because I'm very thankful that these conversations are starting to happen.
00:21:27
Speaker
Because I find that we don't put all of this into play. We don't think about all the different layers of ourselves, including all these cycles. We think of it as, you know, hormonal cycles, equates behavior, but we have kind of this strict definition, right? Weight gain, irritability, ah mood swings, this, that, and the other. and we don't ah We don't know how to navigate them necessarily towards their positive benefits, towards looking at them as, yes, I am more
00:22:01
Speaker
I want more alone time, but that's not necessarily a bad thing if I channel that through the right lens. And if I build out, again, my ecosystem. So of course my family dynamics are going to change. And of course things around me are going to change. I was i was asking you earlier, and and um I'll ask you again, because I think it's such a fascinating subject. I have a good friend of mine whose wife is going through, you know, menopause.
00:22:27
Speaker
and he finds himself in a situation of not knowing how to support his wife because his wife comes from that cultural generation where you didn't talk about it and all she she only knows a limited number of symptoms and she's experiencing those i don't you know in ah in an intense way, and yet so many more. I, with the limited knowledge that I have, can see so many more because I've had these conversations now with several people and have you know um had multiple conversations with different doctors that are working on on all these approaches. And I'm watching, and I see my friend, who's a male, who is totally stuck because he wants to support his wife so much.
00:23:11
Speaker
And at the same time, his wife doesn't realize that she needs support. She just thinks I need to buckle down and just, it'll be a few years where I'll have no sex drive and I'll gain some weight and I'll be a little bit you know sad. and's And she doesn't realize, but yet my life is going to shit. And she doesn't realize that like it's all connected and she doesn't have that that support system with her.
00:23:37
Speaker
I know. And we're starting to have more of a conversation about perimenopause and menopause and women going through it now or having an awakening if they want to be proactive, they want to help themselves feel better through the transition. um But there's still that other way of thinking of like, it's just something because that's a lot of what women are told to do throughout their life for healthcare, like This is something that happens to you, buckle down, power through it. Yes, you may have cramps all day. You still have to go to work. You still have to go to school. you still you know Don't complain, because then it makes you seem weaker. ah you know Don't say anything about it. You just have to push through it. And so a lot of women are trying to do that. when they don't And if they don't necessarily understand all of the hormone changes they're going through, and they're just feeling what they're feeling, and they're feeling irritable, they don't want to be near people.
00:24:23
Speaker
in they're just pushing, you know, it may seem like they're pushing people away and they don't really know why. And their partners just seeing feeling like it's their fault or like they just they're the ones that's making them irritable. um And this I think that's why I'm doing more podcasts and writing and trying to get the awareness out of these changes so that partners and the women going through it can be aware of like how things are how things are changing and what it might and what it might mean and that can change day to day. And so um to have that understanding and have more of a conversation so that they can work on it together. But I do know a lot of men can feel isolated during this time.
00:25:02
Speaker
Because right they they're taught nothing about periods either or cycles So it's it's a mystery and to them and So they don't even know what to ask Sometimes or where to start they just are feeling they're just seeing their partner not want to be with them in certain ways and wanting more alone time and thinking at me it's a reflection of them, but I think that's why it's important to have these conversations and more increase that the the awareness and the even just to start having the conversation. So I just want to take a very quick break to introduce one of our eco-conscious business partners. And then we'll be right back with more with Dr. Amanda Tracy. Hey there. Did you know that regular toilet paper wipes out 27,000 trees a day?
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Speaker
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Challenging Societal Taboos on Women's Cycles
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Speaker
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00:27:30
Speaker
yeah You brought up two important pieces, which I think is so illuminating for me to help me also with you know talking to others about it. One of them was, in turn, around the idea of, you know, o what men, what people in general are taught about is all of the sort of negative symptoms of all of these pieces, whether we're talking about getting your period, whether we're talking about, um you know, not getting your period anymore. But everything that we're taught is about negativity, you know, a woman is more moody, a woman is more
00:28:08
Speaker
you know, ah she's having a bad time when she's having she has pain, all of it is around the negative aspects. We don't talk about all the if you think about it from a more natural as well as an esoteric perspective. And there's an amazing series of things and advantages that happen around these cycles, right? We're we're more intuitive, we're more in tune with our body. Um, sure. Do we gain some weight? Yes. But it's, it's a different kind of weight. It's not just like I went and I had three cheeseburgers and you know, a bucket of fries. It's your body sort of shifting and moving and creating space for what could be fertility. And fertility is really, I mean, of course we think about it in perspective of having children, but fertility is fertility, period. It means I'm more fertile to ideas. I'm more fertile to experiences. I feel things more deeply, which is not the same as being irritable. Those are two different things. I really experience things in a much more in-depth way. And yet we don't talk about this. So therefore couples don't get to talk about it because I can't say to my partner or I don't know myself how to use my vocabulary to say, hey, just so you know, when I push you away from, you know, during this time,
00:29:28
Speaker
It is not because I don't want you. It's because I am so sensitive and I just want to feel, I need i need something different. I need i need more space. And I want to enjoy that spaciousness that I feel. And I'm also feeling all these other things that i don't want to that I don't normally get to feel, so I want to enjoy them. I'll snuggle with you later, type of thing. like how beautiful it would be if we were to start thinking about this really as a natural cycle, both in both directions, in order to be able to take in all of the magic that happens as our bodies shift. It's not just about babies, it's not just about pain, and it's not just about staining your clothes. It is so much more, and something that I wish I would have done
00:30:21
Speaker
because I don't have a relationship with my period that way. I never did. I spent many years with an IUD, so I don't, and you know, I don't have one. And it wasn't until I moved to Europe that I went out, I went to see the doctor with a girlfriend of mine, and we were talking about, you know, putting in the, the I was changing out my IUD.
00:30:41
Speaker
And you know he he was explaining to me, of course, that you might lose your period. I was like, oh, I haven't had my period in years since I started with the IUD. And my friend looked at me and she's you know Italian because I live in Italy. And she looked at me and she was like, what do you mean?
00:30:56
Speaker
why would you ever put something in your body that takes away your period? And I looked at her and I was like, what are you talking about? Like girls would pay for that in the United States. And she's like, absolutely not. I i want my cycle. i'm I'm more psychically connected in the cycle. I feel closer to the earth. I feel like I am a goddess in that period. And a few, like about a year later, I was reading a book, a beautiful book that was talking about druidic sort of path for women. And in there, there was a scene of the of how these women who lived in an island
00:31:35
Speaker
in like the north in in certain areas of Ireland but like on this island and it was you know way back it's like 2000 years ago and how they would when it was their time to bleed they would like sit on the rocks and they would literally just bleed out they didn't wear anything to cover it and when somebody tried to say oh gross they were like, what are you talking about? This is my strength oozing. This is my livelihood that I fertilized the ground with. This is me giving life to other things. And I was like,
00:32:07
Speaker
I love this. Like, this is why I love Celtic tradition so much. like I want that for myself and for everyone. Yes, I know. And it isn't that that monthly cycle is natural and has its ebbs and flows in different times. And we're more creative and different times where we want to be more active and adventurous and try new things. And and then sometimes we want to retreat.
00:32:33
Speaker
and take, and, you know, have more cuddling and take care of ourselves and have more comfort food. And ah part of it is we're just taught to pay attention to the leading part. And like, that's it. That's it. And that's it. And and not then then when you lose it, you feel like you lost and you're like, wait a minute, you've spent 30 years trying to get out rid of it. And
Tracking and Embracing Natural Cycles
00:32:55
Speaker
now that you get rid of it, you're trying to get it back. Like, hmm.
00:33:01
Speaker
Yes. The more that we know about our cycles, and one of the things that I have my patients with in perimenopause is tracking your cycle because often it changes in perimenopause and sometimes women do like, well, I'm not trying to get pregnant, so I'm not paying attention to when I get my period. When it happens, it happens. When it doesn't, it doesn't, and they're not necessarily paying attention to it. but I think it's very important to track it because then you can take advantage or or just have this knowledge of you know the week that you may be more creative. You want to work on a project when you don't have that you creativity and you may want to retreat. like Focus on maybe doing your food prep and your cooking and you know laundry at those times and and pay attention to the cycle throughout your month or six weeks if you're in perimenopause, it can be changing. and
00:33:48
Speaker
you know, see and and not and that helps part of some of the things that women are working with like some of the stress and frustration is they're trying they're working against these patterns. And once they realize how to go with it, they have a little bit more ease and just even just awareness of like, Oh, this is the week I'm probably going to be, you know, easily ticked off at my teenagers, you know, I'll try to, you know, I'll try to stay, you know,
00:34:11
Speaker
little hands off with them or you know just to avoid a little bit of conflict or something like that but I think having that awareness gives a little bit more of a sense of control and and can be liberating too. Absolutely absolutely I mean I'm learning already so much because it's kind of like connecting the dots of things that I hadn't thought about and you know how it is from a from a wider perspective when you start to look at this as a natural cycle and not a natural pain cycle, but instead a natural cycle that brings with it so many benefits. I feel like we should write, like the book that really needs to be read is
00:34:52
Speaker
101 benefits of your period and 101 benefits of being in menopause. like I just feel like it would be such an empowering piece for us women to experience. As you said, already in the medical field, almost all medical studies are done, the majority of them. I know that things are changing now, but the majority of medical studies are made are done on the male anatomy.
00:35:15
Speaker
like everything is really geared towards men. And if you go in and you look at the research that's being done, most of it has been mirrored off of how a man's body reacts to things. So we're already at a massive disadvantage with all of the health advice that we get around, not all, present company excluded. So much of the of the advice that we get is kind of predicated on, it always has this lay foundation of how the body of a man reacts, which is very different than the body of a woman. And so if we instead, as the research starts to come in, got in tune with our own bodies, really sat
00:35:57
Speaker
With what is our body creating that chemical mixture that happens ah throughout the the month, not just in that window, but throughout the month as you know, as as different hormonal levels like ramp up and as they then, you know, die down with.
00:36:15
Speaker
the same as we see with the lunar cycles around us, the same as we see with the sun and the you know the sun rising and and falling every day. like This is absolutely the way all of us are intended to be. And it's not that men don't have a cycle either. It's just that their cycle has been, this is my personal opinion. I have no science to back this up. But I feel like men's cycles have been integrated into society in such a way that we don't even see them anymore.
00:36:44
Speaker
Like we don't see their subtle shifts that happen where our cycles are more pronounced because again, our bodies have to get ready for childbirth or prepare themselves for these potentials.
00:36:57
Speaker
And because they have not they have been sort of ostracized outside of what is good for society, even though, heck, without these cycles, none of us would exist because women wouldn't be able to have babies. So it's like this contradictory perspective that we have normalized the subtle things that men go through.
00:37:21
Speaker
throughout the month, and we have ostracized what women go through. And on top of that, we need it for survival. And so it's just this it's always fascinating to me to see how it has been that over time, natural cycles of all sorts, but especially in this case that are so pronounced, have been sort of deemed demonish to a certain extent. it just it's It's mind-boggling to me. it's It's one of those things that I am so grateful for plants to help me see this.
00:37:59
Speaker
to bring this so clearly into my life and to bring it into consciousness because I feel so much more in tune with my body and I feel like I'm moving in a completely different relationship with my body and therefore with all of these different abilities that come with my body's cycle throughout the month of preparation and of release of build up and then release and I get this wave of, Oh, I made it through another cycle. Isn't that amazing? Look how it feels to release all of this. Yes, I mean, it and is important to notice those connections. And it's interesting that we're sort of the only ah species and culture that's fighting against it. I mean, if people aren't necessarily in tune to so many plants and like realizing those cycles,
00:38:47
Speaker
we all have seasons no matter where we live. Even on the equator there's subtle changes. right I mean you just see it around you that that's the natural world has cycles and the more that we can embrace that and I think like part of like modern technology is pushing through that. I mean obviously once we started to have electricity that was a big shift and away from natural cycles. so We didn't have to adhere to the you know daily cycles, circadian rhythm and things like that. and I think that's where a big shift is there. And that's something that we're working on trying to disassociate from that. Everyone talks about, oh, you're having trouble sleeping, avoid blue light, you know you know don't have the technology on after 5 p.m. And those are all great things.
00:39:38
Speaker
but It's really like now we're working backwards to mimic nighttime. Right. Where we have it, we just ignore it. Right.
Personal Journeys in Natural Medicine
00:39:46
Speaker
that so And I'm glad that you did bring up sleep cycles, because I think that that's another area where, you know, so much science that gets, but like many things, we just put a carpet, ah you know, we Carpet out certain kinds of ideas and we just cover everything up with this one which is you're supposed to get eight hours of sleep a day which Okay, it's a great rule of thumb but throughout our lifetime even throughout our month We need different kinds of sleep. We need different amounts. We need different qualities of sleep. I mean we
00:40:20
Speaker
Tune in I've been waking up recently very early in the last week. It's a very unusual thing for me to wake up and actually get out of bed. I wake up early usually when I kind of wake up for whatever reason I still stay in bed because I feel like I feel like um my waking up is not How do I say this? For lack of a better term right now, not natural in the sense of something is keeping me up. And therefore I stay in bed and I just try to relax and all these types of things. Except recently, very recently, I've been waking up very early and actually getting out of bed. And it took me a while to sit there and go, why am I?
00:40:55
Speaker
Wait, I'm actually awake. Like not something is wrong awake, but like alert awake. Like my body got the sleep it needed. And move I have no doubt that this is only temporary, that it's just going to last as long as it lasts, and then it's going to go away. i was in you know But I find it fascinating that it was so much less distressful for me when I realized, oh, this is probably some cycle inside of me that feels like I can get enough sleep or the quality of my sleep is such that I don't need more of it. And why am I pushing myself to sleep more? Because some convention says I'm supposed to get eight hours if after six hours I'm awake and I feel really good. And I've created a cycle away in my life, like a
00:41:43
Speaker
um an actual opportunity to sleep early, go to sleep earlier if I want to or in such, in other words, I'm not depriving my body of sleep. I am, I'm instead flowing with my body and therefore I'm getting up and I'm doing a bunch of stuff that's super productive before the sun comes up.
00:42:01
Speaker
Yeah. And I really, and I really love this. I'd love to hear though. I know you work with obviously lots of natural medicine. Has there been any plants that has helped you on this journey for yourself? Like as both a medicine and maybe also in some other way that you didn't recognize at some point? Oh, wow.
00:42:27
Speaker
I've tried, I didn't get into this much in the earlier conversation, but my interest in hormone balancing was because my cycles were crazy in my teens and twenties. I've tried everything through naturopathic school, Chinese herbs, different food strategies, Western European herbs. And really, if I had to go down to one plant, I'm going to choose a food, a sweet potato.
00:42:58
Speaker
Sweet potato. Okay. I love this. god Go. Go. I need to hear it all. and mean I am here. I am in this conversation now. Okay. Yes. I've tried lots of medicinal herbs and I use adaptogens and and lots of plants and things like that. But really in ah in my own journey, knowing my own cycle, I should also say whenever I had my hormones tested, everything showed normal, whether I was having periods or not. Like they couldn't there couldn't find any you know biochemical reason for what was going on.
00:43:27
Speaker
um
00:43:30
Speaker
besides I think maybe stress or inflammation, because once I went 100% plant-based, things straightened out. so But I really, embracing natural patterns of my cycle, increased supporting progesterone, of beta carotene, which is that bright orange pigment that's in yams and sweet potatoes, carrots and squashes.
00:43:53
Speaker
concentrates in our ovaries and studies have actually shown that ovaries that are are more yellow, more keep beta-carotene in them in fertility studies show better outcomes. So it improves ovulation, which improves progesterone. And by focusing on that half of my cycle, having sweet potatoes has made it so I have no PMS symptoms.
00:44:16
Speaker
um I mean, I know my period is coming by my app, my tracker, and I know the date, but I have no bloating, no cramps, no headaches, no migraines, just feel wonderful. And I've, you know, used this strategy with patients as well. um But it's just so simple and in tune with Earth. And I should say maybe ah in the summer, I don't have as many sweet potatoes and I have more other vegetables that are more available because I, even though I live in California, I can get pretty much anything any time of year. I try to follow seasonal and follow local. Um, so I would say if I had to choose one, it would go down to sweet potato. I love that. I love that whole story. And I love there's, there's little subtle things that you just said in this whole story that for me make connections that I think, I don't know if I'm the only one that sees them, but like,
00:45:12
Speaker
The fact, I feel like the work that you're doing is in some ways a, okay, I can't say which came first, the chicken or the egg, but I can feel the connection between the work that you're doing, the understanding of your own personal cycles and your desire to eat more local, to eat more seasonal. Like it's, they go hand in hand. It's that relationship with the earth.
00:45:37
Speaker
that helps us discover what's good for our bodies. So for you, sweet potatoes and the relationship is, and sweet potato to a certain extent speaks to you like saying, hey, I'm good for you. And
Seasonal Eating and Body Cycles
00:45:48
Speaker
you hear that call. And that also reminds you of, oh, wait, I, I'm hearing the call of Earth because it's connecting to my body as Earth, right? And therefore, I'm going to want to eat more seasonal, I'm going to want to eat more in line and in tune with my body and the the local environment that I'm in processes. it's just It's those types of things that I think lead to what true wellness is, which is being in the flow. It doesn't mean that I'm never going to have a pain. I'm never going to have anything in inflammation. I'm never going to have you know some joint that hurts me.
00:46:30
Speaker
It means, though, that that is a natural expression of how our body is adapting to the environment that we put our body in. And therefore, it's not always a bad thing. It's sometimes a reminder of take more stillness time, take more time for yourself. It might be a reminder of this type of thing isn't really good for you, or this type of thing is something you need to build up to. Like there's just so much that that interaction between earth and body can tell us if we just take the time to sit and listen. Yes, yes, it definitely takes some sitting, listening, tuning in. I think of this a lot this time of year because we're recording this in January, new year, everyone's like I'm going to get on track, I'm going to have salads and smoothies and you know doing these
00:47:24
Speaker
harsher things to their bodies when moat from you know northern hemisphere we're in winter it's a time to nourish it's a time to have easily digestible foods soup and stews and not necessarily raw salads and cold smoothies all of the time and I feel like this is the time of year that it but it comes up a lot in conversation with my patients because their you culture or is telling them to do other things or advertising is telling them to do other things in January. And really, it's a time for nourishment and and to slow down and to heal. And it's winter. It's time to restore.
00:48:01
Speaker
Absolutely. Our bodies just don't process things in the same way because you know if you think about it, plants are going into their dormancy period. You've pulled in all the resources you needed in the fall, and now your body is working with those. So therefore, like you said, it's lightness. it's It is that warm tea and that you know that nice soup that's coming through that's not too heavy.
00:48:25
Speaker
and yet nourishing in order for our body to be able to best process it. I love that analogy. I have a feeling we could sit here for forever because there's so many pieces that I feel like are coming into being especially because this is such a broader conversation and I'm so glad that we got there because I knew it. I knew when we sat there and we had that conversation when I was in Barnes and Noble that this would be an amazing kind of Different lens into this process that goes way beyond just one is isolated incident and I do recommend any everyone but especially for women to you know, if you're having trouble getting in touch with your body, you know, a person like
00:49:08
Speaker
Dr. Amanda would be fantastic for you to have, ah you know, just there as that resource that you go to and you, you start to build that relationship because it's, it doesn't make any sense to wait until something is wrong, or to wait until you're already at perimenopause and you're experiencing all this. If you can prepare your body into it, if you can prepare that relationship, it will go so much smoother and it'll be something that you can cherish. I mean, how many women unfortunately miss out on the opportunity to really live this piece in these parts of their lives. So I am just excited that we're getting the word out and that we're you know speaking at this natural cycle sort of level at a really broad, you know to a really broad audience and in a really broad way. So thank you so much for that conversation.
00:49:57
Speaker
Oh, thank you. I loved our conversation. I'm glad we got to this broader topic and beyond, you know, the cocktail ah party conversation of like, what herbs do you use for hot flashes or something like that? ah but I really enjoyed our conversation. So with that, is there anything that you want to tell the audience when some last words of wisdom?
00:50:19
Speaker
that really focus on that it's this is a time of transition and there is hope and you will feel better and tuning into your body and what it needs it will really help you feel your best through this through the transition to form bone changes. And it's not all about hot flashes and irritability and sleepless nights. Beautiful. And if they want to learn more about you and the work that you do? Yes, they can find me on social media at AmandaTracyND or DrAmandaTracy.com.
00:50:49
Speaker
and I will make sure I include everything in the show notes so that people can easily find you. I'll make sure and I'll tag you on everything that goes out because I want You know, my audience is primarily women. It's not all women, but it's primarily women. And even though, and many men who are married to women, you know, who have girlfriends and sisters and mothers, and we're all here to, we all interact with women on a regular basis. And having this vocabulary is so empowering to be able to have these conversations rather than the taboo that we've lived in with this topic for way,
00:51:23
Speaker
way, way too long. I am loving when I see here, especially in Europe, it's much more casual to talk about you know menstruation and to talk about some of the the the things that we as girls went through in secret, you know that we were hiding from everybody else. And I think that it's so important for us to get to a culture where we realize that periods are something that women might experience in first person, but really men experience them too.
00:51:52
Speaker
through our interactions, but also through the fact that it is a part that gives life to new beings. And so once you see that that is giving life to all kinds of new beings, hopefully they'll realize that when a woman has her period in business, she's probably a bigger asset in that moment because she's got lots of brilliant ideas coming through. Absolutely. and That's where I want to get to. I want to get to.
00:52:16
Speaker
Thank you so much, Amanda. This has just been really like educational, heartwarming, mind boggling, and I am just so grateful for this conversation. Oh, thank you for having me. I really enjoyed it.
00:52:30
Speaker
All right, thank you so much, everyone. If you are interested in learning more about Dr. Amanda Tracy, please, everything you need as in the show notes. And if you know of anyone that is experiencing any of the symptoms that we're talking about and who feels isolated and alone, this is the episode to like, to share, and to really spread to a wider audience because We want all of our women and girls to be empowered to understand their body and to learn about these processes in a way that is in tune with their inner plantness and the outer greater natural world around us. So thank you so much. Also, we'll be continuing these conversations in the naturally conscious community as always. So whenever you want.
00:53:14
Speaker
You go and you search there and you come and join us because we will continue this type of work and this type of conversation. So thank you so much. As always, remember resist the urge to hold back your emerging green brilliance. That's it for me. I'm out. Bye. Thanks for tuning into this episode of reconnect with plant wisdom to continue these conversations. Join us in the naturally conscious community.
00:53:39
Speaker
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00:53:56
Speaker
Connect with like-minded individuals collaborating with plants to integrate these insights into life. Intro and Outro Music by Steve Schulie and Poinsettia from the Singing Life of Plants. That's it for me, Tigria Gardenia, and my plant collaborators. Until next time, remember, resist the urge to hold back your emerging green brilliance. I'm out. Bye!