Become a Creator today!Start creating today - Share your story with the world!
Start for free
00:00:00
00:00:01
#38 Am I Ovulating? Part 2: Ovulation Signs to Look For and the Anovulation Causes Behind Irregular Cycles
2 Playsin 2 days
The Bean Talk – Episode 38: Am I Ovulating? Part 2:Ovulation Signs to Look For and the Anovulation Causes Behind Irregular Cycles
In this follow-on episode, Riannon explores how to actually know if you’re ovulating and the key reasons you might not be. Breaking down the most reliable ovulation signs, the common anovulation causes, and the foundational pillars that support a healthy, regular cycle.
She discusses practical ways to nourish your hormones, balance blood sugar, manage stress, and support your thyroid, giving you simple steps to help your body feel safe enough to ovulate consistently.
Connect with us on Instagram & TikTok @mungbean_health or visit mungbeanhealth.com for expert support.
If you haven’t listened to Part 1, you can find it here:
Recommended
Transcript
Introduction and Mission of The Bean Talk
00:00:00
Speaker
Welcome to The Bean Talk with me, Rhiannon, your fertility fairy godmother, joined by my trusted partner in life and in the mission of Mungbean Health, Jeremy. Here at Mungbean Health, we're on a mission to unlock the secrets of fertility and natural wellbeing one episode at time.
00:00:22
Speaker
Hi, and welcome back to The Bean Talk with Rhiannon, your fertility fairy godmother. i am following on from our last episode, which was all about why aren't you ovulating? Now, this session, i am really excited to talk through because this one is going to be ways that you can support yourself with ovulation. So obviously not just why isn't it happening, but also how we can support it.
Supporting Nervous System During Pregnancy
00:00:54
Speaker
As usual, we love to talk about our little bean and big bean. Obviously, just being me, I can absolutely tell you and share with you. i have been, it's i always find it hard if I should put it as my little bean or my big bean because I find that even the smaller steps can be the biggest things in your health journey.
00:01:13
Speaker
But definitely doing some breathing exercises to support my nervous system, have a lot going on at the moment, all very exciting, but I know how important it is to support our nervous system, especially throughout pregnancy.
00:01:29
Speaker
All the time, really, but especially throughout pregnancy. So I have been doing some of the Headspace. Now, if you don't have the app Headspace or you haven't heard of it, I definitely recommend it. I recommend it to a lot of my beautiful clients. It's easy. It's got some guided meditation and you can start with three to five minute sessions.
00:01:48
Speaker
So it doesn't have to be 20 minutes at a time where you feel like you can't focus and you're struggling. You can do it absolutely anywhere. You can do it at nighttime, you do it in the day. i find doing it in nature. So if like I can go somewhere, go to the beach, haven't been able to do that, but like get outside and stare at a tree or go for a nature walk, that sort of thing, all really good for the nervous
Reflections on Pregnancy, Birth, and Trauma
00:02:11
Speaker
system. Then as my big bean, this one's sort of like ah is going to happen very soon because I have done calm birth for my prep with Evie. So that was like six years ago now, but I want to do, I want to do a bit of a refresher and I've heard so much good stuff about hypnobirthing. So I'm wondering to do hypnobirthing course and then sort of interluding the two, because I still have a lot of knowledge from calm birth as well, but really trying to
00:02:42
Speaker
take a deep breath and really lean into this birth. I'm not even halfway yet, but it's definitely something that I am already preparing for. And I'm channeling my second birth. So Evie's birth was great.
00:02:56
Speaker
It was just, you know, wild because I'd never done it before. And it was an experience and i didn't know how it was going to go My best birth was my second birth, which was my son, Tate. The reason for that is i knew what I was doing. my my head was in the game. i was ready to birth this beautiful baby. And yeah, I did.
00:03:16
Speaker
And then obviously we lost Winnie after that. And that has set in a bit of trauma because how doesn't it? And then obviously Rome, it was like very much on the back of Winnie. So i I'm really excited to try and channel that second birth again where I was very in control. And I still, i feel I did amazing with Rome considering still had a natural delivery, vaginal birth. And it was everything that I wanted. i did feel a little bit fearful and apprehensive going into it because once you have lost a baby, I feel you start to think, i don't want to say the worst about things, but you start to realize that it's not just a story. It can happen to you. It's not just things that happen to other people.
00:04:02
Speaker
It's what can happen to us. It does happen to us. So i think there's something beautiful being naive if you haven't experienced loss and you can sort of protect your own mental health by saying, it's not going to happen to me or naturally feeling that. um But yeah, unfortunately it happened to me. So that's why I just went into that. But I'm really reminding myself of how amazing birth can be. how in control I can be. And that just because that has happened does not mean that it's going to happen again. Anyway, i got a little bit deep there, but just sending love to all the lost mamas because it's a club you do not want to be a part of. Heck, we don't want to be a part of it, but it is life and it is real.
00:04:41
Speaker
So Love to all of the beautiful lost mamas.
Understanding Ovulation in the Menstrual Cycle
00:04:46
Speaker
But yes, if you haven't listened to part one of this, Why Aren't You Ovulating? Please go back and check it out because there is some very amazing information that is in there. But let's talk a bit more about how we can support your ovulation. A quick recap for you. Ovulation is...
00:05:02
Speaker
an essential part of our monthly menstrual cycle. Ovulation occurs mid part of your cycle, usually around that day 13 to day 16, most typically day 14, but can be anywhere in the middle, to be honest with you. I've seen it all.
00:05:19
Speaker
Simply, it is the part of your cycle where the egg is released from the ovary and we are our most fertile. So a very important time when we're trying to conceive, but also important for how we feel. So some of the factors that may cause you to not ovulate would be things like hormonal or endocrine issues, lifestyle factors, certain types of medication, or deeper health issues. And if by this point you have actually listened to the first episode and considered whether this may be you, We hope that you have investigated it already a little bit further as you don't need to guess or cause yourself any stress of the what ifs.
00:06:03
Speaker
We are here to support you and we support women every single day in clinic with not only their fertility, but also ovulation. So let's talk through some amazing ways that you can support your ovulation.
00:06:15
Speaker
So a very important one is feeding your hormones. Your body needs energy and nutrients to make hormones. If it senses scarcity with food and nutrients, ovulation is the first thing to switch off.
00:06:30
Speaker
So you really want to make sure that each meal includes a number of different foods. parts or macros. So we really want to look at our protein, very important for our hormones and ovulation, to build and transport those hormones around things like good quality eggs, chicken, fish, or even tofu or tempeh.
00:06:52
Speaker
A bit of a pro tip for you is to aim for 1.5 grams per kilo of weight, body weight, minimum. That's your minimum daily. So if you are, say, 65 kilos, you would aim to eat approximately 100 grams daily. You can easily work this out yourself with your calculator. In fact, I'm going to get you to get your calculator out now. If you know your weight or roundabout, I want you to work it out for yourself so you know. Now, very important to careful.
00:07:25
Speaker
using that as a little bit of a baseline. Healthy fats is the next one, very important. It's to support our hormone production as well as lowering inflammation. And remember, inflammation is the driver of disease and not good for so many things in the body. So we really want to lower that.
00:07:45
Speaker
Healthy fats like avocados, really good quality extra virgin olive oil, nuts and seeds. Be careful of seeds seed oils, but eating them as a whole is fine.
00:07:58
Speaker
We also want to eat carbs. Now, please, carbs are not the enemy, even though you may have been told you don't want to be eating carbs or this is carb-free or go on a carb-free diet.
00:08:11
Speaker
We actually need complex or slow carbs, things like sweet potato, pumpkin, or quinoa. They actually support more of a steady glucose and insulin balance, so really good for our blood sugar. We'll discuss a bit more about this in tip two, but it needs its own section, honestly, because so many people are scared of carbs and it's so important for our health and our hormones and our sleep and the way we think and so much more.
00:08:42
Speaker
Key micronutrients is really, really important. So it's often over-missed nutrients such as zinc, magnesium, vitamin B6, and iron. They're especially important for follicle development and also progesterone production, which is absolutely key. We know how important progesterone is.
Nutritional Support for Ovulation: Balanced Meals and PCOS
00:09:06
Speaker
Balancing your blood sugars is so important.
00:09:08
Speaker
As we have already mentioned, Your glucose levels, we want them to be stable and we want your insulin to stay in a healthy range, which can help your ovaries respond normally to hormones like FSH and LH and estrogen and even progesterone. It can help with the rise and the fall in a natural rhythm.
00:09:29
Speaker
This is especially important for women who do not ovulate due to PCOS. So you really want to aim for balanced meals. No skipping breakfast.
00:09:42
Speaker
Pair with carbs, opting for the complex carbs over the simple carbs and protein or fat, just like I've mentioned in point one there. So you really want to have a full plate of all the different nutrients and macros. So our favorite herbs and nutrients for stabilizing your blood sugar, please do not self-prescribe. It's dangerous. You might not need these. and then it's a waste of time or you could be, you know, taking a medication or doing some other supplement that isn't going to agree.
00:10:12
Speaker
But some of our favorite herbs and nutrients are definitely cinnamon. that you can actually use in your cooking and that's fine. So definitely start to enjoy some cinnamon in the diet. You can put it in your breakfast. If you're having porridge, you could have it in muesli. You could have it in a smoothie, have it as a tea, but we do use a therapeutic dose of herbs in our clinic.
00:10:35
Speaker
We also like to use gymneema, fenugreek, green tea, Again, what you're getting from a cup of green tea is nowhere near the therapeutic dose or the dose that we give in herbal drops, but still drink your green tea. It's great. Berberine, you've probably heard the hype about it. Just be mindful. It doesn't work well for everyone in the way of gut health. And that's why it needs to be prescribed accordingly to your case, not just because you saw someone share about it online and thought it was a good idea. But it's amazing when it is used for the right person.
00:11:11
Speaker
Then we've also got some nutrients like chromium and also inositol. I love inositol. Number three is making sure that we manage our stress. So important. takes me back to my breathing techniques out in nature. So helpful. This is such a big one. And it's something that really needs to be held accountable because so many of us are ah stressed and rightly so. We have so much going on in our lives. It's all rush, rush, rush.
00:11:42
Speaker
If you've got children, adds another layer of making sure they're all supported if you're working. Even without kids, the busyness of life can be insane. So we are all victims to letting our stress get the best of us. You're not alone, usually only taking charge when it has impacted our lives greatly or to a chronic extent.
00:12:05
Speaker
In relation to our hormones, your body can't actually tell the difference between emotional stress and physical danger. And in both cases, our hormones like progesterone are impacted greatly and reproduction takes a backseat because remember,
00:12:21
Speaker
your body will prioritize safety and saving you, which is our cortisol hormone, over procreation, which is our progesterone. So we really want to try building in recovery time. Walks outside, again, in nature, so good, especially as the weather's warming up.
00:12:37
Speaker
Grounding practices to get your feet outside in the grass, in the sand, hell, in the dirt, whatever. Just touch the earth, please, with a body part, preferably your feet.
00:12:50
Speaker
We want to do some of that deep breathing. Yoga or Pilates is great for that as well. Probably more yoga. Mindfulness practices as well. So meditation, journaling, magnesium-rich foods or supplements. Again, supplements are going to be so much more beneficial. because It's going to accelerate your support and at a therapeutic dose, not just a food dose. But hey, still recommend to get yourself eating right.
00:13:17
Speaker
Then let's talk about tip four, which is supporting our thyroid and
Thyroid Function and Its Impact on Ovulation
00:13:22
Speaker
metabolic health. So we spoke about the possible connection between our thyroid and an ovulation, so not ovulating in part one, but let's look a little bit closer.
00:13:33
Speaker
Your thyroid hormones and ovulation are besties. They're best friends. If your thyroid function is sluggish, Ovulation can be delayed or absent.
00:13:43
Speaker
So can just not be there altogether. Ways you can support this are ensuring you're getting enough selenium. Now, Brazil nuts are a wonderful source.
00:13:54
Speaker
You only want to have a couple of days It really does come down to the quality of the soil as well. So get good quality Brazil nuts. Iodine, so important. Through seafood or seaweed, they are great options. We definitely need enough of that for the thyroid. And as an entire country, we are probably world. We are deficient, but definitely in Australia. And iron as well, which so many people are chronically low with. Red meat, good quality again.
00:14:25
Speaker
dark leafy greens. Beans are another good option, but again, trying to opt for organic meats. I know it can be so expensive though. i totally get that, but your health is an investment and it's something that you will never regret investing in and you will thank yourself in later life. So if you are feeling fatigued, cold, or even hot and cold, but cold hands and feet, extremities, or losing hair, it's worth testing your thyroid panel Not just your TSH. Cannot stress that enough because if you go to the GP and say, I want to get my thyroid tested, they will usually just test your TSH. And that reference range is is huge.
00:15:07
Speaker
They're happy for you to be between 0.4 and Whereas for me, optimally, I want you under or around under 1.5 or closer to 1.5. If you're over two, definitely something else going on. They're happy for you to go all the way to four and they won't test T4 or T3 if you're not over for TSH, which is crazy because TSH is just a thyroid, it's your thyroid stimulating hormone, TSH.
00:15:36
Speaker
It is your brain talking to your thyroid. So it's really just a brain hormone. It's not actually the thyroid hormone because that's T4. And then T4 gets activated into T3. So really important for us to be testing the whole thyroid, not to mention we haven't even spoken about thyroid antibodies, which is...
00:15:57
Speaker
Equally important, very important for preconception, especially if you've experienced miscarriages. And then also postpartum. And I often see the thyroid can be a bit funny because it has been working very hard and especially if it was a bit compromised before. I do also want to note for 0.5, test and do not guess.
Testing and Diagnosing Anovulation
00:16:14
Speaker
It follows on from what I was just talking about. To always identify what could be the cause. This One is probably the most important because none of the above supports will work if you don't know what is driving your inovulation or why you're not ovulating.
00:16:34
Speaker
Fortunately, you can catch it early. because can go and get some testing. We would love to support you. And we deal with this every single day with our clients fertility. So if this episode or part one resonates with you, please book in an appointment. Let us get your hormones and ovulation back in action. We would love to have a look into some further testing to see what's going on.
00:16:55
Speaker
Is it your metabolic health, insulin, blood sugar? What's going on there? Is it your thyroid? Is something else going on there? Is it that you're very stressed and struggling?
00:17:09
Speaker
Is it a certain type of medication causing an issue? Or is it something deeper? We would love to check in on your hormones and your health. So please reach out. You can DM us on Instagram. Our handle is mungbean underscore health. So m-u-n-g-b-e-a-n underscore health. you can find us on our website, www.mungbeanhealth.com. And we have a chat on there that you can chat to us and ask any questions as well. And then you can also find us on TikTok, which is the same as Instagram, M-U-N-G-B-E-A-N underscore health. And we cannot wait to help.
00:17:50
Speaker
And that's a wrap on today's dose of wellness. I'm Rhiannon, your fertility fairy godmother. Thank you for joining us. Stay connected with us on Instagram at mungbin underscore health.