This is a case study for a 32 year old client who complains of diarrhea, mood issues and bloating and it gets much worse right before her cycle.
We use the hair tissue mineral analysis test to find the root cause of these symptoms.
The reason that gut symptoms get worse before menstruation is because the liver and gut can’t keep up with the hormonal shifts of estrogen and prostaglandins, which can irritate the gut.
My client’s copper very high and this mineral is directly correlated to estrogen, so high copper can point to estrogen dominance.
With estrogen dominance it is very important to support the liver and bile flow. This is very important for copper detox.
On a side note, copper imbalance was a large part of my digestive issues many years ago. I also had very difficult premenstrual syndrome and painful periods that went away after balancing copper.
How to balance copper
To balance copper it’s important to have enough dietary zinc in your diet, which comes from animal products like red meat and eggs. And pumpkin seeds are a plant source of zinc.
My client is a slow oxidizer, which means that her system is slowing her down, with down regulated metabolism driven by slow thyroid and adrenal function. This means it is harder for the body to detox.
She also has high inflammation, signified by high sodium and potassium, which tells us that her gut is inflamed. It is important to lower her inflammation generally through dietary interventions and nervous system regulation, but it is particularly important to focus on this in the last 2 weeks of her cycle to reduce her symptoms.
Lowering inflammation looks like avoiding sugar and adding in clean sources of protein in every meal. Some people find it very supportive to eliminate grains and beans from the diet, if there is a permeable gut lining. Both beans and grains can irritate the gut lining. This diet will also support the adrenals.
There is a close relationship between the state of the adrenals and the body’s ability to balance copper and estrogen. So a diet that supports inflammation and also balances blood sugar (lower sugar, lower starch and high protein) will support the adrenals and hormone balance, as well as minerals. So dialing in the diet is the first step.
Day 14 to 28 of the cycle is most important to focus on stress relief and nervous system regulation. And also to support live detox.
For liver detox I suggest:
- Dandelion tea
- Castor oil packs applied to the liver
- 1 to 2 Tablespoons of grated raws beets if tolerated
- Lemon water and ginger tea daily
Day 18 to 28 of the cycle it’s even more important to support inflammation.
For lowering inflammation I suggest:
- Slippery elm or marshmallow tea to sooth the gut lining
- Bone broth or meat stock with carrots and squash
- Avoid histamine rich foods like chocolate, avocado, egg whites, tuna, fermented foods, long cooked broths and aged/smokes meats, cheeses and fish.
- Turmeric and fish oil are great interventions but won’t help much if the diet is inflammatory.
Many women crave chocolate before their cycle. This may be the body’s cry from magnesium and should be addressed with magnesium supplementation. Magnesium glycerinate is my suggested form.
How to address stress
Nervous system regulation is very personal and involved slowing down, compassionate self talk and addressing your life stressors with support.
For supporting the nervous system I suggest:
- Exposing yourself to more sunlight, particularly early in the morning.
- Structured mealtimes and bed time (3 meals a day versus grazing or snacking, eating slowly and going to bed before 10:30).
- Journaling to release your emotions.
- Pausing a few times per day (put a timer on your phone) to check in with your posture and breathing is also beneficial. Shallow breathing and hunched shoulders send a signal to the nervous system that you are not safe.
Flare SOS and the big picture
When flares do occur, especially if it’s diarrhea, taking activated charcoal away from food, can help bind to copper and toxins in the gut to bring relief.
Copper imbalance in the body will increase with stress and lack of zinc-based foods. This is why vegetarians or vegans are more likely to be copper imbalanced. But those who stress eat carbs are also prone.
The cyclical nature of stress and copper is that they feed into each other. With copper imbalance you are more stress sensitive and prone to anxiety and a racing mind. You will often feel wired and tired, especially at night when it’s time for bed.
The stress brought on by copper will release more cortisol in your body and weaken adrenals. Weak adrenals make it more difficult for your body to balance copper stores.
As you can see this is a viscous cycle that demands a lifestyle approach that looks at stress/nervous system, hormonal/adrenal support and dietary intervention. There is no quick fix for this like taking milk thistle for the liver or dimm to lower estrogen. These can definitely help, but if the deeper lifestyle interventions are not made then it may be hard for the body to get out of this cycle.
When lifestyle interventions are made, symptoms will start to improve in 1 to 2 cycles. 3 to 6 months of interventions will help symptoms stabilize significantly. To balance copper and repair stressed adrenals and nervous system may take 6 to 12 months.
While this may seem like a long time, my one year of healing work made my body stronger and more resilient for the next 20 years. My PMS went away completely.
Changing your habits is extremely challenging at first. But as the new habits become familiar they just become routine and you will sail into a new metabolic and hormonal state with ease. I know because I did it and help other people do the same.
If you are interested in taking an HTMA test, I offer the test and a single consult or better yet, the test plus a supported 8 week coaching program that will help make and support the habit change that is needed to balance hormones, support adrenals and lower inflammation. Find out more here.
