Supporting Women's Brain Health with Naturopathy
Whether it is brain fog, mood swings, or burnout - many women experience shifts in brain function especially when transitioning through milestone life stages such as puberty, perimenopause, postpartum. More often than not, the needs of those we love and care for are placed ahead of our own.
This year’s Jean Hailes Women’s Health Week (1 - 5 September) theme, “Say Yes To You”, is the perfect reminder to carve out time to take care of your own health and wellbeing!
Here are 4 simple ways that you can support your brain health - your mood, focus, and clarity - holistically and naturopathically:
1. Food (not caffeine!) as fuel
Our brains thrive off a steady supply of nutrients such as B-vitamins, omega-3 fatty acids, and magnesium. Skipping meals, reaching for quick and dirty fuel sources (lollies, soft drinks, hot chips, chocolate), or running solely on caffeine (you’ll be surprised how many people live off 4+ shots of coffee a day!), will cause energy dips and highs and impact our ability to concentrate.
Quick tip: Pick foods that balance blood sugar and nervous system regulation (such as oats, brown rice, leafy greens, and lean protein with each meal)
2. Balance your hormones
Hormones like progesterone, oestrogen, and thyroid hormones influence our neurotransmitters, our brain’s messenger chemicals, which affects mood, focus, and memory. A common culprit is low estrogen and progesterone at the beginning of your menstrual cycle which contributes to fatigue and irritability.
Quick tip: If you are not on the pill or HRT, test your baseline hormone levels on day 2-3 of your next menstrual cycle to understand if high estrogen and low progesterone is the cause of PMS symptoms.
3. The Gut-Brain Connection
Your gut is the powerhouse for good health and the production of neurotransmitters like serotonin, the feel good hormone responsible for sleep and mood, and GABA, your take a chill pill hormone. Food sensitivities, leaky gut, and microbial imbalances can contribute to brain fog and anxiety.
Quick tip: have you trialed gluten and dairy elimination diets but still not seeing results? Chat to our naturopath about stool and food sensitivity testing to pinpoint how we can best support healing your gut and in turn, boost your mood.
4. Herbal medicine for calm and focus
Adaptogenic herbs (supporting the body’s ability to cope with stress) like withania, and nootropic (boost cognitive function) herbs like bacopa are helpful allies when it comes to combating stress, anxiety, and inattentiveness.
Quick tip: Make it a ritual to include calming herbs (we love chamomile tea!) in the evening before bed, and brain boosting herbs (we love a personalised herbal tincture!) in the morning after breakfast
Health and wellbeing doesn’t have to be expensive or complicated. Here are 3 ways you can “Say Yes to You” this week:
Say Yes, to Pause: take 5 minutes for yourself to take some deep sighs and reset your nervous system
Say Yes, to Nourishment: choose colourful, and wholefoods that fuel your brain and body
Say Yes, to Support: you are not on this journey alone, find your health and wellbeing team who can guide you in the right direction
At Papaya Clinic, we support women through all of life’s stages!
Book in with our naturopath, Lauren Lee, who can meet you wherever you are on your journey and guide you to a path where you can be feeling your best self every single day.
