Women are instinctively intune with their bodies. If you’re a woman you know what I mean, from our bothersome monthly visitor to growing a child inside our belly, women know when there’s something up with their body.
As a Certified Holistic Health Coach I help women navigate a variety of health issues with a unique naturopathic and functional medicine lens. Ultimately, I believe that food is medicine and that many times, we can correct imbalances in the body with proper nutrition and self care such as good sleep, frequent exercise or movement of the body, and effective stress management strategies. As a mom of six, I’m particularly passionate about women’s health. In the following list, I’m going to outline five women’s health issues that a functional medicine practitioner can help women navigate in order to heal their bodies.
It is helpful to take an inventory on that is going well in your life and what needs improvement. A health coach can help to design a self-care plan that helps you meet your health goals.
Five Women’s Health Issues
1. Thyroid Disorders
Did you know that women are five to eight times more likely than men to have a thyroid disorder? In fact, one in eight women will develop a thyroid disorder in her lifetime. There are two types of thyroid disorders: hyperthyroidism and hypothyroidism.
The autoimmune disease of hypothyroidism is called Hashimoto’s while the autoimmune disease of hyperthyroidism is called Graves Disease. With both of these autoimmune diseases there is an autoimmune attack on the thyroid.
As a practitioner of functional medicine I know that thyroid disorders don’t happen overnight. There are many nutritional and lifestyle factors that come into play to disrupt thyroid levels before a problem occurs. In fact, many women don’t even realize that their constant fatigue, hair loss, and dry skin are actually symptoms of a thyroid disorder and imbalanced adrenals.
A holistic health coach will address the thyroid by looking at all aspects of your life including your unique genetics, nutrition, stress levels, sleep patterns, relationships, etc. A comprehensive lab panel can give great insight into the dynamics at play and lifestyle prescriptions are usually recommended. In fact, you can read more about how to heal thyroid disorders with functional medicine on my blog post here.
2. Imbalanced Hormones
Women are constantly dealing with their hormones, especially when they are out of whack. Two women’s health issues in particular that a holistic health coach can help women with are PCOS and irregular periods.
PCOS is the most common hormonal disorder in women. As many as 6% to 12% of women in the United States suffer from PCOS. A woman with PCOS has absent or rare menstrual cycles, clinical signs of hyperandrogenism (excessive testosterone), and polycystic ovaries. Another common symptom of women with PCOS is insulin resistance.
Meanwhile, irregular periods are more than just a matter of Mr. Flow being unreliable. Your menstrual cycle is a monthly report card of how balanced your hormones are. Extremely heavy periods, breast tenderness, intense mood swings, and skin issues are signs your hormones are not happy.
Did you know that one of the first helpful recommendations for PCOS is lifestyle change, also known as diet and exercise. It just so happens that holistic health coaches are arbiters of lifestyle changes. In addition to lifestyle changes, holistic health coaches look at the mental, spiritual, and emotional state of their patients to provide the right support for long-lasting health choices. If your hormones are out of balance, a holistic health coach will be your best friend.
3. Gut Health
Research shows that the gut is becoming more and more important to our overall health and wellbeing. What makes the gut so important? Your gut flora, or microbiome, consists of beneficial bacteria that live in the digestive tract and aid in metabolism, digestion, immune function, and brain health.
Two women’s health issues that involve the gut include a leaky gut and Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS). In fact, IBS often includes anxiety and is more common in women than men. On the other hand, leaky gut often accompanies other health issues like diabetes, PCOS, and Celiac disease among others. Imbalances in the gut microbiome cause inflammation and intestinal permeability thus causing a “leaky” gut.
Dietary and lifestyle changes are both necessary when creating a treatment plan to bring the gut back to optimal health. Through one on one or group coaching a holistic health coach can help you identify what types of changes are appropriate for your situation.
A health coach can be a great accountability partner and help you navigate your health challenges.
4. Migraines and Stress Reduction
While women are skilled multitaskers, it doesn’t mean we enjoy handling everything all the time. This may come as a surprise to you but 30 million Americans suffer from migraines, and 3 out of 4 of them are women. Chronic stress can cause a lot more pain in your life than just migraines.
In addition to major life events, there are everyday stresses/stressors that women experience, such as an unexpected minor illness of a family member who requires care, dealing with traffic during a commute, or changing work hours.
Stress reduction starts with mindset. Something a holistic health coach is trained to do is encourage patients to be self-motivated through motivational interviewing techniques. Research shows that lifestyle health coaching has been found to be clinically effective.
However, a holistic health coach will also use a whole person approach and can even make recommendations for supplements including herbs. For example, in the case of migraines, for some people, a daily dose of riboflavin (vitamin B2) can help prevent headaches from occurring with fewer side effects than the conventional medication.
5. Weight Loss
The last women’s health issue is not unique to women, but so often plagues our minds. Weight loss. Even at a healthy weight, we often feel the need to continue to diet and workout. How else will we compare with all the models online and on TV? Thankfully, body positivity is becoming part of the culture.
Still, weight loss is a challenge and a hard journey. It is especially hard when you feel like you’re embarking on that journey alone. That’s why a holistic health coach is so advantageous to women on their weight loss journeys. Health coaches focus on what has, can, and will work better for you. Instead of trying to “fix” you, they come alongside and help you achieve the goals YOU desire.
Work With A Holistic Health Coach
My name is Mandy Patterson and I’m a Certified Holistic Health Coach, Doctor of Naturopathy, and mom of six. If you are struggling with any of the five women’s health issues listed above please contact me. I want nothing more than to give support and encouragement as you pursue a healthier you!
