Symptoms Are The Clues To Help Us Optimize Our Health
A structure is said to be strong and stable when it can withstand a heavy load of unexpected forces. The human body is one such structure and as women, juggling many things daily, we sure do encounter unexpected forces from time to time (enter irregular menstrual cycles, a pandemic, virtual school, fertility struggles, fatigue, insomnia, depression, and everything else in between). As integrative medicine doctors specializing in women’s health, we love investigating the health clues that tell us the body may not be as strong + stable as we’d like it to be. Once these clues are identified and honored, implementing the support needed to resolve them can easily bring back vitality and a return to “feeling like yourself again”.
The following list comes from our experience of sitting with, listening to and partnering with women for over a decade. If any of this sounds familiar, seek out an integrative practitioner who will listen, support and problem-solve alongside of you.
Gut health- if you’re not pooping every single day, this is a significant clue that something is not right in your body! It may be food sensitivities, poor digestion, dysbiosis, yeast, dehydration or something else.
Thyroid health- if your TSH level is over 2 & you’re symptomatic (hypothyroidism symptoms = weight gain, fatigue, mood swings, thinning hair, constipation, low libido), you may have a form of subclinical hypothyroidism even though your lab levels aren’t classified as abnormal—yet!
Get your vitamin D level checked yearly! Twice a year—we suggest Spring and Fall, is even better! Normal levels are over 30 ng/mL, however we now know thanks to research, an optimal vitamin D level is over 60 ng/mL.
Keep a pulse on your ferritin level—this is a measure of your iron stores or as we like to refer to it, your iron bank account. Iron is crucial for making red blood cells, which are needed to transport oxygen throughout your entire system. If your ferritin level is less than 20 mcg/L, it is too low!
Try not to skip meals as your body views this as a stressful event. Once your body is stressed, que the fight or flight hormone production and we’re off ‘n’ running in an inflammatory state.
Drink half of your body weight in ounces of water every day. And because the body is, on average, a steamy 98.6 degrees, room temperature is best so ditch the ice!
If your mood and mental health is “different”, if it has shifted in a way that “doesn’t feel right”, please reach out for help. And if a practitioner tells you it’s “part of aging” or because “you’re too busy” or that it “naturally goes along with motherhood”, find a new practitioner who will listen to you! For starters, have your B12 level tested. If it is below 400 pg/mL, you are at statistically increased risk of mood disorder and depression.