TOXIC “HEALTH” TRENDS, FOR WOMEN
From skipping breakfast, to 5am HIIT workouts, the internet is filled with trends that claim to be good for us.
Unfortunately, many of these so-called “healthy” trends are the cause behind many issues I see with women in the clinic, mainly affecting hormone health.
I know it’s confusing right! With so many outside sources giving their two cents, how do we know who and what to trust?
Firstly, my main recommendation is to be mindful who you listen to for health advice. Look for the credentials and qualification. Influencers on instagram may mean well, but unless they are qualified to be giving that type of advice, look for a second opinion from a trusted health professional.
Secondly, listen to your own intuition. Listen to what you're body is telling you or showing you. We know what is best for ourselves, so trust this innate knowing.
Below are some common “healthy” trends that I would like to debunk. I would like to mention that if you have been following one of these health trends, it is not my intent to cause guilt or shame, because I have been there myself! Doing what I thought was best, but ended up causing further harm to my health. Many of us fall into these traps, so, my aim is to re-educate and bring the power back into your court.
Top 5 “Toxic” Health Trends For Women
Intermittent fasting (longer than 15 hours)
Intermittent fasting is typically encouraged to be done in the morning, A.K.A skipping breakfast. There are a couple of reason why this is harmful for women. One reason being is I believe it encourages the “I don’t have time to eat in the morning” approach and can disguise disordered eating by restricting eating times. Another reason is that women need to nourish their body in the morning (especially with protein) and have regular meals to balance hormones. This is because regular eating stabilises blood sugar levels and insulin, which then go on to effect our sex hormones. Our brains, muscles and every cell in the body need fuel as food to function. If we are not fueling up in the morning, it can cause cravings and blood sugar crashes later in the day. Most of the research and studies that back fasting has been preformed on men, so in contrast, fasting may be great and beneficial for men and how their body’s work, but not so much female body’s. We automatically fast over night from dinner to breakfast, for most people this is a sufficient fasting period for the body to rest and repair.
2. The 5am hustle & grind
Too often I see women in the clinic who are burnt out and struggling with fertility or hormone health, and getting up at 5am and getting straight into exercise or work to “get on top of things”. What this does is signal to the adrenal glands to start pumping out cortisol and other stress hormones, to make us feel wired and alert. When a woman is suffering from hormonal imbalance, one of the first things I recommend is to reduce the amount of intestine exercise (especially first thing in the morning!), so the adrenal glands can heal and regulate cortisol output. What she needs to be doing is having slow, nourishing mornings with gentle movement and mindfulness practices like meditation, breath work, journalling and yoga. Again, because women’s bodies are built different, men do well with an early active start, so it’s important not to compare yourself to your partner and expect your body to do the same.
3. Extreme clean eating "Orthorexia"
Orthorexia is the term used for a fixation on extreme clean or healthy eating, it can become an obsession and can be really difficult to notice as it can be played off as healthy in today’s body-imaged obsessed society. You read it in magazines, hear from friends or see it on social media, people avoiding certain foods because they are ‘bad’. I know from personal experience it can take other your life, worrying about what’s in every meal and missing out on social connection due to avoiding certain foods. Avoiding whole food groups can also create nutritional deficiencies, cause food sensitivities and also lead to other forms of eating disorders. As cliché as it sounds, when it comes to nutrition, balance and variety are the key. I am a big fan of the 80/20 rule. 80% of your diet being healthy, whole foods, and 20% being treats or foods that just taste really good! Eating for health but also eating for enjoyment.
4. High intensity work outs throughout your whole cycle
As we go through the different phases of our menstrual cycle, our body requires different things including nutrition and exercise (check out my previous blog post on the different phases of the menstrual cycle. For example, during menstruation, we have low levels of oestrogen and progesterone. This effects mood, muscle function and energy levels. With the more extreme feminist movement, there is a perception that as women we should power through our periods and carry on with life as normal, including our normal exercise practices. I believe this is a time our body’s need extra love and giving yourself a little bit of slack. Day one of my period, there is no way I am going for a long intense run! I know this is putting more pressure on my body when what it really needs is to rest and do more gentle form of movement. “Cycle hacking” is tracking your cycle and living your life accordingly to the needs of your body at the time.
5. The Super Woman
As modern women we have more options and opportunities then ever before, but we also have more responsibility and pressure to do everything and be everything to everyone. We are mothers, sisters, best friends, boss’s, employees, cooks, cleaners, juggling many hats and responsibilities. We expect ourselves to work 9-5, exercise, look after the family, cook dinner, clean the house, be social, have one million friends, look after our health and beauty and do it all with a smile on our face. We wear our busyness as a badge of honour and congratulate each other for fitting in so much in a day. We create impossible standard and beat ourselves up when we don’t live up to them. If a mother wants to work full-time, power to her! If another mother wants to be a stay-at-home mum, power to her too! We need to spend more time congratulating each other when we take time out, say no to extra jobs, projects and social engagements, and leave white space in our day to take a bath, read a book, take a nap, or watch Netflix. You, beautiful lady, DO NOT NEED TO BE A SUPER WOMAN.
I hope the above sheds some light on what is healthy, for you and feels like a weight lifted off your shoulders.
These are from the perspective from a trained naturopath, with a wholistic view of health and wellness. Please keep in mind that there are some medical health conditions that may be recommended some of these approaches, so if this is the case for you, again you know what is best for your body. If in doubt, reach out to a healthcare professional, and try to stay away from Dr Google :)