Girls! Raw food diet and low estrogen levels? Or any difference in Girly things? Also join my group RAW WOMEN

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Permalink Reply by Dawnmarie on February 13, 2008 at 1:32am

While I don't have specific info on low estrogen levels, I am aware of the effects of Maca on hormone levels. Maca effects hormones at the level of the hypothalamus. I have a pamphlet on it somewhere around here......... There is research in the medical literature on Maca and it's effects on hormonal levels.

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Permalink Reply by Raw by Default on February 13, 2008 at 2:23am

I'm not sure about actual levels, but going raw can cause you to lose so much weight that it screws with your cycle. So that probably has something to do with hormone levels, but I'm not sure about the actual mechanism behind it.

There is also the bioflavonoid theory. It has to do with women eating lemons and having it lessen the effects of their period. If I remember correctly, estrogen is what keeps the blood vessels in the uterus nice and strong. Before you get your period, the levels drop. In an attempt to keep the blood levels of estrogen stable, the body will steal estrogen from the uterus... and once that goes, you can bleed a lot. Supposedly eating lots of bioflavonoids helps because they can fill the same role in the uterus as the estrogen and keep you from hemorrhaging.

I'd send you the link, but I only ever found it once and it was removed for some reason. Maybe it's a conspiracy by the feminine hygiene product industry. :P

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Permalink Reply by Emma on February 13, 2008 at 6:11am

I find that really interesting. I was going to post a thread about being raw and menstruation. My periods have been completely skewiff since going raw however I'm now about three weeks late. I get tinges of cramps but they literally last minutes and I think that means I'm about to come on but I don't.

Wondered if this was common. I have lost a lot of weight and am just under 8stone. I think that might be to do with it but I'm not sure.

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Permalink Reply by Jenny on February 13, 2008 at 8:15am

i'm so glad someone started this discussion, i was wondering about this also and have read conflicting viewpoints. . . .
i used to have pretty heavy and screwed up (and painful) periods even though i ate pretty well. . . due to being on the pill and such. . . i stopped that but the pain and pms didn't go away until i went raw and it all vanished!
Including my period. That was two years ago, and I still am not having it. . . I am a Vata and have heard that oftentimes Vatas have very light and sometimes not even noticeable periods. . . also I was thin to begin with and then detoxed a lot more weight. . . and some even say that bleeding is releasing toxins. . . so it's okay and actually natural to not have your period at all, as long as you're still ovulating, which you can track with temperature readings and other signs (i won't get into them all here) . . .

I feel wonderful, and am not really concerned, but would welcome any other thoughts or experiences. . .
Thanks!
Oh and I do use a lot of maca. . . and feel very balanced (especially hormonally). . in fact all mood swings and pms symptoms disappeared overnight with going 100 % raw- yippeeeeee!
xx

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Permalink Reply by Emma on February 13, 2008 at 11:41am

Hi Jenny

It is a bit strange isn't it? But obviously also very good, can't say I'm missing my period or associated cramps and moods much lol

I guess I just want to be sure that everything is ok.

It would be great to hear what other ladies experience ...

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Permalink Reply by Emma on February 13, 2008 at 1:34pm

Well after telling me that a brain tumour might explain my lack of periods my mother has finally come around after reading this article

http://65.55.135.121/att/GetAttachment.aspx?file=3b4f6bd5-97f7-4435...

Sorry for the long link!

The more I think about it, it doesn't seem entirley natural for half the animal kingdom to be bleeding everywhere 5 days out of the month!

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Permalink Reply by Jenny on February 13, 2008 at 1:47pm

exactly. . . that's what i've read too. . . and it makes sense to me. . . the link comes up "webpage not found" . . . if you have another link let me know because i'd love to read it. . . i wonder if it's the one i've found before. . .
xx

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Permalink Reply by Emma on February 13, 2008 at 1:57pm

Sorry here it is

My other half says I shouldn't be allowed on the internet!

http://triviatriviatrivia.blogspot.com/2005/11/on-topic-of-menstrua...

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Permalink Reply by Jenny on February 13, 2008 at 2:06pm

"During the days before a woman ovulates, the lining of the womb - the endometrium - thickens in preparation for a possible conception. If the egg released at ovulation passes through the womb unfertilized, the thickened endometrial tissues are not needed - and in a truly healthy woman, as in animals in their wild state, those tissues are mostly reabsorbed. What remains is expelled over a short period of time as a slight mucus discharge." (This is what I've experienced and felt it was totally normal and am quite confident that I'm in tune enough with my body to know if something were amiss. . .)

"Amazingly, menstrual bleeding is actually a hemorrhage and thus not a natural condition. It occurs because of our modern diets which are not suited for our bodies."

The human body is actually constitutionally adapted to a diet of raw fruits, vegetables and nuts. Only with proper diet and right living will women be healthy and cease to bleed. The same thing applies for animals, because we feed them with high protein food, they menstruate, otherwise, their wild counterparts do not menstruate."

YES. This is what i've read before and it makes complete sense.
Thank you for posting this. . . I'll have to bookmark it in case anyone voices their doubts or brings up the eating disorder concern as when i first went raw. . . Isn't it wonderful to trust our bodies while being free from all of that?!

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Permalink Reply by Emma on February 13, 2008 at 2:12pm

Glad it was of some use. It completely clicked with me. It seems fairly ironic that I was considering visiting the doctor because of a lack of periods (which are normally accompanied by severe mood swings, pain and cramping i.e. the kind of things you would visit a GP for).

Why would mother nature inflict such annoyance on us females? :)

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Permalink Reply by Stephanie on February 14, 2008 at 2:32pm

I'm totally with you ladies!
I as well dont get my period anymore....I was seen by Dr. david Jubb in manhattan( he ownes the raw food take out rest. Jubb's Longevity)
anyway he explained to me that after your on a raw vegan diet,(the vegan part is key by the way)
that at first you may only spot here and there maybe only a couple days, opposed to several with either little or no pms symptoms
when he first told me this I thought it was fascinating information!
but i wanted to understand, and heres the part that made it all make sense!
we all know that every month our uterus lining builds up preparing for pregnancy, and if were not pregnant then the blood isnt needed and it sheds, known to us as menstration
BUT if we are healthy and clean on the inside then(this is the part i love) our bodies recirculate that blood to be used by the body!! BRILLIANT!!
A woman I know also had lent to me a book about this issue, it was a small 100page book, pretty old and had no publication info or anything....and this book stated all the same info i had learned from david...she said we know its not normal to hemmeridge from the heart or lungs so why would it be normal from the utereus?
i then later found a fabulous article on the interent, which umfortunetly I cant find now....i will post it if i come across it.....it was like 10pgs long with lots of interesting medical jargon but then it had a couple doctors giving examples of their patients
these women all had birthed children and hadn't had their periods in years, all were raw vegans
one woman said she began to add in dairy to her diet again to do a test on herself and sure enough her period started to return.....so ovulation is a completely diff thing then menstration!
ovulation can occur without menstration!
So we ask why dont we know this as common knowledge? why dont our GYNs tell us this?
well my gyn back on the east coast is an MD but also into alternative medicine, and she never heard any of this, so she worries about me, I gave her all this info and invited her to research it...
she wasnt completely turned off by it but was def skeptical and felt it didnt make sense....
I on the other hand felt it totally makes sense!!!!

the book I read she stated that if more women became aware of this it prob wouldnt change much because it takes alot of work, they would prob feel overwhelmed with having to change their diet completely to raw vegan, its too big of a jump for the average typical woman

well I hope that helps!
I will post that article if i can get my hands on it again

Stephanie

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Permalink Reply by Raw by Default on February 14, 2008 at 2:38pm

Does anyone know if you have to be 100% raw vegan to make this work? I've been vegan for years, and I was 100% raw for a few months, but I still hemorrhaged. I want to eat some cooked food again, but I don't know if you can get away with 90% raw vegan or if it has to be 100% to make it work.

I wish there were some studies behind this so we knew exactly what it was that makes the difference. Is it lack of animal protein? Some nutrient that raw foodists eat a lot of? The rawness of the food itself?

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