I recently did my first Whole30, which is eating strict paleo for 30 days - no dairy, no sugar, no grains or legumes, no alcohol. The focus is on whole, minimally processed foods, avoiding preservatives, additives, artificial colors and processed foods.

I found it to be a great experience to reset ingrained habits, take a hard look at everything I was eating, and to get creative in the kitchen. If you're thinking about trying a Whole30 yourself, I say GO FOR IT! You can read about all the rules of the program on their website.

I'm not an affiliate or anything, in fact, there's no membership, meetings, or club to join. Just read about the program rules and eat that way for 30 days, that's it. There are Whole30 approved brands, recipes, meal plans, and books that you can use if you wish, but you don't have to use any of those to do Whole30 all on your own.

Food + NutritionJacqueline GabardySeptember 8, 2017whole30, paleo, diet, anti-inflammatory

I'm on TWO of my Favorite Podcasts!

Jacqueline GabardyAugust 28, 2017podcast, menstruation, women's health

Intro to Basal Body Temperature Charting

Women's hormones change so significantly during the course of their cycles that just by looking at graphs of daily temperatures you can see when ovulation occurs, if implantation has taken place, or when the period is about to start. It can even spot subtle signs of hormone imbalance, for example, if enough there's not enough progesterone being produced to sustain pregnancy.

Not just any temperature though, specifically our basal body temperature (BBT) is what must be measured to better understand what our hormones are doing. Basal refers to the bottom, in this case it's the lowest our temperature gets each day. For most people, that happens to be when you first wake up in the morning, after your body and metabolism have been resting several hours.

I wrote earlier about the Fertility Awareness Method (FAM,) which uses temperature charting as a major component of tracking the menstrual cycle and determining a woman's fertile window. Click the link above to learn more about FAM and if it's right for you.

The Connection between Acupuncture & IVF

Acupuncture is an ancient holistic medicine that creates balance in the body through gentle treatment with minimal side effects. In vitro fertilization (IVF) and other Assisted Reproductive Technologies (ART) are ultramodern medical techniques that manipulate conception with hormonal medications and surgical procedures.

One is aggressive and invasive, but very precise; while the other is holistic, calming, and nourishing. Much like Yin and Yang, these medicines are built on very very different foundations, but nonetheless compliment each other quite well. In fact, many Reproductive Endocrinologist (aka, fertility doctors) make room in their busy clinics for acupuncturists like me to treat patients at key points during the IVF process.

What is the Fertility Awareness Method?

If you're trying to conceive, or even if you're not but you don't use contraceptives such as birth control, it's super helpful to understand when you're most fertile and when you aren't. The goal of the Fertility Awareness Method (FAM) is just that, to track your cycle and ovulation to best predict how fertile you are on any given day.

Newly Pregnant and Feeling Anxious?

Getting pregnant can be a truly joyous occasion! It can also be a truly terrifying and anxiety-riddled experience for some women.

Especially for my patients who have struggled to get pregnant, or for those who have experienced pregnancy loss before, there can be a powerfully confusing mix of excitement and fear that comes up when they finally find out they're pregnant.

Mental Health, PregnancyJacqueline GabardyJuly 12, 2017pregnancy, anxiety

Hormonal Headaches: why you get them and how to not

Headaches and migraines can pop up at different phases of the menstrual cycle or during other hormonal shifts, such as pregnancy or menopause. They can cause a mild annoyance or ruin your whole damn day. It makes sense that hormonal changes can cause uterine pain and sore breasts, but how can hormones make your head hurt?

Hormones are signaling molecules released by the endocrine system, they travel through the blood stream and they can effect tissues all over the body, some more than others. Not only can deviations in hormones cause pain, they can also cause changes to mood, mental focus, skin, and digestion.

7 All-too-common Myths About Pap Smears

I talk to a lot of women about some not-so-talked-about subjects. We talk about their bodies, doctor's appointments, procedures, hormones, diagnoses, sex, pregnancy, birth, parenting. There's no topic off limits.

So it's probably no surprise that, "when was your last pap smear?" is one of the first questions I ask my patients. Unfortunately, I find there's a ton of confusion among women about pap smears and why they are so important.

This breaks my heart because I see it as part of a larger epidemic of misinformation about women's health, an epidemic which we must eradicate by decimating proper health education.

Vaginal Health, Uterine HealthJacqueline GabardyMarch 8, 2017pap smear, preventative medicine

Hormones getting you down? How to eat to restore balance

Guest post by Miriam Jacobson, MS, RD, CNS, CDN of everybodybliss.com

Brain fog, bloating, PMS and erratic mood swings are signs that you might be struggling with a hormonal imbalance. Despite what your doctor said, these symptoms are not ‘normal’ and there are ways that you can eat to help balance your hormones naturally.

Western medicine often focuses on how to eliminate symptoms, which is why you might walk out of your doctors’ office with a birth control prescription after complaining about your lady problems. Although every body is different, birth control tends to mask many hormonal problems without addressing the root cause.

As a functional nutritionist, I seek out the underlying causes of these symptoms and work with foods and nutrients to help restore optimal health.

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