Speaker 1: This episode of Outspoken is brought to you by Modibody,
Speaker 1: the period underwear that gives you better support, better protection,
Speaker 1: and a better life. This is Outspoken, the podcast is
Speaker 1: not afraid to say exactly what you're thinking. Our names
Speaker 1: are Amy Kate and Sophie Torber. We're identical triplets, but
Speaker 1: we often don't have identical opinions, so sometimes things can
Speaker 1: get heated. Outspoken covers all things reality TV, influences, entertainment,
Speaker 1: and issues facing women.
Speaker 2: That is so fatch.
Speaker 1: Thank you, Thank you for joining us for our special
Speaker 1: episode all about periods Now. I've been so excited to
Speaker 1: talk about this all day, and it seems like you
Speaker 1: guys are really excited to hear about it because we
Speaker 1: had such a good response on our Facebook and Instagram
Speaker 1: when we told you guys about this episode. I think
Speaker 1: it's the most responded to question we've put up. We
Speaker 1: had so many great questions, I know. I was really
Speaker 1: excited to see the questions trickling in because a lot
Speaker 1: of them echoed the questions I have for Maria, so
Speaker 1: I can't wait to hear her get into the topic
Speaker 1: a little bit more well.
Speaker 3: We will be.
Speaker 1: Joined by Maria Harpers shortly, and she's from Natural Health Medicine.
Speaker 1: She's a qualified nutritionist and natural path so she'll be
Speaker 1: able to give some great insight to some of your questions.
Speaker 1: But we thought we'd start by talking about our own
Speaker 1: sort of first time periods because we really want to
Speaker 1: break the stigma, because it's crazy. We were all discussing
Speaker 1: earlier that when we all first got our periods, it
Speaker 1: was such an embarrassing.
Speaker 3: Topic to talk about.
Speaker 1: No one spoke about it, even though you knew everyone
Speaker 1: at school was going through the same thing. It was
Speaker 1: this weird thing where like all your mums knew you
Speaker 1: had your period and they would talk about it. But
Speaker 1: there is no way I would have said anything to
Speaker 1: my best friend about it. But at the same time,
Speaker 1: I think, well, it was somewhat embarrassing. Part of you
Speaker 1: also wanted to get your period to feel like part
Speaker 1: of the group as well, because I go well for
Speaker 1: the three of us. Obviously, we're triplets and I'm actually
Speaker 1: the youngest only by a few minutes out of all
Speaker 1: of us, and Kay and Amy both happened to get
Speaker 1: their period before me, and I did feel a bit
Speaker 1: left out or that I wasn't at the same rle
Speaker 1: Stone as everyone else like. So there was a little
Speaker 1: bit of relief for me when I did.
Speaker 3: Get my period.
Speaker 1: I can tell you from being the one that seems
Speaker 1: to always go through this stuff first, so I was
Speaker 1: the first one to get my period. All you're the
Speaker 1: oldest sister technically, yes, but it was such a shock
Speaker 1: because even though we did sex air and all that
Speaker 1: sort of stuff, and Mum tried to have the awkward
Speaker 1: chats with us, I when I got it didn't even
Speaker 1: know what was happening. So I think some og listeners
Speaker 1: will know about my story, which I think is quite
Speaker 1: an epic first period story, but for those who don't know,
Speaker 1: we were going on our first overseas holiday and we
Speaker 1: were eleven years old, so we were so excited. We
Speaker 1: jumped on a Malaysian Airlines flight and you know, the
Speaker 1: flight was great. I think we were a few hours
Speaker 1: into the flight, they'd served our meal, had dessert, and
Speaker 1: I decided to get up to go to the toilet.
Speaker 1: I joined, you remember, because we went together because it
Speaker 1: think we were a bit scared using the airplane life.
Speaker 1: We're still scared to use those so anyway, we were
Speaker 1: sitting in a line of five in the middle row
Speaker 1: because we've got five members in our family. And I
Speaker 1: got up and I think, Mum's like, what's that on
Speaker 1: your pants? And I'd eaten some of I think it
Speaker 1: was like a raspberry dessert with a raspberry sauce on it,
Speaker 1: so I thought, I don't know, it's probably from the dessert.
Speaker 1: I must have slopped it on myself. Anyway, I go
Speaker 1: into those horrible little toilets, pulled out my pants and
Speaker 1: what I saw was just it was yeah, I won't
Speaker 1: go into it, but I was shocked.
Speaker 3: Do you know what though, I don't even.
Speaker 1: Think that looked like a normal period, like maybe your
Speaker 1: first periods, because it was just yeah, everywhere, Yeah it was.
Speaker 3: And of course I was wearing white shorts so well.
Speaker 1: I remember at the time because we did go on
Speaker 1: a swimming holiday, and you know, seeing Kate use a
Speaker 1: pad for the first time, just how young I was
Speaker 1: that I assumed that she had to wear a pad
Speaker 1: for the rest of her life. I thought the period continued,
Speaker 1: and that just shows how young you are when these
Speaker 1: sort of life changing events happened for you. Well, I
Speaker 1: had no idea what was going on, And the funniest
Speaker 1: part was Mum took me up to the stewardess and
Speaker 1: I was so mortified. She's like, my daughter's just got
Speaker 1: her first period. Do you have any pads? So I
Speaker 1: got some special Malaysian Airlines pads. I remember them being
Speaker 1: so big and thick, and I just don't I just
Speaker 1: remember not really knowing what was going on, because you know,
Speaker 1: I just went swimming as normal.
Speaker 3: Quite early to get your period.
Speaker 1: Well with my period, my first period, I remember I
Speaker 1: got it just before I was meant to be going
Speaker 1: to a sleepover to friend's house. Sorry to interject, but
Speaker 1: it's always got something to do with swimming or sleeping over,
Speaker 1: because it's you know, those things that are hard when
Speaker 1: you have your first period.
Speaker 3: But that's the thing.
Speaker 1: When you do have a sleepover when you're younger and
Speaker 1: you first get your period, it's mortifying because you're like, oh,
Speaker 1: where do I.
Speaker 3: Put the pads? Or you don't want your friends to
Speaker 3: see it in.
Speaker 1: Your bag and I don't know if anyone else, but
Speaker 1: it's always really heavy when you're young. I remember going
Speaker 1: at a sleepover and literally just it sounds great, but
Speaker 1: just holding onto the pad the whole night because I
Speaker 1: was mortified. If I bled onto my pajamas or onto
Speaker 1: the sleeping bag. It was just I couldn't sleep at
Speaker 1: all from fear. Get You've got to get into your
Speaker 1: first period story. Yeah, well it wasn't that exciting. I
Speaker 1: remember We're sitting around watching Judge Judy with Chad and
Speaker 1: I was like, I just was like, oh, I need
Speaker 1: to go to the bathroom for the be uncomfortable. And
Speaker 1: I went and it didn't look anything like yours. Kate.
Speaker 3: You're like, yours doesn't sound that traumatic.
Speaker 1: Well, it kind of was traumatic because I was meant
Speaker 1: to be going over to my best friends and you
Speaker 1: guys were coming to Alicia's house.
Speaker 3: And I remember Mom called up and I was like,
Speaker 3: please don't tell Alicia's mum.
Speaker 1: That's why we can'ts Like, of course she did.
Speaker 4: She wrung.
Speaker 3: She's like, oh, sorry, Amy's got a period.
Speaker 1: I was like so mortified that, to be honestly, she
Speaker 1: would know, and as a mum I probably did the
Speaker 1: exact same thing. I would be so honored as well.
Speaker 1: I mean, I can understand why Mom did that. Now,
Speaker 1: what about you, Sophie, I know yours involved swimming. Yeah, well,
Speaker 1: I think mine was about a year after you got yours.
Speaker 1: A bit of background info is that Kate and I
Speaker 1: used to wear the same hairstyle when we were eleven
Speaker 1: and twelve and basically was probably right up to.
Speaker 3: Like you's were plat very sad.
Speaker 1: But it was really funny because even in photos, like,
Speaker 1: even though we're the same age, Kate was always more
Speaker 1: developed than me. Kate always had boobs, but I had nothing.
Speaker 1: Look when you say I had boobs, I think that's
Speaker 1: a pretty generous small boobs. We used to said Kate
Speaker 1: a car of a I mean, I made her a
Speaker 1: car that was shaped like a bra, and.
Speaker 3: I remember they were so mean.
Speaker 1: I literally, my boobs are probably the same size as
Speaker 1: they were back then.
Speaker 3: I was waiting for them to grow in and that
Speaker 3: was kind of you.
Speaker 1: But I remember we had those fake eggs part of
Speaker 1: our kitchen, little kitchen set, and you used to put
Speaker 1: them in your shirt. It was so may we digressed
Speaker 1: from my first period. Do you know what I'm going
Speaker 1: to interject. The funniest part of that was Karma was
Speaker 1: a bitch because Mum and Mom didn't get you guys
Speaker 1: a bra until like year nine, so.
Speaker 3: You were, oh my god, I know.
Speaker 1: And that's probably where the resentment towards you was coming from.
Speaker 1: Perhaps anyway, getting into getting into my first period story.
Speaker 1: It was a week long aquatics kind of not camp,
Speaker 1: but a week long aquatic session at the end of
Speaker 1: year seven. And I remember, for some reason, I don't
Speaker 1: know why, Year seven class was watching the Wiggles, but
Speaker 1: we were watching the Wiggles and I remember having these
Speaker 1: intense stabbing pains in my stomach and we were supposed
Speaker 1: to be heading to the aquatics thing that afternoon. Anyway,
Speaker 1: I went ran to the bathroom and I realized I
Speaker 1: had my period, but I didn't know what to do,
Speaker 1: so I had to end up going swimming anyway, even
Speaker 1: though I had my period. So who are the schools
Speaker 1: that are scheduling all these swimming camps? Like when we
Speaker 1: went to high school, remember every year it was the swimming.
Speaker 3: Po oh my gosh.
Speaker 1: I have such bad memories from that year eight swimming
Speaker 1: can of It was so embarrassing because not only you
Speaker 1: might have your period, but getting into bath in front
Speaker 1: of people when you're going through puberty is really tough. Well,
Speaker 1: I think also I reflecting on when you are young
Speaker 1: and you do get your first period, the most confusing
Speaker 1: thing is that you get your period, and obviously.
Speaker 3: You're supposed to get it monthly, but because.
Speaker 1: It is so new to you, you don't actually get
Speaker 1: it on a regular basis. And I remember that year
Speaker 1: we went away on holiday, some Melbourne road trip, and
Speaker 1: I was too embarrassed to tell Mum I had my period.
Speaker 1: So the whole trip I was just trying to sneak
Speaker 1: pads that were brought for Kate and Amy, and then
Speaker 1: some days I would just have nothing like and I
Speaker 1: remember Mom I had. I ended up crying at the
Speaker 1: end of the trip telling her that I had my period,
Speaker 1: and She's like, I was wondering where there were undies
Speaker 1: filled with blood in them? Shee would Mom have said something, yeah,
Speaker 1: But I just remember being so mortified because you already
Speaker 1: had that difficult discussion of telling them that you had
Speaker 1: your period. I remember finding out that that's what it
Speaker 1: happened years later, and I had this recollection that we'd
Speaker 1: all had a spa together, and I was like, what
Speaker 1: they happened?
Speaker 3: It was troubling me.
Speaker 1: The whole trip, Like you know, when you feel like
Speaker 1: you've got something hanging over your head, Like I remember
Speaker 1: feeling so alone even to embarrass to talk about it
Speaker 1: with you guys. So I mean, I suppose it's good
Speaker 1: that we are having discussions like this. So maybe young
Speaker 1: girls feel happier to speak about it because it is.
Speaker 3: Such a natural thing.
Speaker 1: Yeah, it's so funny to think about the fact that
Speaker 1: we were all the same age sisters tell each other everything,
Speaker 1: but couldn't talk about that, and even to tell your
Speaker 1: own mum, Like I remember, I had to go for
Speaker 1: some reason. I got into this face where I would
Speaker 1: go and be like when I got my period. I
Speaker 1: would say, Mom, I've got my period. So she'd obviously
Speaker 1: buy pads and stuff, but she was so cute. She
Speaker 1: gave me this little calendar and we used to mark
Speaker 1: off when I had my period, and I used to
Speaker 1: like keep it in this special spot.
Speaker 3: Wow, why didn't I have a book?
Speaker 4: I didn't hear that.
Speaker 3: It wasn't a little book.
Speaker 1: It was just a little card that had like the dates.
Speaker 1: And actually, this this should just be a whole puberty discussion,
Speaker 1: because I remember Mom would buy us this like roll
Speaker 1: on deodorant, and I remember it said on the directions
Speaker 1: it's like don't use after shaving.
Speaker 3: And I went up to Mom and I said, Mom,
Speaker 3: these are for boys.
Speaker 1: It's talking about shaving, but obviously.
Speaker 3: It meant shaving under her arm.
Speaker 1: We twelve thirteen, do you guys remember, Sorry, this is
Speaker 1: so sad and it's embarrassing that we're putting this out there.
Speaker 1: But I remember I'm lying on the couch with Mum
Speaker 1: and I remember she used to like smell under her
Speaker 1: arms and then she was like, oh.
Speaker 3: Yes, it's probably time to day using some deodorant.
Speaker 1: I remember in terms of deodorant that Mum would buy us. Yeah,
Speaker 1: the Mum brand deodor on to everyone in y eight
Speaker 1: had the cool the spray on, like this impulse whatever.
Speaker 4: Yeah.
Speaker 1: I remember we really wanted links, but I think, well,
Speaker 1: oh sorry, Nwasovi's got links in my head. We really
Speaker 1: want an impulse, But I think it was expensive and
Speaker 1: you just spray it and it goes, Oh god, I
Speaker 1: got the worst locker in you ate, because mine was
Speaker 1: on the bottom, and the girl who was in the middle,
Speaker 1: she would constantly be sitting trying to get my stuff out,
Speaker 1: and she'd just grab her Impulse and literally spray it
Speaker 1: all over her body. And you know when you just
Speaker 1: be like coughing because that stuff was toxic.
Speaker 3: Yeah, it was overpowering.
Speaker 1: Well, now that Kate, Sophie and I have shared some
Speaker 1: of our period stories, we'd actually really love to hear yours.
Speaker 1: So if you want to go into our Facebook community,
Speaker 1: which has outspoken the podcast community, we're going to put
Speaker 1: a question up there about when did you first get
Speaker 1: your period and what actually happened, and we'd love if
Speaker 1: you guys could share it, because, to be honest, it's
Speaker 1: quite funny to look back on.
Speaker 4: Oh.
Speaker 1: I think it's so funny. And what I love is
Speaker 1: that there seems to be a lot of common themes
Speaker 1: around periods and swiminkan alls and sleepover. So I'd love
Speaker 1: to hear the interesting ways other people got their first period,
Speaker 1: even any stories that are funny involving periods, because I
Speaker 1: know at high school.
Speaker 3: It was such a big thing.
Speaker 1: I don't know who designs the high school dresses, but
Speaker 1: they're usually very light and not very thick, so because
Speaker 1: they're quite cheap to bish and it was just horrible
Speaker 1: because there was a girl at our school who she
Speaker 1: was called up the front to write on the board
Speaker 1: and the poor girl had a big blood patch on
Speaker 1: the back of her dress and someone's like, what's that?
Speaker 3: I think one of the boys.
Speaker 1: Said that, and she's like, oh, I just cut the
Speaker 1: top of my leg, and looking back.
Speaker 3: It's just so cruel.
Speaker 1: I do remember we were talking about this with our
Speaker 1: boyfriends and we said something about how you would tie
Speaker 1: your jumper around your waist if you had your period,
Speaker 1: and I remember Dale was like, is that why that
Speaker 1: reminds you Back in the day at school when I
Speaker 1: had my period, I would get a pad and you know,
Speaker 1: you'd have to put it in your school pocket, and
Speaker 1: at our school, you weren't allowed to carry a bagg around. Yeah.
Speaker 3: Yeah, so you had to put it in your pocket.
Speaker 1: And I'm sorry, but that looks so obviously because I
Speaker 1: had to, and they were just like and for some reason,
Speaker 1: I don't know why, but I was always so paranoid.
Speaker 1: There'd be some sort of instance where people someone would
Speaker 1: be like, turn out your pockets, and I would be
Speaker 1: mortified that I had pads in there.
Speaker 3: So I remember I had this little bag, I had
Speaker 3: this wallet who bear a wallet that I.
Speaker 1: Used to shove them into and just in case, because
Speaker 1: then I wouldn't.
Speaker 3: Have to reveal what was in my pocket.
Speaker 1: I remember at school when you'd have to go and
Speaker 1: change your pad at recess or lunch, and because you
Speaker 1: didn't want to be heard, you try and tear the
Speaker 1: the what is it called the pad?
Speaker 4: No, the what is it?
Speaker 3: The sticky bit?
Speaker 1: You try and tear it off so lightly so that
Speaker 1: no one could hear.
Speaker 3: And it cracked me up one day. I cracked up
Speaker 3: one day moving the toilet roll.
Speaker 1: Yeah, it cracked up because I was in there and
Speaker 1: I was trying to be so quiet, and then some
Speaker 1: girl just got into the next cube because I was
Speaker 1: just like, just.
Speaker 3: Puts us straight off. I needed that confidence.
Speaker 1: It's funny though, you talk about how you don't want
Speaker 1: anyone to see you with a pad or a tampon,
Speaker 1: because I'm still like that at work. So I remember
Speaker 1: I needed to use one, and I had one in
Speaker 1: my bag, and I like put my hand in there
Speaker 1: and then sort of pulled my sleeve and like pulled
Speaker 1: it up my sleeve. How weird is that that so
Speaker 1: many of us have our periods, yet we still hide
Speaker 1: it even when we're adults. Now that you've heard our stories,
Speaker 1: let's get into answering some of your questions with Maria Harpers. So, Maria,
Speaker 1: thanks for joining us again.
Speaker 4: No problem, everyone is.
Speaker 1: So excited to have you back on the show, and
Speaker 1: we've had so many questions being sent in all about periods,
Speaker 1: so it seems like everyone wants to talk about it,
Speaker 1: so we might get into our first question. So, once
Speaker 1: you get off the pill, what are some tips to
Speaker 1: regulating your cycle.
Speaker 2: Well, look, for some women, obviously, that just happens very
Speaker 2: quickly and they start getting a bleed quite quickly and
Speaker 2: it regulates normally. So initially it's just waiting to see
Speaker 2: for the first month or so how that falls, and
Speaker 2: then it is irregular.
Speaker 4: There's actually herbs that we can use to.
Speaker 2: Try to assist with that becoming regular again. And it
Speaker 2: also depends how long women have been on the pill
Speaker 2: for as well, So you know, some women don't remember
Speaker 2: like they've started the pill quite early, and so when
Speaker 2: they come off it, it's quite a few years down
Speaker 2: the track, so they don't really remember what their periods
Speaker 2: were like beforehand naturally and what.
Speaker 4: They were doing.
Speaker 2: So yeah, and of course we always use diet as
Speaker 2: well to just start to help, but initially it's just
Speaker 2: to see what is.
Speaker 4: Normal for that person, how that falls.
Speaker 1: So if you have been on the pill from a
Speaker 1: very young age, say over ten years, Is it going
Speaker 1: to take you a longer time to actually get your
Speaker 1: period back?
Speaker 2: Yeah, So it is different from women to women, but
Speaker 2: it can, and I think more so because we don't
Speaker 2: know what their normal cycle was like like before. They
Speaker 2: don't always know, so it can. It really just depends
Speaker 2: on the woman how long that's going to take to
Speaker 2: get back to normal. I've had women where it's taken
Speaker 2: ages to get back to normal, you know, up to
Speaker 2: six months, and then others within a month it starts
Speaker 2: to regulate and get back to normal. So once we see,
Speaker 2: after you know, four weeks or so, that things aren't starting,
Speaker 2: that's when we sort of start some herbs and things
Speaker 2: to move things along, especially if women want to get pregnant,
Speaker 2: so that changes things and depending on how old they
Speaker 2: are and how quickly we work.
Speaker 1: So, if someone has gotten off the pill and they
Speaker 1: haven't been to a natural path and they're struggling to
Speaker 1: get their period back, do you think that would be
Speaker 1: a good option, you know, for someone to go and
Speaker 1: come into you or someone else to see what they
Speaker 1: can do.
Speaker 2: Absolutely absolutely, because if it's not normal normalizing quite quickly,
Speaker 2: I would definitely be looking at trying to.
Speaker 4: Do things to help that.
Speaker 2: And there's different vitamins as well that we look at
Speaker 2: essential fats. You know, is there enough fruit and veging
Speaker 2: take in the diet. So we're definitely the people for that.
Speaker 2: I think naturopaths are really you know, zoned in not
Speaker 2: helping normalized periods.
Speaker 1: And this question is kind of along the same lines.
Speaker 1: But does being on the pill for over ten years
Speaker 1: does it have any effect on your fertility?
Speaker 4: I wouldn't be able to say yes it does.
Speaker 2: Again, you know, some women have problems, But do we
Speaker 2: know whether the pill caused that or not.
Speaker 4: We don't know.
Speaker 2: I don't think we could definitely say that that's a problem.
Speaker 2: I think we definitely know that there's risks from being
Speaker 2: on the.
Speaker 4: Pill and that may change certain.
Speaker 2: Things in the body, and could that affect fertility? Not sure,
Speaker 2: not sure, Yeah, but there's definitely risks from being on
Speaker 2: the pill, and I don't know that they are always
Speaker 2: people are always made aware of those risks. For instance,
Speaker 2: I found a study been showing that inflammatory bower disease
Speaker 2: could be one risk for people that are susceptible from
Speaker 2: being on the pill. There's also the risk of stroke
Speaker 2: for women. Obviously women that have got high blood pressure.
Speaker 2: There's smokers.
Speaker 4: Case that means that they're at a higher risk than
Speaker 4: other women.
Speaker 2: It's all about the amount of estrogen. So you know,
Speaker 2: different pills have got different amounts of estrogen in them,
Speaker 2: so that's a factor two. And I think if you
Speaker 2: can get a pill that has the least amount of
Speaker 2: estrogen to do the job you want, and that's an
Speaker 2: ideal scenario. And there's also you know, the pill has
Speaker 2: also been linked to blood clots. And also I think
Speaker 2: we talked last time about the fact that we know
Speaker 2: it definitely elevates cortisole and copper in a lot of women,
Speaker 2: and then that copper displaces zinc, which we need.
Speaker 4: For our mood and our skin and our immune systems.
Speaker 1: So yeah, well that's pretty scary because I think we spoke, yeah,
Speaker 1: in the last podcast, we mentioned that so many women
Speaker 1: are actually unaware of all of those side effects.
Speaker 4: Yeah, that's right.
Speaker 3: And a lot of.
Speaker 1: Women they do initially go on the pill to help
Speaker 1: their skin. So if for example, a woman is wanting
Speaker 1: to get off the pill after hearing.
Speaker 3: Some of these negative side.
Speaker 1: Effects, what would one way, what's one thing they could do?
Speaker 1: I suppose to counterap the effects, you know, if their
Speaker 1: skin does return to how it was previously.
Speaker 2: Yeah, look, I definitely what we do is because obviously,
Speaker 2: you know, no one wants.
Speaker 4: To have bad skin or acrone.
Speaker 2: Right, so we try to mitigate you know, coming off
Speaker 2: the pill and then going and being back where we
Speaker 2: started with bad skin. So what we want to do
Speaker 2: is improve the way the whole body is working, you know,
Speaker 2: start changing the diet, start looking at under the bonnet
Speaker 2: to see what sort of markers might not be doing
Speaker 2: what they should be doing, Like, you know, are there
Speaker 2: inflammatory markers, Are there other feats that we should be
Speaker 2: addressing to improve So when that a woman comes off
Speaker 2: the pill, that we've changed things biochemically to make it
Speaker 2: less likely that there'll be any acne. I think people
Speaker 2: don't really understand how hormones work in terms of it's
Speaker 2: about being able to clear estrogen properly, and you know,
Speaker 2: there's two main things to do that, And we have
Speaker 2: to have the bowels working well otherwise estrogens get re
Speaker 2: introduced into the body instead of coming out, you know,
Speaker 2: with bowel movements, So we've got to have our bows
Speaker 2: working really well.
Speaker 4: But it's also.
Speaker 2: About how well our liver detoxification phases work, particularly phase
Speaker 2: two has to work really well to help clear the
Speaker 2: estrogens as well. So you know, it's a bigger picture
Speaker 2: than just looking at one component of that.
Speaker 4: And once we get.
Speaker 2: All of that working really well, then of course we
Speaker 2: have much better skin.
Speaker 4: It affects things.
Speaker 1: And is it sort of a case to case basis
Speaker 1: in terms of I'm assuming that bad skin can be
Speaker 1: caused by hormonal imbalances.
Speaker 3: Or that type of thing.
Speaker 1: Is that why it's important to go to in naturopaths
Speaker 1: because everyone is individual?
Speaker 2: Yeah, that's right, Like you can you can do some
Speaker 2: things initially, you know, you know, at.
Speaker 4: The start and go, okay, let me improve my.
Speaker 2: Diet, let me reduce processed foods and increase you know,
Speaker 2: vegetables and things, right, and then you can go, well.
Speaker 4: What does that give me? Do I get? Has that
Speaker 4: improved things? Or hasn't it?
Speaker 2: And then if that hasn't that's when you need more
Speaker 2: detailed work looking at those underlying biochemical markers because we
Speaker 2: all have susceptibilities and we don't really know what they are.
Speaker 2: I mean, sometimes we get an idea of what our
Speaker 2: susceptibilities are by looking at family history you know, what
Speaker 2: does mum and dad have, what do grandparents have?
Speaker 4: Or our siblings.
Speaker 2: But other than that, people often don't know some of
Speaker 2: the drivers that are happy that you can't see. So
Speaker 2: you know, the testing really reveals that, and it's really invaluable.
Speaker 4: And that's why so much of my practice focuses.
Speaker 2: Around checking that because the numbers don't lie.
Speaker 4: And so it also helps us track progress.
Speaker 2: So then we've got, you know, a couple of things.
Speaker 4: We've got symptoms to look at, but we've also got
Speaker 4: the markers that we can see and.
Speaker 2: Go yet they're going in the right direction, but we
Speaker 2: still have to go further or actually, no, they're good now,
Speaker 2: So that's.
Speaker 4: The benefit of doing that.
Speaker 2: Yeah, and again, you know, and skin's not just about
Speaker 2: the hormones. It might just be food intolerances that we've
Speaker 2: talked about before that might be causing skin issues, abowes
Speaker 2: not doing what they should be doing.
Speaker 4: So there's sort of different things there. Yeah.
Speaker 1: Coming up after the break, Maria answers your questions about
Speaker 1: what food you should avoid during your period and what
Speaker 1: she thinks about the Marina.
Speaker 3: But first, a word from today's.
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Speaker 1: this question came up quite a lot, so we thought
Speaker 1: we'd ask it, is, why do we put on weight
Speaker 1: and get bloated around our period?
Speaker 3: Oh?
Speaker 2: Sure, Well, it's mainly the hormonal fluctuations that occur at
Speaker 2: that time with progesterone and estrogen. And it's also we
Speaker 2: tend to hold a bit of fluid, so there's some
Speaker 2: fluid retention at that time, and the bleed itself, you know,
Speaker 2: there's a big exodus of flood that happens at that time.
Speaker 2: So it's all these things happening that cause us to
Speaker 2: feel bloated and feel like we're putting on weight. I
Speaker 2: think it's a lot of fluid retention because once your
Speaker 2: period comes and that reduces again back to normal or
Speaker 2: just after.
Speaker 4: And helping them doing.
Speaker 2: Things like making sure you're drinking enough water and unprocessed
Speaker 2: foods at that time really helps.
Speaker 1: That's really funny because I feel like when a lot
Speaker 1: of people have their period, they feel like it's an
Speaker 1: excuse to eat bad food like takeaway chocolate. What are
Speaker 1: some things that we should be eating to make us
Speaker 1: feel better during that time?
Speaker 2: So, yeah, and I think I always wonder whether that's
Speaker 2: sort of just a cultural norm you know that everybody
Speaker 2: goes to and yeah, it's easy to get caught in
Speaker 2: that in that, so really there was you know, there's
Speaker 2: quite a few studies that show that low fruit and
Speaker 2: veg intake can negatively affect our period and cause period pain,
Speaker 2: and fish oil can help as well improve the pain.
Speaker 4: You know.
Speaker 2: We also give cocuma, which is the active constituent that's
Speaker 2: in chimrick, which probably most people have heard of, so
Speaker 2: we can give that in high doses, you know, during
Speaker 2: the bleed, and that can really help pain.
Speaker 4: If you're getting a lot of.
Speaker 2: Pain all the time with your periods consistently, then and
Speaker 2: you change some of these things.
Speaker 4: You change the diet and you do add more.
Speaker 2: Fruit vege, and you lower your process foods, and you
Speaker 2: take some fish oil at that period, and even some
Speaker 2: Chinese herbs are shown to really help. If that's not
Speaker 2: improving things, then you have to sort of think that
Speaker 2: there might be an underlying issue like endometriosis for instance,
Speaker 2: and so then that should be followed up and checked.
Speaker 1: Well, that's what one of our listeners asked. She said
Speaker 1: that she gets intense period pain on the first two
Speaker 1: days of her period, to the point where she can
Speaker 1: barely function. Would that be a case of maybe she
Speaker 1: needs to seek some medical help.
Speaker 2: Yeah, I think, you know, you can do a cup
Speaker 2: because to diagnose endometriosis you have to have a laparoscopy,
Speaker 2: which you know, which is quite an invasive operation. So
Speaker 2: I think the first thing is to change the diet
Speaker 2: to make sure magnesium levels are good, zinc levels B six,
Speaker 2: vitamin B six because.
Speaker 4: They show to really help the hormones.
Speaker 2: So you make sure those things are good. And then
Speaker 2: if things are still not improving, then yes, then it's like, okay,
Speaker 2: that needs to be further investigated.
Speaker 4: And I do that a lot with women.
Speaker 2: I don't let them continue on with period pain that's
Speaker 2: not resolving.
Speaker 4: With normal dietary changes, you know, or might.
Speaker 2: Be resolving, but it's still very They're very susceptible, you know,
Speaker 2: the the you know, the minute they're not completely strict
Speaker 2: with what they're doing.
Speaker 4: Yeah, it needs further investigations for sure.
Speaker 2: Yeah, and I should we shouldn't be tolerating bad period pains.
Speaker 1: Yeah, sort of on the same lines, because I feel
Speaker 1: like growing up we have this misconception that periods should
Speaker 1: be painful. So just how painful should your period actually be?
Speaker 1: And when is it time to perhaps go and seek
Speaker 1: help from a naturopath or doctor if the pain is
Speaker 1: getting too much.
Speaker 2: I suppose some women will always feel a little bit
Speaker 2: that their periods going, but we get women to the
Speaker 2: point where they don't even know they're getting a period.
Speaker 1: Wow.
Speaker 2: I think if you're not getting regular, painless periods, that
Speaker 2: it requires investigations. It really does, and especially you know
Speaker 2: you want to pick things up early if later on
Speaker 2: down the track you want to have kids. You know,
Speaker 2: it's good to sort of know some of these things
Speaker 2: that might be going on, because that can really save.
Speaker 4: Years and years of heartache, because.
Speaker 2: Investigations for infertility take a long time. You know, first
Speaker 2: they you know you're trying for a while, for a
Speaker 2: year or so. You know, you might change diet and
Speaker 2: you need to give that some time, and then you
Speaker 2: might change other things. So a lot of times those
Speaker 2: more invasive investigations aren't down done till a lot of
Speaker 2: time has passed. So I think using your period and
Speaker 2: kind of going, yeah, we want that to be regular
Speaker 2: and normal and painless is a good start. And I
Speaker 2: think starting with you know, obvious or bias because on
Speaker 2: an atribrat But you know, I think we're really good
Speaker 2: people to start with because what the changes that we
Speaker 2: make help on so many levels.
Speaker 4: They help skin, they help mood, they help.
Speaker 2: You know, we're looking at the body holistically and we're
Speaker 2: tidying things up.
Speaker 4: They help energy levels. So I think it's a really
Speaker 4: good place to start.
Speaker 1: Well, there's been a lot of talk about, I suppose
Speaker 1: the disadvantages of using the pill, and a few of
Speaker 1: our listeners have said that they have the Marina implant
Speaker 1: but they're finding One of our listeners said she's had
Speaker 1: it for seven months, but she still gets two heavy
Speaker 1: periods a month.
Speaker 3: Is that normal?
Speaker 2: I don't think so two heavy periods a month is No,
Speaker 2: that's not normal, And I would be definitely going back
Speaker 2: to the adopt of the endocrinologist or gynecologist to see,
Speaker 2: you know, what's going on there, because you know, the
Speaker 2: marina secretes progesterone and so that basically balances estrogen. So
Speaker 2: to be getting too heavy periods, I would say is
Speaker 2: quite unusual and needs further investigation for sure.
Speaker 1: Would you say that the Marina implant is a better
Speaker 1: alternative to the pill in your opinion.
Speaker 2: Well, look, it's progesterone and it's more localized. So I
Speaker 2: think I'm not a fan of any hormonal intervention because
Speaker 2: it's changing what.
Speaker 4: The body's doing.
Speaker 2: But I mean, we have to be realistic, don't we.
Speaker 2: You know, we want as women, we want to do
Speaker 2: we still want to be comfortable, and we still.
Speaker 4: Want to have good life and you know, and have good.
Speaker 2: Contraception methods and things. So would I say it's not
Speaker 2: I don't think the marine if I might be wrong,
Speaker 2: but I don't think it's you recommended as for younger
Speaker 2: women as often as the pill is, And I don't
Speaker 2: know if that's just we have to investigate that further.
Speaker 4: Why that is. I know there's the many pill that is.
Speaker 2: Only progester own as well, but we're not sure that
Speaker 2: the many pill does.
Speaker 4: All the jobs that a normal pill does.
Speaker 2: So you know, that's you've got to check with doctors
Speaker 2: around that. But certainly I think it's it's a good thing.
Speaker 2: You know, it's the estrogen that does probably does more
Speaker 2: of the has more of the side effects, but it's
Speaker 2: also the estrogen that helps in certain areas that you know,
Speaker 2: that's why women are going on it. So yeah, it's
Speaker 2: a bit of a catch twenty two I think. Yeah,
Speaker 2: definitely that woman getting too heavy periods is knowing those
Speaker 2: sorts of things aren't normal.
Speaker 4: Missing periods is not normal.
Speaker 2: Always encourage women to make sure, even if they're on
Speaker 2: the pill, to be getting those bleeds. It's what the
Speaker 2: body is designed to be doing. Yeah, so when you're not.
Speaker 4: I've got a lot of young women that think it's
Speaker 4: okay not to that they haven't gotten.
Speaker 2: A period for a while just naturally like they start
Speaker 2: losing their period. But that's not that's definitely a problem,
Speaker 2: and it's the body is under a lot of stress
Speaker 2: and it doesn't have enough resources. So you know, all
Speaker 2: those things need investigating if the periods aren't normal.
Speaker 1: So kind of along the same lines, one of our
Speaker 1: listeners says that her period has been missing for six months.
Speaker 1: What are some things that she can try and do
Speaker 1: to get her period back?
Speaker 4: Yeah, so, yeah, which is what we're saying.
Speaker 2: So yes, definitely, if you're missing for six months, the
Speaker 2: first couple of things to check is has any activity
Speaker 2: changed in terms of exercise? Okay, so it's a frequent
Speaker 2: thing that can happen to athletes because they're over exercising,
Speaker 2: so the body's under more stress and it's.
Speaker 4: Not and so they lose the period.
Speaker 2: So the first thing is to look at those things,
Speaker 2: so more nutrients might be required, particularly or if they're
Speaker 2: losing a lot of weight, so they're going underweight. So
Speaker 2: then you know, women that are anorexic, so that's the
Speaker 2: extreme of that, lose their period. So checking those things
Speaker 2: to make sure, you know, healthy BMI is maintained, so
Speaker 2: healthy weight is maintained. Also making sure that there's not
Speaker 2: been a significant drop in protein or good fats and
Speaker 2: essential fats.
Speaker 4: Because that will also.
Speaker 2: You know, stop a period, so you know, the body
Speaker 2: just goes we don't need to do that job.
Speaker 4: We need these resources.
Speaker 2: And nutrients for other things, so we'll just stop the period.
Speaker 2: And that's that's literally what happens. So I think checking
Speaker 2: those things is the first thing to see because normally
Speaker 2: that's where the problems are, which is a bit different
Speaker 2: right to heavy, painful periods where we're going, really we
Speaker 2: want a high vegetable intake and probably a lower fat
Speaker 2: intake because there's a lot of bad fats in processed
Speaker 2: foods and you know whereas for yeah, amen arehea where
Speaker 2: the periods missing is kind of a different thing that
Speaker 2: we're looking at.
Speaker 1: Someone has also asked, is blood clotting and dizziness normal
Speaker 1: or what does that mean when you get that when
Speaker 1: you have your period?
Speaker 2: Yeah, that's so again, I think blood plotting sort of
Speaker 2: has we have to look, you know, is that an
Speaker 2: ongoing issue? Then we might want to check how well
Speaker 2: the body is detoxifer kate detoxifying.
Speaker 4: We can we use herbs that.
Speaker 2: Can really help change that, but we always start with diet, right,
Speaker 2: because even with herbs, we don't want to just be
Speaker 2: reliant on those. But some women are more susceptible to this,
Speaker 2: so changing diet can really help that and.
Speaker 4: Herbs.
Speaker 2: Now with dizziness and headaches, the likely culprit there, which
Speaker 2: is so common and women don't realize, is when we
Speaker 2: have a bleed, we're losing iron, right, and so if
Speaker 2: we've got a female, you know, females that are women
Speaker 2: that are already borderline low in iron, what happens is
Speaker 2: they get their period and from them to you know,
Speaker 2: at least a week after the bleed, there's been such
Speaker 2: a loss in iron that iron and even anemia for
Speaker 2: some women they go into causes headaches, dizziness, fatigue, So.
Speaker 4: That's where the problems are.
Speaker 2: And it's not unusual when I'm checking people's iron levels
Speaker 2: to want to know where in the cycle they are,
Speaker 2: because if iron is checked just before the period, that's
Speaker 2: the highest.
Speaker 4: Amount of iron a woman's going to have, and if.
Speaker 2: It's checked just after the bleed, that's the lowest amount
Speaker 2: of iron a woman's going to have. And comparing those
Speaker 2: so that we know how to improve that ongoing lead
Speaker 2: is really important because then we sort of go, well,
Speaker 2: you might not need iron during the month, but you
Speaker 2: just might need it when you're having your bleed, okay,
Speaker 2: or you might need to have.
Speaker 4: More red meat during that during you know, the bleed.
Speaker 2: So they're really good strategies and it does resolve the dizziness, headaches,
Speaker 2: and fatigue.
Speaker 3: That's great.
Speaker 1: If you're a vegetarian, would you say that taking a
Speaker 1: sort of either a liquid iron supplement or a tablet
Speaker 1: would be a good idea as well if you are
Speaker 1: getting a bit dizzy around your period.
Speaker 4: Yes, So for vegans and vegetarians, I like to even
Speaker 4: though we know, yes, obviously red meat has got.
Speaker 2: The highest source of iron and they're not eating that.
Speaker 2: I still like to check the individual because some women,
Speaker 2: you know, when I was a vegetarian, vegan, I never
Speaker 2: had a problem with my iron levels, which is you know,
Speaker 2: a little bit, you know, not as usual. So we
Speaker 2: still want to check the individual to go, is this
Speaker 2: your problem? You know, is this where that's a problem.
Speaker 2: So I do the same checks for vegans and vegetarians.
Speaker 2: But yes, they normally, you know, if they are susceptible,
Speaker 2: yes we get I get them to take iron, so
Speaker 2: they might take im all the way through the month,
Speaker 2: but at the bleed, I get them to double the
Speaker 2: iron that they take. Okay, and then that really helps
Speaker 2: because it's not only it's some iron affects our mood.
Speaker 2: So we can feel quite down and depressed when we're
Speaker 2: low in iron.
Speaker 1: Yeah, and that's so interesting because I suppose sometimes people
Speaker 1: feel a bit down and depressed when they've got their period,
Speaker 1: so maybe it is just the fact that they're low
Speaker 1: in iron.
Speaker 4: Yeah, that's right.
Speaker 2: And that's why I love, you know, I love having
Speaker 2: some of these measures that are really scientifically proven, because
Speaker 2: then it's very easy for us to work.
Speaker 4: With and it's not our heads it's kind of going, Oh,
Speaker 4: it's just me. I'm just grumpy at that time the month.
Speaker 2: You know, it's nicer to know, well, yeah, my beach,
Speaker 2: my iron's low.
Speaker 1: And isn't it true that we were discussing this yesterday,
Speaker 1: But isn't it true that you're not really meant.
Speaker 3: To experience moodiness?
Speaker 1: You know how people have got oh you know, they
Speaker 1: say they turn into a different persons when they've got
Speaker 1: their period. Is that something that should be sort of
Speaker 1: alarm bells going if that happens to you.
Speaker 2: Oh, well, look, I don't not necessarily alarm bells, but
Speaker 2: obviously someone that is susceptible to.
Speaker 4: Mood being up and down. You know, the last thing
Speaker 4: that they want is to have a.
Speaker 2: Week or even two weeks of every month where their
Speaker 2: mood is even worse. You know, that's not a very
Speaker 2: nice way to live. And you know, for sure you
Speaker 2: want to I think moodiness generally, you know, we want
Speaker 2: to get that buyer can, right, So you're not dealing
Speaker 2: with that on top of your own ability to deal
Speaker 2: with things from a psychological perspective, right, Because there's always
Speaker 2: stresses as long as humans are going to be alive,
Speaker 2: that's going to be happening, So it's.
Speaker 4: Nice if that's under control. And yeah, I.
Speaker 2: Think it's things that can be resolved, and it's things
Speaker 2: that we really help people with. And I don't think
Speaker 2: that is addressed medically at all. It's not considered nor
Speaker 2: addressed unless it's the sort of ongoing problem. And you know,
Speaker 2: again I'm biased, but I think diet and lifestyle stuff,
Speaker 2: nutrients and herbs should be the first thing that we're
Speaker 2: looking at to resolve because it just helps us our
Speaker 2: well being overall generally and helps prevent things in the
Speaker 2: future too.
Speaker 1: Are there dangers associated with using tampons and pads because
Speaker 1: I'm assuming they've got chemicals in them.
Speaker 2: Yeah, and I think there's been links to deaths using
Speaker 2: tampons and you know, and you know there's chemicals in there,
Speaker 2: and it's also related to women keeping the tampons in
Speaker 2: for too long.
Speaker 4: But you can move to organic cotton tampons, which are better.
Speaker 4: You can do things like when.
Speaker 2: You're home, not use tampons, use pads instead, and these
Speaker 2: new eco friendly things that are out now, cups and
Speaker 2: different undecent that can be used.
Speaker 4: I think there's.
Speaker 2: Little strategy you can do so that, yeah, it's it's
Speaker 2: healthier and safer.
Speaker 1: So one listener wanted to know, if she chooses not
Speaker 1: to have kids, is it okay for her to stay
Speaker 1: on the pill until she reaches menopause.
Speaker 2: Well, look, you know you can, of course, you know,
Speaker 2: and doctors and that they'll leave you on the pill forever.
Speaker 2: There's no problem medically with that. I think it goes
Speaker 2: back to looking at the risks and going, well, what
Speaker 2: does my body do when I'm on the pill? Is
Speaker 2: my cortisol affected? Is my copper affected? Is zinc negatively affected?
Speaker 2: Am I prepared to have be susceptible to some of
Speaker 2: these risks that are out there that we talked about before?
Speaker 4: And am I susceptible?
Speaker 2: Because obviously if you're a smoker, and even there was
Speaker 2: it was smokers, people with high pertend, women with hypertension
Speaker 2: which is high blood pressure, and women that get migraines
Speaker 2: with aura have a higher risk of strong from the pill.
Speaker 2: So it's sort of going, yeah, what am I prepared
Speaker 2: to do and what am I not prepared to risk?
Speaker 4: Is really the call that all.
Speaker 2: Women have to make on that and how might it
Speaker 2: be affecting if women are really, really unwell in lots
Speaker 2: of mood problems, lots of fatigue problems, and they're not
Speaker 2: resolving with some of the first line steps.
Speaker 4: That we do.
Speaker 2: I often ask them to reconsider some of these things,
Speaker 2: and the pills one of them, to go, well, you know,
Speaker 2: should we have a period of time offer just to
Speaker 2: see that there might be something that it's doing that's
Speaker 2: not working for you.
Speaker 1: That's some really good advice. Our last question is is
Speaker 1: period pain linked to stress and anxiety at all? Because
Speaker 1: this listener she said she's had the marina in for
Speaker 1: about a year and she hasn't had any pain, but
Speaker 1: she's had a really stressful week at work and she's
Speaker 1: had the period pain return.
Speaker 4: Okay, well, look, stress might be a trigger.
Speaker 2: I mean, we blame stress for everything, right, because I
Speaker 2: do think it affects a lot of things in the body.
Speaker 2: And we know that, you know, the sympathetic nervous system
Speaker 2: gets affected when we're stressed and our quartersol levels, so
Speaker 2: there is you know, touchy feely things that stress does that.
Speaker 4: We know of, and it does.
Speaker 2: It has been shown that it might trigger prostaglandins, which
Speaker 2: are these are compounds that are involved in sort of
Speaker 2: modulating our inflammatory markers.
Speaker 4: They also contribute to the uterine tension.
Speaker 2: And contract contracting and relaxing the smooth muscles, so that
Speaker 2: that's sort of how stress could.
Speaker 4: Be related and could just push you over the edge
Speaker 4: to then yeah, then have pain and problems. So yeah,
Speaker 4: it's interesting how it works.
Speaker 1: Yeah, oh definitely. Well, thank you so much for answering
Speaker 1: all the questions. It's been so insightful, so really appreciate
Speaker 1: your time. If people do want to find out more,
Speaker 1: we'll obviously leave all the links to natural health medicine
Speaker 1: in our show notes. But this is a national podcast.
Speaker 1: Are people able to get you on Zoom as well?
Speaker 3: Or is it just laid based people.
Speaker 4: No, No, we do worldwide.
Speaker 2: Actually I've got some clients o' seeds too, so yeah,
Speaker 2: no problem at all.
Speaker 1: Well, thank you so much for listening to our special
Speaker 1: episode on periods.
Speaker 3: If you did enjoy it, we'd love if you could leave.
Speaker 1: Us a review on the Apple Podcast because it really
Speaker 1: does help promote our podcast to others, and we've got
Speaker 1: an exciting competition for outspoken listeners. You can head to
Speaker 1: our Instagram and enter a competition to win one hundred
Speaker 1: dollars out youa from Bodybody, and our Instagram address is
Speaker 1: Outspoken Underscore the Underscore Podcast, and a big thank you
Speaker 1: again to Maria Harpus from Natural Health Medicine for joining
Speaker 1: us today.
Speaker 3: If you do want to find.
Speaker 1: Out more about Maria and what she does, go onto
Speaker 1: Instagram and follow Natural Underscore Health to Score Medicine on Instagram.
Speaker 1: We've also left all her details below if you do
Speaker 1: want to contact her, so there in the show notes