Women should understand their unique hormonal cycles to live in harmony with their hormones and find balance in the modern world.
Acknowledge that men and women have different needs for diet, exercise, rest, and recovery, and adapt your approach accordingly.
Make regulating your body and nervous system a top priority, especially in a demanding world, to counteract dysregulation caused by patriarchal pressures.
Recognize that the feminine body requires more rest and recovery; embracing this need will lead to optimal well-being and performance.
Do not try to ‘muscle your way’ into health or adopt health habits designed for men, as the female body is more sophisticated and needs a different approach.
Men should educate themselves on how the female body works to better understand, listen to, and support the women in their lives with compassion.
Consider different health approaches (diets, exercises) as tools in a toolbox; learn when and how to apply each one for your specific needs, rather than pitting them against each other.
Listen to experts, but also tune into your own body’s expertise and unique responses to find what works best for you, becoming your own ‘N of 1’.
Make daily choices regarding exercise, diet, and overall health with a long-term vision, asking what you need to do today to be vibrant and healthy at an advanced age.
Cultivate a positive attitude, playfulness, curiosity, and seek learning opportunities in adversity to significantly enhance well-being and longevity.
Prioritize positive relationships and strong human connections, as they significantly impact health outcomes and can even mitigate risks from unhealthy habits.
Focus on stabilizing blood sugar (as calories don’t matter as much) by observing how you feel after eating. Aim for protein, fat, and fiber-rich carbohydrates at every meal.
Prioritize foods that come directly from the earth and are minimally altered, as they retain more nutritional value and fiber, helping stabilize blood sugar. Avoid man-made, highly processed foods.
Shift from eating based on taste buds to intentionally feeding your gut microbiome with polyphenol, probiotic, and prebiotic foods to change cravings and improve health.
Prioritize protein intake with every meal, not just for muscle, but crucially for hormone production, as essential amino acids from protein are vital for women’s hormonal health.
Include healthy fats in your diet, as fat curbs appetite, turns off hunger hormones, and stabilizes blood sugar.
During the first 10 days of your menstrual cycle (follicular phase), aim for a lower-carb, ‘ketobiotic’ diet and consider longer fasts to enhance insulin sensitivity and keep glucose levels down.
During the 5-day ovulation window, limit fasting to about 15 hours and prioritize probiotic, prebiotic, and bitter foods (e.g., fermented foods, leafy greens, nuts, seeds) to support liver and gut in hormone breakdown.
From around day 20 (luteal phase) when progesterone is high, avoid fasting and increase glucose intake with ‘hormone feasting foods’ to satisfy cravings and nourish your body.
Around day 16 of your cycle, during a ‘power phase’ of 4-5 days when hormones drop, you can consider longer fasting periods again.
When breaking a fast, make your first meal intentional by choosing foods rich in fiber/fermented foods (for microbiome), protein (for muscle), and healthy fats (to curb appetite and stabilize blood sugar).
Establish a personal food value system to guide your choices, especially on days you don’t want to track specifics, focusing on quality, natural ingredients to avoid chronic disease.
Implement personal rules, such as ’never eat after 7 pm,’ to create structure and reduce unhealthy eating, recognizing that the modern food environment is designed to take you off track.
Utilize fasting as a form of self-imposed scarcity to give your body a break from constant eating and the pressures of the modern food environment.
Women should start building and maintaining muscle mass by age 40, as it becomes more challenging during the menopausal transition and improves metabolic health.
Ensure intake of 24 key vitamins, minerals, and amino acids essential for hormone production, as deficiencies can lead to hormonal depletion.
Support hormone breakdown by feeding your gut microbiome with polyphenol, probiotic, and prebiotic foods.
Support hormone detoxification by consuming bitter foods to nourish the liver, which plays a crucial role in cycling hormones out of your body.
Address unresolved trauma, as it can exacerbate hormonal shifts and symptoms like irritability during perimenopause and menopause.
If on birth control, consider taking a high-quality multivitamin to counteract nutrient depletion and be aware of its potential negative impact on gut microbes.
Post-menopausal women may benefit from pursuing ketosis (e.g., through fasting) to improve brain clarity, as their brains may be more receptive to ketones than glucose.
For post-menopausal women, stabilize blood sugar (e.g., improve hemoglobin A1C) to enhance the body’s ability to switch to ketosis and utilize ketones for brain health.
Be open to changing your diet throughout your life, as your body’s nutritional needs for thriving may evolve with age and hormonal stages.
If following a plant-based diet, actively identify and incorporate high-protein plant sources into every meal for adequate nutrient intake and hormone support.
Value and support post-menopausal women, recognizing that their changing brains are highly productive for society and their wisdom is crucial for cultural leadership.