Women get screwed when it comes to aging metabolisms because there are so many symptoms, yet it’s not all stress and cortisol to blame—it’s deeper than that.
The Institute of Instagram has everyone thinking you just have to lower your “stress & cortisol” and you won’t be fat, brain-fogged, anxious, depressed, or an insomniac.
All the claims probably do help lower cortisol and stress…
…but they are addressing only the surface of the issue.
More life = more experience with stress and cortisol.
Just like a car, parts get worn with more mileage.
Stress isn’t just a mental game, it’s a deeply physical one too.
If you’re freaking out at 2 a.m. thinking you have dementia, you’re not alone.
I hear it a lot, and I’ve even questioned it in myself after I noticed I was exhibiting dyslexic behavior by transposing letters in words when writing and explaining things in a super weird way to patients.
To stop the dementia doom scroll and get answers, go to mocacognition.comor grab the Montreal Cognitive Assessment App – XpressO MoCA in the Apple App Store or Google Play. It’s free to help settle your mind or let you know there’s something to address.
Ladies, your adrenal glands take over making hormones when your ovarian hormone shop closes in menopause.
This is why women get screwed when it comes to our metabolic health compared to men!
So when your adrenal glands are asked to start making hormones on top of managing your physical reactions to stress, that’s a big load on your system.
That’s why perimenopause comes with so many symptoms—it’s your body adapting to the switch in fuel.
Adding in bio-identical hormones masks the underlying cause of the symptoms and can be crucial for someone to function in life. That’s why I support using them.
However, ancient medicine gave us the manual on how to manage the effects of stress and cortisol thousands of years ago, and it sucks it’s not mainstream knowledge.
East Asian ancient medicine, including Ayurvedic medicine, talks all about preserving energy, or Qi.
This isn’t woo. They were referring to the health of your kidneys and adrenal glands.
Modern medicine will tell you if your kidneys stop filtering your blood or your adrenal glands stop working, you will die.
The adrenal glands sit on top of the kidneys. The hormones and chemical messages they produce to regulate the body—that’s what the Chinese call Qi.
You’ve been programmed to think that when someone starts saying the words Qi or energy, it’s spiritual woo-woo talk.
My Midwest brain thought that for years, but what I’ve seen happen with acupuncture and using the principles of Chinese medicine can’t be ignored. There’s something to it.
And it gets even more fascinating when you look at how the balance of kidney and heart Qi, or energy, is vital with age.
Western medicine will tell you if your kidneys are struggling to filter blood, your blood pressure may go up.
You may also hear that your heart beats differently and kicks off something called PVCs, aka premature ventricular contractions, when you’re stressed out.
Blood pressure often rises, and kidney filtration can decline with age.
Translated into Chinese medicine principles—that’s kidney and heart Qi balance.
Perimenopause and menopause symptoms are manifestations of the kidney and heart losing balance.
Hot flashes and night sweats are considered neurovascular (nerve-blood vessel) conditions.
The nervous system responds to the adrenal glands, which tell our blood vessels to dilate when we’re under stress from life or workouts.
Your heart pumps your blood, and its heartbeat has input from the nervous system receiving messages from the adrenal glands.
Cortisol is produced and regulated by the adrenal glands.
The adrenal glands are what respond to stress.
Stress takes a big toll on your heart and cardiovascular system, and it’s why heart disease is the number one killer of both men and women.
I’m hoping from my examples you can see how heart and kidney function are intricately connected and how their energies are important to address.
On Thursday, my email goes into how heart and kidney imbalances create insomnia. Stay tuned!
So how do you work on stress and cortisol on a deeper level after 40?
Balance your heart and kidney communication.
One of the best ways to do this is to take supportive herbs that help counter your main stress and cortisol symptoms.
Kristine Courville, a patient of mine and the owner of Sahale Botanicals, intuitively melded the best of heart and kidney support with some of her wildcrafted elixirs.
Anxiety, elevated blood pressure, racing heart? I love Kristine’s Vibrant Heart Elixir from Sahale Botanicals. (Here’s the website: https://www.sahalebotanicals.com/shopall/tinctures-and-elixirs)
Puffiness, weight gain? Lymph Flow by Sahale is a great option to help clear lymphatic congestion, which directly impacts blood flow in the body, further affecting the heart and kidneys.
Anxiety, ruminating thoughts, feelings of overwhelm? Tranquil Mind is lovely with oats for…
Difficulty focusing, jumping from thought to thought, feeling anxious?Calm Focus sits on my desk for daily use!
There’s something about wildcrafted tinctures made in small batches that seems to work well for supporting midlife stress and cortisol woes.
These also pair well with hormone replacement therapy, GLPs, and peptides to enhance your body’s balance.
I’ll be coming back to Tacoma in October, and Kristine and I will be teaming up for a workshop. If you’re interested in making your own elixirs to counter your stress and cortisol drama in midlife, as well as boosting your immune system for the winter ahead, stay tuned for details!
If you want to get on the waitlist for the class, hit reply!
Here’s to finding powerful ways to balance life’s stress,
Dr. J
P.S. If you’re really worried about your cognitive health, take the Montreal Cognitive Assessment using the XpressO MoCA self-assessment (available in the Apple App Store or Google Play), or go to mocacognition.com to see where you stand.
