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One of the most foundational things I learned from the book In the FLO by Alisa Vitti, is that most health research is based on the male biology. Even though it's often not specifically mentioned, research that's done on physical health is usually mainly or only conducted on men! And on top of that, when women are included in the research, it's often not women in their reproductive years (meaning from your first period until your last before menopause, a.k.a. when we have a whole lot happening every month within our biology). Not surprisingly, this leaves most women (including me in the past) clueless about their own unique, wonderful, and powerful biology.
That's why I'd like to share with you some of the unique and wonderful things you might not know about your own body, because empowerment comes from knowing what makes you special and seeing it as a superpower, not from squandering it to seem more like someone else.
1 - Women have two hormonal rhythms operating in their bodies (while men only have one)
As women, our bodies operate on two distinct rhythms: The 24-hour circadian rhythm and the 28-day infradian rhythm. Imagine the 24-hour clock as the one that follows the sun and one that remains ‘consistent’ on a day-to-day basis. This means there are certain hormones that get produced and operate in basically the same way from day to day, affecting certain biological aspects like your organ functions and sleep. Note, this is the only hormonal rhythm that operates in the male biology.
The infradian rhythm, however, follows the moon and has a much greater influence on women’s health, productivity, and bodies during our reproductive years. This infradian rhythm affects everything from your brain function, metabolism, nutritional needs, natural strengths, immune system, desires, and so much more. Note, you can actually take advantage of this as a powerful system. If you want to learn more about how to do that, read this blog post here.
2 - You can only get pregnant for about 6 days out of your menstrual cycle
You know how hormonal birth control is basically set on the premise of you taking it every single day? Well, as you have learned from the first point, the male biology is the "every day" biology. Women aren't so affected by daily changes, but rather monthly ones. So the truth is, you can't get pregnant every day.
Thing is, if you're anything like me, you kind of knew that already. Well, partially maybe. Have you ever seen those Hollywood movies where the couple is trying to conceive and they have an app telling them "you're ovulating" and the woman's like "let's do it in there?" Well, that's not just because she's "most likely" to get pregnant during ovulation, it's because that's the only time she would get pregnant.
There's essentially about 3-5 days of your menstrual cycle where you can get pregnant due to ovulation. But, sperm can actually survive in your body for up to 5 days, so it's nice to account for a bit of extra time to be on the safe side (unless you're trying to conceive of course).
Keep in mind that every woman's menstrual cycle is different (bonus point: The average length of a menstrual cycle is 28 days, but anything between 21 and 35 days is considered normal) and your cycle will also be slightly different every month - so it's important to know your own cycle before you just go ahead and toss out the birth control (again, unless you're trying to conceive and in that case have fun!).
3 - The pill isn’t the answer to your hormonal struggles (98% of the time)
Hormonal challenges like acne, PMS, painful or irregular periods, weight gain, migraines etc. are predominantly due to hormonal imbalances (read more about the main hormones in regard to your menstrual cycle here) and the pill doesn't actually solve those imbalances (no matter how good your doctor makes it sound).
Can you imagine going to a doctor with a broken bone and them offering you a bandaid for your struggles? You wouldn't say "oh sure, you're probably right - this is the best solution," right? But that's essentially what the pill is for your hormonal imbalances (which will most of the time be the cause of the symptoms mentioned above and then some).
So what does this really mean? And why do symptoms sometimes get better when you go on the pill (or other hormonal birth control)? Well, sometimes the pill can help mask those symptoms. So, on the surface they go away. Problem is, whenever you choose to go off of the hormonal birth control - those symptoms will usually come right back, most of the times x10 stronger because they’ve been "cooking" for so long.
What will actually solve your symptoms is then naturally to actually get down to the root cause of the problem. To actually heal the hormonal imbalances and stop trying to fix broken bones with bandaids.
Going through the healing of hormonal imbalances is a whole subject on its own, so for now I will just let you in on this: Stress, lack of sleep, lots of coffee (especially on an empty stomach), junk food, refined sugar, dairy products, and alcohol all have a negative effect on your hormonal balance. But don't worry, you don't need to become a health freak in order to balance your hormones, it's actually a lot more compassionate than you might think.
These are just some of the unique aspects of the female biology that most of us don’t learn in school. In fact, most of us get the idea that the female biology is weaker and lesser than the male, but that couldn't be less true. Women are different from men, the same way that men are different from women. It's all wonderful and it's all powerful, in their own ways.
If you're interested in learning even more about your powerful biology, I really recommend checking out the book In the FLO by Alisa Vitti (not sponsored, just a legit fan).
Disclaimer: I am not a medical professional. All the information and tips covered in this blog post are intended as guidelines that have worked for me personally. Always take your own health into consideration and consult with medical professionals as needed.
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