The Dr. Lam Show

Balancing Hormones without Birth Control Pills with Nat Kringoudis

July 11, 2021 Dr. Lam
The Dr. Lam Show
Balancing Hormones without Birth Control Pills with Nat Kringoudis
Show Notes Transcript

If you're wondering how to talk to your daughter about sex and reproductive hormones, this is the right episode for you. It's important to start educating girls as early as they know how to ask questions. If they're having irregular periods, acne, bloating, PMS, or cramping, don't just start the pill right away but learn how to get to the root cause by listening to this episode with guest Nat Kringoudis, a well-known natural fertility practitioner.

1:30 - Integrative Journey for Nat Kringoudis
5:00 - When to start talking to your children about sex hormones
9:10 - What to do for teenagers who have irregular periods
14:13 - Causes of Hormone Imbalance
17:00 - Long term effect Birth Control Pills
18:45 - Solution to Irregular Periods
22:30 - Adrenals role in Hormone balance
24:25 - How to transition through menopause
27:30 -Put yourself first as women

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Dr. Carrie Lam, MD:

Welcome to the Dr. Lam show. We have Natalie Kringoudis with us who's a two times bestselling author. She also has her own podcast about women's health and natural fertility. She's the founder of the Melbourne's home of natural health clinic, and has helped over 20,000 women rescue their hormones. We're going to talk about sexual and reproductive health, whether the birth control pill is good for teenagers, and what to do for irregular periods. She's been educating and empowering women to take control of their hormonal health and digital stress. We're excited to talk to her because we deal with a lot of women too, who have been under a lot of stress and have questions about their hormones. Welcome Nat, it's great to connect with you today.

Natalie Kringoudis:

Thank you so much for having me. It's a pleasure to be here.

Dr. Carrie Lam, MD:

So we connected by doing a summit together, on breakout for burnout. So stress is a huge thing that we both deal with, you in Melbourne, and us here. So lets start by finding out about how you got into integrative medicine and where you've come from and why you're doing what you're doing?

Natalie Kringoudis:

I started in clinical practice. My background is in Chinese medicine. Around 16 years ago, things were very different whereas, nowadays, we accept that signs and symptoms are often a direct reflection of our environment. We are starting to accept that this is the case, but 16 years ago, we didn't have this correlation. And I just happen to have this influx of women coming into my clinic who wanted help with their fertility. Initially, I didn't know how to help them, their doctors couldn't help them. Nobody knew why they were experiencing certain symptoms on fertility and couldn't get pregnant. And so I didn't want to treat fertility, or women's hormones. Most women are badly affected by these hormones and I know what that's like. I resisted at first, because I just wanted to treat gut health. But over time, we had more and more women wanting answers. So I decided that even though what I'd learned at university, was a great foundation, it really give me any clues into modern conditions. And to really go on a path to help them get answers, I wrote my first book, a fertility guide. I just had this epiphany, that we need to fix this before it's broken. These are 30 something year old women and some of them didn't even know what ovulation or a menstrual cycle even meant. And imagine talking to an 18 or 16 year old who's recently diagnosed or finding out that those horrible symptoms are associated with their hormones. So that's where my passion lies nowadays, in educating women, especially young women to have that information so that they can make informed choices for their health long term, not just in the moment.

Dr. Carrie Lam, MD:

I love that. A lot of times we expect the schools to teach about sex ed, and parents are uncomfortable about talking about this, and doctors might not bring it up with teenagers in the doctor's visits.

Natalie Kringoudis:

I think that is the challenge, in a clinical situation, the doctor does not have the time to discuss this. It takes time to learn that about yourself, so it;s not really anyone's fault, especially the mothers. If we were never taught this, then we can't pass on that wisdom and information. Many of us don't know that about ourselves because we were prescribed the pill at a really young age. This could be for various reason, but it means that we've not had that awareness and information about how our body is feeding back to us. Many parents just don't want to talk about it, because they're not confident talking about it. So I think the conversation still need to continue. It doesn't just go away. In fact, it's a lifetime of learning about ourselves.

Dr. Carrie Lam, MD:

Yes, that's true. So, when do you think we should start talking to our children or grandchildren about their sexual and their reproductive health?

Natalie Kringoudis:

This is one of those things that can feel uncomfortable because we don't talk enough about it, truthfully and factually. So from a very young age. I think it's appropriate to talk about when children start to ask the questions, and it should be an age appropriate answer. When our children start asking where did I come from, how was I made, we can ask answer that, truthfully. We don't need to feel ashamed about it. And this conversation evolves over time. So if your four year old is asking you, how did I get in your tummy, you tell a four year old, you know, mom has eggs, dad has sperm, and they need to come together for conception, and most four year olds will be okay, that makes sense. And you can be done with it. A few years later, they might have some more questions, especially when they reach puberty both the woman, and men, already develop an understanding, and it's not a bombshell. The minute that they start to show that they're transitioning, they already know that they're not ashamed about it. And it's been this conversation of evolution, just like anything else. I think if we do that, we take a lot of the fear and the mystery out of it, and really empower from a very young age.

Dr. Carrie Lam, MD:

Yeah, so when they're going through puberty, they have a lot of physical changes, but in that can also be a lot of education, about what the changes mean, and how it affects each person's body.

Natalie Kringoudis:

Absolutely. And like I said, we have a an emotional attachment to our sexual experiences, they haven't had that yet. So they're not thinking in the same way that we are, when it comes to even talking about sex. They only want the facts, and they're going to respond to what we are saying. If we say it as if it is a taboo, scary or, dirty, then they're going to look at it in the same way. They're going to follow our example. So I think just having that conversation, and being truthful, would be good. We've been told all sorts of things, the stork delivered you, the doctor put me there, which might not be untrue, depending on how you were conceived. But I still think having that fundamental one to one is crucial to changing the landscape of women's health in general, and our sexual health.

Dr. Carrie Lam, MD:

And if you think about it, if we, as parents are not telling them, they're going to be getting it from outside sources like the media. So if you want them to know the truth, you should tell them.

Natalie Kringoudis:

When we were writing our last book, beautiful you, we surveyed women and daughters, and asked a lot of questions. We asked if parents were satisfied what their children were taught about sexual and reproductive health and almost 89% said, No. But then we also asked the younger generation, the daughters, where were they getting their information from, and the majority said it was online. That's a slippery slope, because unfortunately, nine times out of ten, you'll end up on some porn site that creates unrealistic expectation of what a first sexual encounter might look like. Even more because we're not having these conversations. So I think we have a responsibility even if we don't feel comfortable talking about it, given we were not told in that way.

Dr. Carrie Lam, MD:

So it's great to start being open. That's the first step and educating the children. People nowadays, have many issues like teenagers, when they start getting their periods, it might be irregular, or it might not be what they expected. If your mom had it this way, but how come I'm not having it this way. So there's a lot of questions about what to do. Another common question is, why did your teenager miss a periods or why its it irregular?

Natalie Kringoudis:

I think we tend as mothers, if, our daughter's periods become irregular, we panic. And it's not that we shouldn't explore what's going on. I think often we just look at the symptom and the doctors begin prescribing birth control because we haven't looked at the reason why it's happening. I speak a lot about teens and the pill and it's use, and I'm not here to say what's right or wrong for you. Just having the information to stop and ask the reasons why this might be happening. It's one thing to you appeal for contraception, and if that's a conscious choice, and you're well informed and you understand that, it's fine. But often, that's not the case. If we're using the pill to treat an irregular period, a painful period, acne or PMS, then we are not looking at the underlying cause. Then it can be a slippery slope as we get older, because we haven't fixed the initial cause. It is common to have irregularities in teenagers, that we often think there's something wrong. But a woman isn't sexually mature in terms of her hormones until she's around 21. So it's normal to have these fluctuations, and there's nothing to panic. We must be aware that something has changed, perhaps heightened stress and pressure with school for a 16 to 18 year old. They are under pressure with schoolwork and other things, so life becomes pretty stressful. Now we laugh about it, and want to be 16 again, but the reality is that they're often experiencing these problems for the first time. And so they feel really stressed. By not creating a safe space to talk about it, it has an impact on our sex hormones, because our stress hormones, and sex hormones are constantly competing for balance. So I think that's really important. I talk a lot in the book about the hormonal changes in a 16 year old and how they do go through a phase that very much mimics PCOS for a short period of time. This means we see a little bit of weight gain, body shape change, acne, and period irregularities. And it's not a cause to panic, but to observe, and see if there have been changes. If they haven't, then we continue to continue to observe for a few months, as this isn't going to be your child's undoing in terms of their health. The other thing I do want to say is often teenagers are put on the pill. And like I said, we mature sexually around the age of 21, and if we start using the pill at a really young age, we're blocking that maturation. So if a 14 year old is given the pill, by the time she's 28, she transitions off, because it takes time to reestablish that connection between the brain and the reproductive organs. I don't think we know that and if we did, we would stop and look at other solutions first. That's really important because I see the women that are 35, wanting to have children transitioning off the pill and going, I just thought that it was fixing everything, unless you discovered that they've got the same problems, if not worse, when they'd come off the pill. So the longer we can wait to use it, it appears to have less of an impact on our hormones long term, and less problematic. So, the closer to where we are to the age of 21. Also, at the young age, we don't understand our bodies very well. Therefore, we must wait and find out if that's the right thing. There are other options.

Dr. Carrie Lam, MD:

To recap, number one, when you have irregular periods, it may be normal, especially when they're transitioning as a teenager. Observe for a few months and find out what could be the root cause. In integrative and functional medicine, we try to see what is actually causing the symptoms. Irregular periods is not it's not a disease in itself. It's your body's telling you that maybe it's the stress or the hormones that are imbalanced. It's important to look into the main reason. Teenagers, may experience stress causing this imbalances, they may be over exercising, have a poor diet and lifestyle, get exposed to xenoestrogens like makeup, pesticides, foods, or chemicals and all these can disrupt the hormones in young girls. In America the cows are injected hormones and these non organic meat will add these hormones into our body disrupting our own hormones. So that's why we're seeing teenagers getting their periods, sooner like at age 10, or 11. Is that what you see in Australia?

Natalie Kringoudis:

Yeah, the average age used to be around 13, but now it is creeping more towards 11. The other thing that I see a lot of nowadays is early puberty, or precocious puberty, and looking at the reasons why that might happen. I think you're 100%, right, there are so many factors that are weighing in as to why we're seeing the adrenals respond to the environment earlier and earlier, and instigate puberty at a younger age. It's a modern lifestyle issue, which can be a hard pill to swallow. You're responding constantly to the environment and like I said, there's a lot of changes and pressure. Life isn't quite as simple now, they're overscheduled, like you said, often over exercising. So we have to weight that up and look at how can we balance that, if we're making conscious choices, being really aware. That's where it starts, by being conscious.

Dr. Carrie Lam, MD:

That's true. Again often the pill is given for the wrong reason, to cover up the symptoms, instead of birth control. t is unfortunate that there are no other options for birth control. They are 99% efficacious. It important that it is given for the right reason, because for an adolescent there is a higher risks of adolescent depression and suicide. Birth control pills can also cause insulin resistance all the way to menopause. So we don't know the long term effects of the birth control pills. Even if you took it when you were in your 20s, or 30s, it can still affect you in your 50s and 60s.

Natalie Kringoudis:

It would be so nice if there was one. Often to a lot of people this is what the pill looks like. One solution for all of these problems. I often say to patients, if you're having horrible periods, and you need a break, and that's the choice that you've made, you can still come in and sort everything else. For long term, I would not rely on the pill. Of course, we want a solution and our mothers want the best for us. And, therefore it's too readily and quickly prescribed without having those conversations.

Dr. Carrie Lam, MD:

Talking about the solution, what would really help people with this? If they're dealing with this issue, and they don't want to go on a pill? Those experiencing irregular periods, cramping or other symptoms in their periods?

Natalie Kringoudis:

Firstly, I would assess the situation. One of the best things we can do for our younger girls is help them understand the menstrual cycle, track that over several months. This would be a gift to understand your cycle. And once you understand it, and you can profile your symptoms, you're going to know if your symptoms are hormonal, because it's a cycle. You'll have them at the same time each month, whether that's the middle of the cycle, or the end of the cycle and those peak hormone times of ovulation and then menstruation. So first of all, observing is important, because say if you're just getting random headaches, at any time they're possibly not hormone related. It's such a gift to teach a young girl to understand what her body's telling her every day of the month. So I think awareness is key, and be mindful of. Secondly, as you've mentioned, that lifestyle, nutrition, our environments, the chemicals in our cleaning products, affect the hormones. I think it is extremely important to profile and ensure that we are having enough nutrients in our food. It might mean that because of your health history, some supplementation can be a good idea and speaking to the right person to understand that can be very useful. I'd say if something goes on for more than three or four months, and nothing has changed, then it's a good idea to seek testing from your healthcare provider to diagnose what might be going on. Also, we don't pay enough attention to emotional health and stress. Along with the nutrient dense food you must address the elephant in the room that's impacting you. So a stressor at the end of the day, might impact the emotional health causing hormone imbalance. We have to look into the family history as well, what your mother was I'm predisposed to. Using that as a blueprint, like a history of say, polycystic ovarian syndrome, then I would be making sure that it doesn;t get turned on for our next generation. You can be genetically predisposed to something, it doesn't mean that you have to get to a point where you have a full blown condition or syndrome. I think eczema and psoriasis are two really great examples that people can identify with. I have a history of eczema, but I haven't had eczema for 20 years because I do things to make sure that Eczema is not triggered. For PCOS and endometriosis, doesn't actually have to present if we can put ourselves in the right environment. So that blueprint of the family, and the gene pool is an important piece of the puzzle.

Dr. Carrie Lam, MD:

Also, you don't always blame your genetics, it's nature and nurture. You can decide to turn it on or off using epigenetics. And that's the environment that tries to affect the genetics. And so even if the mom had endometriosis, and so the daughter is predisposed, we can mold her environment to not present itself based on the lifestyle changes that she makes. And one thing that I really liked that you also brought up was that the adrenals. People don't really think about the adrenal. And that's one of our expertise in dealing with the adrenals because along with the reproductive organs making estrogen and progesterone, your adrenals also make those hormones. Your adrenals make the DHEA, progesterone, testosterone, estrogen and all has to be in balance. Your adrenals also make the stress hormone cortisol. So if your adrenal is stressed, it will make more cortisol, then maybe less of it will be going to your reproductive organs. And so therefore dealing with the stress is super important. I love that you brought that up. So we're transitioning from teenagers, how does this look in someone who's in their 30s, 40s or going into menopause? What can we start doing for them?

Natalie Kringoudis:

Looking at our signs and symptoms as clues important. We love to blame our hormones, but we don't really know what it means. If you feel hormonal, it's okay.

Dr. Carrie Lam, MD:

Like having a pile of tissues, and you're just crying,

Natalie Kringoudis:

Yes, we don't really explore that. So I think using your symptoms as clues and I say your body's always talking to you. It's just a matter of being able to listen to what it's saying. Otherwise, we often end up medicated when we don't need to be. So I think observing over time, what's actually going on for us is extremely important and no different, as symptoms are sometimes louder, and we've had them for longer as an adult. We have a picture of our long term health in the landscape, so utilizing those clues. What is my period telling me? Is it heavy, or late, or too early? Looking at all these things, give us the clue. I get women to start with their profile to get those clues through my website. I have a really easy one on one hormone worksheet which is easy and we get so much feedback on it. You can go and profile what your symptoms look like. It won't give you a definitive answer, but make you curious as to what does that actually mean? So, now what do I do next? Am estrogen dominant or testosterone dominant? Am I deficient in certain hormones. Your symptoms will reveal that easily. It might mean, you stop and think that even though your heavy periods, were problematic and you didn't feel good, but what does this actually mean? You actually need to go and talk to somebody to get that checked out, or just check the stress levels for a moment and see if that's having an impact, which, by the way, it always is. And so looking at the wider picture, is important for us as women.

Dr. Carrie Lam, MD:

That's great. And definitely give us that link, you know, we'll put it down below in the comments. So that if people can check that resource to find out whether a hormone is dominant or not. It's been really great talking to you not only about how to balance hormones, how the pill might not be a really good solution for teenagers and really trying to get to the root cause. And why it's important to start this conversation early. Right? Is there anything else you'd like to add?

Natalie Kringoudis:

I just think never second guess your symptoms, they're there to tell you something. Often we, as women, put ourselves last in the family, so being able to address this at whatever age or stage you are, is really important. It's never too late to do that. But I think as mothers we often do, put ourselves last. We really can't be much to anybody if we're running on empty. It's not selfish to put yourself first. It's actually doing the right thing for the family. If you do find yourself with symptoms, then definitely start to explore and become curious as to what they might be just so you get to enjoy your life as well.

Dr. Carrie Lam, MD:

That's true, this this topic is not only for the teenagers, but it's for the mothers that are taking care of the teenagers. The grandmothers who have gone through menopause, and the same fact that the pill or just hormones themselves are not the right solution unless you get to the root cause. It's always important to find a practitioner who understands what you're going through. That's what Nat is doing and what we are doing, trying to get down to the root cause. So what is the best way to find you?

Natalie Kringoudis:

It's https://www.natkringoudis.com and that can get us on all social handles. I love hanging out on on social media. And I'll often have many conversations there with people. So come over and join the conversation and you can access my resources and books online as well.

Dr. Carrie Lam, MD:

Thank you so much for your time, and we've really learned so much. And this is the Dr. Lam show. We're here to talk about integrative medicine, but also to empower you to take control of your health so you liked this episode, make sure you share it. And also subscribe for notifications. And stay tuned for next week's episode.

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