Delivery within 3-5 business days – Free for orders of R500 or more
Delivery within 3-5 business days – Free for orders of R500 or more
By Dr Ledivia Strauss
A woman sat across from me recently and said something I hear all the time: “I don’t understand. I eat well, I exercise, I am doing all the things I’m supposed to do… but I just don’t feel like myself anymore.” She wasn’t necessarily sick. She was simply tired. Her sleep wasn’t what it used to be. She felt more anxious and less resilient. Her body composition was changing despite exercising. Her energy dipped during the afternoon and suddenly the things that had worked for her for years didn’t seem to work anymore.
And often, that is where our conversation about hormones begins.
We tend to think about hormones only when something goes wrong, when our periods become difficult, when we struggle to fall pregnant or when perimenopause and menopause arrive. But hormones are communicating with us long before that. And it’s not only about oestrogen and progesterone.
We have dozens of hormones constantly sending messages throughout the body. Insulin helps determine what happens to the food we eat. Cortisol helps us respond to stress. Melatonin helps regulate our sleep-wake rhythm. Thyroid hormones influence metabolism. Our appetite hormones help tell our brain whether we are hungry or satisfied. And then, of course, there are our sex hormones, oestrogen, progesterone and testosterone, which change significantly across a woman’s lifetime.
The fascinating part is that none of these systems operates alone. They talk to one another.
Think about something as simple as a bad night’s sleep. You wake up tired. You reach for coffee before breakfast. You’re rushing, perhaps a little more stressed than usual. By mid-morning you’re craving quick energy or feeling anxious. Maybe lunch is rushed too, and by three o’clock you’re looking for something sweet. What started as poor sleep has now influenced your energy, appetite, food choices, glucose regulation and stress response.
This is why I often tell women that our hormones are responding to the environment we create for them every day. Not perfectly, not dramatically, but consistently.
The way you eat matters more than you think. A meal containing enough protein, fibre, colourful plants and healthy fats creates a very different metabolic response from a highly refined meal that sends your blood glucose rapidly upwards and then down again.
The way you move matters since muscle is one of our greatest assets as we age. It helps us remain strong and independent, but it is also metabolically active tissue and plays an important role in insulin sensitivity and glucose regulation.
The way you sleep matters as sleep is not simply “rest”. It is an important period of repair and hormonal regulation. When women repeatedly sacrifice sleep, they often notice the consequences in appetite, energy, mood and stress tolerance.
And stress matters too. Cortisol is not a “bad hormone”. We need it. The problem arises when our bodies rarely get the message that the stressful moment has passed.
For many modern women, there is very little true downtime. We wake up and check our phones. We rush children to school. We work. We multitask. We answer messages while eating lunch. We exercise because we know we should. We care for families, manage homes, run businesses and then wonder why our brains are still wide awake when we finally get into bed.
Our bodies were never designed to distinguish between a genuine threat and an inbox containing 37 unanswered emails. The stress response is still the stress response.
Another area I find particularly fascinating is the relationship between our gut and our hormones. Once oestrogen has done its job, it needs to be metabolised and eliminated. The liver is central to this process, but our gut microbiome also plays a role. This is why some of the least glamorous advice I give women may actually be some of the most valuable: Eat enough fibre, drink water, move your body and make sure your gut is working properly. Your hormones do not require perfection, they require support. And importantly, that support changes as we move through life.
A 28-year-old trying to conceive has very different physiological needs from a woman who is pregnant. The breastfeeding mother running on broken sleep has different needs again. And the 47-year-old suddenly waking at 2am feeling hot, anxious and wide awake is navigating an entirely different hormonal landscape.
That is one of the reasons I enjoy the philosophy behind the Carmién Women’s Range. It acknowledges that there isn’t one universal version of “women’s health”. The range follows women through different stages of life, with blends such as Feminine for everyday women’s wellness, Fruitful for the fertility journey, Mom-to-Be during pregnancy, Nursing for breastfeeding mothers, Mom-Uplift for the demanding postpartum and motherhood years, and Menopause for women navigating that transition. And each blend incorporates botanicals selected with that particular season of life in mind. For example, the Menopause blend combines Rooibos with Raspberry Leaf, Black Cohosh, Ginseng and Moringa. Black Cohosh is one of the botanical ingredients that has been studied for menopausal symptoms such as hot flushes and night sweats.
Sometimes the correct support for a woman is better nutrition. Sometimes it is strength training. Sometimes it is treating a thyroid problem, improving insulin resistance, correcting a nutritional deficiency or addressing gut health. And sometimes, particularly during perimenopause and menopause, appropriate hormone therapy may form part of the conversation. There is rarely one answer. Women’s health is far more nuanced than that. What I do like about having a tea ritual, however, is what it represents.
For a woman who spends most of her day doing things for everyone else, putting the kettle on and sitting down for ten minutes may seem insignificant. Physiologically, that cup of tea is not going to solve everything, but the habit around it might be more valuable than we realise. A pause, a moment without a screen, a chance to breathe, a conscious decision to choose something that supports rather than stimulates the body.
And perhaps that is an important message during Women’s Month.
We are very good at celebrating everything women do. How much we accomplish. How many roles we fulfil. How well we look after everyone around us. Perhaps we also need to become better at celebrating the moments when a woman chooses to look after herself, because your health is rarely determined by one enormous decision.
It is built in the ordinary moments. The breakfast you eat, the muscles you choose to strengthen, the walk you take, the hour you decide to go to bed, the people you connect with, the stress you learn to put down, the health check you finally book and sometimes, the quiet cup of tea you allow yourself before carrying on with the rest of your day.
Your hormones are not asking you to live perfectly. They are responding to the environment you create for them every day. Small choices repeated consistently, that is where health is built.
A specially formulated blend of Rooibos, Raspberry Leaf, Black Cohosh, Ginseng, and Moringa that provides overall support and can help relieve symptoms.
R49.00
