Probably the biggest and most talked about is dropping estrogen levels  - and this happens most often during & after menopause - if you want to know what you can do internally with diet, supplements, & lifestyle to boost those estrogen levels as much as possible - and in the safest way possible - stick around because that’s what we’re talking about in today’s video.

Hi I’m Dana LaVoie - an Acupuncturist & Herbalist, and The  Founder of Menopause Basics. And I love helping women learn to boost & balance their hormones naturally from the inside out - because this is the first step you want to take in increasing your lubrication naturally overcoming vaginal dryness.

This is exactly what Chinese medicine loves - it’s what Asian women all know growing up - it basically should have been in a handbook that every single woman received when she got her first period - but most of us never did - so here it is - the diet/lifestyle/supplement basics you need to get the foundation of hormonal balance - and reducing or eliminating menopause sex and signs of aging including vaginal dryness!!

Of course if you know me already - you know I recommend starting with diet! Without the basic building blocks of hormones - you don’t really have a chance of making this happen naturally.

The RIGHT DIET is the foundation of helping your body make more hormones like progesterone and healthy estrogens while helping your body detox aggressive estrogens

- it will help boost moisture in your whole body

- it will help eliminate heat that dries things up

- it will help keep your brain and gut healthy

- it will feed the local microbiome of your vagina (which is so important)

- it will keep the pH of the area correct,

- it will keep insulin balanced and yeast under control

All of which play a part in healthy natural lubrication.

So yeah, it’s important!

So what’s the right diet?

I feel this is where a lot of women get stuck - they don’t know what’s most important - they either get CONFUSED  & FRUSTRATED and give up - or they try a diet too complicated and hard to follow consistently - or they go kind of healthy but don’t know the most IMPORTANT THINGS to do consistently - so they don’t get much in the way of results.  

Here’s what you want to focus on:

1) Plenty of the healthiest unrefined fats including things rich in omega 3 & fat soluble vitamins foods rich in essential fatty acids like flax seeds! These are one of my fav superfoods for menopause - 2T fresh ground per day.

2) You want to eat a rainbow of fruit & vegetables every day - you need a certain percentage of fruit & vegetables to make up a big enough portions of your overall diet

3) Eat foods right in b vitamins examples are: Beef Liver. The top benefit of eating liver is it's very high B12 content. ..Sardines. ..Atlantic Mackerel: 3 ounces: 7.4 micrograms (over 100 percent DV)... Lamb...Wild-Caught Salmon...Nutritional Yeast... Feta Cheese...Grass-Fed Beef...or take a really high quality supplement...

4) Drink plenty of pure water every single day -  for optimal function, and improved hydration will increase the amount of fluids available for internal vaginal moisture. Drink lots of pure, fresh spring water and herbal teas.

5)Increase intakes of phytoestrogens, which are plant based estrogens which are able to mimic our own body’s estrogens, can also help to increase vaginal moisture.

Phytoestrogens can be  found in soy products which contain soy isoflavones and  other food sources such as flaxseed (which as I said are also great health fats) , legumes (beans), nuts, apples and cherries, just to name a few. Increasing phytoestrogens in your diet is one of the easiest and most effective ways to combat vaginal dryness.

And here’s a note on using soy on your diet - ONLY use soy if you’re not sensitive or allergic to it (its a common allergen) and the BEST way to eat soy is to eat a fermented form of soy like tempeh or natto in relatively small amounts - and ONLY use an organic or non-gmo soy.

You also want to eat probiotic rich fermented foods - like the soy natto listed above as well as kefir, yogurt and especially fermented vegetables.

If you’re ready to get started with the best diet for your hormones - I have a FREE download called the MENOPAUSAL WOMAN ROADMAP - be sure to grab your FREE COPY using the link below!! It will lead you step by step  thru adding the most important foods to your diet daily.

Okay - once you have the basic diet - let’s look at some SUPPLEMENTS

FATTY ACIDS - HORMONES are made of fats. You can not make hormone if you don’t have enough fatty healthy fat building blocks so things like flax seeds, evening primrose oil, and fish oil.

ESTROGENIC HERBS can be really helpful. Things like black cohosh, a typical one - but honestly I HIGHLY recommend working with a qualified chinese herbalist to find the combination that’s best for you and the results are totally worth it!

Taking a good really HIGH QUALITY NUTRITIONAL SUPPLEMENT can be helpful but taking low quality vitamins - I don’t recommend! But a really, really good multivitamin can be really helpful - and of course good wholesome food at the right variety is a great natural source. But if you need an extra kick, a really good vitamin or multiminerals can help.

VITAMIN A, BETA CAROTENE, and the B VITAMINS are particularly helpful in treating vaginal dryness and make sure you are getting these everyday. And Omega-3, essential fatty acids not only help support health cell membranes in our body, but they also help promote hormonal balance as well-so fish oil, evening primrose oil -  And as I mention before, increasing your water intake

I also want to talk for a minute about HORMONE REPLACEMENT THERAPY - Because it’s something you can certainly take internally to increase your estrogen levels if the other stuff is not enough. So yes, taking your hormones internally can boost your estrogen levels and help with dryness - but I highly recommend doing this only once you have all these other things working for you - and work with a really good expert who can make sure your body is turning the estrogen you’re taking into the healthy types of estrogen including the type that goes specifically to your vaginal tissues. If not, you can take estrogen - have it go elsewhere - and end up with other issues:)

OK a few last notes - now that we’ve go the good stuff in - there are a few things to avoid…

1) Excess alcohol, coffee, white sugar, I know you’ve heard this before - but menopause is the BEST time in your life to make these healthy changes and if you need help.. I’m here for you - hit me up in my private facebook group and we’ll get started.

because a high-glycemic diet (which means sugary) diet - causes a cascade of reactions in your body that seriously interferes with your hormones and with natural lubrication

2) And since we’re talking about increasing your healthy estrogens - to do that you need to avoid the unhealthy estrogens like the (parabens (preservative) and phthalates (artificial fragrance) in personal care products the BPA in  plastic water bottles and food containers and the pesticides in non organic food - they all can lead to estrogen dominance and mess with your natural lubrication.

ok so diet/supplements beyond that -

3) Lifestyle matters too. You are more likely to be troubled by vaginal dryness and the loss of lubrication if your adrenals have been exhausted by overuse of coffee, alcohol, and white sugar; severe stress, burning the candle at both ends for too long or the use of drugs like steroids / cortisone..

If this is you - start practicing stress management regularly - even if it’s for 1 minute a day.  I’m linking below to the video directly on my website - I have a 2 MINUTE ACUPRESSURE EAR MASSAGE that is a fantastic, 2 MINUTE STRESS MANAGEMENT ROUTINE and there’s on there that’s a really great very short meditation with my meditation teacher

4) Get some natural sunshine - this is actually a good benefit for you

5)Take deep breaths every day. It sounds simple - but it really makes a difference. Every night at bedtime - if you haven’t done it yet - sit on the edge of your bed and take 10  deep breaths.

and you know what - your brain is really powerful.  Do things that make you feel sexy and turned on - whether its foreplay or really silky new sheets or new underwear or a great new novel, or a new vibrator … get your brain sending out turned on signals and good things will happen chemically in your body that will help with your natural lubrication.  If you don’t already know - find out what you like.

6) Get the help you need ( this is also great time to get healthy) to cut down on or stop smoking, or using excess alcohol - and really go over any  medications you’re taking with your healthcare practitioner to make sure they’re necessary - in almost all medicines have a side effect of - guess what - DRYNESS! So keep the ones you absolutely need.. but if you’re taking any casual - try to find alternatives.

OK so those are my TOP recommendations for internal ways you can reduce vaginal dryness.

Now this is the second video in a series I’m doing on having a great sex life after 50.

To watch the whole video series with transcripts, downloads, extra notes, links and more - be sure to check it out on my blog - the link is in the comments below.

In the FIRST VIDEO we covered what vaginal dryness is - what the symptoms are - and how to avoid doing things that actively disrupt your natural lubrication.

In TODAY’S VIDEO we covered things you can do internally to combat vaginal dryness.

The NEXT VIDEO in the series were talking about things you can do externally to combat it - so the best and the worst lubes, moisturizers and topical hormones and the ingredient you most want to avoid using so that you don’t disrupt your delicate pH and balance of beneficial bacteria - so how to take care of your most delicate tissues.

The FOURTH VIDEO I have a super special treat - SEX EXPERT  JANE STECKBECK is joining us to share her vast experience - her best tips - and to answer your questions.

And the LAST VIDEO is on increasing libido- a topic close to my heart as a tonic herbalist.

So stay tuned - and be sure to download your FREE COPY of my Menopausal Woman Roadmap it’s absolutely step 1 to get started on your journey to hormonal health  naturally.

I’m Dana Lavoie - Acupuncturist & Herbalist and Founder of Menopause Basics. Thanks so much for joining me today and spending your valuable time with me - it means a huge amount to me. I’m always checking the comments below - and please be sure once you grab your free roadmap to share this video with a friend sister!!

See you soon - Goodbye for now!