If you’re a woman who suffers from heavy, painful periods (the kind that leave you curled up in bed not able to do anything), it’s possible that the root of those issues might not be your hormones.

In our practice, we work with women all the time who have agonizing periods. We’re talking about things like:

• Heavy periods and back pain
• Heavy periods and bloating
• Heavy periods and clots

The bleeding is so heavy, these women end up wearing black pants most of the time “just in case” so they don’t have an embarrassing accident. And they tell us they feel RULED by their periods because they have to carefully plan all of their travel and social activities around “that time of the month.”

Most of these women are already doing many of the right things to take care of themselves, so they’re confused about what’s causing all of these problems.

Can you relate?

Here’s what we can tell you:

As a woman, your period is a key indicator of your overall health. It is one of your most important vital signs, just like your heart rate and blood pressure. 

Heavy, painful periods are a sign that you have a heavy load of stressors in your body and it is creating major imbalances.

These stressors can be many different things, but we’ve found that certain types of toxins are among the top causes of painful cycles and hormone imbalances.

You probably already know about toxins like pesticides, air pollution, and the chemicals found in many cleaning products.

But what usually gets overlooked are the toxins stemming from harmful microbes lurking in your body.

For example, there are certain types of bacteria that have a toxic substance called lipopolysaccharide or “LPS” on their outer cell wall.

LPS is one of the most irritating substances known to the human body, and research has specifically linked it to pelvic pain and hormone imbalance.

If you happen to have too many of these bacteria living in your gut, the LPS toxin can get into your bloodstream and trigger a cascade of inflammation throughout your whole body, including your immune, hormonal, and reproductive systems. 

And it doesn’t end with the LPS toxin.

Certain types of bacteria produce an enzyme called beta-glucuronidase, which interferes with your body’s ability to get rid of the hormones it no longer needs. These hormones then keep getting recirculated throughout your body, leading to estrogen overload and more toxicity.

Fungal toxins from yeast and mold are known to cause imbalances of estrogen and progesterone, too. These toxins have been linked with abnormal menstrual periods, heavy bleeding, and even polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) and thyroid issues.

So as you can see, there’s way more to the “toxin” story, and it goes way beyond manmade chemicals.

This is why so many women are feeling frustrated, doing all the right things with their diet and lifestyle, yet they continue to have severe menstrual problems.

Conditions like fibroids, adenomyosis and endometriosis are influenced by toxins, too.

Of course, it is still important to take good care of yourself, manage your stress, and reduce your exposure to chemical toxins, but you won’t get very far if there are toxin-producing microbes in your body (or in your environment, such as toxic mold).

The microbes in your gut need to be brought back into balance in order for you to find relief. 

If bacteria with LPS or beta-glucuronidase are playing a role in your menstrual problems, the right nutritional and supplement strategies can help to remove these microbes and their toxins from your body. 

And if there is any water damage or toxic mold in your home or office, it must be remediated so that the fungal toxins don’t continue to wreak havoc on your delicate hormonal systems.

By helping our patients this way, we’ve seen women go from soaking through a super tampon every hour and feeling bloated and crampy, to having periods with NO pain and over 50% less bleeding within just a couple of cycles.

In our 8-week Body Bliss program, we show you how to remove harmful, toxin-producing microbes that can mess up your hormones and cycles.

We also help you order your own specialized lab test that can reveal if you have specific bacterial imbalances or fungal toxins, and you’ll get our trusted protocols to target them effectively.

So if you’d like some help achieving lighter periods that come with little to no pain (yes – it is possible!), then visit our Body Bliss page to see if it sounds like the right fit for you.

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The naturopathic doctors (NDs) at Attune Functional Medicine proudly serve the Denver metro area including Broomfield, Boulder, Arvada, Louisville, Thornton, Lafayette, Westminster, and Erie. Telehealth is also available.