Put very simply, HA stands for Hypothalamic Amenorrhoea = absence of your period for more than 6 months when no medical diagnosis can be found after all appropriate testing has been conducted. There could also be other reasons such as post-pill amenorrhoea or losing your period after intense stress/trauma. If all other potential reasons have been ruled out, the very common underlying reason as to why a woman has lost her period is from undereating/ undernourishment, over exercising and consequent stress on her body.
As women, if we do not provide our beautiful bodies with enough nutrients on a regular basis (and a wide variety of them), our mind and body cannot and does not thrive…
Our hypothalamus (part of our brain which plays a big role in our hormonal system) really intelligently decides we should stop ovulating, as a protective mechanism! Especially as females, we must provide ourselves with enough food on a daily basis in order for everything to function properly, mentally and physically. If not, our body so very intelligently knows we are not fit to hold and raise a child, and consequently, our periods stop.
❤ Losing your period is your body screaming out for help, love and support. Please listen to it. ❤
At first, this could be seen as a blessing right!? You don’t have to worry about having a period right!? Oh no my girls, we want and LOVE our periods. We need to understand and appreciate the importance of our natural periods ladies, they are our monthly report cards. As females, I see us as super fortunate that we have our periods roughly every month, they are a vital sign of our overall health. Every month, our period comes along and offers incredibly valuable information about our health in general. We want to be having regular periods. Regular periods are one sign that things are ticking along nicely (there are other things to look out for with your periods, but this blog is only focussing on HA).
Some short & long term issues of not correcting a missing period, in this case, HA, can stem from the potential resulting loss of estrogen. When a female is experiencing HA, she can experience a drop in oestrogen levels, which can have profound effects on so many systems throughout the body, particularly skeletal (reduced bone mass, e.g. osteoporosis concerns), and reproductive health/infertility.
Furthermore, if a woman’s HA has been caused by undereating and over exercising, women (like myself back in the day) can experience a number of associated symptoms. When I was going through HA and in the depths of my eating disorder, I was often bloated, irritable, head-achey, fatigued, highly strung, my appetite was all over the place, my skin wasn’t great, I was confirmed anaemic (most likely had numerous other nutritional deficiencies as well), was constantly anxious, had issues sleeping, cried often for no apparent reason… and the list goes on and on.
It is time to check in with your periods ladies. What are they doing? Have they changed? Have they stopped completely or perhaps you now have a longer cycle? You could be experiencing HA, and if so, I am here to help you.
Nutmeg xx
Wanting nutritional/naturopathic support for getting your period back and developing a better relationship with food? I am here for you.
