*Note: in this post, I make a lot of references to hormones and phases of the menstrual cycle. If you are unfamiliar with these topics, I encourage you to first read these posts:

• How to Balance Hormones Naturally
• Understanding Hormones for Women

What is BBT and why should we track it?

Basal body temperature (BBT) refers to the temperature of our bodies when we are at rest, typically measured after a period of sleep of at least four hours. When we’re awake, up, and “at it” in our daily lives, our metabolisms are revved up and producing heat as a by-product from using energy. But when we’re sleeping, energy output is low, and we’re in an environment with a stable temperature, allowing our bodies to find an optimal hot/cold balance.

In addition to exercise, eating/drinking, and the tasks of life, our hormones have a large influence on the temperature of our bodies. However, unlike the activities of daily living, our hormones influence our body temperature while we are at rest. While thyroid hormones do play a role, their influence tends to be more steady/stable in comparison to sex hormones—namely estrogen and progesterone. Progesterone is especially responsible for changes in basal body temperature because it creates an increase of about 0.2-0.4 degrees Celsius when levels are at their highest versus when they’re at their lowest.

This temperature change from progesterone is important because once that rise first starts to take place, it means progesterone is being produced at a high level. As I describe in this post about female fertility, this progesterone increase is triggered by ovulation. By charting basal body temperature, we can learn the exact day on which we ovulate in a given cycle, predict the day of ovulation in a future cycle, and identify our fertile days, which is helpful both if we’re trying for a pregnancy or trying to avoid one.

How to Chart BBT

To track your basal body temperature, you need two things: a basal body temperature thermometer and a means for graphing your temperature points. Some women prefer to do this the old fashioned way with pen and paper, but I like to use an app, such as Fertility Friend or Kindara. Keep in mind that in order to accurately chart, you need a thermometer that reads up to two places past the decimal. Most oral thermometers only read to on place past the decimal, and these are not accurate enough for this purpose. BBT thermometers are affordable (usually less than $20) and you can find them on amazon. Here’s a link to the one I use.

Temperature readings need to be taken as close to resting as possible, which means first thing in the morning after you wake up from at least 4 hours of uninterrupted sleep. As much as possible, try not to roll or move around too much (or get up to use the bathroom) before taking your temperature. Keep your thermometer in a place that is easily accessible from your bed, like your night stand. Since I log my chart in a phone app, my morning starts off with waking up, taking my temperature, recording it in my app, and then doing everything else. It took a few days to get the hang of it, but now it’s just part of my automatic routine.

Interpreting BBT Charts

As already mentioned, progesterone is responsible for the cyclic increase in basal body temperature after ovulation, and decreasing progesterone levels correspond to the decline of basal body temperature back to the baseline low. This rise/fall of progesterone and subsequent rise/fall of BBT is the basis for charting.

Throughout the follicular phase, our BBT is at a low. The day after ovulation, it takes a sharp rise, usually of more than 0.4 degrees, due to the sharp rise in progesterone. This temperature rise is sustained until a few days before your period, when it slowly drops back down again. As you can see on this chart example, there is a notable increase in temperature from 97.7 degrees on cycle day 15 up to 98.3 degrees on cycle day 16. Based on this information, we can interpolate that ovulation took place on cycle day 15. (We know this from our understanding of hormones that the corpus luteum formed after ovulation produces progesterone.)

When interpreting your own BBT chart, look back over your first month of charting to see when the temperature rise first took place. The day before this temperature rise corresponds to the day of ovulation. This is the most important piece of information gained from tracking BBT.

What Your BBT Chart Can Tell You

Charting empowers us to be able to identify the day of ovulation with a very high degree of accuracy. With the menstrual cycle, ovulation is everything, and it is what informs our knowledge of conception, contraception, and everything else. Knowing when we ovulate is key in terms of timing sex to promote chances of pregnancy, or avoiding unprotected sex in order to prevent pregnancy. Ovulation is the key factor in conceiving a child, and if the lifespan of the sperm doesn’t overlap with the day of ovulation, it’s impossible to get pregnant. Fertile days are calculated in relation to the day of ovulation, including the 5 days prior to, the day of, and the day after ovulation (7 days total). Outside of that “fertile window,” pregnancy is pretty much impossible. (As with any form of birth control, surprises happen. But with this highly accurate, informed method, they are rare.) Along the same lines, we know that the days with the best chance of conceiving are the day of ovulation and the two days prior. When you know what day you ovulate, you can time sex to optimize your chances of success.

• When to expect Aunt Flo: In addition to knowing the number of days in your average cycle, tracking BBT gives clear information about when your next period is due. Just as rising temperatures signify elevated progesterone as the result of ovulation, falling temps towards the end of the cycle indicate that hormone levels are dropping, and your next period is just a few days away. If you have an “off cycle” due to stress or travel or something and your period is coming early or late, BBT will give indicators by falling temperature. I’ve found this to be helpful, as surprise visits are never welcome.
• Conceiving a pregnancy: If you’re trying to get pregnant, charting BBT gives you the best information as to what your fertile days are. Look back on your last cycle and identify which day of your cycle you ovulation. For the next cycle, your best chances of conceiving will be the day of ovulation and the two days prior. While it’s a good idea to have sex at least every other day for about a week (starting the five days leading up to ovulation), you can focus your efforts on a few days to have better accuracy and feel less pressure.
• Contraception: You can’t get pregnant if you don’t have sex during your fertile window. By using BBT to inform the days you do and don’t use protection, you can avoid the health risks and unpleasant side effects of products like birth control pills, implants, and IUDs. If you want to be ultra conservative, I recommend using a barrier method like condoms for the seven days of your fertile window plus three for a total of ten days. This would correspond to the seven days before ovulation, the day of ovulation, and the two days after. Of course, a barrier method is necessary to reduce risk of sexually transmitted infections, but if you’re in a relationship where pregnancy is your only concern, then a mixed method such as this one could be a good fit for you and your values.
• Anovulation: In addition to telling us when we’re ovulating, BBT charting can help shed light on situations in which we aren’t ovulating. While not ovulating often results in a missed period, it’s possible to have periods (even regular ones) in which ovulation doesn’t take place. (This is what happens with birth control pills. They cause a monthly bleed via artificial estrogen but prevent ovulation.) If this is the case for you, it’ll show up on your chart. Instead of having a biphasic chart, which refers to the two periods of time before and after the temperature rise, your chart will be monophasic. There will be no distinct temperature rise.
• Early pregnancy detection: Another phenomenon of BBT charting is early pregnancy detection. As you can see on the chart example above, body temperature starts to fall starting at around cycle day 28. This results from decreasing progesterone levels as the cycle comes to an end. In a non-pregnant cycle, the corpus luteum is at the end of its “life span” and has stopped producing hormone. The uterine lining is getting ready to shed. However, in a pregnant cycle, the embryo implants around 6-12 days after ovulation and starts producing estrogen and progesterone in addition to what the corpus luteum is making. Because of this, the progesterone levels stay high (and steadily increase) rather than tapering off. By the end of your cycle, if you’ve had unprotected sex during your fertile window, and your BBT remains high, there’s a good chance you could be pregnant. Additionally, some women experience what’s called an “implantation dip” around the time that the fertilized egg becomes embedded in the uterine lining. On a chart, this looks like a sudden drop in temperature of 0.3 degrees or more followed by a sharp return the following day. Another sign of pregnancy (though this is present in up to 5% of non-pregnant cycles too) is what’s called a triphasic chart. After implantation in some pregnant women, a third temperature rise takes place. Instead of a baseline, rise, and plateau in a biphasic chart, a triphasic chart will have a second rise and plateau. Keep in mind that implantation dips and triphasic chart appearances are not completely reliable methods for identifying pregnancy. The only way to know for sure that you are pregnant is to have a positive pregnancy test, which is most accurate on or after the day of your expected period. (As a side note…many women take tests early, but false negative rates are very high until the day Aunt Flo is due.)

My book, Go with Your Flow, explains more about cycle tracking in detail. Check it out to go deeper with understanding your hormones at home.

Troubleshooting Your Chart

BBT charting can be confusing the first month you do it. I know for myself, I thought I was doing something wrong because my chart seemed like it was all over the place. However, by the time I made it to the end of the month, I could clearly see the expected pattern, and was relieved to know that I hadn’t messed it all up.

Because body temperature is sensitive to the environment, things like illness, alcohol, restless sleep, travel, stress, or excessively hot/cold sleeping temperatures can create fluctuations in temperature. Despite these outliers, the pattern is still readily apparent. Just keep in mind that you might need to make it through your first whole cycle before you get the full picture.

As an example, here is a picture of one of my first ever charts. I had a few days where the temperatures deviated quite a bit from my baseline, but the app I used (Kindara) allowed me to mark those days as “questionable” (seen as gray dots) which gave me a clearer overall picture.

On this chart, I included a horizontal line to show the threshold I measured between my follicular phase and my luteal phase. In this cycle (which is my norm) I ovulated on cycle day 14, which was followed by a sharp temperature rise from 97.3 degrees to 97.7 degrees on cycle day 15. I knew immediately that cycle day 15 was the first day of my temp rise because it was the highest temperature I had recorded the entire cycle except for day 2 when I knew the higher temperature was an outlier. During my follicular phase for this cycle, my average temperature was about 97.4 degrees and it was about 97.8/97.9 degrees during my luteal phase. (I had a few really high temperatures but they sharply dropped off right before my next period.)

On this chart, you can also see the orange line which represents “egg white” quality cervical mucus. I don’t typically chart my mucus but I do pay attention, especially on the days when I have watery or egg white cervical mucus, as these are high indicators of fertility. I have also used urine test strips to detect luteinizing hormone as a triple confirmation of when I’m ovulating. By now, I know for sure how to identify my fertile days through charting and observation.

In addition to temperature and cervical mucus, many charting apps include options for tracking other symptoms like breast tenderness, spotting, positive or negative pregnancy tests, positive or negative ovulation tests, and more. There are different free and paid apps out there with different capabilities, and I encourage you to try out a few to find one that works for you!

I’m Dr. Alexandra MacKillop, a functional medicine doctor, food scientist and nutrition expert.

I specialize in women’s nutrition & hormonal health, addressing concerns like longevity, fertility, postpartum, PCOS, endometriosis, and gut symptoms like bloating, constipation, diarrhea and more.

If you’re looking for a new way to approach your health, I’m here to help you through it.

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The post Basal Body Temperature 101 (How to Track Your Cycle) appeared first on Dr. Alexandra MacKillop.

Maybe you can relate: for most of my life I preferred not to think about my period very much. I found it to be inconvenient and, at times, embarrassing. (We’ve all been there…) Once I got married, though, I started paying more attention to everything going on in relation to my cycle. At first it was for family planning purposes, but I slowly started to notice cyclic, predictable changes in my body that had nothing to do with “that” time of the month—energy levels, hunger patterns, motivation, introversion versus extroversion, and more. I found it super fascinating, especially when I started comparing those changes to the hormonal patterns I’d learned about in school.

In the same way that gentle nutrition practices have helped me build trust with my body, learning about my cycle in a more personal way (rather than just reading a textbook) has helped me manage my health more confidently. It feels so good to know that everything is working as it should, and what to do if something seems amiss. If you’re interested in learning about that too, this post is for you! (Want to go deeper Check out my book, Go with Your Flow: a revolutionary guide to better periods, balanced hormones and a cycle that works for you)

Hormones and the HPATG Axis

If you’ve read my post about the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal-thyroid-gonadal axis, or HPATG axis for short, you’ll remember that our monthly cycles begin and end in our brains. Part of the brain called the hypothalamus sends hormonal signals to the pituitary gland, triggering another hormone cascade that tells our reproductive organs what to do, and when. Although different circumstances can interfere with that communication axis, for the most part, the hormonal pathways work like this:

The main signals sent out by the pituitary gland are luteinizing hormone (LH) and follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH). These hormones travel through the blood stream to the ovaries, stimulating the production of estrogen and progesterone. These four hormones rise and fall in predictable patterns throughout the menstrual cycle to trigger ovulation, thicken the endometrial lining, and shed unused tissue if pregnancy doesn’t occur.

The menstrual cycle is divided into two main stages: the follicular phase and the luteal phase. Within those two phases we have two pretty noteworthy events (ovulation and menstruation), so I like to think of the cycle as having 4 phases, beginning with the first day of your period (cycle day 1 [CD 1]). Although the length of normal cycles can range anywhere from 21 to 35 days, most textbooks use a time frame of around 28 days, so that’s the reference range I’ll be using in this post.

• Phase 1 (Menses [Cycle Days 1-7]): This is probably the part of your cycle you’re most familiar with: your period. When counting the days of the menstrual cycle, we count the first day of the cycle as the first day of a period. Some women experience light spotting in the days leading up to their period, but those days are counted as part of the luteal phase (phase 4). Cycle day 1 (or CD 1) is counted as the first full day of bleeding. Technically, the days of your period fall within the follicular phase, because they start the beginning of the hormonal processes that lead to menses in the following month’s cycle. In terms of your hormonal cycles, the formal end date of your period doesn’t matter so much as the first day of bleeding.
• Phase 2 (Follicular Phase [Cycle Days 1-13]): During this phase (yes, even starting on the first day of your period), your body is starting to prepare for next month’s period—or a possible pregnancy. The first day of the follicular phase, CD1, is the day when hormone levels are at their lowest. Estrogen and progesterone are at their minimum, and follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) and luteinizing hormone (LH) are laying low, too. Over the course of the first week, FSH levels slowly start to rise, stimulating ovaries to slowly ramp up production of estrogen. The estrogen circulates throughout the body playing a number of different roles, but the most noteworthy action in terms of fertility takes place locally, at the ovary. When estrogen levels begin to rise, about 12-18 ovarian follicles start to ripen. Eventually, most of these follicles die off, and just one finishes the maturation process, an event that corresponds to the day when estrogen is at its highest. Estrogen production peaks at around days 11-13, then sharply falls. The pituitary gland senses this drop in estrogen through a feedback loop. Its response is to send out a surge of FSH paired with an even stronger surge of LH to trigger ovulation.
• Phase 3 (Ovulation [Cycle Day 14]): On the day of ovulation, the sharp rise of FSH and LH stimulate the mature ovarian follicle to burst open, releasing the egg. The egg travels down through the fallopian tube, and if unfertilized, dissolves within 24-36 hours. What’s left of the follicle collapses, becoming the corpus luteum, and begins producing progesterone which is the dominant hormone of the luteal phase.
• Phase 4 (Luteal Phase [Cycle Days 14-28]): After ovulation, FSH and LH levels drop back down again, and hormones in generally reach another realative low. Beginning with the day of ovulation, however, the corpus luteum takes over hormone production, secreting progesterone and some estrogen, which thickens the uterine lining to prepare for a possible pregnancy. Progesterone levels peak at about CD 21, followed by a gradual decline of both estrogen and progesterone. (Eventually the corpus luteum breaks down into the corpus albicans, ultimately dissolving completely.) When the hormones levels bottom out, the menstrual lining begins to slough off and the cycle starts all over again.

Getting to know YOUR cycle

In my experience, women typically express an interest in their cycle when they start the process of trying for a baby. While unprotected intercourse technically could lead to a pregnancy at any point in the follicular phase depending on each individual woman, there are really only 5-7 days each cycle that conception is really possible. These days correspond to the 5 days leading up to ovulation, the day of ovulation itself, and then the day after ovulation.

Fertile Days

These fertile days really depend on the lifespan of sperm. The actual union of sperm and egg can only take place on the day of ovulation and the 24-36 hours thereafter, until the egg dissolves. Sperm, however, can live up to five days in the uterus and fallopian tubes, waiting around for the egg to be released. In a 28 day cycle, these fertile days would correspond to CD 10 through CD 15. Having unprotected sex on any other day corresponds to a very, very, very low chance of conception, and this awareness serves as the basis for Fertility Awareness Methods of family planning.

But of course, not every woman’s cycle lasts the textbook length of 28 days. In order to get to know you and your cycle, there are a number of personalized methods you can use. I explain these in detail in my book, Go with Your Flow, but here is an overview:

Cycle Tracking Method #1: Hormone Testing

At-home urine hormone tests can be used to predict and confirm ovulation, and they’re pretty inexpensive. The testing procedure involves placing a urine dipstick into a sample of urine. If the hormone target is present in the urine, it will react with a reagent and bind to a dye strip—similarly to a home pregnancy test.

Ovulation predictor test strips qualitatively measure levels of luteinizing hormone in the urine, and generally show a pale pink line on most days of the follicular phase. On the day of LH surge, the test strip will turn dark pink, indicating a sharp increase in the level of LH. This LH surge means that ovulation will likely take place within the next 24-48 hours. (Note: LH typically peaks between midnight and 8:00 am, so the first morning urine tends to catch the LH surge better than other times of day.)

Affiliate Link: Ovulation Test Strips (LH)

In a small percentage of women (particularly those with PCOS), the pituitary gland sends out a surge of LH, but the follicle fails to release an egg. Because of this, many women prefer to confirm that ovulation has taken place by testing for progesterone metabolites in the urine. During the luteal phase, as progesterone production ramps up, so do the levels of the breakdown products detectable via urine test strips.

Progesterone test strips function similarly to ovulation predictor kids, except in reverse: a second pink line showing up (in addition to the control line) indicates a negative test, and the absence of a line indicates a positive. (Note: progesterone test kits typically recommend testing the first morning urine.)

Affordability: Good. LH test strips each cost less than 50 cents each, but the downside (especially with ovulation predictor kits) is that you need to test every day—sometimes multiple times per day. (Progesterone test strips are a little pricier.) If you have no idea when you might be ovulating, using these strips regularly, or for multiple months in a row, can add up.

Ease: Excellent. Open, dip, read, move on.

Validity: High. The test is either positive, or it isn’t. When both the LH and progesterone tests are positive in a given month, there is a near-perfect likelihood that ovulation has taken place.

Accuracy: Pinpointing ovulation with urine test strips is not really possible. The LH surge simply means that ovulation will take place sometime in the next day or two. Progesterone test strips mean that it has taken place sometime in the week, give or take. Using urine strips alone would not be considered a reliable way to prevent pregnancy if you are tracking your cycle for contraceptive purposes.

Cycle Tracking Method #2: Basal Body Temperature

If you look back at the chart at the top of the post, you’ll see that the very top line corresponds to body temperature. Sometime throughout history, women realized that the menstrual cycle creates predictable changes in basal body temperature (BBT)—our core body temperature while at rest.

Throughout the follicular phase, our BBT is at its low point. The day after ovulation, it takes a sharp rise, usually of more than 0.2 degrees. This temperature rise is sustained until a few days before your period, when it slowly drops back down again. After tracking your BBT for a few cycles, you’ll have a pretty good idea of when you ovulate and when to expect your period, which can be helpful whether you’re trying to conceive, or altogether avoid pregnancy.

Affordability: Excellent. However, measuring BBT requires a more precise measurement than most at-home thermometers are capable of. In order to offer the level of precision needed for accurate monitoring, the thermometer needs to read more than two places past the decimal point. Thankfully, this method is popular enough that BBT thermometers are extremely affordable—less than $10. [Affiliate link: Basal Body Temperature Thermometer]

Ease: Medium. Basal body temperature readings are only valid if they are taken first thing after waking up, even before getting up to use the bathroom, get a drink of water, or anything else. The reading also must be taken after at least 3 hours of uninterrupted sleep. If you’re a restless sleeper, struggle to remember to take your temperature, or snooze abuse, this method might not be right for you.

Validity: Medium. BBT can easily get thrown off from things like illness, alcohol, sleeping next to a warm person, or even temperature changes in your bedroom. But when the conditions are right, BBT charting can be highly effective.

Accuracy: When done correctly, BBT charts are a highly accurate method for tracking fertility. The post-ovulatory temperature rise is a pretty clear indication that ovulation has successfully taken place.

An additional benefit of this method is that sometimes it can serve as an early method for detecting pregnancy. Many women experience an “implantation dip” about 6-12 days after ovulation, when the temperature drops around 0.3 degrees, and then rises back up again. If the temperature remains high and doesn’t start to drop off, as is the case before menstruation, this usually is an indicator of pregnancy, sometimes even earlier than a home pregnancy test.

Cycle Tracking Method #3: Tracking Cervical Mucus

This method is the most…intimate of all. It requires that you get really comfortable with yourself and your anatomy.

Vaginal discharge (AKA cervical mucus) is a normal part of female health. Significant changes in color or odor can indicate infections, but outside of these instances, clear, white, or pale yellow discharge is a predictable part of being a woman. Throughout the cycle, the texture and color of cervical mucus changes in predictable patterns:

To accurately assess your cervical mucus, you can wipe your vaginal area before urinating, and observe the tissue. Alternatively, with clean hands, you can insert a finger or two slightly inside your vagina and observe the color and texture of the mucus between your fingers.

On days when cervical mucus is scant, fertility is low, meaning pregnancy is highly unlikely. But on days when cervical mucus is more abundant, and especially when watery and stretchy in the days leading up to ovulation, fertility and chances of conception are very high. Typically in the few days leading up to ovulation, cervical mucus will become clearer and more abundant, resembling raw egg white. Not only do these days signify pending ovulation and a time frame in which sperm can survive, but the egg white cervical mucus (EWCM) actually serves to promote sperm survival. It contains high levels of water and nutrients, promoting sperm fertility as well as a nutritious environment to help them traverse the journey up through the fallopian tube to wait for an egg. If you’re trying to conceive, the days you notice EWCM are the days you and your partner should focus on physical intimacy.

Affordability: Excellent. All you need are your own two (clean) hands and/or some toilet paper.

Ease: Medium/Low. This method of cycle tracking requires a degree of personal intimacy and comfort that the other methods don’t. Learning how to differentiate among the different textures and quality of cervical mucus can also be really challenging during the first few months. It’s not as cut-and-dry of a method as taking your temperature or using a test strip.

Validity: Medium. The results are mixed with this method, as not all women follow quite the same patterns. For example, some women may produce low amounts of EWCM, making it difficult to identify fertile days.

Accuracy: Medium. When EWCM is present, chances of conception are high. However, for women trying to avoid pregnancy, tracking cervical mucus alone may not be sufficient to identify fertile days.

Cycle Tracking Method #4: Symptom Spotting

I’m listing this method last because it really shouldn’t be used as a method for pregnancy prevention, or even timing intercourse for conception. However, paying attention to your internal, bodily signals at different times of the month can give you valuable insight into your own body’s needs, informing your self-care routine throughout the month.

Menses: Letting Go

Most women tend to feel lethargic and less social during the first few days of their periods. Looking back at the rise and fall of hormones throughout the cycle, this totally makes sense. Estrogen and progesterone are at their all-time low during the first few days of your period, and low levels of these hormones are known to correspond to feelings of anxiety, depression, and fatigue.

I used to find these low-energy feeling extremely inconvenient, but as I gained knowledge of and trust in my body, I slowly came to recognize that things go so much better when I accept my natural design instead of trying to battle against what my body is doing. Menstruation is a natural part of life as a woman, and when I set aside my pride, I can see that this natural time of release and letting go can be really healthy depending on how I respond.

Many women (myself included) find that symptoms like cramps and breast tenderness are less severe when I accept my body’s invitation to slow down and rest. I tend to naturally feel more introverted and tired during the first few days of my period, and I’ve realized that I feel so much better if I don’t push myself to perform or be social, and take it easy with exercise. Instead of focusing on my productivity, I try to use this time to relax, reflect, and let my body go through its own process of restoration.

Follicular Phase: Estrogen for Energy

On a biochemical level, estrogen is an energizing hormone. As levels start to rise during the follicular phase, we tend to feel motivated, energetic, and productive. I personally find that intense exercise feels really good in my body throughout days 5-15 of my cycle, and I’m madly efficient when I work on things (like writing this monster of a blog post, for example…)

I also find that I’m much more willing to get things done around the house, participate in trips and social events, and tie up loose ends at work. While I don’t necessarily go so far as to make special plans during this time, the knowledge that I’m not always so energized allows me to have a little more grace on myself when I realize that my hormones have such a profound affect on that areas of my life.

Ovulation: Transition

I personally don’t notice any remarkable changes in my body or mind during ovulation, but many women report slight cramping (mittelschmerz), breast tenderness, or light spotting on the day leading up to or day of ovulation. This can serve as another means for tracking your fertility if you find yourself with these sorts of symptoms.

Luteal Phase: Rest and Restore

Progresterone is the hormone responsible for PMS symptoms. As the corpus luteum starts to ramp up its secretion of progesterone, levels of fatigue, breast tenderness, cramping, irritability, and bloating tend to follow suit if stress levels also remain high. Digestion slows way down, electrolyte levels fluctuate (leading to water retention), and mammary tissue starts to develop in the event of a possible pregnancy—leading to swelling and tenderness.

As with the first days of my period, I tend to feel sluggish, tired, and sore during the last few days of my luteal phase. By tracking the symptoms of my own cycle, I’ve come to recognize that feeling slow and tired during exercise, mild tension headaches, and a predisposition to feel a little more introverted is normal for me. While I find these things to be a little inconvenient, they aren’t debilitating, and I generally feel pretty good when I respond appropriately to my body’s signals for rest. As it says in Ecclesiastes chapter 3, “For everything there is a season, a time for every activity under heaven. A time to be born and a time to die, […] A time to tear down and a time to build up. A time to cry and a time to laugh.”

To sum things up…

The female body is an incredible, awe-inspiring creation. I am truly amazed every time that I sit down and study the details of hormonal balance, the delicate web of connections between our hormones and our bodily systems, and the amazing miracles of pregnancy and birth. The beautiful, graceful way that everything works together inspires a deeper sense of respect for everything that my body is—and isn’t—and drives me to take self-care seriously so that I can continue to live a healthy, vibrant life. How about you?

I’m Dr. Alexandra MacKillop, a functional medicine doctor, food scientist and nutrition expert.

I specialize in women’s nutrition & hormonal health, addressing concerns like longevity, fertility, postpartum, PCOS, endometriosis, and gut symptoms like bloating, constipation, diarrhea and more.

If you’re looking for a new way to approach your health, I’m here to help you through it.

Become a Patient

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Sign Me Up!

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Reminder: The information on this post or anywhere else on this blog or other writing is purely educational, and is not intended to diagnose, treat, prevent, or cure any health condition.

The post Understanding Hormones for Women appeared first on Dr. Alexandra MacKillop.