ArketypeNutrition

10/12/2025

Some symptoms are hard to name but easy to feel. You might notice that your sleep feels light, your mood feels more reactive than usual, or your energy doesn’t fully come back after rest. Maybe PMS feels heavier than it used to. Or you simply feel out of sync without knowing why.

These can be signs that progesterone is running low.

Progesterone plays an important role in the second half of the menstrual cycle. It helps regulate your sleep, buffer your stress response, and support a more steady emotional baseline. When levels drop, things don’t always fall apart, but they do start to feel a little more fragile.

Low progesterone can stem from a range of factors, including long-term stress, undereating, intense exercise, or the natural hormonal changes that come with perimenopause. It’s common, and it doesn’t mean something is wrong. It usually means your system is stretched and asking for more support.

Some ways to help your body replenish:
• Make sure you’re eating enough, especially foods rich in healthy fats. Hormones rely on nutrients and adequate energy intake to function properly.
• Create time for real rest. Not just sleep, but quiet, restorative moments that help shift you out of constant doing.
• Support your nervous system. Slow walks, calm evenings, or even five minutes of deep breathing can help recalibrate the stress response that affects hormone output.
• Include foods with key nutrients like magnesium and vitamin B6. Seeds such as pumpkin and sunflower can also be supportive. If you’re considering supplements, it’s best to check in with a practitioner first.

Progesterone doesn’t always need to be corrected with urgency. Often, it responds to the kind of care that’s sustainable. Steady meals. Less pressure. More space to breathe.

If your body feels like it’s asking for that, this may be one place to start.

10/11/2025

If you’ve been walking into rooms and forgetting why, losing your train of thought mid-conversation, or struggling to focus in ways that feel unfamiliar, there may be more behind it than distraction or age. Hormones play a significant role in how your brain functions, and when they shift, your mental clarity can shift too.

Estrogen, progesterone, thyroid hormones, and cortisol all influence memory, focus, and mood. When any of them become imbalanced, whether due to chronic stress, the menstrual cycle, or changes like perimenopause, it’s common to notice changes in cognitive function. Estrogen in particular affects parts of the brain tied to memory and attention, which is why dips in this hormone can often show up as forgetfulness or fog. If cortisol stays high for too long, sleep quality tends to suffer, and that only compounds the mental strain.

You don’t have to figure it out all at once, but there are some gentle ways to begin supporting your system:

• Prioritize deep, consistent sleep whenever you can. Rest is foundational for both hormone balance and brain health.
• Create more room for calm, even in small ways. A short walk, five minutes of stillness, or less screen time in the evening can help your nervous system reset.
• Choose meals that keep your blood sugar steady. Include protein, healthy fats, and fiber to support energy and focus throughout the day.

If your brain feels foggy more often than clear, it doesn’t mean something is wrong with you. It likely means your body is adjusting, responding, or asking for a different kind of support. Clarity often returns with time, especially when you start by tending to what your system actually needs.

10/10/2025

Some days, the fatigue feels heavier than usual. You’re holding your coffee, looking at your to-do list, but there’s a disconnect between what needs to happen and what your body feels capable of. It’s easy to blame poor sleep or a busy week, but when this becomes your norm, it may be a sign your hormones are under strain.

Hormonal survival mode is a state where your body is still functioning, but doing so by pulling from reserves it can’t easily replenish. Here are a few signs that might point in that direction:

1. You feel both overstimulated and exhausted.
Falling asleep is harder than it should be, or you wake up in the middle of the night with a busy mind. Cortisol, your main stress hormone, might be staying high when it should be tapering down, which makes it harder for your body to rest and reset fully.

2. Your energy is inconsistent and hard to predict.
You might have an afternoon crash that leaves you reaching for sugar, or you feel a second wind just as the day should be winding down. These patterns are often tied to blood sugar fluctuations and the way your body is compensating for low reserves.

3. You don’t feel like yourself.
This might show up as brain fog, low motivation, or a sense of disconnection. You’re getting through the day, but everything feels harder to access -- your focus, your mood, even your sense of clarity.

None of this means your body is failing. It’s adapting in the best way it knows how. But those adaptations take a toll if they go on too long without support.

The place to begin isn’t with a major overhaul. It’s usually with smaller adjustments that help your system feel a little more steady -- more rest, more nutrient-dense food, fewer blood sugar dips, and gentler expectations.

When you start to support your body in ways that match its capacity, it often responds more quickly than expected.

10/09/2025

SAVE THIS POST --> RECIPES (yum!)

There are days when a bowl of soup feels like exactly what your body is asking for. Maybe your energy is low, your cycle is shifting, or you just want something warm and grounding. In those moments, soup can do more than comfort. It can help support your system in quiet, steady ways.

These two recipes are simple staples -- nourishing, easy to digest, and built with ingredients that offer what your body often needs most during different phases of your cycle.

For lower energy or heavier days:

Red Lentil, Sweet Potato, and Spinach Soup
• 1 cup red lentils, rinsed
• 1 medium sweet potato, peeled and diced
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1-inch piece of ginger, grated
• 1 teaspoon turmeric
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 4 cups vegetable broth
• 2 handfuls baby spinach
• 1 tablespoon tahini (optional, for topping)
• Olive oil, salt, and pepper to taste

Sauté the onion and garlic in olive oil until softened. Add the ginger, turmeric, and cumin, stirring to release their aroma. Add the sweet potato and lentils, then pour in the broth. Simmer for about 20 minutes, or until the lentils are soft. Stir in the spinach at the end, season to taste, and top with a swirl of tahini if you’d like.

This one is rich in iron, magnesium, and grounding starches -- especially helpful during menstruation or times when you feel depleted.

For lighter days or when digestion needs extra care:

Calming Coconut, Lemon, and Chicken Soup
• 1 cooked chicken breast, shredded (or substitute with chickpeas)
• 1 can full-fat coconut milk
• 3 cups broth
• 1 carrot and 1 celery stalk, thinly sliced
• 2-inch piece of lemongrass or a strip of lemon zest
• Thumb-sized piece of ginger, sliced
• Juice of 1 lemon
• 2 cups baby spinach
• Fresh cilantro, optional

Simmer the coconut milk, broth, carrot, celery, lemongrass, and ginger until the vegetables soften. Add the chicken or chickpeas and heat through. Remove the lemongrass or ginger pieces before stirring in the spinach and lemon juice. Finish with cilantro if you have it.

This version offers protein, calming herbs, and healthy fats -- good for easing tension, supporting detox pathways, and calming inflammation.

10/08/2025

If your mood, energy, appetite, or skin have felt unpredictable lately, or if you’re noticing patterns that don’t respond the way they used to, there might be something deeper at play.

One connection that’s often overlooked is how inflammation and hormones influence each other in both directions. When one goes off track, the other usually follows.

Inflammation isn’t just about pain or swelling. It’s the body’s way of signaling that something needs attention. But when that signal stays on for too long because of poor sleep, stress, processed food, or even regular alcohol intake, it can start to affect your hormone balance. Cortisol may stay high, insulin may become less steady, and s*x hormones like estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone can drift out of sync.

The result is a body that feels harder to regulate. Your cycle might shift. You may feel tired but restless, hungrier than usual, or reactive to foods and situations that never used to bother you.

This doesn’t mean you need to overhaul your entire life. The body responds well to steady, repeatable shifts that reduce stress and improve resilience over time.
Try adding an extra serving of vegetables to one meal. Go to bed a little earlier. Swap one cup of coffee for a few minutes of sunlight or movement. Pause before meals and take a few slower breaths.

Even these kinds of changes can begin to lower background inflammation and help your hormone signals stabilize again.

10/07/2025

When hormones feel off, it often shows up as a low-level sense that something isn’t quite right. You might feel tired more often, less steady emotionally, or notice that your sleep and energy just don’t recover the way they used to.

Chronic inflammation is often a key piece of that puzzle. It doesn’t always cause obvious symptoms, but it can interfere with the way your body regulates hormones, making it harder to feel clear and resilient.

One simple way to support that process is by bringing more anti-inflammatory spices into your meals. These aren’t cures, but they offer gentle, steady support through everyday choices.

1. Turmeric
Curcumin, the compound that gives turmeric its bright color, has been widely studied for its anti-inflammatory properties. It can also support estrogen metabolism, which is especially helpful during hormonal shifts like PMS or perimenopause.

2. Cinnamon
Cinnamon helps stabilize blood sugar, which supports cortisol and insulin regulation. When those hormones stay steadier, it becomes easier for the rest of your system to stay in rhythm too.

3. Ginger
Ginger supports both inflammation and digestion, which are closely tied to hormone health. It can also ease menstrual discomfort and support circulation.

4. Cloves
Cloves are rich in antioxidants that help reduce oxidative stress -- a form of internal pressure that can disrupt hormone production over time.

5. Rosemary
This familiar herb plays a key role in liver support, which is essential for breaking down and clearing excess hormones efficiently.

Start by choosing one or two and work them into meals you’re already making. Whether it’s a pinch in your tea, a sprinkle on roasted vegetables, or part of your morning eggs, these small additions can bring meaningful support over time.

Nutrition from FOOD first and foremost! It's why we eat ;)

10/06/2025

If you’ve been waking up tired, feeling worn down before the day gets going, or noticing that stress seems to take more out of you than it used to, DHEA might be part of the picture.

DHEA is a hormone made primarily in the adrenal glands. It acts as a precursor to other hormones like estrogen and testosterone, and it tends to peak in early adulthood. Over time, levels naturally decline. That’s part of aging, but stress, especially when it’s ongoing, can cause those levels to fall more quickly.

When DHEA drops lower than your body can compensate for, you may start to feel a combination of things that don’t always seem related. Fatigue that doesn’t lift after rest. Brain fog or mental fatigue. Slower recovery from workouts or illness. Less resilience overall.

That doesn’t mean DHEA is the root cause of every symptom, but it can be a factor worth considering if you’ve been dealing with prolonged exhaustion, burnout, or hormonal shifts.

What supports it?
• Lowering ongoing stress in ways that feel realistic, not extreme
• Eating regularly and including nutrients your body can actually use
• Moving your body consistently and getting enough sleep
• Staying curious about what your body is asking for, rather than trying to push through

This isn’t something to self-diagnose or treat in isolation. DHEA interacts with other hormones, and supplementing without context can throw things further out of balance. If this resonates, it’s worth bringing up with a practitioner (like myself) who can help assess the bigger picture through proper testing and guidance.

Hormonal shifts don’t always announce themselves loudly. Sometimes they show up in quiet, persistent ways, and your body benefits most when those signals are taken seriously.

10/05/2025

Some days, stress doesn’t feel sharp or sudden -- it just lingers.

Your thoughts keep moving long after the day ends, and your body never quite shifts out of alert mode. When that state becomes familiar, it’s often a sign that cortisol, your primary stress hormone, is staying elevated longer than it should.

Cortisol is essential. It helps you wake up, stay focused, and respond to real demands. The issue isn’t that it exists—it’s when it stops following a healthy rhythm. That rhythm can usually be restored, not through drastic changes, but by building in small, consistent habits that help your body feel safe again.

Here are a few ways to support that process:

1. Get natural light early in the day.
Light exposure within the first 30 minutes of waking helps anchor your internal clock. This encourages cortisol to rise in the morning, which helps energy and focus, and decline later, which supports sleep.

2. Move your body in ways that feel manageable.
You don’t have to push hard to regulate stress. Gentle, consistent movement like walking, stretching, or restorative exercise can shift your nervous system toward calm without increasing demand.

3. Eat at regular intervals.
When blood sugar fluctuates from skipped or unbalanced meals, cortisol often steps in to compensate. Meals that include protein, healthy fats, and fiber can help maintain stability.

4. Create a wind-down routine in the evening.
Your body needs cues that the day is ending. Whether that’s dimming lights, reading for a few minutes, or stepping away from screens, consistency helps signal that it’s safe to rest.

These are not all-or-nothing strategies. You don’t have to do everything at once for it to matter. Choose one or two that feel realistic, and give your body time to respond. Most systems don’t reset overnight, but they do respond to steadiness.

These are strategies I share with my clients.
Which one do you need to add to your routine?

11/26/2024