Feeling More Inflamed Lately? InflammaPause Might Be Why

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You may have heard the catchy term InflammAging used to describe the increase in inflammation many people notice as they age, but have you heard about InflammaPause? If you’re a woman or have women in your life that you care about, this newsletter is for you.

Perimenopause is getting a lot of well-deserved attention lately. Better late than never, but we are seeing the medical industry catching on that women need better support. Perimenopause symptoms are no joke and while not every woman suffers during this transition, many do.
And the process can start before you think!
Often starting in your late 30s or 40s, the (often erratic) decline in estrogen and progesterone can leave you suddenly feeling like your body is changing overnight and with no roadmap in sight.

Many women enter perimenopause without realizing it. Symptoms often show up 8-10 years before periods stop, and they don’t just affect hormones — they impact inflammation, metabolism, mood, and even gut health.


 

Here are some of the most common patterns I see with clients:

 Pain + Inflammation

  • New joint stiffness or body aches
  • Old injuries flaring up
  • Increased headaches or migraines
  • Heightened sensitivity to stress and inflammatory foods

 Gut Imbalance

  • Bloating that suddenly worsens
  • Slower digestion or constipation
  • Histamine sensitivity
  • More food intolerances

 Muscle Loss + Metabolic Shifts

  • Harder to maintain muscle tone
  • Weight gain despite “doing the same things”
  • Slower recovery after workouts
  • Blood sugar swings and cravings

 Sleep + Mood Changes

  • Waking between 2–4am
  • Anxiety or feeling unsettled/restless for no apparent reason
  • Mood swings or irritability
  • Feeling “wired but tired”

Fluctuating estrogen and progesterone effects almost everything in the body, especially influencing:

  • Inflammation signaling (both estrogen and progesterone have powerful anti-inflammatory effects)
  • Nervous system regulation
  • Gut motility and microbiome balance
  • Muscle protein synthesis
  • Cortisol rhythms and sleep quality

While perimenopause and menopause are totally normal life transitions, when your body hurts, you can’t sleep well, you’re having digestive issues, your body shape is changing and you feel powerless to stop it…it can feel impossible to embrace this transition with grace. Here are some tools that may help.

 Anti-inflammatory, hormone-supportive nutrition

  • Prioritize protein (especially at breakfast) to protect your muscles, improve recovery, and stabilize blood sugar
  • Increase polyphenol-rich plants (berries, herbs, colorful veggies) to support inflammation signaling cells (polyphenols are powerful antioxidants and immune balancers)
  • Support gut diversity with fiber + fermented foods (strengthens gut lining, beneficial bacteria, and hormone recycling)
  • Reduce ultra-processed foods and inflammatory oils (focus on olive oil, nuts and seeds, avos)
  • For joint and muscle pain, supplements such as magnesium, omega 3 fats, curcumin, boswelia, creatine, and tart cherry can be helpful

 Train smarter, not harder

  • Strength training becomes non-negotiable in this phase
  • Muscle is one of the most powerful protectors against metabolic decline (keeps your baseline metabolic rate more resilient)
  • Gentle recovery and nervous system regulation matter more than pushing harder

 Nervous system first
Hormonal resilience is tightly tied to stress resilience.
Daily tools like breathwork, gentle movement, breaks, sunlight, and other nervous system resets like meditation, acupuncture, creative endeavors, etc. can dramatically improve sleep, mood, and inflammation.

 Strategic herbal support
Depending on the individual, targeted herbal support may help:

  • Adaptogens for stress buffering (such as holy basil, lemon balm, maca)
  • Phytoestrogenic herbs for symptom relief (red clover tea can help reduce hot flashes; black cohosh can also help with hot flashes, night sweats, and mood swings; flaxseed can help with gut-hormone balance and estrogen metabolism)
  • Nervines for sleep and mood regulation (i.e. lemon balm, passionflower, skullcap, chamomile, oatstraw, motherwort, lavendar)
    (Always individualized — what works for one woman may not work for another.)

 Considering MHT (Menopausal Hormone Therapy)
For some women, MHT can be life-changing and protective when used appropriately. 
It’s not right for everyone, but if you continue to struggle with symptoms, it is worth having a conversation with a qualified practitioner. Much of the previous research that caused fear around MHT has been debunked and there are multiple options nowadays to consider (bio-identical vs synthetic; patches, creams, injections, pills).

Hormonal support amidst rapid fluctuations can be challenging and there are no combos that work for every single woman. Many women that I have worked with who have opted for MHT during their perimenopause transition had to make adjustments along the way or found that one method of delivery worked for them while another form didn’t. It takes patience and a medical professional who is willing to listen and support you to find the right combination. I also have clients for whom MHT isn’t a safe option and they do better with adaptogens, herbs, and diet & lifestyle support. It’s important to find the right synergy for YOU. 

To sum up, perimenopause can last a long time and it’s not a simple, linear journey for many women. 
It’s a transition that requires new strategies, not more discipline.

If your body feels unfamiliar lately, it doesn’t mean you’re doing something wrong — it likely means your physiology has shifted and needs a more personalized approach.

If you’re navigating these symptoms (or others) and want a customized, whole-body plan, I’m here to help.

Apply for a complimentary Unstoppable Health Discovery Session. http://bit.ly/schedulinghealth (subject to availability).

Wishing you unstoppable health,

~Rebecca

P.S. If you know someone who is ready to feel great & create health habits that stick, I would love to connect with them!

Please share my scheduling link with them so that they can schedule a complimentary Unstoppable Health Discovery Session with me.

Gut Health, Metabolism & Inflammation: Why Nervous System Balance Comes First

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As a functional nutritionist and holistic health practitioner, I don’t focus on “treating symptoms”. Of course I want to help my clients resolve their symptoms, but people aren’t their symptoms and focusing on symptoms is almost never a long term solution.
Lasting results—especially with gut healing/digestion, inflammation, and weight balance—involves more than just eating the right foods or taking supplements: They begin with your nervous system.

Connecting the dots

Did you know that chronic stress (and elevated stress hormones like cortisol) are linked to systemic inflammation? Chronic stress (hormones) are also linked to increased intestinal permeability (aka leaky gut). Both systemic inflammation and increased gut permeability can impair metabolic flexibility, digestion, energy levels, and make weight loss feel frustrating or impossible—even when you’re “doing everything right.”
And it’s no surprise that chronic stress leads your nervous system to become stuck in fight-or-flight mode.

When your nervous system is stuck in fight-or-flight:

  • Digestion slows and nutrient absorption drops
  • The gut barrier becomes more vulnerable
  • Beneficial microbes struggle to thrive
  • Blood sugar regulation and fat metabolism become less efficient
  • Sleep becomes impaired, more restless and less restorative
  • Immune system becomes weaker and healing becomes impaired
  • Energy production becomes impaired

The list goes on and on. You get the picture.

This is why stress reduction isn’t a “nice add-on”—it’s foundational.

Nervous System Balance: A Daily Necessity

Balancing or regulating your nervous system isn’t a “one and done”, it is one of the most critical daily habits you need.
Balancing your nervous system creates the internal environment where healing, metabolic flexibility, and feeling good in your body/mind can occur.
Simple practices done throughout the day make the biggest impact: incorporate habits like intentional breathing, mindful pauses, go to bed before 11pm, wake up and go outside or look out of a window to get some natural light to support your circadian clock, eat in an 8-12 hr window and stop eating 2-3 hours before bed, get some physical activity during your day, do yoga, practice HeartMath (my fave!) and/or meditation…these all support nervous system balance, sleep quality, biorhythms, and send powerful safety signals to your gut-brain axis.
When your body feels safe, digestion improves, inflammation calms, and your microbiome becomes more resilient. From that place, nutrition strategies actually work better.
One more thing, mindful breathing is the only thing within your conscious control that helps flip the switch on your nervous system towards the parasympathetic side of your nervous system, your “rest, digest, repair” branch. This is why every type of nervous system balancing tool or meditative practice is rooted in mindful breathing of some kind.

A Simple 2-Minute Nervous System Reset

Here’s the irony of nervous system balancing: it’s relatively easy to do and yet many of us procrastinate doing it or write it off entirely. It is one of the most important things you can do for your health. Don’t let its simplicity fool you. It only works if you actually do it consistently.

To  start, try this once or twice a day—especially before meals:

  1. Sit comfortably with your feet on the ground.
  2. Inhale through your nose for 4 seconds.
  3. Exhale slowly through your mouth for 6 seconds.
  4. As you exhale, gently relax your jaw, shoulders, and belly.
  5. Repeat for 6 or more breaths.

Longer exhales stimulate the vagus nerve, helping shift the body out of fight-or-flight and into rest-and-digest—supporting gut integrity, blood sugar balance, metabolic flexibility, and so much more.

When done consistently, this practice and other nervous system balancing tools allow you to create powerful positive changes. Start today!  

If you need support with creating and maintaining healthy habits, you certainly aren’t alone. This is what I do! I truly believe your your health is your greatest wealth and it is my passion to help people just like you to make sure you’ve got the tools, skills, and confidence to follow through on the habits that will make a difference in how you feel in your body and show up in your life.
I’d love to connect with you!

Apply for a complimentary Unstoppable Health Discovery Session. http://bit.ly/schedulinghealth (subject to availability).

Wishing you unstoppable health,

~Rebecca

P.S. If you know someone who is ready to feel great & create health habits that stick, I would love to connect with them!

Please share my scheduling link with them so that they can schedule a complimentary Unstoppable Health Discovery Session with me.

Chocolate Chia Pudding

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This rich pudding is delicious and LOADED with fiber!

Ingredients (preferably organic):

1/2 cup chia seeds

1.5 cups of Califia coconut-almond milk blend (or milk of choice)

1/4 cup unsweetened cacao powder

3 Tbs powdered Lakanto (and recommended 5 drops of SweetLeaf liquid vanilla cream stevia); or 3+ Tbs maple syrup

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon (optional but highly recommended)

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1/8 tsp sea salt

How To:

Mix all ingredients well in a large bowl with a fork or a whisk.

Cover and put in refrigerator for at least 2 hrs, until chia seeds are softened, or overnight.

Makes 4 small servings. Can eat by itself, but it is delicious with fresh raspberries or strawberries as well as a dollop of fresh whipped cream.

Enjoy!