Inspired with Nika Lawrie

Nika In The Hot Seat: On Perimenopause, Cycle Syncing, Hormones and More

• Nika Lawrie • Season 2024 • Episode 85

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Join us as Michelle Blais steps in to interview me about how understanding the distinct phases of your menstrual cycle—menstrual, follicular, ovulation, and luteal—can transform your daily routine. Learn how tracking your hormonal fluctuations can help you schedule high-energy tasks and well-deserved rest periods, making you more attuned to your body's natural rhythms. We also break down how to tailor your workouts and dietary choices to each phase for optimal health benefits.

Our conversation takes a deep dive into the critical role of hormone tests during menopause and perimenopause. We'll guide you through the maze of recognizing symptoms that are often masked by hormonal birth control and emphasize the importance of consulting with a physician for accurate diagnosis and management. Whether you're exploring non-hormonal birth control options like the copper IUD or looking for effective treatments to tackle hot flashes and sleep disturbances, we’ve got you covered with proactive approaches to navigate these life stages smoothly.

Finally, we examine a root cause healthcare approach, contrasting it with conventional AMA care. Discover why functional medicine prioritizes identifying underlying issues over merely treating symptoms and how personalized tests can reveal deeper health concerns. We also shed light on the complexities of choosing quality dietary supplements and stress the importance of professional guidance to avoid harmful interactions. Plus, get actionable tips for maintaining bone density as you age, including the benefits of strength training and regular exercise. Don't miss this insightful episode packed with practical advice to enhance your well-being at every stage of life!

CONNECT WITH MICHELLE BLAIS:
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CONNECT WITH NIKA: https://mtr.bio/nika-lawrie

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DISCLAIMER:
*This podcast and its contents are for informational purposes only and are not intended to replace professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always consult your physician or a qualified health provider for any questions concerning a medical condition or health objectives. Additionally, the advice and strategies contained herein may not be suitable for every individual and are not guaranteed for business, personal, or wellness success. Use discretion and seek professional counsel when necessary.

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Nika Lawrie:

Hey and welcome to a new episode of Inspired with Nika Laurie. Today we're going to kind of switch things up. So I have one of my very best friends on the show and she is going to ask me questions so questions that she might have, a lot of questions from our audience and just trying to share wealth of knowledge with you guys today. So please welcome, michelle Blaze. Michelle, welcome to the show. We had you on a couple weeks ago, but I'm happy to have you back in the host role today.

Michelle Blais:

Yes, I'm so excited to flip the script a bit and be the interviewer instead of the interviewee, so I'm a little nervous.

Nika Lawrie:

It's fun to be the interviewee. Yeah so, yeah. So I'm going to hand it over to you. You do your thing and ask away.

Michelle Blais:

Wonderful. So actually I wrote down some questions that I have been wondering myself, so I'll start with my question Okay, perfect, and then I'll move into some frequently asked questions from your community, some questions that other people were wondering. Awesome. So I've been hearing a lot about cycle syncing. I know when I go on Instagram people are talking about cycle syncing. I'm not really sure exactly how it works, so could you explain? Women have been alive, so, but it's, it's become more of a socially accepted thing.

Nika Lawrie:

Probably in the last like five to 10 years it's really been kind of brought into the mainstream. But the idea of cycle syncing is so. Most women have a menstrual cycle and the menstrual cycle is the process that our sex hormones go through every about a month. 28 to 32 days is a typical cycle, though women can fall and have a shorter cycle. Some women can have a longer cycle. Some women have like cycles that are every 42 days or every 48 days. So there isn't really like a normal. It's normal for your own specific body. But the idea is to sync the activities of your life to your hormonal phases as you go through your menstrual cycle and so. So, for example, we would start like the menstrual phase is the first day of that is the first day that you start your period phase is the first day of that is the first day that you start your period. So when you start bleeding and then you'll go into your follicular phase, your ovulation phase and then luteal phase is the back end of the cycle and that moves you back into starting menstruation again and, based off of where you are in your cycle, your hormones are going to change. So the big three that will change will be your estrogen, your progesterone and then your testosterone actually changes throughout that cycle as well. But when you go through that process, your energy level's going to change and most people most women probably know, like you know, a couple of days before they start their period they have the mood swings, they have the PMS symptoms, those kind of things. But what they don't really tend to know is that as you go through kind of the front half of your cycle so after the last day of your period, as you're going through the follicular phase and the ovulation phase, your energy actually peaks a lot more. You're going to have more energy, you're going to be more kind of almost like optimistic. You'll be more social. So it's really good idea to start tracking your cycle and then being able to plan big activities during those parts of your cycle so you'll have more energy to say, you know, if you want to work on a big project in business, I know you have a launch course coming up that we're super excited about. So that's like a perfect example is doing your launch course in, say, your follicular ovulation phase, because you're going to have more energy, you're going to feel more excited, you're going to feel more social and engaged and want to connect with people, whereas when you move into the luteal phase or even your menstrual phase, your energy is going to dampen, it's going to lower, you're going to have less energy, and then menstrual phase is really the kind of rest and reset phase and so your energy is going to drop quite a bit during your menstruation and so you don't want to plan a big project or something like that during that phase and then you can also sync, like your workouts, with that.

Nika Lawrie:

You can sync how you eat. Different foods support you differently throughout the different phases. An easy way to think about how you eat with your menstrual cycle is think about menstruation is winter, then follicular is spring and ovulation is summer and luteal is fall, and so you think about how you eat during that time. So winter and fall you're going to eat more of those root vegetables, the heavier foods, those kinds of things, and spring and summer you're going to eat more like the lighter vegetables you know leafy greens and and salads and bright, you know flavorful things, that kind of stuff. So more hearty in the back part of your phase and kind of brighter, lighter foods in the first part of your phase.

Michelle Blais:

Oh true, oh my gosh, I definitely want to do that. So I think it's too late for this launch. It'll just fall when it falls. It falls when it falls, yeah, but for the next one, I definitely want to want to look into that. So, for me, I'm on an IUD, and so I've been on one for quite a few years. It has hormones in it. I haven't actually had a regular period for a couple of years now, so can I still do this? Like, how can I do this when I don't exactly know, you know, when my menstrual cycle is coming? Absolutely.

Nika Lawrie:

Yeah, so so so first. So there's usually two types of IUDs there's the hormonal IUD and then there's the copper IUD. I so no judgment here. People should do what fits right for them. I'm not a proponent for any birth control that has hormones in it, because of the reason that it can mess with your natural cycle, and it's really important that your body understands where the hormones are and how it processes those hormones naturally, and so I think that's a really key thing. I just want to add that to this conversation. But women should do my thing is that, uh, have the information and be educated on the topic and then make the decision that works best for them. I have a copper IUD, uh, so that I, you know, have the IUD protection, but it doesn't impede on my hormones, and so you can have your natural cycle and still have that whole process.

Nika Lawrie:

But with that, how do we figure out how to sync with our natural cycle when we're on a hormonal birth control?

Nika Lawrie:

So the the it takes a little bit more work because you don't have those natural cues like you would starting your period. But what you can start doing is just pick a day, Like you could start today, Right, and write down kind of how you feel your energy level. Is it high, Low? Do you feel stressed? Do you feel energetic, Depressed, Whatever it is? Give yourself you know if you knew what your cycle was prior to getting on this hormone, hormonal IUD? Match it up to that. If you don't just pick 30 days and do it every month, right, and so, for like two ideally maybe three months, track how you feel each day and then look at the 90 day picture and you'll start to see that even if you're not having the menstruation, the period, you'll still be able to see your mood change throughout the month. And so then, once you have that big picture, you can start matching up the rest of your lifestyle and work habits to that cycle.

Michelle Blais:

Right, okay, well, yeah, I'll definitely start doing that Totally.

Nika Lawrie:

Yeah, and a great way to do it is just to use a period tracker. Even though you're not having that period, Most of them still track, like mood each day, or you can track did you work out that day? Those kinds of things, and it'll still help you figure out where that cycle is and it will also help you kind of figure out where ovulation is, the other thing that you can do. So it's a little bit harder with the IUD, but with the birth control pills, when you have that week period of the sugar pills, the menstruation pills start with that week and use that week as your start point for the menstruation phase and then you can move into the follicular inovulation and so on. So it's a little bit easier with the birth control pills, even if you're not having the period.

Michelle Blais:

Okay, that's great. I actually hadn't considered a copper IUD either, and so that definitely gives me something else to think about. Yeah.

Nika Lawrie:

The nice thing about the copper ones too is they last 10 years, opposed to the five years with the hormonal, and so you know they're not the funnest thing to have put in and taken out. So it's a little bit less that you have to do it, so it's kind of worth it yeah.

Michelle Blais:

Definitely worth it for the next five years. So then that makes me think of something else. So I'm getting to the age where I could be in perimenopause already. Is it possible that somebody could be of age and, because they're on hormones through their birth control, that they might not even know they're going through perimenopause? Or like, how would I know if I was going through it?

Nika Lawrie:

Yes, so that's super common. So hormonal birth control, um, whether it's the pills, their IUD or whatever you're using, they can mask or cover up symptoms that you would otherwise have in your perimetopause or menopause phase. So things like hot flashes, sleeping issues, lack of periods. So one of the big signs of going into perimetopause and then actually reaching the point of menopause is you've had 12 consecutive months of no period whatsoever. That usually, for most women, happens in the early 50s, so like 50 to 52 phase. But a lot of women will start to enter perimetopause, that pre-metapause phase, in their kind of early, even mid 40s, so somewhere in there, and so that's pretty normal. And so you'll start to see gaps in periods, you'll start to see those hot flashes, those kind of things. If you want to know, you can do some hormonal tests. You can see your physician and ask to get tested for that.

Nika Lawrie:

You can do the FSH test, follicular test, follicular F, s, f, h, s, follicular it's your, it's your hormone test I'll think of what it's called, but it's a hormonal test that you can get um to see how how much of that hormone that you're having, and that's a big sign of whether or not that you're ovulating, and so it can help you understand where you're at in in Perry or menopause phase.

Nika Lawrie:

Um, and then a lot of women what they'll tend to do is actually, when they're starting to hit their kind of um mid forties, they'll come off of hormonal birth control and they'll do a more natural option or do the copper ID, those kinds of things to start to see if they are transitioning Um. But it's a really great time to really start talking to your primary care physician about options to help you go through peri and menopause as smoothly as possible. Women should not be suffering with hot flashes. Women should not be suffering with lack of sleep, those kind of things. Those are all things that can be supported through diet and lifestyle changes and then also hormonal support if they need to as well.

Michelle Blais:

That's so interesting that you're saying that to me, because I just recently saw my doctor and asked you know, should I get some hormone tests to, kind of since I'm on an IUD and find out where things are at? And he told me that there was no point in doing a hormone test because you have to do it on a very specific in, at a very specific point in your cycle and there's no way to know what point that is. So he just said there's no point in doing them. So he he did not, yeah. So okay, this is, this is good to know.

Nika Lawrie:

Yeah, so, uh, your response does not surprise me one bit. Um, one of the reasons why I'm really focusing on supporting women's health is because I feel like we need to revolutionize how women are cared for in the healthcare system. Um, really, at a global level. I know so. I'm based in the US, you're based in Canada, I know in the US, care for women here is what I would say is substandard a lot of times, and I think, likely you kind of deal with the same kind of issues. Yeah, I would say yeah, and so it's unfortunate.

Nika Lawrie:

I think doctors mean well, I don't think it's like an intentional dismissal of it, but it's lack of education, it's lack of being able to get insurance providers or the healthcare systems to cover the costs of those kind of tests.

Nika Lawrie:

So it becomes, it's an issue, but the problem is is that women suffer from symptoms that they may not need to be suffering?

Nika Lawrie:

Is is, then, women suffer from symptoms that they may not need to be suffering and they don't have a good understanding of where they are in their life journey.

Nika Lawrie:

Right, with hormones changing and being in menopause or perimetopause or whatever like, women should be empowered and know where they are in those phases and have that information. So what I would say regarding those tests is you would need to make that personal decision if you want to come off of the hormonal birth control or try something else. Again, like every woman should make their own decision that's right for their own body. But coming off of that and then giving yourself about 30 days, maybe 60 days, to like reset your cycle and kind of let those hormones balance back out and then your physician is correct there's very specific times that you do those tests. So you'll do usually a blood test and a urine test at the start of your cycle and then you usually wait I think it's about two weeks and then you'll do a second set of tests to get a good idea of where you are in those in that phase.

Michelle Blais:

Right, Okay, thank you for that. Yeah, okay, I'm going to stop being selfish and I'll move. No, you're good Ask away. I just really wanted to ask those questions and they were so helpful. I'm going to move on to some questions from your audience, Okay, and I mean some of them. I also am curious to know as well. So one of the questions is you always hear the term root cause, so there's the root cause of a health condition. So can you help us understand what does that mean? Root cause of?

Nika Lawrie:

yeah, what does the?

Michelle Blais:

root cause mean, and why should we and how should we look into it?

Nika Lawrie:

Why does it matter?

Michelle Blais:

Yeah, why does it matter?

Nika Lawrie:

Yeah, so root cause really connects. So I think people kind of have a general understanding of root cause. But root cause when it comes to holistic health and medical care really kind of stems from the functional medicine world versus you'll have here in the States we call it AMA. So the American Medical Association care, how most doctors like when you go see your primary care physician, that you know is probably through your health system or your insurance company or whatever. They're going to be more of a standardized medical organization. They're going to follow different set of practices than say a functional medicine or an integrative medicine doctor would follow, right. So when you look at the two and you separate them out, so the generalized kind of I'm going to use AMA as the term so the generalized AMA care is going to look at symptoms.

Nika Lawrie:

So you are going to have some type of health issue. Say your hormones are out of whack, right. And then you're having you're having really bad PMS. Hormones are out of whack, right. And then you're having. You're having really bad PMS, you're having sleep issues, you're craving lots of sugary foods, you're exhausted, you feel lethargy, those right.

Nika Lawrie:

So they're going to look at those symptoms, right, and try to fix those individual symptoms.

Nika Lawrie:

So maybe they give you so they'll give you, you know hormones right away for something, or they'll um tell you to you know just change your diet and lifestyle, without any details, like they're.

Nika Lawrie:

All they're going to do is usually give you like a prescription or something to support that symptom when you go to the functional medicine or integrative medicine side of things. They're going to skip that and they're actually going to drop down and start looking at what's really going on in your body, what is at the root cause of those symptoms. So instead of treating the symptom, they really look deeper down and try to figure out it's like an investigation into your body to figure out what is actually causing the symptoms, so that they can fix the root cause of the problem and support that. And so that's usually going to be, you know, serious lifestyle changes looking at nutrition supplementing if you have, you know, if you're low on vitamin D or whatever right. So they're going to look at those specific things and treat the root cause so that it prevents all of those symptoms from happening and then likely be able to prevent other diseases or issues that may occur in the long run as well. So it really separates out the two.

Michelle Blais:

I don't even know if I would know what that would feel like, going in and having someone slow down and like actually take the time with me and go through through everything. It's like yeah, it's a by the same here as it is there, but like you're, you're into the doctor and you're only allowed to present. Like there's a rule you're only allowed to present one health problem per visit. Oh, my god, you're like in and you're like, hey, what's the health problem? And then you're just, you're in and out.

Nika Lawrie:

We don't here. We don't have the rule of one health thing, but we've got most physicians. You got 15 minutes with them. And even that like that's like 15 minutes. They're coming in asking you questions and then they got to do all their medical notes. So usually you see them for like five or 10 minutes and they're like how are you, what's up? Okay, cool, here's your prescription. See you next year, yeah. And so when you go the functional medicine route, it's really about personalizing the care and support for you as a unique individual.

Michelle Blais:

Right, yeah, that makes sense. Another question actually that relates to this is how do you recommend people assess their health status, and like what tests would a functional medicine person do? That's different from standard medical tests, or would they do the same tests?

Nika Lawrie:

So functional medicine or kind of more in-depth care is going to. A lot of times there's a lot of things that you can do before you even have to test. A lot of times they're going to recommend to change some dietary things first, just to help support your body's overall health, and sometimes just doing those basic things can alleviate the symptoms that the person is struggling with. So that's usually the first step is like let's just take kind of a broad picture and see if we can fix a few things and really simple, kind of more natural ways. Then, if the symptoms or issues are more in depth or they are sticking around even after making those diet and lifestyle changes, then they'll start to do some tests to get a better understanding of what's going on in the body.

Nika Lawrie:

There's a whole host of tests that you can do. I mean it's literally A to Z of tests, but some major ones that you would want to consider is getting like a basic kind of metabolic blood test. So you're going to look at your A1C, your triglycerides. There's like a whole set, your inflammation, those kind of the whole metabolic thing. Um, from there you'd probably want to do a gut or a microbiome test.

Nika Lawrie:

Usually those are done through fecal matter, so they're not quite as easy, but there's a lot of at-home kits that you can get, but that'll give you a good idea of how your gut's functioning, and if your gut is out of whack, your whole body's going to be out of whack, like your. Your gut is so key to um overall health. It's really really important. Um, they'll likely do a full hormonal um uh set of blood work and it's usually blood work and urine as well for the hormones. Um, they'll also look at like cortisol and and stress and stuff like that when they do the whole hormonal workup.

Nika Lawrie:

Yeah, um, sometimes you may do a food sensitivity um or an allergy test. That can be important if people are really struggling with, um you know, uh like stomach issues or bowel issues, those kinds of things, eczema those kinds of things, anything that looks like a reaction to something. They'll usually do the food sensitivity tests. I don't normally just recommend those because they can be expensive and pricey. Unless you can get it through your health insurance or your coverage Up front, I don't normally recommend them. But if you want a full workup, I think it's a great process to start, and then you kind of know what to eat and what not to eat. So that's a big one too.

Michelle Blais:

That's interesting, my husband has. It can be really severe eczema and it kind of comes and goes and I hadn't considered that it could be related to a food allergy.

Nika Lawrie:

Eczema is almost always related to a food, so what it usually is is an autoimmune response. So likely what's happening is that, and definitely not diagnosing here, you know.

Michelle Blais:

But yeah, no, no, but it's helpful to know.

Nika Lawrie:

Yeah, the experience that I've had with clients when I've seen is that a lot of times what will happen is they have what's called a leaky gut, so the lining of their gut interior has little cuts in it from the food that they've been eating, and particles of that food can then escape through the gut lining and end up in the bloodstream and the body attacks that lining and end up in the bloodstream and the body attacks that and that inflammation will then cause eczema or other autoimmune issues. And so it's really important to start looking at the food and nutrition that somebody like that might be having or eating to help support and reduce eczema.

Michelle Blais:

Oh, so interesting. Yeah yeah, this is another quick question just about myself. So then, as far as you know, does stress also impact eczema as well? Huge.

Nika Lawrie:

Huge Okay Cause.

Michelle Blais:

I noticed that when he's more stressed out, it seems to be worse. It flares.

Nika Lawrie:

Yeah, so. So, um, the way it's going to work, kind of in a basic picture, is stress is going to increase the amount of inflammation that happens throughout the body, and when there's inflammation, the body's going to react. So each person's usually going to have their own thing. Um, you know, some people can have like Hashimoto's and have hormone issues, some people can have eczema, other people can have rosacea, other people are going to have IBS or bowel issues. There's a whole host of things. When the stress in the body is higher, you're more likely to trigger whatever that response is, and so not only does it come from diet, like nutrition issues, but it will also be increased by the stress levels. So the higher the stress, the more likely you are to have that symptom.

Michelle Blais:

This all makes a lot of sense.

Nika Lawrie:

Yeah, totally, it's a whole cycle, like everything is connected. That's the other thing to think about real quick, about like the generalized, like the AMA, like we were talking about earlier, versus functional medicine or integrated medicine, is, when you think about AMA, you have the cardiologist and then you have the. You know they have the ear, nose and throat specialists and then you have the you know osteo specialists. You know, right, like you have everything's broken out into separate pieces and then you have experts in each of those pieces and that can be really great for specific things. You know, for instance, if you have a specific heart condition, say a genetic heart condition, you want a heart expert, you want the cardiologist for that.

Nika Lawrie:

But when you're coming in with you know more symptoms that are just kind of bothering you all over the place. You need to really think about your body as an entire system. Everything works together, which means that everything's going to trigger something else, right? So stress goes up and the eczema is going to increase, right, it's not a separate. You don't need a stress doctor and an eczema doctor. You need the full picture doctor, right?

Michelle Blais:

Yeah, and it's interesting because he just gets a cream, a really, really strong cream, prescribed by the doctor when his eczema flares up. And it's never, ever been brought up that it could be a food allergy, Like, as you were saying, with the root cause. It's never been brought up about the root cause. It's just, Kate, you got to wear this cream right and it's really irritating.

Nika Lawrie:

So that's a perfect example of treating the symptom right. The medication is for the symptom, not what's causing it. And so if you think about, let's get to the root cause and fix what's causing it, then you don't even have the problem and you don't need the cream, right, yeah? So, yeah, yeah, my eyes are open.

Michelle Blais:

It's a switch in how you think about it.

Nika Lawrie:

Yeah.

Michelle Blais:

Yeah, yeah, for sure. How are we doing for time? There's a couple more questions on the list. We're good, I'm good if you're good. Yeah, yeah, totally. There's, I think, two more questions here. One was about the role of supplements, and so what role do supplements play in functional medicine or holistic health? And so what role do supplements play in functional medicine or holistic health, and what are some ones that women might consider Especially? I mean, I might, since we're talking in perimenopause, like you know, women from the ages of like 35 to 60.

Nika Lawrie:

So there's tons of supplements out there and there's tons of. There's a huge range of quality versus non-quality supplements, and so I'm never going to tell somebody to go to their local store and just load up on all the supplements and start taking them, because one a lot of supplements are very poor quality. There's no. I don't know what it's like in Canada, but I know in the U S there's basically no regulation on supplements whatsoever.

Michelle Blais:

Okay, Just when you're telling that this was like 10 years ago, but I used to watch the Dr Oz show and he would recommend all these supplements. So I literally did what you're just telling. You're like I would never tell you to do, that. I literally wrote down a whole list of them, I went to buy all of them and I started taking them and I got so sick, like just like stomach cramping, like could not like, like I had to call and say work and I was like, oh my God, like I'm trying to get healthy and like I just kind of I overdid it or who knows what actually and that's the problem with supplements is like so there's no regulation, so there's, you don't even know the quality of it, right, there can be things like lead in supplements, like you have, so you have.

Nika Lawrie:

The first thing I say is like, if you are going to supplement and there are times that I definitely suggest supplementing, but first you need to find a high quality, trustworthy company that makes those are really good, you know really high quality supplements.

Michelle Blais:

You know and have a third party. My gosh, we needed to be friends 10 years ago. We needed to be friends like way before this.

Nika Lawrie:

Yeah, that's the hard part with it is, you know, you've all these people that are like take my new supplement for weight loss or take my new supplement for brain health, and then there's no like, there's no real research that shows that they're doing what they're saying they're doing. There's no quality testing on the supplements. So the first thing I'll say is just buyer beware, don't just go out and buy all of them, because it can be a serious issue.

Michelle Blais:

And can supplements oops, sorry, go ahead. No, go ahead. Just when you said that, it made me think can supplements, like medications, interact with each other? Can supplements also interact with each other, like maybe something I was taking was interacting with something else I was taking?

Nika Lawrie:

Very much so, yeah, so. So a couple of things that can happen. So, yeah, if you're on medications definitely prescription medications definitely talk to your physician before you start taking any supplement, because it really can impact different supplements. It can make, or it it can impact different medications. It can make those medications not work the same way, it can cause those medications to cause issues within the body. So there's lots of different things, so you have to be very careful there.

Nika Lawrie:

The other thing I would say is that some supplements can impact other supplements. You don't always want to over layer them, or a good examples I see people will take like a multivitamin or a multi mineral and then they'll take a supplement on top of that. So, say, you'll take like a multivitamin and then you start taking vitamin D K as well, and so then you're like quadrupling your daily amount, and that can be an issue long run too, and so you have to be very careful with all of that and so be thoughtful with supplements. With that said, I think there are some very key supplements that a lot of people can and should take if it's needed for their specific body, and before they start taking that again, they should go talk to their physicians to make sure it's the for their specific body. And before they start taking that again they should go talk to their physicians to make sure it's the right thing for them. A couple of those examples would be like a vitamin DK. Especially living kind of in the Northern Hemisphere away from the sun especially you guys up in Canada vitamin D not getting enough sunlight can be a huge issue, and whenever you take a vitamin D you want to do a vitamin DK. They're usually combined together. Most of the time they're a liquid. Sometimes you can get them in pill format, but most of the time that's a liquid.

Nika Lawrie:

And then magnesium is a big one and there's I think there's 10 different magnesiums. There's usually six that are kind of the primary that are used. You'll usually only find two or three in the store and they each do something that's a little bit different in the body. But having the magnesium is key too, and magnesium does so many different things in the body, so it's really important to have enough of that.

Nika Lawrie:

But again, you don't want to start taking a bunch of magnesium and vitamin D if your body has enough of it. So you'd want to talk to your physician. Usually those blood tests are pretty simple to have, um, and so it's an easy one. Um, zinc can be a big one, uh, women with iron deficiency, uh, especially right after they have a baby, can be a big one. So there's different things like that. And then there's your body may just not process that specific supplement in your body, whatever it is, it could be A to Z right, and so you would need to know for your own specific body and then that might be an option to supplement to support something there.

Michelle Blais:

That's great. There's one last question and it relates to bone density and protecting bone density. Women protecting their bone density as they age, and does it automatically decrease, and should you start taking anything to protect your bone density?

Nika Lawrie:

So three things for that? That's a big question. So, yeah, so bone density can decrease and I say can. It doesn't always, but it can decrease as you start to age. A lot of, especially in women. A lot of women tend to have bone density decrease. One of the best ways to actually support that is just exercise, strength training, resistance training, supporting body movement, those kinds of things and keeping that activity going.

Nika Lawrie:

My husband always talks about thinking about yourself standing on the peak of a mountain right, and so you have one cliff on one side and you have a cliff on the other side and you're standing on the very top. You want to keep your body at that peak for as long as possible, or as close to that peak as possible, because once you start tumbling down either side of the mountain, it's harder and harder and harder to get yourself back up. And so you think about that same thing with bone density. If you're keeping your bones strong by doing exercise, by, you know, calcium and vitamin D and magnesium are good examples of things that really support bone density. But if you're supporting those things and you're exercising and eating well throughout life, you don't have to worry about that as much If you're starting to struggle with bone density.

Nika Lawrie:

Again, talk to your physician, but look at diet and exercise support first and then supplementing after that. I personally have not seen a bone density prescription that is good yet, in my opinion. Most of the time what I see is that they actually crystallize your bones that you currently have, and so what happens is then you have to stay on that medication forever in perpetuity, or your bones become weaker once you've come off that medication, and that tends to happen with most osteoporosis medications that I've seen, so I'm not a big fan of them. Again, talk to your physician and make that decision, but the key is to be really educated before you make that decision so that you're empowered to make the right decision for yourself.

Michelle Blais:

Definitely. Wow, that's huge. I had no idea about. Yeah, you just don't think that if this is going to help, I should take it and you're not really told. Well, this is what it actually does, it's just the big problem.

Nika Lawrie:

Yeah, yeah, and you know. And there's there's times and places for different medications. For sure I am not anti-medication. There's there's times and places for different medications. For sure I am not anti-medication. It's I am pro being an informed decision maker on what you're taking and what you're what it's going to do to your body long-term.

Michelle Blais:

Definitely. Oh, wow, I feel already a lot more informed just from that. I learned a lot, and I know that your audience has too, and so thanks for answering my questions and their questions so good, thank you. Well, oh, I was gonna say anything else. I'm not quite as polished of a host as you are, so you're good.

Nika Lawrie:

I'm grateful for it.

Michelle Blais:

Yeah, is there anything else you wanted to share before we wrap it up. That's the end of the question.

Nika Lawrie:

Last thing I was thinking about is for the bone density. You can get what's called a DEXA scan and they can scan your body and tell you how strong your bones are. So that's one way to find out if you are interested in that as well. But otherwise, no, I'm super grateful, but I do want to give you an opportunity. I know we mentioned it just earlier you have a course launch and I love what you're doing because you help kids with their mindset so that they are, you know, empowered and strong and healthy, growing going forward, and you really support the parents in that process of raising this like powerful little kid. Do you want to talk a little bit? Just tell, tell people what you do and tell them about your course.

Michelle Blais:

And stuff too Definitely. So you can find me on Instagram it's Miss Shell Mindset. I have been a teacher for the last 17 years, and what I'm really passionate about is helping kids to take on those challenges, to persevere to, you know, be their best selves, so that they grow up to be, you know, strong, resilient adults and that they're prepared for this world. And so that's what my program is all about. I help parents with that. It's called Raising Resilience and, yeah, it has come over the last 17 years of a lot of research-based strategies and then also what I've seen proven in the classroom and with the families I've worked with. So I'm so, yeah, thank you for giving me a chance to chat about it. You know how passionate I am about it, and so, yeah, and I will tell you.

Nika Lawrie:

I will tell you, I took the course, I love the course. It's such a great course. So from an actual course member, it really is. I can, I can tell you it's a wonderful course. So I'm so glad you're doing it. I'm super excited. And then I will link to our conversation where I interviewed you about your course and your information in the show notes.

Michelle Blais:

So listeners can find it so great and I do have a few freebies and stuff just to help out. Maybe you could even link those. I've got like a confident kids playlist and I've got some recommended books, picture books, to build kids confidence.

Nika Lawrie:

Yes, I will definitely Awesome. I will link to all of that in the' confidence. Yes, I will definitely. Awesome. I will link to all of that in the show notes.

Michelle Blais:

Sounds great. Well, this was so cool. Maybe I have a new forte as a podcast host. We'll see. We'll see.

Nika Lawrie:

One thing at a time? Yeah, totally Awesome. Well, thank you, Michelle, so much. Yeah, thanks.

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Nika Lawrie

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