Joint pain and hormones: what your doctor doesn’t know
Earlier this week, I joined an online meeting with a group of women. We had gathered at the invitation of one woman, already on the other side of menopause, with the intention of sharing what she had experienced, learned, and what had helped.
We huddled, like a secret coven deciphering ancient texts, trying to get to the bottom of this mysterious season. Us women are largely in the dark around our unique health needs and concerns. As some of the women offered their experiences thus far, the wide reaching impact of this period of life took form. Extroverts shared foreign feelings of social anxiety before a party. Women who had enjoyed multiple partners and a robust sex life report going months without any interest. An expressive dancer and yoga teacher shared that flat affect was one of her symptoms. As well as a general reduction in overall enjoyment of all life has to offer.
Up until a few decades ago, women were left out of medical studies because our hormones “skewed” the data. The support modern medicine offers around hormones is archaic and dismal. You can ask your allopathic doctor for a hormone blood test and they will happily order the lab with no attention to where in your cycle you are. Many of us are suffering in silence with no known respite: The highest suicide rates in women are between 45 and 55. Which is the same age when the most anti-depressants are prescribed. What we need is comprehensive hormone support, not just an offer to go back on birth control with a scribble on the prescription pad.
There’s no doubt that for most, this phase of life requires a reorganization of priorities and more time and attention spent on health. Gone are the days of staying up late and then sleeping a solid 8 hours. Of eating whatever is around and exercising as hard (or as little) as one wants. Our circadian rhythm demands regularity and consistent good habits to stay well now.
The body has had to put up with our brains running the show the past four + decades, and she’s ready to take her rightful place on center stage. The good news is, there is so much we can do. Your symptoms are messengers, but they don’t need to be a 10-year sentence to suffering.
One of the surprising symptoms several women shared is joint pain. What does joint pain have to do with hormones? When I hear joint pain, I think of inflammation.
Examining gut health is the first step. That includes figuring out if your body is intolerant to any foods you are eating. While there are tests, the cheapest way to sort intolerances is to remove a food for two weeks and then reintroduce it in a big way, and see what happens. Watch for subtle responses as well as loud ones.
Whenever there are signs of inflammation in the body, it bears taking a closer look at the balance of high inflammatory (Omega 6) vs. low inflammatory (Omega 3) foods.
Omega 6’s come largely in the way of grains. They are important, as we want to body to be able to respond to an injury by activating inflammatory processes. On the other hand, we want to be able to lower inflammation once the injury has healed. That is Omega 3’s job, and food sources for Omega 3’s come largely in the way of leafy greens and fatty fish.
Ideally we are getting equal parts greens and grains. The problem is, we get a lot more grains than we realize, as most meats and dairy are also fed grain and higher in Omega 6’s. The standard American diet has a ration of 30:1 Omega 6’s to Omega 3’s. Only foraging, hunting and fishing indigenous cultures like the Maasai and Inuit have the right balance.
When this ratio is off, it creates chronic inflammation in the body. Joint pain is a common symptom. In addition, it can weaken our immune response.
Both Omega 3’s and Omega 6’s are essential, but we need them in equal parts.
What to do? The solution is to eat more foods high in Omega 3’s, espeically leafy greens. A lot more. To mimic what our biology wants, I try to eat kale for lunch every day in a salad. On Sunday I prep the ingredients to eat the same salad all week. I change this up every week and then repeat the rotation every month or two, which adds up to 4 or 8 unique salad recipes.
This is one version on regular rotation in my kitchen: Salad for the week: Kale, Beets, Carrots and Avocado. It is simple and utilitarian, a weekday workhorse, which includes quantities and how I prep things ahead of time.
Each tiny habit change adds up over time. Find a way to add more greens to your diet in a significant way. Introduce pastured meat, dairy or eggs to replace grain-fed. When we understand the root causes of our symptoms, we can address them in meaningful ways. You may not notice a difference right away, but over time, each small shift paves the way to reduced symptoms and more vitality.
