← Culture Apothecary with Alex Clark
Culture Apothecary with Alex Clark
Hormones Decoded: Sync Your Cycle To Your Life | @littleraeofhealth
01:07:38
Loading summary
Transcript215 lines
- [00:00]
Alex Clark
Pickle juice for period cramps.
- [00:02]
Emily
Pickle juice because of the salt and everything. It helps with like cramping muscles. I tried it and it works.
- [00:07]
Alex Clark
How can women be syncing their cycle.
- [00:10]
Emily
To their everyday lifestyle instead of having a daily battery? I like women to see it as like a monthly battery. I make the rules and this is one of them. On your period day one steak. If you got on birth control because you had irregular cycles, painful periods, that stuff's waiting for you because all you did was put a band aid and basically put a muzzle on it for however many years you were on birth control.
- [00:53]
Alex Clark
Today's episode might just save your relationship, your skin, your sanity, and your uterus. This is her third time being on the show because she is one of the most popular guests I've ever had. The first two times were before. The show is called Culture Apothecary. They were during the spillover days, but if you scroll back, you're gonna find them. We are joined today by Emily from Little Ray of Health on Instagram, your hormone bestie, cycle whisperer, and the creator of the Balance Bay Blueprint, an online course that's helped over 20,000 women balance their hormones, beat painful periods, in many cases get pregnant on purpose. She's here to take you from a period monster to a period unicorn. And trust me, if you've ever felt personally victimized by your PMS, wondered why crying at 3pm and craving pickles and chocolate, or being totally confused about ovulation, fertility, or how to not get pregnant without the pill, this one is for you. We talk about what a healthy period should feel like, how to sync your cycle to your workouts, your meals and mood, why women are more disconnected than ever from their bodies and what it's costing us. Plus how to ditch the cramps, the drama, and actually feel good in your body again, watch this episode on the real Alex Clark YouTube channel or culture Apothecary on Spotify. Pause before we get started, leave a five star review for Emily and I and discuss this episode in the Cute Servitors Facebook group group. Please welcome my friend Emily, AKA Little Ray of Health to Culture Apothecary. Why is a girl having her period really a superpower and not a curse?
- [02:20]
Emily
So your period and the phases of your cycle, which we'll get into is basically like the cheat code, like the blueprint of your hormones and of your life as a woman. We go through seasons. There's so many ways that our hormones influence the way that we live in so many ways that the way that we Live influences our hormones. And so if you can kind of understand that and hack that and learn to work with your hormones and with essentially with your period, which sounds kind of crazy to kind of build your life around your period. I think it's the most beautiful way to live. I think it's the way that you honor God and like the way that we were created.
- [02:52]
Alex Clark
Do you think it's kind of a spiritual attack that women are so disconnected from their cycles?
- [02:56]
Emily
100, 100. I think that if women understand the way that their hormones work and the way that their cycle works, it unlocks like, I don't want to say like your true power as a woman, but honestly, like, things feel easier. I feel like the way that the world is built right now, it's built for a man. It's built for like a 24 hour cycle. And if women are able to like live with the way that we were created, life becomes so much easier. And I feel like the way that the enemy uses it is like again, like women live most the month, like in pain with mood swings, like all these things. Which honestly, like the luteal phase does feel like one long spiritual attack. Like, it is not fun. And the fact that is the longest phase is like, what, not cool. But I just feel like it. It feels like a spiritual attack because it holds women back and it keeps you stuck and cursing again. This cycle that you were born with, that's actually so beautiful.
- [03:47]
Alex Clark
What should a normal period look and feel like?
- [03:50]
Emily
It shouldn't really distress you and affect your daily life that much. Like growing up before, you know, I balanced my hormones and I kind of healed. I would have to call out from work. I would have to like call home from school. I felt horrible. And that's not normal. We're told, like, welcome to womanhood. Like, this is just what it's like. This is rest of your life and it's just not true. A regular period should be three to five days, ideally like around three or four of a full bleed. Obviously some women start like a little bit earlier spotting, which that's a sign of something else as well. So three to five days, you might have some light cramping, some discomfort, but it again, it shouldn't be the reason you're like popping Tylenol or Advil or anything like that. You really should be able to go about your daily life and obviously be aware that something's happening. But you shouldn't be in a ton of pain. You shouldn't be. It shouldn't be super heavy. You shouldn't be changing your tampon or a pad every hour. Like that's absolutely not normal. And I feel like what we're told, at least from like my doctor and growing up was like, oh no, that's just normal. And just because something is common doesn't make it normal.
- [04:51]
Alex Clark
How can women be sinking their cycle to their everyday lifestyle?
- [04:56]
Emily
Okay, it sounds dramatic. And at first it's hard to get a handle of just because it's so different than what women we're used to. Again, like the world kind of works by 24 hour male cycle. You wake up, you do the same things, you go to sleep with a women's cycle. And working with your phases, instead of having a daily battery, I like women to see it as like a monthly battery. And instead of like daily to dos, it's monthly to dos. So there's certain phases where you're more creative. For example, so first there's the menstrual phase, then you move into follicular. That's when you're the most creative. That's when you should brainstorm things, outline things, kind of map out your month ahead. And then you move into ovulation where you have the most energy. So if, I mean, this is the best time for like intense workouts, this is best time for interviews. This is the best time for like front facing things. If you create content, if you are doing things like that, that's the best time. You have the most energy. You actually speak the most clearly. Both hemispheres of your brain are communicating the best during that time. So you're able to like advocate better and speak more clear. And then moving into the luteal phase, this is where you kind of want to wind down. This is essentially like the nesting phase. So if you think about our body always wants to get pregnant, like that's its goal. The monthly cycle is for that. So whether or not you're trying to get pregnant, you still need to kind of honor this system and this cycle. And so the luteal phase, you really need to like kind of pull back, slow down. This is when your body's like more susceptible to stress. Your stress threshold's much lower. And so you just kind of want to pull back and move slower, prepare for your period, and then you do it all over again. So like you can see there's these ebbs and flows of your hormones. When I first started, I was like, oh my gosh, I'm have to change my entire life. But it's really small tweaks. And the more you do it the easier it gets. And when you feel the difference, that's what, like, keeps you convicted to keep going.
- [06:44]
Alex Clark
What are five things that every woman should know about her hormones?
- [06:47]
Emily
One, Birth control. If you're still on birth control, get off. But birth control doesn't regulate your cycle. It shuts down your hormones. It shuts down your natural cycle. The next thing is that, like, blood sugar balance is so integral to hormone balance. Balance, really?
- [07:00]
Alex Clark
Yeah. Explain that.
- [07:01]
Emily
I feel like most people only talk about blood sugar in the context of, like, if you're diabetic or something like that, if you already have a problem. But the thing is, when blood sugar fluctuates drastically, which, again, if you wake up in the morning, you don't really have breakfast. You grab a coffee and a pastry or a bagel or something like that, or you don't eat at all, what's going to happen is your blood sugar is either going to dip and then spike or it's going to spike and crash. And when that happens, cortisol spikes. So the other thing that it can do also is trigger cravings. So when your blood sugar spikes and crashes, your brain knows that the quickest form of energy is glucose. And so what it'll do is it'll basically create sugar cravings. It knows that the quickest form of energy is sugar. So that's why, like, sometimes if you eat a meal that's higher in carbs, pasta or something like that, without eating a salad or something, to kind of lighten the load and cushion that blood sugar, you might feel like you want a sweet treat right after, like, 30 minutes later, you're hungry again. Again. This is because you had that spike and that crash. And I feel like a lot of this. Also, imbalanced blood sugar can lead to acne because all of this is spiking cortisol. Spiking cortisol. And I think that it's one of the biggest things that people don't. Everyone talks about cortisol, but what it's doing for your nervous system is crazy. And that's kind of been like, my biggest focus over the past year. I've been working on my hormones for, like, seven years, but I always go, go, go. I was working all the time. I was doing so much you. And it wasn't until I realized, like, oh, I've kind of been pushing it, pushing the limit for so long that I really need to step back and, like, take care of my nervous system. We see it all the time, especially now that we're, like, on a. You Know ttc, trying to conceive journey. I think the nervous system is the biggest part. If your body doesn't feel safe, like, forget about anything else.
- [08:46]
Alex Clark
Okay, so let's kind of talk a little bit about that. Of women are becoming more aware that our bodies need to feel safe. We need to calm our nervous system down. And so everybody is hyper fixated on creating, dating, and living in their soft girl era. But have we taken soft girl era as women too far? And now we're just sitting completely idle and we've become kind of stagnant and lazy. And that's not good for hormones either.
- [09:10]
Emily
Correct. Also, they say, like, the idle hands are the devil's playground. Like, that's so true too. When you're not doing anything, you're not striving for something, you're not working for something. Like, that's when kind of the enemy gets in and like, you have all these thoughts. And I experienced it. I mean, I did the whole like, girl boss, too close to the sun kind of thing. And I realized, like, okay, like, this is too much. This is my. My nervous system is too messed up. Like, I really need to take a step back. But I stopped completely. Basically. I kind of like stopped everything. And I felt honestly depressed. Like, the whole soft girl era left me depressed. I wasn't doing much. I didn't have goals. I thought I had to, like, go the complete opposite direction. But I think really what it's about is intention and still having goals, still having something to str for, but taking it easy and realizing that, like, again, it's a marathon, not a sprint, and that not everything half has to happen at once. But yeah, soft curler really messed me up. I was like, I thought it was what I had to do and it made it worse.
- [10:08]
Alex Clark
We talked about what an ideal period should look like. What is an abnormal period?
- [10:12]
Emily
Okay, so abnormal period would be, I mean, anything more than seven days. But I would say, like six to seven is on the high end, something really heavy. And you're changing your tampon, your pad, like once an hour. That's not normal. It shouldn't be that heavy. If you have to. If you have pain so bad, you have to call it of work, you have to call it of school. It's ruining your vacations. And even moving, like backwards before your period is your luteal phase, which if you have pms, which that's when PMS comes up, is during the luteal phase. And if you have imbalanced hormones, you're probably going to have really bad pms, which then takes you out of it even more. You have cramps, you have mood swings, like you're feeling depressed, you're feeling anxious, you have trouble sleeping. This is when acne can pop up. I mean, during this phase you do get, I call the ugly phase, which is like, it's all relative but you will notice a difference. It's like the phase where you feel like you just, your skin looks dull, none of your clothes look right, you just like feel different all of a sudden and you're like, did I like what happened to me overnight? That's the luteal phase. But again, abnormal period shouldn't affect your life. It shouldn't be the reason you cancel plans or anything like that. And so I would just say like abnormal period, heavy bleeding, irregular cycle. So anything like we consider regular, like 25 to 35 days depending on when you ovulate and the length of your luteal phase. But I would say anything longer than that, you have irregular cycles, which is common like with PCOS. Women with PCOS you really should have on average a 28 day cycle. You should feel fluctuations, but again, they shouldn't ruin your life.
- [11:43]
Alex Clark
Dude, I'll tell you what, my cycles are short. I am on like a 24 day, okay? And so that's sucks. I feel like I have my period and then I'm just having it again. It just, it happens so quickly. What is your anti PMS cheat sheet?
- [11:57]
Emily
Oh, I love this. Okay, so it really starts before your period. Like, I mean starts with cycle syncing in general because the more you live in tune, the less PMS you will have because you're working with your hormones instead of against them. So you're not like kind of it's hitting you and then you're trying to compensate for it. But I would say it really starts in the luteal phase, which again is when you're really more susceptible to stress. So during this time we want to like pull out anything that's going to cause more inflammation. So we want to avoid a ton of caffeine, you can still have coffee, but avoid overdoing it. Avoid a ton of refined sugars, anything that's going to mess with your blood sugar. Avoid like fried foods and stuff like that. Again, things that are just going to back like kind of mess up your liver, cause sluggish liver where you're not going to be able to detox those excess hormones. And so I would say that that's kind of one of the biggest things I say. Eat a Carrot salad. A raw carrot salad daily.
- [12:47]
Alex Clark
What's in a raw carrot salad?
- [12:49]
Emily
And it has to be the big carrots, like the Bugs Bunny carrots or with the skin on. So you want to scrub them and wash them. You can't use the baby carrots, but you take a big carrot because what's in the skin is insoluble fiber. So that's going to help bind and flush out, like, excess estrogen, excess toxins, all the stuff that kind of causes PMS and makes it worse. And what I do, I mean, you could just literally eat a raw carrot if you wanted to. I kind of take a peeler and I make it into ribbons, and then I add a little bit of coconut oil or olive oil, a little apple cider vinegar. I've had shaved apple before, which is really yummy. And then a little bit of salt. And what the fat does, because people are like, can I eat the carrot and like, dip it in hummus or dip it in olive oil or something? Because the fat helps make the vitamin A and everything. The vitamins in it, Your body can absorb the vitamins as well. So raw carrot salad daily in the luteal phase will change your life. Like, honestly, it's crazy when people like carrot salad. Like, that's it. I'm like, yeah, game changer. So rock carrot salad. And this is the time again when you want to just pull back. Don't be going out, don't be staying up late. Like, really protect your peace during this time again, during the luteal phase. The reason why your stress threshold is so much lower is because this is the time your body would be like, incubating a potential, potential baby.
- [14:03]
Alex Clark
I also recommend making sure you're taking magnesium.
- [14:07]
Emily
Yes, magnesium is another one. So important. I mean, so important for everything, but especially during this time. Um, also some women experience, like, sleep issues during the luteal phase. And this is because progesterone dips before your period. And progesterone is the chill hormone. So if you don't have enough progesterone, you're gonna feel anxious before your period, you're not gonna sleep well, all of those things. So magnesium really is like one of a cure all. Honestly, I take it every single night. I'm obsessed. I even have like, the spray, the primally pure spray.
- [14:37]
Alex Clark
Oh, I sleep spray, dude. I just like started becoming obsessed with that because, I mean, I have all their stuff and like, I kind of make my way through, like, okay, I'm gon try this, this, this month and, and whatever And I just started really using the sleep spray. New favorite product.
- [14:51]
Emily
I love it. Sometimes I. I run out of that one, and then I just use their cycle soothing. So they have one, like, for periods. You can kind of put it on, you know, on your abdomen.
- [14:58]
Alex Clark
I have the cycle. I keep my primly pure cycle soothing spray next to my Peppa Pig heating pad.
- [15:07]
Emily
That's so Alex coated. Oh, my gosh. Yeah. I seriously keep it on your nightstand. Keep it on your nightstand. I do it every night. I like that one because it has lavender and stuff.
- [15:16]
Alex Clark
Yeah.
- [15:16]
Emily
So I like that one.
- [15:17]
Alex Clark
The cycle soothing spray is. I don't talk about it enough, you guys. And you need to try that.
- [15:21]
Emily
But it gets sticky. Just be warned that, like, I'll spray it on my feet. And then because it's salt, I put.
- [15:26]
Alex Clark
That on my tummy.
- [15:27]
Emily
I do that too. But I'll put on the bottoms of my feet. Like, magnesium spray.
- [15:30]
Alex Clark
Oh, yeah, yeah. Magnesium, yes. And then I do the cycle one on my tummy.
- [15:33]
Emily
Yeah. And then I do castor oil. So I'll do both. So I'll put a little dollop of castor oil in your belly button, then put the little sticker on top. Have you seen the stickers?
- [15:41]
Alex Clark
No.
- [15:42]
Emily
They have, like, a cast. A belly button. Castor oil sticker.
- [15:45]
Alex Clark
Why do you do that? Why do you put castor oil in your belly button?
- [15:48]
Emily
It helps so many things. I feel like I saw a YouTube episode that called it God's cure that you can, like, put castor oil on your face. You can put it, like, you can ingest it. It helps with, like, constipation and stuff. So I'm scared of so many things. I. Yeah, I wouldn't mess with that.
- [16:02]
Alex Clark
Belly button works for constipation.
- [16:03]
Emily
Belly button works belly button and also California acupuncture. She told me that castor oil packs can be really intense on your liver and that, like, castor oil in the belly button is more gentle.
- [16:14]
Alex Clark
Oh.
- [16:14]
Emily
So like, nightly castor oil could be too intense. But a little bit of that is good.
- [16:18]
Alex Clark
Okay. I love that.
- [16:19]
Emily
So that would be my anti PMS again. Like, this is the time before your period. Just, like, chill out. Take a bubble bath. Like, the more you do ahead of time, the, like, the more proactive you are, the less reactive you have to be in the moment where it, like, hits you and you're like, oh, my gosh, my period's here. What do I do? If we can start ahead of time, cycle thinking and living with our hormones, like, it's so Much easier.
- [16:43]
Alex Clark
I live in Arizona, which is basically a dust bowl with an HOA. It's October, but it's still 102 degrees and I haven't seen a single orange leaf since the Bush administration. There is no fall here. So what do I do? I manifest fall through protein powder, obviously. Taylor Duke's Wellness just dropped the pumpkin spice protein latte bundle and slapped me in my face. It's got zero sugar, 20 grams of protein in real organic ingredients. You can stir it into a smoothie, mix it into your oatmeal, throw it on your brother, froth it all up with a little Taylor's Wellness branded frother that comes in the bundle. One beautiful sip and suddenly I forget my tires are melting into the asphalt.
- [17:18]
Emily
Still in October.
- [17:19]
Alex Clark
This is your psl if it went to therapy, started lifting weights and got a degree in functional medicine. No bloat, no crash, no syrup sludge, just fall flavors that actually love your body back. Go to Taylordukeswellness.com use code Alex Clark for 10 off. That's Taylordukeswellness.com code Alex Clark. Okay, let me guess. You have mystery hives, your dog's sneezing, your air smells like fake cucumber and melted Barbie feet. But sure, keep cleaning your house with a bottle that says warning if ingested, call poison control immediately. I'm not saying you're gross, but I am saying that your products are switch to Branch Basics, a non toxic, endocrine, friendly, actually safe cleaning line that doesn't smell like a candle store exploded. And by cleaning line, I mean one product that does everything. Your windshield wiper fluid. You can wash your produce with it. You can remove your eye makeup with it. You can clean your floors, you can clean your windows, you can clean your baby. You get one super concentrated plant and mineral based bottle and it turns into cleaner for all of that. Counters, toilets, laundry, produce, makeup, brushes, whatever your haunted apartment throws at you. You mix it with water, shake it like a cocktail, and boom, you're basically a domestic chemist with a conscience. And it' dollars and 13 cents a bottle. That is less than what you spent on kombucha that gave you emotional damage. Go to branch basics.com use code ALEX15 for 15 off your premium starter kit. That's branch basics.com code ALEX15. Now is there any other things that are good for treating period cramps naturally or did that cover it?
- [18:55]
Emily
Okay, the craziest one. This is in the moment. And this is if you need like something in the moment.
- [18:59]
Alex Clark
Pickle juice, Pickle Juice for period cramps.
- [19:01]
Emily
Pickle juice, because of the salt and everything. It helps with like cramping muscles. Pickle juice. I shared it and I got dozens of messages going. I tried it and it works and it works quick. So that's a fun one. Just in the moment. Castor oil helps, magnesium helps. I mean a heating pad if you need it, or like a Epsom salt bath. But I kind of just write it out also.
- [19:24]
Alex Clark
Just if you can. I know that's not doable for everybody depending on the phase of your life, but if you can, extra sleep in the luteal phase really is helpful. Like we actually do as women need more sleep. Actually, in general, women need more sleep for our hormones than men. Just on a day to day basis. We need to be sleeping longer. So good news for us, bad news for the husbands. Yeah, but they need to be getting up so that you can sleep in a little bit longer. I'm just telling you, you have my excuse there, my permission. Walk us through the four phases of a woman's cyc.
- [19:54]
Emily
Okay, so you have four phases of the menstrual cycle. Ideally it's like a 28 day cycle. Right? That's like the classic picture perfect cycle. Not everyone has that. I don't have that. You just said you don't have that. But there's four phases. You have menstrual phase. So you're. The first day of your period is the first day of your cycle. I remember when I was growing up, I was like this. I thought there was two phases on my period and not on my period.
- [20:15]
Alex Clark
But do you count the first day of your period when you have like significant amount of blood? Or do you count when it's just a little brown blood?
- [20:25]
Emily
So the brown blood is not normal. That usually means low progesterone.
- [20:31]
Alex Clark
I do that, yeah.
- [20:33]
Emily
Which is stress. I mean, you have a lot going on all the time. That would lead to shorter cycles too. So typically shorter luteal phase, like if you were to ovulate on day 14 or 15, your cycle's like 24. That means you're having a nine or 10 day luteal phase, which again, it just means progesterone's dropping off too early. So it's just like, okay, trying to hold on as long as we can. And then your period comes. So typically with like brown blood, it's just old blood, so slower moving. So it's like kind of been in there for a little bit and then it's coming out. And that would indicate again, low progesterone which you can, you know, kind of fix by balancing your hormones. So it's not anything to be alarmed about. But the same way I just see, like, period problems. Pms, like, irregular cycles, they're just the canary in the cold.
- [21:14]
Alex Clark
Your first day is bright red blood. Okay.
- [21:16]
Emily
It didn't used to be, though. I will say, like. And it depends, obviously, if I'm, like, stressed. Yeah, that's a cool thing about your period. It's month by month, and it's like.
- [21:24]
Alex Clark
What'S going on with you? Yeah, yeah.
- [21:25]
Emily
So if it's shorter, longer, someone or someone were like, my period's so late, I'm like, ovulation is late. You never have. Like, your period will always come 10 to 14 days after you ovulate. So it's not that, like, your period is too long. It's that because your body is stressed or for whatever reason, it's holding off ovulation because it doesn't feel safe, essentially.
- [21:48]
Alex Clark
So if your period, like your menstrual cycle week, is five to seven days, it's on the. It's on the longer end. What does that say?
- [21:58]
Emily
So if it's on the longer end, again, if it's heavy, if it's, like, cloudy, usually it's high estrogen. Like, seven days. That would indicate, like, yeah, like, maybe. Or there's women that are like, it happens. And then I get two days without it, and then it's back again.
- [22:13]
Alex Clark
Is there a correlation between having a longer menstrual cycle and acne?
- [22:17]
Emily
I would think that they're all connected in the way that I see it is. They're all connected to stress and, like, your body feeling safe or not. And acne is also a reflection of that. So acne, I mean, for me, have some right now. I can eat all the dairy. None of that affects me. The second I'm stressed, I get acne. So, like, that's what it is for me. It's usually cortisol. So, like, when I'm stressed, I try to detox more. I try to really support that, to make sure my body's flushing out anything excess, because that's kind of your body's way of purging it. So if your body can't get it out elsewhere, it's gonna, like, purge it through your skin. So, yeah, like, longer cycles would indicate, you know, hormone disruption, things going on. You're not detoxing, probably higher estrogen, and that's gonna reflect in your skin.
- [23:02]
Alex Clark
What should you be eating during having your period on your period?
- [23:05]
Emily
Day one, I said, I make the rules. And this is one of them. Steak. A big grass fed steak. I mean, I eat steak all the time, but especially on day one of your period, I swear, will change your life. It will make your period so much easier, that one single thing. And also like the week before your period to prepare, because you're about to bleed, you're about to lose blood and iron and all of that. So if you can eat kind of red meat and prioritize that the week before your period, you're getting ahead of it. And that way when your period starts and you're losing blood, like, you're not depleting those iron stores so much that you're like fatigued and tired and just like, essentially just like kind of flatlined on your period.
- [23:40]
Alex Clark
Follicular phase.
- [23:41]
Emily
Moving into the follicular phase, that's the second phase. Say that one 10 times fast. This is like. So if menstrual phase is your inner winter, I like to think of them as seasons. I forgot to say that before. So your menstrual phase is like your winter. And I want you to treat it the way that you would like. The things that you would do in.
- [23:56]
Alex Clark
Winter in warm foods.
- [23:58]
Emily
Warm foods, soups, stews, hearty grounding food. Meat and potatoes. There's like a meat and potatoes phase. What do you do in the winter? You kind of hibernate, you stay in, you don't make plans, you're not going crazy. That's what the menstrual phase is. So then moving into follicular, this is your inner spring. So like the same way the flowers are blooming, your energy is starting to come back after your period. So on your period, another thing is like, everyone's like, oh, you're so hormonal. You must be on your period. Your period is actually when you're the least hormonal. Yeah, Your hormones are the lowest, which I saw a reel about. This is like, that's when you're most like a man, actually. So when you're on your period and we're like, oh, are you on your period? It's like, yeah, that's when we're actually most like a man, which is funny. So all your hormones at their lowest. So moving into the follicular phase, inner spring, your energy is coming back. This is when you're the most creative. This is when you also want to focus on healthy fats. So to prepare for ovulation, to prepare the egg and all of that. Healthy fats are like the biggest thing. So I like to eat like eggs during this phase. Olives, just super fatty things are going to be really good during this time. This is the time again when you are the most creative, when you can outline projects. If you were thinking about it in terms of like work outlining projects, obviously if you the freedom to set up your work around this stuff like that. And then when you move into ovulation and during your follicular phase, this is when hormones are like starting to go up, up. So you move into ovulation and this is mid cycle. So around day 14, I ovulate on day 15. This is where period tracker apps, you can't trust them because women ovulate on different days. Like some women ovulate on day 14, some on day 16, some on day 13. So if you just trust that like random period app that puts the flower on day 14, like it's not accurate. And this is why it's again so important to like learn your own cycle and chart your own cycle and get in tune with that.
- [25:49]
Alex Clark
That.
- [25:50]
Emily
So ovulation is mid cycle. This is your inner summer. This is when you have the most energy, you feel the best, you look the best. The bone structure of your face shifts slightly to give you like more feminine, attractive features to like help you essentially look more attractive to find a mate in follicular phase.
- [26:08]
Alex Clark
And then especially ovulation is when women want to have sex the most.
- [26:11]
Emily
Yes, ovulation is like that's it. So ovulation technically is a one day event, but your fertile window is like the five days before it too because sperm can live for up to five days.
- [26:22]
Alex Clark
And I think that it's important for men to realize women really have two weeks out of the month where we are like wanting to have sex. The other two weeks. We typically there's always exceptions to the rule. Right. But typically on average more women are not going to be in the mood.
- [26:38]
Emily
For this other two weeks.
- [26:39]
Alex Clark
Yeah, but you've got two weeks to make the most of it.
- [26:41]
Emily
Yeah, yeah. Two weeks to hit it hard. But like even, even, I know, pun intended, I guess. But I feel like even those other two weeks, this is something that I've been like thinking about lately is like I don't know, this is a kind of a more sex based conversation. I don't. Do you want to talk about that?
- [26:59]
Alex Clark
Yes. Let's talk about sex.
- [27:00]
Emily
So this is something. And mom and dad, if you're watching, sorry, but something. I've been working with my husband lately and on myself because I was the, I was the Girl that, like, after 9pm when my skincare is done, like, I'm putting on my frownies, I'm putting on my mouth tape, like, don't talk to me. Don't touch me. Like, I'm done. I'm reading my Kindle, I'm out. And I just, like, lately I've just been saying yes. Like, I don't know. I just feel like lately this thing that is in my head is like, you'll honestly, you'll. The same way. You'll never regret working out. You'll never regret having sex with your husband. Never once have I, like, been like, okay. And then after, I've been like, wish I was asleep. Like, wish I hadn't done that. And it's just the connection is so worth it. And what it's done for my relationship and my marriage is so worth it. It's worth. Even if I lose sleep, even if I still have to wake up early, like, to me, I don't know, it's like I try to put my marriage again before, like, oh, I just, like, I would like to go to bed right now. And I just feel like all those little things, they just add up. And so, yeah, you'll never regret having sex with your husband.
- [28:04]
Alex Clark
I think that's really, really good advice.
- [28:06]
Emily
I honestly, your. Your episode with Tilly, like, convicted me.
- [28:10]
Alex Clark
Really.
- [28:10]
Emily
Even me and Daniel were listening to a podcast where she was reading Genesis. And one of the things I heard that I was like, I didn't catch it the first time. Where the. In it, in the Bible, it says, like, you will, like, part of the curse, whatever for you is you will want to control your husband, but he will lead you. And like, that's one of the things that. It's so true. There is like this underlying thing that we always have to be aware of because it's always there. Yeah, it's a daily practice, the curse of life. Like she was saying, like, oh, you didn't want to turn there, like, we're going somewhere. Why do I need to say that? I, like, catch myself so often. So, yeah, ovulation is when you're in the mood, but around the other phases, like, you know, just try to see past it. Just try to see past yourself is kind of what. What I've been saying. But then after ovulation, which again is six. Ovulation is one day. Your fertile window is six days. So you'll kind of feel the effects of ovulation ahead of time. You'll notice. You'll notice, like, wow, I feel better. I look a little bit better, I have more energy. This is the time when obviously your cervical fluid changes it. Everything so cool. I just think everything your body does is to help get you pregnant. So like everything, like you'll have difference in cervical fluid and that is again, it's easier for sperm to swim through. So like our body is doing all these things innately. I think it's so cool. So that is the ovulation phase, your inner summer again. This is when you feel the hottest things to eat. During this phase one, a lot of women tend they can feel like constipated or more bloated or hold like retain water during this phase. So I focus on like water rich foods. I do like chia pudding during this phase, coconut water, a lot of fruit. And you'll notice the more you kind of live in tune with these phases, the more you will crave these foods naturally. It's really cool. It's really cool. This is why, like I'm such a fan of cycle tracking apps. But I think first you should kind of like do it yourself and learn it yourself and take notes of your cravings and your thoughts and your moods and all of these things and really observe. Like you have all, you kind of have all the answers. Like if you just get quiet, like.
- [30:10]
Alex Clark
Your body knows what kind of workouts during luteal phase.
- [30:13]
Emily
Luteal phase. You want to dial it down again. I mean there are so many people that are like, oh, so I can't work out during this phase.
- [30:19]
Alex Clark
Phase.
- [30:19]
Emily
Not true, not true, not true. In any phase. If you feel good on your period and you have energy, yeah. Go to the gym, don't do a hit workout but like move your body, get some movement, lift some weights if you feel good. Ovulation is the best time for hit workouts. You have the most energy and the best like recovery and then moving into luteal like Pilates, yoga, walking, incline walking. This is when I love doing, what is it called, 12, 3, 30. So like a 12 incline, 3 miles per hour for 30 minutes.
- [30:47]
Alex Clark
Okay.
- [30:47]
Emily
You'll work up a sweat and it feels good. And it's just a way to move your body where you're like, I don't want to go in and lift weights. Also it feels harder. Like when you go to the gym in your luteal phase, you're like, am I weak? What is wrong with me? Why can I lift anything? Yeah. And so just again, it's your hormones. And so I think this is another way. Learning your phases. You're able to really not have excuses but have an understanding. Understanding for, oh, that's why I feel this way at this time. Oh, that's why I do this thing. Or oh, I know during this phase I'm a little bit sensitive, so I better like kind of watch my emotions and hold my tongue sometimes because I know that I just like I can pop off. During this phase, which is the luteal phase.
- [31:29]
Alex Clark
Do certain food cravings give you insight into what's going on hormonally?
- [31:33]
Emily
Yes. Yes. So sugar cravings, like I was saying, if you're having like blood sugar spikes and you're on a blood sugar roller coaster, you're going to crave more sugar. And so that typically like I would just focus on like proteins and fats first. It's not to say you can't have sugar. Like, I have a sweet treat every single night.
- [31:50]
Alex Clark
I was literally sweet girl.
- [31:51]
Emily
Okay.
- [31:51]
Alex Clark
You know, I'm salt. She is sweet treat.
- [31:54]
Emily
I love it. I love my little grass fed ice cream sundae. Like every night I have like a kid scoop of ice cream with like little dye free sprinkles. I love it. By no means am I saying you can't have sugar or anything like that. I have fruit with almost every meal. But you just want to make sure you're offsetting it with proteins and fats and not eating it alone. So like not having just an apple alone, not just having crackers alone. Like have cheese and crackers and some protein and some fats. So if you find yourself craving sugar a lot also, this can be a sign of like candida and gut issues. So like the more the bugs you feed, like if you feed the sugar bugs all the time, that's. Those are the ones that are gonna give you the cravings. They're like, give me more, give me more. And so that can kind of give you even more sugar cravings. So it feeds a cycle craving salt. I really think this probably means you need more sodium, magnesium, like minerals. And so if you're not adding like good. I know Taylor Duke's electrolytes are great. Having a good amount of. Stop being scared of salt. I think so many people under salt things and then they crave salty foods and they're like, why do I crave this? It's so bad for me.
- [32:54]
Alex Clark
We are under salting and we're also not using correct salt. We're not using real salt. Real salt is good for you. Bleached, nasty restaurant white table salt is not. So that's the thing. Taylor Dukes has a great Salt. I. I love Redmond's real salt.
- [33:09]
Emily
The little Redmonds, the baby ones. I have them in my purse.
- [33:11]
Alex Clark
Yeah, I always keep my own salt in my purse. So when I'm going out to eat, I can use that.
- [33:15]
Emily
There was one time we were eating out with my parents and my dad was like, oh, I need some salt. I said, oh, I have some. But he had already, like, asked the server, like, hey, do you have salt? And then I brought it out. He goes, oh, just kidding. My daughter has some in her purse. And I was like, okay, don't put me on blast. Like, I just carry around salt. But I do, because I think it is so important to have the right kind of salt.
- [33:37]
Alex Clark
My friend went to the East ER for a rash. A rash, people, not a sword wound, not childbirth. And they hit him with a bill for $14,000 for something that you could treat with gold bond and shame. And the kicker, his insurance denied the claim. Why? Because apparently the rash wasn't serious enough. Wow, you think? Ironic, because now he's having a full blown financial stroke. Health insurance is a scam, okay? It is a glorified pyramid scheme run by sociopaths with conference badges. But you don't have to play the game anymore, not with crowd health. Crowd health is not insurance. It is a community. You get access to telemedicine, cash, pay doctors, which are the best kinds, discounted prescriptions, actual tools that work. And when someone in the community needs help, the crowd funds it. You help others, they help you. It's like, go fund me with structure and dignity. I talked to Andy, the CEO on this show. Go back. Listen to our interview. He broke it down. Insurance companies are literally incentivized to deny your claim times. Crowd health flips that model upside down. Let crowd health help with your health care needs. Get started today for just 99 per month for your first three months by using code culture@joincrowdhealth.com Crowd health is not insurance. Learn more at joincrowdhealth.com that's joincrowdhealth.com Code culture. We've been told this is normal. Your kids, crooked teeth, snoring, maybe grinding their teeth at night. But here's the thing. It's not normal. In fact, it's a silent health crisis. You know what I'm talking about. Mouth breathing. Listen to me. This is not just a weird quirk that your kid has. Mouth breathing is linked to poor sleep, snoring, bedwetting, ADHD like symptoms, chronic congestion, and even crooked teeth. And the worst part We've been told it's fine, that it's normal, they grow out of it. But here's the truth. Our kids faces are shrinking, their jaws are narrowing and it's leading to a full blown mouth breathing epidemic that no one wants to address. If your kid is even one of those symptoms, that is a red flag and you need to correct it immediately. That is where tooth pillow comes in. This device was created by Airway dentist Dr. Ben Morale Alia, Dr. Cali Hale and Dr. Kevin Goals. This isn't some band aid solution. This is a revolutionary virtual program and device that addresses the root cause of your kids airway and developmental issues. Truth Pillow isn't just about managing symptoms. It's about fixing the real problems affecting your kids health. You can start with a simple virtual assessment from a tooth pillow airway dentist. They're literally going to talk to you all about your kid and their teeth and what's going on. Go to toothpillow.com use code Alex Clark for a free video assessment and click. Is my child a candidate to start making real changes? What does a hormone balanced meal look like?
- [36:17]
Emily
Hormone balanced meal at its very core has like proteins, fats, carbs, starchy veggies. So I eat, I joke all the time that I eat like a baby lead weaned like baby. Because my meals are so simple, it's like I'll just have like steak and sweet potato and avocado. Like I eat. Really?
- [36:35]
Alex Clark
That's what I do.
- [36:35]
Emily
Yeah, it's good. And it's just, just, it's easy.
- [36:38]
Alex Clark
Once it's in a blue moon, I will get a wild hair and I will follow some kind of crazy recipe, like a special chicken dish, dish and sauce and all this. I mean but that is so rare most of the time. Like last night I had baked beans which this isn't totally a hormone balanced meal but I did have baked beans because I love baked beans. I eat them like four times a week. I had a ribeye and then I had a whole bunch of asparagus and that was my meal. I should have had rice or potatoes. But to have like a car herb.
- [37:05]
Emily
Beans are good.
- [37:06]
Alex Clark
I guess they're okay. They're probably more fiber. Yeah, that's what I had. So it is pretty simple. And then I cooked the steak and beef tallow.
- [37:12]
Emily
I give you an A. Like I, I think that's great.
- [37:14]
Alex Clark
Okay.
- [37:15]
Emily
Beans are a good source of fiber. Yeah, I think beans got demonized. We went through this whole phase where it's like lectins and this and that and no beans.
- [37:21]
Alex Clark
I'm like, well, there's a whole controversial thing about beans where it's like, do you only eat them if you're soaking them and all cooked?
- [37:27]
Emily
Yeah. And.
- [37:28]
Alex Clark
And that's kind of like a Western, a Price foundation train of thought. Which is fine. I'm not disagreeing with it. But I. I am going to admit that I am a little bit lazy in that. Reg. Do just eat the canned beans. But.
- [37:39]
Emily
But, like, I'm lazy. Okay. My favorite, a staple in my diet are the Jesse and Ben's fries.
- [37:45]
Alex Clark
Oh, yeah.
- [37:46]
Emily
I love those. Every. I have every bag at any given time. The tallow, the rosemary, the sweet potato. All the time. The rosemary slaps so good. And then I toss in a little olive oil and put parmesan and garlic salt, and I make them, like, Parmesan garlic fries. So good. So that's like my lazy hack. I literally have those with probably almost every meal, but my meals are basically meat. Meat, potato, whether it's sweet potato, regular potato. Again, fries, and then some kind of, like, again starchy. Or some salad. Maybe an arugula salad. I like arugula because it's, like, bitter and it's. That's good for your gut. I used to do a ton of salads. I don't crave them anymore. Like, I really don't. I even get messages of, like, you don't really eat vegetables. I'm like, starchy veggie. Like, I root vegetables, vegetables, sweet potatoes. Count fruit.
- [38:30]
Alex Clark
See, you're way more interesting on Instagram to follow when it comes to, like, what are you eating all day? I, first of all, never document that. But my meals are boring compared to yours. Even though yours are simple, you still, like, plate them pretty. And you have all these colors. And, like, Emily is a way better person because you guys are always like.
- [38:45]
Emily
Please show us what you eat all day.
- [38:46]
Alex Clark
I'm like, you'd literally be so bored. It's exactly what I just told you. But, like, baked beans and steak. But Emily's is really creative and really cool, so you should definitely follow Emily.
- [38:55]
Emily
Everyone's asking. My goal is that, like, when I get pregnant, then I'll do a cookbook that'll be, like, my little passion project. And I can just kind of, like, take a backseat. Crazy. Yes. And just, like, be in the kitchen every day. But yeah, protein, fats, fiber. That's, like. That's basically it.
- [39:10]
Alex Clark
And carbs.
- [39:10]
Emily
And carbs, which can be fiber, too. So, like, sweet potatoes. I would kind of count that also as fiber. But yeah, either fruit or potato. Like, it doesn't have to be crazy. And even the meals I make, if you guys see them on Instagram, like, they rarely have more than 10 ingredients. Like, I can't be bothered. Also, I don't like recipes. There's also a rebellious part of me that I don't. This is probably a control thing. I don't know. But when I make a recipe, I don't, I don't follow the recipe. I always, like, do kind of my own thing.
- [39:36]
Alex Clark
Yeah.
- [39:36]
Emily
Because I'm like, okay, when it tastes good, I want to know that it's because, like, I kind of did it. Not that I was like, just following someone else's recipe, but like, I put my own spin on it. And so I'll glance at things, but I for the most part, just throw a bunch of stuff together. I always, My husband knows if I could go on any cooking show, it would be chopped. Like, I'm convinced I would actually be so good at it that you could give me the most random ingredients. I believe you and I could make something.
- [40:00]
Alex Clark
You're a good salesperson. I believe anything you say.
- [40:02]
Emily
Day.
- [40:02]
Alex Clark
What are some signs that you're running on stress hormones?
- [40:06]
Emily
So many. So acne is a big one. Like I was saying, that's a sign that like, your stress hormones are high. Feeling anxious, like, having that like, heart flutter. Always being in a hurry. Like always feeling, feeling like you're rushing. This is another thing that I've really been working on lately. I don't have to be anywhere at any time. Like, I work for myself. I still was waking up at 6:30, chugging my lemon water, like, making my little yogurt bowl, drinking my coffee, like, like washing my. Dunking my face in ice water. And I'm like, for what? Like, where, where's the fire? Like, where do I have to be? And it was just something I did for so long. And then having an aura ring, which I recently got rid of. I actually threw it into a bush in like a random. I know why. I felt like I was making an idol out of it a little bit. Like I, I've been wearing it for so long and I've been doing like, I do the things I know I need to do. Yeah. Like, even if I wear it or not wear it, I just felt like I was looking to it of like, okay, what was my sleep like? And then I would kind of just like use it as a way to. I wasn't listening to my body. I was like, kind of like letting it Tell me things. And I was like, I feel like I should move my body because I want to move my body, not because my aura ring is telling me I need another like 20 minutes of brisk activity.
- [41:22]
Alex Clark
I'm dead. That you just like threw it in a bush instead of just sold it or something.
- [41:26]
Emily
No, I did it without thinking, kind of. And then I was like, like you guys. Cuz I was with my husband and my friend and they're like, you won't. Cuz they don't have one. And they were like, you won't like you love that thing. And I do. And I don't believe I didn't throw it away. I will say this on the record because the whole paler thing that everyone's talking about, that aura team with paler.
- [41:45]
Alex Clark
I don't even know what you're talking about.
- [41:46]
Emily
If you have a phone, your phone's listening, your phone's tracking your data. They people saw that, they did this deal with paler and they were like, oo. I go, oh no, the government's going to know to how I sleep.
- [41:55]
Alex Clark
Yeah, I don't care if they know that. I don't.
- [41:58]
Emily
I literally don't care.
- [41:59]
Alex Clark
Also I know that there's this big controversy and everybody's like, because RFK was talking about, you know, getting people all devices to track your health. Do you guys not understand that we are in a chronic disease epidemic and that President Trump gave him two years to be like, we need proof that we are reversing this. It is helpful if you, if everybody's, if, if a lot of people are wearing wearables and we're able to track real life data, are we improving? Are we not? What's working, what's not? I mean, I think that's fantastic. Obviously nobody's going to be forced, but if you want to then like great. And then they can use that intel to be like, are we on the right track or not? I don't, to me, I am. I understand that there's like hardcore libertarian people out there that are going to be like, absolutely not. Nobody knows what I'm doing. Whatever. I'm just like, okay, well do you own an iPhone? You know, are you living in a cabin in the woods? Like, if you're not, I just think they're tracking you everywhere. Everybody is a ring doorbell, there's cameras everywhere. Like, dude, that ship is sailed. Like we're all cooked in that reg hard. So who cares?
- [42:56]
Emily
Kind of how I feel too.
- [42:57]
Alex Clark
But I know that some of you may have different views on that and that's fine. But for me it's just not something that worries me or keeps me up at all.
- [43:04]
Emily
Other ways to know you're running on stress hormones. Cravings are another one again because if cortisol is messed up, blood sugar is going to be affected. So like cravings, feeling anxious, like feeling like you're in a rush, like nothing's ever enough, like there's not enough hours in the day. Like I just feel like those are all like cortisols running the show. And cortisol is not bad. You need it, it gets a bad rap. But like you need it, you need it to wake up in the morning and all this sort of thing. So like the goal isn't to get like cortisol to zero, but I would say that's the main ones is like again like you're feeling anxious, you have cravings, you have like kind of like again that fluttery feeling in your chest. You can't drink coffee without feeling crazy. That's another sign of like you're already at your threshold. Obviously getting in bed at night if you feel like your body's tired but you're like you're kind of wired, that's another sign that your cortisol rhythm is messed up up. So cortisol's high in the morning, kind of dips and then it goes spikes a little bit in the afternoon and then it goes down all the way before you go to bed. So if it's high before you go to bed, it's just a sign that like things are messed up.
- [44:01]
Alex Clark
How do you track your period if you never have before?
- [44:04]
Emily
I always recommend apps are helpful at first cuz it's a little overwhelming. When I made the jump to get off birth control, I started hand charting which sounds like so old school but it was such a good way to really learn. Now obviously there's apps like Natural Cycles that will do it for you.
- [44:21]
Alex Clark
Yeah.
- [44:22]
Emily
But I really encourage women to learn also what's going on and learn how to do it. You can't rely on an app for everything. Like you really shouldn't be relying on an app especially at the beginning when it's like learning your cycle. It doesn't know yet. I use the fertility awareness method to prevent pregnancy and track my cycle basically. And that's what, that's kind of what Natural Cycles uses. It's the symptothermal method. So you're using symptoms and your temperature and you use like a special thermometer called a basal body thermometer which goes.
- [44:52]
Alex Clark
Up your snatch no, you know what?
- [44:54]
Emily
That's the craziest thing. That's the craziest question that I always get asked. Like, what temperature are you taking?
- [44:59]
Alex Clark
Yeah, what temperature are you taking?
- [45:00]
Emily
Your tongue. Under your tongue.
- [45:01]
Alex Clark
Okay.
- [45:01]
Emily
Which. Your oura ring will do that. So oura ring partnered with Natural cycles last year, and now oura ring will track your temperature through the night, and then you can sync it to Natural cycles and it does it. So that was really helpful. I did that for years, and now it's like, I kind of already know there's another reason, but you can use that. So if you have an aura ring and also apple watch, you can use an apple watch, thanks to Natural cycles, too. Takes your temperature, which I think that's really cool. That was a cool thing about aura is, like, it is also aware of your stress. So, like, if it notices, like, hey, like, you didn't sleep well last night. Your heart rate's a little higher, Your body temperature's a little higher. You might be getting sick. Like, take it easy. Like, don't push it. I thought that was pretty cool. The basal body thermometer is going to track it to two temperature decimals, Animals, which is way more accurate than just like, a typical thermometer. You can't use a regular thermometer, but yeah, you put it under your tongue. It's not crazy. And you need to do it first thing in the morning. Like, before your feet touch the ground, before you go pee, before you drink water. Like, take your temperature. And it really does need to be at the same time every day. Like, within the same half an hour. When I was learning my cycle and getting off birth control and that whole transition, I even on the weekends would set my alarm and, like, take my temperature and then just put my thermometer back on my nightstand and go back to bed. Bed. Because my thermometer would, like, track the last temperature it took so I could just fill it in in the morning. So you're using those two things because what happens before ovulation is your temperature will dip and then spike. And when I say dip and spike, it's like half a degree. It's barely anything, but enough to be detected and enough to confirm ovulation. So it'll dip, spike, and then it'll stay elevated. Once you know is when it's elevated for three days. That's when ovulation is confirmed. And then your temperature will stay up, up for 10 to 14 days during your luteal phase. This is just due to hormones. They increase your temperature. So it's just another way to track. And then like the day you get your period, you could see if you wake up in the morning, your temperature's lower. You're like, well, my period's coming today. So you kind of already know. You can be prepared. You can already know. And it's not a surprise. That's what you do. You take your temperature every morning, track your symptoms too, track your cervical fluid, all that stuff. That's another really important factor that a lot of women don't track. And it can give really good indications of whether or not you're ovulating. And when, when you get off birth.
- [47:06]
Alex Clark
Control, what is the best way to train your body how to cycle naturally again?
- [47:11]
Emily
So getting off birth control is. Not that it's a tricky thing, but I wouldn't just like ditch birth control willy nilly without a plan. This is when there's something called post birth control syndrome. And it is when, like if you got on birth control because you had irregular cycles, painful periods, well, that stuff is waiting. That stuff's waiting for you. You, because all you did was put a band aid and basically put a muzzle on it for however many years you were on birth control. So to avoid having like this crazy whiplash of symptoms come back at you, I really recommend following some kind of hormone balancing protocol first, which is, I say hormone balancing. It's really just the way that you should live your life in a hor. In a way that like prioritizes hormone balance. So again, healthy fats, balancing blood sugar, making sure detox pathways are open. So making sure you're going to the bathroom every day, you're going poop every day, making sure you're sweating. I used to not be able to sweat for the longest time. Like when I was younger, I can remember I would get so hot and I couldn't break a sweat. And I learned that that was because you have like congested lymph, congested like liver. And so my body couldn't get toxins out. So you want to make sure you're sweating, making sure you're going to the bathroom every day, drinking water, balancing blood sugar. And then you can get off of birth control. You really want to again focus on supporting your liver. This is the biggest thing, supporting your gut and supporting your liver, your gut one is kind of like where serotonin's made. It's where some of your like neurotransmitters are made, but also your gut because birth control depleted it. Birth control depletes your gut of essential vitamins. Minerals, nutrients. It can cause leaky gut. So I would also. Part of, like, what I teach the women in my course is like, drinking bone broth. I was just gonna say drinking bone broth every day. All of these things, like, you can take. There are certain supplements you can take. Glutamine, which is the most powerful amino acid in bone broth. That's what's helping to, like, rebuild that gut lining. So really helping your gut, really helping your liver so that when you get off birth control, your body has an easier time, and it's not just like, shell shocked, doesn't know what to do, especially. This is the crazy thing. Women are put on birth control so young that, like, yeah, your hormone, like, your cycle didn't know what it was doing. You were 13. It was just coming online. It was figuring it all out too. And you just slapped birth control on it, and now you're getting off, and it's like, okay. Trying to get its bearings.
- [49:29]
Alex Clark
Also.
- [49:29]
Emily
Give it time. It took me. I mean, it took me three months to get my period back when I got off birth control after being on it for about 10 years. And it was a process. You know, I. This was before I developed my program. It's like, why I did. I had acne. I had mood swings. I had never had acne in my life. Life. Like, I didn't. I was like, what the heck is going on? I was going through so much, and no one told me about it. Like, I. All I knew is, okay, I'm on birth control. I'm miserable. Anything is better than this. And then turns out I was like, okay. I kind of regretted at first. I was like, do I go back on? It's like, no. So it's a bit of a process. So supporting your body in the meantime, there's supplements you can take probiotics, Cowboy. Colostrum. Colostrum is so amazing. I now no longer take a probiotic because I feel like at this point, I've replenished my gut. My gut is good. And now I just do colostrum every day. So those are the things you want to do. You don't really want to get off cold turkey without a plan. Some women do, and they're fine. But I would really recommend following some kind of, like, protocol. It's not intense, but just supporting your body's natural rhythm and your period will come back. And don't be in a hurry is what I will say.
- [50:35]
Alex Clark
Okay.
- [50:36]
Emily
I think most women get off, like, when they want to get pregnant, and then it's like, okay, you need at least a year after they even tell you like, don't get pregnant within like three to six months of getting off birth control because things are like not right yet.
- [50:52]
Alex Clark
I only light beeswax candles in my home. And not just for the vibe. When beeswax burns, it releases negative ions which can help neutralize pollutants in the air. Cleaner air, softer light, and the gentle scent of essential oils. All of that supports your body's natural shift into a parasympathetic state. The calm rest and digest mode that your nervous system needs. That's why I use natural sloth candles. Their beeswax candles are made safe, certified non toxic, and scented only with pure essential oils. No synthetic fragrances, no hormone disruptors. If you've got an air purifier in your home like I do, it's going to tell you that your air is really pure and clean. Just clean burning beeswax, a wooden wick, it gives off the most soothing crackle. Handmade in Texas by a veteran owned company, Natural sloth is transparent about every ingredient. Their products are safe for families, sensitive individuals. Honestly, anyone who cares about what they bring into their home, go to naturalslop.com use code ALEX for 15 off. I recommend stocking up now. Yes, it is October, but Christmas is right around the corner and they will sell out. This is a great way to stock up for little gifts for all your family members. That's natural sloth.com code Alex for 15 off. So I stayed at my friend's house recently. She's one of those people who makes her guest bed feel like a five star hotel in the Alps. I love that. And when I was leaving, yeah, I stripped the bed because, you know, I'm a nice person. And I checked the tag on the sheets because I had like the best sleep of my life. And the whole night I was like, man, these are nice sheets. When I wake up in the morning and I'm taking these off, I got to see what they are. And I literally laughed out loud. Cozy Earth. Of course, I'm always talking about cozy earth. I should have known. I am nothing if not wildly consistent. That is how you know the love is rich real. These sheets are made from 100 premium viscose from bamboo. They're insanely soft, they're temperature regulating and somehow always feel clean and cool, like they're fresh out of the dryer 24, 7. Even Oprah loves them. And frankly, if they're good enough for Oprah, they're good enough for me and my Friend's bougie guest room. So if you want to feel like every night is a sleepover at a luxury retreat, go to cozyearth.com and use code Alex for 40 off. Okay? That's a massive discount. Cozyearth.com code Alex for 40 off. What if somebody does want to get pregnant? Then what do they need to be doing?
- [53:03]
Emily
So, one. I mean, the fertility awareness method works both ways. So you can use it to prevent pregnancy by learning your fertile window. I don't think I touched on that part. So once you track your cycle in this way, you learn your fertile window, which is the day of ovulation and the five days before. So you can only get pregnant six days out of the. Out of the month, which is I. At this day and age. I still meet women every day. They're like, I thought I could get pregnant every day. And I just thought I was more fertile when I was ovulating. I'm like, no, like, again. I grew up in the public school system. It failed us. We know it's horrible. It didn't teach me really anything. Like, and then you have mean girls, which is like, don't have sex. Because if you have sex, you will get pregnant and you will die.
- [53:42]
Alex Clark
Right?
- [53:43]
Emily
And that's also not how it works. So you're only fertile six days out of the month. And learning this temperature shift and your symptoms, you can avoid intercourse during that time. It's the only time you're fertile. And the other time you're fine. You don't have to worry about anything. So then when it's time to get pregnant, you basically just flip it. And now, you know, you've tracked your cycle, you're in tune. You know when you ovulate, you know when you're fertile, and it becomes so much easier, I mean, ideally to get pregnant because you understand this and you're. It's not just a shot in the dark. It's not just like, okay, we'll see what happens. It's like, no, I know this is when I'm fertile. And I think there's so many women out there that, like, don't know when they're ovulating, don't know when they're fertile. And so it's just like a guessing game every month. And I was just saying this is like our second month of trying. And it feels crazy because if you don't get pregnant, you have to wait a whole nother month. And it feels so long. It's like, okay, another month. It's crazy when I was younger. I genuinely thought also that I could get pregnant any day, like every day out of the month. Month. And I was like, so scared. It's crazy.
- [54:44]
Alex Clark
This is why it's so freeing as a woman to learn about your cycle in this way. It's actually the coolest tool. It's like another special sense that we have. It is, you know, it's like a little spidey sense.
- [54:56]
Emily
It's a little sixth sense. Yeah, Spidey sense. And it's so cool and it tells you so much. And then obviously I think like, what. When people ask me like, what's the best diet? I'm like, I eat a fertility diet. I think the best diet is a diet that focuses on fertility because that's like the biggest marker of health.
- [55:12]
Alex Clark
And real food.
- [55:13]
Emily
Yeah, yeah, real food. Lots of healthy fats, lots of like vitamin minerals, nutrient dense foods, like one ingredient foods, as many of those as possible. Dish the processed food. Like it's just how you should live your life. And then like I was saying, preparing for pregnancy, like, I really try to focus on my stress.
- [55:30]
Alex Clark
What are your thoughts on fasting?
- [55:32]
Emily
I recently kind of started dabbling in fasting and fasting with my cycle. So I don't do intermittent fasting. That's not my thing. I did it for years. It ruined my hormones. I really think women should be eating breakfast. Eating like a protein and fat rich breakfast within an hour of waking up. Like that is a hill I will die on. It is so important. It makes such a difference. Even if it's small. Eat something. But fasting, I've recently been dabbling in it where I've done up to a 48 hour fast. I think I made it to 36. The best time is like right after your period. And then you also have a little window right after ovulation. So those two times are when it's like best your body can tolerate it without adding a ton of stress. And I actually think it's really good. I mean it's one. It's biblical, like fasting and prayer. People have been fasting for thousands of years, but I think it just gives your body a rest. And so you're like, your body's gonna go into starvation one day. You're gonna be okay. I promise you you're gonna be okay. 24 hours, it just kind of is like a little factory reset is the way that I see it. It resets, it gives your body time when it's not doing things. It's not not digesting food. It's not Actively working and it can focus on repairing and healing. So it's something I've been like dabbling in recently. Just 24 hours here and there. I feel good. Like I sleep like a baby.
- [56:47]
Alex Clark
You just got married in March. Are you currently trying to have a baby or. Or where we at?
- [56:53]
Emily
Yes, finally we are. Finally we're in that, like TTC journey. It's really fun. I mean, this is something I have always wanted, like since I was tiny. I've always wanted to be a mom. Like it was, what do you want to be when you grow up? Like, I've always wanted to be a mom. And so it was really hard. And I hope my husband's okay with me sharing this, but he has his own business. We've gone through a lot. We've bought and sold two homes in the past few years. You know, we only recently got married and it was hard for me to like, wait because, you know, it's like, I feel like everyone says you're never gonna be ready, you know, all of this. And now we're at a place where we're like, we wish we started. I wish we started sooner. Like I really, now more than ever, I think we should be having more babies. And I'm like, all I want. I used to be like, I want two. Now I'm like, I want five.
- [57:44]
Alex Clark
I want five.
- [57:44]
Emily
God willing, I want a whole gaggle of kids.
- [57:47]
Alex Clark
Yeah.
- [57:47]
Emily
And I really think, like big families are coming back and I think it's so beautiful. And I just like now more than ever, I don't know, I just feel so convicted. I'm like, we should have started like five years ago. Like we should have just started. No matter where we were at at financially, no matter where we were at with our careers. Like people do it all the time.
- [58:04]
Alex Clark
Do you remember in, I think November of 2024 last year, I interviewed this investigative journalist, author Catherine Pakaluk about big families were like on a comeback and it's such a phenomenal episode. In her book called Hannah's Children is a phenomenal book, but it's a non fiction book. She traveled around the world talking to people that were of all religions, all different financial means and it. And didn't even have college or did have college degrees, I think it was and decided I still wanted to have five or more kids. So it was like on purpose, like well to do educated women that wanted to have huge families and just like, how do you do it? What was the reason? Anyway, that kind of reminds me of what you're saying. That's kind of like a OG culture apothecary episode, but such a good one.
- [58:50]
Emily
Yeah. I just think we need to have more kids like Truly. I look around and I'm like, I remember your speech at Y. We're like, we will outvote you. We will outbreed you. And I was like, yeah, more Christian conservatives. We need to have more kids like Truly.
- [59:04]
Alex Clark
That was really big on chart with Charlie. And, you know, he was saying that all the time because he loved marriage so much and having kids so much that he wanted everybody to experience what he had experienced. And so I think about that and now with his murder, I'm like, wondering if just people wanting to that are listening to his talks more. And all of this. I wonder if we're gonna see, like, a Charlie Kirk baby boom.
- [59:27]
Emily
Like, everybody's gonna name Charlie is gonna go crazy.
- [59:31]
Alex Clark
For boys or girls.
- [59:32]
Emily
I love that. I love boy names for girls. I love Dylan for a girl. I love Charlie for a girl. Yeah. I really think, like, to carry on his mission and his legacy, like, we owe it to him to have a bunch of kids, guys and Robert for a girl. Ooh. No, I'm kidding. Oh, that's a hot one. That's a hot take. Joking. Richard.
- [59:50]
Alex Clark
Yeah. Richard.
- [59:51]
Emily
Richard.
- [59:51]
Alex Clark
Richard didn't Bobby. What's her face.
- [59:53]
Emily
Yes. Bobby aloft.
- [59:54]
Alex Clark
Yes. She said Richard and concrete. Yeah.
- [59:59]
Emily
But I just want to say I wasn't. I wasn't sure whether I was going to bring this up. I have to say, I don't know where my career would be without you and without Charlie. I'm a conservative because of you. I don't know if I've ever told you that. No, you haven't. Yeah. During COVID you popped up in my feed like, keep cute. Poplitics popped up in my feed. And I was like, oh, she's so cute. She's like a little Polly Pocket. It was like Lisa Frank vibes, which is like so me. One, I didn't grow up religious, and two, I didn't grow up political. I didn't really know my parents political affiliation. I could guess Democrat because we're in California, but we never talked about it. First time I voted for. Voted for anyone was when I voted for Trump. And so I just was like, I have to say, like, I. I don't know where my career would be. Going on your podcast, going on the spillover. OG Spillover were years ago. Going to ywls, going to America Fest, Going on Ali Bastucky's podcast on Blake's Podcast. Like I kind of feel like I owe a lot of it to you or it's a God thing. But I don't know, I just, I'm just so grateful. Like I really don't know what like now my following is like built off turning point girlies and cute servative girlies and like seeing everyone at America Fest and YWL and it's the most beautiful thing.
- [61:09]
Alex Clark
I can't wait for America Fest this year.
- [61:11]
Emily
It's gonna be unreal.
- [61:12]
Alex Clark
The we have not even talked about this yet because see, what's so cool is like Emma, I had Emily on the show and then we just became friends in real life. But America Fest tickets are selling so fast and we are now we're already like surpassing numbers of like total that we sold last year. And we're only in, I mean the time we're recording this, it's like September. I think this episode comes out in October. But it's, it's like we're thinking we might have to even do a bigger venue, which we're already in a massive venue because we do the convention center. We do it in the convention center. I think we might have to go bigger. So I don't know what, what this is going to look like, but I will say, you know, and I didn't know you were going to bring this up but like if you are wanting to go to America Fest, which is the biggest turning point event that we do and it's also family friendly, like your whole family can go and stuff the week before Christmas it is. I would get your tickets because I mean at some point we're going to reach max capacity for any venue here in Phoenix like you like. So yeah, it's just wild. So I think you can get those@amfest.com I think you can use code Alex or Alex Clark to get a discount on your general admission tickets.
- [62:14]
Emily
It was the coolest thing last year. It really was. I've never, I mean YWS is incredible but like at America Fest, the energy.
- [62:21]
Alex Clark
Yeah.
- [62:21]
Emily
Is insane.
- [62:22]
Alex Clark
I mean it's just huge.
- [62:23]
Emily
I live in a very liberal area in the Bay Area in California. I have never been in a room or even in a place with that many like minded people where, you know, like everyone around you is like you relate to and you share beliefs with and you feel like safe and you're like.
- [62:41]
Alex Clark
And I mean what's crazy is last year we were celebrating Trump winning and I didn't get to go to America Fest last year because it was like a couple days after my dad died. So I. I wasn't there. And I was so bummed to miss it because I was like, dude, we just won the election. Like, this is so exciting. I was so sad. And then this year, now it's like we're celebrating Charlie Kir life and then also mourning him and just a whole nother thing. And I'm like, just so crazy. But, like, definitely not a year you want to miss. Anyway, that being said, I'm just so happy that we met and that, yeah, in an indirect way, it is. Charlie brought us together. Isn't that cool?
- [63:13]
Emily
Yeah.
- [63:14]
Alex Clark
Tell us about Balance Babe Blueprint, how you have helped over 20,000 women balance their hormones.
- [63:19]
Emily
When I got off birth control and started to balance my hormones, I didn't have a plan. I didn't know. My doctor told me, this is normal. Here's birth control. Like, no one was. No one had the information. And so I basically was my own guinea pig. And so I kind of had to trial and error, figure it out over the course of, like, it probably took me a year and a half to balance my hormones. And now I have women, like, following my course, doing it in, like, three months. So it really is, like a fast track to balancing your hormones, but it focuses on everything because your hormones are a symphony. Okay. Like, you can't play whack a mole. Like, okay, I'm just going to focus on cortisol. I'm just going to focus on estrogen. They all work together, and if one is off, they're all gonna be off. And so I really just created, like, a holistic approach through diet and lifestyle and, like, detoxing. And my course goes over metabolism, gut health, nutrition, cycle tracking. I have a ton of master classes in there, a ton of trainings. I have one on cycle syncing.
- [64:16]
Alex Clark
Very in depth and very well done.
- [64:17]
Emily
Everything in there. And it's just like, I price it really low because. Because I. I've never did this for money. Like, I always. My only goal was ever to help women. And I'm like, I want to make all of this as accessible as possible to as many women. And so it's why I share a ton on my podcast. I go on podcasts. I give so much information on my Instagram alone. Like, you can do so much with just the information in my reels, in my posts, and stuff like that.
- [64:42]
Alex Clark
So where do you find the Balance Babe Blueprint?
- [64:44]
Emily
So you can go either. I mean, it's on my Instagram. If you just go in my little link tree, it's in there. I also have a free masterclass that you can watch. The free masterclass, the Bounce Bay Blueprint, is there. You can learn more. I have a ton of other trainings, but they're all inside the Bounce Bay Blueprint. So if you get that one, you literally have everything. I'm actually in the process of redoing it, rebranding it, revamping it. I'm adding a fertility module. I'm adding, like, prepping for pregnancy. I'm adding even stuff I feel like on marriage, I just want to, like, make it a one stop shop for, like, everything that you can come for whatever you need and you can basically use it as a resource for your whole life.
- [65:20]
Alex Clark
And what's your Instagram?
- [65:21]
Emily
My Instagram is little ray of health. Like little ray of sunshine, but little ray of health.
- [65:26]
Alex Clark
If you could offer one remedy to heal a sick culture, physically, emotionally, or spiritually, what would it be?
- [65:31]
Emily
I kept thinking about this because before, I mean, Shawna just said like, Jesus. And I was like, true. I feel like it's living more like your grandma. Like, I know it sounds kind of weird and boring, but take up weird, obscure hobbies, start knitting, start doing grandma stuff, start gardening. One thing I was thinking about this morning, I've never seen my grandma in a hurry. I've never seen that woman rush. I've never seen her act like, you know, oh, no, gotta get dinner on the table, gotta do this, gotta do that. Like, she does it all so gracefully. Did also gracefully. I witnessed growing up and, like, never in a hurry. And I feel like we're always in a hurry now. There's always some place we have to go or there's not enough hours in the day, but there are enough hours for the right things. So I think, like, living more like your grandma. I love it.
- [66:17]
Alex Clark
Emily, my special friend, thanks for coming on Culture Apothecary. Now, you have been the only guest that I have had on three times. You've been on twice when it was called the Spillover. Now you've been on Culture Apothecary. So congratulations, you are the first guest to hit that milestone in all of my.
- [66:33]
Emily
Yes. I'm so honored. I am so honored. This is my favorite podcast.
- [66:36]
Alex Clark
It's because you are so popular. My audience loves you. And now, you know, we have so many new people that may not be, you know, familiar with you that I.
- [66:43]
Emily
Wanted to introduce you to.
- [66:44]
Alex Clark
So I'm happy that you got to come.
- [66:46]
Emily
Thank you. And I hope you guys all come over to Instagram, say hi to me on Instagram. I'm always on there and I just love to hear from everyone.
- [66:55]
Alex Clark
You know that meme on TikTok. That's like my Shayla. That's how I am with Emily.
- [67:00]
Emily
My Emily.
- [67:01]
Alex Clark
I love her. She's such a like, like sweet friend in my life and I know that you guys love her. So I was so happy to have her back. She is my first guest ever to come back three times. I just am so proud of her and she's killing it. So if you have any major period questions, hormone questions, birth control questions, Emily's a good girl to DM on Instagram so you should do that. Please leave a five star review for this episode. Tell others why Culture Apothecary is your favorite podcast. We're on a mission to heal a sick culture physically, emotionally and spiritually. Twice a week week Mondays and Thursdays, 6pm Pacific, 9pm Eastern. I'm Alex Clark and this is Culture Apothecary.