Nourishing Women Podcast

As part of the celebration of the new release of Get Your Period Back Playbook available as an anytime purchase, I wanted to record today’s episode on a component of hypothalamic amenorrhea (HA) that we have yet to discuss, and that’s how excessive exercise contributes to HA.   The hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis or HPG axis refers to the hypothalamus, pituitary gland and gonadal glands almost as if they are a single entity. This axis plays a critical role in the development and regulation of several different body systems like reproduction and immunity. The HPG axis is what controls the cascade of your hormones releasing to create your monthly menstrual cycle, and also what can stop it from happening altogether, too. Remember, HA is when the brain (specifically the hypothalamus) turns “off” the ovulation switch.   The HPG axis is extremely sensitive to the environment. And today we are going to address this from a lens of excessive exercise.   Exercise has benefits no doubt. In a very basic explanation,