How you can best support yourself over the holidays? The holiday season can be a stressful and sometimes overwhelming time for a lot of people. In this Q&A episode, I share some great strategies on how you can best support yourself while dealing with the holidays.  You can find all the info and links about this episode at https://holisticwellness.ca/episode87 Topics Discussed in this Episode: What causes hypothalamic amenorrhea and what you can do about it Strategies to support yourself when you’re on the pill or getting off the pill Tips to stop acid reflux and constipation Healthy holiday survival tips   Key Takeaways: Functional hypothalamic amenorrhea is a condition characterized by the absence of a menstrual period for three or four months in a woman of reproductive age. What’s happening here is that there is a breakdown in communication between the hypothalamus, your pituitary glands, and your ovaries. The pill is one of the biggest causes of amenorrhea. This poses a problem for many of the women who have been on the pill for many years because their ovaries may have become resistant to resuming ovulation. Your hormones need fat to function. Pregnenolone is the mother hormone and it’s synthesized from cholesterol. Acid reflux is typically due to too little acid production, which is so important for digestive health. Stress and fatigue are two of the biggest immune system offenders.   Action Steps: Simple strategies to support yourself when you’re having amenorrhea: Start incorporating more protein and fat into your diet. Supplement with B vitamins. Work on healing and supporting your gut. Exercise. Re-balancing tips when you have acid reflux: Avoid trigger foods like coffee, chocolate, alcohol, tomatoes, pepper, spicy foods, and citrus foods.  Don’t eat anything 2 to 3 hours before bed. Take apple cider vinegar.  Incorporate deglycyrrhizinated licorice Support your body over the holidays: Make sure you’re getting in your vitamin D. Supplement with zinc. Take a daily probiotic. If you are prone to getting cold sores, take 1,000 to 2,000 mg of L-lysine. Take immune supportive mushrooms. Have things in moderation. Have a hand sanitizer on hand. Rest more and stress less. Do the movement that you love and that feels good in your body. Make sure you stay hydrated.   Samantha said: “If you find that this is the time of year where you do typically get sick… recovery can take longer because you might be eating too much sugar, drinking too much caffeine, maybe overdoing it on the alcohol -- all things that suppress the immune system.” “There’s nothing wrong with going out and enjoying yourself but have things in moderation. You don’t need to overdo it.”   Thanks for listening!   Important Announcements: Join our FREE 5 Day Sugar Detox Challenge!   The Metabolic Reset is currently open for registration and it’s currently on SALE! From January 13, 2020, it’s going to be 8 weeks of amazingness!   Get your copy of my new book, The 30-Day Hormone Solution.  Order on Amazon in Canada here  Order on Amazon in the US here   Connect with me over on Instagram, @holisticwellnessfoodie. It would also mean so much if you would leave us a rating or a review at any podcast platform that you’re listening to us on.    Links to things I talk about in the show: How to Ditch Hormonal Birth Control eGuide + Cycle Charting Handout & Hormone Questionnaire Save 20% on Skin Essence Products with the coupon code healthy hormones + free shipping on orders of $50 or more in the US and Canada. Skin Essence Canada Site   Skin Essence US Site   doTERRA Oils/Products - Email me if you'd like to set up a call and put together a custom kit at samantha@holisticwellness.ca or you can order through my link here.   Where you can find me: Samantha’s Facebook Samantha’s Instagram Samantha’s Website Samantha’s Twitter Healthy Hormones for Women Podcast Private Community on Facebook   How you can work with me: 6-Week Healthy Hormones for