The Western diet and lifestyle are fundamentally misaligned with women’s unique hormonal needs, especially as we age. Addressing these issues lies in aligning nutrition, fasting, and lifestyle strategies with hormonal rhythms to restore balance, improve metabolic health, and support graceful aging.
The Western diet is heavily reliant on ultra-processed foods, refined carbohydrates, and sugar, which disrupt insulin sensitivity and metabolic health. This diet contributes to chronic inflammation, insulin resistance, and hormone imbalances, which are particularly detrimental for women during perimenopause and menopause.
Most health, diet, and fasting protocols are designed around male physiology, ignoring the unique hormonal cycles women experience. Women’s hormones, including estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone, fluctuate throughout their monthly cycle and across life stages (e.g., menopause). When these fluctuations are not considered, health strategies often backfire.
The high-paced, stress-filled culture of the Western world keeps cortisol levels elevated, which can disrupt sleep, metabolism, and hormonal balance. For women, prolonged stress depletes progesterone levels, a hormone essential for mood stability, sleep, and overall health.
Women are frequently encouraged to adopt prolonged fasting or extreme calorie restriction without regard for their menstrual cycle or life stage. These practices can lead to hormonal imbalances, loss of menstrual cycles, reduced thyroid function, and adrenal fatigue.
The reliance on processed foods often results in micronutrient deficiencies, including vital nutrients such as magnesium, vitamin D, omega-3 fatty acids, and B vitamins. These deficiencies can exacerbate hormonal symptoms, fatigue, and cognitive decline as women age.
As women enter perimenopause and menopause, hormonal shifts intensify, but the Western diet and lifestyle fail to support these changes.
Aging combined with poor dietary habits increases insulin resistance, making weight loss and energy regulation more difficult.
Chronic stress creates high cortisol levels, which negatively impact progesterone and disrupt sleep cycles.
Women lose the ability to efficiently switch between burning glucose and fat due to chronic sugar consumption and metabolic dysfunction.
Women are often blamed for their inability to follow male-centric fasting and diet protocols, leading to guilt, frustration, and burnout.
• Pelz, M. (2022). Fast Like a Girl: A Woman's Guide to Using the Healing Power of Fasting to Burn Fat, Boost Energy, and Balance Hormones. Hay House.
