How Much Protein Should Women Have

How Much Protein Should Women Have

Dr. Jolene BrightenPublished: Balancing Your Hormones, Brighten Lifestyle, Food, Gut-Hormone Connection, Weight Loss, What to Eat Leave a Comment

From muscle building and metabolism to hormonal balance and disease prevention, protein is an indispensable nutrient for women’s health. Women of all ages need adequate protein for energy, focus, appetite control, and tissue repair. Across different life stages like pregnancy and menopause, protein becomes even more critical, supporting fetal development, maintaining muscle tissue and bone density, and managing moods, hormonal …

Best prebiotic

20 Best Prebiotics for Gut Health and Hormonal Balance

Dr. Jolene BrightenPublished: Balancing Your Hormones, Digestion, Food, Gut-Hormone Connection, Herbs & Supplements, Wellbeing Leave a Comment

Probiotics are live microorganisms that offer numerous health benefits for gut function, immune defenses, hormone balance, and nutrient absorption — and prebiotics serve as the “fuel” for these beneficial bacteria, fostering their growth and activity within the gut. Incorporating the best prebiotics into your routine is a key element in creating optimal gut health and hormones. Although prebiotics are often …

supplements for estrogen

What’s the Best Supplement for Estrogen

Dr. Jolene BrightenPublished: Balancing Your Hormones, Estrogen Dominance, Gut-Hormone Connection, Herbs & Supplements, Wellbeing Leave a Comment

Estrogen, primarily produced in the ovaries, plays a pivotal role in women’s health, influencing everything from reproductive function to bone density and mood regulation. This vital hormone isn’t just about fertility — it’s also a key player in longevity, brain function, and optimal cardiovascular health. However, fluctuating hormone levels, stress, dietary factors, and aging can all contribute to estrogen imbalances, …

Vagus Nerve Massage

Vagus Nerve Massage: How to Stimulate the Vagus Nerve

Dr. Jolene BrightenPublished: Anxiety, Depression, Mood, Gut-Hormone Connection, Mood & Emotions, Wellbeing Leave a Comment

Incorporating vagus nerve massage and other vagus nerve stimulation techniques into your daily routine can be a valuable strategy for enhancing your ability to cope with stress, and helps you unlock a multitude of other benefits for your body, mind, and hormones. Benefits of vagus nerve massage can include: Within our bodies, hidden beneath layers of muscle and bone, lies …

Gut health and menopause connection

Connection Between Gut Health, Menopause, and Perimenopause

Dr. Jolene BrightenPublished: Balancing Your Hormones, Gut-Hormone Connection, Perimenopause/ Menopause Leave a Comment

Perimenopause and menopause mark a significant shift for your body, one most women have come to associate with frustrating inconveniences. Weight gain, hot flashes, digestive issues, low energy and depression are just a few of the things we’re told are inevitable as our menstrual cycles cease, and progesterone and estrogen levels plummet. Menopausal symptoms can leave many women feeling out …

What Causes Vaginal Dryness

Vaginal Dryness and the Vaginal Flora

Dr. Jolene BrightenPublished: Gut-Hormone Connection, Perimenopause/ Menopause, Sexual Health Leave a Comment

Vaginal dryness is a women’s health symptom that often goes overlooked. Women may feel uncomfortable discussing dryness with their partner or provider and suffer in silence. Or they may believe vaginal dryness to be a normal part of being a woman or getting older.  If you are experiencing vaginal dryness, you are not alone. It is widespread, affecting up to …

Best Probiotics for Women

The Best Probiotic for Women’s Health, and How to Choose

Dr. Jolene BrightenPublished: Digestion, Gut-Hormone Connection Leave a Comment

Researchers are discovering more and more every year that links our overall health to our gut microbiome. A balanced and diverse gut is key to healthy digestion, immunity, and more. It’s even more important from the lens of women’s health, as your gut biome is linked to vaginal health, hormone balance, and so much more. One of the best ways …

n-acetylcysteine health benefits

14 Health Benefits of NAC (N-Acetylcysteine)

Dr. Jolene BrightenPublished: Gut-Hormone Connection, PCOS, Preconception & Fertility Leave a Comment

N-Acetylcysteine (NAC) has a list of health benefits longer than its name! While NAC might not be as well known as other nutrients I’ve discussed, it is definitely one worth getting on your radar.  From detoxification, to brain health, to heart health, to fertility, NAC is a jack of all trades, and it’s a supplement I regularly recommend to my …

gut health and hormones

Gut Health and Hormones: Why is a Healthy Gut Microbiome Important for Hormone Balance

Dr. Jolene BrightenPublished: Gut-Hormone Connection Leave a Comment

Evaluating gut health and the microbiome (the organisms that inhabit your gastrointestinal tract) is crucial if you suffer from hormonal symptoms like fatigue, mood swings, headaches, hair loss, sensitivity to stress, cold intolerance, painful periods, or symptoms that suggest your hormone health is struggling. In my clinical experience, hormone issues are often related to poor gut health because your gut: …