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March is Endometriosis Awareness Month, and what better time to celebrate some of our favorite brands supporting women’s hormonal health? While about 190 million people around the world have been diagnosed with endometriosis – a severe inflammatory condition wherein tissue resembling the uterine lining grows outside of the uterus, resulting in often debilitating chronic pain and fatigue – 58% of people with endometriosis had seen their doctor over ten times before being diagnosed. 53% weren’t diagnosed until they ended up in the emergency room.
These statistics are startling, and are just one byproduct of a medical system that not only prioritizes researching the male anatomy, but also often invalidates women’s health narratives and experiences. Fortunately, we’re living in a contemporary moment that’s encouraging us all to have a better dialogue with our own bodies. What’s better, other treatment modalities – like Chinese medicine and western herbalism – have spent centuries understanding and treating women’s health to ensure pain-free periods. Lucky for us all, several DTC brands are making these medicines more accessible than ever before. Read on for my favorites – and start that conversation with your hormonal well-being.
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Elix Healing
Elix was born from founder Lulu Ge’s own health journey after she decided to stop taking hormonal birth control. As she found herself experiencing a litany of pre-menstrual syndrome symptoms – which most menstruating bodies are taught to deal with as an inevitable tax on their existence, like painful cramps, bloating, headaches, and insomnia – Ge turned to Chinese herbal medicine, looking to her own family history for a better way (her grandfather ran a hospital in Hunan).
An aside here to mention: I have been in graduate school for the last few years studying and practicing Chinese medicine and acupuncture. As a system writ large, Chinese medicine emphasizes the menstrual cycle as a major indicator of whole-body health. Any degree of pain, discomfort, bloating, acne, sleep disruption, and even mood swings are not considered “normal,” or written off as inconvenient annoyances. They are diagnosed and treated. You deserve a pain-free period – don’t settle for less.
Accordingly, Elix has developed a line of personalized tinctures designed to address your specific period concerns, from intolerable cramps to digestive issues to that one painful pimple you get every month. Incorporate Daily Harmony to balance your hormones and adrenals as a foundational step towards holistic health, and take a health assessment to get your personalized herbal Cycle Balance formula.
WTHN
While we’re on the topic of Chinese medicine, I’d be remiss not to highlight WTHN, a New York-based company on a mission to make Traditional Chinese Medicine more accessible – especially if you’d like a treatment at one of their beautiful studios in Flatiron or Williamsburg. Acupuncture itself is a powerful therapeutic modality for regulating cycle balance and relieving painful periods.
In lieu of (or in addition to) seeing your local acupuncturist, order some healing directly to your door. The Daily Women’s Multiherbal, based on an ancient formula called Ba Zhen Tang known for its ability to replenish blood and Qi after the menstrual cycle, is modified for daily use and vitality to keep you balanced before, during, and after the actual days of your period. Add on some Ear Seeds to relieve stress and pain, balance hormones, and treat mood swings before they happen. And while you’re shopping, why not pick out a set of cups for some TLC around your cycle? (Best used with a partner who can reach your back tension.)
Wooden Spoon Herbs
Wooden Spoon Herbs is one of my favorite brands in the herbal tincture game. In founder Lauren Haynes’ own words: “Wooden Spoon Herbs exists to make herbalism fun, approachable, and delicious.” Check, check, check.
In the arena of your menstrual woes, turn to these simple but potent tinctures. Cramp Control, formulated with Yarrow and Motherwort, two powerhouse plants that have long been used in herbalism to improve cardiovascular health, release heat, aid circulation, and support reproductive wellness. If you suffer from headaches around your period, try out Head Helper, which leans on herbs that are known for their efficacy in treating pain and tension, like Skullcap, Poppy, and Feverfew.
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Perelel
Perelel is dedicated to demystifying – and nurturing – female reproductive health. Its superstar (in my opinion), Cycle Support, was formulated by both OB/GYNs and Naturopathic doctors to support the different phases of your cycle, all month long. When you begin to understand and work with the fact that your cycle lasts all month – not just the five days you’re bleeding – you’ll have a less jarring, painful, and PMS-addled “time of the month,” a philosophy that’s reflected in both Chinese medicine and now, functional medicine. With Iron Ease, Bloat Support, and PMS Support capsules, along with a clear schedule on how, when, and in what quantity to take each capsule, Perelel is eager to educate and ameliorate your monthly hormonal struggles – whether you’re trying to conceive, or just trying to find some regularity and ease within your own menstruating body.
Moon Juice
It wouldn’t be a best-of-herbal-support roundup without a magical dusting of Moon Juice. SuperYou supports your hormones in the face of stress, both proactively and reactively, with the help of four herbal superstars that work better together: Shatavari, Ashwagandha, Rhodiola, and Amla. You’ll see the results in your mood, energy, focus, and even your skin. (Hot holistic tip: a calm body yields a more radiant complexion.) Add on some Cosmic Cocoa to simultaneously tackle chocolate cravings and your sexual health, and a sprinkle of Sex Dust for hormonal balance and healthy libido every day of the month.
If you want to go the extra mile, hydration and magnesium are both instrumental components of a regular – and cramp-free – period. Mini Dew and Magnesi-Om have you covered.
You deserve better than debilitating cramps. Start building your herbal arsenal, and begin a kinder conversation with your body.
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