In TCM, one of the big “rules” is no food or drink from 7pm to 7am. This is because we have the least digestive power (or Spleen Qi) at night. Our digestive system follows the rhythm of the Earth- our strongest digestive power is when the sun is at its peak- around the noon meal- which should be our largest meal of the day. As the sun goes down, so does our digestive function, with the supper/evening meal ideally being smaller than the noon meal. After the sun goes down, we have the LEAST digestive/enzymatic function. If we eat late, this leads to Spleen Qi Deficiency and Food Stagnation. This then leads to Phlegm Stasis (Phlegm Damp Accumulation with Qi Stagnation over time leading to Blood Stasis).
In our modern world, we often find ourselves snacking all day, environmental toxins are overloading our system, and we are stress overloaded as our days are too busy, every day pressures and expectations are set too high, and community and connection has dwindled. So not only are we doing too much, we are doing it alone. This is not the way of our ancestors. They woke up at the same time every day (with the sun), ate their 3 meals per day at the same time every day, had no processed foods, their foods came right from the ground without pesticides, chemicals, or being genetically modified, they went to bed when the sun went down, and they had a connection to their community we will probably never understand in these modern times.
To face these modern-day challenges and more so to REVERSE the consequences of these modern-day challenges, we must live differently. We must consider detoxification of chemicals, pesticides, and pathogens which create dysfunctional cells, leading to dysfunctional organs. We must consciously choose foods that nourish and build our health each day even though there are quick convenient choices that would be easier to grab. We must put effort into building relationships and schedule time with friends, family, and our community even when it could mean loss of income and material comforts. We must sit in silence and constantly ask ourselves where we are in our monthly cycle, annual cycle, and season to put consideration into what would be balancing for us in any given moment.
These are different times. Our ancestors had challenges we will never understand, but we also have new challenges that we must put into consideration on a daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly basis. However, the “rules” have not changed. We follow cycles and rhythms. As women, our cycles and rhythms are different than men. They are mapped in monthly/moon cycles. And we must take this rhythm into account each day. We cannot always eat one way; we must ebb and flow like the cycle of Nature.
Taking these cycles into consideration, this is the starting space as mapped out by Dr. Mindy Pelz for menstruating women (2022). Day 1 is the first day of menstrual flow. Once you have this down, IF NEEDED, it can be taken deeper, depending upon your pattern of imbalance and health goals.
Power Phase 1 of menstrual cycle
› Days 1 to 5: Intermittent fasting (13-15 hours) + ketobiotic diet (see below for what this style of diet means)
› Days 6 to 10: Autophagy fasting (17 hours) + ketobiotic diet. Aim for 1 day of a 17 hour fast to start. Autophagy means your body starts clearing dysfunctional cells from the body along with pathogens. You can read more about autophagy and Dr. Yoshinori Ohsumi’s Nobel Prize in Physiology and Medicine awarded in 2016.
• Manifestation Phase of menstrual cycle
› Days 11 to 15: Intermittent fasting (13 hours) + hormone feasting diet
• Power Phase 2 of menstrual cycle
› Days 16 to 19: Intermittent fasting (15 hours) + ketobiotic diet
• Nurture Phase of menstrual cycle
› Days 20 to bleed: No fasting + hormone feasting diet. Dr. Pelz coined this phase the “Nurture Phase” because it is the most important time of the month to rest, take care of ourselves, say “no” to activities that don’t light us up, and spend time connecting with people we care about.
If you are in peri-menopause and your cycles are irregular, you can use the moon cycle to guide you.
If you are in menopause or are male, you can use a 5-1-1 plan. This is 5 days of intermittent fasting in a week, 1 day of autophagy fasting, and 1 day of NO FASTING. It is crucial to get into a mild ketosis state once you are in menopause as 50% of your brain receptors are now ketone receptors. (Mosconi, 2024). If you are never going into a state of MILD ketosis, you are losing a large percentage of your brain power and not able to utilize the health benefits of ketosis to reverse metabolic disease or keep yourself from going into metabolic imbalance. You know you are in metabolic imbalance if you have an elevated HGB A1C, cholesterol, blood pressure, or excess weight around your middle.
To summarize, a “Ketobiotic diet” is low carbohydrate, high fat, high protein, and high fermented foods style of eating. This is important for making estrogen. Estrogen does not like sugar- it will decline faster and lead to a place of insulin resistance and/or not clearing toxic estrogen or hormonal metabolites.
A “hormone feasting diet” is one where we focus on nature’s carbs. This is essential to progesterone production. This includes grains, legumes, starchy vegetables (such as sweet potatoes, potatoes, and other root vegetables), and fruits. If you can consume your grains and legumes sprouted, soaked, or fermented, this is ideal.
The idea here is BALANCE. Do not eat ONE way all the time. We need variety, we need to consider rhythms, and we need to consider what we need on an individual level, depending upon what we are dealing with.
If you eat too many carbohydrates and never have a keto/fermented food diet, over time, this can lead to insulin resistance, metabolic imbalance, and hormone imbalance.
If you eat a keto style diet ALL the time, over time as a woman, this will lead to increased cortisol (stress hormone), hair loss, and hormonal imbalance.
We are not men. We have our own rhythm. And we are not each other. We have our own individual imbalances, needs, and health concerns. But as women, if we can come to a place of following the rhythms and cycles of our bodies, intuitively listen to what we need, and address the concerns of our modern-day challenges, this will lead to increased quality of life, which I always say should be our number one goal.
If you are interested in learning more about using diet and lifestyle to balance your hormones and help support yourself through peri-menopause and menopause, I will be teaching a class quarterly at the Northern Arizona Wellness Collective to dive into this in more detail and give you the knowledge and resources you need to start implementing this into your life. This is not only an opportunity to learn how to navigate the peri-menopause and menopausal years, but also to form a small, supportive community where you will have the option of doing a group 24 hour fast together if you choose. This class is sliding scale $30-$75 with all proceeds going to the Lindsey Watson Acupuncture Scholarship. Please do not undergo a fast longer than 24 hours without having guidance and the right tools to make sure you are staying safe while undergoing a fast. Do not go into a fasted state if you are pregnant, nursing, or a type 1 diabetic.
If you would like to be part of a larger community full of classes, resources, and online support, I encourage you to join Dr. Mindy Pelz Reset Academy, where you will have membership, lessons, and support for 1 year. Click here to learn more and join: The Reset Academy
If you would like more one-on-one support to guide you through this process to help with hormone balancing, peri-menopause, or menopausal support, I am now offering “Fast Like a Girl” Coaching and have the “Fast Like a Girl Certification” from Dr. Mindy Pelz. I offer 1-hour individual consultations for $200 both in person and online video consults. With this, you will receive not only individual support and customized treatment plans, but lots of resources and support to help you each step of the way. Book a 1-on-1 coaching consult here.
Even though the hormone balancing support classes are geared towards women, please know this support is also available to men who want to work on a fasting lifestyle to support metabolic health, including blood sugar, blood pressure, cholesterol, and healthy weight support. We can work on this during treatments or 1-on-1 coaching consultations for more in-depth support.
I hope 2025 is a transformative year for you! Please know we are here to support you on your journey.
Brittany Petrick, L.Ac., MSOM, BSN
Harmonizing Healthcare
2405 N. Rose St.
Flagstaff AZ 86004
928-856-0656
Resources:
Pelz. Mindy. (2022). Fast Like a Girl. Hay House Publications: Carlsbad, California.
Mosconi, Lisa. (2024). The Menopause Brain. Avery / Penguin Random House: USA.