The female cycle explained

This one has been asked for several times and has been an interesting one to research about. This will be part one of a two-part series covering your menstrual cycle and lifestyle suggestions. For starters, I want to underline how important it is to have a cycle. These days a significant percentage of adult women do not menstruate regularly or even at all. The menstrual cycle is one of the most important natural processes of the female body.

Reproductive health is a marker of optimal wellbeing and hormonal balance. If your body does not feel safe or capable enough to prepare for a possible pregnancy each month, there is something off. Before we start working with our cycle, we need a regular one. If this is not the case right now, please go see your gynaecologist, endocrinologist and nutritionist so you can figure out the root cause of the irregularity or absence.

As the length of the menstrual cycle varies from person to person, the average length is 28 days. However, a regular cycle that ranges from 21 up to 35 days is normal. If you have a regular cycle right now, read on and get to know what is really going on in your body throughout the month. If you are not regular, I advise you to take action. Absence or irregularity not only interferes with your physical health but also with your mental state. Taking action on this will bring you closer to the balance you are longing for. If it on the other hand turns out to be an unplanned pregnancy, it is also good to visit your doctor in an early stage so you can start living accordingly as well.

Hormones are the main drivers of the menstrual cycle. As they rise and fall throughout the phases, they trigger certain responses from the organs of the reproductive system. These responses occur usually in 4 structured phases, the 4 phases of your menstrual cycle.

1. Menstruation

2. Follicular phase

3. Ovulation

4. Luteal phase

As most of you know, your menstrual cycle starts with your period. This is day 1 of your menstrual cycle and usually lasts up to 5 days. This is when you start shedding the lining of your uterus that has been built up throughout your previous cycle (and when pregnancy has not occurred). Progesterone and estrogen are both low. A normal period lasts anywhere from 3 to 7 days and is accompanied by blood flowing out of our body, no more details necessary. Make sure you see the difference between a period and an implantation bleed (little bit of blood). Because the latter could be a pregnancy.

When your period ends, from approximately day 6, you move into the next phase. During the follicular phase (already starts at day 1) your estrogen levels start rising. This drives the lining of your uterus to thicken, so a possible fertilized egg can implant in the uterus lining. At the same time, the hormone FSH (follicle stimulating hormone) makes sure follicles in your ovaries start developing.

When we enter the ovulation phase around day 14 one matured egg (ovum) is released from the ovary. This is triggered by the Luteinizing hormone (LH), another pituitary hormone (in the brain). Estrogen is now at its peak.

The last phase of our cycle overlaps somewhat with the previous one, and lasts until the start of your next period (day 1 of the new cycle). In this phase the released egg will travel to the uterus where it can possibly be fertilized by sperm. To promote a possible pregnancy your progesterone levels start rising to prepare the uterine lining for implantation. If the egg does not get fertilized, your estrogen and progesterone levels both drop and a few days later, the lining of your uterus breaks down and sheds again.

Now that you know what is going on in your body throughout the month we can be more aware of how we feel. We as women can adjust our lifestyles throughout the month to avoid unwanted PMS and hormone-related symptoms such as fatigue, headaches, bloating,.... To live smart and work with your body, I wrote another article on lifestyle habits for every phase of the menstrual cycle.