女性荷尔蒙健康的祖传智慧，第 1 部分

祖先生活的人类

There are pockets of traditional humans left on earth, living and eating as they have for thousands of years. While they do not have access our modern advances and healthcare in more immediate situations, they have very little degenerative disease or need for long-term pharmaceutical medications. Studies have shown that they have healthy and balanced microbiomes and well-functioning reproductive systems. They appear to achieve this by:

• 摄入营养丰富的饮食，以动物性食物为主
• 体验与地球和彼此的深层联系
• 拥有支持性的社会和家庭网络
• 几乎不接触电磁场、永久/有毒化学物质或空气污染
• 终生保持活跃，总体压力较小
• 每天沐浴在自然光下，晚上有篝火照明
• 经常暴露在寒冷或炎热的环境中

科学研究表明，这些生活方式有助于调节人体的昼夜节律、健康的新陈代谢、平衡的荷尔蒙和生殖功能、良好的睡眠、氧化还原潜能、压力管理以及天然的高 "感觉良好 "荷尔蒙。

第 1 部分 - 光、饮食和联系

灯光

Exposure to natural light is one of the most important factors when considering hormonal health. We evolved outside, and ancestrally living humans still spend the bulk of their time outdoors. Safe, natural light exposure, particularly through our eyes and into the brain via the suprachiasmatic nucleus (the circadian pacemaker), is key to the balance of our hormones and neurotransmitters and our circadian rhythm. The circadian rhythm is the 24-hour internal clock that regulates our sleep/wake cycle through hormones like melatonin (sleep) and cortisol (wake). Put simply, the changing spectrums and amounts of blue and bright light in the sunlight throughout the day help to trigger the release of the right hormones and neurotransmitters at the right time, and the red and infrared spectrums benefit our mitochondria and hormone production. Hormonal and circadian disruption has negative consequences that are linked to chronic disease, especially metabolic dysfunction and blood sugar imbalance. It can also lead to reproductive issues, and at any life stage it can manifest as poor sleep, low mood, irritability, worry-mind, etc. During perimenopause these things can worsen, along with the addition of internal temperature fluctuations, joint stiffness, brain fog, irritability, and more. In addition, flicker, a characteristic of most artificial light sources, can be deleterious to human health—sunlight has no flicker. We have relatively recently changed all our lightbulbs from incandescent (broad spectrum, low intensity flicker light) to LED (narrow band, high intensity flicker, blue light), so research shows that modern humans may be deficient in infrared light and, potentially, UV!

Sunlight stimulates cellular melatonin and feel-good hormones and photoproducts that support immune health, body comfort, and energy. Sunlight supports progesterone levels for healthy reproduction, and helps manage nitric oxide levels, which is important for your cardiovascular system. The infrared rays from the sun help to generate exclusion zone water in your blood vessels (essential for healthy blood flow) and in and around your cells to support energy production. Sunlight helps the body balance deuterium (heavy hydrogen) levels, the body’s microbiome (microbes of all types respond to the natural light/dark cycle), blood sugar, and so much more. Research has found that a lack of sunlight is linked to younger menopausal transitions and more intense symptoms. This means that low sunlight exposure is almost certainly adversely affecting reproductive health throughout a woman’s fertile years. These and many other studies show that we are not getting enough natural light from the sun, especially in the early morning, and too much artificial light, from our modern lightbulbs and device screens, after dark.

A lumen is the measurement of light emitted, while lux is the intensity of the light on a surface. There is research showing that daily exposure to strong lux (brightness of the light in our environment) is just as important as the exposure to the full spectrums of sunlight over the course of the day. Research has shown that brighter days and darker nights are associated with a 40% decrease in all-cause, earlier mortality. Sunlight, even on a cloudy day, is brighter than the light in our home or office, and a lack of exposure to bright lux during daylight hours, and then a lack of low lux after sunset contribute to issues with sleep. There is even evidence to suggest that very bright fire or candlelight at night can contribute to poor sleep, which indicates that some of us may need to avoid all but the lowest lux light at night while we recover our circadian health. In terms of infrared to blue ratios in light, sunlight is 3:1 in the early morning and evening, and 1:1 at midday; whereas firelight, candlelight, and incandescent bulbs are 10:1, which makes them very good sources of infrared after dark, so experimenting with the dimness/brightness of candlelight may be beneficial. Sleep is key to hormonal and overall health and getting the right cues from the sun and the darkness supports melatonin production and sound sleep.

Speaking of sleep, because there are multiple factors that can affect an individual’s sleep patterns, there may be other things to consider beyond the aspects mentioned in this series of articles; however, a few hormonal tips include making sure you leave enough hours between bedtime and waking (8-10 hours); aiming for getting to sleep by 9 or 10 pm at the latest—the earlier, the better; taking note of seasonality—winter is a time for more sleep and rest. Having effective sleep hygiene and getting to bed early wherever possible will help a lot. You may find that adopting the sunlight and circadian health part of the hunter-gatherer lifestyle will automatically help you get to sleep earlier, and, consequently, be able to rise earlier. “Sunrise; sunlight; sunset; sleep; repeat.”

• The light from the sun should be the first light you see (no devices, no LED bulbs). Watch the sunrise and spend time outside in the early morning, infrared, and then a little later under early UVA light (before UVB appears—dependent on your latitude), even if it’s cloudy (if it’s raining, do try and get outside for a spell anyway). This supports healthy neurotransmitter levels, particularly dopamine and serotonin. If you’re lacking motivation (dopamine), you need to get outside around sunrise as often as you can—consistency is key.
• 如果你醒来时太阳还没有升起，那就采用与傍晚（黑暗）相同的方案，然后在太阳升起时走出户外。
• Take light breaks outside regularly, and open windows where you can (car, house, office, etc.), especially if you work indoors all day. The light inside, even in a brightly lit office, is lower than that of an overcast day—not bright enough for our health. Eat outside or near an open window.
• Sunglasses block the signals to the SCN from the sun, so only wear them if driving, skiing, or boating, or for another reason you might need to protect your eyes; otherwise, wearing a wide-brimmed hat will do.
• Watch the sunset and limit/avoid artificial light exposure after dark to decrease cortisol and promote melatonin. The best way to illuminate your house at night is with carbon or tungsten filament, “incandescent” lightbulbs, or candlelight (beeswax only). Try amber/red, blue-light-blocking glasses if you cannot change your lightbulbs and use Iris or Nightshift software on your screens. Lux should be very low.
• 睡前 1-2 小时停止使用屏幕。设备上的内容也会提高皮质醇。
• Spend as much time outdoors as you can, safely—dependent on skin tone or time of year. Photo-aging can occur, so be sensible with your skin-type. Cover up or go into shade during the hottest summer hours. Even hunter-gatherers with dark skin tones seek shade in the middle of the day.
• 冬季是户外活动的好时节，因为太阳会更安全地停留在低空。
• Shift workers can get tips on how to navigate night shifts from Dr. Max Gulhane.
• Get some vitamin D from safe midday sun exposure in the summer, which supports progesterone production. In fact, all day sunlight supports progesterone, testosterone, and healthy levels of the oestrogens.

N.B., the sun is fierce in New Zealand and Australia, so be sensible with fairer skin around midday in the summer, and, when in doubt, cover up, get in the shade (you’ll still be in natural light), or use a natural sunscreen on exposed skin. Sunscreen can be problematic, as it blocks UV but lets in high energy blue, etc., which blocks the production of the protective substances incl. melanin.

集中智慧：

• Teens and puberty: Help them build a sensible relationship with natural light. Limit their screen time at night and guide them to shift their sleep time earlier in the evening so that they do not build a habit of sleeping in and missing that essential morning infrared and daily bright light.
• Reproductive age and fertility: Healthy sunlight exposure is linked to healthy fertility. Get into the habit of getting that early morning infrared and UVA light for hormone balance. If you work in an office, get an incandescent lamp to shine next to your desk.
• Pregnancy: Sun exposure during pregnancy is associated with healthier babies and less preterm births. Use light clothing for protection in summer, but do not fear the sun—the pregnant belly lets in the appropriate spectrums of sunlight for each stage of the pregnancy.
• Menopause: Consider light therapy. Red and infrared light has been shown to support mood, sleep, hormones, joints, skin health, circulation, and relaxation. But there really is no substitute for the complete spectrums in sunlight…and it’s free! Sunrise, early morning UVA, bright light during the middle of the day, and firelight or blue light blocking after dark will be your best friends.

饮食

Diet also plays a massive role in our health. When thinking about what constitutes a healthy diet, we might want to move away from the diet wars and dogma and simply think about what we need to nourish, protect, and energise our bodies. We would want to get amino acids (proteins), essential fats, minerals, vitamins, energy substrates (fat/carbs), and co-factors from real foods as much as possible. We might want to learn to prepare these foods in traditional ways to maximise bioavailability. We might wish to eat according to our ancestry and what sort of environment our ancestors lived in but also with adaptations to what is local and seasonal where we live now. We might want to watch our metabolic health and liver and thyroid function and consider getting professional guidance for our bio-individuality if we have issues. Our metabolic health simply refers to the biochemical process of turning food into fuel for the body and how our mitochondria are functioning.

世界各地过着祖先生活方式的人类有以下共同的饮食习惯（均有科学研究支持......）：

• 他们就地取材，按季节饮食。
• 他们不吃精制、变性和现代超加工食品。
• They prioritise nutrient-dense animal foods, including things like organ meats, animal fats, eggs, raw dairy, shellfish, and fish eggs. These contain building blocks and bioavailable micronutrients that are so crucial to reproductive hormone and metabolic health.
• 他们生吃一些动物性食物，烹饪或发酵（解毒）植物性食物。
• 他们食用乳发酵调味品和饮料。发酵剂比纤维更有利于微生物群的健康和平衡。
• They eat animal fats for the essential fat-soluble vitamins (A, D3, K2, and E), cholesterol, DHA, EPA, C15, arachidonic acid, and other healthy fatty acids. Plant fats can deplete these fatty acids and cause an imbalance of omegas and overconsumption of linoleic acid.
• 它们不使用对人体新陈代谢和荷尔蒙健康有害的种子油/植物油或精制糖。
• They make liberal use of unrefined, whole salt, usually a sea salt. Surprisingly, low whole-salt (and sodium) intake is linked to premenstrual and pregnancy issues, oestrogen dominance, water retention, low energy, and more.
• They make gelatinous bone and connective tissue broths for soups, stews, gravy, and sauces and consume this collagen-rich broth every day.
• Not many of them regularly eat plant seeds—grains, beans, seeds, and nuts—but if they do, they take the time to soak and ferment them to minimise anti-nutrients and enhance digestibility. In studied groups, the fewer seed foods they ate, the healthier and more long-lived they were…

Interestingly, recent research into the hunting habits of traditional and prehistoric human groups has uncovered the fact that women engaged in intentional hunting practices, possessing “tool kits” and favourite weapons. Even grandmothers were/are skilled hunters and renowned to be the best teachers of hunting and trapping (potentially why a longer female human life beyond menopause developed. See 3 位女士与女性荷尔蒙生命周期，第 3 部分 - 更年期). Biased scientists have previously dismissed prehistoric female hunting prowess, even when they find plenty of historical evidence to the contrary—females buried with hunting weapons, etc. Another recent study concluded that prehistoric hunting, even for big game and megafauna, was a gender-neutral process. Both men and women have been found to be buried with their hunting weapons.

集中智慧：

• Teens and puberty: Traditional humans focus on animal fats for the omegas, fat-soluble vitamins, and cholesterol (precursor to sex hormones). If you are worried about animal fats, don’t be… See “脂肪分为饱和脂肪和不饱和脂肪。知道区别吗？” for the skinny on fats. They would also give their children a taste for fermented foods. Additionally, all minerals are essential; however, iodine intake and thyroid health become a focus at puberty.
• Reproductive years: Traditional humans limit alcohol and prioritise liver health so that hormones are metabolised correctly. Eating a nutritious breakfast, with proteins and fats, is a secondary circadian signal of abundance for your brain, thyroid, and hormones – regularly skipping breakfast can lead to a slowing of metabolism and weight gain. Eating animal protein supports progesterone production. At the other end of the day, stop eating 3-4 hours before bed for sound sleep. See 良好的健康周期平衡 草药荷尔蒙支持或 Good Health Pro Flora Care 为泌尿生殖系统微生物群提供支持。
• Fertility: Traditional diets emphasise an even more nourishing diet containing nutrient rich offal, particularly liver, and/or seafood—fish roe is a reproductive powerhouse—and animal fats, prior to conception for both males and females, and during pregnancy.
• Menopause: Traditional humans utilise protein and collagen-rich foods like bone broth to support joints, bone strength, connective tissue health, and blood sugar balance, and animal fats for the brain, hormones, heart, joints, and skin. Bone health is not just about calcium intake – bones can be well-mineralised but brittle due to loss of collagen (protein) structure, so animal proteins are favoured along with minerals. Make sure digestion is optimised to facilitate absorption and that metabolism is healthy, as metabolic health appears to affect perimenopausal symptomatology. If you haven’t already, get rid of seed/vegetable oils from your diet, which will be a big help. Animal fats have been shown in research to support and protect liver function, which is so important for hormonal health. See 好健康 Peri-Meno+ 用于围绝经期草药支持。

连接

Traditional groups and hunter/gatherer societies are known to have very supportive families and communities. They are comfortable with being physically close to each other, and introversion is unheard of. Intimacy allows for feel-good hormones and neurotransmitters like oxytocin (“the cuddle hormone”) to be produced more readily in the body, controlling stress and increasing feelings of well-being and satisfaction with life. We even share microbiomes with those we connect with. Scientific research has even found a role for social interaction and emotional support in managing cortisol. As human animals, we are supposed to feel good every day, but in the western world, many of us are using food, alcohol, drugs, TV, and social media to cope with the separation and lack of connection inherent in modern lifestyles. Additionally, poor diet, lack of sunlight, etc., will also affect the ability to attain a natural feeling of “bliss.”

We now know the importance of having a connection to loved ones, self-love and mana (respect), and a strong social and familial support network for overall health. Research shows that our connection to ourselves and others supports hormone balance. Our thoughts are known to influence our physiology, and so thinking good thoughts (positive self-talk) is also key. Learning new skills is important for brain health as we age, and that can only help our hormonal function. Having purpose and enjoying creative endeavours can enhance a sense of connection, and techniques to connect with your inner child (inner bonding) can strengthen heart-centred communication. We can create energy in our body and support our feel-good chemicals by having a regular loving and caring practice for self.

Practicing inner bonding and self-care, having a sense of purpose every day and/or having a creative or educational practice, and establishing social and strengthening familial bonds may support female hormone balance throughout the reproductive years and help women get through menopause in a much smoother way.

There is also evidence to suggest that our connection to the earth and nature is important for our health. There are traditional humans who still walk barefoot on the earth or use natural materials for footwear and live within the natural environment. Research shows that regular barefoot grounding, or earthing, can support our circadian rhythm and biological clock, which supports our female hormones. Grounding and being in nature have been shown to benefit the human microbiome as well as our mood, immune health, and hormones, because we can become exposed to all sorts of spores and microbes and natural sounds. Our brain waves show an increase in the relaxed state “alpha” brain waves when we are grounded or in nature, which is one of the reasons we experience a sense of calm when we walk in the bush or forest (“forest bathing”) or barefoot at the beach. Swimming in natural bodies of water is the ultimate in grounding, and it gets you outside and into some cool or cold water (see 第二部分).

集中智慧：

• Teens and puberty: self-love is one of the strongest predictors of health. Teach them self-love and self-respect, with constructive and positive self-talk (thoughts), and you will set them up for life.
• 各个年龄阶段的成年人都可以从学习自爱技巧中获益，比如建立内在联系和实施自我保健程序，这可以帮助你与他人建立联系。
• 赤脚在草地或海滩上行走，每天只需 30-60 分钟，各个年龄阶段的人都能从中受益。
• 喜欢冒险的人可能希望将冷水浴、森林浴和清晨的日光浴与脚踏实地结合起来。

如果您对自己的生殖和/或荷尔蒙生活的任何部分有任何担忧，请去看全科医生，或与自然健康专业人士联系，以定制个性化的饮食、生活方式和草药补充剂。

参见 女性荷尔蒙健康的祖传智慧，第 2 部分

以及妇女健康系列的其他内容：

3 位女士与女性荷尔蒙生命周期，第 1 部分 - 初潮

3 位女士与女性荷尔蒙生命周期，第 2 部分 - 月经

3 位女士与女性荷尔蒙生命周期，第 3 部分 - 更年期

女性微生物群