Did you know that women have a fifth vital sign? Discover the connection between menstrual cycle health, fertility, and overall health as holistic reproductive health practitioner Lisa Hendrickson-Jack talks about how we should be treating our menstrual cycle as a vital sign of what we should be looking for in our health and educates about the fertility awareness method.  Topics Discussed in this Episode: The menstrual cycle as a vital sign The different phases of the menstrual cycle What a normal, healthy cycle looks like Busting some of the common myths about the menstrual cycle The fertility awareness method Some of the reasons why the menstrual cycle gets disrupted The ways that stress can impact your cycle The side effects of being on the pill   Key Takeaways: When you track and pay attention to your menstrual cycle, it doesn’t take long before you recognize that your cycle is always reflecting your health back to you. Just looking at your period, you can glean a lot of information about your health. Periods are not supposed to be excessively heavy or overly painful. A healthy menstrual cycle can range anywhere from 24 to 35 days. The average is usually about 29 days. Ovulation can happen as early as day 10 and as late as day 23. Women who experience pain during their periods have higher levels of inflammation. Having amenorrhea for an extended period of time increases your lifetime risk of osteoporosis. The birth control pill doesn’t fix or cure anything. What it does is it essentially shuts down your ovarian hormone production and replaces it with a fake chemical cycle.   Action Steps: Track and pay attention to your menstrual cycle.   IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENTS Enrolment is now open for the Fat Burning Female Project! If you want to join the July class, make sure you don’t miss taking your spot. Head over to my website and check the changes that we’ve made to the course and see if you want to become a VIP member.  Take care! Lisa said: “Regardless of whether you want to have children or not, it’s important to recognize that having a healthy cycle is important for more than just your ability to procreate.” “It’s not that fertility awareness is for everybody but there are literally hundreds of thousands of women right now using this method successfully for birth control. It has science behind it, it’s heavily researched.”   Resources mentioned in the show: The Fifth Vital Sign by Lisa Hendrickson-Jack   Sponsor Links: Four Sigmatic - Use the code shawn and get 15% off your order. Primally Pure - Use the code keto4women for 10% off your order.   More from Lisa Hendrickson-Jack: Lisa's Website (Fertility Friday) Lisa's Podcast (Fertility Friday Radio) Lisa’s Instagram (@fertilityfriday) Lisa’s Facebook Lisa’s LinkedIn   More from Shawn Mynar: Shawn's Website Shawn's Instagram Shawn's Facebook The Fat Burning Female Project The Fat Burning Female Self-Study  Best Ketone Test Kit Precision Xtra Blood Ketone Meter Precision Xtra Blood Ketone Test Strips   The advice and opinions in The Keto For Women show are intended for informational purposes only and should not be taken as medical care or advice. Please always consult your medical professional for your specific health concerns.