Mgr. Karolína Kunftová is a clinical naturopath focused on hormonal imbalances, immune and digestive problems. Karolína is a detective in the field of health, specifically where you are suffering from chronic problems. By combining nutritional medicine, herbal and external therapy, she helps return the body to its natural regeneration and harmony. She looks for a path to change with clients, motivates them and prepares an individual tailor-made plan.
In today's interview, Karolína and I talked about the influence of diet, sleep, chemicals, and psychological or emotional stress on a woman's cycle and how to determine the status of your hormonal health.
From your experience, what do you perceive as the most common thing that disrupts the health and menstrual cycle of your clients these days?
First of all, I would definitely mention long-term stress and lack of rest . Today's time is frantically fast and it is mainly about performance. In our past, there was not so much long-term stress and the body is not adapted to it, which is why it now significantly affects women's health. The inability to slow down, along with a lack of self-kindness, exhausts the female body and hormonal system in the long term and as a result contributes to the development of hormonal imbalances such as PMS, painful or irregular menstruation, problems with pregnancy, sleep or perhaps weakened immunity or autoimmune diseases.
"In stress mode, the organism is "fighting for its life", why would it adjust sex hormones and invest in reproduction?"
If our body is under stress, especially in the long term, it negatively affects digestion or immunity and the body also suppresses the metabolism of steroid (sex) hormones. When the organism's "life" is at stake, why would it tune sex hormones and think about reproduction? In such a state, the female body invests in a survival mechanism , for example by primarily creating stress hormones from cholesterol. However, after that, there is "no" building material and energy left for sex hormones. And that is just one example.
In second place, I would emphasize an inappropriately composed diet . This includes poor timing or insufficient intake of macro and micro nutrients, such as vitamins, antioxidants, trace elements or minerals. It is not always just about calories, but above all about the substances that our body needs for harmonious functioning. Drastic and incorrectly chosen diets can burden the body and put it into deficit.
Thirdly, I would mention the huge amount of chemicals around us . This includes additives from the food industry, xenoestrogens (chemicals of a hormonal nature), synthetic substances in cosmetic or hygiene products, medicines, washing powders, but also pesticides, microplastics, heavy metals, cigarette smoke, alcohol or polluted air.
Our body, built over millions of years, has never been used to such a huge exposure to foreign substances that can behave similarly to our body's own substances, thereby confusing it. There is also evidence of the negative impact of electromagnetic radiation on our hormonal system. And we are literally riddled with it today.
Finally, I would also like to mention your own emotions and traumas . It is important to work with them, be able to be aware of them and further cultivate them. These psychological "stresses" and past traumas also have a great influence on women's health.
What effect does sleep have on the menstrual cycle and overall health?
Sleep has a fundamental impact on our health. It provides us with deep regeneration every night and detoxifies us daily (cleansing the brain, liver, intestines and other organs in the body).
In connection with hormonal health, it is important for a woman to have a healthy liver. Liver function is crucial for the breakdown of foreign substances , but also our own substances. For example, estrogen dominance is often caused by a slowed detoxification function (biotransformation) of the liver. The liver does not function well if we do not get enough sleep and do not consume a diet rich in all the necessary substances for detoxification processes.
Moreover, sleep and hormone balance are necessary for mental and physical resilience and joy of life . It is these connections that I enjoy in holistic medicine – naturopathy :-) It is necessary to discuss everything thoroughly with clients, think through changes and always adapt the naturopathic plan individually. So our work is always a little different and each client is unique.
What does it mean to have quality sleep? And how can women improve its quality?
I always tell my clients that everyone is different with different needs. One criterion for getting enough and quality sleep is that you wake up in the morning without an alarm clock , you have a zest for life and you feel rested . You just say to yourself: “Great, it’s a new day!”
A deeply regenerated organism is healthy, has enough strength and vitality . You can recognize poor sleep quality by, for example, starting to feel very tired around ten or eleven in the morning and around two in the afternoon. This should not happen.
"If someone really wants to proactively work on their health and well-being, quality sleep is essential."
I personally recommend that my clients sleep at least 8 hours straight (sometimes more) and as much as possible before midnight. Sometimes someone tells me “5 hours is enough for me”, but I disagree. Our body remembers everything, and women are very sensitive. The question is not whether it is enough or not. Unfortunately, as soon as our body stops enjoying the lack of sleep, the deficit begins to manifest itself in illness . For some, it lasts a year, for some two, and for others even 10-15 years. However, we all need enough sleep, that is how nature created us.
If someone really wants to proactively work on their health and well-being, quality sleep is simply essential . You can start with evening rituals – dim the lights, turn off electronics, slow down and tune into peace. This will help calm the mind and prepare the body hormonally for quality sleep.
So, at your Naturopathic Solutions clinic, women can also have health tests. How does it work and what tests do you recommend for women to determine their health status?
We cooperate with a hub of foreign laboratories that provide the most detailed analyses of how our body behaves hormonally. The advantage is that we have analyses for various problems/questions and we always choose everything tailored to the client . We can perform and interpret detailed tests of the complex intestinal microbiome and its functions, heavy metal load test, mineral and vitamin status in the body and of course hormonal analysis.
Personally, I prefer to use the test with the acronym DUTCH (it has nothing to do with Holland :D), which stands for "Dried Urine Test for Comprehensive Hormones". The test will tell you, for example, how many and what hormones you have in your body, how their metabolic pathways behave and how the body breaks down these hormones. It can determine not only how much estrogen is in the body, but also how our body manages it, which of its pathways it prefers and why. It can therefore be traced quite accurately what and, most importantly, why is happening in our body . The test is taken between the 19th and 22nd day of the menstrual cycle, so we recommend that women record the course of their cycle so that we can specifically interpret the results.
How much do such tests cost at your clinic and how do you approach clients when interpreting the results?
The price of the DUTCH Complete test is 14,500 CZK. The price includes express DHL shipping to Denmark and an interpretation meeting with a naturopathic practitioner. The tests are quite complex, so it is advisable to explain everything to the client and help set up effective and safe changes.
"The goal is for the client to understand her health condition and know how and why to take care of herself."
During the interpretive consultation, we will explain the client's basic hormonal functions and discuss possible causes . Finally, we will provide individual tips and recommendations (for example, suitable dietary supplements, herbal preparations, or dietary or lifestyle adjustments). The goal is for the client to understand her health condition and know how and why to take care of herself.
Nowadays, there are a lot of dietary supplements, herbs, etc. on every corner. How are women supposed to navigate this and find out what is suitable for them?
This is a great truth and unfortunately it is currently a kind of "supplement fashion". This topic is quite complex. Most dietary supplements are synthetic in nature and the goal is to support business rather than meaningful human health. Many forms of supplements are in a suboptimal configuration or combination , so our body does not recognize and use them. Inappropriate supplements sometimes also occupy receptors and block the functioning of our own substances.
It is therefore important to know what form of supplements a woman can take, in what dosage, when to take them (in the morning or at night before bed) and how to take them (on an empty stomach or after a meal). It is also good to know which vitamins and minerals work synergistically in our body and what combinations are appropriate. Many vitamins and minerals work better in a specific complex.
Often, taking supplements is not even necessary and it is more beneficial to focus on a quality and comprehensive diet . Other times, on the contrary, it is necessary to use a specific form of supplement in a therapeutic dosage that is safe and effective. I therefore recommend consulting a specialist in advance and certainly not taking everything we think will help us or that is promoted in the media.
If women are interested in making an appointment with you, please describe to us how the first consultation is conducted and if there is anything a woman needs to prepare for before coming to you?
Personally, I first send my clients a fairly detailed initial questionnaire . The goal is to get as much information as possible about the comprehensive medical history and also to become aware of the areas that we will discuss in more detail during the consultation. During the first meeting, I then ask for more detailed information, various contexts, key life moments and problems. Together, we examine what preceded them and put together a comprehensive picture of the client's life and health. I am interested in absolutely everything - family situation, what injuries/traumas the client had in childhood, what allergies she has, whether she was breastfed or not, what food does/doesn't do her good, how she sleeps and what medications she takes, in short, her overall lifestyle.
"I want the client to be self-sufficient and able to take preventive care of her mental and physical health."
The first meeting usually lasts an hour and a half to two hours . In the first two hours, I get enough information to set the goal and the first steps of the naturopathic plan together with the client. During subsequent follow-up consultations, we discuss how the client feels, what has changed and why, and proceed further. The naturopath also teaches how, why and when to take care of herself so that the client is self-sufficient and can take preventive care of her mental and physical health.
