The Organ Systems Women Often Overlook Until Symptoms Get Loud

One of the things I wish more women understood about their bodies is that symptoms don’t always begin when we finally notice them.

Sometimes the body has been communicating for a while.

• Energy changes.

• Digestion feels a little different.

• Your cycle shifts.

• Sleep isn’t quite as restorative.

• You’re more irritable.

• You’re suddenly cold all the time.

• Your hair starts changing.

• You feel puffy.

• You’re constipated.

• You don’t tolerate stress the way you used to.

None of those things automatically mean something is wrong with a specific organ.

But they are information.

And I think we’ve become so accustomed to waiting until symptoms are loud that we sometimes forget we can pay attention while the body is still whispering.

I Don’t Wait for an Organ to “Fail” Before I Think About Supporting It

When I talk about organ support, I’m not suggesting that every symptom means an organ is diseased or dysfunctional.

I’m talking about understanding what different systems do for us every single day and paying attention to patterns that may deserve a closer look.

Your liver doesn’t suddenly become important when your liver enzymes change.

Your thyroid doesn’t suddenly matter when you receive a diagnosis.

Your digestive system doesn’t only deserve attention once you can no longer tolerate certain foods.

Your kidneys don’t only matter when something shows up on a lab test.

These systems are supporting you every day.

And I want to have a relationship with my body before something becomes a crisis.

The Thyroid

This is a big one for women.

The thyroid helps regulate metabolism and influences functions throughout the body.

When I’m thinking about thyroid health, I might pay attention to:

• Energy.

• Body temperature.

• Cold or heat tolerance.

• Hair and skin changes.

• Bowel habits.

• Weight changes.

• Heart rate.

• Menstrual changes.

• Sleep.

• Mood and concentration.

None of those symptoms belongs exclusively to the thyroid. They can have many different causes, but if several start showing up together, I’m paying attention.

And if the pattern warrants it, I want appropriate thyroid labs rather than assuming everything is simply stress, hormones, or getting older.

Energetically, I may also explore themes around communication, expression, fear, and whether I feel safe speaking or expressing what is true for me.

Physical evaluation and energetic exploration can exist alongside each other without pretending they are the same thing.

The Liver + Gallbladder

I just wrote an entire blog about why the Liver is about so much more than detox, and this is exactly why it belongs here.

The liver is involved in nutrient processing, blood glucose regulation, bile production, hormone metabolism, and many other essential functions.

And the gallbladder stores and concentrates bile before releasing it into the small intestine to help with fat digestion.

So I might pay attention to:

• How am I digesting fats?

• How is my digestion overall?

• How is my elimination?

• Am I adequately nourished?

• How is my energy?

• How am I sleeping?

• What is happening hormonally?

And emotionally, I may become curious about anger, frustration, irritation, resentment, bitterness, or feeling stuck.

I don’t assume an emotion is causing a physical liver or gallbladder problem.

I simply leave room to explore the whole person.

The Stomach + Spleen

These are two systems I think women often overlook because digestive conversations tend to become entirely about the gut.

But digestion is a process.

Your stomach is doing important work long before anything reaches the intestines.

I’m thinking about digestion, appetite, nourishment, and whether the body is effectively breaking down and using what it receives.

Then there’s the Spleen.

Physiologically, the spleen is involved in immune function and filtering blood, including removing aging or damaged blood cells.

In Traditional Chinese Medicine, the Spleen has a different and much broader meaning. The Spleen system is traditionally associated with digestion, transformation of food into usable energy, and the Earth element.

Emotionally, I think about worry, overthinking, mental looping, and constantly trying to figure everything out.

Those are two different frameworks, and I don’t treat the TCM Spleen as identical to the anatomical spleen.

But both give me useful ways to think about the body.

The Adrenals

I also pay attention to the adrenal glands long before someone feels completely depleted.

Your adrenal glands produce hormones involved in your stress response, blood pressure, metabolism, and other essential functions.

But I’m careful with the language around this one.

Feeling exhausted doesn’t automatically mean your adrenal glands are “burned out.” Symptoms such as fatigue can have many causes and deserve appropriate evaluation when they’re persistent.

What I am interested in is the amount of demand being placed on the person.

• Are you sleeping enough?

• Are you eating enough?

• Are you running on caffeine?

• Are you constantly rushing?

• How much stress are you experiencing?

• How much chaos are you experiencing in your day-to-day life?

• Are you exercising intensely while under-nourished?

• Are you always available to everyone?

• Does your nervous system ever get an opportunity to come out of doing?

• How much recovery time do you get in between workouts?

• What’s your exercise tolerance?

Sometimes we become so focused on finding the perfect adrenal supplement that we overlook the life asking the body to continually produce more.

The Kidneys

Kidney health is another area where I think prevention matters.

Your kidneys continuously filter the blood, regulate fluid and electrolyte balance, participate in blood pressure regulation, help maintain acid-base balance, and produce hormones involved in red blood cell production and other functions.

I’m thinking about:

• Hydration.

• Mineral balance.

• Blood pressure.

• Medications and supplements.

• Blood sugar.

• Overall metabolic health.

And whether there are reasons kidney function should actually be evaluated.

Within Traditional Chinese Medicine, the Kidney system is also associated with the Water element and traditionally connected with fear, willpower, development, reproduction, and foundational vitality.

Again, that energetic framework isn’t a medical explanation for kidney disease.

It’s another lens I may use when working with the whole person.

The Heart

I don’t think women should wait for obvious cardiovascular symptoms before thinking about their hearts.

Cardiovascular health deserves attention throughout life.

• Blood pressure.

• Blood sugar.

• Lipids.

• Movement.

• Sleep.

• Stress.

• Nutrition.

• Smoking and alcohol exposure.

• Family history.

• And symptoms that deserve medical evaluation.

I’m also interested in the emotional relationship we have with the Heart.

• Grief.

• Heartache.

• Joy.

• Connection.

• Feeling loved.

• Allowing ourselves to receive.

• Holding resentment.

• Forgiveness.

Those themes don’t diagnose cardiovascular disease.

But when I’m looking at a person rather than an isolated organ, I think emotional health belongs in the conversation too.

The Lungs

The lungs can be easy to ignore when breathing feels normal.

But I think about Lung support throughout the year, especially when seasons change.

I’m paying attention to respiratory health, environmental exposures, air quality, allergies, movement, and how well someone recovers when their immune system is challenged.

Within Traditional Chinese Medicine, the Lung system is associated with the Metal element and themes including grief, boundaries, receiving, releasing, and letting go.

Sometimes that gives me another question to ask:

What am I holding that I’m ready to release?

Not because grief causes lung disease.

Because sometimes the physical and emotional conversations happening within us deserve to be heard at the same time.

And I Don’t Forget the Nervous System

Technically, the nervous system isn’t an organ system women “ignore” in quite the same way as the others.

But it influences nearly every conversation I have about the body.

Because I want to know:

• What is the body being asked to adapt to every day?

• How much stimulation is coming in?

• How much recovery is happening?

• Is there enough sleep?

• Enough nourishment?

• Enough movement?

• Enough rest?

• Are there boundaries?

• Is there constant emotional stress?

• Does the person ever feel like they can stop being available?

You can have the perfect supplement cabinet and still be living in a way that continually asks more from your system than you’re giving back.

That matters to me.

I Look for Patterns Before I Look for Protocols

This is probably the biggest difference in how I think about preventative support.

I’m not interested in taking a supplement for every organ simply because the organ exists.

More isn’t automatically better.

Instead, I want to develop body awareness.

• What has changed?

• What happens repeatedly?

• What does my body tolerate differently than it used to?

• What seems to improve when I sleep more?

• What changes when I eat consistently?

• What happens around my cycle?

• What happens during stressful seasons?

• What changes when I travel?

• What symptoms keep appearing together?

And are there objective things I should be checking through labs, imaging, or another appropriate evaluation?

That last question matters.

Body awareness isn’t a replacement for healthcare.

It can help us recognize when it’s time to seek it.

Your Body Doesn’t Have to Scream Before You Listen

I think many women have become incredibly skilled at functioning through symptoms.

We keep working.
We take care of everyone.
We normalize being exhausted.
We normalize digestive issues.
We normalize headaches.
We normalize terrible periods.
We normalize never sleeping well.
We normalize feeling anxious, depleted, or disconnected from our bodies because we’ve been functioning that way for so long.

But being able to function through something doesn’t necessarily mean we should ignore it.

You don’t need to become hypervigilant about every sensation either.

That’s not body literacy.

Body literacy is learning your normal well enough to recognize when something consistently changes.

It’s noticing.
Getting curious.
Supporting the foundations.
Asking better questions.
Seeking additional information when you need it.

And creating a relationship with your body where you don’t have to wait until it’s screaming to finally give it your attention.

Because prevention, to me, isn’t about living in fear of what might go wrong.

It’s about knowing your body well enough to notice when it’s asking for something before you can no longer ignore it.

XOXO,

Dr. Elizabeth + Luna

The products and practices shared here are examples from my personal wellness approach and are provided for educational purposes only.

They are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent illness.

Seek appropriate medical care for severe, concerning, persistent, or worsening symptoms, and consult an appropriate healthcare professional before using products for children, during pregnancy or breastfeeding, with medications, or with existing health conditions.

Where to Find Additional Support

If you’re looking for remedies to support your overall wellness and organ systems, you can explore the flower essences I use through my LotusWei affiliate link.  I receive a small commission when you purchase through this link, at no additional cost to you.

You can also create an account through my Fullscript or Doctor Supplement Store (Registration Code: EA4258) dispensaries to explore the other remedies and nutritional support I use in my practice.

As always, what is appropriate for one person may not be appropriate for another. I personally use body awareness and muscle testing to help determine what support may be appropriate for me rather than assuming everyone needs the same protocol.