Key Hormone #: Estrogen
The first hormone is estradiol this is the form of estrogen produced in the greatest amounts by women of childbearing age. Estrogen is considered the happy hormone, because it boosts neurotransmitters like serotonin and dopamine, which gives us a sense of pleasure and motivation. It is also great for:
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strong bones
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Irregular cycles
How Diet Affects Hormones
What we eat affects the production of hormones and their signaling pathways. “Our hormones like healthy fats, like olive oil, avocado, nuts and seeds, as well as ample fiber from fruits and vegetables and quality proteins like eggs, fish and meat,” says Melissa Groves Azzaro, RDN, LD, PCOS, hormone, and fertility dietitian at Avocado Grove Nutrition. In contrast, pesticides, alcohol and artificial sweeteners can negatively impact hormones.
You need enough calories too. “Women’s bodies especially are very sensitive to scarcity. If your body doesn’t feel like it’s getting enough, it downregulates production of sex hormones. Your body doesn’t know the difference between a war or famine or a new weight-loss diet you’re following,” says Azzaro.
What Happens When These Hormones Become Imbalanced
When there is an excess of estrogen in your system, this can lead to heavy and painful periods, sore breasts, PMS, and weight retention around thighs and hips. The causes of estrogen excess include higher production from ovaries and poor metabolism and detoxification.
Low estrogen can also have negative effects on your health, which include low libido, missing periods, or very long cycles. The causes for low estrogen include under-eating, over-exercising, stress, and smoking.
The consequences of low progesterone include PMS, spotting before period begins, anxiety, and prolonged bleeding. The causes of low progesterone include stress and not ovulating.
Having high testosterone can cause acne, male pattern hair growth, hair loss, and irregular cycles. It is associated with polycystic ovary syndrome , which is associated with irregular cycles and excess androgens .
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Try Stress Reduction Techniques
Stress harms your hormones in several ways.
The hormone cortisol is known as the stress hormone because it helps your body cope with long-term stress.
Your bodys response to stress activates a cascade of events that leads to cortisol production. Once the stressor has passed, the response ends. However, chronic stress impairs the feedback mechanisms that return your hormonal systems to normal .
Therefore, chronic stress causes cortisol levels to remain elevated, which stimulates appetite and increases your intake of sugary and high fat foods. In turn, this may lead to excessive calorie intake and obesity (
50 ).
In a review of 21 studies in 2,250 people, those assigned to a short sleep group showed higher ghrelin levels than those who got the recommended amount of sleep .
Plus, your brain needs uninterrupted sleep to go through all five stages of each sleep cycle. This is especially important for the release of growth hormone, which occurs mainly at night during deep sleep .
To maintain optimal hormonal balance, aim for at least 7 hours of high quality sleep per night.
Summary
Poor sleep has been shown to decrease fullness hormones, increase hunger and stress hormones, and increase insulin resistance.
Eat Mushrooms For Healthy Hormones
Mushrooms help to regulate the amount of oestrogen in the body. Studies have found that consuming mushrooms regularly is associated with a reduced risk of breast cancer. In one study, women who ate 10g of mushroom daily had a 64% decreased risk of breast cancer.
This number is increased to 89% during perimenopause and 82% post-menopause if these women also included the compounds included in green tea in their daily diet.
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Essential Vitamins And Supplements That Help Balance Hormones
Hormones can cause issues for many women, especially upon entering perimenopause. All sorts of frustrating fluctuations can occur, and these fluctuations impact nearly every aspect of a womans life. When our hormones are imbalanced, we may experience major mood swings and irritability. We might have trouble sleeping. We may experience a . We might gain weight. We may lose our energy and zest for life. As a result, our relationships may suffer, and we may feel as if our quality of life has suddenly dropped dramatically as well.
Fortunately, there are all sorts of tried and true ways to help balance hormones. One such way is by ensuring youre getting all the right hormone-balancing nutrients from your diet. Supplementing with certain vitamins and supplements may help as well. Relief is possible, with the right approach.
Salmon And Albacore Tuna
Fat and cholesterol are the building blocks of hormones. You need enough cholesterol to make sex hormones like estrogen and testosterone. The key is to choose fats high in omega-3s and to limit saturated fats . Salmon, canned albacore tuna, walnuts, flaxseed, olive oil, avocados and chia seeds are high in omega-3 fatty acids.
“Salmon also stabilizes your hunger hormones and is high in vitamin D, which helps regulate female testosterone levels,” says Carrie Gabriel M.S., RDN, a dietitian and owner of Steps2Nutrition. “The good fats in fish improve overall hormonal communication. The endocrine system uses hormones to communicate with the brain, which in turn boosts our mood and gives us better cognitive skills.”
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Foods That Cause Hormonal Imbalance
Do you have headaches, acne, cramps, and mood swings?
Many women around the globe suffer from an imbalance in their hormones, some even have one without realizing it.
In this article, we will walk you through hormonal imbalance and the signs and symptoms to watch out for. Well also provide you a list of foods that must be consumed in moderation as they may act as hormone disruptors.
Keep reading to learn more.
Hormone Balancing Tip #: Balance Blood Sugar
Having balanced blood sugar means that your body produces a normal insulin response when you consume food. A balanced meal includes good quality fat, protein, and fibre. A balanced plate might look something like this:
12 of your plate greens and vegetables 14 of your plate good quality protein 14 of your plate complex carbs 1-2 tablespoons of healthy fats
Here at Nourished, we wanted women to have an easy way to get started on their blood sugar balancing journey. We created a 100% natural vitamin for you to get started on your journey. Click the button below to see more info and add our Blood Sugar Balance vitamin to your cart.
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Symptoms Of Hormonal Imbalance
If you are suffering from any of the following symptoms of hormonal imbalance, then you can get checked with your doctor to find out what hormone is lacking or in excess. Blood tests can help find out levels of hormones such as cortisol, insulin, estrogen, progesterone, testosterone, thyroxin and TTH, among others.
- Hair loss
- Excessive weight gain
Diet plays a very important in helping keep hormone levels balanced in the body. Below is a list of 8 foods that balance hormones in females.
Hormone Balancing Tip #: Consider Supplementing
The above suggestions will go a long way to improving your bodys production and elimination of hormones. Consider these initial steps as the ground work for hormone balance. If you have implemented all of these tips, your next step is to consider adding 1 or 2 high quality supplements in to your regime
Magnesium: wonderful in helping the body cope with chronic, ongoing stress as magnesium is used in the stress response. Magnesium bisglycinate form is best for most people as it causes the least disturbance to digestive symptoms. 300mg per day is an effective dose for most people.
Zinc: Great for acne and digestive issues. 30mg per day in citrate or picolinate form after food .
Iron: great for heavy periods, low iron stores and fatigue. Please have your iron levels checked through a simple blood test which can be requested through your health care provider. Bisglycinate form is best as it causes the least digestive issues. 24mg every second day away from caffeine is a good dose for most people.
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The Best Supplements To Balance Hormones
#1 Probiotics for Mood and Gut Health
Probiotics can do more than improve your gut health. They also may indirectly enhance your brain, too. Research shows that the gut and brain are connected, a partnership called the gut-brain axis.
Probiotics have become increasingly popular in recent years. You might already eat a lot of probiotic foods, such as yogurt or kimchi, or take a daily probiotic supplement to reap their potential benefits.
Gut bacteria are key players in your mood and mental health. They can relieve the symptoms of depression, anxiety, and stress, but they might also make them worse.
How to Take Probiotics
For best results, take probiotic supplements with meals. When you are selecting a probiotic supplement, choose one with a diverse range of bacteria, a high number of colony-forming units , and also be sure that its either been refrigerated or is guaranteed to be stable at room temperature.
#2 Magnesium for Cramps and Stress Management
When your body does not have enough Magnesium then systemic inflammation occurs. This can result in fatigue, headaches/migraines, aches, and pains.
Magnesium helps keep adrenal stress hormones under control too. This is a big deal, as stress hormones throw everything off whack!
In fact, I find it so helpful for pain management that I also use it as salt in baths and as a spray on my abdomen to reduce cramping.
How to take magnesium
#3 Dong Quai for menstrual cramps and PMS
How to take Dong Quai
#4 Maca for Balancing Hormones
How Diet Impacts Estrogen
Research shows that specific diets are linked to high estrogen levels. For example, the Standard American Diet , which is characterized by conventional red meat and dairy, processed foods, sugary treats, and refined grains can cause hormone imbalance.
More than ever, its important to take inventory of what youre putting in your body. Conventional animal products contain high amounts of estrogen. In essence, hormones have been used for decades to accelerate animal growth. Synthetic estrogen and testosterone are the most common, unfortunately. Not only are these synthetic hormones harmful to the animals and usconsumersbut they contribute to environmental issues too.
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The Naturopaths Approach To Balancing Female Hormones
The endocrine system consists of glands that produce hormones. Hormones are chemical messengers that send instructions to the various organ systems in order to regulate vital bodily functions. A high stress lifestyle combined with poor eating habits can wreak havoc on a womens delicately balanced hormonal function. Even healthy women with a good diet can end up with hormones unbalanced.
Symptoms of hormonal imbalance may include PMS, uterine fibroids, osteoporosis, reduced sex drive, allergies,weight gain, changes in the skin, fatigue, water retention, hair loss, facial hair growth and sometimes anxiety and depression.
A naturopath takes time to review a patients medical history in detail and tailor a herbal mix and provide dietary and lifestyle advice specific to the patient. Below are some suggested tips and a selection of herbs for treating hormonal imbalances.
Risk Factors And Causes
Hormonal imbalances are multi-factorial disorders, meaning they are caused by a combination of factors such as your diet, medical history, genetics, stress levels and exposure to toxins from your environment.
Some of the major contributors to hormonal imbalances include:
- Food allergies and gut issues: An expanding field of new research shows that your gut health plays a significant role in hormone regulation. If you have leaky gut syndrome or a lack of beneficial probiotic bacteria lining your intestinal wall, youre more susceptible to hormonal problems, including diabetes and obesity. Thats because inflammation usually stems from your gut and then impacts nearly every aspect of your health.
- Being overweight or obese
- High amounts of stress, and a lack of enough sleep and rest
Adrenal dysfunction is the largest cause of the hormonal imbalance with the sex hormones especially because of something called the cortisol steal.
This occurs when cholesterol, which usually helps to make the sex hormones, combines with too much stress and the enzyme 17/20 lyase blocks the conversion the production of cortisol ensues. Cortisol then causes the imbalance of progesterone, estrogen and testosterone, which then decreases the sex drive.
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Hormone Balancing Superfoods #1
Cacao
Yep, turns out theres some wisdom to all those chocolate cravings. Cacao is amazing for your period and your female hormones!
Cacao is full of magnesium, which reduces cramping and PMS symptoms. Its also full of antioxidants, which are great for reducing inflammation and supporting healthy egg development .
If youre a chocolate lover, go for organic, dark chocolate as dark as you can stand it. Or use raw, organic cacao and make your own hot chocolate. Who doesnt love a hot drink to help with those period cramps? Yummmmmmm.
Feed Your Gut Microbiome
For hormone production and balance we need to ensure our gut bacteria are flourishing so eating fermented foods daily , prebiotic foods and probiotic yoghurts etc as well as eating as many different foods as possible in a week will help maintain the diversity you need.
If you feel that you could benefit from additional support, they you can learn more by reading my page about hormone imbalance or dont hesitate to contact me using the form below.
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Natural Ways To Balance Your Hormones
Hormones are chemical messengers that have profound effects on your mental, physical, and emotional health. For instance, they play a major role in controlling your appetite, weight, and mood.
Typically, your body produces the precise amount of each hormone needed for various processes to keep you healthy.
However, sedentary lifestyles and Western dietary patterns may affect your hormonal environment. In addition, levels of certain hormones decline with age, and some people experience a more dramatic decrease than others.
However, a nutritious diet and other healthy lifestyle habits may help improve your hormonal health and allow you to feel and perform your best.
Here are 10 natural ways to balance your hormones.
Limit Sugar And Refined Carbs
Both have been linked to increased insulin resistance. Insulin resistance occurs when cells in your body dont respond effectively to the hormone insulin in your body.
Over time, this can leads to pre-diabetes, type 2 diabetes and other chronic health conditions.
Fructose, found in sugar, has been shown to promote insulin resistance, particularly in overweight or obese people with prediabetes or diabetes.
Studies have also shown diets high in refined carbs can increase insulin resistance.
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Impressive Herbs That Help Balance Your Hormones
Herbs are a group of plants whose leaves, flowers, roots, and seeds are used for various purposes.
If you love to cook, you may be most familiar with using herbs as cooking ingredients. Interestingly, humans have also used them for healthcare, spiritual rituals, and more for thousands of years .
Traditionally, some herbs have even been used to balance hormone levels. Although rigorous research on the topic is limited, some evidence suggests that certain herbs could influence hormone levels in your body, as well as other related functions of the endocrine system.
Still, it can be hard to separate fact from fiction when it comes to using herbs for medical or health reasons.
Thats why weve sifted through the science and put together this list of 5 herbs, all of which have evidence to support some of their hormone-balancing claims.
Treating Hormone Imbalance With The Hormone Diet
A special hormone diet created by a naturopath can help you lose weight and balance your hormones. The diet is a combination of low glycemic index foods and the Mediterranean diet.
Foods that fit within the diet which is more of a lifestyle choice include lean proteins, fresh vegetables and plenty of fruits, chia seeds, nuts, olive oil, and whole grains. This eating plan suggests avoiding caffeine, alcohol, fried foods, processed foods, peanuts, full-fat dairy, artificial sweeteners and simple carbs, like cakes and white bread.
Followers of this lifestyle change swap their daily coffee for green tea and opt to cook their own meals instead of eating boxed foods or pre-made snacks. Even those who follow a vegetarian or vegan diet can find plenty to like about this hormone diet. People with celiac disease who must avoid gluten can also succeed with this diet.Couple this diet with 30 minutes of exercise, six days a week, rotating among strength training, interval training, yoga, and cardio.
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Common Hormones That Affect Women
Insulin: This hormone tells your body how to use energy from the foods you eat. When we eat a meal, our blood sugar starts to rise. Blood sugar is the energy our cells need to function properly, but blood sugar can’t do its job if it cant get inside our cells. Our bodies produce insulin to help the sugar move from our bloodstream into our cells.
With factors like age, extra body weight, genetics and a diet that is heavy in processed and junk foods, we can become insulin resistant. Our cells dont respond properly to insulin and become resistant to this hormone. Blood sugar cant get into cells.
When this happens, a person will develop higher-than-normal blood levels of sugar and insulin. Insulin resistance leads to further weight gain and increases the risk of developing diabetes and heart disease.
Fortunately, even if you have insulin resistance, a healthful, whole-foods diet and regular, moderate physical activity can prevent or slow down the development of diabetes. Even 20 to 30 minutes of walking each day reduces insulin resistance.
Leptin and ghrelin : These hormones play an important role in appetite control. When leptin increases, it should decrease your appetite. A rise in ghrelin increases your appetite.
People who are overweight or obese usually have developed a resistance to leptin. Low levels of leptin can lead to overeating.