How To Balance Your Hormones In A Nutshell
1) Live a clean, non-toxic lifestyle
5) Exercise, but dont over-exercise
6) Eat a nutrient-dense diet, and supplement as necessary. If needed, work on balancing blood sugar.
7) Support detoxification
Now, its possible to take this approach and still deal with symptoms hormone imbalance that just wont go away. Sometimes hormones take time to heal. Other times, we need a health detective with a magnifying glass and some lab tests to really see whats going on.
Your Leptin Resistance Reversal Guide:
1. Find out for sure
I run a simple blood test to measure leptin levels. Optimal fasting leptin levels should be 4 to 6 ng/dL. The reason why this lab is not commonly run in mainstream medicine? Theres no medication for it. If there was believe me everyone would be tested for high leptin.
2. Clean up your sleep habits
DVR Jimmy Fallon, turn off your smartphone, and get yourself to bed! People with poor sleep habits and altered circadian rhythms are more likely to be leptin resistant.
3. Don’t eat too late
For better leptin balance, avoid the late-night snacks. Eating after 8 p.m. has been associated with higher leptin levels and more weight gain in various research studies.
4. Calm down your life
Stress is no bueno for your health in so many ways, and a high stress level with its associated high cortisol can definitely increase inflammation and subsequently, trigger leptin receptor failure and increased production of leptin just one more reason to bring some mindfulness and self-care into your life.
5. Get your omega-3s
A healthy intake of omega-3 fatty acids from wild-caught fish is one of the best ways to bring down inflammation and balance leptin levels. Plant-based omega-3 precursor fats such as flax oil can also be useful, but fish-based omega-3 has a much higher bioavailability, especially for people already struggling with leptin resistance.
6. Eat to subdue inflammation
BY DR. WILL COLE
Evidence-based reviewed article
How To Make Ghrelin Your Hunger Hormone Work For You
How can you lower your ghrelin levels? Here are six steps to take in order to reduce ghrelin and gain control of your appetite:
1. Dont Overly-Restrict Calories
Levels of ghrelin will increase if youre consistently under-eating, which is one reason why dieting makes most people feel pretty hungry. On the other hand, overeating causes ghrelin levels to decrease, but this shouldnt be the goal either .
The fact that being in calorie-deficit makes you feel hungrier is one of the most challenging things about attempting to diet for weight loss. Fortunately, however, its been found that certain types of dietary habits can help to control ghrelin including eating lots of nutrient-dense, unprocessed foods and eating enough fiber and protein.
Ghrelin levels should go down significantly following a meal, and stay down for about three hours or more before you begin to start feeling hungry again. If you notice yourself getting hungry soon after eating, or frequently wanting to snack throughout the day, consider if youre eating enough calories in general. Its possible you can afford to increase your intake of protein, healthy fats, or fiber from complex carbohydrates if youre severely restricting one of these macronutrients. Eating enough healthy food to sustain your activity level and feel energized will prevent you from entering or staying in starvation mode that will only increase your appetite.
2. Eat Enough Protein
4. Get Good Sleep
5. Practice Stress Management
Also Check: Can Having Your Tubes Tied Cause Hormonal Imbalance
What Are The Signs And Symptoms Of Leptin Resistance
- Being Overweight or Underweight
This is the most common symptom of the condition, especially when youre 20 or more pounds overweight and you have excess belly fat. This excess fat can be a byproduct of your brain not responding to leptin appropriately.
If youre also at least 10 pounds underweight and have been trying to gain healthily but unsuccessful, it may be that youre leptin resistant.
- Being Sleep Deprived or Stressed
The combination of sleep deprivation and stress can elevate your cortisol, a stress hormone. The higher this is, the less sleep and more stress you experience, which can then result in poor health.
Research showed that cortisol can increase plasma leptin concentrations, which may act as physiological regulators in the secretion of leptin.
- Failure to Lose Weight Even After Applying Sudden Calorie Reduction in Diet
If youre following a diet and losing weight fast, it can backfire and cause your body to be more resistant to leptin.
When your body experiences a sudden decrease in caloric intake, it maximizes its ability to use stored fat as fuel for energy. If this activity goes on without you getting better alternatives to replace the missing calories, it makes it even harder to lose weight as hunger increases.
- Having Constant Food Cravings
When your body does not respond to the message of satiety, fat cells release more leptin that can cause the hormones resistance. This can lead to the desire to continue eating and to crave for more foods.
Leptin Resistance Diet & Treatment Options
Leptin resistance can be successfully treated with various therapeutic interventions, many of which are diet-related. Following a leptin diet is key to leptin resistance treatment and weight loss. It may be difficulty to control overeating until leptin levels stabilize and proper leptin signaling returns. Controlling the types of foods you eat is the first step, and controlling the amount of food you eat will become easier as you heal your leptin resistance.
An ideal leptin resistances diet will involve:
- Increasing the consumption of omega-3 fatty acids and reducing omega-6 fatty acids
- Increasing the consumption of lean protein
- Limiting sugar, high-fructose corn syrup, simple carbohydrates and refined, processed foods
- No snacking between meals and increasing the time between meals
In addition, there are other lifestyle components with are important to consider to combat leptin resistances. These include:
- Reducing the stress in your life
- Getting more sleep
- Exercising regularly, particularly focusing on resistance and strength training
- Detoxifying your life
- Talking to your healthcare provider about supplements that may support leptin balance and signaling
Don’t Miss: Does Nugenix Have An Estrogen Blocker
Getting Regular Moderate Intensity Exercise
Regular exercise has so many benefits such as reducing stress , reducing high estrogen levels, etc.
Take note, however, that too much of a good thing… in this case exercise.. is just too much of a good thing. Excessive exercise can have a negative affect on your hormones, especially increasing cortisol.
Excessive exercise can also cause the body to be in a calorie deficit, which is no good for our hormones. If our bodies sense that energy is scarce there won’t be any extra energy to go towards actually MAKING hormones. Yes, our bodies need to make these hormones, they don’t just pop out of thin air!
Whats Your Experience Been With Hormone Balancing
About the authors: This article was coauthored by Heather Dessinger Dr. Natcha Maithai . Dr. Maithai is a Registered Holistic Nutritionist and Functional Diagnostic Nutrition Practitioner with a PhD in molecular genetics. After becoming frustrated with hormonal problems that went undiagnosed despite her best efforts, Dr. Maithai applied tools she learned as a cancer researcher to dive into available scientific literature and find a holistic solution. You can find her health insights, biohacking tips, and information about working with her on her website, Natcha Maithai.
This article was medically reviewed by Dr. Anna Cabeca, a gynecologist and obstetrician and a menopause and sexual health expert. As always, this is not personal medical advice and we recommend that you talk with your doctor.
You May Like: Cat Ate Melatonin
Question 5 Of : How Can I Fix My Leptin Resistance Naturally
Leptin Resistance And Obesity
What do studies suggest is the relationship between obesity and leptin? The National Institutes of Health uses the following clinical definition of leptin resistance: The failure of endogenous or exogenous leptin to promote anticipated salutary metabolic outcomes in states of over-nutrition or obesity. In other words, leptin resistance has been described as when your brain is starving but your body is obese.
As described above, weight gain typically causes blood leptin levels to increase, and weight loss typically results in decreased levels. But this is not the case with leptin resistance, which may contribute to a vicious cycle of weight gain. Someone who is resistant to leptin is not sensitive enough to the hormones signals. Being leptin resistant can mean that someone requires more food than necessary to feel full or satiated, due to the brain not receiving the message that enough food has already been eaten.
Leptin resistance is a difficult phenomenon to treat, mainly because the human body seems to want to hold onto excess body fat more than it wants to lose it. Its now believed that a major protective role of leptin is to defend against reductions of body fat that might cause a threat to survival and future reproduction.
Also Check: Does Nugenix Have An Estrogen Blocker
Now The Good News: You Can Reset Your Leptin Sensitivity
Armed with this knowledge, sensitizing your body to leptin once again is within your power!
The Bulletproof Diet is designed to keep inflammation and triglycerides low by limiting fructose, eliminating toxins, and reducing food rewards and cravings, all of which reset leptin levels and allow for effortless weight loss. Leptin levels also drop during short term fasting and return to normal after eating, making it one reason that Bulletproof Intermittent Fasting is a painless but powerful way to retain leptin sensitivity.
Here are some more key hacks:
If you are leptin resistant, add 28-50 grams of Upgraded Collagen to your Bulletproof Coffee in the morning for 30-60 days.
- Consume healthy fats and protein in the morning to create building blocks for your hormones.
Use Bulletproof Intermittent Fasting sparingly until your leptin sensitivity has returned
- Eliminate fructose and sugar of any kind from your diet
- Eliminate refined or processed foods
Avoid high lectin foods in the Bulletproof Diet I presented evidence that lectins from food can cause leptin resistance!
Have You Tried Everything And Are Still Struggling To Get Rid Of Belly Bulge It Turns Out Your Hormones May Be The Answer Find Out Why A Hormonal Imbalance Can Cause You To Hold Onto Fat In Unexpected Places And How To Get Rid Of Hormonal Belly Today
Unexplained weight gain can be frustrating, especially when you feel like youre doing all the right things. Sometimes, though, a sudden belly bulge or stubborn abdominal weight you cant seem to lose is a sign of something deeper going on with your hormones. Your hormones actually play a big part in regulating metabolism, hunger, fullness, and energy. And because your hormones are always talking to each other, they form a tangled web of communication to keep your body regulated.
A number of hormone-related conditions can cause abdominal weight gain including an underactive thyroid, polycystic ovary syndrome , or menopause. Outside of specific conditions, general hormone imbalances, which can be the result of obesity, environmental triggers and toxins, chronic stress, or medications, may also be at the root of your resistant hormonal belly fat. If you think youre dealing with a hormonal belly, here are a few signs to look for.
Also Check: Does Blue Cross Blue Shield Cover Testosterone Therapy
What Is A Hormonal Belly
Hormonal belly is a common slang term used by both men, women, and their doctors to describe the build-up of fat around the abdominal area. The build-up typically occurs around or after age 50. While excess fat accumulates all over the body, hormonal imbalances, cause excess fat to deposit itself around the abdominal area.
The human body accumulates fat when food intake exceeds the normal requirements needed for survival. Generally, fat is stored in cells for later use in producing energy. There are two different types of fat stored called subcutaneous and visceral fat. The predominant fat is subcutaneous. It accounts for about 90 percent of body fat and is stored just below the skin.
The remaining 10 percent is called visceral fat and is stored in and around the abdomen and its internal organs. Research indicates that almost all fat cells are biologically active and secrete small amounts of hormones, including insulin. Visceral fat seems to be more hormonally active than subcutaneous fat. It increases inflammation processes and activity throughout the body.
As such, the hormonal activity of visceral fat is strongly linked to various diseases. Especially including diabetes, as well as increased insulin resistance and mortality.
Learn To Manage Stress
Stress can wreak havoc on your hormones. Two major hormones affected by stress are cortisol and adrenaline, which is also called epinephrine.
Cortisol is known as the stress hormone because it helps your body cope with stress over the long term.
Adrenaline is the fight-or-flight hormone that provides your body with a surge of energy to respond to immediate danger.
However, unlike hundreds of years ago when these hormones were mainly triggered by threats from predators, today theyre usually triggered by peoples busy, often overwhelming lifestyles.
Unfortunately, chronic stress causes cortisol levels to remain elevated, which can lead to excessive calorie intake and obesity, including increased belly fat (
37 ).
A 2005 review of studies found that massage therapy not only reduced cortisol levels by an average of 31%, but also increased levels of the mood-boosting hormone serotonin by 28% and dopamine by 31%, on average .
Try to devote at least 1015 minutes per day to stress-reducing activities, even if you dont feel you have the time.
Summary:
Engaging in stress-reduction behaviors like meditation, yoga, massage and listening to soothing music can help normalize your levels of the stress hormone cortisol.
You May Like: Estrogen Liquid
Engage In Regular Exercise
Physical activity can strongly influence hormonal health. A major benefit of exercise is its ability to reduce insulin levels and increase insulin sensitivity.
Insulin is a hormone that has several functions. One is allowing cells to take up sugar and amino acids from the bloodstream, which are then used for energy and maintaining muscle.
However, a little insulin goes a long way. Too much can be downright dangerous.
High insulin levels have been linked to inflammation, heart disease, diabetes and cancer. Whats more, they are connected to insulin resistance, a condition in which your cells dont respond properly to insulins signals .
Many types of physical activity have been found to increase insulin sensitivity and reduce insulin levels, including aerobic exercise, strength training and endurance exercise (
18 ).
For people who are unable to perform vigorous exercise, even regular walking may increase these hormone levels, potentially improving strength and quality of life .
Although a combination of resistance and aerobic training seems to provide the best results, engaging in any type of physical activity on a regular basis is beneficial.
Summary:
Performing strength training, aerobics, walking or other forms of physical activity can modify hormone levels in a way that reduces the risk of disease and protects muscle mass during the aging process.
What Causes Leptin Resistance
Leptin resistance usually develops over time due to three primary factors: too little sleep, too much stress and too much of the wrong foods. Other factors that can contribute to its development include:
- Overeating
- Too much sugar, especially high-fructose corn syrup
- Toxin overload
- High stress
- Yo-yo dieting
- Too little sun or time spent outdoors
- Too little or too much exercise
- Excessive snacking, especially late-night snacking and snacking on high-fructose, simple carbohydrate, overly processed foods
These factors can damage your endocrine system and metabolic function, leading to leptin resistance. Unfortunately, the very factors that contribute to developing leptin resistances can increase and become symptoms of leptin resistance e.g., overeating leads to leptin resistance, then leptin resistances triggers overeating.
Don’t Miss: Does Nugenix Have An Estrogen Blocker
How Does Estrogen Impact Weight Gain
Produced within the ovaries, estrogen is responsible for optimal functioning of all female reproductive organs. Estrogen promotes the storage of fat for healthy reproductive years. When estrogen is balanced, the right amount of fat helps carry out female reproductive functions. However, when theres too little or too much estrogen, weight gain often results.
Overweight women typically have high amounts of estrogen, as do women in the first half of pregnancy. Then theres perimenopause and menopause, which are characterized by a notable decrease in estrogen. Its during this time that some women opt for hormone replacement therapy to replace declining estrogen levels.
Understand How Insulin Impacts Weight
Insulin is one of the most important hormones when it comes to weight loss and weight gain. Made by the pancreas, insulin is responsible for storing blood sugar, or utilizing it, depending upon your bodys needs of the moment. After you eat a large meal, a substantial amount of insulin releases itself into the bloodstream. It also enters the bloodstream as needed throughout the day, ensuring that blood sugar levels remain stable.
Another key function of this essential hormone is fat storage. Insulin decides how much fat to store, and how much to convert for energy expenditure. Chronically high levels of insulin can lead to a condition known as insulin resistance, which is linked to an uptick in blood sugar as well as continued elevated insulin levels.
Preventing this insulin imbalance is crucial, as it leads to weight gain, and eventually type 2 diabetes. When insulin levels remain high over an extended period of time, obesity and metabolic syndrome are often the unfortunate outcome.
Don’t Miss: Does Kaiser Cover Hormone Replacement Therapy