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.
Use An Infrared Sauna:
Your skin is your largest organs and one of your most important detoxifying organs. Its way of detoxification is through sweating. While being outside on the summer heat is a great way to sweat, it is not the most effective. The sun is not available year-around and you have to be careful with the ultraviolet light and skin damage.
Infrared sauna, on the other hand, is a sauna that releases infrared light. Infrared light is safe and goes deeper into your body allowing to release fat-soluble toxins, lower toxic burdens, and even enhance internal detox pathways as well. Here is a helpful article on how to use an infrared sauna for detoxification.
Make Sure It Fits Your Needs
Before starting a keto plan, make sure that your doctor or nutritionist approves. The keto diet is not right for everyone, and most women of reproductive age need significantly more carbohydrates than keto has to offer.
Those most likely to benefit from keto include those who need to lose weight and those with insulin resistance, metabolic syndrome, type 2 diabetes, or neurodegenerative disorders or risk-factors for them .
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You’ve Put On Extra Pounds For No Apparent Reason
Lack of zzzs may be affecting your appetite hormones. A study published in Sleep found that after snoozing for only four hours a night, levels of glucagon-like peptide 1, a hormone that controls satiety, decreased in women. “When you don’t feel full, you tend to just keep eating,” says study author In fact, another of her studies showed that women down an average of 329 more calories on days they don’t get sufficient sleep.
Get back on track: Log adequate pillow timeseven to nine hours a night. And start your day with protein-packed eats to keep hunger hormones in check. Overweight women who ate an egg-and-beef-sausage breakfast consumed 135 fewer calories from evening snacks than those who started their day with a bowl of cereal that had the same number of calories, according to a study in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. The reason: A high-protein breakfast boosts levels of another satiety hormone, peptide YY, all day.
How To Balance Hormones Naturally
1. Swap Carbs for Healthy Fats
Foods that balance hormones include a variety of fat-containing foods that provide short, medium and long-chain fatty acids. Your body needs various types of fats to create hormones, including saturated fat and cholesterol.
Not only are these essential fats fundamental building blocks for hormone production, but they keep inflammation levels low, boost your metabolism and promote weight loss.
Healthy fats have the opposite effect of refined carbohydrates, which lead to inflammation and can mess with the balance of your hormones.
My four favorite sources of anti-inflammatory, healthy fats include:
- coconut oil, avocados, grass-fed butter and wild-caught salmon.
- Coconut oil uses are plentiful for example, coconut oil has natural anti-bacterial and fat-burning effects.
- Avocado benefits include improving heart health, lowering inflammation, controlling your appetite and contributing to your daily intake of fiber and nutrients such as potassium.
- Salmon nutrition is also impressive: its one of the best sources of omega-3 fatty acids, which are known to lower inflammation and help with cognitive functions. Omega-3 fatty acids are a large component of brain-cell membranes and are important for cell-to-cell communication in the brain. Research shows that omega-3 fatty acids help protect against hippocampal neuronal loss and reduce pro-inflammatory responses.
2. Supplement to Fill Nutritional Voids
3. Address Emotional Imbalances
6. Get More Sleep
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How Cortisol Affects Men’s Health
Your growth hormone level is inversely related to your level of cortisol, often thought of as the stress hormone — if youre working long hours, worrying about personal issues, and not following healthy habits, you might have high cortisol levels.
The higher your cortisol is, the lower your growth hormone levels will be, Romaniello explained. High cortisol levels can make you gain weight in the wrong places. Youll have guys not living their life in a healthy way, and theyll have too much stress hormone, which results in a lot of belly fat. Belly fat is among the unhealthiest kinds of fat in the body because it is linked to heart disease, diabetes, and certain cancers.
In addition to other lifestyle habits, how much sleep you get can affect your cortisol and growth hormone levels as well as testosterone levels. The less sleep you get, the higher your cortisol will be the more sleep you get, the lower your cortisol will be, said Romaniello.
Men need to be aggressive about getting enough sleep to keep hormones in balance and get quality REM sleep , during which your body secretes more growth hormone, Romaniello advised.
Learn How To Balance Your Unique Hormonal Imbalance Naturally
Balancing your hormones is a complicated process and takes time. It will often take up to 3 menstrual cyclesto fully experience the benefits of bringing your hormones back in to balance. Unfortunately, there isnt one quick fix or magic solution which will fix all of your period problems. Addressing diet, lifestyle, stress, exercise, mindset and emotional and spiritual health are the cornerstones to improving your hormone health.
In my 8 Week Hormone Harmony Digital CourseI teach the exact protocols that I use with clients to help them return to vibrant, balanced health. The protocols I teach are beyond the scope of this blog post and are aimed to educate and empower you to take control of your health. If you are truly ready to take back the reins on your hormonal health,learn more about Hormone Harmony Academy by signing up to my free Heal Your Cycle webinar and coming along live!
To get you started, Im sharing my top 6 tips to begin balancing your hormones naturally. These are a great place to start if you are new to hormonal imbalances, and will give you a taste of addressing your symptoms naturally.
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Avoid Falling For Sugar Cravings
That donut may look like it has your name on it, but the research shows that insulin resistance – a common side effect of diets high in sugar- is directly related to hot flashes and other menopause symptoms.
Our Tip: Find a low-sugar alternative to satisfy your sweet tooth, like fresh strawberries or bananas.
It Is All About The Hormones
Hormones are your bodys chemical messengers. They travel in your bloodstream to tissues and organs. They work slowly, over time, and affect many different processes, including metabolism, sexual function, reproduction, mood and much more.
Endocrine glands, which are special groups of cells, make hormones. The major endocrine glands are the pituitary, pineal, thymus, thyroid, adrenal glands and pancreas. In addition, men produce hormones in their testes and women produce them in their ovaries.
Hormones are produced in a complex process, but depend on beneficial fats and cholesterol, so lack of these important dietary factors can cause hormone problems simply because the body doesnt have the building blocks to make them. Toxins containing chemicals that mimic these building blocks or that mimic the hormones themselves are also problematic because the body can attempt to create hormones using the wrong building blocks. Mutant estrogen anyone?
Ive heard so many cases lately of people who have improved diet, started exercising, etc. but are still not losing weight or improving their health markers. After talking to many of these people, it seems that the factor they all have in common is an underlying problem with hormone balance.
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How Menopause Disturbs Our Hormone Balance
Wondering how hormones send their messages to different parts of the body? Heres a rundown of the process!
The whole process begins when hormone production takes place in your glands. Your hormones travel via your blood to the different cells and organs in your body. When they reach their destination, they knock on your cellsgatekeepers, called receptors, where they will relay their message.
If your receptors feel like your cells need them, they allow entry to dock into your cells, and they will turn on a specific function. This is how your hormones keep the body balanced. But
During menopause, your hormone production changes big time. In the early stages, your ovaries start to falter, but they will still produce normal amounts of estrogen. On the other hand, progesterone production reduces. This causes an imbalance called estrogen dominance where estrogen is higher relative to progesterone. In the later parts of menopause, you experience declining hormone levels, which can make you deficient.
As the receiving end, your receptors will accept whats coming to them. Excessive estrogen in your body will hyperactivate your organs and the lack of progesterone may affect some body functions. Hormone deficiencies on the other hand slows down the majority of your body functions and you may experience symptoms such as:
- Changes in your monthly periods
- Slow digestion
- Sluggish metabolism
Natural Ways To Boost Hypothalamus Function
The hypothalamus is an essential part of the human brain and is often considered the control center for most hormones. Its working relationship with the pituitary gland as well as the adrenal glands affects our nervous systems as well as our endocrine systems. But what does the hypothalamus do exactly? For starters, it plays a part in our calorie intake, weight regulation and body heat. Im sure youre starting to get the picture that, even if you werent already familiar with hypothalamus function, it clearly is important to human existence.
The hypothalamus is located deep within the brain, just above the base of the skull. Its main general function is to regulate homeostasis of our bodies. In other words, it helps keep the human body in a constant, steady state. When the hypothalamus doesnt function properly, this throws off the functioning of the pituitary gland. But it doesnt stop there because the pituitary gland controls the adrenal glands, ovaries, testes and thyroid gland. So when hypothalamus function isnt right, there are a lot of other things affected that are all vital to good health.
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Ways The Keto Diet Can Naturally Balance Your Hormones
If youre battling one of these three types of hormonal imbalances, the keto diet can help put things back in order.
Your body relies on a complex balance of hormones, and not just the reproductive kind. Aside from sex drive and fertility, hormones regulate blood sugar, stress levels, metabolism and other important aspects of your health.
When your hormones get kicked out of balance, the effects can be detrimental. One imbalanced set of hormones can offset the next, resulting in hormonal chaos that can be difficult to set right.
Curious about ketosis?
Fortunately, the keto diet might be able to provide a sturdy baseline for many hormones, particularly in the case of three major areas: insulin, PCOS, and menopause. Heres how it works.
What’s Within Our Control
Some hormones arent at all within our control. Sometimes theres nothing we can door not doto alter some of them. Sometimes thats goodsince many have to do with growth, development and large life changes. At other times, thats bad. For example, in type 1 diabetes, the pancreas can no longer make insulin and patients with diabetes have to inject it daily.
However, there are a lot of things we do every day that trigger our hormones.
Technically, we cant control hormones, but we can certainly do things to influence them, he notes. Foods we choose to eat or drink can cause our hormone levels to go up or down. Extra weight can also have a significant impact on the way hormones work.
Here are examples of how the level of some common hormones can make you feel and what you might do to change them:
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Healthy Fats And Fewer Carbs
One of the biggest things that can affect hormones in your diet. If you are eating too many carbohydrates it can actually deplete your hormones.
You should stick to healthy fats like avocados and egg yolks. These healthy fats will keep your metabolism going without making you feel sluggish. These healthy fats are essential building blocks for your hormones so you want to make sure youre paying attention to what you are eating.
Your Body Has Over 50 Hormones And They Are Constantly Fluctuating Here How To Keep Them From Getting Too Out Of Whack
With Barry Sears MD
Our hormones are responsible for essentially every function in our bodies. Hormones are chemicals secreted by our glands in order to send messages through the bloodstream. Those messages then tell our organs what to do to keep us alive and healthy.
When we think hormone, we usually think about the sex hormones testosterone or estrogen, but there are actually more than 50 different hormones circulating inside your body right now.
For example, your thyroid hormones oversee your metabolism, energy levels, and temperature, while cortisol, the stress hormone, plays a role in fetal development and your response to physical and psychological stress. From heart rate to appetite to sexual function, each and every hormone plays an important role.
When your hormones are balanced and working in sync, you wont notice them, of course, and thats a good thing. Its when theyre imbalanced that you could start seeing cascading health issues take over.
Hormonal imbalance stems from your body making too little or too much of a hormone or a series of hormones. There are many hormones, such as insulin or adrenaline, that everyone shares, but specific hormones can affect men and women in different ways. For example, women may see an imbalance in estrogen and progesterone levels, while men may experience an imbalance in testosterone.
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Get Quality Sleep Every Night
Lack of sleep puts undue stress on the body to increase cortisol and disrupts the hunger hormones leptin and ghrelin, which can cause poor appetite, food cravings, and overeating. Sleep loss also leads to imbalances in human growth hormone that can interfere with your metabolism, muscle growth, and glucose control. Aim to get at least 7 hours of sleep per night. Make sleep a top priority by creating changes to your sleep environment and lifestyle, as needed, to ensure quality sleep is a top priority.
But Don’t Eat Too Much Kale
Anfisa Kameneva/EyeEm/Getty Images
This might sound surprising, but Bartos recommends eating kale and other cruciferous vegetables in moderation. According to the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, kale and cruciferous vegetables contain goitrogens, which block iodine from entering the thyroid gland. The body needs iodine to make thyroid hormones to promote normal metabolism. If you eat enough iodine , then you probably won’t be affected by the goitrogens but if you have an iodine deficiency, or hypothyroidism, then you’ll be at risk of goiter .
Harvard’s School of Public Health recommends cooking cruciferous vegetables, which deactivates the enzyme that can cause the goitrogenic effect, and also consuming a wider variety of vegetables.
Don’t skip out on your kale salads, but that doesn’t mean you have to have 17 cups of kale a day, Bartos says. You can discuss with your doctor about any concerns with your cruciferous vegetable intake.
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Eat Leafy Greens And Root Vegetables
Cameron Whitman/Stocksy
These check the complex carbs box. “Increase leafy green vegetables and root vegetables,” Alisa Vitti, functional nutritionist, author, and founder of Flo Living. “Women often don’t get enough complex carbohydrates, and as a result, because they’re trying to diet all the time, it actually messes with their hormone levels.”
Your Endocrine Systemit’s Complicated
Your hormones are generated by your endocrine system, which is made up of glands and other parts of your body that make and release various hormones.
There are over 35 unique hormones and science knows much about these hormones and their actions, but we are still discovering so many things related to hormones. For example, we are still avidly researching the way our environment impacts our hormones, from substances in plastics , to flame retardants that are everywhere, in furniture, curtains, and carpets, says Dr. Dillard.
There can be many hormonal disruptors in our environment. Some hormones play more than one role, like players on a baseball team with assigned roles that back each other up in various situations.
Hormones, their interactions with cells, each other and our environment are complex and endocrinologists are hard at work researching and trying understand this complexity and how it impacts our health, he says. You might also compare hormones to instruments in an orchestra, playing different parts of a complicated piece, ideally in sync.
So, if hormones control so much, is there anything you can do to control your hormones?
Yes, no and it depends, says Dr. Dillard.
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