Regular Activity To Manage Excess Hormones
Another natural way to balance your menopausal hormones is to ensure you exercise regularly.
Exercise is like a kickstart to your endocrine system. Regular exercise helps stimulate hormone production by managing insulin, lowering cortisol and increasing serotonin.
When you exercise, your body is energised and stimulated to regulate hormone levels naturally. Exercising every day is proven to help lower your stress levels by stopping the production of cortisol. With less cortisol in your system, your body can produce more other hormones.
This 2019 study found that not only does daily exercise help balance hormones, it can also help improve the muscle mass of menopausal women who are losing muscle tone.
Furthermore, exercise helps increase levels of serotonin, the feel-good hormone. When this hormone is elevated, your body works extra hard to regulate other hormones to keep more serotonin in your system, leading to better hormone management.
The result is balanced hormones leading to less weight gain, fewer mood swings and increased sex drive. If menopausal weight gain is a concern, you can find out more about losing weight during menopause in this article.
When You Get Started Today
When you start your 21-Day Metabolic Reset today, youll also get 3 bonuses at no cost!
Ill include my ABS360 workout program with short, effective 4-minute ab routines that will help you get a rock solid core in no time.
Youll also get RECOVER360. These are the mobility and recovery routines you can follow to help ease away soreness after your workout is over.
And, youll get my 5-Minute Fix! These 5-minute workouts are perfect if youre in a hurry or you just dont have time to workout!
Natural Solutions For Dryness
At menopause, vaginal blood flow falls. Dryness and irritation can occur, and bacteria infections that pass to the urinary tract are more likely.
What is to be done? First of all, even after the ovaries stop, the adrenal glands and the fat tissue continue to contribute to estrogen production after menopause. In addition, phytoestrogens in plants provide weak estrogen effects. Soy products, such as tofu, tempeh, and miso, contain huge amounts of these natural compounds.
The plant-derived estrogen and progesterone creams described above can be helpful. Used on a regular basis, these creams maintain a moist vaginal lining. However, please note that they should not be used as a sexual lubricant. Estrogen cream is a medication, not a lubricant, and it goes through any skin it touches, including mens. Many women prefer to avoid hormone creams entirely and use ordinary lubricants or moisturizers instead.
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Mistake #: Avoiding Strength Training
When you start your 21-Day Metabolic Reset, Im going to ask you to pick up a pair of dumbbells and lift.
Its strength training or resistance training.
This part is important: I am NOT asking you to get big and bulky like a bodybuilder.
What were going to do is get strong.
A common question I hear often is: Hey Susan, How do I speed up my metabolism?
Lots of people think the answer is more long cardio or longer workouts.
But thats TOTALLY not the case.
My answer: Get strong.
Getting strong increases your Resting Metabolic Rate or RMR because muscle burns calories at rest.
Im not saying you have to be ripped like a bodybuilder. All were talking about is adding just a little bit of firm muscle tone distributed all over your body.
Just a little bit of muscle will help burn up more calories all the time .
That muscle will help you get firm everywhere and it will increase RMR .
Moral of the story? Just a little bit of muscle can help crank up the burn by quite a bit ! So, dont avoid strength training!
Use Certain Essential Oils
To balance your hormones naturally, its important that you eliminate toxins in your body by avoiding conventional body care products that are made with potentially harmful chemicals, including DEA, parabens, propylene glycol and sodium lauryl sulfate. A better alternative is to use natural products made with ingredients like essential oils, coconut oil, shea butter and castor oil.
The Environmental Working Group evaluated tens of thousands of products and ranked them in an easy-to-understand guide to make sure you have a resource to keep your family safe. Check out EWGs Skin Deep Cosmetic Database today for recommendations for which products to use and avoid.
To replace toxic body care and cleaning products, use these hormone-balancing essential oils:
Clary Sage
Clary sage helps balance estrogen levels because it contains natural phytoestrogens. It can be used to regulate your menstrual cycle, relieve PMS symptoms, treat infertility and PCOS, and even reduce the chances of uterine and ovarian cancer.
It also serves as a natural remedy for emotional imbalances, like depression and anxiety. Diffuse three to five drops of clary sage to help balance hormone levels and relieve stress.
To ease cramps and pain, massage five drops of clary sage with five drops of coconut oil into your stomach and any other area of concern.
Fennel
You can rub two drops of fennel into your stomach or add one to two drops to a class of warm water or tea to take it internally.
Lavender
Sandalwood
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Hormone Balancing Tip #: Consider Supplementing
The above suggestions will go a long way to improving your body’s 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.
Here at Nourished, we have created a high quality all round vitamin to support your hormonal health. Our Period Repair + Regulate vitamin is designed to support your period throughout your cycle.
All of our vitamins are 100% natural and FDA approved. We offer free global shipping on any order size, so give it a try.
Balance Blood Sugar To Feel Balanced Overall
Increased abdominal fat and weight gain, experienced by nearly 90 percent of women during menopause, are often directly connected to blood sugar imbalances.
The number 1 issue? Insulin resistance.
Your blood sugar levels are responsible for giving you stable energy and a feeling of overall body balance throughout the day.
Roller coaster-like blood sugar levels, on the other hand, bring about many of the same symptoms associated with menopause.
Insulin Resistance 101
Insulin is a hormone that is responsible for controlling your blood sugar balance, acting like a director for how your body uses the food you eat.
Insulin ensures that the just right amount of glucose and energy is in your blood at any one time.
However, if we have too much insulin circulating in the body at once , fat storage and menopause-like symptoms of blood sugar imbalances are common byproducts.
How does insulin resistance happen in the first place?
Imbalanced nutrition, poor gut health and elevated cortisol levels.
You dont necessarily need to be eating Hersheys candy bars or donuts every day for breakfast to experience insulin resistance. Insulin resistance can happen when:
The bottom line: Insulin resistance and blood sugar imbalances are common during the menopausal years. This is primarily because your body is more sensitive to the impacts of stress.
The GOOD news?
You can positively impact and support healthy blood sugar levels with these Do-Now Action Steps:
Also Check: How To Lose Weight If Your Hormones Are Imbalanced
Getting Magnesium Calcium And Iron From Leafy Green Vegetables
Leafy green vegetables are a massive one stop shop for menopause friendly nutrients. By leafy greens, Im thinking things like spinach, rocket, watercress, and cabbage.
At a push, though not very leafy, broccoli is brilliant too. The reason for that is its a fabulous source of magnesium, which is my all-round favorite mineral.
Magnesium calms the nervous system which makes you more resilient, regulates the bodys response to stress so that youre better equipped to deal with the challenges of daily life.
It manages and supports the adrenals and also helps with tired aching muscles and that twitchy eyelid which is a classic sign of magnesium deficiency. You need magnesium for the absorption of calcium, which we need for strong bones.
Leafy greens are also a surprisingly good source of calcium, probably about twice as much per hundred grams as milk. They contain iron which is great for any perimenopausal women who perhaps are starting to have iron depletion.
A couple of handfuls of leafy greens every day and lots of protein would be a great way to start.
How To Balance Hormones And Reduce Menopause Symptoms
Hormone imbalance – specifically of the sex hormones estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone – is the main cause of menopause symptoms in women. During menopause, a woman’s levels of estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone fluctuate and then drastically decline. This decrease often causes a number of symptoms, including vaginal dryness, hot flashes, mood swings, and loss of libido. That being said, there are a number of ways to reduce menopausal symptoms.
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Can Natural Hormone Production Be Controlled
While declines in hormonal production are inevitable during menopause, there are steps you can take to stem this process’ worst effects. The first and most highly recommended by the experts is lifestyle changes. Simply exercising more and eating healthier foods can do much for the body’s natural production of hormones. Additionally, high stress levels are thought to hamper hormonal production, meaning that stress-relieving activities can have a real impact on stemming hormonal imbalance during menopause.
Many medical professionals also recommend the use of alternative medicines in addition to lifestyle changes to correct hormonal imbalance. These medicines include estrogenic herbs and non-estrogenic herbs. Estrogenic herbs contain phytoestrogens, natural plant compounds thought to mimic estrogen in the human body, thus offsetting declining levels. Hormone-regulating supplements are thought to boost the body’s natural production of hormones.
When herbal remedies are not effective however, drugs and surgery can be an option, though these come with many risks. If you find that your efforts to curb your menopause symptoms are not working, speak with a medical professional about your options.
Meet Susan Ohtake Certified Personal Trainer
Hey there!
My name is Susan Ohtake. I’m an ISSA Certified Personal Trainer, but I’m also an over-40 working mom with an insane schedule and hardly any “me” time. That’s why I created Burn360 — to help busy women get lean, fit, and strong the fastest way possible!
Burn360 workouts and my 21-Day Metabolic Reset use a combination of High Intensity Interval Training principles, resistance training with dumbbells, and multi-muscle combination moves to help activate post-workout afterburn and turn up the anti-age and fat burning hormones.
I call this type of training High Intensity Resistance Interval Training !
Because Burn360 workouts use total body exercises that recruit multiple muscle groups at once, you dont need to spend a lot of time working out to get serious results!
What I love about these workouts is that you can do them practically anywhere. No gym required! Plus, every exercise and workout can be modified to match any fitness level!
If youre ready to turn up the burn with shorter, more effective workouts, join me for my 21-Day Metabolic Reset!
I cant wait to see you inside!
Susan
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What Causes Hormonal Imbalances
Throughout your life and even throughout the day your hormone levels naturally rise and fall.
Certain periods of life cause more dramatic changes and fluctuations in hormones, including:
However, there are several other reasons why your hormone levels may be irregular at unexpected times. Some of the most common causes of fluctuating or imbalanced hormone levels include:
- Certain medications.
These hormonal imbalances are more likely to be temporary or fixable with a change in medication or properly managing stress.
Chronic hormone-related conditions can have several different possible causes. In general, the main conditions or situations that cause medically significant hormone imbalances include:
Tumors, adenomas and growths
Any kind of growth on a gland or organ that produces hormones, such as a tumor, adenoma or nodule, could affect its ability to do so.
Tumors
Rare endocrine tumors form in glands or in cells that produce hormones and can cause hormone imbalances. Some of the rare endocrine tumors include:
Adenomas
An adenoma is a benign tumor. Many adenomas are nonfunctioning, meaning they dont produce hormones. But some can produce excess hormones. These are called functioning adenomas. Adenomas that affect your endocrine system and cause hormone imbalances include:
Other growths
Damage or injury to an endocrine gland
Autoimmune conditions
Not All Probiotics Are Equal Are You Taking The Right Ones For Weight Management
Theres a unique strain of probiotics that have been clinically studied to ease cravings, boost metabolism, manage calorie absorption and break down fat cells
They are called Thermogenic Probiotics.
Here at Better Body Co., we decided to dig deep into the clinical research of thermogenic probiotics to discover the best strains for women struggling with menopausal symptoms.
We found three strains that stood out against all others:
Strain #1: L. Gasseri
First, we stumbled upon a thermogenic strain called L.Gasseri studied for its ability to help reduce fat reduction around the midsection and prevent menopausal belly fat from accumulating.
In fact, in a controlled, double-blind clinical study, adults saw an 11.5% loss of body fat, after consuming the strains for 12 weeks.
Strain #2: B. Breve
Second, we discovered a clinical study on pre-obesity subjects revealed daily doses of the thermogenic probiotic strain called B. Breve can help increase muscle mass, naturally boosting metabolism.
As women enter middle age and their muscle mass declines, affecting their ability to burn more calories, B. Breve might be just what they need to re-ignite their fat-burning abilities and have an easier time shedding any unwanted weight.
Strain #3: B. Lactis
Finally, we found a thermogenic probiotic strain called B. Lactis thats been studied for its ability to help manage a healthy body mass index.
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Hormone Imbalance & Menopause Are Normal
First things first, we need to redefine what normal hormone balance and imbalance means.
After all, hormonal imbalances are not always abnormal particularly for women during transitional times in their age, health and body.
For example, the first signs of normal hormone imbalance for women typically occur during the adolescent or teen years.
The woman is somewhere between ages 11 and 16, with the onset of Red Tide and an increase in estrogen levels around that time of the month.
From then on, other notable times of normal hormonal imbalances in a womans life include: Pregnancy, post-partum, peri-menopause and menopause.
During the menopausal years, the production of estrogen, progesterone and testosterone naturally decrease.
This is a normal hormonal imbalance that comes as a right of passage with age.
Concurrently during these years, a womans metabolic rate and bone density naturally decrease and body fat naturally increases .
Tips To Balance Your Hormones:
Here are 12 key strategies to help reduce estrogen dominance balance your hormones. This is a great place to begin when it comes to improving your health.
If after 3-4 months you are not seeing the progress and changes you want than you should consider working with a functional health practitioner so they can do some detailed lab work with you and figure out a customized treatment plan to address your unique challenges.
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Increased Risk Of Sleep Apnea
The risk of obstructive sleep apnea increases in women during and after menopause. Obstructive sleep apnea is a serious condition that causes people to stop breathing repeatedly during sleep. OSA occurs when muscles in the throat relax and block the airway during sleep. People who have this type of sleep apnea often snore. Researchers who performed one study found that perimenopausal and postmenopausal women who had lower estrogen levels were more likely to suffer from obstructive sleep apnea than women who had higher estrogen levels. More studies are needed, but women who feel tired or who have unrefreshing sleep should see their doctors to assess hormone levels and discuss risk factors and testing for sleep apnea.
Overview Of Water Regulation
Water is the largest component of the human body representing 60% to 70% of a healthy, young individuals body weight. In a 60-kg healthy PM woman, in whom lean mass is reduced, approximately 33 to 34 L of body is composed of water, or about 55%. Of the bodys water, approximately 65% is contained in the cells , and approximately 5% of the remaining extracellular water is in the bloodstream . It is this small percentage of water that is used by the bodys fluid regulatory and cardiovascular systems to control fluid intake and output, thirst, and blood pressure.
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Support The Adrenal System With Herbs Roots And More
Consider a hormone balancing diet that includes naturally calming herbs, adaptogen mushrooms, and relaxing root extracts. Some options:
- Licorice root: could help manage cortisol.
- Curcumin: one of the benefits of turmeric is that it may lower anxiety and treat depression.
- Valerian root: a natural sleep and relaxation aid.
- Reishi and Cordyceps mushrooms: both adaptogens that naturally manage stress and energy expenditure.
- Rhodiola: An adaptogenic herb that may reduce cortisol levels.
- Ashwagandha: another adaptogenic herb with calming effects.
- Holy basil leaf: not the regular basil, also known as tulsi or Ocimum sanctum L its been linked to neuroprotective, cognition-enhancing and stress-relieving effects
Our Tip: Try Organifi Gold a maximum strength turmeric tea, featuring Reishi mushroom benefits, and lemon balm the calming herb among other seven relaxing superfoods, to balance hormones naturally.