Eat Good Fats To Balance Your Hormones
In moderation, fats are essential building blocks for your hormones, and its important to get the right amount but also the right kinds of fat.
Unlike highly refined oil such as rapeseed, canola, soya and/or sunflower oil which generally have an inflammatory effect on the body, unrefined saturated fats are building blocks for creating hormones and are therefore important for maintaining hormonal balance.
- Should make up 33% of total fat intake
- Good sources
- Grass-fed red meat, dairy, game, nuts, ghee and coconut oil
Cholesterol
While cholesterol has been, and often continues to be vilified due to its assumed damaging effect on cardiovascular health, cholesterol is essential to brain function and hormonal balance.
Researchers looking at the genetic disorder SLOS, in which children dont produce adequate amounts of cholesterol, note that many of these children have behavioural issues, social problems, anxiety, autism, learning difficulties, etc. Dr. Kurt Woeller speaking at the Integrative Medicine for Mental Health conference in 2017, Washington D.C
Polyunsaturated fats
Essential Fatty Acids
Why Should I Buy A
You can tell if you need or want a supplements to balance hormones by looking at your existing inventory. You probably dont need it and should reconsider buying it. If you cant get go of the old one, you could sell it and use the proceeds to buy the new one.This is a fun and easy approach to finish your task.
Final Thoughts
Lets face it, we all want to feel good about our purchases. But there are so many! How can you know which is best? You need not be concerned because Aids Quilt has your back. Our trained staff is here to help you find what works for you. Before making a final decision, you can take advantage of our free consultations. Let us show you how easy shopping for home audio equipment can be when you have an expert on your side!
How Do You Get More Probiotics
To boost your intake of probiotics, add probiotic-rich foods to your daily diet.Foods that are good sources for probiotics include yogurt, keifr, kimchi, fermented sauerkraut and other fermented vegetables, and kombucha.
Taking a probiotic supplement is another easy way to replenish your good gut flora on a daily basis. Look for a high quality probiotics supplementthat includes multiple strains of probiotics to help diversity and strengthen your gut health.
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How Much Should You Take
Because there are no clear Recommended Daily Allowances for many of the active ingredients used in hormone balance supplements, you should always take the recommended dosage. When addressing a hormonal imbalance, the last thing you need is to overcorrect and get a different type of imbalance, so make sure not to overdo it.
Foods That Help Balance Hormones
Lets take a minute to talk about hormones. Hormones have been a big topic on The Skinny Confidential over the last few years. Lauryn has been very transparent about her post-pregnancy hormone imbalances & what she did to bring them back into balance. In fact, she did a solo podcast episode dedicated to just that. Listen here if you havent yet.
Before we dive deep, lets talk about what a hormone even is.
The scientific definition of hormones is that they are important chemical messengers in the body that effectively transfer signals & instructions from one set of cells to another. Most hormones circulate via the blood, thus coming into contact with all kinds of cells throughout the body. Hormones influence & regulate practically every cell, tissue, organ, & function of our bodies, including growth, development, metabolism, maintenance/balance of our internal environment , & sexual & reproductive function.
Now, dont get us wrong, hormones are natural & many of the hormones we produce actually do some pretty amazing & positive things for the body. Its just the whole keeping your hormones balanced thing thats the hard & confusing part.
The many different hormones that our bodies create directly contribute to our growth & development, metabolism, fertility, mood, menstrual cycle, appetite, & just like, so much more.
Problems stemming from hormone imbalances can include diabetes, infertility, acne, weight gain, weight loss, irritability, rashes, tiredness you get it.
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Correct Your Nutrition And Supplement To Balance Your Hormones
Consuming the right foods and beverages is fundamental to ensuring hormonal balance.
In order to produce the right amount of hormones, your body requires the correct foods and beverages to:
- Absorb the right macronutrients and micronutrients which are building blocks to healthy hormones Talbott, S. . The Cortisol Connection. Alameda, CA: Hunter House, p. 149.
- Improve your digestion and gut health so that you are absorbing the macro and micronutrients you are consuming
- Balance your blood sugar
- Maintain a healthy BMI of between 21 and 25 Gottfried, S. . The Hormone Cure. New York, NY: Scribner, p. 172.
- Detoxify excess hormones and toxins
See correct your nutrition for general guidelines on eating for optimal mental health, which can also help to keep your hormones balanced.
Below are some specific nutritional guidelines for hormonal balance.
Balancing Your Hormone Levels
Along with taking vitamin supplements to help support your hormone cycles and offset some of the negative physical and mental symptoms of hormonal imbalances, there are other simple but effective things you can do to balance your hormone levels.
You can help regulate your hormone levels by:
- Drinking up to 2 litres of plain filtered water daily
- Being aware of the saturated and trans fats you are eating
- Reduce processed foods
- Limit sugar intake and refined carbohydrates
- Choose nutritious food, naturally rich in vitamin D, vitamin E, vitamin B6 and niacin
- Regularly exercising
- Getting adequate, good quality sleep
- Being aware of your stress triggers
- Avoiding under-eating or overeating by eating regularly and consciously
- Include omega 3- rich oily fish in your diet
- Include fibre-rich food in your disruptors diet such as whole wheat bread, peas, beans and pulses
- Eating sufficient protein such as eggs, fish, meat and nuts
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Key Hormones To Keep In Check
Cortisol
Cortisol, the primary stress hormone, increases sugars in the bloodstream, enhances your brains use of glucose, and increases the availability of substances that repair tissues. Cortisol also curbs functions that would be nonessential or detrimental in a fight-or-flight situation.
Insulin
Insulin is a hormone made by one of the bodys organs called the pancreas. Insulin helps your body turn blood sugar into energy. It also helps your body store it in your muscles, fat cells, and liver to use later, when your body needs it. After you eat, your blood sugar rises.
Thyroid-Stimulating Hormone
Thyroid hormones regulate both your bodys energy use and metabolism. Our bodies produce TSH in the pituitary gland.
If you often feel tired or sluggish, or if you witness changes in your metabolism, your thyroid might not function properly.
Estrogen
Estrogen grows the lining of your uterus to prepare it for conception .
But progesterone also has an important role to ensure that the lining remains there for roughly 14 days after ovulation in case you become pregnant.
Estrogen is a sex hormone responsible for the development and regulation of the female reproductive system and secondary sex characteristics.
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.
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Zinc For Hormonal Balance
Zinc is required for the conversion of T4 to T3, so a deficiency in the mineral can result in a thyroid hormone imbalance and symptoms of hypothyroidism.
Zinc is an adaptogen for several key hormones, helping to rebalance inadequate or excess cortisol, estrogen and progesterone in women. Zinc also reduces inflammation, providing support for healthy hormone production. Foods rich in zinc include meat, shellfish, chickpeas and other legumes, and pumpkin and sesame seeds.
To supplement your zinc levels, look for a high quality multivitamin that offers zinc in the highly absorbable form of zinc amino acid chelate.
Magnesium For Good Hormonal Health
Magnesium, found in greens, nuts, beans and wholegrains, is a bit of a PMS superstar. A 2010 study by researchers at the Isfahan University of Medical Sciences in Iran found that taking a supplement of 300mg of magnesium can help ease PMS, when itâs taken alongside vitamin B6.
Itâs thought magnesium has a relaxing effect on the muscles which can help soothe symptoms like cramps and breast tenderness.
Unfortunately, itâs very common to have a magnesium deficiency without realising. One reason is that a boozy or stressful lifestyle, strenuous exercise and overdoing it on the caffeine are all linked to reduced absorption of the mineral. Pregnancy, insulin resistance, heavy periods and HRT can also lead to magnesium deficiency.
Absorption of magnesium also depends on other nutrients â if youâre low in B6 or vitamin D, or you take too much vitamin D or calcium, for example, you may be upsetting the delicate balance of magnesium in your body.
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How To Treat Pcos
PCOS is very treatable and supplements can play an important role in your treatment plan by filling in nutritional or mineral differences. But supplements wont work alone, for them to have the biggest impact, its important that you also focus on real dietary and lifestyle changes. Fundamental lifestyle issues such as managing diet, sleep and stress levels, getting enough exercise, and improving gut health should all be addressed as they will have the biggest impact.
Ultimately, to treat PCOS you need to address the root cause. Medications may mask symptoms but PCOS is a complex hormone disorder and treatment will be highly specific due to the role genetics, behavior, lifestyle, and environment all play. Because the condition can look so different from one woman to the next, no two treatment plans will be the same. Treatment must address a variety of factors with the end goal of regulating hormonal imbalances. When it comes to managing PCOS, any treatment plan should focus on managing your individual concerns like infertility, hirsutism, and acne among others.
Because ovulation issues and irregular periods are a hallmark of PCOS, its important to track your cycle and ovulation especially if you plan to get pregnant at some point. Hormonal imbalances mean ovulation may not always take place and levels may not follow predictable patterns making it a challenge to track.
How B6 Beats Pms
Tearful before your period arrives? A study by Keele University found taking 50mg of vitamin B6 once or twice a day could help soothe PMS-related mood dips, along with other symptoms.
The vitamin, also known as pyridoxine, probably helps because it has a role in producing the chemical messengers that carry information between brain cells, including âfeel goodâ serotonin.
Healthy food sources of vitamin B6 include porridge oats, brown rice, eggs and soya beans.
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Breakdown Of The B Vitamins + What Each Does
If youve taken a B-vitamin complex or supplement in the past, you may have noticed there are multiple B-vitamins ranging from B-1 B-12. Heres a quick breakdown of what each form does:
+ B-1 Thiamin, involved in energy metabolism
+ B-2 Riboflavin, converts food into energy/fuel for the body to use
+ B-3 Niacin, lowers cholesterol, boosts brain function, converts fat into ketones
+ B-5 Pantothenic Acid, makes red blood cells, increases progesterone, supports adrenal glands
+ B-6 Pyrodoxine, necessary for brain development, building block of feel-good hormone serotonin + norepinephrine
+ B-7 Biotin, supports healthy metabolism, creates important enzymes that strengthen hair, skin, nails
+ B-9 Folate or folic acid, essential for a healthy pregnancy + methylation, an important biochemical process that helps in every tissue and cell to help us detoxify + work efficiently
+ B-12 Cobalamin, makes DNA, keeps nerves + blood cells healthy
As you can see, B Vitamins play a lot of different important roles within our bodies and as it relates to hormones, so its important were getting enough of this nutrient AND able to absorb it effectively.
How Do Vitamins Affect Your Hormones And Mood
We all experience feelings of nervousness, anxiety and apprehension. Some of us will even struggle with conditions such as depression at some point in our lives. While fluctuating emotions are part of being human, sometimes they can be heavily influenced by whats going on inside of our bodies, not just our minds.
Hormones play a key role in the emotional state of both men and women, but as women we are more likely to experience extreme and sudden changes in mood as a result of our hormones, mainly due to the monthly cycle and changing levels of progesterone and estrogen.
Imbalances in hormones can affect our physical health, as well as our mental health. The hormonal shifts caused by the menstrual cycle, the menopause and pregnancy, can lead to irritability, lethargy, cravings and more for many women. A decrease in testosterone levels that typically occur in men in their 50s, can cause hair loss, weight gain and lethargy. In both sexes, imbalances of certain hormones can lead to thyroid problems and diabetes.
The good news is that with the right nutrition, vitamins and lifestyle, we can help support and regulate our hormones, thereby lessening some of the unwanted physical and mental symptoms of hormonal imbalances.
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Hormones And Your Health
Hormones are chemical messengers that help your cells communicate and trigger various actions. Theyre the bedrock of your bodys endocrine system, which regulates growth, reproduction, metabolism, temperature, and even your mood.
Hormones and the endocrine system keep your body in a balanced state of homeostasis. Therefore, having a hormonal imbalance too little or too much of a certain hormone can have harmful side effects.
Oxidative stress, infertility, and endocrine disorders like thyroid disease are just a few conditions that can result from hormonal imbalances (
13 ).
Whats more, Nigella sativa extract exhibits estrogenic activity, meaning it acts similarly to the hormone estrogen in your body .
In fact, some studies in rats are exploring whether nigella seed extracts could be an alternative to hormone replacement therapy during menopause, a time when the body typically produces less estrogen than it used to .
Concentrated Nigella sativa supplements are becoming increasingly popular and sometimes marketed as black seed or black cumin seed. Whole nigella seeds have an herby aroma and are easy to add to bread, salads, and other dishes .
Still, keep in mind that most studies on nigella seeds and hormones were conducted in animals and used concentrated extracts or isolated thymoquinone. Thus, while using whole seeds in cooking can be healthy and delicious, it may not confer the same benefits.
Maintain A Healthy Weight
Balancing hormones is so much easier if you are at a healthy weight. This is because being overweight may cause disruptions to your insulin, leptin, ghrelin, cortisol, and estrogen levels. And when these hormones are out of balance, its common to experience feelings of fatigue, low energy, and increased appetite all of which contribute to further weight gain.
Breaking this vicious cycle is not easy, however, there are certain lifestyle habits you can make each day that may help. This includes:
- Doing at least 20-30 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic activity each day.
- Drinking plenty of water.
- Planning healthy meals ahead of time.
- Joining a weight-loss support group.
- Speaking with your doctor, nutritionist, and/or fitness trainer for further assistance.
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Underlying Causes Of Hormonal Imbalances
Hormone imbalances often develop during hormonally active times in a womans life: pregnancy and after childbirth and during perimenopause and menopause. When hormone levels rapidly shift during these life transitions, there is a simply a greater chance for something to go haywire.
Hormonal imbalances can also be the result of an underlying health condition like PCOS , endometriosis, adrenal fatigue or hypothyroidism . At any point in your life, however, the bodys ability to maintain hormonal balance can be swayed by the foods you eat, the amount of sleep you get, exposure to toxins, and how much stress you have in your life.
Combine Vitamins For Strong Effects
Each vitamin has a unique mechanism of action. Because all vitamins work in different ways, you can get additive or even synergistic effects by combining them. However, two vitamins can compete with each other as well. This competition may cause them to block each other.
These three possible outcomes â additive, synergistic and competitive â make it difficult to predict the net effect of combining vitamins. Pairing vitamins also increases your risk of side effects. Nonetheless, combining vitamins can ultimately produce reliable effects. A 2012 report in Calcified Tissue International explored this possibility by giving vitamin D and vitamin K to postmenopausal women.
These researchers used enriched dairy products to deliver a mixture of vitamins and minerals including vitamin D, vitamin K and calcium. Subjects received daily doses of the mixture for a year. Compared to a control group, women taking the combination showed an increase in IGF levels. This treatment also increased anabolic markers like bone mineral density.
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