How to Support Your Hormones Naturally
I’ve always thought that not enough emphasis is placed on the role that hormones play on a day-to-day basis. In my opinion, they control almost everything we do throughout our entire lives! Hungry? Hormones. Happy? Hormones. Libido? Yep you guessed it – hormones.
Nearly everyone experiences periods of hormonal imbalance throughout their lives, and many people struggle on an ongoing basis to regulate their hormones (I’m sure every single one of you knows at least 1 person who has PCOS or endometriosis). With hormones controlling our growth, repair and reproduction, it is incredibly important to do what we can to support them.
Luckily, there is lots of research being done in this area, so we now have quite a good idea of how we can naturally support our hormones. Let’s take a look!
Get a daily dose of seeds
Seeds contain specific nutrients and fatty acids that are believed to support hormonal function. Some of my favourites to include in your diet are:
Sunflower Seeds: These have high levels of Vitamin E, an important antioxidant for estrogen production. As well as this, sunflower seeds also help boost progesterone levels.
Flax Seeds: These magic seeds are, in short, an estrogen adaptogen. This means they can act as an estrogen amplifier or blocker, depending on what your body needs. They’re able to do this as they are high in lignans – look it up, it’s fascinating stuff!
Pumpkin Seeds: These are a great source of magnesium. Magnesium supports the adrenal glands and lowers the levels of stress in our bodies.
Hemp seeds: These contain good amounts of GLAs and fatty acids, which help alleviate symptoms of PMS and balance hormone levels.
Consume mushrooms
Mushrooms have been used for centuries all over the world because of their powerful healing benefits. They can help balance hormones, remove toxins and reduce the levels of stress in the body. Reishi mushrooms are especially great for hormonal issues as they aid with the removal of harmful toxins from the body, and provide much-needed support for your adrenals. Maitake is another great mushroom for balancing hormones, and it has been shown to be useful by improving insulin sensitivity.
Avoid refined carbs
Food plays a huge role in balancing the body’s hormones. Diets which have high levels of refined carbs (I’m talking white bread, chips etc.) tend to increase insulin resistance. Conversely, consuming a moderate carb diet based on whole foods can lower insulin levels in people who are overweight, and also help insulin resistant conditions such as PCOS. Consuming refined carbs causes a spike in blood sugars, which the body reacts to by creating a stress response. As always, make sure you’re eating a whole-foods diet – it’s the best rule of thumb!
Boost your healthy fats
Consuming healthy fats is a great way to support your natural hormone function. Healthy fats also trigger the release of hormones that help give you that satiated, full feeling. When I talk about healthy fats I’m talking about things like avocados, almonds and olive oil. These kinds of fats have been found to increase insulin sensitivity. Why else do we love healthy fats? Well, they have also been found to balance blood sugar levels , assist the nervous system and fight inflammation in the body.
Eat intuitively
I love intuitive eating on so many levels. I think it’s the best self-care eating guideline that does wonders for healing and helping your relationship with food. Don’t believe me? Intuitive eating is supported by over 100 studies. It helps you connect with your body and determine when it is that you are truly hungry. And when it comes down to it, your body knows exactly how much you want to eat, and lets you know what exactly you want to eat. Studies have shown that restricting calories and regular dieting actually cause your body to release cortisol, the stress hormone. Eating intuitively is an excellent way to balance the cortisol levels in your body, and allow your body to be exactly the way it is supposed to be.
Drink green teaGreen tea has to be one of the most-researched drinks of all time! There are 3 main reasons why I’m loving this drink:
Research suggests that drinking green tea can improve insulin sensitivity and balance your existing insulin levels.
Green tea also helps supply antioxidants to the body which reduces inflammation.
Green tea contains a compound called theanine, which reduces the release of cortisol.
Use your essential oils
We all know that I’m a huge fan of essential oils. I use them for all kinds of things – emotional support, physical support, cleaning, laundry, personal care. Believe me when I say “there’s an oil for everything!”. I’m also an incredible supporter of using essential oils to help support your hormones. There are several ways to do this – Young Living has a few specific blends targeted at balancing the body’s hormones. Two of these are Progessence Plus, which encourages your body’s optimal progesterone levels, and Endoflex, which can help support your endocrine system. You can also make use of oils such as Lavender and Stressaway to offer emotional support, once again reducing the risk of cortisol releases spiking a stress response in the body.
Include these magic foods
3 wholefoods that are great at supporting your hormones are broccoli, lentils and sweet potato. Broccoli (and the entire cruciferous family of veggies that it belongs to) is high in glucosinolates and isothiocyanates – while these words may not mean much to me or you, it means that they can helpneutralise carcinogens. Let’s look at lentils next. Lentils have extremely high levels of soluble fiber, which helps our body with the detoxification process. Sweet potatoes, already a staple in many households, are rich in vitamin B6, another vitamin that helps our liver to detoxify. This detoxification of the liver is important because it helps rid us of any additional hormones that are causing an imbalance. If you want to learn more about detoxifying foods, check out this article here.