NATURAL WAYS TO EVEN OUT HORMONAL LEVELS
How to Balance Hormones
Gentle Nutritional Support to Curb Severe Perimenopausal Hormone Symptoms
Need To Balance Your Hormones?
How To Balance Your Hormones With Diet
What Foods Support Hormonal Balance?
Organic Soy – Balancing Estrogens at the Receptor
Soy contains phytoestrogens which act as estrogen modulators. This means that consuming 2 servings of soy per day, can dampen high estrogen symptoms, as well as boost low estrogen symptoms. And consuming organic soy is safe, despite any popular misconceptions.
Cruciferous Veggies – Helping the Liver Pull Estrogen Out of Circulation
Vegetables like broccoli, cauliflower, kale, and brussels sprouts contain indole-3-carbinol (I3C), which we convert to diindolemethane (DIM). These are very important for supporting liver enzymes which are responsible to removing the estrogen from circulation.
List of Cruciferous Vegetables for Hormone Balancing:
Arugula
Bok choy
Broccoli
Broccoli rabe
Broccoli romanesco
Brussel sprouts
Cabbage
Cauliflower
Chinese broccoli
Chinese cabbage
Collard greens
Daikon
Garden cress
Horseradish
Kale
Kohlrabi
Komatsuna
Land cress
Mizuna
Mustard – seeds and leaves
Radish
Rutabaga
Tatsoi
Turnips – root and greens
Wasabi
Watercress
Broccoli Sprouts are particularly rich in I3C, and they are very easy to make at home.
Ground Flaxseed – Helping Estrogens Leave the Body
Flaxseed also contains phytoestrogens, but are also is high in fibre. When the liver pulls estrogen out of the blood stream, it incorporates it into bile, and the bile is ejected into the intestines during the next meal. If there is fibre present, the fibre binds the bile (including the estrogen tagged for removal), and it is eliminated from the body as a component of stool.
What Can I Do To Balance Hormones?
The best way to balance hormones is to balance your body is general, and do the basic health care it needs.
SLEEP FOR HORMONE BALANCE
Sleep is invaluable for hormone balance. It is the only time when our master hormones reset. The circadian rhythm of melatonin balances cortisol, which in turn has a big impact on the female hormones.
MOVEMENT FOR HORMONE BALANCE
Movement doesn’t have to be intense exercise, but it does have to be consistent. A daily walk, a regular yoga practice, strength training, or any activity that moves your body and that you love to do. Depending on a woman’s particular hormonal balance, some types of exercise may be contraindicated (like high intensity exercise in an already high cortisol system). It’s always best for women over 40 to err on the side of building muscle versus high cardio, but it is very person dependent.
STRESS REDUCTION FOR HORMONE BALANCE
Stress essentially pulls the carpet out from under your hormonal system. When we are chronically stressed convert progesterone to cortisol in order to continue to stress out and perform. Even if we are very much supporting the progesterone system, it won’t stick, unless the stress system is regulated, as it will continue to be poached to continue the stress response.
HERBS AND BIOIDENTICAL HORMONES
The next step is to use herbs, supplements, and possible bioidentical hormones to specifically boost or eliminate the various female hormones and particular times in their cycle to reduce symptoms.
A hormone balancing plan for a woman is very individualized. What works well for one woman may be detrimental to the next. It’s important to see a qualified professional, and ideally do some lab testing to make sure nothing is missed, in order to create an effective treatment plan for righting an imbalanced hormonal system.
