Five Steps to Healthier Hormones

In my nearly six years of working as a Nutrition and Lifestyle coach, I don’t think I’ve ever seen a client that didn’t have hormonal imbalances of some sort. If our hormones are out of balance we will feel foggy, tired, moody and struggle with weight loss, especially around the mid-section. This doesn’t just apply to women either, hormonal imbalances in men result in excess body fat and low sex drive to name a few symptoms.

So what can we do about it? Well, fortunately, there are some simple things you can do with diet and lifestyle to significantly improve how your hormones interact with the rest of your physiology. When you’re hormones are in balance, you have a level mood all month around, have good sex drive and energy in general. Want more of that? Here are my top 5 things to focus on.

1. Eat all the fat
When it comes to fats, there are two that are super important for optimal health, monounsaturated and saturated. We should be eating these in equal portion but unfortunately most of us eat what we call the “good fats” like Olive Oil and Avocado. In actual fact, saturated fats are as important and most of the important hormones are actually made out of cholesterol. So ensuring you eat long chain saturated fats like cheese, animal fat, and butter will actually increase essential sex hormone production.

2. Chill out
We’ve all heard about the stress hormone Cortisol. I’ve spoken about it in previous newsletters and in all of my workshops. It causes everything from accelerated ageing to that stubborn belly fat you just can’t shake. Well when it come to hormones, Cortisol is the big mean bossy hormone and can cause all sorts of issues down the line. Unfortunately, in this day and age of chronic “busy-ness” we are all producing way too much Cortisol which wreaks havoc with our other hormones. High Cortisol suppresses Estrogen and Progesterone at their appropriate times of the menstrual cycle causing infertility, PMS and much more. High Cortisol also suppresses Testosterone which is the hormone that gives men more muscles, less fat, more drive and ambition and generally makes them feel good. The best way to manage this is to reduce our Cortisol levels by managing stress. My favourite way to do this? You guessed it. Meditate.

3. No more deodorant
Seriously..do you know that most personal hygiene products have endocrine disruptors in them that can create crazy hormonal imbalance. Some products even have Estrogen mimicking agents in them so for men, it’s like taking the contraceptive pill. Estrogen suppresses Testosterone so you can see how this is definitely not a good thing for men. For women, Estrogen dominance is a serious problem that has a myriad of symptoms not limited to but including abnormal periods, slow metabolism, depression, low thyroid and much more. Make sure you check your deodorant, moisturizers, soaps, skin care, make – up for things like Parabens and Phthalates. I could dedicate a whole newsletter to this as there are so many more. Start to do your research and eliminate these toxic products from your home.

4. Sleep
I always go on about this, don’t I? But it’s because it’s such an under-utilised tool for optimal health. Melatonin is another hormone that is produced in the evening. Melatonin plays a critical role in the development and health of our sex hormones. In fact, it’s so critical for healthy egg production they use it in IVF patients to improve outcomes. All the hormonal magic happens while we sleep, as long as it’s between 10pm and 6am. Ensure you get to bed on time and get a good night’s sleep. What could be easier than that??

5. Do what you love
This one applies to all health but hormones particularly. Our bodies look, feel and perform better when we are vibrating at a high frequency. That means, when we feel good about ourselves and when we have a sense of purpose in the world. When we feel inspired, passionate and happy our hormones respond accordingly pumping out the good ones and reducing the inflammatory ones. It might sound a little woo woo but it’s really just Quantum Physics. Do what you love and brings you joy every day and watch what happens to your hormones, and your health.