Hormones and your gut microbiome play a massive role in your overall health – perhaps more than you may realize. Since these systems are deeply interconnected, even a minor disruption can have a cascading impact on your whole body.
While these things being out of balance can harm your health, on the other hand, regulating these systems can do wonders for your vitality – even if other factors, such as diet and vitamins, aren’t in pristine condition.
In this post, our integrative medicine doctors lay out tips for the best ways to level out your hormones so that you can get back to optimal health. Let’s get into it!
What Are Hormones?
From bowel and reproductive health to mood and weight fluctuations, hormones are at the center of it all. Hormones are one of the major ways the body communicates with itself. If the telephone wires are down and communication is disturbed, it’s time to step back and analyze what your body is telling you so that you can provide the support it needs.
These chemical messengers travel around your bloodstream to various tissues and organs. While neurotransmitters tend to have a rapid effect, hormones work slowly over time, impacting processes such as:
Metabolism
Sexual function
Mood
Bowels
And that’s just the beginning. Hormones are produced by endocrine glands, which align with the chakras of ancient Indian medicine. These glands include:
Pituitary
Pineal
Thymus
Adrenal glands
Pancreas
Testes (male) or ovaries (female)
In order to produce hormones, the body requires certain building blocks such as beneficial fats and cholesterol. Unfortunately, toxins in our environment can mimic these building blocks or even the hormones themselves. It doesn’t take a genius to guess: this causes problems. Women in particular have massive hormone fluctuations over the course of a month thanks to their menstrual cycle, so it can be challenging to keep things stable.
Tips to Balance Hormones Naturally
Although the endocrine system is endlessly complex, there is a bright side. There are plenty of basic things you can do to support your body’s ability to produce healthy and balanced hormones. Let’s explore.
1. Eat Plenty of Healthy Fats
The human body is not designed to consume the large quantities of man-made fats found in vegetable oils aka industrial seed oils. The majority of fat in the body is saturated fat, while only around 3% comes from polyunsaturated fats, which contain Omega-3 and Omega-6 fats in about a 50:50 ratio. Industrial seed oils such as canola oil are heavily processed waste products from monocropping operations. Cleverly, these large corporations devised a plan to sell their oxidized garbage to the public instead of paying for its proper disposal. This ratio is really important, but we’re often getting way too much Omega-6 and not enough Omega-3. Seed oils such as canola oil and soybean oil are high in Omega-6 fats. To get more Omega-3 into your diet, eat flaxseed, fish, chia seeds, and walnuts. However, there is a large market for Omega-3's these days so just remember that more is not always better.
You also need to get enough saturated fats. One of the best sources for this is high-quality coconut oil. If you are not vegetarian, pork lard, beef tallow, duck fat, butter, ghee, etc., supply hefty amounts of saturated fat along with essential vitamins, minerals, enzymes, & cofactors.
This superfood can help with weight loss and reduce inflammation, plus, it has antimicrobial and antibacterial properties.
Choose fats such as coconut oil, real butter, extra virgin olive oil, animal fats, grass-fed meats, and pastured eggs. Also, when you cook with healthy oils, do so at a low-to-moderate heat so you don’t compromise the integrity of the nutrients.
Hormonal Imbalance? > Foods to Cut Out
2. Be Mindful of Your Caffeine Intake
Who doesn’t love coffee or tea? While you don’t necessarily have to cut out these beverages completely, there can be too much of a good thing. Too much caffeine can harm the endocrine system, especially when other stressors are at play, such as pregnancy, toxins, fat imbalance, or stress.
Try to cut back on caffeinated beverages and replace them with yummy alternatives such as golden turmeric milk or herbal teas. If you absolutely cannot let go of your morning java, at least add a tablespoon of coconut oil, raw cream, or butter so you are getting your healthy fats.
3. Stay Away from Environmental Toxins
In the modern world, there are so many harmful chemicals to be aware of, like pesticides, plastics, household cleaners, and even mattresses. These toxins disrupt hormone production by mimicking hormones in the body. Hormonal birth control can also be an issue for many people since it is essentially doing the same thing. Here are some ways to avoid toxins:
Cook in glass or non-coated metal pans
Avoid heating or storing foods in plastic
Purchase locally-grown, organic produce and meat when possible
Incorporate plants and air purifiers into your home
Ensure you are drinking filtered water and avoid water from plastic
Use natural cleaning products
Beauty products can also contain harmful toxins, so try switching to clean products and even get creative with DIYing! There are so many natural beauty recipes that can be just as effective, if not more, and much safer than what you’d spend $20 on at the store.
4. Prioritize Sleep
Without proper sleep, there’s no way your hormones will be balanced! Sleep is so important for countless processes in the body, including removing toxins through the lymphatic system, rejuvenating the mind, and producing hormones. Even just one night of poor sleep can be damaging. In our stressful environments, we know getting a good night of sleep can be a challenge. Explore the following tips to improve your sleep:
Remove artificial light and optimize the temperature and any sounds
If possible, select a non-toxic mattress
Create morning and evening routines to wake up and go to bed at the same time and support your circadian rhythms
Spend at least 30 minutes in the sun if possible- this boosts serotonin, balancing melatonin at night
Avoid artificial light once the sun goes down – blue light glasses can help if need be
Drink plenty of water throughout the day
Soak in a salt bath around an hour before bed
Pray, meditate, or do some gentle stretching before bed
5. Exercise for Your Body
Movement is so important for the body, from boosting lymphatic flow to strengthening stabilizer muscles. However, once again, you can have too much of a good thing. You should always prioritize sleep over exercise, so don’t wear yourself down with intense extended exercise after a long day of work. This is especially important for premenopausal women! Instead, build short periods of gentle exercise such as walking, swimming, Thai Chi, and yoga. You can also incorporate short periods of heavy lifting with proper form, as this can trigger beneficial hormone responses.
6. Support Your Gut
The gut, also known as the ‘second brain,’ is the source of crucial neurotransmitters in the body that directly impact our hormones, such as serotonin. Thousands of years ago, Hippocrates claimed that “all disease begins in the gut.” And he wasn’t wrong.
Getting your gut health in order is an essential step to getting your hormones properly balanced.
Need Help Balancing Your Gut? > We Can Help.
7. Visit a Hormone Balancing Holistic Doctor
If you feel your hormones are imbalanced, there are certainly steps you can take at home. However, as mentioned, this system is incredibly complex and things can quickly spiral out of control. If your symptoms are not improving after six weeks of the previously recommended lifestyle changes, it’s time to visit a professional.
At Seed and Soil Wellness, our mission is to dive to the root of your health concern, and answer the question: “Why is this problem occurring in the first place?” After a thorough exam and review of your history, we will develop a plan of action to meet your unique needs.
Create Harmonious Hormones with Seed & Soil
Imbalanced hormones can make you feel like you are straight up going crazy, but the good news is there are changes you can make in your life so you don’t have to experience all of these symptoms.
If you are frustrated and tired of dealing with mood swings, unpredictable weight changes, brain fog, hair and skin problems, hot flashes, or terrible menstrual symptoms, your best bet is to reach out to a professional. Our integrative medicine practice wants to see you radiating with balance, so schedule your evaluation today!