How to Balance your Hormones

How to Balance Your Hormones

Hormones are the chemical messengers that affect your mental, physical, and emotional health. They are your body’s chemical messengers, traveling to tissues or organs in your bloodstream. Hormones work overtime and affect several different processes throughout the body, including growth and development, metabolism, sexual function, mood, and more. Typically, the body produces a precise amount of each hormone needed for various processes to stay healthy.

Hormones are produced from the endocrine glands in the body. Some major endocrine glands in the body are the pituitary gland, pineal gland, thymus, thyroid, adrenal glands, pancreas, testes, and ovaries.

These different organs produce microscopic amounts, taking only a very small amount to bring significant changes in the body. A small excess or deficiency of hormone production can lead to serious changes throughout the body.

WHAT IS A HORMONAL IMBALANCE?

A hormone imbalance occurs when there is too much or too little of a certain hormone in the body. Some hormone levels fluctuate throughout life and may occur due to aging, although other changes occur when endocrine glands are not functioning properly.

There are many signs and symptoms of a hormonal imbalance. These will depend on which hormones or glands aren’t working the right way. Several common hormonal conditions could cause any of the following symptoms:

Weight gain
Weight loss
Muscle weakness
Fatigue
Muscle aches, tenderness, or stiffness
Increased or decreased heart rate
Sweating
Increased sensitivity to cold or heat
Frequent urination
Increased thirst
Increased hunger
Decreased sex drive
Depression
Blurred vision
Dry skin
Puffy or rounded face

The normal hormonal cycle naturally changes during puberty, pregnancy, breastfeeding, and menopause in females. There are some specific symptoms to look out for in women, indicating a hormonal imbalance. These include heavy or irregular periods, acne, hair loss, skin darkening, vaginal dryness, pain during sex, headaches, and more.

CAUSES OF A HORMONAL IMBALANCE

There are lots of different possible causes of a hormonal imbalance. It depends on which hormones or glands are affected in the body. Some common causes of a hormonal imbalance include medications, cancer treatments, eating disorders, stress, injury or trauma, hormone therapy, and more. Additionally, conditions such as diabetes, hypothyroidism, Cushing syndrome, Addison’s disease, thyroiditis, and others can lead to hormonal imbalances.

Unique to women, hormonal imbalances may be related to reproductive hormones, including common causes of menopause, premature menopause, pregnancy, breastfeeding, PCOS, and hormone drugs.

HOW TO NATURALLY BALANCE YOUR HORMONES

For many people, small and simple lifestyle changes can help restore proper levels of hormones in the body. A well-balanced diet and healthy habits may improve your hormonal health and allow you to feel your best. Here are some ways to naturally balance your hormones.

Get enough protein. Proteins provide amino acids that your body cannot make on its own and are needed to produce peptide hormones. These hormones play a crucial role in regulating several physiological processes, including growth, energy metabolism, appetite, stress, and more.
Exercise regularly. Getting enough physical activity strongly influences your hormonal health. It enhances hormone receptor sensitivity, helping the delivery of nutrients and hormone signals.
Maintain a moderate weight. Weight gain is directly associated with hormonal imbalances. Obesity relates to a lack of ovulation in women. Eating within your calorie range can help maintain hormonal balance.
Watch your gut health. Your gut produces numerous metabolites that can affect hormone health.
Lower sugar intake. Minimising added sugar intake can help balance hormones. Eating added sugar promotes insulin resistance, and fructose intake is linked to disruptions in the gut microbiome, ultimately leading to hormonal imbalances.
Reduce inflammatory foods like process foods, dairy, gluten and eat increase Yin foods such as green vegetables. Eating a vegan whole-food diet as you enter your cycle is very effective for relieving menstrual symptoms.
Reduce stress. Stress can significantly harm the body’s hormones in many ways. Work to decrease and manage your daily stress including unconscious stress such as repressed emotions, trauma, and disconnect from your feelings and needs.
Mindfulness practices and checking in with your body increases awareness of hidden stressors that could be impacting hormone balance.
Get enough sleep. Sleep is one of the most important factors in hormonal imbalance. The levels of hormones can rise and fall throughout the day due to the quality of sleep.
Eat healthy fats. Healthy fat intake can work to maintain balanced hormones that are involved with appetite, metabolism, and feeling full.
Eat plenty of fibre. Fibre plays a role in gut health, helping regulate hormones like insulin.

I combine holistic nutrition, counselling, mind and body therapy, mindfulness practices, and life coaching to clear out the blocks that are preventing you from feel well. This is a gradual process that involves personal growth and transformation and cannot be achieved within a week but is very achievable.

Enjoy a pain-free, symptom-free menstrual cycle, endless vitality, and a healthy body and mind.

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