Tips for supporting your hormone balance naturally
Could your hormones do with a little TLC? When it comes to your health, hormones play a massive role in how well your body works, not to mention how you feel. So if you’re looking to feel healthier and happier, supporting your hormone balance is a great place to start.
Simple steps to balance your hormones
Focus your diet on nutrients
Like anything in the body, your hormones are made up of building blocks. Without the right building blocks, you can’t produce those hormones! And of course, those ‘blocks’ are nutrients.
Then there are also nutrients that aren’t in the structure of the hormones directly, but that are needed to activate or maintain the balance of your hormones.
That’s why the first step of hormone balance should always be getting the nutrition your hormones need to be in balance. And the easiest way to do this? Prioritise nutrient-dense foods and follow a wholefood-based diet.
Not sure where to start with a wholefood diet? I’ve got more for you here.
Keep on top of stress
Stress is not all in your head – it has very real impacts on your physical wellbeing, and a big part of that is due to your hormones.
When you experience any form of stress, your body will produce stress hormones. And these hormones have a ripple effect throughout the body and the balance of other hormone types.
This includes:
Reducing the conversion of thyroid hormones
Altering the body’s resistance to insulin
Changing the balance of sex hormones such as testosterone, oestrogen and progesterone
So if rebalancing your hormones is a focus for you right now, stress management is key.
If you struggle to control your stress, this article can help you get started.
Make sleep a priority
Another factor that can easily throw off the delicate hormone balance is poor sleep.
When you don’t get enough sleep (or enough quality sleep), your body will increase production of some hormones, while reducing the effects of others. For example, poor sleep can increase the production of stress hormones, but also increase insulin resistance.
Of course, we can’t all sleep perfectly all the time. But by taking small steps, you can work towards having plenty of high-quality sleep. Your hormones will thank you for it!
Need to work on your sleep? These tips will help you do just that.
Switch to non-toxic options
If there is one thing that is not hormone-friendly, it is our modern lifestyles. And a massive contributor to this is the chemicals and toxins that we use on a daily basis.
And although companies claim that these are ‘safe’ in isolation, there are no studies that show safety when combined with dozens (or even hundreds) of others! That’s why it’s best to reduce your exposure as much as possible.
Some of the sources of hormone-disrupting chemicals you might need to replace include:
BPA and other plastics
Haircare products
Everyday personal products such as toothpaste, moisturiser, makeup
Perfumes and fragrances
Home cleaning products
Give your liver a break
When it comes to hormone balance, the most important player in the body is the liver. The liver is in charge of detoxifying anything that the body doesn’t need or benefit from, including hormones. But if your liver is overburdened with other jobs, you may end up with a backlog of hormones, which throws off the balance.
If you need to get your hormones back in line, try minimising other burdens on the liver. This can mean reducing:
Alcohol intake
Non-prescription medications e.g. paracetamol
Caffeine intake – stick to 1-2 serves per day if possible
Unfiltered water
Highly processed foods, particularly those with artificial colours, flavours and additives
Refined sugars
Regularly monitor your levels
If you have any known imbalance or condition that affects one or more hormones, you want to stay on top of it. For example, if you have a thyroid condition, your thyroid hormone levels can influence your sex hormones, stress hormones, blood glucose hormones… it’s all a delicate balance and can easily be thrown off.
So if you know that you have something that increases your risk of imbalance, get your levels checked regularly. This can help you to identify potential issues earlier before it becomes a big problem.