Female Hormone Physiology plus 4 Foods to Help Balance Hormones
You may or may not remember what you learned about hormones in middle school health class. Something along the lines of:
Hormones are involved with the ovaries releasing an egg, and the uterus builds a lining, and if you don't get pregnant, you have a period every 21 to 35 days. Oh, and it's because of hormones that you might have "moodiness", acne, bloating, cramps, and all the other premenstrual (PMS) symptoms we experience during puberty and beyond. Oh, and the cure to all of this is to go ahead and start taking the birth control pill, which we will discuss in another post.
It's safe to say that most of us only have this vague understanding of how our bodies work regarding reproductive health!
Sad.
On one hand, we are conditioned to think we are supposed to have a hormone imbalance. So, how are we even supposed to know what our hormone levels should be?
Are our hormones ever balanced?
And what about stress hormones, thyroid hormones, and other chemical messengers influencing our "menstrual cycle" and stress levels, making us experience weight gain, irregular blood sugar levels, emotional health, and acne, among other health problems?
No matter what age you are, these things have probably crossed your mind. Some of you may have even sought out help through conventional health care.
"It must be genetic. I must have a thyroid issue. Or maybe I have adrenal fatigue. I must be estrogen-dominant, or I have polycystic ovary syndrome or endometriosis. In any case, I must need birth control. Well, it seems like that's my only option."
Truthfully, we don’t think about hormones until a "hormonal" headache or period pain brings us to our knees. Even then, we might assume it's normal and something we just have to cope with as women.
No one enjoys constantly feeling sick and tired. The continuous bloat, mid-afternoon crashes, irregular periods, and a whole host of other issues that we accept as normal.
Only later in life do we start striving for hormone balance, asking questions, and seeking care about what that means.
The good news is ...
There are steps we can take to influence our hormonal health positively! We don’t have to be slaves to our symptoms. Small, daily choices can influence how our body functions.
Once you understand the root cause of your illness, you can make the necessary changes. Diet is one of the most powerful tools for influencing hormone regulation.
Physiology Behind Hormones
The endocrine system is a complex system of organs and glands responsible for metabolism, reproduction, energy levels, and growth and development. It is also responsible for how the body responds to stress, injury, and mood.
The adrenal glands are responsible for the hormones that influence stress, metabolism, immune function, blood pressure, and other essential functions. The adrenal glands make and release the stress hormones (i.e. cortisol), which is a huge player in healthy hormone function.
The thyroid gland is responsible for metabolism, growth, and development and plays a major role in pregnancy and female hormone production.
Insulin has many roles in the body, most commonly known as shuttling blood glucose into cells for energy and storing any extra as fat. When our hormones are out of whack, we may have insulin resistance. The body releases insulin every time we eat, but glucose can’t be absorbed properly if our hormones are imbalanced. This results in higher insulin levels, which leads to many issues, such as excess belly fat, Type 2 diabetes, PCOS, and more. Consider asking your provider for a fasting insulin blood test. A high fasting insulin level can be an early sign of insulin resistance. Even before fasting blood glucose levels rise.1,2
The sex hormones estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone play a role in our everyday lives, not just when we have a period.
A healthy woman’s cycle is critical to overall health and is unfortunately often overlooked. 3
Gut health may not sound like it has anything to do with hormones, but a healthy gut directly influences hormone production. Research shows a direct relationship between a healthy gut and hormone production. Millions of bacteria in our gut make up the gut microbiome and play an essential role. Our hormone health suffers if bad bacteria outnumber good bacteria due to a poor diet. 4
Symptoms of Hormonal Imbalance in Women
Do you suspect you have a hormonal imbalance? Below is a list of possible symptoms and indications that result from unbalanced hormones:
Feeling sick and tired all the time
Bloating
Headaches
Mood swings
Depression
Enlarged and tender breasts
Monthly weight fluctuations
Premenstrual cravings (mainly sugar and carbs)
Infertility
Current or past use of birth control pills
Uterine fibroids
Anxiety
Heart palpitations
Hot flashes
Facial hair
Exposure to heavy metals or pesticides 5
We all have the occasional “off-day”. But if you regularly experience any of the above symptoms, you might want to learn how a balanced diet plays an important role in balancing hormones. By eating a whole-food diet and engaging in regular physical activity, you can finally start to control your hormonal balance and minimize or eliminate those nagging health issues.
Don't let them "blame your feelings”
Utilizing Your Diet to Balance Hormones
What you eat directly affects your hormone production - so eat smart! You don’t have to make a multitude of changes all at once. Remember that small steps will increase your chances of sustaining healthier diet choices in the long term. Remember, hormones are made up of mostly proteins, fats and cholesterol. That's why a well-balanced diet that includes essential amino acids, healthy fats, and whole grains should be taught in that middle school health class to as a significant role in balancing hormones from a young age.
4 Foods that Help Balance Hormones
Whole Unprocessed Foods
Adding specific foods that help balance hormones will do much of the heavy lifting for you. Eating a diet rich in plants, with some sustainable sources of animal products, will be the gut hug your hormones need.
Cruciferous vegetables such as broccoli, cauliflower, and cabbage, are all high in fiber and are shown to influence hormonal balance. A diet high in fiber also encourages insulin sensitivity and helps the hormone ghrelin to tell your brain that you are full. 6
Good fats found in avocados, tree nuts, coconuts, olives, and fish not only help you feel satisfied but also contribute to healthy cellular function. All of our cells need fat, in one way or another, but we need to choose sources of fat that the body can readily use. 7,8
Traditional non-GMO whole soy (edamame, tofu, miso, tempeh, and natto) is an excellent source of protein and actively helps the body balance estrogen. This is contrary to popular media opinion, but they refer to highly processed soy used as vegetable oil or fillers in “meat-free foods”. Traditional soy has incredible health benefits when sourced well and eaten in moderation. 9,10
Ground flaxseed (1-2 TBS daily) can help our bodies reabsorb excess estrogen. Flaxseed actively binds to free estrogen and helps it make its way through digestion and into the feces, thereby reducing the amount of estrogen circulating in our system. 11
Eat organic whenever possible! It can be expensive to choose organic fruits, veggies, and meat - but if you can, try to avoid at least the dirty dozen: strawberries, spinach, leafy greens, nectarines, berries, apples, grapes, bell and hot peppers, cherries, peaches, celery, tomatoes, and pears.12 Avoiding the conventional version of these fruits and vegetables will drastically reduce your toxic load. Bonus tip: Shop at your local farmer’s market for food grown closer to home with a higher nutritional value.
Sustainably raised grass-fed meat products are vital to our diet because they provide an excellent source of protein, omega-3 fatty acids, vitamins, and minerals that can only be found in meat. Grass-fed animals provide nutrients that our bodies readily absorb while avoiding corn and wheat that is laced with pesticides. 13
Filtered water may sound too simple but with all the garbage (literal and figurative) that is dumped into our fresh water every day, it’s no wonder the water coming from our faucet is harmful. Antibiotics and pesticides greatly influence hormonal health, and if you can filter them out, why not do it? 14
Foods To Avoid/Minimize
Refined Sugars and Carbohydrates
The majority of sugar in your diet has to go. The more sugar you eat, the more insulin, estrogen, and testosterone your body produces. When those three hormones are not within normal limits, your entire system cannot function properly. 15,16
Sugar also influences the type of bacteria that our gut produces, which we know directly influences hormonal health. You don’t have to cut all sweets, but the majority of women will benefit from dropping sugary coffee drinks, sweet breakfast pastries, and processed snack foods from their diet.
Dairy and Gluten
Unfortunately, the way mainstream dairy products are produced leaves the body filled with unregulated hormones, resulting in hormone spikes. Dairy is also extremely inflammatory. Inflammation is correlated with hot flashes, heart palpitations, irregular periods, bloating, headaches, and feeling “puffy”. ¹
Gluten is another heavily processed food. The pesticides sprayed onto wheat as it grows are absorbed by the food we eat. These pesticides are also another common disruption of hormones and should be avoided whenever possible. ¹ If you do eat gluten-grains, consider European sources, where they have higher restrictions on the use of pesticides.
Xenoestrogens or Environmental Toxins
We cannot avoid all pollutants. But if possible, try to avoid specific xenoestrogens such as plastics, conventionally grown corn/peanuts/wheat, estrogen-containing beauty products, and artificial food dyes that increase estrogen in our bodies. ¹ ⁶
Lifestyle Changes
Finally, a few lifestyle changes, combined with a healthy diet, can aid in optimal hormonal function.
Daily moderate exercise for improved mood, circulation, and detoxification
Stress relief through prayer, meditation, laughter, and creative outlets
Deep, restorative sleep so your body can heal and grow properly
Reduce or eliminate alcohol
Small Daily Choices Make a Difference
The above may sound overwhelming and requires a significant mental shift from familiar lifestyle choices. But the beauty is that it’s never too late, and there is no reason not to start now! It is much easier to make these changes and get your hormones back in balance than it is to live a life filled with poor health and pain.
Try to make a conscious effort to reduce one of the toxic products named above once a month. By the end of a year, your body and your home will be free of the toxins that are detrimental to hormonal balance. If all you can do today is add an extra serving of broccoli to your plate, that’s a great start! Tomorrow, you can add flaxseed to your smoothie. Small, conscious decisions add up to life-changing results!
Do you have any questions or thoughts about what we’ve discussed today? Drop a comment below and let's continue the conversation.
What are you trying to balance your hormones for?
