• Stop Dieting

• Create a Balanced Plate

• Eat Regularly

• Eat Mindfully

• Eat Organic

• Eat Healthy Fat

• Get Enough Protein

• Up Your Fiber

• Reduce Coffee

• Reduce Sugar

Stop Dieting

Before we dive into eating for hormone health, it’s essential to understand; dieting does not work long term (not even the so-called healthy ones). I want to help you ditch the diet mindset. Instead of moving from one ‘it’ diet to the next, focus on eating real food and making the most strategic lifestyle changes needed to optimize your hormone health.  I don’t suggest calculating macros or counting calories either! that’s not sustainable (remember you are in this for the long haul).

Create a Well-Balanced Plate

Macronutrients (fat, protein, and carbohydrates) play a major role in how hormones function in the body. They influence the synthesis, the absorption, and the behavior of the hormones. If the meals we eat are not macronutrient balanced, it can affect the way our bodies function. So, be sure to build a balanced plate with fat, protein and the right carbohydrates.

Eat Regularly

Skipping meals is never a good idea for women, especially when it comes to hormonal health. A woman's body is different than a mans and is very sensitive to caloric restriction. When you skip a meal, for example, breakfast, your body interprets it as a threat. It starts saving fat just in case, leading to a surge in belly fat. At the same time, this response triggers the production of ghrelin, which is also called the hunger hormone. The result? When you get a chance to eat, you will eat like you are eating for two...or three. Skipping meals also makes your body to send out hormones like cortisol, the stress hormone, which further changes the way your body metabolizes food and stores fat. Skipping meals can also lead to fatigue and mood swings. If you would like to practice intermittent fasting, do it overnight. For example, if you close your eating window at 7:00 p.m. and reopen it at 8:00 a.m., that’s a 13 hour fast!

Eat Mindfully

Mindful eating is a technique that you can use to gain control over your eating habits. You can use it to promote weight loss and reduce binge eating. At its core, mindful eating is all about eating slowly without distraction, eating only until you are full while listening to your hunger cues, and distinguishing between real hunger and non-hunger triggers. Eating mindfully means engaging all your senses and noticing the flavors, textures, smells, and colors of the food you’re eating. Mindful eating can go a long way in helping you learn to cope with food-related guilt or anxiety and maintaining your overall health and well-being. It will make you appreciate food more, have a healthier diet, and achieve hormonal balance.

Eat Organic

As you will see, certain foods can help promote hormone balance. However, sometimes, no matter how healthy and nutritious your diet is, you may notice that some of these issues just won't go away. When this happens, it means that there is a good chance something else is in play. In many cases, endocrine-disrupting chemicals are to blame. Endocrine disruptors are substances that alter the functioning of the body's endocrine system, or the hormonal system. It is impossible to avoid endocrine disruptors altogether. They are found almost everywhere, from plastic packaging to beauty products to pesticides in the food supply.

However, you can reduce the number of endocrine disruptors that you allow in your body by simply eating more organic foods. Doing this cuts out the link between the chemicals and antibiotics used in modern farming methods. You will also be reducing the amount of dioxin in your diet, a well-known endocrine disruptor. Dioxin is found in considerable amounts in meats and dairy products.

For optimal hormone health, it's wise to eat organic foods as much as you can afford to. If you are on a tight budget, check out the dirty dozen list (foods with the highest instances of inorganic chemicals) and go for organically grown options for the foods in that list. Also, try to avoid packaging your food in plastics, and as you prepare your food, cook with stainless steel or cast-iron products instead of Teflon.

Eat Healthy Fats

Healthy fats are essential building blocks for hormones. There are three types of hormones: lipid-derived, peptide-derived, and amino-acid derived. Fats are a subgroup of lipids and are the main component in the formation of lipid-derived hormones, a category that includes reproductive hormones such as estrogen and testosterone. Healthy fats also play a vital role in the absorption of Vitamins A, D, E, and K, which help in the balancing of hormones. Consider healthy fats such as avocado, coconut oil, fatty fish, and raw seeds.

Get Enough Protein

As was earlier mentioned, there are three types of hormones. One of these types is amino-acid derived hormones. Melatonin, thyroid and some adrenal hormones are examples of amino-acid derived hormones. Amino acids are the building blocks of proteins. Besides playing a vital role in the synthesis of hormones, they also aid in several other important processes throughout the body.  It's essential to consume enough quality proteins if you want to meet your body's amino-acid requirements and to achieve optimal hormonal health. There should be a healthy balance of omnivore and plant-based proteins in the diet. Plant-based proteins are adaptogenic, while overconsuming omnivore proteins (high in pro-inflammatory arachidonic acid) can lead to inflammation.

The type of protein you consume also significantly influences how your body handles estrogen. When you eat mostly omnivore proteins, it can raise your estrogen levels. This increases the risk of estrogen overload. Additionally, we need lots of plant-based proteins for the fiber. As we discussed, fiber is essential for estrogen balance. Lastly, some protein sources that contain gluten and endocrine disruptors like mercury can also adversely affect your hormones.

Up Your Fiber

Fiber is essential for hormone health for one central reason - estrogen removal. Estrogen is a reproductive hormone primarily produced in the ovaries. As estrogen accumulates in the body, the liver processes any excesses, and it's eliminated through the stools. If you're constipated, estrogen will not be removed from the body, and it's reabsorbed.  This can lead to excess estrogen that causes a whole list of issues, including bloating, mood swings, breast tenderness, lumps in the breasts, headaches, irregular periods, weight gain, increased PMS symptoms, fatigue, and trouble sleeping. This is why eating plenty of fiber is so important. Fiber helps prevent constipation and will also help you empty your bowels more efficiently. Keeping your bowels moving can do wonders for your hormone health. To boost your fiber intake, eat plenty of plant-based foods such as quinoa, oats, buckwheat, chia, flax seeds and vegetables.

Reduce Coffee

Okay, now I am risking not being your favorite person. I can see just mentioning the word coffee you're starting to get a little protective of your daily coffee ritual, and I get it. Here's the thing, coffee as an occasional indulgence might be just fine, but excessive (or even regular) consumption of coffee and other caffeinated drinks can be a huge problem when it comes to hormone balance, especially if adrenal fatigue is involved.  I'm not saying you have to ditch coffee altogether right now. Just be mindful of how much you're consuming and try to reduce it to a few cups per week.  Drinking half-calf is an excellent way to start slowly adjusting to life with less caffeine.

Reduce Sugar

Sugar, including both refined carbs and the white stuff, is a disaster for hormone health.  It can lead to rapid weight gain, blood sugar problems, and an increased risk of heart disease. It also adversely affects the body’s endocrine system, which is responsible for creating and regulating hormones. Sugar does this by disrupting the production of the hormone insulin. When your insulin production is out of whack, everything else falls apart, especially estrogen and testosterone levels.

Here is how that happens:

When you eat a meal high in sugar, your insulin level will spike. When this happens, it reduces the production of SHBG. SHBG, or sex hormone binding globulin, is an essential protein that regulates the levels of estrogen and testosterone in the blood. When SHBG production is low, estrogen and testosterone levels increase rapidly. This is where things get interesting. High levels of estrogen will overwhelm progesterone levels. Progesterone is the hormone that is responsible for keeping you calm, happy, and relaxed. When progesterone is overwhelmed, you become irritable and anxious, which can lead to mood swings, insomnia, among other things.

Final Thoughts

You can see that your hormone health goes hand in hand with your diet. The saying “you are what you eat” couldn’t hold truer here. This is why it is so important to eat real whole foods. Your body needs the nutrients these foods contain to stay healthy, heal itself, and to ensure that your hormones are kept in balance.

Are you ready to rock some delicious hormone-healthy recipes?

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