Food that are good for balancing hormones

9 Ways to Naturally Treat Hormone Imbalances

What are ways to naturally treat hormone imbalances?

  1. Healthy Diet and Exercise
  2. Consistent, Quality Sleep
  3. Probiotics and Fiber
  4. Magnesium
  5. Vitamin B
  6. Liver Enhancing Nutrients
  7. Omega-3 Fatty Acids
  8. Vitamin D3
  9. Avoid Toxins
While not everyone struggles with hormone imbalance, it is a common problem for many men and women. These imbalances can create adverse effects to your body and its functions, resulting in stress, acne, appetite changes, and more. The good news is that there are many ways to naturally treat hormone imbalances. From changes to your lifestyle and diet, to supplements and vitamins made from specialized compounds. Correcting your hormone problems with these natural treatments can make a huge difference in your quality of life and wellness.

What are the signs of a hormone imbalance?

Hormones are what control nearly every bodily function from your digestive system to your mood. The relationship between your body and your hormone levels is complex, and a small imbalance can lead to a number of issues, such as: fatigue, impaired concentration, weight loss or gain, high blood pressure, infertility, hot flashes, and more. If you experience some of these problems, you may be dealing with a hormone imbalance. Making lifestyle changes can help you combat these effects and find what works best for your situation.

Healthy Diet and Exercise

One of the first things that will be recommended to you to balance your hormones is a change in diet. A balanced diet would be one that includes lean protein, fiber, and healthy fats while cutting out processed sugar. These foods will help promote the production of hormones and help regulate your metabolism and appetite. In addition to a healthy diet, regular physical activity will also strongly influence your hormone production. One of the effects of exercise is that it reduces insulin levels and increases insulin activity. This leads to more sugar and amino acids being absorbed into your bloodstream to be used for energy and muscle maintenance.

Consistent, Quality Sleep Woman sleeping

Aside from maintaining a healthy diet and exercise regime, you should also be paying attention to how you’re sleeping. If you aren’t able to get enough restorative sleep, then your hormone health will still suffer. Poor sleep leads to imbalances in cortisol, leptin, and ghrelin levels. Research showed that men who slept only five hours per night had their leptin levels lowered by 18%, and their ghrelin levels increased by 28%. These hormone imbalances can lead to adverse appetite changes. High-quality sleep and adequate hours will allow your brain to go through all stages of the sleep cycle. This cycle is linked to the release of growth hormones, which positively affects cell growth, metabolism, and muscle health. To achieve this, you are recommended to aim for at least seven hours of quality sleep per night.

Probiotics and Fiber

The key to maintaining a healthy balance of digestive hormones is by taking enough probiotics in your daily meals. Probiotic rich foods such as fermented dishes (like miso or sauerkraut) and cheese (like mozzarella) are good to add to your diet. However, these foods may not be appealing to everyone, so taking high-quality probiotic supplements will also help you round out your diet. Fiber is also needed for a healthy digestive system. Fiber can relieve symptoms of loose bowel movement (LBM) and constipation as well as promote healthy gut microbiomes, which improves your body’s ability to absorb nutrients from food. Fiber can be taken from most fruits and vegetables and can be supplemented by fiber tablets.

Magnesium

Good sources of magnesium Magnesium is used by our bodies in thyroid function to convert inactive thyroid hormones (T4) into active ones (T3). Without this conversion, your cells will not be able to properly supplement bodily functions such as digestion, heart health, brain development, and muscle formation. Having enough of this nutrient is possible by adding nuts and whole grains into your diet or by taking quality magnesium supplements, which helps to improve thyroid function. Adding more magnesium into your diet can improve the production of other hormones such as estrogen and serotonin as well.

Vitamin B

Vitamin B plays an important role in the production and metabolism of hormones. It also assists the body in the detoxification of the liver, regulation of blood sugar levels and improving thyroid functions. This group of vitamins might be something you want to supplement in your diet as they make a big impact on your hormone balances. Foods like salmon, spinach, kale, shellfish, and eggs can be good sources of some B vitamins — though they need to be cooked in certain ways to keep these vitamins intact. On the other hand, B-complex vitamin supplements will help you get all the B vitamins you need without having to add too much effort into your meals.

Liver Enhancing Nutrients

Man drinking supplements for liver Your liver is where your body breaks down and filters out excess estrogen — a common cause of hormonal imbalance. Supporting your liver with the right nutrients and supplements — such as vitamin c, turmeric, and alpha-lipoic acids — can go a long way in addressing your hormone imbalance. You could eat plenty of vitamin C-rich foods such as oranges or broccoli, or simply take a vitamin C tablet each morning to meet your recommended vitamin C intake. Cooking with turmeric or taking a turmeric supplement will also help you get enough of this nutrient daily. Alpha-lipoic acid can be hard to obtain from foods, as it only accounts for small levels in foods such as red meat, tomatoes, and spinach, so taking a good alpha lipoic supplement is advised.

Omega-3 Fatty Acids

Omega-3 fatty acids are nutrients used to build and maintain healthy body functions. This fatty acid is used to create every cell wall in your body, to provide enough energy to your cells, and to promote good heart, lung, and immune system functionality. Omega fatty acids can be found in foods like salmon, mackerel, chia seeds, flax seeds, and egg yolks. If you’re unable to eat a wide enough selection of omega-3 rich foods, taking high-quality fish oil or flax oil supplements will also help your body absorb the right amount of this nutrient.

Vitamin D3 Vitamin D3 of Puritan's Pride

Vitamin D is essentially a hormone that communicates with other hormones in your body, which assists in balancing their levels at a healthy range. However, vitamin D is hard to come by, as our primary source comes from the sun — only a few foods include vitamin D, and at low levels. Ensuring you get enough of this vitamin is through taking some time walking or sitting outdoors to absorb enough sun rays. Other than that, adding vitamin D supplements is a great way to prevent hormonal fluctuations.

Avoid Toxins

Other than making changes to your lifestyle, diet, and supplement intake, you should try to avoid contact with toxins. These toxins are found in cleaning products, pesticides, and nonorganic foods. When absorbed, these toxins act as endocrine disruptors and throw your hormone levels off balance. To avoid this from happening, avoid buying canned foods and processed meats. Also, try to avoid inhaling the fumes produced by your cleaning products.

Key Takeaway

The hormone levels in your body are constantly changing and can be easily influenced by outside factors. Long-term imbalances can adversely affect your health and bodily function, so it's advisable to pay attention to how your current lifestyle may be affecting your hormone production. With these nine ways to naturally treat hormone imbalances, you can find many different ways to begin tackling your hormone problems. With the right healthy changes to your lifestyle, you will be able to find the combination that works well for your body.